whale wave

Zhao Mengshou's home is in the north courtyard of Muzongyuan. In winter, he closes the window and reads in the room. Outside the window, there are occasional birds chirping on the branches, and there are footsteps of people passing by in the alley, but they don't disturb him.

He has always loved the quietness of winter and is suitable for studying knowledge, but this winter is not quiet.

Since the afternoon, people have been talking downstairs, and there are even voices of arguing in the courtyard next door. Zhao Mengshou closed the book, got up, walked to the window, and opened the window to have a look.

Zong Zhengsi is next door to his house. If there is a dispute between the eldest sons, the officials of Zong Zhengsi will mediate, but this time it has been arguing for several days.Zhao Mengshou had an idea for a moment, so he simply put down the book and went to Zong Zhengsi to see what was going on. In fact, he didn't go, and he knew the reason for the dispute.

In the winter of last year, Zong Zhengsi's official ship went out to sea with the monsoon for trade. This summer, when he returned to China, most of the cargo was spices. Everyone knew that this sea trade was very profitable.

But Zong Zhengsi didn't pay any money, and he didn't start to settle until winter.The eldest sons all thought that they could make a fortune this year, but the property in their hands was really nothing to mention. It was clearly corrupted by Zongzhengsi officials and sea ship officials.

The eldest son pays the capital, and the cadres run the sea trade. Since they have made a lot of profits, it is reasonable for the eldest son to ask for the property they deserve.Everyone lives in the seaport, and they have seen pigs running before eating pork. Maritime trade is a lucrative business. The official ship of Zong Zhengji only claims to earn a few money every year, and no one believes it at all.

Zongzheng Zhao Bumin of Zongzhengsi tried to appease the eldest son's anger, and asked the boss to bring the ledgers to each clan's house for reconciliation, but the ledgers were not convincing.The eldest son once asked people engaged in maritime trade to identify it, and it was clearly a fake account full of loopholes.

Zongzhengsi has been controlled by the people of King Xi's Fangzhi for many years. From the top leader Zongzheng to the youngest official, they all come from King Xi's lineage, making Zongzhengsi, who was supposed to benefit all the eldest sons, into a one-word hall.

Everyone has a lot of complaints against Zong Zhengsi on weekdays. As Zong Zhengsi's corruption of official ships and property continues to be questioned, the grievances that everyone usually accumulates finally exploded this winter.

Some young and energetic eldest sons spontaneously organized and went to Zong Zhengsi to discuss explanations and make demands, which was why Zong Zhengsi was so noisy these days.

As a descendant of King Pu with a dying population, Zhao Mengshou belonged to the side that was oppressed by Zong Zhengsi, and he had complaints in his heart.It's fine if you are an outsider, but the officials of Zong Zhengsi are all members of the clan. Brother Meng Shou, who is a bit pedantic but very upright, really can't bear to exploit his own people like this.

He slapped the book on the table, rolled up his sleeves and went downstairs. He decided to be a rude and insulting man today, and he also went to Zong Zhengsi to discuss it.

Brother Meng Shou was filled with righteous indignation, and boldly stepped out of the gate of his house. As soon as he left, he saw Zongzheng's son Zhao Jizhou and his cousin Zhao Jidao rushing over. Fierce.

It looks like they are going to support Zong Zhengsi, Zhao Jizhou is ruthless, and Zhao Jidao is a villain. When Zhao Mengshou saw these two people, he was immediately scared. He couldn't beat them, so he sneaked back home In the middle, continue to read his sage book.

This afternoon, Zong Zhengsi was in trouble, but Zhao Shimian read his idle books safely at home, and told his son You Qing to stay well and not go to Zong Zhengsi with the two children of Yichun's family (Zhuang Kun and Zhuang Die).As for Zhao Yousheng, he seemed to be calmer than his father. He had been locked in the attic for a long time, and he hadn't come down yet.

Zhao's mother had heard about Zong Zhengsi's quarrel earlier, and asked her husband why he didn't care about it. Our family is also at a disadvantage in this matter, and we have to discuss it with Zong Zhengsi, so don't always lose face.

"What's the use of being noisy, children can't hold their breath." Zhao Shimian took a sip of tea leisurely and turned a page of the book in his hand.

Zhao's mother felt that the father and son were more and more alike, they were both like old Taoists, and they didn't care about common things, so she was so annoyed that she simply ignored them.

