Prince of Song Dynasty

Chapter 467 The Mantis Catches the Cicada Oriole Behind
Ye Chen glanced at Qian Zhiyin, smiled, and said, "Brother Qian! In fact, you can directly tell Xianggong Xue and General Zhao about these trivial matters. Explain the truth clearly. I believe these two old people will listen to you."

Qian Zhiyin sighed slightly, and said: "It seems that Brother Ye really doesn't know. Since Brother Ye faked his death, there are two elders and people sent by the court to watch over my younger brother anytime and anywhere. I am worried that my younger brother will do something wrong." I can understand some things. But under such circumstances, if my brother intervenes in Wuyue's political affairs, no matter how big or small the matter is, it will always be regarded as overstepping. However, speaking of one thing, my brother still I want to thank Brother Ye"

Ye Chen waved his hand, he naturally knew what Qian Zhiyin said later.Because he had suspended his death before, Emperor Song was worried about changes in the land of Wuyue, and at the first moment, he decreed that the descendants of Qian Zhiyin, the king of Wuyue, could become officials and generals.This is extremely rare for kings of the opposite sex like the Qian family of Wu Yue and the Chai family of Hou Zhou.

Xizilou is the most upscale restaurant in Hangzhou.Green flags flutter outside the building, even in the early winter, there are still green trees, a large green lawn where you can dry books, and green wood as a table inside the building, and a small second in green clothes.The singing of the Qing Dynasty people is really enjoyable.It's a pity that it's winter now, and the green flag is frozen.The green trees have yellow trunks, and the Qing people are still singing, but it's not good to just wear a light gauze, so the smell is naturally much weaker.

Ye Chen and Qian Zhiyin sat on the table by the railing, looking out at the lake through the gap of the windproof bamboo curtain outside the railing. He is a northerner no matter in later generations or in this era. Apart from Babao tofu, I was a little disappointed with other dishes. There was no fish soup from Mrs. Song, and Dongpo pork was naturally not available at this time, but there was not even Beggar chicken or even crispy pork knuckle!Fortunately, in addition to Babao tofu, there are still Longjing shrimps, otherwise he would turn around and leave depressed.Of course, the main reason is that northerners are not used to the taste of southern dishes, not that Xizilou dishes are not good.

In fact, Ye Chen was too harsh. Hangzhou's local cuisine is light and refreshing, which is quite different from northern cuisine. It has been quite famous in China since ancient times.

In addition to the extremely elegant box where Ye Chen and Qian Zhiyin lived, there was an equally elegant large compartment. There were five tables in total. Except for the two guards guarding the door, the rest of the killers who followed him were fine. Ye Chen, Huaxia Wei, and spies, regardless of their status or status, were ordered by Ye Chen to sit down and eat there in a muffled voice. The dishes on the table were the same as those on Ye Chen's table in the private room.I don’t know if it’s the sound of saliva or soup falling on the table just by the sound of dripping. Look at the way these people eat. Although they have been fighting and killing people in the Southern Tang Dynasty these days, they can only eat water and dried meat every day. And hard food, there are indeed some reasons for greed here, but it can also show that there are indeed two brushes in the cooking of Xizilou.

This scene was a bit scary, a large group of cold-breathing men were eating vegetables silently and fiercely, two guards at the door were swallowing their saliva, and only Ye Chen didn't eat much, and he was leisurely holding a glass of wine leaning on the railing to watch the scenery .

Pull up the windshield bamboo curtain outside the fence a little, the light is bright immediately, the water of Donghu Lake is reflected in the eyes, the wind blows into the building, blowing away the aroma of the dishes floating in the compartment.

"The business war with Shengtang is coming to an end in two days. If my younger brother is not wrong, the 300 million taels of silver in the Jiangnan Bank will be transferred in a few days." Ye Chen is not very interested in the food of Xizilou, which makes Qian Zhiyin, who previously described the delicious food here as the best in the south of the Yangtze River, was a little depressed. Just now, taking the opportunity of showing respect, he called the shopkeeper in the building and asked him to let the best cook in the building make some famous northern dishes and serve them up.

Ye Chen withdrew his gaze from the window and said, "Don't worry, the Holy Church and the Maitreya Sect have turned against each other. If so much money is transported by land, it will be easy for the Maitreya Sect to find out. Lou Yanming will not be polite. So most of them are covered by cargo ships." , by water transportation. Regardless of whether it is on the canal or on the Yangtze River, our Huaxia Weifu is prepared and will not let this big fat sheep run away."

Qian Zhiyin smiled slightly, and said: "Brother, you have to agree first, the 100 million taels of silver that Brother Ye sent has already been counted into the 300 million taels of silver, and I will not return it to Brother Ye."

Ye Chen nodded noncommittally and said, "If we can successfully get the three million taels of silver from the Holy Church, naturally we won't ask you for the million taels of silver."

In mid-November, Ye Chen left Hangzhou.

Because if you want to go back to Kaifeng, if you take the inland waterway, you must pass through the Southern Tang Dynasty, and if you go by land, you have to detour to Fujian Road and Guangdong Road and then go to Kaifeng from the west. The journey is really too long.Therefore, according to the plan, Ye Chen was going to set off on a sea boat to go north.Wuyue King Qian Zhiyin had to wait for more than three months before going to Kaifeng to settle down after half a year after Wuyue was merged into the Song Dynasty.

