Fenghou

"Crack!" Emperor Zhao Gou threw a copy of "Beijing News" on the table, and said to Qin Hui in great dissatisfaction, "Can't you think of a way to prevent this kind of news from appearing in the newspaper?"

Qin Hui said helplessly: "Unless the "Beijing News" is sealed, there is really no way to stop them. Your Majesty, I also hate this newspaper very much, and have taken many measures, but to no avail..."

"Draw the bottom of the pot and cut off its paper supply, can it be done?" Zhao Gou said coldly.

"Wei Chen can give it a try!"

"Such a simple solution, did you think of it now?" Zhao Gou dissatisfied.

"It's been done before, but it doesn't have much effect!"

"Do it again, let Meihuawei take action, I don't want them to publish news about the battle in Hebei all day long."

Qin Hui had no choice but to bow and say, "My minister will arrange it!"

……

The business in Lin'an Xiawazi is booming, and all the small shops are very lively. These small restaurants are relatively low-end shops, with good quality and low price, and are very popular among the middle and lower class people.

However, in the past two days, many officials have also appeared in Wazi's small restaurants. The reason is also very simple. Meihuawei will not come to these small restaurants to monitor. They usually patrol the various restaurants and get some benefits by the way.

This kind of small shop in the tile has no oil and water, and it is meaningless to monitor the people at the bottom. What's more, the small shops secretly collude to carry out the joint guarantee. Be vigilant.

It is also for this reason that in the past two days, middle and low-level officials have come to the Wazi to have dinner and drink, talking freely, but once they go out, they will not admit what they have said. This is the rule. Said, and will be cast aside by all officials.

In a tavern called Liuzhenhe, four young officials sat in the innermost room. These four were all from wealthy families in the south of the Yangtze River, and became officials in the imperial court after passing the Jinshi examination.

Although the wine is not very good, it can create an atmosphere. After a few glasses of wine, the atmosphere will start to liven up.

"Old Xu, I heard that your boss, Qin Mao, has resigned?"

The oldest one is called Xu Hongzhi, about 30 years old. He passed the Jinshi examination the year before last and worked as a military official in the Ministry of War.

Xu Hongzhi picked up his wine glass and said, "He has resigned a long time ago, and it was approved just now."

"It's not easy to resign now! What is his reason?"

"Grandfather passed away, Ding You returned to his hometown Dantu County."

Everyone laughed and said, "Ding You is a good excuse!"

Xu Hongzhi sneered and said, "His grandfather passed away last year. He was afraid of losing his job, so he kept it a secret. Only a few of us knew about it. Now, in turn, Ding You became his best excuse."

"His family is relatively poor!"

"He is really miserable. The imperial court has not paid his salary for several months, and his family is almost out of control. If we hadn't lent him money to pay the rent, the landlord would have driven him out on the street a long time ago. Hey! Wai Lang, a dignified member of the military department, It's ridiculous to rely on your wife to do laundry for you."

"He went to Jingzhao?" another person asked in a low voice.

"Of course, before leaving yesterday, he paid back all the money he owed. He went to the special envoy's office to report and got 20 taels of travel expenses!"

"20 taels of silver!" The other three exclaimed.

The first thousand 290 chapters and six warning signs

Xu Hongzhi drank the wine in the glass and sighed: "Now King Yong is generous. He used to give ten taels of silver for travel expenses, but now he doubles it to 20 taels, 20 taels! It can be exchanged for 160 taels in the black market. It is equal to my salary for two years, it will be great when the imperial court is so generous!"

"Relying on the imperial court?"

Another official from the Secretary Province, Shen Jiangnan, snorted, "The imperial court only has Jiangnan and Fujian Road, plus Lingnan, it needs to raise 30 troops, and there are so many concubines and palace people in the palace. Are you paying for travel? It’s just a daydream!”

"However, when it comes to the scope of the imperial court, it seems that something is not quite right. If King Yong wins Hebei this time, wouldn't it be the best of the world? Who is the imperial court?"

