readx; Daming Palace Bathhouse Hall, here is the Queen Mother Shen Pearl's bedroom, in the innermost part of the palace, there is a hidden small room, this is the place where Shen Pearl never allows anyone to enter, it is her most secret place, except for her and the personal maid Wen Niang, the rest of the people are not allowed to enter. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

At this moment, the lights in the small room are dim, there are two spiritual cards on the small table, there are incense and candle offerings next to the spiritual cards, Shen Pearl is wearing a Taoist robe, kneeling in front of the small table, holding two incense sticks and praying silently.

"My son and my husband are above, the wicked have their own evil retribution, and those who harm you have been ambushed, rest in peace your heavenly spirits!"

She inserted two incense sticks into the incense burner, two crystal tears flowed from the corners of her eyes, she sighed, and said to her husband's spirit card: "Da Lang, although I am sorry for you, but I hope you can understand the pain in my heart, I ....."

Her voice became unusually low, "I can't help it, too." ”

"Queen Mother!"

The maid beside her, Wen Niang, persuaded in a low voice: "Since the husband is dead, it is common sense to choose a husband to remarry, up and down the Tang Dynasty, how many people are widowed for life?" Even the princess can remarry, why should the queen mother blame herself again? ”

"The people's daughter can remarry, the princess can also remarry, but the queen mother can't remarry, since she has entered the palace, how can she leave the palace again?"

"However, the Queen Mother said that she also reached the conditions for revenge."

"Conditions?"

Shen Pearl smiled bitterly, "If I don't want to, how can I have any conditions?" ”

She sighed, stood up and said, "Let's go!" My wish has been fulfilled, I don't want to mention this matter anymore, so let it be in the future! ”

She walked out of the room, and the maid blew out the lamp, and gently closed the door, and the room became dark again, except for the two sticks of incense flickering in and out.

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Xucheng County, Sizhou, the county seat is located in the west of Hongze Lake, and the boats from the Bianhe River sail directly into Hongze Lake without passing through Xucheng County, so Xucheng County is the most backward in terms of population and economy among the counties along the Caohe River.

On this morning, a tattered carriage was running fast on the official road south of Xucheng County, and a woman poked her head out of the window, looking around anxiously, and she kept urging the coachman, "Uncle, can you go faster?" ”

The coachman smiled bitterly and said, "Girl, my horse is too old to gallop long distances, and it is no longer possible." ”

"But if you don't hurry up, the fleet will pass."

"Rest assured, girl! The water flow in Hongze Lake is gentle, and the boats will definitely not be able to catch up with the carriage, and they must still be behind. ”

This woman is the pearl from the capital, she is an excuse to visit her eldest brother Changfeng, so she went out alone, her eldest brother Dugu Changfeng broke up with Li Qing'an in Chenliu County, and she did not go to Chenliu County, but followed Li Qing'an's boat all the way along the Bianhe River to Sizhou, Yun Xiang clothes and flowers want to look, she is twenty-one years old this year.

She followed Li Qing'an's fleet all the way, but she overslept at the inn in the morning, which made her anxious, lest Li Qing'an's fleet had passed.

The coachman is an old man in his sixties, he drove her away from Zhengzhou, he saw that Mingzhu was beautiful like a flower, like a lady, all the way to not dislike his carriage, he had a good impression of her, he smiled and said: "Girl, I want to ask all the way, you are from a big place!" ”

"Hmmm! I'm from the capital. ”

"No wonder! I've been driving a carriage for decades, and I've never seen a woman as Peugeot as the girl, and the girl is on the road alone, but be careful! ”

"It's alright! I felt that the people were very good along the way, and I haven't met any bad people yet. ”

"That's the girl sitting in my carriage all the time, not showing her head, and it's messing up outside! There are thieves everywhere, and this Sizhou is not a good place in front of us, so we must be careful. ”

Mingzhu was a little strange, so he smiled and asked, "Uncle, I think Sizhou is not bad!" There are many kind-hearted people like uncles. ”

"The Sizhou folks are good, I'm talking about being officials, one is more greedy than the other, one is worse than the other, the front is Linhuai County, where there are the most officials, of course, the bad people are also the most, the girl had better not show up, just hide in the carriage, I will send you to the Huai River to get on the boat, you will be safe."

"Uncle, don't worry! I'm not afraid. ”

Mingzhu touched a gold medal on her waist, this is the gold medal of Li Qing'an's edict to the world's soldiers and horses, but she didn't know that she stole it from Li Qing'an's study for self-defense, who dared to bully her, she took this gold medal to the local government, fortunately, it went smoothly along the way, and it was useless.

