Chapter 280: Let’s play tricks together

The other officials remained silent. They were not familiar with Zhao Xing and could not express any opinions. The only one who could express his opinion was Cai Bian's brother Cai Jing, but Cai Jing didn't want to say it. Because after Zhang Dun cleared the court, the new party began to fight for the enemy without the enemy, and the internal situation was no longer monotonous, and began to fight for power and profit and conflict. During this period, Cai Jing was the biggest frustrated person, and he had been squeezed to the edge of the court. So he was too lazy to show others the way.

"No way?" Xu Jiang replied in confusion: "In the past, Emperor Gaozu of Han intended to be separatist, and the plank road was burned as soon as he entered Sichuan. Therefore, those who had always separatist wanted to develop their power, and they always kept their heads in development. But I heard that Zhao Liren repaired the roads as soon as he arrived in Guangnan, and even built the roads to Guangxi. This was not a separatist posture."

Cai Jing rolled his eyes in the shadow and despised him: Who said that separatist should be closed? Didn’t Liu Bang also need to build roads when he left Sichuan? But Liu Bang built the road, what does it have to do with me? I am too lazy to remind him.

Zeng Bu nodded and echoed Xu Jiang: "Yes, Zhao Liren did things without hiding them from the court at all. In addition, this year, the taxes in Guangnan increased by 20% compared with last year. I heard from Guangnan officials that this situation will increase more next year, because many local workshops have just been established and the craftsmen are not familiar with them. They will have to wait until next year to produce large-scale production..."

Cai Bian turned around and looked at Cai Jing, and said, "Zhao Liren is in Guangnan to train the naval army. I heard that when he established the naval army, he said that there were Kunlun slaves in Nanyang, and countless gold and treasures. It cost too much money to hire people to build roads. It is time to go to Nanyang to grab some Kunlun slaves to save money."

Cai Bian's so-called hearing was heard by Cai Jing. Cai Jing was there to sigh that Zhao Xing's servant was outstanding and told his brother that Zhao Xing planned to go to Nanyang to grab a batch of slaves. He planned to wait for Zhao Xing to succeed and ask the other party to send thirty or fifty people. Cai Bian had heard this, so he used it as information here.

Zhang Dun suddenly interrupted and asked, "Has the earthquake in Suzhou stopped? How many refugees are there in Zhao Liren?"

Zeng Bu replied: "The Suzhou earthquake stopped in September. Due to the earthquake, about 70,000 houses were damaged. The local area has compiled 50,000 households to reclaim land and rescue disasters. Although the miasma in Lingnan is serious, I heard that Zhao Li people used a powder called Jinjina Frost to treat miasma with tea, so that most of the migrant people survived.

According to statistics from Guangnan, Hangzhou and Yangzhou, in addition to those we sent past, Zhao Li people absorbed 110,000 households and 740,000 refugees. These people began to return home in the late autumn. According to Guangnan officials, about 120,000 people were planning to stay in the local area."

Zhang Dun nodded and asked again: "How is the Guangzhou Qingmiao Law, the exemption law, and the Municipal Change Law implemented?"

Xu Jiang replied: "I heard that after Zhao Liren repaired the road, there were ten miles and one pavilion and one inn. Hedu markets were set up next to the post station to implement the market law. In addition, he went south to Hangzhou Jiaxue this year, all of which were distributed in various counties as tax collectors to count taxes and Wenxun reports. These tax accounts were not fake at all. He personally checked several counties and cities and found that the accounts were made very finely, and there was no small amount of taxes that should be collected. Those who should be handed over to the court did not hide anything, and this was impossible to find fault."

Zhang Dun asked again: "How much is the tax on Guangnan East Road last year? How much is the tax on this year?"

Lin Xi replied: "Guangnan East Road paid 14 million guan last year, and this tax was not considered salt tax or tea tax. This year, their salt tax and tea tax did not increase, but decreased slightly, reaching only 90% of the previous year. However, the total tax in Guangnan still reached 164 million guan. In addition, the amount of minting money responsible for Zhao Liren also increased significantly. In previous years, there were only 600,000 guan, and this year the minting money has reached 3.7 million guan. Therefore, Guangnan's annual tax relief reached 20 million guan... but a considerable amount."

