There are many large and small ships moored at Nanxiongzhou Pier. This is the Shuilu Pier for traffic between the north and south of Guangdong. Merchants traveling south to Guangdong can go straight to Guangzhou by crossing Dayuling from Nan'an in Jiangxi and changing ships in Nanxiong Prefecture.
Young Eunuch Yang, Yang Tianliang and his party came all the way from Beijing on two building boats. On one side, he and his family and maidservants are the main ones, and on the other side, there are the masters, stewards, housekeepers, guards, etc. who come with them. Neither ship displayed flags, signs, gauze lanterns or other signs. Because Eunuch Yang was not only not a popular figure in the palace, he was almost in danger of protecting himself. Showing your brand name has no other benefit than making people jealous. Even though some officials are willing to entertain, little Eunuch Yang's temperament is most afraid of greetings and farewells. Therefore, I rode in a sedan chair or sailed on a boat, and when I got to the next place, I didn't disturb the post station or post anything. Just walking in silence. Now that I had rested on the ship for a day, half of the fatigue from the journey had disappeared. The Qingke guests were playing cards on the ship to entertain themselves. They also invited Yang Tianliang, but he declined them all.
It's not that he hates the sparrow fighting scene. In fact, this time I went south, I had a different feeling in my heart.
Yang Tianliang was selected into the palace by Wanli in his later years. He was assigned to Eunuch Yang and was highly regarded by him as his adopted son. Eunuch Yang was one of Gao Shiming's cronies. Originally, relying on these two big trees, he had a bright future in the palace. Unexpectedly, at the age of nine thousand, his father-in-law Gao Shiming left his job to take care of his old age. His adoptive father was either employed as a mausoleum digger or lived idle in the palace. He himself had not had any serious work for three or four years. Fortunately, he still had connections from the past, so he got a It is the responsibility of the factory manager.
On weekdays, father and son rarely see each other. Outside of official business, they are either running their own business. He said nothing about the affairs of the palace and court, trying to avoid suspicion.
However, the power of Nine Thousand Years Old has been overwhelming over the years, and life for their father and son has become increasingly difficult day by day. Seeing the sour men in the court either trembling and dying, or resigning and being demoted. Starting from the leap month of last year, Pan Ruzhen, the governor of Zhejiang, established a shrine for Wei Zhongxian as a starting point. Officials from all over the country have requested to build more than 40 shrines at one time. This made Eunuch Yang, who had always been idle, moved.
At present, all the civil and military officials from the imperial court and various places are invited to the Lisheng Temple. The eunuchs in the palace have not done anything yet. What if they themselves are involved? Not to mention the possibility of changing the perception of the nine thousand year old, at least it can leave a respectful impression.
But when I thought about it again, it was inappropriate. He was not a nine-thousand-year-old confidant. Such an act was not only abrupt, but also greatly offended the confidants in Wei Zhongxian's palace - you can't steal someone else's limelight even if you flatter him. After thinking about it, the officials, gentry, and gentry have already begun to build ancestral temples. Only the merchants and people have not done anything, so they can do it. I have held this chess piece high in Guangzhou, and recently he has contributed to a lot of overseas novelties. I want to make a lot of money, so I will borrow his money and let him do this.
It was under such circumstances that Yang Tianliang was beaten to Guangzhou. According to his adoptive father's instructions, the shrine to be built in Guangzhou must not only be magnificent in scale, but also must show the "utter sincerity" of the business people. According to the current situation, as long as they hold their heads high and contact a group of businessmen to submit a letter, local officials in Guangdong will never dare to refuse this matter.
As for how much money this "splendid" shrine will cost, Eunuch Yang has no control over it. Anyway, Gao Ji has been under his care for so many years, so it is appropriate for him to spend some money - they always prosper and suffer together.
However, Yang Tianliang didn't see it that way. He thought deeper than his adoptive father. There are no exceptions to the cycle of prosperity and decline in the world. Nine thousand years old is now a situation where flowers are blooming and fire is cooking oil. He does not care about this idea of icing on the cake; if it falls, it will become an ironclad proof that cannot be washed away!
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but shudder. I looked around. He very much suspected that some of his entourage were affiliated with Dongchang. Even thinking about such a thing would make people break into cold sweats.
Although he was busy traveling along the way, Yang Tianliang was thinking about how to advance and retreat in this matter every day to get the best of both worlds. He felt that his adoptive father was too short-sighted and always thought about money. He felt that just asking Gao Ji to pay for things would be the end of it. After all, would the matter be done? Whether the majestic Nine Thousand Years Old Shrine is a monument or an ironclad proof depends on fate - long live the emperor, but the emperor's body and bones don't look like they will last for eternity...
How? He pressed his eyebrows tiredly and leaned on the chair to recover his concentration for a while.
A waiter came in quietly and saw that he was concentrating with his eyes closed. He did not dare to speak and just waited quietly. Yang Tianliang knew someone was coming in and snorted:
"What's up?"
