choke element

Chapter 308

Laizhou, Sanshan Port.

On the Bohai Coast in early April, the sea breeze is cool and the sun is pleasant.On the outer edge of the port, there are three peaks adjacent to each other, which are abrupt and straight, and the mountains protrude into the sea, shaped like a crescent moon.

Standing on the top of the peak, Guo Ning looked far and wide, only to see the boundless blue sky and the blue sea.

Dozens of ships are moored in the harbour.There are merchant ships and a few fishing boats.The boat is connected to the ship with wooden boards, and sailors or fishermen walk on the boards to the trestle, and then walk along the trestle to several newly built wine shops inside the harbor.

There are also a few more gorgeously dressed and wealthy, and that is the maritime merchants staying in Sanshan Port.I heard that those people have already set up houses and shops in Ye County, and they are going to make the smuggling business completely public and show their strengths.

It was high tide at this moment, and waves of waves slapped the jagged and towering boulders under his feet, and the sea water collided with the cave deep in the boulders, making a hollow and majestic sound, as if there was some kind of huge and unfathomable thing below. same space.

It was Guo Ning's first visit to this place, so he couldn't help looking down and stamping his feet.

Li Yun, who was accompanying him, said: "Marshal Jie, when the First Emperor traveled eastward to the sea, he paid homage to the famous mountains, great rivers and eight gods, and asked the immortals to envy his family. Five of the eight gods in Qidi are under the jurisdiction of our Dinghai Navy. The place where Jie Shuai is now setting foot is the three mountains where Yin Lord is worshipped. Which god the so-called Yin Lord is is no longer known, but the reason why he chose this place to worship must have something to do with the sound of the sea."

Guo Ning asked, "Is this really the place where Emperor Shihuang offered sacrifices?"

"Jieshuai, please look here." Li Yun signaled: "Are there faint traces of wine bottles and chopsticks on this flat stone? It is said that this is the place where the first emperor poured wine to worship the Lord of Yin. In addition, we set up a watchtower It is said that it is the site of the Sanshan Pavilion built by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty when he offered sacrifices here."

"So that's how it is." Guo Ning nodded and touched the marks on the stone: "Speaking of sacrifices... you can ask Jin Qing for me later, if you need to make arrangements, just so that the Taoist priest Yuyangzi of Donglai Mountain Come out."

"Yes." Li Yun bowed solemnly: "Then he said, but Mr. Jin Qing should not make a big deal. "

Guo Ning thought about it and nodded.

The reason why he suddenly talked about this was because the day before yesterday, Du Shisheng sent people from Zhongdu to go south in a light boat and brought a piece of news.

Tu Shanyi died of illness.

This powerful minister who wanted to maintain the situation of Dajin at all costs, finally finished his 40-year official career and reached the end of his life.

He is a Jurchen, but at the same time he is a gentle and elegant Confucian scholar, and he is the leader of the Han civil servants in the court.Therefore, for decades, he has been tirelessly working to bridge the many contradictions in the court.And when the conflict finally intensifies, he can act decisively and use the most drastic means to eradicate the soil of the conflict.

Even in Guo Ning's eyes, Tu Danyi is a rare capable minister.In his 40 years of official career, he started from the first batch of Jurchen Scholars, to Prime Minister Zuo, Marshal Du, and Pingzhang Political Affairs, Guangyang County King, and became a powerful minister under one person in the court and above tens of thousands.

However, his 40 years of official career are also the 40 years of the Great Jin Kingdom from prosperity to decline.For Tu Danyi himself, seeing the status of the Dajin Kingdom, even though his personal position and power are thriving, perhaps there is nothing to be happy about.

With Du Shanyi's talent, he should have done more.But in an increasingly difficult situation, he can only barely respond.

In fact, there are very few successes in the field of response, and after a response, it is often pushed by the current situation, resulting in more unpredictable changes.But at least, every decision he made did benefit the situation a little bit.

For example, the powerful officials who tried to support their own self-respect did indeed die, and the emperor's throne did indeed change; another example, the new emperor did have to stick to the central capital and confront the Mongolian army head-on.

And Tu Danyi is working hard for this little benefit.

Guo Ning had expected the death of Tu Danyi.He met Tu Shanyi twice, and every time he felt that the old man was older than before.

But Guo Ning really didn't expect that his life would end so soon. He always felt that there was a special power in this old man's body, which would allow him to carry on with his aging body.

Perhaps the last bit of Tu Shanyi's energy was devoted to supporting King Sui Wanyan Shouxu's move southward to Kaifeng.When he confirmed that the situation of Dajin's two points was formed, the body would lose its reason to continue.

Guo Ning has no feelings for Jin Guo, and is even more disgusted with the high-ranking officials and nobles of the Jurchens.In the process of his rise from recklessness, he also fought wits and courage with Tu Danyi several times.But for Tu Shanyi himself, he really has a little respect.

As the nephew of Tu Danyi, Yila Chucai chose to follow Guo Ning, turned his back on Tu Danyi, and also turned his back on the path of Tudan Yi.Hearing the news of his death, Yisha Chucai probably felt very complicated.

