Hello Chang’an

Chapter 342 I like reading (please vote for me)

There is also an old locust tree in the backyard of the Governor's Mansion, on which the locust trees are in full bloom.

At this moment, Mother Luo and several servants were sitting under the tree selecting locust flowers. The plucked locust flowers were put into bamboo baskets in handfuls, waiting to be used to make locust flower cakes, or dipped in noodles and steamed to eat. , shake it when it comes out of the cage, drizzle it with sesame oil, beat the garlic, and mix it in together... According to Luo Mu, it is really fragrant to a few big men passing by.

A Dian is responsible for breaking the branches of locust trees. He can pull the taller branches of the locust trees while standing on tiptoes. He often picks the branches with the densest locust trees to break, so he is praised by Mother Luo as the one who can break the locust trees. A good hand.

A group of women were chatting and laughing, which attracted Gui Qi, who liked to listen to the excitement, and came over following the sound. Seeing the fresh locust flowers, Gui Qi squeezed over with a horse-like face and wanted to have a taste.

The branches of the locust tree were thorny, so A Dian plucked off the locust flowers and the fresh oval leaves, held them in his hands and fed them to Gui Qi. When Gui Qi licked the palm of his hand, A Dian burst into laughter from the itch.

Chang Sui Ning heard A Dian's laughter from a distance, and turned a few steps towards the source of the sound. She saw the scene under the locust tree through a clump of green plantains, and couldn't help but curl her lips. The somewhat chaotic mood due to official duties all calmed down at this moment.

Just by looking at A Dian's bright smiling face, she could conclude that this trip to Jiangdu was indeed the right one.

The servants who selected locust flowers with Mother Luo were also newly recruited into the house. They were all lonely women who lost their families in the war.

This governor's mansion is not big, but fortunately it can still provide shelter from the wind and rain for some people who have nowhere to go.

But for Chang Suining, she can't stop at "a little". Jiangdu has given her a place to live, and she wants to make this place a place that can protect more people.

That night, Chang Sui Ning ate steamed sophora japonica flowers. When he put down the second empty bowl, Chang Sui Ning felt that his whole body was full of strength.

…

After waiting for three days, the Gu family received a reply on the second day.

By the third day, all the books Chang Suining wanted were presented to him. Three days is not enough time to copy hundreds of books, but since it is an only copy, for the sake of caution, it is impossible for the Gu family to copy two more copies on weekdays to prevent accidents. In addition, the copy must be circulated to the children of the family.

Most of these three days were spent on repeated comparisons, corrections, annotations, etc.

Also sent to the Governor's Mansion were eleven children of the Gu family.

Chang Sui Ning originally said that he wanted "at least ten people", but according to Jiang Hai's intention, he just gave people as many as they asked for, which seemed like his attitude was not positive enough and too rigid, which was not conducive to building a good relationship. Anyway, he was not short of that one. , multiple additions, good-looking.

Just add more. In order to look better, Gu Xiu even added a good-looking one. Of course, it was not his second son. Although the second son was beautiful, he was too beautiful and self-aware. He was so obsessed with it that he had mediocre talents. , not enough to take advantage of.

To show his sincerity, Gu Xiu personally led his clansmen to donate books. At this moment, he led a row of clansmen to stand in the governor's office. He felt a little ashamed in his heart. It was common to sell off ancestral property, but it was rare for him to sell off his clansmen like this.

Those members of the Gu family who were selected could not help but feel sad and angry. There was nothing worse than selling themselves to survive.

However, the world is so difficult. In order to preserve the clan and for the long term, I can only commit myself to the little girl in order to find a solution.

I just don’t know what Chang Suining wants them to do? I heard that she is recruiting talents aggressively, and there is a huge shortage of people under her command. She probably wants them to be the job-seekers who only work but have no real power.

The eleven members of the Gu family were all prepared for this trip without ever coming back. Some of them were so well prepared that they even asked the servant to carry the baggage.

Gu Xiu handed over their name cards and Wang Changshi delivered them to Chang Suining.

Chang Sui Ning sat at the top, flipping through and comparing one by one. Although it was an ordinary name card, when she looked through it with her hands, it seemed to everyone in the Gu family that it was like a contract of betrayal.

Chang Sui Ning compared the name cards with the people one by one, and showed a smile: "Patriarch Gu is interested."

Without much exploration or questioning, he showed a look of satisfaction.

So, can we conclude that she is careless and easy to fool?

No, Gu Xiu felt exactly the opposite in his heart.

The reason why the other party is satisfied is because the disciples recommended by the clan are all people with real talents and practical knowledge. After being reminded by Jiang Hai's heartbreaking words "like stroking a locust leaf", how can he dare to use the Yu to make up for it?

Chang Sui Ning's reaction at the moment confirmed this point... She could even estimate the size of his Gu family's collection of books, so how could she not know who the truly useful people in his clan were?

