One winter day in the sixth year of Qingli, the bleak sun came from the distant Cangshan Mountain at dusk. The weather was very cold, and the houses in the four fields were all white, which was snow.
The clouds gradually thickened, swallowing the gloomy sun directly into the darkness, and the wind gradually picked up, rolling the snow on the ground and flying in the air. Snow fell from the sky again, and snowflakes from different places and colors were entangled together by the power of the wind, twisting their heads distortedly in the oppressive air, showing different levels of whiteness and coldness.
The wind and snow returned, and the people on the road were miserable, looking for the nearest cottages or inns to rest. There was no flood in this year's Qing Dynasty, but the snow fell a lot. Thanks to the summer, the disaster relief in the counties in the south of the Yangtze River went very smoothly. The people affected by the disaster have a shelter, and the possibility of freezing to death is higher Much smaller.
This is Yingzhou, the state government that suffered the most severe floods, and it is also the place where bandits are the most violent after the disaster.
However, since the Imperial Envoy Fan Xian came down to the south of the Yangtze River, the bandits in Yingzhou were either afraid of the might of the sky, or maybe they were afraid of the rumored methods of Lord Fan, so they became much more honest and disappeared for a long time.
It is precisely because of this that only those travelers dare to walk on the road in this snowy day. It's just that now that the man-made disaster is gone, God is too shameless. Although the river has not been sealed off, not many people are willing to brave the severe cold and head towards the capital.
Except for that line of all-black carriages.
…
…
The windows and the lower edge of the carriage were sealed very well, no trace of cold air could penetrate in, but the thick cotton curtains in front of the carriage resisted the attack of the wind and snow, and there were muffled wailing sounds from time to time.
There was a heater in the car, and a stream of hot air followed the fragrance, making the interior as warm as spring, in stark contrast to the severe cold outside the car.
Fan Xian felt a little hot, stretched two fingers of his right hand to his neck, loosened the buttons of the fur coat, exposed his neck, took two deep breaths, then put down the file in his hand, squinted and looked out of the car .
I saw the vast expanse of white land outside the car. The cottages in Cangshan Mountain and the small ponds in Dongtian were all covered in snow and frozen into ice mirrors. The people in the flood had already been buried.
The white bones may be trembling deep in the snow.
In the distance is a row of somewhat crude houses. It can be seen that the materials used in the building are not very strong, and they are not very good at keeping out the cold. But looking at the little fire and a little warmth coming out of it, Fan Xian nodded with satisfaction. As long as there is firewood for the stove, the people's life is hard, but they can endure it very well. A little warmth can protect them Get through this harsh winter.
"Find a place to rest." Fan Xian looked at the groom of the Overwatch Council outside the car covered in snow, couldn't help frowning and said, "Although it's important to hurry, don't get sick from the cold."
"Yes, my lord."
The convoy turned a corner slowly and drove towards the neighboring village along the widest field ridge.
This time, Fan Xian was returning to the capital to report on his duties, and the return date set by the imperial court was there. Unexpectedly, the road encountered the biggest snowfall in several years, and it was delayed in Shazhou for a few days, and the time suddenly became tighter. That's why the subordinates of the Overwatch Council changed carriages in Shazhou City according to his wishes. , Braving the wind and snow along the road.
After entering the village, a local Lizheng rushed over to greet him tremblingly. This Lizheng, with his hands in the thick cotton gauze, looked at the black convoy curiously and timidly, wondering who the big man might be. I will be on my way in this snowy day.
Naturally, officials from the Overwatch Council went to negotiate with him. Fan Xian didn't want to disturb the place too much, so he was sneaking all the way. When he got out of the carriage, he felt snowflakes pouring into his collar with the cold wind, subconsciously tightened the buttons, and walked into the village in that silver-white fox fur cloak.
Hong Changqing led several six swordsmen and followed him silently.
Fan Xian glanced at it from the corner of his eye, and thought of Wan'er who was still busy in Jiangnan. His Highness the Third Highness had already returned to Beijing a month earlier, so in order to ensure the safety of his wife, he left all seven Tiger Guards of Gundam in Hangzhou.
It was early autumn when they left Danzhou, and Fan Xian and his party returned to Hangzhou first. These few months were mainly spent cleaning up the remnants of the Junshan Society in the south of the Yangtze River and other matters.
After receiving the nod from the palace, Wan'er took the lead in doing the matter that was agreed upon in Danzhou. The development of the matter was unexpectedly smooth. The Xiong family in Lingnan and the Sun family in Quanzhou all poured a large amount of money into the meeting. Even the Ming family, who was already as thin as the sun in the west mountain, expressed their interest, but Wan'er has not yet I thought about the name and real utility of this organization, so I took the name of the Hangzhou Club and used it.
