After the carriage left the Su Mansion, Song Mao opened the curtain and looked at the wind and snow outside, then turned to Song Kai to confirm the gifts he had prepared.
"The ginseng I bought last time... and then the calligraphy written by Lin Fu and everyone Lin... Well, the ginseng is placed in the middle, making it inconspicuous. Master Qin's favorite is calligraphy and painting, and he must like this one.
…”
Song Kai has been with Song Mao for many years. He is cautious and reliable. There is no way he can go wrong with these things that he has already explained. The reason why Song Mao confirmed it once was because he had nothing to do. As for the conversation he had with Su Wenxing just now, he
It was really a bit emotional for him to sigh because his nephew was not capable enough and had a limited vision. However, it was really unthinkable at the moment.
Of course, in terms of family ties, although Song Mao and the Su family are close, it is still impossible to say that there is any kind of flesh-and-blood affection between Song Mao and his sister and nephew. In his hometown, he and Su
The cousin of the second wife of the mansion did not have much contact. Later, when he became slightly prosperous, the Su family spent a large amount of money to invest in him. He remembered this as a timely help, but this was basically for Grand Duke Su and the Su family.
Time has passed, and now he is in Zhizhou. In the past, the Su family was a big help behind him, but now it is just the icing on the cake. If the second brother of the Su family can control the entire Su family in the future, it will naturally be of some benefit to him, but
In fact, the relationship is not big. After all, Su Wenxing and he are closer relatives. If he can control the Su family, everyone's interests will be closer. But with this nephew's qualifications, whether he can manage the Su family well is actually a question.
In the midst of the dilemma, it might endanger myself in the future.
And if Su Tan'er controls the Su family, the girl is capable and can better assess the situation. As the governor of the state, the other party will definitely fawn over her. In fact, this help will not change. And because of her
existence, even if the sister and nephew cannot get the management rights of the Su family, they will actually still retain the identity of the Su family, have some small rights, and have enough food and clothing. In this way, they can become both themselves and the Su family.
Bonding may not necessarily be a good thing for Wenxing who is not capable enough.
He was hesitating in his mind whether to make such a choice. Of course, now that Taigong Su was still alive, he would naturally take into account the family relationship and be closer to his sister and nephew. He had also heard of the reputation of Shui Tiao Ge Tou before. Of course,
After some inquiries recently, the information I got was a bit strange. If it was really a person seeking fame and reputation, he would have exposed it easily considering his nephew's request. This was something that needed to be considered only at night. He looked at the gift and shook his head.
, forget about it.
Seeing his expression at this time, the butler Song Kai handed over the gift list, and then smiled: "Sir, it has been several years since Duke Qin resigned, but recently I heard that the situation in the North is complicated, with frequent disputes between Jin and Liao, and conflicts in the court.
There are calls for Duke Qin to come back again. Do you think Duke Qin will come back?"
Song Mao shook his head and paused for a moment before speaking: "I'm afraid it's difficult. Master Qin left that day, and the situation was complicated. In the Blackwater Alliance, Master Qin shouldered all the blame, but he actually took the blame for others.
If it were a normal thing, it would be easy to say, but given the situation in recent years, I'm afraid it will be difficult to recover..."
The Wu Dynasty had been weak in the past hundred years, and the Liao people had been invading the border. The Wu Dynasty sued for peace twice, and the treaties they signed were criticized. Sixty-five years ago, the Tanyuan Alliance lost power and humiliated the country, which almost broke the Wu Dynasty.
The North Korean government had the will and possibility to take back the Sixteen States of Youyun. Six years ago, in the Blackwater Alliance, the annual coins that needed to be paid were more than doubled, which was a severe blow to the hearts of many patriots.
One knife.
At that time, the Liao army went south. Qin Siyuan, who was the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, strongly advocated resistance and even went to the front line to supervise the battle. However, after losing several battles on the front line, the peace advocate gained the upper hand. After deciding to negotiate peace, Qin Siyuan was said to be somewhat frustrated.
