The Imperial Capital in May was getting a little hot.
The people on the streets were wearing fewer clothes. Most of them were wearing thin clothes.
As the capital of the Xia Xia, the Imperial Capital was not only home to the people of Tianzhu, but also countless people from the Tang dynasty. There were also countless people who migrated here. Countless merchants filled the city, making the business in the Imperial Capital flourish. The flourishing business also attracted countless merchants from the Tang dynasty. These merchants earned a lot of money.
This was because the silk, cloth, paper, tea leaves, and many artifacts from the Tang dynasty were all popular in Tianzhu.
Although Du Qi's businesses also dealt in tea leaves, cloth, and so on, the market in Tianzhu was huge. Therefore, the merchants from the Tang dynasty who gathered here were able to get a share of the profits and make money from it.
The merchants from the Tang dynasty who did business in the Imperial Capital even set up a hall.
It was called the Peace Hall.
Its meaning was to live in peace and happiness.
It also hoped that all the merchants from the Tang dynasty in the Peace Hall would abide by the law and the rules. This was because this was the Xia Xia, the Tang dynasty. Only by abiding by the rules could they do business for a long time.
The Peace Hall was located in the inner city of the Imperial Capital.
It was located in the south of the city.
The residence of the Peace Hall was not very spacious or grand. It was decorated according to the style of the Tang dynasty. There were servants in charge of cleaning the residence. Usually, there were very few people here.
After all, the merchants from the Tang dynasty in the Peace Hall were busy with their own matters.
Only on the first day of every month would the merchants from the Peace Hall gather to talk about the recent situation, the latest happenings, and the difficulties they encountered. Everyone helped each other.
The first day of the month was the fixed time.
As for the rest of the time, if there were special matters, someone would be specially arranged to inform them.
At this moment, a carriage stopped at the entrance of the Peace Hall.
The curtain of the carriage was lifted.
A white-haired old man in his early fifties walked down from the carriage.
The old man's name was Pei Qingzhi.
He was born in the Pei family of Hedong in the Tang dynasty. However, he was not a direct descendant of the Pei family of Hedong. He was from a side branch. In the morning, he was in charge of business. With the commercial development of the Imperial Capital, and Xia Xia accepting merchants from the Tang dynasty, allowing them to do business, the Pei family sent Pei Qingzhi to the Imperial Capital to take charge of the Pei family's business.
The Pei Family's businesses covered a wide range of areas, from grain, cloth, tea, and even salt. Apart from that, there were also many other businesses that involved a wide range of things.
The Pei Family's business had the greatest influence in the Sovereign Capital. Therefore, Pei Qingzhi was the head of the Chamber of Commerce.
He was the president.
The rest of the merchants were members of the Peaceful Pleasure Hall.
After Pei Qingzhi walked in, he went straight to the main seat in the hall and sat down. He then waited quietly. Today was not the first day of the month. Logically speaking, it was not the time to gather together. However, Pei Qingzhi summoned everyone because something special happened today. Xia Xia's government issued a notice to the businessmen of the Tang dynasty.
The notice said that the Emperor of the Tang dynasty, Li Shimin, was wantonly arresting the businessmen of Xia Xia in the Tang dynasty. Under normal circumstances, Xia Xia should have launched a frenzied counterattack and arrested the Tang dynasty businessmen in Xia Xia. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
However, the government said that the businessmen in Xia Xia's territory could do their own business in peace.
Xia Xia's side would not target any of the businessmen. As long as they were from the Tang dynasty and did business in Xia Xia, they would be protected and recognized.
This was the attitude of Xia Xia's imperial court.
It was also Du Qi's guarantee.
When Pei Qingzhi learned of this news, he immediately summoned everyone to meet him.
Since Xia Xia had made a response, they should also make a response.
Time passed bit by bit.
Not long after, a merchant walked in. He had a smile on his chubby face like the Maitreya Buddha. He cupped his hands and bowed to Pei Qingzhi before taking a seat below.
