Feng Xing

The imperial edict that allowed Huaibei to help Huainan clean up the accumulated quotations arrived in Yangzhou one step ahead of Fan Jinchuan.

The imperial decree was issued directly to the Yamen of the Lianghuai Salt Transport Department.

After receiving the order, Wei Tongxin was stunned.

He followed He Lun in a daze and welcomed the **** Xuanzhi in, and said some things for the occasion. He originally wanted to prepare some food and drinks for him, but the **** had other important tasks. Not much to stay.

After the people left, Wei Tongxin regained his composure: "Tell me, why did His Majesty make such an order? This is to break the roots of Huainan?"

His voice was so shrill that those who didn't know it thought that his father died at home.

He Lun glanced at him: "You are enough. People who have lived most of their lives can't even make sense of this? Huainan has accumulated so much salt, but Huaibei's salt is being pulled out by boats and boats. Even an individual should know how to do it. From your point of view, it is to break the roots of Huainan, from your Majesty's point of view, is there any difference between Huainan and Huaibei?"

no difference!

Anyway, the salt tax collected will go to Emperor Jianping. It doesn't matter if you are a white cat or a black cat, whoever can catch mice is a good cat, and whoever can help the court collect money will occupy the upper hand.

"I've expected this day for a long time, and you are still dreaming of the blue sky, thinking that when the salt in Huaibei is exhausted, there will be a stop there, in fact! Hehe!"

Wei Tongxin's face couldn't stop twitching, he gritted his teeth and said, "Stop making sarcastic remarks to me, you won't be able to cure me, congratulations to you sir?"

He Lun stared: "Wei Tongzhi, you are presumptuous! You talk to Shang Feng like that?!"

Wei Tongxin took a sip, and shook off his usual gentle and humble face: "Don't pretend to be noble, Mr. He probably forgot your garden in the suburbs, and why did you ask for the ten thousand taels of silver notes!"

"you-"

The two stared at each other, but in the end He Lun softened his tone.

"My poor tone is also due to my impatience. Why should Mr. Wei say such ruthless words? We are now grasshoppers tied to a rope. We can't escape me, and we can't escape you. But think about it again. , I am an official ordered by the imperial court. It has nothing to do with us how to reform and what about those salt merchants. As long as there is this hat, why do you worry about not having money? After all, it’s a little bit of putting the cart before the horse.”

Wei Tongxin wanted to say something, but for some reason he swallowed it again, flung his sleeves and left.

After he left, He Lun's face pulled down.

"I don't know what's good or bad, but I'm just a little fifth-rank official, and I'm yelling at me."

At this time, a middle-aged man wearing a dark blue straight gown came out from the inner room.

"My lord, although the kid is small, he is the one above him." The man made a gesture, and He Lun put away the anger on his face.

"Then according to Master Ma, what should I do next?"

Master Ma stroked his beard and said: "Actually, what your lord said before is true. Since you are an official, you shouldn't mistake your identity. You messed up your position because of some yellow and white things. It's really putting the cart before the horse."

"But I'm afraid that this person will jump over the wall in a hurry and come out to bite me. I don't know what he is anxious about. As for being so scared!" This he refers to Wei Tongxin. With that said, He Lun went to sit down on a chair beside him, with a rather displeased expression on his face.

Master Ma said: "Your Excellency came to Yangzhou not long ago, probably did not know that there is such a saying in the territory of Yangzhou that the accounts of salt merchants can be read by gods."

He Lun was taken aback for a moment: "Ledger, is it a god?"

"Actually, it's just a joke. It means that salt merchants often interact with officials. They seem to bow their knees and respond to their requests, but in fact everyone has an account in their hands. Which officials received their benefits, how much they received, and when they received them. , They all keep accounts. This account is a family heirloom, passed down from generation to generation, and is never taken out at ordinary times.

"In just this year, Huaibei has repeatedly made moves, all of which are nothing more than beating snakes and hitting seven inches. How many people's good deeds have been ruined, and how many people's jobs have been ruined. It seems that the ancestral business is almost unable to continue. , someone probably asked for the account book at the bottom of the box, or Master Wei would be in such a hurry."

He Lun pinched his beard, feeling a little distraught.

"According to what you said, the officer—"

"Money and wealth are nothing but possessions outside the body. Since my lord can come here, it means that he is highly valued by His Majesty. As a subject, he should be loyal to the emperor. What is loyalty to the emperor? There is only one king. Your Majesty has the spirit of dragons and horses. Why should you be blinded by one leaf."

However, just a few words made He Lun feel cold all over his body, and he was dizzy and his ears were ringing continuously.

Officials all regard Yanguan as a fat job, because they all know that there is the most money here. Back then, he was appointed by Emperor Jianping as envoy of Lianghuai Salt Transport, and many people envied him. At that time, he also came with the idea of ​​sharing the worries of the king. But when I first arrived in Yangzhou, I was dazzled by this luxurious place.

