East Factory Governor

Chapter 818
In August of the eighth year of Chongzhen, the sun was scorching like fire.

At a certain port in Dinghai County, Ningbo Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, officers and soldiers were like a cloud, with banners waving.

A large number of officers and soldiers surrounded the pier tightly with a human wall, and outside the human wall was a large black mass of ordinary people, just like a raging tide.Fortunately, they were orderly and did not attack the human wall, otherwise the human wall surrounded by thousands of officers and soldiers might not be able to withstand their impact a few times.

By the pier, there were dozens of officials wearing official uniforms. The leader of them was wearing an imperial satin python robe. He was thin but his eyes were like torches. Standing straight, he stared motionlessly at the black dots that gradually grew larger on the distant sea level.

He is Li Fu, the current Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty Customs, who was the prefect of Ningbo at the time.

Back then, in order to realize his ideal of benefiting one party, he did not hesitate to offend Dong Lin and open the sea ban without authorization, which almost resulted in his family being ruined and his head on the ground.

However, because of Qin Shuhuai's strong recommendation to Chongzhen, now he is not only promoted to the second rank of the Prime Minister of the Customs, but also because of his good management of the customs, the customs duties collected by the imperial court have increased year after year, making Long Yan very happy. In the past two years, Chongzhen has treated him very well. It is because of the grace that he is rewarded almost every festival every year. His python robe was bestowed by Chongzhen at the end of last year.

Li Fu is a person who knows how to repay his kindness. He knows that if there is no Duke, he is afraid that not only will he not be an official now, but his head will already be dead.

This is a "graciousness" on a personal level. In addition, as a member of Daming, he believes that the Duke of the State is kind to all the people of Daming.

If it weren't for the Duke of the country, how could there be today's peaceful and prosperous world?How can there be Chongzhen Zhongxing, which is praised by all people today?

No, many scholars no longer say the word "Zhongxing", but directly say "the rule of Chongzhen"-this is to compare with the "rule of Zhenguan"!

Therefore, even though he is a second-rank official, although he is busy with official duties, even though it would be flattering to greet the Duke in person at the pier, when he heard that the Duke was about to land in Dinghai County, he decided to come to greet him in person.

Not for anything else, just to tell the Duke that I miss him, and tell him what he said to me that day, and I have not forgotten it!
That day, the Duke of the State said, "I don't feel sorry for the loss of Wang Huazhen, but I feel sorry for the loss of Li Fu. Daming, there is no shortage of Donglin Party, no shortage of corrupt officials, what is lacking is officials with conscience."

Since then, I have used this to introspect myself three times a day, and even in the study, the word "conscience" is still hung on it now!
Just thinking about it, Li Fu suddenly heard a burst of cheers from the crowd.

He looked up, and it turned out that it was the Duke's boat that had docked.

Li Fu hurriedly led a group of officials to greet him, not only the county magistrate of Dinghai, the prefect of Ningbo, but also the governor of Zhejiang and a large number of high-ranking officials.

Qin Shuhuai couldn't help smiling wryly when he saw the turbulent crowd on the pier, and then glanced at the officials standing there dripping with sweat.

If I knew it earlier, I wouldn't have sent someone to inform Li Fu earlier.

The reason why he sent someone to make an appointment with Li Fu in advance was actually to give him some advice on how to optimize the customs work based on his experience in the customs declaration system and anti-smuggling methods of later generations, because he knew that Li Fu was busy with official duties and often deployed work in other places. So make an appointment with him early.

I thought that such a clean and famous guy would definitely not make a big fuss to pick me up, but I didn't expect that he really came, and he made such a big fuss.

What the hell, even the governor of Zhejiang has come. Under normal circumstances, he would have done his job as an official—fortunately, Chongzhen now trusts him [-]%.

But the governor of Zhejiang and Li Fu didn't think so. They felt that it was a matter of course to welcome the Duke who had returned in triumph. No one could say that he was flattering or forming a party!

why?
Just look at these people on the pier!Do you dare to say that these people are flattering and flattering when they come to welcome the Duke?

Amid overwhelming cheers, Qin Shuhuai led a group of generals ashore.

Li Fu and the others hurriedly greeted him and made a bow.

"My subordinate Li Fu pays homage to Mr. An Guogong!" Li Fu was the first to say.

Qin Shuhuai held Li Fu's hands, chuckled, and said, "Lord Li, it's been a long time! I heard that Master Li has made great achievements in the customs office, and the emperor has shown you great favor. I'm really happy to congratulate you!"

Li Fu hurriedly said, "I just tried my best, and the matter of the customs has not yet been completed. Fortunately, the Lord Lai Guo recommended it at the beginning, and was honored by the emperor's grace, so I did a little thing. I am really ashamed , ashamed!"

