Ji Han Liu Zhang

Chapter 192
Chengdu.

The entrance to the residence of Dong Fu, a great Confucian and Zhizhong in Yizhou, was always crowded with traffic and traffic. People coming and going, sweating like rain and holding their sleeves in the air, stopped in front of the door and lingered, just hoping to see Dong Fu.

There are many factors here. First of all, Dong Fu holds a position in the government and controls the promotion and dismissal of officials in Yizhou. It is related to their future and wealth. Naturally, many officials came to Dong Fu's door to ask for help. Pay homage to Dong Fu, the true Buddha, hoping to win Dong Fu's favor.

Secondly, Dong Fu was a well-known Confucian in Yizhou. During the reign of Emperor Ling, he received ten governorships from the front and rear, three official campaigns, and commended virtuous and upright people, doctors, and wise men. Therefore, the general He Jin also regarded Dong Fu very highly. Like Dong Fu, Such a wise man like Fu wanted to learn from his disciples, so many people often hung around in front of Dong Fu's mansion.

Thirdly, Dong Fu was proficient in the art of prophecy and was a direct disciple of the famous Confucian Yang Hou. The prophecies he gave were often efficacious. This was valued by the world. There were many children of aristocratic families and wealthy businessmen who held hundreds of gold as their fortunes. As a gift, I hope to get one or two prophecies related to myself from Dong Fu's mouth, which can be used to seek good fortune and avoid harm.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Dong Fu, who has a very high reputation in official circles, literary circles, and among the people, has people coming and going in front of his door and blocking the road.

It is a pity that these visitors who visit Dong Fu often cannot see Dong Fu. Firstly, there are too many of them. Even if Dong Fu receives them from morning to night, they will not be able to see them all. Secondly, Dong Fu is a valuable member of the government. He is not an old man who has free time to do his own thing, so only famous people and people who are close to Dong Fu have the opportunity to see Dong Fu.

No, a military commander with a majestic appearance and awe-inspiring momentum, who looked like a relative of Dong Fu's family, stepped forward to inform the concierge, then stepped into Dong Fu's door calmly, and left in a grand manner. Go in.

"Who is this? How come he was recruited as soon as he came? Nai Gong has been waiting here all morning, and there is no movement yet." Someone was unhappy that this general was summoned by Dong Fu, and talked to himself. of resentment.

Someone quickly intervened, and this person lowered his voice: "You don't even know this person, but he is the newly promoted Zhonglang General Wu Yi. He has a very noble status. He and Dong Gong are in the same family. He must be a good person as soon as he comes. After being recruited, is it possible that we will be like you and me, waiting here?"

"Oh, that's it." The person who complained at the beginning restrained himself a little and replied solemnly. He couldn't afford to offend Wu Yi. He was a hero among Dongzhou scholars, not to mention that Wu Yi was now serving as a lieutenant. will be the position.

While the two men were talking, Wu Yi, who entered Dong's mansion, met Dong Fu in the living room under the guidance of Dong Fu's close servant.

"Yi pays homage to Mr. Dong." Wu Yi did not dare to show off in front of Dong Fu. He took out the disciple's gift and saluted Dong Fu.

Dong Fu, who has a childlike face and is getting younger as he gets more lively, strokes his long beard and accepts Wu Yi's courtesy calmly. His identity and status have reached a certain level. Although Wu Yi treats him as a lieutenant, With the etiquette of a disciple, but he has enough status in the world to proceed generously.

Dong Fu waved his hand casually and said with a smile: "General Wu Zhonglang, there is no need to be polite. Please get up quickly."

Immediately afterwards, Dong Fu couldn't help but feel a little emotional, and he said with a tone of uncertainty: "General Wu Zhong is so troubled, so you don't need to come to my mansion in person to pay respects. Just send a servant."

There was a look of shame on Wu Yi's face. He could hear what Dong Fu said. Previously, because Liu Hao didn't get the position of Yizhou Shepherd, he judged Dong Fu to be a noble relative to his sister Wu Ran. He aroused suspicion and thought that Dong Fu was a deceitful person, so he rarely visited Dong Fu's family and never interacted with Dong Fu. The two families had a good relationship with each other, but the relationship gradually faded.

But today, Wu Yi, who had doubts, Shi Shiran came to visit Dong Fu after not visiting Dong's house for a long time. Dong Fu had some resentful words in his mouth, which he could naturally understand.

"Dong Gong, where do I start with these words? How can a mere servant have the right to meet you? It is naturally better for me to come in person. Dong Gong can just call me Ziyuan. There is no need to talk about the titles of these people by Zhonglang... I have been following Ming Gong in the south and north, and I have been a little busy, so I have neglected you. I have not visited you from time to time and listened to your teachings. I hope you will forgive me."

