Time flies, more than two years have passed in a blink of an eye, and it’s the autumn of Jiayou’s ninth year!
Quanzhou, in Quanzhou Bay.
However, in more than two years, Quanzhou Bay has undergone earth-shaking changes compared to more than two years ago.
In the bay, along the coastline, there are rows of huge ships docked with huge sails lowered, stretching for several miles.
These sea-going ships, those to the north, are all very deep-draft sea-going ships. They have just returned with full loads and are preparing to go north to Hangzhou, then turn into the inland river, or go up the river, but turn from Yangzhou into the canal, all the way Go north and go straight to Bianliang, Tokyo.
The ones to the south, with shallower drafts, are all ready to go to sea. However, before going to sea, they have to load some of the sea salt produced by the Quanzhou Salt Farm in Quanzhou, as well as the cloth produced by the cloth mills and dyeing houses under the name of Jihai Company, and also There are porcelain shipped from various places, fine silks and satins produced in Suzhou and Hangzhou, and tea produced on Fujian Road.
Today's Quanzhou, in addition to being a port terminal, has also become a transfer station like Hangzhou.
Above the pier, the ground is paved with bluestone slabs, and plank roads nearly ten feet wide extend from the port, forming excellent ferries for loading and unloading goods.
Every ferry is guarded by officers and soldiers wearing armor and carrying staffs, two shifts a day, from the beginning of the Mao hour to the hour of the You hour.
Right between the wharf and Jinjiang County, on the official road that is more than five feet wide, to the west is the newly built market. There is everything in the market. All kinds of tea stalls, restaurants, small stalls and hawkers are all concentrated here, criss-crossing. It is very orderly, and the yamen also hired people to maintain order during the day, and there are people responsible for cleaning every night, all day long.
To the west of the market, there are rows of warehouses next to each other. They are also arranged very regularly, like well fields. Three-foot-wide avenues crisscross them, and people pushing carts and driving donkey carts come and go. Continuously.
To the east of the official road is Quanzhou Seventh Floor, which is now famous in the entire coastal area.
The full name of Quanzhou Seventh Floor is Anlefang. It is a city centered on seven high-rise buildings. It is now the largest gold-selling cave in Quanzhou. Businessmen from all over the world gather here, spending money like water and making love!
If you look down from a high altitude, you can see that the seventh floor is in the shape of the Big Dipper, and the seventh floor is connected by a two-story corridor.
The first one is called Taibai Tower, which is a restaurant. There is a pair of couplets in front of the building, which are written by two lines of poems by Li Taibai from the previous dynasty: There will be times when the wind and waves break, and the clouds and sails will rise to help the sea.
This couplet is the personal inscription of Wang Zhong, the general magistrate of Quanzhou today.
Because this building was built by the Jihai Chamber of Commerce and borrowed the name of Li Taibai, these two lines of poetry were used.
It is said that the Jihai Chamber of Commerce, the owner behind Taibai Tower, is inextricably linked to Wangjiang Tower in Yangzhou, because besides Wangjiang Tower, Taibai Tower is the restaurant with the most delicious cooking in the entire Song Dynasty. Even Fan Lou in Tokyo is inferior to the cooking skills.
Thirty steps southeast of Taibai Tower is the Baihua Tower. As the name suggests, it is a flower tower. The women in the tower come from all over the country, including Khitan, Xixia, Goryeo, and Tubo. There are even blond and blue-eyed beauties from the Western Regions, and many more. She is a woman from the Jiaofang Division in Quanzhou.
The remaining five floors are a treasure building, an auction building, and the remaining three buildings are inns. There are small courtyards lined up next to each other, guarding these seven tall buildings.
Although Anlefang has just been established for only half a year, it has already become the largest gold sales cave in Quanzhou. Most of the people who come and go are wealthy people.
There are also those wealthy men and women in Quanzhou City who are also frequent visitors to the seventh floor of Quanzhou.
Chen Jun, the incompetent son of Zhizhou, lived there for more than half a month, which made Chen Jun so angry that he went to Baihua Building to arrest him in person. It is said that Chen Jun gave him a good beating and was beaten to death. Two of the strips were severed, and Chen Liulang was unable to get out of bed for several days after the beating. After that, he was even confined to his home and was not seen out for several months. Suddenly, he became a talking point among the people.
In Anlefang, Taibai Building, in the private room facing the sea on the third floor, Wang Zhong and Chen Jun sat opposite each other.
Chen Jun looked at the ships moored in Quanzhou Bay and the constant flow of people on the pier! He then turned to look at Wang Zhong, who always had a calm expression on his face, as if nothing in this world could move him, and he felt inexplicable emotion in his heart.
