On this day, the Khitan prisoners of war were finally escorted to Chang'an by 500 soldiers from the border towns of Youzhou. Li Longji, who sang with Yang Yuhuan every day, was overjoyed when he learned of this and ordered a reward for meritorious soldiers.

captured one person alive, and was rewarded with ten horses of silk; the decapitator, five silk horses; Its meritorious titles, etc., can be allocated by the Youzhou Jiedu Mansion itself.

This reward is very rich, because according to the number of heads, it can be said that these soldiers are all full of brains.

You must know that now is no longer the era of the early Tang Dynasty. The land that the Tang State could obtain had also been obtained and consolidated long ago. It is far more difficult to make military achievements than in the past.

The existence of the government military system in name only is largely due to the fact that fighting a war has become unprofitable and has become a "bad thing" that purely copes with errands.

Even if they can occasionally defeat the enemy country on the border, the victory is not counted, and the grassroots soldiers will not reap any benefits. The center of the Tang State often uses honors and titles to send it away.

For the reward of military merits, the imperial court gave the title very refreshingly, but it gave the wealth and silk very stingy, to summarize it in an idiom, it is a typical "lip service is not enough".

Like the one introduced in "Mulan Ci", the military exploits of the Tang Dynasty also implemented the "Twelve Turns" system.

In the Northern Wei Dynasty, if the war was "twelve turns of military merit", then the reward after the war was "a reward for a hundred thousand strong".

What does it mean to "turn"?

The general who performs the most in each battle can get the "Three Turns" merit.

When both sides have reached a certain scale (battles that are too small do not count), if you annihilate (kill and capture) 40% of the enemy's forces in a battle with fewer victories, you can get the "Five Turns" merit.

The other slashing levels and what role they play in battle are all calculated by the superiors. The merits of many battles can be accumulated, and if you make up enough for eleven turns, you can be crowned as a pillar country, and if you have more than twelve turns, you can be capped, and you will be on the pillar country.

But in the Tang Dynasty, this set completely changed its taste.

No one knows how many "Shangzhu States" there were in the Tang Kingdom during this period, and the proportion is not easy to count. For example, Jiangnan and Shu are the money bags of the imperial court, and there are very few people serving in the military, and the proportion is naturally pitiful.

However, the situation in Hexi is that among the local men, those who have not served are also counted in the base, and more than 20% of them have the title of "Shangzhu State", nearly a quarter!

It is conservatively estimated that more than one of the five males is a Shangzhu state, and this reward is not only not worthy of boasting, but even humiliating to some extent.

This time the Youzhou Domain won a big victory, and the reward and pension of these 500 people, according to the convention, Fang Youde handled it himself, calculated the twelve military merits, and gave some honors to the officers. I can ask for a reward in the case of "entering Beijing without an edict", and the face is not ordinarily big.

Of course, Li Longji may not agree every time, but who let him just get his son Shouwang Li Xuan's wife and play hard.

Fang Youde's military exploits have become the capital for him to brag about his martial arts with his "daughter-in-law".

This is the luck of the soldiers in the border towns of Youzhou, because they met a festival envoy who was different from the previous commanders and put the life and death and interests of the soldiers in his heart.

This is also the misfortune of the soldiers in the border towns of Youzhou, because no matter how many military exploits they create, in fact, there is still a need for a strong person to fight for their interests.

When Li Longji is in a good mood, how many are there?

What if the time to repay the merit happens to be in a bad mood for this Tang saint?

Of course, the loss is that there are only 500 soldiers who receive rewards and need pensions, and if there are more, maybe Li Longji will also cover his pockets and fool around.

Just as the scholars of Chang'an Distillery won a great victory in Acura Border Town, and the majesty of the Tang Kingdom shone in all directions, not everyone was so happy, such as the envoy of Youzhou Festival who made immortal achievements...... 's only son.

In the study room in the courtyard of the Fang family's house at the back gate of Xingqing Palace, Fang Chongyong looked at Zheng Shuqing who was empty-handed with a helpless face, and asked weakly: "Are you here to mock me on purpose?" ”

"Why should I taunt you?"

Zheng Shuqing asked with a strange expression.

"I thought I was famous."

Fang Chongyong sighed and described his experience of "dropping out of Weilong" to the other party.

"You're saying that you went to the National Prison first, and then you were rejected because you weren't old enough; Later, I entered the Hongwen Museum, and because of your father's words, I was expelled from school? ”

Zheng Shuqing looked surprised, such an outrageous experience, the first time he heard of it when he was so old, it could be regarded as a long insight.

"Yes, and then I made up a Qianniu Wei Zhonglang General, a nine-year-old Qianniu Wei Zhonglang General, you say it's ridiculous."

Fang Chongyong almost didn't write the words "There is no love in life" on his face.

