Su Dongpo went to Beijing this time to take up a foreign post, and he didn't delay much work. Originally, it took a month to deal with the industry in the capital, and then it took a month or two to find a suitable car and horse shop all the way south, but Su Shi only took ten days to rush to Hangzhou to take office.

At the end of April, as soon as he received a new appointment, Su Shi directly threw his house to Ma Mengde, and he didn't even ask for the furniture in the house, but only rolled up a few packages of his beloved things that he couldn't bear to give up, and the family boarded a fast boat that went directly to Hangzhou on the dock of Daxiangguo Temple and rushed to Hangzhou.

After a year of construction, Zhao Xing's loach stack has been fully perfected, and the flying ticket shops opened by the Jews are all over the cities where the loach stack is located, and the general transportation of goods does not even require a large amount of copper coins for settlement, and the flying ticket issued by the Jews can be used directly. Before Su Shi went south, Ma Mengde gave him a few flight tickets in advance, and the loach inn was opened by his own family, and he didn't have to pay even the passenger fare, so Su Shi took a few flying tickets with confidence, plus some belongings that he was reluctant to abandon, and went south lightly.

Zhao Xing's loach boats are famous for their speed, and now the loach stacks along the line are fully manned, and the loach men use the relay method to move from Bianliang to Hangzhou day and night, this road originally took about 40 days, but now it only takes 7 days to complete. On the evening of the seventh day after leaving Beijing, Su Shi had already landed in Hangzhou, and the carriage that came to pick him up stopped at the wharf, because it was a transportation line driven by his own family, and Zhao Xing's industry was known for its strict management and fine work. Su Shi got off the boat, didn't even do the work of counting his luggage, sat directly on the carriage to greet him, and headed for Zhao Xing's manor overnight.

In the spring, the climate in Hangzhou was a bit muggy, and Su Shi's family was drowsy in the carriage.

This time, Su Shi only brought Mrs. Wang and Chaoyun with him, and those concubines were indeed dismissed by him, and it is said that Zhao Xing sent someone to search for them afterwards and kept them in a separate courtyard. However, Su Shi doesn't care about these now.

The road from Hangzhou Canal Wharf to Zhao Xing's house is a specially renovated bluestone slab road, and the carriage walks on it very smoothly, and the horse's hooves are crisp. At this time, it had a hypnotic effect, and Su Shi's family dozed under this regular hoof sound. In the middle of the night, Su Shi heard a loud sound of opening the door, he woke up from the haze, lifted the curtain and asked the coachman: "What's the matter, have you arrived at the place?" ”

"It's here! Teacher, I have boiled the bath water. Dinner is also ready, do you think you should eat first or take a bath first? What appeared next to the carriage was Zhao Xing's smiling face. He was holding a large horse lantern. Smiling Su Shi, he continued: "The room is also cleaned up, and if you don't want to come out to eat, there is also a snack in the room to satisfy your hunger." ”

Su Shi was surprised and delighted, he quickly jumped out of the carriage and asked, "Leaving people, why are you?" Aren't you a regimental training judge in Michigan? How did you end up here? ”

Zhao Xing smiled happily. He hadn't answered yet. Shocked by his voice, Su Dun jumped up from the carriage and jumped at him: "Ah Da." You're here, but you miss me, where is my cat, my big dog? ”

Zhao Xing was also overjoyed to pick him up, and while answering "It's all here", he turned to Su Shi and replied: "Teacher, let's wash the dust first." ”

Su Shi hurriedly replied: "The children are tired, wash their faces first, and the rice doesn't need to be too complicated, one person will have a bowl of shredded meat soup first, which is enough." ”

While walking towards the castle, Su Shi repeated the question just now: "Leaving people, why are you here, where are you ...... Mizhou?"

Zhao Xing immediately took over the topic and added: "Teacher, Azhu is happy, the conditions in Mizhou are really bad, so I sent Azhu to Hangzhou to have a baby...... Well, there happened to be something going on at home, so I handed over a stamp, hoping to retire and recuperate. ”

Su Shi couldn't laugh or cry a little: "I thought it was a big deal, sending Azhu back to his hometown, an old servant could do it, do you need to do it yourself?" On sick leave? Do you know how many people go back and forth to camp for a send? Li Zhiyi know that you sang his songs at the Chinese New Year's Eve banquet in Michigan and made him famous, but after he returned to Beijing, he was not idle and bored, seeking officials every day? You're ......! ”

When Su Shi said this, he stopped abruptly, he glanced at Zhao Xing suspiciously, and did not continue.

