Chapter 732: W-zijuan marriage

 There are more and more guests coming.

　Business and constant flow.

Important guests, such as several masters and elders, all have to accompany them to say a few words; close colleagues, classmates and friends say hello and exchange a few words; while ordinary businessmen and gentry, more often Say hello politely.

 There are nine levels of people, and it becomes even more apparent in this situation.

 Qi Yongtai and Qiao Yingjia arrived together, so it was natural for them to say a few words when they met.

 It’s just a big day, so it shouldn’t take up too much time.

 Glancing at the guests coming and going, Qiao Yingjia didn't show anything yet, but Qi Yongtai couldn't help but frown.

"Ziying, why are there so many merchants coming and going? What is your status now? Compiled by Hanlin Academy, I know that most of these people have dealt with you because of the strategy of opening up the sea, but merchants must talk about profits and do nothing about opening up the sea. It is already a matter for the Zhongshu Department. If you are not in your position, you will not be in charge of the affairs..."

Qi Yongtai’s lesson made Feng Ziying just nod and admit his mistake. Can he say that many people here came uninvited? Don't reach out to hit someone with a smiling face, let alone someone who is a guest from afar.

"Chengfeng, I think most of these merchants came uninvited. Ziying's strategy of opening up the sea was very beneficial to the merchants. Many people said that if Ziying really went into business, she would definitely be called a contemporary Tao Zhu. ." Qiao Yingjia glanced at Feng Ziying, but still softened her cheeks for Feng Ziying.

In fact, neither of them liked this scene, but Qi Yongtai simply didn't like that Feng Ziying had too much contact with these merchants, while Qiao Yingjia saw many merchants from Jiangnan gathered there, which made him unhappy.

"Contemporary Tao Zhu? What does it mean to the country and the people?" Qi Yongtai said angrily: "Rujun, don't excuse him. He is about to expire as a political observer. Do you think he can continue to study in Zhongshu Department? Isn’t there a scholar among them?”

A stern smile appeared on Qiao Yingjia's clear face, "I can't tell. Guandong Xian has this intention. Chengfeng, you are still the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, so you have to make the decision."

Qi Yongtai glared at Feng Ziying, "Ziying, I admit that the opening of the sea is indeed beneficial to the court, and the deficit of the household department will be greatly compensated, but in the long run, this will encourage the people to get something for nothing and take risks, and the court will And you should probably understand the disputes between the north and the south. If we don't find a way to balance them, the disputes between the DPRK and China will become even greater. Some generals in the North Army have already proposed that the southern soldiers should take turns to guard the border areas."

At present, the soldiers in Jiubian Land basically come from the northern provinces, while the troops in the Beijing Camp and the inland guard towns and camps are mostly from Huguang and the southern provinces.

In fact, this situation was not obvious in the early days of the founding of the Zhou Dynasty, but it became very obvious during the Japanese Rebellion of Imjin. Therefore, when the Japanese Rebellion of Imjin was quelled, a large number of guard camps were also mobilized from Nanzhi, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Huguang. The army has enriched the Northern Territory, but this still cannot change the pattern of the Nine Borders being dominated by Northern Territory soldiers. The climate, food and even the preferences of the generals are the main reasons.

"Master Qi, Master Qiao, I understand." There is no need to defend at this time, Feng Ziying nodded rationally.

As if he felt that his words were a bit harsh, Qi Yongtai softened his tone: "Ziying, you are getting married today. Now that you have been in charge of government for a few months, you will study and study history in the Hanlin Academy. Don't wander around. You will be impeached by the imperial censor. Regarding your whereabouts, my master, Ru Jun, and Dong Xian will have a good discussion at that time."

When Qi Yongtai moved forward, Qiao Yingjia stopped and said, "Ziying, Chengfeng has always disliked businessmen, so you don't have to worry about it. He is just worried that you will deal with businessmen all day long and get into the habit of being unjust for profit." , but I don’t quite agree with Chengfeng’s point of view on merchants. The prosperity of merchants in the south is getting further and further away from the prosperity of our north. The commerce along the Shandong Canal is developed, but it is three hundred miles away from the canal. Poverty has returned. Could it be that our people in the north are lazier than those in the south? After all, there are some reasons. As you said, merchants can activate the local economy and exchange what they have, even if it solves the livelihood of the landless refugees, it is a meritorious deed. That’s right,…”

Qiao Yingjia's words made Feng Ziying feel more at ease. However, the backward transportation methods of this era still limited the development of merchants. The reason why the coasts, rivers and canals can be more prosperous and the Jiangnan water network zone is more fertile is largely due to the light and hot water conditions. , convenient transportation is also a major reason.

