Placid Chang'an

After several days of tossing and turning, it was midnight when they arrived in Yangzhou, the night was dark and windy, Su Cen and the others simply stayed on the boat and waited until dawn to make plans.

When Su Cen came out of the boat the next day, he was completely stunned.

Their ship was parked just outside the East Water Gate, and was sandwiched by several large ships. Their merchant ship was not small at all, and there were three or forty people on board, including the crew, the cook, and the boss. There is Yu Huan, but compared with the boats in front of him, it looks like a flat boat.

The boats next to them are four or five feet high, with pavilions, terraces and buildings, with silky fragrances, and in the open windows of the light gauze tent, beauties are dressing up, with seductive eyes like silk, looking at him with a provocative smile .

The boss of the boat was directing the unloading of the cargo, and he came over and explained: "My lord, don't be surprised, these are flower boats—that is, brothels on the water. Those girls must think of you as a slut who spent the night on the boat, so you don't need to bother."

Su Cen also heard a little about Yangzhou flower boats, but seeing is worth seeing. The scene of being surrounded by flower boats was quite shocking, so he asked the boss of the boat: "Did these flower boats stop here when we came last night?"

Chuan Lao Dao: "These flower boats are evening guests. At night, they enter the city through the water gate, go boating along the Guan River, and come back in the morning. When we came last night, they hadn't come back, so there was no movement. It’s so lively to see the people playing the piano and dancing on the boat.”

Su Cen looked at the boat boss with a yearning look on his face and smiled: "This flower boat is well built, and I'm not afraid of white | whoring, when it goes into the river, there will be water all around, and I won't be able to run away."

"I've never heard of a prostitute being drowned on a flower boat, but an oiran was drowned."

"Oh?" Su Cen raised his eyebrows.

"I've also heard that." The boat owner frowned and thought for a while, "About two or three years ago, it was said that a famous oiran in Yangzhou committed suicide by throwing himself into the river, and it seemed that he was trapped by love, but I don't know exactly what happened. But I heard that after the oiran died, her body floated on the river for several days. She seemed to be asleep, her face was still flushed, and her body was filled with a strange fragrance, which attracted all the butterflies around her to circle her. Someone It is said that she is the reincarnation of the flower god, and some people say that she died with regret, and she confessed her last words to the butterfly.

"Odd fragrance?" Su Cen tilted his head and said, "When this person dies, the smell is usually unbearable, and there are still people who can emit a strange fragrance?"

"Yeah, that's why it's so strange." The boss of the boat shook his head, sighed and said, "Someone else made this into a song, it seems to be called "The Order of the Butterfly". can sing."

After Qi Lin and Qu Ling'er finished packing their luggage and said goodbye to the captain of the boat, the three of them disembarked from the boat and set foot on Yangzhou, an eventful place full of fireworks, wind, moon, dark tide and turbulent tide.

Different from the buildings in Chang'an city where most of the buildings are neat and orderly, with rows of streets and squares, most of the houses in the south of the Yangtze River are painted with white walls and black tiles. Because the river becomes a street, the bridges and bridges stand upright, and the weeping willows along the river are still green, which makes them look better than those in Chang'an city. Get a little more angry.

After entering the city gate and walking in, the popularity is increasing, the red, willow and green silk and satin are moving with the wind, Qu Ling'er is the first time in the south of the Yangtze River, a pair of peach blossom eyes are rolling around, pulling Su Cen's sleeves to look at everything is strange.

Qi Lin was used to the wind and sand in Mobei, but this was the first time he saw the gentle and soft scenery in the south of the Yangtze River. He was much calmer than Qu Ling'er, and said bluntly: "Businessmen are not allowed to travel in chariots, and they are not allowed to travel in chariots. Dressed in gauze and satin, it seems to be completely unaffected here."

"The so-called sky is high and the emperor is far away. There are many merchants in Yangzhou city, and there are more merchants than people. In addition to local merchants, there are also Shanxi merchants, Huizhou merchants, and Hu merchants everywhere. All kinds of heavenly fragrant silk makeup and satin are in hand, but they are not allowed to wear. That's so uncomfortable," Su Cen rubbed his nose guiltily. Back then, when he had no fame, he wore silk gauze and silk brocade every day. It should still be a serious crime of disrespect. In addition, his family is a businessman. Su Cen defended the idea of ​​justifying the name of the businessman: "The emperor Tai|Emperor made such a rule back then because most of the people who fought with him in the world were peasants. Family background, secondly, is to persuade Nongsang. But in fact, merchants are not necessarily insidious and cunning. In fact, merchants are not easy. Living money, low status, heavy taxes, earning money but not being able to spend it, how aggrieved and aggrieved..."

"Master Su," Qi Lin interrupted, "I just said it casually, you are worrying too much."

Su Cen stopped in time and nodded: "...Oh."

He always felt that Li Shi asked Qi Lin to follow him to supervise him, so that he had to pay attention to his words and deeds all the time, for fear of falling into any trouble in front of this person. Li Shi would settle accounts with him.

