It is the sweltering summer season in Chang'an City. It is in the evening, which is supposed to be the cooler time during the day in summer, but the current sweltering heat still makes people sweat.
Many people have already left Chang'an City and headed to the countryside to escape the summer heat.
The houses in Chang'an City are crowded, coupled with the city walls blocking the wind, and the dampness caused by the terrain. It is said that eight rivers surround Chang'an City, but in the summer, Chang'an City is like a steamer.
It would be great if the city walls and palace walls could be demolished.
Li Daliang smiled and said, "I heard that there will be a bumper harvest in various parts of the Central Plains this year. Harvesting grain in the Central Plains is a big burden. If you don't distribute the grain as rice now, wait until the autumn harvest, even if you can afford to harvest so much.
Are grains, tens of millions of stones of grain, all being piled up?"
Zhang Yang lamented, "What General Li said is exactly what I am worried about. In fact, I am not good at government affairs."
Li Daliang nodded slightly, "I see, if you come to supervise state affairs, the Tang Dynasty will be destroyed in less than three years."
"General Li's tricks are vicious. He can tell at a glance how incompetent the official is. I really admire him." Zhang Yang thought about it and said: "Lishan's business is just a small business. These tens of millions of stones of food are a big deal."
It’s a big deal.”
"Business?"
Zhang Yang nodded slightly, "General Li, how do you think this food should be disposed of?"
Li Daliang said melancholy: "I haven't studied for a few years, so I'm just pretending."
"I did this when I was a kid."
The two of them were very congenial in their chat, and they felt very comfortable talking directly and without hiding things or beating around the bush.
Walking out of Zhuque Gate, Chang'an City faces north and south. At first glance, there are only a few pedestrians on Zhuque Street, and the scenery in the distance begins to distort under the scorching sun.
Zhang Yang walked to the East Market and walked to a shop selling melons.
Li Daliang took out some copper coins and said, "Buy ten melons."
The merchant wiped the sweat from his forehead, accepted the copper coins with a grin, and put ten melons into the basket, "Guest, take it."
"I'll give you these melons."
Zhang Yang picked up two larger ones and said, "Thank you, General. Two are enough."
Holding the melon, Zhang Yang chatted and joked with these vendors familiarly.
Li Daliang asked the vendor on the side, "He is very familiar with the people here?"
The melon seller replied: "What the customer doesn't know is that this Xiao Zhang used to hang out in Dongshi. Even though he is wearing official uniform now, he was very poor before."
"Xiao Zhang?"
"This man calls himself Xiao Zhang, and he likes to bargain when buying things. Everyone is very annoyed by him, so they just make do with him and sell to him. He is still so hazy when buying things."
Seeing that Zhang Yang was still chatting and laughing with a group of vendors here, Li Daliang left with a basket of melons.
In midsummer, the busiest time is before and after curfew every day.
Zhang Yang was sitting in his yard, cutting the melon into pieces.
My aunt brought some ice cubes from the palace to chill the melon and make it more enjoyable to eat.
The little bear ate happily, and the two little girls sat on the small bench, eating sweets, and pushing away the little bears that came closer.
When the weather gets hot, this bear always loses its fur, and when it rubs against it, its clothes are covered with hair.
Zhang Yang asked curiously: "Aunt, I heard that a big food businessman came to Chang'an City recently?"
Aunt Wang nodded, "The big food merchant just came to Chang'an City to inquire. I heard that there is a group of big food merchants on the border of Longxi and they are on their way to Chang'an City. They are the envoys sent by the four big food lords."
Auntie is well-informed, and these sources of information all come from the palace.
The palace has its own intelligence spies, and Li Shimin's information inside the customs is accurate, but outside the customs, the news in the palace may not be as accurate as that of the Foreign Affairs Council.
Li Yue was in a good mood. She packed some clothes and her family prepared to go to Lishan Mountain to escape the summer heat.
At night, a chart was placed in front of the couple in the room.
Li Yue looked solemn and said, "Such a large amount of food, let alone Guanzhong, the entire Central Plains may not be able to digest it."
A bumper harvest is a blessing, and a good year is even more of a burden to the DPRK.
Of course, this burden is also a blessing. After experiencing the drought in the early years of Zhenguan, people were still immersed in the joy of the harvest.
Zhang Yang clicked his tongue and said: "If we were not so anxious to build the Hexi Corridor and hold the imperial examination in the past, maybe the Central Government could handle it. These things used to be handled by those old foxes in Zhongshu Province. With a wave of their hands, they could transfer these grains
Dispatch to official warehouses in various places to relieve the pressure on harvest areas."
"But if we don't do it well, the foxes in Zhongshu Province will laugh at me." Zhang Yang drank tea, "Even if this thing fails, it doesn't matter. Zhao Guogong is happy to help me end it. He has a lot of money in his hands."
