In Chang'an, the third heavy snowfall of winter has fallen overnight, and the cold and biting snowflakes in the air are blown by the wind into long thin lines, and the streets are covered with snow, as if a cold, soft carpet has been rolled over by cars and trampled by people, turning into brown mud.

In the West Market, although the roads are muddy, but this can not stop the exuberant popularity, near the New Year, the West Market business is very hot, the streets on both sides of the slightly dry edge are crowded with passers-by carrying large bags and small bags, men and women, the river is endless, from the shops shouting one after another, in the middle of the road, thousands of wagons full of goods lined up in a long line, are moving slowly, mixed with camel caravans from the far west.

On the left side of the road is the Cao River, which has frozen and nearly a thousand empty grain boats of 100 stones frozen in the river, which will sail south next spring when the thaw will bring rice from the south to Chang'an.

After three years of development, Chang'an has also had a lot of changes, but this change is not reflected in the change in the appearance of the city, Chang'an City is still majestic, carrying a long history, but the dignified history is full of vitality, has always been regarded as the price vane of the Tang Dynasty The price of rice has fallen to 45 Wen per bucket, although it can not drink Zhenguan Zhizhi and the opening of the prosperous era compared with 10 Wen per bucket, but relative to the purchasing power of ordinary people, this is already quite cheap, an ordinary porter, He could earn four copper coins a month or forty silver coins, so that he could buy nine stone rice a month, enough to feed his family, and if the porter could still have a carriage of his own to transport goods only in the West Market, then he would earn ten yuan a month, and his life would be much easier.

It is the middle of December, half a month before the New Year, and the major grain stores are fully stocked in October when the rice price is the cheapest. Just wait for the price of rice to rise before the arrival of the New Year every year, which is the annual market and the golden season for merchants.

In the largest Baichuan grain store in the west market, there are crowds, nearly 100 small shopkeepers from various squares are busy buying goods, and at the back door of the rice store, more than 100 carriages have lined up in a long line. The price of grain in Baichuan grain store is three to five Wen cheaper than that of other stores, but it does not do sporadic business, at least ten stone rice is sold, and it makes money by large-scale entry and exit, and it has to import and export more than 100,000 stone rice every year, because the price of rice is slightly cheaper, and there are hundreds of small shops and restaurants in Chang'an that are its regular customers, and its rice price changes have also become the vane of Chang'an rice price.

At this time, more than a dozen people walked in from the gate of the rice store. To be exact, more than a dozen sturdy guards surrounded a man in his thirties, and I saw that this person's skin was slightly dark, and his eyes were calm and kind. With a long beard under his chin, he was dressed in a white brocade robe, deerskin boots, a black gauze hat, and a gold silk ribbon around his waist.

Behind him, dozens of guards, all burly and sharp-eyed. They carried horizontal knives at their waists, and there was a fierce murderous aura between their gestures, and as soon as dozens of people entered the house, the store immediately became quiet.

The big shopkeeper of Baichuan Grain Store is surnamed Qin, an old man about sixty years old, he has been in charge of the store for more than 20 years, and he has seen any scene, he only glanced at it and knew that the person who came was a court official, and the rank was not small. He hurriedly greeted him with a smile and said, "Welcome to our store, my surname is Qin, I am the shopkeeper of the store, please feel free to ask if you have any needs." ”

"I'm here to see the price of rice." The man smiled slightly, his speech was very slow, so slow that it did not match the busy rhythm of the store, but as soon as he spoke, the momentum completely controlled the scene, and people had to answer according to his rhythm.

Then. A few more people came in from outside the door. The first one was in his fifties, and his momentum was majestic. The shopkeeper Qin was shocked when he saw him, this person had come to inspect the grain store last year, and it was the current Xiangguo Han.

Han entered the room and said a few respectful words to the young man. The young man nodded. He pointed to the shopkeeper Qin. Gesture that you are also asking.

Write here. Most readers must have guessed who he is. That's right. He is none other than His Majesty Zhang Huan, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Today, he came to Xishi with several Xiangguo to inspect the changes in rice prices.

He has been on the throne for three full years. The Tang Dynasty was firmly controlled by him. After three years of hard work. The national strength of Datang gradually began to recover. Some major national policies are also beginning to show their influence. For example, the current decline in the price of rice is due to the gradual southward movement of the grain belt. Both the Jianghuai region and Shuzhong can achieve two crops a year. Within three years. The grain fields in the south increased by 2 million hectares. Of course. It's not a wasteland. Instead, many of the fertile lands that had been abandoned due to the Anshi Rebellion were reclaimed. The southern rivers are vertical and horizontal, and the water is abundant. The yield per mu can reach five or six hundred catties. This has led to a significant increase in food production. And the north is mainly cultivated mulberry hemp. And since last year. In addition, cotton planting was experimented with in the military fields of the Central Plains. Although it will take time for cotton cloth to become widespread. But there are already many people on the street who wear cotton robes that are more insulating. For example, the grain store in front of him is the shopkeeper of Qin. He wore a thick white cotton robe on the floor.

