On the evening of the nineteenth, the moment before the city gate closed, the treasures of the Qionglin Society finally arrived, and when Shen Mo received the news, he hurriedly rode out to meet him, and when he arrived at the dock, he saw that the old men had already disembarked from the boat, and were smiling at themselves.

The brothers haven't seen each other for a long time, and they are naturally very affectionate, hugging and hugging, giggling, without any of their usual majesty. When they returned, seven people were crammed into a car, regardless of whether they would crush the car and exhaust the horses.

In the car, Shen Mo asked them why they were a few days late, Xu Wei smiled and said: "You don't know the Grand Canal, just block it for several days." ”

was ruthlessly exposed by Tao Dalin: "Actually, it's all because of Brother Wen, he has to participate in the Oiran Conference in Yangzhou, so he was delayed." ”

"You didn't object at the time!" Xu Wei's old face flushed and said: "The official gentry in Yangzhou are too enthusiastic, and they won't let them go, what do you think I can do?" He said with a smile and said: "On the moonlit night of the twenty-fourth bridge, where does the jade teach." Yangzhou is worthy of being the land of gold powder alongside Jinling, and it is indeed worthy of its name! ”

"The last Oiran was ordered by Brother Wen, and people didn't think he had a scruffy beard, so they wanted to accompany her for the night." Sun Ling broke the news with a depressed face, obviously wanting to replace him.

Shen Mo smiled and said, "Listen to this, Senior Brother Wen didn't agree?" ”

"That's what makes people feel depressed!" Sun Ling said: "He doesn't want it, it's okay to let it be given to me, it's going to be wasted." ”

His eldest brother sneered on the side: "In the capital, you have been sleeping in the willows, do you want to continue when you come back?" Wait for the dad to play the board when you get home. ”

Sun Ling's face suddenly became bitter, and he said in a sullen voice: "I have known about the complaint since I was a child, and it seems that I have to split up." The crowd burst into laughter.

After laughing, he was silent and asked, "Why did you miss such a good opportunity?" ”

"It's because I hit her." Xu Wei said seriously: "If you go back and sleep with her again, everyone will wonder if there is any deal in advance, which will be a big damage to her reputation and my fair surname." ”

Shen Mo couldn't help but praise: "The idea of a talented man is to be different from others." ”

"You mean, I'm not human anymore?" Xu Wei said with a glare.

"I mean...... You're not just a random person. Shen Mo smiled.

"That's it." Xu Wei became proud at this time, but as soon as he finished speaking, he was ridiculed by Sun Ling: "It's not a person to get up casually!" ”

Farts all the way, piercing the eyes to the mansion, Shen Mo took them inside, although it was already dark, but the six people could still feel that the silent yamen was really big.

"Come obediently, it's much more than our Shaoxing Mansion Yamen." Tao Dalin made a fuss and said: "The yamen of the six departments is not so big. Wu Dui also said enviously: "You are a big yamen." ”

"It's not my family, what's there to envy." Shen Mo shook his head and smiled: "Suzhou is rich on the one hand, and on the other hand, there are many gardens, so it is not surprising that the government is more magnificent than other places." ”

"It seems that there is still a future for the outward release." Everyone sighed for a while: "In Yanjing City, the fifth-grade officials commute on foot, the sixth-grade officials can't afford to live in the courtyard, and the seventh-grade officials can only eat coarse tea and light rice, and the officials are too worthless." ”

Shen Mo shook his head and smiled bitterly: "The pain of the magistrate, you Jingguan can't understand it. You can pay attention in the future to see that local officials generally age faster than Beijing officials, and if they are really as good as you think, they should be reversed. ”

Laughing and entering the main hall, it was really magnificent and brightly lit. The large round table in the center of the hall is full of various dishes, fresh melons and fruits are piled up, and all kinds of fine wines overflow the fragrance of the nose.

