Huanhua Building
Gu Ruoqing and Madam Liniang were following the sound, and saw a burst of light and rhythmic footsteps coming up the wooden stairs, and then a figure wearing a light yellow dress appeared at the entrance of the stairs, with a towering bun, combing the clouds and skimming the moon. The beautiful woman with exquisite jewelry hanging all over her body, accompanied by her maid and nanny, climbed up to the second floor like a star.
The beautiful woman is about thirty years old, with a graceful and gorgeous temperament. She walks with a golden hairpin in her lush temples. Her face is snow-skinned and rosy as clouds, almost as charming as a peony stamen, and under her beautiful white jade neck , under the snow-like skin, it looks like the full moon of the Mid-Autumn Festival emerging from the torn clothes.
At this moment, under the curved eyebrows, a pair of beautiful eyes as full as water looked at Gu Ruoqing.
She was the daughter of An Nan Hou, whose maiden name was Ye Nuan. Her husband died of illness early, so she returned to her natal family and started running the business of An Nan Hou Mansion in Jinling City.
Gu Ruoqing bowed gracefully and said softly: "I've met Madam."
Ye Nuan looked at Gu Ruoqing and asked in a soft and round voice, "I heard from Liniang, do you want to go back to Jinling?"
There was a trace of hesitation on Gu Ruo's cold jade face, and she finally sighed and said, "The situation here in Yangzhou has been unstable and the affairs are chaotic recently. I want to go back to Jinling."
In fact, the recent situation in Yangzhou is either the Tiqi coming out in all directions, the Jiangbei camp mobilizing troops and horses to search for bandits, and of course Liu Shengzao's harassment.
"Ruo Qing, if it's Liu Shengzao's problem, you don't have to worry too much. I've sent someone to inform Liu Shengzao and he won't pester you anymore." Ye Nuanying sat down and the jade belt tassels on her skirt fell down. Next, he said softly to Gu Ruoqing.
As the daughter of Marquis Annan, born into a top martial arts family in Jinling City except for the vassal kings and the four princes and eight princes, Ye Nuan has face among both officials and businessmen in Yangzhou City.
Moreover, this woman does like singing, dancing, and folk arts. In fact, only women of this kind who come from noble families have the leisure and elegance to explore art.
The worry in Gu Ruoqing's eyes disappeared, and he nodded and said, "If that's the case, then I'll just participate in this Oiran Competition."
The Ye family, who is in charge of the Jiangnan camp, is the target of the Holy Cult's efforts to win over. She needs to maintain certain contact with the Ye family for future plans.
Looking at the girl with pure temperament, Ye Nuan took Gu Ruoqing's hand, his eyes had a different meaning, and said with a smile: "With Ruoqing's talent, he will definitely win the first place in this oiran competition." Let the name of Huanhua Tower spread throughout the south of the Yangtze River."
Gu Ruoqing felt uncomfortable under Ye Nuan's gaze and said softly: "I'll do my best."
Ye Nuan smiled, then asked softly: "Ruoqing, I heard that the Rilu King assassinated Uncle Yongning, were you there to witness it?" Gu Ruoqing said "hmm", but there still seemed to be lingering fear on his jade face, He said softly: "Nan Ling and I both saw that day. The gangsters broke into the reception room with the intention of assassinating Uncle Yong Ning. The two parties fought, and the smell of blood filled the room..."
Ye Nuan listened quietly to the passage, his expression moved slightly, and he said softly: "Can you tell me, what is the situation with Uncle Yongning? Is his bravery really like what is spread in the streets of Yangzhou today?" After the assassination of King Lu, In addition, the remnants of the Ma family were robbed of prison, and now everyone in Yangzhou knew that Jia Heng was extremely brave.
Gu Ruoqing's bright eyes flashed with curiosity and asked: "Why are you asking this, madam?"
The first reaction was that she was a widowed woman, and she had other strange thoughts, but it seemed that she had never heard of any inappropriate anecdotes about the eldest lady of the Ye family after she became a widow.
Where did this heroic inquiry come from?
