It is better to choose the day than to hit the day, and start to make a ceremony, pearl jewelry, goldware, pin gold skirt pleats, tea cakes, this is the most valuable part, it must be pulled by a double sheep cart, for what can not be used with an ox cart carriage, Song Jiu does not understand, it is a rule. Then there is the big flower silver Fang Sheng containing eight bottles of gold bottle wine, red and green pin gold wine coat cover, wine burden to pay for it. There are also five men and two women holding a wooden box, which contains a gift book, a list of gifts, and three wedding proposals. The first two are polite words, and the latter is the main text, informing the woman of the engagement letter. The three wedding letters were written by Dr. Yan, and the gift book was written by Dr. Zhang, and there is absolutely no mistake.

These are all necessary things, and other gifts depend on how well the man acts. The Song family doesn't know much either, but there are people who understand, two matchmakers, they get a lot of money, not to mention, this family business is done, they are resumes, and there will be more people who invite them to say that they are relatives in the future.

The Song family still scared them, and it cost more than 10,000 yuan just for a gift. Although they had been prepared for a long time, looking at these gifts, the two matchmakers felt dizzy. All kinds of gifts, as well as some of the glaze produced by the glaze workshop, are all high-grade glaze, and each one is more exquisite than the twenty pieces of Song Jiu when he auctioned them last year. They also began to be sold, and the quantity was very small, and although the price of glass plummeted, their prices were still very high, and the highest of them reached more than 100 times.

It was the two small mirrors that Pan Li'er brought back.

There are also mirrors, six coat mirrors, carved with gold and silver and jade, like a little ivory piled up.

All the way to the wind, all the distinguished relatives and elders of the Pan family were present, but the luxurious engagement still made them dumbfounded. In particular, the six coat mirrors made the eyes of all the women present shine green together.

It's definitely not enough to distribute. How to distribute it is a matter for the Pan family.

Tian ordered everyone to eat tea.

The matter is only half done, and the Pan family first prepares incense, candles, fruits, and wine to wish the ancestors of heaven and earth. Among the relatives, the husband and wife are all in the highest, and the longest-lived person will order the gift and pick the scarf to open. The order must be made on the same day, because there is still some fruit in the order. Half of the tea cakes and wine should be returned to the man, and the fruit cannot be stored for a long time. Originally, there were not many fruits this winter, but this year is different, there are watermelons, which add a lot of color. The Pan family's move is not inferior, anyway, they are playing over and over and playing in the past, but many people are busy. The Song family's engagement came, and only the clever and good-looking villagers invited nearly 200 people, and the Pan family also had nearly 200 people. But that's just the beginning. The wedding day of the next hire shop will be even more extravagant.

The adults slaughtered the Song family, and at this time, a scene happened that made the Pan family have mixed feelings. Song Jiu doesn't like to show his merits, but everything he does, the villagers see it in their eyes and remember it in their hearts, whether it is Xishang Bashu speaking justice for the people, or trying to support the uncle of the country, it all moved these bitter villagers. When the Song family made an order, the villagers didn't know what to do. There are a lot of people, and when they pass, they all know the way, and they buy firecrackers together. Every house is putting it in.

Listening to the sound of firecrackers and the sound of congratulations all the way, the Pan family sent back the people who ordered a lot of emotion.

arrived at Song's house. The Song family's house is definitely inferior to the Pan family, but it is different here. With only more than 200 students, the smell of books is better than tens of millions of mansions.

Song Jiu came out at this time. Place the reciprocal gifts in the backyard and invite everyone to eat. It's not a shun shop, but it also has dozens of tables in the restaurant.

This is the first step for both parties to confirm the relationship.

Since they are relatives, festivals, weddings and funerals, they have to come and go, Song Jiu personally came to the door and sent a congratulatory gift to Pan Weigu. Tian personally came out to receive him and said, "Song Jiu, you must treat your children well in the future, the old body is just this one daughter." ”

Tian is less than forty years old, and he wants to call himself an old man, but Song Jiu is helpless, just like Su Dongpo is forty years old, when he writes words, he prefers to write about the old man talking about frivolity, and no one says that he is wrong.

Didn't see Pan Li'er, but the Pan brothers kept squeezing their eyebrows on the side, Song Jiu talked for a while, and when he returned home, he had to deal with many Yanai who rushed to congratulate him after hearing the news, Han Qingxiong said loudly: "Shundian, Shundian." ”

"Han Erlang, it's okay to Shundian, on the day of marriage, I will hold a wedding banquet in Shundian."

"It's really a good shop."

"Then let's find a random restaurant."

"No, Shundian." The eyes of the Yanai lit up together, Song Jiu couldn't help rubbing his head, just these Yanei didn't know how many tables, as well as the villagers in Hezhong and Hebei, the sound of firecrackers reminded him of it, and he didn't count the villagers of the two rivers. You can't have a treat in Shundian and a banquet in a small wine inn, that's too contemptuous.

Mixed joys and sorrows, and it is time for the Great Dynasty Meeting, which is also the last Great Dynasty Meeting this year. When they arrived at the hospital, many officials congratulated. The Song family has nothing, the Pan family is close to each other, and at least thirty or forty relatives can be described among these ministers.