At this time, Mingzhu suddenly saw a town in front of him, so he asked with a smile: "Uncle, what kind of town is that in front?" ”

"That's Nüshan Town, which belongs to Linhuai County."

"What's there to do in town, or what's special?"

"I've been there a few times, but it's not fun, it's a specialty! The female mountain shrimp cake is very famous, in fact, I think it is also average, the girl does not have to stay there, let's go directly to Linhuai County a little earlier. ”

"Okay!"

The coachman threw up his horsewhip, sped up, and soon entered the town of Nüshan, a large town with more than 300 households, the town was very dilapidated, every household in the town lived by fishing and shrimp, and the whole town was filled with a fishy smell of fish and shrimp.

As soon as the carriage arrived on the street of the town, it found an abnormality, and the street of the town was full of people, four or five hundred people, surrounding a carriage and pleading, and there were more than a dozen officials around the carriage, and it was estimated that there was an official sitting in the car.

Several old men knelt in front of the car with a piece of paper and shouted: "Lord County Order, the fish tax cannot be increased again, and if it is added, we will have no way to live." ”

"I can't be the master of this matter alone, I have to ask Taishou, you get out of the way, don't gather people to make trouble."

Mingzhu heard it very clearly, she was very strange in her heart, and asked the coachman: "Uncle, what is the fish tax?" ”

"The fish tax is the tax to be paid for fishing, twice a year, it was originally ten taxes one, and I heard that it will be increased to ten taxes and three, and everyone can't stand it."

"Do you have to pay taxes on fishing? Isn't it enough to pay land tax and household tax? ”

"The field tax is the field tax, the household tax is the household tax, those are to be paid, but the fish tax is another, according to the big fish ten wen, the small fish five wen to calculate, used to catch a big fish, pay a penny, now catch a big fish to pay three pennies, in fact, a big fish is only sold for six cents at most, what a sin!"

"There is still such a thing in the world!"

Mingzhu was a little angry, and she asked again: "Does the uncle have to pay the carriage tax for driving the carriage?" ”

"I don't pay the carriage tax, but there is a passing fee, which you have to pay when you enter the city, and I have twenty yuan for this carriage, whether there are guests or not."

"These dog officers, I'm going to sue them."

At this time, the county order had already left, and the villagers had no choice but to go home, and groups of people passed in front of Mingzhu's carriage, and Mingzhu stopped the old man with the paper.

"Uncle, give me your pleadings, and I'll sue for you."

Everyone was about to despair, and when they heard Mingzhu say this, they all gathered around, "Girl, do you know that we are too guarded?" ”

The coachman next to him smiled: "You really don't know, this girl is from the capital, what is a little Taishou?" ”

Mingzhu also said loudly: "Don't worry! I will tell my eldest brother or brother-in-law, they are all high-ranking officials, you can cut off the heads of these corrupt officials, and you can give me the paper. ”

Everyone is gossiping, although this girl looks young, but she has an extraordinary bearing, obviously not an ordinary person, and her accent is also from the capital, rather than they are helpless, it is better to give it a try!

The old man handed her the petition stamped with red handprints, "Girl, please leave it to you." ”

Mingzhu took the paper and folded it, and carefully put it away, "Don't worry!" There will be news soon. ”

The carriage started, and everyone watched her go away, and their hearts were full of worry, and they didn't know if the girl was really reliable.

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Li Qing'an's fleet left Chenliu County, and walked for seven or eight days, then arrived at Linhuai County, Sizhou, and after crossing the Huai River from here, it entered the Jianghuai territory, at this time, the news of the fall of the Southern Tang Dynasty finally reached Li Qing'an's hands, although he expected, but the great joy brought by this news still made him very excited, he immediately spread the news to the three thousand tiger guards who guarded him south, and suddenly there was jubilation inside and outside the Bianhe River, and the soldiers couldn't help but throw their helmets high into the sky.

"Hooray! Long live the General! ”

The cheers spread all over the four fields, and Li Qingan immediately ordered the three armies to march into Linhuai County, and take over all the liquor stores in the county, and the three armies celebrated the victory.

The news spread quickly, Linhuai County was also boiling, the fall of the Southern Tang Dynasty meant the unification of the Tang Dynasty, which meant that there would be no more wars, and the people rushed to the streets, beating gongs, drums and iron pots, singing and dancing, celebrating the end of the war, and welcoming Li Qing'an's army into the city.

