Zhao Xing shook his head, saw Cheng Shuang, sorted out the things that needed to be explained, and said: "My new appointment will come down in early February, and now it's not a few months, have you sorted out your head?" ”

Cheng Shuang bowed and saluted: "The teacher didn't go to the ends of the earth, what's the big deal, Yangzhou is connected to us by water, and it is a matter of two or three days by boat, and the teacher can go home to see it when he encounters a big holiday, but if I don't understand, just go to the teacher directly, besides, Chen Zhipo is still there, I can ask her if I have anything." ”

The custom of the Song people is that pregnant women do not see each other, because legend has it that there are many children whose fates are mutually restrictive, and in order to avoid accidents, pregnant women do not meet each other. After the news of Cheng Azhu and Chen Yiyi's pregnancy was confirmed, Chen Yiyi moved to the Israeli village across the river, while Azhu lived in the castle. The two of them agreed on a time for the event, a stroll through the castle, returning to Azhu in the morning and Yiyi in the afternoon.

Ah Zhu is okay, this is her second child, Chen Yiyi is nervous, she has continuously sent letters to Jiaozhi China, calling friends to take care of her. I usually never cross the suspension bridge, for fear that the child will have an accident. In this case, others can only cross the river to find her. Because it's too inconvenient, even Zhao Xing has been going less recently.

Cheng Shuang looked at Zhao Xing's contemplative expression, and he said carefully: "Gongzi Chen seems to have arrived in Mingzhou, and a letter was sent by a fast horse yesterday, saying that Gongzi Chen has landed and is unloading goods......"

Chen Gongchuan is different from Zhao Xing, he is a feudal merchant and can only land in the city, so the ship cannot go straight to Zhao Xing's wharf. Because Chen Gongchuan's goal is too big, Zhao Xing is on the day of promotion, and he doesn't dare to guide Chen Gongchuan to swagger into Hong Kong like he did with Sodi in the past, so he can only watch Chen Gongchuan measure inch by inch from land to his house.

"Did you inform Yi of this?"

Cheng Shuang replied: "When Mrs. Chen sent the letter over. And his brother made an appointment. Yesterday, Mingzhou's express letter also said: Chen Gongzi heard that Su Gongxiu's West Lake is very beautiful, and plans to stay until next summer, and after seeing the scenery of the four seasons of the West Lake, he will go back to Dayue to repair a few West Lakes. He also said that if it was as beautiful as the legend suggests, he planned to build one in every county of Vietnam...... It is said that he brought more than 100 painters, and he stayed in Mingzhou with the intention of recruiting painters. Describe the beauty of the West Lake......"

"This guy ......" Zhao Xing laughed: "Then wait for him to come, we still have time anyway." ”

Before the winter solstice, Chen Gongchuan hurried to Hangzhou, and he was mixed in the team of Hangzhou scholars. Participated in the memorial to the Holy Ancestor together, and was able to participate in the activities of Su Shi's main sacrifice place, which made him quite proud: "The bachelor leads the main priest, and the bachelor Qin and the bachelor Zhao accompany the sacrifice, this glory, who can enjoy it in my Dayue country"

When he said this, Chen Gongchuan stood on the Su Causeway of West Lake, shaking his folding fan in the winter, with an indescribable pride: "No, I will set up a monument when I go back." Record the event. ”

Zhao Xing looked at Chen Gongchuan with a smile, and said in his heart: You will show it. Big fart...... Wait, he just said Mr. Zhao, is he talking about himself?

"Who is Master Zhao? Could it be ......," Zhao Xing asked tentatively.

Chen Gongchuan looked at Zhao Xing up and down for a long time, and replied, "Isn't Your Excellency a scholar of Baowen Pavilion?" …… Haha, don't you hear what's going on outside the window and don't know how famous you are? ”

Zhao Xing felt incredulous: "I am such a rough person, it seems that there is no one in the whole Song Dynasty who knows no more about writing poetry than me." It can be praised...... No reason! ”

Zhao Xing didn't know. In the first few years, he used the name of Su Shi to swagger and deceive all over Asia. Goryeo, Wa Guo, and Da Yue have never seen Su Shi, but they have seen this Sumen disciple of the "Gamble of Poetry and Wine", and they are very clear about his behavior of not hesitating to go to the sea for Su Shi. Because his behavior is in line with the traditional concept of respecting teachers and valuing education. Nowadays, readers from those three countries use Zhao Xing to educate their students, and over time, Zhao Xing's reputation has gradually become louder.

