"Who is this......?"

When Chen Xie came in, Jian Shouzhi didn't have time to introduce him, so he hurriedly stepped forward and said, "This is my brother-in-law." ”

"Wang Xingping." The boy arched his hand.

"Oh?" Chen Xie's eyes lit up when he heard this, "But Wang Xingping, who helped the lamas destroy hundreds of thieves by the Chishui River?" ”

As soon as he returned to Chongqing, Chen Xie listened to a lot of local 'news' for more than half a year, including various jokes about this Wang Xingping.

Wang Xingping smiled helplessly, and said in his heart what this has become.

Jian Shouzhi smiled and said: "Xiaoping, you have a good reputation." ”

Wang Xingping disagreed, "It's just a random legend in the market, it can't be true." ”

Chen Xie became interested when he heard this, and arched his hand: "It turns out that it is really you, and you haven't asked for the words of the virtuous brother yet." ”

"The little brother is natural."

Chen Xie only looked at it carefully at this time, "It's really a talent, but I don't want to be Brother Jian's brother-in-law." ”

"Rouzhi, how did you forget that Mrs. Jian's maiden family is surnamed Wang." Someone else reminded me.

"How long has it been since Brother Jian got married, how can I remember it?"

After Chen Xie finished speaking, he explained to Wang Xingping as if to prove that everyone's memory would not be too good, "The name of the ancestor of the clan is real merit, not merit. ”

The answer made Wang Xingping feel a little embarrassed, but the vague memory became a little clearer, and he was generally not mistaken.

Now the medical book that Chen Xie brought back is indeed one of the ancient Chinese surgical works that has been mentioned in the textbook before, but Wang Xingping remembered the author's name backwards, but then again, if no one pronounced the title of the book, he really couldn't remember the name, but he didn't expect that "Surgery Authentic" was actually a book written this year.

Although from the perspective of modern medicine, "Surgical Authenticity" is not a very clever medical book, even the "Compendium of Materia Medica" contains a lot of superstitious dross. However, in this life, it is very rare for someone to be able to write a book in the field of surgery and publish it.

Because an unexpected topic provoked the conversation, Wang Xingping and Chen Xie also became acquainted, and the others didn't say a few words before pulling the topic back to this weather.

Shen Qingren, who is in the tea business at home, said: "It's strange to say, the weather has become more and more weird in recent years, and even my family's tea business is not good." ”

Yan Shijun smiled when he heard this: "Yes, I heard a few years ago that Ling Zun also took boiling water and poured it on the head of the tea saint, but I don't know if it's useful." ”

Tea merchants often have to worship a porcelain statue of the tea saint Lu Yu, when the business is good, they will make a bowl of good tea to worship, if the business is not good, they will water the idol with boiling water, thinking that the meaning of "evil gods" is actually a means of coercion and extortion of the immortals, and it is also the origin of the tea pet in later generations. Wang Xingping had heard that peasants prayed for rain and beat the dragon king with wattle sticks, and it sounded a little interesting to cover the superstitions in traditional Chinese culture as if they were doing business with the gods.

Chen Xie also said: "Not only in Sichuan, but when I went back to Nanjing, I passed through Jiangxi and there was a great drought, and when I came back, Jiangxi encountered a big flood, and it was really difficult to walk all the way against the current. ”

"It seems that it will be difficult to eat Jiangxi tangerines after autumn this year, but it's a pity."

The taste of Jiangxi tangerines is the best in the world, and the production of Nanfeng County, Jianchang Prefecture is a tribute, and it is sent to Beijing Da Nei by the Nanzhili Procurement Office every year, which is well-known. But if the farmers suffer so much, the price of the tangerines will rise to the sky in September and October.

"I heard that Guangxi is also in a big drought this year, and the thieves in Guangxi must be going to plague other provinces again after autumn."

"Of course, natural disasters are a disaster, but there are also man-made disasters, and the price of Liao ginseng on the market in Nanjing has more than doubled this year."

"How did it go up so much?"

Wang Xingping, who was on the side, heard this, but said: "Is it because the situation in Liaodong is unstable?" ”

"Oh? Tiancheng do you know? After meeting, Wang Xingping gave him a good impression for the second time, and at first he actually knew the name of his uncle who was far away in Jiangnan, and now he also told him about the situation in Liaodong. Chen Xie can be regarded as going south and north a few times, and he is not like a pedant who reads dead books, although the rumors about Wang Xingping will compliment a few words, they are not taken seriously. However, the topic he introduced had just begun, and the young man broke it, and Chen Xie was surprised and became interested again.

"It's a copy of what it seems." Wang Xingping understated that thanks to the historical knowledge of later generations, he was able to outline the situation in the Northeast from a simple copy of the palace.

