For those in the palace, the first month of the ninth year of Jianji (909) was particularly deserted.
If the man doesn't go home and hangs out in the outer room, how can the woman at home be in a good mood?
The queen came to the court to supervise the country, but there was nothing to supervise. On the day of Zhengdan, she met with the envoys of various states and collected some local specialties and various flattery.
All the civil and military officials, those with some status, all accompanied him on the expedition. A good emperor of the Central Plains should be treated like a monarch of the Northern Dynasties, and he was at home everywhere.
With nothing to do, Zhe Fang Ai took her concubines with her to make sweaters and leather coats, nominally for the frontline soldiers, but actually for the unfaithful man.
"Buddha, how are you doing in Zhigu?" Zhe Fangmei skillfully cut a piece of mink skin and asked.
Buddha Tooth is the nickname of Princess Shao Li of Meiyuan. She was promoted to Jinshi in the fifth year of Jianji. She was ordered to Zhigu by Zhao Feng. She gave birth to a son in the seventh year of Jianji. She lived in the princess's mansion in Beiping Mansion most of the time. Occasionally she went to Zhigu. Go visit your husband.
Just a while ago, she was making some insinuations to see if there was any real shortage in the capital so that she could bring back the prince-in-law, but she was taught a lesson by the queen. In anger, she simply moved to Zhigu County and did not come back until the year before.
Buddha Ya carefully took a look at his biological mother, Zhaorong Yeli, and saw that there was no special expression, so he replied: "Zhigu is very different now. The household registration is well-established, business and travel are prosperous, and my daughter has established a village outside the city, which is fine. comfortable."
"This is a different way of praising the prince-in-law." Zhe Fang Ai said with a smile. As a prisoner, how could she not know the situation in Zhigu County?
The prince-in-law, Zhao Feng, was under a lot of pressure and was slandered a lot in secret. It was not impossible for a new Jinshi to become a county magistrate, but they were in the minority after all, and most people still started as county captains.
You started out as the magistrate of Ji County, isn't it right for others to say a few words in secret?
"It's good for the prince-in-law to go deep into the fields, teach farmers and mulberry trees, and educate the Tibetan people." Zhe Fang Ai put down her work, looked at the other concubines busy at work, picked up the teacup and took a sip, saying: "But he Do you know what the saints are paying attention to nowadays?"
"Please give me some advice from the queen." Buddha Ya said.
"A few years ago, there were four ships anchored in Nigupu, Zhigu County. Is this possible?" Zhe Fangmiao asked. "It seems to be the case." Buddha Ya was not sure.
"If you have it, you have it. If you don't have it, you don't have it. What do you mean it seems to exist?" Zhe Fangmai said helplessly: "In mid-November, before the closure of Nigupu port, four ships of the Ping Navy entered the port. The leather goods we are cutting now were eaten a few days ago. The fish and crabs were brought by them."
Buddha Tooth suddenly understood.
She was born in the Heavenly Family and had no worries about food and clothing all her life. As a woman, she really didn't pay enough attention to these things. She heard about it on weekdays and didn't bother to think about it. In fact, with her status, as long as she is willing, she can provide her husband with an excellent career path. A big helper.
"What the saint is most concerned about now is the transactions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Liaodong." Zhe Fangmei continued: "Let Zhao Prince Consort pay more attention to these matters. It is good to teach farmers and mulberry trees and educate Tibetan people, but we must grasp the key points in everything. .I heard that only two ships can enter Nigupu at a time. Does the county have no financial resources? Nigupu is the closest dock to Beijing and is related to the great cause of the saint. The new trestle has not been repaired yet. After the saint's master comes back, Zhao Eimao How to explain it?"
After hearing this, Buddha Ya felt anxious and wished he could go home now and tell all the news.
"There's no rush in these two days, just keep this in mind." Zhe Fangmai smiled again and said, "Ping Haijun has brought back more and more novel things. I also hope that Nigupu will be here as soon as possible.
It’s expanding.”
"The Queen is right." Zhaorong Yeli Lingji said with a smile: "The Northern Pearl sent to the palace by the Ministry of Internal Affairs is big and round, and everyone likes it very much."
"This thing is good, but it's hard to get." Zhe Fangmei said: "I heard that the land of Mohe is densely covered with lakes and crisscrossed by streams. The river mussels that gave birth to the Northern Pearl live deep in the water and are protected by many clams, like a city wall.
If the pearl collector is caught improperly, he may get injured if he accidentally enters it."
Concubine Yu and the palace people listened intently, and even Zhao Yu, who looked bad, paid close attention.
