Number of People

  Chapter 732 E-character scroll marriage

  More and more guests came.

   Bustling and bustling, the stream is endless.

Important guests, such as several teachers and elders, have to accompany and say a few words; close colleagues, classmates and friends, say hello and exchange a few words; Say hello politely.

  People are divided into nine classes, which is even more apparent on this occasion.

  Qi Yongtai and Qiao Yingjia arrived together, so naturally they have to say a few words when they meet.

   It's just a happy day, so it shouldn't take up too much time.

  Glancing at the guests coming and going, Qiao Yingjia hadn't shown anything yet, but Qi Yongtai couldn't help frowning.

"Ziying, why are there so many merchants coming and going? What is your identity now? I know that most of these people have dealt with you because of the strategy of opening the sea, but merchants must talk about profit, and they are busy with the affairs of opening the sea. It’s already a matter of the Zhongshu Department, you won’t be planning for it if you are not in the position,…”

  Qi Yongtai's lesson made Feng Ziying nod to admit his mistake. Can he say that many people here came uninvited? Reach out and don't hit the smiling person, let alone a visitor from afar.

"Chengfeng, I think most of these merchants came here uninvited. Ziying's strategy of opening up the sea is very good to merchants. Many people say that if Ziying really goes into business, she can definitely be called a contemporary Tao Zhu." .” Qiao Yingjia glanced at Feng Ziying, but still felt relieved for Feng Ziying.

  Actually, neither of them liked this kind of scene, but Qi Yongtai simply didn't like Feng Ziying's dealings with these merchants too much, while Qiao Yingjia saw many merchants from Jiangnan gathered there, which made him unhappy.

"Contemporary Tao Zhu? What's the significance of serving the country and the people?" Qi Yongtai said angrily, "Ru Jun, don't excuse him. He is about to expire soon. Don't you think he can continue to go to the Zhongshu Department?" Is it okay for the middle school to give up people?"

  Qiao Yingjia showed a stern smile on Qinghuang's face, "That's not clear, but Guan Dongxian has this intention. Chengfeng, you are still the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, and you have to make the decision."

Qi Yongtai glared at Feng Ziying, "Ziying, I admit that the opening of the sea is indeed beneficial to the court, and the deficit of the household department has been greatly made up for, but in the long run, this will encourage the people to get something for nothing and take risks for the court. And you should also understand the dispute between the north and the south, if there is no way to balance it, I am afraid that the dispute between the DPRK and China will be even greater, and some generals in the northern army have proposed that the southern soldiers should take turns to guard the frontier."

  The current soldiers of the Nine Frontiers basically come from the northern provinces, while the Jingying and the inland guard town battalions mostly come from Huguang and southern provinces.

This kind of situation was actually not obvious in the early days of the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, but it was very obvious during the Japanese Rebellion in Imchen. Therefore, when the Japanese Rebellion was suppressed, a large number of Weizhen camps were also transferred from Nanzhi, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Huguang. The army enriched the northern lands, but this still could not change the pattern of soldiers from the northern lands on the nine sides. The main reasons were climate, food and even the preferences of the generals.

   "Master Qi, Master Qiao, this disciple understands." There is no need to argue at this time, Feng Ziying nodded rationally.

As if he felt that his words were a bit harsh, Qi Yongtai softened his tone again: "Ziying, you got married today, and now that you have completed a few months of observing politics, you can honestly study and study history in the Imperial Academy, don't go wandering around Dang, you will be impeached by the censor, about your whereabouts, when the time comes, weishi, Rujun, Dongxian and the others will all have a good discussion."

When Qi Yongtai took the lead, Qiao Yingjia stopped, "Ziying, Chengfeng has never liked business affairs, so you don't have to worry about it. He is just worried that you will deal with merchants all day long, and you will develop the habit of ungrateful for profit. However, I don't really agree with Chengfeng's point of view on merchants. Merchants in the south are well-developed, but compared with the prosperity of our north, they are getting farther and farther away. The Shandong Canal line is prosperous, but it is only three hundred miles away from the canal. Returning to poverty again, could it be that we people in the north are less lazy than those in the south? After all, there are some reasons. As you said, merchants can activate the local economy and communicate with each other. Even if it solves the livelihood of the landless refugees, it is a merit That's right,..."

Qiao Yingjia's words reassured Feng Ziying a lot, but the backward means of transportation in this era still restricted the development of merchants. The reason why the coastal areas, rivers and canals can be more prosperous and prosperous, and the water network area in the south of the Yangtze River is more prosperous, is largely due to the light and hot water conditions. , convenient transportation is also a major reason.

