Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 11 The old house is on fire

In another time and space, the prefect was a fourth-rank official, the associate prefect was a fifth-rank official, and the magistrate was a sixth-rank official.

In the Ming Dynasty of this time and space, the associate prefect and the magistrate co-existed at first. But the functions of the two overlapped too much, and the court also increased the authority of the Cao Yuan, so the associate prefect and the magistrate were simply merged.

In the current Ming Dynasty, there is only the magistrate, and there is no associate prefect. And the magistrate of the prefecture is a fifth-rank official.

Fan Ying, the head of the Ministry of Works, is also a fifth-rank official, the same level as Xie Yan's father. But the fifth-rank official in the capital is usually humble and small, and is not as happy as the fifth-rank official in the local area.

In the evening, off work.

Fan Ying walked out of the Ministry of Works, called a carriage, and deliberately shouted to the driver: "Go to the house of the Grand Princess of Qin!"

When this was said, everyone looked sideways, and many colleagues looked over.

Fan Ying wanted this effect, he walked to the carriage with his head held high, opened the door and sat in.

His hometown is in Gansu. Before the coup, Fan Ying was the supervisor of a large state-owned copper mine in Yunnan. After the young emperor ascended the throne, Fan Ying was transferred to the Ministry of Works in a confused manner.

According to the rank, it was a horizontal transfer, and according to the position, he was promoted.

The reason why he was promoted to the Ministry of Works was very simple: first, he had a classmate who became the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Works; second, he was from the northwest and had no connection with the southern faction; third, he had a good political performance in recent years.

When he first came to Beijing, Fan Ying was very excited, but gradually became depressed.

The consumption level in Luoyang was too high, and if the head of the Ministry of Works was not responsible for the project, there was really not much oil and water sitting in the office on weekdays.

He was afraid that he would be suspected of corruption when he was the supervisor of the copper mine, so he could only live in the official residence with his wife and two concubines, and he didn't even dare to bring his children to Luoyang to live with him.

He was too lazy to buy a carriage, anyway, the official residence was very close to the Ministry of Works.

He still wanted to continue to climb up, so he had to behave more honestly!

Thanks to my ancestors, I have met the young scholar Xie recently, and today I was invited by the Grand Princess.

"Wow!"

The driver shook the whip lightly, growled twice, and the horse slowly moved forward.

Fan Ying lifted a corner of the curtain and saw that his colleagues were still looking over here, and his mood became more and more comfortable.

Although he didn't know what the Grand Princess invited him to do, he just needed to let the Ministry of Works know that he had been there. Who doesn't know that the Queen Mother and the Grand Princess have a close relationship?

After closing his eyes and resting for a while, the carriage had reached the end.

Fan Ying got off the car with two gift boxes, paid the fare, and went to the side door to hand in the visiting card, and also gave the doorman a silver dollar as a gift.

The doorman's attitude became more enthusiastic, and he asked him to go in and wait, and immediately informed the inner courtyard of the news.

Not long after, Fan Ying was taken in.

Fan Ying observed along the way and couldn't help but sigh in his heart: The princess's house is really good! When I retire and go home, I will also build one in imitation of it.

When he was in charge of the state-owned copper mine in Yunnan, it was impossible for him not to be corrupt. But he didn't take much, and he was used to pretending, so he looked very honest.

When he came to a loft, Fan Ying heard the sound of the piano from a long distance away.

After being taken upstairs, he found that Xie Yan was there.

Xie Xueshi was lying on a rocking chair like the male host here, enjoying himself leisurely. The eldest princess was actually playing the piano for Xie Xueshi!

There were two maids standing in the outer hall, one asked Fan Ying to sit down, and the other went to make tea for Fan Ying.

Fan Ying could only sit in the outer hall and drink tea and wait.

Until the song was over, the maid in the outer hall walked over to report: "Your Highness, my lord, Master Fan is here!"

Xie Yan stood up from the rocking chair and walked out side by side with Zhu Tangxi.

Fan Ying hurriedly stepped forward to greet: "I am Fan Ying, I greet Your Highness the Princess and Xie Xueshi."

Zhu Tangxi nodded in greeting.

Xie Yan bowed in return and said with a smile: "Master Fan, you don't have to be so polite. A few days ago, I was looking up information in the Ministry of Industry, and it was thanks to Master Fan's help."

After a few words of greeting, Fan Ying held up two gift boxes: "I am flattered by your invitation, Your Highness. I am just preparing a small gift as a token of my respect."

Zhu Tangxi reminded: "I never accept expensive gifts."

Fan Ying explained: "Neither of them is expensive. One is Pu'er tea from Yunnan, and the other is tobacco from Yunnan. Both were brought by this subordinate when he left Yunnan."

Zhu Tangxi nodded slightly, and Qingluan went to take the gift.

Xie Yan took out a map of Luoyang Prefecture: "Today I invited Mr. Fan to inquire about the mineral deposits in Luoyang."

Fan Ying said quickly: "I am honored to be able to help Mr. Xie."

Xie Yan spread out the map: "Where are the limestone mines?"

Fan Ying pointed to the eastern suburbs of Luoyang and said: "The closest and richest limestone mine to Luoyang City is in the eastern suburbs of Luoyang. But there is the Temple of Heaven and Earth, the Imperial College and the Military Academy, the Royal Gardens, and the Royal Horse Farm in that area. The court will not approve mining."

Fan Ying pointed to the west and south of Luoyang: "These counties all have limestone mines, and several are already being mined."

"Is there no limestone mine in the north?" Xie Yan asked.

