Shi Zhen did not go to Xiangyang with Zhao Yi, the king of Wuwei County, but delayed the trip for a few days.
If there is really an undercurrent hidden under the water in Xiangyang, it will take several days for Prince Wuwei to ferment after returning to Xiangyang before the undercurrent will become turbulent and strange.
In Xiangyang, there are candles hanging high and lights brightly lit in the house of the criminal minister waiting for him in Jinzhuang.
Xiangyang City is narrow and narrow, and so far it has not been possible to raise enough money and food to expand the outer city. Zhou He, Gao Chunnian and others have no intention of expanding the outer city in Xiangyang.
Therefore, the Jin family had great wealth, and Jinzhuang became a high-ranking official. However, the Jin family's mansion had five front and three fronts, three east and west spans, and a total of only seventy or eighty rooms, which was also very cramped.
The Plum Blossom Hall in Jinzhuang is where guests usually receive guests. The narrow patio is only seven or eight steps square. Planting an old plum tree cannot accommodate other flowers and plants, and it looks dark and obscure on weekdays.
Jinchengzhuang and Zhao Fan were drinking tea across the Eight Immortals table, with their eldest son Jin Yuzhu sitting beside them. Jin Longquan stood beside Jinchengzhuang, waiting for instructions, and secretly observed Zhao Fan's obscure expression by candlelight.
"Although the Puppet Chu was established in Bianliang, it could not withstand the destruction of the Hehuai River. Yue Hailou, the Puppet Chu's privy envoy, struggled with 50,000 to 60,000 remnant troops and defeated the generals, so he could only use deception to win over Liu Xian, but it was inevitable that he would suffer a setback at Tongbai Mountain.
It's really not worth making a fuss about." Zhao Fan picked up the snow-white teacup, gently blew the tea leaves aside, and said slowly, "Mr. Jin still remembers that this was already mentioned in the letter I sent you years ago.
assertion?”
"It's true, Brother Zhao did say in his letter years ago that Chushan should be worry-free in Nanyang!" Jin Zhuangcheng said.
"This is not something difficult to resolve. I think Heluo resisted the Japanese soldiers in Pinglu for more than a year, which also made it difficult for the Japanese soldiers to advance even an inch," Zhao Fan said quietly, "but as time goes by, I am afraid that this situation will happen again.
It is difficult to maintain, so Jin Gong should make preparations in advance and bring the old lady of Jin from Biyang to Xiangyang, just in case something unexpected happens..."
Jin Zhuangcheng picked up the tea cup and watched the green tea leaves floating in the water, but did not respond to Zhao Fan's words.
However, Jin Yuzhu, the eldest son of Jin Zhuangcheng, could not hold back and said with some resentment: "If Huaishang cannot be defended, what is the use of taking Xiangyang? The soldiers will attack Wuyang and Chushan, and pass through Nanyang to attack Xiangyang."
, it’s just a matter of day and night!”
"...Yuzhu, don't say such depressing words," Jin Zhuangcheng glared at his eldest son to stop him from talking nonsense, then smiled at Zhao Fan and said, "Jingsheng Marquis is the main city of the country. With him guarding Chu Mountain, Xiangyang will have no worries."
!”
Zhao Fan said with a smile: "All the princes' wealth and life are in Xiangyang. Marquis Jingsheng is not in Qiancheng but also in Qiancheng! Marquis Jingsheng has outstanding achievements and has become one of the famous generals in the world. However, he is too old and weak, but he has not been able to get married. I am here this time
When I came to Xiangyang, I heard that Marquis Jingsheng was kind and helpful to Princess Yingyun. Isn’t there any duke in the whole dynasty who is anxious about what he is thinking?"
"Haha," Jinzhuang Chengdu did not allow his son to discuss the defense of Huaishang in front of outsiders, so how could he interfere in this matter? He just raised the tea cup and said with a smile, "To drink tea in this world, you need to boil it to remove the foam.
It is very complicated. I heard that this brewing method was invented by Marquis Jingsheng. At first, people in Xiangyang were not used to it. At this time, the tea from Chushan has become popular in the whole city. The tea in my house is all donated by Chushan.
Top grade, what do you think, Mr. Zhao?"
Jin Zhuangcheng talked over tea to show the close relationship between the Jin family and Chushan. Zhao Fan just sneered in his heart and said with a smile:
"It's really good, but I don't know what the magic is about Chushan tea. If I have a chance, I'll ask Marquis Jingsheng for advice."
