The water in Canglang is clear, so I can wash my tassel; the water in Lenglang is turbid, so I can wash my feet.
There are many private gardens in Gusu City, and Canglang Pavilion located in the south of the city should be regarded as the most famous. In addition to its excellent scenery, it also benefited from the founder of the garden, Su Shunqin, and his "Canglang Pavilion".
During the Qingli period, Su Shunqin, a talented man of the generation, was recommended by Fan Zhongyan and became the chief official of Jinzou Academy. Once after worshiping the "King of Cang" who coined Chinese characters, his subordinates proposed to hold a cocktail party and invite his colleagues over to have fun together.
Originally, people in the Song Dynasty were romantic, and gatherings among civil servants were common. Su Shunqin himself was fond of poetry, wine, and liveliness, so he agreed and paid ten guan of money out of his own pocket, hoping that everyone could join in the fun.
However, the reception was not just for those who came to the memorial hall, but also invited many officials from other departments. We Chinese people are very particular about personal feelings and sophistication, so we can't let the guests also pay.
So, I don't know whether it was Su Shunqin's intention or his subordinates' own initiative. He sold the official documents and waste papers that had been accumulated for many years in the memorial hall. He got a lot of money, plus other people's money, to make the reception a decent one, and also invited They used karaoke to add to the fun.
When registering for the reception, Prince Ren Zhongyun's Li Ding also wanted to participate and expressed his willingness to pay out of his own pocket, but Su Shunqin flatly refused, which offended him.
Li Ding was not very popular and his character was not very good. Later, he used the "Wutai Poetry Case" to get Su Dongpo into trouble. He failed to participate in the meeting, so he turned around and reported that Su Shunqin was having sex, summoning performers to accompany him, and had some The poem satirizes the imperial court and so on.
At that time, Fan Zhongyan was engaged in the Qingli Reform, which upset many people. His political enemy Wang Gongchen took advantage of this matter to make a big deal, and impeached him again and again. Finally, he used a poem at the reception to stimulate Renzong, and Renzong immediately A strict investigation was ordered.
Soon, everyone who participated in the cocktail party was arrested and put in jail. Even the singers who participated in the party were arrested and put on trial. Su Shunqin was demoted to civilian status, and more than ten other officials involved in the case were demoted and expelled from the capital. Exiled to various places, Su Shunqin's father-in-law, Prime Minister Du Yan, was forced to resign. Fan Zhongyan recommended Su Shunqin, so he naturally could not escape the consequences.
Because he sold a bunch of waste paper and because of an elegant gathering, he completely lost his promising future. After Su Shunqin resigned from office, he came to Gusu to live leisurely. He found that the place was refreshing and quiet, and the wild water lingered, so he spent 40 yuan to buy this land. Build a garden.
Later, it changed owners several times, with constant additions and repairs. It became Han Shizhong's private residence when he was crossing south, and was renamed "Han Garden". Now it has fallen into the hands of the Lu family.
Xie Tang served as a Yin official and was not a Jinshi, but he still regarded himself as a scholar. He was also good at poetry and painting, liked collecting, and was fond of elegance. He called himself "Friend of Gold and Stone".
After he arrived at Pingjiang City, Lu Wencai fell in love with him and gave Canglang Pavilion as his residence.
The Changping Division also had an office in Pingjiang City, but it had been vacant for many years and looked very dilapidated. Xie Tang was not willing to go there, so he simply used Canglang Pavilion as a temporary office to accommodate both daily life and work.
On this day, Xie Tang also hosted a banquet for the officials and gentry in the city in the garden. The elegant scholars drank wine, talked about Taoism, and sang poems to entertain themselves. They lived in a lively and happy life, which was completely different from the mourning outside the garden.
The garden-party gatherings of the Song Dynasty were very casual, with seats scattered throughout the garden. The buffet receptions in the West in later generations were similar to this, with everyone enjoying the scenery and socializing around the garden.
At this time, the Canglang Stone Pavilion was still built by the water. There was a banquet table in the pavilion.
The old man's clothes were a little out of place. He was wearing a tall hat. His clothes were very shabby and full of exaggerated patches. Even his shoes had a few holes in them.