Later, with the spread of his poems in Goryeo, and Vietnam had Chen Gongchuan and Wang Yuanyu to help him advocate, as for the Wa Kingdom, raising the image of Zhao Xing is to raise the image of Yuan Yeping and Ji Shouzhong, so the entire Japan, whether it is the Kwantung Samurai Regiment or the Minister, spares no effort to cast the image of Zhao Xing. In this case, among the seven scholars of Sumen, Zhao Xing did the least poems, but his brilliance overshadowed several others......

However, Zhao Xing himself did not have this kind of awareness, and many times, he forgot that he also had the title of bachelor on his head.

After Chen Gongchuan explained all this, Zhao Xing sighed shamelessly: "I didn't expect it, I didn't expect that I would be able to be enrolled in Sumen Bachelor's School...... Well, what they all praise me, and again, I especially like to hear it. ”

Chen Gongchuan didn't give face, he shook the folding fan, and suddenly said thoughtlessly: "Su Gong's personality is probably not suitable for being an official in the court." ”

Zhao Xing sighed: "Who said no, I persuaded him." But my family teacher went out of Beijing to serve as the governor of Hangzhou as a five-grade official, and now he is back in Beijing to serve as a second-grade Shang, which is a great honor for readers, you say, can I persuade him? The family teacher is still thinking, sit for a few terms, and then serve as the chief assistant, one person under ten thousand people, learn to write and sell martial arts to the emperor's family, this is the last destination of the reader, seeing, the ladder to the sky is in front of him, who can bear it? ”

Chen Gongchuan smiled: "You can bear it." ”

Zhao Xing picked up a cup of hot tea, covered his face with a teacup, and said lightly: "I used to be able to bear it, but I'm afraid I can't help it now, because I didn't care about it in the past, and now I have a pursuit and a goal." ”

Chen Gongchuan asked with interest: "What is your goal?" ”

Zhao Xing slowly drank the tea in the cup and did not answer Chen Gongchuan's words.

Chen Gongchuan paused, looked at the lake and mountains and sighed: "What a beautiful scenery, I don't know what kind of beauty it should be in summer?" Just thinking about it, I was suffocated with excitement. ”

Zhao Xing remained silent, he drank tea cup after cup.

Chen Gongchuan shook his fan a few times, didn't look at Zhao Xing, and said to himself facing the lake and mountains: "When I left, I went to my sister's fiefdom to see, and the fiefdom has been built very well in recent years - huge cities, continuous steel mills, and various large machines, and the steel bars smelted alone are 100 meters...... I also saw a lot of strange things there, I don't know what you want to do? The king asked me to tell you: that iron city is your home, and you can come back at any time. But challenge the Great Song Land thing. I will never do it. ”

Zhao Xing smiled calmly: "I believe that in Yiyi's territory, the palace tax collector has done a lot of dedication, but he will definitely find out: I am actually just doing business, don't be careful." ”

Chen Gongchuan laughed dumbly: "You are the son-in-law of my Chen family, and my Chen family is one with you, so there are some things I didn't say to the king - you do business." Why did you train 500 musketeers in your territory...... Don't fool me, I know it's a musket, my sister wrote to me, fifty musketeers take turns. It can block tens of thousands of troops, and your 500 musketeers are placed in our Nanyang, which is the power to destroy the country and destroy the nation. ”

Zhao Xing shook the teacup and replied calmly: "It's good that you know, because we are a family, so they didn't hide it from you, otherwise-you think you will find that group of musketeers?" But don't worry, this musketeer is just a guard force, and I plan to use it to protect something and seek a position. That's not my interest. ”

The two men were talking, and eight Gurkha warriors were walking around. Blocking pedestrians, Tyson leaned against a nearby willow tree with his fists in his hands. Zhao Xing looked around, put down the teacup, and said solemnly: "You really think that five hundred people can destroy the country and the clan, you are wrong, the war is money, a skirmish." It will cost about 20 million. I don't have enough money to spend.

