Minister

166【Eleventh Year of Jiankang】

The move of the army to move north quickly shocked the whole country of Monan. Although the people were shocked, the royal family of Monan was actually prepared. The new king of Monan, Wo Tuolei, is a practical man. He has been training his army all these years, just like It was the same when he was a prince.But this time, it wasn't the intelligence he had trained by his own spies, but this time it was his sister.As the eldest princess with real power, Saul Hahan controls taxes and merchants across the country. In addition to ordinary merchants, she also knows a big family named Deyizhuang. The general name of this shop is Xinducheng. He The shopkeeper of the house is the one who brought her the "Lotus Picture".

After King Yan was deposed, Deyizhuang lost the protection of the Central Plains. The porcelain, tea, and medicinal materials sold in the past could be successfully delivered to Monan, but now it is not easy.

Shopkeeper Xi understands mutual benefits in politics, and he boldly made this decision in the face of adversity without any advice from Lu Shengduo or Master Dai.

The shopkeeper's surname is Xi, and I don't know if this surname is true, but Saul Hahan doesn't like it.

Chen Xing didn't expect that the secret case of his march would be stolen by a merchant, because he didn't know that there was such a special merchant.It's a pity that Shen Yang didn't expect that behind the King of Yan, the "Ye Ye" who hid in Monan, who had been wrestling with him for many years, turned out to be the Shopkeeper Xi whom he had met before.

Although the news brought by shopkeeper Xi is important, it is quite vague. There is no way to provide the time for Daqi to raise troops, and the eastern part of Monan has been attacked by the Gondo tribe recently. It is difficult for the King of Monan to determine how much to gather to deal Da Qi.

But fortunately, the time for the two to fight hand-to-hand is still far away, and the generals of both sides still have plenty of time.

The Qi army marched forward in an orderly manner, Jiang Songzhen abandoned her usual anxious look, and followed leisurely.He thought about King Yan's matter in his heart, and felt that he was very sure of making a contribution this time.During these years of tracking King Yan, he traveled all over the territory of Daqi, and what he found was only speculative information. He also suspected that King Yan had escaped far away, but he had never heard of any royal family of a neighboring country accepting him.After all, he is from the Central Plains, and it is easy to be suspected because of his accent and appearance if he travels rashly. If he does not defect to the royal family of another country, it is not easy to hide from the people.Although that Wei Chi came at a strange time this time, it just confirmed this idea... If it wasn't forced by the form, Jiang Da would really like to save that assassin's life.When he came to Beijing, Shen Yang was also a little wary of him, except for one of his confidants for many years, none of them received the transfer order.

This confidant is ranked fifth, and everyone calls him Fifth Master.

"Boss, we haven't been able to find out the origin of that assassin, and we don't know if he has been protecting King Yan all the time. It's just that the size and appearance are very similar... But the whole thing, I think it's really strange. "

"It's not just this one thing that's strange. Didn't you see that Shen Dalian didn't bring the seventh master? You must know that when he went to Jiangnan, the seventh master was taken there just after he entered Jinyiwei."

"You know, Populus euphratica has fallen into the hands of Da Wei this time, and I don't know why he has lost his mind and returned to Beijing privately. No matter how much Shen Da trusts him, he has to worry about him."

Wei Chi, Populus euphratica, King Yan... These gradually became a net in Jiang Songzhen's mind, and this trip to Monan might find the answer to all these. As for Wei Chi, it seems that his method of doing things is indeed not a Smart, it's not a bad idea to keep it together.

Wei Chi didn't know that Lu Shengduo's failed plan would bring her a catastrophe. She just watched the Northern Expedition army pass through the city gate she walked through with complicated emotions, and gradually disappeared. .What appeared in my mind was the gradually clear river water and all the past.

The common people were only temporarily curious about the emperor's expedition. When the guard of honor of the Northern Expedition left the city gate, everyone discussed for a while before looking for other entertainment.The common people were relaxed, but Eunuch Huang couldn't swallow this breath, remembering that he was also a celebrity in front of the emperor, and he was being played around by a few girls, a feeling of hatred buried in his heart.