 Qi Yongtai and Qiao Yingjia have different views on this.

“Master Qiao, Master Qi’s well-intentioned disciple understands that some things still have to be done by others. Disciples have also seen the imbalance between the north and the south. They have been thinking about it these past few days and have some ideas..."

Qiao Yingjia's eyes lit up, "But is it related to those Shanxi merchants?"

Qiao Yingjia's attitude towards Shanxi merchants is also very complicated. As an old censor who has been immersed in the Metropolitan Procuratorate for many years, and now the left deputy censor of the capital, he naturally knows about the many dirty deeds of this group of businessmen in his hometown in Jiubian Land, so he can It was said that Yun Guang's defeat last time was largely due to the involvement of these Shanshan businessmen, so he still felt a little disgusted with these businessmen who had no bottom line.

But as a leader among Shanxi scholars, he could not be completely separated from these Shanxi merchants. The relationship between the township and party was the most important part of this era, and at some point he also needed these Shanxi merchants to come to him. Doing something that would be inconvenient for him to do.

Similarly, the economic downturn in the North also made Qiao Yingjia very anxious. If there was a slight flood or drought, and refugees were everywhere, and the government did not reduce taxes or provide relief, civil commotion and rebellion might follow. And if taxes were reduced or relief was reduced, this would Overwhelming the imperial court has become the most troublesome thing for the imperial court and local officials in the north, especially in Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Beizhi.

Merchants from Shanxi also came to him several times, that is to say, they mentioned how the opening of the sea would benefit Jiangnan, but the northern land did not enjoy any benefits. Even Shanxi merchants found it difficult to intervene. After all, from shipbuilding to maritime trade to Many business industries involved in sea trade are not what Beidi Energy and Shanshan merchants are good at.

However, recently he heard that a group of Shanxi merchants seemed to be making some moves, so when Feng Ziying said it, he immediately reacted.

"There may be some connection, but it is still too early. The disciple intends to select a site in the Beizhi area, and introduce Guangdong iron smelting experts to cooperate with Shanxi merchants, and use coal mining, mining, iron smelting and even iron production as a driving force. Let’s do a pilot,…”

Feng Ziying has no intention of hiding it from anyone. This is good for the northern gentry. Qi Yongtai, Qiao Yingjia and the others should naturally protect him.

 Qiao Yingjia took a deep look at Feng Ziying and nodded: "Well, today is your special day, so let's not talk about it for now. When these days are over, you can come to my house and tell me carefully."

Seeing that Qiao Yingjia was so serious, Feng Ziying estimated that the series of changes brought about by the opening of the sea had put great pressure on the leaders of these northern scholars, especially seeing the changes from shipbuilding, shipping, silk, cotton spinning, tea making, Industries such as medicinal materials and porcelain manufacturing have all seen large-scale growth, but the situation in the north remains the same. It is estimated that no one can sit still.

 “Disciple, obey the order.” Feng Ziying quickly raised her hands.

"Well, of course, you just got married. Family matters are your top priority. Your parents have been looking forward to it for a long time. It will take more than two years for Lin Ruhai's girl to leave. Hey, I will try to keep you as a queen for the Feng family as soon as possible." Qiao Yingjia nodded. He went in with his hands behind his back.

Niu Jizong and Wang Ziteng came hand in hand.

 From the moment the carriage entered Fengcheng Alley, the two of them could already feel the excitement.

"Zi Teng, it seems that Feng Tang's appointment as the governor of Ji Liao has made the Feng family famous in the capital city." Niu Jizong looked out the window. The closer he got to Feng Mansion, the more people came and went. Of course, there were more people coming and going. Most of them are just idlers and passers-by watching the excitement.

"Brother Niu, it's not entirely because of the Tang Dynasty. Do you look familiar to the people here? Many of them are businessmen from Shanshan Guild Hall and Huizhou Guild Hall. Most of them have seen Feng Ziying's skills in opening seas. , Yangzhou and his party got back several million taels of silver for the Ministry of Household Affairs, which suddenly made Zheng Jizhi's waist stiffen a lot. Li Sancai jumped up and down to become a cabinet minister, didn't he just rely on 800,000 taels of silver? Smash it down and make the river work beautiful enough? Without these millions of taels of silver, where would he be?"

Wang Ziteng's words made Niu Jizong shake his head, "Zi Teng, Li Sancai still has some skills. It's not just making money that's his skill, but being able to use money is even more skillful. Li Sancai is still remarkable in his position as Minister of the Ministry of Industry, even the Supreme Emperor Everyone agrees, the emperor knows people well and makes good use of them."

 Wang Ziteng’s last sentence was a bit different.