In Linhuai City, tens of thousands of people welcomed the Tang army into the city, as if they were a triumphant army, and even the vast majority of people did not know that the top decision-maker of the Southern Tang Campaign was in the ranks, but this was no longer important, they needed a ceremony to express the joy and excitement in their hearts, and the army's entry into the city was undoubtedly the best ceremony.

"Hooray! Long live the Tang Army! Cheers resounded throughout the city.

The crowd helped the old and the young, the women carried the children, the girls wore bright long skirts, and groups of children ran with the cavalry, and many cavalrymen carried the children onto their horses, attracting a round of applause.

Li Qingan sat in the carriage, looking at the warm and excited faces, he also had a heartfelt touch, he knew that this was the people's expectation for peace, this was their expectation of Datang Zhongxing.

At this time, the team stopped, Sizhou Taishou and Linhuai County Commander greeted him, Li Qing'an Jianghuai inspection was very secretive, the imperial court did not issue a letter, and the officials along the way were instructed by Li Qing'an not to leak the news of his southward journey, so the Taishou and the county order of Sizhou did not know where this army came from, why did they come to Sizhou?

Taishou Zhou Bingyi was a little apprehensive in his heart, he had found that this army was different, although the number of this army was not large, but the military appearance was extraordinary, all the cavalry, the war horse was not the Central Plains variety, tall and majestic, the four hooves were slender, the physique was vigorous, all the soldiers were burly, the armor was bright, long knives, round shields, bows and crossbows, and horizontal lances were the most advanced weapons in the Tang Dynasty, all of them were majestic, although there were only three thousand people, but this momentum was like tens of thousands of people.

And there was a twenty-four horse-drawn carriage in the team, this kind of high standard made Zhou Bingyi's heart very nervous, he stepped forward and bowed to salute, "Zhou Bingyi is too guarded in Xiasizhou, I don't know who the general of your army is?" What is the matter with coming to Sizhou? ”

A pro-soldier turned over and dismounted and whispered a few words to him, Zhou Bingyi's face turned pale with fright, he hurriedly wanted to kneel, but the pro-soldier grabbed him, "Didn't I tell you?" The admiral did not want to reveal his whereabouts. ”

"Yes! Be! ”

Zhou Bingyi hurriedly agreed, said a few words to the county order and other officials, and everyone followed him to the carriage tremblingly, Zhou Bingyi bowed and saluted, "See Your Highness Zhou Bingyi, the lowly Sizhou Taishou!" ”

"Humble Linhuai County orders Wang Jiaju to see His Royal Highness!"

There was no response in the carriage, Li Qingan seemed a little absent-minded, he saw a familiar woman figure in the crowd just now, it seemed to be Mingzhu, but he couldn't believe it, this is Sizhou, how could Mingzhu come here?

The woman had already left the crowd and went to a wine shop, Li Qingan kept watching her enter the wine shop, he came back to his senses, and said with a smile: "Disturb the envoys." ”

"Don't dare! Please go to the state government to rest. ”

Li Qingan politely refused, "I just passed through Sizhou, and I don't have a plan to inspect Sizhou, so you guys are busy with official business!" We left after lunch at the wine shop. ”

Li Qingan was about to leave, and Zhou Bingyi and the other officials were secretly relieved, but he still said sincerely: "It is rare for His Highness to come to Sizhou, so let the lowly officials put a little water and wine to show their hearts." ”

"Huh! I have 3,000 troops, you can't afford it, forget it, we will solve it ourselves, you go and get busy! ”

Zhou Bingyi and the county magistrate glanced at each other, secretly happy in their hearts, and he no longer insisted, "Then retire from your humble position!" ”

"Go ahead! As an official, we must treat the people well. ”

"Humble, remember!"

The people gradually dispersed, and the army also chartered more than 30 liquor shops in Linhuai County, Li Qingan ordered that you could drink alcohol, but you were not allowed to get drunk, and the meals were ordered at will, he took out 100 taels of gold and chartered the wine and food of 3,000 sergeants, and the soldiers went to each wine shop one after another.

Li Qing'an himself led a hundred guards to the wine shop just now, and at this time, Han Jin, the captain of his own army, said in a low voice: "General, I found that this Taishou seems to be a little wrong. ”

"What's wrong?"

Li Qingan was in the carriage, he didn't see the expressions of the officials, and the captain said: "I can see that this Han Taishou has a forbearance expression, and the long history behind him heard that the general would leave immediately, and his face showed joy." ”

"Maybe we're here to frighten them, and they don't know how to entertain our three thousand troops, you're thinking too much."

