The group of people parked their car at the small gate on the east side of Baolin Temple, and were led by the servant of the Cheng family. They entered the backyard through the small gate one after another. After walking a few steps, they saw an old man in silk robe opposite facing Ruan Yuan with a spring breeze on his face. He was exactly

Cheng Chicheng. When Cheng Chicheng saw Ruan Yuan coming forward, he took the initiative to bow to him and said: "Cheng Chicheng, a common man, has met Ruan Zhongcheng. Haha, when Zhongcheng was Ruan's envoy, he visited us in plain clothes like this. Thinking about it afterwards, Zhongcheng

I am really ashamed that I failed to recognize the fact that the Prime Minister has learned a lot. However, I do remember that the day after Zhong Cheng said goodbye to me, he got a concubine not long after, right? I also heard about today’s incident at Geely Bridge.

, it seems that every time I meet Zhongcheng, I can bring some joy to Zhongcheng’s family? Haha!”

"Yes, every time I see you, I, a Jinshi, become a scholar, right?" Ruan Yuan also smiled bitterly in his heart.

"But having said that, I can't help but admire Zhong Cheng's righteous deed today." Unexpectedly, Cheng Chicheng then praised Ruan Yuanlai and said, "The original owner of the Tang family that Zhong Cheng rescued was also a humble and studious scholar.

, it's a pity that he died young, leaving this mother and daughter alone and helpless. I originally wanted to help, but after all, their family is orphaned and widowed, and they are a little inconvenient. Today, Zhongcheng is so righteous, and I also let me

I'm ashamed. In this case, after hearing that Zhongcheng still owes Yihongyuan fifty taels of silver, Zhongcheng doesn't need to care about this money. It will be counted in my name. After an hour, I will help Zhongcheng make up the money.

Come on, let me do some good deeds for them since I have lived with the Tang family in the same city for a few years."

"In that case, I would like to thank Mr. Cheng very much?" Ruan Yuan said with a smile, but Ruan Yuan had always understood the general outline and quickly got to the point and asked: "But Mr., I still don't know, these three governors of Jiangsu

, what is the reason why they jointly wrote a letter asking me to come to Suzhou? What does this matter have to do with the old gentleman? "

"Zhongcheng, don't be anxious. Although I am old and can no longer go to Japan, my business with Japan has always been a lot. Today I saw four governors gathered in Baolin Temple. How could I not treat them warmly?

?It just so happens that I have tea sets brought back from Japan, so I might as well invite the four adults to taste the tea first. How about we taste the tea first and then talk about business?" Cheng Chicheng said with a smile, and also brought Ruan Yuan with him.

While walking into the temple, several people walked through two doorways and saw a pond in front of them. A promenade stood beside the pond and was lined with trees. It was indeed an elegant and quiet place.

Several people walked along the corridor and saw a man in cloth clothes standing at the end of the corridor. This man was delighted to see Ruan Yuan and said with a smile: "Isn't this Bo Yuan? Haha, Bo Yuan, you

I have been serving as governor of Zhejiang for three years, but I have accomplished a lot. Even I have always heard people say that if all the governors in the world were like you, a prosperous world would be just around the corner! Having said that, even I, a teacher, sometimes see

It is difficult to get rid of the long-term disadvantages under the rule, and they all lament their own incompetence. The future generations are really to be feared, and the disciples need not be inferior to their masters." Seeing this man's kind appearance, he was Ruan Yuan's teacher during the imperial examination, the governor of water transportation at that time, Tie Bao.

Ruan Yuan was overjoyed when he saw Tie Bao. He stepped forward and bowed to him: "The teacher praised the students so much, but the students couldn't bear it. Is the teacher's home peaceful recently? But he didn't know that the teacher and the two governors would have an appointment with the students this time.

Why did you come here?"

"This matter is indeed an important matter." Tiebao nodded and said: "But there is no need to worry, Bo Yuan. We have met with Mr. Fei and Yue Zhongcheng to discuss this matter together. In other words, this matter

If even one of the four governors of Jiangsu and Zhejiang disagrees with this matter, we won't be able to do it. Just in time, I heard that Mr. Cheng has brought back some good tea. Let's taste the tea first and then discuss the matter slowly, but we can't rush it.

.”