Apart from the corruption of Zong Zhengsi officials, there is another reason for causing public resentment this time.Winter is coming, and it's time for ships to go out to sea again. The eldest sons are still willing to pay the capital and have the agents go overseas to do business, but this time they firmly don't want the officers appointed by Zong Zhengsi, they can't trust them.Zong Zhengsi refused, saying that this is a historical rule and cannot be changed casually.

Once this rule is changed, it will be inconvenient for them to collude and share the spoils in private.

In the evening, people who went to Zong Zhengsi to ask for explanations returned home one after another. Zong Zheng sent out cadres and began to collect this year's capital from door to door.Zongzheng also said that those who did not pay within the time limit would not have to pay, and that the sailing date of the official ship had been set early and no one would wait.

With an abacus on his waist and a purse on his shoulder, Dou Qianban went to Zhao Yousheng's house to collect the cost of doing business at sea this year. When he came, Yousheng came down from upstairs with a sword in his hand, planning to dance sword in the courtyard.

Hearing reprimands coming from the room, You Sheng stopped, saw Wu Xin yelling at people outside, Dou Ganban was kicked out, his face swelled into a pig's liver, and he muttered: "Don't push, don't push, it's so rude!"

Dou Ganban was thrown to the gate of the courtyard, turned his head and glared at the room, angrily said: "Don't regret it!"

He felt that he was a man of face, and he usually had the support of Zong Zhengsi, but he actually spoke rudely at the Zongzi's house.

Zhao Youcheng stood aside, Dou Ganban didn't pay attention, and when he saw the other party, he shrank his neck in panic.Zhao Yousheng raised his arm, the sword light flashed, and the tip of the sword pointed at Dou Gan, with a simple and clear word: "Get lost!"

Dou Ganban ran away, but he had heard that this gentleman was violent and cruel, and he had killed bandits in Ning County.

As Father Zhao said, children can't hold their breath, so old people like them won't besiege Zong Zhengsi, which will damage their status. At night, old men gather in groups of three or four at Shilang Zhao's house.

In fact, these old men, including Zhao's father, are not because they care about money. Most of them have salaries, their families are well off, and they can afford to support their wives and children. It is the country and the people.

The clan moved away and relied on local support, which caused a lot of financial pressure on the local area. The income from the official ships should have been able to share this burden, but the money fell into the pocket of King Xi Fangzhi.

Local officials were dissatisfied with the clan due to financial pressure, and the people were taxed more, so naturally there were complaints in their hearts.The official ship, which was supposed to generate income for the clan, fattened Zong Zhengsi's group of rats and harmed the interests of everyone else.

Zhao Shilang, who originally wanted to resign and return to his hometown to live a leisurely life, seems to have accepted that he cannot live a leisurely life, and discussed with everyone at home how to change the situation in which King Xi Fangzhi controlled Zongzhengsi.

The best way, of course, is to let Zongzheng's Zongzheng Zhao Bumin collapse, replace Zongzheng, kick out Shuoshu from Zongzhengsi, and rectify the atmosphere.

In the hall, more than a dozen people sat around Zhao Shilang, and they talked endlessly and had heated discussions.The participants were all discussing the elderly, young people like Zhao Zhuangkun and Zhao Duanhe. They stayed in the courtyard, sitting at the stone table, and talking in low voices.

There were seven or eight young men in front of the stone table, and they each had their own opinions on how to bring down King Xi's Fangzhi. Some said to file a complaint with the emperor, so that Zhao Bumin would not be able to be Zongzheng; some said to collect evidence of King Xi's Fangzhi , Such as taking bribes, opening brothels, occupying salt fields, etc., let them be spat on by courtiers, lose face, and go to the punishment office together to eat in prison.

Zhao Yousheng acted as the audience, he did not participate in the discussion, he was meditating.

Late at night, most of the visitors to Zhao Shilang's house left, but Zhao Yousheng stayed and waited for his father.The servant carried a lamp to light the way, Zhao Shilang with a tired face sent Zhao's father out, accompanied by Zhao Yousheng.

The three of them walked under the kapok tree, the stone statue was as dense as a giant, and the night wind was whimpering. Zhao Shilang finished talking with Zhao's father, seemingly casually, but also deliberately, he said: "You Sheng, the clan father wants to hear your opinion .”

Zhao Yousheng heard them talking about the falsification of the official ship's account books all the way, and he did have his own opinion in his heart: "Since Zong Zhengsi colluded with each other, they should have another account book to record the official ship's real income and expenditure."

