Han Zuo Gaomen

Chapter 351 Encountering an old friend
Lu Ye arrived at Jingkou two days after recovering Taicheng. The reason why he fought for this opportunity was not that he was greedy for life and afraid of death as others said, and wanted to escape from the dangerous place of Jingji.At his age and traveling long distances, Jiang Bo's storm may not be less harmful to the body than a military disaster.When the big ship slowly docked at Jingkou, he really lost half of his life. He was listless and almost unable to get off the ship.

Those who went to meet Lu Ye at the pier were Gu Zhong and other Wuzhong scholars. Regardless of Lu Ye's position and actions in the current situation, as the only remaining veteran figure in Jiangdong, his position in the hearts of the Wu people is irreplaceable in a short time of.Although his political performance was inferior to that of Gu Rong and Ji Zhan, in the deep-rooted concepts of some Wu people, Lu Ye was still one of the few representatives of Wu people in the current situation.

After Gu Zhong and the others boarded the boat, Lu Ye rested for a while, and the first thing he said was to ask: "Why did Chang Shi agree with the proposal of dividing the state in Kuaiji?"

The reason why he wanted to leave Gyeonggi in such a hurry was that Lu Ye's main intention was to find out what has changed in Wuzhong's countryside today!For his fame and background, he doesn't care much about meritorious deeds. Being able to create meritorious deeds is the icing on the cake. If he can't, it won't shake the family reputation accumulated by generations of his family.

Jiangdong has experienced repeated turmoil, but Gu Lu's family has always stood firm. This is where the heritage of a family lies.No matter how vicious Su Jun is, if he wants to gain a foothold in Jiangdong, he must be polite to Lu Ye!
However, Lu Ye could not turn a blind eye to the sudden and powerful rise of the Shen family in Wuzhong.The rise of this new family is bound to be accompanied by a series of readjustments in the reputation of the township capital and the people. This is the foundation that really shakes the foundation of the Lu family.Therefore, for the rise of new sects in Wuzhong, these families with the old surnames are more vigilant than the overseas Chinese sects.

For an overseas Chinese family like the Langya Wang family, even if the power falls to the government and the public for a while, it will rain heavily. As long as the roots are deep, the foundation of the old surname in Wuzhong will not be shaken for the time being.However, if a secondary sect like the Shen family wants to grow, it must directly compete with the old surname for nourishment, a fundamental struggle!

Hearing this question, the customers shook their heads and smiled wryly: "It's not that I don't know the pros and cons of this. It's just that the general trend is far from being able to be stopped by manpower. Since Mr. Lu has come here, there is no need to leave in a hurry. See old friends and visit the countryside. Only after looking at the scenery can one realize that Wuzhong's appearance is quite different now."

The reason why the customers couldn't answer Lu Ye's question was because he was already at a loss.It's not that he doesn't understand Lu Ye's worries, he even has the same hidden worries himself, but he is powerless to stop this from happening.With the establishment of Kuaiji state, he not only did not feel the harm, but benefited a lot from it.

Not to mention the direct financial benefits of being an elder of the business alliance, the children of the family also have a clearer way out because of this.After Dongyang Lizhou, the main recruits were the children of the Wuzhong family. As the most prominent family in Jiangdong, the Gu family naturally benefited more.Although the customers also know that the short-term gain at this moment seems to be gratifying, but in the long run, it will hand over the leadership of the Wuzhong scholars, but what reason does he have to stop it?
Lu Ye has been in Gyeonggi for a long time, so it is difficult to intuitively feel the changes in the villagers.But the audience is clear that this group of old people has been abandoned by this generation of Wuzhong people, especially the younger generation. They need a more aggressive and powerful leader in order to gain a bigger stage in the current situation.