Zhang Dun nodded: "No matter what, Guangnan is the farthest away from the imperial court, but the denomination at the end of this autumn was the earliest. The annual tax of 20 million yuan was the amount that Zhao Liren will maintain in the future, and I am satisfied. If someone else goes, can it achieve the method of Zhao Liren? It is hard to say, at least Lu Huiqing goes. I can't do this..."

Everyone laughed. Huanqing's place is prosperous under Zhao Xing's hands, but Lu Huiqing is also a capable person in the mind of the new party. This man who has been prime minister for more than ten years has taken over Zhao Liren's work for a year, and Huanqing Road is not the main attack direction of Xixia people, but Huanqing soldiers cannot even pay their salaries. This situation made everyone hesitate to replace Zhao Xing.

"Twenty million a year is equivalent to one-fifth of my Song Dynasty tax. Although the world's wealth comes from the southeast, this growth is too terrifying." Zhang Dun touched his beard with satisfaction and replied: "I had an agreement with Zhao Liren at the beginning of the year. He absorbed 600,000 refugees, and the tax increased instead of reducing. I sent Huang Lu directly to Guangnan for his care.

The official department has checked it. I heard that Zhao Liren is still obeying the laws of the court. He has only visited Su Laopo once. Liu Zhi and others have arranged for the school to guard the government. This kind of care is within my tolerance. Now, since everyone cannot confirm Zhao Liren's intentions, I think we can make a decision. I guess Zhao Liren is always the name of loyalty and righteousness. In order for Su Laopo to go to Lingnan to be an official, I think Su Laopo can still use it with confidence.

Now he plans to eliminate the pirates in the South China Sea, which can be regarded as increasing taxes for the court. What is the use of a group of untrained land? The court will arrange for one or two supervisors to go there, and he will ask for everything else."

Zeng Bu clapped his hands and said, "When talking about the raising of the army, I heard the Zhang general tell me that Zhao Liren once complained to Zhang Tian in Guangxi, saying that Guangnan had a small population and wanted to loot a thousand good families to serve as soldiers, but it was impossible to obtain it. As a result, his "Demon-Subduing Army" could not be established for a long time. Haha, I see that Zhao Liren worked hard all the time, that is, to establish a thousand people and land troops. Can this army be divided? Everyone, you are really a soldier."

When everyone laughed, Lin Xi interrupted with wonder: "I saw this situation of "scarce and trees are soldiers" with her own eyes. Why did Huanqing be in the hands of Zhao Liren? Seeing that the taxes have increased year by year, and when they reached Lu Xiang's hands, why can't they play around?"

Lin Xi didn’t know that the “Grass and Trees Plan” that took kickbacks were completely different from the “Grass and Trees Plan” that did not take kickbacks. The latter is “magical”, while the former is “turning magic into decay”…

After the main talk, the attack began to gossip. Zeng Bu said leisurely: "I heard that Guangnan is publishing books, all of which were proofread and published in the past few years. The pronunciations and punctuation marks are all done by old party members. However, there are also some idle books that cannot be explained clearly. I heard that Cai Yuanchang has published several books. Why did Zhao Liren edit the Thirteen Classics, and even Xie Lin and Fan Yu participate, but he didn't come to find me. Do you think I was not knowledgeable enough?"

Zhang Dun asked in surprise: "What's going on? Why didn't the local officials report?"

Lin Xi also knew about this, and he interrupted, "Zhao Liren donated a temple in Guangnan for every local government school, which was specially used by the provincial schools to invite famous teachers to give lectures. As a result, wealthy businessmen in Guangnan followed suit and began to donate library buildings to the provincial schools in their own name. Some wealthy businessmen did not have enough money. So they bought some books, stamped their own seals and donated them into the library, in order to highlight their reputations in future generations.