"Lord Li is too modest! I heard that the customs received 700 million taels of tax silver last year? Haha, I didn't even expect so much!"

"My lord is awesome! It's hot, so why don't you go to the tea house by the bank with the officials and others, how about you cool off before you start your journey?"

Qin Shuhuai looked up and found that there were teahouses, restaurants, and inns that had been built or were being built everywhere near the pier, which looked like a bustling small town.

It seems that Daming's foreign trade has developed rapidly in the past two years. Otherwise, it would be impossible for a wharf to have so many supporting facilities - only people who have business will come to open a shop, right?
So he laughed and said, "Excellent! I have been floating on the boat for a long time, and I still feel swaying! Go to the teahouse and sit, and get used to the feeling of standing still and sitting still is good!"

The words made all the officials laugh, and everyone relaxed a lot when they saw that Grandpa Guo was as approachable as the legend said.

The governor of Zhejiang said, "It is expected that the Duke of the country will have a drink of tea, but the official brought some authentic Hangzhou Longjing tea. I usually don't want to drink it. No, in order to please the Duke of the country, I brought it specially. .”

Some witty remarks made everyone laugh again, Qin Shuhuai said to the governor of Zhejiang, "Master Chen, since you said you used this tea to please me, then I will drink and take it later, don't you Say I'm black."

"Haha! If the Duke wants it, I will give you a can every year from now on. Don't worry, the Duke will only give you a small jar, and the price will definitely not be three or two taels. This is not considered bribery."

There were a lot of exchanges of gifts between officials in the Ming Dynasty. Because the country was governed by "rituals", it was difficult to stop them all at once.However, Qin Shuhuai stipulated that officials should be strictly governed, so the Ministry of Officials came up with a trick, that is, gifts of less than three taels can be freely given among officials, but gifts of more than three taels are considered bribes.

At this time, the voices of several people have been drowned out by the overwhelming cheers.

So Qin Shuhuai bowed his hands towards the crowd, as a way of expressing his gratitude to everyone, but he didn't want to arouse even bigger cheers.

Qin Shuhuai thought, this is really a good way of life!
This is probably the world I want?
Yes, that sunny afternoon, the world Chongzhen and I longed for together.

After drinking some tea in the tea house, Qin Shuhuai boarded the carriage arranged by Li Fu after staying for a little more than two yuan, and together they arrived at the Prime Minister's Office of the Customs.

A welcome banquet is a must. Li Fu chose a good restaurant, but he didn't pretend to be honest. The table was full of delicacies.

Looking at Li Fu's rosy face, Qin Shuhuai knew that this guy was living a happy life.

That's right, even though the Prime Minister of Customs is second-rank, his salary is on par with that of a first-rank official. Today's first-rank official, one year's salary plus the rewards of each festival, add up to at least 8000 taels, which is definitely enough. Rich man.

After the welcome banquet, Qin Shuhuai went directly to Li Fu's residence and talked with him about his experience in customs management.

Of course, Qin Shuhuai had no practical experience, and he just told Li Fu some models of customs management in later generations, so he regarded it as an opinion.How to implement the compromise is in line with the actual situation of Ming Dynasty, so it is up to Li Fu to decide.Having said that, even if he doesn't implement it after listening, it's good to let him know more about it.

After hearing this, Li Fu really exclaimed how wonderful it was, and then took a pen to write down the notes one by one.

The two huddled together in the study for a long time until late at night, and then went back to their respective rooms to sleep.

This conversation was later included by Li Fu in his "Mengxi Miscellaneous Records" written in his later years, and became an important document for later generations to study the customs system in the Chongzhen period, which Qin Shuhuai did not expect.

On the second day, after bidding farewell to Li Fu, Qin Shuhuai went to Hangzhou first, boarded the boat after some sightseeing, and arrived in the capital directly after fifteen days.

When he arrived in the capital, according to the usual practice, he had to take a group of generals to return to Chongzhen.

On August 26, the eighth year of Chongzhen, Chongzhen once again greeted Qin Shuhuai triumphantly outside Guanghua Gate.

There were not many hypocritical words, except for the routine etiquette, the two looked at each other and smiled, and then Chongzhen took Qin Shuhuai's hand, and walked into the Forbidden City under the respectful welcome of all the officials.

This time, Chongzhen only ordered to reward Qin Shuhuai, but did not give him an official title.

It wasn't until after entering the imperial study that Chongzhen said to Qin Shuhuai, "Brother Qin, I want to give you a big gift. I want you to know that I thank you! Thank you for bringing me this prosperous world, thank you for giving me life and death Do all this! I want you to know that I truly regard you as a brother!"