But what Gu Xiu didn't expect was that Chang Suining didn't directly leave the person behind—

"Thank you very much, Patriarch Gu, for your generous donation of books today. I will have someone write a monument for your mansion in the future to show the virtues of the Gu family."

At the end, Chang Suining said again: "I have also accepted the famous post. Please take it back. If I have anything important to ask for in the future, I will ask you to come and talk to me."

Everyone in the Gu family was stunned.

What does this mean?

They brought all their luggage, but the other party let them go home?

Don't you want to keep them as hangers-on?

But if you look closely, you can see that the other party didn't really let them go, but meant to leave a name note and summon them at any time.

For example, if the retainers are serious concubines, then... they are at best an outside concubine?

This feeling is very subtle. Although I can go home, it is difficult to feel comfortable.

"The governor asked them to go back now... I wonder what the purpose is?" After the Gu family left, Wang Changshi couldn't help but ask.

Chang Suining was looking at the eleven name cards in his hand and said, "Didn't you see that they all bring their book boys and servants with them? With so many people staying in the house, the food and accommodation alone are worth a lot of money." expenses. And they are all very picky about money, so it is bound to be much more difficult for them to support than ordinary people.”

Anyway, it was reasonable for her to confiscate the Gu family's money and let them be self-sufficient.

Wang Changshi suddenly realized that the reason behind it was so simple, it was nothing more than saving money.

"And there is really no need for them now." Chang Suining handed the name card to Yao Ran, stood up and said, "We will talk about it when everything is ready."

Luo Guanlin, who was sitting cross-legged behind the screen, was thinking intently - if they don't want to be hangers-on, then what is she going to do with these people?

Looking at her actions, she is clearly searching for Jiangnan's collection of books with purpose... Now that the Gu family has taken the initiative, the remaining aristocratic families who want to protect themselves will surely follow. She has forced these aristocratic families to give up their collection of books, and what is her plan to do with it?

As expected, after the Gu family, most of the prominent families in Jiangdu, including the Yu family, also followed suit in donating books.

In just over ten days, the governor's office in Jiangdu collected nearly 300 kinds of books. These 300 kinds were all rare and orphan books that had never been circulated, excluding heavy copies.

Scholars like Lu Xiucai, who came from a humble background, know best how gratifying and heart-warming this number is.

When Yao Ran was counting the number of books in the collection yesterday, he turned around and saw Lu Xiucai standing aside with trembling eyes and tears of excitement in his eyes.

Recently, Suining was not in the Governor's Mansion, so she left the matter to Wang Changshi. The ceremony table had been set up, and she was waiting for those people to hold the collection of books to present gifts.

Chang Suining took the time to visit the camp to inspect coastal defense and military training matters, and also personally took a boat out to sea for two days to inspect.

On this day, Chang Suining returned to Jiangdu City with shepherd's purse and He Wuhu. When passing by a mansion guarded by officers and soldiers, he dismounted as if on a whim. This was originally Xu Zhengye's "General Kuangfu's Mansion" in Jiangdu. After the plaque was removed, it is now temporarily used as a residence for the imperial envoys.

Chang Sui Ning dismounted his horse and walked straight up the stone steps. The guard looked at the young man in ordinary robes, held the knife on his waist, and shouted on guard: "This is where the imperial envoy is ordered to handle cases, and no one else is allowed to trespass." !”

Here are now stored the collections of family property and books confiscated by the imperial envoys from various ethnic groups in the south of the Yangtze River. There must not be any mistakes. Therefore, the imperial envoys have express orders that no one is allowed to enter without permission.

At this time, a **** came out of the palace. He was very surprised to see someone coming and immediately scolded the guard: "You are so impudent, you blind thing. This is the governor... don't be rude!"

The guard was shocked when he heard this and immediately knelt down to apologize.

"It's okay. I came here uninvited. It's no fault of my own for not knowing. Get up." Chang Sui Ning raised his feet and passed in front of the guard without stopping.

The official saluted and respectfully invited Chang Sui Ning to come in.

Not long after, the imperial **** who was the leader of this group heard the news and hurriedly came to greet him.

This imperial **** was the one who came forward to convey the order when Chang Suining was promoted to Jiangdu governor. He had met Chang Suining many times and was considered familiar with him.

On the way to the front hall, the official named Pan asked in a casual tone: "...I heard that the governor went to the camp for inspection a few days ago, but he just returned to Jiangdu?"

Chang Suining said "hmm" and said, "I just returned to the city and happened to pass by here, so I came to see Eunuch Pan."

Eunuch Pan has seen everything she has done and done recently. He knows how busy the governor is. If he comes to see him, he is probably going to the Three Treasures Hall for nothing.

Sure enough, after the two exchanged a few words, Eunuch Pan heard the Chang Governor beside him say: "I heard that Eunuch Pan has gained a lot recently. I wonder what good things he got? Can I go and see it?"

This is what you get from ransacking your home.

