The Royal Merchant of the Red Chamber

Despite this mistake, Baoyu was beaten to pieces under Jia Zheng's wrath.But after careful recuperation, he recovered alive and kicking in only 30 to [-] days.Mother Jia felt sorry for Baoyu's previous suffering, so she suppressed Jia Zheng's temperament and let Baoyu wander and play in the garden, and then asked for leave from the ethnology, which obviously meant that she was not going to go again in a short time.

After being idle for nearly a month, Jia Zheng was sent to school again.Choose a day to get up and leave Beijing.It was a good meal for Jia's family.After Jia Zheng left, Jia Baoyu pestered Jia's mother and Mrs. Wang about going out to study.Fearing that the old lady would be worried and refused to let him go, Jia Baoyu kept his eyes open, and only said that he was going to the south of the Yangtze River with the Zhen family, and didn't say much about the rest.

Sure enough, when Jia Mu and others heard that they were acting with the Zhen family.Although he was still reluctant to give up, but in the end he was also reluctant to give up the opportunity to get close to the Zhen family, so he agreed.

So a few days after Jia Zheng left Beijing, Jia Baoyu also left with the Zhen family members with the money.After leaving Shenjing, there was naturally a team of stewards that Xue Pan had ordered a long time ago to come to meet him.Naturally, the leader of the team also got Xue Pan's careful instructions. He raised many points for Jia Baoyu along the way, and explained the procedures of the Rouge shop from material selection, purchase, distribution, etc. several times in detail.Fortunately, Jia Baoyu was very interested in this and listened patiently.He also asked a few questions from time to time, which only made the person in charge feel that this young master of the Jia family was so talented and intelligent.In particular, he doesn't have the arrogance and arrogance of other officials' children, and he speaks softly to "untouchables" like them, without reprimanding them at all.No wonder my uncle sees it differently!

In addition to feeling respectful, he taught Baoyu more meticulously.

The ancients often said that reading thousands of books is not as good as traveling thousands of miles.Going out, although Baoyu just meant to wander around at will, but the knowledge and experience naturally increased every time.From Shenjing to Yunnan, it is thousands of miles away, and the folk customs of the states and provinces passed during the period are different.Baoyu is also a person who likes to inquire and study.After wandering around like this, although I can't tell what has changed, the way of thinking and behavior is faintly different from before.

The steward was entrusted by Xue Pan again, and in the end, he deliberately set aside opportunities for Baoyu to deal with trivial matters that occurred at any time.It was not easy to stumble at the beginning, but after getting started slowly, it became more comfortable.

And the most important point, because Baoyu experienced the sense of accomplishment after cleaning up when dealing with chores, her temper was a little more refreshing, not as soft and gentle as before.Bit by bit changes, I believe that returning to Shenjing after the new year will definitely make people feel refreshed and impressed.

Every half a month, the steward will naturally give Xue Pan a letter detailing Baoyu's situation.Xue Pan looked at it carefully, and even felt a sense of relief that "my family has a child who has just grown up".

When he said this to Tu Zhen, what he got in return was a burst of teasing from Tu Zhen.

"How old are you, and you don't feel ashamed to have such a big son." Even though Tu Zhen said this, he couldn't help but feel uneasy.After a pause, he still couldn't help asking: "Do you like your son very much?"

Xue Pan glanced at Tu Zhen in surprise, knowing that he was being paranoid again.After the two got along, Xue Pan felt that everything about Tu Zhen was good.It is this problem of so many suspicions, which is really a headache.He patted Tu Zhen's shoulder immediately, and explained patiently again: "Of course I like children, but since I'm with you, I never thought about having a son. After all, nine out of ten unsatisfactory things in the world, what Can everything go smoothly? Simply because my mother is about to give birth to a younger brother, and when the time comes, I will take him over and raise him, and it will be a relief."

Tu Zhen said with some guilt: "It's all because of me... I really want to take over Qianxiang Kingdom as soon as possible!"

