Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 2 I, child prodigy, play money!
Fang Laique didn't know where he was taken, but Fang Chongyong was not put in prison, but was taken to a "siheyuan" with a very obvious difference in height!
Kuizhou City is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and the lower part is the Yangtze River Ferry, where commerce and trade are prosperous.It sits at the mouth of Qutang Gorge, and the situation is dangerous. It has always been an important military town in eastern Sichuan and a place that must be contested by military strategists.

Lianhua Mountain behind the city, five mountains side by side, its foot stretches to the riverside, shaped like a lotus flower lying upside down.The lotus pond is in the center between the two mountains, and the other courtyard of the governor Zheng Shuqing is here.

He was too blind to see the scenery clearly, but Fang Zhongyong guessed that this is the best location in Kuizhou, not one of them.

As for why he knew that the scarlet-robed official was Zheng Shuqing, in fact, his father Fang Youde's letter had already clarified the interests.

You can tell with a little thought.

Anyone who is a thief will inevitably feel guilty. Fang Chongyong understands that Zheng Shuqing's action is the only thing that is consistent with human nature and logic.

After passing through the front hall and the middle hall and arriving at the study room in the back hall, Fang Chongyong realized that this place was completely different from the simple official residence where he lived.The grade difference is more than thousands of miles.

It's just that there are two towering ancient trees in the courtyard with lush branches and leaves, but at this moment they look a bit ferocious in the darkness.

Fang Chongyong was not too worried that he would be killed. If Zheng Shuqing wanted to punish him and Fang Laique, there were many ways to do it, and there was no need for such a big fight to put on a show.

After the two sat across from each other at the desk in the study, Zheng Shuqing squinted his eyes and looked at Fang Chongyong, but never spoke.He remained silent, and Fang Chongyong also remained silent, waiting for the other party to speak first.

"Did you know that your father is in trouble, and it will also affect the whole family!"

Zheng Shuqing said in a deep voice with solemn tone.

If he hadn't heard Fang Laique say that Zheng Shuqing and Fang Youde had a bad relationship, Fang Chongyong might have believed it.But after reading that letter, Fang Chongyong is now as if he knows what the opponent's cards are when he is playing stud, and he is not panicked at all.

"Did your father tell you anything important before he left?"

Seeing that Fang Chongyong didn't speak, Zheng Shuqing continued to bluff.

"Zheng Shijun, I think everything is fine. I just guessed that Zheng Jun is the one who is facing the disaster."

Fang Chongyong said calmly, looking at Zheng Shuqing without any stage fright.

He had guessed that Zheng Shuqing would be in big trouble before, but it was not the nonsense mentioned in Fang Youde's letter!

Misappropriating customs duties at the Kuizhou River Pass to support the border towns to use soldiers, this kind of thing can actually be big or small!
Because tariffs do not have to be sent back to Chang'an, there have been many examples of tariffs being used nearby over the years.Wherever it is near and where it is urgent, it will be used first.

For example, at the pass set up at Dayuling in the south of Lingnan, the customs duties collected were basically cloth and copper coins. How could it be possible to transport them back to Chang'an after such a long distance?It must have been approved by the central court and used nearby, such as Guangzhou.

Zheng Shuqing dared to misappropriate tariffs because Li Linfu was at the center who could approve official documents for him.As long as there is an official document, illegal things become legal.Li Linfu is both an athlete and a referee, so he is sure to win!If the complaint is filed with Li Longji, there will be no consequences.

Although Fang Chongyong has never eaten "pork", he has seen many pigs running in his previous life, and his position is quite coquettish.

Therefore, if it was just about misappropriating tariffs to Jiedushi, Zheng Shuqing didn't have to panic at all, and he could fool it with the words "according to power in a hurry".

The "evidences" that Fang Youde talked about are all unspoken rules in the gray area!After the Anshi Rebellion, vassal towns had not yet been established in various places, and commercial and tax duties would be divided up by the neighboring Jiedushi envoys!
As long as there are feudal towns, similar situations will inevitably occur all the time.

