The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 899
The Yongji Canal intercepts Hanoi County and enters the river from Jixian County, which is on the opposite bank of Dongjun County. There is another Cao River dedicated to Liyang Cang that goes directly to the river bank. The entrance of this Cao River is just on the opposite bank of Baima County. On a sunny day, you can see the busy wharf on the other side from the Baima side; in contrast, Baima County also has a wide Cao River leading to Baima Cang, and there are also two wharves on each side. The difference is that the wharf upstream of Baima It is for civilian use, and the downstream is for the exclusive use of Baima warehouse. The two are in order and have nothing to do with each other.

However, the level of prosperity is undeniable. The official wharf is deserted and deserted; the civilian wharf has merchant ships berthing and cargoes coming and going every day, which seems to be full of people and lively.

This wharf, which the locals call West Wharf, is the busiest and most complicated area in Baima County. The surrounding people usually warn their children not to approach this place. If they are not obedient, the vicious sailors will steal them and sell them for money. , Although the children's family is very poor, they still know that the family is the best, better than the outside world.Over time, the West Wharf became a forbidden place for children, and no children came to watch the fun.

Although the West Wharf is mixed with fish and dragons, it is still very lively. All kinds of traders, trackers, laborers, and poor students will choose to rest in the cheap wine houses and inns around the West Wharf.However, the county magistrate also divided an area according to the actual needs, and built rows of quiet and elegant houses, which were specially rented out to rich people traveling from south to north. .

In the evening of this day, the heavy rain started again, with big raindrops crackling down without any sign of stopping.

When he was about to leave Dongjun and go to Xingyang to ascend, Yu changed into casual clothes, held up an umbrella, and brought his housekeeper to the "slum area" of the West Wharf. Because the terrain here is relatively low-lying, the street has long been transformed into a deserted area in such a heavy rain. There are pools of water, and the shops and taverns on both sides are brightly lit.

Shi Yu and the others walked inside for a while, put away their umbrellas in front of one of the largest restaurants, and walked into the lobby.

Under the lighting of oil lamps and torches, people with different languages ​​gathered in the lobby. Some people from the Jianghu who looked fierce, with swords and other weapons on the table, talked loudly while drinking, talking about their glorious past; Some gangsters leaned against the window and chatted happily with their companions, and occasionally joked with the heavily made-up women who passed by, these women didn't care, and would stop from time to time to flirt, looking very familiar.

There are also some down-and-out scribes eating, some bury their heads in their meals with confidence and boldness, some look nervous, and look around vigilantly while eating; some smoked people lean on the pillars and vomit.

It is no exaggeration to say that all kinds of worlds gather together.

When Shi Yu saw this, he didn't take it seriously, let alone worry about it. These bragging and fierce men with knives were mostly guards hired by wealthy businessmen. They came out to relax while the master's family was resting in the abode. They are the most well-behaved group of people, and they never dare to do anything wrong in a foreign country unless they have to.

The gangster and the woman are the relationship between the tortoise and the prostitute. They are not attached to any brothel, they are not exploited and oppressed by the brothel, they can do what they want, and they are very free; Then the gangster will send the prostitute to the established inn, and when the work is over, he will immediately take the prostitute to find a new benefactor. The money will be divided in half, and the extra tip will go to the prostitute. Work hard.

As a county magistrate, Shi Yu knew that every industry had its own set of "rules" that belonged to its own industry. 'The common people are more disciplined, and the money they earn from the business travelers is still used in the shops in the county, which can be regarded as a contribution to the prosperity of Baima. Therefore, under normal circumstances, as long as they are willing, they are not bullying men. Domineering women, forced girls into prostitution, the local government is too lazy to bother.

Shi Yu didn't stay in the lobby, and he didn't know that his whereabouts had already fallen into the eyes of a few big men talking loudly. Instead, he walked around absent-mindedly, walked directly to the atrium, and ran to the backyard.

This is a secret property of the Zheng family in Xingyang. From the shopkeeper to the chef's waiting hall, they are all members of the Zheng family. He came here today as an appointment, and I don't know what the Zheng family wants him to do.

As soon as Shi Yu entered the backyard, someone greeted him immediately.

