Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

236 Chapter 4.32 The princess has sorted out everything in Gyeonggi

Volume Four

4.32 The princess has sorted out everything in Gyeonggi

In the early morning of the tenth day of August - actually we arrived last night, the Grand Canal is near Qingzhou Pier.

Linqing in this era was not a small county-level city in modern society, but one of the most prosperous commercial cities in the entire north. It was located right at the junction of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal and the Old Canal of the Sui and Tang Dynasties. In terms of water transportation, it was connected to Hangzhou in the south and Beijing in the north. , west to Luoyang, the flourishing of commerce and the intensive logistics can be imagined.

Since the founding of the Zhou Dynasty, this place has been known as "prosperous than the two capitals and as wealthy as Qi County". It has a population of one million and is the largest north-south water transportation node in the world. The entire water transportation headquarters of the imperial court - the Water Transportation Governor's Yamen is located here. If the Grand Canal is an endlessly flowing golden river, this place can be regarded as an endless gold mine.

"So, Your Highness the Princess is interested in this place?" In the master bedroom on the second floor of the three-masted cruise ship, facing the slightly dazzling morning light, Zhou Yang leaned on the bed and hugged Dongfang Bing and said with a smile, "The salt road I gave her back then. , but there has never been a limit on the supply quantity. As long as she can get the payment, she can hand over it to the designated dock as much as she wants. Why, the money is not enough?"

"Since you know the huge power in the hands of the princess, how could you not guess how much it consumes." Dongfang Bing pushed him away gently, Tianti got off the big bed, stood in front of the window and gently opened the curtains a small crack, "You Looking at this pier, how many places in the world can compare with it? The princess doesn’t expect to win it, but it would be too silly to watch the money slip away.”

"You!" Zhou Yang also smiled and got out of bed, looking at the "reflective" jade statue in the morning light with some fascination. He stepped forward and hugged her and said, "If I remember correctly, the current Governor of Water Transport is called Zhang Xun, right? ? How can Her Majesty the Princess get in touch with him? If it weren’t for him - well, I understand, Her Majesty made a deal with the Supreme Emperor again? "

"You, it would be better if you could be more stupid." Dongfang Bing said faintly, "There is no deal. Since the Supreme Emperor retreated to Longshou Palace to be raised, he can no longer do what he did to the outside world like he did in Yuji Tianxia. Like an arm with a finger, although Zhang Xun, the governor of water transportation, is one of his, he has not been very honest in recent years.

The main purpose of the princess sending me here this time is to completely win over the Xuezihao Semicolon and related industries, which is not a big deal; and then in the name of the Supreme Emperor, I will go to the Zhang Family Mansion to give instructions to see if he can continue to use it; Of course it's best if it can be used. If it can't be used, just collect enough evidence and give it to His Majesty. "

"The latter one was added by the princess herself, right?" Zhou Yang immediately saw the trick, "Once your Majesty brings the Governor of Water Transport to justice, you can naturally take the opportunity to arrange your own manpower. The harvest here is really exciting. "Anyway, if you can use it, follow the path of the Supreme Emperor. If it doesn't work, change your strategy to gain His Majesty's support. The princess is really..."

"Ziyang, you don't have enough status now, so why don't you do this?" Dongfang Bing turned around gently and fell into his arms distressedly and said, "Of course the princess and I will only be happy for what you can do, but if you do this , It's really too enviable, not to mention those enemies, it's hard to say whether Wu Xun will still be reliable inside.

Forget about anything else, this time you set off from the capital and were appointed as officials. Have you ever seen one of them come to see you off for such a big event?Since you let go of your duties, in the eyes of many people, you may never have the chance to return to Beijing. In addition, they have done this, and I am afraid that in the eyes of outsiders who don't know the truth, you have been abandoned, right? "

"Idiot, you forgot what you said before, how can I have you?" Zhou Yang smiled and hugged her tightly and said, "Is it just because of my current official status? Not to mention Her Royal Highness, how can you like me? If I can't go up one day early, how can I let you bear children for me? As for making people jealous, those who don't make people jealous are mediocre.

As long as you have some ability and ambition, how can you avoid enemies?I will definitely not be able to do without the help of Wu Xun's family in the future, but to say that I can't do it without them is too unconfident. To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that they do control a large amount of resources, I would really not be that big. Appreciable. "

"It's up to you!" Dongfang Bing sighed lightly, but didn't say anything else.

"Dongfang, what's wrong with you?" Zhou Yang said with some confusion, holding her in his arms and sitting back on the edge of the bed, "The Dongfang Bing I know is a descendant of Weiyuan Hou Mansion who disregards himself for the sake of advancement, and has no fear in his eyes, only sharpness. , a member of thousands of imperial guards, a heroine known to everyone in the capital, why, every time we meet these days, I feel like you are..."

"Are you weak?" Dongfang Bing sighed softly and said helplessly, "Ziyang, it's not that I have become weak, but I remembered your original words, 'The more I know, the more I find myself ignorant.'" I have served Her Highness the Princess since I was a child, and no one in the world knows her better than me. I have always regarded myself as the Princess's best confidant, but in less than half a year, it seems as if I don't know her.

She stretched her hand too far. You didn't participate, so you may not understand these things, but I understand every action and every arrangement. Now, the princess has sorted out all the affairs in Gyeonggi Province, including the two in the palace. She is the only one who doesn't want to ask about the important matters of the saint, down to the arrangements of the major forces, and there is absolutely nothing she can't find out. "

"Is it such an exaggeration?" Zhou Yang said puzzledly, "In the final analysis, the intelligence network of these years relies on people to implement it. If you want to expand the coverage without limit, you can only increase the manpower; but the management of these years The means are limited, and the more people there are, the more difficult it will be to control. Eventually, it will become too big or too many people, and there is no way to extend it.

