The houses stood like a forest, with eaves overlapping. In the night, the lights from the city's dwellings converged into a flowing stream of fire, outlining the scene of Bianjing city in this late summer and early autumn night. Search: \(¨Complete¨ Book¨ God¨ Station¨) to read fine literature for free.

The dinner hour had long passed, yet even in the deep night, the clamor of Bianjing showed no sign of diminishing. Having been passed down for nearly two centuries, Bianjing was the undisputed heart of the Wu Dynasty, gathering merchants from all over the world and connecting all corners of the universe. Countless travelers and merchants passed through here daily, connecting north and south. The imperial examinations, held every year or every few years, gathered talents and heroes from all over the world. Here, too, gathered the most powerful officials in the entire realm, surrounding the Emperor's throne and dominating the operation of this world.

Since the Sui and Tang dynasties, commerce had gradually developed, and the curfew had been abolished. The city was basically sleepless. Even at the quietest time of dawn, a large area of lights was lit in the center. At this time, it was the end of the hot season, and the hot weather made the city's people even less likely to sleep early. Along the roads, in the courtyards, in the brothels, and in the teahouses, people quietly or noisily dotted the scene, and amid the swelter, it was a prosperous but peaceful picture.

The war in the north did not affect the city's pace, and the imperial court's actions, more or less, did not stir up much waves in the city. The movement of troops and the transfer of supplies were all carried out silently under a huge momentum, as if everyone could feel the action, but not many people could truly understand the inside story. At most, in the mouths of some insiders, it added a lot of gossip as if they had witnessed it with their own eyes, or caused the merchants gathered in Bianjing to occasionally discuss the prospects of doing business in the north. However, there was not much tension or anxiety in the atmosphere. The brothels, taverns, and teahouses were as lively as ever, and the poems among literary talents at gatherings were also uplifting and confident, which proved this point to some extent.

At a point in the center of the city, on the side of the Imperial City, the plaque of the Right Minister's residence had only recently been hung up. This was an old mansion, not ostentatious, but dignified and with deep implications. It had originally been the Qin family's property. Eight years ago, when Qin Siyuan left office, the mansion was sold. In the past eight years, it had changed hands twice, all among people who had some connection with Qin Siyuan back then. This time, when Qin Siyuan returned to office and was promoted to Right Minister, he took the opportunity to buy it back. In fact, the layout of this mansion had not changed in the slightest.

The Qin family had been officials in the capital for two generations. Eight years ago, when Qin Siyuan left, he dismissed the servants in the mansion. This time, when he returned, most of the servants in the house were recalled, which was enough to prove the fact that Qin Siyuan's tea had not cooled even though he had left. The various books and collections in the mansion had not been moved. This time, when he returned to office, there were more, but Qin Siyuan was not a person who cared about these things. Compared to the Qin residence in those years, it seemed emptier at this time. After all, some relatives and family members who had lived here in the past had not been able to come over. At this time, those living in the mansion were only Qin Siyuan and his one wife and one concubine. As for the rest, even if the lights were lit brightly, they were ultimately just servants.

In these days, Qin Siyuan was busy with official duties and rarely had free time. At this time, the two highest-ranking people in the imperial court, Li Gang, the Left Minister, took the lead and presided over the overall situation, while Qin Siyuan's Right Minister was more inclined to some practical matters.

Speaking of which, he had not entered Bianjing for eight years. Although he still had many students and former colleagues, his influence and control here had also greatly diminished. Especially in various practical matters, he was probably unable to take over all at once. Li Gang was familiar with him. Although he strongly supported his appointment as a minister, he had said at the beginning that he would share most of the matters for him. However, Qin Siyuan did not hand over too many matters to the other party. Instead, at the beginning of taking over, he took on everything and, within a few days, roughly planned the various matters that needed to be handled.

Li Gang was generous and had a relatively straightforward and fiery temper, with an aura of awe. He was the biggest promoter of the war cry in recent years. Relatively speaking, this person adhered more strictly to the Confucian way. Even though his words were激烈, his actions were somewhat modest. Of course, this did not mean that he was an old and corrupt scholar. It was just that his beliefs were more upright. If it were not for the fact that an extremely firm person was particularly needed at this time to lead the war, he probably would not have been able to become the Left Minister.

