Han Shizu

Chapter 1155 Touring Jiangnan
Different from the tour in Henan, when he came to the south of the Yangtze River, Emperor Liu was with great fanfare, great momentum, complete guards of honor, and accompanying rituals and music.The Yangzhou naval division dispatched the entire army as a guard. The huge battle almost caused shocks in the south of the Yangtze River, and its momentum was almost the same as that of the Han army crossing the river.

When he arrived in Jiangnan, Emperor Liu also changed his previous style of "not disturbing the people", and the entire Jinling City was greeted by the Jiangnan government.The Emperor Luanjia entered the city steadily under the watchful eyes of hundreds of thousands of people in the south of the Yangtze River.The conqueror from the north, with an extremely powerful posture, set foot on the territory he had longed for for many years.

Emperor Liu's purpose is also very clear, which is to show his prestige to the people in the south of the Yangtze River with this high-profile and proud posture, and to declare his determination to rule.

Directly staying in Jinling Palace City, under the leadership of the chief minister Wang Zhu, Liu Chengyou also visited the original Southern Tang palaces, pavilions, pavilions, carved beams and painted buildings, just as described in the poems, magnificent, even the original palaces The treasures and treasures in the book are basically transported to Tokyo with loot, but the empty Miyagi is still undiminished in its beauty, which can make people imagine the grand scene of the year.

"This Jinling palace is certainly beautiful, but it's still a little stingy. There is no gold, jade and brocade decoration, so it should look ordinary!" After walking around and standing in front of the main hall, Emperor Liu smiled faintly.

As the biggest official in Jiangnan Road, Wang Zhu was able to serve him like a tour guide. Hearing the words at this time, he answered, "No matter how rich and prosperous Jiangnan is, it is also a place of peace. Is it comparable to the grandeur of Tokyo?"

"As the chief official of Jiangnan, you have such a meager area under your jurisdiction. If it is spread, you are not afraid of causing criticism?" Emperor Liu chuckled.

Wang Zhu responded seriously and calmly: "The minister is the minister of your majesty first, and then he must guard the south of the Yangtze River!"

Looking at this confidant minister, his appearance and temperament have undergone earth-shaking changes in middle age. The only thing that makes Emperor Liu feel familiar is the respect and submission in his eyes.

In front of the main hall, a large group of people stood neatly and solemnly, including ministers accompanying them, bureaucrats from the south of the Yangtze River, and scholars from the south.Although a large number of officials and scholars from the former Jiangnan court were relocated to the north, a large number of famous scholars still remained in the south.

Noticing Emperor Liu's gaze, Wang Zhu cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, please ascend to the palace. The officials and people in the south of the Yangtze River have longed for His Majesty's kindness!"

"Then let's go up to the palace!" Emperor Liu nodded.

Soon, Emperor Liu went to the hall to sit high, and all the officials filed in to worship.Naturally, this battle cannot be compared with the Grand Court Meeting of the Chongyuan Hall, but the symbolic significance of this court meeting is very important, and it seems to herald Jiangnan's complete submission to the emperor and the Han court.

At night, in Jinling City, the lights are still on, and the voices are like a wave. Among the squares and cities, brothels and Chu houses still invite guests and never close. It seems to be showing the style of Jinling to the lucky emperor. Not only is it prosperous during the day, but it is also wonderful at night. .It is said that in order to celebrate the emperor's visit to Jinling, many businesses and restaurants in the city offered discounts and even free rewards.
Those who accompanied Emperor Liu on the city tour were Concubine Zhou Shu's mother and daughter. After all, Jianghuai was her hometown. Emperor Liu made a special agreement to accompany her to enjoy the splendor of Jiangnan.When she was in Yangzhou, Emperor Liu specially accompanied her back to her hometown to worship her ancestors.

Emperor Liu was not very interested in the Jinling Night Market, he just wandered around to enjoy the scenery of the south.What he was concerned about was still how the imperial court ruled the south of the Yangtze River, and how the scholars and people treated the imperial court.

Swimming around, he walked to the chief envoy's yamen. Obviously, this was his real destination.

The night was getting darker, with the background of the market, the government office seemed to be completely silent.Inside the study, Wang Zhu lowered his head, flipping through the official documents, holding a pen in one hand and a jug in the other.
The sound of hurried footsteps reminds me of the servants barging in, causing Wang Zhu's displeasure, but when he heard the emperor's arrival, he immediately ignored those little things and hurriedly said, "Quick, come out with me!"

