Chapter 438: Storm Rising at Zhongshan
But Meng Gong himself didn't take it seriously and never thought that these things that shouldn't have happened would actually happen.
They both pointed at Jiangnan and let out a long sigh.
In the cabin, Hulan's nervous mood has eased, and Bart proudly told the maids: He said that the Third Young Master is coming to rescue them, right? The Third Young Master is thinking about Madam Hulan, and he has already arranged for Captain Yuxuan to follow behind to escort them.
Otherwise, how could they find us so quickly?
Hulan was from the north and was a typical landlubber. She was frightened by the shipwreck on the river. When she knew Chu Yuxuan was coming, she immediately thought of Zhao Yulin who was still in Jiankang City in despair, and a warm feeling had already risen in her heart.
She was attacked in Dachuan Town before, and it was Zhao Yulin's guards who arrived in time to rescue her. This time she was in distress on the river, and it was Zhao Yulin who arranged a rescue in advance to keep her safe.
The little woman was happy and followed Meng Gong's wife into the inner room to rest.
It was two days later that Zhao Yulin learned that Meng Gong's official ship had been wrecked.
Chu Yuxuan came back and reported the rescue process in detail. He was thrilled to hear it. After taking a sip of tea, he asked Yuxuan to calmly report the situation to Xie Wuhui, the general manager of Shunfeng. At the same time, he reminded him to warn the brothers who went with him to be careful, as the hidden enemy might attack again.
To deal with the mess in Jiankang Prefecture, we need to first resolve the issue in Shunfeng.
In Chengdu, Xie Lingyun, the liaison officer arranged by Shi Zi's son of Lin'an Prefecture, has arrived.
After Zhao Feiyan became the ruler, she had not yet appointed a new Minister of Rites, so Shunzhidi, director of the Central Yuan's Public Affairs Office, and a deputy envoy of the Ministry of Rites came to receive them.
This Xie Lingyun from Lin'an was the deputy envoy who accompanied Yang Daquan on his first two diplomatic missions to Chengdu. After Yang Daquan suffered a big setback in Jiankang Prefecture, Shi's son immediately replaced him and asked him to come to Chengdu for negotiations with his own handwritten letter.
Xie Lingyun was from the maternal family of the former empress dowager and had close blood ties with the former royal family. He originally wanted to meet Zhao Feiyan, the Minister of Rites, but he did not expect that during the journey from Lin'an to Chengdu by boat, Zhao Feiyan changed from a minister to the ruler of the new Song Dynasty. His rank was not high enough, so he could not meet her.
In the past, Yang Daquan came to Chengdu several times, but the king refused to meet him.
Shunzhidi was very friendly to him, met him on time as agreed, and simply took over the letter reading exchange with Shi's son, which made him feel relaxed and at ease during his trip to Chengdu.
Shi's son reiterated his three demands and added two more requests.
The first was to request the Chengdu court to transfer 5 million new coins to provide relief to Liangzhe, because Liangzhe had suffered from floods and wars in recent years and the people were already living in dire straits. Since Liangzhe was a part of the New Song Dynasty, the court should take care of it.
The second was to allow the two Zhejiang provinces to open a liaison office in Chengdu and appoint liaison officers to discuss matters concerning the return.
Shunzhidi directly denied the first three points in the letter. The first point was seriously wrong. The supply and marketing cooperatives of the New Song Dynasty were operating independently and in compliance with the law for the whole country. The state would not hinder or influence their livelihood. Since Liangzhe admitted that it was the first road of the New Song Dynasty, it should open the gates to allow goods to enter and exit freely and merchants to do business freely. Why did it raise the tax on goods imported into Liangzhe in the border trade?
The second was to question whether the Nanhai fleet's entry into Hangzhou Bay was a more serious mistake. Shunzhidi asked him, since Liangzhe recognized that it was the New Song route, then the warships of the Nanhai fleet were sailing and exercising in their own rivers and seas, so what was there to be surprised about?
The third is about applying for new weapons, which is absolutely not allowed. Shunzhidi asked him to go back and explain to Mr. Shi that the New Song Dynasty does not allow any place in the country to independently maintain an army. If Mr. Shi really wants to be the chief officer of the New Song Dynasty, he must hand over the army first, otherwise there is no need to discuss anything.
The first meeting ended quickly.
Shunzhidi and the deputy envoy of the Ministry of Rites hurried to No. 9 Courtyard to report the results of the talks. The officials were waiting in the meeting room. After listening to Zhidi's report, everyone praised her for her good rebuttal. Since Liangzhe had already recognized itself as a member of the New Song Kingdom, it was malicious and unwilling to give up the evil intentions of bringing up equal terms between the two countries.
Mr. Fan admired Shunzhidi's wisdom and courage. It was rare for a Baiyi woman to be so keenly aware that these issues could not be discussed.
Zhao Feiyan asked about the last two questions: how to decide on setting up a liaison office and providing assistance?
Wu Yuqi, the general manager of Shunfengsi, who was sitting in the back row attending the meeting, believed that Liangzhe had not yet truly returned and did not need any assistance. Secondly, the reasons they reported were not sufficient. Liangzhe had not suffered any major disasters in the past three years. It was their own fault that the people were suffering from hunger.
Even so, Shunfengsi also received a secret report: the money extorted by Lin'an Prefecture last year was 20% more than the previous year. Why should we help them?
Even if we give them money, wouldn't it just enrich a group of evil people in the government office?
When everyone heard this, they were determined not to give a penny.
As for the mutual dispatch of liaison officers and the establishment of liaison offices, Hua Yue disagreed, believing that Liangzhe was not a foreign country that wanted to join the New Song Dynasty. It was itself a part of the New Song Dynasty and had no right to talk about "mutual dispatch".
