Yangzhou, which occupies the place where the canal and the river meet, is definitely called the place where all directions converge, and there are many river ports and wharves in the east and south directions of Yangzhou City (Jiangdu County) for dozens of miles. The Dongguan ferry where Li You is anchored is one of them, and not far from the wharf is the east gate of Yangzhou City, Lijin Gate.

The sky is getting twilight, the evening breeze is blowing, and Master Li stands on the bow of the boat to enjoy the scenery of the ferry. The water is really like hemp, dotted with dots, and the shore is up to the foot of the city, and the houses are dense, and every inch of land is golden.

Zhang San got out of the back cabin and said: "Yangzhou City is a good place, and it will all be under the master's control in the future, why don't you go and take a look first." The left and right are also close to home, so there is no need to rush to travel. It is said that no one in the commentary has to pay a private visit to help the weak and eliminate violence. ”

Li You scolded with a smile: "What a talent! I see you're more energetic than I am? Who is going to be this parent? ”

Zhang San patted the horse and said: "The old man has face, and the little one is naturally happy for the master." With his vulgar insight, the local parents and officials shouted Bainuo, hugged before and after entering and leaving, and the small people worshiped everywhere they went, which was indeed more majestic and more face-saving than the Beijing officials. In Beijing, it is not surprising to see poor officials of five or six grades come out to buy vegetables in person.

Cui Jing also came out and said: "What Steward Zhang said has some truth. The proprietor is in Suzhou to follow the local weather, in Beijing through the weather, to Yangzhou is not up or down. It's not bad for the micro-service to go out on patrol to watch the people's customs and know the people's feelings, but if the actions are restricted after taking office, I'm afraid it's not as convenient as it is now. ”

When the two of them said this, Li You was also a little moved, and a sense of ownership of the ruling class spontaneously arose-this official should inspect his own territory for the herdsmen of the Son of Heaven!

In fact, the words "own territory" have to be greatly discounted, and the Yangzhou prefect, the head boss of the seven counties in three states, is also stationed in Jiangdu County.

Not to mention that the supergiant of the Lianghuai Salt Transport Envoy, who commanded half of the world's salt industry, was also in the city - although Emperor Gaozong vigorously opened the source of the industry during his revival, the Huai salt tax still accounted for more than one-tenth of the imperial court's cash income, and it was also a temporary cash machine when the imperial court had an emergency.

However, Master Li was in the center when he was in Beijing, and there were many high-ranking officials and dignitaries who dealt with him to the point of numbness, and he did not fall behind when he fought back and forth with the Zaifu, and he had been pushed by the court and suffered from the court staff, and his mentality and habits were swelled under his prestige, and his vision was pulled out very high, which became another extreme compared with when he entered Beijing. So far, it has not been adjusted, and the local officials below the third grade have been filtered intentionally or unintentionally.

"Are you both looking for an excuse to see this world of flowers? Okay, let's have a fun tomorrow. ”

With the old man to speak, Zhang San jumped to the shore with dexterity and went to inquire about various market conditions from the locals.

By the early morning of the next day, Zhang San had already planned a detailed road map report. "Coincidentally, these days are around the Qingming Festival, and Yangzhou customs are extremely popular, which is a good time. The lord can enter the city from the east gate, which is the most lively Dongguan Street, go straight for two or three miles, and you can reach the famous old city river. There is a wharf there, rent a painting boat, go north along the river, and go out of the city from the Gongchen Gate Water Gate. I heard that the garden scenery on both sides of the Baobao River in the northwest outside the city is rare in the world, and you can take a closer look from the waterway to the west. ”

Old Town River? Safeguard the river? What is all this place? Li You was a little confused when he heard it. In his impression in his previous life, Yangzhou's famous water system should be called the Little Qinhuai River and the Slender West Lake, but aren't these names now?

