Amidst the man's deep chanting, a boat docked at Heyincang Pier.
The laborers immediately got busy, unloading the grain from the cabin and transporting it into the warehouse.
"'The sails of clouds are sailing across the Liaohai Sea, and japonica rice is coming to Soochow.' This batch of japonica rice from Wu is not easy to come by." Cang Du, with a big belly, hurriedly got off the city, laughing.
During the Tang Dynasty, there were many Tang poems about rice, and nine out of ten of them were referring to japonica rice.
During the reign of Emperor Daizong of the Tang Dynasty, Guanzhong harvested more than two million shi of japonica rice a year - if calculated as two shi per mu, it would only be 10,000 hectares or one million mu. The sown area was actually not large.
The Tang Dynasty had an alliance with Tubo, and Lanzhou also produced japonica rice.
In Soochow, japonica rice is also very famous.
It's really strange. Isn't there any other rice species?
But it doesn’t matter, things are rare and valuable. Heyincang is just a transit warehouse. The japonica rice will eventually be transported to Hanjiacang City. The cang governor’s family is also settled in Luoyang. In fact, he is also a member of the capital officials and receives a salary during the holidays.
At that time, it would be great if we could get some japonica rice to replace the corn that we had long since got tired of.
"Where did this japonica rice come from?" someone asked.
Cang Du glanced at the person who asked the question. He was a younger brother of his own family.
To be honest, when you are an official these days, you like to support your fellow villagers or relatives. For no other reason, you can rest assured. Even if you are not capable enough and can only do a lowly handyman, you are still one of your own, and you can do many inconvenient things.
Leave it to him. Besides, if you don’t help your hometown party relatives when you get rich, your spine will be broken when you go back to your hometown to visit relatives.
"Transport it to Wudi by sea, and then transport it back by water." Cangdu replied angrily.
This clan brother is not very efficient in doing things and has a habit of petty theft. If his parents had not taken care of him back then and could not forgive him, they would have told him to go back to his hometown.
"That's not close. It's better to take the canal and transport it to the capital via the Bian River."
"What do you know?" Cangdu snorted and said, "Water transport has the advantages of water transport, and sea transport has the convenience of sea transport. They cannot be neglected. A saint likes sea transport, and there are lucky ministers under him to try to figure out his intentions and make him happy in the hope of promotion.
.”
"That's it, I say."
The two of them spoke quietly, but unexpectedly an official in red robes walked out of the cabin, followed by five or six red robes and green robes, and they were immediately startled.
The leader glanced at him, raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and without saying anything, he jumped onto the trestle and walked to the shore.
The other officials didn't say anything. Only one or two of them, who were very temperamental, reached out and patted him on the shoulder, tutted twice and left.
Sweat beaded on Cang Du's forehead, and he subconsciously felt that his newly married third concubine was not safe, and that the daughter he had just married would also be arrested and sent to the Yeting Bureau for laundry.
The dock workers were still unloading the goods meticulously, chatting and laughing occasionally, and did not pay attention to the situation here at all.
The Cangdu clan brother's face turned pale, and after a while he said: "Fourth brother, why don't you run away..."
Cang Du slapped him in the face and cursed: "My father followed the saint through life and death. In the battle between Chen and Xu, he killed two soldiers of Wang Zhong's division. The saint misses his old friendship the most. He is so scared that he must hurry up and get to work. The last batch of shipping this year
It’s time to bring in grain, so don’t make any mistakes.”
"Okay." The clan brother left quickly.
Cang Du sighed.
It is indeed very likely that this is the last batch of grain, but it may not be the last batch of supplies.
In recent years, starting from late September, various materials produced in Liaodong have been transported to various ports in Hebei, and then transported to Heyin via the Yongji Canal and the Yellow River, and then upstream from the Yi River to Luoyang.
Just yesterday, there was a batch of dried salted fish and dried meat stored in the warehouse, which almost filled the underground ice cellar. Before the canal was frozen, the transportation of such materials was impossible to stop, and a mature transportation season had already formed.