  Qi Yongtai and Qiao Yingjia have different views on this.

   "Master Qiao, Master Qi's well-intentioned disciple understands that some things still need to be done by people. The disciple also sees the imbalance between the north and the south. I have been thinking about it for the past few days, and I have some thoughts..."

  Qiao Yingjia's eyes lit up, "But it's related to those Shanxi merchants?"

Qiao Yingjia's attitude towards Shanxi merchants is also very complicated. As an old censor who has been immersed in the Metropolitan Procuratorate for many years, and now he is the left deputy capital censor, he naturally knows many dirty deeds of the merchants from his hometown in the Nine Borders. It is said that the last time Yunguang fell from the horse was largely mixed with these Shanshan merchants, so he still felt a little disgusted with these merchants who had no bottom line.

However, as a leader among Shanxi scholars, it is impossible for him to be completely separated from these Shanxi merchants. This kind of township party relationship is the most important part of this era, and at some point he also needs these Shanxi merchants to help him Do something that he can't do.

Similarly, the economic downturn in the Northland also makes Qiao Yingjia very anxious. If there is a slight flood and drought, refugees will be everywhere, and the government will not reduce taxes and provide relief, then civil uprisings and rebellions may follow one after another, and if taxes and relief are reduced. Overwhelming the court has become the most troublesome thing for the court and the local government in the North, especially in Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Beizhi.

Shanxi merchants have also come to him several times, that is, they mentioned how the opening of the sea is beneficial to the south of the Yangtze River, but the Northland has not taken advantage of it. Even Shanxi merchants have difficulty intervening. The many business operations involved in maritime trade are not what Beidi Nengchan and Shanshan merchants are good at.

  However, recently he heard that a group of Shanxi merchants seemed to be doing something, so when Feng Ziying said it, he immediately reacted.

"Maybe it has something to do with it, but it's still too early. The disciple intends to choose a site in the Beizhi area, and introduce Guangdong iron smelting masters to cooperate with Shanxi merchants. Coal mining, mining, iron smelting, and even iron making will be used as a driving force. Give it a try,..."

  Feng Ziying did not intend to deceive anyone, this is good for the northern gentry, Qi Yongtai and Qiao Yingjia should of course **** them.

  Qiao Yingjia took a deep look at Feng Ziying, and nodded: "Well, today is your big day, let's not talk about it for now, after these few days, you come to my house and talk carefully to me."

Seeing that Qiao Yingjia was so serious, Feng Ziying reckoned that the series of changes brought about by the opening of the sea would put enormous pressure on the leaders of these northern scholars, especially seeing the changes from shipbuilding, shipping, silk, cotton spinning, tea making, Industries such as medicinal materials and porcelain making have seen a large-scale growth momentum, but the north is still the same. It is estimated that no one can sit still.

   "Disciple obeys the order." Feng Ziying hurriedly cupped his hands.

"Well, of course, you just got married, and family matters are the most important thing. Your parents have been looking forward to it for a long time. Lin Ruhai's girl will go for more than two years. Hey, I will try to stay for your Feng family as soon as possible." Qiao Yingjia nodded, Go in with your back.

  Niu Jizong and Wang Ziteng came hand in hand.

  From the moment the carriage entered Fengcheng Alley, the two of them had already felt the excitement.

"Zi Teng, it seems that Feng Tang's appointment as the governor of Jiliao has made the Feng family very popular in the capital city." Niu Jizong looked out the window, the closer he was to Feng's residence, the more people came and went, of course more people came and went. Most of them are idlers and passers-by watching the excitement.

"Brother Niu, it's not entirely because of Tang. Do you look familiar with the people who have gone here? Many of them are businessmen from Shanshan Guild Hall and Huizhou Guild Hall. Well, Yangzhou and his party brought back several million taels of silver for the Ministry of Household Affairs, which immediately made Zheng Jizhi's waist stiffer, and Li Sancai jumped up and down to create a cabinet minister, didn't it just depend on eight hundred thousand taels of silver? If he smashed it down, did he make the river work beautiful enough? Without these millions of taels of silver, where would he go?"

What Wang Ziteng said made Niu Jizong shake his head, "Zi Teng, Li Sancai still has some skills. It's not just about earning money, it's even more about being able to use money. Li Sancai is still remarkable in the position of minister of the Ministry of Industry. Even the Supreme Emperor Everyone agrees, the emperor knows how to use people well."

  Wang Ziteng's last sentence is a bit different.