"Zihou returns to Tokyo to report on his work, will he never come back?" Chen Jun couldn't help but ask: "Today's Quanzhou cannot be separated from Zihou!"
"Ming Gong is joking!" Wang Zhong said: "Whether to go or to stay, the court has its own decision, how can it be decided by Zhong!"
Chen Jun smiled bitterly and said, "Zihou, please stop joking with me!"
Wang Zhongdao: "Now that the first three-year plan has been completed, all infrastructure construction has basically been completed. Next, we just need to steadily and step by step continue to implement the next three-year plan we formulated. Three years later , it will naturally produce results!”
Chen Jun immediately complained to Wang Zhong: "Having said that, if Zi Houruo really left, now such a big stall in Quanzhou will have to fall on me alone. I am already at an age where I will soon know my fate. How can I So much energy!”
Wang Zhong shook his head and said: "Ming Gong has served as the magistrate of the state for two terms. Although our dynasty has a practice of re-election, it has never been re-elected for more than three terms. In recent years, Quanzhou's wealth has doubled in one year. Several times, with Ming Gong’s resume and Quanzhou’s achievements in the past few years, I’m afraid he will be transferred directly to Tokyo this time!”
"Hey!" Chen Jun sighed, his eyes flickering, and he sighed: "Although Tokyo is good, it is not a good place at this time."
Wang Zhongdao: "Master Cai has been away for two years, and I will soon make a decision to come to the official family!"
Chen Jun looked at Wang Zhong: "Which prince do you think the official family will choose?"
Wang Zhong did not answer, but asked: "What do you think, Duke Ming?"
Chen Jun said: "King Yong is old and has many heirs. You don't have to worry about heirs in the future. I think it will be him!"
"Although King Yong is only half a year older than King Yan, don't say half a year, it's just one day, one hour, one stick of incense, long is long!"
"But that's not necessarily the case!" Wang Zhong suddenly changed his voice and said: "After all, they are adopted children from the clan. Since they are adopted, it doesn't matter if they are older or younger! As long as they are adopted into the official family and the eldest lady's lap, it will naturally be It’s the direct lineage, the first line is the first line, the first line is the first line! Why should we care about the elders anymore?
From ancient times to the present, when there are no children, the adopted children from brothers or sons of brothers of the same clan only look at the age and not the character and virtue? If we only look at the elder and the younger, why should the official family be entangled and the courtiers should be arguing? They can just let the official family adopt King Yong. "
"In fact, whether it is King Yong or King Yan, compared to other clans, their bloodline is closer to the official family."
Chen Jun cupped his hands at Wang Zhong and said, "Zi Hou's words make sense."
Wang Zhongdao: "In fact, no matter whether it is King Yan or King Yong, in the final analysis, it is the officials themselves who have the final say as to who will be crown prince. The two kings are fighting, and what they are fighting for is also the opinions, likes and dislikes of the officials, and What does it have to do with us being ministers?
As a minister, as long as you do your duty and don't make mistakes, is it possible that after the new king ascends the throne in the future, he can blame us with an unfounded crime? "
Chen Jun said: "Zihou is still a little younger after all. Although it can be said that, the princes in the court will not think so, nor will King Yan and King Yong. Do those courtiers who joined the two kings early on Don’t you know this?”
Wang Zhongdao: "It's nothing more than trying to achieve the feat of serving the dragon and gain the status of an old minister of Qiandi!"
"Since Zihou has no intention of following the dragon, he should be more careful when going to Tokyo!" Chen Jun reminded.
Wang Zhong was awe-inspiring, raised his hands and said seriously: "Thank you Ming Gong for the suggestion!"
No wonder Chen Jun suddenly talked about the dispute over the establishment of the crown prince. It turned out that he was trying to remind himself not to get involved.
Chen Jun smiled: "Since Zihou already knew it, I feel relieved."
As he spoke, he picked up the wine glass and said, "Then I will lend you this thin glass of wine. I wish Zihou a smooth journey and no troubles."
"Then it's a testament to the good news!"
Wang Zhong raised his glass, touched it lightly with Chen Jun, and drank it all in one gulp.
Early the next morning, Wang Zhong boarded the ship at the pier, taking only Yu Chuer and Wang Erxi, carrying simple luggage, all the way north to Hangzhou, taking the overland road to Jinling, and then transferred to Youyang to attend the Shengjia Conference two days later. The old lady’s birthday party.
Sheng Wei naturally welcomed Wang Zhong's arrival. However, he and Mr. Li had to organize a birthday banquet for the eldest lady and were extremely busy with the reception and delivery, so they could only let brothers Chang Song and Chang Wu entertain them. Wang Zhong.
But Changsong has a lot of things to do, and the job of entertaining Wang Zhong can only fall on Changwu, an idle man.