.
Next, he had to work harder to avoid being pulled by his pigtails, especially after he started talking nonsense.
****
Guo Chongtao lived in Heyinyi.
I couldn't help but laugh when I thought of the fat Cang Governor I had just met in Heyincang.
It's enough to scare him, but the bear must have peed its pants, right? Well, in recent years, more and more people have gone to the Western Regions to live in rabbit holes. No wonder he is so scared.
Speaking of shipping grain, Guo Chongtao has always been strongly promoting it.
As the Huaihai Road transshipment envoy, he not only had to transport the tax grains of his own road, but also sometimes transported the grains shipped from Jiangnan and Liaodong. After collecting and storing them, they were uniformly transported to Luoyang through the Yellow River.
It’s not that he wants to flatter the saint or anything. His character does not allow him to do these things. He always feels that it is not that way to get promoted by trying to figure out what his superiors want. I am who I am, and I do whatever I have to do. No one appreciates me.
I did the same thing. I used to do this when I was with King Li Keyong of Jin Dynasty. Now that I am so wise and powerful, can I still hold my head by force?
Regarding shipping, Guo Chongtao sincerely supports it and feels that it has many benefits.
To put it bluntly, if there is another rebellion in Xuzhou Silver Sword Capital like the former Tang Dynasty, and water transportation is cut off, sea transportation can still ensure smooth transportation of materials between Jiangnan and Luoyang.
Even if there is chaos in the Central Plains and the emperor hunts in the north and relies on the powerful grassland soldiers to go south to quell the rebellion, as long as the northern capital of Beiping remains, money and food from the south of the Yangtze River can still be continuously exported to the north to support the anti-rebellion army.
There are many benefits, and it is related to the safety of the imperial court. Only people with short-sighted eyes will not take it seriously.
Well, unknowingly, Guo Chongtao found that he was becoming more and more concerned about the imperial court. I recalled that when the King of Jin died, he felt melancholy and confused. Although he became an official in Daxia, he might not agree with it much.
I didn't expect it, I didn't expect it.
"Come, drink this cup." The station was full of people. There were scholars from other states who were taking the bachelor's degree exams. Seeing that the deadline was almost over, they did not go to the Ministry of Etiquette to register, but they still stayed in Heyin to enjoy themselves.
Guo Chongtao glanced at them, the scholar was so angry, so good!
The only thing he envied about them was their youth.
I am already sixty years old. Although my body is still strong, I eat a lot of rice, ride a strong horse, shoot a strong bow, and can stay up late to deal with official documents, time has slipped away like running water.
This is the most ruthless thing in the world. No matter rich or poor, noble or humble, no one can escape the ravages of time. It is extremely fair.
Is it too greedy for a sixty-year-old person to still want to make some achievements?
However, maybe it's not too late.
Guo Chongtao looked at the wine that his entourage poured for him, picked it up and drank it all in one gulp.
Spicy! It was so spicy that it made him feel very comfortable. It was so spicy that it almost made his blood burn.
He is still the transfer envoy of Huaihai Road, but he was just recommended by the prince to be the governor of Zhili Road.
As soon as the news reached Yanzhou, his staff congratulated him one after another.
The reason for the congratulations is not only the promotion, but also the fact that he has gained the respect of the prince. Some people even said privately that there are currently only five prime ministers in the Zhengshitang. If Guo Caosi is valued by the prince, he will definitely prosper and become the prime minister in the Zhengshitang in the future.
Of course, some people speculate that Guo Chongtao may be admitted to the Privy Council. After all, he allows both civil and military officials to do anything.
When Guo Chongtao entertained his staff at a banquet, he acted polite on the surface, but he was very happy in his heart.
He knew very well that the prince had been very close to officials from Hedong many years ago and had a very close relationship.
Hedong fell too late. As the saying goes, one step is slow and the other is slow. The good positions were taken by people from Guanxi and Henan. People from Hebei and Hedong gained very little. If they want to turn around, they can only count on the new king.