Eunuch Pan's heart skipped a beat and he hurriedly smiled and waved his hands: "Master Governor, please don't make fun of our family. We are all doing things according to orders..."

After saying that, he quickly made an invitation gesture: "Since the Governor is interested, please come and invite us..."

Chang Suining smiled and nodded: "Thank you."

Eunuch Pan was thinking about the purpose of Chang Suining's visit all the way. When he arrived at the warehouse, he opened the door and led the people in. He smiled and whispered: "If the governor likes you, please turn back." Our family will ask someone to send it to our house..."

If this kind of thing is in compliance with the rules, it is naturally not in compliance. But there is no black and white matter in the officialdom. It is just a matter of seeing what people do and acting accordingly, as long as there is no evidence left behind.

What's more, the current situation in Jiangdu is special, and the saint has tacitly agreed to his right to act expediently. He should be flexible when it is time to adapt. Otherwise, if he offends someone he shouldn't offend and causes trouble that is difficult to deal with, then it will be his turn to cry - these days he is ransacking homes and seizing people, and it's not uncommon for people to cry.

Moreover, after the money he gained from confiscating the house was sorted out and handed over to the officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs for verification and approval, most of it would be handed over to the governor Chang. After the war in Jiangdu, a large amount of money was needed for pensions, and the amount set by the Ministry of Household Affairs was They were not very well-off, and the money had to be distributed in batches. After all, there were too many places to spend money... Fortunately, the governor Chang did not show any dissatisfaction on this matter, and he was actually easy to talk to.

After all, she didn't expect much from the imperial court, so she was already trying to find ways to be self-sufficient... and the results were quite good.

Eunuch Pan did not ask about things that should not be asked. He only told the emperor in detail what Chang Sui Ning had done in Jiangdu.

He was happy to have a good relationship with Chang Sui Ning openly, and the saint had no intention of breaking up with him at the moment. He had no choice but to rely on the other party to fight the Japanese army and protect Jiangdu.

All in all, how can we stabilize the governor Chang now?

He dared to say it, and Chang Suining dared to nod his head and said without any concealment: "Thank you very much, Eunuch Pan."

Eunuch Pan was a little surprised in his heart, he really brought something.

If he really just wanted these three melons and two dates, then it would be easy to deal with... But he also vaguely felt that this person should not come here just for three melons and two dates in his busy schedule.

After walking half a circle in the warehouse filled with gold and silver jewelry, famous toys, calligraphy and paintings, Eunuch Pan saw that Chang Sui Ning seemed to have nothing to like, and the bad feeling in his heart became more and more serious. He tried to ask: "I don't know Chang Sui Ning." What is the governor’s favorite thing during the day?”

"I like reading." Chang Sui Ning asked in a curious and studious tone, "Why aren't there any books here?"

Eunuch Pan's brows twitched wildly, but he still smiled: "The books... are all stored in the warehouse at the back."

Chang Suining nodded clearly, turned around immediately, and walked out: "Take me to have a look."

"Chang Jishi..." Eunuch Pan quickly followed.

The aristocratic family's collection of books is far more precious than gold and silver, and more guards are assigned to guard it closely.

But Chang Sui Ning wanted to see it, and Eunuch Pan could only ask someone to open the warehouse at this moment.

Just take a look, take a look, you can’t miss a piece of meat...right?

Entering the library, Eunuch Pan followed Chang Sui Ning step by step. He was so nervous that the piece of meat seemed to be growing in his belly, and he seemed to be about to give birth.

Thousands of books were packed in boxes and cages, filling the entire warehouse. Although they did not dare to light the lamps and their vision was dim, Chang Sui would rather look around and see that their eyes were full of splendor.

Therefore, the sack in my heart is ready to move.

She was able to protect the Gu family and others because these people were not considered Xu Zhengye's accomplices, and they were in the ambiguous category. Those who have conclusive evidence of collusion with Xu Zhengye should be found guilty according to the law and pay the due price.

Those who deserve it can be taken away, but she wants to keep these collections of books that have inherited most of Jiangnan's culture.

"Eunuch Pan, I just want these books." The girl's straightforward voice sounded in the silent warehouse.

-if only? !

- People say no!

Listening to this redefinition of the word "as long as", Eunuch Pan turned pale with fright. Even if she picked a dozen volumes to take away, he could still turn a blind eye... But she said "as long as" ", the kind of "as long as you want them all"!

This method would not work even if he gouged out both eyes!

If he hadn't clearly known how many books she had "donated" from those aristocratic families in these days, he would have thought that she was young and ignorant and didn't understand the pros and cons!

She clearly knows how important these books are!

He has no control over the books donated by aristocratic families, just as the imperial court has never controlled the collection of books... But these books were copied and confiscated by his hands. If they were all handed over to her, he would not have to live anymore!

Eunuch Pan could only kneel down with a "plop".

Good night!

​

​

(End of chapter)