In the Tang Dynasty, matters related to weaving in the government were administratively under the control of the "shaofuqing". The Shaofuqing was responsible for a number of weaving and dyeing workshops directly under the royal family, which were large in scale.
There are not only textile workshops in Chang'an City, but also similar institutions in Luoyang, Yangzhou, Chengdu and other places, which provide a large amount of high-quality silk and satin to the royal family as tribute every year.
According to common sense, the Shaofu Qing should be solely responsible for imitating the new Sogdgen brocade.
But this time the Shaofu Qing did not take the job.
First of all, the risk of imitating Sogdian brocade is higher. If the Shaofu Qing did not propose it himself, he would not be able to go all out. It would be better not to take up the initiative, otherwise even if he does it, it will be thankless;
It was Zheng Shuqing who took the credit for the success, and it was him, the young minister, who held him back for the failure.
On the other hand, the current Shaofu Qing Zheng Yan is actually... a member of Zheng Shuqing's family, and was born in the Zheng family in Xingyang.
To put it simply, he is a relative of Zheng Shuqing.
Therefore, even though the Shaofu Qing did not promise anything on the surface, he secretly continued to give Zheng Shuqing all kinds of effective support, providing various manpower, material resources, and administrative conveniences for Zheng Shuqing to imitate Sogdana brocade.
Zheng Yan is the son-in-law of former prime minister Zhang Shuo. His grandfather was a Sogdian, and he was most likely from the ninth surname of Zhaowu. He merged with the Zheng family of Xingyang to avoid trouble (which can be understood as changing his surname after marrying into a wife).
Therefore, this person and Zheng Shuqing are only distant cousins by blood, but culturally they are a family that advances and retreats together.
The culture of the Tang Dynasty was inclusive and inclusive, and the concept of "I am the leader" and "one family" was also reflected in the aristocratic family's absorption of outstanding talents.
What’s even weirder is that Zhang is said to be Zhang Jiuling’s mentor and was once a leading figure among officials with a Jinshi background; while Zheng Yan is an official of the “Li Zhi Sect” with Western origins, but Zheng Shuqing is now a member of Li Linfu’s circle, but he has not yet
Become a core party member.
This kind of situation where you are involved in me and I am involved in you makes the relationship network in the officialdom extremely complicated.
I have to say that politics is definitely not the black and white thing that outsiders think.
In a sense, it's more like human nature.
After inquiring about this information, Fang Chongyong seemed to understand a little bit why Lao Zheng was always confident and as a complete layman, he dared to take up the weaving job.
It's not because Lao Zheng is stupid, but because Fang Chongyong didn't see the hidden card in his hand. Information asymmetry caused both parties to have completely different judgments on the same matter.
Lao Zheng also has a lot of good cards in his hand. Although he doesn't have a king bomb, he still has piles of straights, three, and one. However, he often lacks the hard cards to break the game, so he always seems a little embarrassed to deal with it passively.
.
This time the imitation of Sogdian brocade was carried out by the Ling Jinfang of the Shaofu Supervisor of Chang'an Palace City, which was responsible for the specific design, weaving and rendering. It is also the only official textile workshop directly under the control of Chang'an City.
There are 365 weavers in Lingjinfang, which means "knitting non-stop every day".
On the way to the Shaofu Prison, Zheng Shuqing told Fang Chongyong that Lingjinfang, a workshop located in the palace city, had been abolished by Li Longji in the early years of Kaiyuan because the saint claimed to take the lead in living a frugal life.
Although Li Longji is greedy for pleasure now, he once did work hard to cure.
However, the good times did not last long. Within a few years, Li Longji was slapped in the face by reality, because the silk fabrics offered by the various states were not enough for the increasingly luxurious Li Longji's squandering and rewards.
So Li Longji, who wanted to lose face, had to quietly restore Lingjinfang, but he did not dare to expand the scale at will. He just established it in the name of the foreign court in the areas east of Chang'an City and downstream of many rivers (relative to Chang'an).
A series of official textile workshops with thousands of weavers.