What did I do wrong! I'm still a kid!

Fang Chongyong felt that the passing year was unfavorable, and it seemed that he had been unlucky in everything he had done recently.

"Alas, Ruizong is eleven months old and was crowned king before he was a year old, and I feel that this encounter does not seem to be outrageous.

Uh, but you were named the commander of the Thousand Niu Wei Zhonglang, should there be the word inspection in front of you? ”

Zheng Shuqing comforted kindly, but this sound like a mockery no matter how you look at it.

"Really?"

Fang Chongyong was stunned for a moment, Gao Lishi came to deliver the decree, the holy decree was too long, he didn't remember it, so he remembered the Qianniu Wei Zhonglang general. He took down the silk book from the bookshelf and looked at it, and sure enough, the word "inspection" was clearly written.

"Originally, this dynasty will change the preparation of the previous dynasty to Zhonglang General, two people on the left and right guards, and under the four products, they will pass the judgment, serve in the palace, and pass the official mouth to rescue, a very big official. It can be described as a high authority, and many border town soldiers can't reach this position after working hard all their lives.

However, if you add the word inspection in front, it will be completely different.

The inspection of Qianniu Wei Zhonglang is equivalent to the special approval of the sage, and he has not passed the audit in the foreign court, but only has a name in Qianniuwei, and does not have to perform his duties. Basically, you just can't do anything. Who knows how many inspectors there are now......"

The more Zheng Shuqing said, the darker Fang Chongyong's face became.

"Don't be angry, it's 11,567 a month, 10 consistent."

Zheng Shuqing, who was a waiter in the household department, was "skilled", and the official came as soon as he opened his mouth.

Well, you can do nothing, lie down and get money, although it's a little less.

With less than 200 yuan a year, the income is sorry for the identity of Qianniu Wei Zhonglang. It can be seen that there must be an extra income in order for Qianniu Wei Zhonglang to support his family. Otherwise, the basic expenses in Chang'an will be a problem, and this money is not enough to go to a better restaurant for a drink.

"You're coming to me? I don't have red lotus spring here, so you want to drink your own red yeast yeast and brew it yourself. ”

was output by Zheng Shuqing's riding face, Fang Chongyong couldn't bear it anymore!

"Don't, don't, it's a good thing to come to you this time."

Zheng Shuqing looked mysterious, and took out an invitation card from his cuffs.

Three days later, in order to celebrate the victory of the border town of Youzhou, the saint wanted to set up a stage to hold an opera song and dance performance in the pear garden. With the invitation in hand, you can go inside and watch, which is not a lot of opportunities. ”

Li Longji is going to hold a concert?

Fang Chongyong was stunned for a moment, then took the invitation, and even the seat number was written on the back.

The ancients were not stupid, if they didn't write the seat number in advance, they would all be dignitaries and nobles at that time, and the tickets would be too many for various reasons, wouldn't it be because of the seat problem when the time came?

The seat itself is not the problem, the problem is that the face falls to the ground and cannot be picked up.

So pretending to be a slap in the face for the sake of fighting for a seat is simply impossible to happen this year, and these shit things have been completely considered when preparing for the performance.

Zheng Shuqing's family is well-off, and this kind of person no longer cares about those so-called "small sections", but regards face as the top priority.

Thinking about this stubble, Fang Chongyong pushed the invitation back again, sighed and said: "It's all so familiar, there's no need to be so polite, just talk about anything." ”

"That's right."

Zheng Shuqing was not polite to Fang Chongyong at all, he took out a very bright silk fragment from his sleeve and handed it to Fang Chongyong.

"Sogdian brocade? Zheng Shilang, your efficiency is really ......"

Fang Chongyong was shocked.

What kind of efficiency was it in the feudal era, I can only say that everyone understands it.

If you don't want to procrastinate, it will take a long time to go through the process; It is also very common for someone to deliberately make a small thing happen for a few months.

"Don't you understand, this is what the saint asked to do, can you not be happy? It's just that...... The imitation Sogdian brocade and the Sogdian brocade from the Western Regions are still different after all, alas! ”

Zheng Shuqing can't say what the specific difference is, of course, it is only because of the lack of oral expression skills. In fact, when he put the fragments of the two fabrics on the table, anyone could intuitively judge which one was Sogdian brocade from the Western Regions and which one was imitated by the Tang Kingdom.

In fact, the first time Sogdian brocade was "dismantled" was in the early Tang Dynasty, but the direction of attention and the purpose of realization were different. Moreover, the Sogdian brocade from the Western Regions is also constantly innovating. This can be regarded as a kind of business competition like a palm of the hand.

According to Fang Chongyong's original understanding, the so-called "imitation" is to completely copy the other party's style. But in reality, this is all wishful thinking.

