Miss Jiu is quick in her work. The treasures were sold out within half a month. A total of two hundred and thirty thousand taels of silver were obtained.
Li Guang received 4,600 taels of profit. Extremely satisfied.
The treasury received a huge fortune, and Emperor Hongzhi was also satisfied.
Ninth girl helped the palace with errands. From now on, she can pull the tiger's skin and pull the flag, which will be equally satisfying.
Chang Feng not only returned the favor to Miss Jiu, but also showed his ability to do things in front of Emperor Hongzhi. Just as satisfied.
Hello, I'm okay, everyone is okay.
Before I knew it, it was the end of the month.
Chang Feng and others boarded the official ship at Tongzhou Pier and sailed down the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal.
Arriving in Texas, they prepared to dock for a day's rest.
Chang Feng will soon understand why Beijing officials are so eager to become imperial envoys out of Beijing.
Shandong Governor Zhao Shijie led officials from Shandong Province to greet the imperial envoy at Dezhou Pier.
The imperial envoy Yang Tinghe is only a sixth-grade officer. Shandong just sent the prefect of Dezhou to greet him. .
However, the deputy imperial envoys included two young uncles, a chief ceremonial officer named Bingbi, a prince son of a duke, and Qianhu, a royal guard who was favored by the emperor.
Governor Zhao must come in person.
That's right, all the local officials in the world now know that there is a young man named Chang Feng in the Jinyi Guards who has been very popular in front of the emperor recently.
A snowflake fell from the court, and a mountain fell on the head of the local official.
The feudal officials had eyes and ears in the capital and were aware of the court's movements.
Chang Feng's name has appeared frequently in the letters sent to the frontier officials in the past year.
Chang Feng and others got off the boat. Governor Zhao paid three obeisances and nine kowtows to Yang Tinghe: "Your Majesty, I am the governor of Shandong and other places, supervising the camp fields and supervising the rivers and supervising the military affairs. I have received the title of Right Minister of the Ministry of Rites. Zhao Shijie, I wish you the best."
Zhao Shijie kowtowed to the imperial envoy and called himself the full title of "governor".
In fact, the full names of governors in various places are different. For example, some have more than one "Supervise Camps", while others have fewer "Supervise Rivers".
Yang Tinghe said loudly: "Honor, Holy Gong. Please get up, Zhao Futai."
Governor Zhao led everyone to Dezhou Station.
As soon as we entered Dezhou Station, the entire Dezhou Station was filled with pots of blooming orchids.
Chang Feng was surprised: "Shandong doesn't produce orchids. What are these orchids?"
Governor Zhao replied: "Sir, these orchids were purchased from Shandong by our special personnel in Huizhou."
"The orchid is a gentleman among flowers. The six superiors are also gentlemen. With the flower of a gentleman, we welcome the true gentleman. Only then can we show the hospitality of the land of Confucius and Mencius."
Chang Feng thought to himself: It would cost at least three taels of silver per pot to transport such a precious orchid to the capital. It costs at least one tael of silver to purchase from the place of origin.
This inn is filled with orchids everywhere, at least thousands of pots.
Spending thousands of dollars just to win the smile of the imperial envoy? It's too costly.
Walking further towards the inn, wherever Chang Feng and others passed, there were young girls standing on both sides. All of them have beautiful faces.
In order to serve the six imperial envoys, Zhao Shijie selected a total of two hundred girls from various prefectures in Shandong.
Everyone entered the reception banquet.
Chang Feng was surprised to find that this reception banquet was actually the Confucius Mansion banquet.
Yang Tinghe is a knowledgeable and knowledgeable person. He also found out. He asked Governor Zhao: "As far as I know, yellow bird bream is the first dish at the Confucius Banquet, right?"
Governor Zhao smiled and said: "Brother Yang is very knowledgeable. Among Shandong cuisine, Confucius's banquet is the most popular. Duke Yan Shenggong and I borrowed the chef from the Duke's Palace to entertain the imperial envoys. Originally, Duke Yan Sheng did not lend it."
"But I mentioned to Duke Yan that Chang Feng and Chang Qianhu were one of the deputy imperial envoys. Duke Yan happily sent the palace cook."
