Daming talker

Chapter 648: The Story of Snake Gate

Today, the Feng family, a prominent medical family in Suzhou, is considered a peripheral family of the Lin family, and Feng Menglong's father is the chief medical officer of the new Wu Lian.

What Mr. Lin was more curious about was Feng Menglong's motive for offering advice.

"Not really? Do you also want the two thousand taels of silver and the reward of being granted the title of Lord of Shantang Street? Hasn't your father always been counting on you to study and advance in government?"

Feng Menglong replied: "Can you exchange it for a reward? For example, the next provincial examination?"

This year, the 19th year of the Wanli reign, was also the year of the provincial examination. It was the first time that Feng Menglong took part in the provincial examination since he grew up.

He originally wanted to test the waters with his real ability, but ultimately failed. This made Feng Menglong realize the hellish difficulty of the Nanzhili provincial examination.

In the decades since the Feng family began their study, he was the one closest to the two lists and could no longer maintain his self-esteem.

Lin Tailai did not comment and asked, "Tell me your plan first!"

Feng Menglong replied: "Jiuyuan Jun also knows that I have loved hanging out in restaurants and teahouses since I was a child, and I love listening to ancient and modern legendary stories.

I once heard that Gusu City was built under the supervision of Wu Zixu of the Wu State in the Spring and Autumn Period, and a total of eight city gates were built.

According to the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, the south of the city belongs to the Si position, which represents the snake in the Chinese zodiac, so the South Gate was named Snake Gate by Wu Zixu.

But why was the South Gate damaged and blocked later? "

After listening to Feng Menglong's story, Lin Tailai immediately made a decision and said, "Old Gao is also the manager of the Storytellers' Association?

Then you two should work together to do this! I don't care about the process, I only care about the result!"

Gao Changjiang, who was standing next to him, agreed upon hearing this.

Lin Tailai also warned, "Now is the time to collect taxes and grain. Time waits for no one. We cannot let the governor get things done!

So the sooner you do it, the better, no matter how much it costs!"

Gao Changjiang agreed again, and then said: "Eunuch Sun from the Weaving Bureau has also escaped from the Inspection Office, and wants to meet with the chief minister in private to talk."

Thinking of the fruitless efforts of the day, Mr. Lin became angry and scolded, "What a useless bastard! Why would you see him?"

He was angry not only because of the miscalculation, but also because he had a lot of things to do after returning to Suzhou, and his time was very precious, so he didn't want to waste it on the governor!

Gao Changjiang advised: "He is still valuable in the next plan, and we can't just abandon him."

Lin Tailai waved his hand impatiently, "Go meet him for me! Say what needs to be said for me!"

For someone like Mr. Lin, who returns to Suzhou after two years, there is no telling how many things are waiting for him. It is impossible for him to keep an eye on the governor in person every day.

The next day came and there was no longer any time to postpone, so he took a day or two to start meeting with celebrities from all sides.

Wen Yuanfa, the head of the Wen family, brought Wen Zhenmeng, the future hope of the Wen family, to visit the Lin Mansion.

Since two years ago, Wen Zhenmeng was nominally still a disciple of Mr. Lin, although he had never been taught anything.

Like Feng Menglong, Wen Zhenmeng also participated in this year's provincial examination, but also failed.

Wen Yuanfa humbled himself and pleaded, "This year's provincial examination is just an experience, but I hope you will take care of me next time."

Lin Tailai pointed at his cheap disciple and replied, "He is only eighteen years old this year, and he will only be twenty-one in three years.

You are still so young, and you have many opportunities. Why are you afraid of not passing the exam in the future? Why is Mr. Wen so eager to succeed and take shortcuts? "

According to the concept of that era, it was not too late to pass the imperial examination even if one was in his thirties. Wen Zhenmeng was only eighteen years old and started to worry, which was a bit too early.

Wen Yuan said with a bitter face: "I have no confidence in the literary fortune of our Wen family. Now I am counting on the great official to lend a hand."