He rushed back from the front line and took over the task of negotiating peace.
It is said that when he walked into the Jinluan Hall that day, he still had his shirt on, his beard and hair were all messy, his clothes and armor were torn in several places, they were scorched by smoke, and his hands were injured. He looked extremely tragic, and everyone thought he was going to die as a punishment.
, the official who had only succeeded to the throne for a year at that time quickly called for someone to hold him back. Unexpectedly, he did not want to object, but actually wanted to shoulder the thankless task of negotiating peace.
Naturally, there were various voices of opposition in the court at that time, saying that he was not doing well in supervising the battle on the front line, so how could he still bear the responsibility of negotiating peace? It was clear that he wanted to hinder it and sabotage the peace negotiation. However, those who know a little bit probably also understand that those defeats were not
It was the responsibility of this minister who had always been a civil servant. After discussing this matter for two days, the superiors actually gave him the responsibility of negotiating peace.
Afterwards, in the Blackwater Alliance, the sum of zero and zero was added up, and the annual coins were almost doubled. However, considering the situation of the Wu Dynasty, the Liao people agreed that the shortfall in money and cloth could be offset by various items such as ceramics and curios. At this time,
The Alliance of Tan Yuan has passed a century, and the Liao Kingdom has developed, and the demand for these items has increased. After the peace talks were reached, although the officials did not intend to deal with him at the time, Qin Siyuan was disheartened and resisted with all his strength.
He was convicted of many crimes including the defeat of the war and the peace negotiation. Although he was released from Tianlao for a month, he still hung up his hat and left sadly. Later, he did not even return to his hometown. He only said: "This is an eternal infamy. I can't see my hometown."
Father." He lived in seclusion in Jiangning. Until now, he has not been revived.
"...I'm afraid that even if the higher-ups really let Master Qin come back, with Master Qin's state of mind, he won't come out of the mountain again in the next few years." Song Mao thought, shaking his head, the car was quiet for a moment, Song over there
Kai Kai thought of something and lowered his voice.
"Master, I heard that Qin Gong was very capable in doing things in those days. He seemed to be informal about many things, but no one ever dared to criticize him for this matter. In recent years, the disputes between Jin and Liao have continued, and I have also heard some opinions, saying
At that time, the Blackwater Alliance was considering the growing prosperity of the Jin Kingdom and repeatedly requested trade rights from the Liao Kingdom but failed, so it designed to use a large number of luxury goods as bait to provoke disputes between the two countries. In the previous years of the Blackwater Alliance, Wu and Jin
There was a black market trade between them. After the Blackwater Alliance was signed six years ago, the imperial court not only paid tribute to the Liao Kingdom, but also secretly smuggled out a large number of porcelain treasures, and even rouge and gouache flowed into the Jin Kingdom. There is also a saying that the officials transferred the palace to the Liao Kingdom.
A batch of items were selected and given away. And in the second year, half of them..."
Song Mao frowned: "Who did you hear about this matter?"
"The fourth young master of the family has discussed this matter with others. It seems to be the speculation of the fourth young master himself..."
"Fourth." Song Mao sighed, "Using the power of a country as a bargaining chip is too whimsical. Ah Hui doesn't do his job properly and only thinks about it all day long... But whether it is true or false, don't tell others.
rise."
"Young man understands."
While they were talking, the carriage had arrived at its destination. Speaking of which, Song Mao and Qin Siyuan were not really masters and apprentices. It was just that Qin Siyuan was in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, and Song Mao later developed some connections. After the other party left office, although he was a gangster,
Many people in the Water Alliance no longer have contact with Qin Siyuan, but whenever he comes to Jiangning, Song Mao, who is always considerate of everything, will come as a disciple.