"Busy, be busy." Dong Furen was an experienced man. He didn't take Wu Yi's words of defense to heart at all, but followed Wu Yi's words.

"In the past, Dayu passed through the house three times without entering, but he finally dredged the river to benefit the people of the world. Now you, Wu Zi, have not visited the house for many months and made great contributions to the Ming Dynasty. Yes, it is really good...but you don't have to treat me like an old man. For the sake of it, just work hard."

"Mr. Dong." Wu Yi sounded helpless. Facing Dong Fu, an old naughty scholar, he had no choice but to be manipulated by Dong Fu.

Dong Fu looked like he was succeeding in his teasing. He waved and said, "Ziyuan came to visit today. I think there is something going on. Please tell me about it."

Seeing that Dong Fu was finally on the right track and no longer angry, Wu Yi cupped his hands and said: "Mr. Dong, there is indeed a small matter. I hope Mr. Dong can help me clear up my doubts."

"Let's put it bluntly, a warrior who fights on the battlefield does not need to be so formal."

Wu Yi took a step closer and lowered his voice and said, "I heard something. It was said that Duke Dong used to wish his late Yizhou shepherd to have the spirit of the emperor. I don't know if this is true or not."

Dong Fu's face was calm, and his heart was like a clear mirror without any waves. What Wu Yi said was true. When he saw that the world was about to be in chaos, he wanted to return to his hometown of Yizhou, and at the same time he planned to accompany a strong man on the way. , to avoid any mistakes on the way back to Yizhou.

It happened that Liu Yan had the same idea as him. He did not plan to stay in the court, but wanted to serve as an official. However, Liu Yan wanted to be the governor of Jiaozhi at that time. After all, Jiaozhi was far away from the war, but this was not the same as him. The Yizhou I want to return to is not the same place.

So he pretended to do a fortune-telling and told Liu Yan in a nonchalant voice: "The division of Yizhou has the spirit of an emperor." Relying on his reputation as a Confucian scholar and a master of prophecy, he successfully changed Liu Yan's destination from Jiaozhou to Yizhou. Later, Liu Yan asked for the pastor of Yizhou, and he asked for the captain of the vassal state of Shu County to come together. When we arrived in Yizhou, relying on Liu Yan, the journey to Yizhou was very calm.

The thing was true, but Dong Fu couldn't just admit it. If he told it, others would say that he, a great scholar, was unruly and had ulterior motives. He coughed: "Ziyuan, where did you hear these absurdities?" By the way... Now that the Emperor is in Chang'an, Guanzhong is full of Emperor Qi, how can there be any Emperor Qi in Yizhou?"

"Dong Gong." Wu Yi's voice became louder, and his face looked a little anxious. He wanted to quickly confirm the authenticity of the Yizhou emperor's anger, but naturally he couldn't be presumptuous in front of Dong Fu, otherwise Dong Fu would even beat him up. Even if he was beaten, he could only endure it calmly.

Suppressing his anxious mood, Wu Yi tried his best to speak calmly: "Dong Gong, there is no one around now. This matter comes from your mouth and reaches my ears. No third person will know. In addition, Yi swears that it will never be spread. "I don't remember this matter. You know, once this person gets older, he is prone to forgetfulness. He forgets a little here and a piece there. I have lost track of so many things." Wu Yi thought deeply. Lung, but Dong Fu remained unmoved and just refused.

Wu Yi became angry, and said one thing: "I accepted Mr. Dong to meet my sister, and it was said that he was a noble person, but now it has come true. I don't bother the two masters, and I hope Mr. Dong will do it for me." Clear up the confusion and let me know how noble you are."

'Effective. Dong Fuduo, a smart old man, was prompted by Wu Yi's words. He naturally understood what Wu Yi meant. His face was slightly surprised, but he quickly suppressed it.

Seeing that Wu Yi refused to give up, Dong Fu thought about his words: "I vaguely remember that there may be such a thing."

Although the words were ambiguous, Wu Yi's face immediately became overjoyed when he heard this. He did not ask any more questions about the emperor's anger in Yizhou. After talking to Dong Fula for a few family matters, he resigned and left.

Dong helped him stand up and sent Wu Yi down the stairs. Wu Yi's confusion was relieved, but he still had some confusion.

He learned the theory of prophecy from the famous Confucian Yang Hou, just because scholars in today's world are fond of it. The theory of prophecy can be regarded as the most prominent scholar in the world. Even a great Confucian would have to talk about it, and he would even talk about it in a weird way. , which makes some sense and cannot be refuted by others.Another thing is to learn from the prophecies, which can be used to make some money, which is much faster than recruiting disciples.