"Do you still have to ask? Justice is in the hearts of the people. Whoever is expelling the Tartars and who is killing Zhongliang, everyone has a steelyard in their hearts!"

At this moment, the shopkeeper hurriedly ran over and said, "Everyone be careful, Plum Blossom Guard is here!"

Everyone stopped talking immediately. At this moment, a general of the Plum Blossom Guard walked into the store with a few of his subordinates, "Your store's business is not bad!"

The shopkeeper laughed and said, "Small business, not worth mentioning!"

General Plum Blossom Guard looked around, walked to the back room, and was stunned for a moment, "Yo! The four of you are here too!"

The four of them just drank, and no one paid attention to him.

Meihuawei found that there were no officials in the restaurant, and they probably hid in the tiles to drink, so they sent their generals to check the tiles, and they found quite a few.

The commander of the Plum Blossom Guard was originally a palace guard, and he knew most of the officials. He has met five times today.

Seeing that everyone ignored him, he laughed dryly, "There are so many restaurants outside, and you guys come here to drink, are you discussing some secret?"

Xu Hongzhi said coldly: "The imperial court doesn't pay salary, and we are very poor, so we can only come here to eat something cheap."

"That's right! We haven't paid salaries for a long time. No wonder everyone comes to Wazi to drink. It seems that I have to report to the higher authorities and urge everyone to pay their salaries."

At this time, Shen Jiangnan said with disgust on his face: "What's the matter with the commander, please go ahead if you have nothing to do! Don't affect our drinking."

The commander laughed, "You guys keep on drinking, I'm working hard, so keep on patrolling."

The general stretched out his hand to the shopkeeper, but the shopkeeper had no choice but to grab a handful of copper coins and give it to him, but the general didn’t take it back, meaning it wasn’t enough, so the shopkeeper had to give him another handful, so the general took his men to the next shop to blackmail him. went.

Everyone in the room could see clearly, Xu Hongzhi spat heavily, "It's rotten to the root."

He said to everyone: "Everyone, I also decided to go to Jingzhao. I don't want to stay in such an imperial court anymore. Do you want to go with me?"

Another young official, Lu Zhengxing, said: "I am also planning to go to Jingzhao, so it happens that we can go together!"

"Okay! I will resign tomorrow, how about you two?"

Xu Hongzhi then asked the other two, "Jiangnan, your cousin is in charge of the criminal punishment department in Jingzhao, don't you want to join him?"

Shen Jiangnan hesitated for a moment and said: "I can't decide whether to go or not. My family has long-term considerations, and they will make arrangements."

"It's understandable. Your Shen family is an aristocratic family, so it's different. But when Jiangnan talked about the long-term, I suddenly remembered a big event!"

"What's the big deal?" Everyone asked with a smile.

Xu Hongzhi lowered his voice, "Have you heard the rumors these two days? About Xu Xiangguo."

"What rumors, let's talk about it!" All three of them leaned forward with great interest.

Xu Hongzhi said with a mysterious face: "It seems to be related to his son. Someone found in Yuchi County, Kaifeng Prefecture that the new county magistrate is very similar to Xu Shou, the son of Xu Xianggong."

"real or fake?"

Everyone couldn't believe it, "Xu Xianggong is the emperor's confidant, how could it be possible? I'm afraid he admitted the wrong person!"

"Not necessarily. Xu Xianggong is from Yuchi County, and his son has not been in Lin'an for several years. Will Xu Xianggong, who is so slippery, leave a way out for himself?"

Another official, Wang Fang, sighed: "If this is the case, I will also consider resigning and go to Jingzhao."

"Isn't your mother in poor health and unable to travel long distances?"

"You can go by boat. Take a boat all the way to Shangluo, and then take an ox cart. It's not far away."

The four of them became more and more excited as they talked, and began to discuss the details of resignation.

……

On the Yangtze River in Huangzhou, a fleet of ships is sailing through the waves. The head is a huge ship, which is twice the size of the Wanshi Ship. This is a [-]-stone lucky ship. The world's first ship.

