Feng Xing - Chapter 138
Daoist Qingfeng asked for an order to go to sea to find Penglai Xiandao. Maybe others don’t know about it, but Qingchenzi can’t hide it.
After learning about this, Qingchenzi immediately rushed to Jingshengzhai, and severely taunted Taoist Qingfeng for a meal.
No one knows the details, but after Qingchenzi left, Taoist Master Qingfeng made a great wish. When he returns, it will be the time when Qingchenzi will fall out of favor.
Even the Taoist boy beside him didn’t believe this.
But no matter what, before Laba, Daoist Qingfeng held an imperial decree in his hand, took two Taoist boys, escorted by a team of Jinyi guards, and rushed to Fujian, intending to go to sea to find the legendary Penglai fairy island.
In Wei Wangfu, Zuo Yi brought a middle-aged scribe to the study.
Opening the thick curtain, a gust of hot air rushed towards her face. Feng Sheng was sitting behind the desk in a half-worn homely thin jacket, with a cup of tea in her hand. She was flipping through a book. Quite old.
Seeing someone coming, she looked up and gestured.
“sit down.”
Dequan brought tea.
This study is an important part of the palace, and ordinary people are not allowed to enter, so Dequan is usually busy with housework, and occasionally plays a guest role as a servant serving tea and water. Today is also a matter of great importance, Feng Sheng simply sent everyone else away, leaving only Dequan to wait by his side.
“Mr. Zuo told you everything that should be said?”
The middle-aged scribe was stunned for a moment, as if he hadn’t expected to see a woman, but soon he came back to his senses and nodded.
He hesitated and was about to say something when Feng Sheng spoke again.
“When dealing with those people, remember not to hold them back. Talking to people is the most important thing. But don’t worry, when you get to the place, someone will take care of you. You just need to be by Qingfeng’s side.”
“These Mr. Zuo have told the villain that the villain will do his best to help the princess achieve great things.” The middle-aged scribe clasped his hands.
“I hope you can come back smoothly. No matter what, I will definitely ask the prince and you for credit when I come back.” After she finished speaking, she took a look at Dequan, and Dequan led him away.
After the people left, Zuo Yi said: “Princess, don’t worry, this old man Li Yi is the one I chose after careful consideration. He is informal and quick-witted, so he will definitely be competent.”
“I’m not worried that he won’t be able to do the job, but I’m afraid that Guan Qinghe will have a difficult time.” After a pause, she said with a smile: “Well, do your best to obey the destiny, everything that needs to be arranged has been properly arranged, I just hope that you can all the best.”
“It will go well.”
Daoist Qingfeng’s departure from the capital did not cause any disturbance, and the capital was still bustling with people, just like every year in the past.
The days passed day by day, and it was New Year’s Eve in a blink of an eye.
Because the imperial court has been experiencing troubled times in the past two years, there are always disasters in various places, especially this year, the disasters are particularly serious. The gold people outside the border probably also know that Da Zhou is a time of internal and external troubles, and they have repeatedly invaded the border towns.
Over the past year, Emperor Jianping has successively issued two edicts of sin against himself, and ordered the palace to reduce expenses to set an example, so this year the palace did not hold a big banquet, only a family banquet was held in Qianqing Palace on New Year’s Eve. Those present were all sons and phoenixes, as well as close relatives of the emperor.
At the family banquet, King Hui made a big show and won’t go into details.
On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Feng Sheng received a letter from King Wei’s family.
In fact, she had already sent several letters to King Wei, in addition to telling him about the recent situation in Beijing, she also told about the matter of Taoist Master Qingfeng.
King Wei wrote back to her.
On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, Feng Sheng couldn’t hold back and wrote another letter to King Wei. The letter didn’t mention any serious business, only some gossip. This is the first Spring Festival that she has not spent together since her wedding with King Wei. It is too hypocritical to say that it is lovesickness, but it is really lovesickness.
Feng Sheng never talked nonsense, and spent a lot of effort to send the letter to Shanxi, but she said some gossip, what else could it be if it wasn’t lovesickness?
Nothing major happened in Shanxi. King Wei had a calm personality and was known for his strategies. With his suppression, no major events out of control happened yet.
The only thing is the lack of food, which is an old-fashioned thing, but relying on the “frugal and frugal” masters under his command, and relying on the local officials who are forced by him to come to the door repeatedly and find donations from big local households, he can squeeze out a little. A little bit is enough to pass this year.
Even if there are some difficulties in the next spring, we can only slowly find a way.
This is what King Wei said in his letter. In fact, Feng Sheng knew that it was comforting words, but since King Wei said it, she could only believe it.
She was in Beijing, even if she was anxious, it would not be of much use, except for some officials who were vassals of the Wei Palace to repeatedly mention the disaster relief in Shanxi in the court hall, intending to stir up discussions and plan to encircle Wei and rescue Zhao.
It’s a pity that it doesn’t help much. Zuo Yi has also been arranging people to do these things, because King Wei has no high-ranking officials who can influence the government, and they are usually suppressed deliberately when they are brought up, but Feng Sheng has not given up, even if it is an old trick, it must be done with.
Besides, everything that should be arranged has been arranged, and the only thing she can do is wait.
Feng Sheng didn’t know that the situation in Shanxi was even worse than she imagined, otherwise the family letter sent urgently at Babaili would not have been delivered to Feng Sheng on the fifth day of the new year, all because the King of Wei hadn’t received the letter in time.
On the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, King Wei left for Taiyuan in private.
A batch of military rations destined for Datong was robbed.
It was the local victims who robbed the food.