"Sir, the steward of a high-ranking official has been waiting for me at the dock for a long time."
"Tell him to come in."
The manager came in and kowtowed to him. Yang Tianliang recognized that Gao Ye was a manager who often came to Beijing to deliver things to them. He was young, spoke and acted beautifully, and was a social figure.
In addition to greeting Mr. Gao here, Gao Ye also brought a boatload of wine, food and utensils, which were clean and gorgeous. There are also several male and female actors for entertainment on the road.
The most peculiar thing was a thin wooden box, which Gao also presented last. He said it was Mr. Gao's thought and he bought it from an Australian businessman with a lot of money.
Yang Tianliang has long been familiar with the name Australian businessman. At the beginning of spring, Gao Ju wrote in a letter: Some new Australian maritime merchants have arrived in Guangzhou, and they have quite novel goods. I also brought in some things: a crystal mirror, a lighter that can catch fire with just a flick of it...
Uncovering this small wooden box made of Luodian lacquer, there were two small golden boxes inlaid inside. They were shining brightly, but they were neither gold nor jade. There were three strange patterns in the middle of the boxes. It was hard to tell what they were. There is another small candlestick-like thing inlaid in the middle, which seems to be inlaid with black silver, but the carving is very poor and the pattern is crude.
He took an inquiring look at Gao Ye and saw him gently taking out a paper box and carefully opening the lid. Inside was a piece of shiny silver paper. When he peeled off the paper, there was a row of neat white sticks. A scent wafts out.
"Is it cigarettes?" Yang Tianliang's little hobby is smoking, and he immediately recognized the smell of tobacco.
"These are cigarettes from Australia. My master specially gave them to you." As he said this, he respectfully took out one and presented it to him.
Yang Tianliang held the smoke and saw that it was completely snow-white, with one end showing the mouth, which was light golden tobacco, while the other end was snow-white, compressed like silk cotton. I didn't know how to start for a while. He smoked with a pipe stick and had smelled the snuff trafficked by Westerners, but he had never seen anything like this.
After Takaya's demonstration, he put the cigarette in his mouth, lit it with the candlestick-like lighter, and took a puff. He felt that the tobacco was very ordinary, the smell was light, and it was mixed with an unknown aroma. It's just that the paper tobacco shreds flicker on and off without being extinguished, which is really strange.
"It's just paper cigarettes, and they look exactly the same. They are the same as the Australian lighters your master bought last time." Even though Yang Tianliang said this, he still liked paper cigarettes. He couldn't put it down and played with the cigarette case: if this thing could be given to the dignitaries of the day, it would be a good gift.
"Executive executive, do you still have these cigarettes in Australia?"
"Yes, yes. The merchants brought a lot of them."
"Well, I'll prepare dozens of boxes for us when we get to Guangzhou, and the lighter will also need to match it."
"I understand, little one."
Seeing that little Eunuch Yang stopped talking, he closed his eyes again. Gao Ye slowly withdrew.
As Little Eunuch Yang's boat slowly sailed down the river, Shuangzhong resold another batch of goods, and cigarettes were a new product. Wen Desi took the opportunity to make a request to Mr. Gao and bought Gao Chang over. Although everyone has thought about various plans to hide this matter, after considering it over and over, it is always impossible to hide it. Rather than engaging in such sneaky little tricks and being tabooed in vain, it is better to carry out an upright conspiracy. Mr. Gao was a little surprised, but he thought it was Gao Qing's request - to find a way out for this frustrated sworn brother - Gao Chang was not a confidant, so he readily agreed without asking for any money.
Gao Chang brought a bedding and came over by himself. When he saw the owner, he said that he wanted to change his surname to Wen. The people who traveled through time had never thought about this kind of issue. Now that Gao Chang raised it, they realized that changing their surname was very important. It was a way for slaves to feel a sense of belonging to their masters. However, it is not appropriate to change the surname Wen. After all, the time travel operation belongs to everyone. While they were discussing, Xiao Zishan suggested that instead of changing his surname to something inexplicable, it would be better to simply restore his original surname. This would win over people's hearts - Chinese people have always taken matters of their ancestors very seriously, and losing one's own surname would be a great shame. It is a great honor to recognize one's ancestors and return to the clan.
After asking him what he thought, the young man knelt down and kowtowed several times, with tears streaming down his face.
"With the grace of the master, I have regained my true surname of a slave. From now on, I, Sun Chang, will be the servant of the master. I will be in the water, in the fire, in the fire, but according to the master's orders!"
"What if I want to go back to Australia and never come back?"
"Wherever the gentlemen go, Sun Chang will follow him, to the ends of the earth and to the ends of the earth!" Sun Chang said firmly.
I thought it would be difficult to take in a younger brother, but is it so easy? Our bastard spirit finally came out!