Shopkeeper Qin's legs trembled. He had already guessed who the guest officer in front of him was. Except when today's sub. Who is still qualified to accept the first authority respectfully.

"I'll ask you. Compared to a month ago. How much has the price of rice increased? Perhaps Zhang Huan had already felt the fear of the shopkeeper Qin. He tried to keep his tone as slow as he could. With a soft smile on his face.

Shopkeeper Qin was afraid for a while. My heart became excited again. The person talking to him on the other side was His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. He hurriedly bowed down and replied, "Go back to the guest officer." A month ago, the best Huzhou rice in the small shop was 330 Wen 1 stone. Now the price has risen slightly. Today, it will take three hundred and ninety wen to buy one stone. According to the normal market price. Two more days. I estimate that it will rise to 420 cents and one stone. And I'm a bulk price. The retail selling price outside will definitely exceed 50 wen per bucket. ”

"Then do you think it will break through sixty Wen?" This is the question that Zhang Huan is concerned about, the focus of today's court discussion is the rise in rice prices in the past few days, whether the Changping Administration should list official rice to stabilize the price of rice, Han believes that it should be timely to stabilize the price of rice, but Chu Xingshui thinks that the grain is sufficient, there is no need to launch official rice for the time being, the focus of the two sides is on whether the price of rice will break through the tolerance limit of 60 Wen, everyone can not argue, so Zhang Huan proposed, everyone came to the West City for a field visit.

"No!" Shopkeeper Qin gave Zhang Huan an affirmative answer. "The key is to see whether the rice reserves are sufficient, if there is a shortage of grain, as in previous years, the rush for rice is together, not to say 60 Wen, and it is normal to break through 300 Wen. According to my experience, at most, 55 wen, and a little bit of Huaibei rice, may not even be able to sell 50 wen, and once the New Year passes, the price of rice will definitely fall below 50 wen. ”

Speaking of which. Shopkeeper Qin let out a long sigh, "Rice hurts the peasants!" ”

Zhang Huan smiled faintly and did not make any comments on this seemingly philosophical sentence. A few years ago, selling rice was a profiteering business, and grain merchants could get ten times the profit by manipulating the price of rice, so there were hundreds of rice shops in the West Market, and now selling a bucket of rice is only 20% profitable, no wonder grain merchants complained.

Rice is cheap and hurts the peasants, this sentence seems to make sense, under the two tax laws, the peasants pay money and taxes. Rice is cheap, the burden on farmers seems to have increased greatly, but this is precisely the essence of the two tax laws, rice is cheap and expensive, farmers must develop sideline business to make money, plant mulberry hemp, raise pigs and livestock, or let their children into the weaving mill, into the mine, so that industry and commerce can get enough labor, Datang does not raise lazy people. If you want to live a better life, you must sweat more and have more babies.

"Thank you, Shopkeeper Qin." Zhang Huan arched his hand, and turned to leave surrounded by the guards, the shopkeeper Qin looked at his distant back, and suddenly felt a little afraid, did his last sentence be too much?

Leaving Xishi, Zhang Huan went back to Daming Palace directly, and the time to meet the Hui envoys was coming, and the livelihood problems such as food were left to the Xiangguo to solve. What he has to consider is a major matter that has a bearing on the security of the country.

The Hui envoy should have come to Chang'an three years ago to meet the new emperor of the Tang Dynasty. But they were silent for three whole years, and it was only today that they were late. Zhang Huan also knew that the arrival of the Hui envoys was also the result of their domestic political struggles, and the domestic forces of the Hui could be divided into four factions, one was the traditional aristocracy, mainly engaged in animal husbandry, mainly referring to the Fugu, Hun, Tongluo, Absi and other tribes, these tribes had long been favored by the Tang Dynasty, had a good impression of the Tang, belonged to the pro-Tang faction, and once occupied a lot of power in the Hui country.

The second is the Sogdians, they are the same as the Jews of later generations, they do not have their own country, they have been active on the Silk Road for a long time, they are famous merchant people, after the rebellion of Anshi in the Tang Dynasty, the northern invasion of Tibet, resulting in the northward movement of the Silk Road, a large number of Sogdian merchants entered the Hui Hui and became the emerging nobles of the Hui Dynasty, a few years ago they were suppressed by the Hui traditional aristocracy, and in recent years there has been a trend of rising, the Sogdian merchants and the black-clothed cannibals are connected by blood, and they have always been pro-Da Shi, and the Sogdians have also produced some famous figures in the Tang Dynasty, such as An Lushan.