How could a Nine Yuan True Immortal like you, Lin Tailai, know how much the glorious record of three generations failing the provincial examinations fifty times would destroy the family's confidence?
While he was chatting with Wen Yuan and collecting a dozen pieces of works that were said to be authentic works of Wen Zhengming, his retainer Zhou Daodeng suddenly reported quietly that the prefect Tu Shufang was visiting in disguise.

Lin Tailai was a little puzzled. Why would Governor Tu want to have a private relationship with him?

You know, Prefect Tu and Governor Zhao took office together, and both belonged to the Qingliu forces and were from Zhejiang. There was no reason for them to come to visit me.

After thinking about it, Lin Tailai ordered: "It is not appropriate to meet him in public, take him to the study!"

When Tu Shufang, the governor of Suzhou who had been in office for only a month, was brought to the study outside the Lin residence, Mr. Lin was standing quietly in front of the desk, admiring a painting.

Prefect Tu walked up to Mr. Lin and looked at the painting on the table. He immediately widened his eyes in astonishment. Isn't this "The Goddess of Luo River"?

The Tu family has been a prominent family in Jiaxing for three generations. His wife is from another wealthy family in the local area, the Xiang family, which is the family with the best collections in the country.

But last year, after Xiang Yuanbian, the patriarch of the Xiang family who was a keen collector, passed away, the family's descendants no longer cared much about his collections.

Otherwise, how could others buy famous paintings from the Xiang family?
"Do you recognize this painting too?" Lin Tailai asked after glancing at Prefect Tu.

Prefect Tu smiled bitterly and said, "I saw this painting at my wife's house before, but I didn't expect it to fall into the hands of Lord Jiuyuan."

Lin Tailai pointed at the painting and said, "This was given to me by Wuxi Qianyi out of helplessness."

Mr. Lin, who was very professional, did not say "give away" but only "compensate", which barely saved Qian Yiben's face.

This is the art of speaking. To others, it sounds like Mr. Lin is snatching something away from you.

Tu Shufang looked at the "Lo Shen Fu Tu", then looked at Mr. Lin, and said, "As far as I know, Qian Yiben bought two paintings, in addition to the "Lo Shen Fu Tu", there is also a "Five Oxen Picture"."

Lin Tailai was slightly stunned. It seemed that there was still some hidden money in this book, so there was a lot of potential to be tapped?

Also, Prefect Tu, by exposing Qian Yiben's past like this, is this considered a gesture of goodwill to me?
Tu Zhifu said: "Jiaxing is not far from Suzhou. If you like painting, I can let my wife

Go back to my mother's house and help collect some."

This was an obvious gesture of goodwill, and the suspicious Lin Tailai asked back, "Why?"

Prefect Tu sighed and said, "I just want to live a peaceful life and don't want to get involved in the storm, but I have no choice but to be the prefect."

It can only be said that Governor Zhao’s experience really frightened Prefect Tu.

How could I know the environment would be like this before I came? If I hadn’t been to Suzhou in person, I wouldn’t have known how dangerous the environment in Suzhou could be!
The governor is in a high position and has a lot of blood, so he can still hold on. What can the prefect use to hold on?
Let’s not talk about anything else, just in the government office, most of the assistant officials were promoted by Lin Tailai. For example, Guo Tongzhi had gone on the Western Expedition with Lin Tailai, and Yuan Hongdao, the Minister of Grain, was a staunch supporter of Lin Tailai.

As for those clerks and yamen runners, they could not survive unless they surrendered to Lin!
Being a prefect in such a government office and being hostile to Lin Tailai, you might die without knowing how!

After a brief consideration, Mr. Lin replied, "I only believe in one sentence: listen to what he says and watch what he does."

After receiving guests at home for two days, Mr. Lin became impatient again and went out of the city to tour the west. After all, the thirty-li area from the west city wall to Taihu Lake was the foundation of the Lin family's foundation.

