March 22nd of the sixth year of the Qingli calendar was said to be auspicious, so the imperial envoy visited Fan Xian, the envoy of the Transit Department of the Neiku. After arriving in the south of the Yangtze River, the Neiku opened its doors for bidding for the first time on this day.
It was a beautiful spring day, and the gentle breeze brought warmth. The princes and ladies in the city of Suzhou went out for an outing one after another. The grass on the wide official road had died before it grew, and the orioles were frightened before they flew. The green hills outside the city were full of green water. It has turned into a good place for men and women to hook up with each other, and there is a fresh and beautiful smell in the air.
Another scene in Suzhou City, seventy-four zhang south from Jiangnan Governor's Mansion, is the resident office of the Neiku Transshipment Department, whether it is the yamen of each department on Jiangnan Road or the yamen of Suzhou Prefecture. In this area, it is the place where the official spirit gathers, and it is heavily guarded on weekdays, and the first place to watch for defense. Today, I only saw sergeants wandering the streets on both sides, each holding a long gun in hand, and there are government servants who are fighting hard. Chun Nong watched the movements of all parties vigilantly in sleepiness.
This large area has been tightly controlled.
This is the case every year on the opening day of the inner treasury. Firstly, the giant merchants from all over the world carry too much money in their hands, and secondly, they preside over the opening of the inner treasury. In addition to the officials of the transshipment department, there are also officials sent by the palace. The eunuch supervised the inspection, and the governor of Jiangnan Road will also be present to observe. At this time, the gang of imperial officials from the Metropolitan Procuratorate who have nothing to do all day long have collected too much money and too many high-ranking officials here today, so Safety issues have become a top priority.
Fortunately, Suzhou was located on the banks of the great river, and the Qing Dynasty was powerful, so no force dared to make any temptations. Even the thieves in Suzhou City had already been expelled from the city.
It is a good time to collect money during the Ching Ming Festival.
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According to the usual practice, the transfer department vacated a large house. This courtyard is extremely spacious, and the small compartments along the two sides of the main hall are said to be the biology examination room in the Jiangnan area in the previous dynasty. Later, when Emperor Qing visited the inner library in the south, he found that this layout was suitable for bidding, so he decided to Here, a custom is formed. On weekdays, this house was vacant in the most high-end area of Suzhou. It was lent to the Governor's Office by the Transshipment Department to manage the accounts, but it was returned to the Transshipment Department's Yamen in March.
It has been refurbished and cleaned more than ten days ago, and the current house is extremely bright, clean and dust-free.
There are soldiers guarding outside the courtyard, and there are a few guards with ordinary faces standing beside the hall in the courtyard. The light in the hall is a bit dim, and only a row of four grand master chairs can be vaguely seen behind the table.
When the Jietang steamed buns in the Suzhou branch of Jingdu Xinfeng Restaurant on Nanjie Street were sold out, the door of this house finally opened.
The giant businessmen from various states did not panic, they climbed up the stairs in an orderly manner, turning a blind eye to the vigilant eyes of the soldiers around them, and they had already understood the whole set of procedures in more than ten years.
Behind a businessman often represents a family, and the official faction behind the family. The opening of the inner treasury is a major event, so the representatives who came today are all prominent figures in the family, but there are not many of them. He brought his long entourage and Mr. accountant, and also carried boxes, account books and related tools.
The one who walked ahead of everyone was of course the representative of the Ming family.
Since last year, the Ming family has delegated most of the rights to Young Master Ming Lanshi. Master Ming has rarely come out to show his face, but what shocked many wealthy businessmen is that today, that Old Master Ming, Ming Qingda, actually personally To the mansion!
Ming Qingda squinted his tired eyes slightly, bowed his hands to his colleagues, stroked his long beard, and walked proudly through the door.
The merchants in the south of the Yangtze River were vaguely headed by the Ming family, and hurriedly returned their salutes to the old man, and followed him into the door. No one would feel uncomfortable. Since it was the inner treasury bidding, of course the Ming family would go first. Everyone just didn't understand why the Ming family was so cautious today, and even invited the old man out.
Occasionally, someone thinks of the new envoy of the internal treasury's transshipment department, the imperial envoy, and thinks of the young master of the Ming family's secret communication with everyone this month, and then vaguely guesses that today's internal treasury's bidding It will not be as smooth as in previous years, nor will it be as bright and gratifying as today's spring.
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The two rows of rooms under the eaves had already been pasted with their names, and each family entered in turn, and the Ming family was in the first big room on the left, and they brought the most people, a total of sixteen shopkeepers. , as soon as he entered the room, there were servants and servants arranged by the transport department to serve tea, hot towels, and some delicate pastries.