Zhao Shilang praised: "That's right, You Sheng also thought of it."

But Zhao's father couldn't be happy, he put his hands behind his back and said, "Of course I have it, but how do I get it?"

**

The fact that the sons of the clan clan made a fuss about Zong Zhengsi was spread all over the city, and everyone knew about it.Based on the current chaos among the clan, Chen Duanli forbade Chen Yu from going to Zhao Yousheng's house for the first time, and also asked him not to associate with Yousheng and Zhuang Die for the time being.

Chen Duanli was very aware of the power of King Xi's family in the local area, and also knew that You Sheng and the others belonged to the Daozong decent sect, and the Daozong decent sect was very powerful, and the two sides were evenly matched.This is like two tigers fighting each other, even if you go to the sidelines, you may be injured, the best way is to stay away.

Chen Yu could only obey, he had a faint feeling that going to You Sheng in this chaotic period would only add to his confusion.

The life of the clan's children is indeed like a circle, or a wall. They make a mess inside the wall, but the people outside the wall continue to live as usual.

Mr. Wu has few classes recently. Chen Yu is the son of a sea merchant, and his father asked him to read sage books just to make him understand more principles, not to want him to participate in scientific examinations.Chen Duanli is very pragmatic. He recently hired a teacher for Chen Yu to teach his son Fanyu.

This teacher is none other than Fei Chunjiang.

Fei Chunjiang met Chen Yu several times. He was Chen Fan's old friend, he didn't like Chen Yu very much, and he often complained about his old friend.In his opinion, Chen Duanli dotes on his younger son even more, and a bowl of water is not even.

Because of Chen Duanli's face, Fei Chunjiang could only focus on teaching, so he soon discovered that Chen Yu was smart, learned quickly, and he had a talent for languages.

Even better than Da Fan, Fei Chunjiang had to admit that Chen Fan was not as good as his brother in this respect based on his professional ethics.

There are two kinds of Fan languages ​​commonly used in Haimao, one is mainly Zhenla language, and the other is mainly Sanfoqi language. Going westward from the Sanfoqi Kingdom, there are more and more complex languages, and no one can know them all. Master, the church is enough to deal with these two.

Fei Chunjiang went to Chen's residence to give lessons to Chen Yu, and Chen Fan came to see him a few times. He heard his old friend talk to his younger brother in Sanfo Qi language, and his younger brother had only learned it for a while, and he was already fluent in speaking.

Teachers like smart students, Fei Chunjiang's always mean mouth couldn't help but praise Chen Yu a few words.

Chen Fan quietly left from the study window, with his hands behind his back, recalling the time when he learned Fanyu.It was Fei Chunjiang's father Fei Tongshi who taught him Fanyu back then. Chen Fan was praised by his teacher for his hard work.

Every day, I almost learn Fanhua in the morning. As for the afternoon, Chen Yu can arrange it by himself.During the days when he couldn't find You Sheng, Chen Yu stayed at home more often.

In the afternoon, Chen Yu would usually light incense and play the piano in the fasting room, and even in the next courtyard, he could hear his clanking piano sound.

Chen Fan and Fei Chunjiang were walking in the courtyard, chatting about the recent disputes between the eldest son and Zong Zhengsi. When they heard the sound of the piano, they stopped. Fei Chunjiang praised: "You play well, your brother didn't expect to be so versatile."

Fei Chunjiang unconsciously liked this gentle and intelligent student a little. Chen Yu had a kind of honesty, which was not as scheming as the outside world said, so Fei Chunjiang didn't think that Chen Yu would harm the interests of his old friend.

Chen Fan said lightly: "Things played by dandies are useless as a maritime merchant."

"Da Fan, aren't you afraid that you are jealous?" The old friend's mouth is always awkward.

"So what if I'm just jealous? I'm afraid you know." Chen Fan put his hands behind his back, with an unruly expression, "When I was six or seven years old, my father hadn't made a fortune, and he was overseas all year round. When the farming was busy, I also planted rice seedlings with my mother in the field. How can he have such a good fate, he was raised in the mansion of the prince of Champa since he was a child."

Perhaps because of this, he felt uneasy, and his brothers could not get close, but Chen Yu, who was left alone overseas since childhood, without father or mother, was actually very pitiful.

Chen Fan raised his hand to see the traces of labor in his palm, but he had been pampered for many years and his palm was smooth.

The author has something to say: Han Jiulang: Da Fan, you are arrogant, do you know that?