In the past few years, the father and son Sheng Wei and Chang Song have been staying in Quanzhou. Only during the Chinese New Year can they take time to go back to their hometown in Youyang, but they can only stay for a few days each time. This year is the eldest lady's sixtieth birthday. On his birthday, the business at Jihai Company gradually entered a stable stage. Only then did Sheng Wei lead Changsong back to Youyang and personally organize the birthday banquet for his biological mother.
In the past few years, Chang Wu has been practicing martial arts at home with Sheng Wei's tutor, studying the art of war, and preparing to participate in the martial arts class in the coming spring.
There are only three levels of martial arts, namely the Jiejie test, the provincial test and the palace test.
The examinations were held at the local level, while the provincial examinations and palace examinations were both held in the capital. The former was administered by the Ministry of War, while the latter was conducted by officials.
However, Chang Wu is a straight person, his brain doesn't work very fast, and his mind is not lively enough. Such a person is not suitable for hanging out in the officialdom, but he is quite talented in martial arts, and Sheng Wei does not expect Chang Wu to achieve much in the future. , anyway, he has a share of Dafang’s family fortune, and it will not be a problem to ensure that he has enough food and clothing for a few lifetimes. Sheng Wei only wants Chang Wu to be an official. In addition to hoping that his son will become a successful man, there is another reason, that is, as long as he grows up Wu has an official status, and the Sheng family is no longer a merchant family.
Although the status of merchants has been improved in this dynasty, those wealthy families still look down on merchants from the bottom of their hearts.
Sheng Wei asked Chang Wu to entertain Wang Zhong, so Chang Wu took Wang Zhong to perform martial arts at home, competed with Wang Zhong, and asked Wang Zhong for martial arts and Wang Zhong's advice.
Wang Zhong came here to wish the eldest lady a birthday, not for fun. He didn't feel anything wrong about staying in the martial arts arena.
But I never thought that on the day of the birthday banquet, there would be a lot of trouble at the banquet.
The person who caused the trouble was none other than Sun Zhigao, the husband of Sheng Wei's eldest daughter Shulan.
Because the Sheng family is considered a prominent family in Youyang, and Sheng Hong, the second wife, is now an official in Tokyo. When the old lady of the Sheng family’s eldest family celebrated her sixtieth birthday, the magistrate of Youyang came to celebrate her birthday with gifts. Sheng Wei personally Reception, inviting people to the main table.
It was nothing at first, but when Sheng Wei introduced Wang Zhong to the magistrate of Youyang, the magistrate of Youyang was stunned for a moment, and then he came to his senses.
At that time, the magistrate of Youyang County looked at Wang Zhong and asked, "But Wang Zhong, Prince Hou, who is now the general magistrate of Quanzhou?"
"It's Wang!" Wang Zhong admitted frankly with his hands in hand.
"Brother Sheng, you are so uninterested. When Wang Tongpan came, you didn't even let me know!" With Wang Zhong here, the magistrate of Youyang County would naturally not call himself an official.
Before Sheng Wei could explain, Wang Zhong said with a smile: "Qiu Zhi County misunderstood. Wang was originally ordered to return to Tokyo to report on his work. He passed by Youyang and happened to catch up with the old lady's sixtieth birthday, so he came up with an impromptu idea. I came here to pay a visit to celebrate my birthday, and asked for a drink and some food on the way. Moreover, I am traveling in a light carriage and do not want to disturb the public, so I specifically asked my uncle not to make any noise, and also asked Qiu County Magistrate not to blame anyone."
"I see, I misunderstood! Misunderstood!" Since Wang Zhong gave him the steps, Qiu Zhixian was naturally happy to step on them.
Youyang is in the southwest of Jinling. Wang Zhong came from Quanzhou. If he wanted to go to Tokyo, he should go to Yangzhou and follow the canal all the way north. How could he pass by Youyang.
However, Qiu Zhixian, who had already known about the relationship between Wang Zhong and the Sheng family, naturally would not betray his mother-in-law. After some pleasantries with Wang Zhong, he pulled Wang Zhong into a chat. The big things Wang Zhong did in Quanzhou had already spread throughout the Jiangnan area. .
Especially the salt-drying method invented by Wang Zhong, many coastal states and counties rushed to imitate it. Wang Zhong was not stingy and compiled a book on the salt-drying method. Anyone who came to ask for advice would give the salt-drying method as a gift. From the salt field, skilled old salt workers were dispatched to give guidance.
The names of Wang Zhong and Chen Jun have spread throughout Jiangnan and the Huaihe River in just over two years.