So I figured it out a long time ago, if there were twenty million. Instead of spending so much effort to destroy the country and the nation, it is better to spend that money on the happiness of life. If you come to the Great Song Dynasty, you can spend 20 million for the rest of your life, and it is not in vain to live a life, so why bother to start a war? Do you think I'm such a crazy person? ”

Chen Gongchuan put away the folding fan: "I am relieved that you say so." In fact, when the fathers and brothers discussed this matter, Li Yuan once said: Don't look at Zhao Liren's meticulous and precise work, but his nature is also a lazy person and a person who likes to enjoy. But if he is allowed to be ragged by himself, he will personally lay down a piece of the country...... He's going to be troublesome, so there's no need to worry. ”

Zhao Xing laughed: "Those who know me, Li Yuanye!" ”

Chen Gongchuan didn't turn around, if he turned around, he would find that although Zhao Xing was smiling heartily, his eyes were very cold, like a gaze coming out of the Nine Abyss.

Chen Gongchuan looked at the scenery for a while, and when he saw the people approaching Zhao Xing, he recognized the judge, many people were cautious, and more people were frightened to turn around and walk back and forth, he opened the fan, fanned the wind and said: "It's boring, why are the people of Hangzhou afraid of you like a tiger, I will go out in the future, you don't want to follow." ”

After that, Chen Gongchuan pulled his legs and left, Zhao Xing followed behind, and he was crazy with grievances: "It doesn't make sense, I build roads for the people of Hangzhou, and the wages I pay are extraordinarily sufficient." Settle 200,000 soldiers, everyone teaches them livelihood skills, let them live a well-off life, why are they still so afraid of me? …… Well, Hangzhou shops should not be afraid of me, although I am a little more strict in the means of collecting taxes, but Hangzhou is prosperous thanks to me, these people should be grateful to me, how can they all see me like a tiger? ”

No matter how Zhao Xing wondered, time still flies. In the blink of an eye, Hangzhou officials are packing up.

In February, Su Shi's appointment came down, Zhao Xing sent Su Shi's family away, and within two days, his appointment also came down, and then, the officials in Hangzhou made a big move, and Yang Zuren was transferred to Hebei to serve as the governor. Mao Peng served as the general judge of the Gaoyou army, and the rest of the people returned to Beijing.

Hangzhou officials should have left a group and waited for the handover of the official seal, but after Qin Guan and others left, the new officials had not yet taken office, and Zhao Xing couldn't wait, because Liao Xiaoxiao went to Yangzhou a few years ago and never came back, so he waited for the spring to pass, threw the official seal to the left-behind Mao Peng, found a fleet by himself, and marched to Yangzhou with the servants.

In recent years, as Hangzhou has become more and more prosperous, the southern section of the canal has also become busy. The number of loach boats transporting goods alone has increased almost tenfold, and the number of loach boats along the coast has reached more than 100,000. In this case, the Grand Canal seems to have a bit of a modern flavor, with long loach boats forming a flotilla and slowly moving through the canal, the bow of these boats is attached to the stern, and it is estimated that if you walk on the boat, you can walk from one boat to another, from Hangzhou to Bianliang.

There are more boats, and loach boats can no longer sail at full speed as they used to. Zhao Xing walked for five days. It was not easy to arrive in Yangzhou.

In the era of Huizong of the Song Dynasty, Yangzhou had 56,485 households and 107,579 mouths. It is a small town of 100,000 people, but it can be seen from the population ratio that there are about two people per household in Yangzhou, which means that most of Yangzhou are bachelors.

This is a purely commercial city, and most of the people who come and go to the city are workers. Jiangdu County in Yangzhou is the only county seat under Yangzhou's jurisdiction. This county seat is also called "Yiguo County", which is generally called "Yiguo", and the county government is not located in the county, and even the county officials are not appointed alone. Instead, it was concurrently served by the officials of the prefecture and city.