In name, the workshop belongs to the outer court, but in fact the output belongs to the palace. This method of separating ownership and output rights, a management classic that Fang Chongyong was proud of in his previous life, was actually used to perfection by Li Longji.
"Is it really okay for Minister Zheng to talk about a saint like this behind his back?"
Fang Chongyong looked at Zheng Shuqing with a puzzled look on his face and asked. The two of them had already reached the door of the Young Mansion Prison.
If you say bad things about Li Longji, can you please stop saying it in front of me? Don’t I know that he is a hypocritical, greedy and arrogant old coin?
Fang Chongyong couldn't help but sigh.
"I'm just afraid that you will forget the lesson of the additional one hundred thousand guan. As a saint, it's useless if you do well. You have to do better than he expected. Please pay more attention to it.
"
Zheng Shuqing patted Fang Chongyong on the shoulder and said.
"After this is done, I will give you a pair of twin female slaves. They are only nine years old and the same age as you. They are really slim and ready to bloom, tsk tsk!
Do you know how hard it is to find these twins? I also want to find triplets and quadruplets for you, but those people are either ugly or not the right age..."
Zheng Shuqing lowered his head and leaned over to whisper in Fang Chongyong's ear.
"Let's go, I have fully felt the sincerity of Mr. Zheng."
Fang Chongyong felt as if he had been PUAed by Zheng Shuqing, but he couldn't quite tell whether this feeling was correct.
The two walked into the warehouse of Lingjinfang and saw that the finished bamboo shelves were lined with pieces of imitation Sogdian brocade that had been woven one after another.
Blue, bright red, orange, green, etc., all kinds of colors, styles and patterns are available.
Fang Chongyong took a piece of brocade to observe and caress. This kind of brocade not only felt gentle and smooth to the touch, but also had a thick feel that ordinary silk did not have.
The pattern not only possesses the rugged and majestic Sogdian brocade, but also uses rounded patterns to cover up the inherent roughness and ferociousness of the Sogdian brocade pattern.
In a word, this fabric combines almost all the advantages of conventional Shu brocade and Sogdian brocade to create a new kind of brocade.
Zheng Shuqing came to Fang Chongyong to seek countermeasures, not because he was dissatisfied with these imitation Sogdian brocades, but because he was too satisfied and worried about gains and losses, fearing that he would not be able to get into Li Longji's eyes and that his busy work would be in vain.
This is just like some people just like the casualness of breakfast on the street, but don't like the formality of food in a big restaurant.
Zheng Shuqing just had a bad liking for Li Longji.
"After the envoy from Japan to the Tang Dynasty learned about the Sogdian brocade empress, he knelt in front of the Shaofu prison gate to pray, and then went to pray to the saint. Then I cut off a piece and rewarded this person.
It is said that the envoy sent to the Tang Dynasty wanted to take it back to their chief to use as a military flag."
Zheng Shuqing said proudly.
book?
No wonder then.
Fang Chongyong nodded slightly and said nothing.
As if his vanity was greatly satisfied, Zheng Shuqing continued to say proudly:
"We, the Tang Dynasty, were able to control the Western Regions, not just by relying on military revolution.
If you only have force and arrogance without money and silk to accompany you, it will be difficult to convince people with virtue.
The biggest reason why Tubo and the Tang Dynasty competed for supremacy and suffered losses repeatedly was not that Tubo did not know how to fight, but that the Tang Dynasty had silk but Tubo did not.
All the countries in the Western Regions on the Silk Road did not want Tubo to become strong because Tubo could not give them the silk they needed."
Zheng Shuqing patted a piece of brocade with his palm, as if this thing was a magic weapon in his hand.
Fang Chongyong nodded slightly and said: "No need to brag about these things anymore, tell the truth.
I have seen these imitation Sogdian brocades, why not give them a nice name, let’s call them Tang brocades.”
Upon hearing this, Zheng Shuqing suddenly realized: "Wonderful! Tang Brocade, Tang Brocade, our Brocade of the Tang Dynasty, the saint will definitely be delighted."
Look at your potential! The saint keeps talking all day long!
