Prince of Song Dynasty

Chapter 50
Ye Chen sighed in his heart, Jia Xian spoke in such a low voice, at such an old age, he has always respected himself, although he didn't want to plead for someone in front of the emperor just after he made a great contribution, but it was hard to refuse, so he could only drink the wine in one gulp , Said: "Don't worry, Mr. Jia, I will take this matter to heart, and I will find an opportunity to intercede in front of the officials, but after all, I am a petty official, and I am afraid that the weight in the hearts of the officials is not enough. I can't guarantee whether I can be heard by the officials." into the ear."

Jia Xian, who knew Zhao Kuangyin's character well, was just talking casually, and didn't have much confidence in Ye Chen's pleading for him. After all, except for close and important officials like Zhao Pu, few people were willing to plead for Jia Xian on this matter. , to offend the emperor.Even if Zhao Pu had it once, there would never be a second time.

But he didn't expect Ye Chen to really agree, and he could see that it was definitely not an excuse.

Jia Xian's grateful eyes were a little moist, he picked up the wine glass again, and said, "Brother Ye is so loyal, no matter whether he succeeds or not, I will always remember Brother Ye's kindness in this life."

Luo Yaoshun saw that the atmosphere was a bit dull, so he changed the subject and said, "Speaking of which, Ye Geer, you really hold a lot of weight in the hearts of the officials! Last night's inner banquet, apart from you and Guo Wuwei, that's a big deal. They are all big bosses above the third rank!"

Ye Chen remembered what happened last night, smiled slightly, and didn't speak.He just drank a glass of wine with Luo Yaoshun, and then toasted a glass of wine to Wang Chao who was only focused on eating.

"That's right! When I left the camp just now, I received an order from above to withdraw the forbidden army guarding the salt field in the afternoon, and hand over the [-] soldiers and the salt field to a big salt merchant who came from Jingdong Road. Brother, I guess now The war is over and the grain roads are unblocked, so there is no need for Brother Ye to continue to make salt, but the salt field still exists, but it has been handed over to the government, and it is under the supervision of the officials of the Iron and Salt Division under the jurisdiction of the Third Division." Luo Yaoshun suddenly remembered One thing said.

"Because I'm in charge of the logistics of the army, I know a lot about these salt merchants. As far as I know, these big salt merchants are trusted by the emperor and have a close relationship with the royal family. In the past few years, my Song Dynasty has often sent troops to waste food and grass. The material is huge, and the national treasury is often tight. These salt merchants use salt to earn money and taxes, but it accounts for a large proportion of the treasury's income. Therefore, Ye Ge'er's salt-making secret technique is dedicated to the government, and the refined salt produced is far superior in quality. Surpassing other salts in the world, it can be expected that it will soon monopolize the market and make a lot of money. In the long run, it will bring in more than tens of millions of dollars for my Dasong treasury. In a single incident, Brother Ye's contribution is no less than The achievement of expanding the territory." Jia Xian put his worries behind him for a while, and hurriedly said.

"What Mr. Jia said is very true. What kind of title do you think the officials will reward Ye Geer this time? What kind of official?" Luo Yaoshun cheered up and said with bright eyes.

While the four of Ye Chen were eating and drinking, in a secret room in the backyard of the Shenjian Restaurant, the very inconspicuous, short and fat boss stood respectfully in front of another person sitting on a chair with his waist bowed. , and listen to what it says.

If the four of Ye Chen saw this scene, they would be shocked, because the person sitting on the chair was the middle-aged mistress who had followed the boss to bring them in and brought them food and drinks just now.And if Zhao Kuangyin was here, he would definitely jump up in shock when he saw this middle-aged Xiaoer, because the appearance of this middle-aged Xiaoer was five points similar to the Taoist priest of 'Zhenyuan' he had seen back then.

"Second Elder! When it comes to the art of observing people, I am afraid that there are not many in this world who can compare with you. This time you came from Guanzhong to observe Ye Chen at a close distance. He sent a batch of silver coins." The shopkeeper was puzzled and couldn't help asking.

The middle-aged man known as the second elder glanced at the shopkeeper and said, "Since you are arranged to watch Guo Wuwei's lair in Jinyang, I should let you know something."

Speaking of this, the middle-aged man pondered for a moment, as if sorting out what things should be known to the shopkeeper and what should not be known.

