Chapter 1114: Finding a Way Out
Chapter 1114: Finding a Way Out
On the tenth day of February in the second year of the Taihe reign of the Jin Dynasty (331), drizzling rain continued in Jianye.
Danyang Prime Minister Du Yi sat by the river, feeling leisurely and contented.
To be honest, he has been in the position of county magistrate for a long time and has never moved.
It's not that there was no chance for transfer, but he was unwilling to do so. He said that he wanted to repay Shan Wei for his kindness, so he was determined to assist him.
Shan Wei was very touched. Considering that Shan Wei was often away from office, he threw all the government affairs to Du Yi and even gave him the official seal. Everyone in the government office also knew that if they couldn't find Shan Wei, they could go to the county magistrate Du Gong to do the work.
He is already considered half the prefect of Danyang.
But Du Yi actually didn't really want to be an official, for the same reasons as Shan Wei: it was annoying, tiring and difficult - he was a scholar after all.
To be honest, the reason why he is still doing it is for the consideration of the Du family. He wants to wait for the opportunity to come, and then make great contributions to establish his position in the new dynasty.
Shan Wei was in the government office today, so Du Yi took a leave and went to his newly opened shop.
The Jin Dynasty was on the decline, and it was clear that it only had the power to defend itself but not the ability to advance. As an official of the Jin Dynasty, of course, one had to use the power that still counted for the time being to accumulate more wealth for one's family.
It was almost noon, and Du Yi didn't feel hungry at all. He just sat in front of the window, quietly enjoying the scenery.
"The scenery of Jiangzuo is most suitable for rain." A light laugh came from behind, saying, "Look at the new willows on the embankment, they are the greenest. Women wearing straw raincoats are pounding clothes under the willows, letting the spring water flood over the bluestone under their feet."
"There are endless boats on the river, loaded with all kinds of goods, but I don't know--" The man smiled and said, "Which ones belong to Du Gong?"
Du Yi laughed, turned around, looked at the visitor, and said, "Xiao Wen, you are the Chief Censor, how can you have time to come here?"
"No other way." Xiong Yuan said helplessly: "It is absolutely impossible for me to impeach Mr. Ge. I can only pretend to be sick."
Du Yi pointed at him and smiled without saying anything.
Xiong Yuan was a member of Concubine Shi's faction. When Zhuge Hui took over Shi's political power and issued orders, Xiong Yuan joined the faction. However, with the defeat of Wang Chong of Langya, this political group gradually fell apart.
Some people changed their jobs, but Xiong Yuan couldn't. The reason was very sad. He was the son of a slave. He was able to study by chance, and then he rose step by step through his own efforts.
But in the political atmosphere of Jiangzuo, does a person like Xiong Yuan really have a future? To put it bluntly, no one took him seriously. If he met someone who was jealous of his talent, they would probably want to kill him, because Xiong Yuan was very capable, had a low family background, and was the Chief Censor, which had a very bad influence.
Therefore, Xiong Yuan was actually very embarrassed. It was already very good to have Concubine Shi to rely on.
Recently, he and Du Yi got in touch. To be more precise, Du Yi took the initiative to find him after observing him for a long time. The two hit it off and soon got involved.
There is also a middle-aged man coming with Xiong Yuan today. His surname is Shi. It is said that he came here from Hebei. He is the son of Shi Chao and is over 30 years old.
Shi Chao first followed Sima Ying and then joined Liu Yuan, but he never made a name for himself until his death.
His younger brother Shi Xi was a minor official in Bohai at first, but later died. As his family was no longer popular, their business declined greatly.
The man in front of him was named Shi Zhen. He went through untold hardships to reach Jianye and seek refuge with Concubine Shi.
When Concubine Shi Guipin heard about Shi Zhen's affairs, she burst into tears. She kept this member of the clan and asked Xiong Yuan to help take care of him.
Concubine Shi was blinded by family affection, but Xiong Yuan didn't believe this nonsense. He even suspected that this person was sent by Shao Fan, the Minister of the Supreme Court of Liang State, to spy on the internal affairs of Jianye.
