Chongzhen Chat Group

The movement at the door alerted the shopkeeper again. A waiter happened to have seen what just happened and told the shopkeeper about the situation. So, the shopkeeper hurried to this private room with the best view, and said with a smile: "Thank you, guest, for letting those crazy people go. The shop will give you a 20% discount on the tea this time as a token of appreciation. Thank you very much!”

If there had been a fight just now, it would definitely affect the business of the tea shop without saying who won in the end. The shopkeeper is also good at judging people. He knew that this group of people came from the north. Seeing that there were so many entourages on horseback, they should be people with a good background and did not dare to offend.

Otherwise, one-time guests like Emperor Chongzhen and others would naturally not be as kind to their tea shop as those scholars, and their tea shop would help those scholars.

Seeing the shopkeeper talking like this, Emperor Chongzhen showed a smile and said: "If you disturb the shopkeeper's business, I can't ask for any more discounts from your tea shop. The tea price remains the same."

"No, no, it's rare for you to come to our store..."

Before the shopkeeper finished speaking, Liu Xingzuo shouted coldly: "You are right, sir, didn't you hear me?"

"..." When the shopkeeper heard this, he was stunned. He even insisted on pushing out the discounts? You... you are different from those people who want to save face, so why are you still having a conflict?

Little did he know that the identity of the person in front of him was very special. He kept his word and it was not a matter of face. Of course, Emperor Chongzhen did not mean this, and he did not firmly remember that he was the emperor while in disguise. It was Liu Xingzuo who did it himself. There is another reason for this. Liu Xingzuo, a Han Chinese from Liaodong, was really impressed by the situation in Liaodong. After comparing what he saw and thought in Jiangnan, it would be strange to say that he had no opinion. . But just now the emperor refused to allow the beating, so he had no choice but to feel a little angry.

After Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he didn't care. Now that he was talking to the shopkeeper, he simply asked: "Is what these people said true?"

Hearing what the person in charge said, the shopkeeper didn't dare to neglect him. Although the young man in front of him was smiling and talking, for some reason, he felt vaguely pressured, which was greater than the pressure of meeting his boss. He said cautiously: "It's true, the guest will get weird if he walks around more." Weird!"

After finishing speaking, he carefully checked Emperor Chongzhen's face, and looked at Liu Xingzuo from the corner of his eye. Seeing that there was no adverse reaction, he continued to explain: "Actually, we in the south of the Yangtze River are relatively wealthy. Relatively speaking, compared to the north, , every household can have a certain amount of money. People, as long as they have money, they will think about being decent. As it is said, most people naturally want to enjoy themselves..."

Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted again, this time by Concubine Tian: "How did I hear that the ancients said that if you have a stable warehouse, you will know etiquette, and if you have enough food and clothing, you will know honor and disgrace."

After hearing this, the shopkeeper turned to look at her and saw that she was a woman disguised as a man. Her appearance and temperament were beyond anything he had ever seen in his life, so he became even more cautious. However, the young master was not angry, indicating that his words were not abrupt, so he went on to explain: "This young master is right. The so-called knowing honor and disgrace when you have enough food and clothing is actually a matter of honor and disgrace." also!"

When Concubine Tian heard this explanation, she didn't think about it for a moment. She couldn't help but froze and didn't speak.

Emperor Chongzhen already understood the problem, and sighed in his heart, but he still said with a smile on the surface: "The food, clothing, housing and transportation are all going towards the dignity they want, so the craftsmen in these areas should have a good business, right?"

"Young master is right!" The shopkeeper immediately nodded and responded with a smile, "If you need anything, you will get it. In our Jiangnan area, as long as you have craftsmanship, your family background is pretty good. Especially those with superb craftsmanship, often Call him Master and become a guest of the rich or powerful people in our Jiangnan area."

Emperor Chongzhen had already figured this out, nodded, and after asking a few more questions that he was more concerned about, he asked Fang Zhenghua to settle the bill, and they continued on their way.

After getting on the horse and no one else around, Fang Zhenghua said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Master, everything in Jiangnan is in chaos!"

When everyone else heard this, they all looked at the emperor, wondering if the emperor would be very angry. After all, there are no outsiders here, and the emperor may tell his true thoughts.

Unexpectedly, Emperor Chongzhen allowed the tall horse under his crotch to advance slowly, while looking up at the village in the distance and said: "It can't be said to be a mess. This is what will happen naturally after the people live a prosperous life without deliberate guidance from the government. Condition."

"From what the shopkeeper just said, I deliberately confirmed that these are not isolated cases. Now that I know it, I will not let this kind of thing continue to develop on its own." Emperor Chongzhen said with a frown.

He thought of Europe at this time. Their living standards had improved, but they had invested so much in the research and development of science and technology. Of course, there was also a lot of enjoyment of life and corrupt styles. But relatively speaking, after the Ming Dynasty Jiangnan became rich, they spent more money on personal enjoyment and did not want to make progress, thinking that the Ming Dynasty was the best in the world. Just like the exquisite clothes and utensils worn by those scholars just now, all their thoughts were spent on this aspect.

It's okay to say that this is just the case. After all, the better these things are, the easier they are to export. However, if the country is unstable and has insufficient military equipment, it will be impossible to preserve these exquisite objects. According to the original historical development, it will only benefit the captives and ultimately the Western countries.

When Emperor Chongzhen thought of this, he thought of Zhou Yanru again. He seemed to be in Nanjing, where he was asked to educate scholars and try to change the culture. I don’t know if the atmosphere in Nanjing is better than here?

Thinking about these things, the group continued on their way. Along the way, because of what happened at the tea shop, almost everyone paid attention to everything they saw.

Sure enough, they discovered that people here in Jiangnan seemed to pay more attention to decency, which reflected in all aspects. In the market with about two hundred households that I just passed by, a family was having a wedding banquet. They used running water mats and had chicken, duck and fish. According to Liu Xingzuo's emotional words afterward, this wedding banquet was probably as good as the one in Liaodong. The people of the fort had enough to eat for a month.

In the afternoon, Suzhou City is in sight. However, their attention was not on Suzhou City, but on a place not far from them, about a hundred meters away from the official road.

I saw a lot of people gathered around there, all discussing something loudly. It seemed to be lively and interesting.

Seeing this, Concubine Tian was curious and said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Master, the city of Suzhou is ahead. It's still early. How about we go over and have a look?"

Thanks to Forty Frogs for the tip!