Shen Mo beckoned them to sit down and said, "It's so easy to get together with my brothers today, that's if you don't get drunk and don't go home." The six of them smiled and said: "It seems that you have become a prefect and have a good amount of alcohol, are you still afraid that you will not succeed?" ”

On the verdant past of the past, the seven of them drank freely, and they made a fuss until the second half of the night, drunk and crooked, and finally ended.

Shen Mo asked the drunk guys to be sent to the guest room, still feeling unsatisfied, and said to Sun Yan, the only one who was still sober: "There is still an hour to go, Suo surname let the kitchen make a sobering soup, let's talk until dawn." ”

Sun Yan smiled and said, "That's what I mean." ”

The two of them moved to the flower hall, and the maid served strong tea, as well as some melon seeds and pine nuts, so they quietly retreated and let the two adults speak...... "What are your plans for next?" Shen Mo took the tea cup and said, "Traveling around, or staying home?" ”

"We discussed it, and when we went home and had a look, we went separately to the provinces." Sun Yan said: "We are fellow villagers and fellow students, you have all progressed into red robes, and we are all seven-grade, everyone says it doesn't matter, and they are all anxious." "He's a serious guy who has one thing to say, but it doesn't mean that he has a bad relationship with Shen Mo.

"I'm just a special appointment when the situation is special," Shen Mo shook his head and said, "There is no precedent before, and I don't know what to do next, and I may not be able to say if I have been in office in this prefect for more than ten years." He said with a smile: "How good are you in step-by-step, and when you finish your qualifications, you may be able to jump in front of me." ”

"No, it won't." Sun Yan shook his head and said: "You don't know, this year we are in Beijing, and the name of the magistrate we heard the most is not Hu Zongxian, nor is it anyone else, but you are silent and silent." Said with a smile: "To be honest, your name of Shen Cunyan has been established in the hearts of the courtiers, and it is impossible to be forgotten!" ”

"Oh......" Silence whispered, "How's my reputation?" ”

"To tell the truth," Sun Yan whispered: "Sanqi open, Qichengren said that your means are extraordinary, young and old; However, there are also some people who have a lot of complaints about your rectification of the Xu family. Said and said comfortingly: "But they have all obeyed your courage, even Xu Ge's family dares to move, who else dare not move?" ”

This result was silent and not surprising, and even a little surprised: "Is it really that there are many people who say that I am good?" You're not comforting me, are you? ”

"Of course not," Sun Yan cried and laughed: "I have something to say, don't you know?" He said in a low voice: "Actually, at the beginning, no one said anything about you at all, after all, you also saved face for the Xu family, and only took a few of his minions." But later, the Xu family's family background was exposed, which made Xu Ge, who had always regarded himself as a clean official, lose face and become the laughing stock of the Yan Party, which made his students complain about you. ”

"Just go ahead." said silently: "If I blindly take care of his face, I will be scolded to death by the people of Suzhou." "Thinking about the appearance of Hai Rui and Zhu Qianshou in the palace at that time, Shen Mo said: 'I was also driven by others to put ducks on the shelves...... but this kind of thing can never be explained. Men, sometimes you have to be yourself.

After talking about the affairs of the capital again, he asked silently, "How is the situation in the Qionglin Society?" When they left Beijing, they discussed low-key development first, and then talked about it when they got a firm foothold.

"There are more than a dozen members," Sun Yan said, "but they are all small characters like us." He said in a deep voice: "We have an idea, next year is the year of Dabi, should we take this opportunity to give more lectures and expand our influence?" ”

"That's exactly what I wanted!" Shen Mo smiled: "The name of our Bingchen Qihanlin is still very loud, not only Suzhou, but even the students of Nanzhili have come to this mansion to study, just to listen to my fine lectures once every seven days." ”

"Well, there are seven of us, one person and one province," Sun Yan said excitedly: "Let's compare with each other to see who brings out more Jinshi!" He said with a proud smile: "We are not as good as you in the exam, but not necessarily in the lecture!" ”

Shen Mo laughed and said, "Then let's try it!" Saying that, he twisted his fingers and calculated: "Nanzhili, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Huguang, and Sichuan, just these seven provinces." ”

"Good!" Sun Yan also smiled.