Although it was the government that opened the bid, they knew that these rich people should also greet them well, just like what Fan Xian said with a smile after knowing the arrangement in previous years, if you want to kill a pig, of course you have to fatten the pig first.
Ming Qingda sat firmly in the chair, squinting his eyes slightly at the light sky in the courtyard outside the door. Before he was admitted to the hospital, he had eye contact with those businessmen, and he knew that everyone's thoughts were very consistent. In the face of interests, no one is willing to drive up the price of each other, especially those merchants who dare not offend themselves.
Thinking of this, Ming Qingda felt a little relieved, and asked in a low voice, "How much longer?"
Ming Lanshi stood beside his father in a dignified way, lowered his body and said, "Hurry up." He stretched out his white hands and brought tea to his father. These hands are so clean that It's like it's never been stained with blood.
Ming Qingda nodded, since the imperial court still invented the standard, and no one in this world has the financial resources to compete with him, it should not be much different from previous years, but for some reason, his lips are still a little dry, maybe it's human As I get older, my energy is always a little weak.
Thinking of this, the master of the Ming family felt an inexplicable emotion in his heart, his mother is already so old, why is her body still so healthy
Ming Qingda glanced across subconsciously, and easily distinguished the families represented in those houses. Although he seldom entered the shopping malls in person these years, the friendship of the older generation is still there. They are all descendants of the second generation, and the other party knows that if they think about it, the Cui family can grab the 16 items in the inner treasury, but they can't touch the eight items that the Ming family has decided to die.
It's just... the door of the last room under the opposite eaves is still closed. I don't know which one submitted the bid, but the person hasn't arrived yet.
Ming Qingda took a sip of tea, moistened his throat, frowned and said, "Who's Yisi? It's about to start, why hasn't anyone arrived yet?"
Ming Lanshi was stunned, unable to answer, because he had already investigated in detail enough, why was that room still empty
Ming Qingda began to feel a certain warning sign in his heart.
After Fan Xian returned the 400,000 taels of silver notes, he fell into silence, not knowing what the imperial envoy was thinking. He glanced at his son, and said slightly annoyed: "You have to be watertight when you do things. Even people haven't checked it out. If something goes wrong after a while, what should we do?"
Ming Lanshi looked a little embarrassed, so he had to admit his mistake, but he was a little dissatisfied in his heart. These rich and powerful people all had this bad habit of inconsistency, and tentatively said: "Could it be some salt merchant...they have always done things like this. It's weird, maybe this time I'm also greedy."
Ming Qingda looked gloomy, shook his head, and said, "It's not a salt merchant. One, they promised us, and two, Mr. Xue also promised me."
The master of the Ming family looked at the empty room across the way, at the closed door, and at the faint chill oozing out of the glass window, feeling a strong uneasiness in his heart.
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"It's such a pity this time." In the study of the Jiangnan Governor's Mansion, a teacher sighed: "The Cui family has vacated six items, but it is inconvenient for us to intervene. Seeing so much money, it will be taken by the Ming family and those Jiangnan people. It's a pity that the local rich owners divide up."
Xue Qing, the chief official of the frontier, the governor of Jiangnan Road, and a first-rank official, smiled and remained silent.
The other teacher sitting beside him also showed regret, and said: "Yang Jimei came here a few times a few days ago, and he didn't expect the adults to help him talk in front of Mr. Xiao Fan... His family has been making salt for generations, and now it's time to look at it." Looking at this piece of fat in Neiku, I also panicked."
Yang Jimei is the largest salt merchant in the Lianghuai generation, or a private salt dealer, and has always been careful to curry favor with the Governor's Mansion.
After thinking about it, Xue Qing said with a smile: "Greedy? Who wouldn't be greedy? Yang Jimei is... such a good garden. I asked him for it, but he refused to give it to me. This time I have to go through it." Don’t tell me what he was thinking about giving Fan Xian his residence? Could it be that Mr. Fan doesn’t know?”
As the governor of the south of the Yangtze River, he is in charge of one-seventh of the military, horse and civil affairs in the world. This matter... he has no chance. "
The master asked curiously: "What is the imperial envoy thinking? Who is he planning to hand over the six items that were vacated?"
The smile on Xue Qing's face gradually faded, and he said: "Actually, there is no need to ask any questions. Since His Majesty sent him to Jiangnan, he can prepare these six items by himself."
He continued with a sneer and said, "Don't talk about these six items, I think the Ming family's own eight items will be very difficult to keep today."
The master frowned deeply and said, "I don't know which house Mr. Fan chose this time."
Xue Qing laughed mockingly. He was in command of Jiangnan, so of course he knew some of Fan Xian's tricks, and said with a smile, "I'm afraid none of you would have thought of that candidate. Digging people out of the grass, if that fellow dares to walk into Su City in a normal way, I'm afraid I'll take him to jail and ask for some benefits."
