The staff of the extra chapter (for the lord blackmoon413
The capital hall is located slightly northeast of Chang'an City. It is the place where the prime ministers conduct administrative affairs.
A small sedan chair dropped outside the door, and a senior official in purple official robe stepped out. He was not tall and looked quite thin. After a closer look, he found that he was a female official in her forties, with a straight face and a very serious look.
"Mr. Yan."
"Call some officials from the Household Department and the Criminal Department to come."
"yes."
After a while, the officials in the capital hall gathered.
"His Majesty summoned me today because of the affairs of Quanzhou Shipping Department. Pu's file is in this box. You can take a look at it first."
The officials then discussed a few words.
"After three years of drastic efforts to rectify the legacy left by the fall of the Song Dynasty, there are still so many beetles!"
"What kind of officials did the Song Dynasty hold?"
"Having said this, I can only say that the good and the bad are mixed, but there are still many good ministers."
"Then it's too rotten!"
Immediately some Jiangnan officials became angry and stood up suddenly to have a debate.
Yan Yunyun had already opened his mouth and said: "Look at the sea map."
Be it Bei Guan or Nan Guan, they all have one thing in common, that is, they are very afraid of Yan Yunyun. After all, this sign-in-law has a straight face all day long, and there are still faint scars on his face, and his aura is really scary.
Everyone stopped talking and read the contents at the back of the file.
Pu's property list is very long. In addition to fields, houses, ships, treasures, there are also a large number of goods, spices, silks, porcelain, etc.
The Ministry of Household officials raised their eyebrows and showed expressions of relief.
There has been "shortage of national funds" and "shortage of national funds" all day long, but today we finally made some money.
Looking at it again, they couldn't help but get angry.
"What a rich man who can rival the country, who is extravagant and excessive, and who has bad laws and regulations and ruins the country!"
"It's time to bring down Pu's whole family..."
"Look at the chart." Yan Yunyun spoke again.
It is very easy to punish the Pu family for serious crimes, but she knows very well that what His Majesty is more concerned about right now is that the Pu family's maritime trade business should be taken over by the government.
The officials turned the files in the box to the end and saw many sea maps.
I saw that it was densely marked with the navigation routes of the Pu family merchant ships, including supply and trading locations along the map, specialties from various places, the prices of purchased goods, as well as the monsoons, dark oceans, etc. along the way.
It is obvious that there are many strange characters on the chart that originally existed, while all the Chinese characters were newly written.
An official pointed to the Chinese characters and asked, "Did Su Liuyi get this from his interrogation after he captured Pu Shougeng?"
It can be imagined that after Su Liuyi captured the Pu family, he conducted a very detailed investigation of the Pu family's maritime trade, recorded it on these charts, and presented it to the emperor for inspection.
"Yes." Yan Yunyun said, "But His Majesty believes that Pu Shougeng did not tell the truth. There should be a lot of false information in these charts."
She stood up and pointed to a chart.
It was the farthest location that the Pu family's merchant ships had reached, and the place name was "Mu Gu Du Shu".
"His Majesty said that Mugu Dushu should belong to Somalia. As it is in this...African continent, Pu Shougeng's route was marked incorrectly."
"Mr. Yan, please forgive me for my stupidity. What do you mean by this? Pu Shougeng's chart is wrong?"
"No." Yan Yunyun said: "The Pu family has been engaged in maritime trade for decades, so it is unlikely that they are wrong."
"It's more likely that he's not telling the truth."
"Yes, this thief is cunning and must be playing tricks like this."
"Sailboating on the sea is no trivial matter. The distance is off, the wind is in the wrong direction, and a slight difference can make a difference of a thousand miles."
"Su Liuyi didn't find such a mistake?"
"After all, he has been in the Lianghuai battlefield for a long time."
"That's also a Jinshi from Jiangnan. If he doesn't know, can we still understand sea trade?"
This northern official's words hit the point.
In fact, not many people in the Tang Dynasty, from the emperor to the prime ministers to the officials, understood maritime trade.
Then an official said: "It's just torture to extract a confession, skinning and bones must be peeled off, Pu Shougeng must have time to say it."
Yan Yunyun looked at Chen Yizhong, who stood aside and remained silent.
"Yongquan, what do you think?"
Chen Yizhong was captured at Jiangxin Temple and escorted north before surrendering. He resisted to the end, but failed to maintain his loyalty. Now he only serves as a minor official in the Ministry of Household Affairs, and he looks depressed every day.
However, Yan Yunyun relied heavily on him and often asked him about the money and grain economy in Jiangnan.
