When he arrived at the middle hall, Wang Xu saw Song Jue, the magistrate of Song County.
Song Yao is a middle-aged man, about forty, with a fair face, beardless, slightly fat, and average appearance.
He did not wear official clothes this time. He wore ordinary clothes like visiting friends, and he only brought one servant. It was a bit like a private visit in disguise.
When Wang Xu came to the middle hall, Magistrate Song had just arrived. He was drinking tea with Wang Dafa and seemed to be having a great time chatting.
"Xu'er, let me introduce to you. This is the newly appointed county magistrate, Mr. Song." Seeing Wang Xu coming, Wang Dafa waved repeatedly.
Song Yao smiled slightly when he saw it, held tea and said, "Exceptor Wang, is this Mr. Wang?"
Before being canonized by the imperial court, Wang Dafa was just a rich man from the countryside. People in the countryside called him "Sir", which was a compliment. In fact, in the eyes of the people above him, he was still a lowly person who couldn't stand on the stage.
With the imperial court's award, it was different. The canonization of the same family as Juren meant that Wang Dafa could wear Confucian scholar's clothes and scholar's scarf. Wherever he went, he was a genuine Juren master, and he could be respected as a member of the imperial family.
However, the Confucian robe of a scholar, worn by Wang Dafa, who is thick and thick and has a dark complexion, looks like he is wearing a crown wearing a monkey.
But now that he has achieved fame, Wang Dafa really thinks that he is a cultural person. He wears Confucian uniforms all day long and flaunts himself through the streets, as if he is afraid that others will not know that he has fame.
"Yes, it's Quanzi."
Wang Dafa said it modestly, but if you look carefully, you can see that he is already smiling from ear to ear.
Song Yao didn't care when he saw him. He waved to Wang Xu cordially and said, "Have you ever read the Analects of Confucius?"
"Read"
Wang Xu smiled respectfully and waited for Song Yao to continue.
Song Yao nodded lightly and asked: "Being advanced in ritual and music is like a barbarian; being late in ritual and music is like a gentleman. If you use it, then why should I be advanced?"
“During the Western Zhou Dynasty, due to different social status and place of residence, some people were born aristocrats, while others were born commoners or country folk.
Confucius believed that those who first became officials, that is, those who had titles and were born rich, did not receive systematic education in ritual and music knowledge before becoming officials, and did not know how to be officials, so they became officials. Such people
is not optional.
As for those civilians who do not have a title, before they become officials, they have comprehensively and systematically studied the knowledge of rituals and music, and know how to benefit a party and become a good official, then I will give priority to these people who do not have a title but know how to make progress.
Confucius here wants to remind us that when appointing officials, we should not just look at their titles, but only based on their talents, and only by using their talents can we govern the country well."
Faced with Song Yao's questions, Wang Xu responded fluently and added his own opinions at the end.
Song Yao smiled and nodded with satisfaction: "Yes!"
After saying this, he changed the subject and asked: "I heard that when I became a disciple of Mr. Xue, Mr. Xue gave you a test. You wrote a poem on the spot, saying that only gold is precious in the world, and you don't ask God to buy a boy.
, is this possible?"
"Articles and poems are occasionally skillful, but not worthy of praise."
Wang Xu answered very modestly. He copied the poem from him and it is not something to be proud of.
"What a wonderful hand!"
Song Yao liked Wang Xu's attitude even more and encouraged him: "Now is the time for you to study hard. Xue Daru is a famous contemporary teacher. You must study hard with Mr. Xue and become a pillar of talent when you grow up."
Song Jue paused slightly and then said: "It's a pity that Mr. Xue is ten thousand times more knowledgeable than me, but I don't have the opportunity to ask him for advice. If I can get advice from Mr. Xue, it will be better than me reading thousands of volumes!"
No matter how much I said before, it was just polite.
Not to mention Wang Xu's neat answers, even if he didn't understand a question, Song Yao would probably encourage him and then lead the topic here.
Wang Xu secretly laughed when he heard this. This Song Yao was really impatient.
Sure enough, the visit to Wang's family and meeting this child prodigy were all fake. The real purpose was to climb the high branch of Xue Mu Mountain.
This is normal. Song Jue was in his forties before becoming a high school scholar. According to the rules of once every three years, he was promoted to the first level with honors.
If Song Yao had no one to protect him, he would probably be like Cheng Guangrong and be stuck in the position of county magistrate for the rest of his life.
It seems that Song Yao is unwilling to give up. For the sake of his own future, it is not surprising that he rushed over eagerly.
"Teacher went out to visit friends. I'm afraid he won't be back before autumn." Wang Xu knew what Song Yao wanted to ask, so he asked him.