This gigantic ship was a special gift from Zheng Tongquan to Chen Qing. The [-]-stone lucky ship had thick walls, and used the best ship materials and the best craftsmen. It cost [-] guan and took five years to build.

As soon as it appeared, it was called the King's Ship. Not only was it the largest and the strongest, and ordinary ships would only bring shame upon it if they hit it, it was also equipped with eight medium-sized trebuchets, which could shoot fireballs and oil barrels with precision. Throw it onto the opponent's ship.

When the idea of ​​this ship appeared in Zheng Tongquan's mind, it was built for King Yong Chen Qing. Although it was not luxurious, it was not paved with gold and jade, but it was extremely comfortable.

The big ship is divided into four floors. The first floor is the cabin for [-] personal guards, the second floor is the government cabin, where official affairs are handled, and the third and fourth floors are Chen Qing's living quarters. Except for him and his servants Besides concubine Yao Mei, there are eight female guards and four maids.

The boatman's cabin and the cabin for storing ingredients and fresh water are all below the deck. In addition to the personal cabin on the first floor, there are large kitchens and warehouses at the back, as well as a large dining hall for soldiers to eat.

In addition to the main ship, there are thirty thousand stone ships sailing back and forth, transporting three thousand soldiers and three hundred war horses.

In the living cabin on the third floor, Yao Mei was sitting by the window admiring the scenery of the north shore. Grasslands, majestic and stretching mountains, I am used to all kinds of rough and cold scenery of the Northland.

It was the first time I came to the south, and seeing the mountains and rivers in the south, some were handsome, some were gentle, some were green and verdant, like delicate bonsai, Yao Mei, who was new to the south, was amazed and really fascinated.

On the other side of the cabin, Chen Qing sat at the table and concentrated on drawing, deducing, and thinking on the map with a pen.

This time to attack Hebei Road, he considered attacking from four routes, going all the way to Hanoi, all the way to Fukouxing, all the way to Baimadu in the Central Plains, and then all the way to the sea.

Of course, the focus of these four roads is Fukouxing and Baimadu, and the other two roads are only auxiliary.

Niu Gao led an army of [-] troops out of Fukouxing to attack Xiangzhou, Yang Zaixing led an army of [-] troops across the Yellow River on a white horse, while in Hanoi there were [-] troops, led by Wang Duo, the deputy commander of the capital, and [-] troops by sea, led by Tang Huai and veteran generals. Commanded by Zhang Gongyu.

This is the 20 army, and then Chen Qing personally led the 20 army as the rear army, stationed in the Dezhou area of ​​​​Shandong Road, and directed the soldiers to the Daming Mansion to contain Wan Yanchang's main force.

A total of 40 troops, Chen Qing put down his pen, this time he was determined to win.

……

"What! A fire broke out in Xiaoshan County's Zhifang, killing eight people?"

Wang Muteng stood up. The sudden news caught him off guard. He was planning to increase the printing volume of the newspaper from [-] to [-] copies these days, so as to ensure the enthusiasm and attention of the people on the recovery of Hebei, so that everyone could continue to work hard. I recognize King Yong in my heart.

This means that he needs to increase the amount of paper, ink, fonts, and craftsmen, but he did not expect that at this critical moment, his main paper supply workshop, Xiaoshan County Paper Workshop, caught fire and burned down. Give him a head-on blow.

The steward bowed and said, "The news is accurate, but..."

"But what?"

"But the manager of Zhifang said that several torches were found at the scene, and it is suspected that it was arson."

"Bang!" Wang Mu slammed his fist on the table, and he immediately understood that "Jingzhao" published an article calling for the recovery of Hebei, which caused a sensation in Lin'an and Jiangnan areas, and the hatred of some forces could not be restrained.

He was worried that they would retaliate before, and it really came.

He forced himself to calm down and asked, "How much paper do we have in our warehouse?"

