"Lord Zhou, your majesty is really benevolent and holy. Having such a majesty in Daliang really makes me envious. I see your majesty being so powerful and I really admire him."
"Yes, hehe..."
You're right.
After meeting Zhu Youde, Zhou Chaozong accompanied Lin Changxin to leave the palace. After all, the other party was the envoy of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and Zhou Chaozong had the obligation to accompany him well.
Emperor Liang told him that he must entertain Ambassador Lin well and let him have a good time in Hangzhou and see everywhere. All expenses would be borne by the emperor's palace.
It is equivalent to letting Zhou Chaozong eat and drink with public funds and try his best to stuff money into the other party.
But Lin Changxin's appearance made Zhou Chaozong disdain him. His shameless and extreme flattery in front of Zhu Youde went too far.
As a scholar, Zhou Chaozong's three views were severely attacked. As an envoy, he really didn't pay attention to national ethics at all.
The Southern Tang Dynasty is also a big country in the world. Although the national power is not good, can't you rather die than surrender to show the emperor the character of a scholar?
It would also serve as an example to scholars all over the world.
"Master Zhou, do you think it's shameless to be a low-ranking official?"
"I don't dare, I don't dare. As a minister of the Tang Dynasty, Mr. Lin admires me very much."
Lin Changxin looked at Zhou Chaozong deliberately angrily: "Sir, Lin really wants to make friends with you, why are you being hypocritical? This is not the first day that I have been shameless. You don't need to care about the face of your subordinates."
Lin Changxin chuckled and said: "Your Excellency is an important minister of the Liang Dynasty. He is only a fourth-rank official in the Tang Dynasty. If he is in the Tang Dynasty and wants to show off, he will not be able to survive. I also hope that the Liang Dynasty will unify the world as soon as possible, so that we and other scholars can have a future.
"
Zhou Chaozong was dumbfounded. You shameless guy, do you have a valid reason?
Can't believe it!
"Sir, I have a pure heart, why don't you believe me?"
"Let's put it this way, you must not know that I, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, took the Crown Princess into the palace last month. Within a few days, the Crown Princess changed her name and became the noble concubine of the Tang Kingdom..."
"Master Zhou, my father-in-law stole his daughter-in-law, and all the officials praised him. Do you dare to believe this?"
"What? How dare the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty do this?" The Zhou Dynasty was always a little confused. Although Zhu Youde was lustful and loved beauties, he had never done such a ridiculous thing.
It didn’t happen before, and it will never happen again!
Your Majesty loves beauties, so choose them wisely!
Lin Changxin nodded: "The prince dares to be angry but dare not speak out. He went to ask the emperor early in the morning whether he slept well and how well he served the beauty... Can you believe this situation?"
Zhou Chaozong was speechless and shook his head in disbelief.
Lin Changxin said: "So His Majesty the Emperor of Daliang is great. After all, His Majesty the Emperor will not care about other people's wives, unlike me in the Southern Tang Dynasty, where everyone in the capital is in danger!"
Zhou Chaozong smiled bitterly and said: "I was wrong, sir, for the king of a country to be so ridiculous. It's natural for you to feel something after seeing my emperor. It can be seen that Lord Lin is actually worried about the country."
"Worrying about the country?" Lin Changxin nodded: "Yes, I am worried, too worried. I can't sleep every day. Monk Xiao ignored the imperial order and attacked the beams without authorization. I became angry with the emperor and killed many people. Jiankang is now
It's too dangerous, even the prince is walking on thin ice, and I can't sleep well until I reach Daliang."
"Mr. Zhou, do you know how happy it is to be able to sleep well and not have to worry about someone killing you?"
Zhou Chaozong said with a smile: "I don't know about this. I haven't been able to sleep well these days. The emperor ordered the land reform in the southeast, involving countless people, and the affairs of the country are extremely busy."
"What a happy thing. Senior officials like you are too busy to sleep. It can be seen that the government affairs in Daliang are smooth. I am not good at the Southern Dynasty. Officials basically do nothing. It is me, the prince's palace, who washes horses and has nothing to do all day long!"
