King of Song

Chapter 111

Chen Qi, magistrate of Qiantang County, carefully entered the Yuhang County Prince's Mansion through the side door. Recently, he has been very cautious, careful not to be noticed.

A local government official has a close relationship with the vassal king. If this is heard by the emperor, suspicion is inevitable.If it is rumored by the censor, impeachment is indispensable, and the future is worrying, which is light.What's more, now is a critical moment, if you don't do it well, you will be endangering your wealth and life, and you don't dare to be careless.

"Magistrate Chen, didn't you go to welcome the new general judge?" Duke Zhao Zhongye of Dongyang County was a little surprised when he saw Chen Qi.

Chen Qi shook his head and sighed: "This Su Tongpan is really unique. He fooled everyone on the pier, saying that he abandoned the boat and stepped ashore in Suzhou. I don't know if he has arrived in Hangzhou?"

"Su Zizhan has a great reputation, and he's not a small airs!" Zhao Zhongye smiled lightly.

"No, I'm worried that this Su Tong judge has other plans. The key is that we don't know his whereabouts at all, and we don't know what he will do in Hangzhou!" Chen Qi has become a little nervous recently.

Zhao Zhongye said in a deep voice: "Don't worry too much, what can he do alone? Could it be a private visit? What can he find out?" The implication is that even if Su Shi has the heart, he will not gain anything.

"Okay!" Chen Qi took a breath and nodded slightly. It's best if you really do it so meticulously.However, my heart is still very uneasy.

Zhao Zhongye saw it in his eyes, and when his eyes moved, a deep worry emerged in his heart.Asked: "Magistrate Chen, how is the stocking going?"

"My side is already settled, and Yuhang County's side is almost the same. The key is how to start luck? Hangzhou is not calm right now. If we can hide it from everyone, it will be troublesome if there is too much movement and suspicion." Chen Qi came here for this.

"Okay!" Zhao Zhongye nodded and said, "You don't have to worry about how to transport it, my father and I will figure out a way." Zhao Zhongye immediately agreed, and never led Chen Qi to see his father.

Chen Qi thought in his heart: I hope you can arrange it properly!Then he wiped the sweat off his forehead, said goodbye and turned to leave.

Zhao Zhongye didn't stop, and went into the study to see his father Zhao Zongyong, and said, "Father, the goods are almost ready!"

"okay!"

Zhao Zhongye said: "Just now Chen Qi came to confirm the shipment of the goods again, I wonder if father has any plans?"

"Of course I have plans!" Zhao Zongyong smiled lightly and asked, "Is that Su Shi here?"

"Father, why do you pay so much attention to Su Shi?" Zhao Zhongye was a little puzzled, and replied: "Today, Su Shi has played tricks on everyone, and the one who came from the pier was just an empty boat. Where is Su Shi himself now?"

"Oh, Su Dacai is really extraordinary!" Zhao Zongyong laughed and said, "He won't disappear, he will definitely find acquaintances when he arrives in Hangzhou!"

"Acquaintances? You mean..."

"Lin Zhao!" Zhao Zongyong said: "They were all sent by Zhao Xu, how can they not communicate with each other? It doesn't matter, but it's always good for him to show up as soon as possible. Tell Chen Qi that the departure time is set at the beginning of June. , I will arrange it!"

"Okay!" Seeing that his father was full of confidence, Zhao Zhongye felt relieved.He was already about to leave, but suddenly remembered something, and said, "Father, Chen Qi has always been very timid and nervous recently, and I'm worried that if this continues, something bad will happen!"

"Hmph, a fool, I used to be happy when I got rich and counted money, but now I'm afraid of the slightest risk, what a coward without courage." Zhao Zongyong scolded, and then sighed softly: "But if there is no one , our business can't start, and we can't do without him even more right now, just bear with it for now... Besides, it's a good thing to have him, if something happens, hehe..."

Some people are destined to be lackeys only, and they are good helpers and even good brothers when the weather is calm.Once the situation changes suddenly, it is destined to be a shield and a scapegoat.The reason why Chen Qi was worried was probably because of this aspect.

Zhao Zhongye understood clearly, and nodded lightly: "My son understands, but will he make a mistake this time? I'm a little worried..."

"Your worry is not unreasonable, and it is indeed not appropriate to delay for too long!" Zhao Zongyong pondered for a moment, and ordered: "In this way, as soon as Su Shi arrives, send my invitation immediately. Banquet, invite all the officials in Hangzhou to appreciate the lotus and escape the summer heat!"

"Father is planning that day?" Zhao Zhongye asked tentatively.

"Not bad!" Zhao Zongyong said: "Ye Chang Meng has many dreams, I have to stand up for my father...but it needs to be carefully designed, and no mistakes can be made!"

"Yes, son, be careful!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lin Zhao took Su Shi to the Shen Mansion not far from the West Lake. At this time, he had to meet Shen Kuo first.

Right now they are the trio sent to Hangzhou by Emperor Zhao Xu, and they must work closely together.Although Shen Kuo and Wang Anshi had good friends and were members of the New Party, Su Shi was relatively conservative and might be awkward when they met.

However, after seeing Lin Zhao, Su Shi's worries have been reduced a lot. After all, everyone is a Jinshi who has read sage books.What's more, Shen Kuo is also middle-aged, and he is not worried about his stability and reason.What's more, the three of them have common responsibilities because they are under the imperial order.

