Chang'an was the gold-selling cave of the Tang Dynasty. Good things from all over the country were sent to Chang'an in various ways. Therefore, the consumption level here is much higher than that in other big cities, and the degree of monetization of goods is frighteningly high.
Ten thousand guan can be said to be an astronomical figure elsewhere, but in Chang'an, it is not necessarily so. It really doesn’t take a year to spend it all.
Pingkangfang was the legal "red light district" of the Tang Dynasty, the gold-selling cave among the gold-selling caves.
Its northwest corner is where the Imperial City is located, and various important decrees of the Tang Dynasty are issued from here every day. Maybe some officials who like entertainment will go straight to Pingkangfang after going to court.
Pingkangfang is famous not only because it is the gathering place of Qinlou and Chuguan, where celebrities gather together. It is also because the nightly singing here has brought creative inspiration to countless talented people, and countless famous Tang poems were written here.
"Kaiyuan Tianbao Legacy" records: "There is Pingkangfang in Chang'an, where prostitutes live. Kyoto knights gather here, and new scholars every year visit it with red paper names." Therefore, people at that time called this place " The land of "Fengliu Ze".
Its neighbor to the north is Chongrenfang, which was where many people in the Tang Dynasty were waiting to be appointed officials, that is, those who obtained official qualifications through imperial examinations and other channels and were waiting for the corresponding official positions to become vacant.
It is similar to the gathering place of "candidate cadres" in Fang Chongyong's previous life.
It stands to reason that the people who come in and out of Pingkangfang should be literati and singer Hu Nu.
But what is unexpected is that Li Linfu's official residence is actually in such a mixed place, and its majestic existence does not feel awkward at all.
Perhaps Li Linfu understood well that "the most straightforward loyalty is to be honest and not cover up", so Li Longji not only didn't mind this, but also believed that Li Linfu had a "true temperament".
At this moment, Li Linfu, who was in his early fifties and looked very elegant, was checking various files in an inconspicuous small study room in his official residence. The robe he is wearing is fine linen donated from Kuizhou.
There was also a middle-aged man in his forties with a face full of vicissitudes of life, wearing an inconspicuous gray cloth robe, pretending to be a down-and-out scribe, waiting in front of Li Linfu. His name is Wang Zhi, and like Fang Youde, he is a supervisory censor, but he is responsible for supervision in the Gyeonggi area, and his power is much greater than that of Fang Youde at the beginning.
When he met Li Linfu, he was also very low-key and did not even dare to wear a brocade robe when going out.
"Wang Fei, the matter in Kuizhou is in full swing and there is a lot of criticism. What do you think of this matter?"
Li Linfu put down the file and asked with a smile, his tone was very cordial.
What he was referring to was Zheng Shuqing's plan to restructure Kuizhou Jiangguan and unify the specifications of the canal ships. Now this matter has stirred up a hornet's nest, because Li Linfu is now in charge of the Capital Water Supervision, and because many people are putting pressure on him, asking Li Linfu to resolve the matter properly.
Kuizhou Jiangguan is blocked. This matter may not be a big deal, but it is not a small matter. Many specialties from Shu are transported along the Yangtze River to Yangzhou, and then from Yangzhou to Luoyang via canal, and then from Luoyang to Chang'an.
Is it reasonable from a route perspective?
It's not reasonable at all, but it's necessary because Chang'an is the capital of the Tang Dynasty and where the emperor is. All irrationality must become reasonable in the face of this reason!
Things in Kuizhou were making a fuss, but Li Longji had actually remained silent until now. He didn't say anything about removing Zheng Shuqing from his official position, nor did he say he didn't care about these things. To be honest, his attitude is the typical "I have read it and can't read it back."
"I don't know, please tell me."
Wang Fei said with a humble face, not daring to make any mistakes at all.
"You boast that your ability to manage money is unparalleled in the whole court. Can't you explain why?"
Li Linfu still had a smile on his face, but it just looked a little eye-catching. He looked thoughtful while stroking his mustache.
"Prime Minister Zuo, many people are talking privately now, saying that Zheng Shuqing is audacious and should be dismissed and brought to Chang'an for trial at Dali Temple... Some people think that Prime Minister Zuo should also cut off his wrists to show his determination."
Wang Xian smiled and explained, but saw Li Linfu impatiently waved his right hand to signal the other party to shut up.
"The truth is not asking you how to deal with Zheng Shuqing, but what is Kuizhou's strategy? Don't you know that investigating Zheng Shuqing now is just a slap in the face of the truth? What do you mean by saying that?"
Li Linfu was already very unhappy, and even his habitual smile had faded away.
