Fu Song

Chapter 630
The crystal clear fine wine from Maotai Town was poured out of the excellent-looking azure ceramic wine jug. When the chopsticks were probed into the wine glass and pulled up, the wine followed the chopsticks.

First, he took a deep sniff, and then poured the about [-] cents of wine straight into his mouth, but kept his mouth still, allowing the taste buds on his tongue to be stimulated to his heart's content, and then turned his mouth a few times. Circle, the mouth is full of fragrance, and finally swallow it with a gurgle, and then keep silent, let the line of wine go straight from the throat to the dantian, and when it turns into heat and overflows the whole body, then he smacks his mouth in satisfaction.

"Good wine!"

Cen Zhong lifted the pot and filled it up for the two of them again.

This kind of wine is basically not available in the market outside.

After combining fine wine from Maotai Town with ceramics from Jingdezhen, this wine is no longer wine.

It's white silver taels.

Even in China, only the real rich and powerful can enjoy this kind of wine.

A pot costs more than ten pennies.

And when it was loaded on a ship and sold to the West through the Maritime Silk Road, it was sold at a sky-high price.

Compared with the income from a boat of porcelain, the profit should be several times higher.

Of course, this kind of business is absolutely impossible for private trade caravans.

Only the Zheng family fleet affiliated to the imperial court can do it.

"Let the government send people to search for the New World, what kind of sweet potatoes, potatos and corn seeds are you looking for? Is it your masterpiece?" Picking a piece of liver tip and chewing it in his mouth, Xiao Cheng asked with a smile. "The Zheng family's fleet made money for the imperial court, but it forced them to separate out some elite troops to search in the vast sea. The loss is not small."

Cen Zhong clicked his tongue, and tilted his head to look at Xiao Cheng: "Look at your insincere words, you are actually very happy, aren't you? Isn't it your masterpiece to let the officials devote themselves to these so-called agricultural sciences?"

Xiao Cheng laughed: "Don't you think such an official family is cuter?"

"Not only is it cute, but it's also really useful!" Cen Zhong shook his head: "The Anmin No. [-] rice seed cultivated by the government on Guizhou Road, last year alone, the income from selling rice seeds exceeded a thousand, and this year it is even worse. Yes, the profit exceeds [-] guan, and it will be rolled out on a large scale in Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou and other places next year. I have calculated an account for the government, and [-] guan will be a piece of cake. Going forward, if the government really comes up with the Anmin No. [-] , No. [-], rice seeds that have already established a reputation among the people, so there is no need to worry about sales. If you add Liangjiang, Lianghu, Liangzhe and other places, the official family will become a rich man. This much money is enough to support the official family Let’s do something he likes, and there is no need for the court to allocate additional money!”

"That's true." Xiao Cheng said: "The official family is willing to give all the income from the past two years to the Zheng family."

"Speaking of which, the New World you're talking about really has these things? Can one mu produce several thousand catties of edible crops?" Cen Zhong had question marks all over his face, looking a little disbelieving.

"Really!"

"How do you know? Don't tell me that there is a house of gold in the book. I'm sure that you read more books than I do!" Cen Zhong picked up his wine glass.

Hearing Cen Zhong's question, Xiao Cheng shut up and didn't answer.

"Well, I won't ask. I also hope there is such a thing." Cen Zhong drank his wine: "Speaking of it, what makes me strange is Liu Fengkui's attitude. You know, I have been a little worried about him. His Imperial City Secretary is not a good-looking guy. He can clearly see our intentions in this matter, but not only did he not stop it, but he seems to be quite in favor of it."

"When Liu Fengkui was in the previous dynasty, he was an eunuch who was not very successful. Well, in fact, he was a successful eunuch. In the eyes of the officials, what is it? He is just a slave. If power is the same, so is power. They all had power for a while, but in the end they didn't end well. Liu Fengkui has been traveling around and seen a lot, so naturally he has some ideas of his own." Xiao Cheng said.

"Liu Fengkui is courageous and capable. Although he is a eunuch, I still respect him!" Cen nodded.

