Chapter 192 You All Have Dark Hearts
The Northern Song Dynasty was short of silver, very short of it.
Not only are there few silver mines in the territory, but the purity is also extremely low. Being able to refine tens of thousands of kilograms of silver in a year is already quite impressive.
But this was far from enough. The business in the Northern Song Dynasty was very vibrant. Large-scale commodity transactions required gold and silver as a basis, and silver was completely insufficient.
What's even more terrible is that the Northern Song Dynasty had to pay annual tribute to the Liao Kingdom on a regular basis, which required not only some physical objects but also silver.
This made the already insufficient silver even more scarce, and there were no good mines to mine and refine silver... So now the Northern Song Dynasty had no choice but to try desperately to find copper, and even copper coins were not enough.
Moreover, too many copper coins would be heavy and very inconvenient.
So this gave birth to paper currency called Jiaozi... However, Jiaozi has only been around for more than ten years and has not been widely disseminated and used. For the time being, it is only circulated on a small scale near Chengdu Prefecture.
Silver is still the best choice for bulk commodity transactions.
So when he heard that the small box in front of him contained 100,000 taels of silver, the Prince of Runan was stunned at first, and then became excited.
As for silver, the more the better. As long as it does not flow out in large quantities at one time and the speed at which silver enters the market is slowly controlled, it can play a role in stabilizing the market.
Although the Prince of Runan was not an official of the Three Commissioners, he had commercial assets all over the country and was well aware of the importance of silver.
Anyway, he was fed up with the helpless scene of pulling out cartloads of copper coins during commodity trading.
Not only is it a waste of manpower and material resources, it is also very troublesome to calculate.
If there were enough silver, more than ten carts of copper coins would be worth the same as half a cart of silver. Wouldn't that be much more convenient!
"My dear son-in-law, you gave this to me. What do you want to exchange for it?" The Prince of Runan reached out and touched the box, and then felt what was hidden inside: "You should also know the value of one hundred thousand taels of silver. I know you are not short of money, and you must have come here for something you need."
Lu Sen smiled and said, "They are just some rare medicinal herbs and treasures, such as hundred-year-old Polygonum multiflorum and thousand-year-old Poria cocos. Feel free to send them over."
"I'll keep an eye out for you." The Prince of Runan smiled. He patted the little turtle spirit beast on his shoulder and said, "If you have a lot of silver in the future, just give it to me. I won't let you suffer any loss."
"no problem."
Both the father-in-law and the son-in-law were happy. Lu Sen put out a large amount of silver and would be able to obtain a large amount of medicinal materials in the future.
The Prince of Runan received a large amount of silver, and from then on, his business transactions would be smoother.
For the same large transaction order, if gold and silver are used as the base, the price can be lowered.
After all, no one likes to build a large warehouse to store copper coins.
Lu Sen stayed in Tianbo Yang Mansion for another two days. The most interesting thing every day was watching the fight between Yang Jinhua and Mu Guiying.
It's very interesting to see women fighting, especially beautiful women fighting.
Yang Jinhua’s strength has greatly increased recently and she now dares to challenge her mother.
But I have to say, with the daily intake of honey and spiritual energy, her progress is indeed very obvious.
In the past, Mu Guiying used one hand to beat her daughter, but now she has to use both hands to beat her.
And every time this happened, Lady She would watch the fight from the sidelines, happily.
On the third day, Lu Sen took Yang Jinhua out.
March 3rd, Peach Blossom Festival, Shangsi Festival!
In the Tang Dynasty, March 3rd was considered a major festival, and was celebrated by the Han people in both the north and the south.
But by the Northern Song Dynasty, for some reason, the Han people in the Central Plains and the north no longer celebrated March 3rd. Only the Han people in the southern barbarian areas still celebrated the March 3rd festival, and it later evolved into a festival for ethnic minorities.
Thanks to this, March 3rd was no longer considered a Ghost Festival in the Northern Song Dynasty, and it was also considered a good day for marriage.
In addition, according to the birth dates of Zhan Zhao and Ding Yuehua, it is most appropriate for them to get married on March 3rd.
The exhibition hall was decorated with lanterns and red tassels around the courtyard.
Many people entered the exhibition hall with their families, carrying gifts. The celebration staff at the door received the guests, and after asking their identities and accepting the gifts, the person next to them would shout: Mr. So-and-so from the north city (official title), three volumes of top-grade calligraphy and painting, a pearl necklace, and so on.
Of course, this is only read out when receiving a big gift. Some gifts from fellow villagers will not be read out. It is also a way to avoid embarrassment.
When Lu Sen got married, there was no such procedure because he was a 'real person'. In the eyes of the world, practitioners like peace and quiet and would not make things so complicated. Besides, the gifts given by ordinary people were just ordinary things in front of a real person like Lu Sen, and there was no point in reading them out.