Three men and two women went ashore, leaving Han Zong to watch the boat. Passing through the door hole of Lijin Gate that is three or four zhang long, it is a light in front of you, and sure enough, you can see a long street leading directly to the east and west, the shops on both sides are neat, and the crowd on the street is endless.

However, Mr. Li and his entourage were either from Suzhou or from Beijing, and they didn't have much novelty about this kind of commercial street, so they didn't stop to see the rarity, but just walked forward.

But the harvest is not without ... Li You, who is afraid of the word serious in everything, as long as he is serious, he will be as careful as a hair, asked Cui Jingdao: "After crossing this street, have you seen anything?" ”

Cui Jing said that he was at a loss, and he didn't know why the proprietor asked.

"There are a lot of women." Li You said with emotion: "Compared with other places, there are the most women on the streets of Yangzhou, and they are calm in their words and deeds, and they do not avoid being in front of others. In this way, we can get a glimpse of the local folk customs. ”

Hearing this, Cui Jing and Zhang San looked back and watched carefully, and suddenly said, "That's really the case", and immediately admired the popular women's idol Lord Li to the ground.

Xiaozhu muttered: "The master is so! Look at women everywhere. ”

"The little maid knows what to know and know." Lord Li entered the state of the county lord quickly, and sighed worriedly: "Wow! In the south of the Yangtze River and in the north of the Yangtze River, women's weaving is prevalent, where is there no female worker when the rooster crows? Therefore, Wu Di cloth thick armor in the world. But I Yangzhou City Guo women are lazy, comfortable in peace, nothing to do, once there is a change to sit in distress and poverty, the work of education has a long way to go. ”

Cui Jing couldn't hold back a word and didn't say a word, "If there is no greedy and lustful man like you, how can there be a woman who does not practice women's labor?" ”

Not to mention, after walking less than three miles, a narrow and slender north-south river lies in front of you, dividing Yangzhou City into two, but there is a city wall on the other side of the river.

Cui Jing pointed to the city wall and said: "According to the book, Yangzhou City has two parts, the east and the west, the west is the old city, the east is the new city, and the old city and the new city are bounded by the old east city and the old moat. This wall is about the east wall of the old city, and this river is the old moat. ”

What an old moat, it is clearly the Little Qinhuai River... Li You looked into the distance, there were many buildings and pavilions on both sides of this river, and he could be sure in his heart that the eight achievements here were the small Qinhuai River that he had often heard about in his previous life, and there would probably not be a second small river of this style in Yangzhou City.

Zhang San went to find a clean painting boat, said that the price was fixed, and invited Li You to go to the boat.

The boatman asked the guests first if they wanted to be entertained, but Li You refused. In the past, he might have shouted seven or eight to indulge in wine and fun, but now he has a bit of stability. Moreover, Cheng Xiaoniang, the little concubine, is accompanying her, and it is very inappropriate to mix with the Ji family.

When he was not out of the city, there was no scenery to see, so Li You asked the old boatman about the east and west, and said some local things in Yangzhou.

The boatman only said that he was just curious from outsider, but he also had to answer his questions.

"There are 120,000 people in our Yangzhou city, and people from all over the world account for seven or eight out of ten, and the local natives are afraid that there are no two or three out of ten."

"Most of our salt merchants in Yangzhou are from Huizhou, and some of them are Western businessmen from Shanxi and Shaanxi. Twenty or thirty big ones, small and medium-sized ones are not easy to count, and there are always three hundred, and the whole city is afraid that they will have to point to these three hundred families for dinner. ”

"How much money they make, where can the villain know, but I heard that the largest ones make at least 100,000 silver every year in the salt industry alone, and this is not counting other businesses."