Governor Zhao thoroughly investigated the backgrounds of the six imperial envoys.
He is watching people order dishes. Although Yang Tinghe is a talented young man in the court, his background is ordinary. Therefore, he called Yang Tinghe "Brother Yang". When calling Chang Feng, it is the respectful title "Shangcha".
Li Guang said in a sinister tone: "Ouch. Otherwise, Chang Qianhu would be more proud."
Chang Feng explained: "When I was doing sacrifices and testing hundreds of households in Qufu, I had the honor to follow
Yan Shenggong had a relationship. "
After finishing the banquet at the Confucius Mansion, it was already the moonlight above the willow branches.
Governor Zhao clapped his hands: "Come on, Jing Chengyi."
A soldier from the governor's Yamen came to the crowd with a tray. On the tray are six small silver ingots worth ten taels.
Since Xuanzong, there has been a rule in officialdom. When superior officials go on long journeys, they pass through the territories belonging to their subordinates. His subordinates wanted to give him a sum of money for traveling expenses. The name is "Cheng Yi".
When the imperial envoy passed through the border, he only gave Cheng Yi sixty taels of silver, which was obviously a bit shabby.
However, this is just "Ming Cheng Yi". At night, when you have a private visit, you will actually be presented with a considerable number of "dark range instruments".
Yang Tinghe said: "Thank you Zhao Futai for the gift."
Governor Zhao said, "It's late at night, so please go to bed early."
Chang Feng was a little strange. What time is this? It's still early. At night, the officials in the capital want to drink flower wine, listen to Kunqu opera, and admire the thin horses. It's not over until the end of the day.
Is it possible that Governor Zhao is a decent person and doesn't engage in this kind of flattering imperial envoy?
Chang Feng is still young. He has no experience in serving as an imperial envoy to Beijing.
Everyone went back to their bedrooms.
After a stick of incense, there was a knock on Chang Feng's door.
Chang Feng said: "Come in."
The person who came in was Zhao Shijie's master, whose surname was Sun.
Master Sun led four women into the room.
These four women each have their own characteristics. One is charming and enchanting, with hooks in her eyes; one is quiet and shy; one is a fourteen-year-old or fifteen-year-old girl, who must be a thin horse from Yangzhou; and the other is in her thirties, who must be a veteran in bed.
Master Sun held a small box in his hand.
Chang Feng asked: "Who are you?"
Master Sun said: "I'm a good person. The younger one is Zhao Futai's guest, Sun Cheng."
"Futai just sent some Chengyi, but I'm afraid it won't be enough for the imperial envoys to spend in Shandong. I've made up for it with another sum."
Chang Feng thought to himself: This should be the so-called "Dark Process Instrument".
He glanced at the small box in Master Sun's hand and immediately knew in his mind: This box can hold at most a hundred taels of silver.
Master Sun opened the box.
Unexpectedly, the box contained not silver, but two ingots of gold.
Master Sun smiled and said, "Sir, these fifty taels of gold are not a sign of respect."
In the Ming Dynasty, Beijing officials had a noble status. When officials from the capital meet with local officials, those of equal rank are two ranks higher out of thin air.
But local officials are far richer than those in the capital. Because there are many local channels for making money.
Governor Zhao is indeed generous. The price is fifty taels of gold.
However, it is not a glorious thing to give "hidden instruments" and women who warm beds to imperial envoys. Usually, a master without an official position is asked to do it for him.
Even if he encounters an incorruptible imperial envoy who is rare in a century and gets angry, Governor Zhao can always push back: it is all up to his subordinates to make their own decisions.
Chang Feng kept in mind the teachings that Huai En taught him earnestly before leaving the capital: "It is short to eat someone else's mouth, and it is short to take someone else's hand."
He said: "Chengyi is not necessary. Please take it back. Help me thank Zhao Futai for his kindness."
Master Sun said: "Well...that's okay. In addition, according to the agreed rules, Dezhou Post should provide you with a bed-warming maid."
"We don't know what kind of woman the boss likes. We simply found four for you to choose from."
He doesn’t want money, and he doesn’t want women either. Wouldn’t that completely refute Governor Zhao’s face?
Chang Feng had no choice but to say reluctantly: "Okay. I'll choose one."