Although Eunuch Huang sat on the bench, there were many people who flattered him.The bustling group of people were drinking, and Eunuch Huang was in a bad mood. His original love for excitement faded a lot, and he came out on the terrace to breathe while he was drunk.The water in Qujiang Pond was very still, and the fallen leaves of the willow trees floated several feet along the shore of the lake. Seeing it as dirty, Eunuch Huang was even more upset.

"Eunuch Huang!"

Just as he was worrying, a small boat swung over, and the one on board turned out to be Tan Youzhi.

Tan Youzhi greeted Eunuch Huang with a smile on his face. Although Eunuch Huang had a high position, he still respected Shen Da's confidant, so he quickly smiled and clasped his hands together: "Brother Tan! Didn't you go to Monan?"

"It's a long story..." While Tan Youzhi was speaking, the boat had already docked, and the servants on the shore saw the two Dazzlings chatting, and hurriedly led him up.

Speaking of Tan Youzhi, I have to talk about his background. He is considered a talent in Wuding. Although he was selected as the Fusi of Beizhen by martial arts, he is not inferior to a scholar. Shen Yang valued him back then. He was promoted only after a while, but it was not just about reading and writing, because he was extremely alert, had many ideas, and was ruthless, so he soon became Shen Yang's capable confidant.

"Brother Tan stayed in the capital because he was greedy for cheap? I don't know how Shen Da let him go." Huang Gui really didn't notice that this guy was also in Beijing, and his curiosity suddenly arose.

"Eunuch Huang is joking. If you have no skills, you can just stay in Beijing for the elderly."

"!" Huang Gui pointed at Tan Youzhi with his finger: "You didn't tell the truth! Look, you're just being honest. If you didn't go to the achievement, you just shook your face and said you were murdered by a woman! Tell the truth in front of the emperor and his hometown. "

Huang Gui is honest?If he is honest, then there is nothing dishonest about him.After he was put together this time, he understood that no matter whether it is a noble concubine or a princess, they are all masters, and there is nowhere to call him if he dies unjustly.But he really lost if he held back, he looked at the attitude of the emperor, although he had a lot of love for the Hu family, he also had reservations.He knew that the emperor would never find another unhappiness for himself after the Wang family was overthrown.At this moment, he just said every time, every time he called Hu Guifei and Hu Runzhi, although he didn't make sense now, it would be useful when the time came.

Of course Qin Youzhi understood, and he also knew that an old man like Huang Gui would never believe that today was a "coincidence", so he also said sincerely: "Unlike Eunuch Huang, Eunuch Huang has the protection of the emperor, but he has to live carefully. , There are some things that I dare not say."

"They are all brothers in the palace, tell me!" Huang Gui seemed to be bohemian.

"If you want to talk about Jiang University, he came a few years earlier than he really did, but these years, the rest of the party has not caught even a mosquito, and they have all gone to the north, which shows that he is even more incompetent." Tan Youzhi took a sip of wine: "If you want to say Come on, although I haven't made great achievements, I still have some small successes, and now I'm mixed up with Hu Yanglin, the governor of Laibei Town, to make up for it, it's really heartbreaking."

Shen Yang went to the north, but the Beizhen Fusi had to operate normally. He didn't think much about it when he stayed with Tan Youzhi, but he just considered that he had enough years and a high seniority to live in the town.Hu Yanglin...staying in Beijing this time is naturally a punishment, but he is honest and honest, and it is not bad to be a helper for Tan Youzhi.Shen Yang thought well, but he didn't know that Tan Youzhi was very unhappy.He originally firmly believed that the gap between Shen and Jiang Er could be understood by anyone. He had followed Shen Yang for many years and made outstanding achievements, so he didn't give him such a good opportunity!Thinking about it, Jiang Da was right, Shen Da relied on the emperor, but he was never his brother.

"If you want to talk about this unsatisfactory thing, Brother Tan is really not as good as our family. Now our family also has an East Factory! Maybe someday there will be a few words, and the East Factory will not be managed by our family!" Huang Gui probably Guessing Tan Youzhi's intentions, he couldn't help thinking.

"To put it bluntly, only Eunuch Huang can manage the East Factory in this palace. If others come, even if he is pushed to this position, he can't do it!"

Huang Gui laughed, and even said a few interesting words, and ordered to bring several jars of good wine, saying that he wanted to have a good drink with Qin Da.