Don't say it, Su Shi came to Hangzhou at the beginning, on the one hand, because he had served as a general judge in Hangzhou and was familiar with the local situation, and on the other hand, he did not have the idea of asking Zhao Xing for help.

The situation in Hangzhou is now more severe, this year in May, there is still no spring rain, last year's land disaster has reduced Hangzhou's household registration by three percent, this year's famine is not very optimistic.

Under such circumstances, Su Shi chose Hangzhou as a magistrate, on the one hand, because of his courageous character, and on the other hand, he thought that Zhao Xing had moved to Hangzhou with some Cheng people, and these people could always help him...... Of course, now that Zhao Xing himself is here, there is no need to worry.

Su Shi has always known that Zhao Xing is sincere to people, but he never thought that Zhao Xing could give up his official position for him, he was worried that the other party would really resign for him, then he owed too much favor, so he couldn't go on when he was halfway through the conversation.

Zhao Xing shrugged, led the convoy to the fort, and chatted with Su Shi: "Actually, there are some other things at home, which made me decide to resign." These things are not big or small, but others really can't handle them, so I have to come personally. Teachers don't have to worry, it's all small things, and they can be handled in three or five months. ”

Su Shi lowered his head and thought about it, and comforted Zhao Xing: "It's okay, you don't need to worry about leaving people, you can handle the affairs of your family with peace of mind, I just happened to be short of manpower when I came to Hangzhou." If the court allows you to resign from your official position in Michigan, you will be a priest or a treasurer with me. I'll explain to the imperial court when I go back, well, I really need you here. ”

Zhao Xing's estate was large enough that with the end of the civil work on the courtyard, most of the workers had moved to Linhai Village, Mizhou, where a dock castle was built. The complex, which can accommodate several thousand people, now seems a little empty, and the owner has been away for a long time. It also makes this place show a kind of neglected depression. After Su Shi's family settled down, it suddenly made the castle a little more popular.

There is also Xiao Shi Gao Yu who came to Hangzhou with Su Shi this time, and he will serve as the head of the book, so he officially gave him an official name: Gao Yu. In addition to Gao Yu, Su Shi also brought the appointment of an idle official: Qin Guan. This guy is still in the capital, and he wants to wait until Su Shi settles down, and then slowly go south.

Su Shi had a tiring journey, and the family finished bathing. After drinking a bowl of porridge, they rested in peace, and Gao Yu was busy sorting out Su Shi's luggage and settling his house. He was holding a cup of hot tea. apologized to Zhao Xing: "Duke Su is a little offended, the official position of the priest is from the ninth grade, which is several levels lower than the judge, and Brother Zhao has been wronged when he takes this official position." ”

Zhao Xing shook his head: "If I care about official quality, why should I resign from Mizhou-I have already opened up the situation there." All that's left is to drink a little wine, listen to a little song, and finish the term. So. Don't talk to me about it. Our own people, why bother talking about this! ”

As soon as the topic changed, Gao Yu said sincerely: "However, this time we really need the help of leaving people, there is a big drought in Hangzhou, and last year's harvest was not good, and even if you have money, you can't buy food." Doumi fifty-six text. It can be said that hunger is everywhere, and there are corpses on the road. On the way to office. Su Gong is still saying: At this moment, only Brother Zhao's fleet can transport grain from sea and land. I also hope that Brother Zhao will help. ”

Zhao Xing nodded and replied: "Hangzhou is where I settled, and there are my fathers and villagers on the left and right, originally I still had scruples, and I didn't dare to give relief in private, since the teacher is here, I will donate 200,000 stone grain to help the villagers survive the famine." ”

Gao Yu smiled and shook his head: "Two hundred thousand stones, this amount is too terrifying, the government still needs to pay for it, Brother Zhao, you can't do things so publicly." ”

Zhao Xing glanced at Gao Yu in surprise, when he was in Bianliang in the capital, this little guy still looked cautious, but now he is like an old official. Perhaps, this is the saying that "the ass decides the head". Gao Yu is now an official, Zhangji, Jiupin Official, sitting in this position, he began to show that inherent shrewdness and cunning.

