"Lord Shi, there is Guazhou in front of you."

The stone garden stands firmly on the bow of the boat, looking south, the river here is gentle, and the surface of the Guazhou River is covered with white mist. Suddenly, Shi Tingjian's pupils still shrank. A gray-black landscape city crouches on the north bank of the Yangtze River like a stone turtle, and the city is not big or conspicuous. The old Guazhou is the same as the Yangzhou capital city, the city was completely destroyed in the contention between the Song and Liao countries, the newly built Guazhou military city is far smaller than the old city, at the end of the Shazhou Peninsula deep into the river, it is connected with the water village wharf, and the warships of the sailors are moored outside the military city, now is not the time to practice, so it seems a little deserted.

"Over there is the camp of the South China Sea Sailors." Xiao Chuantou said respectfully, "Her Royal Highness the Eldest Princess of the Wu Kingdom also lives in the camp. "In order to raise money to build the city, the Hangzhou government sold all the official ships, and even Shi Tingjian went to Ezhou to participate in the Great Rites Meeting. Before leaving, the shipowner specially told the bow of the ship not to anger the young Xuezheng on the way.

Shi Ting stood firmly on the bow of the boat, with his big sleeves fluttering, looking at the low city in the river fog from afar, he secretly thought: "Guazhoudu is the throat of the north and south, known as the first male town in the north of the river. The imperial court used the South China Sea Navy Division to camp here, not only to prevent the Liao people from going south again, but also to block the throat of several state capitals. However, after the city of Guazhoudu was rebuilt, why did it become more dwarfed than before? "Zhao Xingde is good at building and defending the city. Therefore, although Wu Zilong and his family of Qingliu regarded him as a butcher. However, the reconstruction of Hangzhou City still refers to the construction method pointed out by Zhao for the reconstruction of Yangzhou City, and under Shi Tingjian's insistence, the Hangzhou city wall is thicker and wider. He was deeply humble in Ezhou City, making everyone ignore his existence, and when the chaos came, he would turn things around as soon as he made a move. The art of war has clouds, and those who are good at guarding are hidden under the nine lands. Is this also the way to defend the city? ”

On the other side of the sandbar is a lively town, and the imperial court has completely assigned Guazhou to the water division to govern. Here is the confluence of the north-south canal and the Yangtze River, the sandbar place is narrow again, the reconstruction is far easier than Yangzhou, now Shi Tingjian looks at it from afar, only to see the smoke and waves, the city is scaled, the Jin Jia is Khotan, the crown is full of people, the house is re-elected, the mast on the wharf is like a forest, the river boats are staggered, the fish go in and out, except that the city is no longer the one before, there are almost no traces of decay after the war. When outsiders arrived at Guazhou, they only knew that Shi Tingjian was a person who had been trained for a long time, so he naturally saw the extraordinary.

"The imperial court treats the South China Sea sailors very well, but this official who runs Guazhou is also a rare talent. It's a pity ....."

"Although Her Royal Highness the eldest princess lives in Guazhou, the person in charge of the military village is Mr. Zhao's protégé, and Liu Daguan ......"

Xiao Chuantou floated on the canal all the year round, he was a delicate man with eight faces, and when he saw Lord Xuezheng watching the sailor camp without saying a word, he didn't wait for him to ask, so he searched his intestines and scraped his stomach, and told the things he knew about the sailor camp and the princess of Wu. He specifically mentioned that the princess was generous and benevolent and loved the people, not only opened a porridge shed in Yangzhou all the year round, but also set up a museum and library in Yangzhou Wu Chu Garden, and with the encouragement of the eldest princess, the family of Yangzhou donated a lot of treasures and books in the garden for people to enjoy. This garden not only benefited the people in the vicinity, but also scholars from thousands of miles away. However, what is more lively in Yangzhou now is the buying and selling of stock bonds.

All people in the southeast know that maritime merchants are a lucrative business, but because sea ships are expensive and the risk of going to sea is high, this trade is not for everyone. Originally, if the merchants in Yangzhou did not have the strength to go to sea to do business, there were a few people, or even a dozen people, who bought ships, rented ships, and went to sea by boats, but this was very dangerous, and second, it was possible to do it with a lot of money. The South China Sea stock and securities have greatly reduced the risk and cost of businessmen and ordinary people to do maritime trading, and even small people can come in and fight. There are even businessmen who buy Nanhai stock bonds, and then split them into dozens or hundreds of small shares, with a face value of 50 and 100 yuan, and sell them to the common people. Yangzhou is an important town of Caoyun, and the people are fierce and gambling, and some people simply use the money that was originally thrown into the casino to buy stock coupons. The Xianglu nursery rhyme sings, "The most poor man, three or two Wen also have to gamble this money." ”

"Although the trading of stocks and securities is lively, the foundation is still a letter, and the letter hall is the foundation." Shi Tingjian said in a low voice, he thought thoughtfully, "This method of gathering sand into a tower is still Zhao Xingde's way in Hebei. However, no matter how good the means are, if there is no righteous name, it is just the likes of flying eagles and lackeys. Zhao Xingde determines the distinction between morality and describes the way of a gentleman, the disciple he values the most, Liu Wengu, who is in charge of Guazhou, does he understand this? In contemplation, Shi Tingjian's muttering was only audible to him, and Xiao Qi, who was standing next to him, only heard the first sentence.

"My lord is so knowledgeable, if it weren't for the strict rules of the official government, we really wouldn't have believed the paper ticket."