Ye Nuan chuckled and said, "I'm just asking for help. That person is a little curious about Uncle Yong Ning."
When he was in the Hou Mansion, his father asked him to use the spies in Yangzhou to help him inquire carefully, especially to inquire about some details about Jia Heng's camps in Yangzhou and Jiangbei and the last assassination.
As he said that, he looked at Nan Ling with his charming eyes and asked, "Did Miss Nan Ling see you that day?"
"Madam, it was a chaotic day with swords and blood and shadows. I didn't dare to look at it, but Uncle Yongning was very calm." Nan Ling said in a cute voice, Young Master
The woman's eyes were sparkling, as if they were hiding stars.
Ye Nuan smiled and looked at the girl with a double bun. This Nan Ling was too young and said, "How did I hear that Wang Shouqi redeemed your body and planned to give you to Uncle Yongning?" Nan Ling's eyes suddenly dimmed again, and she said, "Uncle Yong Ning was unhappy and didn't keep me."
Ye Nuan looked at Gu Ruoqing and said, "What does Ruoqing think of Yongning Bo Jiaheng?"
Gu Ruoqing's beautiful eyebrows furrowed and she said, "Madam, Uncle Yongning's martial arts are indeed extraordinary, and he is extremely strong. He is used to fighting on the battlefield."
Ye Nuan nodded, his beautiful eyes thoughtful, and said: "If you put it this way, you are really a fool."
Based on other information, it appears that he is indeed brave, resourceful and possesses extraordinary force.
Gu Ruoqing's eyes were dark, and some bad memories seemed to be welling up in his heart, and he said: "Being knighted just because he is not as good as the weak one will inevitably be arrogant and arrogant."
In the eyes of the White Lotus Saint, whether Jia Heng's words or deeds that day were good, it was still the subsequent performance.
Ye Nuan nodded and said with a smile: "Anyone who has the ability should always be proud. I heard that Wang Shouqi invited Uncle Yongning to tomorrow's oiran competition. How about introducing him to me tomorrow if Ruoqing helps me?"
Because her father's identity was a bit sensitive after all, especially since he had an agreement with the Governor's Office of Liangjiang that he could not visit Uncle Yongning directly, so she made the connection through him.
This is the survival wisdom of the Ye family of Annan Hou. Facing Shen Fang, the governor of Liangjiang, for the sake of a group of old generals, they had to cooperate with Shen Fang and find someone else to show favor to Jia Heng in order to raise the price.
But in order to prevent Zhen Zhu from being looked down upon by others for his second-rate behavior, he had no choice but to let his daughter take action to cover up the situation.
Gu Ruoqing thought for a while and said softly: "I'll look for an opportunity that day, but I'm not very familiar with Uncle Yong Ning."
The junior sister is right next to that person. If it doesn't work, I might as well ask the junior sister to help him.
Just as the two were discussing Jia Heng, Jia Heng, Chen Xiao and a group of Jinyi Palace Guards' retinues had quietly returned to Yangzhou by speedboat.
At this moment, it is almost midnight, and a dim full moon hangs in the sky, casting countless bright rays. The back hall of the Yanyuan Yamen is brightly lit, and the figures are reflected on the screen.
Qi Kun and Lin Ruhai sat opposite each other, drinking tea and talking.
Lin Ruhai put down the teacup, with a smile on his elegant face, and said: "Mr. Ge, I'm afraid Ziyu is still on the way. It won't be too late to discuss things tomorrow."
Qi Kun said: "It doesn't matter, I'll just wait."
The arrest of Liu Shengzao, the salt transport envoy from the Huaihe River and Huaihe River, and the uncovering of the Yangzhou Salt Transport Depot deficit case were so serious that when he just received this letter, he felt his heart skip a beat.
Although I thought that Uncle Yongning, with his decree, must vigorously and thoroughly investigate the losses of the Lianghuai Salt Transport Department, he was still a bit shocked and stunned by such a vigorous and resolute action.
Is this a plan to catch them all in one fell swoop and leave no one behind?
