Lu Qi Beppu, which Lu Qian said, is located in an inconspicuous alley in the inner city of Changshoufang. The alley is very short, only forty or fifty steps from north to south, and there are not many houses on either side of the half-wide street, so naturally there are no signs for buying and selling business. This green Qi Beppu is not like the green tile tile shop like the Song House Tile Restaurant, the green tile wall is downside down and the building is high-lit, only a small door face with a brick hat and tile eaves and a small door covered. If it weren't for Lu Qian leading the way, and the plaque on the door was inscribed with four upright Yan script "Luqi Beppu", Jiang Jian would never have thought that there was a song shop hidden in such a place.

Jiang Kuan's carriage and horses had just stopped in front of the gate of Midori Beppu, and a person immediately came out of the door, smiling and saying apologies: "The guest is here." Please also ask the guests to forgive, today we have a few distinguished guests here, and we have already chartered the entire Beppu......" In a blink of an eye, I saw Lu Qian coming out of the carriage, and immediately put on a sincere smile that made him feel at home, and bowed down to make a salute. "Ah, it turned out to be Lord Lu......"

Lu Qian interrupted the porter's words and asked, "Has the old gentleman left?" ”

"The old gentleman is still there. Just now, he also sent a message to teach you to hurry over when you come! ”

Only then did Lu Qian ease the nervous expression that had been tense all the way, and let out a long sigh of relief. He got out of the carriage and beckoned Jiang Jun and said, "Brother Zhenyun, please!" He said to Xun An, "Mr. Xun also please." One by one, look at me stupidly, I actually neglected Mr., and I didn't ask Mr. Xun for most of the day. As he spoke, he apologized again and again.

Xun An suddenly turned red for a while, and he couldn't speak. He is an ordinary person, where will he have any aliases?

Lu Qian didn't expect that the guest secretary of Ying Bo Mansion would not have an alias, and he was also a little embarrassed. Fortunately, Jiang Jian was next to him, and he took over and said, "Mr. Xun has no other words." However, don't underestimate Mr. Xun. Although he was born in the market, he is able to understand the world and people, and he has a wonderful mind and belly, which is beyond my comparison. Otherwise, how could Mr. Xun teach him to treat him as a mentor? ”

Lu Qian didn't believe these words at all. But he didn't doubt Xun An's identity as a guest secretary of Ying County's Uncle's Mansion, although he was very surprised why Ying County's Uncle would find such a guest, but he said kind words such as "No wonder I'm shallow" in his mouth, so he led two people into Beppu.

Midoriki Beppu seems to be divided into two courtyards, north and south. There was not a single silent figure in the south courtyard, but there was a faint sound of the sound of the zither and the sheng in the north courtyard. There were still two men in entourage at the gate of the courtyard, and when they saw that Lu Qian was leading people over, they didn't speak, but just looked Jiang Xun and the two up and down and bowed slightly.

After entering the courtyard, Lu Qian didn't take Jiang Jian and Xun An to the upper room, walked around the corridor and walked through the door of the cave for a month, and passed through a quiet path between the shadows of the bamboo, which was another courtyard. When I arrived here, the sound of the sheng fence, which was originally faintly fluttering, gradually became clear, and I only heard the soft female voice singing coquettishly:

“…… Seven days of eternal life, when no one whispers in the middle of the night.

In heaven I wish to be a winged bird, and on earth I wish to be a branch.

There will be a time when this hatred will last forever......"

At the end of the poem, the poem is sung again and again, as if he is pouring out tactfully, and as if he is whispering, until the music stops and the singing fades away, but there is still a lingering cry in his ears...... It is the Tang Dynasty Bai Juyi's "Song of Long Hatred".

Jiang Jian is not good at singing and coloring, and it is rare to enter the song house and tile shop, but after listening to the singing voice of the woman in this courtyard, he can't help but praise in his heart: "Swan song!" ”

There seemed to be someone in the hall talking, but the voice was not loud, and Jiang Yan couldn't hear what the person said to praise him, and the only thing he heard was just a very ordinary and bland sentence of "not bad". He couldn't help but think that Lu Qian's teacher's frame was really not small......

Lu Qian really respected his teacher unusually, so he stopped when he walked to the window, and waited for the people in the hall to notice it and asked aloud, "Is it Deyuan?" Then he lowered his head and bowed his hand and whispered solemnly: "Teacher, I invited Mr. Jiang here." ”

"Come in."

Seeing Lu Qian's cautious and cautious appearance, Jiang Jian and Xun An naturally would not be presumptuous. But Lu Qian's teacher was too arrogant, and when the two of them walked into the hall, he didn't even mean to get up to greet him, he sat down behind the case, pointed to the empty seats at both ends of the case, and said, "Mr. Jiang, please take a seat." Deyuan also sat ......" Speaking of this, his words paused suddenly. It was only then that he noticed more than two people coming in.

