The Moon Over Tang Dynasty

Chapter 176 The first confrontation between paper and ink traps

When the coarsely woven white folded cloth was in hand, it almost had the texture of linen. Liuli looked at the texture of the cloth carefully against the light and found that the biggest problem was probably that the fibers were too short and there were too many impurities. They could only spin rovings and use them directly. As for weaving, the cotton varieties in Xizhou are indeed not good now, but they are not incapable of even spinning fine yarns. But I don’t know which link has the problem...

Pei Xingjian’s voice sounded from behind, “Is there anything wrong with this white cloth?”

Liuli turned around and smiled, "It's not wrong, I just feel it's a pity. This white cloth keeps out the cold and absorbs water. It should be comfortable to wear, but it's so rough... What official document did the Protectorate send you?"

Pei Xingjian smiled faintly, "It's the residence of Chang'an. A month ago, the emperor issued an edict that Queen Wang and Concubine Xiao were deposed as common people, and their relatives were exiled to Lingnan." He paused for a moment and then said, "At this moment, we I’m afraid I’ll change my name to Queen Wu.”

 Empress Wang and Concubine Xiao Shu were finally deposed? And it was a month ago. Liuli was startled for a moment, and the first thing that came to her mind was the slender jade finger painted with Dankou when she first met Xiao Shufei, and the beautiful figure of the Queen and the Queen who caught a glimpse of her at the Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet. If she remembered correctly, they were probably He can't survive this winter, and he might no longer be alive in this world at this moment. Liuli lowered her eyes silently, not knowing what to say.

Pei Xingjian sighed and held Liuli's hand. "You don't have to be afraid that I will be unhappy. This is expected."

Liuli raised her head and smiled. Yes, Wu Zetian becoming the queen was so expected. So she was not afraid of showing happiness and making Pei Xingjian uncomfortable, but she really couldn't find any feeling of surprise.

Pei Xingjian looked at her with more and more doubts. Liuli thought for a moment and then said, "Queen Wang is actually quite righteous. If it weren't for the original Mrs. Wei..." That Mrs. Liu was really harmful to others and herself. Now first of all Being deprived of the title and then exiled to Lingnan was regarded as evil retribution, but the Wang clan members had to suffer both prosperity and loss.

Pei Xingjian shook his head, "You are too soft-hearted. In some cases, success or failure is just fate. From now on, you must remember to call yourself a common man and don't let others take advantage of your shortcomings."

Liuli nodded, put aside these thoughts, and changed the topic, "Why did they give this to me?"

Pei Xingjian smiled and said, "Of course you are kind enough to tell me. I'm afraid I will never turn around in Chang'an."

 Uneasy and kind-hearted dead peacock! Liuli snorted lightly.

Pei Xingjian smiled nonchalantly and said, "In this case, I will spend more time with you."

　　Where did this statement come from? Liuli was stunned for a moment before she realized that she was the newly minted painter favored by the Empress of the Tang Dynasty. She couldn't help but burst out laughing. She then saw that Pei Xingjian was holding a thick volume of documents in his other hand and pointed at it. Asked, "Is this Dichao?"

Pei Xingjian smiled and put the document on the desk, "How can I still pay for the copy if it is so thick? This is an account of the Duhu Mansion. I was told to review it first and discuss the matter in two days."

 Let Pei Xingjian look at the accounts so quickly? Liuli couldn't help being a little surprised. Just as he was about to speak, Pei Xingjian smiled and said, "It is said that the tax debts in Xizhou are accumulating year by year, and the Duhufu should also increase revenue and reduce expenditure. This is the most offending job. I will do it." It's the perfect thing to do. You put things away first, and I'll look through them to see if I can get any clues."

I see! Pei Xingjian sat down in front of the desk and looked through the accounts in his hand attentively. His expression was quiet and focused. The most tacky account was in his hand, and it actually had the elegance of poetry and books. Liuli couldn't help but read it for a long time. , then turned back and picked up the scissors, cut out a few pieces of white folded fabric according to the outline of the socks that had been drawn just now, and started sewing them with needle and thread. She had just finished sewing a sock, but she felt that the light outside the window had dimmed. She quickly stood up and lit the candle, placing it on the table in front of Pei Xingjian. She also sat down on the side, changed a piece of cyan thread, and planned to Embroider a small cloud pattern on the edge of the socks.

I don't know how much time passed, but a slender hand gently pressed the back of her hand. Liuli raised her head. Pei Xingjian's smiling face was particularly warm when illuminated by the candlelight. "There's no need to embroider. The shoes and socks are just comfortable. They have to be so delicate." What to do? Keep your eyes peeled."