In his life motto, adding icing on the cake is worse than providing help in the snow. Qin Siyuan's two sons are now in the officialdom. Although they are still below the fourth rank, Qin Siyuan took the blame for a large number of people. With his background, the future is very bright. It is possible that he could be used by officials. Especially looking at the recent situation, it is not impossible that Qin Siyuan will be revived in a few years.
After living in seclusion in Jiangning, the place where Qin Siyuan lived was not luxurious. It was just a simple scholarly courtyard. Song Mao gave him a name card as a gift from his disciples, and he was invited in after a while. Only then did he realize that there was already another person here.
This guest, Song Mao, an old man in gorgeous clothes, had never seen him before, but he thought he had an extraordinary identity. After Mr. Qin introduced him, Song Mao understood his identity.
Princess Chengguo's consort Kangxian Kangmingyun, although this old man is not involved in the court, he is the uncle of the current emperor and has a great reputation in the literary world. Being able to get to know him will naturally be a great help to himself as an official. He quickly
Pay homage as a disciple.
Mr. Qin usually had little relationship with this disciple, but in the past few years, he came every year, and of course he was friendly at this time. He and Kang Xian were appreciating some calligraphy and paintings, so he invited Song Mao, who happened to meet him, to come with him.
, Song Mao was also flattered for a while, but although he was talented, he was far inferior to these two people. He did not dare to interrupt, but stood aside respectfully, listening to the two people talking, and occasionally asked him before he spoke.
He replied, thinking that he could pay a visit to Princess Chengguo's house in a few days.
It was also in this atmosphere that footsteps came from outside, followed by the voice of Mr. Qin's concubine Yun Niang: "They are admiring paintings in the study. When the young master goes in...well, this is..." Mr. Qin and
Kang Xian was studying a long scroll. Kang Xian looked at it carefully and said casually: "It's here. I don't know what kind of objects can surprise me..." Mr. Qin laughed. Then, he saw
Someone pushed open the ajar door and walked in.
This man wanted to come to Kang and Qin, who were also very familiar with each other. He was wearing a blue robe, but he was holding a jar in his hand. What surprised Song Mao was that the man who came here was only in his early twenties.
The man came in and originally smiled and wanted to speak. When he saw Song Mao, he was slightly stunned. Song Mao thought that this was probably the nephew of Kang and Qin. Just as he was about to introduce himself, Mr. Qin had already spoken.
"Haha, Li Heng, you are here, come and meet, come and meet, this is my former disciple, Song Mao, Song Yufan..."
The young man smiled and cupped his hands: "Brother Song, nice to meet you."
Later, Song Mao heard Mr. Qin say: "Yu Fan, this is my friend Ming Gong..." He said, "Ning Yi, Ning Liheng."
Song Mao's pupils changed slightly, and then he showed a simple smile: "Master Ning...could it be Ning Yi and Ning Liheng that the moon shines on? Haha, I've admired you for a long time."
After a few words of greeting, Kang Xian and Ning Yi were talking casually: "Didn't I just say that we brought some good things? Could they be in this jar?"
"Haha, of course." Ning Yi put the jar on the table casually, "Brother Song is here, so let's try these preserved eggs together today..."
Kang Xian was stunned for a moment, and then shook his head as if he was dumbfounded: "Fortunately, I was thinking about such novel things just now, but I didn't expect them to be food. Ning Yi, boy, this is not my boast. I have never eaten it before in this world."
There aren't many dim sum dishes here. I'm afraid you're going to make a fool of yourself today... Oh, this looks like a salted duck egg. Although it looks different, if it's pickled like this, it's nothing more than a salted duck egg. Could you pick it out?
A flower cannot come..."
Ning Yi laughed: "I just pickled a flower for you to see..."
Song Mao didn't have much interest in sweet and salty eggs. Now that he was in Zhizhou, he was always restrained in front of these two people. At this time, he watched a few people talking and laughing, and then the concubine Yun Niang brought a basin of water from outside.
, came in with a few sets of bowls and chopsticks, and looked very familiar with Ning Yi. Thinking about what he saw today, he was shocked...