Of course, the feudal town had just been established a few years ago, so it was still a bit taboo to do this, and Fang Chongyong was not sure what the "measure" was.Kuizhou is the gateway to Chongqing. It is certainly more cost-effective to send tariffs to Sichuan than to Chang'an.

This principle can be seen through at a glance as long as it is not deliberately referring to a deer as a horse.

"Hehe, the little boy with a yellow mouth is not ashamed to speak out."

Zheng Shuqing had a sneer on his face, but he was secretly surprised in his heart.

How did Fang Youde, an idiot, give birth to such a son?

"Since you are not ashamed to speak out, then I won't say it anymore. If you want to kill or cut, please let the king cut it off as you like."

Fang Chongyong yawned and said.

"Ugh!"

Zheng Shuqing sighed, although he knew that Fang Chongyong would soon become a dead person, but the feeling of being manipulated by others was really bad.

"Forget it, anyway, you don't have long to live, so I'll tell you the truth. After the soul returns to the ground, just blame your father."

Zheng Shuqing stared at Fang Chongyong's face, but instead of showing fear, the latter seemed to want to laugh.

"I'm going to die anyway. If you have something to say, there's no harm in saying it."

Fang Chongyong clasped his hands together and bowed deeply to Zheng Shuqing.

Being courteous, people must have something to ask for, Zheng Shuqing is willing to talk nonsense with himself, so he must have something to ask for, you might as well listen to it before talking.

"Your father is the supervisory censor, that is... Anyway, he came to investigate me, and this is not a secret. I just want to put the blame on your father, but..."

Zheng Shuqing spread his hands towards Fang Chongyong, and what he wanted to express was very clear.

He went to the doctor in a hurry, but he had to talk about basic logic when he scrambled and bit.He just found that the logic of his messing around was naive, and he was afraid that it would make Li Longji murderous in the end, so he wanted to try his luck on Fang Chongyong to see if he could open a breakthrough.

There are tangerine, hemp and wheat husks, and now he doesn't know whether to use them as pulp or not.

"Your Majesty, you can trust me to help you get through this difficult time."

Fang Chongyong bowed deeply to Zheng Shuqing again and said.This is not because he recognizes the thief as his father, but because the other party has murderous intentions.No one cares if they crush an ant!It’s that simple!

Unless that ant is very awesome.

"Just you? Are you worthy to help me tide over the difficulties? Why are you?"

Zheng Shuqing seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world.The sneer on his face almost fell on Fang Chongyong.

Everyone rumored that Fang Youde's son was stupid, so he had to take his son with him wherever he went.Unexpectedly... this person is not only stupid, but also quite narcissistic.

"Because I'm a child prodigy."

Fang Chongyong pointed to his nose and said, that immature little face that has not yet opened is serious!I don't think I'm saying anything ridiculous at all.

"Oh, prodigy, I have prodigies in the Tang Dynasty, even if I don't have one thousand, there are still eight hundred. Which prodigy are you?"

Zheng Shuqing's tone was contemptuous, and he asked back disapprovingly, he just wanted to slap this ignorant melon.

"That's not important, as long as you know that I am a child prodigy, a child prodigy is capable of what others cannot."

Fang Chongyong turned on the repeater mode with a serious look on his face.

It doesn't matter if he is a prodigy or not, he just wants to fight for a chance to survive.Otherwise, I'm afraid it will be difficult to get out of this other courtyard.

"Child prodigy? Yes! Liu Yan was also a child prodigy back then, and he was able to write odes to the emperor at the age of nine. You are a child prodigy, so let's see if you can write a poem and see if you can become a noble person?"

Zheng Shuqing's face was filled with disdain.

It is not that there were no young men in the Tang Dynasty who could write poems, but those who could write magnificent poems were rare.Moreover, poetry itself actually has routines and "creation methods", which are somewhat similar to Fang Chongyong's "propositional composition" in his previous life.