Let’s use connections to settle this matter.”
Li Yue looked solemn, "But if we ask Duke Zhao for help, it will be difficult for our family to raise our heads when facing Duke Zhao in the future. My husband must also be respectful to Duke Zhao. The old fox has far-reaching thoughts. Ever since my husband refused his invitation, he has been thinking about it all the time.
I look after my husband and hope that my husband will join his sect and become the wing of Zhao Guogong’s lineage.”
Zhang Yang took a sip of chrysanthemum tea. The weather was sultry and his wife was wearing thin clothes. Her long legs were dazzling in front of him as her dress swayed.
After taking another sip of herbal tea, Zhang Yang said, "I regret it."
Li Yue asked curiously: "What do you regret, husband?"
"I still think you were pretty good before. Didn't you have so many worries after watching Red Mansions?"
Li Yue stopped pacing and said, "What your husband is worried about is also the family's worries."
"After watching Red Mansions, all the good people turned bad." Zhang Yang looked sad, "It's my fault."
"There are all bad people in the Grand View Garden, but how can there be such ruthless uncles and traitorous brothers in this world? It is also my husband's original intention to rebel against the aristocratic family."
There was some sweat on the wife's forehead again, hoping that the summer evening breeze would bring some coolness, but why could the wind not blow into Chang'an City.
Zhang Yang took another sip of herbal tea to dispel the fire, "Actually, it's not impossible. Sometimes food can not only make people hungry, but also can be used as a weapon."
"What weapon?"
"As expected, we still need to take action from our Diplomatic Academy."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Before Li Yue could recover, she saw her husband opening the door. It was late at night and the children had already gone to bed.
Just as she was about to speak, she was pulled out of the room by her husband's strange force.
At night, the moonlight was not very bright. Zhang Yang held his wife in his arms and opened the water valve, and the water made a gurgling sound...
Zhongshu Sheng has arranged the manpower for the imperial examination, and the palace has begun to make arrangements for summer vacation.
Zhang Yang took his family to Lishan first.
At this moment, Li Tai and Cheng Chumo were sitting at the entrance of the village.
"His Royal Highness the King of Wei, those people in Luoyang are going crazy." Cheng Chumo whispered.
"Let them go crazy. These people will be slaughtered by my brother-in-law sooner or later because they are so irrational for Baitang."
Cheng Chumo was worried, "Can we close the network? I always feel that we won't be able to close it if it's too late."
Li Tai looked at the carriage coming from a distance, sat under the shade of a tree and said: "If my uncle wants to restrict the family, my father wants to ban it, and my brother-in-law wants to be the last straw that overwhelms the family.
Just let them go crazy. Now that my brother-in-law is in a high position, it is very difficult to mobilize troops."
When he used to follow Zhang Yang around, Cheng Chu silently shook the cattail leaf fan in his hand and stuffed some ice cubes into his water bag.
Wait for the carriage to stop nearby.
"Brother-in-law, has Father not arrived yet?" Li Tai walked forward quickly.
Zhang Yang stepped on the somewhat hot ground and said, "I'm sorry, Auntie."
Aunt Yang nodded and drove the carriage toward the village.
Zhang Yang let down his long hair, "Huh? Is there ice?"
Without saying anything, Zhang Yang grabbed a handful of ice and put it into his mouth.
Li Tai asked again: "Didn't your father come to Lishan?"
Zhang Yang snatched the fan from Cheng Chumo's hand with one hand, "We have already left the Xuanwu Gate, and our family arrived first."
Looking at Cheng Chumo on the side, Zhang Yang was surprised and said: "Chumo, long time no see, what have you been busy with recently?"
Cheng Chumo took the fan back and fanned himself: "What else can I do? I've been making trouble with a group of people recently. They have the backing of powerful people. They plan to hang these beasts in a few days."
Li Tai was wearing a short coat, "I dug a pond by the river and put saltpeter beside the pond."
Zhang Yang slapped his thigh, "His Royal Highness the King of Wei is a great talent!"
The three of them hit it off immediately and came to the small pond by the river. The pond was not dug very big, and the bottom and sides of the pond had been paved with stones.
There is a large bucket in the center of the pool, above the water.
The barrel was filled with saltpeter.
The pond is only one foot wide and is under the shade of a tree.
Feeling the coolness brought by the pool water, all three of them let out a sigh of relief.
Cheng Chumo sat in the pool, "My old man often says, let me stay away from you."
Zhang Yang was puzzled: "Why?"
Cheng Chumo's wet and messy hair fell in front of his face, "It used to be just a small fight, so of course it doesn't matter. Now you live in Shangshu Province."
"I think your old man came here because he was worried that I would get into trouble and then be punished by the Nine Clan and implicate the Cheng family."
Cheng Chu nodded sincerely, "The old guy said you have the guts, but he wouldn't even dare to curse Tian Khan in front of the foreign ministers like this. Only you dare."
