Hearing what Zhang Yang said, Xu Jingzong looked at the water with empty eyes, then looked up at the sky, "Why is it so difficult for this person to live his whole life?"
No. 1 went to work after receiving the words.
Zhang Yang patted him on the shoulder, "Old Xu, have you ever thought about how to live in this life?"
Xu Jingzong whispered: "The most important thing in life is to carry on the family line."
Zhang Yang asked again: "Is this matter finished?"
Xu Jingzong nodded, "The children have already gone to the streets to fight."
"Then do you have any regrets?"
"there is none left."
Zhang Yang sat next to him, looking at the pool with his hands folded and frowning, "Since I have no regrets in this life, why not give it a try."
Xu Jingzong sighed: "How does Mr. Zhang think he is going to live in this life?"
"I think it's boring to think about big things like life. That's what saints do. I'm just a mortal."
"Obviously you were the one who asked first." Xu Jingzong muttered in a low voice before leaving Qujiang Pool.
Looking at my daughter-in-law, she was very productive and caught two palm-sized fish.
Xiao Wu bullies Xiao Xiong from time to time. Her mind is not on fishing at all. This girl is really not a character who can sit quietly and fish.
Watching Li Yue kill the fish he caught on the spot, his movements were quite skillful.
After putting the fish in the pot and stir-frying it, Li Yue asked in a low voice: "Can we capture Qiuci?"
Zhang Yang frowned and said: "I don't know, let's see what Adalan does. Now send the letter to the Western Regions. It should be March when Gaochang receives my news. We will fight with Qiuci first. After the battle, I hope not to delay the cotton." of farming.”
Li Yue whispered: "Qiuci has a long history. It was controlled by Rouran in the past, and then captured by Emperor Wei. It has been subordinate to the Western Turks since the Sui Dynasty, and they still have many connections with the Western Turks. "
"Gaochang has been conquering the Western Turks for the cotton fields in the past two years. Qiuci is located on the strategic route of the Silk Road. It often faces wars. It is still necessary to rely on the Western Turks as a backer to gain a foothold in the Western Regions."
The conversation changed, and Li Yue said suspiciously: "My husband, I think the real intention of Qiuci's visit to the Tang Dynasty this time is the Western Turks."
Zhang Yang nodded and said, "I think so too."
Li Yue rolled up her sleeves, put garlic and ginger into the pot, and stir-fried patiently.
Zhang Yang admired her making fish soup, with a few strands of hair falling messily on her face. As the fire in the stove grew stronger, she seemed to be a little flustered, until she poured water, covered the pot, and let the fish first After cooking, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Then she washed the rice again, and the pale yellow rice grains were not completely shelled. When the fish soup was almost ready, she tasted it carefully, smacked her lips and nodded, and then simmered the rice.
Xiao Wu didn't know when he was lying on the bear's back and fell asleep.
It also accepted its fate and lost the strength to resist in the face of the torture of this little devil.
The family had a meal in the waterside pavilion before going home.
There were still some days before the start of the fifteenth day, so Zhang Yang and Li Yue went to the village first to prepare for the restart of construction in the coming year.
Shangguan Yi and Niu Chuang are still laying foundations in Weinan with their people because they need to build two or three new workshops.
The warrior Xun held his daughter in his arms. Seeing that Xiao Wu was dressed luxuriously, he saluted the couple and said, "The prince consort and the princess will take care of her."
Zhang Yang replied: "Xiao Wu is quite sensible and quiet."
Li Yue held the account book in her hand and looked at the accounts, "The Queen Mother is also preparing to adopt Xiao Wu as her goddaughter."
Speaking of this matter, seeing the hesitation and embarrassment in Warrior Xun's expression, Li Yue added: "She is only a goddaughter in name, not a princess. Besides, she will not be allowed to marry far away."
Warrior Xun asked in a low voice: "I know that there have always been marriage matters, and I don't know if those envoys will also come to Princess Shang this time."
Li Yue glanced at Zhang Yang.
Zhang Yang smiled and said: "As for how many days are left until the start of the court, there is no response on this matter, so there is no need to worry first."
The warrior Xun said again: "The King of Hejian County came here two days ago and brought a group of people. They have been sent out to escort the cotton. In a few days, more people will be sent here and a message will be sent to General Niu Jinda. "
Zhang Yang hesitated and said, "Will General Niu agree?"
Warrior Xun put down Xiao Wu, and she quickly ran to Li Yue's side, folding her arms and looking at the accounts together.
Seeing his daughter's appearance, the warrior Yun smiled and said: "I heard that the King of Hejian County will exchange some fertile fields from his own fief for the acres of General Niu's family."
"He can really spend a lot of money."