"The Shi Taishou is here? My name is Zheng Zhongyu, and my father is Zheng Yuancong. I was ordered by my father to be a farewell party for the Shi Taishou." Zheng Zhongyu was dressed in a blue scholar's uniform, looking gentle and elegant.Holding an oil-paper umbrella in his hand, he remained motionless in the wind and rain, and the hem of his clothes was completely wet, looking like he had been waiting for a long time.

"My lord, you are too polite. It's windy and rainy, so don't catch a cold..." Shi Yu said in fear.

These people from slave families have been instilled with the concept of loyalty to their masters since childhood, and they have received rigorous training. They are extremely slavish, and once slavishness is deeply rooted in the bone marrow, it doesn't mean that they can transform themselves into court officials. changed.

And Zheng Zhongyu was very talented, so he was cultivated by the elders of the clan as the successor head of the family. His talent, knowledge, status, and character were beyond the reach of Zheng Fanna and other scum.Now that he greeted him personally, Shi Yu, who was congenitally humbled in front of Zheng's disciples, was flattered.

"It's windy and windy outside, please come in." Seeing Shi Yu's expression, Zheng Zhongyu smiled in his heart, full of confidence in the next conversation.

When Shi Yu wanted to rebel against the old master at the beginning, he wanted to pursue greater interests and freedom.After all, profit-seeking is not a businessman's specialty, but a common instinct of all human beings. Why did the Zheng family go their separate ways after cultivating so many people back then?Just because they leave the Zheng family that everyone shouts and beats, let them gain greater benefits.

In the final analysis, this is the choice of human nature. As long as you are a human being, you have the instinct to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. There are many unsatisfactory family members and small and medium-sized families in "Chunqiu Hall". The reason is that "Chunqiu Hall" has given them better Future, so they are loyal to "Chunqiu Hall".When the situation is not good for them, they will naturally think of "Chunqiutang" that can give him more benefits.

The two entered the pavilion in the backyard, one behind the other, and the noisy sound from the front yard was still heard here.

After a while, fine wine and hot food were served, and Zheng Zhongyu asked people to leave, leaving only the two of them in the empty living room.

Although Shi Yu had already entered the table, he didn't start to eat. After a while, Zheng Zhongyu simply said directly: "Prefect Shi, you were still in panic a few days ago, but in the blink of an eye, it was a blessing in disguise. Now, you are going to Xingyang to take office..."

"My new job, could it be you..."

"It's good that you understand!" In order to create a sense of inscrutability for Shi Yu, Zheng Zhongyu naturally wouldn't deny it, but just admitted his mistake.

There was a mocking smile in Shi Yu's eyes: "So, I should thank you for kidnapping my family?"

Zheng Zhongyu shook his head slowly: "It's really going to hurt you, how can we fill the huge hole in the white horse warehouse? How can you be the prefect of Xingyang. This is actually a test for you!"

"Test?" Shi Yu also didn't understand what Zheng was doing. According to his understanding of Zheng, he would definitely become a victim of Baimacang, but suddenly, they returned the food, and he became a confidant again in a daze. It is no coincidence that the Zheng family is closely related to Xingyang prefect.

Zheng Zhongyu asked back: "Do you know what is the most important way to be an official?"

Shi Yu wasn't quite sure what he meant, so he asked directly, "What is it?"

"The way of being an official is, in the final analysis, a treacherous word!" Zheng Zhongyu said: "In the officialdom, no matter whether you are a loyal minister or a mediocre minister, you must first learn 'treacherous'. Although this word is not very good, a 'treacherous' person , at least live longer than upright people, people can only do things if they live. If you want to be a good official, you have to be more treacherous than corrupt officials; Even if it is dead, it cannot be left in history. Of course, if this so-called 'treacherous' is used to deal with corrupt officials and lawless officials, if it is used to benefit the people, then it is wisdom, and it is like a traitor."

Shi Yu nodded thoughtfully, and asked again: "What does it have to do with forcing me?"

"You are very knowledgeable and have your own unique views on world affairs, but you are too rigid and don't know how to adapt. This tossing is not a bad thing for you." Having said this, Zheng Zhongyu looked serious and said: "You know that after you arrive in Xingyang , What are you going to master? Power, a very powerful power..." He glanced at Shi Yu slyly, and continued: "This power is composed of Zheng, Lu, Cui, Li and other Shandong gentry, and you, I was chosen as the leader by everyone...so everything before was a test for you..."