Zhao Xing deeply agreed with Gao Yu's words, but the government paid for it, and there was still a problem: "Tens of thousands of victims in Hangzhou, if you don't rely on donations from wealthy businessmen, where will the imperial court get the money to buy grain?" ”

Gao Yu shook the teacup and replied: "On the way, Duke Su talked to me about this, saying that he planned to go to the imperial court and ask the imperial court to allow the sale of Du Mu in Hangzhou, and each copy of Du Mu was sold for 300 to 500 yuan, and sold 1,000 yuan of Du Mu, hundreds of thousands of yuan were in hand, which was enough to help the victims of the disaster in Hangzhou." ”

Zhao Xing agreed with the other party's statement: "What's more, if you really have hundreds of thousands, you can do big things." "The tax revenue of Mizhou barter last year was 860,000 guan, and if each share of the barter was sold at 500 guan, there would be 1,000 more monks in Hangzhou, and the government would have an extra 500,000 guan of disposable disaster relief funds, which is enough to do a lot of things.

Gao Yu pointed in the direction of Bianliang and added: "The Queen Mother, it is estimated that this matter is not very difficult. There are hundreds of monasteries in Hangzhou, and there are more than 1,000 monks, that is, there are more than 10 people in each temple. The key is how to transport grain, to transport as much grain as possible with the least amount of money, which requires Brother Zhao's help. ”

Zhao Xing nodded: "Senior brother, I have decided to resign from the official position in Mizhou, in the future, you and I will work together, you will call me Liren, and I can call you Yanshi." I will personally handle the matter of shipping grain, you can rest assured, I will guarantee that the cheapest rice will be shipped back. ”

Gao Yu is as good as a stream: "Brother Liren, the key is to have a large amount, if a boat of transport, a drop in the bucket, more than 100,000 people in Hangzhou, how many days can each person eat a liter of rice?" If not even one liter can be distributed at a time, then the people are always hungry, and the grain ships are always tired of coping with it—it is only appropriate to transport enough food at one time, so that the people's families have surplus food to support the next grain release. ”

"This is not a problem", Zhao Xing replied with a smile.

I don't know if it's an illusion, Gao Yu found that Zhao Xing's smile had a hideous taste.

Su Shi rested in Zhao Xingdi Manor for two or three days, and after the fatigue of the journey was all gone, he handed over an official post to invite Yang Zuren, the general judge of Hangzhou, and the squire of Hangzhou to come to Zhao Xing's mansion to discuss matters, and began to officially take over the affairs of Hangzhou. It is said that after Su Shi took office, he should live in the official office, but Zhao Xing's castle was too comfortable, so Su Shi continued to stay in Zhao Xing on the grounds that the official office had not yet been renovated, and Zhao Xing had many houses here. Su Shi simply set up the official office in Zhaoxing Castle and began to work in the castle.

In the following days, Zhao Xing was also ready to set off in the past few days, he kept mobilizing the giant sea ship to the vicinity of Hangzhou, and after Su Shi officially applied to the imperial court and obtained the permission to sell the disaster relief, Zhao Xing's preparations here have been almost done.

It was only at this time that Su Shi had a vague glimpse of Zhao Xing's strength - no, it should be said that it was the strength of his concubine Chen. After a few days, Zhao Xing transferred to Hangzhou Wharf with 14 giant sea boats. Each ship is perverted to massiveness.

Generally speaking, maritime merchants can have two or three such giant ships, and they have already stepped into the ranks of wealthy merchants, but Zhao Xingdi's potential seems to be far from exhausting. He also kept issuing orders for the sea ships in Mizhou, Guangzhou, and Quanzhou to assemble in Hangzhou after unloading.

When the number of giant boats reached 21, Zhao Xing couldn't wait. He had a special relationship with Su Shi, so he decided to set off immediately without waiting for the approval of the imperial court. Although Su Shi felt that "saving lives is like fighting fires". But if Zhao Xing is allowed to pay for the purchase of grain and grass first, I am afraid that it will cause impeachment by the imperial history. Even if the imperial court approves it, let the Hangzhou state government pay. It will also cause material controversy - taking the money is a big crime of extermination. So Su Shi resolutely stopped Zhao Xingdi's impulsiveness.

