Fenghou

Chapter 444
At dawn the next day, Chen Qing got up, and Lu Xiu put her arms around her husband's neck and said coquettishly, "Your husband just came back, so you have to rest for two days!"

Chen Qing smiled wryly and said, "I want to rest for two days, but there are a lot of things waiting for me to deal with. Everyone is looking forward to me. I'm really embarrassed!"

Lu Xiu had no choice but to settle for the next best thing, "Alright then! Husband is coming back for lunch!"

"Try your best! I'm afraid that I won't be able to deal with something, so everyone will have lunch together, and I will try my best to come back."

"Forget it, I'll be satisfied when I come back tonight, husband, let's go to work!"

Chen Qing kissed his beloved wife's pretty face apologetically, got up and put on his jacket, Lu Xiu slowly got up, Chen Qing quickly pressed her down, "Sleep a little longer."

Lu Xiu smiled lazily: "The little guy won't let me sleep late! I wake up at this time when you are not at home, and I just come to comb your hair."

Chen Qing carefully helped his wife up and put her on warm underwear. At this time, Yu Lian and Yu Ying hurried over to help them get up.

Putting on her clothes, Lu Xiu ordered the two of them: "A-Lian go prepare hot water, and Ah Ying go to rush for breakfast."

The two young ladies agreed and hurried to go.

Chen Qing sat down in front of his wife's dressing table, Lu Xiu combed his hair, pursed his lips and said with a smile: "Your husband came back yesterday and saw so many maids and servants, were you surprised?"

"I was taken aback. There must be forty or fifty people!"

"A total of forty-five people. I found out later that there were a little more people, but the contracts were all signed, and there was nothing I could do about it. But with children, things will be much more. Just washing diapers requires a dedicated person, and I have to hire another Nurse."

"Is there a suitable wet nurse?" Chen Qing asked with a smile.

"I'm looking for it! Master said, she will introduce one to me."

Chen Qing was startled, then laughed dumbly and said, "Does her old man have such a wide network?"

"She is busy now! Once the Yi'an Teahouse opened, people came to visit her every day, and some people came from Chengdu. Master was so busy that she couldn't see anyone all day long. She also set up a Yi'an Society, and spent all day with a group of people. People talk about poetry and Taoism, pointing the world."

Speaking of this, Lu Xiu suddenly thought of something, "Master said to recommend a talent to my husband. It turned out to be a county magistrate. It seems to be called Zhu. By the way, stop Zhu Sui and recommend him to be your assistant."

"Zhu Sui?" Chen Qing thought the name sounded familiar, but couldn't remember where he heard it, so he nodded, "I'll ask later."

At this time, Yu Lian brought hot water, Chen Qing finished washing up, went to eat breakfast, and then went out to the official office of Jiedu Mansion.

The official office of the Jiedu Mansion is located in the north of the city, covering an area of ​​about [-] mu. It consists of four parts: the official office, the intelligence agency, a small military camp and a warehouse. Enter from the main entrance, walk along the central axis, and pass through three gates to the official office of the Jiedu Mansion. There are six sides on both sides. Cao Guanya currently has more than [-] officials and staff officers, and nearly a hundred people in charge. Zhang Xiao, the military recorder, is responsible for all kinds of trivial matters.

Walking into the yard, the yard is elegantly arranged, with fish in the rockery pond, and a few clusters of wintersweet and plum blossoms in the corner.

The official building is very large, at least [-] square meters, just like a small palace, consisting of five rooms inside and outside.

There are five outer rooms, one is the waiting hall, where officials wait to be called, and two enlistment rooms are also on both sides, and next to it are the meeting hall and the document room. The five outer rooms occupy more than [-] square meters.

There are also two inner rooms, one is the main official room, and there is a small lounge in it.

Chen Qing walked around in his main office. Although it was far from being able to compare with the empty outer hall, it was indeed very large. This room was at least seventy square meters.

The walls are surrounded by bookshelves and maps. There is an incense burner in the northeast corner, and green smoke is rising from the incense burner. Chen Qing sits down in front of his large table. He used to be in the military camp. The table is not big, but this table is big. Yes, it is much larger than the boss table of later generations.

Chen Qing knocked on the wood. It was the same wood as the furniture in his house. It was red beech, a specialty of Longxi. Not expensive, but good furniture.

There is a large box and a bookcase next to it, which are still empty, but there are dozens of documents on the table.

The so-called document is an official document, with front and back covers, the paper inside is neatly folded, can be opened and closed, the content is written on the cover, and it must be stamped and stamped.

Chen Qing opened the first document, which was recruited by the Jiedu Mansion in the name of a professor of state studies. It was written in densely packed small characters, each person's name and resume, there are as many as thirty-five people.