Niu Jizong glanced at Wang Ziteng and said, "Zi Teng, how loyal can you expect these civil servants to be? Besides, after being promoted by the emperor, can he still pretend to be noble?"

 Wang Ziteng was silent.

"Ziteng, let's be honest, it doesn't make much sense to continue like this. I know your thoughts. We all have the same thoughts, but there are some things that we can't just give in to. We can't figure out the emperor's thoughts. , King Zhongxiao, haha, can you have both loyalty and filial piety?" A sinister look flashed across Niu Jizong's face.

Wizi Teng sighed, "Brother Niu, but the Emperor is so uncertain and Prince Yizhong has lost his righteousness, how can he challenge the Emperor?"

 “Ha, isn’t that good?” Niu Jizong sneered lightly, “Let’s just sit back and wait...”

“Brother Niu, do you think we still have a choice?” Wang Ziteng asked tentatively.

Niu Jizong's face straightened up and his back straightened up, "Ziteng, what do you think?"

 Wang Ziteng sighed again, shook his head, but said nothing.

“Zi Teng, if we have no choice, then we have to force some people to make a choice.” Niu Jizong looked at Wang Ziteng, “What do you think?”

Niu Jizong knew that Wang Ziteng was unsettled, but he believed that Wang Ziteng could not let it go. Everyone had enjoyed enough preferential treatment during the reign of the Supreme Emperor. The emperor was not unkind to people like him now, but the question was whether this could continue. What?

Niu Jizong didn't believe it, and neither the martial arts heroes believed it. The emperor was now using this method of boiling frogs in warm water to slowly grind and delay it. If this continues, sooner or later it would be the turn of his martial arts heroes.

"Jizong, why do you have to focus on the Supreme Emperor and Prince Yi Zhong?" Wang Ziteng finally responded, but his tone was a bit more cold, "Maybe we can break out of this stereotype..."

Although none of the pavilion elders came, they all brought gifts to him. This made all the guests who came to congratulate him sigh with emotion after learning about it, and their reputation for Xiao Feng Xiuzuan was even more enhanced. Intuitive understanding.

Of course what shocked everyone the most was the gift from the emperor.

No one expected it, so when the edict surnamed Xie arrived at the gate of Feng Mansion, there was a sensation inside and outside the whole manor.

Even Qi Yongtai and Qiao Yingjia were equally surprised.

It’s not that gifts from the emperor are rare. In fact, several pavilion elders and nine ministers have basically received gifts from the emperor. However, officials like Feng Ziying, who is a sixth-rank official, have too low a grade, and If you get something as a gift when you get married, it has a different meaning.

Of course, Feng Ziying could only kneel down and thank her.

The chamberlain held up the imperial edict and read it in parallel for a long time. After listening to it for a long time, Feng Ziying could only understand a general idea, which was to congratulate and congratulate her for having a son soon, and Feng Ziying did not read the gift sent. A gold-lacquered tray was covered with red satin. I don’t know what it was, but it could only be placed in the hall.

 …

After worshiping heaven and earth, walking through all kinds of red tape, and drinking wine together, the bride goes into the bridal chamber to wait.

And Feng Ziying became the busiest person, dealing with the final congratulations of the guests, especially relatives and friends who had to greet one by one. This is the most important etiquette, and kinship is also the most important in this era.

 As the last group of guests left or settled in, the Feng Mansion, which had been noisy for a day, finally calmed down.

The servants and maids in the mansion began to tidy up the entire mansion. However, the wedding stand set up outside the mansion will not be dismantled. According to Zhou custom, it will not be dismantled until the bride returns to her parents' home in three days. , to end the formal ceremony.

Feng Ziying stepped into the still unfamiliar Dongfu. Well, the Changfang's mansion was rebuilt on the east side after being demolished. It is not much smaller than the current Fengfu, but there are still many remaining in the backyard. The open space is connected to the back of Feng Mansion's old residence.

When Feng Ziying walked to the door, she saw Qingwen holding her belt with a smile on her face.

“Qingwen, what are you doing here?” Feng Ziying stopped and looked sideways at the other party.

"My girl is getting married. Of course I will protect her before entering the bridal chamber." Qingwen took a deep breath and looked directly at her. "Now that the uncle is here, I will hand the girl over to him."

Feng Ziying also took a deep look at the girl and nodded, "Thank you for your protection. I will take note of it."

Without hesitation, he pushed the door open and walked in. Two red candles as thick as human arms illuminated the whole room. A graceful figure sat on the bedside, her scarlet hijab shaking slightly.

There will still be a wave at 12 o'clock tonight, brothers, please support us!

　　

 (End of this chapter)