Since that day, Tan Youzhi's time to appear in Beizhen Fusi has become shorter and shorter, and in the end he went back just to show his face.This matter troubled Populus euphratica, Beizhen Fusi is a yamen, and the Northern Expedition is the Northern Expedition, but apart from the Northern Expedition, so many Jinyiwei in the whole country were dispatched by Beizhen Fusi and Nanzhen Fusi. Presumptuous.

In this way, it only took about ten days for Beizhen Fusi to become a mess.

Wei Chi came to see Populus euphratica for dinner, and seeing him sighing, he asked him why, Yanglin euphratica was worried, so he quickly told him all.

"I don't know what's wrong with Qin Da. He's so careless. It's never been like this before."

Wei Chi pondered for a long time, and then looked around. There was nothing suspicious, and then he said carefully: "This matter is too simple. Although our Beizhen Fusi and Dongchang are both from the palace, compared to the ministers We came here to be more intimate, but we still have scruples about each other, Tan Youzhi's doing this shows that he has made up his mind."

"determination?"

"From a normal point of view, Shen University arranged for him to stay in Beijing because he believed that he would be able to settle in the rear because of his outstanding ability, but thinking about it... Tan Youzhi is not young this year, and it is the year of our annual inspection. At that time, we were very worried about that. He is only allowed to bring one cronies with him, but when he doesn’t want to be promoted to the rank, it will be counted as others. Except for him and him, the rest of the cronies are taken away, so don’t think too much about it, how can he not think too much about it?”

"says??"

Wei Chi nodded: "But don't worry, those who stay in Beijing are only barely on the same level as him now. He has already done well, and it is impossible not to guard against him. After all, to be honest, not everyone there has a real The ability is worthy of the father-in-law's attention. So, don't worry about someone coming to get in the way, as long as you are honest and do your duty, you will be safe."

"This..." Shen Yang was kind to Hu Yanglin after all, and Hu Yanglin was worried that Tan Youzhi would be unfavorable to Shen Yang: "Should I let you know about this?"

"No." Wei Chi paused: "Tan Youzhi is not making it clear now because he thinks he is an honest man who only does practical things, and he believes that he is somewhat unhappy with his elders, so he won't want to confront him. But if he makes it clear He will not let go of his position. In the current capital, he has backed him, can he?"

"..."

"Don't think about it. After all, it is only you who will fight against Tan Youzhi in the end. Now that you are far away from the Great Wall, even if you know it, you can't do anything. If you get into trouble, it will be even more unfavorable to him in the future. The only way is to be patient and perfunctory, put more effort into daily affairs first, and ignore these things."

"Heh..." Hu Yanglin said with a smile: "Listen, now you two are the only ones in Beijing who take care of each other, you are smarter, and you can listen."

The wine shop did not lose its noisy atmosphere because of the war, and people in the capital still lived a prosperous and comfortable life, but the cold air quietly sneaked into the warm autumn, bringing unexpected cold air.

Wei Chi gradually became proficient in the affairs of Dali Temple, so he was not so tired. In his free time, he would not only meet Populus euphratica and help him worry about Qin Youzhi, but spend the rest of the time at home to be virtuous.Wei's family is small and doesn't have much property, so naturally they won't share the ledger with her. Wei Chi can't find a job, so he can only serve Qi Yuan who reads the ledger.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, Qi Yuan calculated the rent, and now it was the end of autumn, so there should be nothing to do, Wei Chi wanted to invite her to eat fresh fruit, but saw her still in the room in a daze.

"What's the matter? What are you looking at." Wei Chi took a cloak and put it on her: "Don't think it's hot in autumn, it's been cold lately."

When Qi Yuan took the cloak, she inadvertently sighed.

Wei Chi curiously took the paper in her hand, but it wasn't a bill: "So it's a letter from my sister and brother-in-law, don't just miss them, and accompany them back to Jiangnan to visit them during the Chinese New Year this year!"

"Look at this look of eagerness to recognize relatives!" Qi Yuan fastened her cloak: "It's natural to think about them, but we may not go back this year for the time being. Life in Jiangnan has been difficult recently."

Will it be hard to be as rich as Jiangnan?Wei Chi felt that this was simply impossible.

