Jiangling is located in the northern part of Jingnan. It controls Bashu to the west, Xianghan to the north, borders the rivers and lakes, and refers to Wuyue. It is the key link between the Central Plains and Lingnan and an important town in the southeast. Its seat is the world-famous Jingzhou City.
At noon, there was a lot of traffic on the official road to the east of Jingzhou City. A carriage bumped along the official road, followed by five or six horses around the carriage.
At this time, you can already see Jingzhou City in the distance. Under the sky, Jingzhou City is crawling on the vast land like a giant beast in the wild.
After several consecutive days, day and night, Yang Ning and his party finally arrived in Jiangling.
Gu Qinghan insisted on coming to Jiangling to check the tax bank in person. Yang Ning was naturally uneasy. His intuition told him that there must be a very serious change in Jiangling. Gu Qinghan's trip may not be smooth sailing, so he proposed to follow Gu Qinghan. Come, Gu Qinghan has no objection. He feels that Yang Ning will inherit the position of marquis soon, so it would be a good idea to take this opportunity to visit Jiangling's former residence.
Duan Canghai was supposed to accompany the escort on this trip, but there was still a lot of things going on in the capital. Gu Qinghan was worried that Manager Qiu would be unable to handle it alone, so he taught Duan Canghai to stay in the capital to assist Manager Qiu, and only asked Qi Feng to go along with a few guards.
A fire in the capital has caused the Jinyi Hou Mansion to bear a lot of debts. At present, the Hou Mansion's biggest income is the tax money from Jiangling. Once there is a problem here, the Hou Mansion will be in dire straits. Gu Qinghan wanted to figure out why the Jiangling Tax Bank was so late, so apart from occasionally stopping to take a break along the way, he could be considered non-stop.
On the way, Gu Qinghan also expected to meet the team escorting the tax bank, but he was disappointed all the way. However, the journey was uneventful and he arrived outside Jingzhou City smoothly.
"Your Majesty, ahead is Jingzhou City." Qi Feng knew that the Crown Prince had never returned to his hometown of Jiangling since he was born.
The ancestral home of the Jinyi Marquis family is in Jiangling. They have been a prominent family in Jiangling for hundreds of years and have a very high prestige here. After the Jinyi Marquis settled in the capital, his direct family members also moved to Kyoto, but the Jinyi Marquis family also moved to Kyoto. The food town is here, so it still has a deep foundation here.
When the old Marquis was alive, if he had time, he would often come back to Jiangling to stay for a while. In Qi Jing's generation, there are fewer people coming back, but they still come back occasionally to worship their ancestors.
However, after Prince Jinyi was born, he never returned to his homeland.
Qi Feng's ancestral home is also in Jiangling, and he followed Qi Jing back to his hometown. He is naturally much more familiar with this place than Yang Ning. Looking at Jingzhou City in the distance, Qi Feng feels a sense of intimacy.
"Is our former residence in the city?" Yang Ning asked.
Qi Feng shook his head and said with a smile: "The old house of the Marquis is not far from Jingzhou City. It is only thirty or forty miles to the south. There is Qijiazhuang. The old house is over there. The late emperor originally ordered to give the old house to Jingzhou City. The Marquis built a mansion, but the old Marquis was nostalgic and did not let it be built. When he came back, he still lived at the old house in Qijia Village." With a glimmer of light on his face, he said with a smile: "General is back , also lives there at the old house. At that time, officials from all over Jiangling, including the prefect of Jingzhou City, also go to the old house."
"I see." Yang Ning said with a smile: "Our fiefdoms and land are all over Qijia Village?"
"Most of the three thousand households granted by the late emperor were scattered around Qijiazhuang." Qi Feng explained: "However, the fields were not together. The late emperor asked the Jiangling prefect to select the best paddy fields in the territory as a seal. The land given by the emperor was distributed unevenly. The prince did not know that the Qi family was a wealthy family in Jiangling back then. It is not an exaggeration to say that they were the richest...!"
"Qi Feng, you are the only one who knows how to talk nonsense." Gu Qinghan had already opened the car curtains and scolded with a smile: "It's okay for you to talk about the richest party in private, but in front of others, you are not allowed to talk nonsense. The general also told you back then. , this is my hometown, and we are all my fellow countrymen. The more we get here, the more cautious we must be, and we must not talk nonsense in front of our fellow countrymen."
Qi Feng said hurriedly: "Third Madam, I don't dare."
"Sanniang, you'd better let him finish." Yang Ning rode by the carriage window and smiled at Gu Qinghan: "If you ask him to hold it back now, you will really suffocate him to death." Xiang Qifeng said: "Continue talking. Go down, what happens next?”
Qi Feng raised his hand and scratched the back of his head, and said with some embarrassment: "I want to say that the old Marquis followed the late emperor to quell the rebellion, and dedicated all the Qi family's wealth to the late emperor to quell the rebellion. After the late emperor quelled the bandits, Only then will I reward the old Marquis twice as much."
Yang Ning thought to himself that the old Marquis was really a man with a far-sighted vision. The late emperor had a high regard for the Qi family. This was certainly because the Jinyi Marquis was good at fighting and was a pillar of talent. In addition, it might have something to do with the fact that the old Marquis donated his family wealth back then.
"Sanniang, should we go to the city first or rush to the old house?" Yang Ning asked from inside the car.
Gu Qinghan said: "It's still early. If we go into the city and are delayed for another day, we should go to the old house directly. We are traveling lightly this time, and there is no need to go to the city to disturb us."
