As the "Preface to the Pavilion of King Teng" said, "Ten days of vacation, winning friends like clouds", the Tang Dynasty bureaucrats had one statutory holiday about every ten days, and they did not need to go to the yamen office at the end of the tenth, twentieth and second months of each month, in addition to more than 20 festivals and nearly 50 days off.

Today is April 20th, so the Manchu Dynasty is relaxed in both civil and military affairs, and Xue Chongxun also plans to follow for a leisurely day. Although he has strange official titles such as squire, festival envoy, and general, his most substantial identity is that he is a relative of the emperor and the country, and he is less constrained by the officialdom rules and regulations...... You can do a lot of things just because you have real power in your hands, so you still have to deal with a lot of serious things. In contrast, the two brothers of the Wu family are really relaxed and happy, the chic Wu Dalang is full of wind and snow, and his hobby is to collect all kinds of poems, calligraphy and paintings and beauties; Wu Erlang often played polo in Xuanwu Gate or at home, and when he was empty, he went to his eldest brother Wu Dalang to play women for free. In addition to the throne, the two brothers also have the position of Sixteen Guards General, but for them it is a title that is not used at all.

Everyone didn't go to work on holidays, so Xue Chongxun was ready to rest at home for a day, and he got up in the morning and practiced martial arts early in the morning and sweated. Then after taking a bath, when he sat in the grass hall by the lake and drank tea, the housekeeper Xue Liu came to talk about the matter, saying that Meng Xiaoyu, a courtesan from the Qinglou between the water and clouds, came to the house yesterday, and arranged for the teaching workshop in the front yard to guide the female slaves in the house to sing and dance.

Xue Chongxun patted his head and remembered this: the last time he met Meng Xiaoyu when he was having fun with Zhang Shuo, he asked her if she would like to go to the house to teach singing and dancing, and when she came back, she also told Xue Liu about it, and now it is finally done.

He didn't ask how much money it cost to buy Meng Xiaoyu, anyway, Xue Liu was doing it, and the finances were managed by the Sun family, so he didn't need to ask in person.

Hearing Xue Liu mention Meng Xiaoyu, Xue Chongxun remembered her Tang Dynasty version of a talented and famous prostitute, but unfortunately the process and ending were not as romantic as in the opera story, full of lust and hypocrisy.

He pondered for a moment before getting up and said, "It's okay left and right, I'll go over and take a look." ”

So Xue Chongxun went out of the inner house with the housekeeper and went to teach the place where the house slaves were taught. As soon as I arrived at the place, I heard a sound of silk and bamboo, Meng Xiaoyu only arrived at the house yesterday, and started his work the next day, and he was indeed conscientious. Looking for the voice, Xue Chongxun walked into a room facing east and west, and saw that there were indeed more than a dozen little ladies sitting in the room, and Meng Xiaoyu was playing the pipa in the middle. Xue Chongxun said in his heart: When these people are taught, if there is a banquet in the house in the future, guests can also call out to sing and dance nearby.

They all know Xue Chongxun, he goes out and goes home every day to live in the house, and the house slaves are naturally familiar with it. Seeing Xue Chongxun come in, the little ladies hurriedly stood up and curtsied, Meng Xiaoyu also stopped her fingertips, and the ceremony was thoughtful when they met, but the smile and moaning expression made people feel cordial. Pinching his fingers, Xue Chongxun has known this courtesan for several years, and the cordial feeling of meeting is exactly what the ancient poem is: clothes are not as good as new, and people are not as good as the old. Even if it's just a courtesan.

Xue Chongxun asked casually: "No one has ever taught singing and dancing since they entered the mansion, is it difficult to teach?" ”

Meng Xiaoyu said with a smile: "When I first saw them, I saw that they were all so old, and the youngest was also in his teens, and I was worried that it would be too late to teach now; But I tried it in the morning and found that everyone's foundation was good...... Sure enough, it is a princely house, and even slaves read and learn words? ”

Xue Chongxun said: "They were not slaves before, they were relatives of the former prime minister, and they grew up in a good environment when they were young, so they were naturally better than ordinary people's little girls." ”

"Oh?" Meng Xiaoyu couldn't help but glance back at the little ladies, and they all lowered their heads in shame.

"The person who has been the prime minister participates in the rebellion, and the people in the family end up in such a situation, the rich and the poor are impermanent."

Meng Xiaoyu had a slight sympathy on his face, and then changed the topic and asked, "What song does Xue Lang want to listen to?" Now I can sing it to you at any time. ”

She has a smile like a spring breeze, and she looks at her indescribably comfortable, and the plain white shirt and skirt on her body are fresh and elegant, like a little white rabbit running out of spring. She is like a soap horn, which can always cleanse the dust in Xue Chongxun's heart and make him feel the sunshine.

His mood suddenly improved, he sat down in a chair, tilted his head and thought for a while, and said, "I'll teach you a song, and you sing it to me." ”

"Okay." Meng Xiaoyu was happy, and after a while, he frowned slightly and said, "Xue Lang also taught me a song before, but I forgot it after not singing it for a long time...... Because there are so few people who listen to such songs, no one wants to listen to them when I sing them in the water and clouds, and then my mother told me not to sing them. ”

Xue Chongxun smiled: "Qu is high and low. ”

Meng Xiaoyu covered her mouth and laughed, looking disapproving. However, since Xue Chongxun was interested in such strange tunes, Meng Xiaoyu was also happy to try new things...... In the past, I had to sing songs that made most people in the water and clouds, but now I only need to let Xue Chongxun like it alone, so it seems to be a lot easier.