Wang Fei knew that although he was recommended by his relative Yang Shenjin, his backstage was not Yang Shenjin but Li Linfu. Yang Shenjin was self-righteous and rude to him, but the reason was superficial. The deep-seated reason was that Wang Xie knew that only Li Linfu would cause trouble, and Yang Shenjin was not the material to do big things!
"My subordinate made a mistake, made a mistake..."
Cold sweat broke out on Wang Fei's forehead. Although Li Linfu's tone was very calm, he could feel a suffocating pressure from the other party.
"Back to Prime Minister Zuo, I don't understand this matter in Kuizhou."
Seeing that Li Linfu didn't express anything special, Wang Fei said sincerely.
"Go ahead, let's stop the matter at the Yushitai. If anyone puts pressure on you, you will turn the topic to the Du Shui Supervisor and ask the Du Shui Supervisor to investigate."
Li Linfu put down the file, as if he still had something to say, which made Wang Fei a little confused. He had said a lot of bad things about Zheng Shuqing before, and hoped that Li Linfu could "survive with a broken arm" and that the matter would be settled after Uncle Zheng was investigated and dealt with. But it could be seen that Li Linfu didn't seem to care about it.
Wang Fei was a little worried.
Things like this may seem trivial, but any trivial matter cannot withstand the fermentation in the political environment of the Tang Dynasty. Small things can lead to big things if you are not careful. From a political perspective, Wang Zhi's view is not inaccurate.
Except that he didn't quite understand Li Longji's thoughts.
Wang Fei left Pingkangfang with a glum look on his face. After he left, Li Linfu personally wrote down the details of reorganizing Jiangguan in Kuizhou and unifying the specifications of canal ships into a memorial word for word.
He wanted to use this newly obtained weapon to induce Zhang Jiuling to take action, and then make Li Longji feel disgusted and alienated from Zhang Jiuling, preparing for Zhang Jiuling's final resignation.
"As long as no one interferes, three hundred thousand guan will only take a month."
Li Linfu couldn't help but sigh.
Kuizhou is really a toss-up, and the methods of setting standards and certificates for admission are simply applauding! He has been in politics for many years, and it has been a long time since he saw such a strategy that made his eyes light up.
Many courtiers believed that Zheng Shuqing was making trouble unreasonably, but only Li Linfu saw the huge benefits in it. The experience in Kuizhou can actually be generalized to the canal. Of course, he was too lazy to do such a thankless task.
Li Longji, everything he did was to create a country and a capital where he could enjoy himself. Others are not important.
Li Linfu has seen through Li Longji!
But why could a stubborn person like Fang Youde give birth to a prodigy son with such special bones?
Li Linfu pondered this problem for a long time when he was free, but still had no solution.
"A child prodigy? I wonder how he compares to Li Mi?"
After a long time, Li Linfu looked at the customs clearance regulations on the paper, thinking and muttering to himself.
There is still one final blow to deal with Zhang Jiuling!
Let's use this memorial to hammer a nail into his coffin first.
Li Linfu thought proudly.
…
Fang Chongyong didn't know what happened in Chang'an, but he knew that Kuizhou was already busy.
The shipyards along the coast are already operating at full capacity, working around the clock, and are still recruiting people in Kuizhou City.
Orders came in one after another, and there was even a big businessman who placed orders for ten canals at once! Those merchants who could not pass through Jiangguan were not idle either. They unloaded their goods and parked them at Kuizhou Ferry. Then transport logs, nails and other necessities for shipbuilding from upstream and downstream.
Nail and tenon jointing technology is widely used in canal ships, and the demand for iron materials is not small. Many merchants were temporarily unable to clear customs and did not want to be idle, so they became suppliers to many shipyards in Kuizhou. Except for some merchants with evil intentions, other merchants quickly sensed considerable business opportunities.
The resulting huge population flow also led to the prosperity of all walks of life in Kuizhou City.
Some people in Kuizhou City are discussing whether to build a living shrine for Zheng Shuqing in recognition of his contribution to the development of Kuizhou.
At noon that day, the sun was shining brightly, and the sun was quite fierce. Fang Laique held a bamboo umbrella for Fang Chongyong, and the two came to the river bank to check the progress of the shipbuilding. Nowadays, water ships are delivered every day, and the traffic at Jiangguan is in order. The situation is far smoother than Zheng Shuqing expected in advance.
"Mr. Lang, wouldn't it be good if we go to the official restaurant of the government office to eat every day?"
Fang Laique asked hesitantly.