Xue Pan has always wondered whether he has a son or not has anything to do with Tu Zhen's attack on Qianxiang Kingdom.As a result, he was studying the information of Qianxiang Kingdom almost every day.But now that this matter was mentioned, Xue Pan had no choice but to say: "The current situation in my Yong Dynasty is a bit closed. Every year along the West Sea, barbarians invade, but we don't even know where their country is, and the situation in their country. I don’t know what it is. This situation is very bad. Didn’t Sun Tzu say that knowing yourself and the enemy can win every battle. Now the enemy has a deep understanding of our court, and even the map of Wan Guokun in the royal study of the emperor is still a missionary of the barbarians But what do we know about their country? I’m afraid we don’t even know their country’s name.”

Tu Zhen thought about it, and it was indeed the case.He has just taken power now, and there are still many things to deal with.It is inevitable that there will be omissions of this kind.Besides, the barbarian incident has been going on for a long time, so he is not in a hurry.But listening to Pan'er's words, he was very concerned.He couldn't help asking: "According to Pan'er, how should we deal with this matter?"

Xue Pan chuckled, and said, "There are so many things going on in the imperial court. If they are asked to find out something, they probably don't have the time. Why don't you start a newspaper and write about these things in a more interesting way? How about infiltrating them?"

Tu Zhen frowned, and asked back, "What is a newspaper?"

Xue Pan cleared his throat, dropped his book bag and said: "The so-called newspaper is a daily publication that mainly publishes gossip news, current affairs commentary, and various advertisements. It is similar to the function of Dibao, but the group he is facing It is mainly the people of the Yong Dynasty. It is the main carrier of mass communication and has the function of reflecting and guiding public opinion."

What Xue Pan said was half-literal, and Tu Zhen didn't pick up the words too carefully.But keenly noticed the word guide public opinion.He couldn't help asking: "Since ancient times, literati have talked more and more clearly. Is this so-called guiding public opinion almost the same as literati talking about important court affairs?"

If you say that a smart person is a smart person, talking is easier than talking to others.Xue Pan immediately nodded and replied: "If there is a newspaper, the Holy Majesty can reveal what he wants to say. For example, if the court wants to implement a new measure, but the Holy Majesty is not sure whether it is beneficial to the people, you can first pass the newspaper. Publicize it. Then see what kind of reaction the people have—of course, this requires setting up a special place for information feedback in the place where the newspaper is issued. And what you want the people to know, the newspaper will write. He is the court tongue and eyes among the people."

Tu Zhenran understood, from the two words of tongue and eyes, he was keenly aware of the significance of the newspaper to him.It's just whether there is such an effect, and whether it will be used by the enemy... Tu Zhen quietly glanced at Xue Pan who was in high spirits, and he dared not open his mouth to doubt now.If Xue Pan is offended, he will have to try his best to coax him.Isn't it worth the candle?

Xue Pan didn't notice Tu Zhen's inner thoughts.After a pause, he said with a stroke of genius: "For example, taxation. Although the tax rate set by the imperial court is fixed, after arriving in the locality, there will always be all kinds of officials who set up clever names and impose exorbitant taxes to squeeze the people. The common people didn't know about it, and instead pushed these faults to the Holy Majesty. The Majesty took care of the people's livelihood and lowered taxes several times. Instead of getting benefits, the common people fed these corrupt officials. If there were a newspaper, it would clearly stipulate the tax rate specified by the imperial court. How much, the local gentry and wealthy households also know about it, and naturally the literati who have good things will publicize it for the court. Under the watchful eyes of thousands of eyes, if all regions follow it, then the situation of deception, corruption and deficit will be much less .”

Tu Zhen's heart became more and more excited when he heard it.

Seeing this, Xue Pan immediately said: "If the Holy Majesty has no objection, I can publish a newspaper in the name of the Xue family and publish it for a period of time. After the Holy Majesty sees the effect, he will turn the newspaper into an official newspaper of the imperial court. And the newspaper If it’s done well, it’s going to make a lot of money.”

