After the winter solstice, the snow has drifted in the north, and the sky and the earth are depressed. But in the south of the Yangtze River, although there is a cold wind from the northwest that blows from time to time, it is only cold for a day or two at most. The reed flowers are still undefeated, the safflower also maintains its life, and the black trees on both sides of the river, behind the red leaves, and the snow-white trees hanging on the branches, can mess with the true plum blossoms. When the gray clouds are clear, and the weather is clear, you will see that the grass is ochre at best, and there is always a little green at the roots, not only can the wildfires not burn inexhaustibly, but even the cold wind will not blow down.

Spending the winter in this environment, I always don't feel the slaughter of the year, and it also makes people think of the compatriots in the north who are cold and cold, and there is still a little happy happiness in my heart, which makes people's mood suddenly much better, and even the case is not so hateful.

The prefect of Suzhou returned to Youguang, and he sat in the signing room from the time of the hour, and it took off his glasses until two hours later, rubbing the back of his sore neck, and said to the old family who was standing at the head of the family: "What time is it?" ”

Gui Jia glanced at the Western clock sitting in the corner and said softly: "Master, it's three quarters of the hour." ”

"Oh," Gui Youguang nodded, and said slowly: "Let's pack up my things, you change my clothes for me, go to the back and call Mrs., we have to arrive early." ”

"Madame has passed." Gui Jia smiled: "The Zhongcheng family is not Beppu, so I didn't bother you." ”

"She's in a hurry." Gui Youguang couldn't help but say: "I'm not afraid of people's jokes." ”

"Hehe, how could it be? Today is the 100-year-old wine of the third son of the Zhongcheng Lord. Gui Jia changed into civilian clothes for the old man, and said with a smile: "Madam, this godmother should have gone a little earlier." ”

"Hmm." Gui Youguang nodded, and then said with a smile: "Yes, I also meant this just now." ”

After changing clothes, out of the detention room, looking at the sky outside, sunny as late autumn, the sky is high and refreshing, full of light, Gui Youguang can't help but take a deep breath, he likes this feeling that belongs to him completely, he has been in Suzhou Mansion for nearly 20 years, and only in the two years he has been a seal official, he has this feeling.

got on the four green sedan chairs, Gui Youguang went out of the palace from the back door, and in less than a cup of tea, he arrived in front of the governor's yamen.

The guards in front of the yamen, obviously familiar with the sedan chair, did not check or interrogate it, and put it in the open gate. Passing through the gate of the black fence, I saw the foyer of the governor's yamen. I saw that the black wooden door was about five feet high, the threshold was extremely high, and there were door sleeper stones carved with two lions playing balls on the left and right sides of the door post; In front of the figure-of-eight exterior walls on both sides of the foyer, a pair of extremely majestic lions, with their backs and feet painted blue and their bellies maroon, are the largest pair in Suzhou City.

As for the east and west archway, the wall of due north, naturally the same lot, but also than the ordinary yamen, there is one more five or six zhang high flag, the apricot yellow flag on the wind hunting and hunting, carefully can see ten big characters, Qin ordered Su Song to governor of the imperial envoy!

It is the atmosphere of a feudal territory.

The sedan chair with light went straight to the entrance hall, marched all the way from the lobby, the second hall, and the third hall, and entered this yamen, which was larger and more magnificent than his prefect's yamen, and had higher regulations, until it stopped in front of the hanging flower gate...... Today is said to be a private banquet for Lord Zhongcheng, only to entertain relatives and friends, and there are no outsiders, so it is held in a private residence.

He got off the sedan chair and just stood still, but saw that another sedan chair had also arrived, and when Gui Youguang saw it, he couldn't help but smile slightly, and stood there waiting. After a while, he saw the prefect of Songjiang Wang Yongji, getting down from the sedan chair, and when he saw the light, he took the lead and smiled: "Zhenchuan Gong, you came early." ”

"Occupy a near-convenient light." Gui Youguang smiled and said, "It's the last to come first." The two of them laughed and entered the door of the hanging flowers.