Su Cen sighed silently, accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger, so it's not easy for him who is so indifferent, okay?

Qu Ling'er couldn't help wondering: "The merchants have money but don't let them buy them, and the peasants let them buy them but they don't have the money, so who are they going to wear these silks and satins? Those who are officials?"

Su Cen said: "What do you think you can do with the little salary of an official, such as official communication, family rations, family servants' monthly salary, the higher the official position, the more pomp and ostentation, traveling carriages, entourage, etc. If I only rely on that little salary, I can't even support you."

Qu Ling'er curled her lips, "Then what's so good about being an official? Why are there so many people rushing to become an official?"

"Some people love money, some people love power, and when power reaches a certain level, it can generate money." Su Cen turned sideways and said in a low voice, "Do you think those officials, cars, BMWs, and beauties are all exchanged for their salaries?"

"You mean..." Qu Ling'er didn't finish her sentence, but Su Cen pulled her sleeves and stopped the conversation in time.

I saw a man coming out of the alley ahead, not tall, with a vegetable basket on his arm, but it was firmly covered by a piece of indigo cloth, he turned his head three times at a step to confirm that there was no one behind him, and then walked forward quickly.

The road was not wide at all, and Su Cen and Su Cen were side by side for most of it. The man could only walk close to the wall, and between the two sides, the man squinted at Su Cen, but unfortunately Su Cen was also looking at him.

At that moment, the man hurriedly looked away and turned into an alley behind Su Cen.

Su Cen stopped and looked back, and after a while said to Qu Ling'er, "Go report to the authorities."

Qu Linger was taken aback: "Huh?"

"Just say that man is a private salt dealer, the government will definitely send someone to arrest him." Turning to Qi Lin, he said, "Rescue him when he is about to be caught."

Qu Ling'er suddenly realized, and took the order to do it, she just took two steps and then turned around and asked, "Brother Su, where can I find you?"

"The biggest inn in Yangzhou City," Su Cen smiled slightly, "the best hotel."

There are two parts in Yangzhou Zicheng, Luocheng. The Zicheng is located on Shugang, five miles northwest of Luocheng, where military camps and government offices are located. Luocheng is the residence of ordinary people. There are specific east and west markets for transactions. The shops in Yangzhou City are arranged along the street and connected to the Lifang. It is very lively along the way.

The largest inn in the city is called Tianxialou. It is located in the most prosperous area in the middle of Shili Changjie. Those with a few gold ingots dared not enter the door.

That's not to mention, fearing that some guests would not like the excitement, Tianxialou specially created a quiet area in the busy city.

There are several private courtyards at the back of the building. You don’t have to go through the front hall. You can enter through a small corner door, surrounded by green bamboos, small bridges and flowing water, and the misty smoke and willows have a Jiangnan artistic conception.

As soon as Su Cen moved in, a servant came over to bring tea and water. Unlike the servants in the front hall, who were dressed in coarse cloth, the servants in the backyard looked only fifteen or sixteen years old, and they were all dressed in plain white brocade. Out is trained since childhood.

Su Cen said that he didn't like being disturbed by others, so he didn't have to come here without orders. The young man was very discerning, and didn't say much, bowed and said yes, and then backed away.

After a while, the door knocked softly, Qi Lin came in with a person, it was the person he met just now.

Qu Ling'er also came back together. After reporting to the official, he followed Qi Lin to perform a good show of saving people. The man didn't know that it was Qu Ling'er who recruited the yamen servants, and he also said "Thank you girl" Qian En Thanks a lot.

Qu Ling'er stared at the person in front of her. This man looked about 40 or [-] years old, with a dark complexion and a short stature. Standing with Qi Lin, he was immediately ordinary to the bone.Even such an ordinary person, I don't know how Su Cen recognized this person as a private salt dealer at a glance.

He checked carefully just now, and the basket was indeed filled with salt.

Qi Lin pointed at Su Cen and said, "This is my son."

The man immediately knelt in front of Su Cen: "More young masters to help, there are old and young, and I thank you on behalf of the whole family."

Su Cen felt ashamed, and hurriedly asked people to stand up and sit down, and said: "I only asked them to save you because you look good and not a bad person, but I hope you can tell the truth, I don't want to save the wrong person. What is your name, where is your family, why did those officials arrest you?"

The man hesitated for a moment before saying: "The villain's name is Wang Er, he is from Luoling Village on the outskirts of Yangzhou City, those officers and soldiers chased me, it was because of me...I sold private salt."

"Oh?" Su Cen raised his eyebrows with interest.

At the beginning, he thought that this person was sneaky and tricky, but he didn't have the ability to see that this person was a private salt dealer at a glance. He just followed the person's back and looked at the wall, and found a few grains left behind. coarse salt particles.

"You know that selling illegal salt is a capital crime, and according to the law of the Great Zhou, it should be punished by abandoning the market."

Wang Er immediately slid down from the chair and sat down on the ground again: "Master, please forgive me, the villain has no other choice. There is an eighty-year-old mother on the villain, and a three-year-old child on the bottom. The whole family is waiting for me to take the little money to continue. Fate!"

