Looking at the sunset on the horizon, Cai Qi shook the folding fan in his hand and said: "In the countryside, the scenery is beautiful in the morning and evening. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 infoThe morning sun and the sunset always look tasteless in the city, just look at it in the countryside. ”

Li Shi and Yan Shu said yes again and again. This is poetic and picturesque, a kind of beauty that literati can best experience.

The folding fan is a souvenir given by Xu Ping to the officials who came to his village, which is also his habit in his previous life. Every time a large-scale event is organized, I always have to give something to the participants, whether it is a water glass, a hat, or even a towel.

Traditionally, the Chinese have always used a group fan, or a goose feather fan, and the folding fan is said to have been introduced from Goryeo, and it is also said that it was transmitted to the Central Plains from Japan, and it is not known whether it is true or false. At this time, there were also people selling in Kaifeng City, but they were all very rough and worthless things. As for the later popular literati calligraphy and painting fans, there was no such thing at this time.

Xu Ping is the first to open up the atmosphere, using good silk, asking someone to draw flowers and birds, or asking a famous artist to write poems on the fan surface, and then send it to everyone as a souvenir. The officials above the waiting system are painted by their names, and the ordinary officials are drawn by ordinary painters. At this time, a somewhat famous calligraphy and painting master was extremely expensive, and Xu Ping couldn't afford it.

Cai Qi likes this fan very much, and he holds it in his hand all day long, which is quite a bit of the literati elegance in Xu Ping's memory.

After chatting for a while, we got back to business.

Cai Qi said: "Don't hide it, when I looked at it in your yard before, I only thought that those spinning looms were dazzling, but I didn't think it was so remarkable." When I looked at it in the past two days, I found that the cloth woven in a short period of time was piled up, and then I realized that I had seen it badly two days ago. ”

"Yes, this cloth is sold cheaply, and the effort used to weave one piece of cloth can now be woven ten or twenty horses. All in all, it's still a lot more. ”

Li Shu was just in her early thirties, born as a prodigy, and was given the Jinshi and the first in the fifth year of the Heavenly Sage. Because it is an intellectual system, the two ministers have a noble status, and they have been sitting with the Zai Zhi and the bachelor. But among these people, including Xu Ping, both officials and positions are much higher than him, and he has not said much. Now that things are over, try to express your opinion.

Yan Shu nodded: "Now it's just in the village where Xu is waiting, and everything is not very complete." According to the waiting system, if the cotton is transported to the third division, it will be one or two times faster. If this is the case, if cotton is really to be supplied, how much cloth will be needed in a year? When the time comes, I am afraid that the Bianhe River will be a boat carrying cloth all year round. ”

That's what you want, it took so much effort, if you just weave two pieces of cloth to supply the people of the capital, Xu Pingke feels that it is too worthwhile. From the afternoon, with Wang Gongchen's field work as the mainstay, large-scale promotion of cotton planting, the three divisions of field affairs are running at full capacity, Xu Ping also wants to know how much cloth can be woven in a year.

The sun was setting and the breeze was blowing. The evening breeze in the countryside always has a strange smell than in the city, blowing more comfortably on people and refreshing people's spirits.

More than 1,000 people have gathered in the box army of cotton picking, and you can live in a tent this season, and you can just take care of the food in Xu Pingzhuang. Lu Song was busy and greeted those people with the guest.

Xu Ping was in the garden, accompanying the officials who came to visit. Stay tomorrow for another day, summarize the harvest of these days, and take a tour around by the way, and the day after tomorrow it is time to return to Beijing.

Xu Ping's Zhuangzi is not far from the servant shooting, which is a famous spot in Zhengzhou, and he always has to take a look when he comes.

When the wine and food came up, the garden suddenly became lively. These few days are also a rare opportunity for officials to get in touch with each other, and after a few days of getting along, some of them have similar tempers and have a lot of deep feelings.

The moon on the horizon got up and happily lay in the middle of the sky.

Xu Ping accompanied Cai Qi and Li Shi to sit by an oven, slowly roasting the freshly slaughtered mutton. It's only been a few days, and these people are used to this slightly rough way of eating. People will always be affected by the environment, and in the countryside where the sky is high and the earth is wide, people don't know how to feel that they have become less sophisticated.

Suddenly, a sharp sound of horses' hooves was heard, breaking the silence of the night.

Xu Ping stood up abruptly and said to Sun Qilang who was not far away, "Go and see who it is." There is only one Zhuangzi here, and the people who come must come to us. ”

Sun Qilang agreed, turned around and left the garden.

After a while, Sun Qilang accompanied Li Zhang into the garden in a hurry.

When he arrived, Li Zhang met Cai Qi and the others, and then said to Xu Ping: "Brother, take a step to speak." ”

After leaving everyone, the two arrived at a secluded place, and Xu Ping asked, "What's the urgency?" You came here overnight! Isn't there something wrong with my family? ”

Li Zhang shook his head: "Brother rest assured, everything is fine at home, but something happened to the imperial court——"

Li Zhang told Xu Ping what he saw and heard when he arrived at Yang Jingzong's house.