"The reason why he is close to us is precisely because we respect him and regard him as our colleague, not an eunuch!" Xiao Cheng said: "This is why Si Junchao and the others have been trying to win him over, but they have never been able to succeed." The reason is."

"They have no idea." Cen Zhong said: "It looks like they are flattering Liu Fengkui, but deep down, they always regard Liu Fengkui as a servant of the official family, a castrated man and woman. Liu Fengkui After all the experience, how can they not understand their innocence? With Liu Fengkui watching over the palace ban for us, we don't have to worry about anything going wrong."

"Naturally. They have no intention of giving up infiltration!" Xiao Cheng sneered: "Didn't the palace recruit a batch of eunuchs from the original palace this year? They took the opportunity to stuff people in."

"Is there such a thing?" Cen Zhong was stunned: "Wouldn't that eunuch a good person?"

Xiao Cheng nodded.

"Someone actually agreed?"

"In order to reach the sky in one step, many people sell their bodies for glory! They all think that the petty officials are young and easy to fool. Those who go in have learned a good skill at teasing dolls. It's a pity that they haven't entered the palace yet, so Known by Liu Fengkui, he is still cleaning toilets in the palace!"

"Staying in the palace is still a disaster. Such a person will definitely try every means to get close to the official family."

"Now that you know, can you still make him wish?" Xiao Cheng said.

After clinking a glass with Xiao Cheng, Cen Zhong smiled and said, "It's weird to say, you said that now we are fighting to the death with the southern factions, but when it comes to the court system, we fully support it!"

"Power is poison. Once you have tasted it, no one is willing to let it go!" Xiao Cheng said: "Who wants to hang a knife on his head? Maybe it will be fine all the time, but what if he falls down! Now, what everyone is fighting for is actually those positions that are eligible to vote. As long as the position is superior, the court can be resolved with one word."

"Three auxiliary administrations, six ministries of officials, households, soldiers, rites, workers, and criminals, five temples of Dali Temple, Taichang Temple, Guanglu Temple, Taipu Temple, and Honglu Temple, the Supervisory Yuan, and six governors The main body of the voting, among them, the first assistant has four votes, the second assistant has three votes, and the third assistant has two votes. The total is [-] votes. Brother Chongwen, I think the scope is still too small. A little more, and our chances of winning will be even greater.”

"We know this, and Si Junchao and the others also know it. So when this system was first agreed upon, they insisted that only officials with a third rank or above and who have real positions can have the right to vote." Xiao Cheng said: "But It’s already an improvement, isn’t it? Take your time and expand step by step.”

"Have you already chosen someone for the position of magistrate of Jiangning Prefecture?" Cen Zhong stroked his beard and said, "I think you will definitely take this opportunity to take down this position. people?"

"Of course!" Xiao Cheng said: "The current Jiangning magistrate, Yu Teng, is corrupt and perverts the law, disregards human life, and connives at relatives' misdeeds. There is evidence for everything."

"I'm afraid these are not enough!" Cen Zhong said: "This position is too important, they will stick to it no matter what."

Xiao Cheng laughed: "This time the meeting was held under the prestige, and Yu Teng was used again, so no matter how reluctant Si Junchao was, he knew he had to take a step back."

"It's too worthless to exchange Yu Teng with this big victory on the front line. I'm afraid they will try their best to stop the reform of the administrative region and the official system that you want to do next."

"Finish this thing first, and then do the second thing. Of course, Si Junchao will have a stronger bargaining chip in front of him. He can't help but not agree." The old god Xiao Cheng was there.

"Can't you tell me first?" Cen Zhong was a little indignant.

"Of course!" Xiao Cheng said, "Zhiqiu Academy is already doing the final verification. Do you know that every year we lose at least millions of dollars in tax revenue from maritime trade."

Cen Zhong was stunned: "The Overwatch Council inspected Guangzhou and Quanzhou's two municipal bureaus. Although there were some minor problems, there were no major findings. You also know that Zheng Qi, an old man, is now full of thoughts about the Northern Expedition. When such a corrupt thing happens, he will only jump higher than us."

"What if none of these have passed through the Shibo Department?"