Therefore, his nature was close to ghosts and gods but far away from them, so he had to learn prophecies and became a good expert in them. He left his name in the court, so the general He Jin highly praised him.

But today, Dong Fu had doubts about the prophecies and fortune-telling methods he used to make a living. He doubted whether he really had a talent in this area and whether he had some sense of gods and ghosts.

First, Wu Ran was complimented casually, saying that he had the appearance of a noble person. From what Wu Yi just said, Wu Ran seemed to be hooking up with Liu Zhang, the shepherd of Yizhou. When the thief sister-in-law said that the goods were genuine, Wu Ran's appearance of being a noble person had already come true. .Then Huang Wan, whom he boasted about as a red line, and Liu Zhang got married sooner or later, which is extremely precious.

Then there was the lie he said in order to deceive Liu Yan into entering Shu, saying that Yizhou had the spirit of an emperor. Liu Zhang's behavior was unstoppable. He felt that this might really be possible, and Yizhou might not really be able to produce an emperor. Son of Heaven.

'Could it be that I am really a one-of-a-kind prophecy genius? Dong Fu shook his head, and there was something strange in his expression.

If one thing is accurate, then he will not have doubts, but no matter what he said casually or intentionally, it came true one by one, which made Dong Fu have to have self-doubt and doubt his own knowledge in the field of prophecy. Control.
-
Chengdu, State Shepherd's Mansion.

"Prohibition on alcohol?" Bijia Wang Shang nodded, and he agreed: "It should indeed be so. Brewing consumes a lot of food. Now that the world is in chaos, we should save food and grass to meet temporary needs."

Liu Zhang felt that Wang Shang had misunderstood what he meant. He shook his head and said: "It is not a ban on alcohol, but a ban on private brewing. This issue of brewing is controlled by the government. In addition, the sale and transportation of alcohol are under the control of the government." , are all managed by the government, and the private sector is not allowed to interfere.”

"Oh, Ming Gong wants to ban illegal brewing." Wang Shang was not overly surprised. He was familiar with classics and history and knew that Emperor Xiaowen issued a similar edict: "Anyone who has illegal liquor must abandon the market; traitors and Those who cannot drink will be eliminated from the three tribes. '

"Removing private brewing and letting the government control the brewing will, firstly, reduce the food waste caused by private brewing. Secondly, the government can control the production of wine based on grain production. Thirdly, I plan to impose heavy taxes on wine. Profit." Liu Zhang detailed the benefits of banning private brewing.

He has no corrupt Confucian ideas about not competing with the people for profit, and will do whatever is beneficial to him. Most of the people who can afford to drink in this era are people with some spare money. Instead of letting the money be earned by wealthy businessmen, he can do something It was a tasteless extravagance, so it would be better for him, the Yizhou Shepherd, to pocket it and use it to make the Han great again.

Here Liu Zhang did not completely issue a prohibition order like Cao Cao's, and retained the government's permission to make and sell wine. He knew that the history of the United States, such as the prohibition of alcohol in the United States during the industrial era, could not stop Jiu Mengzi's love of wine. , and finally created a group of gang organizations, which caused the crime rate to increase, not to mention the feudal era in which he lived.

No matter how strict the criminal law he enacts, even if he catches the Yi tribe, as long as there is enough profit to impress people, there will only be a bunch of people risking beheading to make wine.

Therefore, Liu Zhang relaxed a little, that is, private wine brewing was prohibited, and the government controlled the brewing of wine, so as to prevent some wine men from getting confused and causing trouble.

"What Ming Gong said is true... but the sudden ban on private brewing may cause some problems, and some wealthy families conduct private brewing in Wubao, so it is difficult to conduct an investigation. There will be many things involved in all aspects. "Wang Shang expressed his approval, but at the same time he also considered the difficulties.

"The foolish idea is to prepare a charter first, prepare a sufficient number of people, and implement it after spring, so that we will not be at a loss for a while."

Liu Zhang nodded and prohibited private brewing. He did not issue an edict today and expect it to be implemented tomorrow: "As Wang Qing said, I would like to trouble Wang Qing to establish regulations and rules for this matter."

"Shang takes the order." Wang Shang agreed. He still needs to discuss this matter with Shu County Governor Chen Shi and Chengdu Ling Dong He. Without the help of local officials, it is not easy to ban private brewing. Carry it out.

After discussing for a while, Wang Shang said goodbye and left. Looking at Wang Shang's leaving figure, Liu Zhang sighed deeply in his heart.Banning private brewing and letting the government brew it will still cause some waste of food. In the final analysis, it is better to block the brewing than to clear it.

Liu Zhang thought that it would be best to find an alternative product to fermented rice wine, so that it could be called a once and for all solution, and people would have wine to drink without wasting food.

Soon, he had an idea - rum.

(End of this chapter)