Lin Changxin was very yearning: "I wonder if I can visit your office."
"It doesn't matter!" Zhou Chaozongxin said that would be great if you wanted to go to my office, but he didn't want to go shopping with him.
This office is located in the emperor's palace, and Zhu Youde has set aside a side hall specifically for Zhou Chaozong and He Qingfeng's office use.
The chief officials of the yamen from all over the southeast prefecture gathered together.
The sound of the abacus in the palace was like rain, the officials were like crucian carp crossing the river, and everyone was in a hurry.
"Southeast Military Preparation Report, 30,000 troops have been recruited, requesting food, grass and armaments!"
"The Governor's Office of Mingzhou requests one hundred thousand shi of salt!"
"King Potian of the Jiangnan camp requested gunpowder, armaments, craftsmen, and silver to rebuild the city wall after the battle in Xiangyang."
"The Taicang Navy, with 50,000 men, wants to disembark at the mouth of the Qiantang River so that the soldiers can rest ashore."
"Vegetables, we don't have enough vegetables. We still need 200,000 dan. The soldiers on the front line eat them too much. What should I do, sir?"
The noisy officials were holding memorials and surrounded one person, it was He Qingfeng.
"Don't you want to buy vegetables if you don't have enough?"
"We can't buy it. We have almost bought all the vegetables in the southeast. Sir, now we have money but no vegetables!"
"If you don't have vegetables, just eat meat. Otherwise, this is what you'll do!"
Taking the problem, He Qingfeng wrote a line on the memorial. The official took the memorial and ran out, shouting: "If there are any merchants who can supply meat, please come forward and follow me to purchase meat for the imperial court."
"How much does Xiangyang cost? 300,000. What is Wang Potian doing? 300,000 is enough for anything. The court gave him 1 million. In addition to rebuilding the city wall, he also has to take care of the people of Xiangyang. Don't those people need to eat?
?If you don’t govern the people well, then Xiangyang will not be considered my territory of Daliang..."
He Qingfeng thought for a while and then said: "Xiangyang is tax-free for three years, and each family is given ten taels of silver. This is the compensation for war damage given by the court. After all, there is a war, and the people of Xiangyang must have suffered losses. Let the people of Xiangyang feel what I am.
The warmth, feel His Majesty’s care!”
Lin Changxin was very excited when he saw the officials holding the notebooks and recording them in front of He Qingfeng, and then turned around and ran away, as if they had seen a light.
This is what being an official is!
Being an official in the Southern Tang Dynasty was like raising pigs.
After dealing with a lot of things, He Qingfeng could finally take a sip of tea. He saw Zhou Chaozong walking over quickly.
Only then did I see Lin Changxin, and they introduced each other and they became acquainted.
He Qingfeng said: "The army has consumed too much, and there is no supply of vegetables. Now the court is not short of money, but supplies... Do you have any ideas? Do you want to adjust the food for the new army?"
"That won't work. The emperor's internal treasury is responsible for the food of the new army. Let's adjust it. How can I earn the emperor's money from outside the court? His Majesty finally agreed to pay. I, the court, will not take the opportunity to make a profit. The war in the north has changed.
You have to ask the emperor for money again. Do you know the feeling of wanting to die? Mr. He, I don’t have the confidence to speak without money in my pocket."
"You're right!" He Qingfeng glanced at Lin Changxin.
Lin Changxin was dumbfounded. The court officials in Daliang were calculating the emperor's money. Did the emperor know?
Seeing He Qingfeng looking over, Lin Changxin said quickly: "I'm here to observe, and I will never tell anyone!"
He Qingfeng said: "It's not that I don't want you to say that the emperor knows our plan. Without His Majesty's acquiescence, we can fish out the money from the Shaofu. I'm just afraid that you will go back to the Southern Tang Dynasty and talk nonsense?"
Am I sick?! Lin Changxin shook his head: "Our emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty probably wouldn't believe that Emperor Liang was willing to pay for it himself."