Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1737 Hedong System

Amidst the man's deep chanting, a boat docked at Heyincang Pier.

The laborers immediately got busy, unloading the food in the cabin and transporting it into the warehouse.

"'The clouds sailed across the Liaohai Sea, and the japonica rice came to Soochow.' This batch of japonica rice from Wu came not easily." Cang Du, with a big belly, hurriedly got off the city, laughing.

During the Tang Dynasty, there were many Tang poems about rice, and nine out of ten of them were referring to japonica rice.

During the reign of Emperor Daizong of the Tang Dynasty, Guanzhong harvested more than 200 million shi of japonica rice a year - if calculated as two shi per mu, it would only be [-] hectares or one million acres. The sown area was actually not large.

Tang and Tubo formed an alliance, and Lanzhou also produced japonica rice.

In Soochow, japonica rice is also very famous.

It’s really strange. Are there no other rice seeds?
But it doesn't matter, things are rare and valuable.Heyincang is just a transit warehouse. The japonica rice will eventually be transported to Hanjiacang City. The cang governor's family is also located in Luoyang. He is actually a member of the capital officials. During the holidays, if he can get some japonica rice, he can replace it with If you are tired of eating corn, this is the best meal.

"Where did this japonica rice come from?" someone asked.

Cang Du glanced at the person asking the question, who was a younger brother of his own family.

To be honest, when you are an official these days, you like to support local party members or relatives.For no other reason, you can rest assured when using it. Even if you lack the ability and can only work as a lowly handyman, he is still one of your own, and many inconvenient things can be left to him.Furthermore, if you don’t help your hometown relatives when you get rich, your spine will be broken when you go back to your hometown to visit relatives.

"Transport it to Wudi by sea, and then transport it back by water." Cangdu replied angrily.

This clan brother is not very efficient in doing things and has a habit of petty theft. If his parents had not taken care of him back then and could not forgive him, they would have told him to go back to his hometown.

"That's not close. It's better to transport it to the capital via the Cao Canal and the Bian River."

"What do you know?" Cangdu snorted and said, "Water transport has the advantages of water transport, and sea transport has the convenience of sea transport. It cannot be neglected. A saint likes sea transport, and there are lucky ministers under him to try to figure out his intentions and make him happy in the hope of promotion. .”

"So that's what I said."

The two of them spoke quietly, but unexpectedly an official in red robes walked out of the cabin, followed by five or six red robes and green robes, and they were startled.

The leader glanced at him, raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and without saying anything, he jumped onto the trestle and walked to the shore.

The other officials didn't say anything. Only one or two of them, who were very temperamental, reached out and patted his shoulder, tutted twice and left.

Sweat beaded on Cang Du's forehead, and he subconsciously felt that his newly married third concubine was not safe, and the daughter he had just married would be taken to the Yeting Bureau for laundry.

The workers at the dock were still unloading the goods meticulously, chatting and laughing occasionally, and did not pay attention to the situation here at all.

The Cangdu clan brother's face turned pale, and after a while he said: "Fourth brother, why don't you run away..."

Cang Du slapped him in the face and cursed: "My father followed the saint through life and death. In the battle between Chen and Xu, he killed two soldiers of Wang Zhong's division. The saint misses his old friendship the most. He is so scared that he must hurry up and get to work. The last batch of shipping this year It’s time to bring food, don’t make any mistakes.”

"Okay." The clan brother left quickly.

Cang Du sighed.

It is indeed likely that this is the last batch of grain, but it may not be the last batch of materials.

In recent years, starting from late September, various materials produced in Liaodong have been transported to various ports in Hebei, and then transported to Heyin via the Yongji Canal and the Yellow River, and then upstream to the Yi River and imported into Luoyang.

Just yesterday, a batch of dried salted fish and dried meat was stored in the warehouse, which almost filled the underground ice cellar.Before the canal was frozen, the transportation of such materials could not be interrupted, and a mature transportation season had already formed.

