The first day of Yangzhou City in the third year of Shaoxi is no colder than the atmosphere of Lin'an and other cities south of the Yangtze River, and even because of the opening of Yangzhou now, the atmosphere of its first day is more lively and prosperous than that of Lin'an and other places.

Especially with the improvement of some other facilities after the expansion of Yangzhou City, Yangzhou, which is now larger than Lin'an City, is already a large city with internal and external stability, especially with the successive retreat of the Jin people to the north in recent years, after less worry about being invaded by the war, whether it is officials at all levels in Yangzhou, or the people, businessmen, literati, etc., who are all admiring today's Yangzhou.

Rows of shops, white-walled and gray-tiled houses, pavilions and gardens full of Jiangnan style, small bridges and flowing water, and the beautiful scenery of the moonlit night of the 24th Bridge, including various temples, are now showing a thriving atmosphere.

The continuous expansion of the Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce, the continuous influx of merchant ships, the continuation of trade with Jin and Xia to the north, and the reduction of taxes on Huainan Road in Shaoxi for three years have made Yangzhou and the entire Huainan Road begin to become as desirable as Suzhou and Hangzhou, thus making Yangzhou, which was about to become an empty city, is now overcrowded in the inner and outer cities and no longer seems empty.

Not long after the Shangyuan Festival, the people of Yangzhou have gradually begun to get back on the right track of busyness, even the state government offices, and now they are also in the Yuan Day after the adjustment, into a new year.

After the weather became warmer, she became more and more fond of climbing the pavilion to look at the entire Yangzhou City, or going to the Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce from time to time, looking at the increasingly busy carriages, etc., her heart was also full of a sense of accomplishment.

In just a few years, the continuous development and expansion of the Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce, although it has encountered a lot of resistance in water trade, Yan Chengcheng has always firmly believed that such resistance will soon be passed by the Chamber of Commerce, especially with Jia Wei, the vice president, personally went to Lin'an, and then began to focus on Fujian Road, everything looks like a turnaround.

Yan Qingzhi didn't wait for the end of the first day, so he hurried to Lin'an, the old house of the Yan family was still there, Jia Wei was also waiting for Yan Qingzhi, naturally, and his brother-in-law Qian Zhen, who had been discordant with him all these years.

"Can the three of them do it?" Even if Yan Tingcheng was very optimistic in his heart, after all, he was going to fight with the Fujian Chamber of Commerce with Shi Miyuan as the mastermind behind the scenes, and Yan Tingcheng was still faintly worried.

"There should be no problem, in addition to the importance of the City Shipping Division and the Transshipment Division on Fujian Road, there are naturally some other factors, it is completely impossible for Shi Miyuan to cover the sky with one hand, as long as the three of them don't make any big mistakes, and the banner of the rich family is no less than the royal family behind them, there is a year or two, and they should be able to sit on an equal footing." You are still the most proficient in business, if there is anything, you can remind them in Yangzhou, so as not to be calculated by Shi Miyuan again. Ye Qing hugged and sat on his lap, and today he was still wearing a festive red dress The baby daughter said.

After the first day, Ye Xiaofeng is already two years old, but the little guy still likes this father she rarely sees, since the first day to the present, and even sometimes when he sleeps at night, the little guy will shout and stretch out his little hand and point to the room where Ye Qing is.

The little guy's behavior of "eating inside and out" made Liu Qingyan, who was the biological mother, feel cold and cold in her heart, and from time to time she would pinch Ye Xiaofeng's little face, shouting a little white-eyed wolf, and the daughter of the Ye family, in the face of her mother's dissatisfaction, was like her father, she would only giggle heartlessly, and then continue to enjoy the innocence carefree.

"When are you going to leave?" This time I'm going to ...... again How long? As soon as Yan Qingcheng thought that Ye Qing was going north soon, his heart immediately became heavy, for so many years, their husband and wife have always been together less and more apart, whether it is her Yan Qingcheng, or Bai Chun and Zhong Qing are all gathering less and leaving more with Ye Qing, so it also makes Yan Qingcheng's heart, every time he separates from Ye Qing, he can always rise a sense of melancholy and emotion, and he is very looking forward to the day when their family can get together and never be separated again.

"I don't know yet, I have to look at the situation when I get to Jinan Mansion before I can make the next judgment." Ye Qing looked at Yan Qingcheng with a melancholy expression, and smiled: "Give me some more time, and in a few years, I can give you a stable home." ”

"It's said every time." Yan Qingcheng pouted, but pinched the innocent Ye Xiaofeng's little face in Ye Qing's arms, and after the little guy kept protesting, he continued to tease the little guy in Ye Qing's arms, and said: "I originally thought that after arriving in Yangzhou and buying this mansion, we can all get together happily, live here for a long time, and never be separate......d." ”

"Don't worry, this time I promise that there will be no more things like Guan Shan." Ye Qing began to interrupt Yan Qingcheng's words with some headaches, just like when Lin'an and Zhong Qing were separated, Zhong Qing was also babbling in his ear about some short things in the family, but in the end, he would still go back to worrying about him.