Don't think that he is a poor man. In fact, he is Xu Xueqian, the head of the Xu family in Huating, who is Xu Tianyi's grandfather.
The reason why they were dressed like this was because at that time, many "Taoist gentlemen, famous as Qing Yao" were of this style. They wore rags in front of others, ate rough food, rode in dilapidated bamboo sedans when going out, and kept saying "preserve the principles of heaven and destroy human desires." .
Others didn't take it seriously after seeing it too much. Xu Xueqian himself didn't feel uncomfortable at all, looking around at the beautiful scenery around him and admiring it.
"You can enjoy the beauty of mountains and rivers without leaving the city walls, and you can enjoy the beauty of forests and springs while living in a busy city. This garden should be the crown of Gusu. Brother Lu was willing to give it to the Cangshi. This generosity is also
This is rare in the world and makes me admire it. "
"Mr. Xu has given me the prize. It is said that a sword is given to a hero, and a beautiful lady is matched with a famous person. This Canglang Pavilion was built by the talented Su Zimei. It is quiet, simple, elegant and interesting. In the hands of a commoner like Lu, it would be a waste. Cangshi has outstanding literary talents. He is so talented that he should be the best owner of this garden. Lu is just returning the property to its owner."
"Mr. Lu is very fond of me. Xie is just arty and has no talent. However, although the Canglang Pavilion was made by people, it is like a piece of heaven, like a hibiscus in clear water. It is comfortable and natural. It makes Xie happy to see Xie Xinxin. It is really helpless. I gave up and had no choice but to move in shamelessly."
Xie Tang smiled lightly and looked at Xu Xueqian, "If Mr. Xu likes it, he can stay here for a longer time to ease the pain in his heart."
"The old man is already half dead. He has already seen through the world, so there is no need for pain. He just doesn't want us, the glorious Song Dynasty, to fall into the hands of the tyrant and the foolish king and end up in a dead end. Therefore, he has trouble sleeping and eating. He always thinks about what he can do for all the people in the world. What can I order to feel at ease?"
Xu Xueqian had just finished attending the funeral of his grandson Xu Tianyi and came to Pingjiang. Naturally, it was not for fun.
Huating belongs to Jiaxing Prefecture and is located on the lower reaches of the Wusong River. Many places were also flooded. It was also among the first targets for implementing the Jingjie. After learning that Xietang had taken up the banner of fighting against King Yan, many powerful men from Jiaxing Prefecture came forward. Come, huddle together for warmth.
The Xu family was not only one of the few large landowners in Huating, but also their eldest grandson was killed at the hands of King Yan. They hated King Yan to the sky, and naturally they were unwilling to be seconded.
Lu Wencai had a sad expression on his face, "Hey...this King of Yan is really too wanton, interfering in the judiciary, disregarding the court's rules and treating human life, and he is greedy for money and lust. For the sake of a woman, he actually forced the Liu family to rebel and confiscated Liu's family." The family's property was not confiscated. He obviously wanted to keep it for himself, but he was not satisfied with this. Now he wanted to skin and scrape the bones of good people like us. The officials were deceived by it and had no intention of stopping it. We were also forced into desperation, so we tried to protect ourselves. I hope King Yan can retreat and correct his evil ways."
"Don't worry, even if the officials continue to favor him, if tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people really starve to death, and the public debate in the world will be fierce, he will never be allowed to succeed." Old God Xie Tang was there, half-heartedly Narrowing his eyes, "As long as King Yan doesn't act stupid, he can only submit obediently."
"I heard that Princess Yan is deceitful and has some scheming strategies. I think she should have a counterattack strategy." Xu Xueqian thought.
Lu Wencai replied, "If you can't get food, what's the use of scheming. Now not only the food in Pingjiang and Jiaxing is under our control, but also the surrounding prefectures and counties don't want to implement the border smoothly. After all, if we support If you don’t wait, it will be their turn next.”
"Based on King Yan's temperament, he will definitely struggle, but so what, as long as we and the gentry work together, he will never be able to climb out of Wuzhi Mountain!"
Xie Tang did not underestimate King Yan, but history proved that offending a wealthy family would not end well.