Hugh would have underestimated the power of this kinship.

In the future, it is with various scholar families as the main body, such as the Yan family, the Han family, the Wen family, the Lu family, the Wang family, plus the family of foreign relatives who are mainly military generals, to form a powerful group, Shuo Dang!

even forced the queen's concubines to be sad one by one, for example, Song Renzong liked the fate of several women, none of them ended well, but Queen Cao, whom he didn't like, was more stable than the Song Dynasty. Then to another sad woman, Empress Meng. There is only one strong woman who has fought a bloody way, Liu E, it is her, and she almost let Kou Zhun go down.

This Song Jiu didn't know what to do, but he faintly knew that this time the marriage was not just as simple as liking Pan Li'er, but also helpful to him.

In the early dynasty, the ministers began to perform things, at the end of the year, they all wanted to perform, there were many twists and turns, there were big and small things, including Chu Zhaofu also presented a twist, saying that it was the end of the year, and many people in various places ignored the national edict, slaughtered cattle one after another, pretended to be dead cattle, and sold them to various towns, and asked Zhao Kuangyin to issue an edict, strictly ordering all localities to review whether the cattle were really dead or fake, if it was slaughtered, Li Zheng pretended not to know, and all were severely punished. There are too few ploughing cattle in the country.

Zhao Kuangyin was noncommittal.

Chu Zhaofu had good intentions, but he was a little negligent, how to make Li Zheng enforce the law fairly? That's a difference of not giving money, and I want them to do things for the country regardless of the face of the villagers, is it possible?

The ministers went on to work until it was time for "breakfast," that is, at the end of the hour, eleven o'clock. It's still going on. Fortunately, Song Jiu is now prepared. I got up before dawn and ate early at home.

Song Jiu stood and listened. Some listened to it, some didn't, and half the time they wandered around the world. The sun was a little westerly, and Zhao Kuangyin suddenly shouted: "Song Jiu." ”

Song Jiu is thinking about the problem, it's not a random thought, he has so many things, half of it has to do it, and half of it has to think. Hearing Zhao Kuangyin shouting, he was startled. Raised his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, are you calling Weichen?" ”

The ministers bowed their heads together and enjoyed themselves.

Zhao Kuangyin was so angry that he didn't speak.

Song Jiu stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Weichen is here." ”

"I ask you, you also had a period of time in the last dynasty, why didn't you play?"

"Weichen played, that imperial examination system of vague names."

"Where's the court?"

"Chao Song, Wei Chen doesn't know where to start, and he is not familiar with affairs."

"It's been almost two months. It's not familiar yet! ”

Song Jiu understood, this is Zhao Kuangyin speaking justice for his brother-in-law, and he may not be held responsible, if he is held accountable. On that day, he was investigated in the third division, this was said to the ministers, and Song Jiu said that he was my brother-in-law. I'm very dissatisfied, and now I'm going to find trouble with Song Jiu. Scare. There will be no ministers talking about his brother-in-law anymore.

Tian said it clearly, but Song Jiu suspected that it was not a favor. No matter how great the grace is, it is not as good as Zhang Qiong's life-saving grace, the main thing is family affection, how good is that queen Wang? He couldn't figure it out, Queen Wang had been dead for several years, and Zhao Kuangyin, who was middle-aged, had never accepted the queen, and had not even touched the palace of the harem much, which could also be seen from Zhao Kuangyin's children. Maybe Queen Wang is virtuous, gentle and considerate, and empathetic, especially during the time when Zhao Kuangyin was doing the inspection, this mood is definitely more uncomfortable than worrying about the judge of the third division. This woman brought warmth to Zhao Kuangyin on the eve of that dawn......

It's a pity that he is not qualified yet, otherwise he would chat with Lao Zhao and dig out his thoughts, this is the biggest gossip in the Song Dynasty.

He was thinking crankily in his heart, thinking disrespectfully, and said: "Your Majesty, the minister's qualifications are clumsy......"

"That'll do fine." Zhao Kuangyin said coldly.

Song Jiu didn't look good, he couldn't figure out if Zhao Kuangyin could really come to a degraded county to be a magistrate, he couldn't find a draw for the New Year, and said in a hurry: "Your Majesty wants to play, and Weichen has to play, but he is not prepared and does not bring a recital." ”

When he was done, wipe the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

"You can play it without a playbook, I let you play it, and the living officer will record it for archiving."

"Judge?"

"Presumptuous, what a place this is."

"Wei Chen, just now the envoy of Chu said the cow, Wei Chen has some words. When Weichen went to Bashu, he saw chaos and didn't look closely, but he looked at many areas in Hunan, and he also saw that most of the cultivated land was pulled by people, and it was too hard for Weichen to look down. ”

Zhao Kuangyi secretly breathed a sigh of relief below, don't think that the eldest brother is joking, he really issued an edict to demote Song Jiu, and it may not be impossible to stay for a few months, so he should be given a delegated inspection. But as soon as a person goes, all kinds of bad things can happen later, which may not be under the control of the eldest brother. This statement can warm the heart of the eldest brother, and it is probably nothing.