After all, Xue Pan will never forget to make money.

Most of the time, the other ministers and princes joked that Xue Pan was Tu Zhen's money bag, but they were right.Gein Xue Pan's habit has always been that he never leaves money in three sentences.Whether you discuss important court affairs with him, or talk about where to go to have fun.He was always able to switch the conversation to making money at the last minute.It has to be said that this is also a kind of ability.

Now, seeing Xue Pan talking about how to use newspapers to make money, Tu Zhen shook his head helplessly.He leaned forward to hug Xue Pan, and kissed his chattering little mouth.Compared with Xianggong, all the magic of money must be floating clouds!

Before Xue Pan finished speaking, he was moved and emotional by Tu Zhen's lingering kiss.Automatically and consciously stretched out his arms to wrap around Tu Zhen's neck, deepening the kiss.In the end, both of them were out of breath, Xue Pan rolled his eyes and said dissatisfiedly, "You always interrupt me with this trick."

Tu Zhen hooked the corners of his mouth, and looked at Xue Pan with unconcealed pampering.The slender phoenix eyes are usually cold and solemn, but at this moment they are moist and gentle with affection, like the rippling water of the melting spring water in three springs.Xue Pan's face was flushed by Tu Zhen's sight, he looked at the bright sky outside, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "How about... shall we prostitute ourselves in the daytime?"

In a word, he successfully teased the little Tuzhen who was half-raised and refreshed.

Tu Zhen remained in an uncertain stalemate for half a day, and took several deep breaths before gradually calming down the raging desire.Just now he glared at Xue Pan with a livid face, and resentfully let go of the hands that were imprisoned around Xue Pan's waist.He couldn't help but hit Xue Pan again.He had just taken power not long ago, and there were many trivial matters in the court.Ministers often go to the palace to meet and discuss important matters.If he really bumped into Xue Pan, who was disheveled, he might be drowned in the subsequent spittle.I really don't know how Xue Laohu, who has been shrewd all his life, raised such a naturally dull son.But Tu Zhen thought about it carefully, if Pan'er was calculating and weighing like others, he might not have fallen so deep.

As for the word natural dullness, it was Xue Pan who said it one day to describe Jia Baoyu.Wait for Tu Zhenzai to figure out the meaning of the word carefully.Can't help scoffing.As for Xue Pan, who is an idiot, is he ashamed to say that others are naturally idiots?

But seeing Xue Pan caring so much about Jia Baoyu, Tu Zhen couldn't help but weigh in his heart.He originally wanted to knock down all the unruly people in four kings and eight kilometers into the dust, so that they would never recover.Considering Pan'er's attitude, it's better to be a little more lenient towards Rongning Second Mansion!

But these are things for later, let's not mention them for now.

What needs to be dealt with right now is Xue Pan who keeps teasing him intentionally or unintentionally.Although one of Tu Zhen's favorite things is to keep Xue Pan by his side to accompany him to handle official duties.This way, no matter how many things happen, you won't feel upset.But at present, it seems that Xue Pan can always make him lose his mind to deal with state affairs.No wonder the ancients said that beauty is a disaster, but now, although it is said to be blue, it is almost the same when it comes to heart and eyes.

So Tu Zhen frowned, coughed twice, and said to Xue Pan: "Didn't you say you want to get a newspaper? You have to get a charter. Fortunately, there are a lot of materials in the palace. If you need anything, just ask Dai It’s up to you to set it up.”

Xue Pan shook his head, and said, "The newspaper needs too much information, and I can't get it done by myself. It's best to pull Master Zhuang into the water. He is the president of the Taibai Poetry Association, and there are countless strange people under him. .Those are all real scholars and Confucians, and if they write a paragraph, it is enough for me to publish a few issues."

Tu Zhen has always been clear about Xue Pan's professionalism.After hearing this, I will not say more.He simply pushed a bunch of notebooks in front of Xue Pan, and said, "Since you can read, you might as well read it for me. After reviewing so many memorials, I will take you out for a stroll."