But for some things, it is better to be ignorant. Why be so smart? Do those aristocrats in Jianye who migrated south look up to you? Are they good to you?
So Xiong Yuan was very enthusiastic, even a little bit fawning - not entirely fake - so much so that when he came to see Du Yi, he brought this person with him and gave a brief introduction.
After listening to Shi Zhen's background, Du Yi nodded slightly and said nothing more.
"Xiao Wen, what we discussed earlier is fine." Du Yi asked the two to sit down and said, "I was a little hesitant at first, but Jianye is like this, so I have to think about it. These days, everything is fake, only money is real."
"Why doesn't Hongzhi manage the farm?" Xiong Yuan asked, "Last time, Master Shan asked you to go and farm, but you didn't go. Why?"
Du Yi hesitated for a moment, and finally told the truth: "A few years ago, I met a local scholar who said that I had a disaster in my life and should stay away from fields and water. If I go out to farm and then open up polluted land, I am afraid I will not live long."
Xiong Yuan was stunned. Is there such a taboo?
"No wonder Hongzhi started to turn to business." Xiong Yuan smiled bitterly, "But it's good this way. If you and I join forces, many things will be easier."
Can a Danyang County Magistrate, a "shadow governor", and a Yushi Zhongcheng join hands to expand the business? Of course they can. They are both in key positions and can control many other people, at least in Jiangnan. But if you want to expand the business, it is best to connect with the North, and this depends on Du Yi's relationship.
Princess Du of Julu of Liang was Du Yi's niece, and he had some friendship with Huan Yi, the secretary of Liang, so the relationship was naturally good. Therefore, he chose Jiangling, the territory of his niece's husband, as the place for doing business.
In addition, Xiong Yuan is still very close to Zhuge Hui and has connections in Wuchang, so this deal can be done!
Of course, doing business is only one aspect. In fact, there are more important things, such as transmitting intelligence - this kind of thing can be big or small, and he is not the only one doing it. It will always be much more convenient if there is a merchant fleet as a cover.
"Xiao Wen just mentioned the impeachment of Zhuge Daoming. Who was the leader?" Du Yi asked.
"Who else could it be? Liu Dalian!" Xiong Yuan said helplessly.
"He really bites anyone he catches." Du Yi was somewhat speechless. "Sometimes I admire him." Xiong Yuan sighed: "He is loyal and devoted, a loyal minister. It's a pity that he is about to return home. How many more years can he help the Jin court?"
Shi Zhen's veins jumped when he heard this. You two are too careless when talking, and I'm an outsider here.
"When the history of future dynasties is compiled, Liu Dalian will gain a good reputation." Du Yi said this with a hint of envy in his eyes.
Who doesn't want to be recorded in history books? When people read about it a thousand years later, will they admire Liu Dalian or Du Hongzhi?
However, no matter how envious he is, if Du Yi is given another chance, he will still make the same choice.
After calming down, he said, "Xiao Wen mentioned earlier that he wanted to go to Badong to do business. Is that true?"
"That's right." Xiong Yuan said, "Hongzhi should know that I am from Jiangzhou. Merchants in this state have always liked to sell ironware to Jiangling and Badong, and buy thorny branches, Shu brocade, fine cloth, lacquerware, and medicinal materials. The profit is quite large. As long as Mr. Ge is in power, we can continue to do this."
Du Yi nodded frequently.
"I found another person." Xiong Yuan said again.
"Who?" Du Yi asked with a frown.
"Jiang Qi Jiang Sixuan." Xiong Yuan said, "The emperor wants to send him to be the governor of Wuchang."
"Huh?" Du Yi was a little surprised.
Jiang Fei was the prince's illegitimate son, and was considered the emperor's confidant. Why was he sent out? Was it to monitor Zhuge Daoming?
"I heard that it was Queen Shan's idea." Xiong Yuan said, "I thought Jiang Sixuan was unwilling, but he didn't refuse."
Du Yi thought silently.