Yang Ning hesitated for a moment and finally said: "Sanniang, I have a few words to say to you."
Gu Qinghan opened the curtains, looked at Yang Ning with beautiful eyes, and asked: "Since yesterday, let's see what you are thinking about. What are you thinking about in your little head?" At this point, he thought that Yang Ning had grown up. , it’s better not to talk about this little head in the future.
Yang Ning got off the horse, threw the reins to Qi Feng, jogged in small steps, jumped to the front of the carriage, opened the curtain and got in. Gu Qinghan was slightly surprised, and couldn't help but shrink to the side when he saw Yang Ning entering the carriage. Shrink, this carriage is much narrower than the large carriages commonly used in the Marquis Mansion, and it is also to make it easier to travel.
In addition, Gu Qinghan also had other ideas.
She is an extremely smart woman. After she noticed Yang Ning's strange look last time, she immediately realized that Yang Ning had grown up, and Yang Ning's speech and behavior were no longer as ignorant as before, which made Gu Qinghan even more sober. Ning is no longer the little boy he used to take good care of.
Women are the most sensitive to emotional matters. She used to take care of the prince and had deep feelings for him. In fact, she also understood that it was not incomprehensible that the little boy she had always taken care of had a different kind of affection for her because he became an adult. , but she naturally cannot allow such things to continue to develop.
Although she still cares about the prince as before, she has paid more attention to her speech and behavior. From then on, she will never approach Yang Ning easily, let alone take the initiative to hold Yang Ning's hand, and try to draw a ditch in it. Come, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble. Fortunately, Yang Ning also paid attention to it afterwards, and everything was fine.
This time, it was a long journey from the capital to Jiangling. If it had been the past, Gu Qinghan would have asked Yang Ning to ride with him on the carriage to avoid the bumpy and tiring ride.
But this time, he still chose a small car. Firstly, he could speed up the journey, and secondly, he could ride alone, leaving Yang Ning to ride the horse.
At this time, Yang Ning suddenly got into the car. Gu Qinghan panicked at first, and then thought to himself that he was really too sensitive. Although he usually had to pay attention to the appropriateness with Yang Ning, he was always careful, but it was a little too much. Yang Ning Maybe there is no other meaning, but I can't let go of it all the time, which is detrimental to the normal relationship between the two of them.
"Ning'er, what do you want to say?" Gu Qinghan calmed down and motioned for Yang Ning to sit down beside him, with a gentle voice and a smile on his face, trying to make himself appear as an elder.
Yang Ning opened the curtains and said to Qi Feng: "Don't rush to the old house yet. We haven't used any dry food at noon. Find a place in front and you can eat something first."
Qi Feng agreed, and Yang Ning had already lowered the curtains.
Gu Qinghan was a little surprised to see Yang Ning being mysterious, but Yang Ning had already come closer and whispered: "Sanniang, let's go directly to the old house like this?"
Although Yang Ning came closer, when Gu Qinghan saw his serious look, he didn't think much and said softly: "If I want to check why the tax money was not sent to the capital, I naturally have to go to my old house. Ning'er, what are you thinking about?"
"Sanniang, on our way here, we didn't encounter a convoy transporting tax money, and we didn't hear that anyone robbed the tax car." Yang Ning thoughtfully said in a low voice: "I have been thinking about tax money. If it is not sent to the capital, is there something wrong with the old house?" Without waiting for Gu Qinghan to say anything, he asked: "Is our tax bank not related to the local government, but the old house is responsible?"
Gu Qinghan nodded and said: "There is also a general manager over at the old house, who is also a member of the Qi family. Over the years, the food and land in Jiangling have been handled by the general manager, and the taxes and money in the fields are collected twice a year. The harvest is sent to the capital.”
"Isn't the chief manager going to collect the tax money in person?" Yang Ning asked.
Gu Qinghan explained: "Three thousand towns are divided into dozens of villages. Each village has a land. When the time comes every year, the land of each village will send the taxes payable in the village to the old house. Jiangling This place is suitable for growing food, and there are harvests in spring and autumn every year. After the harvest is brought to the old house by people from the field, the general manager will exchange it for cash, and then send it to the capital."
"That is to say, the tax revenue in Jiangling is controlled by the general manager." Yang Ning looked serious, "If there is any problem, the general manager will be responsible?"
"That's right." Gu Qinghan said: "Ning'er, what exactly do you want to say?"
"Sanniang, I have been thinking that the reason for the delay in tax collection is not that the villagers did not pay the taxes." Yang Ning said slowly: "If the taxes have been paid to the old house, why has the old house not been sent to the capital? Is it the chief manager? What the hell are you doing?"
"General Manager?" Gu Qinghan frowned and said, "How can he be so bold? The reason we came back this time is to find out what difficulties the General Manager has encountered."
"Have you met the General Manager?" Yang Ning stared into Gu Qinghan's watery and charming eyes, "Do you know the General Manager very well?"
"The General Manager has been to the capital several times, but I haven't talked to him much." Gu Qinghan said: "The General is away all year round, and the Madam is dedicated to worshiping Buddha, so many things in the mansion are handled by General Manager Qiu and I. When the General Manager goes to the capital, It has always been hosted by General Manager Qiu." After thinking for a while, he shook his head and said: "The General Manager has never delayed anything in these years, and he definitely has no guts to hold back the tax money."
Yang Ning sighed softly: "Sanniang, I am not worried that the general manager will withhold the tax money and refuse to send it, but I am worried that someone will force him to withhold the tax money."