I Xiaoxiong

Chapter 72 Yangzhou Shen Family
The winter solstice is one of the most important solar terms of the year. On this day, the imperial court will hold a ceremony to worship the sky.

And this year's presiding ceremony is indeed not His Majesty the Emperor Daojun, but the crowned prince Zhao Yuantan.

In the cold wind, Prince Zhao Yuantan, wearing a crown suit, knelt down before the head of Haotian God, and then offered incense and kowtowed before his ancestors.After returning to the seat of worship, kneel down three times and bow nine times to the gods.

After welcoming the gods, lay jade and silk, that is, offer jade and silk to the gods and ancestors.

For the Jin court, in the eyes of many people, this is an obvious political signal.

This kind of sacrificial ceremonies are all handed over to the prince. Is the emperor Daojun wanting to let the prince be in power and devote himself to cultivating the Tao?

There are not a few people who hold such guesses.

It also includes Xie Qian, one of the prime ministers who has always been unable to guess the mind of the Taoist emperor.

After leaving the court, Xie Qian, who returned to the mansion, took off his dress and changed into home clothes.Then the steward of the mansion came to the front, "Patriarch, Mr. Jiulang from the Shen family in Yangzhou has come to the mansion."

Xie Qian said casually, "Take him to the study and wait for me."

"promise."

Xie Qian looked more than 50 years old, with clear eyebrows and dignified appearance, anyone who saw it would have to praise the prime minister's demeanor.

Of course he is indeed the prime minister.

After the founding of the Jin Dynasty, among the southerners, he was one of the few high-ranking officials who could rise to the position of prime minister.

And behind him, there are naturally countless Jianghuai wealthy families supporting him.

Even so, he is still in a difficult situation above the court.

Among the four prime ministers, he and Zeng Hu are from the south, and Prime Minister Pei and Li are from the north, but no matter the north or the south, the only one who really has the final say is Li Zuoxiang.

The three of them are just a foil.

Everyone in the ruling and opposition parties knows this.

In particular, he and Zeng Hu, the two southern prime ministers, were just shown by the Emperor Daojun to the Jiangnan family, and they were considered as a front.

Even so, he actually has his own unique and important role, that is, a bridge between the southern gentry and the imperial court.

What demands did the noble families in the south have and what the imperial court wanted? His task was to mediate.

As for Zeng Ji, he is a modest gentleman, has a high reputation among scholars, and writes excellent articles. Compared with him, he is more like a decoration
After tidying up his clothes in front of the bronze mirror, he came to his study room, where a young man in brocade clothes was sitting and drinking tea, and beside him was a qin girl playing the qin.

The young man was in his early twenties, wearing a brocade robe, wearing a Futou on his head, with a handsome face, sword eyebrows and star eyes, sitting in the hall listening to the music of the piano, feeling at ease.

After seeing Xie Qian, he stood up and bowed and said, "I met Shi Bo."

Xie Qian nodded with a smile, then waved his hand to signal Qin Nu to go down, and then walked to the master's chair and sat down, saying: "Jiulang, you are welcome, sit down."

The young man named Jiulang nodded gracefully, and then sat down under Xie Qian.

"Jiulang is here this time, is there something important?"

"Returning to Shibo, there is indeed something to do. This matter has a lot to do with it. I hope Shibo will mediate in it."

At this moment, the smile on Xie Qian's face disappeared, and he asked solemnly: "You really did the matter of Yu Shi's disappearance? What are you doing?"

"Uncle Shi misunderstood, how dare our family do such a rebellious thing? This matter really has nothing to do with us salt merchants. The imperial court wants to collect salt tax. Let's fight with Xiu Yiwei, after all, this is a crime tantamount to rebellion."

The young man's surname is Shen, and his first name is Chuyang. He comes from the Shen family, a rich family in Yangzhou.

The Shen family is one of the largest salt merchants in Yangzhou, and their ancestors also come from the Shen family of Wu Xing, and they are of the same lineage.He is very powerful in Huainan, and he is also a family friend with Xie Qian's Xie family in Wuyi Lane, and the two families have relatives by marriage.

When Shen Jiulang came to Xieqian's mansion, he did not only represent the Shen family, but also the rich family of salt merchants in Yangzhou.

So Xie Qian also attaches great importance to it.

But after listening to Shen Chuyang's words, Xie Qian was extremely skeptical.

"Even if you say it's true, you and Yangzhou did not do this, but your Majesty doesn't think so. King Wu was directly removed from the post of staying behind, and let Wei Guogong Li Shizhong control the troops in the south of the Yangtze River. What does this mean? I think you should be clear that if you don't give the court an explanation, this matter cannot be settled."

Shen Chuyang smiled wryly after hearing this.

The imperial court sent twelve censors to interview each.Only the Huainan Road Yangzhou road had a problem, and it was only half a year later that there was news.

Isn't this clearly saying that there is a problem with Huainan Road?

Moreover, the inspector censor was ordered to inspect the place. They were angels, and the embroidered clothes guards were the emperor's own army. They disappeared for half a year before arriving in Yangzhou. They said they were imprisoned by bandits. How could that bandit do things so neatly?No news at all for half a year?

In other words, in Huainan Road, how many people have such ability?

The court sent a bright envoy, and the meaning couldn't be more clear.I'll give you time if you have any questions, just solve the problem before the censor goes.

Then I don’t know what happened to the problem, the people in the court were solved?
"Shibo, this matter is really not done by our families in Yangzhou. Although we want to do something about the salt tax, after all, life is too difficult. Now that private salt is rampant, it is not easy for us to do salt business everywhere. But I really dare not touch Yushi and Xiuyiwei. Moreover, the Nanjing Xiuyiwei Thousand Households Office also sent people to Yangzhou and inspected along the way, and they have nothing to do with the Yangzhou families."