Badong, Jianping and Yidu counties lost all their lands in the north of the Yangtze River. When the nobles of Jianye learned about it, undercurrents surged. Especially Zhuge Daoming, as the governor of Jing, was not active in recovering the lost land, but instead seemed to be perfunctory, which made more people active.
Then, Liang and Cheng fought each other in Badong. According to the report from Wuchang: Liang’s army of more than 10,000 people defeated Cheng’s army of 40,000 and pursued them for hundreds of miles.
Such powerful fighting ability is enough to make people tremble with fear.
Once the Liang army advances to Baling and Wuchang, can they still be driven away? Is there any ability to do so? Once Wuchang is lost, the next battlefield will be Liyang. They don't even need to attack Hefei and Chaohu, but can directly bypass them and go straight to Liyang, Niuzhushan, and Caishiji.
If we lose this place again, the Liang army will be able to approach the city of Jianye. You can imagine what will happen then.
It was precisely because of the rapid progress of the Daliang Dynasty that talents such as Du Yi and Xiong Yuan became increasingly active. In other words, they didn't even want to act anymore.
However, Wang Dao, Queen Shan and others certainly did not want to surrender so easily, and sending Jiang Fei to be the governor of Wuchang was one of their arrangements. As for the rumor that they wanted to replace Zhuge Hui, it seemed that it was not groundless.
Du Yi pondered for a moment and realized that Zhuge Hui would definitely not be able to rebel now. The army could obey his orders to fight, but they might not follow him in rebellion. This army was built by Liu Hong, and trained by Wang Dun and Tao Kan. What did it have to do with Zhuge Hui? He had only been in office for a short time and could not control the land and sea forces of Jingzhou - he had to work for a few more years at least!
It seems that the court doesn't want to give him a chance.
But if Zhuge Hui was not used, who should be used? Someone from Wang Clan of Langya?
If Queen Shan really did this, she would be crazy. She would disregard the safety of the imperial family in order to fight against Shao Taibai. It is simply outrageous.
However, she couldn't just do it on her own.
At this time, we have to say something good about Liu Dalian. When he impeached someone, it really didn't matter who it was. Wang Dao had been pursued by him, and the people of Wang Clan of Langya would never have the opportunity to govern Jingzhou.
So - royal family?
Du Yi thought about it but could not come to the point, so he could only say: "Xiao Wen, we can only set up our business stall when Ge Gong is in Wuchang. If he were to change people, everything would be over. Now that things have come to this, I will not hide it from you. If we go to Jiangling and Badong for business, we will have no problem. Wang Shiru is stationed at the mouth of the Peng River, making a lot of money and goods, and has millions of merchants. He has become one of the few wealthy merchants in the Wang family of Langya. With the help of Ge Gong, we will definitely not be worse than him."
At this point, he looked into Xiong Yuan's eyes and lowered his voice and said, "The Liang army has defeated the Cheng bandits, so it is inevitable that they will enter Shu. What will happen if the Cheng Kingdom is destroyed? Xiaowen should know what to do."
Xiong Yuan nodded solemnly, but secretly sneered in his heart: Only at this time can Du Hongzhi reveal a little bit of his true feelings.
Xiong Yuan then pulled Shi Zhen over and said, "Jiangling is an important town, and we need someone to stay there permanently."
Upon hearing this, Shi Zhen bowed and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Du, I will do my best."
Du Yi nodded slightly.
When Xiong Yuan saw this, he smiled and stroked his beard, and said, "Just the two of us may not be enough. The Minister of the Central Secretariat, Mr. Chen, also has this idea."
"What?" Du Yi was really surprised this time.
Chen Da is the former prince Xianma, and now serves as the Minister of the Central Secretariat. Has he also... gone into the water?
However, it is not impossible. Chen Da and Shi Guipin are also related in some indirect way.
"It's just business, don't think too much about it." Xiong Yuan laughed and said.
Du Yi was stunned for a long time, and finally smiled and said, "Xiao Wen is impressive."
(End of this chapter)