But Zhan Zhao is different. Even though his reputation as a chivalrous man is widely known in the martial arts world, he is still an ordinary person.
Therefore, it is still necessary to make this promise in front of the door.
Lu Sen brought Zhao Jinhua forward, handed over his gift, and wrote his name on it.
Lu Sen.
The male etiquette officer in charge of receiving the guests did not recognize Lu Sen. Seeing that the young man was handsome, had an extraordinary temperament, and had good handwriting, he could not help but ask, "May I ask where you are from, sir?"
The one who sang Nuo next to him came over to look at Lu Sen, his body shook, and then he looked at the name Lu Sen left, took a breath, and shouted with some excitement: "Master Lu from the short mountain in the west of the city, Lu Tianzhang came to congratulate you, and the gift is some immortal artifacts!"
The man who was singing No was very smart. He did not read out the gift given by Lu Sen, because he knew that every item in it was extremely precious to ordinary people.
But after this shout, the originally noisy environment immediately became quiet.
Almost everyone looked at Lu Sen, and Lu Sen calmly took Yang Jinhua towards the door.
Along the way, many people bowed to Lu Sen, and a few people who had met him before wanted to come up and talk to him, but they hesitated for a while and remained where they were.
When Lu Sen entered the front hall, Zhan Zhao, wearing a red groom's robe, walked out of the inner hall quickly. He walked over and saw Lu Sen's face full of joy. He clasped his fists and smiled, "Lu Xiaolang, you are finally here. I have been waiting for you for a long time. Please follow me."
After all, Zhan Zhao was a public official, a third-rank military officer, the chief constable of Kaifeng Prefecture, and the confidant and right-hand man of the Privy Councilor Bao Zheng, so many dignitaries came to attend his wedding.
Therefore, the banquet hall was divided into two parts, ordinary people and wanderers were in the west hall, and all officials were in the east hall.
Zhan Zhao took Lu Sen to the west hall and said, "Lu Xiaolang, please sit at the table on the east side."
Lu Sen looked over there. Oh, the round table was quite big. There were already several people sitting around it, all of them were big shots.
Bao Zheng, Ouyang Xiu, Master Pang, Di Qing, Yan Shu and more!
These people also looked over. In fact, not only them, but everyone in the entire East Hall was looking at Lu Sen eagerly.
At this moment, a voice from outside came in: "Xiankong Island's Golden Rat Bai Yutang brings a thousand-year-old ginseng..."
Zhan Zhao was stunned: "Why is he here too?"
Then he looked at Lu Sen and said, "Sorry, I have to go out and check on Bai Yutang to prevent him from causing trouble."
The Royal Cat Zhan Zhao knew very well how the Five Rats acted.
"Okay, go ahead and get busy."
Lu Sen patted Zhan Zhao's shoulder, then took Yang Jinhua to sit at the round table on the east side. After sitting down, he clasped his fists and said with a smile, "My dears, it's been a long time since we last met."
The word "Xianggong" referred to civil and military prime ministers in the early Northern Song Dynasty, but it can also be used to describe high-ranking officials now.
Besides, more than half of the people at this table have been called "Xiang Gong", so there is nothing wrong in calling these people "Xiang Gong".
These people sat down and clasped their fists to return the greeting, and each of them had a strange expression.
Lu Sen looked at the crowd calmly, and finally his eyes fell on a middle-aged scholar. He asked with a smile, "Who is this gentleman?"
"My surname is Han, and my given name is Qi." The middle-aged scholar smiled kindly, "I have heard of Master Lu's great name for a long time. I finally get to see him today. I finally got what I wanted."
Han Qi?
Is he the one who killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and said, "A real man is one who can cheer you up at Donghua Gate"?
Lu Sen looked him up and down and said with a smile, "I've heard of you for a long time, I've heard of you for a long time."
After these words were spoken, the expressions of several people sitting nearby became even stranger.
They had gotten along with Lu Sen before. After all, they were ministers in the same palace. They knew Lu Sen's character, so they could hear a hint of sarcasm in the repeated words.
Han Qi seemed to have heard it, but he was not sure.
Di Qing's expression turned somewhat happy, originally he looked quite ugly.
The atmosphere seemed a little tense at this time, and Bao Zheng took the initiative to ask: "Master Lu, when will you return to the capital?"
Lu Sen shook his head: "I have already resigned from my official position, why would I come back?"
"The emperor has not approved it." Bao Zheng put his hands in his sleeves and said lightly but with irrefutable meaning: "The Zhongshumenxia has not approved it either."
"What does it have to do with me if you don't approve?" Lu Sen laughed.
These words seemed very unruly, but Lu Sen's expression was very calm, which gave people a feeling of being extremely arrogant.
Most of the officials showed an expression of 'as expected'.