Xiao Chuan's bow said with a fluttering eyebrow. Shi Tingjian's heart moved slightly, and he asked, "Xiao Gangshou, could it be that you also bought stock bonds?" ”

"No, no." Xiao Qi rubbed his hands and smiled, "The villain is still saving money to see when he will buy another boat." ”

Shi Tingjian nodded slightly, Xiao Qi's experience he heard the owner say, originally he had three boats, taking the Jiangbei Bianhe River to Yangzhou Caoyun, after the Khitans entered the Kou, he fled to the south with his wife and children, the boat and family property were almost tossed, relying on the old relationship to other shipowners as the bow. Since the world has been in turmoil, there have been many people who have died in broken homes, and among those rich gentry and giants who have gone bankrupt overnight, there are very few Xiao Qi who have the spirit to come again, so Shi Tingjian glanced at him and handed him over. Otherwise, even if others bent to welcome him, Shi Tingjian might not pay attention to it, after all, at his status, there are too many people who want to flatter.

"However, my hard-working old sister did buy some coupons, these things are lightweight, and there is a record of the Zhengxin Hall, and they are not as attractive as gold and silver money." Xiao Qi smiled and said more. He looked back, the cabin wafted with the smell of fried fish, Xiao Qi seemed to see a woman with a green cloth head busy on the stove, but her face couldn't help but gloom. "Bitter sister."

Xiao Shi Niang's man failed to escape the catastrophe when the Liao soldiers went south, and died halfway through the Yangtze River before they could cross the Yangtze River. A widow's family had to take refuge with her brother. Xiao Siniang helped on the boat, in addition to eating, drinking, and clothing, there should be a salary, she refused to ask for it, and her brother refused to take advantage of it, so she bought a stock coupon in Zhengxintang, and registered her sister's name. Regardless of whether she remarries in the future or not, this is also private money.

Shi Tingjian shook his head, Xiao Qi's sister he had seen, but he didn't expect this hardworking and gentle woman to have the courage to buy a handful of stock bonds. But what the specific details are, how can a state school and government have the leisure to carefully understand. "Ready!" A crisp cry came from the rear cabin, and Xiao Qi bowed down and said, "The food on the ship is simple, please take care of it." Shi Tingjian waved his hand and said with a faint smile: "The food on the ship tastes very good. With his hands behind his back, Shi Shiran walked into the cabin, although he was approachable, but after all, his status was different.

Mo Ruyi, the curtain guest, sat opposite Shi Tingjian, the four attendants were all dining at a separate table, while the women on the ship were eating in the back kitchen, and the sailors including Xiao Qi were squatting on the deck to eat. Today, the east wind is sluggish, on the bank of the Yangtze River, dozens of slender men drag heavy ropes, drag the river boat upstream, the slender men can only eat two meals a day, one or half of a cold and hard steamed bun in their arms, but they are reluctant to eat when they are hungry.

About two miles away in the downstream direction, another boat was also slowly sailing upstream, and Lu Yunsun sat in the shipbuilding, staring at the turtle-like Guazhou military village in the rivers and lakes. The protégé Yuan Tianguang stood on the side and said worriedly: "Why should Mr. go to danger in person, this time the situation is unpredictable, you must know that last time, they have already opened the killing ring." Anyway, as long as Mr. has an attitude on the big ceremony, it is better for the student to represent you in Ezhou. Zhao Xingde even stationed troops in Yangzhou, in case the two sides turn against each other, we can't even come back to Chuzhou. ”

"He won't." Lu Yunsun shook his head and said, "Zhao Yuanzhi is a rule-abiding person. ”

"But," Yuan Tianguang still persuaded, "I saw blood last time." ”

"That's because the rules are out of order," Lu Yunsun's face was slightly gloomy, "If he doesn't stand up, he may not bleed, maybe more." ”

"However, this trip is still too dangerous."

"That's why I should go." Lu Yunsun looked at his disciple, "There is some Zhongxing atmosphere, and I can't toss it anymore." ”

"Yes."

Yuan Tianguang saw that his teacher had made up his mind, so he had no choice but to give up persuasion for the time being.

From before the departure of Chuzhou until now, Yuan Tianguang has been admonishing like this every day, but Lu Yunsun's intention to go is very firm, and it is not at all that the advice of the disciples can be shaken. Since the last time the imperial court opened artillery bombardment in Ezhou, the rumors in various places have been very noisy for a while, some say that the blood is flowing on Suzaku Street, some say that the southeast camp used the head of the Lisheng to build a Beijing temple, and some say that tens of thousands of people were killed and wounded. Later, although these rumors were clarified one by one, the total number of dead and injured people was only a few hundred, however, the gentry from all over the country still had some lingering feelings about Ezhou.

This time, with the spread of the Great Gift Discussion, rumors from all over the world are once again rampant. Some people are worried that Chen Dong wants to usurp the throne and the imperial court wants to take power, so it is likely to lure the scholars and politicians from all over the country to Ezhou, or kill or detain them, and wipe them out. In order to allow all the local scholars to attend the meeting, the Imperial Court Rites Department made a lot of efforts in advance, and even used the method of discord and sowing-discord, implying that the scholars who did not attend the meeting were to monopolize the power, prevent the Great Rites Discussion from allowing the local government to elect another student administrator, and take turns with the original academic administration to take charge of the state school and go to the Que to discuss matters. The Ministry of Rites exhausted all kinds of means, and finally let eight or nine out of ten of the world's scholars and politicians leave for Ezhou.