Continuing with the conversation, Master Huang advised Li You: "Master Li has rested at home for the past few days, so he might as well go back to Fucheng."
How could Li You be willing to go back early? According to his estimation, with the information transmission and transportation efficiency of this era, it would take at least more than half a month to transport a large amount of rice from other places, especially the Huguang area, to Suzhou City. It was not just for him to run home.
Should we hide away from this period of time? This is a very difficult period of time, it can be said to be an inextricable knot. Should we go back and continue to be a firefighter whose performance is more important than actual effect?
What will happen when the people find out that even though Mr. Li is jumping up and down to make decisions for the people, people still start to starve to death in the end? They will not be used as an outlet by the people who have lost their minds... Think about the fate of Governor Yuan...
Li You hurriedly explained: "It is difficult for a clever woman to cook without rice, and she cannot satisfy her hunger by drawing cakes. My government is incompetent, and my heart is burning. I don't want to go back to the capital and see the suffering of the people."
Master Huang couldn't help but spit out his tea, "Master Li's official position seems to be a government official, how could he adopt the tone of an official who is friendly to the people? I thought he was the magistrate of Li County."
Li You took the opportunity to complain loudly: "What is the difference between what I have done this month and the work of the county magistrate? Where is the county magistrate in the capital? At this time, he has not arrived at his post. He is obviously delaying the time on the road because he is afraid of difficulties and is in vain.
He asked me to bear a lot of troubles for him. What's the use of such a cowardly official, and Chen Lian has not even taken action to impeach him!"
"You can't become a county magistrate even if you impeach him. All magistrates in Suzhou Prefecture want to be Jinshi... Don't go off the topic and ask Mr. Li to go back, otherwise there will be no other officials in the city's government offices, and those petty officials will not be able to hold their own. In general.
We can't ask the dignified Chen Xundao and Fu Zun to condescend to come forward and run around." Master Huang noticed Li You's intention and repeated the old saying.
When Mr. Huang said this, he brought out two superiors and suppressed it together. Li You, who still wanted to be in the officialdom, had to sigh and acquiesced. The superior officer above him would kill others, let alone being more than one level higher.
This is normal. There is no free lunch in the world. No matter how close the relationship is, the boss is also a boss. There is no reason to only win over you but not to use you. You have to work hard when you should. As the saying goes, people can't help themselves in the world, unless Li You
I want to make the drama of leaving with my crown hanging and make it come true.
"Master Li, don't worry too much. Merchants are the most profit-oriented. Suzhou's rice is expensive and rice from other places will naturally be shipped for sale. As far as I know, by the end of the month at the latest, large quantities of Huguang rice will be shipped one after another. There are only a few days left."
Master Huang said with relief again.
Li You was delighted, "Is this true?"
Master Huang said with a smile: "I received a letter from a friend and learned that a large grain merchant is purchasing rice in Hanyang Prefecture. Once we form a fleet and sail down the river, there will be no problem in arriving at the end of the month."
It seems that he underestimated the business efficiency of this era, and his judgment was a bit wrong. Thinking of this, Li You said solemnly: "Eating the emperor's salary is a matter of loyalty to the emperor. Chen Xundao condescended to come here today to give advice. How dare I act on my own initiative?"
.”
Master Huang advised again: "Master Li, please listen to what I'm going to say next. If you have time, read the Four Books and Five Classics more."
Li You said disapprovingly: "Others read these in order to become an official. Since I am already an official, why should I read these again? Although the principles in them are good, they are not necessarily practical."
"It may not be useful to others, but it will definitely be useful to you. In the past, whether you were an inspector or a governor, you had to deal with traffickers and subordinates. But now it is different. You rarely have to interact with people in the officialdom. How can you speak without reading some scriptures?
Tell me, you are just not feeling it at this special time."
This is indeed Mr. Li's shortcoming. He didn't want to talk about his shortcomings, but suddenly he had a plan in mind: "If a large number of grain ships docked in Suzhou, everyone would be happy. If Chen Xundao and the grain ships were together at that time,
What will it be like when you appear in Maple Bridge Rice Market?"
Master Huang shook his head and said: "You are simply obsessed with this and it is not advisable. Chen Xundao does not need such side tricks."
Li You thought the same thing. Firstly, Mr. Chen is not a local people-friendly official in Fuzhou County. He has no civil affairs and public affairs, so popularity is of little use. Secondly, he became a sub-inspector in his twenties, so keeping a low profile and getting through seniority is the right way.
High-profile exposure has only disadvantages but no advantages; in theory, Su Songdao should send a fourth-rank deputy inspector to patrol. Mr. Chen has a strong backing, so he can patrol as a fifth-rank inspector. As long as he has enough qualifications, he can be upgraded to the rank of inspector.
As a deputy envoy, the first priority is to make sure there are no mistakes, so why bother with unnecessary troubles.
Mr. Chen doesn’t need it, but he, Li You, can have it. As a local official, you can never have too much reputation... Imagine that Li Tuiguan, who had disappeared in Fucheng for several days, suddenly appeared with a grain ship. What a legendary scene it would be.
, thousands of families have Buddhas and temples...
After sending Mr. Huang away, Li You ordered a reliable servant: "Take the master's name card with the seal of promotion and go to the customs office in Changzhou Prefecture in the north to observe the passing ships. Whenever there are a large number of grain ships going south, use it
The urgent communication shop will respond quickly."
Insert a sentence here, the seal is equivalent to the official seal. Why is it said that Li You left with the crown and not with the seal... because he still carried the official seal with him very hypocritically.
After that, Li You stayed at home for a few more days, and then prepared to go back to Fucheng. If he didn't go back to the prefecture, Wang Zhifu would probably quit. If he really formally resigned and entered the removal process, it would be troublesome.