Following that, other businessmen entered one after another.
In the end, a total of 36 people took their seats in the hall.
These were all members of the Comfort Hall.
They were all businessmen from the Tang dynasty in the Imperial Capital and even Xia Xia. Moreover, these were all quite capable businessmen. In fact, there were many ordinary businessmen from the Tang dynasty in the Imperial Capital. These people were not even qualified to enter the Comfort Hall because their businesses were small.
Pei Qingzhi looked around, then nodded and said, "Everyone should be here. Now, let's talk about the Emperor arresting the businessmen of Xia Xia in the Tang dynasty. You should all know about this, right? "
"Yes!"
Everyone answered in unison.
After all, the notice was issued by the government, especially in Xia Xia's official newspaper. Under this premise, as long as one was a businessman, there was no one who didn't know.
Pei Qingzhi's eyes were sharp as he continued, "Xia Xia's officials have given a clear answer. They said that Xia Xia will not target the businessmen of the Tang dynasty. As long as we abide by the law in Xia Xia, we will be protected. This old man greatly approves of Emperor Xia Xia's arrangement. "
"Now, the war between Xia Xia and the Tang dynasty has been going on since a few years ago. In fact, it has been going on until now."
"It's just intermittent."
"Now, the situation of the battle has become incomparably complicated. The means of both sides have become more ruthless. For example, Emperor Li Shimin directly arrested the businessmen of Xia Xia. This move may be beneficial to the Tang dynasty, but in fact, it has put us in a desperate situation. Once Emperor Xia Xia arrests people like this, none of us will be able to escape. "
"Emperor Xia Xia is merciful, but we can't take it for granted. Therefore, I think we should do something now to repay Emperor Xia Xia's arrangement. "
Pei Qingzhi continued, "Therefore, this old man's plan is to call all of you here and talk about how to deal with this matter at the moment. Only by dealing with this matter properly will we be able to prosper in the Great Xia for a long time. "
Hearing this, everyone began to think.
Because Pei Qingzhi's plan was actually very simple, which was to help Du Qi. This was a starting point.
In the crowd, the businessman of the Xingyang Jeong Clan said, "Master Pei, in my opinion, it's definitely impossible for us to directly help Xia Xia in the current situation. Once we do so, we will be easily punished by His Majesty of the Tang dynasty. Therefore, I think that even if we want to help Du Qi now, we should do it from the side. "
Pei Qingzhi asked, "How do we do it?"
The businessman of the Zheng Clan said, "We don't know for the time being. After all, it's not easy to deal with Du Qi. This kind of thing needs everyone to plan for together.
Pei Qingzhi looked around and said, "If you have any ideas, just say it. Feel free to say whatever you want. You are all smart people, and you should know that our interests and Du Qi's interests are tied together. If Du Qi is really affected and Xia Xia's state is damaged, then our business income will also decline a lot. "
"Master Pei, I have a plan."
At this moment, a young man sitting at the end of the crowd spoke.
The young man was only in his early twenties.
All the businessmen present were either in their fifties or sixties or came from big families, but without exception, they all made a name for themselves. So the young man saluted the rest of the people again.
The young man's name was Li Xi.
He came from the Li Clan of Zhao County.
The Li Clan that Li Yuan came from was the Li Clan of Longxi. There was still a certain difference between the two.
Pei Qingzhi smiled and said, "Li Xi, what's your suggestion?"
Pei Qingzhi had high praise for Li Xi.
This was because even though Li Xi was young, he was an expert in running a restaurant. He only ran restaurants and hot pot, especially the hot pot base developed by Li Xi, which was not inferior to Du Qi's business at all. So Li Xi's restaurant was very popular. In terms of business, it was actually better than many people present.
It was just that Li Xi was young and his seniority was low, so he sat at the end of the table.
After all, in the Anle Hall, seniority was still important.
