Fenghou

Princess Lu Xiu brought a large group of servants over from the guest hall, glanced at Chen Qing and said with a smile: "Where did this wild boy come from, if you break into the palace, you will be punished by the supervisor!"

Chen Qing said with a grin, "Hey! Whose lady is this, she is quite handsome!"

The servant girls covered their mouths and laughed, Lu Xiuqiao blushed, stepped forward and pinched Chen Qing's arm, and ordered: "Chunyu and Dongxue, hurry up and get a pot of hot water in the kitchen."

The two maids rushed away, Chen Qing sat down in the guest room, Lu Xiu carefully tore off the mask for her husband, washed his face with hot water, and then returned to its original state.

Lu Xiu was a little displeased and said, "My husband went to Weifu for a private visit again?"

"I'll go to Wazi for a walk to learn about the situation of the people at the bottom. Don't worry! The inner guards are under surveillance, and the personal soldiers will follow!"

In front of the servant girl and servant woman, Lu Xiu couldn't say anything.

Chen Qing asked with a smile: "Why is Madam outside?"

"Counselor Zhou's wife came just now, and sat with her for a while."

"What is Counselor Zhou's wife doing here?"

"Nothing? I just want to ask about making winter clothes. Is it better to use wood cotton or grass cotton for the filling, and then let me introduce the tailor to her."

There are still some things that Lu Xiu didn’t say, Mrs. Zhou actually came to remind her implicitly, don’t let her husband pay for the tea money, it will embarrass the prince. Of course, Zhou Kuan asked his wife to come over and remind the princess that today’s tea money should be done. Not right.

Naturally, Lu Xiu felt very regretful in her heart, and she really didn't think carefully about asking the shopkeeper to ask her husband for the bill.

Fortunately, the husband is more tolerant and doesn't care about such things, otherwise the husband will be dissatisfied and her life will be difficult.

The carriage came, Chen Qing and his wife got into the carriage, and the carriage drove to the back garden.

"Husband has a private visit on microservices today, did you gain anything?"

Chen Qing nodded, "There are two major gains. First, the extravagance restriction is a bit ill-considered and may be adjusted."

"Why? Isn't your husband worried that extravagance will affect morale?"

"It will affect morale, but it is not right across the board. It will affect the survival of the people at the bottom, so we need to find a proper way."

"How can the luxury restriction order affect the lower class people? The lower class people have nothing to do with luxury!"

"It does matter. For example, rich businessman A goes to Qing'an Teahouse to drink a pot of Fengcha and spends a hundred guan. There may be [-] guan tea money in this hundred guan, and the other [-] guan is the wages of the shopkeeper, the waiter and the tea princess. There are also the wages of the water delivery man, and the rent and so on.

Now the rich merchants are not allowed to drink Fengcha, the one hundred guan money can’t be spent, the rich merchants have no loss, but the salaries of the shopkeeper, the waiter and the tea girl will be gone, and if they have no money, there will be no source of customers in the tile, so How to support multiple stores? "

"It seems to make sense!"

Chen Qing said with emotion: "So today a peddler said it well. Everyone has no special skills, so they rely on running errands, being a buddy, and doing small business. You buy mine and I buy yours. Where does the money come from? Rely on the rich to spend money to leak a little out."

"so what?"

"So blocking is worse than sparse. The rich should be allowed to enjoy luxury appropriately, but especially in terms of food and clothing, they should not be restricted too much, so that they can spend money to benefit more people at the bottom."

Lu Xiu nodded, and asked with a smile, "What's your husband's second harvest?"

"I learned about the market price of cotton cloth."

"I know that too! The market price of cotton cotton cloth is three guan kuai, fine linen is [-] renminbi, extra-fine linen is [-] renminbi, and stuffed cotton is [-] qian kuai."

Chen Qing was stunned, "How could my lady know?"

"It's all in the newspapers! Daily market prices, how much is the price of food? How much is the price of meat? The price of cloth is all there. In addition, my husband wants to know the people's sentiments of the people at the bottom. Ask Tian Steward and Mrs. Wen, or ask the maids, You can all understand why you need to take the risk to make a private visit, in case you encounter an assassin, even if you have personal guards, you can't defend against it! If something happens to your husband, Ji'er is still so young, can he support your great career?"

Lu Xiu seized the opportunity and unceremoniously criticized her husband's private visit. The lesson of Yuchi County, Kaifeng Prefecture is so profound, how could he forget it in a blink of an eye?

