Compete for the Song Dynasty

Bianjing and its surrounding areas have been exceptionally dry and rainless this year, and the city has been shrouded in scorching heat and anxiety throughout the summer.At the end of this summer, it rained.The people said that the rain was to congratulate the new emperor on the recovery of the dragon body, and it was also the new emperor's prayer for rain that moved God.

After the rain, the city of Bianjing gradually regained its vitality.People passed the three-month ban on entertainment during the death of Emperor Renzong. All kinds of businesses and shops in the city gradually opened their doors. There were more and more pedestrians in the market. From time to time, there were passers-by who greeted each other or stopped to talk on the side of the road. .

On the Royal Street, there are officials riding horses or sitting in sedan chairs from the imperial city from time to time. Some of these are new faces, and some have been appointed to new positions.The change of court officials has also become the focus of street discussions among citizens.

A well-dressed young man, escorted by several guards, left the imperial city and walked through the imperial street, and came to a newly renovated mansion. The three characters "Junwangfu" were engraved in gold letters on the forehead.

The young man dismounted from his horse and entered the mansion, hurriedly changed into casual clothes, called the school boy who was close to him, and left the mansion again.The head of the guard followed and asked: "The prince stays! May I ask where the prince is going? I'll ask someone to accompany you." [

The boy waved his hand: "No, I'll just walk around the city. Don't follow anyone!"

Seeing what the young man said, the head guard whispered to the close book boy: "Follow the prince carefully, and don't make any mistakes." The book boy grimaced, and quickly followed the boy with small steps.

"Have you brought all the letters I ordered you to bring?"

"Here, now those two young masters are waiting for you in Jinxiu Tower. Oh, and there is also Guanshi Lu in Wang Shilang's mansion, I have also notified him," the book boy hurriedly replied.

The young man hummed, he slowed down his pace, the door of Yunxuan on the side of the road was still closed, he sighed softly.Yunxuan used to have a lot of hard work from their younger brothers, but now his father said: "Zhongzhen, you are a special person now, don't participate in these tabloid newspapers anymore, lest you say something wrong and the common people will misunderstand it and cause a big mistake."

The young Zhao Zhongzhen couldn't refute his father, the current Emperor Yingzong of the Song Dynasty, but he didn't understand why he didn't participate in Yunxuan anymore. His father still didn't allow Yunxuan to operate, nor did he allow "Yunzhai" to resume publication.

As the saying goes: There is only one man in the palace, the emperor.Except for the prince who can live in the East Palace, the prince will continue to live in the imperial city after he grows up, and the other sons will be named kings and leave the palace.Now that Zhao Shu has just ascended the throne, Zhongzhen has not yet been appointed as the crown prince, so Zhao Zhongzhen has been named the king of Huaiyang County.Zhao Zhongzhen was not particularly happy because he was named the king of the county, but was happy because he could live in the mansion of the king of the county, so that he could travel freely without being restrained by the palace.

Within two days of moving to the Prince's Mansion, Zhao Zhongzhen asked his bookboy Mitty to inform Wang Pang's elder brother, Wang Yu, Wang Yuanze, Li Gefei in the capital, and Lu Shenyan in Wang Pang's Mansion.These people are all waiting for Zhong Zhen to bring back the news of the court and Wang Pang; and Zhong Zhen also knows that if he wants to know the real situation of Wang Pang, it is faster and more accurate to get news from outside the court.

Not far to the east along the street is Jinxiu Tower.The once beautiful Jinxiu Road is not much different from many restaurants in the capital now.Except for the large gold-lettered signboard on the forehead telling people that this place was once named by Emperor Renzong, the business of Jinxiu Building is not as prosperous as it used to be. In the hall on the first floor, there are only three or four tables of scattered guests.

"Your Majesty, you are here!" Cui Fu saw Zhao Zhongzhen and Mitty walking in, he habitually greeted them with a smile and walked up.The few guests in the hall raised their heads curiously and looked at this young man who was only seventeen or eighteen years old.

Mitty made a hissing gesture towards Cui Fu, and Cui Fu remembered that Zhongzhen is now the prince, so it is inevitable that he will attract attention, so he immediately understood what Mitty meant, and hurriedly said: "Young master, the person you invited is already on the second floor Wait. Please come inside!"

Zhao Zhongzhen hurried upstairs, and a young man among the guests at the table in the hall behind him asked Cui Fu: "Shopkeeper, that young master just now is so young, what kind of county king is he?"

The middle-aged man at the same table said: "Let's eat your meal. Don't you know that the capital is hidden by the dragon and the crouching tiger? You don't know the official rank if you don't go to the capital. The county king is okay, even the big shopkeeper on Jinxiu Road is a fourth-rank servant. "

Cui Fu came over with a smile and poured wine for the guests and said, "Hey, if the shopkeeper is in the capital, he will make some new dishes every few days, and everyone will be lucky."

Several people laughed, and the young guest asked, "Where did you head shopkeeper go, and when will you be back?"

Cui Fu sighed and said, "Hey, I went to Liao Kingdom a few years ago. I said it was to celebrate the birthday of the Empress Dowager of Liao Kingdom, but I didn't come back. I heard that I was sent to Korea again. Anyway, our Wang Shilang is not in the capital all the year round."

"Wang Shilang? What's your name?" The young man asked in surprise.

Cui Fu had already turned back to the cabinet, and the middle-aged guest on the table said, "You just came back to the capital from outside. Wang Shilang is the king who built the pagoda on the Taizi Mountain of the Liao Kingdom and was respected by the emperor of the Liao Kingdom as Wang Xianren. The fragrant cakes we use It was also from Jinxiang Mansion. And..." He wanted to continue, but the young man stopped him: "I know who it is, shopkeeper, when will your big shopkeeper come back?"

