When Du Zhongxiao and Han Jiang were chatting about what they had seen and heard in the past few years, the officials came to report that Wang Anshi, the general judge of Shuzhou, came to visit.

Glancing at Han Jiang, Du Zhongxiao said: "But it's a coincidence, the two of you are here together today as if they had discussed." ”

went out of the yamen together, and saw Wang Anshi standing in front of the door with a few entourages, and hurriedly stepped forward to salute and greet.

After the ceremony, Han Jiang said to Wang Anshi: "Jiefu is the general judge of Shuzhou, why did you come to Fancheng today?" ”

Wang Anshi gave up his hand: "A few days ago, Taiwei Di went south to conquer Lingnan Nongzhigao, and Benzhou wanted to support grain and grass, send it to Xiangzhou, and transport it to Jiangling Mansion by the Shipping Division. I am escorting grain and grass today, and after arriving in Xiangzhou, I have my own officials to hand over, and I will cross the river to visit and wait for Xiao. Why is Zihua here? ”

Han Jiang said: "I have been on Jingxi Road for several years and am about to leave office, so I am here to pick up Chang Ping." ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Jiefu is far away, we will enter the yamen to talk, and we will set up wine for you to catch the wind for a while." ”

Han Jiang said: "I have heard for a long time that Xiangzhou is a water and land wharf, a transportation artery, and the dishes are no worse than the capital. ”

Welcomed Wang Anshi to the living room and asked about the hard work on the road, Du Zhongxiao said: "In the states of Huainan Road, the grain and grass still need to be escorted by officials?" Jingxi Road now has a special person to move, the people are only sent to the county, the county to the state, the state to the designated official warehouse, there are special officials, for the moving method. ”

Wang Anshi said: "I naturally know, but Huainan Road has not been implemented. It just so happened that Xiao was here as an official, so I came by the way. ”

It is said that Di Qing's army went on the expedition, and the military supply was Jinghu and two roads. Now that the train is connected, several surrounding roads are also provided, and the transportation is uniformly dispatched by the shipping department to Gangneung, and then it is taken over by the military transport envoy. Shuzhou is located on the bank of the Yangtze River and is also a state that provides grain and grass. If it is by water, it should be transported from Ezhou to Jiangling Prefecture and to Xiangzhou, in order to facilitate the dispatch of the shipping department through the railway.

Seeing that it was not early, Du Zhongxiao said: "Since the appointment of the official on that day, it is rare for us to get together and have a drink today." This Changping Si Yamen is distributed by the people of the Yingtian Yamen, and the food brings some local grass and recklessness, and we go out to use some wine and food. I know a restaurant near the river, although it is not very big, but the tableware is clean, the dishes are exquisite, and there are good bamboo leaves for sale, so I went there. ”

Wang Anshi and Han Jiang had no objections, went to the back office to clean up, changed into civilian clothes, and went out of the yamen with Du Zhongxiao.

Walking through the lively street market, when you reach the Hanshui water, it gradually becomes quiet. Under a big tree by the river, there is a wine watchman with the words "Riverside Restaurant" written on it. Not far from the roadside, a small building is built on the riverside, which looks very quiet.

Han Jiang said: "It's a good place, it's quiet in the middle of noisy, it's a good place to gather and drink." ”

In front of the restaurant, a small servant had already come over and led the three of them to the small pavilion near the river on the second floor. Passing the menu, the little guy stood quietly aside.

Du Zhongxiao ordered a steamed mandarin fish and a few exquisite side dishes, and handed the menu to Han Jiang and Wang Anshi.

Han Jiang said: "When I was in the capital, I often heard about the good river fresh produced here in Xiangzhou. In winter, I don't know how many fish and shrimp are transported to the capital, and the fruits and vegetables transported here have become a scene in the capital. As he spoke, he ordered some fish and shrimp according to his taste.

Wang Anshi said: "When I was in Shuzhou, I ate a taste of fish fillet soup, saying that I learned it from Xiangzhou. The owner said that he did not learn his skills very well, and that he was far inferior to the local ones. Now that it's here, let's order a fish fillet soup. ”

Truly luxurious dishes, often with complex craftsmanship and not much stir-frying, are preferred by wealthy merchants. The literati are different, and they pay attention to the artistic conception of eating, and they require the original taste, simple and refreshing. In the past, these places where fish were produced were famous, which was later called Yusheng. There are fresh ones, and there are also those that are pickled after being cut raw, and they are the top dishes in Jiangnan. Du Zhongxiao's habit is not to like this kind of food, and prefers stir-fried side dishes that show cooking skills. Officials influenced the locality, and the dishes in the Xiangzhou area were mainly light. The dishes of roasting, grilling, frying, and boiling that are often eaten in the army are popular in the lower layer of the wharf, similar to the Jianghu cuisine that later generations said. The rich businessmen like to have complex crafts, and it is another cuisine based on materials and delicacies. Du Zhongxiao can get used to eating because of his identity, but when he is alone, he likes this elegant and tranquil feeling even more.