Liuli took a closer look and found that the cloud pattern she embroidered was only passable at best. This pair of white socks was far from exquisite. At this time, the socks of wealthy people could not be overestimated. , is it possible for him to wear plain socks like a commoner? But she definitely couldn't embroider any more at this time. She put the socks aside with a smile, "You're ready so soon?"

Pei Xingjian glanced at the closed account book and said, "The expenditures of the Duhufu are nothing more than people and goods. From a human perspective, although some outsiders from the imperial court do receive salaries, in the five counties and twenty-four townships of Xizhou, The imperial court has not appointed officials, but it cannot be left unattended. The Duhufu can only send people to serve as regents. It is also necessary to distribute lumi to these regents and ration the handymen. I have done a rough calculation, and I am afraid that it will be worse than what the imperial court should do. There is no reason to give anything less than 50%.”

Liuli nodded. Although she was a complete layman on these matters, she also understood that if Pei Xingjian, the chief minister, took office, the first thing he would do was to reduce the already not generous treatment of his subordinates. Wouldn't this be digging a hole for himself? "In that case, why not reduce it?"

Pei Xingjian smiled slightly, "It's not impossible, it's just that since I've been informed about this matter and asked me to make a decision, Qu Chongyu has his own way to force me to do it. In fact, if it's just this matter, it's not impossible. Think about it, I always feel like there seems to be something fishy..."

Liuli was startled, what should she do? Pei Xingjian suddenly frowned, "Liu Li, did you know that the goods brought by Juro's caravan included paper, ink ingots and other items?"

Liuli thought for a while and nodded, "How do you know?" I remember that when I first left Chang'an, I encountered two autumn rains on the road. Juro was most worried about the cart of Yizhou jute paper, which was said to be three hundred pieces in total. It was a total of 30,000 pieces. She also asked Shiro what she did to transport so much paper for thousands of miles. Shiro said... She suddenly woke up and looked at Pei Xingjian with wide eyes.

Pei Xingjian took a breath and nodded, "Sure enough! In these accounts, in addition to salary and miscellaneous money and food, there is also an item of daily sundries. The largest item among them is paper. I use it most often for official documents from various places. The same applies to the fine linen paper in Yizhou, Hangzhou and other places. According to the records in the account books, 300 pieces of good Yizhou jute paper are used every year, and each piece costs more than 800 pieces, which is the price of Chang'an. It's more than double, which is not unusual. It's just that local burlap paper only costs fifty or sixty yuan a post. Just exchange this, the difference is more than two hundred yuan, enough to support two hundred handymen. In this way, the price difference between high-grade ink and inferior ink can reach more than ten times, and the daily cost is high. If you save a little bit, you will have a surplus of dozens of dollars a year. "This account is not difficult to calculate, so. Once changed, it was determined to be a good way to save money without offending others - but for him, it was a deep hole that had been dug.

Liuli couldn't help but be stunned, "Is there no other way?"

Pei Xingjian patted the account book lightly, "Judging from this account book, I'm afraid there is no better way, and Qu Chongyu will not give me time to think of other ways."

In other words, the only way to save money is to replace paper and ink, but in this way, all the jute paper Juro transported from Chang'an will be wasted. These days, not to mention that there are few scholars, ordinary people will not buy this kind of paper at all. If the paper is used back, even wealthy people will not use it too much. If it is shipped back as it is, it will be shipped to Dunhuang, and a lot of freight will be charged. It will really be lost. I am afraid that Juro will get all the goods from this trip. After filling this hole, there won't be much left. This is his first time leading a caravan! Liuli felt like her heart was in a mess and she couldn't figure it out.

Pei Xingjian's voice was still calm, "If my guess is correct, Qu Chongyu will wait for me to propose this method in two days, or let others propose it, forcing me to agree to this method, and wait until ten days after Juro arrives. Xizhou, wait for me to beg him again. If this happens, on the one hand, I will go back on my word and my prestige will be ruined. On the other hand, I will owe him a favor, which will naturally not be easy to repay in the future. Or, if I refuse to beg him, that is I have offended you and Anjia, and I am even more helpless. He has his own back-up, so I have no choice but to rely on him. "

Two hundred and fifty guan, nearly fifty gold... Liuli thought about it for a long time, only to feel pain in her flesh, and gritted her teeth and said, "Why don't we buy that cart of paper and slowly consign it?"