Someone once reminded Yan Yunyun privately that Jia Sidao had used Chen Yizhong and suffered backlash, which showed that Chen Yizhong was not trustworthy. However, Yan Yunyun refused to listen and asked, "Don't ask him about Jiangnan affairs, how about you?"
At this time, Chen Yizhong stepped forward and looked at the charts carefully for a while. Finally, he bowed solemnly and said: "Mr. Yan, I cannot see any mistakes or omissions."
"Thirty percent of the revenue of the state treasury of the fallen Song Dynasty came from maritime trade. How could you not know this from your position as a court official to the prime minister of the Song Dynasty?"
Chen Yi felt a little embarrassed in the center. When he was appointed as Prime Minister, the Song Dynasty was already in a state of turmoil. How could he still have the energy to take care of these things? It was not just how much the Quanzhou Shipping Department handed over.
But he just pondered for a moment and quickly answered Yan Yunyun's question calmly.
"The imperial court does not compete with merchants for profits. It has always only collected taxes. Even in the Lin'an imperial court, there are not many officials who understand maritime trade. However, there is one person. Mr. Yan may want to ask him. When Jia Sidao was in power, many things happened.
He takes care of..."
"Liao Yingzhong?"
"yes."
~~
Chang'an, Beiyuan.
In the second year of the Song Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty, Lu Dazhong moved the steles such as "Kaicheng Stone Classic" and "Shitai Xiao Jing" to Beiyong, where Chang'an Prefecture studied. This place became known as the Stele Courtyard.
Now a library has been built behind the monument courtyard.
In the library, Liao Yingzhong, who was about to sort out ancient books, held a magnifying glass in her hand and was looking at a rubbing while listening to Yan Yunyun's words.
"The good teacher Yan Xianggong knows that I can't tell whether these charts are right or wrong. But I understand Pu Shougeng. If he dares not to repay the truth, he is deceiving us into not understanding those barbarian lands."
"You don't even understand this?"
Liao Yingzhong asked: "Isn't your Majesty's real difficulty not only limited to these charts?"
He was considered one of the best staff members in the world. Although his official position was not high, he was best at analyzing situations for important ministers. Therefore, as soon as he opened his mouth, Yan Yunyun nodded and no longer kept a straight face.
"Yes, Your Majesty wants to develop maritime affairs, but the whole court cannot find a maritime minister who can really take charge of the matter."
"What makes a capable Sea Lord?"
"When the big ships returned from all over the world, they brought a large amount of gold, silver, copper and iron, wood, ores, rice from Champa, and much more. In the past, the power of commercial ships could support the state of Zhao and Song Dynasties, and your Majesty's
The great cause needs more. However, when Jiangnan was pacified three years ago, His Majesty sent a fleet from the Guangzhou Shipping Department to go to sea to find some crops. So far, there is no news, or it has sunk. It has taken a detour.
A lot, but progress is very slow..."
Liao Yingzhong said: "Businessmen talk a lot about profit, but scholar-bureaucrats avoid talking about it. I am afraid that no important minister in the court can do it, or is opposed to it, or is not knowledgeable about maritime affairs. Your Majesty needs someone who is good at fighting for profits, knowledgeable about maritime affairs, and
An important minister whose wrists reach the heavens."
"Originally Pu Shougeng would have been a good candidate, but he has no intention of doing anything for the country." Yan Yunyun said: "Su Liu Yi has been in the army for a long time, so he can rectify the place."
"Mr. Yan has been managing some money for His Majesty, is he qualified for the job?"
"There is no other choice, but I am from Shu and don't understand maritime affairs."
Liao Yingzhong seemed to have thought of something and opened her mouth slightly, but in the end she said nothing.
Yan Yunyun saw the look in his eyes, thought about it, and suddenly had some realization.
~~
Outside Chang'an City, Fanchuan.
Hundreds of years ago, this place was a scenic spot in the south of Chang'an City, known as "Little Jiangnan". Du Fu and Du Mu both lived here for a long time. Du Fu was named Fanchuan Yelao, and Du Mu was named Fanchuan Jushi. There is also "Fanchuan Collection", which can be seen
The scenery here is very popular among literati and elegant guests.
[A novel app that has been running stably for many years, comparable to the old book-chasing tool, and a source-changing app used by old bookworms,]
After Liao Yingzhong followed the emperor to Chang'an, she was not accustomed to the local customs in Guanzhong. She only liked Fanchuan, a small south of the Yangtze River, and made a house here her residence.
But this place is far away from the city road, so it is true that it is inconvenient to get in and out. Liao Yingzhong was sorting out books, calligraphy and paintings in the Monument Court until late at night every day, and had no time to go back and forth, so he rented a small residence in Chang'an City.
