A few days later, Su Jin left Beijing with Liang Shi, the director of the Third Division of Salt and Iron, and Gao Ruona, the new deputy envoy of the Northwest Fourth Road Economic and Pacification.

In March, the new greenery is rising, the clear water is slight, although it is a gratifying scenery, but for some reason, Su Jin's heart is always shrouded in a silted atmosphere that is difficult to calm for a long time.

The news of Su Jin's promotion had already spread to the northwest, and the Su family was naturally overjoyed, and even the civil and military officials of the four state capitals in the northwest also gathered in Qinzhou to welcome Su Jin's return, even if Zhao Zhen seemed to be at ease with himself, Su Jin still planted the seed of vigilance in his heart.

No matter what, it is always a good thing to be promoted, Su Jin didn't want to spoil the scenery, and held a feast in Qinzhou to entertain the officials who came to congratulate, of course, some sensitive officials would still faintly notice something when they saw Gao Ruona who came with Su Jin and learned his identity.

After the banquet, Su Jin dealt with a few urgent matters, and pulled Li Chong, Pan Jiang, Wei Songhe and other confidants to sit and drink tea, Su Jin did not hide it, and told Li Chong and others everything that happened in Beijing, of course, it is still inconvenient to disclose the inside information about Xia Zhu and others forging letters to frame Fu Bi Shijie, although the imperial court report has arrived in the state capitals, but everyone still knows very little about the details, listening to Su Jin's words, there is even more sighing and sighing.

Li Zhong sighed: "It's really unimaginable that Fan Shuai and Han Shuai ended up like this, but I privately think that the theory of forming a party is far-fetched, and it seems a bit inappropriate to use this as an excuse to belittle several adults." ”

Wei Songhe said: "But the "Treatise on Friends" written by Uncle Ou Yong is a self-admitting fact, and it is no wonder that some people make a big fuss about it. How could the emperor allow someone to openly form a party, naturally he would be punished. ”

Su Jin smiled and said: "Uncle Ou Yong has indeed made a move and taught people to grasp the handle, but in the final analysis, it is still a problem of the new deal, many mistakes have been made in the implementation of the new deal, which has caused a lot of complaints, the emperor wants to end the new deal quickly, and Lord Ouyang gave the right reason at the right time." ”

Wei Songhe said in a low voice, "What do you mean...... Ouyang Xiu did this on purpose? Deliberately took this opportunity to let the emperor step up and down, and attributed the failure of the new deal to Han Fan and others? Isn't that a bitter ploy? ”

Li Zhong said dumbfoundedly: "No wonder, no wonder with Ouyang Yongshu's sophistication, how could he take such a stupid move when Qian Mingyi impeached them for forming a party, could it be that the emperor instructed him to do so?" Or did he figure out the emperor's thoughts? ”

Su Jin hurriedly waved his hand and said: "How can you speculate about such things, we are just chatting, and half of these words cannot be revealed outside, otherwise we will all be in big trouble." ”

Everyone looked at each other, their vests were slightly cold, Su Jin was a little bit, the whole thing suddenly became subtle, Ouyang Xiu was a member of the court, and there were not many people who offended, but he could always occupy important positions in the court, in addition to his own ability, the emperor's support was also one of the reasons, saying that it was not impossible for him to find the next step for Zhao Zhen in order to understand the difficulties of the new deal, after all, when the wind was tight, he decisively threw out the partisan theory to give Zhao Zhen an excuse, and felt a little abrupt, with Ouyang Xiu's IQ, this stinky chess should not be played; Moreover, afterwards, Han Fan and others refused to admit that they had become friends, but he, who claimed to be a friend, was not punished more severely, and still mixed up with the position of the prefect of Chuzhou, which inevitably made people sigh that his luck was too good.

"Ladies and gentlemen, there is no need to dwell too much on this matter, the matter has passed, and the emperor has put the burden of the two roads around Qingyun on my shoulders, what I am thinking about now is how to get the Northwest Fourth Road back on track as soon as possible, all of which still need your help; To be honest, I'm a head two big now, and I feel like I have nowhere to start. Su Jin shook his head and sighed.

