bayedsolid Chapter 484: Undercurrents in Jiangnan
Chapter 484: Undercurrents in Jiangnan
The prosperity of Jiangnan comes from the water network.
When we disembarked at Jinling Wharf, the bluestone pavement was soaked and shining with morning dew. Strings of copper bells hung from the eaves of the white-walled and black-tiled houses on both sides of the river. When the wind blew, the bells tinkled, like a handful of broken jade scattered in the morning mist.
There were pleasure boats floating on the canal, and the laughter of the boat girls, wrapped in the fragrance of water chestnuts, crashed into the cabin, startling a few koi carps that jumped out of the water.
The signs of teahouses and taverns were waving in the mist. Under the flag of "Song Laochun", several scholars wearing square scarves were holding teacups, and their voices were full of pride, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is resolute and decisive. Jiangnan is now completely stable. The grain tax this year will surely increase by 30%!"
When Adu's blue horse trampled the morning dew on the ground, even the horseshoes were covered with moisture from the south of the Yangtze River.
As his hands gripped the reins, Adu tightened and loosened them again, he just told himself silently in his heart, hurry up, faster!
Because of the young lady's previous instructions, Adu did not dare to delay for a moment. He rode his horse all night, changing seven fast horses, and headed straight from the capital to Jinling in the south of the Yangtze River.
When Yuan Ruiyuan first arrived in Jinling, he lived in the mansion of Bai Min, the former governor of Jiangnan.
The luxury of this mansion far exceeded his expectations.
When he first stepped into the vermilion lacquered gate, Lu Xiaojun, who was accompanying him, clutched the jade token at his waist until his knuckles turned white.
"How can this be the Governor's Mansion?" Lu Xiaojun kicked the white marble steps at his feet. The stone surface was so smooth that one could see a person's reflection. "The Bai family always said in the court that they had no extra money. It turns out that they spent all their money on this house!"
He looked up at the four gilded characters "General Governor of Jiangnan" on the lintel - it was said that they were written by Emperor Shengzu himself, "Your Highness, look at the glazed tiles on the eaves, how many kilns did they take to make them? I'm afraid all the grain fields in Jiangnan have turned into the golden nanmu beams and pillars of this house!"
Yuan Ruiyuan stood in the corridor, looking at the century-old ginkgo tree in the yard that took two people to hug.
The leaves rustled in the wind, and their falling shadows fell on the bluestone slabs, like a handful of scattered gold.
He stroked the mutton-fat jade ring on his waist with his fingertips, and his voice was as steady as bronze soaked in water: "Jiangnan is the money bag of Tianyuan. The Bai family has occupied the Suzhou and Hangzhou weaving and the Lianghuai salt transportation for thirty years. It would be strange if they didn't have some family wealth."
Lu Xiaojun was choked and speechless, he just lowered his head and said "yes".
Yuan Ruiyuan turned to look at Lu Xiaojun, his eyes like a knife, "Remember, since I have come to Jiangnan this time, I want to make clear all the dirty things in Jiangnan.
Write down and remember clearly everything that everyone has done.
It’s time to clean up Jiangnan.”
Lu Xiaojun quickly restrained his expression and replied, "Yes."
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's study is located in the east wing of the second floor. When you open the carved wooden window, you can see the rippling Qinhuai River.
He was flipping through the records of the interactions between the Jiangnan gentry that Lu Xiaojun had been hastily compiling recently. The ink was still wet and had the scent of pine smoke.
"What a 'clear stream'." He sneered, and poked his finger heavily on the line that read "The Yang family embezzled 200,000 taels of silver for river repairs." "Yesterday, you said to me that you wanted to 'share the joys and sorrows with the people,' but today you found out that you mixed sand into the porridge of the disaster victims!"
The candlelight on the desk flickered suddenly, making his brows furrow even tighter.
It was not until a breeze blew by that Yuan Ruiyuan realized that he had broken the wolf-hair brush.
At this moment, Bai Qi had already collapsed to the ground, which meant that the Bai family had lost its most powerful backing.
In this way, it would be as easy as taking something out of a bag to regain those remaining forces in Jiangnan. This would not only expand one's own strength, but also enrich the purse of the court.
If Gao Xian were present at this moment, he would probably be so ecstatic that he would almost go crazy.
After all, this was a golden opportunity for him!
However, no one could have imagined that the head of the Gao family, who always presented himself as aloof and cool, was actually a complete miser in private!
The sky in the south of the Yangtze River is even more magnificent than that in the imperial city.
The afterglow of the setting sun sprinkled on the sparkling lake, like crushed gold foil, swaying gently with the ripples of the lake.
Yuan Ruiyuan stood on a pavilion overlooking the lake, his moon-white brocade robe fluttering gently in the breeze, and the jade ornaments on his hair crown sparkled with warm light under the setting sun.
In the distance, the once bustling streets have now returned to calm. The turmoil of the Qingliu riots is coming to an end, and those scholars who were originally excited have gradually calmed down under a series of measures that combine kindness and power.
Previously, they relied on their so-called "good reputation" and "justice" to gather a crowd and attempt to coerce the government by causing trouble, which plunged the situation into chaos for a time.
He selected a few of the most troubled ones and used the tactic of "restricting their offspring from taking imperial examinations" to stabilize Jiangnan.
"It's finally almost over."
Yuan Ruiyuan muttered to himself, his voice low and steady. During this period of time, he spent a lot of energy, after all, every decision was related to the stability of Jiangnan.
Now that the situation was under control, the few honest people behind the scenes had also behaved themselves. Yuan Ruiyuan knew in his heart that the disturbance had been temporarily resolved.
Of course, if you want to truly win over these literati and poets, you must work hard for years.
Looking at the street market in the distance, Yuan Ruiyuan's thoughts had already flown to the imperial city. He didn't know what Yang Qi had been busy with these days.
I guess she is either fiddling with her precious herbs in Houhu Lake or reading in the house.
Thinking of Yang Qi, the usually serious Crown Prince actually showed a rare hint of joy and longing.
Peilin's voice came from outside the house: "Your Highness, Adu wants to see you."
Yuan Ruiyuan's fingertips trembled slightly. He knew that Adu, as the personal guard he gave to the girl, would never be sent here unless something extremely important happened in the imperial city that Yang Qi could not solve alone.
His face instantly turned cold, his eyes revealed a trace of worry and anxiety, his voice was a little irritable, but he lowered it very low: "Pass it on."
Perrin responded, turned around and walked out of the room quickly.
When Ah Du came in, there was still grass debris on his forehead, and his dark suit was rustling in the night wind. He knelt on one knee and presented the oil paper package in his arms to the prince: "Your Highness, this is what the young lady asked me to send to you urgently."
The oil paper was unwrapped, revealing a letter written by Yang Qi.
Yuan Ruiyuan unfolded the letter and read only two lines before he felt his Adam's apple rolling.
Since leaving the imperial city, Lao Wu has continuously sent a large number of secret guards to assassinate him, and each time was more thrilling than the last.
This series of assassinations gave him an illusion that Lao Wu asked him to leave the imperial city just to kill him in Jiangnan.
But it was not until now that he discovered Lao Wu's real intention, which was to secretly collude with Kulyong in an attempt to frame himself for treason!
Yuan Ruiyuan couldn't help but feel a little scared after reading Yang Qi's letter. If Fang Hua hadn't noticed Lao Wu's conspiracy in time and sent a message quickly, all his efforts over the years would have been in vain!