Jin Zhuangcheng never answered the question. After drinking a few cups of tea, Zhao Fan left.
Jin Yuzhu saw Li Fan out and turned back to Wenmei Hall. Seeing his father Jin Zhuangcheng sitting in the hall with a gloomy look on his face, he couldn't help but said: "I think what Zhao Fan said is true. Xiangyang and Huaishang are just like each other."
Chickens and eggshells, the Japanese army failed to attack Huaishang this time, so all the elite troops and strong generals were used in Heluo and Huainan. When they adjust their deployment, Huaishang will not be able to last long, and Xiangyang will really be in danger!"
"There are great plans in the court, and there are all the princes and conspirators, why do you want to get in the way?" Jin Zhuangcheng glared at Jin Yuzhu and lectured, "Do you think Zhao Fan came to the door today with good intentions to remind us? You give me
Remember, no matter how much truth Zhao Fan says, it is not our turn to come forward. You must not discuss this matter outside!"
Jin Longquan stood aside and asked, "Zheng Tu has sent some tea. Do you want me to prepare some gifts in return?"
"Of course, Longquan, go to the warehouse to pick up rare toys and send them over, but don't say anything." Jin Zhuangcheng ordered.
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Tongbai Mountain has been rich in tea and medicine since ancient times, but if you want to take a closer look, Huaiyuan is located in the western section of the South Ridge and the North Ridge of Tongbai Mountain. The mountains are steep, the valleys are deep and dangerous, and the low hills are cultivated as much as possible to plant grain and mulberry trees.
, tea output is limited.
Xinyang and Luoshan counties, as well as Zhenyang County on the north bank of the Huai River, have a large area of alluvial plains where the rivers and the Huai River meet. People have no shortage of land for farming. There are large areas of low hills on both sides of the Shixi River, east of Shimen Ridge and Tiexu Mountain.
In the hills, countless tea estates have been planted over hundreds of years, producing tens of thousands of tons of new tea every year.
However, in the past, Tongbai Mountain tea was picked, pressed into cakes, and crushed and boiled before drinking. Compared with tea from other places, it did not have any distinctive features.
Although people in Chushan have been drinking tea for many years by picking new leaves, frying them directly, and brewing them directly when drinking, the news spread slowly in the world, and the brewing method has not spread; the scholar-officials still disdain the brewing method.
However, Emperor Jianji ascended the throne in Xiangyang, and officials from various ministries and departments were in place to perform their duties. The conditions in Xiangyang City were very poor. Thousands of officials could not even provide adequate housing. No matter how elegant tea drinking was, it seemed elegant.
, the traditional time-consuming and labor-intensive brewing method was limited for a while, and the simple and convenient brewing method with higher actual tea soup quality was naturally quickly promoted in Xiangyang City.
In the past, the bulk commodities exported from Chushan were mainly various ironware and iron materials, tung oil, wood, and medicinal materials. Among them, iron materials, ironware including armor and war equipment, tung oil, and wood were sold by merchants outside the city and various places.
Direct trade. The shops in the city also have warehouses, which mainly transport and store medicinal materials traded with small and medium-sized drug stores in the city. The drug stores mainly trade.
As the brewing method spread, Puyuan could sell two to three hundred tons of tea every month in Xiangyang.
As the new imperial capital, Xiangyang quickly accepted the drinking method from scholar-bureaucrats to traders and footmen, and Chushan tea quickly spread to the counties on Jinghu North Road around Xiangyang.
In addition to the two or three thousand tons of roasted tea that Zhufengtang had previously accumulated, it has been sold out. Due to the impact of the war this year, the new tea it can supply is less than half of the normal production of Xinyang, Luoshan and Zhenyang in previous years, and it will definitely not be able to meet the demand.
This time when Shi Zhen came to Xiangyang, Zheng Tu and several directors of the shop were thinking of purchasing new tea from other places to fry in the name of Zhufengtang to make up for the shortage.
Shi Zhen rejected it without even thinking about it. The person who wanted Xiangyang to be in charge of the shop did not need to worry about tea frying. He only needed to ensure that the large quantities of goods exported by Zhufengtang would use Xiangyang as the transit station, so that they could go to all parts of the world more smoothly.
Just trafficking.