Yangzhou is also the hub of the world, this place has both the transfer department of Huainan East Road, as well as the state-level officials, plus a set of teams in Jiangdu County, it can be said that three sets of institutions coexist. And most of the officials in it also hold third-level positions, such as Zhao Xing, who is the pacification envoy of Huainan East Road, or the county commander of Jiangdu County. Liao Xiaoxiao received the news early and greeted Zhao Xing on the dock, and now she is finally qualified to be the master of the house. looked very excited, and when he saw Zhao Xing, he posted it affectionately. whispered: "Xianggong, I chose a house, you haven't seen it, the house is a little small, I bought all the neighbors on the left and right, and the dock in front of the door can directly dock the official boat, why don't we take a boat directly to the front of our house." ”

The wharf in Yangzhou is no better than the wharf built by Zhao Xing's family. The wharf built by Zhao Xing in Hangzhou was because it had to dock large sea ships. Therefore, a large freight yard was built, and Yangzhou wharf was mostly docked with some canopy boats. So the pier is just a few steps away from the courtyard gate.

This is a city floating on the water, Zhao Xing walked along the steps of his dock to the gate of the courtyard, Liao Xiaoxiao leaned beside him and pointed: "Xianggong, this house is a retired salt merchant's house, he earned enough money, went back to the countryside to buy land as a clerk, this house was given to an official, and then changed hands several times, I saw its exquisiteness, so I bought it, 20,000 yuan, not expensive?" ”

Zhao Xing stuck out his tongue and didn't close his mouth for a long time: "20,000 guan is not too expensive, you know how much money Li Wei spent on repairing the Yellow River last year, 8,000 guan, this money is enough to repair the Yellow River three times." ”

Liao Xiaoxiao chuckled: "I think it's worth it, and the officials will know when they go in and take a look......

Then, Liao Xiaoxiao pointed to the small courtyards next to him and added: "This garden has five entrances, but the courtyards in Yangzhou seem cramped. I have bought the houses on the left and right, and have opened the courtyard walls, these courtyards are small, but they are also exquisite, and the three gentlemen who come with you can live on the left and right, and it is convenient to come and go. ”

Zhao Xing was very curious: "What house is worth 20,000, go, go and see." ”

This house is like a labyrinth, although each yard is very small, but a scene is full of fine carving, the Taihu Lake stone layer in the yard is stacked, revealing a kind of artificially carved exquisite beauty, the pond in the yard, the corridor is very gorgeous, and even the wall tiles are carved with different characters and mythological stories, the only regret is that most of the houses are made of wooden planks, because of this building material, the whole courtyard has a unique fire escape, the long road makes Zhao Xing seem to walk in the modern Suzhou water town.

Liao Xiaoxiao knew that Zhao Xing didn't like to live in a wood-paneled house, and in the past three months, she had urgently renovated several main houses in the yard with bricks and cement, but the decoration of the houses of small civilian households was too busy for three months, not to mention this kind of exquisite deep house compound.

When Zhao Xing arrived, the main courtyard was only habitable, and the walls of the courtyard were painted white, but Yangzhou was damp, and many of the walls still smelled of fresh earth.

The accompanying Shan Yi and Wan Qiyong were very satisfied with the living environment, and the two chose the courtyard where they lived, and hurriedly took their families to clean up. Shuai Fan was single, so he simply chose the smallest small courtyard to live in alone and lived in it with two servants. Since he has no family, he will have dinner at Zhao Xing's house in the future.