The third force is Manichaeism, represented by the national teacher Surman, who has fully participated in the political decision-making of the Hui and plays a pivotal role in the decision-making of the Hui. The last force is the Hui military, which is strong and aggressive, and has always been haunted by the defeat of Anxi and Beiting, and the main representative of this faction is the current prime minister, Jiegangas.

During the period of Dengli Khan, the Sogdians and Manichaeans gained power, and the Hui repeatedly invaded the Central Plains, and the two countries fought against each other, until the Viga Khan ascended the throne, the traditional nobles of the pro-Tang faction occupied the top, and the Hui reconciled with the Tang Dynasty, and formulated the national policy of westward expansion, and to the loyal Khan, which was a relatively neutral Khan, at this time the Sogdians and Manichaeism rose again, coupled with the military's defeat at the Northern Court, under this joint exclusion, the traditional aristocracy began to lose power, The most direct impact on the national policy of Hui Hui is that Hui Hui and Da Shi reached a strategic partnership three years ago.

It is precisely for this reason that the Hui Hui has almost cut off official contacts with the Tang Dynasty in the past three years, and this Hui Hui has made it the result of the efforts of the pro-Tang faction These intricate relationships, Zhang Huan is very clear that the National Security Department has also arranged a large number of intelligence personnel in the Hui Hui to convey the Hui Hui's every move in the country.

"Your Majesty, the Hui envoy has arrived." His musings were interrupted by a report from the eunuch An Zhongshun.

"Take him to the Zichen side hall to meet him."

An Zhongshun agreed, and hurriedly ran out, and after a while, a loud voice came from afar: "Your Majesty has a decree, announce that the special envoy Zichen will meet in the palace!" ”

Zhang Huan cleaned up a little, and walked briskly towards the side hall under the escort of dozens of guards.

The envoy of the Hui was called Yao Luo Geling, who had negotiated with Zhang Huan on behalf of the Loyal Khan during the Battle of Anxi, and he was also a Han Chinese. It is the adopted son of the former Viga Khan, the official worship Hui Hui Prime Minister, this time the envoy to the Tang Dynasty in addition to the medicine Luo Geling, there is also a deputy envoy, called Kang Chixin, is a Sogdian. Although Kang Weide was the deputy envoy, he represented the interests of the Sogdians, the Manichaeans, and the Uighur military at the same time, and in fact his position in the mission was even greater than that of Yao Luo Geling.

With a bell ringing, Yao Luo Ge Ling, accompanied by Zhao Zong, the Qing of Honglu Temple, slowly walked into the Zichen side hall, while the deputy envoy Kang Chixin followed three steps away unhurriedly, squinting at Yao Luo Ge Ling's back, sneering.

In addition to the Tang Emperor Zhang Huan, there were also four Xiangguo in the side hall to participate in the meeting. They are Han, Pei You, Yuan Zai and Chu Xingshui, in addition, Taichang Qing Du Ya, Taifu Temple Qing Fang Zongyan, and Zongzheng Temple Qing Li Qiao also sat aside.

"The minister's special envoy Yao Luo Geling knocked on His Majesty the Tang Emperor. I wish His Majesty the Emperor long live, long live! Yao Luo Geling knelt down and kowtowed respectfully to the Tang Emperor three times, and the deputy envoy Kang Chixin had no choice but to kneel down, but he straightened his waist and did not bow.

Zhang Huan glanced at him, then waved his hand and said with a smile: "The envoy is exempt from the courtesy, give him a seat!" ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Yao Luo Ge Ling sat down, and Kang Chixin also sat down behind without saying a word, and then Zhang Huan smiled slightly and said, "Mr. Ge Ling, it has been a few years since Anxi Yibi. How have you been doing lately as your loyal Khan? ”

"Back to Your Majesty, our Khan is busy with affairs and cannot come to the Hajj in person, please forgive Your Majesty, this is a letter from the Khan to Your Majesty, congratulations to Your Majesty on his accession to the throne!" Yao Luo Geling said, stood up again and held a volume of national letters high above his head and presented them to the Tang Emperor, and a guard stepped forward to take the national letters. It was handed over to Zhang Huan.

Zhang Huan took the letter of state and put it on the imperial case, but asked Yao Luo Ge Ling with a smile: "I heard the news from the broken leaves, the climate in the north has been extremely cold in the past two years, I don't know if your country can be affected?" ”

Yao Luo Geling's eyes were gloomy, how could he not be affected? At the end of September, a blizzard struck most of the Hui and froze to death countless cattle and sheep, and it was against this backdrop that the Hui showed signs of famine, and it was against this background that the loyal khan was forced to accede to the demands of the pastoral nobles. Send yourself to Datang to ask for help.