He said: Commander Zhao is in Jiankang right now, and our Central Council can authorize Jiankang Prefecture to handle all affairs of Liangzhe. This will also save Lin'an Prefecture the trouble of sending people to make a long trip back and forth.
After listening to Hua Yue's speech, the gentlemen suddenly understood. Fan Zhong and Du Fan nodded and shouted "good." They all said that the affairs of Liangzhe would be best handled by Commander Zhao in Jiankang. It would be much more convenient to travel back and forth, saving a lot of time.
In fact, these people feel that the current Lin'an Prefecture is like a pile of dog shit.
If no one picks up this pile of dog shit, people passing by can ignore it and treat it as if it is nothing. But once someone touches it, it will stink so badly that people have to stay away from it.
However, there are also many enthusiastic people in this world.
Zhao Yulin is a kind-hearted person who is willing to remove these feces and garbage. Therefore, all the gentlemen agree to give this shit shoveling officer's hat to him, and let our commander Zhao take full charge of Jiangdong's affairs.
In the evening, Xie Lingyun changed into casual clothes and came to the Zhao Mansion to ask to see the little princess Zhao Feiyan.
Ma Linger and Yangjin both said that they should still meet him. This person came to visit the house as a family member. Zhao Feiyan was a princess, so Xie Lingyun must be a distant relative.
Zhao Feiyan nodded and asked him to go to the small hall to have tea. She changed her clothes and went to receive Xie Gong.
When Xie Lingyun saw Zhao Feiyan walk in, he immediately thought that it was the king who had arrived, but he was the emperor, so he immediately knelt down and was about to kowtow.
Zhao Feiyan took two quick steps to hold him up and said, "Please stand up quickly. Thank you, Lord. Kneeling is not a custom in the new Song Dynasty. Besides, today we are meeting as family members. I am a junior. How can I stand this?"
Xie Lingyun was so confused that he didn't know what to do.
Zhao Feiyan invited him to take a seat generously, reiterated the New Song Republic's proposition and the new social concept of unity between officials and the people and equality for all, and told him that as long as they agreed with the New Song's proposition and abided by the New Song's laws, anyone could come to Chengdu to work.
The imperial court has issued a document authorizing Commander Zhao to handle the affairs of Liangzhe in Jiankang. In the future, Mr. Xie will no longer have to make such a long journey and can go directly to Jiankang Prefecture to do his work.
Xie Gong was disappointed after hearing Zhao Feiyan's thoughtful arrangements.
This man originally wanted to find a job in Chengdu, but Zhao Feiyan sent him to Jiangdong to talk to her husband Zhao Yulin, asking him to do the job nearby.
However, the niece of the king in front of him did not give him any hope, that is, "as long as you agree with the proposition of the new Song Dynasty, you can come to Chengdu to work."
Xie Gong readily agreed that he would do a good job in unifying the two Zhejiang provinces when he returned. He also tactfully proposed to recommend some talented people from Lin'an to come to Chengdu to study and work.
Zhao Feiyan readily agreed, thinking that these people could also go to Jiangdong. Commander Zhao was planning to expand the prefectural school in Jiankang, renaming it Jiangdong Academy, and make it the top academy in the New Song Dynasty.
Xie Lingyun's heart felt like it was hit hard when he heard this, thinking: Wow, what is going on? Commander Zhao made a big move as soon as he arrived.
Before he could come to his senses, Zhao Feiyan had already changed the subject and told him that recently a man named Kuang Siying from Qiantang, Lin'an, ran to Chengdu and falsely claimed to be her mother's elder brother. He asked for an official position, money and wealth, and asked Xie Gong to help take a look.
We don't have an emperor in the New Song Dynasty, so there is no such thing as royal relatives. All officials make a living based on their ability and talent. Although Zhao Feiyan is the director of the New Song Dynasty, she will not break this rule. I also ask Mr. Xie to inform the neighbors when he returns, so that those who have improper thoughts will not make a wasted trip.
Mr. Xie immediately realized that Madam Danfeng disliked Kuang Siying, and he decided to confiscate his identity badge as soon as he returned.
This is like where can people in later generations go without an ID card or a passport?
Zhao Yulin was busy in Jiankang Prefecture in Jiangdong, so how could he know that Zhao Feiyan was giving him a task.
During this period, he traveled all over Jiankang Prefecture and found that Jiankang, the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties, was indeed not small.
This place was the outpost of the Song Dynasty to resist the Mongolian army in the past, and it was a key military and political base for commanding and dispatching the troops in the north of the Yangtze River. It played a pivotal role. Across the river, the emperor of the previous dynasty set up this place as a secondary capital to show his emphasis on border defense, so naturally the organization was huge.
Zhao Yulin summoned all the officials in the government office to discuss matters. He ordered his aide Zhen Debin to call out the names according to the roster and found that 30% of the officials were late.
He estimated that among the hundreds of people working in Jiankang Prefecture, there were probably more than a hundred who were still at home or wandering around the streets.
These people regarded Jiankang as the capital and were used to being officials, living a leisurely life without doing anything. They did not take Zhao Yulin's suggestion of holding a meeting seriously.
Seeing that there were too many vacancies, he said casually that it would not happen again and dismissed the people, leaving the transport, grain transport, criminal investigation, grain, several assistant judges and the general manager of Shunfeng to have tea.
Zhao Yulin discovered that Xie Wuhui, the manager of Shunfeng, had a slim and beautiful figure. Even though she was dressed as a man and wore a long robe, it still couldn't hide her proud figure.
He calmly talked with the gentlemen, reminding them that this was the New Song Dynasty, which had laws and rules, and that they must perform their duties and work for the court. Then he told everyone to disperse.