When everyone went to settle down, Liao Xiaoxiao snuggled into Zhao Xing's arms and let out a groan: "Finally...... Official, this piece of heaven is mine. This house was bought by me Liao Xiaoxiao, and you will be the head of this yard in the future, you have to treat me well. ”

Zhao Xingyi patted Liao Xiaoxiao's buttocks and said, "Have the officials in Yangzhou investigated?" Who is it? ”

Liao Xiaoxiao buried his head in Zhao Xing's arms, and said softly: "I checked, Zhizhou is Lord Cai Jingcai, and he also serves as the shipping envoy (Cao Si) of Jiang, Huai, Jing, Zhejiang and other roads." The name of the prisoner (Xiansi) is Zhu Jing, after being a businessman; (State) signed the judgment is Liu Yu, Jiayou Jinshi, county lieutenant Peng Hua Peng Zijing, county Cheng Lu Yue Lu Xinran. These two people were the new science and technology jinshi last year. ”

Last year was not the year of the imperial examination. However, at the end of the year, the little emperor specially rewarded 957 people who failed in the scientific examination over the years to "play the name of the Jinshi", and this reward was called "special performance". This means that it is permissible to mark oneself as "one of the scholars of grace."

Most of the people who can get this kind of treatment are those who have been admitted to the Jinshi for several years, and they have been tested repeatedly to become a dry old man, and basically, after giving them a special name. These people's lives are also coming to an end, and then the court will reward them with an inconsequential petty official, so that they can make a note in the family tree: they have worked hard all their lives and finally become officials. In this life, he is also worthy of his ancestors and ancestors.

Most of these people are biased in reading, dead-eyed who eats the ancients, greedy by nature, and likes to drill the horns of the bull when doing things, and it is really a headache to have such a person as a subordinate.

But it's Cai Jing who has more headaches, I don't know if four years have passed, and Cai Jing still remembers the person who robbed him on the canal......

Cai Jing remembered that when Zhao Xing visited Cai Jing as if he was fine, Cai Jing looked at Zhao Xing for a long time. suddenly remembered and yelled: "It turned out to be you." You...... That's right, you big man, I won't forget, it was you! ”

Zhao Xing laughed: "Lord Cai's handwriting is engraved on my family yard, I thought Lord Zhang Zhang would have told you a long time ago, but I didn't expect ......"

Cai Jing also laughed, and he looked around. He said, "You know what." This Zhao Liren is a robber who used to rob my calligraphy on the canal. It's fast, and before I can react, he has slipped away and can't be found. ”

Zhao Xing arched his hand: "It's okay now, I will follow Lord Cai every day in the future, and I won't worry about robbery." ”

The crowd burst into laughter. Many sycophant literati laughed and boasted: "It turns out that the thief on the canal was Zhao Liren, interesting and interesting, Lord Cai, you have to pay close attention to your Dimo Bao, and let people turn it away." ”

Cai Jingxiao's eyes narrowed into a slit, and he patted his thigh and said, "It's just right to leave people here." Do you know that Su Laopo's renovation of the West Lake, the dredging of the two rivers, and the construction of the Hangzhou road were all organized by Lord Zhao, and he was in a hurry to take office at the moment, wouldn't it be right? ”

The officials next to him nodded together: "Just right!" Zhao Xing wondered when he heard this, and he arched his hand to Cai Jing: "Does Lord Cai have anything for me to serve?" ”

"Of course there is!" Cai Jing said with a smile: "Do you know Yangzhou Wanhuayuan? ”

Zhao Xing replied: "I have heard of the name for a long time, and I heard that there are thousands of flowers blooming, and it is very fascinating, and I will definitely go to see it when I have the opportunity." ”

Cai Jing said with a smile: "I am planning to hold a peony meeting in April, and several adults are discussing how to raise this peony meeting. ”

Zhao Xing clapped his hands: "It should be so." ”

If you want to say who likes to have fun the most in this Great Song Dynasty, and plays with great taste and elegance, then Cai Jing can be described as the first person in the entire Northern Song Dynasty for two hundred years. This guy is full of tricks, and he has only been in office for a long time, and he came up with something new about the Peony Club!

Cai Jing's original official position was in Chengdu, but he didn't expect that his command position in Chengdu Mansion was not hot, and there was an impeachment of the imperial history saying that the degraded officials could not live in a large county. So the imperial court re-transferred Li Zhichun, who was quite prestigious among the Shu people, back to Chengdu and Cai Jing to Haizhou. Unexpectedly, Cai Jing's position in Haizhou was not stable, and Qian Xian's official position was also demoted, this Qian Wangsun ran between Yuezhou and Haizhou, and he was not idle for a moment, Cai Jing took advantage of the situation to seek the official position of Yangzhou.