Shen An, the housekeeper in the mansion, came out, and Gui Youguang asked with a smile, "What is Lord Zhongcheng busy with?" ”

Shen An no longer has the appearance of jumping out of impetuousness back then, he has grown a beard, and he is much calmer, and he said with a smile: "I am teaching the two sons, it is estimated that it will take a quarter of an hour to finish." As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and asked, "The two adults will go to the main hall for tea first?" ”

Wang Yongji said with interest: "Go and listen and see how adults teach dolls that are less than three years old." His fifth son is also of this age, so he is naturally very interested.

Gui Youguang was also very curious, so the two followed Shen An and turned around to the study behind the flower garden, and when they got to the nearest place, the three of them slowed down, and it was good at noon, the window was open, and the sound inside could be heard when standing at the door.

The two prefects stood under the window, and Shen An wanted to go in to report, but was stopped by Wang Yongji, shook his head, and motioned for him to listen outside.

Looking in from the window, I saw Shen Mo sitting with his back to them, and a little doll in a brocade jacket sat on his lap, facing a colorful oversized map on the wall, on which the Ming Dynasty only occupied less than one-tenth of the land, let alone a large blue ocean.

Gui Youguang and Wang Yongji have seen similar maps, which are the "Kunyu Wanguo Quantu" passed by Western merchants, but they are far less delicate and detailed than this map, and they are not as vivid and interesting as this one--I saw that it was densely pasted with various charts, including animals, plants, minerals, and some villains of different colors, etc., etc., so that the two little dolls could not take their eyes off it.

I heard Shen Mo whisper softly: "Let's talk about Australia today, so where is Australia?" ”

The two little babies stretched out their white and tender little hands, scrambled to point to the middle and lower part of the map, and said in a milky voice: "...... there"

"That's amazing!" sighed silently, kissed each of the two little dolls on the cheeks, and pricked the two children with their heads turned out, wrinkled their little faces, and wanted to struggle to the ground. Seeing that his son didn't appreciate it, he smiled helplessly, took out two sugar men from his sleeves like a trick, and coaxed them to sit obediently in his arms.

The two little dolls stretched out their little tongues and licked the candy man, while leaning comfortably in Daddy's arms, listening to him tell about the exotic customs: "Speaking of Australia, it is a magical land, lonely in the depths of the ocean, but there is no less than my Ming territory, which is deservedly the world's largest island." Because of its isolation from Middle-earth, the terroir of the island is very different from ours. Many of the animals there have a bag on their stomachs......"

"Candy?" Aggie asked in a milky voice on the left.

"No, it's used to pretend to be a baby," Shen Mo smiled and pinched the eldest son's face, and said: "Put a baby like you in a bag, and put it wherever you want, so that the weak little doll doesn't have to run by herself, and she won't be caught by the big bad wolf......"

The two children sighed, "Wow, that's great, if Daddy and Grandma had one too, how nice it would be!" ”

This kind of thing sounded to the two adults outside, that it was necessary to be spanked, but Shen Mo didn't care, and continued to tell the story of the kangaroos, koalas, and platypus...... He spoke very plainly and beautifully, and it was interesting and interesting, not only two children, but even Gui Youguang and Wang Yongji outside were also deeply attracted and forgot the passage of time. It wasn't until the melodious bell rang and the bird popped out of the forehead of the clock to tell the time that everyone came back to their senses.

Shen Mo gently rested a pair of sons on the ground, and said with a smile: "Go find Grandma." ”

The two children ran out happily, and when they saw Gui Youguang standing at the door, they bowed politely and said, "Hello uncle." ”

"Hehe, okay." Polite children are always the most likable, and the two of them smiled heartily and took out the gifts that had been prepared long ago from their sleeves...... A pair of gnatish cages made of gold and silver filigree are returned to Youguang, and Wang Yongji is two 'self-owned lions' imported from the West, each of which is the size of a palm, vivid and simple. He tightened the law hidden in the lion's belly, and the little lions strode towards the two children, immediately attracting their full attention, and followed the pair of lions to the end of the corridor.