When Shen Kuo got the news, he hurriedly welcomed the two into the mansion, and there was a lot of courtesy to each other.Shen Kuo had already received the appointment of the visiting envoy of Zhejiang, and Shen Kuo had a bright face when he came to see Su Shi in Hangzhou without entering the state capital.As for finding Lin Zhao first, it might be a coincidence, or it might be the lubricating oil that Su Shi found, and he understands this very well.

"I heard that Dongyang and Cunzhong have jointly researched the method of movable type printing and smelting copper with gallbladder water?" Su Shi said with a smile: "When I came here, I heard that the Ministry of Industry is experimenting. If these two methods are successful, it will be of great benefit to our Song Dynasty. ah!"

Lin Zhao smiled and said, "This is all thanks to Mr. Shen!"

"Where, it was researched by the predecessors, and I just collected it. Fortunately, Dongyang reminded me to improve it, otherwise the precious magic method may really be destroyed in my hands."

"Dongyang has been investigating for a long time, but is there any clue?" Shen Kuo only knew the real purpose of Lin Zhao's coming to Hangzhou after receiving the imperial decree.

Lin Zhao chuckled: "You two are laughing. I have been in Hangzhou for a long time, but there are some clues, but they are all intermittent, and there is no coherence. There is no major breakthrough."

"Oh?" Su Shi asked, "Is it true that private salt sales in Hangzhou are rampant?"

"Yes, this is for sure!"

"The more than 40 people in Fangjia Village were really caused by a fight between salt lords?"

Lin Zhao shook his head and said, "So, do you two believe it?"

Su Shi and Shen Kuo looked at each other with a smile, shook their heads, and at the same time looked a lot more dignified.

"Private salt sales in Hangzhou are rampant. What is the local government doing? Is it just lax supervision?" Lin Zhao's words made a point, which shocked people.

"So, things in Hangzhou seem to be very troublesome!" In fact, both Su Shi and Shen Kuo knew it well.

Lin Zhaodao: "Although I have found some clues, they are not coherent at all, and almost have no clue. Now that the two of you have arrived, everything is easy to talk about, and a positive investigation can be launched immediately."

"That's fine!" Su Shi said: "I will immediately go to the Hangzhou government to take office, accept this matter, and find out the truth about the murder in Fangjia Village as soon as possible."

"It seems that the official voice and folk customs of Liangzhe Road need to be picketed!" Shen Kuo smiled lightly. He is not just an inspector of Liangzhe Road.

However, the two have a common opinion: "Dongyang, you should be in charge of the secret investigation. If you work on three prongs, you may be able to gain something."

As for what method Lin Zhao used and what he found, neither Su Shi nor Shen Kuo asked.They believed that Lin Zhao had this ability, and he would naturally speak when it was time to speak.

Even if the investigative trio was established, the three discussed and split up.

Early the next morning, Su Shi rushed to the government office in Hangzhou to report. Zhizhou Zheng Xie was worried, what happened to Su Zizhan?Young and famous so frivolous?
It has been a month since the imperial decree was issued, and he still hasn't taken office yet. He arrived yesterday as agreed, and played a golden cicada escape at the pier again.He has deep qualifications, and his position is higher than Su Shi. He did not go to the dock to greet him yesterday, but he heard a lot of complaints.

It is hard work for one person to hold two jobs. If it is too late, it seems that you have to ask Su Zizhan for payment.Zheng Xie twisted his shoulders, moved his waist, and the two long wings on the official cap flickered non-stop, which was a bit funny.

At this moment, a small official came to report at the door: "Su Tong's sentence has arrived!"

"Thank God, it's finally here!" Zheng Xie was so excited that he got up and stood at the door to greet him.He used to be the prefect of Kaifeng and a Hanlin scholar. His qualifications and prestige are very high, so he doesn't need to condescend in etiquette.

Sure enough, after a while, Su Tongpan came to pay a polite visit to Zheng Zhizhou. They met each other in Bianjing, and the meeting atmosphere was very good.

According to the organizational system of the Northern Song Dynasty, to a certain extent, the general judgment has the meaning of monitoring the prefectures, which is a natural conflict.If the relationship is not handled well, there will often be disharmony between each other.

However, Zheng Xie didn't have much "hostility" towards Su Shi. He was very self-reliant and didn't worry that Su Shi would threaten him.Su Shi's reputation is there, and in addition, they are all conservatives who oppose Wang Anshi's reform, and they have a common language, so they are very polite.

Su Shi respectfully said: "There were many delays on the way, so that I missed it for a long time. I ask Zheng Zhizhou to forgive me."

"Where, Zizhan doesn't have to worry about it, it's good to be here!" Zheng Xie completely lost the anger before, and was very polite, and then changed the subject: "But there is a lot of backlog, I'm afraid Zizhan is busy !"

"It should be, Shi will deal with it immediately." Su Shi is naturally obliged.

Zheng Xie secretly let out a sigh of relief. He has no clue about the murder of the private salt dealer in Fangjia Village, and he is distressed.It's all right now, it's much easier to throw all my brains to Su Shi.

Not long after the two chatted, someone came to report: "The King of Yuhang sent an invitation to hold a banquet in West Lake on the sixth day of June, inviting Hangzhou officials and gentry to have a feast and enjoy the coolness. At the same time, Su Tong will be cleansed!"

(End of this chapter)