Xu Xueqian's cloudy eyes were full of hatred, "I hope that King Yan will have a tougher character and not compromise so easily, so that he can be completely defeated. Otherwise, as long as he can still succeed to the throne, he will come back sooner or later."
If Empress Xie had a son, Xie Tang would naturally want to kill King Yan, but now to him, as long as it does not harm the interests of the Xie family, it doesn't matter who takes the throne.
In fact, the same is true for many gentry. They don't care at all who becomes the emperor. Only if it offends their interests will they arouse their common hatred and hatred.
However, Xie Tang had no intention of saying this in front of Xu Xueqian, "Look, if he really wants to be stubborn, it will not be difficult to replace him as the crown prince."
At this time, a louder and louder cheer came from outside the park.
Xie Tang frowned and was about to ask his servants to check, when he saw his disciple leading a man dressed as a scribe in a hurry.
"Officer, this is the Chief of Police of Wu County. He said that he has something important to report, and it is also related to the noise outside."
Xie Tang obviously didn't know this kind of little shrimp, but Lu Wen was a local snake and had some impressions of Zhong Yasi, "Zhong Yasi, what big thing happened, please report it quickly."
Zhong Yasi kept his promise and said, "Report to the Warehouse Envoy, dear sages, it was the Appeasement Envoy who transported 100,000 shi of grain into the city at the price of 20 coppers per liter.
For sale, the Confucian Temple across the street is one of the places where grain is sold. "
"Wu Qian?"Z.br>
"Twenty cents?"
Lu Wencai and Xu Xueqian were both shocked.
Xie Tang just raised his eyebrows, his expression did not change much, and he seemed very calm, "Why panic! They can sell it if they want. It's not like they don't know how much grain they have. Let's see how many days they can sell it."
Lu Wencai thought the same thing and felt a little more at ease, but then he hesitated again, "Cangshi, although they don't have much food, if they are allowed to sell it like this, those ordinary people will be able to save a lot of food and save some food. Two months is no problem, but not only will all our previous efforts be wasted, but if the time drags on, it will be easy to have long nights and many dreams. If King Yan speeds up the journey and creates an established fact, it will be troublesome to recover the losses by then!"
"Huh!?" Xie Tang rubbed his fingers and lost in thought, "That's true. Now that the people know that there is a shortage of food, they will definitely start to plan carefully. Although the food in King Yan's hand cannot satisfy them, they will still be hungry for a while. Immortal, it seems that King Yan is still somewhat decisive, and Ba Cheng is determined to implement the Jingjie as soon as possible. Even if he compromises in the end, I am afraid that the fields he bitten will not come back."
Xu Xueqian's old face was livid, and he said bitterly, "How can we do what he wants? Since he dares to sell, the worst thing we can do is buy this grain first. When the grain is in our hands, we will see how he dances. I'm afraid he will The death will be even worse, don’t forget that there are tens of thousands of forbidden troops and hundreds of thousands of Xiang troops who also need to eat, these red guys will not wait to starve to death!"
Lu Wencai's little eyes were bright, "Mr. Xu's assassination plan is very clever! They sell it, we buy it!"
Zhong Yasi took the opportunity to interrupt and said, "I'm afraid it's not easy to buy. I heard that it depends on the household registration, and each household can only buy one stone..."
Xie Tang clapped his hands and chuckled, "It doesn't matter, it's easy. Most of the people in the city work in the gentry's properties. Let's just say hello to all the gentry and arrange for the common people to buy for us."
"Is this possible? How could those common people be so obedient and short-sighted?" Lu Wencai asked doubtfully.
Xie Tang said with a sinister smile, "Haha, that's not up to them. Don't forget who they rely on for their wages. Besides, most people don't have much money to buy at home. As long as people say, we are taking advantage of this." When there is low-priced food, you can just coax them by offering money to buy it and keep it for them."
"He is still a talented person in the warehouse. He will come up with a good plan after just thinking about it! High! Really good!" Lu Wencai smiled flatteringly.
Xu Xueqian nodded with satisfaction, "Cangshi Yingming! Unfortunately, I'm afraid it's too late today."
"It's not a big problem. It's just one day. It won't sell much, so it doesn't matter."