Everyone is fishing, why not him? If you don't catch it, you are a different kind, and if you are a different kind, you will have a hard time. No one wants to have a hard time. This kind of oil and water officer is at most one-time, so why bother with yourself. So he turned a blind eye, let it go, drifted with the flow, and even tolerated Wei Tongxin because of the master behind him.

Remembering that when he first arrived in Yangzhou, he once heard such a passage circulated in the market, which was written by a good person imitating Liu Yuxi's "Humble Room Inscription", which was used to ridicule the shortcomings of the salt transportation between the two Huaihe Rivers.

If the official is not high, there will be a reputation; if the talent is not deep, there will be salt. Although Si is a humble official, he only cares about profit. The silk round pile is white, and the color is added to the blue. There are merchants talking and laughing, and all contacts are stoves. There is no need to tune the crane and the qin, and there is no need to leave the scriptures. There is no noisy ear of money, but the appearance of wine and sex. Or borrow Yuan Gonglu, or Drunken Bamboo West Pavilion, Confucius said: "Why is there such a thing?" ①

When he heard it for the first time, he felt ashamed, but when he heard it again, he felt that what he said was very reasonable.

A person's sense of shame is just drifting with the tide, losing bit by bit, and it was not until today that he was hit in the face that he felt that he had just woken up from a big dream.

For a moment, He Lun sweated profusely, and his clothes were wet unconsciously.

"He has been taught, Master is very wise! I will go and get rid of those yellow and white things!"

Master Ma smiled and said: "Your Majesty, don't worry. If you have to retreat, you will naturally retreat. If you can't retreat, don't worry. If the water is clear, there will be no fish. Your Majesty is wise and powerful. How can you not understand, so you don't need to panic. However, the most important thing is to know the current affairs and understand the current affairs."

What is knowing the current affairs and understanding the current affairs?

When His Majesty didn't want to move the Lianghuai Salt Administration, he just pretended to be stupid. Since he planned to move, he didn't want to block the traffic with his arms.

After a while, He Lun bowed again: "Thank you, master, for your reminder."

"My lord, you are welcome."

Master Ma bowed back and took the initiative to step back, leaving He Lun room to think alone.

After returning to the small courtyard where he lived, he called his confidant servant.

"Send a message to Haizhou, telling him that what I promised him has been done."

"Yes."

The servant didn't go down to do it immediately, but looked at his master hesitantly.

"What's wrong?"

"Master, this old slave really doesn't understand how you would agree to that man to do such a thing. After all, it will not benefit you at all. Although you are from Shaoxing, you don't know him well, so why take such a big risk. "

"Why do you need to ask the reason for something that benefits the country and the people?" Master Ma said with a smile.

There is another sentence that he didn't say, although the master is small, he also has the world in mind.

After reading the letter, Feng Sheng threw it into the brush.

The paper was soaked in water, and soon became transparent, and gradually the ink on it also melted, polluting the water.

"What are you laughing at, young master?" Zhiqiu asked curiously.

"I didn't laugh at anything, I just got it done again."

Just as he was talking, Dao Qi hurried in with a letter.

"Master, the letter from the capital is from Mr. Fan."

Feng Sheng could only sit down and continue to open the letter. After reading it, she didn't destroy it this time.

"Master, what are you laughing at?"

Holding the letter paper, Feng Sheng nodded Zhiqiu's nose: "Your young master is going to be an official."

"Being an official?" Zhiqiu was a little dazed.

Feng Sheng nodded.

Zhiqiu didn't say anything, until Feng Sheng sent him out while talking to Dao Qi, and then came back, she hesitated and said: "Master, you won't forget that you are a girl's family, how can a girl's family be an official? If anyone finds out..."

Originally, Feng Sheng didn't think so, but when he heard Zhiqiu's words, he was stunned.

"You forgot, young master, what is the purpose of my trip?"

In order to reverse the case for the master. So, want to be an official?

"Then you don't have to be an official yourself, isn't there Master Fan?" Zhi Qiu said with a wrinkled face.

"Master Fan is Mr. Fan, we are us, we can't borrow Mr. Fan's hand forever, besides..." Mr. Song Ge is Fan Jinchuan's teacher, the two are close, and it is not known which side Fan Jinchuan is on. Even if Fan Jinchuan was on her side, Feng Sheng didn't forget what she was going to do, she really didn't want to involve Fan Jinchuan again.

Maybe this kind of hidden guilt is hidden too deep, but it's not that it doesn't exist, it's just that Feng Sheng deliberately ignored it.

Zhiqiu took a careful look at his girl, and said, "Master, do you see that Mr. Fan likes you?"

Feng Sheng was so frightened by this naughty girl that he choked up: "What nonsense are you talking about?"

