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Volume 3 Spreading Wings Chapter 195 Southern Tour

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    Chapter 195: Southern Tour

    An hour later, Wen Shen took Wang Gang and Li Zhi back to the underground base in Beijing.  Wang Gang's face was extremely ugly, especially when he thought of the tragic situation when the cat general died, his stomach felt like a turbulent wave, and the contents in his stomach surged upwards.

    "Leader, I think these garbage should have died long ago. I think there are still many such people in the organization. We should settle old scores and kill those who deserve to be killed."

    Li Zhi is a typical angry young man.  Before gaining superpowers, I was powerless against many social evils. Now that I have the power, of course I want to show off my skills.

    Wen Shen looked at him and said with a smile: "Well, yes, it's time to clean up. It is said that your power can detect other people's thoughts. It is most appropriate for you to handle this matter."

    "Thank you, leader"

    "I hope there will be no public revenge or indiscriminate killing of innocent people." Wen Shen smiled coldly, "If I find out, you should know the result."

    ¡­¡­

    After handling the political affairs, Wen Shen returned to his hometown in Linyi and rested with his family for a few days before returning to the capital of the Song Dynasty.  It was a boring day, so I changed into casual clothes and walked leisurely on the road.

    "I'm selling newspapers. I'm selling the newly released Song Dynasty Times Weekly. All I need is a copper coin."

    Suddenly, a teenage boy was carrying a blue linen schoolbag, which contained a bag full of pale white hugs.  He was still holding a stack of newspapers in his hand, shaking the newspapers in his hands and shouting loudly to the surroundings.

    "Give me one"

    Wen Shen was overjoyed, thinking to himself that Huang Qianshan really had two brushes and could get the newspaper out so quickly.  So I went ahead and bought a copy and started studying it.

    Opening the newspaper, I found that the newspaper only had one page, but it was divided into eight sections.  The first page is about the exemption of household tax and some guidance from the court.  The middle pages are full of anecdotes from various places, such as a dutiful son lying on the ice seeking fish, auspiciousness falling from the sky and abundant grains, a train passing through a wealthy family, etc.

    The last edition was actually a current review, saying that since the pacification of the northwest, the northwest trade routes were reopened, and a large number of merchants from Central Asian countries entered the Song Dynasty for trade.  This was originally a good thing that benefited the country and the people, but due to an order from Song Huizong, things changed.

    It turns out that after opening up the northwest, Song Huizong ordered that all foreign businessmen coming to the Song Dynasty should be entertained grandly by local officials wherever they passed.  This matter has placed a huge burden on the local government.  All profits from trade are used for this, and some places even have to put their own money into it.

    This article is to hope that the imperial court can take back this decree and restore peace to the place.

    After reading the full text, Wen Shen felt depressed for a while and thought to himself: "In ancient times, these emperors were very happy with their achievements and made themselves fat. For the vanity of having all nations come to court, they spent a lot of money and treated foreigners more affectionately than their own people."  Suddenly thinking of the modern scene, he shook his head, "Don't talk about ancient times, this is not the case in modern times. Our own people can't afford it, and they still support foreign countries. A large amount of gold and foreign exchange are stored in foreign countries, but they are not used by our own people. **, I  This rule must be changed.¡±

    Thinking of this, Wen Shen came to the capital hall expressionlessly. After gathering the heads of various departments, he threw the newspaper on the table and said, "You have all read today's newspaper."

    "After reading it," Zheng Juzhong gently picked up the newspaper on the table, "The grand master must be anxious about the comments on the last page. Let's do it."

    Wen Shen smiled lightly and said, "You are right. Come on, let's talk with colleagues about how we should handle this matter."

    Since this matter involves the etiquette issues of foreign vassals, the Minister of Rites first spoke: "Grand Master, this matter is the emperor's decree based on past practice. If it is cancelled, will it affect the emperor's dignity and the court's face?"

    "Oh, for the sake of face, we waste a lot of money to please people from those small countries. It's really funny." Wen Shen snorted and laughed, "I think it's better to give it to the people than to those small countries."

    "Thisis not etiquette"

    The Minister of Rites is not a fool. Since the Grand Master convened this meeting, he must have wanted to cancel this preferential treatment policy.  But as the Minister of Rites, I have to mention it.  But seeing that the grand master's attitude was so tough, he just needed to persist a little.

    "I agree with the Grand Master that this policy of preferential treatment for foreign vassals should have been canceled long ago. Now the northwest roads have long been full of concerns about it, and the people are extremely resentful."

    The Minister of Household Affairs manages the tax power of the country. I have long wanted to save this useless expense.  In the past, due to the relationship between Song Huizong, there was no proposal.  Now that the Grand Master is in power and intends to cancel this policy, of course he is willing to do the favor.

    "Okay now let's vote by show of hands"

    After hearing this, all the ministers hurriedly raised their hands.  Looking around, everyone raised their hands.

      ¡°Since everyone agrees, then Mr. Zheng will go back and write a draft, which will be officially implemented in three days.¡±

    "Grand Master, if you have something to do with me, you don't know whether to talk about it or not?"

    Seeing Zheng Juzhong's hesitant look, Wen Shen smiled and said, "Come on, if you don't say anything, how can I know what you want?"