Governor Zhao, who was temporarily stationed outside Shemen, felt a little relieved after receiving the news that Lin Tailai was going on a western tour. After all, the pressure of being in the same city with Lin Tailai was too great.

"Have the collection documents been sent out to the counties?" Governor Zhao asked his staff.

The aide Jiang Shiye replied, "It has been issued. All counties in Jiangnan are ordered to collect 90% of the grain tax, the full amount of white grain, and the gold and silver this year. At the same time, half of the arrears from previous years must be paid, and all must be collected before the end of the year. Otherwise, severe punishment will be imposed!"

Governor Zhao nodded in satisfaction. If such a harsh policy continued to be implemented, it would surely cause some unexpected events, right?
Governor Zhao, who had always been accustomed to a spacious office environment, now felt very cramped living in this temple with two courtyards.

Looking at the dilapidated statue in the main hall, Governor Zhao said, "This is the first time in my life that I know there is a Snake King Temple in the world, and the people of Suzhou also worship the snake god?"

Jiang Shiye guessed, "Maybe he wants to guard the house."

Looking at the Snake Gate that had been blocked again for safety reasons, Governor Zhao asked again, "Why didn't Suzhou open the South Gate earlier? Why did it allow the Snake Gate to be blocked?"

For a big city, it is indeed strange to have no gate in one direction.

Master Jiang smiled and said, "I looked through the local records earlier. One or two hundred years ago, the area outside the southern city of Suzhou was very desolate.

It was even regarded as a mass grave. Not many people passed through here, so the south gate did not need to be opened.

It was only in recent years, as Suzhou’s population grew, that people gradually settled here and farmland was developed.”

After dealing with government affairs, Governor Zhao felt too depressed to stay idle in the temple, so he decided to go on a private visit in disguise and go out for a walk to relax.

Although the most prosperous area of ​​Suzhou City is in the west, and there are mostly lakes outside the east city, Governor Zhao still decided to go to the east to relax, probably because he likes the lake view more.

Governor Zhao, Mr. Jiang, and several guards walked eastward along the south city wall, but saw a three-way intersection in front of them with a tea shop next to it.

It happened that Governor Zhao felt a little thirsty at this time, so he went into the teahouse to rest.

I didn't expect that there was a storyteller in this teahouse at the intersection outside the city.

Governor Zhao couldn't help but sigh to Jiang Shiye: "The prosperity of Suzhou's humanities is evident from the fact that even in this suburban teahouse there are people telling stories."

But the storyteller on the stage slammed his hands and said, "A great event has happened in Gusu City recently. The South City Gate, also known as the Snake Gate, has been blocked again. It is truly appalling!"

Governor Zhao and Mr. Jiang looked at each other in confusion. They didn't expect the storyteller to mention this.

Someone in the audience shouted, "What's so strange about this? You storytellers are used to mystifying and exaggerating!"

The storyteller said disdainfully: "How can you ignorant country folk understand the key points?"

The person who had spoken to him from the audience was so angry that he rolled up his sleeves and wanted to step forward and start fighting.

But his friend next to him tried to stop him, shouting, "No, no, no! You can't hit the storyteller!

Now, the chief steward of the storyteller's office is the external steward of the Lin Mansion! If you beat up the storyteller today, you will be hunted down by the new Wulian tomorrow!"

Governor Zhao, who was watching from the sidelines, felt more and more that Lin Tailai's hegemony in Suzhou City was truly all-round, and that he had a long way to go.

The storyteller didn't pay much attention to the minor threat and continued calmly, "This is a long story!
However, it is said that when Wu Zixu built the Gusu City, because the Snake Gate faced south, it was facing the enemy country of Yue!

Therefore, Wu Zixu arranged a magic trick at the Snake Gate, hanging a wooden snake with its head facing the city, and combined it with the Feng Shui of the Snake Gate to restrain the Yue Kingdom! "

Everyone in Suzhou knew about Wu Zixu's building of the city, but for many people, this detail was the first time they heard about it.