This incident was quite sensational in Guangnan. A businessman who dealt with Guangzhou returned to his hometown and asked whether he could compare the examples of Guangnan. He used his own name to donate the school building in the government. So the news spread to various places. Guangnan officials did not report it, probably thinking it was just a folk thing."

Cai Jing was just named, and he couldn't help but speak, so he lazily interrupted from the shadows: "I have heard of this. The Four Books and Five Classics that have been re-exacted, including the books compiled by Luo Dang Cheng Yi, Fan Chuncui, Zhang Qing... Of course, there were no leaders from all over the Shu Party. It is said that Zhao Li was an official and visited local famous scholars every time he went to the place and hired them to proofread ancient books.

I also heard that scholars can get a reward of about a thousand yuan for each copy. Zhao Liren called it the "runbi" fee, and this name is elegant..."

Cai Jing was a slippery person. After he said this, everyone turned their attention to the income from proofreading ancient books, but instead forgot about the identity of the person who proofreaded the person. Zhang Dun interrupted unconsciously and said, "One thousand guan, the price is the right one. Zhao Liren has this habit, so I know that when I was demoted in the past, Zhao Liren also asked me to proofread ancient books. He also sent a deposit of 1,000 guan. The official was busy later and forgot about this matter. However, Zhao Liren did not urge him anymore... Haha, I owed Zhao Liren a debt."

Zhang Dun finally found out that he owed someone else, but he didn't feel ashamed in his tone. His words were more like showing off than admitting his debts.

Zeng Bu just now complained that Zhao Liren did not ask him to edit ancient books, and also complained that the people Zhao Liren looked for had different positions in the party and those present, but to be honest, in terms of knowledge, those proofreaders were famous, so Zeng Bu was not convinced. Zhang Dun's statement was equivalent to telling everyone in a vague way: I was originally one of those famous masters, but I was too busy and threw this matter behind my head.

When the literati was despised, Zhang Dun said this, everyone who was not invited to participate in the proofreading blushed. Zeng Bu changed the topic and said, "Is the sentences that people broke are correct? The sentences are different in meaning, but they have different meanings. Let's take a look at them. If there is any mistake, it will be helpful to help Zhao Liren proofread them."

Cai Jing knew why these people were so jealous. The literati maps were famous. The covers of Zhao Xing's new version of books were printed with the proofreader's name on the cover of each book, such as "Su Shi's College", "Liu Zhi's College", etc., which made people know the scholar's name as soon as they got the book.

The greatest achievement of scholars is "Three Stands", and "Standing Words" is one of them. Being able to personally proofread the books of sages is a recognition of their knowledge. Everyone here asked themselves "there is no first in literature". After hearing the rumors about those new books, they were full of dissatisfaction and just thought: Why can he keep his name with the books of sages for generations, but I can't do it. Zhao Liren clearly had no eyes.

At the scene, the only smile was Cai Jing. He had worked with Zhao Xing and learned about Zhao Xing's methods. He knew that the guy always liked to hide his true purpose behind the fog. What Cai Jing didn't say was the speech about the rules that Zhao Xing said at the opening of the Mingtang.

At that time, when Zhao Xing said this, he did not take a speech, and many students only recorded a general based on their impressions. There was no radio and television in that era, and Zhao Xing's public speech could only rely on verbal praises. Cai Jing had heard some rumors. He was a marginal person, and probably some officials in the Beijing area had heard of it. But everyone's attention was directed to the cost of "running the pen", and they forgot to investigate Zhao Xing's attack on them in his speech.

Zhao Xing's remarks were indeed inconvenient. He even raised the Three Bonds and Five Constant Ones of the Supreme Master, and completely denied Dong Zhongshu's five virtues and the theory of the induction of heaven and man. In this way, since the Han Dynasty, the Confucian school of three legs was broken by him, and the only thing left was Confucian scriptures. Therefore, refuting these remarks became a systematic project, and it had to study the Confucian classics carefully...

However, due to the party struggles, although they claim to be Confucianism, they have no skill in studying Confucian classics.