The master didn't know the inside story, so he laughed a few times, but still felt a little bit reluctant, and asked tentatively: "About the opening of the inner treasury, the Imperial Envoy...didn't talk to you?"
According to official practice, such a large piece of fat as the internal treasury cannot be monopolized by officials of one faction, especially Xue Qing's status is aloof, and he is deeply rooted in the south of the Yangtze River. No matter how arrogant Fan Xian is, he will always have feelings for the Governor's Mansion.
Xue Qing frowned slightly, shook his head and said: "Of course Mr. Fan has mentioned this matter. Regardless of his young age, he behaves quite harmoniously. Fan Shangshu and Dean Chen are good teachers... It's just me , this time I have no choice but to decline Master Xiao Fan's kindness."
"Ah?" The master exclaimed. Declining kindness? As long as Fan Xian opened his mouth, this small kindness would probably have at least a share of hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. When did the Governor become so honest and self-restraining? Did he learn to change his face
Xue Qing laughed at himself, stood up, and said: "Although we are close, let's take a step first. Mrs. Fan is waiting in the courtyard, and Guo Zheng's old white face, the father-in-law in the palace also has a will. Come on, let's not be too late."
He didn't explain to his masters who were closer to him than his wife, why he declined Fan Xian's kindness, because Xue Qing understood that the internal treasury seemed to be just a contest between Fan Xian and the eldest princess, but in fact there was a secret behind it. deeper meaning. How to sort those princes has begun to become an extremely difficult problem.
Xue Qing's status does not allow him to stand in line too early, otherwise His Majesty will be very angry, so it is inconvenient for him to share the feast of Neiku.
Under the escort of the guards, Xue Qing walked out of the main gate of Jiangnan Governor's Mansion. Xue Qing turned his head subconsciously, looked at the plaque in front of the mansion, and was dazzled by the new sun. It's getting... weirder. Everyone in the world is looking at the capital, guessing the future situation, but such turmoil is definitely not a good thing for the Qing court.
People are uncertain, how do officials deal with themselves
Your Majesty, Your Majesty, what are you thinking
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The door of the inner library opened, and the merchants who came to bid were already sitting in the room waiting. But Fan Xian, who presided over the matter, was still drinking tea leisurely at this time, and the person who was drinking tea with him was an eunuch from Kyoto.
The internal treasury is the property of the royal family, and according to the rules, it must be jointly supervised by the Taichang Temple and the inner court. Since Fan Xian himself is the young minister of the Taichang Temple, today the Taichang Temple will not send people to Suzhou without any trouble. Saved him a lot of trouble.
But a big eunuch came, and it was also a big trouble.
"Eunuch Huang is right." Fan Xian put the tea bowl on the case table, and said with a smile, "I also think that it is better to be still than to move. Everything should be done according to the old rules."
This great eunuch from the palace was of extremely high rank, otherwise it would have been impossible for him to be entrusted with such an important task. He had a fat head and big ears in this life, and the fat on his cheeks was all piled up in one place. Hearing Fan Xian's response at this time, he smiled and said, "Your Excellency will preside over this matter, our family can rest assured."
This eunuch has always been deep in the inner palace. Although he knew Fan Xian's name very well, he thought that he had a sacred mandate, so he wasn't afraid of him. On the contrary, he came to Suzhou for a few days, but Fan Xian didn't invite him to come over. Xu, this ignored fact made Eunuch Huang feel a little uncomfortable.
In the previous conversation, this Eunuch Huang brought Fan Xian a piece of bad news. To be precise, he passed on the Queen Mother's order to let Fan Xian take charge of the internal treasury. Recklessly.
Don't mess around? Old rules
Fan Xian sneered in his heart. This naturally means that the Ming family should return to the Ming family, and the rest will be tossed slowly by himself. It seems that after the eldest princess returned to Beijing, the queen mother felt sorry for the young girl, and she actually stretched her face and used such Big face!
He knew in his heart that the queen mother was warning him not to go too far, and to save some living money for the members of the royal family. Thinking of this episode, Fan Xian couldn't help but want to laugh, thinking that his emperor Lao Tzu was called A generation of emperors, why have they lived more and more over the years? Let the mother and sister send the family business to their sons
Of course he knew that the emperor was not a simple person, but he became more and more confused about why the emperor created such a turbulent situation.
"If you want great order, you must first have great chaos?" He subconsciously frowned and said.
"What?" Eunuch Huang who was beside him asked curiously.
"It's nothing." Fan Xian said with a smile: "It's hard work, father-in-law."
Eunuch Huang coughed twice, and said proudly, "It's also the Queen Mother who trusts us as a slave. Of course, I also want to thank Master Xiao Fan for selling our family's face."