"Public dining" refers to the government canteen. It has always been the custom in the Tang Dynasty for officials and staff to have working meals near their offices. Each yamen paid for and was responsible for the meals of its own staff, similar to the government canteen in Fang Chongyong's previous life.
Not only is there no charge for public meals at Kuizhou Government Office, but the food is also very good!
After all, Zheng Shuqing would go out to eat sometimes. If he disgusted the governor who had lived in fine clothes since childhood, wouldn't he be making himself uncomfortable?
"Is someone gossiping?"
Fang Chongyong asked with a slight frown. He knew that what he did would definitely offend others.
An eight or nine-year-old child has become a celebrity around Governor Zheng, and even the Governor himself respects him. How could those subordinate officials not gossip behind his back? It is better to guard against others than against rivers. Things like this should accompany him throughout his life.
If you are not envied by others, you are a mediocre person!
If you really want to be quiet, you can only be a salted fish with no desires and no demands.
Fang Laique nodded and said, "They all say that Lang Jun is a monster."
"Haha, those are all mediocre people, they are all jealous of my talent."
Fang Chongyong sneered.
At this moment, he saw Zheng Shuqing walking over with a smile on his face, accompanied by two servants.
"It seems that you are happy."
Fang Chongyong asked with a smile and a salute.
"Isn't that a happy event?"
Zheng Shuqing touched his long beard, and then waved his hands to the two servants beside him, telling them to leave and stay out of the way.
"What do you think this is?"
Zheng Shuqing handed a thick letter to Fang Chongyong for reading.
"Li...does the saint think too highly of the envoy? It's already very difficult for us to get three hundred thousand guan, and he actually wants to ask for more money? He wants an extra 100,000 guan all of a sudden? We can't make up for it even if we cast money. A hole!"
Fang Chongyong almost dropped the letter on the ground!
Where is the face! Li Longji is still shameless when riding a horse! Dog ×!
Fang Chongyong couldn't help but curse! In order to make money, he really racked his brains, but the emperor asked him for one hundred thousand yuan.
Haha, let alone 100,000 guan, Fang Chongyong doesn’t even want to give more than 10 guan!
Suddenly, he remembered that Li Longji seemed to be a man who took possession of his daughter-in-law majestically and like a wind.
Well, since that's the case, it's okay. Asking for more money should be just a basic thing, so be it.
Fang Chongyong's moral bottom line is very flexible. With a knife at his neck, he can consider the bottom line as low as he wants.
After all, in Li Longji's eyes, all ministers are flying eagles and lackeys. What happened to asking for more money from a lackey? is there a problem?
Dare the lackey to disobey?
"Your Majesty, the saint needs more money and silk. I am already short of money. Why are you still smiling?"
Fang Chongyong asked speechlessly.
"Hey, you don't understand this. The saint said this, which means that he doesn't mind what we did in Kuizhou, and even appreciates it! If this matter is done well, then those who will be promoted later will Isn't the matter obvious?
Of course, if I get promoted in the future and you have to take the imperial examination, wouldn't it be easy? "
Zheng Shuqing said with a proud look on his face. This incident can be described as a desperate situation. The 300,000 yuan was like a mountain to the top for him! Unexpectedly, in just ten days, the situation was completely turned around. Now, the "deposit" plus the "donation" sent by the ship dealer have exceeded 100,000 yuan.
This was unimaginable in the past.
"Your Majesty, you are too happy too early. A storm is brewing. You need to take precautions early."
Fang Chongyong sighed helplessly, the governor was really optimistic.
When playing cards, the first thing to win is the paper, and the last thing to win is the money. The lesson of popping champagne at halftime is no longer a legend.
"Beware? Beware of what? I have been worried about the emperor's attitude before. Now that I have confirmed the emperor's attitude, there is nothing to worry about."
Zheng Shuqing said in a comprehensive manner. For Li Longji, the more the officials objected, the more he would persist.
"Your Excellency, don't you think that we have blocked many people's way of making money?"
Fang Chongyong asked helplessly. He was afraid that something big would happen if he didn't say anything.
"What could happen?"
Zheng Shuqing asked in confusion, but didn't take it to heart very much.
"There are not many mountain bandits and water bandits in Shu, but it is not that there are no desperadoes. What I mean is, what if, what if there is a group of water bandits, taking advantage of our unpreparedness, burning down all the docks along the coast one by one, your Majesty said What to do?”
what to do?
Zheng Shuqing had never thought that there were only fifty united soldiers standing in the city! Not all the docks along the coast are next to the capital city of Kuizhou. Only those who commit thieves for a thousand days, how can there be any reason to guard against thieves for a thousand days?