Pan Jiang asked, "What is the number of Gao Ruona who followed the adult?" How had I never heard of him before. ”

Su Jin shook his head and said, "I don't know him either." ”

Li Chongdao: "Xia Guan knows a little about his situation, this person is said to be proficient in astronomy and medical skills, once was a living house around the saint, it is said that the emperor has a lot of trust in him, and also served as the host and guest of the Ministry of Rites, and later released to the Muzhou prefect, tired of the official to the position of Hedong transfer envoy, during which he also served as an official in the northwest; When his father was alive, he served on Hedong Road and had a friendship with him, but his father did not have much contact with him, and it is said that he was not very easy to get along with. ”

Su Jin smiled and said, "It seems. The experience is quite rich, but I also understand the emperor's intention of sending him to me as a deputy, we don't have to offend him, let him know what he should know, and teach him to know nothing if he shouldn't. ”

PAN Jiang. He said with his sleeves: "If this old boy is not honest, Lao Tzu will give him a good look." ”

Su Jin rolled his eyes and said: "Don't mess around, he is in charge of military affairs, you are the commander of Jingyuan Road, speaking of which is his subordinate, talk and do things leisurely." ”

Pan Jiang took a sip and said, "Except for Master Su, who does Lao Tzu care about?" ”

Su Jin was speechless to him, frowned and said: "This time, the emperor handed over the two roads to my jurisdiction, but he didn't give me a penny or a grain of food, and asked me to solve it by myself, this errand is difficult to do, I plan to take Lord Liang, the head of the Third Division of Salt and Iron, to go around the states to see if we can find more mines and more ways to make money, otherwise we will soon fall into a predicament, I am an official, what a fucking bag, people are a lot of silver in their pockets, I have dried my waist bag here and padded it outward, it's really boring to think about." ”

Everyone was stunned and said, "How can this be? The emperor is too unauthentic, what about using the road to make the adult a cash cow? ”

Su Jin waved his hand and said: "Don't say it, it's a nest fire, so I want to get rid of you and think of a way for me, our Qinfeng Road and Jingyuan Road are gradually recovering, I think, from this year's summer grain market, there should be some grain tax, the emperor promised me the year before last, you can properly collect some grain tax only, last year the mine made a lot of money, I am a soft-hearted person, so I was exempted from tax for a year, in this situation, I can only make this decision." ”

Li Chong nodded contemplatively and said: "You can collect some appropriately, but it shouldn't be too much, the people have just eaten their stomachs, so they should come leisurely." ”

Su Jin said: "This matter is handed over to Brother Li, I have proposed that Brother Li concurrently serve as the position of the Silu Changping Division, Brother Li will help me explain the difficulties to the people, I don't want to make people angry, in short, you can accept it, and you can't accept it and don't force it." ”

Li Zhong got up and arched his hand and said, "Xia Guan understands, I will handle this matter." ”

Wei Songhe said: "Relying on the taxes of Qin Fengjing's original two roads cannot guarantee the expenses of the two roads of Yanyan and Huanqing, and if you don't get it, you will be dragged without food, and the emperor can really afford to look down on us, and he actually doesn't pull out a dime, which is really unheard of in ancient and modern times." ”

Su Jin said: "Don't say it, don't say it, the matter has come to this point, and it's useless to complain; It seems that we are going to open up a wide range of financial routes, I think so, aren't we stationary private traders on the border? In the present situation, I think it can be slightly liberalized, allowing private traders to enter and exit, but they must be charged customs duties; Xia Guo is now short of everything, things can be sold at a high price in the past, and the merchants will not lose money, and we can also make a lot of money; In addition, I would like to invite you to go to the major state capitals in the south to visit and persuade some businessmen to come to our northwest to do business, so that we can make a fortune in commercial taxes. It shouldn't be too hard. ”

Li Chong frowned and said: "The border is open to merchants to enter and exit, but it violates the terms of the peace agreement between the two countries, which is not appropriate." ”

Su Jin smiled: "What's wrong, people and businessmen sneak in and out, can we keep an eye on them every day?" ”

Pan Jiang said: "Didn't the adults say that they would raise tigers like that?" ”

Su Jin said: "Control the quantity, control the types of goods, mainly consumable materials such as grain, cloth, tea, etc., and the others are not allowed, and then the merchants are not allowed to bring the Xia Guo items back for sale, we only sell and don't buy, let Li Yuanhao's green salt pile up into a mountain, and the fur is used as a barren grass, how can they have a chance to turn over if they have no money?" In short, don't be afraid, trade between the two countries will resume sooner or later, let's take this opportunity to get some benefits, and all this money is used for the construction of the northwest, and we don't put a penny in our pockets; Can't you starve to death by guarding the financial route? ”

Everyone nodded and said, "If it makes sense, I will do as you tell me." ”

Su Jin squeezed his eyes and said: "The matter of private business taxation should be carried out in secret, don't let the Gao Ruona who came with you know, the brother who collects taxes must choose a reliable one, don't poke the leak, lest someone sue the emperor." ”

Pan Jiang said with a smile: "Wrapped up in the humble position, this is the defense scope of my Jingyuan Road, you can rest assured." ”