Li Chongrun naturally had to follow the procedures to respond to the official post.
Although there is no need to wear official uniforms like those in the upper court, the process of welcoming guests still cannot be neglected. Especially Li Chongrun does not like to wear a crotch on weekdays, and usually wears a ball head. This is naturally not allowed.
The incense was lit, the tea set was prepared, and a small black pottery pot was simmering in the small red clay stove, and the fish-eye bubbles were slightly bubbling.
Lu Yu, the tea sage, had not yet been born, and the Tea Book was naturally not very popular. In the Tang Dynasty, wine was more of a formal social occasion.
It's a pity that most of the people who traveled through time were drunkards. Even if they drank three hundred times, if they didn't write three hundred chapters in front of the palace, they would be so drunk that they wrote this article and had a child.
Li Chongrun was extremely bad at what was in his glass. Although he would sometimes indulge in a sip or two, he rarely drank in formal occasions.
Afraid of making mistakes.
Fortunately, although the tea ceremony has not become very popular, it has gone out of the category of medicine. Substituting tea for wine has become a vague trend, especially in the tea-producing area of Jiangnan.
Governor Wei was welcomed into the door, saw the ceremony, and sat on opposite sides of the table in the main hall. Someone from the palace brought some food such as dried fruit preserves, and then bowed out, leaving only Bing'er to serve the tea set.
, grind the finely ground tea powder and brew out a stream of long-lasting tranquility.
Although it was not a formal ceremony to receive an imperial envoy, he still had to greet the current emperor and exchange a few pleasantries about the current changes in the court. Governor Wei stopped talking and just drank tea.
According to the Tang Dynasty, some seasonings such as salt, pepper, and dogwood are usually added when making tea. For those who are more serious, they may even add some goat's milk or even fermented glutinous rice, that is, butter. It is not so much tea as it is tea.
Soup with Pepper.
Naturally, Li Chongrun didn't like such a wasteful way of drinking. Instead, the Taoist priests' way of drinking matcha, which was similar to today's matcha, was more suitable for his taste. But occasionally he would ask Bing'er, who was good at tea ceremony, to mix some honey and milk into it.
Like the matcha green milk tea of later generations.
Wei Anshi drank a few sips, but still didn't speak. Li Chongrun guessed that he might have something important to talk about, but Bing'er represented another pair of ears, so naturally he couldn't catch up.
"Wei Gong, I rescued those dandies back to the mansion yesterday. Today I actually sent people to deliver a lot of money, and they have been sent back by the students."
Just chatting, I realized that although Wei Anshi was also from a wealthy family, he took the scientific examination route to become an official. He was a Jinshi at the same time as the fierce poet Chen Ziang. I was Chen Ziang's student, so this Wei Anshi was his uncle according to seniority.
, so Li Chongrun regarded himself as a student.
"The King of Linzi is upright and honest, and he should be a role model in this world." When Wei Anshi saw that Li Chongrun didn't even avoid a servant, and actually talked about business like this, he felt a little contemptuous of him. He just treated Li Chongrun casually, this
Is this young man coming to Yangzhou just to take this opportunity to get rich?
Seeing that he was a little perfunctory, Li Chongrun guessed what he was worried about, but it was not convenient for him to say it clearly, so he could only follow the words.
"The students are just a little curious, how can these businesses dare to be so extravagant and arrogant? They are just committing murder, but they actually bribed me in broad daylight, amounting to thousands of dollars. Do you still have the eyes of the current emperor?"
Li Chongrun raised his hands and bowed in the direction of Luoyang, but his eyes looked at Bing'er intentionally or unintentionally.
Wei Anshi was a little surprised. Those boys had always been cowardly, and he had heard about bribery before. But for them to rise to the level of ignoring His Majesty, it was really an exaggeration.
But seeing him look at Bing'er who was pouring tea several times, Wei Anshi vaguely guessed Li Chongrun's intention. He was afraid that not only he and the young King of Linzi could hear this conversation.
"The King of Linzi doesn't know that these seven companies all have powerful backgrounds." Wei Anshi lost his scruples and honestly began to talk to Li Chongrun.
"The Lijin Company is actually the business of the Fan Yang Lu family. Originally, the iron smelting business was the business of the Changsun family. Since the Changsun family collapsed, the Lu family has taken over the business."
"The Tianfu Ji of the Zheng family in Xingyang, the Hengshun Ji of the Cui family in Qinghe, the Song Ji Company name of the Boling Cui family, the Wang Ji Company name of the Jinyang Wang family, and the Xia Ji and Li Ji records of the Li family in Longxi and Zhaojun, respectively.
He controls tea from Jiannan, salt from Chuzhou, icing sugar from Shu, leather goods from Hetao, as well as two well salt businesses controlled by Li, spices sold from the Western Regions, and raw lacquer."
Wei Anshi seemed to have prepared his homework well and explained it in detail.
Yangzhou's annual fiscal and taxation can turn in 1.4 million guan, of which the salt tax alone is as high as 600,000 guan. The Municipal Shipping Department collects taxes on a daily basis. The amount of transactions in Yangzhou in a year is so huge that Li Chongrun finds it a bit difficult.
Imagine.
"All the five surnames and Qiwang are here? Why are there no relatives from my uncle's family to do business?"
Li Chongrun was very curious. There were two families with the surname Li, but none with the surname Wu.
"The city supervisor of the Shipping Department is said to be a relative of the Wang family in Jianchang."
Wei Anshi smiled helplessly.
Li Chongrun then remembered that the green-robed official yesterday seemed to want to get close to him and seemed to have said the same thing.
Doing business is a labor-intensive thing, but there is no way to make money quickly and worry-free without starting a business. Li Chongrun lamented the simplicity and directness of his relatives.
"The student came this time. His Majesty's order was to investigate the cases where more than 500 people were sentenced to exile in Yangzhou alone last year, accounting for half of the country's cases. Your Majesty is a little curious. As the student is the Prime Minister of Dali Temple, he was
Sent for review."
Coming to review the case is a trivial matter. No matter how corrupt and illegal the Yangzhou governor is, he can at most send someone here. Even if it is related to the Wuling man, there is no need for my aunt to mix the turtle charm to save her life.
This is a question that Li Chongrun has been struggling with since leaving Luoyang.
It was the Turtle Talisman again, and all her adult cousins were sent to her side. Although Her Royal Highness acted wildly, she did not have a reckless temperament.
Unless, this trip to Yangzhou involves a powerful force, so powerful that even someone as favored as Princess Taiping may be implicated.
If my trip to the south of the Yangtze River fails, and I have the Turtle Talisman to protect my life, my cousins will naturally be safe. But in the middle of the court, there will probably be huge waves.
"King Linzi, I have already reported to your majesty the penalty in Yangzhou. There is no possibility of an unjust, false or wrong case." Wei Anshi looked around, seemed to be very careful, lowered his voice and told Li Chongrun: "I don't know, King Linzi
Can I receive your Majesty's secret order before traveling?"