"No need!" The voice came to everyone, and when he raised his eyes, he saw Emperor Liu had already entered, with a peaceful smile on his face, surrounded by guards in normal uniform.

Seeing this, he didn't care to deal with it, so Wang Zhu stepped forward to greet him: "I see Your Majesty, but I didn't greet you in time, please forgive me!"

"Excuse me!" Liu Chengyou stretched out his hand and raised it falsely, and said with a light smile, "I am an uninvited guest, please forgive me for disturbing you!"

"Your Majesty is serious!" Wang Zhu hurriedly said, looked at Emperor Liu, and at the same time persuaded him to take a seat, "Your Majesty is out on tour again! I know that Your Majesty likes to observe people's sentiments personally, but Jinling is no better than Tokyo. It's nighttime, so it's still too risky, if something goes wrong."

"I know it in my heart!" I could feel Wang Zhu's concern from his heart, stopped him, looked at the official documents on the desk and the jug, Emperor Liu said: "It's still such a good wine!"

Hearing this, Wang Zhu smiled embarrassingly, and said: "The minister has no choice but to take what's in the cup."

Liu Chengyou raised his eyelids slightly: "Your nickname of 'Single Father Alcoholic' is well-known far and wide!"

"Your Majesty, minister." Wang Zhu hesitated for a while, gritted his teeth, and replied: "If your majesty doesn't like it, I can also refrain from it!"

"Just don't abolish official duties!" Emperor Liu waved his hands, looked at Wang Zhu who was standing in front of the desk, and said: "Alcohol is bad for your health, you need to be restrained. If you lose weight, you should pay attention to your body!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern!" Hearing the emperor's gentle words, Wang Zhu seemed a little moved.

"Up to now, the Jinshi and officials who have gone out around me, except for Wang Pu, belong to your highest official position!" Emperor Liu became more serious, and said: "Jiangnan is a treasure land, but I regard it as a treasure land. Land, I put you here because I want someone who can rest assured to take care of this rich land for me!"

"Your Majesty values ​​and promotes Duo Meng, and I have to do my best to live up to His Majesty's expectations!" Wang Zhu also solemnly responded.

"250 million summer tax, is the burden heavy?" Liu Chengyou looked through the official documents read by Wang Zhu, which was the report on the summer tax from Suzhou, so he asked casually.

Regarding this, Wang Zhu seemed very confident: "Returning to Your Majesty, although I have been in Jiangnan not long ago, I have also toured the states. After nearly five years of recuperation, the farmers and merchants in Jiangnan have recovered, and I dare not compare them to their heyday. than, but it is enough to bear this amount of summer tax!"

"En!" Liu Chengyou responded, and asked, "In your opinion, what's the problem with the governance of Jiangnan?"

When asked, Wang Zhu thought about it seriously, and replied: "It's still in the hearts of the people! After the measures taken by the imperial court to relocate and suppress the powerful in the past few years, the atmosphere among the people has turned around. .

However, the scholars in the south of the Yangtze River are still a huge force, hindering the imperial court's selection system. Although they have to obey the imperial court due to the authority, they are open-minded.

I think that if you want peace and order in the south of the Yangtze River, the imperial court should give some preferential treatment to these scholars, after all, their influence among the people is still very large."

"Preferential treatment? How can I give preferential treatment?" Before he finished speaking, Emperor Liu asked directly: "Is the imperial court's selection system unfair? Or do we need to formulate a policy specifically for Jiangnan scholars? You also said that since the people's hearts can be relied on, Why worry about anything else!"

Hearing Emperor Liu's words, Wang Zhu was silent for a while, then cupped his hands and said, "It's my minister who is talking too much!"

"I heard that among the officials in the south of the Yangtze River, there are also many talents retained!" Emperor Liu said: "For example, Chen Qi, the prefect of Jiangning, is a contemporary strong order!"

Mentioning this, Wang Zhu immediately said: "Chen Qi is indeed a talented person. He does not shy away from the powerful, despises ghosts and gods, and enforces the law like a mountain. He has a good reputation among the people! Four years after opening the treasure, he was elected to the Jiangning Mansion!"

"I know!" Emperor Liu smiled faintly: "When the crown prince returned to Beijing, he praised this person in front of me!"

After pondering for a while, Emperor Liu said again: "I heard that there are a group of old Jiangnan officials around Zhong Mo? Do you think they are suspected of forming a clique? Do you have any difficulties in governing Jiangnan with this person?"

(End of this chapter)