This year's spring in Guanzhong is particularly busy, with many busy people in the fields during the busy farming season, and various workshops are also nervously producing.

There are a lot fewer idlers in this pass, and it can be seen from the local county records that the public order is much better than before.

Since Lishan has become the richest family in Guanzhong, the whole Guanzhong has also begun to strive to develop production with the goal of getting rid of poverty and becoming rich, and has increased the process of export and expanding domestic demand.

In the past, Lishan would have discussed with the counties, but now it will not, and everyone will fight on their own.

This is the case with manufacturing, once you start it, you can't stop.

Man's material needs cannot be satisfied, and Confucian scholars often say that the rapid process of industrialization is slowly curbing man's most precious nature.

But this deep and beautiful vision is destined not to be understood by the majority of the masses.

On the road to a better material life, the obstacle to development is the common enemy of all.

It's like Lishan people use paper to go to the toilet, and now more and more people in Chang'an City are using paper to go to the toilet, which is indeed more comfortable.

After someone runs out of paper, they will scold and fuck your mother's saint.

Pragmatism is the first priority in Guanzhong, and poverty alleviation and prosperity are people's yearning for a better life.

In the face of both, the teachings of the saints can be set aside.

When people can't even eat, where will they go to see the teachings of the saints?

Today is May of the first year of Zhengqiankun, and Tubo has just sent news that a woman named Zhuoma has become the prime minister of Tubo.

Li Junxian was a little confused about this, and this world was becoming more and more unfamiliar.

Xu Xiaode prepared all the regulations, hurried over with a team of imperial history officers and soldiers, and after saying goodbye to his daughter in a wedding dress, his heart was also settled.

"Actually, you can stay in Lishan for a few more days."

Xu Xiaode said in a low voice: "The situation in Jiangnan is grim, the monarch's life is in his body, and the old man does not dare to delay." ”

Li Junxian said again: "I heard that you also have a son in Jiangnan who is also working for Lishan?" ”

"Inuko helped Lishan build a port and prepared for his future business."

"That's fine, we also have to take care of it when we go to Jiangnan, I heard that His Royal Highness King Jin is also in Jiangnan."

Xu Xiaode saw that the team had rested, and said, "Without further ado." ”

Li Junxian said: "Then we will go out of Tongguan first, and then go south to Yangzhou." ”

"Okay."

Xu Xiaode's expression was full of unprecedented fighting spirit, and he rode up and headed towards Tongguan.

Li Chengqian's arrangement is to purge the imperial court, and only when the situation in the rear court is good and there is a stable rear, the inspection will have an advantage.

And gave Li Junxian the power to transfer troops from another place, just in case.

Xu Xiaode and Li Junxian were from Luoyang along the canal opened by Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty, starting south from Luoyang to Jiangdu, crossing the Huaishui River in the south of the Yangtze River, and then entering the Jiangnan boundary.

The waterway stumbled, because there were many places where the fortifications were carried out halfway and then put on hold, and the walk was not very smooth, half a month later than expected, and the summer of June arrived in Suzhou, Jiangnan East Road.

As soon as you arrive in Gangnam, you can feel the drizzle and lush greenery here.

The mountain peaks in the distance are green, the river is crooked and horizontal, there are many merchants and peddlers, and the official road is full of pedestrians.

The drizzle was like a curtain, shrouding the not-so-high peaks in mist.

Xu Xiaode and Li Junxian stopped by Taihu Lake.

In the center of the lake there is a big boat, which is luxuriously decorated, and at first glance it is not an ordinary boat.

What is even more peculiar is that the ship does not have a mast, but resembles a wooden house floating on the water.

Li Junxian comforted the horses under him, and the horses snorted, a little impatient with the rainy season in the south.

A small boat slowly approached from the center of the lake, the other party was wearing a robe, rocking the oars, and when he got closer, the boatman saluted: "Dare to ask, but Xu Yushi and General Li?" ”

Xu Xiaode nodded.

The boatman spoke in Guanzhong dialect with a thick Suzhou accent, "Xu Gongzi has been waiting for a long time, let's get on the boat and go to the houseboat to meet." ”

Xu Xiaode took the first step and got on the boat.

Seeing this, Li Junxian also turned over and dismounted.

As the boat staggered toward the shore, it became more and more quiet, except for the sound of rain falling on the lake and the sound of oars paddling across the water.

The closer you get to the center of the lake, the more you look at the wide, endless, and seemingly endless lake, you feel a sense of tranquility away from the hustle and bustle of the world.

Xu Yushi looked up and saw his son Xu Qidan, who was standing at the bow of the boat, and now he was a half-old young man, and he was seventeen years old.

Xu Qitan saluted and said, "Father, General Li." ”

The small boat stopped against the big boat, and Xu Xiaode and Li Junxian stepped onto the big boat.

Standing on this boat, I found that the wood and decoration used in this boat are all good.