The people downstairs were inquiring about Wang Pang's news. It would be great if Cui Fu knew when Wang Pang would come back, not to mention that Cui Fu didn't know. At this time, several people sitting in the single room on the second floor were also talking anxiously. [

"Well, what should we do? Do you want to notify the Second Young Master?" Lu Shenyan walked back and forth in the room while shaking his hands.

Yuan Ze frowned: "Housekeeper Xiao Lu, please sit down quickly, people who walk back and forth feel flustered."

After hearing this, Xiao Lu answered his seat again: "Eldest Young Master, anyone would be flustered by this matter, alas, Second Young Master, if he finds out, he must feel uncomfortable."

Zhong Zhen took out a handkerchief and wiped his eyes: "Brother Yuanze, you should go and inform your father, Master Bao passed away, and everyone in the court will be mourned. It is estimated that the people in the capital will know about it soon. If Brother Ruo knows about this, I'm afraid they won't feel at ease." front."

Li Gefei also persuaded: "I think, let's wait until Ruo comes back to discuss this matter. Prince, you just said that there are three major events. What is the second one?"

Zhao Zhongzhen looked at several people and said in a low voice: "I heard that the imperial court sent the new Minister of Household Affairs, Qin Minzhi, to Jincheng."

Yuan Ze asked puzzledly, "Is there any problem for a Minister of the Household Department to go to Jincheng?"

"Brother Yuanze, I'm afraid that my father is being instigated by others. The treasury is empty right now. My father intends to engage in some kind of public-private merger. This is not to mention a thorough investigation of the control of the land and falsification of tax avoidance." Zhong Zhen worried. Said.

"What are you afraid of! It's also right for governance to cheat." Li Gefei asked.

Yuan Ze's face was gloomy. Like Zhao Zhongzhen, he had an ominous feeling: "It's nothing. There is a problem with the place to go. Jincheng is where Jinxiang Mansion is located, and ten miles and eight villages are already on the land of Jinxiang Mansion. The first one is Jincheng, I am afraid whether it is the land tax inspection or any mergers, they are all aimed at Jinxiang Mansion."

Zhongzhen nodded: "I can't blame my father for this matter. The king of a country always considers the world. I believe that brother Ruo definitely did not bully the market or harm the court. It's just that I don't like the person he sent. That Qin Minzhi It's very annoying to look like a villain."

Lu Shenyan grinned: "This is troublesome. If you want to impose a crime, why don't you say goodbye. I said the county king, you have become a prince, why don't you speak for the young master?"

Zhong Zhen blushed, how could he help this matter, his father was on his head, who would dare to disobey his father's orders.Although he also has opinions on his father's way of doing some things, but it is his father after all.

Wang Yuanze cast a glance at Lu Shenyan: "Okay, don't say a few words less, if it wasn't for Zhong Zhen's help, would the Yuexia girl be able to leave the palace now?!"

Hearing this, Lu Shenyan closed his mouth, but soon sighed again: "Miss Yuexia is weak after giving birth, I don't know if she can survive until the son comes back." His eyes were red, and he hastily wiped away his tears.

Zhao Zhongzhen sighed: "I have invited the best imperial doctor to treat my wife. I hope their mother and child will be safe when my brother Ruo comes back."

Several people were silent for a while, and Wang Yuanze asked: "Zhong Zhen, what is the third major event?"

Just as Zhong Zhen was about to speak, he heard Cui Fu's voice outside the door saying: "My lord, you can't go in."

"Oh, shopkeeper, I have something important to do. That Wang Yuanze recognizes me, so you should report it quickly." A young man's voice replied.

"Hey! Just wait!" After Cui Fu finished speaking, there was a knock on the door.

The brothers in the room looked at each other, and Wang Yuanze said, "Shopkeeper Cui, who wants to see me?"

The door opened with a creak, and the young man who was eating at the downstairs table came in just now. He looked around at the four or five people in the room, and said to Wang Yuanze, "Yuanze, I haven't seen you for many years. You still recognize the people in the room." ?"[

Wang Yuanze saw that this person was somewhat familiar. He saw that this person was about 30 years old, of medium build, and spoke with a Jiangxi accent. At that time, Yuanze and Ruo were still sixteen or seventeen years old."

"Oh! You are? Wang Shao, Wang Zichun?" Yuan Ze recognized the person in front of him with wide eyes. Back then, Wang Shao was the least conspicuous of those people, but he talked very well with his younger brother Wang Pang. .

"It's right here!" Wang Shao said, cupping his hands.

Seeing that Yuan Ze really knew this person, Cui Fu spread his hands and said, "Okay, you guys are chatting, I'll go down to greet the guests."

Yuan Ze hurriedly introduced to everyone: "This prince is purely a friend of my younger brother Wang Pang. He is also a Jinshi." He turned to Wang Shao and said, "Brother, can you be safe these years? Let me introduce you. This is Prince of Huaiyang County; this is Li Gefei; this is Lu Shenyan, the head of my younger brother's palace."

When everyone heard that they were Wang's friends, they hurriedly returned the salute and said: "That is Wang Shilang's friend, please take a seat."

Wang Shao arched his hands and said: "I rushed back to the capital and wanted to find Wang Shilang for something important. Do you know that Xixia has raised troops? I met Wang Shilang in Yanzhou back then. He asked me to observe Hehuang in Xixia when I was traveling in Shaanxi. The situation in the region, I came back this time just to have a good chat with him.”

Zhong Zhen hurriedly said: "Zichun came just in time, I was going to talk about Li Liangzuo's sending troops in Xixia."