One of the most notable examples is that Lu Ye served as the governor of the State University, and the number of Wuzhong scholars who were recruited and used by the imperial court through his hands in the past few years is not even comparable to the number of recruits in East Yangzhou in the past period of time!This is a very simple multiple-choice question. Even Gu Zhong's own young son was sent to Daye Pass to practice, let alone other people!
This is just a small manifestation of the political situation. If coupled with the mobilization of private funds and power by the business alliance, then the Shen family's prosperity today is by no means a coincidence, but it has climbed up step by step under their noses!The Shen family did what they were unwilling to do, and the Shen family did what they were unable to do.When the result becomes clear, what reason can there be to complain?
Unable to get an answer from the customers, Lu Ye rested on the boat for a long time before finally getting up and disembarking to the platform.

At this time, the news of Taicheng's recovery had already spread throughout Jingkou, and the people flocking to welcome the victory team almost occupied the banks of the river.When Lu Ye and others got off the big boat, the people on the shore who came to welcome them suddenly burst into discussions.

"Who is that white-haired old man? Why isn't it General Xu Mao who came to report the victory last time?"

"That's right! I'm here together, just to see Shen Lang's heroic demeanor!"

"Shen Lang led the people to create such a great achievement, even if he is too busy with military affairs to return, he should send his strong generals back to comfort the thirsty people! This old man trembles when he walks, he really lacks the majesty of a strong army!"

There were discussions like this everywhere, even in such a noisy environment, the discussions in the front row of the aisle could clearly reach the ears of Lu Ye and the other ministers. There was no lack of shame and anger in their hearts, but more sourness.That kind of feeling is like an old and fading actor watching a newcomer with excellent sex and art robbing them of the scenery that should belong to them in front of their faces.

It was too embarrassing for Lu Ye and others, so the officials who came to greet them had no choice but to introduce the identities of Lu Ye and others to the people nearby: "This one is Lu Gong, the doctor of Guanglu, who was in Taiwan earlier. Cheng Kuang helped His Majesty the Emperor and protected the country and the monarchy, and also made great contributions..."

"It turned out to be Duke Lu Family..."

After learning of Lu Ye's identity, the onlookers couldn't help but gasp in amazement. After all, the Lu family's reputation is there, and Lu Ye is the only surviving elder in Jiangdong, so he is naturally respected and looked up to.

Hearing the change in the crowd's discussion, Lu Ye and others felt better.Although at his age, he doesn't need to be too concerned about materialistic comments, but it's never a pleasant experience to hear complaints and accusations all over his ears.

"Grand Lu is the most prestigious celebrity in Jiangdong, even he is willing to report to Shen Lang, which shows how amazing Shen Lang's achievements are!"

"That's natural. The Liyang rebel army is a mighty army that has conquered the capital day and night, but it has been defeated repeatedly against Shen Lang! Such feats are not considered great achievements, and what other achievements can be compared!"

"In the early years, I always felt that Wu's people were timid. Now I see Shen Lang and the tiger walking east of the river, and I know that the water and soil can always nourish outstanding people!"

"These words make Shen Lang seem to have no choice but to be talented, and the elegance of literature and Fu has already pulled out his peers! If it weren't for this, how could Duke Lu work tirelessly for Shen Lang!"

Lu Ye really didn't want to listen to these ordinary people's endless opinions, but from the pier to the terrace of Yanshan Manor, if you look around, you can see people lining the road to welcome you everywhere, it's really hard to stop your mouth .However, he also quickly adjusted his mentality, no longer distinguishing the messy voices of discussion, but recalled what the public said, and began to observe the difference between Jingkou and his memory. How many wars have been involved.

The exciting news of regaining Gyeonggi soon exploded at the entrance of Gyeonggi, and spread to every corner at a flying speed.

----

No matter how prosperous the land is, there are dilapidated places. Although Jingkou as a whole has not been affected by too many wars, with the influx of refugees, it will eventually have some impact on the market.

This is already one of the best metropolises in Jiangdong, with a huge market. With the influx of a large number of people, the supply of various materials on the market will inevitably exceed demand, and the prices of goods will soar.Fortunately, some powerful families said that even without the support of relatives and friends, they can consume and maintain their own savings accumulation.But for civilians and even refugees, the high prices made them discouraged, and they soon fell into the predicament of sitting and waiting to die.