Song Jiu didn't know what the ministers on both sides of the road were thinking, and continued: "Weichen also asked about the cow. The government has cattle, but it is collecting a lot of cattle rent, so I said that the cattle money is heavy, and the officials settled an account with Weichen. When the government came to raise cattle, the forage had to be bought, and the forage alone cost 500 yuan per month. Raising horses is more expensive, horses are more expensive than cattle gold, eight liters of barley and thirteen catties of corn grass are required every day, and the money is nearly the same. This is only the forage money, not counting the labor cost and the horse shed and cowshed money. Weichen was surprised at the time, so he asked a few places, and all of them were the same. How much does it cost to raise cattle a year Weichen doesn't know how to go, but Weichen has three horses at home, and Weichen raises a little more finely, often adding a few chickens. ”

Some ministers laughed, and Song Jiu said seriously: "If you want the horse to run fast, and the Central Plains lacks excellent pasture, chickens are indispensable." Therefore, three horses cost more than four dollars per month. That's a lot of difference. Weichen has seen the relevant accounts in the three divisions, I have all the pastoral supervisors, but most of them are in the Central Plains, and even in the capital area, although there is pasture, they also have to buy some miscellaneous grains to feed the horses, plus the salaries of officials, etc., a horse is evenly shared, and the amount of money required for a year reaches more than ten yuan. Therefore, it is basically credible for officials to say that it costs six yuan a year to raise a cow. In this way, even the cost of collecting cattle rent is not enough. Many states and counties directly lease cattle to the people, hand over the state money and silk for a year, and the people are responsible for raising them to reduce the burden. However, because the officials did not understand the agricultural time, those who should rent did not rent, and those who did not rent preferred to impose rents, which led to some malaise. Some were originally raised by the government, but now they are raised by the common people, and they still levy high cattle rents. Some of the ploughing cattle died, and they continued to collect rent. This reminds me of the time when Zhou Taizu, some areas were still rented by cattle in the Tang Dynasty, and the cattle died for decades or a hundred years, and the imperial court continued to collect rents. The following week was dealt with in a timely manner, but this phenomenon seems to be re-emerging in some areas of our country. ”

Zhao Kuangyin asked Zhao Pu: "Zhao Qing, is there such a thing?" ”

"Your Majesty, the old minister is not very clear, but there are some drawbacks in cattle rent, but if it is handed over to the people, the people will not use it for farming, but for slaughter, and there is no benefit in farming."

"What Zhao Xianggong said is exactly what Weichen wants to say, the government directly operates cattle, the gains outweigh the losses, and it is directly rented to the people, which has many drawbacks. Or issued an edict that the dead cattle would not be levied for rent, and some bold people would directly kill the cattle for profit. Just like the books printed by Weichen, I sold them for 500 wen, and the two counties lowered it by 200 wen, and kindly handed them over to the poor children, so that they could have a chance to study, but some poor people bought them and sold them directly to others. ”

"Disappointed?"

"Wechen must be disappointed, so people's hearts are unpredictable, but this makes it difficult for the government to operate cattle. Maybe the history books will use this to ridicule our dynasty in the future, but they don't know why it is, and they don't know all kinds of hardships. But what about the government's encouragement of private cattle farming instead of cattle farming? The cost of raising cattle privately is not high, and one and a half large shepherd boys are free-range, without having to buy any forage. But the cost is still high, and this is the maladministration of our dynasty, that is, taxes. In many areas, taxes were levied on the basis of property division into households, and cattle were included in them, and they became high-ranking households, and two more taxes were levied, and more forced labor was served, and some even the government directly levied cattle taxes. Now a cow costs three dollars, but raising a cow a year has to pay an extra one or two dollars in taxes, or even more. The problem is not serious, it is the latter that is serious. The people of our court do not like to eat pork, the price of pork is cheap, only 20 yuan per catty, and mutton is expensive, and a catty reaches 40 yuan. Pork is fishy, mutton is fat, beef is not fishy, and there is a shortage, so the price of beef is almost 80 yuan per catty. A live cow is worth only three cents. A cow can take 2 to 300 catties of meat, and it plans to take 250 catties, and slaughter and sell meat for 20 catties, which is seven times that of a live cow. Illicit salt is only double the benefit, and some people do not hesitate to kill their heads to sell illicit salt. Seven times the profits, may I ask Your Majesty, how to prohibit the slaughter of the people? ”

In ancient times, doctors never cooked, and Song Jiu was an alternative, so no one had ever calculated this account.

Calculated out, they froze together, Zhao Kuangyin was silent for a while, and said loudly: "It is rumored that the harem is preparing for the imperial banquet, and today I will talk to Zhuqing about the cow." ”

If this is the case, it will be a big problem, a serious problem, no matter what the Song Dynasty thinks, there will always be a shortage of ploughing cattle, and the lack of ploughing cattle will not be able to increase the yield. Zhao Kuangyin ordered the eunuchs beside him again: "You go to the market and ask about the price of beef, and how much meat can be taken from a cow." ”

Then he asked Song Jiu: "Song Jiu, why don't you play?" (To be continued......)