With the backing of money and Fan Xian's relationship, the Hangzhou Society can easily purchase the grain of the Northern Qi Dynasty in advance, and can easily open up the joints of the states and counties without worrying about the government coming to make trouble. In addition, Fan Liulin's three families are all over the world. The Jiangnan Water Village went deep into the folk channel, and Hangzhou will develop rapidly. The disaster relief work in the entire Jiangnan has an extra smooth and fast channel besides the channel of the imperial court.
It's just that Fan Xian and Wan'er have been hiding behind the scenes. Few people know the roles played by this couple in the Hangzhou meeting. They all think that this matter is presided over by the nobles in the palace in Kyoto, and the transfer of the internal treasury is a tool.
It snowed heavily in the south of the Yangtze River this winter. I don't know how many people's homes will be cut off, how many farmhouses will be crushed, and how many people will be frozen to death. Lin Waner must stay in Hangzhou for a while, at least to help The people in the south of the Yangtze River have survived these days, and the old saying goes, even if it doesn't help much, it's better than nothing.
Lin Wan'er was busy with this matter, and her strategy talent, which had been helplessly suppressed all this time, finally showed a corner. Fan Xian didn't put much effort into this matter, but his wife alone controlled all aspects with letters, controlling this monster with indifference, majesty or gentleness, and carefully letting it plow the fields for the world, but It won't make the groom of the government feel unhappy.
It's just that this matter is a bit hard, and even Fan Xian is a little afraid of such a sense of proportion and triviality. Bisheng Wan'er finally found something that could prove herself, and she was not willing to let it go easily, so she worked tirelessly. When Fan Xian left Hangzhou, he was worried that she would not be able to take care of him, and the daughter-in-law of Master Teng was a servant who was deeply afraid of the young mistress, so he simply left Sisi there.
While thinking about it, Fan Xian walked quickly to the village. The carriage had already been set up, and the guards were left behind. All the subordinates, a total of more than thirty people, followed him into the village, and entered the clan school that was about to be vacated.
Li Zheng followed cautiously, he didn't dare to ask who this big man in expensive fox fur was, he just kept guessing in his heart.
Entering the empty ethnology, someone had built a stove long ago. After the ginger syrup was boiled, the women in the village busily divided it into bowls and handed it to the officials and gentlemen respectfully.
Fan Xian picked it up and took a sip of it. He didn't say anything. Those clear and energetic eyes were just looking at the row of houses outside the gate in a daze. He suddenly asked: "If the snow is heavier, will these houses withstand the pressure?"
This village still belongs to Yingzhou, and it was also a poor place that was flooded last year. This row of houses was gradually built up last year, and it looked thin, so Fan Xian was a little worried.
Li Zheng was stunned for a moment, wondering if the lord was asking himself. Hong Changqing coughed and winked at him.
Lizheng just woke up, leaned two steps towards Fan Xian with his half bent body, and replied respectfully: "Master, after two days the snow will accumulate thicker, I really don't know whether it can withstand it or not. "
Fan Xian glanced at him in surprise, thinking that it was rare for a mere upright person not to talk big, so he said with a gentle smile, "Then you want to patrol every day?"
Li Zheng said with a smile: "The master said this, the snow is so heavy, the villain is so proud of Li Zheng, of course he has to look at it twice a day." He then said proudly: "But I don't think it will be a hindrance, you Don't look at these unremarkable houses, but they were designed by the master craftsmen of the inner library. I heard that the three major squares are all living in this kind of house, so it should be fine if the snow is heavy."
Fan Xian laughed, and the subordinates behind him also laughed. Li Zheng was a little confused, thinking what's so funny about this
After asking a few more questions about whether there was enough firewood and briquettes, Fan Xian ended his conversation with Li Zheng, and a trace of complicated emotions could not help but emerge in his heart. Qing Kingdom's national power is indeed strong, as long as it operates properly, it will be no problem for these common people to live a normal life, and I... seem to have gradually gotten used to the feeling of a powerful minister, even though this is just passing by, I can't help but ask too much A few words.
Minister of power
Fan Xian sighed and walked to the gate of the ethnology, squinting at the darker sky, colder wind, heavier snow, and deeper cold outside, but his thoughts drifted to other places . The first time I thought that I should be a powerful minister in this life was to my father, but the second time I said it to Haitang after drinking in Beijing.
…
…
Begonia left.