Before leaving, seven of the officials appointed by the imperial court in Wuyue land were found to be corrupt and accepting bribes. Ye Chen handed over the evidence to Xue Juzheng, who was in charge of Wuyue's political affairs, and the latter directly dismissed these seven people for investigation.Of course, the lake soldiers who clean up the mud in the West Lake will continue to be preserved. With Ye Chen's current status, since he opened his mouth, neither Xue Juzheng nor Zhao Zan will not give this face, let alone the land of Wuyue. Wealthy, not bad for the military pay.In fact, Xue Juzheng would do this because the emperor’s secret decree came from the Kaifeng court—the locust plague in Guanzhong, Hebei, the court rescued the disaster, repaired the reservoir, and recently ran out of money. Under the circumstances, collect 50 taels of silver and send it to Kaifeng.

The emperor is also short of money!

The night before leaving, Xue Juzheng, Zhao Zan, and Gao Chengxiang hosted a banquet for Ye Chen to see him off. Ye Chen left Hangzhou with Qian Zhiyin at dawn in the morning.

The reason why he was accompanied by Qian Zhiyin was because his first stop was to go to Qian Zhiyin's fief - Shanghai Town.That's right, it was originally just a small fishing village, but now, in the past two months, Qian Zhiyin has spared no expense in building it, and it has become a large-scale town. Restaurants, shops, brothels, and casinos have all opened on the streets. After getting up, the flow of people is also increasing. The most important thing is that a large seaport has been built in this small town. Under the secret operation of Qian Zhiyin, many overseas merchant ships from Japan, Korea, Nanyue, etc. have already arrived. Parking here, in short, is a thriving scene.

"Brother Ye's vision is really extraordinary. This place itself is located at the mouth of the Yangtze River. The sea area is wide, the water is deep and sheltered from the wind, and the town is hundreds of miles away. The terrain is flat and open, which is convenient for port construction. In addition, in most cases, the duration of the fog here Just for an hour or two, it has little impact on the shipping and loading and unloading in the port. And the younger brother also sent someone to inquire about the fishermen here, and the waterway here has never been frozen. In short, this place is indeed an excellent seaport location, and the younger brother is very helpful. Confidence to build this place into the number one port city in the Song Dynasty." Standing in front of the newly built seaport, the two looked at the big river in front of them, which is the Huangpu River in later generations, Qian Zhiyin said vigorously.

Ye Chen smiled, but didn't speak.

Jinling City, capital of the Southern Tang Dynasty, inside the Maitreya Temple in the imperial city.

Lou Yanming, who has been in a depressed mood these days, finally received great news today. It was sent by Do Luo, one of the Four King Kongs of the Dajiang Gang, through a secret channel.It is said that the Dajiang gang accidentally found a fleet with a deep draft. After investigating, they found that the seven large ships were full of silver, and the initial estimate was at least one million taels of silver.Without thinking too much, Lou Yanming guessed that it must be money from the Holy Church.Directly give an order to Doroku to let the Dajiang Gang dispatch to rob the money.As for troublesome matters such as wars, casualties, and interference from the Southern Tang government and navy during this process, it was natural for Guoshi Lou Yanming to greet them or come forward to resolve them.

Therefore, when the head of the Dajiang Gang, that is, Liu Jinyuan, the envoy of the Nanfu of Huaxia Weifu, and his deputy, Duo Luo, took more than 20 boats on the big river in Yangzhou and robbed the seven nominal cargo ships. The hall has masters at hand, and there are quite a few of them. The power of the Dajiang Gang alone is actually hard to support, but as early as Ye Chen escaped from Nantang, he secretly dispatched fifty of the hundred killers around him to Liu Jinyuan.

On November 300th, a water battle on the river in Yangzhou lasted for a stick of incense. All the more than [-] people accompanying the temple were killed, including more than a dozen first-class masters.The Dajiang Gang also suffered a lot.

However, just when the Dajiang Gang was about to transport the seven ships away, the Dasong Navy suddenly crossed the border and appeared in the waters of the Southern Tang Dynasty, as if falling from the sky. Robbed.

The sailor general who dispatched didn't know what was on board, and Pan Mei, who dispatched the navy, didn't know either.It was only because Xu Fangyi, the envoy of the Intelligence Department of the Huaxia Weifu, came in person with the emperor's will and the Privy Council's dispatch documents that he mobilized the five thousand sailors under his command.After the seven cargo ships were snatched over, they were also operated by sailors dispatched by the Huaxia Wei Mansion, and Huaxia Wei was also on board, so the sailors could not touch the things on the ship at all.So I don't know what's on the ship. Even if an experienced sailor judges from the depth of the water that there is probably gold and silver on it, since this matter is the order of the emperor, no one dares to think about it.

After Lou Yanming got the news that the fat he got was snatched by the Great Song Navy, he was naturally furious, but in the end, he only attributed the reason to the fact that the Huaxia Weifu spies also inquired about the silver on the seven ships of the Holy Church, so Only then did Song Guonai come in.As for the Dajiang Gang, he had no doubts, because there was never any news that Ye Chen had contact with the Dajiang Gang.

(End of this chapter)