Next to the wharf, the canopy becomes a forest, and the boat is like a cloud.

Countless merchant ships slowly approached their respective ports under the guidance of petite and nimble ships with red flags, and iron and wooden booms unloaded the goods on the docks, and the goods were transported to the designated warehouses by unusually wide flat ox carts, or conversely, the goods were transported out of the warehouses and loaded onto the ships one by one......

Countless merchants, sailors, sailors, porters, and wrestlers are busy, rendering this dock lively and boiling.

Even if he has repeatedly seen the twists and turns of Huating Town on the paperwork, even if he has seen a lot of prosperity in Guanzhong, but at this moment, even Fang Xuanling, who once led the empire as Zaifu, and Li Jing, who commanded thousands of troops, had to be shocked by the prosperity in front of him!

In the corner of the south of the Yangtze River, the once saline-alkali barren beach has become the prosperous appearance it is today......

On the wharf, Wang Xuance, who was dressed in official uniform, was waiting here with several officials, and when he saw Fang Xuanling's boat, he hurriedly ordered someone to step forward to guide him to the shore, and quickly set up a springboard, and was about to get on the boat to see Fang Xuanling, but found that Fang Xuanling had walked ashore one after the other with an old man with white hair but a tall figure.

Wang Xuance took two steps forward, touched the ground, and said: "I have seen Fang Xiang and Wei Gong. ”

Fang Xuanling looked Wang Xuance up and down, and said with a gentle smile: "You are Wang Xuance?" ”

For the strange man under his son's hand, who jumped all the way from the gatekeeper, Fang Xuanling had seen it in Chang'an a few times, but he didn't know when he actually arrived in Huating Town.

When Wang Xuance saw that Fang Xuanling recognized him, he immediately felt extremely honored, and said respectfully: "It is a humble position." ”

Fang Xuanling nodded with satisfaction and encouraged: "Heroes don't ask about their origins, besides, although you are a distant branch of the Taiyuan Wang family, you are much stronger than those scholars from poor families." Family background is very important, but their own talent and hard work are more important, at present, the Tang Dynasty is changing with each passing day, and the imperial court urgently needs more capable young officials to contribute. If you settle down and do things, you won't suffer. ”

"Whoa!"

Wang Xuance said respectfully: "Thank you for the teachings of the prime minister, and I will remember my humble position for life." ”

Fang Xuanling had a very good impression of this young man, and said: "It's just that the old man is old, and he chatters a little more, just listen to it if you like it, just listen to it if you don't like to listen, young people nowadays, there are many ideas...... Why didn't that kid from the Pei family come? ”

Pei Xingjian's father and brother all served under Li Mi in Wagang, and Fang Xuanling was not familiar with him, but it did not prevent Fang Xuanling from appreciating Pei Xingjian. Compared with the mischievous Erlang in his own family, he obviously prefers Pei Xingjian, who is a son of a family with a temperament and outstanding temperament, and good morality.

It stands to reason that when he arrived in Huating Town, Changshi Pei Xingjian, who was the leader of Huating Town, was bound to come to respond, so there was something urgent......

Sure enough, Wang Xuance said respectfully: "If you go back to the Fang Xiang, because of the collapse of the lighthouse on Snake Mountain Island, more than a dozen people were killed and dozens of people were injured, so Pei Changshi had to rush to deal with it, and ordered him to greet Fang Xiang and Wei Gong again. ”

"Snake Mountain Island? Lighthouse? ”、

Fang Xuanling looked puzzled and said curiously: "What's going on?" ”

Even if he was in charge of the entire Tang Empire as Zaifu, it was impossible for him to memorize the names of all parts of the world, at least he had never heard of the name "Snake Mountain Island".

And...... Lighthouse, what's that?

Fang Xuanling's first reaction was that his bastard son was whimsical and came up with something interesting...... The lighthouse, as the name suggests, is a beautiful tower that presses a lamp, what else can this thing do except look good and fun?

In 270 BC, a group of Greek architects built the world's first recorded lighthouse on the island of Pharos to guide ships entering Alexandria, which later became one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

In the following hundreds of years, the ancient Romans built many lighthouses in imitation of the lighthouses of Alexandria, which stood in various harbors.

However, in the land of China, which has never attached importance to the ocean, it was not until the 20th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty that the first lighthouse in China, Chongwu Lighthouse, was built in Hui'an County, Fujian Province, by private funds...... In the tenth year of Yongle, the government built a "mound with a square square of 100 zhang and a height of more than 30 zhang" on the southeast beach of the Liuhe estuary at the mouth of the Yangtze River, on which smoke was raised during the day and open fire at night" to guide ships in and out of the Yangtze River estuary.

Therefore, even if he is as knowledgeable as Fang Xuanling, he doesn't know what this "lighthouse" is......

