On March 11 of the second year of Jiajing, Yangzhou City was bathed in the hazy spring rain, and the willows on the banks of the Surabaya River were still around, and thousands of catkins were scattered with the wind, making this prosperous ancient city more poetic and picturesque.

Despite the rain, the streets of Yangzhou City are full of people, and even the restaurants and inns are overcrowded, because the annual Jiangnan Oiran Contest will be held tomorrow, March 12.

Jiangnan has always been a beautiful place for fat powder, and the annual Oiran Contest is second only to the grand event of the Shangyuan Festival, not only the wealthy businessmen and magnates flock to it, but even the gentry and scholars are also happy. Of course, those peddlers and pawns are even more happy, they are popular and easy to make money, selling flowers, snacks, ornaments, etc., and the income of one day can be worth half a month.

As a result, everyone is rushing to Yangzhou City, and as a result, the entire Yangzhou City is overcrowded, and all the inns and even firewood houses and stables are inhabited, and those who have no place to live can only live in private houses, or simply sleep outside the city.

The Oiran Grand Fortress will be held on the Surabaya River outside the government office, on which a lotus blossom-like stage has been erected, and the beauties of the various green houses will be selected to show off their faces and talents on the stage, while the officials can watch on both sides of the river, or on the boat and on the bridge.

Mingzhu Tower is the premier restaurant in Yangzhou City, located near the Taiping Bridge and built near the river, magnificent, is one of the taller buildings in Yangzhou City.

At lunchtime, the Pearl Building was full of scholars, most of whom were students from nearby academies, as well as literati and scholars from other places. Therefore, the ear-filled callers are also, and the sourers talk loudly and chant poems against each other, so it is not lively.

The topics that everyone talks about are naturally inseparable from the upcoming Oiran Competition, such as which girl's appearance and figure, which girl's recent gift from the talented Tang Yin, and which girl's most likely to win this year's Oiran......

Of course, there are also scholars who care about national affairs talking about others, such as the emperor's intention to promote the cultivation of sweet potatoes in Beizhili, Shanxi, Henan and other places; For example, the fierce "Great Rites Discussion" dispute is going on in the court; For example, in this year's newly released palace test gold list, the champion is Yao Lai, a native of Cixi, Zhejiang, and Xu Jie, a talented man from Huating County, Songjiang Prefecture, is a new science and technology detective...... Wait a minute.

In addition, he was ordered to send Xu Jin to inspect Dongtai County, meet the invading Japanese invaders on a narrow road, kill more than 100 Japanese pirates, and take advantage of the victory to pursue and exterminate a group of pirates who have been entrenched on Dongsha Island for many years. This has also become one of the hot topics that everyone talks about, and there are even good people who have given Xu Jin a nickname called Xu Changsheng.

But no, when Xu Jin was just a student, he led his army against King Ning and won a remarkable victory; presiding over disaster relief in Shandong coincided with the rebellion of the White Lotus Sect, and he served as the commander to suppress the thief army, and as a result, he won successive battles and swept away tens of thousands of thief troops cleanly; This time he came to Yangzhou for only ten days, and only relied on hundreds of accompanying guards to destroy a group of pirates and pirates, and he has not tasted a defeat so far, and he is a veritable victorious general. After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the literati could have such a record, except for the new Bowang Shouren, it was the turn of Jing'an Bo Xu Jin, and it was the genius of Yunwen Yunwu.

Compared with the lobby on the first floor of the pearl, the private seat on the second floor is of course not so noisy, but it is also quite lively, and it has been chartered by the three major merchant gangs.

I saw that there were nine tables on the second floor, and the Jin merchants, Hui merchants, and Fujian merchants each occupied three seats, and they were clearly distinguished from each other, and the smell of gunpowder was very strong. Tomorrow will be the time to know, and the results of the Oiran Contest will determine the distribution of the salt introduction, and all the big businessmen present will have a share of the benefits.

"Boss Xu, I heard that Lord Qincha gave a new song to Wang Cuiqiao some time ago, I heard that this word is extraordinary, even the talented Tang Yin and Wen Zhengming are very respectful, I don't know if Wang has ever composed a tune?" A Hui merchant asked with a smile, but his eyes looked at the Jin merchant triumphantly, and the taste of showing off was very obvious.