"In a few years, we will all be old and yellow, even if we can finally be reunited at that time, but in the eyes of your Lord Ye, there will already be no more of us yellow-faced women, I'm afraid that when the time comes, you will be even more reluctant to go home to face us." complained so much, but with a smile on his face, he teased Ye Xiaofeng in Ye Qing's arms and said, "Feng girl, did you say what your aunt said right?" Is your dad a flowery man who sees things differently? ”

Ye Xiaofeng was tickled by Yan Qingcheng while laughing and laughing, and Ye Qing just looked at the two women, one big and one small, silently, and counted him in front of him.

A few days later, Ye Qing embarked on the journey to the north again, and this time, Ye Qing's journey can be described as extremely slow, and Shen Mu, the former Haizhou Zhizhou, who had been waiting for him in Sizhou early, had been waiting for him in Sizhou for a long time, so Ye Qing's trip to Jinan Mansion to the north, starting from Sizhou, was only able to walk thirty or fifty miles a day.

And after entering Shandong East Road, one of the four roads in Beidi, Ye Qing's itinerary became completely described as turtle speed, the exploration of large and small rivers, etc., so that after the envoys of the Jin people had arrived at Jinan Mansion, Ye Qing was still wandering nearly two hundred miles away from Jinan Mansion.

In April of the third year of Shaoxi, Ye Qing passed through the official road where he fought when he first went north, and then before entering Qufu, he stepped into the fields full of farmers before the end of spring ploughing.

The sun is mild, everything is silent, and the vast field is full of farmers who bend over and bend their backs to plow, and from time to time someone will look up and look at Ye Qing and others standing in the field, and then after curiosity, they will continue to cultivate the field under their feet.

And just when Ye Qing took Jia She, Zhong Silkworm, and Shen Mu, who accompanied him all the way, to enjoy this harmonious scenery together, I saw that between the ridges of the fields, two figures were approaching them with one foot deep and one foot shallow.

"Who is that?" Jia Shegang was about to send someone to stop and inquire, but was stopped by Ye Qing.

"The happiest runner in front should be Xiao Zhen, it is said that when building Jinan City, he accidentally fell off the city wall and lame." Ye Qing put his hand on the pergola, looked at the two figures from far and near, and said: "This guy is really dark and thin now, and he doesn't rest honestly when his legs and feet are inconvenient, what are you doing in this field, farming?" ”

Just when Zhong Silkworm responded with a smile, Xiao Zhen, who was already approaching in the distance, and a teenager behind him had already saluted Ye Qing with a smile: "I didn't expect to meet Lord Ye here, and I thought that I could only meet Lord Ye when I got Jinan Mansion." ”

"How's the legs and feet?" Ye Qing asked bluntly.

And Xiao Zhen was also unconcerned, raised her left leg and laughed at herself: "It's okay, it can still be used, but now the unevenness of the ground always makes my shoulders sink when I walk." ”

"Yes, I think it's uneven." Ye Qing smiled and patted Xiao Zhen's shoulder, then glanced at the young man who was following Xiao Zhen, and then pulled Xiao Zhen to sit down on the ridge.

"You are not in Jinan Mansion, but what are you doing in Qufu? Meet the saint Confucius? Ye Qing looked up at the gentle sunlight above his head, squinted his eyes and asked Xiao Zhendao.

And Xiao Zhen first looked at the young man who had been following him without saying a word, and then said: "Adults may not know, Mr. Zhu Xizhu, who has a good reputation in the Great Song Dynasty, is now in the Confucius Temple in Qufu, and as for me, I just came here." Today's Confucian Temple has gathered many literati from the north and south to worship the Confucian saint here. ”

"The Confucian Temple was renovated and expanded, so you also joined in?" Ye Qing thought about it for a while, and then understood why Xiao Zhen appeared here.

When the Jin people went south, they initially destroyed the Confucian Temple, and later after Wanyan Yong inherited the throne, in order to continue the Song system and appease the Song remnants, the Confucian Temple was restored and sacrificed, which also made a period of time, the northern land under Wanyan Yong's rule began to gradually favor the Jin people in the hearts of the people.

This is also the reason why, after Ye Qing recaptured the four roads in the north, the people in the north and south have always been hostile to each other, although the contempt of the reformers is also one of the reasons, but for the people of the north, in addition to disgusting the people of the south to give them this contemptuous title, it is a series of actions carried out by the Jin people in the north to appease the people, so that the vast majority of the people in the north have begun to regard themselves as the Jin people.