Pei Xingjian laughed loudly, stretched out his hand to rub Liuli's tightly frowning brow, "Fool! Did you come to Xizhou to open a paper shop? Don't worry, there are still two days, I will be able to come up with a solution. "As he spoke, he stood up and dragged Liuli out. "It's almost dark, and I don't know how the venison will be roasted today. Would you like to go have a drink with me?"

 Does he have any ideas? What can he do? Liuli followed him suspiciously.

On the second day, Pei Xingjian only went to the Duhu Mansion to sit for half a day in the morning. When he came back in the afternoon, he took Liuli to the market and walked around, and found a shop selling paper, pen and ink. I saw that what was sold in the shop was all burlap paper produced by the local paper mill. There were fifty-five characters for each post, fifteen characters for each pen, one hundred and forty characters for ink, and only ten characters for ink. As expected, it was the same as Pei Xingjian's. Say similar. There are no books for sale in the store, only a few volumes of hand-copied Buddhist scriptures. They are made of good paper, but they cost several volumes per volume, and the price is really outrageous. When the shop owner saw Liuli's speech, he smiled and said, "How expensive is a scholar? How much effort and time does it take to copy this Buddhist scripture word for word? The price is already very fair."

 It turns out that it is not the paper that is valuable, but the words that are valuable, just like cotton and cotton cloth... Liuli sighed secretly when she thought of her big plan, but heard Pei Xingjian ask, "Why don't you see any calendars for sale?"

The shop owner smiled and said, "How old is this gentleman now? Who wants this year's calendar? As for next year's calendar, we in Xizhou don't have calendars, and we can only get in from Dunhuang at least at the end of the first year."

Pei Xingjian looked a little interested, "If there is a calendar for this year, I would like to take a look."

 The shop owner hurriedly turned around and searched for a long time. He took out a book, dusted it off and handed it to Pei Xingjian. Liuli had never seen a folk calendar before, so she hurriedly went over to look at it, only to see that it was a thin roll bound with fine linen paper, hand-written in neat regular script, and recorded the appropriate and taboos for each day. The layout and framing of a few other words are very ordinary, and are almost incomparable with the scroll-style calendars issued by the imperial court.

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "This is already an excellent calendar. More than three hundred copies were sold in the first month of this year. At that time, it cost 280 yuan, and in February it cost more than 100 yuan. Now if you are a guest, If you want, just take the thirty dollars."

Just when Liuli was about to return it to the shopkeeper, Pei Xingjian smiled and said "ok".

Liuli had no choice but to ask Xiaotan to come up and pay. After leaving the shop, she couldn't help but said, "Didn't you find the calendar at home yesterday? Why did you buy this roll of waste paper?"

Pei Xingjian raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Of course it will be of great use. If things go as I expected, Shiro's more than two hundred swords will fall on it." Liuli was stunned for a moment, and she vaguely understood what he was thinking. The more he thought about it, the more he thought about it. But it's getting more and more wrong, "How can this method work? Firstly, next year's calendar hasn't come out yet, even if there is paper, where can I copy it? Secondly, when I get the calendar and then copy it out, there will only be hours. I’m afraid it’s too late. Didn’t the shop owner just say that it would be worthless in February?”

Pei Xingjian laughed, "What if it was before the first lunar month? How much would it be worth? Have you forgotten who I learned arithmetic from? If it is to observe astronomy, fill in the omissions, and re-establish the calendar, I may not be able to do it, but with this With today's calendar, how difficult is it to calculate the luck and luck of each day of the next year? The calendar requires a quick word. As long as we make it before the first month, can only people in one city in Xizhou buy the calendar? Damn it, would all the merchants pass up this great business opportunity?”

Liuli suddenly realized - no wonder he asked about the history when he came up. He had probably made up his mind early, and he was so confident yesterday! She couldn't help but glare at Pei Xingjian, "You hid it from me again!"

Pei Xingjian smiled and said, "I just had this idea yesterday, but firstly, I don't know the price of the calendar, and secondly, I don't know how many people will buy the calendar. Furthermore, the most difficult thing is not knowing how to do everything in Anjia's power." How many people can I find who can copy the calendar? How many copies can I make before the first month? I can't figure it out until I visit An Jia's family. In short, based on the price of the store. As long as I can use less than half of the carriage paper, Juro will not suffer too much. If it doesn't work, I will find another way."