Copying, it's not something anyone can copy, and it's not something that can be copied casually.

After all, the style of the cloth is not a text painting, but also incorporates the thoughts of the painters and craftsmen, and some skills are even passed down from generation to generation, becoming a unique secret book for passing on children but not daughters.

Every piece of fabric comes out, in fact, the craftsmen "write" their ideas on the fabric. The craftsmen did not understand the meaning of the Sogdian brocade from the Western Regions, and the imitations had no essence, but only crude imitations.

The magnates of Chang'an are used to seeing good things, can they endure this kind of big fool?

At that time, Zheng Shuqing will not only not make meritorious contributions, but will also be punished by Li Longji!

Lao Zheng was not a fool, and knew that it would not work, so he asked the craftsmen to give it a go and imitate Sogdian brocade according to their own ideas.

The good news is that this imitation of Sogdian brocade looks a little better than the original.

This is also very understandable, Datang crushes West Asia in the silk fabric industry and raw materials. Silkworm babies are artificially fed, with sufficient nutrients, and the silk spit out is thick and long fiber, and the luster is translucent and atmospheric.

The bad news is, slightly ...... It's a little bit less like Sogdian brocade.

The reason is actually quite understandable.

Zheng Shuqing described to Fang Chongyong the news he had inquired about from the weavers.

The silk in the Western Regions in the past was not only produced in the Tang Kingdom, but also "wild silk" produced in various countries in the Western Regions. Wild silkworms are native silkworms that have not been artificially domesticated and screened from generation to generation.

The silk that comes out is thin and short.

However, there is a wrong trick, and the Sogdian brocade mixed with silk in West Asia has a different style.

In order to ensure high profits on the Silk Road, the countries of the Western Regions imposed a strict technical blockade on the sericulture technology of the Tang Kingdom. Although this matter made Fang Chongyong incomprehensible, it was the case, the country that was most afraid of silk technology being mastered by West Asia was not Datang.

For the technology of various best-selling goods on Datang's side, the country that cares most is not Datang itself, but other countries on the Silk Road.

These countries are responsible for the "technological wall".

In addition, the paintings in West Asia are known for their square and hard-working, while the cloth patterns of the Tang Kingdom are known for their roundness and fullness.

Therefore, those craftsmen under Lao Zheng can't say that it's bad, but it's not "Sogdian brocade", and I really have to say two things!

In this case, it is like saying that Li Longji wants to play the electronic piano, but there was no electricity in the Tang Dynasty, so the craftsmen could only make the piano. The piano is very good, but does it have the broken timbre of an electronic organ?

Could it be that Li Longji is just cheap, and he just likes the tune of the electronic piano?

Hardly.

This is also one of the reasons why Zheng Shuqing ran away and Fang Chongyong came here to call for help.

"I think the imitation of Sogdian brocade is better than the original."

Fang Chongyong took the fragments of the two fabrics in his hand and gestured and said.

"Don't think it's useless, you don't think it's useful, you want the saint to think about it."

Uncle Zheng said a word, looking at it with blank eyes, hoping that this little prodigy of the Tang Dynasty could have ideas, even if it was a bad idea.

"Saint, saint, saint, which of your words does not depart from the saint? You weren't raised by a saint......"

Fang Chongyong was halfway through his words, and stopped talking, those three words were too insulting. Even if he already has a deep personal relationship with Lao Zheng, he can't be so open-mouthed.

"You, you just don't understand my Datang officialdom at all."

Zheng Shuqing sighed, didn't care about Fang Chongyong's gaffe, and continued:

"You think that the left and right ministers, Shangshu Shilang, and the assassin Yushi, they are amazing, right? They have a lot of power in their hands and can decide the life and death of ordinary people, right?

In fact, there is only one rule for the operation of Datang, that is, what the sage wants to do, he must have. Other than that, it's all false, framed for outsiders to see.

It's like you didn't enter the country before, but in fact, the saint felt that he treated your family so badly. There are more than 2,000 students in Guozijian, and in any square in Chang'an City, where can you find a few Guozijian students?

The students who came out of Guozijian, even if they were awarded officials after passing the imperial examination in the future, were just ......"

Zheng Shuqing pointed to himself and said, "It's just a saint's dog." ”

"And many people don't even have the qualifications to be dogs, so they can only be manipulated like ants.

Later, you were exceptionally admitted to Hongwenkan, I originally thought you were going to soar, but now...... I don't understand it again.

Don't talk nonsense, just say what to do now, alas. ”

"Of course there is a way."

Fang Chongyong already has a solution.

"Okay, how long will it take to get results!"

Zheng Shuqing's face was full of excitement, he couldn't wait to call Fang Chongyong his father now.

"Just today."

Fang Chongyong indifferently spit out three words.