Xie Qian shook his head and smiled: "I believe what you say, but will Li Xianggong believe it? Will His Royal Highness believe it? Will His Majesty believe it? Now it is obvious that if we want to settle this matter, we must first put this year and last year together. Pay the salt tax. Now that the imperial court is short of money, if you can solve this problem, your affairs will be easier to handle. Otherwise, the next step will be the envoy of the Huainan Economic Strategy and the governor of Yangzhou. When the time comes... hey."

Shen Chuyang frowned slightly when he heard the words, "Uncle Shi, then you see, it is feasible to pay the salt tax for one year first? After all, the money in the hands of each family is indeed not sufficient. Is this an excuse? Now that private salt is rampant in various places, our Life is a bit sad. Last year, one of the salt boats that our Shen family came to Shangjing was robbed. It would be a bit difficult to pay the salt tax for two years at once. We also have to save some money for the salt farms in various places. Bill, please."

Xie Qian said: "I will try my best, but it's hard to say whether it will be successful."

Shen Chuyang said: "Thank you, Uncle Shi, for that."

Xie Qian quickly waved his hand, "The life of the imperial court is not easy now, so everyone is staring at Jianghuai's taxes, so at this time, the court can't be caught. No matter whether you did it or not, the imperial court will now It’s on your heads. In the future, you still have to think more about it.”

"Remember Shi Bo's teachings." Shen Chuyang said solemnly.

After talking about the business, and after exchanging a few pleasantries, Shen Chuyang bid farewell and left from Xie's mansion.

And all of this has not been hidden from the eyes of the Secretary of the Imperial City.

The son of the Shen family, a wealthy family in Yangzhou, entered the Prime Minister Xie Qian's mansion, how long he stayed, and when he entered and when he left.Then where did he go and who did he meet.

The news quickly turned into a piece of paper, passed through the case of a principal of the Imperial City Division, and then instantly handed over to the case of promoting Gao Jingang, the youngest member of the Imperial City Division.

After reading it, Gao Jingang retrieved some information to confirm Shen Chuyang's identity, and then hurried out of the imperial city's yamen with a few pieces of paper, and within a quarter of an hour, he arrived at Chengyang Princess' Mansion.

Zhao Yuanshu, who was dressed in women's clothing, was sitting in the study, looking at an account book.

A middle-aged man stood opposite him, and next to him were two large boxes of copper coins, all of which were worn in strings.

"Thanks a lot."

Zhao Yuanshu flipped through the account books casually, and said casually without raising his head.

"Your Highness is a villain."

The chief steward of the Saburo Club lowered his head and said.

"Your lord may be back soon, and there is no need to send the ledger when he comes back."

Zhao Yuanshu looked at the account, and said these words with great reluctance.

Quan Quan couldn't say anything about this matter, he just answered "yes".

Zhao Yuanshu raised his head, looked at everything, and thought in his heart that it was true, but he didn't know how to be polite, just like his master.

I didn't even bother to look at the account book, so I threw it on the table and asked, "What have Wu Yaoshi and Wu Mingda been doing recently?"

Qi Qi said: "His Royal Highness, Prince Wu seldom goes out these days, and I heard that he is studying at home. As for the Fourth Princess, he often goes out, and sometimes he will go out of the city to see the surroundings of the capital and the scenery outside the city."

"Look at the scenery?" Zhao Yuanshu questioned.

"Yes, I still paint when I go outside. I have painted all the mountains, rivers and rivers in the capital." Quan Quan added.

"interesting."

Zhao Yuanshu knew what the princess was doing almost instantly. She was drawing a map, a map for marching and fighting.

"Painting landscapes? What a good excuse, I love landscapes"

In an instant, Qi Quan, who had practiced martial arts and had a life in his hands, felt a trace of killing intent emerging from Zhao Yuanshu.

At this time Gao Jingang walked in, "I have seen His Highness."

After Zhao Yuanshu saw Gao Jingang, he also knew that the Imperial City Division had something to do, so he said to Quan Quan: "Okay, Qi Qi, thank you for your hard work. After returning home, continue to send people to watch Wu Mingda."

"Yes. Don't worry, Your Highness."

Quan Quan agreed, and then took his leave and left, not forgetting to give Gao Jingang a nod before leaving.

But now he is somewhat respectable in Da Nei, and Gao Jingang, who can be called a powerful official, dare not neglect the chief steward of the Saburo Club, and also nodded and smiled.

After all, this is Fu Langjun's confidant, in charge of the purse of Her Royal Highness and Fu Langjun.

"Your Highness, Shen Chuyang, the direct son of the Shen family from Yangzhou's wealthy family, has come to Shangjing and stayed at Prime Minister Xie's residence for half an hour."

After speaking, put a few pieces of paper with detailed information on Zhao Yuanshu's desk.

Zhao Yuanshu picked it up and looked at it, then said, "Can you find out what they said?"

Gao Jingang shook his head, "In the prime minister's mansion, even if the hidden stakes can be inserted, they will not be able to get in touch with such conversations."

Zhao Yuanshu nodded, and then said: "Let the embroidered guards find an excuse to take him down, don't abuse him, and just lock him up in the prison for a few days."

After Gao Jingang heard this, he was a little surprised and said, "Your Highness, is this something?"

"There's nothing inappropriate. Regardless of whether they did it or not, they always have to put on a stance for those who care about it. The censor of the imperial court has been missing for half a year. A person who has no official status, is it a matter of being locked up for a few days? "

"This is Shangjing, not Yangzhou City."

(End of this chapter)