While the two of them were sitting there talking, a guard from the Jinyi Palace entered the hall, cupped his hands and said, "Mr. Lin, the governor of my house is here."
Qi Kun and Lin Ruhai got up one after another, and saw Jia Heng coming from under the eaves of the corridor, wearing stars and moonlight, accompanied by Chen Xiao and several guards in brocade robes.
The lanterns hanging on the eaves of the corridor swayed in the wind with interlaced light and shadow, reflecting Wu Xun, a young man wearing a black and red python suit with a tall figure and sharp eyebrows.
Because against the illumination of the lantern and candlelight, the face of the young man under the eyebrows was half-dark and half-dark, making the originally clear and chiselled face look a little more composed, like the dangerous mountains and ravines.
At this moment, although there is no sense of déjà vu like "Every time I hear you, the wind blows, every time I see you, there is thunder", but coming in the dark night, I really feel like I am running around in urgent matters.
Qi Kun stared at the young man with burning eyes and called, "Uncle Yong Ning."
Lin Ruhai also stood up and looked at the boy in the python suit, feeling a little excited.
After months of disputes, there is finally a glimmer of hope in clearing up the long-standing problems in the salt industry!
After that, it was time to thoroughly investigate the culprits related to the salt transportation warehouse's repeated losses and other related crimes.
Jia Heng nodded to the two of them and called
Said: "Mr. Qi Ge, Uncle Lin."
After being greeted, everyone sat down one after another. The guards of the Jinyi Mansion served tea, then slowly retreated and stood with their swords in hand.
Qi Kun looked silent for a moment, then broke the silence and asked, "Uncle Yongning, Liu Zhenfu said earlier that he could be arrested immediately. What's going on?"
Jia Heng looked at Liu Jixian who was standing with him and said, "Liu Jixian, come and give Mr. Qi Ge a detailed report."
Liu Jixian picked up an official document from the experience department, read it by the light, and said in a deep voice: "Mr. Ge, in order to get a lighter sentence, the relevant criminals confessed to the relevant criminals involved in the Salt Transportation Department's deficit case. All eight major merchants in Yangzhou are included. , they used Yin to eat grain and misappropriate credit. Since the first year of Chongping, they have accumulated a deficit of tens of millions of taels. The deficit is so large and shocking that it has never been seen since the founding of the People's Republic of China. Now Jinyi Mansion detectives and spies are investigating the relevant criminal evidence. We have gone all out to collect, and Mr. Liu Shengzao Liu has been confirmed to be involved in the case. In order to prevent the criminal from escaping, hiding, and destroying evidence, Jinyi recommends arresting him quickly."
After Qi Kun listened to the report, he was silent for a moment. The cabinet minister looked at Jia Heng with a clear look and asked: "Uncle Yong Ning, if all eight major salt merchants are involved in the case, how should the case be tried?"
Because Jia Heng had already obtained the imperial edict and presented it to Qi Kun, he led the reform of the Lianghuai Salt Service, which was justifiable. However, all the eight major salt merchants in Yangzhou were wiped out. Even civil servants like Qi Kun were a little surprised. .
Jia Heng's face was silent, and his voice was like the clanking of gold and stone, and he said: "How to deal with it in the end depends on the decree of the Holy One. All the embezzled silver must at least be recovered and returned to the transportation warehouse. Even if they lose everything, they can't lose one tael! And according to the relevant What the salt merchants have done in recent years will be punished according to the severity of the crime."
Qi Kun frowned, thinking about the impact of this case on the Yangzhou Salt Affairs, and asked: "Uncle Yongning, how will we start tomorrow?" "Tomorrow is August 15th, and the Yangzhou Salt Merchant invited Liu Shengzao to participate in the review of the Oiran Competition. Tomorrow, Mr. Qi and I will lead the guards of Jinyi Mansion to capture Liu Shengzao. Then Mr. Qi can ask Jinyi to intervene in front of them and investigate the salt affairs. Other salt merchants can not be arrested for the time being. The mansion is under surveillance and access is restricted." Jia Heng said in a deep voice.