Xu Dong, the head of the Hui Chamber of Commerce, was full of spring breeze, and said with a smile: "Thanks to the love of Lord Qincha, the Wang family has composed a song a few days ago, but it is a pity that they refuse to let the contemptible and Boss Wang (Wang Zhi, the head of the vice president) listen to it first." ”

"Haha, Lord Qincha Xu's poems are the best of the best, a song "Funeral Flower Yin" is amazing, if you add the attainments of the Wang family in the song, it is a perfect match, this song must be ...... It should only be in heaven, how many times can the world hear it. This year's Oiran is none other than Wang Cuiqiao. Come on, let's have a toast, and I wish you all the best in the world! ”

All the Hui merchants present raised their glasses and laughed in celebration as if no one was around, while the Jin merchants and Fujian merchants on the other side were in a dull atmosphere.

Zhang Yunling, the first head of the Jin Chamber of Commerce, and Wang Yao, the vice head of the Jin Chamber of Commerce, looked a little ugly, and at the reception banquet of the Qin Cha, they took the path of the prefect Jiang Ping, and spent a lot of money to win the opportunity to let Wang Luzhu perform at the banquet. Wang Luzhu was also very competitive, and got a good song "Butterfly Love Flower" from Xu Jin, who knew that Xu Jin gave Wang Cuiqiao a song "Funeral Flower Yin" as soon as he turned his head.

This song "Funeral Flower Yin" was passed out by the mouth of the talented Tang Yin, Zhang Yunling and Wang Yao are both Confucian businessmen, Wang Yao even has the fame of Xiucai, so the appreciation of poetry is not low, obviously, this "Funeral Flower" is talented, not a star and a half higher than "Butterfly Love Flower", Wang Cuiqiao got this word, coupled with her own peerless appearance and song attainments, if there is no accident, Oiran is nine out of ten.

Hui merchants are so embarrassed, the Oiran contest has not started to celebrate in advance, the Fujian merchants are naturally extremely unconvinced, the head of the meeting Li Guangtou sneered, poured cold water and said: "Good words may not be good singing, good singing may not be able to pick the Oiran, some people celebrate in advance, don't capsize the boat and hit yourself in the mouth!" ”

The Fujian merchants immediately laughed and agreed, and someone said loudly: "No, let's see which one has the most swollen face." ”

A hint of pride flashed in Li Guangtou's eyes, a few days ago he sent Ono Lily to the prefect Jiangyun and the salt envoy Shi Haoran's mansion, and both of them left Ono Lily overnight. Hehe, no one knows the taste of Ono Lily better than Li Guangtou, this woman is so charming, she is definitely a bed gift that can make men want to stop. After Jiang Yun and Shi Haoran tasted it, they didn't worry that they didn't favor Ono Lily, and it was uncertain who would pick the Oiran in tomorrow's Oiran Competition.

Just when Li Guangtou was secretly proud, someone among the Jin merchants said with a smile: "I heard that Lord Qincha exterminated a group of pirates on Dongsha Island, and also seized a large amount of smuggled goods on the island. It is said that someone colluded with the pirate leader Chen Sipan to smuggle for profit, and Lord Qincha was extremely angry, and he had ordered Dongtai County to order Zhu Su to investigate thoroughly, and many people have been arrested so far. Hey, some people still ask for more blessings, be careful that you have a life to earn money and not a life to spend. ”

As soon as this remark came out, not only Li Guangtou, but even Xu Dong and Wang Zhi changed slightly, and Li Guangtou needless to say, this product used to be a salt lord, and now it is also engaged in smuggling, even semi-public.

As for Xu Dong and Wang Zhi, the heads of the Hui Chamber of Commerce, they are also secretly engaged in smuggling business, because the local gentry are generally involved, and the layers of protective umbrellas give them nothing to fear. And now it's different, the imperial court has parachuted a Qincha, and it is also a Qincha who holds the military power and kills decisively, if he is caught by this Xu beheaded, the end can be imagined, last year's "granary deficit case" in Shandong was killed, and the entire Shandong officialdom was almost wiped out.

Xu beheaded - ruthless!

The Fujian merchants and the Hui merchants were silent, but the Jin merchants were happy, and everyone toasted and staggered, so lively!