"Every summer, pearl divers come and use long poles of solid wood to lean into the water. If they can reach down with the poles, if they can first dig out the big pearls in the city,
Once the clams are caught, all the clams will be hunkered down and dare not move, so you can get them all. When you get to the shore, cut open the clams and take out the pearls from the shells."
"There are many northern pearls in the abyss, and the water is cold and fast. You can't get them without submerging them in the water. And among thousands, you can only get them once."
Speaking of this, Zhe Fang sighed and said: "It's not easy for ordinary people to pick up pearls, and they often fall ill as they get older. The Ministry of Internal Affairs just buys pearls and sells them to subsidize the expenses of the court. There are already a lot of things to do in the palace, if you really love this
You can come to me for pearls, but do not buy them privately. If you spread the word, it will damage the reputation of Tianjia."
"Yes." After hearing this, everyone agreed.
The queen attaches great importance to maintaining the image of the Tian family, and this kind of thing naturally occupies the moral high ground, and it is impossible for the girls to disobey her in this regard. After Zhe Fang Ai drank tea, she continued to cut and sew fur clothes until You hour.
The whale oil candles were lit, and the Changqiu courtyard was brightly lit. The queen listened to the palace official's report on some things.
Master Mani passed away and begged for burial in Ganzhou before his death. After hearing this, Zhe Fangxiao ordered Honglu Temple to provide weapons, carriages and horses, and the Master of Ceremonies sent personnel to escort the coffin to Ganzhou for burial.
Also, the Duke of Ba, Gao Renhou, fell ill in central Guizhou. Zhe Fangmei sent a medical officer from the Imperial Medical Office to carry medicine and rush south for diagnosis and treatment.
Qian Liu, Prince of Yuhang County, reported that several officers of the Youping navy returned home on a Japanese ship. They claimed that they had escorted Master Huikong to Japan, but the ship sank off the coast of Japan. Most of the people on the ship, including Master Huikong, were killed.
Zhe Fang Ai ordered the palace to send people to Wutai Mountain to express condolences to the disciples of Master Huikong, and also urged the Privy Council to provide compensation to the soldiers who died as soon as possible.
The last article is about the King of Zhao. The original copy has been sent to the saint in Longquan Prefecture. Zhongshu Province has transferred it to the Empress of the Supervisory State. It is said that the Khotan delegation is stranded in Dunhuang. Where to go still needs to be decided.
"The Chief Dian Ke of Honglu Temple will immediately go to Dunhuang to greet him and send him to Beiping Mansion." After Zhe Fang Ai finished her instructions, she looked at the empty room and sighed quietly.
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, she would also entertain all the wives and reward them with some whale oil candles, northern beads, and mink skins to close the relationship between the monarch and his ministers. There were a lot of things to do, but she was not motivated.
-*****
"The price of fish has fallen into the dust." Lu Yan sighed while happily eating salted fish in the Wangjing Pavilion. Many people said that you must go to the Liaodong seaside to get fresh fish on the spot and make fish dumplings, which are the most delicious to eat. .Lv Yan deeply agreed.
He likes to eat fish and clams, but the sages do not recommend it, saying that the fish and crabs in the Tang and Xia dynasties are mostly freshwater fish, and it is easy to get sick if eaten raw. However, he does not object to cold-water sea fish, thinking it will be much safer.
Lu Yan suspected that the saint was deceiving people in order to promote his salted fish.
Now anyone with a certain status can see that the saint is promoting sea fish, sea vegetables, sea trade and even sea transportation and other things related to the sea, because he is too hasty and too obvious.
At the end of October, news came from Chishanpu in Dengzhou that a group of people had caught a giant whale at sea by luck. After handling it roughly, they towed the whale back to the port.
Unfortunately, due to lack of preparation, they only cut off the blubber, skin and a small amount of whale meat. When the whale carcass was towed back to the dock, basically only the skeleton remained.
However, the skeleton is also of great value and can still be exchanged for money.
As expected, the sailors who returned from whaling received huge rewards: the captain of the ship was given five hundred pieces of money, five hundred bolts of silk, and five hundred bolts of woolen cloth, and was awarded a ninth-grade officer. In response to the matter, the Ministry of Internal Affairs estimated and purchased the goods.
From the fifth year of Jianji when a whale was stranded off the coast of Wudi County, to the eighth year of Jianji, whales were seen twice in four years, and both people received generous rewards. This is enough to prove that one can get rich by hunting whales, which further inspired The whaling craze began.