Noticing Li Junxian's gaze, Xu Qi saluted and said: "Over the years, our Xu family has earned a lot of silver money through the trade routes of Lishan, General Li can rest assured that our Xu family's silver money is used in the tax regulations and handed over to the court together with Lishan, and there will be no mistakes." ”

Xu Yushi stroked his beard and said: "If there is a bad pool, the old man will also kill his relatives in righteousness, and this little family wealth is not needed." ”

Hearing his father's serious words, Xu Qidan hurriedly said, "Father is right. ”

Li Junxian took off the cloak draped over his shoulders and said in a low voice: "The eldest daughter of your Xu family is married to the Marquis of Lishan County, and the wealth of the family is naturally countless, but I heard that the children of your family will not enter the career from now on." ”

Xu Qitan replied: "General Li smiled, the Jiangnan Shi clan has a lot of opinions about our Xu family, and there are also many people who point fingers, these are all used to it, and I also asked the general to talk to my father in the boathouse." ”

Xu Xiaode walked into the houseboat, and then saw King Jin and Di Renjie, and hurriedly saluted.

Now Li Zhi has some soft beard, and he is not tough at the age of seventeen, but his body is much taller than before, he hurriedly got up and said, "Xu Yushi, General Li doesn't need to be polite, take a seat quickly." ”

The group sat down in the houseboat, which was warm and there was a stove boiling water.

Li Zhi asked, "How is my father?" ”

Knowing that he was asking himself, Li Junxian replied: "Retirement in Lishan, I heard that this year is aging very quickly, with the queen taking care of it, and the doctor of Lishan taking care of His Majesty's body, Your Highness can rest assured." ”

Li Zhi let out a long breath and muttered to himself: "All this was deliberately arranged by my father. ”

Li Junxian took the tea handed by Xu Qidan, and his expression was more discouraged.

Di Renjie took out a roster and said: "Xu Yushi, this is the list of acres of land obtained by our visits to scholars in various places, and Xu Yushi's inspection of Jiangnan can be used as a reference." ”

In fact, the Xu family does not have much land, and now the Xu family has no acres of land, only three tea mountains, which maintain the Xu family's expenses.

And now the Xu family controls most of the tea merchants and tea farmers, which have been accumulated in the past few years.

It has also become the only local wealthy family in Jiangnan that makes a fortune from tea.

It's just that unlike other wealthy families, the Xu family is a wealthy family but not a high-ranking family, because the Xu family promises that future generations will not become officials.

This is also a prerequisite for the cooperation between Lishan and the Xujia family in Jiangnan.

Many matters of the Xu family, except for Xu Huiyao, who is far away in Lishan, most of them are Xu Qidan, who will only rely on business to make a living in the future.

Led by Lishan, the Xu family made a fortune very quickly, and now the port has been built, with ships, just waiting for the future to explore the sea route, there will be more wealth in the future.

Xu Xiaode looked at the roster and frowned: "These are all you inquired about?" ”

Di Renjie explained: "It's a shame to say that His Royal Highness the King of Jin debated with many people in the Shilin at the beginning, and all the people who came were registered, with names and surnames, places of origin, and miscellaneous people could not participate, but I didn't expect that it happened to be the same as the purpose of Xu Yushi, and it happened to be useful." ”

Xu Xiaode glanced at his son.

Xu Qi lowered his head weakly, begging his father not to ask more, and then looked at King Jin for help.

Li Zhi coughed his throat and said quite confidently: "Xu Yushi doesn't have to worry too much, with this king here, they can't afford to make waves." ”

The little lady of Gongsun has cooked the fish porridge and served it to a few people.

After the people had eaten the porridge, the words continued.

Li Zhi analyzed the current situation with Xu Xiaode while eating pastries, and there was also a land annexation situation in Jiangnan, but the situation was much better than that in Guanzhong.

Di Renjie took out two wooden buckets and explained: "This is a bucket used to weigh rice, the bucket with the official character is the official bucket, the bucket with the character of the people is the bucket, the warrior clan uses the bucket to buy and sell grain, but the tax is paid by the official bucket." ”

This civil fight is a few points bigger than the official fight, according to the price of a bucket of rice, there will indeed be more people who buy the civil fight, the same bucket of rice, the people fight is bigger than the official fight.

Xu Xiaode frowned and thought about it for a long time without speaking.

Di Renjie continued: "Since the change in Jiangdu, the Central Plains has been in flames, and there has been chaos in Jiangnan, but fortunately, all parts of Jiangnan are focused on the scholars, and all localities can defend themselves, and sometimes there are more militias than officers and soldiers. ”

Li Zhi took over the words and said: "The Shi clan is the spokesperson of the court in Jiangnan, but they are also the heroes of Jiangnan, including Langya County, Wuzhong, Huiji, Wang Xie and Yuan Xiao are all local heroes. ”

"This is a place where fish and rice are abundant, and it is also easy to form a self-reserved place for local powerful alliances, far away from the court, close to the villagers, just like the two fights in front of you, the people's fights are more reliable than the official fights."