……

After thinking about it for three days, Chen Qing finally made a decision to adjust the extravagance restrictions. First, food and clothing were removed from the extravagance restrictions. Generally, noble wives would not show their faces easily, and they were all active in the house and stayed at home. Or attending parties, etc., the extravagance order itself does not restrict staying at home.

The same goes for eating and drinking. If you want to eat delicacies from mountains and seas, you can eat them at home instead of in restaurants. It is better to eat in restaurants to prosper the catering industry.

What Chen Qing wants to prohibit is the extravagant consumption of Fenglelou. The luxury of Fenglelou does not lie in what to eat or drink. It is a status to enter Fenglelou. A pot of Baiguan will be sold in Fengle Building.

There are only dozens of dishes for a table outside, but hundreds of dishes are sold in Fengle Building.

In addition, there are the most beautiful women serving and even sleeping. Strictly speaking, Fengle Building is just the highest-level brothel.

Secondly, there are extravagant restrictions on housing and transportation. This rule cannot be broken, and people below the third rank can only ride in a one-horse cart, regardless of whether it is a government order or a wealthy businessman.

The third-rank and above ride a double-horse cart, and the three-horse cart can only be the carriage of King Yong.

As for living, it still follows the old rules. If you want to live in a big house, you have to go through the official rank, or make a contribution to get an honorary officer. If it is more than two acres, it is called a house, and if it is less than two acres, it is called a courtyard. The same is true for wealthy businessmen, who cannot get honorary officials, and are not allowed to buy residential land of more than two acres. If they have already bought it, they are not allowed to build it.

This is actually equivalent to a qualification to buy a house. You have to do good deeds first, and get an honorary officer. Before you get an honorary officer, you can only rent a house.

Zhou Kuan’s plan for heavy taxation on luxury goods has not come out for a long time. It is too difficult. The key is that it is too difficult to define luxury goods. What is luxury goods?What is not a luxury?It is difficult to define at all. Tongzhou Kuquan sheep is a luxury product, so how do you know that the sheep he eats is Tongzhou Kuquan sheep?

In the end, the Internal Affairs Hall unanimously approved Chen Qing's amendment plan, abolishing the restrictions on food and clothing, and instead restricting the way of operation, not allowing the appearance of luxury restaurants with restricted status like Fengle Restaurant.

The plans for housing and travel were also approved, and a little fine-tuning was made on the travel. In addition to King Yong, the troika also added the princess and the prince.

After the plan was approved by Chen Qing, it was immediately published in the Beijing News and received enthusiastic responses in Jingzhao City. Almost all restaurants and teahouses breathed a sigh of relief.

In the official room, Chen Qing was listening to Wei Ji's report.

"His Royal Highness, almost all merchants believe that the previous extravagance restriction order is an evil law. It does not restrict the rich people from enjoying luxury at home, but it restricts the development of restaurants and teahouses. The shopkeeper of Tianwei Restaurant said that they There are many secret dishes that take several years, and the process is very complicated. It is normal to sell a plate for ten guan, but there is a limit of [-] guan. They can only serve two dishes, which is very unfair to them.

The head shopkeeper of Taibai Restaurant also said that their Zhuangyuan wine and green plum wine are good wines that have been cellared for more than 20 years, and a pot costs ten guan. "

Chen Qing listened to the report patiently, and said to Wei Ji and Chao Qing next to him: "You two must learn to persuade in the future, and you must promptly feedback the voices of lower-level officials and common people to me. This extravagance restriction is a very bad one. Not to mention the successful decree attempt, it took a lot of manpower and material resources, and more importantly, it was divorced from reality, and it was taken for granted. In the end, it was opposed by everyone from top to bottom, and had to be revised. The lesson is profound!"

Wei Ji and Chao Qing bowed together and said, "I know my mistakes!"

The first thousand and 140 eight chapters of Beixun

A few days later, just entering November, the first heavy snow of this year roared under the wind from the north, sweeping across the entire northwest, overnight, the entire Guanzhong Plain became a snow-covered world.

On the official road to the east of Jingzhao, many businessmen were trekking hard. A heavy snow caught them off guard, and the originally flat and easy official road became difficult to walk.

Fortunately, King Yong ordered the army to shovel the snow on the official road. The [-] troops cleared the snow for [-] miles within a day, and many trapped caravans were able to continue to Jingzhao City.

Among dozens of caravans, there is a caravan composed of [-] camels. They came from Taiyuan. The camels were loaded with [-] high-quality sheepskins. The owners of this caravan were two brothers. Yin Balu, a Mughal merchant, and his brother Yin Erhan, who were taken care of by Chen Qing.