Seeing Shen An following closely, Shen Mo withdrew his gaze and smiled at the two: "Let's go, let's have tea." ”

In the silent study, hanging in the snow-white central hall, the clear precept of the Holy Master was written: 'His body is upright, and he will not be ordered.' His body is not right, although he does not obey orders. ’

The three adults sat at the table as the guest of honor, silently making tea by themselves, and talking to them in a slow voice. Sitting in front of him, it only makes people feel comfortable like a spring breeze, and there is no edge of a young man at all.

It is now the thirty-ninth year of Jiajing, and he will enter the Layue Gate immediately. Last year was a triennial inspection, and Shen Mo and his subordinates received excellent evaluations for their success in opening the port, completing the targets of the imperial court every year, and dredging the Wusong River, recovering Xuhai, and pacifying the Susong and Japanese troubles.

In the new year, at the beginning of the 39th year of Jiajing, there was a holy decree issued, the former prefect of Suzhou and Jiangnan City Bo Si promoted Shen Mo, because of his outstanding political achievements and great contributions, he was promoted to the governor of Su Song, and still served as the city Bo Si to promote a position; His subordinate Suzhou was sentenced to be Guang and promoted to the prefect of Suzhou; Changzhou County ordered Wang Yongji to replace Wang Chonggu, who was promoted to governor of Shandong, and was promoted to the prefect of Songjiang.

Silent and even 'its prosperity is also vigorous, and its death is also vigorous', at the age of twenty-four, he is already among the feudal frontiers, which is obviously too high, too dangerous, and too jealous. The invisible danger must have grown, and if you dare to swagger again, the speed of falling will definitely exceed the speed of rising.

So in this year, he put away the sharp edge when he was the prefect of Suzhou, 'opening the sea ban, fighting big households, repairing river workers, and leveling the widows', and devoted himself to self-cultivation and surname, without any eye-catching moves, and even shirked a lot of opportunities to show his face, and only focused on managing his own one-third of an acre.

Gradually, he finally ceased to be the focus of everyone's conversation, but under his rule, Suzhou City and City Bosi became more and more prosperous and became the economic center of the entire southeast.

Now that we are about to enter the lunar month, many official affairs have to be closed, many accounts have to be summarized, and many reports have to be released.

However, since Xu Hai changed banners, he became the vanguard of the fight against pirates, and the Japanese bandits in the Susong area have almost disappeared, and the occasional rebel has not affected the thriving overseas trade. Therefore, although the task of handing over to the national treasury this year has reached a huge amount of four million taels, it has been completed at the end of this month, so Gui Youguang and Wang Yongji are in a very relaxed mood, and they are full of interest and say with great interest how beautiful this year's results are, and the task of five million taels next year will not be a difficult task, and they don't even see the faint haze between the eyebrows of Lord Zhongcheng.

The two happily talked for a long time, only to find that the adults rarely responded. Although the adult became more and more low-key, he was not so low-key, so he asked, "My lord, is there anything wrong?" ”

Shen Mo shook his head and smiled, "No." Then he glanced at Wang Yongji and said, "Over there in Shanghai City, it's all ready, right?" ”

"Back to my lord." Wang Yongji said softly: "Whether it is a wharf, a shipyard, a commercial house, or a ticket number, they have all been built, and we can open the port just by waiting for the adults to choose a better one." ”

Hearing him say this, Shen Mo's face showed a little relief, and Gui Youguang muttered a little unhappily: "In the future, it will be time for Brother Runlian to sing the leading role, and I will be able to be more leisurely." "Obviously, if Shanghai opens its port, the status of Suzhou City will be much worse than before, and he, the prefect, will naturally not be happy.