There were only a few servants and a few teachers left in Liao's house in Fanchuan to teach the children of the Liao family.
Liao Yingzhong rarely interacts with others, so the door of the house is closed all year round, and no one comes and goes.
On this day, someone knocked the door knocker.
"Tuk-tuk-tuk...tuk-tuk-tuk..."
No one answered in the house for a long time, but the door knocker kept ringing.
It seemed that someone in the courtyard was finally defeated by the patience of the person holding the door, so with a "squeak" sound, a servant opened the small door and poked his head out.
"May I ask who you are looking for?"
"Is Jia Sidao here?"
"The villain can't understand."
The servant was about to close the door, but someone was already blocking the door.
Yan Yunyun stepped into the house, but turned around to stop the attendant and said: "I will go in alone."
She was full of official air, glanced at the few servants in the courtyard, and walked to the backyard casually.
I have to say that this is the most beautiful garden in the south of the Yangtze River that she has ever seen in Chang'an.
Walking all the way to the back garden, I heard some faint sounds.
"She's coming."
"No need..."
Yan Yunyun walked around the rockery and saw a man fishing by the pool.
There was a servant who stood there helpless and ran away as soon as he saw someone coming.
When Yan Yunyun approached, the man didn't even look back and said, "Why bother asking for trouble?"
"How dare you hide here."
"There are many people in Jiangnan who want to kill me, but no one in Chang'an cares about me. Of course, I didn't want to hide, otherwise you wouldn't find me."
Yan Yunyun looked at the small eucalyptus table aside, picked up the wine bottle placed on it, smelled it, and said: "It must be the same, you can only be safe and enjoy yourself with Liao Yingzhong."
Jia Sidao turned around, smiled slightly, and said: "Li Xia didn't want to kill me, otherwise he would have found me long ago..."
"Snapped!"
With a sound, Yan Yunyun slapped him in the face.
Before his smiling expression faded, Jia Sidao froze.
"Dare to call the Emperor by his name."
Jia Sidao still held the fishing rod in his hand and looked very embarrassed sitting there.
In the end, he laughed freely and resolved the embarrassing situation.
"Haha, he doesn't care about it himself, but you are angry about it. It's ridiculous. I will take this slap to repay the debt for humiliating you back then."
A drawing was spread out in front of Jia Sidao.
Yan Yunyun asked: "Can you see anything wrong?"
Jia Sidao narrowed his eyes slightly and said: "There are too many things wrong. Valuable items such as elephants, rhinoceros, pearls, jade, incense and other medicines must be extracted from the Guanyi Court and given to the royal family first. It is about the same time every year, and you can see on this chart.
The marked wind direction, plus the round trip time of 180 days... is wrong."
"anything else?"
"Is this the chart starting from Quanzhou? It belongs to Pu Shougeng? That Bai Fan is always cunning, how can he hand over such a secret? It is still full of mistakes and omissions. You copied Pu's house? Haha, Quanzhou City Shipping Department in the second year of the year
You dare to touch millions of dollars in taxes, aren't you afraid that you won't be able to close things down? Who did you send?"
After a series of rhetorical questions, Jia Sidao was obviously deliberately trying to show his ability. With just a chart, he had already guessed the matter quite accurately.
This kind of natural intelligence makes Yan Yunyun a little jealous. Because she does not have this kind of genius, she has learned many things slowly.
"Su Liuyi."
"I'm pretty good at employing people. But Su Liuyi is too upright and a gentleman. You can kill Pu Shougeng, but you can't replace him."
"who can?"
Jia Sidao sneered and said: "Everyone in the dynasty talks about profit and pursues it. Who can replace a profit-seeking businessman like Pu Shougeng? You have killed the goose to get the egg, and now you will regret it too late."
"Who told you that the court regretted it?" Yan Yunyun said: "Pu Shougeng's crime was so heinous that it would not be a pity to kill him."
Jia Sidao turned his head and continued to fish, and said calmly: "I have been in charge of Zhangjun's state affairs, and I am the Duke of Zhou. Can a person like me, who covers the sky with one hand, be interested in your official position? Please come back."
"I can kill you." Yan Yunyun said: "Concubine Kang is not feeling well, and your Majesty took her to the Lishan Palace to recuperate. I sent people to kill you, but Liao Yingzhong dare not say anything, so no one will know."
Jia Sidao stiffened and laughed "ha".
"Let me give you an idea."
