The next day, Yuan Feng came to Guanyi to meet with Liu Songpo as scheduled. Although Mr. Liu had already become the governor of a province, he still acted simply. The people serving him were still the two old family members from when he was in Luyang County. The luxurious people in Chang'an City
There were many inns in the country, but he only wanted to stay in the guesthouses opened by the government.
When he learned that Yuan Feng was coming, Liu Songpo personally welcomed him out of the second gate. After not seeing each other for more than two years, Mr. Liu's temples were a little whiter, but his energy was much better than before, and his face did not have the arrogance of an official.
Instead, he was calm and approachable. If it weren't for the faded red round-neck official uniform he was wearing, he would have looked like a scholar rather than a second-rank official in the imperial court.
Liu Songpo took Yuan Feng's hand to greet him, and after some greetings he entered the inner room. The conditions of the post were indeed not very good. Who among the officials would still live in the post these days? Only the postmen who delivered letters and the low-level officers on errands did.
When staying here, most of the rooms are Datongbu, which can sleep more than a dozen people on the heated kang. The room Liu Songpo lives in is considered to be the better one in the hotel. There is a specially built earth heater in the room, and several sweet potatoes are placed on it.
In the furnace, Yuan Feng was stunned. This official must be extremely honest.
Of course, Yuan Feng concealed his true identity. He said that he fled to Liangzhou after the incident and returned to his old business to start a business. It has been a miserable business until now, and he has a little savings. He came to Chang'an this time just to find his lost relatives.
.
Liu Songpo had no doubt that he was deceitful, because Yuan Feng originally started out as a smuggler in salt and horse trading. It was only natural to return to his old business after arriving in Liangzhou. Gansu's intelligence system was very weak and he had no idea about Xiliang's political, economic and military situation.
I don’t know much about it. The information is entirely based on the notes and articles of scholars who came back from Xiliang. It is normal for there to be some discrepancies. This time I finally found a real Liangzhou person. Liu Songpo felt like he had found a treasure and asked Yuan Feng carefully about Xiliang.
some situations.
Yuan Feng talked eloquently, starting from the fight against Timur to the founding of Xiliang. He told Liu Songpo all the ups and downs during this period. Liu Songpo took a pen and paper, listened and took notes, and sighed with emotion from time to time.
Speaking of what happened later, Yuan Feng lamented: "I thought I would settle in Xiliang, but unexpectedly, the situation suddenly changed and the imperial court blocked the border. I had no choice but to sell my family property and return to the Great Zhou Dynasty."
Liu Songpo said: "How did the people of Xiliang react when the imperial court locked the gate?"
Yuan Feng said: "What else can ordinary people do? The imperial court locks the gates and locks the gates. What is prohibited is only open business. The border is so long. It can't be built up with walls. It will only increase the cost of smuggling."
, Brick tea that used to be bought for ten yuan now costs fifty yuan, so the dignitaries will not have to worry about food and drink, but it will be a pain for the common people, and if this continues, the people will not be able to make a living."
Liu Songpo sighed secretly, thinking that he could only sacrifice these people for the sake of the country and the country, and asked Yuan Feng: "In your opinion, what is the strength of Xiliang's soldiers and horses, and what is the ambition of the leader of Xiliang?"
Yuan Feng said: "To put it bluntly, our Gansu officers and soldiers are not even worthy of carrying shoes for the Xiliang army. They are fierce men who were killed in the mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Timur's millions of troops have collapsed.
What else can be said, Liangzhou’s firearms are the best in the world, and Liangzhou’s cavalry dominates the Western Regions. Alas, if the imperial court had not blocked the import of gunpowder, food and grass, perhaps the Xiliang army would have conquered Samarkand by now."
Liu Songpo had also heard about the power of the Xiliang army. Wen Yan's 50,000 soldiers had people making dumplings in one day. Everyone knew this. It was precisely because of this that Liu Songpo took precautions, fearing that the Xiliang people would invade the Central Plains.
Destroyed the Zhou Dynasty.
Yuan Feng added: "Now the Xiliang army has returned from the Western Regions and is stationed on the front line of Liangzhou. If the people in the country are filled with resentment, they may march eastward to Gansu to clear grass and valleys."
Liu Songpo was shocked and said: Is Zhang Sian really ambitious to aspire to the Central Plains?"
Yuan Feng shrugged his shoulders and said: "I don't know if they want to win the Central Plains. I only know that if they continue like this, their own country will not be stable. They have soldiers and generals, there is nothing they can't do."
Liu Songpo was silent. It seemed that his strategy was a little too wild. It would be troublesome to force the Xiliang people to a desperate end and take risks. They would have to fight now if they were not going to fight.
The stove was beeping and peeling, and Liu Songpo laughed and said: "The sweet potatoes are roasted, let's eat one." He picked out the sweet potatoes with iron tongs and handed them to Yuan Feng. He naturally changed the subject: "Are you married?
"
Yuan Feng said: "Not yet, I won't consider starting a family until some things are finished."
What was Liu Songpo's Natural Way Yuan Feng referring to? Just as he was about to persuade him, someone knocked on the door. He went out for a while, and came back after a while and said: "I still have some official business, so I won't keep you today. Remember, Qian
Don't do anything illegal. Those corrupt officials who take bribes, bend the law, and sacrifice human life will be punished by the court's own laws."