The process of accumulating wealth is a very torturous thing, and you never know when your wealth will be emptied out.
The last snowstorm almost emptied the house, which also gave Lishan a good reputation.
You can use thousands of cotton-padded clothes to create a good reputation for yourself.
This is definitely a good deal.
Zhang Yang looked at the inventory in the warehouse and saw that he had produced another thousand pieces of cotton cloth and sold some.
Cotton is also constantly being shipped back from outside the customs. This is a good start, and the village's production is finally on track.
Recently, several adult men in the village have also married wives. For this reason, Li Yue asked Yu Yi to give them money.
These daughters-in-law came from other villages. Now Lishan villagers have solid houses to live in and a stable income, which is a very solid guarantee for the married women.
Li Yue came to the printing shop and looked at the Butterfly Lovers that had just been printed. Yu Yi stood beside her and whispered, "His Royal Highness the King of Wei cried for a long time after reading this story, wondering how such a tragic thing could happen."
In the words of the husband, love comes from human feelings, and this kind of feelings has always been suppressed by etiquette.
The etiquette system is the foundation of aristocratic families, and in those big aristocratic families, this system is extremely strict.
If you want to break this etiquette, you are trying to draw fuel from the bottom of the cauldron and change people's views on love. The husband uses stories to influence people. As long as people see this story, they will see and understand Butterfly Lovers, and naturally they will think of the Cui family girl.
Times are changing, and as long as the whole process is good enough, it can have a certain effect, at least it can make the family uneasy.
Li Yue whispered: "Have you read this story?"
Yu Yi nodded and said, "I've seen it."
"What do you think?"
"I don't understand why Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai are willing to sacrifice so much for a relationship. If it were me, I wouldn't be able to do it."
Li Yue looked at her husband, who was explaining the principles of the drawings to the warrior Xun. He put down the printed book and replied: "That's because you haven't experienced it yet. If you also meet someone you like, you can You will experience this feeling.”
Yu Yi bowed slightly and said, "I understand."
After finishing the arrangements in the village, the fifteenth day was the day when these cotton cloths were put on sale. According to the price, Li Yue set a price of 50 yuan for a piece of cotton cloth, and 7 yuan for a foot of cotton cloth. The whole price was very close to the price of mulberry and linen cloth, but It's a penny more expensive than ordinary cloth.
With Lishan's production efficiency, the cost can be much cheaper. Half a ton of cotton costs only one hundred dollars, and half a ton of cotton can produce twenty pieces of cloth. Li Yue did some calculations, excluding labor costs, the benefits can be at least six One hundred coins.
According to the efficiency of producing fifty bolts of cotton cloth every day, you can still make a lot of money.
For Li Yue, seeing more and more money in her family and more and more money entering her accounts is happiness to her.
Recently, a strange thing happened in Chang'an City, and this strange thing was related to Xu Jingzong. This man drank himself to the point of being alone and drunk every day, and talked nonsense at home every day.
Zhang Elephant looked at the decadent Xu Jingzong, "Brother Xu, why are you doing this?"
Xu Jingzong was stunned and shed two lines of tears, "I'm sorry for Zhang Shilang! Zhang Shilang is really miserable."
Zhang Elephant said in confusion: "Zhang Yang is eating and drinking so well. It is said that many people are ready to buy a large amount of cotton from Lishan. Even the old father at home said that Zhang Yang will make a lot of money from it. How can it be so miserable?"
"Isn't it the most tragic thing in the world to be unable to use one's talents? The vicious Khan!"
"Stop talking, it will cause disaster if someone hears it."
Xu Jingzong shook his head and said: "Your Majesty accepts advice widely, and Wei Zheng dares to point his finger at Your Majesty's nose and scold you. Wei Zheng can scold you, but others cannot."
Suddenly he heard the sound of a pot knocking over outside the wall, which frightened Zhang Xiangxiang. Was someone eavesdropping?
Zhang Elephant quickly came outside the courtyard wall and saw no one.
"Tian Khan is conceited and ignorant!" Xu Jingzong started howling again.
Seeing his abnormal behavior, Zhang Xiangxiang stepped forward and asked softly: "Shilang Xu, what are your intentions?"
Xu Jingzong put away his mournful expression and said with a gloomy expression, "Brother Elephant, if Minister Zhang doesn't come to the Ministry of Rites for one day, how can the Ministry of Rites stand on its own feet?"
Knowing that he had ulterior motives, Zhang Elephant said anxiously: "This is an appointment from the Central Government. Is it useful for you to cry like this? Stop crying."
】
Seeing that Xu Jingzong continued to cry and howl, Zhang Elephant said again: "The envoy from Qiuci wants to talk to our Ministry of Rites to prepare for the next time he goes to court to meet the Khan."