Everyone's attention is not on the details. This is what Cai Jing hopes. He guided the topic to "runbi" and also hoped to attract everyone's attention - because Cai Jing is the profiter of this matter, and the copyright fee alone is a considerable amount of money when he published the "Hundred Flowers Book".

Sure enough, when talking about this huge income, officials were not immune to the common people. Cai Bian said dissatisfiedly: "Zhao Liren can publish books, why can't we publish books? Let's go to Hangzhou Bookstore and write down our usual reading experiences. Wouldn't it be better to have the sage books I sent to publish... Zhao Liren's guy can produce 1,000 guan with his pen alone, so that Hangzhou Bookstore should not be less than this number.

Humph, with the speed of reading, why can’t I break a book in a month?”

The following words of the officials of the Political Affairs Hall entered garbage time. Everyone exchanged their experiences of breaking sentences about ancient Chinese. Because breaking sentences about ancient Chinese is not creation, it is reading. Opening a book, taking a pen and drawing bits, and after reading it, it is equivalent to breaking sentences for ancient Chinese books. You can earn a thousand chunks of money by turning your hands. Such a job is to make money with entertainment.

Everyone finally discussed it. They grabbed Cai Jing, the Hanlin scholar, and joked: "Chief Yuan, why didn't you ask you to edit ancient books? Is Zhao Liren looking down on your knowledge?"

Cai Jing was discussing the situation just now, and before he knew it, everyone was aiming at him again. Cai Jing smiled and said, "I am collecting ancient jades from bells and tripods, and planning to compile an ancient artifacts. The first ten volumes of this book have been sent to Guangzhou, and the last twenty-four volumes still need to be carefully studied."

Cai Jing likes to collect antiques. He has a deep understanding of antiques. The first official bureau in China to fake antiques was established by Cai Jing. Cai Jing's hobby became increasingly out of control after being supported by Zhao Xingdi. Most of the time, he would create an antique style every time he verified the picture. He always drew a picture carefully and sent it to Zhao Xing to seek the other party's opinions. Zhao Xing often copied one and came back to answer him.

Because of this connection between Cai Jing and Zhao Xing, among the people here, others did not know about Zhao Xing's news. However, Cai Jing was unwilling to tell others about this connection. Now that others ridiculed his knowledge, Cai Jing couldn't help but reveal a little.

Cai Jing’s authority in researching antiques is affirmative. Nowadays, the fake antiques sold in Shengxuan are all made by Cai Jing and Zhao Xing. When he spoke, others had nothing to say, so he had to say in an envious tone: “When Yuan Chang’s book is published, remember to give me a copy…”

Cai Jing misled officials of the Political Affairs Hall in the court, and Zhao Xing was busy misleading those vassal merchants in Guangzhou. He looked sincere and explained to the vassal merchants who came to him: "Gentlemen, I know you are very anxious to return to China, but what can you do after returning to China now? The war does not end with a slap in the forehead. This war will take at least three to five years to see the conclusion.

Yes, I promised you to escort. I know that you have contributed all the land sailors to help us train crew members, so that you have not yet set up your anchor in this trade wind season. I am deeply grateful for this. However, training the navy is not a matter of one or two days, and organizing a fleet is not a matter of one or two days... Yes, I can provide escort for you now, but at present my crew can only circulate around the South Ocean. If you want to enter the Indian Ocean, you need more training. At least I need a few supply points to replenish my crew.

Well, you all know that we need the permission of the Privy Council to use the army. If it is your urgent request, I promise that the Privy Council documents will be sent to sea immediately. But where are we going? The war has begun. In the entire Abbasid territory, we are all unpopular. Where do we get supplies and where can we stop and rest?

You all know that this is a long journey, how can you do not plan well?"

The Fancheng on the opposite side did not speak, and the white businessman with a noble appearance behind the Fancheng interrupted gently and said, "Sir, can I confirm that you are the official of the Song State in the mouth of the Somali businessman Steele?"

Zhao Xing neither admitted nor denied it. He pulled a chart and said attentively: "I am planning to find you guys these days, come, let's plan the route. I think it will take at least one month just to plan this route."