He pondered for a moment and said: "If the imperial court wants to take over the Pu family's caravan official camp, it will be difficult. Scholars are scholars, and merchants are merchants. Let the big private merchants carve up the Pu family. The imperial court only collects business taxes. It's simple and clear."
"The sparrow knows the ambition of the swan." Yan Yunyun said: "Your Majesty's plan is far more than this."
"It's nothing more than rectifying maritime affairs just like I enforce public land laws."
Yan Yunyun shook his head, but picked up a branch, scratched it on the ground, and said: "It doesn't matter if I tell you, what your Majesty has planned is a great cause for all generations..."
Jia Sidao looked at it for a while, always looking arrogant. Finally, he adjusted his sitting posture and said, "It's so noisy. You just want to invite me out?"
"good."
"you go."
"What?"
"It's been three years, Li Ye is old, and Han Qi'an is afraid that he will soon return to the court to serve as prime minister." Jia Sidao talked eloquently, saying: "If you want to be a female prime minister in the future, it is better to look outside now, but
Please ask me to take charge of the maritime affairs of Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong."
"I can't do it. I'm from Shu and don't understand this."
"Simple." Jia Sidao put down his fishing rod, stood up, dusted off his clothes, and Yun Danfeng said lightly, "I'll just come under your curtain and plan the plan."
"Ah?"
"I have been a high-ranking official in my life, and I'm tired of it." Jia Sidao took a few steps with his hands behind his back and looked at the sky in the south. He seemed to be lofty and noble. He sighed slightly and said, "It's better to be a dragon to see its leader."
The invisible man behind the scenes."
Although Fan Chuan is a small Jiangnan, it is not Jiangnan after all. Even though he eats some noodles in Guanzhong every day, he also misses the exquisite food of Jiangnan.
You might as well follow Yan Yunyun, and then look at Lin'an, Taizhou...
~~
A month later, Li Xia once again issued an order to send his closest officials to the coast.
After pacifying the world, this new dynasty has been struggling to eliminate the long-standing shortcomings left by the Song Dynasty and digest the legacy it left behind. If it cannot meet Li Xia's expectations this time, he will have no one to send.
Before Yan Yunyun set off, he asked Zhao Jin a special question.
"They are leaving soon. Do you want to see your uncle?"
"It's better not to do it. He should feel embarrassed."
In fact, Zhao Jin can rest assured as long as he knows that Jia Sidao is not dead, but he is not very interested in meeting again.
"But speaking of it, my uncle's virtue is more suitable for handling business affairs. He is really too annoying in the court..."
~~
On this day, another official ship left from the east of the Weihe River.
Yan Yunyun, wearing official robes, was sitting in the cabin, still asking several newly hired staff about maritime affairs.
In Fanchuan Liao's house, Liao Yingzhong opened the door and couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
"The building is empty."
Turning his eyes, he saw a pile of scrolls on the table.
Liao Yingzhong stepped forward and saw that there was a piece of paper attached to the side of the scroll. It said, "I have returned to the south of the Yangtze River, and I have left several volumes of calligraphy and painting with Yaozhou."
He was much more free and easy than when he was responsible for the state affairs of the Song Dynasty.
Liao Yingzhong sighed and unfolded a scroll of calligraphy and painting, but was stunned for a moment.
This scroll is very long. It is an ink landscape painting on silk. It is simple, elegant and clear. It is actually the "Summer Mountain Picture" by Dong Yuan, a famous artist from the Five Dynasties.
Looking at the inscription and postscript, there is a line of small characters that reads "I was in Chang'an and saw the scrolls of Dong Yuan, and I was lucky enough to collect two volumes." Next to it are two seals: "Qiuhe Treasures" and "Yuesheng".
Liao Yingzhong was shocked at first, wondering how Jia Sidao, who was penniless, received such a painting.
He turned around and looked around and saw a few dice on the shelf. He thought that Jia Sidao had earned money from gambling and had a keen eye for distinguishing calligraphy and painting, so he lived comfortably in Chang'an.
But even he didn't know when Jia Sidao went out.
And he doesn't even know where there is a casino in Chang'an City, at least he has never seen one.
"Alang is amazing, amazing."
The calligraphy and paintings placed on the table seemed to be Jia Sidao showing off frivolously, and Liao Yingzhong couldn't help but sigh.
He also thought of a poem that Jia Sidao always read many years ago and said that poem was what he wished for in his life.
"I would like to be a frivolous son of Chang'an, born in the time of Kaiyuan Tianbao. Fighting cocks and horses pass for a lifetime, and I don't know the rise and fall of heaven and earth... Now it is clear that Alang's wish has been fulfilled, why did he leave again?"