Although Ruan Yuan was still confused, after hearing what Tiebao said, he had no choice but to nod his head and followed Tiebao through the corridor and came to the main entrance. Tiebao also told him about Cheng Chicheng. It turned out that he, Fei Chun, and Yue Qi

Both of them have served as local governors for three years and are familiar with each other. They have been in contact for nearly a year regarding this matter. However, if Ruan Yuan does not agree with this matter, it seems that the three of them alone cannot solve the problem.

It was done. At this time, Cheng Chicheng was old and frail. He did not want to go to Japan to do business in person, nor did he want to continue living in Zhapu. He came to Suzhou to buy a house and had contacts with Yue Qi. Among them, he inadvertently mentioned Ruan Yuan.

, the three of them learned the story. They all used their private seals on the letter and asked Cheng Chicheng to send someone to deliver the letter to Ruan Yuan, and that was how the meeting of the four governors took place today.

In a blink of an eye, several people had arrived at the main hall, and Yang Ji immediately stepped down and waited in the side room. As expected, there were two more people in the hall, one of them had all white hair, and the other also looked haggard. Ruan Yuan and the two of them were officials at the same time.

Not that long, but it can be inferred from his age that the older man is Fei Chun, the governor of Liangjiang, and the one with a rather haggard appearance is Yue Qi, the governor of Jiangsu. He also stepped forward to pay homage: "I am Ruan Yuan,

I have seen Mr. Fei, Yue Zhongcheng." The two of them immediately stood up and returned the gift.

When Cheng Chicheng saw Yue Qi, he also stepped forward and smiled at him: "Yue Zhongcheng, did something disgraceful happen today under your rule in Suzhou? If Ruan Zhongcheng hadn't rescued the girl from the Tang family, she would have

I'm afraid that I have already been sold into a brothel, and my life would be worse than death. Zhongcheng has always been the blue sky of Suzhou. If this kind of thing really happens, I'm afraid all the scholars in Suzhou will sigh for it?" He said,

He also briefly told him about Ruan Yuanyi's rescue of Tang Qingyun. This Yue Qi was originally an honest and diligent minister. During his tenure as governor of Jiangsu Province, he had many advantages and disadvantages and soothed people's hearts. The people were grateful for his honesty and perseverance, so they gave him a "

He was given the name "Yue Qingtian", so Cheng Chicheng had this saying.

After hearing what Cheng Chicheng said, Yue Qi couldn't help but sigh to Ruan Yuan: "Ruan Zhongcheng, if this is really the case, I have neglected my duty. I have been in poor health recently. I don't know much about this kind of things in the alleys, so I let Zhongcheng

What a joke."

Ruan Yuan also hurriedly paid his respects and said: "Yue Zhongcheng is too polite. In fact, as I have been the governor for these years, I also know that it is the responsibility of the prefecture and county. We in Fuyuan do have a sense of closeness and sparseness.

It's not Zhong Cheng's fault. Zhong Cheng has put a lot of effort into this important matter today. It would be better for Zhong Cheng to explain the matter to me first. If I think there is nothing wrong with it, I will definitely support Zhong Cheng's proposal.

"

"Ruan Zhongcheng, Yue Zhongcheng, don't be polite, you two." Cheng Chicheng said with a smile: "Today we, the four governors, gathered together for a big event. Since everyone is here, it is more important. But I am a landlord.

The friendship cannot be overdone, so I will make tea for you all. After you drink it first, you can discuss business."

Ruan Yuan and the other four people thought it was reasonable, so they took their seats and closed the door. Cheng Chicheng made tea by himself, put the crushed tea powder into the tea cup and melted it, and took out a tea spoon to mix the tea. This is

The method of drinking matcha in Japan. After China entered the Ming Dynasty, brewing tea gradually replaced matcha. On the contrary, fewer and fewer people used the matcha method. However, the house in Baolin Temple is a common house style and is completely different from the Japanese teahouse.

, it may have been the only time in the world for four feudal officials of the Qing Dynasty to share Japanese tea in a temple building. Tea was served to everyone at the table, and they all felt the fragrance of tea was refreshing.

The taste of the powder is mellow and mellow, which is completely different from the teas he drinks on daily basis. Ruan Yuan is also a tea lover, and he realizes that although the preparation method of this Japanese matcha is different from that of the tea he usually drinks, the smell is also different, but each has its own flavor.

There is no distinction between superior and inferior directors, and I nodded unconsciously.