This time, the two brothers not only came to Jingzhao to sell goods, but also shouldered important tasks.

Yin Erhan rode over and shouted: "Brother, the official way is clear, it may snow tomorrow, let's go!"

Yinbalu turned his head and shouted: "Brothers, get up, let's go!"

They hired more than a dozen Han men in Taiyuan to take care of the camels for them. The men yelled loudly, and the camels lying on the ground got up and started to walk slowly. Many merchants also got up and set off with mules and donkeys. .

At noon, they finally arrived in Jingzhao City. The camel team did not enter the city, but came to an inn outside the city where they stayed last year. The inn outside the city occupies a large area, and their camels have a place to stay.

"Treasurer Gao, do you still remember us?"

The two brothers are both over two meters tall, and they are extremely strong, like two huge black bears. Each of them has to eat a big pot of rice for a meal. How could the shopkeeper not remember them.

"Are you... are you going to stay in a hotel?"

Yinbalu grinned and said, "We have [-] camels and [-] fellows, can we accommodate them?"

The shopkeeper nodded, "You guys are lucky. A group of merchants from the Western Regions just left the day before yesterday. They also have hundreds of camels. Come on! Bring the camels to the backyard."

Yin Balu was overjoyed, and hurriedly greeted his staff, "Unload the cargo first, and then lead the camels to the backyard."

Group after group of camels went into the yard to unload, and then they were taken to the backyard. The [-] camels were busy for almost an hour before they were arranged, and then the goods were moved into the room. Everyone was exhausted.

Although they were exhausted, Yin Balu and his brother Yin Erhan still entered the city, they rode to the official office of King Yong's mansion, and said to a soldier: "We are looking for Wei Canjun who is beside King Yong, and we have something important to tell him. "

Last year, Wei Ji took them to sell sheepskins. They were familiar with them, and the soldiers went in to report.

Not long after, Wei Ji walked out quickly, and the gatekeepers described the appearance of the two of them, and Wei Ji guessed that they were brothers, and they were indeed good.

"Why are you here again?"

Wei Ji's tone was a little displeased. They had helped the Mughal tribe, but the Mughal tribe avenged their favor and attacked Datong Mansion.

Yin Balu hurried forward and said: "We have come to meet His Royal Highness King Yong under the order of the Khan, and we have a letter to deliver to His Highness."

Wei Ji glanced at them, and said to the soldiers on duty: "After searching, take them to the corridor and wait, I will report to His Highness!"

Wei Ji hurriedly came to Chen Qing's official room and reported, "Your Highness, I have something to report in this humble position!"

"Come in!"

Wei Ji walked into the official room, and Chen Qing was reviewing a document, "What's the matter?" He put down his pen and asked.

"His Highness, those two Mughal merchants came again last winter, saying that there is a letter from the Khan to be forwarded to His Highness."

Chen Qing thought for a while and asked with a smile: "But those two brothers who are tall and strong?"

"It's them!"

"Okay, you can bring them in!"

"Your Highness, do you want to arrange some more personal guards?" Wei Ji asked worriedly.

Chen Qing smiled slightly, "Do you think I still need personal protection? Go!"

Wei Ji had no choice but to go. Not long after, two soldiers brought Yin Balu and Yin Erhan in.

The two bowed and saluted, "May Changshengtian bless His Royal Highness King Yong!"

Chen Qing nodded with a smile and said, "It's been a year since we saw each other, are you here to sell leather goods again?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, we originally planned to sell goods in Taiyuan this year, but we have a heavy responsibility, so we didn't sell goods in Taiyuan and came directly to Jingzhao."

"The same is true for selling goods in Jingzhao. It is the same as last year. I will give you a good price later."

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

The two brothers were overjoyed, and Yin Balu took out a letter and presented it to Chen Qing. Chen Qing took the letter, and saw on the letter: "His Royal Highness King Yong of the Great Song Dynasty respectfully".

Chen Qing was startled, it was actually written in Chinese, he asked with a smile, "Why is it in Chinese?"

Yin Balu hurriedly said: "There are also Han staff in the Khan's tent, the Khan dictates, and the Han staff writes."

Chen Qing opened the letter. It was a letter from the Mughal King Habul Khan. Although it was written in Chinese by his staff, it had his seal and signature at the end, indicating that the content had been confirmed.

The content is relatively simple. It just said that the Mengwu tribe had no intention of invading Datong Mansion. Because of successive years of wars, the men had suffered huge casualties and their strength was weakened. They were recuperating and unable to go south. sword.