The next day is the opening ceremony of the city's port division, the sky is beautiful, the sky is high and the clouds are light, it is a good time for outdoor activities.

There are so many people on the streets! Everyone knows that today is the big day of Suzhou's opening of the port, 10,000 empty alleys come out to see the excitement, even close to the edge of the city, it is also three layers inside and three layers outside, you can't see the head, you can't see the edge.

Everyone is watching the gongs and drums and suona, rowing boats, stepping on stilts, dragon and lion dances and other kinds of fun, forming a long dragon, slowly walking through the archways covered in red and green. The children are celebrating the New Year, and they have never seen such a lively scene, following the playful team, squeezing over, hugging over, shouting, and happily flying.

The most crowded is still the canal wharf where the Yamen of the City Ship Division is located, this square faces the canal in the south, the Yamen of the City Ship Division is due north, the east side is the Pingzhun Auction House, and the west side has not yet been listed, which is reserved for the future futures exchange. The officials of Suzhou Prefecture, Wu County, and Changzhou County Yamen held hands, person after person, and put the tide of people outside the square, all of them were tired and sweaty.

But they did not suffer in vain, and when they crossed the cordon, they immediately became less crowded. There were more than 1,000 people in the huge square, all of whom were guests holding invitations, and there were no ordinary people.

These people have different identities, and when they stand in front of the tall yamen and look around, the most conspicuous ones are of course the officials, among whom there are one hundred and twenty or thirty people wearing black veils on their heads, from the governors, the political envoys, and the envoys to the governors of the prefectures and counties. Among them, the young officials who stand together are the most eye-catching, they are the first cadres of Bingchenke in the same year, with several Hanlin of Qionglin Society as the center, standing Ruan Zisong of Jiading Zhi County, Zhao Dahe of Obligation Zhi County, Shaoxing Governor Zhang Shipei and other more than a dozen officials serving in Jiangsu and Zhejiang!

Seeing so many people who came to congratulate him in the same year, and they all respected Shen Mo very much, all the people with hearts, including Hu Zongxian, rose to a trace of enlightenment, this guy has become a climate...... In addition to the officials, the gentry and senior citizens in Suzhou City, of course, did not pull one to attend, but the largest number of people were the businessmen who had been waiting for this day for a long time...... Although Wang Yongji had already carefully selected the invitations when he sent them, there were still five or six hundred merchants from all over the world who appeared at the ceremony.

In addition to the representatives of the ten major merchant gangs such as Jin merchants, Hui merchants, Zhejiang merchants, Fujian merchants, and Cantonese merchants, there are even yellow-haired and blue-eyed Franco Spaniards; There are also Persians with turbans wrapped in turbans under the sun, and those with particularly dark skin, as if they came from the South Seas, and it is said that there are also merchants from Goryeo, Ryukyu and other places, adding up to more than a dozen countries.

These people were fed up with the exploitation of Fujian and Zhejiang maritime merchants, and as soon as they heard the news of the reopening of the city, they came from thousands of miles away, which is also the purpose of Shen Mo's early release of the news of the opening of the port, that is, to let these people catch up.

According to his observations, among the ten major merchant gangs of the Ming Dynasty, except for the Fujian merchants, the Cantonese merchants and some Zhejiang merchants, they were too conservative, and their attachment to the land and fear of the sea made it difficult for them to form a fleet and sell their goods to Nanyang, Yueben, and even India and Europe.

Therefore, if you want to avoid Suzhou becoming the exclusive supply port of Wang Zhi, you have to count on these adventurous foreigners.

Of course, there is a deeper purpose for him, as far as he knows. At this time, the other side of the sea had entered the era of maritime hegemony, and maritime trade and colonization began to flourish. In the middle of the ocean, merchant ships from various countries are loaded with black slaves and gold and spices to carry them to Europe, and privateers and pirates from various countries are also roaming around in search of enemy caravans. The haughty knights are gone, replaced by merchants and pirates. In this tide of gold and blood from the ocean, human society, which has been slowly advancing for tens of thousands of years, will usher in the first baptism of globalization.