There were many poets in the Tang Dynasty. In addition to the cultural atmosphere, it was also because of the courses they went to school when they were young. The teachers would teach them how to write poems and what routines to use to write poems!
I heard that this virtuous son never went to school for a day because of his stupidity. If he could compose poetry, he would definitely be worthy of the title of "child prodigy".A child who taught himself without a teacher when he was young, what is he but a child prodigy?
But, is this person worthy of the word "child prodigy"?

"I was born as a hero, but died as a ghost. I still miss Xiang Yu and refuse to cross the Yangtze River."

Fang Chongyong "composed" a five-character quatrain using a child's voice.

Zheng Shuqing immediately felt a sense of pride rushing towards his face!It is as real as it is!
This horse riding!What a prodigy!
"This……"

He immediately stood up, not daring to underestimate Fang Chongyong!

As soon as the experts make a move, they will know if there is any.

This poem is not only majestic and bold, but also vaguely expresses the other party's determination to "rather be broken into pieces than destroyed"!

The word Jianzhi is big, and it is very catchy.

"The battle in Jiannan was very serious, so I called the treasury of Jiangguan in Kuizhou to support the front line... This is also what the left minister (Li Linfu) meant. Your father is pedantic, so how do you know what it means to put state affairs first!"

Zheng Shuqing sat down again and sighed softly.

"In this way, Ambassador Zheng is indeed worthy of the title of "Gancheng of the Country", but...I'm afraid things are not that simple, right?"

Fang Chongyong laughed.

Would Li Longji care about such a small matter?Maybe on the surface, maybe Zheng Shuqing will be demoted.

But it won't be long before Zheng Shuqing will rise again, or even be promoted to the central government.The reason is very simple. Datang belongs to Li Longji. Although Zheng Shuqing did things illegally, he was doing things for the country and Li Longji.

The vassal town in the Kaiyuan period was not the vassal town in the late Tang Dynasty!The imperial court has absolute control over it!
This drizzle-like mistake is not worth paying attention to at all, after all, Zheng Shuqing didn't use the tax money for himself!As long as he doesn't collude with the prince to establish a new king, everything is trivial to Li Longji!
"Mr. Lang is indeed young and wise."

Zheng Shuqing sighed, and then said: "The problem lies behind. Zhangchou Jianqiong had promised beforehand that if he captured part of Nanzhao's land, he would plunder the place to repay part of the Jiangguan tariff. In this way, Kui It’s also justified on the state’s books!”

Hearing this, Fang Chongyong couldn't help but nodded slightly.Li Linfu's move was really powerful. He first lent money to Zhangchou Jianqiong, and then asked him to lead his troops to rob the border town. The obtained property was used to pay back the money, and finally the money was settled!
The affairs of the country are handled, and the affairs of the family are also handled. They also win over the party members and eliminate dissidents.

Fang Chongyong wanted to applaud Li Linfu loudly!

"But! The team sent by Zhangchou Jianqiong to deliver money was robbed near Kuizhou! Right under my nose!"

Zheng Shuqing slammed the table in excitement!He was so angry that the veins in his neck bulged, and his eyes almost bulged out.

Whether the Jiangguan tariffs should be appropriated or not is a trivial matter. The meat rots in the pot.But if your taxes are robbed, that’s a big deal!

This matter is so secretive that few people know about it. Who is wrong?
Zhangchou Jianqiong's side, or Zheng Shuqing's side?

The boat transporting goods was robbed near Kuizhou. Who has the bigger problem? Needless to say?
The huge Jiangguan customs duties were gone and the accounts were inconsistent. How could Zheng Shuqing explain to Li Linfu and Li Longji?This illegal thing cannot be hidden in the end!
So Zheng Shuqing thought of a crooked trick, as long as he passed the responsibility to the supervisory censor Fang Youde. When the supervisory censor found out about this matter, he became greedy and colluded with mountain bandits and water bandits to rob the canal. It seems that... ...Well, that sounds a bit insulting to IQ.

Fang Youde disappeared after investigation, and it is very likely that he died of drowning.Quite a few residents in Kuizhou regard boats as their homes, and countless people are drowned every year, and Fang Youde is no different.If not, Fang Youde has been gone for more than a month, why not come back to find his son?
However, Zheng Shuqing felt that after hearing this explanation, Li Longji would think that he was deceiving the emperor.