As the largest supplier in Jingkou, the Merchant League can exert influence on prices through the deployment of materials in normal years, but in the face of such a wide-ranging war, it is actually not at all in the face of the consumption of salt and rice. way to stabilize prices.

The Chamber of Commerce was originally a non-government spontaneous commercial organization. It was neither necessary nor capable to replace the government's functions. What they could do was to maximize their transportation capacity, ensure that the supply of food in Jingkou would not be interrupted, and maintain a basic stable state.

If you really suppress prices with the idea of ​​helping the world and saving the people, then the only result will be that there will be no more food in Jiangdong.Biji Merchant League can only raise a small amount of food, and most of them still need to be purchased from Jiangdong. Everyone knows how precious food is nowadays. Once the price is not suitable, the natural choice of people is to sell it.This is not a problem that can be solved by people's moral standards. In order to ensure the supply of food, it can only increase the price.

Of course, the Merchant Alliance is not just making money from wars. Taking advantage of the cheapest manpower at the moment, a large number of laborers are recruited to carry out large-scale fortification work around Jingkou, which can be regarded as labor relief.In addition, it is a large-scale evacuation and drainage of refugees to the newly established East Yangzhou.Often the fleet arrives with food and then carries a large number of refugees to the south.

Insufficient transport capacity in the inland river, they turned to the sea route.And once the sea road is taken seriously, the Shen family's operations in Zhoushan and Jiaxing will be on the fast track, and the development in just a few months will be equal to the achievements of the past few years!
Despite this, there are still a large number of people in Jingkou who do not have enough food and clothing, especially the elderly, weak, women and children who have no labor to sell.In this regard, Xingtai itself is in a tight financial situation. It has to rely on donations from various families in Jingkou to maintain it, and it can only call on the people for disaster relief time and time again.

After Shen Zhezi left Jingkou, Princess Xingnan was immersed in anxiety all day long, and she didn't bother to go to the empress dowager's place to listen to her continuous sighs and sighs every day, and she didn't dare to ask God for amulets for peace of mind.After being bored for a long time, he thought about accumulating good fortune for Shen Zhezi, and opened five or six cheap grain sales points in Jingkou in one go, selling grain for hundreds of shi every day.

There is a lot of fish and dragons in the market, so it is naturally impossible for Princess Xingnan to go to donate medicine and give porridge in person.Recently, she has been going back and forth the most to the few manors outside the Yanshan Manor with lesser conditions. There are many wives and widows living there, and the living expenses are also difficult.

For Princess Yu Xingnan, in addition to seeking peace of mind when going to those manors, the additional gain is to listen to those women's family members praise how good her husband is.Although she has heard too much, she will never get tired of it, and gradually going to those manors has become her daily routine.

In the early morning of this day, she led a group of maids and servants to a nearby manor with several carts of supplies as usual.Because of the frequent contacts, she also gradually established some fixed social circles, so as to avoid the embarrassment of giving alms in person, those supplies were directly delivered to the manor manager for distribution.As for how much each person earns, Princess Xingnan is not interested in asking. If it wasn't for listening to people praise her husband for a long time, she would not have the perseverance to persevere.

As Princess Xingnan entered the garden, many family members gathered in the places she frequented.These female family members also have some backgrounds. Some of the male protagonists in the family are absent or have lost their power. They have no relatives and friends to rely on. Thin.

The current world style is not rigid, and the topics discussed by the women's relatives are also very extensive. Princess Xingnan often comes here, and hearing too many people's affairs can be regarded as an increase in knowledge and experience.Not to mention her own identity, her husband's family's flourishing momentum naturally became the focus of the gathering.

A group of women and ladies were chatting happily, when suddenly a woman in plain clothes rushed in and threw herself on the ground, choking with sobs, and said: "My wife is seriously ill and I am afraid she will die, please save my wife, Your Highness the Eldest Princess!"