Next, he had to work harder to avoid being pulled by his pigtails, especially after he started talking nonsense.

******
Guo Chongtao lived in Heyinyi.

I couldn't help but laugh when I thought of the fat Cang Governor I had just met in Heyincang.

It's okay to scare him, but the bear must have peed his pants, right?Well, there have indeed been more people going to the Western Regions to live in rabbit holes in recent years. No wonder he is so scared.

Speaking of shipping grain, Guo Chongtao has always been strongly promoting it.

As the Huaihai Road transshipment envoy, he not only had to transport the tax grains from his own road, but also sometimes transported grains from Jiangnan and Liaodong. After collecting and storing them, they were all transported to Luoyang via the Yellow River.

It's not that he wants to flatter the saint or anything. His character doesn't allow him to do these things. He always feels that it's not that way to get promoted by trying to figure out what's going on and flattering others.I am who I am, I do whatever I want, even if no one appreciates me, I will do the same. I was like this when I was with King Li Keyong of the Jin Dynasty. Now that I am so wise and powerful, how can I still hold my head down?
Regarding shipping, Guo Chongtao sincerely supports it and feels that it has many benefits.

To put it bluntly, if there is another rebellion in Xuzhou Silver Sword Capital like the former Tang Dynasty, and water transportation is cut off, sea transportation can still ensure smooth transportation of materials between Jiangnan and Luoyang.

Even if there is chaos in the Central Plains and the emperor hunts in the north and relies on the powerful grassland soldiers to go south to quell the rebellion, as long as the northern capital of Beiping remains, money and food from the south of the Yangtze River can still be continuously exported to the north to support the anti-rebellion army.

There are many benefits, and it is related to the safety of the court. Only those with short-sighted eyes will not take it seriously.

Well, unknowingly, Guo Chongtao found that he was becoming more and more concerned about the court.Recalling that when King Jin died, he felt melancholy and confused. Although he became an official in Daxia, he might not agree with it much.

I didn't expect it, I didn't expect it.

"Come, drink this cup." The station was full of people, including scholars from other states. Seeing that the deadline was almost over, they did not go to the Ministry of Etiquette to register, but they still stayed in Heyin to enjoy themselves.

Guo Chongtao glanced at them, the scholar was so angry, so good!
The only thing he envied about them was their youth.I am 60 years old. Although my body is still strong, I eat a lot of rice, ride a strong horse, shoot a strong bow, and can stay up late to process official documents, time has slipped away like running water.

This is the most heartless thing in the world.No matter rich or poor, no one can escape the ravages of time. It is extremely fair.

Is it too greedy for a 60-year-old person to still want to make some achievements?
But maybe it's not too late.

Guo Chongtao looked at the wine that his entourage poured for him, picked it up and drank it all in one gulp.

hot!It was spicy enough to comfort him, and it brought out his ambition, almost making his blood burn.

He is still the transfer envoy of Huaihai Road, but he was just recommended by the prince to serve as the governor of Zhili Road.

As soon as the news reached Yanzhou, his staff congratulated him one after another.

The reason for congratulations is not only the promotion, but also the fact that he has gained the attention of the prince.Some people even said privately that there are currently only five prime ministers in the Zhengshitang. Prince Guo Caosi values ​​​​him, and he will definitely prosper in the future and join the Zhengshitang as the prime minister.

Of course, some people speculate that Guo Chongtao may enter the Privy Council. After all, he allows both civil and military officials to do anything.

When Guo Chongtao entertained his staff at a banquet, he acted polite on the surface, but he was very happy in his heart.

He knew very well that the prince had been very close to officials from Hedong many years ago and had a very close relationship.

Hedong came too late. As the saying goes, one step is slow and the other is slow. The good positions were taken by people from Guanxi and Henan, while people from Hebei and Hedong received very little.If you want to turn around, you can only count on the new king.

