Three Kingdoms

What Cui Hou took out really shocked Fei Qian.

Although there are only a few thin pieces of paper, it records the names, ages, and hobbies of governors and governors down to county magistrates. Although they are only a few words, they seem to outline an overall network of local officials.

Cui Hou said: "The person who wrote this book was many years ago. Now the Cui family's business has been slightly reduced, so there are inevitably some discrepancies. I wonder if it can help my dear brother?"

Fei Qian looked through it in surprise and said, "Brother Yongyuan, where does this come from?"

Cui Hou smiled, and seemed a little bitter, and said: "It is also due to helplessness. When doing business, you will inevitably encounter some difficulties. The laws of the prefects in different places are different..."

Cui Hou didn't finish speaking, but the implication was already very clear. Starting from the time when Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty was trying to make money, basically everyone everywhere followed their example and tried every means to make money, and the best targets were businessmen. Therefore, merchants prepare this kind of pamphlet to better understand the preferences and temperament of the governors of various counties and counties, just in case they need to send the wrong things when they need to clear the roads...

Even if the merchants had this reason, it was enough to scare Fei Qian. This was like an official amulet for later generations, and this kind of book was a rudiment of intelligence collection. Could it be that the merchants of the Eastern Han Dynasty had already extended their tentacles to this? What kind of situation?

Fei Qian seemed to have caught something in his mind, but he couldn't remember what it was for a while, which was really distressing.

Fei Qian asked: "Does every businessman have this?"

Cui Hou was a little embarrassed and said: "No, for example, the four major merchants must be more comprehensive than me. As for ordinary merchants, they probably won't buy this. After all, it is worth a lot of money."

"Oh, that person is selling this, and he still does this kind of business?"

"Haha, brother Xian, this is not a person," Cui Hou smiled and said, "This is sold privately by some writers and pens in each state and county. Even though it is a small volume, it will be sold within ten years. Several counties purchased them separately..."

Fei Qian suddenly realized that no wonder the handwriting on each piece of paper was different. It turned out that this was the same as the source of selling personal privacy in later generations. They were all eating from the public family and then collecting ashes at home. Unexpectedly, there were already people in the Eastern Han Dynasty. After doing this, it seems that our ancestors have left quite a lot of fine traditions...

"By the way, Brother Yongyuan, you mentioned the four major merchants just now, isn't your Cui family one of them?"

"I'm not afraid of my dear brother's jokes. My Cui family is average at best, a little above at best. Compared with those top merchants, it's still a little behind..."

When it came to matters in the business world, Cui Hou was obviously more interested and introduced it to Fei Qian in detail.

Fei Qian listened carefully, and finally matched the merchant at this time with the information in his memory——

There are only four top merchants:

The first is the familiar Mi family.

If the Mi family is ranked second, it is estimated that no one would dare to compete for the first place. The Mi family in Xuzhou and the Zhen family in Hebei are basically at the same level and cannot be distinguished. These two families can be said to be the top wealthy families in the world.

Mi Zhu's group has been doing business for generations, and they are doing business like a fish in water. By Mi Zhu's generation, they already have "ten thousand children and hundreds of millions of children, and assets worth hundreds of millions." Although there is another Chen family in Xuzhou, they are not at the same level as the Mi family. superior.

It can be said that at least nearly half of the products in Xuzhou either belong to the Mi family or are closely related to the Mi family. From civilian products to military items, the Mi family has the opportunity to sell everything.

Alongside the Mi family is the Zhen family.

The most eye-catching thing about the Zhen family in Hebei is not the family wealth, but Zhen Mi, who was named the goddess of Luoshui by later generations. The Zhen family has been in business for generations. Unfortunately, in this generation, Zhen Mi's father died young, and the family was run by Zhen Mi's mother, Zhang.

These two are basically undisputedly at the top.

But the next two of the four major merchants have some disputes. The first is the Wu family in Shuzhong. The Wu family's business basically covers all aspects of Shuzhong. In addition, Shu brocade, a specialty of Shuzhong, is the favorite item of the upper-class nobles. It can be said that a piece of Shu brocade is worth a thousand gold, thus creating the Wu family's accumulated wealth. The number is quite astonishing, and it is not too bad to describe it as being as rich as a country. But the only thing that makes people a little unconvinced is that compared to other families, the Wu family has basically never left the circle in Shuzhong, so some people I feel that the structure is not enough to be called the Big Four.

There is also the Chen Liuwei family.

The Chenliu Wei family has been accumulating since the time of Wei Qing. Today, in Chenliu territory, it has become more important than imperial officials. When Cai Yong chose Cai Yan's husband, he chose the Wei family from thousands of people. . However, after all, the Wei family was too closely connected with the imperial court, leading some to say that it was not a pure merchant and should be excluded from the four major merchants.

But if we just talk about money, these four companies are definitely the four richest.

And further down, those that are close to the level of the four major merchants include the Ma family in Jingzhou - the one known as the Ma family's Wuchang family; the Lu family in Jiangdong - the one who later burned Liu Bei on fire The miserable one...

Further down, there are the Jiangdong Lu family - which family belongs to the honest Lu Su in the novel, and the Hongnong Yang family - Taiwei Yang Biao is the Yang family...

As for the Cui family - Cui Yi regretfully said that before Cui Lie was overthrown, it could barely be considered a name, but now it is no longer what it used to be.

Fei Qian saw Cui Hou's expression of envy during the introduction, so he comforted Cui Hou that the Cui family would definitely be able to reach the top again in the future.

Although Cui Hou said he didn't dare to hope too much, Fei Qian could see that Cui Hou still wanted to realize this wish.

Fei Qian thought about it. After all, Cui Hou was the first person he met in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Although Cui Hou's father had planned to plot against Fei Qian before, he did not implement it due to various reasons. Now, Cui Hou Hou Geng is because Liuli Fangzi is courteous and courteous to him. Of course, this is also partly due to his identity change.

After comprehensive consideration, Fei Qian still thinks that Cui Hou is a good friend and cannot be completely regarded as the type of confidant. However, as long as there is not too much difference in identity, a relatively good relationship can be maintained for a long time.

Therefore, Fei Qian deliberately gave Cui Hou more suggestions on some details of the glazed pieces. He praised Cui Hou happily and took out a pen and paper to write down carefully. After all, after a thousand years, he has seen many different styles. Let’s go and talk about the latest styles in the Eastern Han Dynasty...

After sitting for a while, Fei Qian said goodbye and left Cui's house. Although Cui Hou also sincerely invited Fei Qian to stay for dinner, Fei Qian felt that it was not convenient for Cui Hou's elderly family to stay and eat and drink by himself, so he insisted on returning to the city, and Cui Hou reluctantly agreed.

Cui Hou personally sent Fei Qian almost all the way to Luoyang City before saying goodbye reluctantly. After Cui Hou returned to the village, when his father Cui Yi reported his passing, Cui Yi, although his speech was a little slurred, was still clear-headed and said with difficulty: "This son...will...tomorrow...will become...a great weapon...for you..." ...need to be careful...and treat them kindly..."