"The matter of Ye Chen has nothing to do with our great cause. It's just that the ancestor who has never heard of the matter suddenly asked his daughter to come out of the mountain and brought an order to investigate everything about Ye Chen. That's why I came here in person. But , After a recent investigation, I found that the Taiping Sect, which may be used by Song Emperor Zhao Kuangyin to deal with us, and Taiyi in the south, seem to be sending people to investigate everything about Ye Chen. Hmm... I heard from the precious daughter of the ancestor It can be seen that Ye Chen is extremely important to the old ancestor. Although the old ancestor has long since ignored the matter, but he said a word casually, none of us old guys dare to disobey. Therefore, I came to have a look at Ye Chen in person, and by the way, talk to this Ye Chen made a good relationship. As for what to see... This matter is really strange, and I will think about it later. But it is best not to mix his affairs with ours. This is also for you to take the initiative later The reason for giving Ye Chen a heavy gift." The second elder said.

Seeing that the Second Elder was in a good mood, the shopkeeper lowered his voice and said, "Second Elder! Speaking of our major events, then Song Emperor Zhao Kuangyin's younger brother Zhao Guangyi really..."

"Shut up! Such an important matter can be appealed to the mouth." Before the shopkeeper finished speaking, the second elder suddenly changed his face and shouted in a suppressed voice.

The shopkeeper's face turned pale immediately, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead at a speed visible to the naked eye, and he knelt down directly to the middle-aged man with a thump, and said in fear: "This subordinate should be damned! Please forgive me, elder."

"Hmph! Considering that you have made a lot of contributions to the Holy Church in the past few years, forget about it, and you must always remember! For hundreds of years, our clans have been able to pass it on safely, and have survived several catastrophes. , One of the reasons is that you can always be cautious, and some secrets that are related to life and death must not be spoken casually." The middle-aged man said in a cold voice with a tone of hatred.

The shopkeeper said yes again and again, with a look of panic and fear.He knew that the Second Elder in front of him was cruel and merciless, he said something wrong, and he would kill him as soon as he said it, without ambiguity.If it makes him think that he can't keep the secret, kill himself and put someone else in charge of Jinyang's affairs, it's not a big deal or impossible given his personality.

When Ye Chen and the others left from Shenjian Restaurant, he immediately got a large cloth bag. This was a gift from the owner of Shenjian Restaurant. Although strictly speaking, it was not considered corruption or bribery, Ye Chen still didn't dare to accept it. , until Jia Xian, Luo Yaoshun, and even Wang Chao, who appeared to be very honest and responsible, persuaded him to accept it, and they all took it for granted, Ye Chen accepted it secretly in his heart.

He just took a look at it, good guy, all of them are gold ingots, there are 200 pieces, each one is one tael, which is equivalent to 2000 taels of gold. According to the current market price, it is equivalent to [-] taels of gold. Both are equivalent to [-] million RMB in later generations, which is really a windfall for Ye Chen who is poor and just waiting to live on his salary.

Ye Chen observed secretly. Apart from being a little surprised at the beginning, Luo Yaoshun didn't have any extra expressions. He knew at a glance that his family background was extraordinary. This was considered wealthy by ordinary people, but he didn't take it seriously.While Jia Xian and Wang Chao were happy for him, the envy in their eyes was hard to hide!

Zhao Kuangyin's self-confidence has been inflated in the past few days, and he has the idea of ​​​​taking advantage of the opportunity to attack Khitan. However, under the dissuasion of Zhao Pu, Cao Bin and other ministers, after careful consideration, considering that the continuous war for the past four months has greatly depleted the national power, and then In addition, it had been a long time since he left Kaifeng, and he was always afraid of the mysterious forces hidden in the dark, so he followed the original plan, after resting in Jinyang for three days, he took the Northern Han Palace and some high-ranking officials of the Northern Han Dynasty with him. All the gold and silver treasures collected by the aristocratic family led the army and returned to the dynasty.

In addition, Li Jixun was left to garrison Jinyang with an army of [-] to guard against Khitan.After Zhao Kuangyin summoned Guo Wuwei for an hour of secret talks, he disregarded the objections of Zhao Pu, Cao Bin and other military and military ministers, and appointed Guo Wuwei as the transshipment envoy on the Hedong Road, and sent several civil officials to serve as the prefects of Jinyang and several surrounding states.Jointly govern the East Road [now the central and northern part of Shanxi Province].

Although Ye Chen has been a military cavalry captain from the seventh rank, and even the next step, he will be greatly promoted again, but before the new appointment, he is still under Cao Bin's command.Therefore, on the way back to the court, the teacher still followed Cao Bin, but he was no longer Cao Bin's personal soldier.

Along the way, Cao Bin treated Ye Chen more like his nephew and younger generation. He knew that he didn't know much about the world, especially the officialdom of the Song Dynasty. Whenever he had the opportunity, he would explain a few words to Ye Chen. .And Ye Chen also attaches great importance to these information materials, listens very carefully, and if there is something he doesn't understand, no matter how simple or common sense the question is, he will not be ashamed to ask it, which makes Cao Bin very pleased.

(End of this chapter)