    "Over the years, the emperor has collected a large number of strange stones and trees in the south of the Yangtze River, which has wasted a lot of manpower and material resources, so that there has been great resentment among the people in the south of the Yangtze River. Incidents of people turning into bandits often happen. If this kind of thing is not stopped, there will be a terrorist uprising.  .¡±

    Song Huizong was very fond of all kinds of strange stones, flowers and trees, so he sent people to collect them in the Jiangnan area. This is the Huashigang incident in the history books.  Although he was now deprived of his rights by Wen Shen, many officials did not know the secret and thought that Song Huizong was still in charge of Wen Shen.  Therefore, Hua Shi Gang never stopped.

    "Well, I will order the stop of collecting granite tomorrow." Wen Shen rolled his eyes and said, "I happen to have nothing to do during this period. I will personally lead a team to Jiangnan to deal with this matter."

    "That's very good." Zheng Juzhong said worriedly, "Master, Jiangnan is not very peaceful now. You must be safe. The sky is high and the emperor is far away, and anything can happen in a place like that."

    "Don't worry, I will lead a pair of guards to go with me, and I think everything will be fine."

    ¡­¡­

    After several days of preparation, Wen Shen led 2,000 troops and sailed along the canal to the south of the Yangtze River.  Although September is not a good day to go to Jiangnan, it is not bad.  The autumn wind is quite comfortable on my face.

    There are nearly two hundred ships in the fleet, all large and small, all using propellers for propulsion.  Passing ships were shocked when they saw the sailless and automatic fleet and paid attention.

    "Commissioner, this canal is really well built."

    Tongji Canal is the main transportation artery from Kaifeng to Jiangnan.  More than 80% of the goods shipped from Jiangnan to Kaifeng are transported through this canal.  This canal is part of the Sui-Tang Grand Canal and was built in the Sui Dynasty.  It is said that Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty mobilized millions of people and it took three years to complete the construction.  At that time, Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty traveled south through this canal.  The thick willow trees on both sides of the canal were planted at that time.

    "Yes, the willow trees are like shade and the green water and clear waves are very delicious."

    Wen Shen stood on the bow of the boat and looked at the clear river water, praising it sincerely.  In later generations, most rivers have dried up, and even those that have not dried up are still filthy.

    After several days of sailing, the fleet entered Suzhou.  I have to say that Suzhou is indeed a geomantic treasure.  The double chessboard layout with water and land running parallel to each other and adjacent rivers and streets greatly facilitates people's travel.

    The canal passed through the city. Wen Shen looked at the small bridges, flowing water, white walls and black tiles on both sides, and praised: "Dynasty, this place is really beautiful. I think we can stay here for a few days."

    "It's really good to stay here for a few days." Wang Chao looked up and saw a temple in the distance. He pointed at it and said, "Commissioner, I think we can stay in that temple."

    "Interesting, isn't this Hanshan Temple?" Wen Shen stared at it and saw the three characters "Hanshan Temple" across the gate. "The temple can't accommodate so many people. You tell the soldiers to go ashore to find a place to rest on their own and gather in three days."  Set off. The crew will stay on board to guard the ship. The accommodation fee is fixed at one yuan."

    When the soldiers learned that they could rest ashore and have accommodation fees, they felt happy and talked to each other: "It's great, Grand Master. You still have money to travel. I will definitely find some girls to have fun with."

    "You look like a new recruit at first glance. Have you not read the sayings of the Grand Master? The Grand Master once said that you have to work hard to fight and play with all your heart. Don't just know how to play. If you don't fight hard in the war, humph, you will know that the Grand Master  It¡¯s awesome.¡±

    "Don't scare the new recruit." A man who looked like a veteran patted the recruit on the shoulder. "You don't have to be afraid. If you die after fighting with the Grand Master, it means you are stupider than a pig. Damn it, we thought back then.  More than a thousand people fought against Xia's 50,000-strong army. In the end, we captured them all, and none of us died."

    "Are you exaggerating?"

    This new recruit still felt a bit incredible, thinking that it would be too outrageous for one person to fight fifty people.

    "Pa" the veteran patted his head, "Exaggerated? Not expanded at all. You will know when the time comes.

    ¡­¡­

    The fleet stopped at the shore one after another. Just as Wen Shen and others were about to disembark, the two teams approached him one after another.  One team was all dressed in Chinese tunic suits, and the other team was dressed in official uniforms. They seemed to be local officials.

    The leader of the official uniform team is a man about thirty years old, with thick eyebrows and black beard, about 1.8 meters tall but with a slight hunchback.  After seeing Wen Shen disembarking from the boat, he hurriedly came forward to bow and said, "I will send you the official Suzhou magistrate Yao Hongming to see the grand master."

      Immediately afterwards, a frail man in Chinese tunic suit came forward and bowed: "Liu Yishou, the shopkeeper of the Suzhou branch of Da Song Bank, met with his boss.

    Wen Shen smiled and said: "You all get up, you don't have to be so polite."

    "What did the Grand Master say? It's appropriate for the lower official to come and greet you." Yao Hongming straightened behind him and said, "Grand Master, the lower official has already prepared the annex and prepared a little wine. I hope the Grand Master will reward you."

    "Originally, I planned to stay at Hanshan Temple. Since Lord Yao has prepared an annex, we won't disturb the temple. As for the banquet, I think we can skip it."

    "How can this be spread out? How can I have the face to see others? The Grand Master must reward me. I still have work to report to the Grand Master."

    Yao Hongming has not easily caught an opportunity to flatter him, so how could he give it up?  .  

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