However, didn't the general notice that as soon as this group of officials came out, the enthusiasm of the people was significantly weakened? Isn't it strange that a lot of people are leaving with a bang? ”

Li Qingan stopped and said to him: "Han Jin, I understand your thoughts, do you think that there are corrupt officials and evil officials in Sizhou, not to mention whether there are any, even if there are, corrupt officials and evil officials should also be investigated and dealt with by the supervision of the imperial history, if everything is done by me, the imperial history platform will not exist, do you understand?" ”

"Yes! Humble duty understood. ”

Li Qingan saw that he was a little depressed, so he smiled slightly: "Of course, if you are willing to be an envoy for me to interview the people, I will not let it go!" ”

Han Jin was overjoyed, "Thank you, General!" Then the lowly duty is gone. ”

"Aren't you eating?"

"Don't be hungry!"

Han Jin rushed away, Li Qingan saw that his surname was anxious, he couldn't help but smile and shook his head, this Han Jin has been following him for many years, he is from Chuzhou, and his father died under the stick of a corrupt official, so he has always hated corrupt officials and corrupt officials, it is rare for him to be so enthusiastic, Li Qingan no longer cares about him, turns around and walks into the wine shop.

On the second floor of the wine shop, Mingzhu was sitting at the table eating alone, Li Qingan was not wrong just now, it was indeed her, Mingzhu saw Li Qingan's carriage just now, but she didn't know how to go up to him, if Li Qingan asked her, what excuse should she have?

Did my sister ask her to take care of him? She still needs someone to take care of herself, how could her sister say this, how could she let her sister-in-law take care of her brother-in-law, Mingzhu was very embarrassed, and sat here alone and drank alcohol.

"I thought I was wrong, but it turned out to be you!"

Li Qingan appeared in front of her, Mingzhu was so frightened that she trembled, as if she had done something wrong, she bowed her head and stood up, "Brother-in-law! He shouted like a mosquito.

"Sit down!"

Li Qingan sat down opposite her, beckoned Xiao Er to give him a pot of wine, a few dishes, he shook Mingzhu's wine jug, and actually drank half of it, how long has it been.

"Mingzhu, when did you drink so much?" Li Qingan joked with her.

Mingzhu saw that Li Qingan didn't blame herself, and she didn't ask why she came, the tension in her heart calmed down slightly, so she smiled and said: "I went to Anxi for half a year in the first two years, and I learned to drink in Anxi." ”

"You little girl, what are you doing with me secretly?"

"You ....."

Mingzhu's face turned red, and Li Qingan still asked him, "I.... Who's following you? I went to Yangzhou and passed by here, I had a good meal here alone, you came to me by yourself, didn't you? ”

"Good! Good! Good! ”

Li Qingan saw that she was sharp-toothed, so he smiled and said, "Even if I came to find you, then what are you going to Yangzhou for?" ”

"I'm going to Yangzhou to play, can't I? Well! ”

Mingzhu suddenly thought of an excellent excuse, and she said triumphantly: "Have you forgotten, didn't I come to Yangzhou that year?" I asked Master Jianzhen to tell me about the Buddha in Dayun Temple, and he said that I could make a wish in front of the Buddha, and after the wish, I had to go back to the Buddha to make a wish, so I went to Yangzhou this time, and I went to make a vow. ”

"What else do you wish, have you found Ruyi Langjun?" Li Qingan said with a smile.

"You, you're necrotic!"

Mingzhu was ashamed, she suddenly found that she had lost her mouth, and hurriedly covered her mouth, seeing that she was not heard, she pinched Li Qingan's arm fiercely, lowered her voice and said fiercely: "What do I wish to go, it's none of your business!" ”

"Okay, I don't care, when your sister asks, I will say it's none of my business."

"That's what it was! You are a general and a prince, you should be in charge of the world's affairs, and you don't have to worry about the affairs of a little woman like me..... Yikes! ”

Mingzhu suddenly screamed, she hurriedly turned around and rummaged through the package, a little hurried, Li Qingan was startled, shook his head and smiled: "Surprised, what's the matter?" ”

"I almost forgot."

Mingzhu rummaged through the parcel and looked for paper, 'Dangchang! With a bang, her gold medal fell to the ground, Li Qingan was stunned, he slowly picked up the gold medal, and glanced at Mingzhu in surprise, "This gold medal, you.... I took it from my study! ”

Mingzhu stuck out her tongue, "I'm sorry, I didn't ask for your consent in advance, I was afraid of being bullied by bad people on the road, so I took this gold medal to defend myself." ”

"My aunt!"

