Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 317 4.113 The prefect is joking

Volume Four

4.113 The prefect is joking

Xiangbei Province is worthy of being the world-famous thoroughfare of nine provinces. As a prefecture, Wuchang Wharf is extremely prosperous, with people coming and going, and the continuous flow of vehicles in an orderly manner, which together contribute to the prosperity of this commercial powerhouse. Fortunately, Zhou Yang The Xue family passenger ship was of special shape and large size, so it didn't have nowhere to berth.

"Students have seen Zhou Qianhu!" Zhou Yang had just gotten off the boat, and before he had arranged for Zhao Qiying and the two general flag guards to accompany him, he heard a greeting not far away, and Zhang Lan, the son of the prefect of Wuchang, came with a smile, " My father guessed that the adults would definitely arrive, so he arranged for the students to wait here. Fortunately, they did not wait for a few days.

The student has already dispatched his servants to pass on the news of your lord's arrival, and also invites you to accompany the students to visit the guests. There has been a little wine there to cleanse your lord; the restaurant is not far from the magistrate's yamen, there must be a My father will be able to get there in just a few minutes of tea. Please forgive me for disturbing you! "

"I've kept Mr. Zhang waiting for a long time." Zhou Yang smiled and clasped his fists in return. Everyone had mentioned this, and it would be too offending if he didn't go. Moreover, he came to Wuchang Mansion as a last-minute decision, and he was already four years old when he got here. On January 29, Zhang Lan was able to block the dock when he just got off the ship. He was obviously prepared, and his original plan to go to the commanding envoy's yamen was aborted.

Zhao Qiying was left to arrange the luggage for the ship, and Zhou Yang didn't waste any time. He only took brothers Li Hu and Li Xiong and followed Zhang Lan. Ke Laixiang is located in the central area of ​​Wuchang Fucheng, not close to the pier. Zhang Bo, the prefect of Wuchang, was already standing at the door of the restaurant with a smile and greeted him personally.

"Hahaha, I am here in Wuchang City. I have heard a lot about General Zhou's power these days. It is really extraordinary to see him today!" What is even more unexpected is that Zhang Bo personally greeted Zhou Yang at the gate. He dismounted and strode over, and a "hand-holding companion" came on the spot and pulled him into the restaurant. "Just a small amount of wine is disrespectful, General Zhou, don't dislike it!"

However, etiquette and politeness are one thing, and it is another thing when it comes to talking about things. Besides, the two of them are civil and military, and they don't have much substantive interactions on weekdays. Today's meeting was not in the pre-plan. As a result, Even after the banquet lasted for a long time, the two of them discussed most of the scenic spots and historic sites in Wuchang Prefecture. Fortunately, Zhou Yang came from a modern age and had a wide range of knowledge, otherwise he might have been left in the cold.

"General Zhou, this time my father hosted a banquet, it was just to say hello." Finally, after drinking for three times, Zhang Bo couldn't hold back his anger when he saw that someone was still sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai, but some harsh words were not suitable to be spoken directly. , Zhang Lan, who had been drinking with him throughout the whole process, acted "appropriately" as the villain, "but the student had a few heartfelt words, asking the general for advice."

"Mr. Zhang is so polite. I would like to thank you for your hospitality today." Zhou Yang realized what the other party was thinking and simply stated it himself, "There was such a large-scale civil unrest under the rule of Daye. Although the root cause was He County. Order, but it is not appropriate for us to say anything about the so-called 'death is the most important thing'.

I am a member of the Qianhu garrison in Daye, and I cannot escape my involvement. Fortunately, Your Majesty has been so kind and the soldiers have taken their lives. At least there has been no major problem. This time I have indeed brought a lot of trouble to the prefect. I deeply apologize. , but at least the chaos was contained under Daye's rule and would not cause harm to the place. "

You're just showing off your merit, right, right, right?
Zhang Bo, who was able to serve as the chief officer of the first palace, thought he was well-educated, but he was still blocked and almost broke out on the spot; Zhang Lan, who was not well-educated, held the wine glass in his hand tightly and almost threw it on someone's face, but luckily he controlled it—— Is this what I’m talking about with you?My emotional father would also like to thank you for quelling the civil unrest, right?

"General Zhou, how did I hear that this civil unrest was caused by nothing more than a few hundred members of the White Lotus Sect, yet the officers and soldiers were dispatched and defeated in a single blow?" Zhang Bo simply waved his hand and asked Zhang Lan to lead his subordinates. After all the people were emptied out, only two people were left in the box before he said with a cold face, "But what now? It turned out to be a large-scale chaos involving 5000 people!"
He Cheng has been dead for a hundred years, but I have been accused of being "incompetent in governing affairs". I am afraid that there will be no promotion in this term. I know your way around the capital, and I also know that "the four kings and eight princes" ', but if you really think that I am just a prefect, and want to bully you at will, you may not be able to explain yourself. "

"The magistrate is joking. This Daye chaos incident was reported to the court after a joint audit by the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Rites. There is no room for slander!" Zhou Yang answered the question without hesitation, "Now that times have changed, if you want to I can settle the matter with just a few words. I can bear it, but I wonder if you think others can bear it?"

"The general misunderstood, I don't mean that." Zhang Bo's expression turned cold, and he immediately took the topic away. When the Daye Civil War just ended, he wanted to be a monster. Now the war has been jointly characterized by the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Rites. He didn't have the guts to deny it as a "great victory", "It's just that this war has been protracted for a long time, which has had a great impact on Wuchang Mansion. There are even more unscrupulous traders in the city taking the opportunity to hoard and exploit the village. As Wuchang's parents, I have to do something. !”

