The houses are like a forest, with overlapping eaves and corners. In the night, the lights among the city houses gather into flowing fire, criss-crossing together to outline the scene of Bianjing City on this night of late summer and early autumn.
The time for dinner has long passed. Even though the night is dark, the hustle and bustle in Bianjing City shows no sign of abating. After nearly two hundred years of inheritance, Bianjing City was the heart of the Wu Dynasty, gathering merchants from all over the world.
Passengers can reach all directions in the world. Every day, countless travelers and merchants pass here to reach the north and south. The imperial examination held every year or every few years brings together the world's talents and heroes. Here, a group of officials with the most power in the world are also gathered.
, surrounded by the emperor's throne, controlling the movement of the world.
Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, commerce has gradually developed, and the curfew has been cancelled. The city is basically quiet. Even in the quietest time in the early morning, there is a large area of lights lit in the center. At this time, it is the late fall, and the hot weather makes the
People in the city don't go to bed early. On the side of the road, in small courtyards, brothels, and teahouses, people are dotted there peacefully or noisily. In the heat, it is also a prosperous but peaceful scene.
The war in the north did not affect the pace of the city, and the court's more or less actions did not cause too much trouble in the city. The mobilization of the army, the transfer of supplies, everything was happening in a huge way.
It was carried out quietly under the momentum, as if everyone could feel the action, but not many people could really clearly understand the inside story. At most, it only added a lot of insights in the mouths of some insiders.
It's like a source of conversation in person, or it may cause the merchants gathered in Bianjing to occasionally discuss the prospects of going north to do business, but there is not much tension or anxiety. The brothels, prostitutes, taverns and tea shops are as lively as ever, with literati and talented people.
The poems written during the gathering were also very passionate, and Yang Yang's confidence somewhat proved this.
A little bit in the center of the city, on the side of the imperial city, the plaque of Youxiang Mansion has just been hung up. This is a large house that has been around for a long time. It does not appear to be ostentatious, but it has a solemn layout and profound connotations. This is
It was originally the property of the Qin family. Eight years ago, Qin Siyuan left office and the house was sold.
In the past eight years, it has changed hands twice, both of which were in the hands of people who had some connection with Qin Siyuan. This time Qin Siyuan came back to power and was promoted to right prime minister. When he returned to Beijing, he took advantage of the situation and bought it back. In fact, the layout of this mansion
, but there has been no change at all.
The Qin family was an official in the capital city and had been running the business for two generations. Qin Siyuan left eight years ago and dismissed the servants in the house. This time when he came back, most of the servants in the house were recalled, which proves the fact that Qin Siyuan left the tea but the tea was not cold.
The collection of various books in the mansion was a little more numerous this time, but Qin Siyuan was not a person who cared about these things. Compared with the Qin Mansion back then, it finally seemed a bit empty at this time.
Some relatives here,
After all, the family still couldn't come over. At this time, it was only Qin Siyuan and his wife and concubines who lived in the big house. The rest, no matter how bright the lights were, they were all servants after all.
These days, Qin Siyuan is busy with official duties, and rarely has any free time every day. At this time, the two highest-ranking people in the court, Li Gang, the left prime minister, are leading the overall situation, while Qin Siyuan's right prime minister is more inclined to pragmatic matters.
Speaking of which, he has not been to Bianjing for eight years. Even though there are still many disciples who are old, his influence and control here have been greatly reduced. Especially in various practical matters, he may not be able to take over it at once.
Come. Li Gang is familiar with him. Although he strongly supports him in becoming the prime minister, he also said at the beginning that he would share most of the things for him. However, Qin Siyuan did not leave too many things to him.
, so he took it upon himself, and within a few days, he made a rough plan for all the things that needed to be dealt with.
Li Gang has a generous temperament, a relatively straightforward and fiery temper, and an awe-inspiring aura. He is the biggest promoter of the call for war in the past few years, but relatively speaking, this person adheres to Confucianism more strictly. Even though he speaks fiercely, he is actually effective in dealing with things.
A bit modest. Of course, this does not mean that he is an old and rotten scholar, but his beliefs are more upright. If it were not that an extremely determined person was needed to lead the war at this time, he probably would not be able to become the left prime minister.