Xu Jingzong's crying stopped abruptly and he quickly put on a smile.
He was crying heart-breakingly before, but now he is smiling so optimistically. This man's state of mind changes so quickly that it is jaw-dropping.
Zhang Elephant said again: "Are you going to stop crying?"
Xu Jingzong wiped away his tears and said, "I'm tired."
"Tired of crying?"
"Brother Elephant, can you stop rambling? Let's go pick up Mr. Zhang first, meet with the envoy from Qiuci, and then discuss the next matters."
After confirming that Xu Jingzong finally returned to normal, Zhang Xiangxiang was relieved, "I cried so much during the Chinese New Year. I thought I thought someone was dead in the family."
"If a person's talents cannot be used, what is the difference between dying and already dead?"
Li Shimin has been very anxious recently. He has been waiting to meet the real owner of Gaochang, but when someone brought the words to Xu Jingzong, things seemed to have disappeared without a reply.
"What has he been doing these days?" Li Shimin asked with a sullen face.
"Shilang Xu has been staying at home recently. He took the envoy from Gaochang to see Zhang Yang a few days ago, and now he takes the envoy from Qiuci to see Zhang Yang again. It is estimated that there will be a few more after meeting. I don’t leave my house every day.”
Li Shimin said solemnly: "He really asked Zhang Yang about everything in the Ministry of Rites."
Li Junxian replied: "Your Majesty, our people often hear some words outside Xu Jingzong's house. They are Xu Jingzong's demonic soliloquy, saying that this life is over, and also saying..."
Halfway through the words, Li Junxian's words were choked in his throat again.
Li Shimin said impatiently: "What else did he say?"
Li Junxian saluted and said: "Your Majesty, I dare not say anything, as these are treasonous words."
"Just say what you say, I won't punish you."
Li Junxian swallowed his saliva and summoned up the courage to say: "It is said that the Ministry of Rites was established today because of the leadership of Shilang Zhang and the Prince of Hejian County. It is said that the vicious Tian Khan killed the donkey and took away the merits of the ministers. But he demoted his ministers and put them in the East Palace, so that he had nowhere to use them, and..."
Li Shimin said with a dark face, "Continue talking."
"Here." Li Junxian looked flustered and saluted and then said: "They also said that the original Turkic incident was not about seeking personal gain with power. It was to use milk powder to control the grasslands where the Turkic people depended on for survival. This was the best policy, Khan. Ignorance only sees the surface of things, but does not know that their true intentions lie in the future.”
Li Shimin took a sip of tea and said, "That's all? What's wrong with you?"
"I didn't say that."
Seeing that Li Shimin was silent, Li Junxian asked tentatively: "Your Majesty, how should we deal with Xu Jingzong."
"I want to chop him alive." Li Shimin said viciously, "Wei Zheng can scold me in Tai Chi Hall, how can I kill him? He just said at home, I will kill him like this, and everyone in the world will do it again." How do you want to see me?"
"Your Majesty is wise."
Li Shimin picked up the tea bowl and frowned in thought. Before the tea was poured into his mouth, the tea bowl was put down again. "I heard that there is something called a thermos cup at Yue'er's house. Is it very useful?"
Li Junxian replied: "That's true. It is said that Shangguan Yi always carries it with him and takes a sip in the middle of every conversation."
"How is the investigation about the strange phenomenon in the night sky going?"
"I failed in my duty. I was keeping an eye on the movement of saltpeter in Chang'an City before this. I didn't find anyone buying saltpeter in large quantities. It seems that the other party was prepared for it. I also asked the people who were hoarding saltpeter. The saltpeter in their homes was still there, and some people were buying it. Saltpeter fell in the wild, but even if it fell in the wild, no one would pick it up."
"So the other party was prepared a long time ago."
"Indeed."
At this moment, on the streets of Chang'an City, at a street corner in Dongshi, Zhang Yang and Cheng Chumo were watching a group of children fighting.
Seeing two children who were particularly aggressive, Zhang Yang asked, "Whose children are those?"
Cheng Chumo raised his eyes and replied, "That's Li Daoyan's younger brother."
"younger brother?"
"Yes, my brother." Cheng Chumo added.
Zhang Yang watched with interest, "It looks no different from other people's children."
Cheng Chumo replied: "Since the death of General Li Shentong, the children in this family have been bullied often and fight almost every day."
"Where is Li Daoyan? Doesn't he care about his younger brother?"
"He is on duty outside the Suzaku Gate. How can he control his younger brother? However, these children are also generals. Just by looking at the fights, you can tell that they will be men when they grow up."