When the wine and food came up, the three of them gossiped while drinking. Since the second year of Qingli, the three of them have been on their own side for ten years, and they have only met by chance a few times. Everyone has their own wonderful experiences, countless stories.

After talking about the past and the future, the three of them have a tacit understanding to avoid talking about the current government and politics. At that time, Jinshi, Han Jiang ranked third, and Wang Anshi was the original champion, because the emperor didn't like the phrase "children and friends", and dropped to fourth, and Du Zhongxiao's ranking was not ranked. However, today, Du Zhongxiao's official position is high, and he has been far ahead of the past few years in sending the transfer judge to be the camp field and the promotion of Changping.

Han Jiang and Wang Anshi didn't have a problem with this, but when it came to it, there were always some things that they couldn't talk about together, so they avoided them. Han Jiang took over Du Zhongxiao's post of Changping on Jingxi Road, and was obviously on his way. Wang Anshi has always felt that he has not had enough experience, and there are many political and ideological confusions that cannot be solved, and he would rather be a local official, step by step, rather than pursue promotion. In the past two years, first Wen Yanbo and then Ouyang Xiu have both recommended Wang Anshi to enter Beijing, either as a museum or as a court official, but Wang Anshi refused.

Many times Du Zhongxiao admires Wang Anshi, not because of his attitude, but because of his self-confidence. refuses the opportunity to be promoted again and again, not because he doesn't want to be promoted, but because he has self-confidence, and one day he will take power in the world and do unprecedented careers. He has his own views on politics, and he has his own plans for officialdom. I feel like I'm not there yet, and I'd rather stay in the place for a few more years.

Drinking a glass of wine, Wang Anshi said: "Since the establishment of the Changping Division on Huainan Road, the deputy envoy of Luzhou has been interested in learning what he has done on Jingxi Road. Shuzhou is a large state, and is in charge of Qizhou and Wuwei military camps. Under the management of Changping Division, shopping malls were opened in the state city and all counties under its rule. What he did on Jingxi Road, and now Huainan Road has learned, and he has to do it all over again. In the past few months, I have been interested in learning from the Changping Division to introduce money here, and set up savings offices all over the place. Wang Zhizhou valued it and ordered me to do these things. This time, I was about to ask for advice from Waiting Xiao. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "It just so happens that in the past few days, I have been sorting out the affairs you have said in the past few years one by one for the reference of the imperial court." Then let's stay in Fancheng for a few more days, and let's do this together, wouldn't it be right? ”

Wang Qi, the governor of Shuzhou, is the younger brother of Wang Qi in the same year of Du Zhongxiao and others, and in the second year of Qingli. has this relationship, and attaches great importance to Wang Anshi's cultivation. The main government affairs in the state have always been handled by Wang Anshi.

Du Zhongxiao's success on Jingxi Road was intended to be promoted by the imperial court, and it was Li Shen who promoted Changping to Huainan Road. Li Shen Enyin was born, he was good at officials, and he was a transfer envoy, and he should not be appointed as a road-level supervisor like Chang Ping Si according to his seniority, which shows that the imperial court attaches great importance to this matter. At this time, the political region was divided into rivers in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Huainan Road governed the north of the Yangtze River, and Jiangnan Road and Liangzhejiang Road governed the south of the Yangtze River. Huainan Road is a mature development area, is the world developed at this time, and has the advantage of water transportation, the conditions are not worse than Jingxi Road, and the population is more dense.

In Li Shen's eyes, the camp is obviously not only to develop idle fields, but also to implement the will of the imperial court and crack down on local heroes, so he also copied the past. Chang Pingsi is exactly the same, what Du Zhongxiao did on Jingxi Road, he did it again on Huainan Road. Li Shen raised the Changping official office to set up Chuzhou, a branch in Luzhou, and managed Huainan West Road, and Shuzhou was under his rule.

According to Li Shen's arrangement, the affairs of Changping Division were also in charge of the affairs of the General Judgment of Benzhou, and Wang Qi handed over the camp affairs to Wang Anshi. What Wang Anshi is doing in Shuzhou now is exactly what Du Zhongxiao did on Jingxi Road a few years ago. However, Du Zhongxiao is the road, and Wang Anshi is a state.