Qin Siyuan is also a great contemporary scholar. He writes well, and his external character is more gentle and refined. He never talks too hard. Sometimes he will argue with others, and he will be generous and eloquent, but he does not appear to be as angry as Li Gang.
When doing things, the methods are often correct and gentle.
But in terms of results, it is always more effective. Using the power to overwhelm others is like boiling a frog in warm water. When others discover the murderous intention, the situation is often set and there is nowhere to go.
During the time he was in Beijing, he took on various government affairs. The most important thing was to coordinate the military supplies first, and used his superb skills to mobilize and gather various military supplies in preparation for the war. The gathering became more smooth and silent, so that the big crowd in the capital at this time
Most people have never even felt the chilling atmosphere in front of the station. In less than two months after arriving in Beijing, he has already demonstrated his powerful courage and means, making it impossible for anyone to underestimate the power he has suppressed during his eight years of seclusion.
Awesome.
Of course, all this is based on high-intensity work. Even if he can do this, he has already tried his best. He came out of the imperial city very late today and just had a few bites of rice when he got home.
, three former students came to visit, and he received these three people while eating.
At this time, the youngest of the three was thirty-eight years old, named Chen Kai, courtesy name Yan. At this time, he was serving in the Ministry of Industry and concurrently as the prefect of the Wensi Academy. The second oldest was already forty-two years old.
Dingchen, whose surname was Zhao and whose given name was Chengzhi, was the Shaoyin of Kaifeng Prefecture at this time and had considerable power. The third person was forty-eight years old this year and his name was Feng Yuan.
Disciple, now Qin Hui, the Prime Minister of the Censor, has inherited the Qin Siyuan family, so he is also in the Censor's Platform and is quite popular.
Although it was the prime minister's house, what Qin Siyuan ate at this time was just a simple bowl of fish and a bowl of green vegetables. Instead, he asked his servants to serve three bowls of iced mung bean soup, and each of them was given a fan.
They talked casually in the hall. Since there was a teacher-student relationship, the three of them knew Qin Siyuan's temperament before. At this time, they didn't have to be submissive and still seemed casual.
In the eyes of others, it is a great blessing for Qin Siyuan to be able to come back after eight years of absence. However, in fact, many things have developed after eight years of absence, which makes him feel regretful and unable to grasp it.
At the time of the Blackwater Alliance, Emperor Jinghan Zhou Hao had just succeeded to the throne. Qin Siyuan was considered half an emperor's master at that time. Although he had the status of an emperor's master in many matters, he could only be said to be a minister of humerus without having an emperor's master.
In the name of Qin Siyuan, although he was indecisive at that time, he also had a somewhat pioneering spirit. When the Liao army came, he was ready to sue for peace, but later felt humiliated. Qin Siyuan was disheartened at that time, but he couldn't help but do the craziest thing.
This incident incited Emperor Jing Han to secretly prepare, instigate and support all the anti-Liao forces, and comforted Zhou Pin that he could only tolerate it for a while. As long as he prepared for a few years, there would be a chance for a comeback. Although he arranged a large number of people for this matter at that time,
Things and plans, but no confidence, who knows that it has become a reality.
However, it was also this incident that caused the court to spend a lot of money. When Emperor Jinghan succeeded to the throne, he originally wanted to listen to everyone's opinions and eliminate things like the Huā, Shigang and other things in the previous dynasty. Who knew that after a year or two, the court spent too much, and these things would come back again.
Got it started again.
"I'm afraid Taiwei Gao Qiu and his gang have a lot of involvement in these matters, right?"
"Reporting to the teacher, this matter involves many people. At first, His Majesty just said that he was poor, so some people followed him and came up with various methods. Gao Taiwei was certainly one of them, and Tang Shilang and others also supported him at the beginning. Student
At that time, I argued hard that Huā Shi Gang could not be reopened, but now that I think about it, the imperial court was short of money at the beginning, so His Majesty thought of finding some subsidies. At first it was only on a small scale, but after everyone tasted the benefits, they let go.