Fang Chongyong sighed and continued: "The saint is well-informed, do you think you can fool him just by changing his name? I'm afraid you have to have other things to match it."
Sure enough, Zheng Shuqing became depressed again and lamented: "Yes, it's useless just to have a nice name. In the end, it will still irritate the saint."
Even if Dong Shi changes her name to Xi Shi, others will still be scared away when they see her. Changing her name may be useful as an auxiliary method, but it is still a bit naive to use it as a life-saving straw.
Fang Chongyong nodded slightly. He felt that although Lao Zheng was Li Longji's loyal henchman, his thinking mode was highly consistent with Li Longji's.
But this person may not think highly of Li Longji in his heart, right?
There is a saying: the closer a person is to God, the less they believe in God.
This may be the case for Zheng Shuqing.
The more closely I align with Li Longji's thinking mode, the more I understand that this Tang sage is not a wise and mighty master.
Fang Chongyong pulled Zheng Shuqing aside and asked in a low voice: "I'm going to the Liyuan now, are you going?"
"What are we going to do in Liyuan?"
Zheng Shuqing was stunned and couldn't help but ask.
"You will know after you go there."
Fang Chongyong said proudly, not bothering to explain why to Lao Zheng.
To a certain extent, the Liyuan is actually more heavily guarded than the palace.
Because Li Longji basically does not work in Miyagi now, let alone live here, but he often plays in Liyuan!
Leading troops to attack Liyuan to kill the king, the success rate and efficiency are countless times higher than that of attacking Chang'an Palace City.
Therefore, after Li Longji stabilized the political situation in the early Kaiyuan Dynasty, the palace restrictions in Chang'an Palace were not as strict as imagined. There were only some local key departments, and there were guards in the city, so it was difficult to enter.
Central officials only need to "punch in" at the palace gate to make a record and explain the reason for entering the palace, and they can enter and exit smoothly without disturbing the senior military officers at the gate, and no special approval is needed.
This is how Fang Chongyong and Zheng Shuqing came in.
"Of course I'm going to do this stupid thing of yours, otherwise why else would you do it? Just say whether you want to go or not?"
Fang Chongyong said impatiently. Lao Zheng is a man who only wants stability. He is too hesitant at critical moments and likes to break things when something goes wrong.
"Isn't it okay if I go?"
Zheng Shuqing complained, and the two of them left the Gwanghwamun Gate in the north of the palace city and headed to the Liyuan Garden in the northwest corner of Chang'an.
Liyuan is one of the landscape gardens of Chang'an Forbidden Garden in Tang Dynasty. It is located in the Forbidden Garden to the north of Guanghua Gate.
There is a Liyuan Pavilion and a golf course in the garden, where the emperor of the Tang Dynasty used to enjoy the scenery and hold tug-of-war and batting entertainment activities.
However, when I arrived at the Liyuan duty station, I discovered that this was not the Liyuan Fang Chongyong was looking for!
"Uh, are you looking for a pianist and singer from the opera house?"
The two Longwu soldiers on duty looked at Zheng Shuqing and Fang Chongyong as if they were fools.
"Yes, that's right. We are looking for Liyuan disciple Wei Qing. Is he in Liyuan now?"
Fang Chongyong asked very politely, with a bad feeling in his heart.
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
The two Longwu soldiers laughed heartily and seemed to have no objection at all to Zheng Shuqing being the Minister of Household Affairs.
"Both of you, please go back. The children of the Liyuan are all in the Daming Palace. Since the Kaiyuan Dynasty, the saint has been in the Liyuan in the Daming Palace in Chang'an, near the Huichang Hall of the Daming Palace.
Of course, it’s not a big problem for the two nobles to enter the Forbidden Garden, but it’s just not very convenient to hold a banquet in two days.”
The Longwu sergeant said this in a very kind and friendly manner, without any airs.
It seems like I was slapped in the face!
Fang Chongyong pulled Zheng Shuqing aside and asked, "Is this really the case?"
"Otherwise? I used to wonder why you came to the Royal Forbidden Garden in the northwest.
Usually there is only one resident here before a large banquet is held, responsible for organizing and decorating the venue.