Fan Xian didn't answer, but looked at Eunuch Huang's face like a pig's head with a smile, and said after a while, "Your face?"
Eunuch Huang was startled.
Fan Xian smiled and said, "Eunuch Huang, you'd better put away that trick in front of me. Lao Yao, Lao Dai, Lao Hou... are better at being a man than you."
Eunuch Huang was furious, but then he was surprised again. The three people mentioned by Fan Xian were all powerful eunuchs in the palace. , Lao Yao and Hou... But they are all more face-saving than themselves! When Fan Xian said this, he naturally meant that even the father-in-law Yao had to be respectful in front of him, so what are you doing
Eunuch Huang's palace was quite deep, he suppressed his anger, and responded with a smile, "Your Excellency said so." In his heart, he underestimated Fan Xian. Such a young powerful official who made enemies everywhere would not be able to last long in the future, and After all, he is a close person of the Queen Mother, and his status is somewhat special.
Fan Xian said with a half-smile, "Eunuch Huang, you'd better be honest with me in Suzhou City."
Eunuch Huang lowered his face and responded, "What is the imperial envoy talking about?"
"Speaking in Kyoto dialect." Fan Xian said gloomyly: "I hate people using the queen mother to suppress me the most. Others are afraid of you, but they don't include me. After you return to Beijing, you can talk about it everywhere. Let's see What will it be like then?"
Eunuch Huang raised his head angrily, how dare a courtier be so disrespectful to the Queen Mother! Don't tell me you, Fan Xian, really don't want to die!
Fan Xian had his own reasons for speaking like this. With a cold face, he flicked his sleeves, turned around the side corridor and walked towards the main hall of the house, leaving the last sentence: "Find out your own identity, your surname is not Hong !"
Apart from Mr. Hong, what else in that cool palace should Fan Xian be afraid of
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Fan Xian stood indifferently on the stone steps in front of the main hall. The merchants in the rooms under the eaves on both sides hurried out and bowed to him.
He stared straight at the main entrance, and he didn't even take a look at the Ming family father and son in the A-character room closest to him.
The door creaked and was pushed open.
A group of silent people walked in slowly. They didn't have the usual aura of wealth and wealth of businessmen, nor did they have the smell of officials.
This group of people stood in the yard, like a few wolves suddenly came among the sheep, and a deer tail was placed on the pastry, which seemed out of place and extremely abrupt.
The leader is none other than Xia Qifei, the commander of the Jiangnan Water Village.
Today Xia Qifei was wearing a light blue washed silk, but it still didn't cover up the iron and blood aura on his body. Although his face was calm, there was still a trace of excitement and nervousness in his slightly squinted eyes.
Xia Qifei clasped his fists, saluted Fan Xian and said, "My lord, the Caomin are late."
"It's not too late." Fan Xian said indifferently, "As long as you come."
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The giant merchants in the south of the Yangtze River often have some shady businesses, and they also have to rely on local reckless forces in many places. As the big leader of the Jiangnan water village, Xia Xifei actually has some secret relations with these merchants and even the Ming family. come and go.
That's why some people have seen Xia Qifei's true face. Today he led his brothers to stand in the courtyard, and sharp-eyed people immediately recognized him. The whispers gradually turned into countless exclamations!
Water bandits also come to the inner library to bid!
All the big merchants looked at Xia Qifei in the courtyard with fear on their faces, and couldn't help but glance at Fan Xian standing on the stone steps. No matter how much they thought about it, they didn't understand this matter.
Water bandits in business? So what do we businessmen do? Are you going to be a bandit? This world... Ever since Mr. Xiao Fan became famous, it seems to have become a bit grotesque and elusive. What's more, these Jiangnan merchants are even more curious, even if Xia Qifei robs everywhere, how can he raise so much money? However, since the people from the Jiangnan water village have entered the Neikumen, they must have at least paid the deposit... When the water bandits can earn so much money, do they still need to work hard
Ming Qingda, who was standing at the door of the room closest to the stone steps, squinted his eyes, looked at the last person admitted to the hospital, and said softly, "Who is this person?"
"It should be Xia Qifei." Ming Lanshi whispered in his father's ear: "The big boss of the Jiangnan water village has had some contacts in the past, but he hasn't seen him in person. I don't know what happened. He also came to join in the fun today."
Ming Qingda's eyes narrowed more and more, and he almost couldn't see the deep cold eyes inside. He only heard him say quietly: "It seems... this person is the pawn that the imperial envoy planted in advance."
At this moment, Xia Qifei turned his head slowly, met the gaze cast by the contemporary master of the Ming family, and smiled, with a very sincere smile... showing infinite hostility and desire to devour blood.
With Fan Xian's help, Young Master Ming Qi, whose mother was killed and his birth was taken away, finally had the opportunity to stand upright on the stage and take revenge.