Qi Kun pondered for a moment and said, "This method is good."
Arresting all the relevant criminals at once would undoubtedly cause
People in the south of the Yangtze River are in panic, which is not conducive to the overall stability of the court, and it is also the annual time to collect autumn grain.
It would be better to arrest only Liu Shengzao, and then deal with the relevant salt dealers after the relevant cases are found to have real evidence. Qi Kun turned around and asked again: "I wonder how Uncle Yongning will organize the salt affairs in the future, how to determine the longitude and latitude?"
Jia Heng smiled and said, "Mr. Qi Ge, please be patient and wait for the Salt Transportation Department to recover the balance and deficit. We will discuss this matter in no hurry."
When Qi Kun heard this, he also realized clearly that it was almost impossible to restore the method in Kaizhong.
In the past few days, he has actually been thinking about the method of opening the center. It does have fatal flaws, but he doesn't know how to change the salt affairs. What does Jia Heng stand for?
"Now that the salt industry is experiencing a deficit, it will inevitably have an impact on the salt industry's production and sales, as well as the people's daily salt consumption. Yong Ningbo should have made plans for the salt industry in advance." Qi Kun reminded him.
Lin Ruhai smiled and said: "The new affairs of the Salt Law cannot be decided in a few words. It is not too late to make preparations after the corruption case in the Salt Transportation Department is investigated."
Qi Kun nodded and said nothing else.
After Qi Kun left, Jia Heng and Lin Ruhai were left in the back hall, talking.
Lin Ruhai asked with concern: "Ziyu, did you go to the Zhen family the day before yesterday? What did the Zhen family say?"
Jia Heng said: "The old lady of the Zhen family said a lot of good things, but the Jiangnan camp has been reorganizing its military affairs under the leadership of the governor's office of Liangjiang. It is said that a lot of soldiers have been recruited, and the original Zhenhaiwei has been changed to Zhenhaiwei to use Zhenzhi. In order to inspect the deputy envoys of the Navy, conduct naval drills, re-deploy river defenses, strictly inspect the coast, and strictly prevent the Jurchen women from spying." Now, the Liangjiang Governor's Yamen and Annan Hou have taken the lead to reorganize the two guards of the navy and repair the boats. Prepare to strengthen the river defense, and the army commander at this moment is Zhen Zhu.
Well, Zhen Zhu finally realized his dream of being the deputy envoy of the Naval Battalion, getting a third-level salary, and being able to lead an army on his own and make great achievements.
After Jia Heng heard this letter, he hugged Zhen Qing, who came to apologize, and bumped her head more than a dozen times, causing both sides to
Mopan wrapped his arms around Jia Heng and was annoyed for a while, like a mother cat that had given birth to kittens, and gently bit Jia Heng's neck.
As for Zhen Shao, he applied for leave to the Governor-General's Office of Liangjiang. According to Mrs. Zhen's instructions, he did not accept the appointment of the Governor-General of Liangjiang's Yamen as the envoy of the Zhenhai Navy.
Lin Ruhai frowned and said in a cold voice, "The Zhen family has indeed gone too far."
This kind of political betrayal has always been looked down upon by officials, and it also spoiled, or in other words interrupted, Jia Heng's arrangements.
Jia Heng said: "Uncle, the Zhen family cannot last long if they act like this."
Keep a distance from the Zhen family, but you don't have to decouple, and Mopan also took good care of him several times in the past two days.
Lin Ruhai thought for a while and reminded: "Zi Yu, when the emperor was in Qiandi, he was not very happy with the Zhen family relying on the emperor's favor to run rampant in the south of the Yangtze River. He once asked Shu to thoroughly investigate Tirenyuan, but Not being watched by the Emperor."
Jia Heng asked: "Is there anything else?"
Lin Ruhai said in a deep voice: "When the emperor was in the dormitory back then, he saw that I was a big man who was troubled internally and externally. He was strong on the outside but incapable of doing anything. He wanted to do a lot of things, but he couldn't accomplish them."