Since you are looking for Wei Qing, isn't it just a short walk away? The Shaofu Supervisor is near Huichang Hall."
Zheng Shuqing looked at Fang Chongyong with a puzzled face, waiting for the other party's answer.
"People always make mistakes. I'll treat you to a guest someday to make amends. Now let's go to the Daming Palace. Alas!"
He made a big mistake and went a long way in vain. Fang Chongyong didn't understand what he was doing.
Two twin maids, one for A Duan and one for Fang Laique, should be fine.
Thinking of this, Fang Chongyong felt balanced in his heart.
What kind of combination of invincible twin sisters wouldn't interest him?
It means breaking up a pair of kings and beating them up.
…
"The palace is a forbidden area, no one can enter!"
They were both Longwu Army soldiers, but their attitudes were completely different. The one in front of him was soaring to the sky, and he seemed to be completely different from the soldiers outside the Forbidden Garden.
But it's quite natural when you think about it. Can the soldiers who can guard the Liyuan in the Daming Palace come from ordinary people?
It is normal to have your eyes higher than your head, but it is abnormal to be polite to others!
Although they are both in the Longwu Army, they are divided into three, six, and nine ranks internally, probably because of different family backgrounds. Different people are assigned different errands, and they are assigned different assignments based on distance and distance. It's just ordinary things.
"I have something important to do with Wei Qing."
Zheng Shuqing showed off his official power and stared at the two people in front of him with a smile.
"You can't do it if you have something wrong. Without the holy edict, no one can enter except the children of the Liyuan."
Zheng Shuqing pretended to be lonely, but the two of them were incompetent, which surprised Fang Chongyong.
Ordinarily, it wouldn't be the case.
Zheng Shuqing stepped aside angrily, pulled Fang Chongyong's sleeve and whispered: "Something's wrong, let's go back first and talk about it."
"Wait, look at me."
Fang Chongyong waved his hand, walked forward and looked at the two Longwu soldiers, and said calmly: "My father is very virtuous!"
"Um?"
The two of them were stunned at first, feeling baffled, and then they felt that something was wrong, but they couldn't quite put their finger on it.
"My father is very virtuous, but I am the only son in the family."
Fang Chongyong emphasized again.
The two of them seemed to have remembered something and looked frightened. One of them came close to Fang Chongyong and whispered in his ear: "The saint is really busy now and cannot be disturbed.
I'll help you call Wei Qing out, but don't make any noise, otherwise our heads will fall to the ground. The saint gave a death order and said that no outsiders should be disturbed."
busy?
What can you do in Liyuan?
Li Longji opened an art school here a long time ago, and he still doesn’t get tired of it after decades. Do you need to hide it like this?
Fang Chongyong couldn't figure this out, but Zheng Shuqing suddenly realized it and pulled him away.
Later, Zheng Shuqing started running.
"Shilang Zheng, what on earth are you doing!"
About a few hundred meters away from the Liyuan of Daming Palace, Fang Chongyong asked breathlessly.
"Sage, I was playing with Princess Shou in the Liyuan. Well, she was the former Princess Shou, and she will be the concubine or even the queen in the future!"
Zheng Shuqing looked frightened and said in Fang Chongyong's ear.
"Yang Yuhuan?"
Fang Chongyong suddenly realized.
"You know this shit, why are you pretending to be confused!"
Zheng Shuqing yelled angrily.
At this moment, the two of them saw Wei Qing running towards them, his brocade robes in disarray.
"You two, is there something you can't talk about tomorrow, why do you have to find this moment?"
Wei Qing was sweating profusely, and his face turned red and white.
Now the saint is playing a "hand-to-hand" dance with the new princess Xin Huanshou in the opera garden, and is also letting the musicians play music.
Do Zheng Shuqing and Fang Chongyong, two people without eyes, think their lives are too long and want to drag everyone else to death together?
"We do have something important to discuss with you. Let's go to Lingjinfang first."
Zheng Shuqing said to Wei Qing in a deep voice, it would be better to leave this place of right and wrong as soon as possible.