"Yes, Zhu Xi went to Jinan Mansion before the first day, and later found me after being introduced by Yang Hui. Xiao Zhen is not like others, after seeing Ye Qing now, she will be cautious, but she is still as relaxed and calm in front of Ye Qing as she was at the beginning.

"So you've hit me again, and you already knew I'd be going to pass by?" Ye Qing had a bad premonition faintly in his heart, afraid that he would be stopped by Xiao Zhen here, and he was afraid that he was going to break a lot of money.

"Lord Ye is really smart, I haven't said it yet, ......." Xiao Zhen was stunned for a moment, obviously not expecting that her intention would be seen through by Ye Qing at once, so she instantly became a little embarrassed and said, "When Lord Ye said this, I didn't know how to speak." ”

"You don't come." Ye Qing hurriedly began to refuse, and said, "You are waiting for me here, obviously you have already encountered a nail in Xin Qiji's place before, so you deliberately pretended to meet me here, right?" ”

"Your Excellency......." Xiao Zhen smiled and paused, and then continued: "This matter is also extraordinary, you also said at the beginning, the Emperor of the Jin Kingdom finished Yan Yong, and repaired the Confucian Temple back then, which attracted a large number of people's hearts, and now that we have recaptured the Northland, if we copy Yan Yong's practice, wouldn't it also be able to make the people's hearts turn to my Great Song Dynasty?" This is a very beneficial thing for the adults and the court. ”

"In this case, I'm afraid you also told Xin Qiji, right? So why didn't he agree? Don't forget, Xin Qiji is a real Jinanfu origin, and this is still his hometown, so it stands to reason that he should be very attentive. Ye Qing pinched the loess block in his hand and asked with a smile.

"No money." Xiao Zhen spread her hands and said with a helpless expression: "As long as I go to Xin Qiji, no matter what I say, he will tell me with a cold stinky face that he has no money." He said that he had spent all the money on repairing the river embankment, sorting out the siltation, and relocating the victims over the years, so he could not do anything. ”

"Can't you wait another two years?" Ye Qing was also very embarrassed in his heart, at this time, repairing the Confucian Temple, especially after the northern land was recaptured, Zhu Xi and others had enough reasons to handle this matter, so it was equivalent to putting him Ye Qing on the fire and roasting it, and he was in a dilemma.

Let the not rich spend their own money, or let the Jinan Mansion, which is also not rich, spend money, that is, it is as difficult to give up as cutting meat, and we must also worry that if the Yellow River this year really floods again, then Jinan Mansion will have no money and food to help the victims.

However, if the Confucian Temple is not repaired at any cost, the construction of Jinan Mansion in the past two years will inevitably be condemned by the population for the loss of money and labor, and the literati from the north and south headed by Zhu Xi and others will inevitably spit and scold themselves, and they may also fall into a situation where even the people are indignant.

"I'm afraid I can't wait, since the first day, the people from the north and south have been flocking to Qufu, even in the past two days, there are still scholars from the south and north rushing to Qufu, such a grand event, my lord, I'm afraid it won't work without a little silver." If they refuse their request for repairs, the hearts of the people of the Northland will ...... It will be said that now under the rule of the Song Dynasty, it is not as good as respecting the saint under the rule of the Jin State. Xiao Zhen also said with an embarrassed face.

It is not so much that he took the initiative to take over the errand of repairing Qufu, but that he has long seen through the reason, once he refuses Zhu Xi's invitation, then it is tantamount to putting himself under the criticism of the literati, and he will become a sinner if he is not careful.

"No wonder when I returned to Lin'an, Lin'an disappeared from Zhu Xi, who would have thought that he would ...... I actually ran here! Ye Qing sighed, he thought that Zhu Xi didn't want to meet him because he returned to Lin'an, so he didn't know where to go, but he didn't expect to go south, but went north: "How many literati have gathered in Qufu now?" ”

"No less than a thousand." Xiao Zhen replied.

"So if I want to go to Jinan Mansion, I will either take a detour, or I will have to pay a lot of repair costs first? So who is he? Ye Qing finally asked the silent young man beside Xiao Zhen.

"It's called Zhu Shijie, a native of Yanjing." Xiao Zhen said.

"...... with Zhu Xi." Ye Qing frowned.

"It has nothing to do with it, but Zhu Xi thinks that they have the same surname Zhu, and they should be a family." Xiao Zhen continued to answer.

Ye Qing looked at the young man who was still a little young, then sighed and asked Zhu Shijie: "With the current situation of disasters in the northland, do you think we should repair the Confucian Temple first?" Which comes first, the food and clothing of the people or the face of the saints, and which one should come last? ”

"If you go back to the adults, the small ones think they are equally important." Zhu Shijie was a little nervous, and only replied a little awkwardly after saluting.

"That's a good answer." Ye Qing gave a thumbs up to Zhu Shijie, naturally, everyone could hear the irony in his words, even Zhu Shijie's face suddenly turned extremely red.