In the past two days, Yicai Chucai, who was always full of energy and devoted himself to his official duties, took leave of absence, so Guo Ning took Li Yun to make an inspection tour.

Even Li Yun himself had complicated emotions.Li Yun had never met this prime minister, but during the several months when he was in charge of the Zhigu village, he heard many rumors about Tu Danyi.He can at least confirm that once Tu Danyi died, the situation of Da Jin, the game between the emperor and his courtiers, and the subtle relationship between Daxing Mansion in the central capital and Kaifeng Mansion in Nanjing would all undergo tremendous changes.

And this change will soon affect Dinghai, and perhaps it can be seen today.

Guo Ning was silent for a long time listening to the sound of the tide.

After all, it was just Da Jin's prime minister. He didn't want to make the atmosphere too heavy, so he smiled and asked, "A Yun came to Shandong not long ago, so he is very familiar with these anecdotes?"

"I don't have this ability... Not long ago, I accompanied a few big merchants to this place together with Judge Yiba, and I heard what Judge Yiba said on the way. Once, he wrote a poem on the spot, and I also recited it. Jieshuai, do you want to listen?"

Guo Ning waved his hands again and again: "No, no, headache."

The negotiation between Yila Chucai and the sea merchants has been going on, but there has been no result.However, the smuggling trade between the Song and Jin families has lasted for decades, and everyone came here for making money. Even if the Laizhou Dinghai Navy ended in person in an official capacity, it was for making money, and they would not clean up the rules for maritime merchants.

The reason why it is difficult to implement many details is because both parties understand that in this bargaining process, the more restrained the party is, the more likely it is to take the initiative at the critical moment of the negotiation and get more benefits.

So on Ding Haijun's side, Li Yun still came forward, slapping the table and chatting wildly every day, and Yila Chucai still accompanied him every now and then.After a long time, everyone felt that Ding Haijun's Yiba judge had a calm demeanor, but that Li Yun was really serious and not a son of man.

Li Yun has put in a lot of effort in leading this post.He didn't know a few words at first, but in the past few months, he has relied on rote memorization, studying hard every night by candlelight, and now he looks like a seasoned businessman. Even when traveling, she can be elegant without being vulgar.

This is a time when there is no harvest, and the grain obtained by Guo Ning's family and property robbery last year is consumed very quickly, so an agreement has been reached with a group of maritime merchants to ship a few shipments of grain first, as a preliminary exercise before a large-scale transaction.

Therefore, Guo Ning immediately asked Li Yun about the preparations for the repairs of various private ports.Li Yun talked eloquently about the expansion of facilities in Shihuzui, Diaolongzui, Taiping Bay, and Hutouya beyond Sanshan Port, as well as the arrangement of transportation routes for ports, warehouses, and military forts.

Guo Ning was very satisfied, and was about to ask something else, when he heard the footsteps hurried.There was a man who came down from the ladder of the watchtower with a thump and ran down to report: "Marshal Jie, the boat is almost here!"

Guo Ning squinted his eyes to look at the sea, and saw a white sail going around the three mountains, and someone on board was waving a two-color flag, echoing the same flag waving on the watchtower.

In the port, several civil and military officials who had been waiting in advance began to line up on the seawall at the end of the plank road, and another group of soldiers came out from the military fort in the south of the port to disperse the people along the way so as not to block the road.

After watching it for a while, Guo Ning suddenly frowned: "This matter has gone wrong. Do I have to go to the mountain to shout long live and kowtow to those who come here in front of so many people?"

Li Yun coughed again and again: "Jie Shuai, after all, he is an angel... It's nothing to greet you."

Guo Ning chuckled twice.

The banner of the imperial court really needs to be played for a while.But there are some things Guo Ning doesn't like to do. Does the court still have the ability to force him to do it?
Given the current situation in the Dajin Kingdom, Daxing Mansion, the central capital, has soldiers and people, and in the name of the imperial court, but it is desolate everywhere and is in short supply of food and fodder.The wealthy Kaifeng Mansion can provide everything needed by the central capital, and it can rely on the advantages of food and materials to actually control the imperial court of the central capital.

At this time, only the sea route of the Ding Navy can bring another channel for the supply of grain and fodder to Zhongdu;

The court of Zhongdu should take this into consideration. As long as the big men in the court are smart enough, they will only try their best to win over Guo Ning in order to maintain the sea route.If they are not smart enough, Guo Ning doesn't mind doing them a little favor to make them smart.

So, Guo Ning sat down on the rock in the mountain, and said concisely: "Let that messenger come and tell him to come here to meet me."

Li Yun went in response.

After half an hour, a servant in embroidered clothes trotted up from the foot of the mountain, and saluted deeply after a distance of Zhang Xu: "Deputy envoy Wuwei, bring some Qingshan slaves from the servant bureau to meet the Xuanfu envoy!"

"Xuan Fu envoy?" Guo Ning asked with a smile, "I was promoted?"

(End of this chapter)