Seeing this, Xue Pan wrinkled Baozi's face bitterly, and said with disgust, "I don't want it."

Seeing this, Tu Zhen had no choice but to coax and say, "So many memorials need to be finished today. Do you have the heart to let me die of exhaustion? Besides, you don't need to do anything else, just condense the content of the memorial and tell me the superiors Whatever is written."

As he said that, he rubbed his temples pretending to be tired, and said in a low voice, "I've been sitting here writing memorials since the morning court. I'm really tired."

Xue Pan snorted twice in dissatisfaction, and reluctantly took a memorial to read.

The time to do things seriously always passes quickly. After about two hours, Tu Zhen, who came back to his senses, found that there was no memorial in front of him.In front of Xue Pan, there are pairs of memorials that have been turned over.Tu Zhen relaxed his body, casually picked up a memorial and read it.A stack of rice paper fell from the inside, and Tu Zhen bent down to pick it up. After reading it carefully, he couldn't help laughing out loud.

I saw a few large characters full of resentment written in a big ink pen on the white rice paper——

"Shandong governor Zhao Sijun, used 160 seven words to describe our sage's wisdom and unparalleled wisdom. Then he used 71 words to tell about the severe drought in Shandong last year, the fertile land had no harvest, and the people ran away from famine. I implore the sage to exempt from taxes. Note: he There are no punctuation marks in the writing, and the writing is not stroke by stroke, which seems to be very laborious."

Then he reminded with a red verdict——

"The price of rice noodle shops in Shandong under Xue's family did not change much last year. And when Zhao Futian, the general manager of Shandong, went to Beijing to visit his father last year, he joked that the governor of Shandong was 40 years old and was born in a poor family. His first wife It is also a poor family woman and child who went to beg when the chaff was in trouble. The year before last, I married a beautiful girl who was [-] years old. To please her, I spent [-] taels of silver to repair a beautiful manor and gave it to this girl. Among them, gold, silver, copper and tin Most of the buildings, bricks and tiles are invested in the Jianbao Pavilion branch in Shandong. Question: How much is the annual salary of the governor of Shandong? black."

After Tu Zhen looked at it carefully, he took a thoughtful look at Xue Pan.He put the notes aside and kept them unpublished, but he secretly thought about sending someone to Shandong to check and not mention them.

He opened another booklet, and naturally there was another piece of rice paper sandwiched in it. He wrote with a big ink pen: "This person praised the wiseness of the Holy Spirit with 810 six characters, and said that auspiciousness suddenly appeared in the local area. Then he wrote 260 The five characters describe the appearance of auspiciousness, and finally congratulate the saint Wen Chengwu, who will rule the world."

The following commented with red pen and ink: "Hehe!"

Recalling Xue Pan's explanation of these two words with a smile before, Tu Zhen: "..."

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The author has something to say: The relationship between the characters of the old apprentice——

(mentioned in the text)

The eldest prince, the loyal prince, Tu Ying, gave birth to his mother, and the former queen. Mr. Teacher’s main experience. Being a prince, being deposed, being a prince, being deposed, being a biological brother, and his father. All kinds of calculations. The second, loyal and brave prince. After failing to be imprisoned, he was shot lying down and self-exiled. The third child... died without playing

The fourth disciple Zhenai loves Pantao, the birth mother, the Concubine De, the adoptive mother, the Empress Dowager, the main experience of being framed by the brothers, the brothers framed the father, and being the emperor. Being recruited by Tuzhen, the sixth son, Prince Zhongrui, Prince Tuhuang, born mother, Concubine Yi, was paired with the fifth child. The main experience of the fifth child is for reference. The main experience of the fifth child is for reference. Prince Tuxiang gave birth to his mother, Concubine Min, paired with Baochai, followed the fourth brother and ate meat, and was loyal to him. Prince Tuzheng gave birth to his mother, Princess De, paired ink.