Finally waiting for the approval of the imperial court, seeing that Zhao Xing had already prepared and planned to leave immediately, Su Shi called Zhao Xing to discuss: "Leaving people, what is the value of each stone of millet in Nanyang?" How many runs does it take to fill a boat? Ten boatloads of grain, is 10,000 to 30,000 grains enough? ”

Zhao Xing's eyes widened. A strong smile - Su Shi really doesn't know the profits of sea trade? Take a boat trip. Without seventy times the profit, the merchants of the Great Song Dynasty were unwilling to work hard to go to sea. 30,000 times. Zhao Xing's profits brought back by a ship are more than that. Zhao Xing, who is accustomed to measuring output by cash flow, has been unable to sleep with pain in the past few days when he has watched his sea ship lying in the port.

It's all money, every day of delay is tens of thousands of yuan of income, why isn't Su Shi in a hurry? He's not in a hurry, Zhao Xing is in a hurry?

"Since I plan to sell the degree, there must be an amount, I heard that the presiding monk Buddha seal of Lingyin Temple is my original acquaintance, leaving people, you accompany me to Jinshan Temple for a trip, let's ask, how many monks are missing in Hangzhou temple?"

Going out in such a hot weather is not an easy job, Zhao Xing drove the light car in sweat and rain, and complained to Su Shi as he walked: "This road ...... Teacher, since you want to use as little money as possible to help the victims, why don't we do it another way: work for relief! Let the victims of the disaster in Hangzhou go to repair the road and repair the road well. Hangzhou has a shortage of labor, so it can also transfer some troops from nearby counties to repair the roads in the four counties and eight townships. ”

Su Shi wiped his sweat and nodded: "Not only to build roads, but also to dredge rivers. In addition, every year the tide enters the canal, and every time the tide arrives, the sediment accumulates, the Cao River fails, and the boat travels difficult. If the two rivers of Maoshan and Yanqiao are dredged, the water depth of the canal is more than eight feet, and then there is heavy rain, the rainwater can directly enter the river. An embankment gate was built between the two rivers to control the river and the tide. Since then, the tide does not enter the market, the river is not silted, and the boat is often ...... In this way, Hangzhou can be guaranteed to be waterlogged for thousands of years. ”

Su Shi wanted to solve the Hangzhou flood once and for all, and it would be too unkind to do so. According to the unspoken rules of officialdom, successive local officials pointed to such a big project to eat kickbacks and receive red envelopes, and Su Shi suddenly blocked the opportunities for all the local officials to eat kickbacks a thousand years later...... Well, it is estimated that he will be scolded for a thousand years.

If Su Shigan's engineering department is tofu scum, then for the next thousand years, local officials can't even find an excuse to repair the site, think about it, in the next thousand years, as long as every official goes to Hangzhou, he will be full of grievances and scold this old man Su for not being an official, and he doesn't even talk about "officialdom tradition". Isn't that harmful?!

Zhao Xing's eyes rolled and shook his head slightly.

At this moment, the carriage drove into the mountain, the climate was cool, Su Shi sat on the car and muttered: "The world's famous mountain monks occupy all ......"

There are indeed not many monks in Lingyin Temple, and it seems that the Song court has a good control over these lazy monks who do not pay taxes, and their number definitely does not harm the finances of the Great Song Dynasty.

When Zhao Xing came in, the monk guarding the door asked the purpose of the visitor, pointed directly to the mountain, and Zhao Xing went by himself, revealing a shortage of manpower.

Judging from the attitude of the monk guarding the door, he seems to have heard of Zhao Xing's name a long time ago, and he is very curious about this owner who has destroyed the feng shui of Hangzhou, but lives in a simple place. Zhao Xing walked in front, and he could feel the monk's gaze behind him, his gaze burning and full of curiosity.