It was the first time Han Qi met Lu Sen and he was shocked by his arrogance.
Bao Zheng did not get angry. He said in a friendly manner: "People should always finish what they start."
"Being an official must be consistent from beginning to end? Mr. Bao, what you said is meaningless. How many people have you skinned as officials?" Lu Sen smiled peacefully.
Bao Zheng said sternly: "Those people should be stripped of their official positions. When I make a judgment, the evidence must be as solid as a mountain."
Lu Sen smiled even more happily: "Then my official position will definitely be stripped. When you act, just make sure your thoughts are clear and your conscience is clear."
Bao Zheng looked at Lu Sen quietly for a while, then sighed.
Lu Sen's meaning is already very clear. Combined with the words he left behind when he resigned, the meaning is: You officials are doing a disgusting job, and I can't think straight when I'm with you.
That's roughly what I mean.
The atmosphere in the room became increasingly tense. The East Hall was already quite noisy, after all, there were more than a dozen tables of people.
But now it became very quiet. Except for Lu Sen's table, no one dared to speak. The other officials or nobles and wealthy businessmen all lowered their heads, pretending that they heard nothing.
When big shots are fighting, it's best not to make any noise. If you attract even the slightest attention, it will be like a fire in the city gate, which will affect everyone in the pond.
The atmosphere became increasingly tense. At this time, Master Pang spoke up. He smiled and said, "My dear son-in-law, can you give me one of the 'auspicious clouds' you made?"
Xiangyun is the flying vehicle, and that’s what people call it outside.
Lu Sen shook his head: "I'm sorry Taishan , the materials needed for that thing are quite troublesome, and we don't have any extra ones for now."
"What a pity." Master Pang smiled.
He didn't really want the aircraft, he just used this topic to break the awkward and stiff atmosphere.
As he expected, the atmosphere among the group improved significantly after the topic was changed.
Di Qing took advantage of his familiarity with Lu Sen and asked, "Master Lu, can you give me some fairy rice seeds?"
Lu Sen was a little surprised: "You didn't get it?"
Di Qing showed an embarrassed expression: "I'm in Hangzhou City, there's not many people there!"
Oh, that’s right!
As an important economic center, Hangzhou City is not only the territory of King Xiangyang, but also a voting base valued by civil officials.
Of course, a military general would not be allowed to place his own forces and confidants there.
Lu Sen whispered, "I'll send some to General Di after the banquet."
"Thank you very much."
Now is the spring ploughing season. Although the Di family has planted seedlings in their fields, with the fairy rice seeds, they must pull out the seedlings and plant them again, which is more tiring.
Farming is an instinct rooted in the blood of every Han Chinese. Even a high-ranking military official like Di Qing attaches great importance to his own grain production.
With Master Pang and Di Qing speaking up, the atmosphere in the hall became much more cheerful again.
Han Qi has been looking at Lu Sen. He is using his life experience to estimate what kind of person Lu Sen is and how he should deal with him.
At this time, a young official stood up from the side. He walked to Lu Sen, bowed, and said loudly and seriously: "I am Yan Mo Shaocong from the Censorate, and I would like to meet Lu Tianzhang."
Lu Sen turned around, clasped his fists, and said with a smile: "Mo Siyan, we meet again."
This young man was recruited from the local area when Lu Sen was about to resign. Lu Sen had seen his face but had no impression of him.
Si Yan is the official title of the censor, usually of the seventh rank.
Mo Siyan bowed again and said, "Master Lu, do you know that you have killed five pillars of the imperial court in the past two years?"
Um?
Lu Sen felt puzzled: "What does this mean?"
"In the early autumn of the year before last, after Master Lu left, Luo Geng, the Left Counselor, died of a brain stroke. The next month, Mr. Zhang from the Ministry of Revenue died of a persistent cough. In the early spring of last year, Luo Zhongzheng, the Salt and Iron Commissioner of the Three Departments, died of a stroke on horseback..."
After explaining the causes of death of five imperial officials, the man looked directly into Lu Sen's eyes and said righteously, "If Master Lu was still in Bian Jing, they would not have died, and the imperial court would have suffered less losses. Why don't you understand?"
After these words were shouted, everyone in the East Hall stared at Lu Sen with burning eyes.
Lu Sen understood that the other party was trying to put a accusation on him.
And judging from the situation, he seemed to be just a scapegoat pushed forward by others.
Young people are still young... But perhaps the other party knows that he is being used and is willing to do so. After all, the censor just wants to gain a "clear reputation", which is normal.
"Why should I understand?" Lu Sen looked into Mo Shaocong's eyes: "Whether they are dead or alive, what does it have to do with me? If you want to accuse someone, you can always find a pretext. You have a very dark heart... No!"
Lu Sen looked around the entire East Hall and suddenly laughed: "All of you have very dark hearts."