At the end of the fourth year of Han Dynasty, the money for building the garden, repairing the palace, and even a series of money after that all came from this..." Feng Yuan frowned and replied, the Minister of Tang in his mouth was Tang Ke, Tang Qinsou, the Minister of Household Affairs, but at this time he had already
When he was promoted to the Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs, during this period, Tang Ke was the leader of the peace faction. Feng Yuan and others naturally followed their teacher to lead the war. At this time, Qin Hui was also the leader of the war faction, so Tang Ke was not pleased with him.
Qin Siyuan just ate fish: "You are in Bianjing and I am in Jiangning. They are both prosperous places. We have only heard about it, but not seen it in person. Huā Shigang expropriated and extorted money, which made the people suffer and enriched the officials.
Tang Qinsou, under Qiu, is not a greedy person, he just has a lot of people who want to eat behind him, but Li Bangyan and Wu Min, their family is powerful and they are officials. Alas, now that I think about it, it is probably the same.
I couldn't stop anymore...but what are those Taoist priests? Your Majesty was so confused that in the past six or seven years, no one dared to take part in the performance? Except for one Tang Kejian." Emperor Jinghan Zhou Gu believed in Taoism these years.
In the Xuan Dynasty, the Taoist priests were favored and favored, which had already affected political affairs. In the past few years, no one dared to speak. Except for Tang Kejian mentioned by Qin Siyuan, even Qin Hui, the censor Zhongcheng, did not dare to speak out about this matter. Tang Kejian did not dare to speak out about this matter two years ago.
He was exiled before and died on the road. Qin Siyuan sighed as he thought about it, but after a moment, he shook his chopsticks.
"That's all, let's not talk about it today. Has the batch of military rations from Zhenzhou arrived?" "Although the students didn't participate, I heard that it arrived in the afternoon." "That's good..."
At this time, I simply talked about some trivial political affairs. I suddenly thought of a question and asked casually: "The day before yesterday, the Si Tianjian sent a message saying that there was an earthquake in the southeast. There is no definite news about this matter yet. Do you know?" Three
People have heard about it a little bit. Chen Yantang, who is now at the Ministry of Industry, said: "At this time, we can't get the exact information for a while. The seismometer can at most determine the location of the earthquake, but it cannot measure the distance or how severe the earthquake was. After all,
The seismometer cannot move. If it is too far away, even if there is a big earthquake, there will be less measurements here. However, the previous Si Tianjian, Yu Qi'an, had an idea and discussed with our Ministry of Industry to make three identical earthquakes.
Seismographs are placed in three places a hundred miles or more apart. Once an earthquake occurs, its direction, distance, and intensity can be calculated early. But seismographs are delicate things. It is impossible to say that three of them are the same.
At that time, Mr. Yu said that it would be okay to set three different ones. As long as you make a value, and then collect the earthquake values of several years or more than ten years for comparison, if there are any earthquakes in the future, you can still use this calculation. But this matter
Later, it was not completed. After all, the seismograph was worn out after being placed for many years..." Chen Yantang treated the matter of the seismometer as an interesting story at this time, but then he saw Qin Siyuan's solemn expression and said: "Teacher, there is no need to worry too much about this, disciple.
I have asked before. There are no major earthquakes in the southeastern area on weekdays. This must not be too serious. Teacher, the most important thing at this time is to prepare for major events. Don't worry too much about this matter."
Qin Siyuan nodded: "I have already asked. It's just that with the earthquake, many people in the court are afraid that they will take the opportunity to make a fuss. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but these people only know the interests of their families. They must first
To attack Fangla, we should attack Wang Qing first, Tian Hu and Song Jiang first. I just thought that when Jin and Liao start a war, we can easily deal with the internal troubles first, wait for the foreign troubles to hurt both sides, and then reap the benefits. Alas, the power in the court is used.
More than that, in national affairs and war, it is enough to be very strategic..."
When he came to Bianjing, Qin Siyuan encountered the most troublesome things, which were these things. Most people did not support the war. Of course, there were also pure pacifists who believed that the people would be in dire straits once a war started, but they were still a minority. Most people supported it.
Fighting, but questioning the timing of fighting.
In times of peace, for the sake of various interests in the family, these people can restart the Hua Shi Gang, levy and collect a large number of interests, and also make the various interests involved become unparalleled.