Just say that in this capital, if you throw a block and turn around, you may hit a member of the clan, and you may offend a high-ranking official by spitting. How much manpower does His Highness Yongchang need to achieve the level you mentioned? ?No matter how talented she is, she can't escape the limitations of the times! "Limitations of the times?" " Dongfang Bing was confused by Ai Lang's new words, but after a moment's thought, he understood. Ruhua's pretty face showed a pleased smile, "I don't know why, every time I have a deep conversation with you, I always feel that I can learn something. Princess. Well, she also realized the limitations you mentioned. It is indeed very difficult.

But have you forgotten?I have taken you to the Princess Mansion many times over the years. You have told her many things in this regard, such as management issues, using the 'single line of contact, mutual isolation, and high-level summary' that you mentioned at the beginning. The princess follows this This way, you just need to have a capable staff, as you said, around you. "

Zhou Yang:.
"Actually, the princess only has such an arrangement in the capital. It's impossible for the people down there to be so powerful." Looking at Ai Lang's expression of being convinced by the Yoneda Communist Party, Dongfang Bing couldn't help but smile, "It's just like the Linqing Prefecture in front of you. The princess just wanted to arrange a main address and establish a few footholds.

Because they didn’t expect to control it from the beginning, but only wanted to gain some benefits, and naturally they didn’t need to be as meticulous as the capital; also, the princess asked me to tell you, the Xue family has found a stable source of salt and iron goods, right?You have given the former, but she also needs some iron goods. After you make arrangements, she can just transport them along the salt road. "

Zhou Yang wished he could slap himself in the face. In order to gain support and leave an impression on Princess Yongchang, he had proposed many modern methods in many aspects. He just wanted to find a reliable thigh to hold him. Now those pairs of The long legs are indeed allowed to be hugged and played with, but how can this feeling of "too much support" be broken?
"Princess, did she really do what you said?" After thinking about it, Zhou Yang decided to test it out. After all, Dongfang Bing belongs to Princess Yongchang. What if she just exaggerated?
"You don't believe it?" Mr. Qianhu looked at him with a half-smile, and just when Zhou Yang felt faintly in danger, he spoke with a mocking expression, "A few days ago, when the princess was sorting out the intelligence of Rongguo Mansion, she accidentally discovered It's very interesting. I'm afraid no one would have thought that Mr. Zhou, the 'disciple of Rongguo Mansion', could be so capable.

Not to mention the second-in-law young lady whom I have also met, you have not spared the concubines of the first-class generals, and even the three girls in the house, you have given them monthly money; regardless of these, after all, you and the The Rongguo Mansion has a close relationship, and if you see it too much, it may be easy to cause trouble; but what about the young lady who has just started in the Ningguo Mansion? "

"What. What's going on?" Zhou Yang touched his nose in embarrassment and denied it firmly, "I'm just with Brother Zhen."

"You still have the nerve to call me Brother Zhen?" Dongfang Bing said in surprise, "Although the current heir of Ningguo Mansion is very despised, and his thoughts towards the princess's niece are indeed damnable, but But my little sister knows that although you look generous on the surface, you never give favors to unrelated people.

Nowadays, there are nearly 30 people around the eldest mistress, protecting Dou Fengxuan and Tianxiang Tower. Not to mention the servants, the twelve female guards have captured nearly [-]% of the young female escorts who run single gangs around the capital. And they are all friends with the Zhongyuan Escort Agency. Don't tell me that these people have nothing to do with the sister of the Zhao family next door. "

"How many people did you put in?" Zhou Yang was almost ashamed of his anger, so he had no choice but to admit it, but he was still unwilling to be so embarrassing, and he almost gritted his teeth and asked.

"If it were any other place, I wouldn't tell you anything, but this place is special, so it doesn't matter if you know it." Dongfang Bing said angrily, "Among the female escorts Miss Qin recruited, some were arranged by the princess. Over at Rongguo Mansion, the girl named Jade in the yard of the old lady of the Jia family had also been arranged long ago, and the princess later took over.

Also, there was originally a rough lady in the courtyard of the second-bedroom eldest mistress, who was sent out a few days ago. In the inner courtyard of the Rongguo Mansion, there was a aunt who was not very favored. He was a member of the secret guard and was taken over by the princess for her own use, but in name it still belonged to Xia Shouzhong. "

"Huh -" Zhou Yang really didn't expect it to be so exaggerated this time, but he still held on to his last thought and asked without giving up, "Is this the case for everyone else?"

"No matter civil or military, no matter high or low, all officials with real power in the capital have at least one princess in their family." Dongfang Bing said lightly, "It was the same at your place. The princess gave up because she thought it would make you uncomfortable. But in Xuezihao All prefecture-level branches have either deployed manpower or have agents nearby."

"I really underestimated you!" Zhou Yang stood up angrily, walked to the window and pulled open the curtains, then turned around and held down a certain Qianhu, "The only problem is, how do you think I feel like this? Is that good? No wonder that His Highness ran away so fast. If she were still here, I would take advantage of her!"

"Oh, you're crazy. Even though there is glass on the window, if someone looks in, will I still be alive?" Dongfang Bing suddenly became anxious, struggled for a few times but couldn't get away, and then glared. Someone asked anxiously, "Does Master Zhou not mind his woman being looked at by outsiders?"

"Don't worry, those glass panels are all colored, and our position is very high, so we can't see them from the outside." Most of the glass in this era cannot be colorless and transparent, and Zhou Yang uses light yellow (containing iron ions). ), but after all, he closed the curtains, leaving only a "light gap", "Besides, don't you want to be under such bright sunshine?"

"You man—"

(End of this chapter)