Liuli took the calendar from Pei Xingjian and took a look at it. This volume requires about a dozen pieces of paper. According to him, does it mean that at least a thousand copies should be copied? Each calendar must have more than 3,000 words, and it would take at least twenty people to copy it out in a month... Liuli was about to ask, but someone in front of him smiled and said, "Pei Langjun, Mrs. Kudi, today there are two Why do you have time to come to Shifang again?"

Liuli looked up and saw that she had unknowingly walked to the front of Jiaval Store again. The chatty shopkeeper Shi was greeting the two of them with a smile. The two had to stop and exchange a few words before leaving. They had not walked out for a long time. Far away, Liuli suddenly felt something in her heart. She raised her head and said to Pei Xingjian, "Wait for me for a moment!" She turned around and ran back like a gust of wind.

Pei Xingjian was stunned for a moment. He didn't know what she was remembering, so he had to follow him slowly. When he arrived at the door of Dejia Vale's shop, he heard Liuli's joyful cheer, "Great!"

Shopkeeper Shi stood in the open space in the middle of the shop, staring dumbfounded at the smiling Madam Kudi: Did he hear it correctly? I heard that the business of her Valerian shop was not good and she didn't receive much work this month. How could she be so happy?

　　…………

In the government office of Anxi Protectorate, the largest room behind the main hall is where Pei Xingjian works. It's almost noon, which is usually the time when everyone packs up their things and prepares to go out for lunch. However, at this moment, there are more than 20 county magistrates, bookkeepers, and soldiers sitting in the room, and there is no one among the dozens of handymen outside the room. Think of this.

Qu Chongyu's calm words rang in everyone's ears like muffled thunder, "The Protector ordered me to come over and tell you that we need to save 300,000 yuan for next year's expenses. As for how to save, I don't know how to save it." I need to trouble Pei Changshi to come up with an idea."

Three hundred thousand coins, that is, three hundred min, is it possible that they, the regents, did not get enough? Although they don't live on these salaries, they can't deceive others too much! Many people looked at Pei Xingjian with a hint of hostility - he was an official of the imperial court, and he had enough salary and land to sit in the room in a daze every day, but he wanted to deprive them of it?

Only Qu Chongyu was still smiling, "Pei Changshi, you have been looking at these expenditure accounts for two days. Do you have any insights now?"

Pei Xingjian seemed to feel the pressure in this gaze, and looked at everyone and smiled, "Pei is new here, so I don't have any ideas. I hope all my colleagues will work together to live up to the expectations of the Protector."

The room fell into silence for a while. After a while, Wang Junmeng, the magistrate of Gaochang County, was the first to speak, "Speaking of it, the expenses of the Duhu Mansion are not that much. Logically speaking, Duhu Qu is also leading the governor of Xizhou, so he should be the governor of Guanzhou." In terms of staff allocation, all of our officials here are Duhufu officials, and there is no need to save manpower. This is one of the reasons; secondly, when Chai Duhu and Guo Duhu were originally there, the official income of Xizhou officials was much more than it is now. Cheng, now those who serve as servants in the government have almost no job division, and their salaries and miscellaneous allowances are only half of those of the imperial officials. Even Cheng Liang, money and other expenses are less than the imperial quota; not to mention the handymen outside, one person per year It's only a thousand dollars, and if it's less, how can they support their family? Therefore, it is necessary to save money now, but if it is too strict and people's hearts are wandering, it will not be worth the loss. "

Wang Jun Meng Nai is the legitimate son of the Wang family, the prime minister of Gaochang Kingdom for generations, and the sister-in-law of Qu Chongyu. He has a unique status. When he opened his mouth, he said such a truth, and everyone in the room nodded.

Qu Chongyu usually gave Wang Junmeng face the most, but at this time he said calmly, "Don't you think the governor knows this? It's just that the imperial court will definitely conquer the Turks next year, and the tax debt of Xizhou will not last for a day. If we don't increase revenue and reduce expenditure, next year When it comes to paying military funds, do you want to donate it or take three to five years’ rent in advance?”

 Everyone could not help but remain silent for a moment. The chief clerk, Yan Hailong, laughed quickly and said, "The Protector's foresight is not comparable to that of his subordinates. I think that although the expenses of colleagues and handymen have been saved, the daily sundries expenses in the mansion may be Things that can be discussed, such as pens, inks, paper, inkstones and mats, although they are not very eye-catching, there is something to be said about them. "

Qu Chongyu raised his eyebrows and looked at Pei Xingjian, "Pei Changshi has read the account books of expenditures in the past few days. I wonder how much the expenditures are according to the items mentioned by Chief Yan?"

Pei Xingjian picked up the account book and looked at it for a moment, then raised his head and said, "Nearly six hundred min."