At this time, many local people were in dire straits, and there were uprisings in various places. They first asked the court to use the accumulated strength to quell the civil strife. After all, civil strife is real, and it is what the various stakeholders below are clamoring for. As for regaining Yanyun, in these
It seems to people... Now that Jin and Liao are in a team, of course these things can be done at any time, so that both of them will lose. I am using people from both sides here... These people are superb at playing power in the court, and even in national wars
, I just think that having power is enough, but I don’t know that if you can’t show your strength, no matter how many conspiracies you play, it will just be annoying.
But at the moment, he can only fight with them until he sends troops and can defeat them. Only then can Qin Siyuan breathe a sigh of relief and deal with the people he wants to deal with. Thinking of this, he remembered some of the conversations he had with Ning Yi when he left Jiangning.
At that time, Ning Yi gave him a messy pamphlet, and he didn't understand some of the things in it. Some of them were like this. It was probably based on the direction of the state's regulation of various businesses, which made most businesses.
Agriculture is linked to the war industry, and the focus of various interests is directed towards war. At that time, those with various family interests will give up their original positions and clamor for the country to go to war, because once the country goes to war, they can
Sell food and military supplies.
But at that time, Ning Yi just said it casually.
"It will take a year or two to really do these things, and if you want to intentionally balance the business chain, the operation is very complicated. There will be a war this year, so I guess it won't be used."
He said it in a joking way at the time. The young man always had many profound ideas, but as he said, this method was no longer useful at this time. But the booklet
There are still some small tricks in it, which he used in mobilizing various military supplies, and they produced results.
Thinking of Ning Yi, the old man made a slight comparison between the young man and the students in front of him as he spoke. Naturally, it was hard to come to a conclusion for a while. While they were chatting, the concierge from outside ran in and reported the arrival of Prime Minister Li.
Before Qin Siyuan could answer, across the field of vision, Li Gang and Li Wenji had entered the front yard without being informed, and they seemed to be even arranging their clothes.
At this time, Li Gang, the left prime minister, was already over seventy years old. He had a thin appearance and white beard and hair, but he was energetic and in good health. He had a serious look in his eyes, pursed his lips tightly, and was already handing over his hand as he walked: "Wei."
I have already come in after being notified. Siyuan forgives me, but the matter is really urgent, and I have read this official document..." He took out an official document from his sleeve and said, "You must enter the palace immediately."
Several disciples stood up to greet Li Gang, but Li Gang just waved his hand. Qin Siyuan glanced at the official document a few times, and his expression changed: "How could it be like this... How many people have read this official document?"
"I'm afraid I can't hold it back anymore. The knight who delivered the letter lost his horse and was injured. I'm afraid many people have already known about this urgent letter of eight hundred miles. At this time, someone might have brought Si Tianjian Cao Lingrou and others into the palace." Today's Si Tian
The chief supervisor, Cao Lingru, was a student of Wu Min and one of the less determined factions fighting against the enemy.
"Take my clothes." Qin Siyuan said to the eaves of the side, and then walked out, "Let's go quickly."
On the evening of the Beginning of Autumn, the ground cracked in the Suzhou-Hangzhou area, numerous buildings were damaged, and casualties were immeasurable. This announcement was sent from Suzhou. The Grand Canal was probably damaged, and the area south of the Yangtze River was the most prosperous. The carriage was heading towards
During the process of entering the palace, Qin Siyuan thought about this, and then thought of something else.
He murmured: "Hangzhou, Hangzhou..."
The announcement mainly refers to Suzhou, and Hangzhou must have been affected, but the situation is not clear yet.
Li Gang frowned and asked, "How is Hangzhou?"
Qin Siyuan sighed: "Oh, I just remembered a little friend. He happened to be over there. If..." He thought of Ning Yi's disaster relief booklet. If Ning Yi could take on the overall responsibility in Jiangnan at this time,
Taking responsibility may be able to minimize the impact of the matter. Of course, this idea just flashed through my mind. Ning Yi has no fame and no background, so it is impossible for him to get involved. Moreover, the booklet has been distributed, and Suzhou and Hangzhou officials
They are not all incompetent idiots. At this time, we can only rely on them, and on our side, we must withstand the heavy pressure from the court.
With the imperial city approaching, he put aside some hypothetical thoughts and began to focus his brain on all the practical problems he would face next...