Seeing that everyone here had finished tasting tea, Fei Chun, as the highest-ranking governor of Liangjiang at the scene, also took the initiative to speak: "Commander Tiecao, you two lieutenants, I have already used this tea, but I am not in this state of mind.

It has become much peaceful. Yue Zhongcheng, you are busy with your affairs, but do you also have a sense of leisure? It is not easy to talk about this matter. It is precisely because of today's peaceful atmosphere that we can discuss it in detail. Ruan Zhongcheng, what do you say?

is not it?"

"Today is indeed an excellent day." Ruan Yuan said with a smile: "It's just the general fee system. I still don't know what we need to discuss today."

"Ruan Zhongcheng, the four governors and I have one thing in common, that is, along the canal. Daily water transportation affairs, taking Jiangsu as an example, are not the responsibility of Commander Tie Cao alone. I am right, right? Zhongcheng is in Zhejiang, but

Do you have any difficult questions?" Fei Chun asked.

"It is true that water transportation has always added a lot of consumption and is difficult to eradicate. The sailors along the canal flag have been in trouble for many years. When I first entered Zhejiang, I also consulted with people who are good at water transportation. I once went to the

It is said that sailors' allowances will be increased, but the current prices on the market have increased several times compared with when the allowances were initially set. Just relying on increasing allowances has not achieved much in the past two years. If there is a way to cure the shortcomings of shipping services, the following is

I don’t even know where to start.” Ruan Yuan replied.

"Yes." Tiebao also added: "Actually, I have been the governor of water transportation for the past few years, and there are many problems with the water transportation, and there is still no solution. Since the fifth year of Jiaqing, sailors along the waterway have been

The allowance has increased a lot, but I have also asked many times the leaders of the Cao Gang who transport grain to Huai'an, but they said that there are still many sailors who cannot make ends meet? So since last year, I have been contacting the Chief Fee Officer, Yue Zhongcheng

, thinking about finding a way to increase some sailors' allowances, but Jiangsu is currently in a deficit, and there is no money left to use for allowances. Bo Yuan, we originally wanted to meet you for a while last year to think about your presence.

Zhejiang has also done a lot of things. Maybe there is a way? But you were busy dealing with the pirates back then, so we couldn't bother you anymore. Seeing that this year the pirates have been eliminated a lot, Yue Zhongcheng got to know Mr. Cheng again, so he started looking for him again.

I'd like you to come. To be honest, we have been thinking hard about the canal affairs for a year, and we do have some ideas now, but the pros and cons are not yet clear, so we thought that when you come, we can have an interview. If the negotiation is successful,

So, we will jointly submit the petition together. I think that only if the four governors work together, can there be any hope of solving this issue along the canal."

"Thank you, my teacher. In fact, although my students have found some ways to make up for the shortfall in Zhejiang these years, there are still many things that have not been investigated and dealt with. Regarding water transportation, if we talk about increasing subsidies, there is no spare capacity for the time being. Still.

Please give me some advice from my mentor." Ruan Yuandao.

"The solution we came up with is this." Yue Qi on the side said: "Ruan Zhongcheng, you have also been in charge of Zhejiang's water affairs for almost three years. What is the 'clear money'? Does Zhongcheng know?"

"Of course I know." Ruan Yuan replied. The so-called "clear money" is actually a transportation fee subsidized to the bannermen during the water transportation. Originally customized by the imperial court, it was to increase the grain consumption after the normal water transportation. In fact,

Due to the existence of the "Zese" (that is, changing taxes paid in the form of grain to silver) system, the court only levied taels of silver when the tax was collected for an extended period of time, which is why the saying "clearing the tax" came into being.

"According to the old customs in the south of the Yangtze River, for every one stone of grain transported by the bannermen's sailors, they would have two dozen six liters of pure silver, which can be converted into silver taels, which is one cent and three cents. So the total amount of this income is actually quite a lot." Yue Qidao

: "Nowadays, all the details of the water affairs are affecting the whole body, so I want to find a key that is easy to make progress and has a small amount of water affairs, which is Qingbao Yin. I and

Tie Cao Shuai, Chief Fei decided to discuss this method by converting the three cents of silver into two buckets of six liters of rice, and then offset the rice at a 60% discount, and only collect one bucket of six liters. If
Chapter completed!