Horse on the World

Chapter 139
At the end of August, the sun was already scorching hot. The scorching sun poured heat violently, as if it wanted to steam everything. The inaudible chirping sound disappeared in an instant.

In this scorching heat, not to mention people, even dogs stick out their tongues and lie down under the shade of the tree listlessly. When they see someone coming, they raise their heads and bark weakly, then lie down lazily.

But in such weather, Luo Daoming, the county magistrate of Xinyang County in Dingzhou, was wearing a neat official robe, and led a group of officials and gentry in the county, standing respectfully under the shade of the roadside trees, looking forward to it.The weather was so hot that everyone here was covered in sweat-soaked robes, as if they had just been fished out of the water, but even so, no one was naked to cool off.

Today is a very important day for them. Dingzhou Commander-in-law Li Qing returned to Dingzhou from Luoyang and decided to inspect Xinyang County on the way back.This made Luo Daoming very nervous. Although Xinyang County is a county under Dingzhou, but because it is far from the border, it has not been invaded by barbarians, and because it is connected with Fuzhou, it is the main road for Dingzhou's transportation and Fuzhou. Even Dingzhou City, the capital of Dingzhou, is so rich and prosperous. After receiving the official document that Li Qing wanted to come to inspect, Luo Daoming summoned the officials and repeatedly confirmed that there was absolutely nothing in the county that Li Qing could find out. He called together some gentry, reviewed the stern lectures, and suppressed all possible signs before he was relieved.

Luo Daoming thinks that he is doing quite well in Xinyang. Not only is the government clear and the people live and work in peace and contentment, but also the tax money paid to the state every year is also the highest in Xinyang. Even so, he is still very worried because he It's not Grand Marshal Li's direct descendants, but was promoted by his predecessor, Marshal Xiao. Although Marshal Li didn't involve himself in the last personnel adjustment after he took office, Luo Daoming believes that such a good place, if Li Qing finds out If there is any problem with him, he will be very happy to push himself aside and replace him with his own confidant.

This time when Li Qing returned from the capital, he did not return directly to Dingzhou, but went around to Xinyang, which aggravated his worry. What is Li Qing doing here? .Luo Daoming waited for Li Qing's arrival in such a mood of fetching water with fifteen buckets, anxious about gain and loss.

Someone came galloping on a horse in the distance, Luo Daoming was excited, it was the Yamen who went to inquire about it came back, it seems that Li Qing's car is not far from here.

Sure enough, the yacha jumped off his horse, came trotting all the way to him, cupped his hands and said: "My lord, the commander's team will arrive soon."

Hearing this, everyone came out from the shade of the trees one after another, adjusted their clothes, and stood with their hands tied. Immediately, a large number of horses appeared in their eyes, splashing clouds of smoke and dust, and came straight to this side.

The weather was too hot, Li Qing only wore a piece of plain clothes, and walked on horseback, while behind him, Yang Yidao and the accompanying guards were all dressed up, with armor on their tops, even though they were marching under the sun in iron armor at this time It was really a serious crime, but Yang Yidao didn't allow the guards to take off their helmets and hang them in the air. Even if Li Qing spoke, he pushed back.Ever since he ate Shang Haibo's board, Yang Yidao did not allow himself to make even the slightest mistake.

Qingfeng was still sitting in the carriage, but the curtains around the carriage were pulled away. Like Li Qing, his face was covered with sweat and flushed.Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the crowd in front of them, and they finally arrived.

"Xinyang County Magistrate Luo Daoming leads the officials and gentry of Xi County to welcome the Commander." Luo Daoming bowed deeply, and everyone behind him followed suit.

Li Qing laughed and jumped off the horse, and pulled Luo Daoming casually, "Magistrate Luo and everyone, please don't be polite, this damn weather is so hot that it makes people panic, fortunately you are still waiting for me under the sun, this is not looking for me." Are you guilty?"

Luo Daoming said: "It's an honor for the commander in chief to come to our county, not to mention that it's just a little bit of sunshine, even if there is a knife, the big guys have to come to welcome the commander in chief!"

Li Qing said with a smile: "Magistrate Luo, on this journey, hundreds of counties in Xinyang live and work in peace and contentment, and are rich and prosperous. It can be seen that you are indeed a capable official, but I didn't expect that you are also good at flattering. Looking at you, it seems that you have just Like being pulled out of the water."