Li Qingan couldn't laugh or cry a little, "Why don't you take anything else, but you want to take this gold medal, this is a gold medal for troop transfer!" With this gold medal, you can raise an army of 10,000 people at will. ”

Mingzhu was startled, and she hurriedly explained: "Brother-in-law, I don't know, I saw that there was only a 'general's order' written on it, so I thought it was an ordinary gold medal, if I knew that it was a transfer of troops.... I would never dare to take it, and don't worry! I've had useless along the way. ”

Li Qingan put away the gold medal, shook his head and said with a wry smile: "It is only useful for the army, for the government, it is indeed an ordinary gold medal, forget it, don't sneak out in the future, you are such a big person, and you still sneak out, I won't talk about you, you will cry again when you say that you have more." ”

Mingzhu saw that Li Qingan was not angry with her, she put down her heart, and said with a smile: "I don't cry, I'm very happy to see you!" ”

At this time, she found the paper and handed it to Li Qing'an, "Look, this is the letter of willingness of more than 300 fishermen in Nushan Town, and the government of Sizhou is too much, and they dare to collect taxes privately!" ”

Li Qingan took the petition and looked at it, it was the people of Nüshan Town begging the state government not to raise the fish tax, and the bottom of the petition was densely covered with red handprints, Li Qing'an's face was gloomy, he had never heard of a fish tax.

There are several reasons for his eastern tour this time, one of which is to rectify the rule of officials and purge the Jianghuai officialdom, Cui Ning had a deep discussion with him after returning to Beijing, due to the long-term instability of the imperial court and the frequent changes of political power, the Jianghuai area has been in a state of uncontrolled supervision over the years, and corruption is rampant in the officialdom, and local taxes have been introduced without authorization, which are used to recruit militia groups in the name of recruitment, but in fact, most of them have been filled with private pockets

The fish tax in Sizhou is only one of them, as well as the tea tax, the new tea fee, the silk tax, the silkworm seed tax, and so on.

The economy of Jiangnan is very important to Datang, if it is not purged in time and let it form a system and an unspoken rule, it will become a cancer that cannot be dug up in the future.

You can't wait, you have to start early.

Mingzhu had been watching Li Qing'an, she leaned over and whispered: "Brother-in-law, if you don't send troops to arrest them all now, they will definitely be corrupt officials in the first instance." ”

"There's no rush in this matter, they can't run."

Li Qingan put away the letter of wishes, handed it to the soldiers, picked up the wine glass and said with a smile: "Tell me about you!" How do you get to Yangzhou? ”

"Of course I'll go by myself, but will I go with you?"

Mingzhu smiled and pointed to the staircase, "Look! Here comes my coachman. ”

Li Qingan turned around and saw a thin old man walking up, and he glanced at Mingzhu very worriedly, as if asking when she was leaving.

"This uncle is very good, he has been bringing me here from Zhengzhou, thanks to his protection."

Li Qingan glanced under the window, a dilapidated carriage was parked below, he smiled, and instructed his soldiers: "Reward him with two hundred silver dollars, let him go back!" ”

Unexpectedly, the old man refused to ask for money, he waved his hand, stepped forward and said anxiously: "Girl, your father is waiting for you below, go down and have a look!" ”

Li Qingan and Mingzhu were stunned, and suddenly understood, Li Qingan couldn't help but wonder, this kind old man thought that he had kidnapped Mingzhu.

Mingzhu also giggled and bent over, she pointed at Li Qingan and said, "Uncle, this is my brother-in-law, not a bad person." ”

"Oh!"

The old man's face turned red, and he arched his hand and smiled: "Since this is the case, I will go back, and the girl will take care all the way!" ”

The old man heard Mingzhu say that her brother-in-law was a high-ranking official in the capital, he was a little scared in his heart, and turned around to leave, Mingzhu stopped him, "Uncle, I haven't paid for your car yet!" ”

She wanted to take the money bag, but Li Qingan stopped her and ordered her soldiers, "Reward this old man with one hundred taels of gold!" ”

One hundred taels of gold is one thousand silver dollars, the old man was stunned, he suddenly wanted to kneel down for Li Qingan, but Li Qingan held him and said with a smile: "You're welcome, uncle, you escorted my family all the way, I should thank you again." ”

Mingzhu saw that Li Qingan gave enough face to himself and didn't let her go alone, and couldn't help but feel a trace of sweetness in his heart, it seems that this guy still has his own in his heart.

"I'll say it first! You asked me to go with you, but I didn't do it voluntarily. ”

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(To be continued)