"My lord's words are very true!" Zhou Yang immediately understood that if he didn't bleed, Xue Zihao would turn into an "unlawful trader" in an instant. "Although I have no right to intervene in local government affairs, I have heard There are quite a few vendors in the area who are doing very shameless things, and even deal in prohibited items. Although the county magistrate He tried his best to ban them, it was difficult to clean them up."

"Oh?" Zhang Bo immediately looked serious, "You even dare to deal in prohibited items and treat the court's laws as nothing? It's simply appalling! Since the matter can be spread to the general's ears, I think it has reached a very serious level, but I don't know what it is. How can something that is prohibited make the general so angry?"

"In this world of great profit, we cannot escape the word 'salt and iron' after all!" Zhou Yang sighed with emotion as he picked up the wine glass and drank it down. "After vigorous efforts in the past few days, the market was barely cleared. Now County Magistrate He unfortunately died. The county government only relies on the county magistrate and a few old officials. How can it sustain itself? I think it will be difficult to solve the problem without new officials."

"General Zhou is worried about the state, and I feel the same!" Zhang Bo nodded with a smile, and also picked up his wine glass and took a sip, "It's just that the garrison cannot interfere in local government affairs after all. I just want to help, and I am as caring as I am in the capital." We are powerless, so we can only report the situation and urge the imperial court to dispatch troops as soon as possible!" "What your Excellency said is absolutely true!" Zhou Yang smiled and raised his glass, drinking with Zhang Bo.

That night, the commander of Wuchang went to the back house of the Yamen.

"Come on, come on, you are good enough. I have been here in Daye for so long, and you have only been to my place once. Why, are you afraid that I will have no wine or food?" There was another banquet, but there was only a small table and round stools. , meat and vegetables, six dishes, it was really a bit simple. The conductor Luo Gang slapped Zhou Yang on the back with a pair of big hands, which almost made him choke. ?”

"I don't dare to deceive you, sir. I didn't expect that things would turn out like this." Zhou Yang quickly grabbed the wine bottle from Luo Gang and filled it carefully. "I thought things would be complicated, but in just one battle, After that, even if the big deal is solved, I won’t make any efforts at all in the remaining matters, so..."

"Okay, I know what you mean." Seeing his frightened look, Luo Gang was quite satisfied and pointed to the lower position for Zhou Yang to sit down, "According to the rules, your kid dares to eat alone this time. If it were anyone else, I would never be able to spare him. Not just one person can break this rule of sharing the merits of war!
However, there are only a thousand people. If you say hello in advance, I won't take it seriously. However, you are brave enough to accomplish a great victory. Naturally, you will have to find your way to the capital. If I still dare to reach out, I'm afraid even my mentor Ma Jue (the Duke of Zhiguo) won't be able to spare me! "

"Thank you for your understanding!"

"Okay, my brother, the matter is over." Luo Gang waved his hand and officially turned the page, "Compared to this little thing, how could I have heard that you just got off the pier today and followed me? That poor little Zhang Lan went to the magistrate's office? Even if you are protected by Lord Chen, there are other rules in civil and military affairs, so you won't forget it, right?"

"Sir, it's not that complicated. It's just business." Zhou Yang smiled and put the question to Xue Zihao, "Whether it's martial arts or martial arts, you have to make money."

"You, you only know that making money is good, but you forget that there are some things you shouldn't touch, right?" Luo Gang pointed at him speechlessly and said, "Xue brand Jiangnan products are famous in Huguang, and I won't say anything if you pick up some white goods along the way. But you dare to even touch iron goods, and you have built such a big business, do you really think that outsiders are all blind?"

"Sir, you are joking. Who dares to say that our iron products business is big when we are guarding the Iron Mountain in Daye?" Zhou Yang did not understand what Luo Gang meant. "Even if the official has a few hands, it can still be bigger than those of the local mines." host?"

"What I'm talking about is not that you sell more, but that you dare to sell to anyone!" Luo Gang stood up angrily and kicked him, "Zhang Bo's identity is not as simple as you think. There are too many people involved with him. Trouble!"

"Thank you for your love, sir!" Zhou Yang stood up and bowed respectfully. The relationship between him and Luo Gang was really like that. For someone to say this, he is already very conscientious. "But, this matter is not that simple. At the beginning, the young master from the magistrate's family went to talk to me in person, and he also brought the famous post of Brother Zhen of Ningguo Prefecture. Moreover, the young mistress of Ningguo's back house also saw the things inside. "

"You -" Luo Gang's expression changed suddenly. He really didn't expect that Zhou Yang actually knew the twists and turns involved.

"Sir, I know you can't touch that person, but if he really comes to visit me, how many people in the entire court will have the guts not to give him face?" Zhou Yang smiled bitterly and took a sip, "Just pretend that you don't know anything!"

"Not bad!" Luo Gang slowly picked up the wine glass and slowly poured the wine into his mouth, "It's okay not to know anything!"

"Sir, the business of Xuezhao is complicated, and you have to help take care of many things!" Skipping the depressing topic, Zhou Yang brought the conversation back on track, "Just like the Jiangnan specialties mentioned just now, such as Su embroidery knitting, For department stores and sundries, it’s just a question of how big the fleet is, but if there are too many, it will be too troublesome to run it yourself.”

"I know you are dishonest!" Luo Gang smiled and nodded, knowing of course that this was a gift to himself, "You can rest assured in Daye, they are all brothers, what is it worth!"

(End of this chapter)