"So, you want me to be a puppet?" Shi Yu was not stupid.

"You come from a poor family, and you always feel that we are domineering and spoiling the people, but you ask yourself, have we squeezed you to death before?"

Although the aristocratic family is greedy, they understand the principle of "draining the pond to fish". They will also raise fish while eating fish, and will not drain the water in the pond. The real aristocratic family has always dismissed wealth-grabbing tricks such as "big fights in and small fights out", and the same is true for the Zheng family. They will use all means when they go out to the outside world, but they are very good to the slaves and tenants under their command. Otherwise, who Will you really help them do things?

Not only that, but some talented children will be selected from the servants' homes to educate them. Once they become talents, they will be released and opened up for them, so that they will become one of their own power members. A person who has been educated by Zheng clan studies, otherwise, how could he know how to read?How can I know how to be an official?

"It's never happened before." Shi Yu also said in a down-to-earth manner.

"Of course, we also have selfishness, but who has no selfishness? Will you use all means to hire the best husband for your children and grandchildren? When your grandson grows up, you will try to pave the way for them without using your connections. the way?"

Shi Yu was speechless.

"This truth is just like the 'treacherous' I just said. Everyone has selfishness. As long as it benefits others and self, it is good. If you want to be an honest and good official, you want to benefit the people, but you must first be an official, a high-ranking official. Execute your revenge, and we have the power to push you to a high position..." Zheng Zhongyu said to him: "You have seen it before."

Shi Yu nodded silently.

During these years of cooperation between Dongjun and the Zheng family, Shi Yu realized first-hand the importance of food to a country, and how did these aristocratic families control or influence the country's government orders through food?
It is just a simple means for them to make huge profits. When they transport the grain to the disaster-stricken areas, they have the capital to influence the eager local government. All kinds of decisions in their favor.

Transporting food is easy to say, but in today's world where transportation is inconvenient, apart from the government, they are the only ones who have this kind of strength.And the government, even if there is no buck-passing or corruption, its efficiency is not as simple and fast as theirs.Therefore, local governments can only rely on these "virtuous gentry" in many cases, which makes them invincible forever.This kind of reliance also gave the aristocratic family who controlled the food the right to speak.

Therefore, the aristocratic families who control the purchase, transportation, and sales of grain can control the price of grain. Every penny higher in grain price will directly affect the local life.The rise in food prices has stimulated the rise of prices in other industries, eventually falling into an uncontrollable vicious circle.

All these changes are related to the stability of the world. If the ruler ignores them, it will eventually become an important incentive for the concentrated outbreak of various conflicts, and even lead to extinction.

If the imperial court acts against the interests of the aristocratic families who control the lifeline of the country's economy, and their politicians in the officialdom cannot prevent the implementation of these decrees, they will use these economic means to force the imperial court to compromise.

And this is just a means for the aristocratic family to influence the government. They support the big officials politically, control educational resources culturally, influence people in public opinion, and control various industries closely related to the country economically. , can have a profound impact on the government.

From ancient times to the present, many great talents who made changes in general, eventually fell into the sand and lost their reputation, it is this kind of power that is at work.Of course, a powerful imperial court can also use its political power and violent means to rectify when this kind of power comes into play.But in the end, no matter who wins or who loses, the victor will also be greatly injured. Daye Emperor violated the interests of the Guanlong nobles in the military, and violated the interests of the Shandong gentry and the southern gentry in educating and employing people. .

These are also the ways of doing things that the Zheng clan learned to educate their children. The purpose is to make the children have confidence in the clan and be more loyal; In front of the powerful family, she is vulnerable, but in the future, she will obediently mix with the master's family.

During Shi Yu's operations of stealing food and supplementing food, he finally saw this huge force. This powerful and invisible force that permeates all walks of life, once it is mobilized with all its strength, what direction will it develop and how will the situation develop? To what extent, I'm afraid even they themselves can't estimate it.

What made him even more horrified was that these people had the ability to allow the emperor to personally order awards and promote themselves to the post of prefect of Xingyang under the national conditions that the whole country spurned the aristocratic families. figure.

Thinking about it in this way, Shi Yu's heart suddenly brightened.