From then on, the West will gradually become stronger, while the East will sail against the current, not advancing but retreating, and finally losing completely to the West.

Even though the Ming Dynasty is still the most powerful country in the world, it has been caught up by others in many ways - the navigation and shipbuilding technology of the Persians is currently the most advanced; The people of Europa have been renaissance, have traveled around the earth, and philosophy and natural science have flourished, all of which must be humbly studied by the proud empire of the Ming Dynasty.

And these merchants who have come from far and wide are the messengers who bring those knowledge, how can silence not welcome it?

Standing on the high stone steps, looking at the crowded square, Shen Mo has never been so sure. Yes, it is a big mistake to close the country to the outside world, and open communication is the trend of the times and the desire of the people!

When the industrial and commercial prosperity of this empire reaches a certain level, the sea is the only correct direction, let the ark that carries the future destiny of the Ming Dynasty set sail from today, in Suzhou City!

In fact, what he has to do is very simple, that is, to escort it, eliminate all kinds of threats to its existence, as long as there is no interference from external forces, the Ming Dynasty will also complete its own evolution and will not lag behind the times!

"The auspicious time has come!" The salute shouted loudly, interrupting his wandering thoughts.

'A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. In my humble words, don't relax for a moment! Shen Mo felt that the blood in his body was boiling, and he arched his hand to Hu Zongxian, who was standing aside with a smile: "Please unveil the plaque of the Ministry Hall!" ”

Hu Zongxian smiled: "Let's be together." On the side of Shen Mo, he pinched the corner of the red silk, and lifted it at the same time under the gaze of everyone, revealing the plaque inside, only to see the seven thin gold characters of the 'Jiangnan City Botiju Division', which appeared in front of everyone.

Under the leadership of the two, the audience knelt down and shouted long live, because on the side of the big word, there is a line of small characters and a seal, which together means that Jiajing has a personal inscription in the thirty-sixth year of the imperial pen!

Eight sergeants carefully raised the plaque above the lintel of the gate and landed firmly in the place it had been left in the morning.

After the plaque was completed, people cheered up, and after Hu Zongxian's brief speech, he silently announced the start of the celebration. The whole city of Suzhou is full of fireworks, and the incense mist is swirling. Firecrackers, fires, and cannons rang out like gruel in a boiling pot. Two 30-foot dragons and eight pairs of lions also danced vigorously! It creates a celebratory atmosphere.

The officials rushed up to congratulate them, smiled silently and returned the salute, and invited them to sit inside; Then the gentry, the wealthy merchants, and the foreign guests, all invited into the yamen. Wine and food have been set up inside, and they are hospitalized.

After the ceremony, the next day, the officials all took their leave, and silently sent them off one by one, thanking them for taking the time to come. It's just that for some reason, Hu Zongxian, who should have been the busiest, stayed for two more days. Seeing that he had asked Xu Wei to drink and chat all day long, Shen Mo knew what Hu Zongxian was planning - he was obviously not satisfied, just letting Xu Wei check it, but wanted him to catch the knife and write the "Into the White Deer Table".

It was not easy to intervene in this matter, so he pretended not to know, but Xu Wei came over to ask him, took the initiative to talk about it, and asked him what to do?

There was silence for a moment, and then he said softly: "Write it, don't sign it." ”

"Even if I don't sign it, others will know that I wrote it." Xu Wei pouted and said: "Now that I'm also a celebrity, how many people have figured out my article, and you can see it at a glance." ”

"It's really not modest." Shen Mo smiled and scolded: "Then you can watch it." ”

"Then I'll write it." Xu Wei said softly: "When I was down, I was appreciated by him, and I looked at the thatched house, if it weren't for you, I would have gone." For this, I always felt that I owed him, and this time I wrote it in two. ”

(To be continued)