After hearing this, Song Yao knew that he would no longer be able to rely on the big tree of Xue Mushan in a short period of time, and he couldn't help but look regretful.
Later, Song Yao asked about the Wang family's disaster relief, talked about the new policies implemented in the past few years, and chatted all over the world.
After drinking a cup of tea, when the maid wanted to add new tea, Song Jue turned her eyes and pretended to sigh deeply.
"Why do Lord Song sigh?" Seeing Song Yao's behavior, Wang Dafa couldn't help but ask.
Song Yao was silent for a while, stroking the tea foam with his teacup, and said: "Our Liyang County is adjacent to the Sanding River in the south, and the Sanding River leads directly to the Qiantang River. Two-thirds of our transportation in Liyang County depends entirely on this river.
.
After I took office, I discovered that the management of the Sanding River was chaotic. There were thousands of large and small ships, with dozens of people on the bows, working together to control the river and collect huge profits. The goods shipped from outside were inflated by more than 20%.
Take the ink block as an example. In Fangshan County, which is adjacent to us, the market price of an ordinary piece of Jiangnan ink is only 90 yuan, but in Liyang County, it costs 110 yuan. In comparison, in Jiaozhou, which is further away, the price of Jiangnan ink is only 100 yuan.
Wen, it’s time to sort out this chaotic situation.”
Wang Dafa was speechless for a moment. The phenomenon of ships dominating the market has not happened for a day or two.
Behind these shipping lines are the support of the wealthy families in the county. The newly appointed Magistrate of Song County should not think that he can take action on shipping.
"What do you mean, Master Song?" Wang Dafa didn't know Song Yao's true plan, so he could only wait cautiously for the next step.
Song Yao put down the tea cup in his hand and said: "I plan to meet with the owners behind these shipping companies in three days to re-define the rules of shipping. Song is new here, and I can't trust those people. If the king has other intentions, he can
Acquire a few big ships and help me control the shipping industry."
"this"
This was already a naked hint. Wang Dafa had a look of surprise on his face. Why did Song Yao ask him to touch the eyes? He was obviously here to give money.
No one in Liyang County knows about the huge profits from shipping, but there is no official support, and even if you have money, you can't get into the shipping business.
Since some people became famous, the Wang family's assets are also being transferred from the countryside to the town, and they plan to make a big splash in Liyang County.
These days, Wang Dafa was worried about the mixed situation in the county and did not dare to go into the water easily. Unexpectedly, Magistrate Song sent the oar.
"Wang Yuanwai, I wonder if you dare to be interested?"
When Song Yao asked this question, Wang Dafa immediately laughed. How could he not be interested? He immediately replied: "Thank you so much, Mr. Song. My Wang family will buy a ship tonight. Mr. Song can get 30% of the shipping business."
"
"Well, I am thinking for the people. If I take your money, wouldn't it be a collusion between the government and businessmen? Don't mention it again. Well, that's it. You can figure out how to handle it. Come to Dongdong in three days.
Come to the restaurant for a party, and I will introduce you to some ship dealers."
Song Yao said this and left with satisfaction.
After seeing Song Yao off, Wang Dafa pulled Wang Xu and said excitedly: "Xu'er, this County Magistrate Song is really upright and upright. Our Wang family is going to be prosperous now, which you can't find even with a lantern."
What a good thing!”
"As long as dad is happy."
Wang Xu smiled slightly and didn't care about the so-called shipping business.
Although Liyang County is not small, the river transportation business requires thousands of boats and is divided among more than a dozen powerful companies.
The Wang family didn't rely on shipping to begin with. Even if Magistrate Song had the favor to get in and get a share of the pie, they would probably end up with one hundred thousand taels of silver a year.
One hundred thousand taels of silver sounds like a lot. Wang Dafa worked hard for thirty years before he could acquire a fortune of hundreds of thousands taels of silver.
But for Wang Xu, the glass factory was about to start, and one hundred thousand taels of silver could be worth a few pieces of glassware.
Didn’t you see that the magistrate of Song County, who was born in the Central Plains and was also from the gentry class, didn’t care at all about Wang Dafa’s so-called 30% income?
For him, three to fifty thousand taels of silver is not as important as his friendship with the Wang family.
However, since Wang Dafa likes it and Song Yao is so motivated, let him do it.
It's not good for people to be too idle. Anyway, with Magistrate Song's reputation, shipping can make money but not lose anything, so just kill time.
What's more, the Confucian world also pays attention to human relationships. Today you praise me, and tomorrow I will praise you. Only when you praise me again and again can you become one of your own.
The county magistrate is not as good as the county magistrate. Song Yao is determined to make good friends with the Wang family. The Wang family must know how to praise him.