As soon as Zheng Haizhu stepped into Qingyuan, he saw Lu Xiangsheng standing there holding a piano.
With a silly smile on his face, he has lost his iconic handsomeness and fortitude, and looks quite unpopular.
Zheng Haizhu, who had just received several matchmakers in Wenzhe Garden and arranged for the Shandong servants to get a wife, felt thirsty and drank the tea handed to him by Cui Yuer in one gulp before turning to greet Lu Xiangsheng.
"Why, Miss Wang's piano can be sold out of the Yinfang for money so quickly?"
Lu Xiangsheng walked over and said in a tone as if he was offering a treasure: "It can be exchanged for money, but you need to take a closer look at the piano first."
Zheng Haizhu glanced over and realized something was wrong.
Even though she was a layman on the guqin, she could still see the traces of time on the panel.
It's definitely not a new piano.
Lu Xiangsheng caught the change in Zheng Haizhu's eyes and turned the piano over with a graceful gesture: "Look again."
"The meaning between loose stones..."
Next to these four powerful running scripts, Zheng Haizhu quickly saw a line of words that made his heart beat faster:
In the second year of Shaosheng's reign, he became a layman from Dongpo.
She raised her head and asked Lu Xiangsheng with an expression of disbelief: "Is it the second year of Shaosheng in the Song Dynasty? Is it Su Shi's Su Dongpo?"
Lu Xiangsheng was delighted: "Who else could it be, a layman from Dongpo? Look at the signatures of these people next to you. Do you know Tang Yin, Shen Zhou, (Zhu) Yunming... you all know them?"
Zheng Haizhu only felt that Lu Xiangsheng's voice at this moment was extremely pleasant.
The charming magnetism has doubled, making people feel like listening to fairy music.
No, to be precise, what is fascinating is not the sound quality of the Jade Faced God of War, but the smell of money.
This is Song Qin!
At an auction in later generations, a Guqin from the Song Dynasty was sold for more than 100 million yuan, which is a good thing.
But now in this era when a page of Song books costs one or two gold, in this era when the Qin is the highest level of elegant music, if a Song Qin has been collected by Su Dongpo and endorsed by Tang Bohu and others, then it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a rare treasure. .
Zheng Haizhu carefully touched this simple guqin with a "Yi" face, and said word by word: "I don't study well, don't lie to me. Where did you get this? Can it really be sold?"
"It can be sold." Wang Yuesheng walked out of the house and answered firmly.
"Miss Wang arrived at Songjiang by boat this morning and evening." Lu Xiangsheng said to Zheng Haizhu.
Zheng Haizhu realized something instantly and looked at Wang Yuesheng: "You went to Hangzhou to get this piano?"
Wang Yuesheng took the piano, laid it flat on the stone table, and said calmly: "Miss Zheng, I don't want to say more about the reason for the decline of the family, because it is unbearable to look back. Now, although the Wang family has become a craftsman or a prostitute, but This harp was named Wang when Master Jiajing was in power, and it belongs to me."
Wang Yuesheng said, his jade fingers already caressing the cold silk string.
It's like hearing the wind of pines in thousands of valleys, and seeing how heavy the autumn clouds are.
Lu Xiangsheng's sigh resounded at the same time: "Those who know music are very lucky. Who can cherish it? The only one who can play the elegant piano is the person."
Zheng Haizhu can't recite Ji Kang's "Qin Fu". In her heart, there are only these four words: So valuable.
There is no need to ask "Is this a fake?" The sound quality of the piano says it all.
Even a layman like her could tell that this piano could crush the thousands of taels of silver collected by Dong Qichang, Han Zhongwen, and Gu Shouqian.
Time cannot be faked.
And Wang Yuesheng's sincerity was even more genuine.
She finished playing a song and said to Zheng Haizhu: "How can such a good piano and such a good relationship not be worth tens of thousands of silver? Let's deal with it, young lady and young master."
Zheng Haizhu was calmer now.
She had such an expensive piano, but she didn't exchange it for money as soon as possible to redeem herself. This shows how much she cherishes this piano.
Zheng Haizhu then said sternly: "Miss Wang, if you want to thank me for taking care of me, the good pianos you cut are really enough to repay my kindness. This Songshijianyi is your family heirloom after all..."
Wang Yuesheng smiled lightly and interrupted: "It once belonged to Su Dongpo, but now? Is it still the Su family's? Miss Zheng, I may be the last generation and no one can pass it on, so why leave it to gather dust among friends in Hangzhou? What? A few days ago, I was grateful to Miss Zheng for protecting my dignity, so I went to get this piano. Now, if Miss Zheng appreciates that I am not stingy, please let me make suggestions for firearms, okay?"
Zheng Haizhu finally believed that she was not dreaming today and said cheerfully: "That's natural. I never thought that women have no control over the craftsmen of the firearms workshop."
Wang Yuesheng hurriedly waved his hand and said: "No, no, how can I take on such an important task? I just listened to your discussion about Mr. Lu's provincial examination next year. Seeing that Miss Zheng was busy with other things, I remembered what happened to those officials when I was still in the Qinhuai River last year. I heard from my mouth about a well-educated scholar who was unemployed in Hangzhou, Li Zhizao and Li Gong."
Li Zhizao...
Zheng Haizhu suddenly understood.
Yes, since I thought of Sun Yuanhua, why did I forget Li Zhizao!
Both of them were disciples of Xu Guangqi, and both liked to study Western learning, especially firearms.
Sun Yuanhua later built Ningyuan City and used cannons to help Yuan Chonghuan win the Ningyuan victory against the Jin Army. A few years earlier, Li Zhizao had bought cannons from the Portuguese in Macau with his own money and transported them to the capital in order to realize Xu Guangqi's peace. Sun Yuanhua and others' military thought of "using artillery to restrain Jiannu".