Qin Shuhuai smiled slightly, and asked, "Oh? The emperor's gift is probably worth a lot of money, so I can't help but want to know."

Chongzhen smiled mysteriously, "I can't tell you now. This great gift will be given to you in half a year!"

In fact, Qin Shuhuai probably already guessed it, especially Chongzhen's last sentence, "I sincerely treat you as a brother", you can already see the clue.

However, he still pretended to be ignorant and asked, "Brother Huang also chooses the time to deliver things? Why do you have to wait half a year?"

Chongzhen said vigorously, "Did you forget that we discussed something before the expedition? After Dongwu professed his vassal, a grand ceremony was held to let all nations come to court to show our great Ming glory! I want everyone in the world to see that the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty has arrived!" Let the people in the world know that I will live up to the people! I still want to watch with my own eyes with Brother Qin, the scene when the world we wanted at the beginning really comes!"

"The world we wanted..."

Qin Shuhuai lost his mind for a while, he didn't expect that after hearing Chongzhen's words, he would not feel much joy in his heart.

Yes, the world I wanted at the beginning has finally arrived.

However, there is only about half a year left.

half a year later...

"Brother Qin, why are you so dazed?" Chongzhen asked.

Qin Shuhuai smiled, "It's nothing, just looking back on the past and feeling a little bit."

"Hehe, my unparalleled national soldier, the ever-victorious general of the Ming Dynasty, the monster of the Ming Dynasty who never frowns against a thousand troops, when did he become so sentimental?"

"Haha, it's probably because he's old!" Qin Shuhuai smiled wryly.

Chongzhen thought thoughtfully, "Hehe, yes! At the beginning, I was seventeen and you were sixteen, and they were two arrogant and ignorant children. Every time I thought this country...hehe, fortunately I am smart, I know where the danger is, so I let Brother Qin stand up to it, who made you a demon?"

Speaking of this, Chongzhen paused, and then said with more emotion, "In a blink of an eye, now I am 24 and you are 23, time flies so fast. In the past few years, I have been dreaming. Sometimes I still think, this Isn't it a dream? I'm afraid that one day the dream will wake up... But every time I see Brother Qin, I know it's not a dream!"

Qin Shuhuai nodded, "Brother Huang, sometimes I also think this is a dream. I wonder if I will wake up one day and find myself lying on the bed in my hometown with a book in my hand... "

"Speaking of this, I really want to know, where is Brother Qin's hometown?"

"Far, far away..."

"Brother Qin didn't want to talk about it, so I didn't want to talk about it, and I didn't intend to break the casserole and ask the end. I just pretend that your hometown is in the capital. No, your hometown is in the Forbidden City. In June of the second year of Chongzhen, the purple light of the Forbidden City suddenly appeared. , People say that it is auspiciousness coming down to earth. I will take this auspiciousness, and it is you."

……

It was already late at night when Qin Shuhuai came out of the Forbidden City, and then hurried back to the Duke's mansion.

In the Duke's mansion, the Qi family, Chen Qing'er, Chen Jing, Chen Li, and Chen Shu were all awake, sitting in the front hall, waiting quietly for Qin Shuhuai to come back.

Chen Qing'er specially put on her tailor-made dress that cost 100 taels of silver today, and she also made up a dress meticulously. On her head, she also wore the emerald hairpin that Chen Jing bought from Dongwu, which was very beautiful.

It was very late at night, but even Mrs. Qi sat upright with a walking stick, insisting on waiting for Qin Shuhuai to come back.

At this time, a servant finally ran back quickly and shouted excitedly, "The Duke is back! Grandma Qi, madam, the Duke is back!"

Chen Qing'er stood up with a groan, the sleepiness on her face dissipated, and she said cheerfully, "Where are you going?"

As he spoke, he ran out quickly.

Chen Jing, Chen Li, and Chen Shu followed closely behind.

As soon as Qin Shuhuai entered, Chen Qing'er was the first to rush forward.

His body was buried in Qin Shuhuai's generous chest, he couldn't say anything for a while, but he hugged him tightly.

Qin Shuhuai smiled softly, "It's the middle of the night, what do you do if you don't sleep? It won't be pretty if you stay up all night."

Chen Shu interjected, "Brother-in-law, I heard that you are coming back, but my sister has not been able to sleep since three days ago."

Chen Qing'er blamed, "You are the only one who talks too much."

At this time, Mrs. Qi came over with the support of Butler Qiao and said, "Okay, okay, the family is reunited. The dishes have been reheated several times, let's go eat quickly."

Qin Shuhuai couldn't help thinking, it's so late, everyone is waiting for me to have a reunion dinner...

In this world, the meaning of reunion is so important, it is engraved in everyone's bones.

　This book is coming to an end, and I'm a bit sad.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)