"Back to Your Majesty. There is a severe shortage of food in the country, and it seems that it has reached a harsh winter. The days are even more difficult, the minister was entrusted by the Khan this time, firstly, to congratulate His Majesty the Emperor on his accession to the throne, and secondly, to be willing to exchange 100,000 horses for grain from the Tang Dynasty, please ask Your Majesty for permission. ”

Zhang Huan pondered for a while and said: "The Tang Dynasty opened the horse market in Fengzhou and Shengzhou as early as the Qingzhi period, and it has never been cut off, and the restrictions on grain trade have also been lifted in the sixteenth year of Qingzhi. ”

"It's a bit hard to talk about."

Yao Luo Geling showed an embarrassed look on his face, and he hesitated and said: "My Khan's meaning is to ask Datang to advance some of the grain first, and the horses will be gradually delivered to Datang next year, and this matter is willing to be guaranteed in the form of a national credential." ”

The implication is that he wants to ask Datang to borrow grain and repay it with horses next year, to put it more magnificently, it will become a grain and horse trade, Zhang Huan understood what he meant, and couldn't help laughing.

"I have agreed to this matter in principle, but for specific details, the special envoy can consult with my Datang ministers." Zhang Huan said to Pei You again: "Pei Aiqing, I will leave this matter to you to take full responsibility." ”

Pei You hurriedly stood up and saluted, "The minister obeys the order!" ”

Yao Luo Geling was overjoyed, and he hurriedly stepped forward and knelt down to Zhang Huan: "On behalf of the loyal Khan, the minister would like to express his highest respect to His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and the relationship between Hui and the Tang Dynasty will definitely become stronger by this goodwill cooperation." ”

Yao Luo Geling's words are from the bottom of his heart, the pro-Tang faction of Hui Hui has been suppressed repeatedly, if Datang can generously help Hui Hui this time, it will definitely become an opportunity for the pro-Tang faction to gradually turn over, for this reason, how can he not be ecstatic.

But at this moment, someone in the hall suddenly snorted in a low voice, and his tone was extremely contemptuous, although the voice was extremely low, but the hall could hear it clearly, and everyone looked for prestige together, only to see that the person who snorted coldly was the deputy envoy of Hui Hui, Kang Chixin, he was expressionless at this time, his eyes turned up, and his face was full of disdain for Yao Luo Geling.

The atmosphere in the main hall suddenly became tense, and all the people saw the cracks within the Hui people, and they were silent for a while, Yao Luo Ge Ling ignored Kang Chixin, and said to Zhang Huan in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, the minister is going to the Tang Dynasty this time, and there is still something to report to His Majesty the Emperor." ”

Zhang Huan nodded and said, "Mr. Ge Ling, but it doesn't hurt to say it. ”

"In June this year, I returned to Kedun to die of illness, and the Khan has not established Kedun, and another important mission of the Tang Dynasty is to ask the Khan to marry the Tang princess, and will be established as the new Kedun of my return to the Tang Dynasty."

As soon as Yao Luo Ge Lingdi's words fell, Kang Chi stood up and reprimanded him harshly in Turkic language: "The Khan only said that he wanted to marry the princess of the Tang Dynasty, but did not say that he wanted to be established as Kedun, and the Kedun who returned to the Hui was to set up the Great Food Princess An Lisi, this is the Khan himself promised the Great Food Messenger, what qualifications do you have, you dare to change the Khan's decision without authorization." ”

After speaking, he stepped forward, bowed to Zhang Huanshen, and said in Chinese: "Your Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, my Khan is indeed willing to marry the Tang Princess, but he did not say that he would be established as Kedun, this is a mistake within our envoy, please forgive Your Majesty." ”

Zhang Huan didn't say a word, he glanced at Zhao Zong, the Qing of Honglu Temple, Zhao Zong was proficient in Turkic language, he heard Kang Chixin's rebuke Yao Luo Geling's words clearly just now, and when he saw His Majesty looking at him, he immediately waved his hand lightly to Zhang Huan, signaling not to agree for the time being.

Zhang Huan understood, he secretly sneered in his heart, and said with a smile: "Hui and Datang have a tradition of marriage, this matter can also be considered, but it is a matter of national etiquette, I think it is best to confirm it with the Khan, so as not to laugh and be generous, Mr. Ge Ling, what do you think?" ”

Yao Luo Geling's face was swollen red, he glared at Kang Chixin fiercely, and had to say to Zhang Huan helplessly: "This matter is a sudden matter, please forgive your majesty!" ”