The merchant ignored Zhao Xing and dodged. He continued to say in his tone: "Steel once revealed to people that you know a straight route that can reach Africa directly. Sir, I know it is a bit difficult to ask you to hand over the chart of this route, but we are willing to pay for it. Everyone here who reads the drawings is willing to pay 10,000 Byzantine gold coins for this route. What does sir think of the price?"

Zhao Xing grinned and said honestly: "Stop teasing, will you come to my Song Dynasty with you with 10,000 Byzantine gold coins? Besides, what can 10,000 Byzantine gold coins do? But I know that 10,000 gold coins in Byzantium are to buy an ocean-going ship and three medium-sized Mediterranean sailboats. Is this price the price to buy a chart?"

Zhao Xing's words meant to admit his identity in disguise. Since he admitted it, the merchants no longer dodged and asked bluntly: "Sir, what price are you willing to sell, what price are Steele used to buy, we are willing to pay double."

Zhao Xing shook his head and smiled calmly: "The current price of this route is extraordinary. You all know that the Crusaders have begun to fight eastward, and your ships no longer have a place to dock. The only way is to sail directly to Africa, and then cross the African continent to the land burning with war---- gentlemen. What I am talking about is ‘only’.

You have no choice, otherwise you will have to force yourself to cross the Arabian sea. Even if you pass through the Arab pirates intercepting them, you may not be able to return to Europe. Because you sail near the coast, the journey is really long. You don’t have enough fresh water to drink from Guangzhou to Africa. You must replenish fresh water, but you cannot dock. So the only choice is my route.

Gentlemen. Think about it, when trade between the East and the West is completely cut off, others cannot come here, but those who take this route can do it. ‘Exclusive’ is money, countless wealth. Ten thousand gold coins are too little. You can’t do it twice the price of Steele, because 30% of each cargo in Steele belongs to me. The price of twice is 60% of the goods, and you can’t afford it.”

The white man turned around and whispered to the merchants for a moment, and asked tentatively: "Sir, do you think you can know your other plan when discussing the route to the Indian Ocean?"

Zhao Xing moved his finger on the chart and introduced: "I used to build some supply points on some islands, but now pirates are rampant, making the Nanyang route unblocked. I plan to patrol these supply points one by one. First of all, it goes without saying that it is the Lion City supply points. I hope that in Lion City, you can also leave some strength to help me guard the city together.

After passing the Lion City, it is the Indian Ocean, where the winds are strong and the waves are high, so the supply point needs to be shortened. These are several small islands belonging to India, and then Oman. There are a few Arab friends there, I hope they have not been blinded by religious fanaticism, so we can stop in Oman as the final temptation.

Of course, if this person in Oman is no longer reliable, I think this route must be abandoned. Because even if we break through the interception of Arab pirates and enter the waters near Oman, our ammunition and fresh water will be exhausted, and we must enter the port to replenish supplies. Without the acceptance of Oman, we can only wander on the sea and pray that the pirates will not come to harass each other again."

The white man shook his head and replied: "The Arab navy is not as powerful as adults imagined. Venice and Pisa and other countries had suppressed the Arab navy three years ago. I believe that adults can do what a small principality can do."

Zhao Xing smiled brilliantly and asked casually: "Although Venice defeated the Arab Navy, this does not prove that the Arab Navy is not good. After all, they suppressed the Byzantine fleet for hundreds of years. Moreover, I heard that the Arab fleet is not strong in the Mediterranean fleet, but the strong one is facing the Asian squadron.

Gentlemen, the navy went to sea, this was an expedition, tens of thousands of miles away, strange countries, strange language... If we do not plan ahead, the lack of fresh water alone can make us thirst on that sea, so I think we must be cautious."

The other party was silent for a moment and echoed: "I admit that we must be cautious, but, sir, have you not noticed that since September, there has been no cargo ship in Guangzhou, and isn't this phenomenon worth wondering?

You originally told us about war, but we have not received any relevant information now. However, it is really creepy that no cargo ship has entered the port. Sir, what happened in the West, can you tell me more detailed information?"
Chapter completed!