Li Xi said seriously, "Master Pei, we are all businessmen. What we can do is actually very limited. So I think there are two things we can do now. "
Pei Qingzhi said, "Just say it."
Li Xi said, "The first thing is that we send letters to our families and ask them to do their best. We don't ask them to go all out, but at least use the power of their families to incite public opinion and create pressure on the Emperor in Chang 'an and even in the Tang Dynasty. We sincerely ask the Emperor to give up arresting the businessmen of Xia Xia."
"The second thing is that all the businessmen of the Tang Dynasty who do business in Xia Xia jointly write a letter to the people. This letter is to state that the businessmen of the Tang Dynasty do business in Xia Xia but support many people of the Tang Dynasty, so that the people of the Tang Dynasty can have something to do. Countless people plead and directly report to the Emperor, asking him to release the businessmen of Xia Xia. "
Li Xi said, "That's my suggestion."
After listening, Pei Qingzhi stroked his beard and nodded. "Li Xi's arrangement is very good. I think Li Xi's suggestion can be adopted. What do you think? "
With Pei Qingzhi's statement, the others nodded in agreement.
They all agreed.
Seeing that they had reached a consensus, Pei Qingzhi continued, "Besides Li Xi's suggestion, do you have any other suggestions?"
Everyone shook their heads.
They all said that they would follow Li Xi's suggestion.
Pei Qingzhi said in a deep voice, "Li Xi's suggestion is feasible, but these suggestions are only applicable to the Tang Dynasty. But we are doing business in the Tang Dynasty, so we have to express our position. Our position is very simple, that is, we are just businessmen who do business. We will not get involved in politics and will not participate in war. Whether it is Xia Xia or the Tang Dynasty, we will not interfere. "
After a pause, Pei Qingzhi said, "War is war, two countries are two countries, and we are just businessmen who are only responsible for business. First, we will show Du Qi that we are willing to abide by the law. Second, we will show our country that we are people of the Tang Dynasty and will not side with Du Qi because of the war. "
"Master Pei, I'm afraid this is not appropriate."
At this moment, someone else spoke.
The person who spoke was called Gao Shi.
He was about the same age as Pei Qingzhi and was also good at business. The only thing he lacked was his family background. He was just an ordinary businessman. He looked calm and said, "Master Pei, the Tang Dynasty is now targeting Xia Xia's businessmen everywhere. It can be seen that the Emperor is a little impatient and even wants to take action against Du Qi. "
"In particular, the Emperor has been defeated by Du Qi again and again. Although we say that we are people of the Tang Dynasty, in fact, the Emperor may not appreciate it or agree with us."
"So at the moment, I don't think it is appropriate for us to make this statement. We only need to submit the Book of Ten Thousand People and ask our families to help to stir up public opinion. "
Gao Shi said, "After all, we submit the Book of Ten Thousand People so that we can do business in Xia Xia safely. Even if the Emperor has some ideas, he can't be too harsh on us. But it will be different if we make a statement again. "
Pei Qingzhi fell into deep thought when he heard this.
Gao Shi's words made some sense.
Li Xi said, "Master Pei, I think Master Gao's words also make some sense. For Xia Xia, we have already sent charcoal in the snow by submitting the Book of Ten Thousand People and asking our families to help him. For us, we don't need to do anything. However, we still took action. We have already done everything we could to help them. I believe that the Emperor of the Xia Kingdom will not blame us. "
As soon as he said this, everyone nodded.
They all agreed with Li Xi.
After hearing this, Pei Qingzhi said, "In that case, we will follow Brother Gao Shi's suggestion and not make a joint statement. Our actions will be arranged according to Li Xi's suggestion. "
Immediately, Pei Qingzhi quickly made arrangements and asked everyone to prepare the Book of Ten Thousand People.
After everything was arranged, Pei Qingzhi began to ask people to sign. This matter alone would definitely take a long time because this Book of Ten Thousand People was definitely not only for the people of the Anle Hall, but also for other Tang Dynasty businessmen doing business in Xia Xia.
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