"This is Mr. Xun. Mr. Xun is the first guest of the Ying County uncle's family. ”

“…… Oh? "It is Lu Qian's teacher who has a deep cultivation and hard work, and it is difficult for him to be moved, but when he heard Xun An's identity, he couldn't help but be shocked. He glanced at Xun An up and down, not to mention his ordinary appearance, the key is that this Mr. Xun is hunched and his back is in the same direction, his eyes wander and his lips are hidden, at first glance, he is a submissive person who is used to looking at his appearance, looking at people's faces, moods, talking and doing things, how can he be looked down upon by Shang Yanshan? He was confused, but his face did not show it at all, nodded slightly, and said, "Since he is Ying Bo's guest, he is also a distinguished guest, so he should be invited to take a seat." As he spoke, he pointed to the right side of the case and asked Xun An to sit down. Then he pointed to the drum stool in front of the desk and said to Lu Qian, "Deyuan, you sit here." ”

He glanced back at Jiang Yan. Jiang Qian was originally black and thin, and he had just rushed back from outside the city, and he didn't even enter the house, and his face was dragged and pulled by Lu Qian without changing his clothes and clothes, and his face was covered with dust at this time, and he looked even more depressed. However, Jiang Qian had seen a lot of scenes, his demeanor was calm and calm, and he sat down with a salute and thanked Shi Shiran, while pouring tea from Mei Ji, who was sitting next to him, while looking at Lu Qian's teacher. The old man must have been around fifty years old, but he was so well maintained that he looked like a man in his forties, and the beard that was a finger's length under his chin was barely pale, and only by careful attention could he find that there were very fine crow's feet at the corners of his eyes. He picked up the lamp, thanked Lu Qian's teacher, and took a sip before saying, "In front of the old gentleman, I don't dare to be the title of 'sir'. The word that the gentleman called me is. Don't dare to ask, what is the old gentleman called? ”

"My surname is Chen," said the old gentleman, "but I haven't heard anyone mention my name for many years, and I have forgotten it a little." However, it has a nickname, called 'Lotus Palace'. ”

Jiang Jun recalled it, but he really couldn't remember the meaning of "Lotus Palace". He didn't know that the nickname of this "Lotus Palace" came from a sentence in the poem "Visiting the Temple" used by Li Xian of the Tang Dynasty, "If you have no home, you will get the Lotus Palace", which means "at ease". He couldn't recognize which person surnamed Chen would be Lu Qian's teacher, and he didn't know what the alias of "Lotus Palace" meant, so he couldn't say two words of praise, so he had to say without words: "It turned out to be Mr. Lotus Palace." Mr. is also surnamed Chen Yiyi, which is a national surname......"

The old gentleman didn't answer this and said, "Today, I have occasional leisure, and I happened to meet Deyuan in the market, so I took him out to listen to the music and relax." During the banquet, Deyuan said that Mr. Jiang ...... "Jiang Jian hurriedly said that he didn't dare to be the title of "sir", so the old gentleman was as good as a stream. “…… Deyuan and I gossip casually on any topic, and we talked about you in the meantime. Deyuan praised you a lot, and even more admired your 'economic question', so I asked him to invite you to sit down. Who knew that Deyuan was really capable, not only you, but also Mr. Xun An. Speaking of this, he smiled meaningfully, and said to Xun An as if he was serious and joking, "Mr. Xun is really talented, and even Deyuan only dares to call Mr. but not his name." The nickname of the gentleman is ......"

"Mr. Xun's knowledge is beyond my reach." Jiang Yan hurriedly took over.

The old gentleman smiled and said nothing, but he no longer entangled in Xun'an, and changed the topic according to Jiang Shu's words, saying: "Shicai Deyuan said, as early as the beginning of summer, Zhenyun pointed out that there is likely to be a depression in Gyeonggi with money, valuables, and cheap industries. I don't know, what kind of basis did you have at that time to come to such a reason? ”

When Jiang Jian heard this, he was immediately interested. He has been unsuccessful in Beijing for a long time, and in addition to Shang Cheng and Huo Shiqi, there is only Lu Qian, a confidant and friend. He was fed up with the rumors of ridicule in front of people on weekdays, where did he think that today there would be a person he had never met to ask for the most proud economic knowledge in his life, and the person who asked him for advice was still an old man who looked like he had an identity and a background, so he was naturally in a very comfortable mood. At that moment, he explained in detail to the old man what he had learned, heard, seen, and thought of various academic knowledge phenomena one by one.

