Emperor Renzong of the Great Song Dynasty

In Chongzheng Hall, Fan Zhongyan closed the book in his hand.Liu En whispered in Zhao Yiyi's ear: "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother's people have left."

Zhao Yiyi rubbed his eyes and cheered up: "Let's finally go, okay."

Today's Zhao Yiyi and his streamlined royalist party are struggling to survive between the Queen Mother and the Duke of Lai. They even summoned Fan Zhongyan on the grounds of reading the real records of the Taizu. lock up.

It's not that I'm worried about the collusion between the little emperor and the ministers, it's just that these two have a strong desire to control.

The follower left, Zhao Yiyi beckoned Fan Zhongyan to come closer: "Fan Qing, I have something to say to you."

Fan Zhongyan moved to Zhao Yiyi: "Please speak, Your Majesty."

Zhao Yiyi said, "Bao Zheng has already left Beijing?"

The relationship between Bao Zheng and Fan Zhongyan is closer than others, and Fan Zhongyan knows his itinerary very well: "Yes, Bao Yushi left Beijing by boat two days ago, and he must arrive in Yangzhou in a few days."

Zhao Yiyi nodded.Bao Zheng went to Yangzhou, so he should be able to find out immediately what a mess he took over.

In fact, the most difficult part of the reform of the tea policy is not the tea policy, but the issue of money and grain.

The reason why the income of the tea government is low is not because the tea is not sold well, but because the border randomly distributes tea to the merchants in China. If too much is distributed, the tea will be cheap, and the government will not only make no money selling a catty of tea. , On the contrary, you have to put some money in, which is directly a loss-making business.

If you want to earn this money back, you just need to stop sending referrals to merchants.

It's just that those businessmen are not good people. If the government wants to mobilize their interests, how can they sit still and wait for death.

As long as this group of big grain merchants with big families and big businesses can be appeased and let them still obediently transport grain to the border every year, the reform of the tea policy will be more than half successful.

It's just that this group of people has a lot of appetite, and they all have some tricks to prevent them from taking advantage of the tea government, so they don't know how to make trouble.

How Bao Zheng could appease them, Zhao Yiyi sweated for him.

But he believes that Wenqu Xingjun's ability will definitely solve this problem perfectly.

He was rushing to the front line and working his life for himself. It was a bit unreasonable for him, the big boss, not to help him.

Zhao Yiyi asked Fan Zhongyan: "Fan Qing, how do you think my handwriting is doing now?"

Fan Zhongyan looked at the writing paper presented by Liu En: "Your Majesty's handwriting is becoming more and more strong. The iron draws silver hooks and penetrates the back of the paper. It is quite like Chu Suiliang in the Tang Dynasty. Is Your Majesty going to practice his handwriting?"

In fact, Zhao Yiyi wanted to practice a thin golden body, but he didn't have any clues yet.

"I want to give Bao Zheng a copy of my royal letter, what does Fan Qing think?"

Fan Zhongyan nodded: "Bao Yushi must be very grateful."

So Zhao Yiyi asked Liu En to spread the paper and rub the ink, and wrote two lines of big characters with a free and easy stroke.

When the ink on the paper was completely dry, Zhao Yiyi folded the paper with his own hands and handed it to Fan Zhongyan: "It's not good for others to see, please trouble Fan Qing to deliver it to Yangzhou for me."

Fan Zhongyan took the folded paper, hid it in his arms, and exited the palace with his usual expression.

When he got home, he sealed the little emperor's secret with hot wax and gave it to his trusted family members. He took a boat out of Beijing overnight and had to hand it over to Bao Yushi who is now in Yangzhou.

After seeing off his family, Fan Zhongyan sat under the lamp, remembered those two lines of words, and murmured: "I don't know what the queen mother wants?"

The little emperor really has no taboos, and he doesn't know whether it is a disaster or a blessing.

Well, anyway, things have come to this point, so we can only take one step at a time.

Thinking of Bao Zheng who was far away in Yangzhou, he sighed: "Xi Ren, I don't know how you are now."

Bao Zheng sat in a clean and elegant small pavilion, with Zhan Zhao on the left, Jiang Ping on the right, and a woman half-veiled on the opposite.

The woman gently held a small and exquisite white jade wine glass, and respected Bao Zheng from a distance: "I have heard about Bao Yushi's name for a long time, and the little girl toasts you."

After finishing speaking, he lifted his veil slightly and drank the wine in the glass in one gulp.

Bao Zheng was sitting on pins and needles, secretly looking at Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao sat upright, squeezed out a word between his teeth: "Drink."

Bao Zheng hastily drank all the wine in his cup.

Jiang Ping laughed and said, "Yunniang, it's getting late, Mr. Bao has just escaped death, why not arrange a room for him, let him rest early, and make plans tomorrow."

"No hurry, wait for me to ask him a few words. This Master Bao," Yunniang said seriously, "now the whole Yangzhou city knows that there is a Master Yushi who has served as the prime minister from Kaifeng, and he is here to manage the tea administration in the south of the Yangtze River." The imperial court was short of money everywhere, so it came to attack the tea government. Originally, the tea merchants were under the control of the government, traveling all over the country, but earning a hard-earned money, and the government would even take away this profit. Since ancient times, officials have not competed with the people for profit. , The imperial court's move is really chilling."

Bao Zheng sat silently.

Zhan Zhao tried his best to wink at him, telling him to reply to Yunniang's words.Seeing that he ignored it, she kicked him lightly under the table anxiously.

Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Jiang Ping quickly said, "Master Bao is thin-skinned, so he may not dare to speak..."

"No," Bao Zheng shook his head: "It's not because I dare not speak, but because I'm an official of the imperial court, the Jiangnan tea policy is an official matter of the imperial court, so it's not good to discuss it in the private room. If there is any offense, please forgive me, Master Haihan." .”

Yun Niang raised her eyebrows: "It seems that Master Bao doesn't want to talk to the little girl. Anyway, come and send Master Bao back to the room."

A graceful maid came in and said, "Masters, please follow me."

Yun Niang herself got up and went back to the inner room through the secret door.

The three of Bao Zheng were led to a guest room by the maid, and after the maid left, Jiang Ping wiped the cold sweat off his forehead: "I can't do it anymore, I can't stand still, Nan Xia quickly come and help me. "

Zhan Zhao helped him to sit down.

Bao Zheng hurriedly said: "What happened to Yishi Jiang?"

Both Jiang Ping and Zhan Zhao looked at Bao Zheng with indescribable eyes.

Jiang Ping sighed: "Of course you are not afraid, you don't even know who she is! You must know that the three of us just stepped into the gate of hell!"

Bao Zheng laughed and said, "I have stepped into the gate of hell twice today."

Jiang Ping flipped over a piece of silver: "I'd rather be burned alive!"

Bao Zheng wondered: "What kind of person is this person, who can make Jiang Yishi so afraid?"

Zhan Zhao said: "You are from the government, of course you have never heard of her. Let me tell you this, the boats on the inland river are not counted, and the big merchant ships that enter the sea from Quanzhou will give her two cents for every ten profits they earn. .”

Bao Zheng said in shock: "Even the government, it only takes three cents of the tax!"

Jiang Ping nodded: "So she still shows some kindness to the government."

Bao Zheng frowned: "Where did this person come from, to be so rampant!"

Zhan Zhao said: "No one knows where she came from, but she is a concubine snatched by a ship's bow at sea. After a few years, the bow died, and then the sons and sons-in-law of the bow also died. She became the bow of the ship. Then the family business grew bigger and bigger, and now, one-third of the merchant ships running at sea are owned by her."

Bao Zheng said: "Even if her family has a great career, she is just a merchant. Why are you so afraid of her?"

Jiang Ping smiled: "She is a merchant, and the person who burned the post tonight was also a merchant. As an imperial envoy, your lord almost died at the hands of merchants. What do we common people have to fight against her? We have to be careful and careful." .”

Zhan Zhao glanced at him: "Speaking in such a low voice, I thought she was your romantic confidant, so I brought her here."

Jiang Pingdao: "She is not my romantic confidant, I am her romantic confidant, that's fine."

Standing up, she said: "She didn't have an attack on the spot, so it shouldn't be bad for us. This is where she often lives on the shore, and there is nowhere in the whole Yangzhou city that is safer than this place. Let's rest, and we will explain tomorrow's affairs tomorrow." .”

Both Bao Zheng and Zhan Zhao nodded, and went to sleep in their respective rooms.

Early the next morning, Bao Zheng put on his official uniform, took his official seal and sued himself, and was about to go to the yamen.

As soon as she went downstairs, she saw Yunniang standing downstairs, still wearing the clothes she wore last night, her veil had been taken off, and half of her face had a hideous scar exposed to the sun.

Bao Zheng didn't look sideways, and he was about to walk out the door with Zhan Zhao and Bao Xing.

But Yunniang said loudly: "Just go out like this, isn't your lord afraid of death?"

Bao Zheng stopped in his tracks: "If anyone wants the head on this necklace, they don't need ten thousand taels of gold, just take it!"

Yunniang smiled: "Your Excellency, you don't have to do this. I just care about your safety. Your Excellency thinks that you can rest easy with Nan Xia's personal protection, but I think that although Nan Xia is strong in martial arts, he is no match for two fists and four hands. Only him Alone, still can't stop the masters from all walks of life in Yangzhou City."

"After all, what you carry on your shoulders is ten thousand taels of gold. Even a little girl is a little bit moved."

Bao Zheng said: "How are you doing?"

Yunniang clapped her hands, and yesterday's doorman came to a plain-looking carriage.

Yunniang said: "I will be controlled by the adults."

Bao Zheng didn't answer, and got into the carriage directly.

Zhan Zhao and Bao Xing followed closely behind.

Yun Niang sat on the crossbar in front of the carriage, lightly pulled the reins, and the carriage slowly drove out of the courtyard.

"Ah, that's right." When the carriage drove out of the courtyard, Yun Niang pushed the door and poked her head into the carriage: "Does Master Bao have a friend named Fan in Tokyo?"

Bao Zheng said: "This official has had a relationship with Mr. Fan Zhongyan, who is a political adviser, on several occasions."

Yunniang smiled and said, "Master Bao's words are so ruthless. They are worried that your official career will not go well, so they send you letters from thousands of miles away, but you only have a few encounters with them."

Bao Zheng frowned and said, "Could it be that Mr. Fan sent me a letter?"

Yunniang said: "A man entered the city at night and wanted to go to the post station to find you, but the post station was burned down and he had nowhere to go. He just happened to meet someone from my family. Hearing that you are now resting here, I gave him the letter." , ask him to forward it."

He took out a piece of paper from his sleeve: "Here, this is the letter that Mr. Fan sent you."

Bao Zheng took the letter paper, unfolded it, and saw two lines of poems written on it.

In the 480 temples of the Southern Dynasties, how many buildings were in the mist and rain.