Jia Heng said with emotion: "It will not be easy after the Holy Emperor takes over the throne."
Lin Ruhai laid the groundwork for a while, and finally advised in a vague way: "Zi Yu seems to be very close to the Zhen family. Of course, the Zhen family is a family friend, and it is difficult to separate them immediately. However, if we can take advantage of the army reorganization, it is also an opportunity to distance ourselves." .”
In the officialdom, the absence of clear-cut opposition is called cutting, and alienation is already a certain degree of cutting.
Jia Heng made a face and said calmly: "Uncle, I will pay attention to it."
He was originally using the Zhen family. What he wanted was that when he personally copied the Zhen family, the Zhen family would thank him, and Mopan would not blame him.
Well, you can say all the good things and never do the bad things.
Lin Ruhai finished expressing his advice and stopped. Because he was suspected of teaching an important military officer how to do things, he asked softly: "How is the Jiangbei camp? Are the weapons, weapons and soldiers fully prepared?"
Jia Heng said: "Today, the Jiangbei camp has fully replenished its soldiers. The relevant generals who are greedy for military pay have made up nearly one million taels of property. The 10,000 infantry troops from Henan and the Hebiao Battalion from Huai'an Prefecture have also been transferred to Jiangbei one after another. Regarding recruitment and training, the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs has urgently raised a wave of military pay to recruit soldiers, which should be enough to recruit 30,000 soldiers for the Jiangbei camp, which will be ready in a few days."
He planned to try out the system of serving in different places between Yangzhou and Henan, mobilizing troops once a year, and then use other methods to appease the morale of the military. There is a problem with serving in a different place. The soldiers are homesick, and the bureaucracy deceives the superiors and deceives the subordinates, which triggers mutiny.
For example, Pang Xun's Guilin Rebellion used hundreds of garrison soldiers to attack Xuzhou from Guilin, directly cutting off the Jianghuai River, knocking over the first domino of the Tang Dynasty's downfall, and then brewing the Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao rebellions.
However, Yangzhou is not as difficult as Guilin. I am afraid that the Henan soldiers will soon be confused in the Qinhuai wind and moon. As for the Nanjing Household Department, Tan Jie from the Nanjing Household Department has been working harder than anyone else since he said those words to benefit the movement. On the second day, he was still a little pretentious and coy, but by the third day, everything was ready. Got some silver.
Lin Ruhai nodded and said, "Ziyu is the best at these military affairs, so I won't go into details."
After finishing talking to Lin Ruhai, Jia Heng and Chen Xiao returned to the courtyard where they lived. The girl with a graceful figure cast a pair of clear and bright eyes at the young man and whispered: "If the salt warehouse is short, we can recover a lot of money. We can use the army next year." I have all my money.”
"When we have the money, we can rebuild the navy and coordinate the army during the Northern Expedition." Jia Heng said with a slight pause.
Chen Xiao asked: "With the current national power, can we really regain the old land of Liaodong?"
Although the young man in front of him is a bit messy when it comes to matters between men and women, he is very knowledgeable in military matters.
Jia Heng shook his head, his eyes seemed to pass through the quiet moonlight, and fell on the vast grassland in the north. He said softly: "If Liaodong is destroyed, even if everything goes well, it will take at least five years. It may take a long time." Some even take ten years."
Chen Xiao also looked at the bright moon that was gradually setting in the sky, and murmured: "Five years and ten years, is it so long?"
If he can really recover
The hometown of Liaodong was so prestigious at that time, and with that person's jealousy, he would definitely not be allowed to use the power of victory to regain the throne, and the world would be able to ignore the disgrace of his origins.
Jia Heng turned his eyes to look at the girl with a pensive look on her pure jade face, and called out, "Xiaoxiao."
At some point, he felt that the daughter of King Zhou had become his helper. When did it start? Maybe it was that time... Tasting soup? After all, ten drops of blood are thicker than water.
Chen Xiao put back his chaotic thoughts, his clear eyes reflected the young man's delicate jade face, and he frowned and said, "Why are you calling me?"