The old gentleman didn't listen to him very seriously, while listening to him explain what "deflation" was, what was "inflation", what was "currency" and what was "market", while occasionally saying a few words to Mei Ji around him, and from time to time teaching Xun An and Lu Qian "don't be polite and do everything at your own convenience", but whenever Jiang Qian's interest was slightly disturbed, he would immediately ask one or two new questions, and these questions were exactly what Jiang Qian felt like. Jiang Tuan was scratched to the itch, where was he willing to let go of this "good student" with high understanding and profound knowledge, naturally he explained and narrated all the way, and he hated to instill everything he knew and learned into this old Mr. Chen Liangong, and in the future, there would be someone with whom he could talk about economics freely.

After more than half an hour had passed, Jiang finally made a detailed summary and explanation of the current situation in the Gyeonggi region and the possible development point, and finally came to the conclusion that he was 80% sure that this was the phenomenon of "deflation." Of course, he also mentioned that one of his division commanders did not agree with his conclusion, but believed that the current situation was only a temporary phenomenon, and that when the general environment changed, that is, when the imperial court announced the Eastern Japanese strategy or the prospect of the Eastern Japanese strategy became clear, this temporary depression would be immediately alleviated, and the previous prosperity would soon be restored.

Jiang Jun didn't say who his division commander was, and the old gentleman didn't ask him, but just asked him: "Then, under the premise that the external conditions are not announced by the imperial court or the prospects of the Eastern Japanese strategy are not clear, is there any way to alleviate the situation when the external conditions are unclear...... Alleviating deflation in the Gyeonggi region? The old gentleman said this with a frown, and sometimes paused to think about it. It seems that he is a little unaccustomed to these new terms.

"Yes!" Jiang Jun replied in the affirmative.

"Oh?" The old gentleman's eyes sparkled. He had been talking to Jiang Yan with a very casual look and tone, but at this time, there was a look of surprise on his face. He hurriedly asked, "Excuse me, what measures can resolve the current difficult situation?" ”

"Increasing the money supply, expanding social demand, and encouraging production and commercial ......activity," Jiang said six or seven things in one breath, explaining each of them in detail, and finally said, "all of which can alleviate deflation." ”

At this moment, the disappointed look on the old gentleman's face could not be concealed at all. He understood everything Jiang Shu said, but he couldn't help everything. The imperial court also wanted to mint more copper coins, but limited by the total amount of refined copper produced each year, there was only so much money that could be minted, and any more could only be mixed with more lead casting bad money, which actually did not increase the total amount of copper coins at all, but would cause a more serious "money shortage" phenomenon. Jiang said that expanding social demand can also solve the depression in the market, which is also a general statement. Everyone knows that buying and selling is a thriving business, but the question is, how can you do it? Jiang Jian didn't make it clear. Of course, it can't be said that Jiang Tuan didn't make his words clear, but that the methods Jiang Tuan said were simply impossible to implement. Lower taxes? Raise people's income? What else is there to encourage private investment? Except for the second one, don't even think about it! Even this seemingly feasible second rule has no room for use at all. Anyone will say that they are obedient, the key is how to do it! Obviously, Jiang Tuan didn't know exactly what to do, or Jiang Tuan was clear in his heart but didn't want to say it clearly...... There is also the encouragement of production and commerce. Encouraging production is what the imperial court has been doing, encouraging commerce...... Hehe, inside and outside the government and the opposition, only Jiang Tuan dares to say such a thing. This is a bold guy. From the Shang and Zhou dynasties to the present, which of the past dynasties has not implemented the national policy of "respecting the end of the town" of emphasizing agriculture and ignoring commerce?

Xun An, who had drunk a belly of tea soup and filled a belly of dim sum next to him, suddenly interjected at this time and said, "Actually, there is a way, maybe it can be done." ”

The old gentleman, Jiang Qian, and Lu Qian, who only brought his ears but not his mouth when he entered the house, all turned their eyes to him.

Xun An immediately realized that he was too talkative. Where is he able to interject on such occasions? He craned his neck and muttered, "I, I...... I lost my words. You talk, you talk about ......"

The old gentleman stared at him with blazing eyes, groaned slightly, and whispered to himself: "No wonder ......" and said, "Mr. Xun has any high opinions, but it doesn't hurt to talk about it!" Today, everyone is drinking tea and talking, but it is just ordinary gossip. What can't be said in such a place, and what can't be said? The speaker, the speaker...... Well, anything can be said. ”

Jiang Jian also encouraged Xun An: "What do you think?" Say it all, and everyone listens to it. ”

Xun An hesitated and said, "Mr. Jiang just said that encouraging business, I think it should not be difficult to do. That's right, I've been a tax collector in Plains Province for a while......"

Listening to his words, the faces of the old gentleman and Lu Qian showed a hint of "sure enough" on their faces at the same time. They said, well, this Mr. Xun An doesn't look like a scholar. I don't know how Shang Yanshan took a fancy to him, and invited him back to be the guest secretary of the merchant.