On the hillside, a little monk is busy in the tea forest, he is picking the tender tips of the new tea field, while humming a song, his expression is focused and quiet, this idyllic scene, but unfortunately the two people who broke in did not appreciate it. Su Dongpo touched the beard on his chin. Confidently asked, "Where is the bald donkey?" ”

The little monk didn't raise his head, pointed to the hillside with his hand, and replied, "Eat grass on the eastern slope." ”

Su Dongpo's expression was a little embarrassed, and Zhao Xing was overjoyed. Seeing that Su Dongpo, a talented man, couldn't go on, Zhao Xing stepped forward and said proudly: "Hurry up and bring it?" ”

The little monk raised his eyes, looked at Zhao Xing's tall figure, and muttered in his mouth: "Speed is slow, go is right." Pull to push...... Slow to push - inappropriate, inappropriate? ”

Zhao Xing suddenly inserted and asked, "How long have you been carrying it?" ”

The little monk blurted out: "One hour." ”

After speaking, the little monk realized that he had slipped his mouth.

Su Dongpo laughed. The embarrassment just now was swept away.

Originally. Su Dongpo likes to make fun of monks, that is well known. The monk in the temple was worried that Su Shi would come to find fault again, so he stayed up for a few nights and came up with some wonderful couplets for the little monk to recite, but Zhao Xing's sudden involvement interrupted the little monk's pre-set dialogue scene. Although the little monk himself was a little anxious, it was not enough to deal with Zhao Xing's tricks. So it's exposed. He honestly admits that he has memorized the conversation for "an hour".

The little monk who exposed the truth didn't care about these two people, he ran straight up the hillside with the tea basket on his back. After a while, the monk Buddha Yin looked like he was fluttering out of the dust, and he came calmly, he made a salute with one hand, and greeted the two: "People say that Zhao Shi is wise, and the children can't hide your Dharma eyes from a little play, and they laughed, I don't know what the Dongpo monks are doing here?" ”

Zhao Xing smiled coldly.

This monk Buddha Yin is worthy of being a famous public relations person, and the scam was guessed through, and he actually made a small joke to cover up the past. And Su Dongpo seemed to be very fond of this, he laughed there, and took over the topic: "Master, I came to visit today for the sake of the matter." ”

Monk Buddha Yin's eyes widened suddenly, and he returned to that fluttering demeanor, as if the mortal world could not affect his immovable Zen heart at all: "Donor, please go inside!" Boy, tea, fragrant tea...... This is this year's new tea before the rain. This year's drought has caused most of the tea trees to die of drought. Zhao Xing did not follow the meaning of going to the temple, he admired the lake and mountains with his hands behind his back, after a while, the temple passed the food to entertain Su Shi to eat vegetarian food, a little monk came to greet Zhao Xing to go with him, Zhao Xing said, told the child: "I will not eat vegetarian food, tell you to host, I will go to the farmhouse under the mountain to drink tea, and ask him to send the Dongpo monk back to my house directly." ”

That night, Su Dongpo was sent back to Zhao Xingdi Castle by the monks, and when they met, they said a number: "1341, all temples in Hangzhou need this number, each can be sold for three hundred and forty yuan, and this money will be collected by the temples three days later." ”

Zhao Xing shook his head: "The teacher sells cheaply, and each degree should be at least five hundred yuan." The monks in Hangzhou are rich, you are talking about a thousand guan, and they are also willing...... Besides, more than 1,000 degrees are too dark, so it's better to sell 341 and give them some thought. ”

"Not much", Su Shi replied: "I made a rough calculation, about 200,000 people will be hired, and the disaster victims will be relieved, which is just the right amount of money." I need them 1,000 degrees, and I raise exactly 300,000 yuan.

Zhao Xing frowned: "Okay, since the teacher is willing, then I will set off tomorrow, and when they bring together the money, my first batch of grain will be delivered." ”

Su Dongpo nodded and agreed: "In this case, I still need to use your group of students, let them make a plan for me, and see how much it costs to dredge Maoshan Mountain, Yanqiao Erhe, and West Lake, and how much it costs to build roads everywhere......"

"I won't take them with me when I go to Nanyang, I'll leave them all to my teacher", Zhao Xing was already impatient.

The next day, Zhao Xing hurriedly boarded the ship with his men and set off, and Gao Yu, who saw him off, looked at Zhao Xing's fleet sailing out of the port, and said unconsciously: "Su Gong, why do I think this fleet is a bit murderous?" ”