Just as I was about to go out, I received an urgent report - more than 20 large canal boats loaded with rice came from the north along the canal.
It was actually a few days earlier than Mr. Huang expected. This year is indeed an era of budding and prosperous development of capitalism. While sighing that the grain ship arrived at the right time, Li You quickly boarded the ship, first to the intersection of the Xu River and the canal, and then along the
Canal heading north to look for it.
After searching for half a day, I saw a fleet of more than 20 watercrafts, moving slowly on the water of the canal. Among them were two large ships with different regulations, such as escort or management ships.
Li You directed his family to take a boat to dock. He wanted to make a win-win deal with the grain merchant.
As long as the grain merchant from out of town is willing to cooperate, Li Tuiguan can guarantee that he will not be forced by the government in Suzhou, will not be taxed by petty officials, will not be extorted by subordinate servants, will not be priced down by local tyrants, and will not be swindled by scoundrels.
Blackmail will not be robbed by the public...
Enjoying so many benefits and preferential treatment, the grain merchant will not pay any losses or costs. Just don't deny it when people in Fucheng have some wonderful misunderstandings. What reason is there not to agree to such a good thing?
As expected by Li You, once his identity was revealed and his conditions were laid out, the merchant readily agreed, and then Li You's boat joined the grain merchant fleet and sailed toward the capital city of Suzhou.
It is said that Suzhou Fucheng extends from Changmen to the outside of the city to the famous Fengqiao. Probably because it is close to the canal, the area within ten or twenty miles is prosperous and densely populated, even more densely populated than most places in the city. Fengqiao is a rice market.
, is also the hub portal outside Fucheng.
In late February, the weather has turned warm, the grass and trees are turning green, and there are as many businesses and households in the Maple Bridge area as ever. I don’t know who has a sharp eye, but first spotted the shadow of a large canal boat in the distance, which caused an exclamation - someone with a little experience
People all over the world can distinguish the shape of grain transport ships, which are very common in the south of the Yangtze River.
If it were just a tanker, it wouldn't be worth exclaiming, but one after another, the sides of the tanker were lowered, and they were obviously loaded with grain. What does this mean in the current Suzhou Prefecture?
An experienced person pointed out: "This is a 400-stone canal. From what I can see, it can carry more than 10,000 stones. Each boat is about 500 shi-meters. Counting 20 ships, it is about 10,000 shi."
Someone else analyzed: "It's enough to feed a whole city for two days."
Others said: "Once it starts, it will continue to flow from now on. This rice shortage is about to pass. I am very lucky."
Soon there was a louder exclamation, because people on the river saw a tall, handsome young man standing on the bow of the leading boat of the fleet, and some people recognized him as the man who had disappeared from Fucheng.
On the 10th, Mr. Li, the official official of Li.
The rumor spread very quickly. Immediately some emotional people burst into tears. What kind of Lord Qingtian is this? He hangs up his crown in shame in front of the hungry people but still cares about the people. I don’t know how much effort it took to find these ten thousand people.
Shi Mi, it turns out that Li Qingtian did not abandon us and other common people.
By the time the fleet reached the shore, there was already a sea of onlookers at the river port.
When Li You got off the boat, the crowd gathered around him in a commotion, shouting "Qingtian" one after another. The noise was louder than the previous one, and each wave overwhelmed the other.
Official Li remained silent, expressionless, and walked forward with his head lowered (unfortunately, he didn't have sunglasses these days). Three or four attendants around him tried their best to clear the way for escort. However, the crowd was so dense and the fans were so fanatical that the scene was almost chaotic and out of control.
It’s time to say a few words... Li You secretly thought.
When he was about to speak, he heard a high-pitched, bright and cheerful suona sound behind him, da da da da da da...
It turned out that from the two-story ship in the fleet, two servants stood up at some point, each holding a suona and starting to play. In response, Li You nodded and said, this grain merchant is also a knowledgeable person who can support him.
Make friends.
Then he saw several servants coming from the big cabin, holding various things that looked familiar to Li You. Li Tuiguan's pupils suddenly shrank.
Isn’t that raised umbrella a canopy, which is also found in the magistrate’s guard of honor... isn’t that raised umbrella an official badge, which is found on every high-ranking official’s ship...
I saw the official sign clearly stated "Zhejiang Chief Envoy Si You participated in politics."
After seeing these nine words clearly, Li Tuiguan's pupils opened sharply... Mr. Chen was assigned the title of Zhejiang's Chief Envoy, who was assigned to inspect the affairs of Susong Road, and was assigned to patrol Susong Road. So the Zhejiang Chief Envoy, Si Youshenzheng, who appeared in Suzhou Prefecture, was also
Post title?
From the third rank of Zhejiang Chief Envoy Si You to the right to participate in politics and guard Su Songdao? It is probably because the grain merchants borrowed the official license to avoid taxes in order to make profits. There are so many such things these days that it is not worth making a fuss about.
The last man who came out of the cabin was nearly fifty years old, with a good appearance and three long gray beards. This was nothing, but the red official robe on his body made Li Tuiguan's pupils shrink again and his legs and feet went weak.
What does the Zhupao represent? A high-ranking official!
The old man stood proudly on the boat, with a canopy above his head and a face as cold as frost, looking at Li You coldly.
The old man Su Songdao, the political envoy of the Zhejiang Proclamation Department, was actually missing in the grain transport fleet...
No words can describe Li Tuiguan's mood at this moment, this month, the next day, this moment, this minute, this second, this moment. Master Huang's words echoed inexplicably in his ears: "You are simply obsessed, and you can't do it."
Why didn't Li Tuiguan, who had always been so meticulous, not think of what kind of merchants could use more than twenty large 400-stone canal ships to transport rice at one go? It can only be said that he has been too complacent and obsessed with it lately.