"Smuggling?" Cen Zhong immediately reacted: "Is it such a large-scale smuggling? The tax alone has reached millions? In order to promote maritime trade, we take [-] in [-]!"

"So you know how big the interests are here, right? Once it's verified and you get the real evidence, but anyone who participated in this matter, the Yi clan is nothing, right?"

Cen Zhong gasped: "You mean, the Si family was also involved?"

"It's not just him!" Xiao Cheng said indifferently: "The so-called important figures of the Jiangnan faction, who doesn't have a share in it? Without such a major relationship, how can they be so united!"

Cen Zhong suddenly became excited: "If we can get the evidence in one fell swoop, then this time, we will have a bumper harvest."

But immediately, he said with some disappointment: "But if you use these things to force Si Junchao and the others to back down, you can't use these things to bring them to justice, and you can't even make these things public. It would be too cheap for them." gone."

"Compared to the big things we have to do, letting go of these moths is a trivial matter. What we have gained is the general trend and the advantage over the court. Only in this way can we take the next step firmly . And it's a virtuous cycle where we get stronger and they get weaker."

"It's like boiling frogs in warm water, slowly weakening them and dividing them. When they feel the pain and want to resist, they suddenly find that they are already fish on a felt board and have no power to resist!"

"That's right!" Xiao Cheng said: "For the south, we people, whether they are outsiders or locals, whether they are gentry or villagers, all reject us to a certain extent. People like Si Junchao After a century of operation, it has been deeply rooted, and its influence has penetrated to the bottom. Of course, we can use strong wrists and iron blood to suppress it, but in this way, if we kill ourselves to the point of bleeding, how can we still have the strength to deal with the threat from the north? Without the Liao people watching out, I am not afraid to use such a method, which is both neat and straightforward, but now, I can't do it!"

"Under the overturned nest, how can there be any eggs? Sometimes I really don't understand. If the Liao people really call, can they have a good life? Why can't they work together with us? We have to think hard and think of ways To do this, if we can devote all our thoughts to the Liao people, what is the Northern Expedition worth?"

"Because these people think that even if the Liao people come, they can't rule the place better without their help. So, they don't care."

"Let them see the scene of being robbed by Liao people on Hebei Road!"

"Did the Liao people move the real big gentry on Hebei Road? Those who were robbed were just those who were not strong enough or influential enough. And the real unlucky ones were the people at the bottom." Xiao Cheng said.

"They're all bastards! Just thinking about the fact that I'm going to have a hypocritical fight with these bastards in the future makes my head hurt!" Cen Zhong angrily.

"You can tie these bastards to our chariot, and see the scene where they are reluctant but have to go forward with us with a smile on their faces, don't you think it's more enjoyable?"

Cen Zhong thought about it, and laughed loudly: "That's true, it's more satisfying than killing them with a knife. But we have to prevent them from jumping over the wall in a hurry!"

"Now they must have understood the importance of the army." Xiao Cheng said: "But it's too late, Jiangning Mansion has a Jiangning garrison, and there is no room for a second army, and Lu Wenhuan took the lead and established two land and water teams The appeasement army, they are above the military and have no right to speak."

"Lu Wenhuan can still be counted as one of our own."

"At least on the matter of the Northern Expedition, he is like-minded with us."

"Come on, have another drink, to celebrate that we have taken a big step forward!" Cen Zhong raised his glass and bumped into Xiao Cheng heavily.

A few days later, the first big news broke out in Jiangning Mansion.

The magistrate of Jiangning, a senior official of the fourth rank, Yu Teng, who was only one step away from the purple robe, was arrested by Dali Temple from his home for questioning because of corruption.

The following announcements followed one after another, making Jiangning people dumbfounded.

The magistrate Yu, who usually seemed kind and kind, actually carried several lives on his body, and the amount of corruption was as high as [-].

Yu Teng beheaded the supervisor, Yu Teng's two sons were assassinated to serve in the army, and the rest of the Yu family were all sent to the south of the Five Ridges. All the property of the Yu family was confiscated.

And it was Bozhou Tianchou who took over as the magistrate of Jiangning.

Another person from the Shoufu faction through and through.

(End of this chapter)