In the end, Li Zhang said: "When I left, a bridge and road army from Yongzhou seemed to be the leader, and they were confronting Captain Yang's people, and it seemed that they were going to fight at some point. - Brother, Taiwei Yang is no longer poor, and he is also the younger brother of Empress Dowager Yang. The Queen Mother has been in the palace since she was a child, and there is only such a relative left in the family. If he really makes trouble regardless of it, looking at the face of Empress Dowager Yang, the official family is afraid that he will severely punish those people from Yongzhou. ”

Xu Ping didn't answer, pondered for a while, and asked Li Zhang: "You say, that Qiao Datou from Wutai Mountain discovered the fine work of Fanbang?" Did you say what those fine works were for? ”

Li Zhang smiled bitterly: "At that time, I was just thinking about calming things down, who would care about what that person said?" ”

"If the matter is to be resolved, it still has to fall on Qiao Datou, how can you not ask?"

After Xu Ping finished speaking, he thought for a while, and then said, "You wait here for a while, I'll come when I go." ”

Li Zhang agreed, and watched Xu Ping turn around and go.

After a while, Xu Ping and Li Shi walked together, talking as they walked, and returned to Li Zhang.

"What you just told me, say it to Lee Sang-gong again. It's not a trivial matter, and it must be explained carefully. ”

Li Zhang calmed his mind, sorted out his thoughts, and said what he had just said to Xu Ping.

After listening quietly, Li Shi asked Xu Ping: "Xu Ping, what do you think?" What now? ”

"Xianggong, with all due respect, Wutai Mountain is in Daizhou, and it has always been forbidden for people from Fanbang to do business there. In recent days, only the few people who can be confronted by the party who say that they have gone to Wutai Mountain to do things. In the past two years, there have been constant conflicts between the party and the imperial court, and it was the party that provoked the incident, and the imperial court repeatedly tolerated it. Since the beginning of this year, border clashes have become more serious than in previous years. The party item Zhao Yuanhao's traces have been revealed, and many people inside and outside the court are looking at it. ”

Li Shi was silent for a while before he said: "The Khitan is the great enemy of the imperial court, and the party is a small state, don't you dare to oppose it?" ”

"What would you not dare? Since the founding of the country, the party has been reversed several times. Although the imperial court sent a large army to conquer the first few times, it did not hurt the muscles and bones of the party, and they benefited a lot in vain. Yuan Hao is rebellious by nature, since he succeeded to the throne, there have been many changes in the party's policies, and there is no need for the name of the dynasty in the country, and the antipathy has been revealed! ”

Li Shi sighed and didn't say anything. The Privy Council is in charge of the military and political affairs, and he knows the situation better than Xu Ping, and deep in his heart, how can he not know that the party is very dangerous now? However, the consensus of the Cabinet and the Privy Council now is that the enemy is in the north but not in the northwest, and the defense of the north is far more important than the defense of the northwest. No matter how much trouble the party makes, it will mainly focus on appeasement and not make preparations for large-scale conflicts. Military forces still have to be deployed in the Hebei area to prevent Khitan raids.

There is such a big policy pressing, no matter how much Zhao Yuanhao makes trouble, Song Du doesn't see it.

Li Zhang was on duty at the gate, and he knew a lot about the details of the government affairs, including some ministers, but he knew less about the real state affairs. Whether the party will be opposed or not, he has no idea in his heart.

At night in the countryside, all kinds of unknown insects chirp very cheerfully and have a clear voice. The sound of insects makes the night even quieter, and the night is like a quiet lake, rippling at the slightest touch.

After being silent for a while, Li Zhicai said to Xu Ping: "Xu Zhizhi thinks that this military intelligence brought back by Qiao Datou is very important to the imperial court?" Once missed, the border situation may be unpredictable? ”

Xu Ping nodded heavily: "Not bad!" I know this Qiao Datou, when I first arrived in Yongzhou, he and a Chen Laoshi watched the abandoned Yongzhou official liquor business. Chen Laoshi and Qiao Datou's father were both forbidden troops selected from Hedong Road in the early years, and Taizong's expedition failed that year and he was exiled to Lingnan. To be honest, Qiao Datou's brain has some axes, thinking about things and doing things is a tendon, this person, if you want him to make up lies, he can't make it up. Since he said that he was reporting to the local official, and the local county magistrate did not believe it but beat him with a board, and he wanted to go to the capital to beat the drum, then this matter is nine points credible. ”

"How do such people know what military intelligence is, and how can they be trusted?"

"When I was in Yongzhou, this Qiao Datou and Chen Laoshi have been acting as guides since Langzhou, and they have been at the forefront of the army to enter Thang Long Mansion. The axis of his brain is the axis, and the military situation is still clearly distinguished! ”

Li Shi sighed: "According to the system, what should I do?" ”

"Xianggong and I went back to Beijing overnight to save this Qiao Datou and ask things clearly. If, Dang Xiang really sent a fine work, and Qiao Datou was really beaten to death by Yang Taiwei's stick, and the matter spread, wouldn't Dang Xiang Zhao Yuanhao want to laugh off his big teeth? Originally, he was still between being against and not being against him, but when he saw that the affairs of the court were so chaotic, he was afraid that he would immediately turn back! ”

Li Shi nodded, and shook his head again: "Yang Jingzong!" It's ridiculous to let this kind of person be in charge of the Imperial City Division! The nod was to promise to return to the capital with Xu Ping, and the shaking of the head was that Yang Jingzong was disappointed, and even angry. (To be continued.) )