At this point, Guo Chongtao was very grateful to the prince. Hedong Jiangren also looked forward to the changes that the prince could bring to them.
After spending a night in the messy Heyin Station, the group continued their journey the next day, boarding a boat transporting salted fish to Luoyang. After spending several days, they arrived in Luoyang at the end of November.
****
"How late is Guo Caosi?" Feng Dao, who had just arrived in Luoyang from Yangzhou, went out to greet him in Duting Posthouse in Luoyang, laughing.
Guo Chongtao greeted him politely.
He doesn't like this person very much. He feels that he doesn't have much moral integrity. He follows the superiors in everything and doesn't give advice. Although he does things beautifully and is very capable, he doesn't like him after all.
How could such a person appear in Hedong! No, Feng Dao is from Yingzhou, Hebei, basically from the old Youzhou Town. After being conquered by the King of Jin, he became an official in Hedong. Strictly speaking, he can only be regarded as half of the Hedong official.
.
He's just from Hebei, no wonder.
"But I haven't even had time to congratulate you for being promoted to the governor of North Guandao." Guo Chongtao forced a smile and said.
Duting Post, a large post in Tokyo, has great regulations. Feng Dao and Guo Chongtao came to Beijing to report on their duties, and they were all assigned a separate small courtyard to live in. After the greetings were finished, the two went into the courtyard together and sat down to chat.
"It's not easy to be the governor of Guanbei Province." Feng Dao smiled bitterly and said: "There are too many thorns on the head. I'm afraid it won't be easy to use after passing by."
"When will you take office?" Guo Chongtao asked.
He remembered that Feng Dao was appointed as the transfer envoy of Huainan Road in February of the fourth year of Tongguang Dynasty, and it has been more than five years now.
Guo Chongtao was in Huaihai and occasionally had some dealings with Feng Dao. He knew that this man was a harmonious person in Huainan and could not offend anyone, but he had done a lot of things secretly. This was his ability. But - it did not affect him to look down on him.
Human conduct.
"It's hard to say." Feng Dao said, "To celebrate the New Year, I might have to go north with the prince first."
Guo Chongtao was shocked. Is Feng Dao connected with the prince?
"Why go north?" he asked.
Feng Dao didn't seem to notice his drastic change in expression, and continued: "The prince has just inspected Longyou Road. During the New Year, he will definitely go north to Liangzhou and then back to Guanbei. Depending on the saint's wishes, he may want to join him."
"What's the matter?" Guo Chongtao asked.
"The real wealth of this dynasty has not yet been entrusted to the prince." Feng Dao said cryptically, and then added: "But it's hard to say, it all depends on what the saint thinks."
If Guo Chongtao realized something, he immediately sighed: "A year ago, the saint was still patrolling Ezhou and Xiangyang. I didn't expect that everything would change so fast."
"Yes." Feng Dao agreed: "This year passes so fast."
"But it's also an opportunity." Guo Chongtao said.
Feng Dao remained silent and refused to answer the question.
To be honest, he was an indifferent person with no great ambitions, and his sense of belonging to the Great Xia Dynasty was average. But after thinking about it, it was not easy for a dynasty to dominate the world and suppress many evil spirits. It would be a pity to collapse.
Therefore, he is willing to do something for the saint and the prince as long as it does not harm his own interests.
He knew that Guo Chongtao was an enthusiastic person, and most of the Hedong officials who had been suppressed for a long time were the same.
As the emperor and the courtiers, he couldn't control so much, and he didn't want to take the initiative to get in front of the prince. Outsiders thought that his promotion was recommended by the prince. In fact, he knew very well that the saint valued him many years ago.
The saint took the initiative to send him to the prince, and he couldn't hide even if he wanted to.
Seeing Feng Dao not speaking, Guo Chongtao was a little unhappy. He snorted slightly and looked at the fallen leaves floating outside the small courtyard.
The opportunity for a good man to make great achievements is now in front of him, and he can't wait any longer.