Wang Yongji hurriedly smiled and comforted: "Zhenchuan Gong doesn't know that Suzhou City is located inland after all, and it is definitely not as convenient as Shanghai, so the adults will move the Yamen of the City Department to Shanghai." ”

The more Gui Youguang comforted, the more depressed he became: "I can't figure it out, it took two years of work, nearly two million taels of silver, to finish the Wusongjiang project, how can I say that if I don't use it, I won't need it?" ”

"Why is it useless?" Wang Yongji said: "The purpose of dredging the Wusong River is to perpetuate the flood in the Susong area, and as for the waterway for the city, it is just a by-product. Now that the main use is still there, how can it be said that it is useless? ”

"You...... Swear black is white.! Gui Youguang said angrily.

"Okay, okay," Shen Mo hurriedly stopped the two of them: "Usually it's like a brother, but when it comes to this matter, he immediately turns his face and doesn't recognize anyone." Speaking of relief, Gui Youguang said: "Zhenchuan Gong, you are too pessimistic. Looking at the map, the advantage of Shanghai City is that it is the mouth of the Huangpu River, which is indeed incomparable to Suzhou. Seeing that the face of the light was about to collapse, he said silently: "But Suzhou also has its own strengths, it is located at the junction of the north and south canals, and it is the west gateway of Shanghai, which determines that the world's goods want to enter and leave Shanghai City, they have to transit in Suzhou City, and transport in and out from the Wusong River. ”

Gui Youguang was a little comfortable, and sighed: "It's not that I'm unreasonable, but I just feel a little tossed like this." ”

This time it was his turn to be silent and depressed, and he saw a faint wry smile on his face: "You are willing to do it...... "I also have to do it as a last resort." ”

"What's wrong with you?" The two asked with concern.

"I won't tell you that my friend in Beijing sent a letter last month," Shen Mo said softly, "saying that the imperial court intends to summon me back to Beijing." ”

"Back to Beijing?" The two of them were taken aback and said, "Your Excellency has always been cautious and has no fault, what reason do they have to summon you back?" ”

"Hehe," said with a silent smile, "Returning to Beijing to be an official is a high promotion in the eyes of the world, how could you think that I have to make a mistake to go back." He said: "When His Majesty sent me south, he told me about the five-year period, and said that he would rearrange me after five years. It has been more than four years since Jiajing left Beijing in the 35th year, and it is reasonable to recall me now. ”

"My lord, you look at it wrongly," Wang Yongji said indignantly: "Your Excellency is now sealing the Xinjiang side, and clearing the Haiyan River governed by Suzhou, it is to enjoy the fruits of peace, and when you are comfortable in a few days, now they want to recall you, obviously uneasy and kind!" Am I right, my lord? ”

These angry words made Shen Mo nod his head, and he smiled helplessly: "Brother Runlian, although you are not in the middle, you are not far away." ”

In fact, it was exactly what Shen Mo feared that happened...... Because he did too well and beautifully in Suzhou, since the 38th year of Jiajing, the silver released to the treasury even exceeded the salt class of Lianghuai, how can the oil and water in it not make those greedy guys in the DPRK and China blush?

Well, to put it bluntly, it's the Yan Party.

Although Shen Mo gave Yan Shifan's gray grandson a generous filial piety every year in order to be safe with Yan Dang, the insatiable Yan Donglou still thought that Shen Mo gave less. Coupled with the minions below him, the fat and healthy throne of Shen Mo with red eyes, the whole price was whispering in Yan Shifan's ear, saying what Shen Shuyan said Although he gave you more than 100,000 taels of silver every year, he was a student of Xu Jie, and he didn't know tens of millions of taels to his family every year, not to mention the dry shares of the Xu family in it, and he didn't know how much he had fished.

Even if you don't talk about money, just talk about government affairs, now Suzhou is on the right track, there is no rebellion, nothing is worrying, you can make an uproar to the imperial court - in recent years, the imperial court can rely on Suzhou to support, you look at Shen Mo and his subordinates, a few years ago they were not people on the scene, and now they have become the governor and prefect, isn't this all thanks to the city's boss?

(To be continued)