Drunk Yangzhou

The long street is ten miles away, and there is a bridge in Tiancheng.The liquor in the wine shop is rippling, and the gulls and herons are flocking on the waterfront. Although Yangzhou is located in the north of the Yangtze River, its wealth, prosperity and charm are not inferior to the prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River.Walking along the river from Guazhou to Wantou, you can see Gaomin Temple, Qionghua Temple, Shuangwentou, Wenfeng Pagoda, Shaobo Lake, Zhuyu Bay... The historical relics and natural styles perfectly fit and blend together. It's a real step One scene is dizzying.

It is midsummer now, the streets and alleys are noisy at noon, the cries of vendors, the chatter and laughter of tourists, and the sound of oars on the distant canal are intertwined and mixed... This is the most classic sound of Yangzhou.Xiao Ge met all the elders in the Lingshu Pavilion in the city, passed by the noisy market in a sedan chair, and was sweating from the heat, but the further he went to the depths of the Slender West Lake, the quieter and cooler he felt.Xiao Ge stomped on the sedan chair, signaled the bearers to stop, lifted the curtain and went out, followed the shade of trees on the left side of the stone bridge, towards Qingyunxuan.

"My lord." On the small table under the pavilion, Wen Zheng was drinking tea, when he saw Xiao Ge approaching, he hurriedly told the maid: "Go to the cellar to get some snow water from Hupao to make tea for the lord."

Xiao Ge unfolded the innocent bone fan and shook it lightly: "Why, I only need snow water when I come here?"

"After summer, ice bricks made of snow and water are rare items, so my subordinates are not willing to use them." Wen Zheng smiled, took off the pot from the stove, and warmed tea bowls for Xiao Ge. ?”

"Does it need to be said?" Xiao Ge took out a thick stack of documents from his arms, "Look, there are thousands of words and long essays...Feng Chi, what is the meaning of a sword that does not age, and what does it mean that it becomes stronger when it is old? Seeing them, I feel ashamed of myself, it is really rare to have this kind of spirit at such a rare age."

Wen Zheng flipped through it, nodded in praise again and again, and said with some joy: "My lord, there is another happy event today, and I came from the capital."

Xiao Ge's clear eyes lit up, exuding an elegant and charming look, "Master Su?"

"The package just delivered at noon, my lord, open it and have a look?" Wen Zheng pointed to a small blue calico package on the table, and Xiao Ge picked it up. It seemed to be a thick book. There is nothing else in this brand-new "New Discussion on Salt Politics", but what Su Yunpu wants to express is also obvious. He wants to find a wise master who agrees with his own political views.

Xiao Ge was looking forward to it in his heart, so he read it carefully from the beginning, and asked the maid to bring pen and ink, and made a record on the rice paper. Sometimes his eyebrows were slightly frowned, and sometimes he nodded frequently. The fine sunlight poured down from the camphor trees in front of their pavilion. Next, it shines on the left face of Xiao Ge, like half of the beautiful Yaoqiong, and the most familiar deep orchid fragrance slowly permeates from the opposite side, overshadowing the fragrance of Kuilongzhu in the purple clay pot, Wen Zheng quietly for a long time Looking at Xiao Ge, I felt that my heart was numb, and even my limbs became lazy and soft...

If you take Mingyang to share this life, I would rather sink into death for a moment.Wen Zheng sighed softly, hoping that time would stop there.

"This new theory on salt policy is rigorous in form and detailed in terms of rules and regulations, and in content it is highly strategic and outspoken. The most commendable thing is that it is flexible and ingenious." Xiao Ge praised without hesitation, but also felt a little regretful Su Yunpu must have written a letter to the emperor and received a cold reception, so he sent this book to himself.

Wen Zheng came back to his senses, took the notebook handed over by Xiao Ge and flipped through it.