"Jiangdu County? I don't know much about it, the biggest yamen in the city is the Salt Transportation Division, and when there is anything, the salt merchants make money, and the government sends a messenger. By the way, the villain's painting boat is registered in the county. ”

"Of course, we have to register and make a book, we have two or three hundred painting boats in Yangzhou, and the twelve piers inside and outside the city are not enough to stop. When he took office, the magistrate made a register to register, limiting the number of residences, and there was no rumor that he had done anything else. ”

Since the water gate went out of the north city, the scenery on both sides of the strait has gradually changed. This boat is a bargain with a simple four-post structure, but it has a very good view. Looking around the water, I can only see the willow leaves green, green like a smoke cage; The peach blossoms are red and colorful.

Between the high hills and the flat fu, in the long pond and the lush grass, there are various gardens hidden in it, suitable for the place, set up near the water, and the scenery is faintly different. Just like a person swimming in a painting, there is a continuous splendid scenery, it is the two embankments of flowers and willows all according to the water, all the way to the mountain.

It is the spring season, tourists are endless, the boat is not closed, the car is not draped, and the ladies who show their heads abound. or sideburns, or hairpins with flowers, all of them are peach blossoms and red faces.

Xiaozhu lay on the side of the boat and looked at the big painting boat carved with gold paint and jade next to him, and said strangely: "The ladies here all wear flowers, it's really interesting." ”

Li You, who was gorgeously dressed and handsome, sat lazily next to the boat, and the appearance of the person was a shadow in the water, holding a beautiful man shining on the water and a jade tree facing the wind. He was not idle, he was acting as a tour guide and chatting with the northerner Cheng Xiaoniang, "This Yangzhou is said to be located in Jiangbei, but the water and soil are like Jiangnan, and it is similar to Jiangnan everywhere, but it is often regarded as Jiangnan City..."

Just as he was halfway through speaking, Li You suddenly felt a slight smash on his head, and then a ball of flowers fell from the top of his head to his hand, still with a faint fragrance.

Who is this littering? Li You was furious, turned his head to look, but saw that in the painting boat next to him, a few women with flowers and branches were sitting together, bowing their heads to eat and laugh, and everyone was wearing hairpins. Among them, only the little lady wearing a goose yellow shirt in the middle and combing her double delphinium hair has no flowers on her head, which is estimated to be her "poisonous hand".

It's being molested... Of course, Li You would not lose his temper in the scenery, shook his head and continued to talk to Cheng Xiaoniang. Who called that little lady mediocre-looking, Li Mingshi, who had cultivated to the point of being untouched, naturally didn't bother to respond to her, but she provoked the "amorous and gradually annoyed by the ruthlessness" over there.

"Originally, I heard that you were drunk on the sloping bridge in the Jiangnan and the red sleeves of the building, and it was the same. I don't know what kind of demeanor it is to laugh and dance and sing for 40 years, and sleep in the middle of the moon with joy among flowers? Cheng Xiaoniang's eyes flashed with admiration and said to her husband.

In this regard, Li You can only recall when he is complacent: "A few romantic characters, all in the past, all in the past!" ”

This is not against his will, in the future, he will be the official of Zhengyin's parents, and he must pay attention to the majesty of the individual, and it is understandable to act on the spot when he occasionally entertains, but he must not be as prodigal as before, unless he is desperate to make progress.

Du's predecessor's "Ten years of Yangzhou dream, win the Qinglou Bo Xing name", everyone admires, but the implication is that you can't be promoted for ten years, don't forget that there is a sentence in front of you "down-and-out rivers and lakes carry wine".

In a blink of an eye, he caught a glimpse of the shore in front of him draped in red and brocade, and Li You asked the boatman: "What is that place?" ”

"The industry of the big merchant Jin in Huizhou has recently built a new garden by the water, and today it is about to hold a literary meeting to celebrate, and the literati and celebrities gather here. Speaking of which, this old man Jin is one of the largest salt merchants that the villain just mentioned. ”

"Oh?" Li You made up his mind to see the demeanor of the great salt merchants and local literati, so he ordered: "You stop at the shore, and I will go and see." ”

The boatman docked, and Li You told everyone else to stay on the boat, and went ashore alone and walked along a path in the grass.

(To be continued)