It will be difficult to come back to this matter.

"Emissary Zheng, there is a question that I don't understand. My father is not a native of Kuizhou. Like the envoy, he has lived in Chang'an for many years. There are not many entourages around the supervisory censor. How can he be so secretive? What about robbing tank ships?"

Fang Chongyong looked at Zheng Shuqing like a fool and asked.

"But your father is dead! Dead people cannot speak. If something goes wrong, the responsibility should be passed on to the dead. You are a child prodigy. Don't you understand this!"

Zheng Shuqing was overwhelmed by Fang Chongyong's question, and roared at Fang Chongyong, completely losing the demeanor that a governor should have!
Laughing dumbly, Fang Chongyong understood why Zheng Shuqing wanted to kill him and Fang Laique.

Four words, "Death without proof", are enough.

Zheng Shuqing may not have many conspiracies and tricks, but he is just a dead horse as a living horse doctor.

People who fall into the water always have to struggle. Zheng Shuqing understands that if the goods used to fill the customs holes are lost, he will definitely die. How about going crazy before death and maybe reviving the chess game?

Fang Youde didn't show up for so long, and he didn't hear about the Chang'an activities, so he probably died.

The study room suddenly fell into an awkward silence. Fang Chongyong realized that although the other party had a showdown, he... seemed unable to handle this hand!

"Uh, Mr. Zheng, can I take the liberty to ask, how much of the withheld customs duties and taxes are...?"

Fang Chongyong asked tentatively.

If there were too many, he probably wouldn't be able to get out of the yard.If Zheng Shuqing is going to die, he will definitely not mind dragging a few more unlucky ones to die first. We all walk together on the road to hell, and we are not alone.

"What's the use of saying this now, that's 30 guan! You know what!"

Zheng Shuqing completely lost his composure, his voice sounded like a beast.At the beginning, he participated in Li Linfu's arrangement obsessively, and he expected to return to Chang'an to work in the center after the event was completed, but he did not expect such a thing to happen.

"It turns out it's only 30 yuan."

Fang Chongyong heaved a sigh of relief.

If it's more than a few million dollars, it's probably going to be crushed to death by this "money mountain".But if it is only 30 yuan, you can still consider operating it.

The 30 copper coins are too heavy to be transported effectively?
That's true, but who stipulates that tariffs must be in copper coins?
At this time, one tael of gold, which is 37.7 grams, can be converted into ten pennies! If the 30 crowns are converted into gold before shipment, will it take up a lot of space and is it inconvenient to transport?

Fang Zhongyong already had an idea in his mind, but he needed time to plan it out.

"You...how are you so arrogant, you don't take 30 pennies seriously. Even if you are sold, how much can you sell?"

Zheng Shuqing complained in dissatisfaction, Fang Chongyong's self-confidence is certainly not a bad thing, but what's the use of self-confidence?

"Emissary Zheng, in fact, I think that the court officials don't care whether the Kuizhou customs duties have been misappropriated to the border towns, nor do they care about the Jiannan army's looting of Nanzhao. There is no name on the money, as long as If you can make money and fill the hole, the game of chess will come to life.”

Fang Chongyong calmly persuaded.

Zheng Shuqing was stunned. It felt like he suddenly saw a bright light in the fog!
That's right, as long as it's money, it doesn't matter if he was robbed by the border town, or he made it up by himself?

"If Mr. Lang can figure out a way to make up the money...I will take you to Chang'an, send you to a school, and take the imperial examination to gain fame! After this matter is resolved, I will have no grudges with your family, and there will be no life-or-death struggle between us. conflict.

Is there anything you can do?There are not many wealthy households here in Kuizhou. "

Zheng Shuqing asked in a low voice, not forgetting to remind him at the end.

Obviously, he had thought of killing a few pigs in Kuizhou to repair the hole, but for some reason it didn't work out in the end.

"Give me three days, and within three days, there will be an answer."

Fang Zhongyong said decisively.

(End of this chapter)