"For example here," Xiao Ge took a sip of his tea, and pointed him to the destination, "During the salt transportation in various places, corruption of ink has become a common occurrence. Moreover, most of the punishments are within the imperial court, and the governor of water transportation has been changed one after another, but it is still useless. Mr. Su believes that a two-pronged approach should be taken. In addition to strictly punishing officials for miscellaneous fees, the credit voucher system should also be implemented for general merchants and retail merchants. Vouchers are controlled by the Ministry of Household Affairs and non-local censors to effectively check and balance power. From salt production to salt reselling, one voucher is issued for one order in the standard line, and three vouchers are deducted in case of bribery and tax evasion. He directly revoked his salt qualification twice."

"It's indeed a way." Wen Zheng flipped to the back of the book, and said with a smile, "Didn't we also conceive of this policy of targeted salt delivery? Nowadays, everyone knows that scarcity is the most expensive thing, and salt merchants are scrambling to get it." They wanted to transport salt to the sales area, but refused to let too many colleagues intervene, and the imperial court did not have selection criteria, so they could only obtain qualifications by offering bribes. In the end, the money went into the pockets of salt government officials, and salt-deficient areas were still in short supply. It would be much better if the production and sales areas and salt transportation routes were strictly divided, and overseas transportation routes would be added to export to Gongbang, Li Chawei and other places, and the Wanyin sea salt stranded in the salt field would be solved.”

Xiao Ge had a relationship with Su Yunpu before, and since then he has appreciated his talent, "With this heart to serve the country, I don't know how much better than ordinary officials in Daxia, not to mention that he is indeed rich in economics. From the way of doing things, he is not like a sour scholar, he is a rare talent who can do practical things."

Wen Zheng said: "This subordinate also thinks so. When my lord is free these days, remember to write back to Mr. Su."

Xiao Ge thought for a while and said, "Let's write Fengchi this time, just show how much he appreciates and cherishes him... and then send the Nanyue jewelry Fengyan that Curry has collected to Mr. Su."

Wen Zheng wanted to ask why Xiao Ge didn't reply to the letter in person, but just opened his mouth, but he already read it clearly - at this time, the situation of the two has changed subtly, due to the many barriers in the court, Su Yunpu has become much more passive , and Xiao Ge gradually grasped the initiative to appoint or not. If the sincere and sincere secret letter written by Xiao Ge before was a virtuous corporal like Lord Pingyuan, then the slight distance this time is already treating Su Yunpu as one of his own. The art of controlling people!

It turns out that the person I grew up with in front of me already has the dangers of mountains and rivers in his heart, and the strictness of the city... Wen Zheng suddenly felt a kind of helpless relief, and then a few traces of panic emerged, making Xiao Ge stronger. The goal he is striving for in this life, but he still worries... if he continues like this, he will be unable to help him one day, and then... being politely put on the shelf by him is essentially a kind of abandonment.

Xiao Ge didn't know Wen Zheng's complicated mood, he continued to flip through the book in his hand, and was about to raise his head to say something to Wen Zheng, when he heard a few sharp chirps from above his head.

Xiao Ge seemed to be stung by something, hurriedly got up and walked under the eaves of the pavilion to look at the sky surrounded by the courtyard, but saw a small eagle hovering low, looking down at him.

"It's Li'er." When discussing the salt policy just now, Xiao Ge's mood was relaxed and calm, but at this moment it suddenly became chaotic. He pondered for a moment, then stretched out his arm, and then Li'er slowly landed on his left above the arm.

"Before I left, I deliberately left you in Lishan. I didn't expect you to find it here... You have lost a lot of weight during this journey of thousands of miles." Xiao Ge felt its weight, and then looked at its feet, which were empty , I was inexplicably disappointed.

"What does it mean that it came here?" Wen Zheng recovered from his thoughts just now. He didn't like animals in the first place, and it was given by Fu Yiting. , really lingering!"

"Forget it, since it's here, let's keep it, after all, it's hard to say what will happen in the future." Xiao Ge stroked Fuli'er's forehead, turned around and told the housekeeper, Uncle Wang, "Go and prepare some fresh raw meat."