Zong Ze went out with a mask.

It's almost night, the east is still red, and the air is getting dirtier and choking.

Looking at the sky in the east that was rendered by red mist, Zong Ze was worried, wondering if the road would even burn the city.

If it were possible, Zong Ze would rather nest in the room. It's just that the rumbling stomach reminds him that it's better to get out of the gang as soon as possible.

When they got to the street, there were far fewer pedestrians than usual, and the shops on both sides of the street were idle enough to gather and talk, and looking at the direction of their gaze, they knew that the topic of the road was inseparable from the charcoal fire that was still burning.

Several scholars walked in front of Zong Ze, they came out of the library in front, and the accent was Qian Jiaren from Liangzhejiang, which was close to Yiwu. Zong Ze is a celebrity in the Guozi Prison, and he can be counted in the Shilin in the capital, but these scholars don't know Zong Ze, and Zong Ze doesn't know them either—maybe it's because they're wearing masks—just passing by, Zong Ze guessed that most of them were Gongsheng who came to Beijing to catch the exam, and made an appointment to read books in the library.

After entering the wax moon, the project of Kaifeng Library has also slowed down, and the preparations for the opening of the library have not yet been completed, especially the work of cataloging the books inside, and the progress is much slower than imagined. However, in order to display the results as soon as possible, the library has opened several rooms dedicated to reading books, providing some historical books and newspapers for people to read, and by the way, it also provides cooked water. Although there is no stove in the library for heating, the hot water is barely enough. So during this period of time, there are not a few scholars in the capital who are willing to go to the library to read, and if they want to occupy a seat in it, they have to go there early and wait in line to open the door.

Zong Ze also recently heard the news that the imperial court was preparing to build a large library made of bricks and stones, instead of borrowing the existing building, called the Great Library of the Emperor and Song Dynasty. Not only the collection of a subset of the history of the world, but also some of the rare books and unique books that are treasured in the imperial city, will be copied and reprinted, and then included in the museum, it is said that there can be 100,000 copies and millions of volumes.

Zong Ze felt that it was nonsense, since Cangjie created words, has there been 100,000 books in the world for thousands of years, plus countless scattered, how can it be possible to collect 100,000 books? However, the number will not be too small, and it is not impossible to collect tens of thousands of books.

And that should be years later. Not to mention anything else, it is difficult to give up the four words of good money, even if Zong Ze has not yet become an official, he has already realized it. If the Great Library of the Emperor Song Dynasty wants to be built, at least hundreds of thousands of guan, plus the books in the library, millions of guan are also idle. In addition, the collection of books in the library, just compiling the catalog, is also a long time, not a year and a half can see the full success.

But after all, it was a grand event of Confucianism, and once this matter was accomplished, just like the popularization of hospitals from the capital to the localities, libraries would definitely be set up in the prefectures and counties for poor scholars to borrow. It is not for nothing that many scholars from poor families are unable to get ahead, not because they are not intellectual, but because they can see too few books, lack knowledge and learning, and the Confucian ministers who are known for their erudition are often from high-ranking families. If you take the version with too many mistakes as the original and read it hard, it is even more of a thing. With the library, the situation will be slightly improved.

However, in this kind of weather, no one will still be left in the library, Zong Ze looked in the direction of the library, and found that a group of scholars were coming from there, and it seemed that it was closed early today.

Walking through the street, Zong Ze walked to the small restaurant where he usually eats.

Choking smoke filled the city. With a mask, Zong Ze coughed repeatedly, thinking about whether to go to the pharmacy in the hospital to buy some medicine to clear his throat? But when he thought about how far he had to go, he immediately dispelled the idea.

Coming to the designated canteen, Zong Ze lifted the curtain and entered the door.

"Zong Xiucai is here!?"

Through a layer of masks, the owner of the small hotel still recognized Zong Ze at once. He hurriedly dropped the ledger in his hand and stepped forward to greet him with a smile.

This is a regular customer who drops two dollars a month in the store, and brings friends to patronize from time to time, the aura of Gongsheng is nothing, but the heavy copper and iron money, in the eyes of the owner of this small hotel that does not even have a welcome child in front of the door, is no worse than Jinshi.

Seeing that the store was full of people, Zong Ze immediately smiled and said, "Business is good today." ”

"No matter how many people there are, Zong Xiucai will leave your place." The shopkeeper nodded and led Zong Ze inside, "Today, the shop just boiled a pot of fritillary autumn pear soup that dissolves phlegm and relieves cough, clears throat and moistens lungs, and these are all here to drink soup." Do you want to have a show? ”

Zong Ze sat down in the old seat and nodded: "Let's have a cup first." ”

Small hotels have this benefit, they can do anything. In addition to wine and food, he sells cold soup in summer and hot drinks in winter, and never wastes a chance to make money.

In a blink of an eye, the shopkeeper brought a cup of Chuanbei autumn pear soup, and when he opened the lid in front of Zong Ze, it was still steaming, and a unique fragrance came to his face.