"That's why you have been avoiding Master Fan? You have sent letters to Yangzhou several times, but you still don't want to go?"

"Your young master is so busy every day, how can he have time to stroll casually." Feng Sheng went to the desk, pretending to tidy up the desk.

Zhiqiu also followed, stood beside him and said: "Actually, this servant thinks that Master Fan and Miss are quite suitable for you. I also have something to say. You can't get tired of talking to each other all day. Anyway, you are better than Fourth Young Master."

"Bah, bah, what's wrong with you girl today, why are you talking nonsense?"

"Is it nonsense, or is it because of Miss Man'er?"

Feng Sheng's hand paused, and continued to collect.

"Okay, don't talk nonsense, I am like this now, how can I have the heart to talk about love, you didn't say this to Zhichun, how did you forget?"

"Servant..." Zhiqiu was speechless.

"Okay, you go down, I'll read for a while, and I have to talk to people later."

After Zhiqiu went down, Feng Sheng sat down behind the desk and picked up a book from the table.

After reading a page, he suddenly lost interest, leaned his head back into the chair, and covered his face with the book.

In a daze, he fell asleep.

When she woke up again, it was Dao Qi who woke her up.

Huifangju is one of the famous theater buildings in Yangzhou.

Passing by outside the theater building, you can always hear Yiyi's singing and applauding inside.

In an elegant room on the second floor, all the windows facing the stage in the hall were opened, and two seats were placed near the windows. However, the bamboo curtains on the windows were lowered today, obviously the owner of the private room was not focused on listening to the opera.

Wei Tongxin changed into his normal clothes and took a carriage to the theater building, where Jiang Fu was waiting for him.

After seeing Jiang Fu, he didn't delay, so he told Jiang Fu that he had received the imperial decree.

What he meant was obvious, what he promised to the other party could not be done, obviously Jiang Fu did not accept this reality.

"You are crazy, this is the imperial decree! Do you know what the imperial decree is? Let me say, calm down, don't make trouble for each other, the reason why there is no fear of no firewood if you leave the green hills, Boss Jiang will not understand, right?"

"Jiang naturally understands, but Mr. Wei, don't forget, if you can't run away from Jiang, you can't run away from you. As the general manager, Jiang can run away from anyone, but I can't. There is a problem with me, what is Master Wei going to do? Explain to that person? Master Wei, you don’t take less of Jiang’s filial piety, you can’t always take money and not work, right?”

This conversation is obviously tearing skins, but they don't care about each other anymore.

In fact, Jiang Fu would not be so restless before, but since Huang Jinfu sold the ancestral Yinwo and cooperated with Huaibei, the business has flourished, and several salt merchants under him have been tempted. On the surface, he still regards him as the leader, but in fact, he secretly flirts with Huaibei.

Especially this year, he didn't make a penny, and he posted so much. Seeing that the higher-ups issued an imperial edict asking Huaibei to help Huainan clean up the accumulation, it was tantamount to forcing his salt merchants to go to Huaibei. Once things are on the right track, if he is asked to do anything as a general manager, the building will collapse, and he will not be able to calm down anymore.

"Don't use that person to pressure me, I'm really not afraid now. I'm not afraid to tell you the truth, that person has already ordered someone to deliver a letter, and told me not to act rashly."

Hearing this, Jiang Fu couldn't hold back the gesture on his face.

"I don't believe it, it's impossible!"

Wei Tongxin glanced at him proudly: "Don't believe it, if you don't believe it, just send a message to the top and ask yourself, you are not helpless." If he didn't receive the letter from that person, he would not come out to see Jiang Fu today. Can't hide.

"But this message was delivered to us, and it can't reach your level. You can listen to it or not, anyway, that's all I have to say. Well, Boss Jiang, take your time and watch the show. I still have something to do. Go ahead."

Wei Tongxin had been gone for a while, but Jiang Fu still didn't have a charter, and he just felt his mind was in a mess.

"Dazhong, do you think that person really spread the word? He wants to let go of it. Yes, yes, who is he, the nobles of the sky, the descendants of dragons and phoenixes, from now on this country will belong to him, why bother?" If you are not happy with yourself, if you see that the situation is not right, you will withdraw your hand, there is nothing wrong with it."

Dazhong, an old housekeeper who is not a few years younger than Jiang Fu, has a bent waist all the year round, so that his back is a little hunched, and his face has many creases, making him look sad.

"Master, it's not as serious as you said. If you don't look at the monk's face and the Buddha's face, even if we look at the money we have paid so much in the past, that person can't completely let go of it, and he is reluctant. It's just that the situation is probably wrong. For now Just hold back. After all, these officials are pulling out their radishes and bringing up mud, and if they get involved, there will be a lot of them. .”

"You mean—"

"What they mean is very clear. It is temporarily unnecessary to count on the higher-ups to take action, but we don't care what we do, as long as we don't implicate them."

"I understand."