Xu Xiaode looked at these two buckets, and understood the disadvantages brought by this weighing tool, and whispered: "Whoever masters the weighing tool will master the value of taxes and acres." ”

Di Renjie patted the table, and saw that Xu Xiaode was able to figure out the essentials so quickly, applauded, took a sip of tea and said: "Don't look at just two small buckets, this bucket of rice is related to the lifeblood of Haoqiang and the Shi clan." ”

Xu Xiaode nodded secretly, "Now the old man knows what to do." ”

With different weighing tools in hand, you can master the output of the annexed land.

This method was also used by the family, but they were more emboldened, blatantly annexing land to plunder taxes.

Jiangnan's field book is very simple, and it is also obvious, at first glance, you can't find any fault, but when you weigh, you will do tricks.

The people used the people's fight against the scholars, and the government used the official fight.

This big and small bucket, the difference can reach 30%.

And the records are all counted in bucket rice, so there is room for operation.

Li Zhi said with a smile: "This king has not been involved in these things before, but he has been in Jiangnan for half a year, and when he saw the whole picture of the matter, he had to admire their clever methods, this is not a land annexation, but it is even a land annexation." ”

Xu Xiaode saluted and said, "Thank you His Royal Highness King Jin and Gongzi Di for informing me." ”

Li Zhi waved his hand and said, "It's okay." ”

Seeing that the conversation was over, Xu Qitan waved his hand, and the steam engine behind the houseboat began to rumble, and the entire houseboat also trembled.

Thick black smoke came out of the rear of the hull, and it began to move.

The boat did not need a mast, no sails, and no human oars, and could sail towards the shore on its own.

When Lishan's steam engine arrived, Xu Qitan installed the steam engine on the ship according to Lishan's drawings.

It was the first ship to be powered by a steam engine in the true sense of the word.

Li Zhi explained: "Xu Yushi, with this ship, we can go north to Luoyang along the waterway, and go north to Youzhou by sea, which is the secret of Lishan transportation." ”

The speed of the boat is not slow, Xu Xiaode stood at the bow of the boat, the rain fell on his body a little cold, the words of the King of Jin could not be heard clearly under the cover of the noise of the steam engine, and at this moment he felt a lot of emotion in his heart, and he also knew that the hard bone of the Jiangnan Shi clan was so difficult to gnaw.

The next day, Xu Xiaode began to visit various official residences in the five states of Taihu Lake to begin his inspection work.

It seems that this time Jiangnan will die a lot of people.

But Li Zhi didn't want to get involved in these things, and as a prince, participating in these things would inevitably be suspicious of the reigning imperial brothers.

It is enough to give Xu Xiaode some allocation, and it is not appropriate for the identity to participate more.

Li Zhi and Di Renjie, as well as the little lady of Gongsun, came to the East China Sea with a group of guards.

The summer sun shone on the beach, and a loud whistle sounded in the distance, and it was a steam-engine ship sailing.

Di Renjie said: "This kind of ship has a deep draft, and the port required should also be deeper. ”

The beach was a bit hot, and some fishermen were toiling on the beach, and some fishermen brought some crabs, fish, and shrimp to these well-dressed young men.

Each time, the money given by Li Zhi was very refreshing, so the fishermen were very keen to offer fish to this rich young man who did not know the origin.

Di Renjie said to King Jin, who was gnawing on crabs: "You shouldn't use money like this." ”

Li Zhiman said indifferently: "Brother Wei Wang has money, and he has so much money that he can't spend it all." ”

Di Renjie looked up to the sky and sighed, "His Royal Highness the King of Jin, look at your appearance, alas...... Wealth harms a lot. ”

The little lady of Gongsun sorted her luggage nonchalantly.

The guards hurriedly reported, "His Royal Highness the King of Jin, the ship is ready, we can go north to Youzhou." ”

Li Zhi was in a good mood.

Di Renjie was still looking at the navigation guide, which was compiled by the Marquis of Lishan County, which included various instructions for HNA.

"You need to know that you need to prepare leeks, bean sprouts and various vegetables when you go to sea, and a compass and binoculars are necessary to save lives when you ...... critical"

Li Zhi couldn't stand Di Renjie's words, and said unhappily: "Why are you getting more and more chattering." ”

Di Renjie said: "It's His Royal Highness the King of Jin who is getting more and more nonsense. ”

"We sailed close to the coast, and if there was an accident, there were small boats that could go back to the shore."

"It's better to be ready."

"You're not done."

Di Renjie held the navigation instructions in his hand and said, "It's better to be careful." ”

When everyone got on the boat, they had a feeling of swaying.

The steam-engine ship began to sail, and a group of fishermen's children were following the boat along the coast, cheering and running along the shore.

On the inland lake is not as good as on the sea, after an hour, Di Renjie and Li Zhi's faces are not very good.

Both threw up on the boat, and for the first time in the inland, several people felt seasickness.

Gongsun Xiaoniang patted King Jin on the back and said in a low voice: "Your Highness, should we go back." ”

"No, let's continue north...... Youzhou! ”

As soon as Li Zhi's words fell, he held the wooden barrel and vomited.

The sails were lowered, the steam engine stopped, and the ship sailed north along the southeast monsoon.

The afterglow of the setting sun shines on the sea, making the sea particularly beautiful, and the land is gradually moving away, and the scenery is gradually vast.

……

(End of chapter)