The storyteller went on to say: "Later, after Gou Jian, the King of Yue, conquered Wu and captured Gusu City, he completely destroyed Shemen!

For the next two thousand years, Gusu City had no South Gate until Mr. Lin moved to Canglang Pavilion in the south city a few years ago, and the South Gate was reopened. "

Many impatient people shouted: "After all this long-winded talk, where is the shocking thing you just mentioned?"

The storyteller replied sinisterly, “Two thousand years ago, the King of Yue attacked Wu and destroyed the Snake Gate that restrained Yue.

Now, two thousand years later, the Yue people have once again blocked the Shemen Gate. History has repeated itself. Why do you think this is happening?"

The audience was confused. What are Yue people?
The storyteller sneered, "Didn't you notice that the current governor is from Yue, and the prefect is also from Yue? It's ridiculous that you are caught in a huge conspiracy and don't even know it!"

Bang! The incognito Governor Zhao stood up in anger, knocking over a bench with a loud noise.

This has gone beyond the level of writing a short essay to spread rumors, right? Is this just starting to make up stories and write scripts?

Does his temporary blocking of the Snake Gate for his own safety have anything to do with King Gou Jian of Yue destroying the Snake Gate?
Bang! The storyteller slammed the table and pointed at Governor Zhao and said, "Look, this old gentleman with a wealth of knowledge is so angry, which shows that he has realized the problem!"

Lawyer Jiang quickly lifted up a stool and pulled Governor Zhao to sit down.

It's really not convenient to reveal my identity here, so I'll just listen first and see what story this storyteller has made up.

The storyteller originally wanted to interact with Governor Zhao, but when he saw that Governor Zhao sat down again and had no intention of speaking, he could only continue his monologue regretfully.

"Most of the imperial court's money and grain comes from the southeast, or more specifically, from the eight prefectures in Jiangnan! No, it should be seven prefectures, Nanjing is not counted.

The seven prefectures are Su, Song, Chang, Zhen, Hangzhou, Hu and Jiaxing. Among them, the four prefectures of Su, Song, Chang, Zhen belong to Nan Zhili, while the three prefectures of Hangzhou, Hu and Jiaxing belong to Zhejiang!

So why did a governor of Zhejiang Province desperately increase taxes in Suzhou?

After thinking about it, it must be to reduce their taxes and levies in Zhejiang!
If the four prefectures in Nanzhili pay a little more, the three prefectures in Zhejiang can get a lot of reductions!
Otherwise, how do we explain that the governor keeps forcing the people of Suzhou and Songjiang to increase taxes and pay the taxes they owe previously?
This is the deep malice that a Yue governor has towards Suzhou! The blocking of the Snake Gate is a clear proof of this!

Only the Yue people would hate Shemen so much that they would even imitate Gou Jian, who destroyed Wu, and publicly express this hatred!

So I just said that the blocking of the Snake Gate the day before yesterday was indeed a shocking thing, am I right?

With such a governor in office, I'm afraid he will not stop until the prosperity of Gusu is destroyed!"

There was an uproar in the teahouse and everyone was filled with indignation!

If we only talk about blocking the Snake Gate, they haven't felt it personally, but if we link it to tax increases and tax supplements, then they can feel it very strongly!

This new bastard governor must have deep hatred and great malice towards Suzhou!

Gou Jian destroyed the Snake Gate, and he also followed suit to block the Snake Gate. His wolfish ambitions were obvious!
"What nonsense!" Governor Zhao was so angry that he stood up again.

Everyone around looked at Governor Zhao in astonishment. What did this man mean? He looked unfamiliar. Did he come from Zhejiang in the south to do business?

Seeing that the situation was not good, Mr. Jiang quickly called for his guards and dragged Governor Zhao out.

(End of this chapter)