Su Cen waved his hand: "Since I saved you, there is no reason to send you back. You don't have to panic. You said you had no choice. Don't you have any land at home? Why risk your life for this business of losing your head? "

Wang Er was supported by Qu Ling'er to sit down, but he didn't dare to sit still, he was always ready to kneel down again, and replied cautiously: "I don't think you are from Yangzhou, I'm afraid I don't know the local situation, and I don't know anything about it." To tell you the truth, my family used to have an acre of land, but... it's just that they have been cheated away now."

Su Cen frowned: "What's going on?"

Wang Erdao: "Our Luoling Village was originally a fertile field, but there was a severe drought the year before last, and then there was a plague of locusts. Seeing that we could not pay the tax, the big family in the city asked us to sell the land to him, and he paid the tax for us. , and we don’t need to take care of taxes in the future, they hire us as tenants to help them manage the farmland, regardless of profit or loss, and pay us back wages every month.”

Su Cen asked, "Did they break their promise?"

Wang Er sighed, and continued: "In the first few months, we were indeed paid wages, and the villagers sold the land to them when they saw that they had money. After everyone lost their land, they suddenly turned their faces and refused to recognize anyone. The moon will no longer send us money, and the land will not be returned to us."

"Is no one reporting to the police?"

Wang Er shook his head: "Why didn't you report it, but those big households have already colluded with the government. They have our land deeds in their hands. The government turned a blind eye to it, and we have nothing to do."

"It really is a profiteer and a corrupt official," Qu Ling'er jumped her feet angrily, "There is no good thing between an official and a businessman!"

Su Cen coughed lightly and glared at Qu Ling'er. He took all the officials and businessmen, wouldn't that be a heinous crime?

Qu Ling'er hurriedly said: "Su... Young Master, I didn't mean you!"

Su Cen shook his head, and then asked: "Who is the big family who invaded your farmland?"

Wang Erdao: "It's the biggest salt merchants in our city of Yangzhou, Wang's and Jia's."

Su Cen was taken aback for a moment, then raised his head slightly.

It doesn't take much effort to call it anything.

"So you sold private salt to retaliate against them?"

"Yes... and no," Wang Er shook his head with a mournful face, "Where is our turn to retaliate, we are also forced to survive, the young master does not know what price they can buy for salt, a catty of salt in the first year of Yuanshun is still 84 liters , now they can sell more than 250 Wen for a catty of salt!"

"More than 250 coins?!" Su Cen couldn't help being surprised. One must know that the monthly expenditure of an ordinary household is only about one tael of silver, and a catty of salt accounts for a quarter of the total expenditure. In other words, Today, one catty of salt can be exchanged for two buckets of rice on the market, which is enough to feed an ordinary family for two months.

"Lawless," Su Cen slapped the table, "The government allows them to ask for such a high price!"

"Not only that, the government also helps salt merchants to crack down on private salt dealers. If they are caught, they will be beaten severely. Those whose families can afford the ransom can get their lives back. If the poor can't pay the ransom, they can only die in prison. inside."

Qu Ling'er was about to explode again, but Su Cen shook her head.He could only keep silent about this, since selling private salt is already a crime, so it is understandable for the government to do so.

It's just that it's unbearable to collude with profiteers for personal gain.

"It would be better if we met Lord Feng. He would teach us a few words and let us go secretly. If it were someone else, I'm afraid there would be no way out."

"Master Feng?" Su Cen looked up, "Which Lord Feng?"

Wang Er explained: "My lord, you don't know something. Mr. Feng is the long history of our Yangzhou city. He is a good official. It's a pity that he fell into our Yangzhou, alas..."

Feng Yiming... Su Cen narrowed his eyes slightly, it seems that Feng Yiming's reputation in the eyes of Yangzhou people is not bad.

Su Cen asked some more about the situation of the salt merchants and the origin of the private salt. It was almost noon when he finished asking.

Now he has basically figured out some of the situation in Yangzhou.The two largest salt merchants in Yangzhou are the Wang family and the Jia family. The Wang family has only two daughters. Later, they married a son-in-law. Master Wang handed over the family business to the son-in-law. Now the Wang family is run by this son-in-law. The son-in-law has the final say.Although the Jia family has a son, he is a prodigal son who hangs around the fireworks venues every day and is very troublesome. Therefore, even though Master Jia is very old, he can only manage the family business by himself.

As for the origin of the private salt, Wang Er didn't go into details, only said that there were still people above them, and they just sold the salt to every household, but he didn't know how the people above got their salt.Su Cen knew that he was afraid that he was in a bad situation, so he tried to get some words out of him, but he didn't ask any more details, and asked Qi Lin to send him back after giving him some money.

The lunch is delivered directly from Tianxialou, and the authentic Yangzhou cuisine has a special flavor.After lunch, Qi Lin and Qu Ling'er went back to their own rooms, and Su Cen locked himself in the room all afternoon, not knowing what to do.

Su Cen didn't come out of the room until the misty night, and said to Qi Lin, "Please guard Qi to help me find someone."