Wang Xuance explained: "It is to build a tower as high as 80 zhang on Snake Mountain Island, and flames will be lit on it every night......

Fang Xuanling was dumbfounded: "Eighty zhang high? ”

Of course, he doesn't know how to build earth and stone, but he knows how to count, and the tower is eighty zhang high...... Mother, Erlang is a bastard who wants to poke a hole in the sky?

Wang Xuance said proudly: "That's right, eighty zhang high!" Because when he decided to build this lighthouse, Erlang once said that the first lighthouse in the world in Alexandria, far away in the West, is seventy zhang high, and we have to be taller than him if we want to build it, so it takes eighty zhang! ”

People built a lighthouse of 70 zhang, and you have to build an 80 zhang lighthouse?

Fang Xuanling felt that his brain hurt, this statement was boring, but it was indeed his bastard son's style......

The most important thing is that this bastard didn't say a word about this matter in Chang'an, which is simply unforgivable!

Fang Xuanling endured his anger, after all, in front of outsiders, he still had to save a little face for his son, took a breath, and Li Jing beside him suddenly asked, "How much does this lighthouse cost?" ”

Fang Xuanling froze for a moment, his heart twitched, and he looked at Wang Xuance nervously.

He understood why Li Jing had this question, such a huge lighthouse must be expensive, although Huating Town has the largest tax in the world, but after all, it is the money of the imperial court, used to build such a flashy plaything, if it is caught by the imperial historians, a wave of impeachment is almost inevitable.

This bunny cub ......

Wang Xuance couldn't understand the worries of the two for a while, and said casually: "This lighthouse was designed by Yu Ming and Erlang together, and the construction took two years, with a total cost of 600,000 guan ......."

“……”

Fang Xuanling only felt that something above blocked his heart, and he almost didn't catch his breath.

600,000 ......

O loser!

Even if our family's money is earned by you, even if our family can really get 600,000 yuan, it will cost a medium-sized state capital a year's tax to build such a thing...... Are you going to die?

Even if he was as gentle and peaceful as Fang Xuanling, he couldn't suppress his anger this time, he was so angry that his beard trembled, and he blurted out: "Nonsense, it's nonsense!" This son is lawless and reckless, do you think that no one in this world can control him? This is not the stuff of the Son of Man! ”

Li Jing also shook his head and sighed, not knowing what to say: "This Erlang...... What a bold thing! ”

600,000!

Good guy, Li Jing thinks that his strength is big enough, but compared with Fang Erlang, it is simply incomparable.

I am afraid that this amount will have to be impeached a hundred times by the imperial historians, and it will not stop.

If it was a tyrannical emperor like Emperor Yang of Sui, it might not be impossible to pull it out and cut it directly......

At this time, a group of businessmen passed by, and when they heard the words of Fang Xuanling and Li Jing, one of them stood still, glared at Fang Xuanling and said: "This old man is so confused, Fang Erlang built the lighthouse to benefit the common people, after the lighthouse is built, I don't know how many fishermen and merchant ships can be blessed!" How did such a good deed come to your mouth and become wanton nonsense? Besides, whether it is 600,000 guan or 6 million guan, it is also Fang Erlang's own money, whether to spend it or not, what does it have to do with you? ”

A person beside him glanced at Wang Xuance, who was dressed in an official robe, and saw that his official position was not high, so he didn't care much, and echoed and said: "Fang Erlang has a kind heart, and he can't bear to see countless fishing boats and merchant ships entering the mouth of the Yangtze River every year because they lost their channels and capsized because they lost their channels, so he funded the construction of this lighthouse, and even rejected our proposal to donate money in order to prevent possible troubles. Such good deeds are enough to make countless fishermen and maritime merchants set up shrines and offer incense to them, how did they get such a comment as 'not worthy of the son of man'? ”

Wang Xuance on the side pretended to be stupid and kept silent, allowing these two businessmen to anger Fang Xuanling, without any intention of coming forward to stop it, and obviously disagreed with Fang Xuanling's words of reprimanding Fang Jun.

Fang Xuanling couldn't cry or laugh.

Unexpectedly, because he scolded his son angrily, he was taught a lesson by passers-by who "saw uneven roads......

But who is he? The prime minister can hold the boat in his belly, but he won't be angry about it, and he will have a good livelihood with these businessmen, and see if I, the old man, can scold my son for being "not a son of man".

He was more concerned about ...... These 600,000 yuan are actually paid by the bastard out of his own pocket?

Seeing that the businessmen were uneven, they taught Fang Xuanling and Li Jing a lesson, probably because they had important things to do, and left in a hurry, leaving Fang Xuanling and Li Jing looking at each other with a bitter smile and shaking their heads.

However, the two of them had the same doubt in their hearts: What is this lighthouse worth 600,000 yuan?