“…… When I was working as a tax collector in Pingyuan Prefecture, I often heard people say that the commercial tax in this dynasty was too heavy, and whether it was a merchant or a resident merchant, it was one out of ten, which made some people break off the idea of running a business. ”

The old gentleman said: "In fact, the national policy of this dynasty has always been to encourage agriculture and suppress business!" This cannot be changed. Food is the foundation of the country, and it is also related to the preservation of the country's capital, and it must not be taken lightly! What would it be like if everyone went to sell goods for a profit? ”

"I'm not saying that what the court said is wrong." Xun An hurriedly defended himself, "But it can't be as one-size-fits-all as it is now, right?" The commercial tax of this dynasty is divided into residential tax and passing tax. Needless to say, the residential tax is levied on local businesses that have shops to operate. In fact, it's not that he doesn't say it, but there are too many joints, hey...... "He naturally knows the joints in the tax, and he doesn't dare to say it, so he only mentions taxes." "Earlier, when Emperor Taizong was still Emperor Gaozong, this dynasty used to divide seven categories of goods such as grain, tea, cloth and medicinal materials into separate categories, and allowed exemption or reduction of commercial tax. But the adults in the court never thought that in fact, among the hundred merchants, there may not be one person who can do these large businesses. Who cares if they can do a large business and buy and sell? They all have backers, backgrounds, and backgrounds behind them. Actually, I think that the vast majority of merchants are those who make a small living in their local states and counties, and those who can go 300 miles away to do business are less than one stop out of ten. However, every time they pass a checkpoint and a tax office, they have to pay 10% of the value of the goods to do tax, is this a bit too much? ”

Xun An is a small servant, and it is no problem to gossip about some salty things, but when it comes to the big truth, it will immediately appear in its original form. He was talking about it from east to west, and the old gentleman's mind became a little confused when he heard it, and he didn't know what Xun An wanted to say for a while, so he simply asked, "What do you want to say?" ”

Xun An avoided his somewhat impatient gaze and said hesitantly, "...... I just want to say, well, maybe if the small traders and the big merchants are taxed separately, maybe it will ease the situation in the capital. ”

Nonsense! The old gentleman immediately commented on Xun An's words in his heart.

Lu Qian, who had never said a word, suddenly said: "Teacher, Mr. Xun's words may also have some truth. ”

"Huh?"

The student remembers that during the time of Gaozong, the imperial court once subdivided the residence tax and the passing tax, and divided the residence tax into three classes and the tax into seven classes according to the value of the goods and the distance of the distance. However, the implementation time was very short, only three or four years before and after, because of the huge material discussion, and finally had to be abolished. However, it seems that in the years of its implementation, the commercial tax did increase. Lu Qian said.

Lu Qian's words were vague and vague, Jiang Jian and Xun An didn't understand it very well, but the old gentleman understood it at once. The so-called "material discussion" is very large, that is, the opposition of the government and the opposition is very loud; As for why the government and the opposition oppose it, it is because the measures of the imperial court are unfavorable to some people, that is, what Xun An said, behind the big businessmen, there are often some people with identity, background and background who can influence the decision of the imperial court......

He glanced at Lu Qian deeply, nodded almost imperceptibly, stood up and said, "The hour is not early." I'll talk to you another day, when I have some time. After saying that, he didn't even say hello, and went on his own.

Jiang Jian and Xun An looked at each other, not knowing what this old gentleman meant. They had seen a man with a big shelf, but they had never seen such a reckless man today. But Lu Qian just stood up and lowered his hands to make a solemn gesture, and he didn't even take a single step, let alone say goodbye. Lu Qian not only didn't send him off, but also warned the two of them in a low voice: "As long as you stand, don't move!" Don't act rashly! ”

Although Jiang Xun and the others didn't know why, they saw that Lu Qian was extremely serious, so they followed him and gave him a solemn gift.

I don't know how long it took, but I don't know how many miles the old man's car had left Changshoufang, so Lu Qiancai said softly: "It's okay now." After speaking, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a long breath, as if he was overwhelmed.

"Who the hell is this old gentleman?" Jiang Jun asked.

Lu Qian didn't speak, but just led the two of them silently out of Luqi Beppu.

When saying goodbye at the gate of Beppu, Lu Qiancai said in a mosquito-like voice: "Today's events, the two of you can hide them in your hearts, don't take them out to spread and show off." One by one, this is the day of the day. ”

Jiang Jian was a little better, after all, he had long expected that the old gentleman had an extraordinary background. But after listening to Lu Qian's words, he was still so frightened that he couldn't close his mouth for a long time.

Xun An was even more unbearable, and with a "plop", he fell on the flat ground......