"Yes, but not much." Fan Ying said.

Xie Yan asked again: "I heard there are anthracite mines near Luoyang?"

Fan Ying pointed to several places on the map: "Most of the coal mines around Luoyang are anthracite, mainly in Yanshi, Luanchuan and Yongning (Luoning) counties."

Xie Yan asked about gypsum mines, iron mines, etc., and Fan Ying answered them quickly.

This head of the Ministry of Industry has strong business capabilities.

Xie Yan took a pen and kept marking on the map, and began to think about where to build the cement plant.

His original plan was to build it in the Mangshan area, preferably in Yanshi or Gongxian. In this way, the cement produced can be supplied to Luoyang and quickly transported to Zhengzhou and Kaifeng by water.

But at present, it seems that building it in Shou'an County (Yiyang County) is the best. It can not only obtain limestone mines locally, but also obtain other mineral raw materials nearby.

Fluorite mines have also been found, just in Luanchuan County in the south, which is information provided by medicinal materials merchants.

When preparing cement, the proportion of fluorite added is less than 10%, and it can be transported by water through the Yi River.

By the way, the site of the Li family cement factory is also very good. Li Minqiu can be said to have hit the jackpot this time.

After talking about business, Fan Ying was invited to the dining room.

The dishes are rich but not extravagant, which is exactly what Xie Yan likes.

This meal, Fan Ying ate like pins and needles, and even lowered his head and dared not look around casually.

Because those two guys were showing off their affection again, Zhu Tangxi kept serving Xie Yan food and wine, just like a wife serving her husband.

Reading the error-free version! 6=9+Shu_bar released this novel for the first time.

They don't avoid outsiders anymore!

After finishing the meal, Fan Ying hurriedly said goodbye, fearing that he would see something he shouldn't see.

Xie Yan and Zhu Tangxi were also slightly drunk.

After Fan left, Zhu Tangxi said, "The city gates are closed, Liu Lang will stay here tonight."

Xie Yan suggested, "The moonlight is just right, why not take a night walk with candlelight."

The two came to the garden hand in hand, with maids holding lanterns in front and behind, and those lanterns were kerosene lamps.

The princess's garden is another beautiful sight at night.

Unfortunately, there are many mosquitoes in summer, which really spoils the scenery. Xie Yan was bitten many times along the way.

Zhu Tangxi simply took Xie Yan to the waterside pavilion, asked the maid to light the mosquito repellent incense, and put some snacks and wine again. The two of them embraced and admired the moonlight on the lotus pond, hugged each other and fed each other wine and said sweet words.

Since the kiss that day, the eldest princess has become more and more open. Moreover, sometimes she is particularly proactive and wants to eat Xie Yan!

I don’t know what time it was, anyway, the newly added wine was finished, and the two left the waterside pavilion with a deeper intoxication.

Xie Yan was actually conscious, but his hands and feet were a little out of control. He almost fell down when he walked and had to be supported by the maid.

He wanted to send the princess back to the bedroom, but the princess was reluctant to part with him, and took him to the embroidery building to play, as if she was going to play all night.

Qingluan lit the incense here and asked the accompanying maid to leave so as not to disturb their world of two.

Zhu Tangxi seemed to be an old house on fire. As soon as Qingluan closed the door, she hugged Xie Yan tightly and gave him a kiss. Xie Yan responded dizzyly, hugged the princess and quickly rolled onto the embroidered couch.

Qingluan and several maids all stood outside the door and eavesdropped. The faint sound coming from inside made them blush.

"No!"

The princess suddenly shouted, and the noise in the room stopped.

Zhu Tangxi had taken off most of her clothes at this moment. The reason why she suddenly woke up was because Xie Yan took a long time to untie her bellyband. In a daze, not only did he fail to untie it successfully, but he also made a knot. He pulled it violently and it hurt Zhu Tangxi.

Xie Yan was speechless. In order to untie the rope, he sobered up a lot. Then he realized that this thing didn't need to be untied!

Zhu Tangxi breathed quickly, blushing and said: "Good Liulang, Qingluan told you that I will...wait until after the wedding...okay?"

Xie Yan could only say: "I will listen to you, sister."

Zhu Tangxi felt something pressing against her belly, and estimated that Xie Yan was already very suffocated, so she whispered in her lover's ear: "Liulang, if you can't help it, you can let Qingluan sleep with you tonight, I won't be angry."

Hearing this, Xie Yan's blood boiled, and he suppressed his impulse and said: "I want to give my virginity to my sister."

"Liulang, you are so kind!" Zhu Tangxi was moved to tears.

She really cried, and tears rolled down.

While she was moved to tears, she unbuttoned her skirt: "I will give it to you today, no matter how much, I will admit that I have been deceived by you in this life."

Outside the door.

The maids who were listening in the corner found that the noise became louder, and they all looked at each other in surprise.

"Sister Qingluan, this is the embroidery building, no matter what, we should go back to the bedroom." A maid whispered.

Qingluan's body was burning with heat after hearing this, and she blushed and said, "Don't talk nonsense. Go get some hot water, I'll bring it in for His Highness and Liu Lang later."

More than half an hour passed.

The hot water was almost cold, but it was still stirring inside.

Qingluan murmured to herself, "Did it take so long? His Highness must have suffered."

A maid said, "It stopped for a while before, is it the second time now?"

Another maid said, "Did His Highness cry? It doesn't seem like it, the sound is quite strange."

Qingluan ordered, "Go prepare the bath water and some clean clothes, I guess His Highness and Liu Lang are going to take a bath."