Some of them have been appointed as Liucao to join the army, as well as Sima, judge, secretary in charge and so on.

At this time, a little tea boy came in, about seven or eight years old, and skillfully put a pot of fried tea on the table. Chen Qingxiao asked, "Are you a tea boy?"

The tea boy bowed obediently, "Exactly!"

"What's your name?"

"The villain's name is Brother Fu, which is the name Master Zhang gave me."

It is very common to use tea boys to do things in government offices. Most of these tea boys are illiterate, and they are not afraid of them stealing secrets. Secondly, they have a pure personality, and making tea is relatively safe. It's a habit.

It is not surprising that Chen Qing saw a lot in Lin'an. He picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup of tea. Of course, he could also ask the tea boy to pour tea, but many officials' tea cups are relatively expensive and they don't want to let the tea boy touch them. , It’s more reassuring for them to pour tea by themselves.

At this time, Zhang Xiao walked in quickly, clasped his fists and said with a smile: "Jiedu envoys still get used to it!"

Chen Qing smiled and nodded, "Fortunately, it's more comfortable than in the barracks."

Zhang Xiaowei smiled and said: "In the military camp, it is the capital control, here it is the Jiedu envoy, and the military camp will continue to keep it. It is convenient for me to watch the Jiedu."

Chen Qing asked Zhang Xiao to sit down. At this time, Brother Fu came in and served tea.

When the tea boy left, Zhang Xiao sighed and said, "His father was a Song soldier who died in the Battle of Fuping, leaving behind a wife and two sons. Daddy, I saw how pitiful the three of their mothers were, so I arranged for their brothers to work as tea boys in the government office, each with thirty cash a day, enough to rent a room and eat."

Chen Qing nodded, "They should actually go to school."

"It is not realistic for their family to study, their mother is sick, and the two brothers have to earn money to support the family. In a few years, I will consider setting up a one-year school. At least let them study for a year, and they can know thousands of characters. enough."

"Tell me about the iron mine, is it going well?" Chen Qing changed the subject.

"The iron mine has been in operation for a long time, and [-] prisoners of war are mining in the iron mine. Everything is relatively smooth. In just over a month, more than [-] catties of ore have been produced, and the output will increase in the future."

"Are those prisoners of war easy to manage? Did they cause trouble and rebellion?" Chen Qing asked again.

"Fortunately, the key is to give them hope. I will tell them clearly that I will wait for Xixia to redeem them. If Xixia really refuses to redeem them, I will let them go home after five years of mining, and I will find someone to replace them. Write a letter from home and hand it over to the Xixia Special Envoy this time."

Speaking of the Xixia special envoy, Chen Qing asked, "Is the special envoy still there?"

"The special envoy has already gone back, and his purpose for coming is also very simple. The first is to treat the prisoners of war well and not to kill them. They will send people to redeem them after tomorrow's spring. The second is to hope that the combat will be suspended this winter, and the combat will not be discussed until the spring of next year. , the special envoy left a personal letter from the Xixia Emperor to the Jiedushi, if the Jiedushi agrees with their emperor's suggestion, just send a letter back to Xixia."

After a pause, Zhang Xiao said again: "It is Beizhi and Yang Yuanqing who are negotiating with each other, and we put forward a condition."

"What conditions?"

"We demand that no matter how the two militaries fight, trade must continue."

This request made Chen Qing appreciate it very much. Xixia’s medicinal materials, livestock, fur, and wine are very famous, and their leather goods, ceramics, cloth, and daily necessities are also relatively famous. They even bought Xixia’s products at a low price as a transit Fur, transported to the south of the Yangtze River and sold at a high price, and then bought tea, silk, rouge, spices and other things from the south of the Yangtze River, and sold them to the Xixia people at a high price, earning the difference between the two ends.

"Do they agree?" Chen Qingxiao asked.

"The special envoy agreed on the spot, and even proposed to use Baochuan County in Huizhou as a trade city."

Chen Qing laughed, "These guys really know how to make up their minds! I am sure to win Baochuan County, does he want me to give up attacking Huizhou?"

"Anyway, they didn't say who controlled Baochuan County. It would be good for us to take over and use it as a trade city."

At this time, Chen Qing asked again with a smile: "I found that the outer room is empty, is the secretary in charge still not in place?"

The secretary in charge is equivalent to the confidential secretary of the Jiedushi. It belongs to the staff officer and has very important responsibilities.

Zhang Xiao took out a list, "Here are a few more suitable candidates. Jiedushi can choose one or two, or ask them to come for an interview."

Chen Qing looked at the list, pointed to the second person and said, "This Zhu Sui, please invite him over!"

(End of this chapter)