  Niu Jizong glanced at Wang Ziteng, "Zi Teng, these civil servants, how much loyalty can you expect them to have? Besides, the emperor is promoted, can he still pretend to be noble?"

  Prince Teng was speechless.

"Ziteng, to tell you the truth, it doesn't make much sense to go on like this. I know what you're thinking. We're all pretty much the same, but there are some things that we can't do without giving in. We can't fathom the Emperor's thoughts either. , King Zhongxiao, hehe, can loyalty and filial piety be both?" Niu Jizong's face flashed a stern look.

  Prince Teng sighed, "Brother Niu, the Supreme Emperor is so insecure, and Prince Yizhong has lost his righteousness, how can he challenge the Emperor?"

   "Ha, isn't that good?" Niu Jizong sneered lightly, "Everyone just sit and wait like this..."

   "Brother Niu, do you think we still have a choice?" Wang Ziteng asked tentatively.

  Niu Jizong straightened his face and straightened his back, "Ziteng, what do you think?"

   Wang Ziteng sighed again, shook his head, but did not speak.

   "Zi Teng, if we have no choice, we can only force some people to make a choice." Niu Jizong looked at Wang Ziteng, "What do you think?"

Wang Ziteng was in a state of mind, and Niu Jizong knew it very well, but he believed that Wang Ziteng couldn't let it go. Everyone had enjoyed enough privileges during the reign of the Supreme Emperor. Now the emperor is not mean to people like himself, but the question is whether this can last. what?

  Niu Jizong didn't believe it, neither did the martial arts. Now the emperor is using this method of boiling frogs in warm water to slowly grind and delay. If this continues, sooner or later it will be the turn of these martial arts.

   "Jizong, why do you have to stare at the Supreme Emperor and Prince Yizhong?" Wang Ziteng finally responded, but his tone was a little more stern, "Maybe we can get out of this rut,..."

Although none of the elders came, they all delivered gifts, which made the guests who came to congratulate them sigh with emotion after learning about it, adding to the reputation of this little Feng Xiuzhuan. Intuitive understanding.

   Of course, what shocked everyone the most was the gift from the emperor.

  No one expected it, so when the servant surnamed Xie arrived at the gate of Feng Mansion with the edict, there was a sensation inside and outside the mansion.

  Even Qi Yongtai and Qiao Yingjia were astonished.

It's not that the emperor's gifts are so rare. In fact, several elders and Jiuqing have basically received gifts from the emperor, but officials like Feng Ziying from the sixth rank are too low in rank, and If it is a gift for getting married, then the meaning is different.

  Feng Ziying can only kneel down to thank her.

The servant held up the imperial edict and read it in parallel. Feng Ziying could only understand one thing after listening to it for a long time. It was congratulations, congratulations, a hundred years of marriage, and an early birth of a son. Feng Ziying didn't even read the gift. A golden lacquer tray, covered with red satin, I don't know what it is, but it can only be placed in the hall now.

  …

  After worshiping heaven and earth, all kinds of red tape went through one by one, and after a drink of wine, the bride entered the bridal chamber and waited.

  Feng Ziying became the busiest person, dealing with the final congratulations from the guests, especially relatives and friends. This is the most important etiquette, and kinship is also the most important in this era.

  As the last group of guests left or settled down, the Feng Mansion, which had been noisy for a day, finally calmed down slowly.

The servants and maids in the mansion began to tidy up the whole mansion, but the wedding platform set up outside the mansion will not be dismantled. According to the custom of the Great Zhou Dynasty, it will not be dismantled until the bride returns to her mother's house three days later. , to show the formal end of the ceremony.

Feng Ziying stepped into the still unfamiliar East Mansion. Well, the Changfang’s mansion was demolished on the east side and newly built. It is not much smaller than the current Feng Mansion, but there are still a lot left in the backyard. The open space is connected to the back side of the Feng Mansion's old house.

   Walking to the door, Feng Ziying saw Qingwen pinching her belt with a smile on her lips.

   "Qingwen, what are you doing here?" Feng Ziying stood still and squinted at her.

   "My girl is here to marry. Before entering the bridal chamber, the servant must protect the young lady." Qingwen took a deep breath and looked straight at her. "Now that the uncle is here, the servant will hand over the girl to the uncle."

  Feng Ziying also took a deep look at this girl and nodded, "Thank you for your protection, I will remember it."

  Without hesitation, she pushed the door open and entered. Two thick red candles illuminated the entire room. A graceful figure sat on the head of the bed, her scarlet hijab shaking slightly.

   There will still be a wave of eruption at twelve o'clock tonight, brothers support it!

  (end of this chapter)