Cai Jing was a second-grade official, and when he arrived in Yangzhou, he not only served as the governor of Yangzhou, but also served as the shipping envoy of the four roads of Jiang, Huai, Jing, and Zhejiang, which meant that the southern wealth of the entire Great Song Dynasty was transported to the capital through his hands.

The four-way shipping envoy has four points of official income, and Cai Jing's calligraphy and painting are hard to find, so this guy is very rich, rich enough to have spare money to engage in "Peony Club" entertainment.

"Liren, I heard that you got a lot of strange things in Bianliang, vegetables, flowers, whether this peony will add a few novelties, I can rely on you", after a conversation, Cai Jing no longer blamed Zhao Xing for his robbery, but his demeanor was indescribably cordial.

Zhao Xing touched his chin and replied: "I heard that the envoy paid tribute not long ago, and it happened that I planted a kind of whisk flower, called Ye Xi Mi (that is, frangipani), the leaves are like plum leaves, and the flowers are five out, white, not bearing fruit, and when the flowers are blooming, they are fragrant all over the field." We added Ye Xi Mi to the Peony Meeting, so as to proclaim the name of our emperor and show me the majesty of the Song Dynasty. ”

This proposal is good, holding a peony party can also shoot the emperor's fart, Zhao Xing said this, Cai Jing felt that the person in front of him was more appetizing, he smiled and said: "I heard that the song and dance in the Liren Mansion continues, and you also asked Qin Shaoyou and Mao Zheming to compile a new song in the West Chamber. ”

After a slight pause, Cai Jing said to Zhao Xing cordially as if he had seen a relative: "I also heard that your chef's skills are also good, and most of the chefs in Bianliang City regard you as a respected teacher, right?" …… I seem to have heard that you can get a lot of novelties, many people in Yangzhou are using Mizhou stone to make screens, and some people cut the stone squarely, spread it on the ground, and people walk on it, as if swimming in a painting, right? ”

Zhao Xing arched his hand: "Lord Cai, when it comes to these things, I have a good thing for you, that, this is a Zhaowen knife, made of seal teeth, and the blade is inlaid with a sharp iron bar, which is used to cut briefcases, ah, if it is used as a hand knife to cut food, as long as the food is not hard, it can be handled, how about it?" This is a plaything, if Lord Cai likes it, I'll go back and ask someone to send a few more. ”

Cai Jing held the dagger and stroked it gently like a baby, and then sighed regretfully: "In my opinion, the material of this knife is excellent, but the carving technique is simply crude, it is really a waste of things." ”

Zhao Xing's eyes widened and he asked rhetorically: "Lord Yicai, how should I do it?" ”

Cai Jing touched the spine of the knife, the handle of the knife, and his face was full of regret: "There should be something carved on the back of this knife, such as a hundred flowers competing for beauty, a hundred children, three yuan and the first, etc., if it is carved with the image of the gods and Buddhas, if it is to let the monks in the temple open the light and chant the images of the gods and Buddhas, it is simply no better." ”

Zhao Xing's mouth closed for a long time, and he replied in a snort: "Lord Cai, this knife is not a decoration, it has to work, cutting things, the spine and handle of the knife must be forced, if the pattern is carved, or hollowed out, it hurts the blade, but it is not strong, and it can't be lived!" ”

Cai Jing glanced at Zhao Xing reproachfully: "I didn't want to hollow out and carve, there are many carving techniques, and besides, such a valuable thing is used to cut official documents...... You're more extravagant than I am. Cut official documents, just use a kitchen knife, and still use a bone knife? ”

Zhao Xing was choked by Cai Jing's words and rolled his eyes, Cai Jing finished reading the bone knife in his hand, stopped his gaze on Zhao Xing's belt, squinted his eyes and said: "What a strange belt, it seems to be the skin of a scale armor, what is the bone armor so big?" How can the bone armor be black and shiny, is it also an overseas curiosity? ”