Jia Heng stretched out his hand, patted Chen Xiao's shoulder gently, and said warmly: "When things are settled here, let's go for a walk. You have been feeling quite haggard during this time."
Sometimes I feel that the girl in front of me lives for hatred and doesn't even have any relatives, which is quite pitiful.
Chen Xiao: "...."
This guy is teasing her again, right?
After all, I experienced many strange things at the scene, and I got to know some of Jia Heng's "tricks".
Just when he met those warm eyes, the sincerity deep in the eyes was without pretense, an uncontrollable warmth surged in his heart. However, his jade-like face was like frost, and he glanced at the young man with cold eyes, and said quietly: "Come for a walk with your sister Lin, Qing'er, and Xue'er."
In the few days in Jinling, apart from mea, she just messed around with the two demon concubines, and it was not unusual for her to be squeezed dry by the two demon concubines one day. ...
While Jia Heng and Chen Xiao were talking, on the distant coastline from the Chongming Sand Estuary to Tongzhou Port, the sea was calm, except for a bright moon hanging high in the sky with sparse stars, and a ship with a deep draft. The ships and sails with their masts hoisted high rise with the sea breeze, and the sound of "clatter" from the ship breaking through the water can be heard far away.
On the bow of the ship, there were several figures standing impressively. Prince Dodo of Hou Jinyu was dressed in military uniform, with a sword on his waist. He was looking into the distance, his face was pale and as gloomy as iron.
Next to them were Yan Qing, the leader of the Jinsha Gang, Qin Dong, the leader of the Sihai Gang, and Shangguan Rui, the leader of the Nujiao Gang. However, they were all wearing Jurchen standard armor. The three hundred people of the Zhengbai Banner were in Yiniulu. There were several pirate forces standing around, and it was hard to tell them apart for a while.
After some mediation and pressure from Duduo, many pirates such as the Jinsha Gang, the Sihai Gang, and the Nujiao Gang, who were active in the maritime trade in Nanyang, gathered for profit. About seven to eight thousand people, riding on the More than thirty ships were approaching Tongzhou Port.
Duduo looked into the distance and said coldly: "Everyone, what did I say just now? The navy soldiers in Chongming Station were completely unprepared, and there was no warning at Fenghou. This shows that the guards along the coast are negligent and have no combat power. We are vulnerable to a single blow. Once we annihilate the Zhenhai Guards at Tongzhou Port, we can approach Jinling."
Of course, everyone present knew that this was pure nonsense. How could they capture Chen Han's southern capital with only seven or eight thousand men? But as long as they looted the coastal cities, the harvest would be considerable. At this time, Shangguan Rui's face was solemn and he said angrily: "Prince Yu, there are quite a few naval forces in Tongzhou Port, at least more than 10,000 people."
"Shangguan Gang Leader is overly worried. The Zhenhai Guards at Tongzhou Port have been sparse in recent years, and they are all old and weak." Deng Biao, who was beside Duduo, said.
The young novice monk of the Calabash Temple said: "I'm afraid it's a flat river all the way to Jinling. We can capture the old capital of Chen and Han in one fell swoop and establish the southern kingdom. It's just around the corner."
Qin Dong, the leader of the Sihai Gang, said: "There is still a troop of soldiers and horses in the Jiangbei camp. Besides, there are also many infantry in Jinling, and there are many palace guards around. It is impossible for us alone."
If it weren't for the fact that they were driven by Prince Donglu's maritime trade interests, and if they were just pretending to be Jurchens, this trip into troubled waters would be really difficult.
Duduo said coldly: "The Jiangbei camp is nothing to worry about, and the navy is almost non-existent. Besides, even if we can't attack the Jiangbei camp, the counties and cities along the coast are all rich and prosperous places, so it's not a worthwhile trip." Already."
When all the pirates present heard this, their hearts felt hot.
Anyway, when the Jurchens were fighting a tough battle with the army, they would just stand by and cheer them on. This was a hugely profitable business.