Because of the war, most of the landowners who originally controlled the tea estates in Zhenyang, Xinyang, Luoshan and other places fled south. Even if there were still some tea estate owners who stayed, they all agreed that all new tea would be produced by Zhufengtang at a certain rate.
Base price for unified purchase.
It doesn't matter if they don't agree. Due to the impact of the war, few tea merchants dare to go to Chushan to buy new tea; and the transportation capacity from Chushan to other places is basically monopolized by Zhufengtang. Due to the large number of tea farmers and other people
They all fled to Jinghu for refuge, and the refugees stranded in Xinyang and other places were basically provided relief by the township department.
The old production system has been broken, and it has become difficult for tea plantation owners to hire tea farmers to pick tea alone without asking for help from the township secretary.
At present, the tea-producing areas of Zhenyang, Xinyang, and Luoshan counties are divided into twelve tea areas based on townships, and new tea frying stations are directly set up in each township.
This ensures that the tea-frying method that has been perfected step by step for several years is under the direct control of Zhufengtang and will not spread out in a short time.
If a large amount of new tea is purchased from the outer city at this time and transported back to Chushan for frying, it will inevitably occupy the originally very narrow land transportation channel with limited capacity; if the new tea is transported to Xiangyang for frying, given the current enthusiasm for tea drinking and the popularity of Jiangsu and Zhejiang
Most of the tea houses and tea gardens in Jinghu are controlled by local large landowners and gentry, and they have close relations with the princes of Xiangyang. The tea frying method is expected to spread soon.
Now, in addition to the new tea production in Zhenyang, Xinyang, Luoshan and other places that will soon return to the pre-war level, there are also many slopes in Tongbai Mountain that are not suitable for cultivating grain fields and can be used to grow tea.
In addition, Guangshan and Huangchuan to the east of Luoshan and other places close to the hills on the north slope of Huaiyang Mountain are all famous tea-producing areas in Huainan; as the defenses east of Jiuliguan are increasingly improved, Chushan directly controls the tea-producing areas.
The annual tea production will soon return to about 30,000 dan.
Even with the popularization of brewing methods, 30,000 tons of fried tea is still far from meeting the demand, but it can just increase the price of tea slightly.
The area directly under the jurisdiction of Chushan was very limited, but it was extremely expensive to raise an army. It was not easy to monopolize bulk commodities. Of course, Shi Zhen's vision was not limited to temporary gains.
Shi Zhen arrived in Xiangyang and was summoning the directors of the shop such as Zheng Tu and Wei Chenglong to understand the business situation of the shop when Jin Longquan came to visit him.
Jin Longquan did not stay long after returning the gift, nor did he contact Shi Zhen alone. Instead, in the dead of night, he found a way out of the Jin Mansion, walked into a secret stronghold in the east city, and met Shi Zhen again.
"Zhao Fan not only came to see Jin Zhuangzhuang a few days ago, I heard that he has been moving around Xiangyang a lot in the past two days!" Jin Longquan reported many details of Zhao Fan's visit to Jinzhuang to Shi Zhen, "The Marquis is firmly opposed to moving south.
The matter was originally supposed to be a secret, and no memorial was presented to the palace, but Jin Yuzhu's friendship with the young masters of various families has been discussed, and I did not expect that the Zheng family would work so hard on this matter at first..."
"The Zheng family no longer wants to guard Heluo!" Shi Zhen said with a headache as he patted his head.
"How do you say that?" Zheng Tu asked puzzledly, "Didn't the Marquis suggest to His Majesty that Heluo might not be defended, and Xiangyang should be prepared early. If the Zheng family cannot support Heluo, they don't want to
If you keep it, Your Majesty won’t embarrass them too much, right?”
"It's different," Shi Zhen said, "Your Majesty is stationed in Xiangyang. The Zheng family doesn't want to defend Heluo, so they can only imitate the Chu Mountains and withdraw their troops into the Funiu Mountains and Xiong'er Mountains to fight against the Japanese troops south of the Chu Mountains.
There is no place for the Zheng family to evacuate - this is not what the Zheng family wants. However, His Majesty has moved south, and the Xuanwu Army on the left and right will follow His Majesty south. The space left in Xiangyang and Nanyang requires a general and tens of thousands of people.
War soldiers are guarding the area. Who do you think will fill this position? People like Zhou He will not belong to the Chushan camp's defense area and include Nanyang and Xiangyang at once, right?"