"My sister wrote to say that this year Jiangnan merchants are having a hard time. My sister's family runs a silk and satin shop. This year's wages are very expensive. All they do is buy at a fair price and sell at a fair price. If you don't make money, it's still a good business. Losing money The majority."

"But the silk and satin in the capital are still at the old price."

"This year's autumn and winter clothes were woven from last year's mulberry picking. The value of this winter's goods will not be known until next year."

"Why are the wages so expensive this year? The soldiers taken away by the Northern Expedition are all farmers working in the fields, and they all have military membership, regardless of the silk weavers."

"I don't know about this. Although the land of Zhejiang and Fujian has been stable these years, there were sea disasters in the early years. At that time, a lot was raised to quell the pirates. Later, those who disarmed and returned to the fields were not supported by the court. Naturally, I don’t think there are too many. In fact, there are more military registrations in Zhejiang and Fujian than in other places.”

"Since the opening of the dynasty, the barbarians in the west have been gathering to make troubles, and the Northern Expedition is in the north... So, this time, more militias from Jiangsu and Zhejiang were mobilized... No wonder."

"Although these militiamen don't care about weaving silk and raising silkworms, after they leave, the fields at home must be planted. Many people in the weaving workshops have gone back to farming, thinking that it is easy to fight a war? Once there is a war, I don't know how many people will go bankrupt. .”

"During the first Northern Expedition, the year we went, was it the same in Jiangnan?" Wei Chi was vaguely surprised.

"At that time?" Qi Yuan thought about it carefully: "Speaking of which, it really didn't happen at that time. At that time, the sea disaster was not too long, and the silk produced every year was enough to sell, and the silk industry was not bigger than the current industry. And that You can only invest as much as you earn at the time, and I know it. Later, the Weaving Bureau Jiangnan took the lead in lending money and money to local merchants. In a few years, the number of large silk shops has increased several times. Hundreds. So the last time we drew troops, we didn’t see a price increase for silk, but this time it’s not just the price increase.”

The benefits brought by silk, porcelain, and tea are a lottery. After all, national taxes still depend on agricultural income.The local officials in Daqi have fixed taxation tasks every year, and they don't dare to let the fertile land be empty. In this way, even if the silk shops charge high prices, they may not be able to recruit them.

"It's easy to say, it's better to have no silk to wear than to starve to death. At worst, I won't do this business this year. If I don't do it, I won't lose money. How can I go bankrupt?"

"It's easy for you officials. These are all silks that were ordered at the beginning of this year. The price and quantity are fixed. If you can't weave it, you have to lose money. If you want to do it, you can do it. If you don't want to do it, don't do it." of?"

Wei Chi was a little nervous now: "Then what will my sister do? Isn't she about to lose money?"

"Fortunately, my brother-in-law is shrewd. He doesn't just do this kind of business. In the coming year, the price of silk will only increase? Grain will also increase. This year, he may have to collect more grain and resell it to make up for the shortfall here. Ah, Ken is not like this at all. Hurry up and read the book, and the case will be ready."

Being ridiculed, Wei Da honestly brought the pomegranate over and played the role of waiter. Unfortunately, he was clumsy with the juice and broke out a small plate of pomegranate seeds, and the appearance was extremely poor.Seeing Qi Yuan express disdain for her craftsmanship, Wei Da angrily put the crushed pomegranate seeds on Qi Yuan's face.Qi Yuan refused to admit defeat, and the two of them started messing around again.

In the end, Qi Yuan was exhausted and wanted to escape, Wei Da had no choice but to pretend to be weak and let Qi Yuan win the final victory.

Seeing Wei Da's distressed appearance, Qi Yuan laughed contentedly: "Hahaha, it's called Xiaokan, let's have a good taste today."

Wei Da hurriedly flatteringly agreed and praised her for being "powerful".

Having had enough trouble, Qi Yuan leaned on Wei Chi's shoulder contentedly: "It was quite annoying at first, but I feel much better after talking about these things with Yi."

Wei Chi spoiled her with a sip on her face: "Don't doze off here, go to bed and sleep well."

It was easy to coax Qi Yuan up, tidy up and lie on the bed.Wei Chi wanted to fall asleep as usual, but he couldn't. The recent messy things didn't seem to be a big deal, but he vaguely felt that they were related to each other, but he couldn't figure out why, just like the frost that invaded the autumn day, making his heart and soul restless ...