This is to remind Yuan Feng not to attack Wen Yan. Yuan Feng cupped his fists and said, "Yuan Feng has noted it down." He just said that he has noted it down, but it does not mean that I will definitely listen to you.
Liu Songpo understood Yuan Feng's temper, but he didn't say anything about it. He just said: "Well, you will understand after some time."
After sending Yuan Feng away, Liu Songpo got on the sedan and went out. Without asking Yuan Feng, he knew that it was His Highness the King of Qin who summoned Governor Liu. The discussion was also about the trade issues in Xiliang. He first explained the importance of locking the pass to the people as an ordinary Xiliang citizen.
Then the King of Qin discussed with Governor Liu the pros and cons of blocking trade with Xiliang from the perspective of a ruler. Although the King of Qin could not control Liu Songpo, he could let him know that the senior officials of the imperial court paid great attention to this matter. If there was any
If this caused a war, Liu Songpo would not be able to absolve himself of the blame.
Things can only go so far. Liu Songpo is an honest and upright official. The things he determines will never change due to external factors. There are only two ways to change his mind. One is to wake up himself, and the other is to let him change his mind.
The emperor has decreed that it is impossible to expect a reaction from the capital thousands of miles away. Now we can only rely on subtlety to get him to take back his life.
After leaving Guanyi, I happened to go around Governor Wen's house and step on the plates. This trip to Chang'an was mainly to deal with this old thief. Yuan Feng and a few people wandered to the Governor's Mansion. It happened to be
Outside the Governor's Mansion, lights were decorated and firecrackers went off. The housekeeper's servants were standing outside in brand-new clothes to greet guests and friends. On the other side, a porridge shed was opened to give alms to beggars. They were full of thick porridge that could not be poured out with chopsticks, and there were a lot of people.
A large number of copper coins were scattered on the street, causing people all over the street to bend down to pick them up. The servants of the Governor's Mansion were so happy that they couldn't open their mouths from ear to ear, and the dignitaries who came in a steady stream also laughed. They were even happier than during the Chinese New Year.
"Wen Yan, an old dog, is celebrating his birthday today with a concubine. How grand is it?" Yuan Feng asked. In the past few days, Deng Ziming had sent people to investigate the details of the Governor's Mansion. It was obvious what happened. Someone answered
He said: "As for me, Governor Wen's youngest son is serving moon wine, and Governor Wen is old and has a son. Of course he will have a banquet for the whole city."
"Oh, that's what happened." Yuan Feng was very unhappy. This old thief ruined other people's families, but he married a wife and gave birth to a son. Is there any justice in it? He blinked and realized the plan.
He planned to go in to make Wen Yan feel sick, but there were many people coming and going at the gate, and they all entered with invitations, so it was difficult to sneak in, so Yuan Feng wandered to the back wall of the Governor's Mansion.
The back wall is a remote alley, and the noisy sound from the front door is already very faint here. Yuan Feng is walking on tiptoe, and suddenly he hears a sound from the back door. He quickly hides in the dark and peeks over quietly. The back door opens, and a
The middle-aged servant woman came out, looked around, and suddenly shouted: "Come out."
Yuan Feng was shocked. He had been discovered. Just as he was about to show up, a thin young man had already walked out of the corner. He only wore a thin green shirt on a cold day. He was shivering from the cold. He held his arms in his hands.
He turned around and said to the middle-aged servant woman: "Mother Wu, has Miss promised to see me?"
Wu's mother said coldly: "Miss, I don't want to see you anymore. Please don't bother me in the future. This is what Miss gave you. Take it!" After saying that, she stuffed a bundle into the young man's arms, and then returned to the door.
Inside, the back door was closed with a clang, and the lock was locked inside with a clang. Before the young man could react, he stood blankly holding the bag for a few seconds before looking up to the sky and crying: "Oh my god, what's going on? What happened to me?"
What kind of sin did you do to deserve such punishment?"
When Yuan Feng saw this scene, he was immediately interested. There was some shocking information. Needless to say, it was a scandal involving Governor Wen's family. If this was discovered, it would not give Wen Yan a head-on blow. Looking at the young man, he had already unpacked the bag.
Inside was a pair of shoes, a cotton robe, and a few ingots of silver. The young man checked it quickly, and finally found a piece of paper in the middle of the cotton robe, with a few words written on it: Saburo, our fate has ended, for the sake of the child
, go back. Myolie."
The young man burst into tears and howled so hard that the dogs in the backyard of the governor's residence started to bark. As he was crying, he suddenly heard a voice from behind: "A man's tears are not light."
"Hey, brother, why are you so sad because of trivial matters in this world?"
When the young man turned around, he didn't know when a man with sharp eyebrows and starry eyes was standing behind him, looking at him with a smile.
"What does it have to do with me crying for me?" the young man replied angrily.
"Third Young Master, if crying can bring Myolie back, just cry. Goodbye." The man turned around and left, but was pulled back by the young man: "How do you know me? How do you know about Myolie and I?
Thing, who are you?"
Yuan Feng thought to himself: "I stood behind you just now and saw everything on the letter. Of course I know about the scandal between you two, but I can't say that. He smiled mysteriously: "Third Young Master, it's better to be drunk than to solve a thousand worries.
It would be nice for you to find a tavern to discuss this matter in detail."