A feeling of throbbing arises spontaneously, and he feels that since he can't get rid of Zheng, he should not get rid of it.

……

At the same time, Yin Hongzhi and Xie Yingdeng were patrolling the Yellow River embankment wearing bamboo hats and coir raincoats.

Piles of bonfires were lit in tents leaking from all sides on the embankment. The blazing fires shone on the water, and the water level of the raging Yellow River could be seen.Each tent is looked after by soldiers in turn, monitoring the water level of the Yellow River at twelve hours a day.

The torrential rain for many consecutive days has finally stopped. Although Dongjun still has heavy rain from time to time, the rain is getting weaker every day, and according to the urgent report from the imperial court, it is said that the middle and upper reaches have been sunny for a while. The water level of Taohuapu has dropped to a safe level and is slowly falling. These news means that there will be no more flood peaks upstream, and the rain in Xingyang and Dongjun will not cause the Yellow River to surge, let alone cause damage to the embankment.

Although Yin Hongzhi and Xie Yingdeng already knew that the imperial court was about to adopt a large-scale project of "Shuhe River Sand Scouring" and "Wide River Embankment Strengthening" in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, but this top-down project cannot be repaired in a short period of time. When we arrived in Baima County, even though the danger had been lifted, we still organized the army, and the people who came from the artificial lake construction site in Dongping County continued to reinforce the dangerous Yellow River embankment.

In ancient times, it was very difficult to carry out huge projects, money and food came second, and the key was that labor was too difficult to organize.Therefore, the officials and people of Baima County were overjoyed when they saw that the army and many civilians continued to strengthen the embankment.

"Speaking of which, we have nothing to do here!" Xie Yingdeng laughed softly: "We, General Luo and the others led tens of 10 people, guarding the Yellow River embankment day and night, causing the boats of the rice thieves to go to the sea. We can’t get up the Yellow River, we can’t reach the shore, and now the imperial court is suddenly investigating the granary, it is estimated that these rice thieves hate us.”

"Who made them so greedy? They deserve it! But we should withdraw..." Yin Hongzhi chuckled, "The five 'fired' grain cellars are about to be exhausted, if we stay any longer, we have to use other grain cellars, If this problem is dug out, it will not be conducive to the court's next move."

Xie Yingdeng smiled bitterly: "It's hard enough for us to help these rice thieves hide the truth."

"Isn't it?"

"Yin Shilang, are these rice thieves very powerful?" Xie Yingdeng is a general. Although he has been involved in the game, he strictly abides by his duty as a general and did not deliberately pay attention to and inquire about these things. Beware of curiosity.

"very powerful."

"How strong is that?" Xie Yingdeng wanted to scratch his head anxiously.

"You ask me, who should I ask?" Yin Hongzhi gave himself a reason: "Think about it, since the rise of the Holy Majesty, he has been galloping with pride. When he only ruled Jizhou and Youzhou, the surrounding They are all enemies, but he still has the guts to fight against Sibi Khan, who has millions of string controllers. Why has he been so cautious all these years? Will an opponent who is cautious even the Holy One be a weak one?"

"That's true!" Xie Yingden paused, and then said: "According to our people's tracking, we found that Shi Yu appeared in the West Wharf many times in a sneaky way."

"White Horse Wharf is used by both officials and civilians. He is rectifying the chaotic area at the West Wharf, and he built the abode. This is obviously a stronghold for the rice thieves, and even all the civilians are theirs. And the food in the White Horse Warehouse also comes from here. The Cao River flows in and out, but because of us, the food cannot enter Cangcheng, but we consume so much food every day, he must be afraid that the activities in the food will be made public, so he is anxious to discuss countermeasures with the people behind the scenes."

"Speaking of which, Shi Yu is a capable official, too bad..." Xie Yingdeng shook his head and sighed.

"Maybe he was a good official before!" Yin Hongzhi said, "But from the moment he stole food, he has changed... This kind of person is not a pity to die."

Just as he said this, a gray-robed man ran over, panting slightly: "Yin Shi Lang, General Xie, the county magistrate Shi went to the West Wharf again, left in a daze, and returned with a big bag of things radiant."

Yin Hongzhi took a long breath, and said in a deep voice: "I wanted to suggest that the imperial court develop it into Mission Impossible, but now it seems that this guy is hopeless."

(End of this chapter)