Qin Siyuan was also a great Confucian scholar of the time. He wrote well, but his external personality was more gentle and refined, and he never said anything definitive. Sometimes when arguing with people, he was堂堂慷慨 and his words were掷地有声, but he did not appear as angry as Li Gang, with his hair and beard flying. When doing things, his methods were often upright and gentle. But in terms of results, he was always more effective, overwhelming people with the general trend, like boiling a frog in warm water. When others discovered the murderous intent, the situation had often been set and there was nowhere to go.

During his time in the capital, he took over various government affairs. The most important thing was to first coordinate military supplies, using superb skills to make the mobilization and gathering of various military supplies during the preparation for war more smooth and silent, so that most people in the capital had not even felt the chilling atmosphere before the war. In less than two months after arriving in the capital, he had already demonstrated powerful courage and means, making no one dare to underestimate the momentum that he had suppressed during his eight years of seclusion.

Of course, all of this was also built on high-intensity work. Even he had done his best to achieve these things. He came out of the Imperial City very late today and had just eaten two mouthfuls of rice when three former students came to visit. He received the three while eating.

At this time, among the three, the youngest was thirty-eight years old, named Chen Kai, styled Yantang, who was currently working in the Ministry of Industry, concurrently serving as a Chief Officer of the Wensi Yuan. The second oldest was forty-two years old, surnamed Zhao, named Dingchen, styled Chengzhi, who was currently serving as the Vice Magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture, with considerable power. The third person was forty-eight years old this year, named Feng Yuan, styled Daokai, who was working in the Censorate. He was Qin Siyuan's disciple, and now the Censor-in-Chief Qin Hui also claimed to be Qin Siyuan's clansman, so he was also thriving in the Censorate and was highly valued.

Although it was the Prime Minister's residence, Qin Siyuan was only eating a simple bowl of fish and a bowl of vegetables at this time. However, he had the servants bring up three bowls of iced mung bean soup, and each person was given a fan. The four of them casually talked in the hall. Since they were teacher-student relationships, and the three of them knew Qin Siyuan's temperament before, they did not need to speak timidly at this time, and they all seemed casual.

After eight years away, being able to come back at this time was certainly a great fortune for Qin Siyuan in the eyes of others. However, after eight years away, there were actually many things that had developed that made him feel regret and unable to grasp.

During the Black Water Alliance, Emperor Jinghan Zhou Zhe had just ascended the throne. Qin Siyuan was considered half of an imperial tutor at the time. Although he had the reality of an imperial tutor in many things, he could only be said to be a right-hand man and did not have the name of an imperial tutor. Although Emperor Jinghan at the time was indecisive, he also had some ambition to expand. When the Liao army attacked and prepared to seek peace, he then felt humiliated. Qin Siyuan was disheartened at the time, but he could not help but do the most crazy thing, inciting Emperor Jinghan to secretly prepare, provoking and supporting all anti-Liao forces, and comforting Zhou Zhe that this was only a temporary concession. As long as he prepared for several years, there would be a chance to turn the tables. At the time, although he arranged a large number of things and plans for this matter, he had no confidence. Who knew that this had now become a reality.

However, it was also this matter that caused the imperial court to spend a lot of money. When Emperor Jinghan ascended the throne, he originally listened to everyone's opinions and abolished things like the Flower and Stone Gang of the previous dynasty. Who knew that after a year or two, the imperial court spent too much money, and these things were brought up again.

"These things, the Grand Commandant Gao Qiu and his gang, are probably involved a lot, right?"

"Reporting to teacher, this matter involves many people, really a lot. At the beginning, it was just that His Majesty said he was poor, so some people catered to his wishes and came up with various methods. Grand Commandant Gao was one of them, and Tang Shilang and others also supported it at the beginning. The student once argued that the Flower and Stone Gang could not be restarted, but now that I think about it, the imperial court was short of money at the time, and His Majesty wanted to find some subsidies. At first, it was only on a small scale, but after everyone tasted the sweetness, they took the opportunity to let it go. The money for building gardens, repairing palaces, and a series of things after the fourth year of Jinghan all came from this..."