And at this moment, the Heavenly Mandate Khan Nurhachi of Houjin is leading his main force to attack the Jurchen tribes in the East China Sea to conquer the city, and the direction of the army has already crossed the Tatar Strait and stepped on the land of Sakhalin, and the only words about Liaodong have been searched from the chaotic information from all over the country has shown that it is only a matter of time before the biggest threat to the Ming Dynasty is openly opened, Chongqing is far away and fine, but the businessman's sense of smell has always been keen, since the price of local specialties has risen, will this situation be good?

Without waiting for Chen Xie to continue asking, Wang Xingping asked, "Then I don't know if Brother Chen has entered Liaoshen?" ”

"How can you not enter, the family still points to this ginseng to do the business of rich families, not to mention that Liao ginseng is not easy to fake."

"Fake?"

"Yes, camelina [Note: a kind of sand ginseng, at this time is often pretended to be ginseng by profiteers] and ginseng foolish brothers can still tell the difference."

"As long as it's true, Xingping congratulates Senior Brother Rou first."

Wang Xingping thought about the situation in Liaodong, the price of this Liao ginseng would only get higher and higher, but Chen Xie didn't know what to do.

However, Hou Juguang on the side came to his senses and joked to Wang Xingping: "Speaking of this fraud, it is the most in the medicine industry, Tiancheng must not know, it is better to let Brother Rou talk about it." ”

Wang Xingping said: "Actually, I've heard some of the fakes of this medicinal material. ”

He secretly said in his heart that compared with the various means of playing flowers in later generations, this trick of the Ming profiteers is really a fart.

Everyone was overjoyed when they heard this, "Tiancheng said to listen to it?" ”

So Wang Xingping talked about the jokes he had heard from everywhere in the market these days about those crude medicine shops with the brand of 'Nanbei Dao Dichuan Guangsheng Cooked Medicinal Materials', what is the stinky yellow washed with sour vinegar pretending to be realgar, and the mountain root boiled with black vinegar pretending to be Morinda officinalis...... It seems that this Ming counterfeit drug dealer seems to be in eye contact with vinegar.

Listening to what Wang Xingping said, Chen Xie increasingly respected the young man's erudition, and said: "Tiancheng is still talking about dead things, and I heard that living things are also fake on the way back from Nanjing." ”

Originally, there were scorpion-catching pharmacists, who put the captured scorpions into cans and exposed them to the sun, and then fed the green mud and scorpions, and roasted them to death with fierce fire when the scorpions were full of wet mud, in order to increase the amount, but in this way, there was less medicinal properties, fortunately, it was easy to distinguish, but all the red scorpions were mostly made by this method.

Just like every time he talked with Jian Shouzhi's friends, although Chen Xie met Wang Xingping for the first time, he was also impressed by his academic demeanor.

Wang Zhilin has always been very interested in this little brother of his own family, so he asked: "Tiancheng loves to read Di Copy, I don't know if there are any interesting stories these days?" ”

"There are no anecdotes, but last night I saw that the latest copy of the mansion had Rao Fujun asking for new money."

"Rao Jinghui has arrived?" Yan Shijun asked.

This time it was Yang Xu who spoke, "It's been a few days since I arrived, but I haven't heard of this violation." ”

"I just saw it, too."

"What did you say?"

"What else can it be, I guess it's still a cliché, but it's difficult to mint money in Sichuan." Li Xingyao didn't know whether to help or ridicule.

Wang Xingping said with a smile: "Actually, this matter is difficult to say, but if you explain it thoroughly, it is actually easy." ”

When everyone heard this, they were stunned at first, and then asked together: "What is Tiancheng's high opinion?" ”

The performance of these days, Wang Xingping will not let these juniors despise any point of view.

"It's not a high opinion, but it's just a reason."

Lin Pei, who had not spoken, said in his heart that this Wang Xingping heard that he was not a disciple of Yangming Academy, how could he be a protégé of Xinxue also talked about Cheng Zhu's things, but after listening carefully, he realized that he was thinking badly.

"There is a shortage of money in Sichuan, in fact, all parts of the country are average, Senior Brother Rouzhi has traveled in Nanzhi for half a year, and it must be the same there."

This is true, today's bulk trade in goods, nine out of ten cases are silver transactions, the rest are also in kind, copper coins are extremely rare except for small retail sales, and they are still in the city, let alone in the countryside.

got Chen Xie's affirmative response, Wang Xingping continued.

"Since the Song Dynasty, China has never been short of money, the Song Dynasty was fine, all dynasties were minting money, but this dynasty minted very little."

"Why?"

After a pause, Wang Xingping answered by himself, which is not a secret.