Therefore, it can be inferred from this that the relationship between Sun Yuanhua and Li Zhizao should be good.
Unexpectedly, Wang Yuesheng's fighting prowess was so great that he not only donated the piano, but also went to find Li Zhizao.
Wang Yuesheng said politely: "Those mediocre people in the Nanjing officialdom said that Mr. Li was ignorant of current affairs and actually defended the Thai and Western missionaries who were in trouble in various places. This led to the impeachment of the imperial censor and the loss of his official position as the young minister of Guanglu Temple. Being able to spend leisure time in his hometown in Hangzhou must have been a depressing experience. However, when I visited him rashly, Mr. Li was clearly in good spirits and was taking a few of his disciples to study the works of Western learning. I told Mr. Li and Mrs. Li about Miss Zheng and Mr. Lu. In this firearms workshop, the two elders praised the young people for being formidable. I can tell that Li Gongji wants to come and have a look."
"Great!" Zheng Haizhu said, "Then there is nothing to hesitate about. I will ask my uncle and young lady today to prepare a courtyard in Wenzhe Garden. Xiang Sheng, we will leave in a few days to invite Mr. Li to Songjiang. "
Lu Xiangsheng nodded and reminded Zheng Haizhu: "Sister, Miss Wang just discussed with me that we cannot come forward to order this piano. It is best to ask Duke Dong for help and announce it to the official circle, but the deal will be in the hands of merchants."
Zheng Haizhu certainly agrees with his idea.
Literary men certainly understand this instrument, but merchants can offer higher prices.
Several merchant gangs in the south of the Yangtze River, Huaiyang merchants and Suzhou merchants were conceited and elegant and liked to build gardens, while Huizhou merchants and Zhejiang merchants liked to collect antiques to show that they were literate.
I would like to ask, on the battlefield where rich people compete for taste, what can be done more proudly to stand on the top of the rich than collecting a piano used by Su Dongpo?
But Zheng Haizhu slightly corrected Lu Xiangsheng: "It's better to ask Mr. Huang to bring the piano and make an appearance at the cultural meeting of Donglin Academy first."
Lu Xiangsheng was surprised: "Ah? Why? Doesn't Mr. Dong collect everyone?"
Zheng Haizhu looked at Wang Yuesheng: "Does Yuesheng understand, why don't I ask Mr. Dong?"
Wang Yuesheng said: "Even the owner who was determined to give the piano to me was still reluctant to part with it just after playing it. When Miss Zheng went to invite Mr. Dong to announce it, she must first go to the door to meet Mr. Dong. In such a situation where there are no outsiders, Mr. Dong In this way, a senior who is obsessed with collecting calligraphy, painting, harp and ink, after seeing the harp, offers a fair price to Miss Zheng, such as fifty or sixty thousand silver, will Miss Zheng agree or not?"
Lu Xiangsheng made it clear: "I understand, we can sell it for one hundred thousand silver, why should we sell it for fifty or sixty thousand silver?"
Zheng Haizhu said: "Yes, Mr. Huang is on our side and supports us in setting up a platform to make firearms in Songjiang, which can at least ensure coastal defense after the switch. Therefore, he can understand that this piano is not looking for a bosom friend, but a friend." It’s rare and expensive to sell.”
Lu Xiangsheng smiled in surprise: "Ms. Wang is thoughtful and thoughtful."
This sentence was mentioned again by Zheng Haizhu and Lu Xiangsheng on the boat to Hangzhou a few days later.
She took Lu Xiangsheng with her to Hangzhou. On the one hand, she showed the etiquette of the younger scholars towards Li Zhizao, and on the other hand, she also had a heart-to-heart talk with him on the road.
Zheng Haizhu saw Lu Xiangsheng's loneliness.
The reason is understandable. Lu Xiangsheng understood that he would have to leave Songjiang in three or four months for the provincial examination, and Li Gong, Miss Wang, and perhaps Sun Yuanhua would take over the firearms workshop.
"Xiang Sheng, the first machine gun in the blacksmith shop in Fuyuan was made by you and the Ge family masters. I know you are reluctant to part with that place. Don't worry, there is Miss Wang who is as smart and tough as you. The stewards are here, and with Mr. Li and the others leading the charge, we will be able to build artillery of all sizes."
At the tea table by the window on the second floor of the passenger ship, Lu Xiangsheng listened to Zheng Haizhu's heartfelt words, while looking at the white water with complicated eyes, and finally sighed softly: "To be honest, sister, I didn't expect that we would see each other in the past few days. When Yuesheng came, my previous admiration for her turned into a bit of jealousy, and I even thought that she had escaped from the cage, but I seemed to be in the cage."
Zheng Haizhu shook his head and said: "You are not right. In fact, we are all in a cage, but we can also try to hold the key to the cage in our own hands. After coaxing those self-righteous people , we may not be able to get in and out of the cage freely. We can even open other people's cages."
Lu Xiangsheng withdrew his gaze from the misty rainy landscape.
Zheng Haizhu stared at him: "But first, you have to get the key. You get the key when you do business, you get the key when you make firearms, you get the key when General Qin, General Ma, is the commander of the army, and my fellow countryman Yan is the chieftain of Taiwan. It’s about getting the key, and when you become an official, you get the key even more.”
Lu Xiangsheng remained silent, but his brows relaxed a little.
"Xiang Sheng, in fact, even if the firearms workshop develops and grows and becomes a cannon-making factory that is more spacious than the imperial war bureau and has more people, I will not stand guard at the door of the factory, like a hen guarding a nest of eggs. I There are still more things to do. After welcoming Mr. Li to live in Songjiang this time, I will have to go to Zhenjiang to see the situation of the insurance company, and perhaps, I will also take my own goods and go north. "