Feng Yuan frowned and answered. The Tang Shilang in his mouth was Tang Ke, Tang Qinshou, the then Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, who had now been promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. During this time, Tang Ke was a proponent of peace, and Feng Yuan and others naturally followed the teacher to advocate war, and Qin Hui at this time was also a proponent of war, so he did not like Tang Ke.

Qin Siyuan was just eating fish: "You are in Bianjing, and I am in Jiangning, both are rich places, but I have only heard about it and have seen it less. The Flower and Stone Gang extorts taxes and levies, causing suffering to those people and enriching those officials. Following Gao Qiu...Tang Qinshou is not a greedy person, but he has a large string of mouths to feed behind him. It is Li Bangyan and Wu Min who have large families and many officials... Alas, now that I think about it, it is probably like this. Once it starts, it cannot be stopped... But what are those Taoists? His Majesty is bewitched. In these six or seven years, no one dared to impeach him? Except for Tang Kejian."

During these years when Emperor Jinghan Zhou Zhe believed in Taoism, he favored Taoists and had already affected politics. No one dared to speak in these years, except for Tang Kejian in Qin Siyuan's mouth. Even the Censor-in-Chief Qin Hui did not dare to speak out about this matter. Tang Kejian was exiled two years ago and died on the road. Qin Siyuan sighed, but after a moment, he shook his chopsticks.

"Forget it, forget it, let's not talk about this today... Chengzhi, has the batch of military grain from Gunzhou arrived?"

"Although the student did not participate, I heard that it arrived in the afternoon."

"That's good..."

At this time, he simply said some trivial government affairs, and after a while, he thought of a question and casually asked, "The day before yesterday, the Directorate of Astronomy sent a message saying that an earthquake occurred in the southeast. There is no definite news about this yet. Do you know about it?"

The three of them had also heard a little about it. Chen Yantang, who was now in the Ministry of Industry, said, "It is impossible to get definite news for a while. The seismograph can only determine the direction of the earthquake. It cannot measure how far away or how severe it is. After all, the seismograph cannot move. If it is too far away, even if it is a major earthquake, the measurement here will be less. However, the previous Director of Astronomy, Yu Qian'an, had an idea and discussed it with our Ministry of Industry, saying that three identical seismographs could be manufactured and placed in three places hundreds of miles apart or even larger. Once an earthquake occurs, its direction, distance, and intensity can be calculated earlier. But the seismograph is a delicate thing. It is impossible to say that there are three identical ones. At that time, Master Yu also said that it doesn't matter if three different ones are set up, as long as a value is made and earthquake values are collected for several or tens of years to make a comparison, and then if there is an earthquake, it can still be calculated based on this. But this matter was not done later, after all, the seismograph will also be damaged after being placed for many years..."

Chen Yantang was talking about the seismograph as an interesting story at this time, but when he saw Qin Siyuan's solemn expression, he said, "Teacher does not need to worry too much about this matter. This disciple once asked, and there are no major earthquakes in the southeast line on weekdays. This matter must not be too serious. The most important thing for teacher at this time is the great event of preparing for war. Don't worry too much about this matter."

Qin Siyuan nodded: "I have already asked. It's just that once an earthquake occurs, many people in the imperial court will probably take the opportunity to make an issue of it. Hey, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but these people only know about the interests of their families, and they want to first attack Fang La, then attack Wang Qing, then attack Tian Hu and Song Jiang. They only think that when the Jin and Liao open fire, we can leisurely solve the internal troubles first, and wait for the external troubles to suffer both losses, and then reap the benefits. Alas, when there are too many power struggles in the imperial court, it is enough to have excellent power struggles in national affairs and wars..."

Coming to Bianjing, the most troublesome thing that Qin Siyuan encountered was these things. Most people do not oppose fighting a war - of course, there are also pure pacifists who believe that a war will cause people to suffer, but they are ultimately in the minority. Most people support fighting a war, but they question the timing of the war.