"According to the current print run, it can last for seven or eight days, and other inks are similar."

Wang Mu thought for a while and said, "Go to some other paper workshops and explain two things. One is to ask them to make paper to the maximum extent, and I will buy as much as they can. The other is to pay attention to protecting the workshops, especially at night."

The steward said worriedly: "Master, I'm worried that other workshops won't supply us with paper."

"why?"

"They must be afraid of offending those who can't afford to offend, and then being set on fire. Besides, they don't have a lot of supplies for us, so they certainly won't take this risk."

Is this really the case?Among colleagues, all kinds of inside information cannot be concealed.

Wang Mu walked a few steps behind his back and said, "Let's do this! Tell them, I promise to keep them safe, as long as they are willing to supply a large amount of paper, I promise they will get bigger business in the future, if they don't believe me, I will Go talk to them, I'll go to Special Envoy Hu and ask him to come forward and warn the arsonists!"

"I see, I'm going to talk to them!"

The steward saluted and left, Wang Mu pondered for a moment, then put on his robe and hurried to find Hu Yun.

The first thousand 290 chapters seven revenge

Hu Yun also did not expect that the other party would attack the raw materials of the "Beijing News". Although this move is despicable, it is very vicious, and it is equivalent to drawing salary from the bottom of the pot. But now is a critical moment, and the Western Army's Northern Expedition has made King Yong's legitimacy more and more popular. From the donations of the common people, we can see how much everyone supports and the defection of court officials. In just three days, nearly [-] officials have come to me to report and collect travel expenses.

And the other party is a little anxious to jump over the wall to attack at this critical moment. If I don't stop it decisively, I don't know what crazy things they will do.

However, the top priority is to continue to publish newspapers and continue to expand the influence of King Yong, so that no problems can occur at this critical moment.

Thinking of this, Hu Yun asked: "How long can the paper last?"

"It can still support about seven or eight days, and the ink inventory is large, which can last for one month."

"Are there other alternative sources of paper?" Hu Yun asked again.

Wang Mu said worriedly: "There are still a few paper-making workshops, and the purchase volume is not large at ordinary times, but I am more worried that they are afraid of retaliation and refuse to supply us with paper. This possibility is very high. I was thinking just now, can we Supply paper from Yangzhou?"

“Yangzhou is great!”

Hu Yun praised: "It only takes two or three days for the ship to arrive. Is there a paper merchant there?"

"There are three, but it takes at least ten days for them to ship the paper. However, I can purchase a batch from Pingjiang Mansion. We have a branch printing newspapers in Pingjiang Mansion. The paper is supplied by two local paper mills. I guess They can support a little, but not too much, three days should be enough, and now I am worried about whether the paper supply in Yangzhou will be in time, and I will rush to Yangzhou today to coordinate the paper supply."

Hu Yun thought for a while and said, "Let's do this! I'll let the deputy envoy accompany you to Yangzhou, and let the Yangzhou government participate in the coordination. In the future, Yangzhou will participate in the supply of paper and ink, and the multiple guarantees!"

Wang Mu nodded, "If the supply of paper is sufficient, I might as well open a printing branch in Yangzhou."

"Think about this for yourself. What I need to do is to cut off their thieves."

Hu Yun said coldly: "If you don't let them hurt once, they will still be unscrupulous."

……

There is a palace by the West Lake, which covers an area of ​​about [-] mu, and it is the place where the emperor takes refuge in summer. It was just completed last year and is currently being decorated inside. In summer, the emperor will bring his concubines to live in the palace.

At one o'clock in the night, the palace suddenly caught fire. The fire ignited from three directions. The fire was very fast and became one piece in a short while. The smoke billowed and the flames rose into the sky. The people in the west of the city saw the smoke billowing and walked out of their houses one after another. The entire street was full of residents, talking about it.

At this time, the fire was too intense, and the soldiers fighting the fire retreated one after another, standing in the distance, watching helplessly as the palace was engulfed by the fire.