So Xue Chongxun taught a modern song again, and he thought with some wickedness: It is really a magical and interesting thing to listen to songs thousands of years later in the Tang Dynasty mansion in the eighth century. Fortunately, Meng Xiaoyu has a lot of musical talent, as long as it is a tune that can be pronounced by a human voice, she can probably learn to understand it.

She studied it twice and memorized the lyrics, then adjusted the lute accompaniment, and sang in a very good voice: "...... When I love you, you are destitute and studying hard; When you leave you, you are on the gold list, the title of the cave room, the candle. Can you dance another dance for you, I am the white fox you released thousands of years ago, just for the review of your parting time......"

……

Meng Xiaoyu lowered her head while holding the pipa, and she could see that her expression was gloomy. Xue Chongxun pondered for a while, probably because the protagonist of "Reading Hard in the Cold Window" in the lyrics is a scholar, and Xiao Heng is also a scholar. She didn't ask about Xiao Heng's whereabouts in front of Xue Chongxun, but Xue Chongxun could feel that she remembered...... He imprisoned Xiao Heng in a dungeon and brutally starved him to death.

After being silent for a while, Xue Chongxun sighed casually: "What I remember most about our affairs is the City God Temple. ”

"Hmm." Meng Xiaoyu answered softly.

Xue Chongxun said: "I remember that the first batch of banknotes issued by the household money bank sent some to the house, and now you can spend them, why don't we go to the City God Temple and give the money to the homeless?" ”

"What is a banknote?" Meng Xiaoyu's attention was diverted and he asked curiously.

Xue Chongxun asked his entourage to take out a stack of banknotes, and after getting it, he handed a few to Meng Xiaoyu and said, "It's this thing, it took me months to do this, and it can be used as a money maker...... Liu An, the head of the household department, conceived the reform of the 'two tax laws' a few years ago, and at first glance thought that this law was a good tax policy for the current situation of land annexation, but I knew that it would definitely lead to a situation of 'money is more important than goods', and then the 'money shortage' of the classical financial crisis. The printing and distribution of paper money can solve this hidden danger very well, and the economy of the Tang Dynasty will get better and better. ”

Meng Xiaoyu obviously didn't understand it, but she understood that Xue Chongxun foresaw the national events many years later, and she intuitively felt that Lang Jun in front of her was a capable person who could rule the world, which should make more people worry about food and clothing, so she looked at Xue Chongxun with admiration. Being looked at by such an innocent little lady with such eyes, Xue Chongxun naturally felt very good.

Meng Xiaoyu took a few pieces of cyan paper in his hand and looked at it over and over for a while, stared at his beautiful big eyes and said, "If someone takes these pieces of paper to sell me something, I don't want to." ”

"What if you could exchange them for huàn silver and copper coins in major money houses, and one for huàn and one penny? Can it also be used to pay taxes and buy salt, grain, silk and other goods handled by the government? ”

Meng Xiaoyu's expression was surprised, but he didn't doubt what Xue Chongxun said, he said that he could definitely change it if he could change it.

Xue Chongxun smiled confidently, pointed to a piece of green paper and said, "The number on it is one, the first banknote is quite collectible, and it will definitely rise hundreds or thousands of times at some point in the future." If Xiaoyu collects this one, it is much more cost-effective than saving a few ingots of gold to press the bottom of the box. ”

"Will it be worth a thousand in the future?" Meng Xiaoyu said.

"Believe me, it's right, in a few years it can be sold at a high price in a calligraphy and painting antique shop."

"Then I'll laugh at it......" Meng Xiaoyu laughed mischievously.

The two talked and laughed for a while, and then went out in the car with a stack of green paper money...... This kind of small kindness is of little use to Xue Chongxun, but doing this kind of "clean" thing with Meng Xiaoyu is different, and you can get a kind of spiritual pleasure. Because she didn't know how many bad things Xue Chongxun had done, doing good deeds with her would cause Xue Chongxun to feel a sense of self-paralysis.

Last year, Xue Chongxun and the "rich people of benevolence and righteousness" built a Jishan Hall here, but the funds were limited and could only accept the elderly homeless. Later, some wealthy people in Chang'an City often set up porridge sheds outside Jishan Hall to provide some food for beggars for free, so this place became lively, and the hungry and cold liked to gather behind the City God Temple.

And at this time, there was a good thing, someone actually sent money. According to the price of rice, one piece of money can buy more than a dozen buckets of corn, which is also a considerable amount of money for ordinary people.

This is the first time that such banknotes have been released in the public, and naturally some people don't believe that they will be sent a piece of paper to tease them, so Xue Chongxun had to let the house slaves explain and publicize it, so that people can take it to the money bank to exchange.

Anyway, if they give it for free, and they don't want anything, those people will naturally not refuse, and the color of the banknote is black but the workmanship and printing are more exquisite. At this moment, I saw a literati in his thirties grab a beggar, and then take out ten strings of copper coins from his pocket to exchange them for the banknotes in his hand. The beggar shouted happily, "Hey! It's really worth money! ”G