There was a buzz of discussion in the room, and several people were a little surprised. They never expected that such inconspicuous things would cost so much money.

Yan Hailong nodded and said with a smile, "Exactly. If Xianguan remembers it well, there were more in the early years. In those days, even rough paper in Xizhou had to be bought from Dunhuang. The prince opened a paper mill in Xizhou the year before last. , now more than half of them have been replaced by local paper. They are only sent to the court, communicated with other states and counties, and used by everyone. Yizhou jute paper is still used as usual. If they are all replaced by local burlap paper, I am afraid that they can save money. Two or three hundred people came down."

 The paper used for daily office work is not that good, so why should you hesitate? Everyone immediately agreed, "Mr. Yan's words make sense! It turns out we should change to local paper."

Yan Hailong smiled and listed the following items such as changing the ink to ink, suspending the replacement of mats, carpets, etc. When he calculated it, it happened to be more than three hundred. Qu Chongyu nodded silently, and then looked at Pei Xingjian solemnly, "Chang What do you think?"

The people in the room looked at Pei Xingjian expectantly. Pei Xingjian was startled for a moment, then nodded with a smile. Everyone, including Qu Chongyu, breathed a sigh of relief, and the atmosphere suddenly became lighter. The servant waiting at the door of the room made a gesture to the outside, and the sound of chanting Buddha's name suddenly sounded in the yard.

It wasn't until the people in the room dispersed chatting and laughing that Qu Chongyu stood up lazily and walked side by side to the door with Pei Xingjian, his face full of satisfaction, "It's rare that this errand was solved easily. Keep the promise, what's the best today?" Want to go out for a drink together?”

Pei Xingjian paused, with a polite smile on his face, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. My wife specially prepared roast goose today, but I have to go back to eat."

Qu Chongyu shook his head disapprovingly, "Forget it! Keep the promise, although this matter has been decided for the time being, the implementation still falls on you. If you have any difficulties, just come to me. "

When Qu Chongyu returned to his house, Wang Junmeng, the magistrate of Gaochang County, was already waiting at the door. When he saw Qu Chongyu, he smiled and said, "Yu Lang has a wonderful plan!"

Qu Chongyu smiled coldly, "Doesn't this count? I was originally worried that Pei Shouyue might know that the An family's motorcade contained the hemp paper we wanted, and would use words like official dignity to try to prevaricate us. Today, it seems that he But he is completely ignorant, he just made up his mind not to be the leader, but he didn’t know that we didn’t intend for him to be the leader in the first place!”

Wang Junmeng smiled and nodded, "Exactly, I have been paying attention to the couple these days. They are either shopping randomly in the market or visiting a Hu merchant named An. They are quite leisurely."

Qu Chongyu raised his eyes slightly and said leisurely, "Let them relax for a few more days, ten days at most, I'm afraid they won't even be able to sleep well!" After a while, he added, "It's better to have people keep an eye on them. Some."

But in the next ten days, Pei Xingjian seemed to be more and more leisurely. He went out of the Yamen every day and didn't even go out. On the contrary, Mr. Kudi would come in happily and buy something every day. Today he bought four or five. A slave, I will buy seven or eight pieces of silk yarn tomorrow, and transport some furniture wood the next day... Qu Chongyu was rewarded, and couldn't help laughing at himself - what on earth was he worried about?

In the blink of an eye, it was the second day of December, when a long procession of dozens of camels from the Anjia caravan appeared outside Xizhou City, Xizhou City suddenly became lively like a festival: different from the merchants who come and go on weekdays, The Anjia caravan that comes to Xizhou at this time every year carries not only ordinary goods, but also many rare things requested by wealthy families in Xizhou, not to mention that most of the Hu merchants and guards in the caravan are originally from Xizhou. The sons and daughters of Zhouzhou have already been eagerly awaited by their relatives and relatives.

In the valley below the east gate of Xizhou City, slaves unloading goods, relatives who came to greet them, and idlers who joined in the fun crowded together. Everyone was smiling. However, when Pei Xingjian got the news and came to the valley, he He unexpectedly came face to face with a slightly blue face.

Hey, guess what method Liuli used to make his first pot of gold in starting a business? It's a good guess, right? According to the latest archaeological findings, this invention appeared as late as Wu Zetian’s reign. Of course, people from a certain country insist that they were the first to invent it. Bah...

As usual, I call out to Little Pink affectionately—if I don’t have Pink, I still need recommendation votes.

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 (End of this chapter)