Luo Daoming smiled and said, "It's a great honor to be able to flatter the commander-in-chief. Some people want to do it, but they can't find a way!"

This sentence made everyone laugh, and even the serious Yang Yidao laughed out loud.Li Qing glanced at Luo Daoming in surprise. This person is not simple. Not only can he do things, but he is also a shrewd person. After a few words, not only did he have a good impression of him, but also made everyone present All relaxed.

"The lower officials have prepared food and wine in the county to wash the general away." Luo Daoming said.

"Okay, let's go. The weather is too hot. Standing on the side of the road will hurt everyone. It's better to go to the city quickly, find a shady place, drink iced tea, and fan yourself to cool off." Li Qing laughed and jumped After getting on the horse, Luo Daoming and the others hurriedly got on the sedan chair and the horse-drawn carriage, leading the way in front, and the group of people rushed towards Xinyang City.

Li Qing's visit to Xinyang this time is indeed a cover. His real destination is Fuzhou, which borders Xinyang. The visit to Xinyang is just to deceive everyone. Mingyan has already been waiting for him in Xinyang. He has planned for a long time. Mingyan has come up with a complete action plan for Shiwei's plan, and this time he came to implement it formally.

Li Qing did not live in the county office that Luo Daoming had cleaned up, but in the home of a wealthy man in Xinyang, Cui Yicheng. Qing has a connection, otherwise Li Qing would not be polite to him at today's welcome banquet, and even toasted him with a glass of wine. It seems that in the future, he will have to make friends with this Cui Yicheng. With Li Qing as a big backer Well, he won't walk sideways in Dingzhou in the future.

Luo Daoming was puzzled, this Cui Yicheng was established in Xinyang after Li Qing came to power in Dingzhou, and as far as he knew, this Cui Yicheng was a big salt merchant in Fuzhou. He is also a person with good hands and eyes, so it is not surprising to be in contact with Li Qing, but as a businessman, why has he had such a big backer in Dingzhou, but he has never informed himself in the past few months?As long as he squeaks, I will give him some face if I am emotional and reasonable.

However, Li Qing ignored Luo Mingcheng's confusion. After eating the reception banquet and hastily listening to Luo Daoming's report, he hurriedly moved into Cui Yicheng's mansion. This made Luo Daoming understand that Li Qing's coming to Xinyang was completely different. Purposeful.As for why, since Li Qing didn't tell him, he wouldn't be stupid enough to ask.As long as Li Qing didn't come here to find other things, no matter what he did, it had nothing to do with him, as long as he did his part well.

Arriving at Cui Yicheng's mansion, after washing and grooming, Li Qing, who was already refreshed, was sitting in the room. Opposite him, Mingyan was sitting impressively, while Li Qing was flipping through a book Mingyan gave him. Copywriting.

After reading it carefully, Li Qing handed the copy to Qingfeng, and said: "It's good to go west from Fuzhou, but the sea is rough and the waves are rough, and pirates are rampant, so it's extremely dangerous. Mingyan, make up your mind." Is it gone?"

Mingyan smiled and said: "Commander, I have made up my mind, otherwise I would not have invited Commander to Xinyang, but the problem with this ship needs to be resolved by Commander!"

Li Qing nodded and said: "I understand that if you want to ensure your safety as much as possible without being disturbed by pirates, the best solution is to get a warship of the Fuzhou Navy to go to sea. I came this time just to Solve this problem, and get to know the owner of Fuzhou by the way!"

Mingyan laughed and said: "Seeing the commander-in-chief meet me in Cui Yicheng's mansion, I knew that the commander-in-chief already has a plan in mind."

"Well, Cui Yicheng is a big salt merchant in Fuzhou. You know that. I don't allow private sales of salt in Dingzhou, but I entrust all the salt sales to him. Yu Dingzhou government office, this is a unique business, he will naturally try to curry favor."

"Since ancient times, salt has been a huge profit. There are many salt merchants in Fuzhou, but the commander-in-chief gave him all the salt for the whole state. Can he not try to please? I'm afraid this house is also under your name?"

Li Qing smiled, "Then you guessed wrong, this house was given to Qingfeng by him."