At this point, Guo Chongtao was very grateful to the prince.Hedong Jiangren also looked forward to the change that the prince could bring to them.

After spending a night in the messy Heyin Station, the group continued their journey the next day, boarding a boat transporting salted fish to Luoyang. After several days, they arrived in Luoyang at the end of November.

******
"How late is Guo Caosi?" Feng Dao, who had just arrived in Luoyang from Yangzhou, went out to greet him in Duting Posthouse in Luoyang, laughing.

Guo Chongtao greeted him politely.

He didn't like this person very much and felt that he didn't have much moral integrity. He always followed those in power and didn't give any advice.Although he does things beautifully and is very capable, he still doesn't like it after all.

Why is there such a person in Hedong!No, Feng Dao was from Yingzhou, Hebei, basically from Laoyouzhou Town. After being conquered by the King of Jin, he became an official in Hedong.Strictly speaking, he can only be regarded as half of the Hedong officials.

He's just from Hebei, no wonder.

"But I haven't even had time to congratulate you for being promoted to the governor of Guanbei Province." Guo Chongtao said with a smile.

Duting Post and Tokyo Post had grand regulations. When Feng Dao and Guo Chongtao came to Beijing to report on their duties, they were all assigned a separate small courtyard to live in.The two of them had finished their greetings and went into the courtyard together and sat down to chat.

"It's not easy to be the governor of Guanbei Province." Feng Dao smiled bitterly and said, "There are too many thorns on the head. I'm afraid it won't be easy to use after passing by."

"When will you take office?" Guo Chongtao asked.

He remembered that Feng Dao was appointed as the transfer envoy of Huainan Road in February of the fourth year of Tongguang Dynasty. It has been more than five years now.

Guo Chongtao was in Huaihai and occasionally had some dealings with Feng Dao. He knew that this man was on the surface in Huainan and could not offend anyone, but he had accomplished a lot secretly. This was his ability.But - it doesn't affect his contempt for this person's character.

"It's hard to say." Feng Dao said, "To celebrate the New Year, I may have to go north with the prince first."

Guo Chongtao was shocked. Is Feng Dao connected with the prince?

"Why go north?" he asked.

Feng Dao didn't seem to notice his drastic change in expression, and continued: "The prince has just inspected Longyou Road. During the New Year, he will definitely go north to Liangzhou and then return to Guanbei. Depending on the saint's intention, he may want to join him."

"What happened?" Guo Chongtao asked.

"The real wealth of this dynasty has not yet been entrusted to the prince." Feng Dao said cryptically, and then added: "But it's hard to say, it all depends on what the saint thinks."

If Guo Chongtao realized something, he immediately sighed: "A year ago, the saint was still patrolling Ezhou and Xiangyang. I didn't expect that everything would change so quickly."

"Yes." Feng Dao agreed: "This year passes so fast."

"But it's also an opportunity." Guo Chongtao said.

Feng Dao remained silent and refused to answer the question.

To be honest, he has an indifferent personality, has no ambitions, and has a very average sense of belonging to the Great Xia Dynasty.But after thinking about it, it was not easy for a dynasty to dominate the world and suppress many evil tendencies. It would be a pity to collapse.Therefore, he was willing to do something for the saint and the prince as long as it did not harm his own interests.

He knew that Guo Chongtao was an eager person, and most of the Hedong officials who had been suppressed for a long time were also the same.

As the emperor and the courtiers, he couldn't control so much, and he didn't want to take the initiative to get in front of the prince. Outsiders thought that his promotion was recommended by the prince. In fact, he knew very well that the saint valued him many years ago. The saint took the initiative to send him to the prince, and he couldn't hide even if he wanted to.

Seeing Feng Dao not speaking, Guo Chongtao was a little unhappy. He snorted and looked at the fallen leaves floating outside the small courtyard.

The opportunity for a good man to make great achievements is now in front of him, and he can't wait any longer.

(End of this chapter)