"The wealthy families of the Song Dynasty had the practice of burying copper coins in their tombs, and since then there have been fewer and fewer copper coins in the world."

"After arriving in Jiajing, the sea trade gradually flourished, and copper coins flowed overseas."

"Korea, Ryukyu and Japan in the East China Sea, the copper coins of the national dynasty are all a case of passage, I heard that there is a right minister in Japan is to print the pattern of Yongle Tongbao directly on the banner of the army, in order to Zhang Yan."

Oda Nobunaga's name must be known to a few people here, and at this time, the custom should be called Ping Nobunaga, Wang Xingping deliberately commensurate with the official position is also easy for everyone to understand, of course, in Japan will Yongle Tong Bao painted on the military flag is not only Oda Nobunaga, but Nobunaga is the most famous, so Wang Xingping said things.

"There are also Nanyang princely states, with Annam, Siam, Java and other countries love Ming money the most, and some people privately melt old money to cast utensils and sell them in foreign countries, because the price of money is not as good as the price of copper."

This is also a fact, at this time, such as Yongle and other money of the value of copper is much higher than the price of the money itself, so the copper coin smelted after the recasting of the goods sold has become an open secret, especially the private smelting furnace households are involved, although there are severe punishments, many people still do it.

"But have you ever thought about it, the Ming Dynasty used neither copper coins nor silver."

Finally someone remembered, "Tiancheng is talking about treasure money?" ”

"Indeed, have you ever wondered how a mere piece of mulberry paper is worth a full amount of money?"

Someone immediately retorted, "But since Taizu, the government has issued excessively, and this treasure money is not as valuable as it is every day." ”

"It's true, but that day, when I talked to Mr. Yanggu [note: Ye Lianfang's number] about the affairs in Beijing, I heard him mention some customs in Yunnan."

Chen Kun said: "Mr. Yanggu? But the former Ba County Commander? ”

Jian Shouzhi said: "It is Ye Gong, the rumors that Rouzhi heard in the market were actually made by Ye Gong's son-in-law, his son-in-law Xu Chengming is the commander of Chishui Wei, this time he came to Chongqing to welcome Ye Gong back to his hometown to take care of the industry, and met Xiaoping on the passenger ship, but he met a thief to rob the tribute envoy. ”

"It's a coincidence to say that, but I think there must be a lot of credit for Tiancheng's insight in the middle."

Wang Xingping said modestly: "The little brother is just a fluke, and fortunately, with the help of Xu Gong and the family, the little brother can live this life." ”

Lin Peihou suddenly remembered again, "Mr. Yanggu was in the Yunnan Division of the Criminal Department before he became a servant, right?" ”

He is a thoughtful person, and he always remembers the local officials who are involved.

"It is indeed in the Yunnan Qing Officials Division of the Criminal Department, and it was said earlier that it was going to be Zhishi last year, but it was retained for another year because of the investigation, which is really hard."

Lin Peihou smiled when he heard this: "Tiancheng may not know that Yunnan Sike is very idle, and most of them were transferred because of the need to be Zhishi." ”

"Why did Senior Brother Zaide say that?"

Wang Xingping called Lin Peihou's words and asked.

"Of course, Yunnan is a remote place, and officials only need to inspect and do not need to perform Hajj, so although it is also troublesome, as long as the local examination language and unveiling the post can be decided, but there are a lot of obstacles, and the officials are also light."

"Huh? And this kind of rule? But Wang Xingping thinks about it, Yunnan is far away, it is estimated that it will take a year to go back and forth to the capital, and the kung fu is delayed on the road, so don't think about what to govern the place, I just don't know if Guizhou has the same rules, and I should ask the uncle when I go back.

Wang Zhilin urged beside him, "Brother Zaide is going to interrupt, what did Tiancheng want to say just now?" ”

Wang Xingping was stunned when he heard this, and said: "Actually, it's about the use of shellfish coins in Yunnan. ”

If we talk about the money system, among the southwestern provinces, Sichuan mostly uses fennel silver, Guizhou uses fennel silver and salt cloth, and Duyunnan uses shells as the trading currency, which has never been easier since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. However, Yunnan already produces copper, and the political secretary has also tried to mint currency in the province several times, and Wang Xingping said this, and some people remember that the question of "policy theory" in the Yunnan Township Examination 20 years ago was talking about the use of money and coinage, but in the end it still ended in failure.

"Yunnan produces copper, but the people use shellfish, do you know why?"

Seeing that everyone was speechless, Wang Xingping said: "Xingping thought it was still a letter." ”

"'The people can't stand without trust'......"

Everyone was thinking about this, but they saw Wang Xiaoliu coming in from outside and handing over a paper envelope.

"Young master, there's a letter from home."