As for the possibility of returning empty-handed or even being buried in the belly of a fish when going to sea, few people mention it. Under the control of fanaticism, these are subconsciously ignored.
A few years ago, there was news that the Ministry of Internal Affairs purchased seal oil at the same price as whale oil, seal skins, fur seal skins, beaver skins, and sea lion skins at the same price as fox and raccoon dogs, and spent thousands of dollars to buy walrus tusks.
The news was so mysterious that people were skeptical at first.
As a result, Li Yanling, the director of the Lifan Academy, mentioned at the wine table that the Jurchens donated walrus ivory, and the saint asked the Shaofu to make some chopsticks and give them to ministers who had made meritorious deeds. Now the saints use walrus ivory chopsticks to eat. According to reports
It is said that it can prolong life.
What was Li Yanling's identity? No one believed what he said. As a result, walrus ivory craze suddenly set off in Beijing. Unfortunately, it was expensive but not marketable. dignitaries offered rewards and paid huge sums of money to buy it. As for the impact, look at Dengzhou, Mizhou, and Qingzhou. , the private shipbuilding workshops that are gradually emerging in Haizhou and other places know this: there are a lot of people waiting to go to sea, and everyone is not afraid of death, but is afraid of running out of money.
Lu Yan watched with cold eyes and sighed secretly.
For a fisherman who successfully hunts whales and returns home, how many innocent people are buried in the belly of the fish?
He didn't know whether walrus tusks had the effect of prolonging life, but he heard that many people planned to apply for immigration from Liaodong Road and settle in that bitter cold land, because seals, fur seals, sea lions, walruses, and beavers mostly live there.
Is this really good? Is it harmful to Tianhe?
Lu Yan sighed repeatedly and dropped his chopsticks. Well, don't tell me, although this fish is cooked, it is delicious.
"The price of fish has dropped, which means that more people are fishing at sea." Fan Wenda, a student of Xiazhou Confucian Studies, said with a smile: "It's a pity that you can only taste it in Beijing. It may be possible in Luoyang, but it's too difficult in Guanbei."
The fishing season in Liaodong starts in July, reaches its peak in mid-August, and ends in late September. After the hunting, cleaning, pickling, and air-drying are completed, it is then transported to the Central Plains. It is almost the end of October or the beginning of November. The weather is cold and the air-dried salted fish has a long distance.
You don’t have to worry about spoilage if you transfer it, but the cost is another matter.
In short, Huaihai Road and Hebei Road are the cheapest, while Henan Road and Zhili Road are much more expensive. No matter how far it is, there is no value in transportation. Even if someone wants to try something new and buy some, the quantity will not be large, so there is no need to do it.
This transaction.
“There are more people going out to sea to fish, but that’s not the main reason.
Speaking of which, the saint has obtained the Liaodong Road and can fish freely." Lu Henian, a student of Fengzhou Classics, said.
Lu Yan nodded and said: "The world is so vast and full of wonders. This place in Liaodong does not seem to be a poor place. However, when we go to Liaodong, our first priority is to educate the world and tame the Chinese style."
Lu Yan was originally a military officer of Cao Cao of Beiping Prefecture. He was under the seventh rank. This time he was appointed as the director of Longquan Prefecture and participated in the military affairs. He was promoted to the seventh rank.
Fan Wenda has no background. His father and ancestors were all farm servants. I heard that his grandfather Fan Yanbo met the saint and that his father went to war as a native Tuan villager in Xiazhou and died in a foreign land. Therefore, Fan Wenda had to study in Xiazhou Confucian classics. This time, he went directly to
He was granted the official position of Hongyi Ling of Zhengzhou - Hongyi County received some immigrants, but it was still short of reaching 2,000 households, so it was designated as a lower county, and the county magistrate was lowered from the seventh grade.
Lu Henian was a very mysterious person, he was very tight-lipped, and could not find out much about his background. What surprised Lu Yan even more was that he entered the Zhongshu Province as an imperial historian as a student of Fengzhou Classics.
Lingshi is an official without an official status, which sounds like nothing. But are the officials in Zhongshu Province the same thing as the officials in prefectures and counties? Is this a head-scratching job?
In addition, Lu Henian also served as a messenger, and was accompanied by ten palace guards. He attracted attention wherever he went. This boy was going to enter the palace to meet the saints, so he was not from the same group as them.
After finishing eating and drinking, seeing that it was still early, the three of them did not want to delay, so they left the Wangjing Pavilion and headed east, braving the wind and snow, to Longquan Mansion.
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