The shopkeeper sighed in front of Zong Ze, "Originally, I was going to use dates as the main ingredient to make soup, but this morning, when I saw that the charcoal field outside the city was on fire, the villain immediately changed to a pot of autumn pear soup. ”

Zong Ze shook his head and smiled when he heard this, "It looks like this fire is going to burn for a few days, and it will be earned tomorrow and the day after tomorrow." ”

The shopkeeper hurriedly said, "Then thank you for Xiucaigong's auspicious words." ”

Zong Ze nodded and directly left the shopkeeper behind. Lifting a corner of the curtain, I could see from the window that the sky on the east side was brighter.

The shopkeeper took a look at the fire in the sky, and immediately muttered, "Don't burn it into the city." ”

Zong Ze smiled and was relieved: "There is a city wall to block it, so you don't have to worry too much." ”

While the two were talking, they heard a bangbang outside, and then a human voice was picked up after the bangzi, and I don't know what they were shouting.

"It's not time yet, why did you change it?" The shopkeeper was confused and looked outside. But a gentleman came over and hurriedly greeted him.

After the scholar came in, he looked left and right, and when he saw Zong Ze, he shouted loudly: "Rulin, why are you still here?" ”

"Brother Anbang." Zong Ze stood up, it was his confidant Li Changning, "What's wrong?" ”

Li Changning walked over and saluted Zong Ze, and then said, "The gong is beating outside." There's a curfew today. If you want to eat, you better hurry up. ”

"Curfew? Aren't you afraid of the fire? The shopkeeper hurriedly asked.

If there is really a fire, if the night market is crowded, it will indeed be a headache.

But the two scholars were talking, and a shopkeeper dared to interject casually, and Li Changning immediately pulled down his face.

"But that's not all." Zong Ze went up to play the round, "I'm still afraid that thieves will be traitors." I am even more afraid that some people want to fish in troubled waters. ”

The shopkeeper couldn't understand and couldn't find out the connection, but Li Changning knew very well, "Who else can fish in troubled waters?" The Son of Heaven has ascended the throne, and Empress Taishang is sitting in the court, and she has won the ......"

Li Changning was only halfway through his words when he heard the sound of chaotic footsteps coming from the street, and hundreds of soldiers rushed past the door, and when they reached the street in front of them, they turned east.

Zong Ze chased them through the small window, and the worry in his heart deepened by two points.

Troops were hastily transferred out of the city, and there was a lot of possibility that the situation would deteriorate.

"I'm afraid something happened again." Li Changning lifted all the curtains and looked at the soldiers in the distance, feeling worried.

Under Li Changning's urging, Zong Ze hurriedly went out with money, and then the two of them who were very good at things went east along the Bianhe River, and soon heard a sound from the front, "The eighth scene is burning." ”

"Isn't the eighth game in Henan?" Li Changning was surprised that after being in the capital for a long time, he could immediately react to the location of these place names.

"How wide is the water? The eighth field in Henan is on the other side of the Bianhe River in the eleventh field, and the fire is so big that as long as the wind direction changes, the sparks can blow over and then burn. ”

Li Changning sighed: "This time, it is more lively inside and outside the city. ”

It should be because of the fire, Zong Ze found that there were more boats in the Bianhe River than usual, and it was estimated that the people outside the eastern city would also enter the city to join relatives and friends, which was indeed more 'lively'

Zong Ze looked at the east from afar, and he didn't know when he would be able to turn off the fire, and it was really uncomfortable to wear a mask.

However, he now hopes that the court can be safe and stable, and not let people feel that there are any flaws in it that can be exploited. It should also be a general idea to come to Zaifu, at this time, the court must not be in turmoil, and there is no room for those who have different intentions......

I still hope that my wife can have a peaceful New Year. Zong Ze looked forward to it.

……………………

Twilight was dreary.

In the Chongzheng Palace, there are Empress Xiang and the ministers of Zaifu. The fire situation changed, and they had to reunite here.

They have just arranged to arrange the list of guards in the palace today and in the next few days, the two mansions, plus Han Gang, in the next few days, they will be in shifts in the imperial city, and they can deal with various urgent matters at any time.

Next, it is an inquiry to Li Suzhi of the Kaifeng Mansion of Quanzhi.

The old fire was not extinguished, but the new fire started again, and the spread of this fire made the Empress Taishang and Zaifu extremely annoyed. With hundreds of thousands of extra kilograms of fuel, I don't know when the fire will subside.

Li Suzhi, who still pays more attention to his demeanor on weekdays, looks embarrassed today, and there is even black ash on his face. Hearing the question to the queen, there was immediately movement in the silence.

"Pretending." Zhang's voice was only heard by Han Gang beside him.

The dignified power knows Kaifeng Mansion, can stand on the front line of the fire, what else can be demanded of him? If Han Gang hadn't been the leader of the army who knew Lu Dao to fight the fire, and he didn't go out of the city, but stayed in the city gate to direct the work, most likely he would feel that Zhang Dian was too full of blame.

But now he thinks differently.

If those coal mountains want to be burned, it will not be a matter of one or two days, and there may be a repetition in the middle. Quan knows that Kaifeng Mansion cannot remain in the hands of mediocre officials, and it is best to replace it as soon as possible.

has to be replaced by a new prefect with outstanding ability, prestige, and the ability to fight for his life in person.