The invasion of Datong Mansion in autumn had nothing to do with him.

Chen Qing frowned, and asked Yin Balu, "The content of the letter is too simple, and I can't understand it. You Khan said that he had no intention of invading south, but my army saw the battle flag of the Mughal army in Datong Mansion. how to explain?"

Yin Baru wiped the sweat from his forehead and explained: "This is where the Khan asked the villain to explain clearly to His Highness. His Highness's army may have seen the battle flag of the Mughal Army, but there must be no Borjiba cavalry, or absolutely There are no cavalry from the Qiyan Department."

Chen Qing sneered, "What do you mean? Your Khan is the king of the Muwu Kingdom. Could it be that he can only control his own tribe in the end?"

"Your Highness does not know that the Mongolian Kingdom is composed of more than [-] tribes. The Qiyan tribe is the largest tribe, but there are several tribes under the Qiyan tribe. The Borjijin tribe where Khan is located is the main tribe. At the same time, he also controlled the Qiyan tribe. Originally, all the tribes of the Mughal army obeyed the orders of the Khan. The Jin soldiers were defeated, and finally had to seek peace from the Jin Kingdom, accept the canonization of the Emperor of the Jin Kingdom, and become a vassal state of the Jin Kingdom."

"Go on, and then?"

"Then in the summer, envoys from the Kingdom of Jin persuaded our army to go south to invade Datong Prefecture. Khan refused because too many men were killed in battle and he had no troops to march south. However, several large tribes in the south were the first to surrender to the Kingdom of Jin. Several tribes were persuaded by the Kingdom of Jin, and under the banner of the Mughal tribe, they united with the armies of the Kere tribe and the Tatar tribe, and the three armies marched southward to invade Datong Prefecture."

"How many troops do they have?" Chen Qing asked again.

"The troops of the several tribes of the Mughal tribe were 1, and the Kret and Tatar tribes each sent 2 troops, making a total of [-] troops. The Kret tribe was the leader, but they did not carry siege weapons and were unable to attack the Great Wall. In the same city, they retreated hastily."

"Will you go south next year?"

"Look at the requirements of the Kingdom of Jin. If the Kingdom of Jin asks them to go south, they will definitely go south. My Khan reminds His Highness to be careful of Fengzhou next year. The Kret has long wanted to take Fengzhou as a springboard for going south."

Chen Qing nodded, and asked again: "Will winter attack Datong Mansion?"

The two Yinbalu brothers shook their heads together, and Yinerhan said: "The heavy snow on the grassland is beyond your imagination. The accumulated thickness of the snow will even drown the war horses. It is absolutely impossible to send troops in winter. They will only be frozen before the troops gather. Died on the way."

Yin Balu also said: "It is true. The herdsmen burn cow dung in the dome tents to spend the cold winter. Even if they go south in spring, it will be after March when the ice and snow on the grassland melt. It will take a month to concentrate from all directions, and the army will gather and go south in April."

"No siege weapons?"

Yin Balu shook his head, "Unless the Kingdom of Jin provides them, there will be no siege weapons."

Chen Qing immediately felt relieved. It was still the time of Temujin’s great-grandfather, and the grassland was still a loose tribal alliance. He would not get a large number of siege weapons and Chinese craftsmen until Temujin unified the grassland and destroyed the Jin Kingdom.

Now they are just harassing the border, and it will be more than 100 years before they become stronger!Now the north is still dominated by the Jurchens.

The first thousand and 140 nine chapters Qingye

After entering November, there was also a moderate snowfall in the Central Plains. Although it was not as exaggerated as the white snow in Guanzhong, the trees, hills and houses were also covered in silver. With the arrival of the wind and snow, the Yellow River also began to freeze.

Along the way, the government began to mobilize the people along the Yellow River to prevent the golden soldiers and iron horses from crossing the river and raiding and looting in winter, and asked them to leave their homes and migrate to the hinterland of the Central Plains.

Under the government's mobilization again and again, the people packed up their belongings and left their homes one after another, carrying burdens, driving donkey carts, supporting the old and the young, and evacuated to Kaifeng and the states in the Central Plains.

There is a small village called Dezhuang not far from the New Yellow River in Chuqiu County, Guide Prefecture. There are about a hundred families. In the second year of Jianyan, the Yellow River burst its embankment, and the torrential flood rushed in. Nearly half of the people were swept away by the flood. Half of the people escaped in time and survived.