When Langtao brought the Northern Qi mission to Suzhou City, Fan Xian knew that Haitang would definitely return to Northern Qi with her elder brother. On the one hand, it was the order of the Queen Mother of Northern Qi, and on the other hand... Haitang couldn't find any excuse to persuade her. Leave it alone, she is a saint of the Northern Qi Dynasty, not a princess of Nanqing, why should she live in Fan's Huayuan every day? What's more, the most important task for her to go south is to monitor Fan Xian's fulfillment of the secret agreement on behalf of the Northern Qi emperor. However, based on the relationship between her and Fan Xian, it seems that the little Northern Qi emperor also has some headaches. Teacher and aunt called back.
Fan Xian didn't see that scene with his own eyes, but he seemed to be able to see that scene all the time in his mind, that village girl in calico clothes, shaking her body, carrying a basket, and left Suzhou very chicly, without even looking back. Didn't even look at it.
However, although Haitang left, the agreement between Fan Xian and Bei Qi was still going on steadily. The smuggling on the Xingbei Road has entered a stable stage under the joint efforts of Fan Sizhe and Xia Qifei. The channels between the two parties have been opened up, and the goods produced in the inner warehouse are continuously imported into the territory of Northern Qi. The price is naturally cheaper than the market. A lot, the Qing court lost a lot of money because of Fan Xian's secret tricks... But the Hangzhou Club gained a lot of money.
It's all people's money, so why care about who holds it and who uses it.
Under Fan Xian's attack, the Ming family had really fallen into a stalemate. Although the Ming family still has tens of millions of taels of assets in their hands, the assets are not liquid. The Ming family is reluctant to sell those fields and properties to revitalize their business, so they have to borrow money from outsiders for turnover.
The problem is that the old matriarch Ming was hanged to death by Ming Qingda. The master of the Ming family did not have time to fully accept the status of the old matriarch in the Junshan Society. Although the Taiping Bank in Dongyi City is still supporting the Ming family, it is obviously strong. Much weaker.
So Ming Qingda had no choice but to go to the China Merchants Bank who offered him a helping hand when he was in trouble. Standing at the door, Fan Xian lowered his head and thought, the more he can borrow, the better. He wants to follow His Majesty's will to get all of the Ming family without bloodshed, which is why it took so long.
He raised his head, looked at the heavy snow in front of him, and his heart was full of satisfaction and pride. He had been proud of himself for so many years, but if he was able to handle Jiangnan, he had to allow himself a chance to be proud.
At this moment, his pupils shrank suddenly.
In the heavy snow, a black line broke through the wind, like a black lightning, it seemed that it had crossed the gap between time and space, and with the sound of piercing through the sky covered by the wind and snow, it came to him in an instant!
It was an arrow, a black arrow.
Fan Xian squinted his eyes, neither dodging nor dodging, suddenly lifted the domineering zhenqi in his body, raised his left hand, and swung the long sword at his waist, the tip of the sword slashed straight at it!
There was a muffled pop.
Fan Xian seemed simple, but in fact he slashed at the empty space with a fierce sword.
In front of him, a green banner suddenly appeared, under the banner was a man in blue, with a blue cloth tied in his hair.
The Soul Eater shot an arrow at the pole in the middle of the banner, and the arrow feathers kept shaking.
I saw two large characters written on the banner.
"Iron phase".
The spies of the Overwatch Council had already reacted. Six swordsmen held hard crossbows and surrounded the man in Tsing Yi, while the other six swordsmen followed the snowflakes in the night to the place where the arrows were fired. The location touched the past and disappeared into the darkness.
Fan Xian looked at the man in Tsing Yi with calm eyes. He didn't know what he was thinking, and suddenly said, "Return."
With a simple word, all the six swordsmen who sneaked out and were about to kill the archer retreated as ordered, and stood silently on the snowy ground in front of the clan school, surrounding the man in Tsing Yi.
Fan Xian looked up at the green banner, and suddenly said, "Fortune teller, do you think someone is going to assassinate me?"
The man in Tsing Yi lowered his head and couldn't see his face clearly, he only heard him smile and said: "How can a small arrow hurt Xiao Fan."
Fan Xian said calmly, "So I don't understand why the small arrow is coming when the big arrow doesn't move."
The man in Tsing Yi said gently: "Xiaojian is young, has a strong temper, and is always impulsive."
Fan Xian was silent.
The man in Tsing Yi continued: "I'm not a fortune teller either..." He pointed at the two characters on the green banner in his hand with two fingers together, and said: "My surname is Tie Xiangxiang."