Mingyan raised her head and glanced at Qingfeng, who was looking at her with a smile on her face. Mingyan was taken aback. Qingfeng seemed to be harmless to humans and animals, but she had a strong mind. It only depends on her methods when she was preparing to establish the Statistics and Investigation Department. It can be seen that after using the original Dingzhou shadow system to set up the shelf, in a short period of time, everyone in the Dingzhou shadow was completely excluded from the Dingzhou intelligence system, otherwise I will not be forced to be helpless, I can only cross to the west, don't find a new way.

While talking, Li Qing sent someone to summon Cui Yicheng, looked at the three people in the room, Cui Yicheng looked humble, although he was rich, but in the eyes of these powerful people, he was nothing, a word can make him go to heaven, Just one sentence can send me to hell, Dingzhou changed hands, I saw the opportunity quickly, and soon found the way of the Statistics and Investigation Department, the rewards are naturally amazing, all the people who originally went to Dingzhou to sell salt were all banned , only I got the exclusive monopoly, and what I paid was to provide Dingzhou with some information about Fuzhou on time.However, Qingfeng put him on the roster in the Statistics and Investigation Department and gave him the nominal title of Colonel Yingyang, which made him a little uneasy.Although it has always been a dream of businessmen like them to be an official, he is also clear about what department the Statistics and Investigation Department is. He has no way of getting to the bottom of the water here. He had the upper hand, thinking that even if he became a member of the Statistics and Investigation Department, it would be no big deal, maybe in the future he would be able to wear this tiger skin and make a bigger career out of it.

So when he came in, he treated Li Qing and Qingfeng like a subordinate.This surprised Mingyan very much.Only then did he realize that Cui Yicheng had already boarded Qingfeng's boat.

"Tell me about Fuzhou!" Li Qing told him to sit down.

"Yes!" Cui Yicheng leaned forward, and said: "The Commander of Fuzhou, Xiang Xianhe, is from a foreign relative. He is the current Queen Xiang's family. It is because of this relationship that he became the Commander of Fuzhou. Greedy for money, we Fuzhou businessmen have suffered from him."

Li Qing smiled and said, "Let's get to the point!"

"Fuzhou produces salt, and salt itself is very profitable, but because it is a material controlled by the court, in addition to selling official salt to Marshal Xiang, he also sells private salt in private. Speaking of which, most of the salt we sell It’s all these private salts. The selling price of these private salts is only half of the official salt.”

Qingfeng smiled and said: "Lieutenant Cui, it seems that you have made a lot of money in our Dingzhou, and what you gave us is the official price!"

Cui Yicheng shuddered, but Li Qing said: "Well, you must have paid a lot of money to get these private salts. There is nothing wrong with it. Didn't the imperial court notice the sale of private salt to the commander?"

"Then how could it be? The imperial court's officials are powerful, but most of the private salt sold to the commander-in-chief went to the queen's house, and a small part went into the palace and into the pocket of your majesty. Of course not. What's the matter."

Li Qing shook his head, it turned out to be like this, I really don't know what Tian Qi thinks, someone stole his things, and then gave him a little bit of benefits, and he turned a blind eye to it.

"Not only that, Commander Xiang also uses the Fuzhou Navy to sell salt overseas, which is more profitable. This time, the Commander wants to use the Fuzhou Navy, so I thought of this. The Navy often sells salt by boat. We can take advantage of it."

"The navy has been corrupted to such a degree? No wonder pirates are rampant, and they are banned repeatedly."

"That's not necessarily the case!" Cui Yicheng shook his head, "Deng Peng, the commander of the navy, is pretty good, but over the years, he has gradually been emptied by Commander Xiang, and only one battalion of sailors is available in his hands, and the other three battalions of sailors are all The commander-in-chief's confidant, what can he do, he can only restrain his own army and not get involved in these things."

Li Qing nodded, "This is a bit interesting, out of the mud but not stained, this Deng Peng is amazing, how about it, Cui Yicheng, can you arrange a chance for me in Huai'an Mansion, I want to meet this Commander Xiang." Zhun'an Prefecture is the capital of Fuzhou.

Cui Yicheng looked at Li Qing in surprise: "Marshal, are you going to Huai'an?"

"Well, go quietly, go back quietly, since Commander Xiang loves money, I have a way to get him to send someone to escort Mingyan to the west."

I'm exhausted, please forgive me!After that, there will be two chapters every day.This chapter is more than 3900 words, hey, it’s enough!I specially pressed it to less than [-] words!
(End of this chapter)