Although it is a bit displeased to be disturbed by others, but now this girl does not have a little anger written on her face, especially when she heard that her life was at stake, she backed off the servant who rushed up to drive the girl out, and said: "You stand up Speak carefully."

The woman stood timidly in the hall, with tears on her face, choked up and talked about her own wife's illness.

Princess Xingnan was not very proficient in medicine, and the description of the woman's words was not very clear, so after a moment of pondering, she asked the female history beside her to bring a female doctor to help with diagnosis and treatment.After the woman withdrew, a maid behind the princess whispered in her ear: "Princess, that lady looked familiar just now, she seems to have come out of the garden..."

When Princess Xingnan heard this, she couldn't help being curious, she simply apologized and came out to follow to have a look.

Probably because my wife was seriously ill, the girl walked very fast, and the princess followed after she got into the car.After turning around in the manor for a long time, I finally arrived at the location, which was an inconspicuous bamboo building.

After walking upstairs, a mildewy suffocation came over her face. The princess was more influenced by Shen Zhezi, so she couldn't help frowning and said: "There are different wind diseases, how can you close the window without asking the cause of the suffocation, even good people get sick from suffocation." !"

As she spoke, she walked into the building. The small building was poorly furnished and transparent at first glance. Immediately, the princess' eyes fell on a beautiful woman with a haggard and pale face leaning on the bed.After seeing the woman's appearance clearly, the princess couldn't help being slightly taken aback, and then her face darkened: "It's you..."

Although the woman on the bed had a sick face and was extremely depressed, she still couldn't hide her gorgeous appearance, which made people feel pity.She raised her head and narrowed her eyes to look at the princess, and then her complexion changed suddenly. She seemed to be struggling to get up and salute, but she rolled down from the bed due to her weakness, facing the floor, and said softly and bitterly: "Concubine see Her Royal Highness the Princess..."

"Ha! I thought I'd never see you again, Song Ji!"

This sick woman is exactly Song Yi who accompanied Emperor Suzu on the last journey of his life, and she is also one of the few people who deeply disgusts Princess Xingnan.Although she couldn't bear to see Song Yi so seriously ill, but when she thought that it was because of this daughter that her father and queen were increasingly alienated, and even she was rarely seen when her father was seriously ill, the sympathy in Princess Xingnan's heart disappeared. !

"Cure this lady, don't let her die of illness!"

Seeing Song Yi's appearance of being seriously ill, the princess couldn't help but recall the scene of her father's lingering sickness, and left the bamboo building with a cold snort, her original good mood was gone.She vaguely understood that her father probably avoided seeing him because she didn't want to see her sick face, but she still couldn't develop a good impression of Song Yi.But when she saw Song Yi, she couldn't help thinking of her father, and she couldn't turn a blind eye to this lady, so her mood was very complicated for a while.

Standing silently outside the bamboo building for a moment, Princess Xingnan saw the little lady Cui Ling walking lightly and galloping towards here with a happy expression on her face.

"Princess, great news! The Lord has made great achievements again, and has recovered Jiankang and rescued His Majesty the Emperor!"

"What? Miss Ah Ling, what you said is true?"

Hearing Miss Cui Ling's shout, Princess Xingnan's tense face suddenly burst into a smile, and then she was overjoyed.He was no longer in the mood to take care of other things, so he hurriedly boarded the car and went to get back to the carriage.After driving for a certain distance, I remembered what happened just now, and whispered to the maid: "After Song Ji's condition improves later, transfer her to another place to be guarded, and don't let her contact outsiders again!"

　I couldn't finish the fourth day today, and my brain was a bit exhausted. . .Post a big chapter. . .I'm not a broken dog. . .Also ask for a recommendation ticket for tomorrow. . .Also, Song Yi has a plot on her body, so she won't accept it. The old man's woman, no matter how beautiful she is, she is hard to touch, and she has a long life. . .

　　


(End of this chapter)