Qiu Zhixian just wanted to come to celebrate his birthday and go through the motions. On the one hand, he wanted to win over the Sheng family. After all, governing a place cannot be separated from the support of local prominent families, and the Sheng family is a prominent family in Youyang. On the other hand, it was also to see if he could Have something to do with Sheng Hong who is far away in Tokyo, or Sheng Hong's future son-in-law Wang Zhong.
He had never thought that he would meet Wang Zhong at the birthday banquet of the eldest lady. Naturally, he could not help but talk to Wang Zhong. Although he would not be indifferent to the conversations of others, he would not pay much attention to them. He would just brush them off with a few words. .
Even Qiu Zhixian never thought that his actions would annoy Sun Xiucai, who was originally full of joy and wanted to make friends with him. Qiu Zhixian was smiling and talking to Wang Zhong to himself. Sheng Wei couldn't help but help, but no one paid attention to him, a talented person who was expected to go to high school and become a prime minister in the future.
The more Sun Xiucai thought about it, the angrier he became, and his face became darker and darker. After taking a few sips of wine, he slammed the wine glass on the table, stood up, glared at Wang Zhong and Qiu Zhixian, and snorted heavily. ! He cursed, "It's not enough to make a plan!" and immediately turned around and left!
The banquet hall, which was originally full of laughter and laughter, fell into solemn silence. Dozens of pairs of eyes all looked at Sun Xiucai, who was striding out quickly.
Wang Zhong smiled and picked up the wine glass and said, "Brother Sun must have had too much wine. Come on, come on, let's ignore him. Magistrate Qiu, I'll toast you a toast!"
The unhappiness on Qiu Zhixian's face dissipated in an instant, and he immediately smiled and picked up the wine glass: "Tongsuan has come a long way, it is I who should respect Tongsuan!"
Seeing that both of them started to drink, everyone immediately pulled the people next to them and started changing glasses, as if nothing happened just now.
The banquet hall, which had been quiet for only a moment, immediately returned to laughter and laughter.
It's just that the expressions on the faces of Sheng Wei, Li, Mrs. Sheng, and the Changwu brothers were not very natural, especially on the female guest's side, Shulan, who was sitting next to Li, felt like there was a fire under her buttocks. Yeah, I can't sit still, I can't sit still, I can't stand either, it's extremely awkward.
After the banquet, Wang Zhong accompanied Sheng Hong and personally escorted Qiu Zhixian to the door. Sheng Wei naturally had to apologize. With Wang Zhong here, Qiu Zhixian would not take such trivial matters to heart.
"Hey!" He personally put Qiu Zhixian on the carriage and watched the carriage leave. Sheng Wei finally couldn't help but sigh with a sad look on his face: "Thanks to Zihou for being here today, otherwise, I really don't know how it would have ended. !”
Sheng Wei knew very well in his heart that no matter how big the Sheng family's business was and no matter how much money they had in the warehouse, they would never be able to compete head-on with Qiu Zhixian.
As the saying goes, the county magistrate of the family is destroyed and the governor of the family is destroyed. How can it be groundless?
The current situation of the Sheng family is the result of the accumulation of several generations of the Sheng family, and the result of half a lifetime of hard work by the brothers Sheng Wei and Sheng Hong. Sheng Wei has always been kind and gentle in business, but when he was wronged, he looked down at him and suffered. I have always kept my neglect in my heart. When dealing with people, I have always been careful with my words and deeds, especially those in official positions, for fear of offending others and provoking enemies.
Unexpectedly, today at his mother's birthday banquet, his son-in-law Sun Zhigao would do such a rude and outrageous act, embarrassing Qiu Zhixian on the spot. Fortunately, Wang Zhong was present, Qiu Zhixian looked at Wang Zhong. To save face, I could bear this tone.
Who is Qiuzhi County? Youyang County Magistrate, Youyang's parent official, Qiu County Magistrate is the largest in the entire Youyang County.
If not, I don’t know how much price we have to pay and how many apologies we have to pay before today’s incident can be revealed.
"Uncle!" Wang Zhong said to Sheng Wei, "Excuse me for being so arrogant. Sun Zhigao is so arrogant and rude. Sooner or later, he will cause trouble. It may not necessarily involve the Sheng family, but Miss Shulan, I'm afraid... ····”
Sheng Wei's expression suddenly changed.
"this······"
"Hey!" Wang Zhong looked at the direction in which Qiu Zhi County's carriage was leaving, shook his head and said, "If you keep cutting off, you will suffer chaos, uncle!"
Sheng Wei gritted his teeth and said, "I'm going to discuss it with my mother right now!"
Wang Zhong left Youyang early the next morning, but before leaving, he went to the Yamen to meet with Qiu Zhixian. Three days later, the Sheng family filed a complaint against Sun Xiucai in court.
(End of chapter)