In times of peace, in order to pursue various interests for their families, these people can restart the Flower and Stone Gang, extort taxes and levies, and gather a large amount of benefits, and also make the various involved interests huge. At this time, many places are suffering, and there are uprisings everywhere. They first demand that the imperial court use its accumulated strength to quell the internal turmoil, after all, the internal turmoil is real, and the various interest groups below are screaming. As for recovering Yanyun, in the eyes of these people, now that the Jin and Liao are fighting in a团了, these things can of course be done at any time, let them suffer both losses, and they can use the people of both sides here... These people play权术 in the imperial court with great skill, and even in the national war, they only feel that it is enough to have权术, but they do not know that if they cannot show strength, no matter how many阴谋 are played, it will only arouse disgust.

But at the moment, he can only weigh in with them all the way, and endure until the troops are sent out. Only if he can win the victory can Qin Siyuan breathe a sigh of relief to deal with those he wants to deal with. Thinking of these things, he thought of some of the conversations he had with Ning Yi when he left Jiangning.

At that time, Ning Yi gave him a messy booklet with some things on it that he didn't quite understand. There were a few items that went something like this, roughly guiding various businesses through national regulation to link most businesses, agriculture, and war industries, and directing the focus of various interests towards war. At that time, those with various family interests would give up their original positions and scream for the country to fight a war, because when the country fought a war, they could sell grain and military supplies. However, Ning Yi was just talking casually at the time.

"It will take a year or two to do these things, and it is very complicated to deliberately balance the commercial chain. The war will break out this year, and it is estimated that it will not be used..."

He said it in a joking manner at the time. That young man always had many thought-provoking ideas, but as he said, this method at this time has already been useless. But there are still a few small tricks in that booklet that he has used in the mobilization of various military supplies, and it has had an effect.

Thinking of Ning Yi, the old man spoke while comparing the young man with the several students in front of him. It was naturally not good to come to a conclusion for a while. While they were chatting, the gatekeeper ran in to report that Lord Li Xiangye had come. Before Qin Siyuan could answer, Li Gang Li Wenji had already entered the front yard directly without notification, and he even seemed to be tidying up his clothes.

At this time, the Left Minister Li Gang was already over seventy years old, with a thin face and white hair and beard, but he was in good spirits and in good health. He had a serious look, pursed his lips tightly, and was already cupping his hands as he walked: "I have come in without reporting. Siyuan, please forgive me. The matter is urgent. Please read this official document..." He took out an official document from his sleeve, "I have to enter the palace immediately."

Several disciples got up to greet Li Gang. Li Gang just waved his hand. Qin Siyuan took the official document and looked at it for a few times, and his face had already changed: "How can this be... How many people have read this official document?"

"I'm afraid it can't be suppressed anymore. The knight who sent the letter lost his horse and was injured. I'm afraid many people already know about this urgent eight-hundred-li dispatch. At this time, someone may have already taken Cao Lingrou and the others from the Directorate of Astronomy into the palace..." Cao Lingrou, the current head of the Directorate of Astronomy, is Wu Min's student and one of the less firm appeasers.

"Get my hat and clothes." Qin Siyuan said to the eaves on the side, and then stepped out of the door, "Let's go quickly."

At the beginning of autumn evening, there was a fissure in the ground in the Suzhou and Hangzhou area, and countless houses were damaged, and the number of deaths and injuries was uncountable. This document was sent from Suzhou. The Grand Canal may have been damaged, and the Jiangnan area is the richest. As the carriage drove towards the palace, Qin Siyuan thought about these things, and then thought of something, and murmured: "Hangzhou, Hangzhou..."

The document mainly talked about Suzhou, and Hangzhou must have been affected, but the situation was not clear. Li Gang frowned and asked, "How is Hangzhou?"

Qin Siyuan sighed: "Ha, I just remembered a young friend, he happened to be there. If..." He thought of Ning Yi's disaster relief booklet. If Ning Yi could take overall responsibility in Jiangnan at this time, he might be able to minimize the impact of the matter. Of course, this thought only flashed through his mind. Ning Yi had no fame and no background, and he would ultimately not be able to intervene. Moreover, that booklet had already been distributed, and the officials in Suzhou and Hangzhou were not all incompetent fools. At this time, he could only hope for them, while he had to resist the heavy pressure in the imperial court.

With the Imperial City in sight, he put the hypothetical thoughts behind him and began to focus his energy on all the practical problems that he would face next...

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Uh, I don't think it's a break... (To be continued.) Vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation.)

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