Datong is one of the nine borders, and the Jin people in the northwest invaded every year. The importance of Datong is beyond doubt.
All over the court, wherever there is a lack of food, it will do, except for the military food at the border.
Even if this reality is cruel, it is reality.
Naturally, military rations did not come from the local government in Shanxi, but were allocated directly by the household department. Some merchants from all over the country were recruited by the court to transport rations to the border in exchange for salt, which is the so-called Kaizhongfa.
This opening of China and France has continued from the previous dynasty to the present. Although it is not as rampant as the previous dynasty because of the proper control of the court, it is still indispensable.
Especially in times of chaos.
The more chaotic it is, the more you can see the active backs of some businessmen. Only by making money out of the fire can they make huge profits. Since the reform of the Lianghuai salt administration, the salt areas in Sichuan, Changlu and other places have carried out reforms one by one. Yan was hit hard, and some businessmen who survived by opening up China and France were also suppressed so hard to breathe.
Many people changed careers one after another. If the price offered by the imperial court was not so attractive, no one would be willing to make this trip.
As usual, only three stones of grain can be exchanged for a small amount of salt. One salt is about four hundred catties, and one small salt is about two hundred catties. Because there are very few businessmen who responded to the imperial court’s recruitment this time, it can almost reach a ratio of one to two or one to three.
In other words, a stone of grain can be exchanged for a salt, or even more salt than this.
And in response to the reform of the salt administration, this time the conditions for the release of salt were also relaxed. Not only did the restrictions on the exchange time be enlarged, but it was changed from valid in the current year to valid within five years, and there was no introduction port.
In other words, after getting the salt, you can go to any coastal area in Dazhou to sell it.
In fact, to put it bluntly, the court acquiesced in the sale of this batch of salt, even if it was sold at a high price. After all, the reform of the salt policy had not been extended to the entire Dazhou, and the establishment of official salt shops could not involve every place.
There are also those remote areas, which are the areas where high-priced salt is sold.
Therefore, even though they knew that they were taking chestnuts out of the fire, there were not a few businessmen who came to make money with their lives.
This time it was a businessman surnamed Meng who was ordered to send a batch of grain to Datong in response to the imperial court’s recruitment. Unfortunately, he was robbed halfway.
In normal times, the court would definitely not care about this kind of thing. After all, the food has not reached the border, and even if there is loss on the road, it is the businessman’s business.
But why is there a shortage of food everywhere now?
Especially since this is military rations, there should be no delay.
Originally, the imperial court had the idea of writing a bad check. Anyway, the food was shipped first to relieve the crisis of food shortage at the border. As for Yanyin, for the imperial court, salt is a business without money, who knows that something went wrong halfway, and it was still robbed by the victims.
Since the disaster victims were involved, it was related to the imperial envoy for disaster relief, and it was in Taiyuan Prefecture, so King Wei could only go there to investigate the matter.
The army rations were robbed at a place called Yangxingzhai. From Taiyuan to Xinzhou, there were two ways to go, one was through Shiling Pass, and the other was through Yangqu County.
This is what Zhao Tianfang told Wei Wang when he was walking on the road, a secretary called Wang Cheng. Because they were in a hurry, everyone was galloping on horseback, and they couldn’t explain clearly, so they could only give a general overview of the situation.
When we arrived there, it was already dusk.
The group first came to Yangqu County, and after entering the city, they went straight to the local county government.
At this time the county government has closed.
King Wei was about to order someone to knock on the door, but Wang Cheng had already rolled off the horse with shaking legs, staggered and almost fell, stumbled to the door, and knocked **** the door knocker.
After a while, a man dressed as a soap slave came and opened the door.
“Who is it? What are you knocking on? If you have something to do, hurry up tomorrow…”
Before the voice dissipated in the air, he was slapped back. The Zaoli was about to curse when he saw the group of people on horseback.
Especially the leading man, wearing a black silk sable cloak with a hood on it. He was tall and straight, and he didn’t know what kind of clothes he was wearing under the cloak. Under the light of the lantern fire, there was an invisible golden light dancing.
He was putting down his hood, revealing a stern face like a sharp knife.
The bridge of the nose is extremely straight, and under the sword-shaped eyebrows are a pair of deep eyes. Because of traveling all night, the eye sockets are a little sunken. Looking at it, Zaoli felt cold from the soles of his feet to the top.
The sound was silenced immediately, and then slammed back into the door.
“The little one will report it.”
This time he even forgot to close the door. After he entered, the group looked at each other in blank dismay, and entered directly under the signal of King Wei.
As soon as he entered and stood still, a thin middle-aged man in a blue official robe ran over accompanied by several Zaoli.
Unlike the Zaoli just now, this person had a very winking look. After standing still, he saluted and asked, “Which adult is visiting?”
Wang Cheng glanced at King Wei, took a step forward and said, “I am Wang Cheng, the secretary of the Taiyuan government office. This is the imperial envoy. This time, I was ordered by the imperial envoy to accompany the imperial envoy to deal with the military rations.” Robbery.”
“Qin, the imperial envoy?”
The county magistrate didn’t know why, but his knees went limp on the spot and he knelt down. It wasn’t until he saw that everyone was frowning at him that he stood up with the support of Zaoli beside him as if he had just woken up from a dream.
Wiping off his cold sweat, he laughed along with him, his face so ugly that it was frightening: “I really didn’t expect that the imperial envoy came in person, and the lower official Luo Zhe’an was disappointed, and I hope the imperial envoy will not blame you.”
King Wei curled his lips indifferently: “Don’t be too polite, just go in and talk.”