Li Tai asked the guards to bring drinks, "Can you still handle the matter with brother-in-law in Luoyang?"
Cheng Chumo was also worried as he drank his drink, "A certain person sends manpower to Luoyang every month."
Nowadays, everyone is under tremendous pressure, especially financial pressure.
Lishan is also under great pressure, and the DPRK is also under great pressure.
Zhang Yang frowned and said, "Has the sucrose from Lingnan arrived?"
Li Tai drank his drink and said, "We're on the way. We'll be there in a few days."
"When the next batch of sugar arrives, we will lower the price so that people in Luoyang can receive more sugar."
“How much will the price be lowered?”
"half."
Hearing this, both Cheng Chumo and Li Tai were quiet for a while.
Putting down the wine bowl in his hand, Li Tai frowned and said, "What if they work together and don't accept sugar?"
Zhang Yang thought about it, "Does His Highness the King of Wei know about Catfish?"
"Please ask my brother-in-law for advice."
"Let me tell you a story, His Highness King Wei. Once upon a time, there was a fisherman who fished in the sea. Every time he came back from the sea, he found that many fish in the fish tank were dead, but the villagers were more willing to buy live fish. Then he would
Put a big catfish in the fish tank, so the small fish will avoid the catfish and swim desperately in order to survive, and these fish will survive."
The saltpeter in the barrel is about to finish reacting, and the water in the pool is not as cool as before.
Zhang Yang stood up from the pool, "There is another reason for adding catfish, that is, when there are some strangers in an interest group, the people who were originally united will be divided by their own interests, thus breaking this unity.
"
Li Tai was originally a very shrewd little fat man, and his eyes were a little more understanding, "Let Yang Lian start to recruit his subordinates, and develop a force among them to disrupt their position."
Zhang Yang walked to the shore and after taking a dip in the pool, the wind became much cooler.
The price of sugar has been rising since last year. It's time to stimulate the family and let them experience the fun of rising and falling.
The guard came to report: "His Royal Highness the King of Wei, His Majesty's chariot is about to arrive."
Li Tai quickly got up from the pool, tidied up and went to greet his father.
The summer wind blew through Lishan Mountain, and a burst of sand and dust was blown up on the official road in the distance.
A long army of soldiers and horses escorted Tian Khan's family to Lishan Mountain.
The three of them stood at the entrance of the village to greet them.
Cheng Chu thought about it silently, "Have you read the book of war before?"
Zhang Yang frowned and replied, "I haven't seen much of it. Why did Brother Chu Mo say this?"
Cheng Chumo sighed, "My old man is right, scholars are not good people. The more people study, the worse they become."
As the carriage and horse approached, the three of them lowered their bodies.
"Brother Chu Mo, why have you become sentimental recently?"
Li Tai whispered: "Chu Mo has recently fallen in love with a woman."
Zhang Yang said in surprise: "Really? Whose child is this time? How could he be so unlucky?"
Seeing his face turn dark, Zhang Yang changed his words and said, "Whose child has you taken a liking to? Do you need our help?"
Cheng Chumo scratched his head and said, "She is a woman from an ordinary family. Her family is in the wine business."
Zhang Yang asked again: "Is there a story?"
Sweat continued to flow from Cheng Chumo's forehead, "This woman is cheerful and tough. I fought her for one or two moves, but she was no match for her."
Guanzhong women have always been tough and not easy to mess with.
Zhang Yang said worriedly: "Chu Mo, isn't this wrong?"
"What's wrong?"
"It stands to reason that fighting with someone is at best making friends with force."
“本王也是如此认为,谁教处默兄一往情深,打又打不过别人,难道娶了回家整天挨揍?”
"His Royal Highness the King of Wei doesn't know that Brother Chu Mo has always had a unique taste."
Cheng Chumo whispered: "The Mo family plans to meet her again in a few days."
Feeling that he was wrong, Zhang Yang asked again: "Doesn't the government care if you fight?"
The car was already approaching, and Li Shimin had already walked over. Seeing the three boys in front of him lowering their heads, winking, and talking in a low voice, he immediately cleared his throat.
Li Tai raised his eyes and quickly lowered his body lower, "Father, the arrangements have been made for the child. Come with me."
Li Shimin glared at Zhang Yang again and walked into the village.
Judging from the slow pace of the car, Lishan Mountain is not far from Chang'an City.
Under the scorching sun, the escort team was also exhausted. Zhang Yang asked again: "What happened next?"
Cheng Chumo sighed with emotion at first, as if he was sorting out what he wanted to say, and thought over and over again, "Later... so-and-so came to the village."
"Isn't your old man planning to arrange a marriage for you?"
"Oh, my old loser has taken a liking to Kong Yingda's granddaughter."
"It seems that General Cheng also has a unique taste."