Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 81 God help me too!

Tonglu County.

Ji Wen was at his desk handling county affairs. He couldn't help but laugh out loud when he looked at the statistics of silkworms in each village.

"God helps me, God helps me! I, Ji Wenlian, am blessed by God. The previous difficulties must have been God's test for me. After all the hardships, the joy comes now."

He said "God helps me" twice in a row to express his feeling that he was blessed by God.

The first half of Ji Wen's life can be described as having many misfortunes. He was born into a poor family, and like Chen Qingsi, he studied and grew up in a school run by an aristocratic family.He was from a better background than Chen Qingsi. He didn't have to spend time working on the farm to support himself, and could spend all his time studying.

His grades were among the best, but because of his background, he was not favored and was bullied. He went to Beijing to take the exam in anger, hoping to make a career on his own and let those who laughed at him know that young people should not be bullied into poverty.

Ji Wen got his wish and became the number one scholar in high school. However, the imperial examinations during this period were not perfect and the number one scholar was not valuable. This was better than the situation in the Sui Dynasty when a fifth-rank official was required to recommend him to be eligible to take the exam.

Due to the imperfection of the system, Ji Wen was not recognized as the number one scholar. He only served as a minor official in Chang'an with no name, until he met Shangguan Yi and came to Tonglu County.

In fact, when Ji Wen first arrived in Tonglu County, he was in the same mood as Chen Qingsi.

The first thing I do when I wake up every day is to pray to God, begging God not to bring disaster to Tonglu County.

Seventy percent of the county's residents are old, weak, women and children, with no ability to resist disasters and protect themselves.

The weather is good and the weather is good, but we can barely survive. But if the weather is not good, there will be floods, droughts, snow, cold or other disasters, and everyone will die.

Thanks to God's mercy, Muzhou has been in good weather since the failure of Chen Shuozhen's uprising, and the old, weak, women and children left behind by the war in the territory have been able to live a stable life.

Ji Wen has been praying for a year and a half, and finally achieved gratifying results today.

After a year and a half of development, today the county's silkworm production has exploded. As long as the plan is followed, Tonglu County can produce its own silk and satin, become self-sufficient, and gradually get rid of poverty.

Ji Wen was overjoyed, even a little carried away, as if she saw a great future waving to her.

His narcissism was interrupted by the news that Chang Shi Ji Tao asked for an audience.

"Come in!"

Ji Wen calmed herself down, tightened her face and made a serious gesture.

Ji Tao stepped inside with a happy expression and said: "The Zhao Dong family is very satisfied with the situation in our Tonglu County and decided to return to Suzhou to report the matter to their head. It can be seen from the expressions of the Zhao Dong family that they are very satisfied with the environment in Tonglu County. The situation is very favorable and it can be done.”

Ji Wen smiled proudly and said: "Our appearance has solved their urgent need, of course it can be done."

Ji Tao quickly flattered his boss: "The Zhao family in Suzhou is known as the master of needlework. Relying on the ancestral embroidery skills, it has become the only signature brand of Su embroidery. It has always been aloof. It is really amazing that County Magistrate Ji can persuade them. You can follow them." The county magistrate is truly a blessing."

Ji Wen was very pleased and said: "This is not all my fault..." He paused deliberately for a while and said: "It's the news from the capital!"

This is pretentious.

Ji Wen went south to the south of the Yangtze River for the first time and bought Su embroidery, a specialty of the south of the Yangtze River, as a gift to Shangguan Yi.

Shangguan Yi received a letter from Su Xiu and asked him to strive to achieve results as soon as possible so that he could have a reason to promote him and transfer him back to the capital. He also thanked him for the gift.

Ji Wen was so inspired that he gave Su embroidery as a gift the next year.

This time he also received a reply from Shangguan Yi, but the content of the letter was abnormal and told him not to give Su embroidery as gifts in the future, especially not to others.

Shangguan Yi also explained the reason in the letter. The emperor and the empress advocated frugality. Empress Wu coerced the concubines, courtiers, relatives and family members in the harem to curb the trend of comparison in the capital. Nobles above the fourth rank did not dare to go out wearing embroidered clothes.

When Ji Wen heard this detailed news, he also thought of the difficulties that the Zhao family in Suzhou would face.

Noble ladies above the fourth rank dare not wear embroidered clothes, and those below the fourth rank even less dare to wear them.

Luxurious items like Suzhou embroidery lack the meaning of showing off and comparing, and the results are self-evident.Ji Wen didn't originally target the Zhao family, but now that he learned about the situation in the capital, he raised his target.

He was deliberately vague, just to give his subordinates the feeling that I was behind the scenes.

As expected, Ji Tao showed a look of admiration and even more surrender.

Ji Wen paused and said, "How is the situation in Qingxi County?"

Ji Tao said: "They have fallen into the trap and are full of praise for the silkworm seeds we provide. They even specially sent people to ask for more."

Ji Wen's eyes flashed with joy.

He chose Tonglu County in Muzhou because he wanted to do things that ordinary people could not do. If Qingxi County succeeded easily, how could he stand out from the crowd?

In Muzhou, a place where the war had just stopped, there could not be two capable ministers.

"Remember, it's the same this time. They are all treated silkworms. If problems occur afterwards, it is because they are stupid and have storage problems, which will lead to various problems with all the silkworms. It has nothing to do with us. Our own silkworm breeds are all good."

Ji Tao felt awe-struck in his heart, knowing that his boss wanted Qingxi County to die without a burial place, so he obeyed his order solemnly.

Suzhou.

Zhao Ze, who was on a field trip from Tonglu County, returned to his clan area without stopping.

After years of development, the Suzhou Zhao family has been divided into two branches.One is for technology and the other is for business.

The descendants of workers who were in charge of technology could serve as officials in the court. Although their status in charge of business was low, they controlled the lifeline of the economy.

The two sects, one important in name and the other important in wealth, complement each other and create the brilliance of today's Zunjue Zhao family.

The clan area remains prosperous and lively.

The crisis in the Zhao family has not yet appeared, and not many people know the news.

But judging from the reactions from all parties, some people are already preparing for backup.

The Zhao family is the defending king of Su embroidery, and the title of No. [-] stitch in Jiangnan has long been coveted.

The Zhao family's background is not enough to collapse due to temporary difficulties, but they do not want to give those behind them any chance to catch up.

In the eyes of the Zhao family, Su embroidery is the Su embroidery of the Zhao family, not Su embroidery of the Su region.

On the contrary, in the eyes of the Su people, Su embroidery is the Su embroidery of the Su people, not the Su embroidery of the Zhao family.

Other silk industries and merchants in Suzhou have united to prevent the Zhao family from seizing the middle and lower-grade market they control due to the weakening of the high-grade market.

There are only two paths in front of the Zhao family. One is to choose to go to war and fight against the tyrants alone, and the other is to find a new way and open up markets elsewhere to make up for the losses of the Zhao family and maintain their lofty status.

Businessmen only seek wealth, so how can they easily start a war?

As the core member of the Zhao family business family, Zhao Ze easily met the family owner Zhao Junzhuo.

Simple greetings.

Zhao Ze reported on the harvest in Tonglu County and said: "Magistrate Ji of Tonglu County is an outstanding person. He has been planning and preparing for a year and a half, just waiting for today. As long as we send the best people from the clan to Tonglu County, everything will go smoothly. Tonglu County still has three years. The tax-free policy is enough for our Zhao family to gain a foothold and rise, and there is great potential for this matter."

Zhao Junzhuo listened carefully to Zhao Ze's report and said nothing. He just took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it over.

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(End of this chapter)