Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 585: The Scholar and the Courtesan

Yang Yuan heard that it was an extremely urgent matter, but he was not nervous.

Because in the Goose King’s concept, the definition of “extremely urgent” may be different from that of others.

His "extremely urgent" matter might be some trivial matter.

However, when Yang Yuan arrived at Prince Jin's Mansion and heard what was happening, he realized it was indeed an extremely urgent matter.

Someone is rebelling!
Another person has rebelled!
And there was more than one place. There were three memorials and three rebellions, and they were all in the prefectures and counties near Lin'an.

Even the usually frivolous Prince Jin's expression became solemn, and he could no longer laugh out his carefree "gee, goose, goose".

Yang Yuan read the three memorials carefully.

The first place to rebel was Wuzhou (Jinhua).

At present, the areas that have begun to lay off redundant staff are Lin'an and its surrounding prefectures and counties, including Wuzhou.

Several officials who were laid off in Wuzhou Prefecture were local residents with large families. After being laid off, those officials instigated more than 200 of their family members and fellow villagers to surround the Wuzhou government office.

The second place to rebel was Dongyang.

There was a customs office in Dongyang. Three dismissed tax officials, along with a dozen dismissed tax collectors, seized a bridge.

They beat away the real tax collectors, but they were still there collecting taxes from passers-by.

In the past, they levied taxes on passing goods, but now they collect taxes from all people crossing the bridge, and keep all the taxes for themselves.

There was a tax in the Song Dynasty called bridge tax, which was actually a tax levied on merchants.

Initially, the Song Dynasty adopted a one-to-one approach, collecting taxes door-to-door.

However, this method requires a large amount of taxes and is very costly.

Moreover, the quality of grassroots officials is really hard to describe.

With just a little power in hand, they can exert their capabilities ten, a hundred or even a thousand times, and their taxation and robbery, which are almost "bandit-like", are no different from those in the past.

Against this background, the Song Dynasty no longer levied taxes on people’s doorsteps, but instead created a new type of tax: the “bridge tax.”

"Bridge tax" is almost equivalent to the modern "bridge toll".

Since you are doing business, it is impossible not to have goods flow. Directly controlling the bridge can, firstly, prevent tax evasion more easily, and secondly, avoid tax collection by confiscating property.

Of course, the problem of tax collectors taking bribes and setting up too many checkpoints in some places still exists, but the level of nuisance to the public has been greatly reduced compared to before.

In addition, the Song court explicitly stipulated that a levy of 20 wen per thousand wen was levied on goods passing through the border, 30 wen per thousand wen was levied on shop operations, and small traders were exempt from the levy.

In this situation, even if the people below want to take advantage, they cannot openly defy the tax law. No matter how cleverly they come up with excuses, their room for manipulation is limited.

After all, merchants are not so easy to control. If you go too far, they may have channels to report to their superiors.

Now, those dozen tax collectors have seized a bridge and are levying a fine on everyone who crosses it...

This is just taxation. They are no longer tax officials, and they don't hand over the collected taxes to the government. This is clearly robbery.

The third rebellion took place in Kuaiji.

A clerk who was laid off was filled with sorrow and anger, and he went out to get drunk. As a result, when he was going downstairs, he missed a step, broke his neck, and died on the spot.

His family members seized the opportunity to attack, carrying the body and occupying the lobby of the county government office. They drove away the magistrate and a group of yamen runners, and turned the lobby of the county government office into a mourning hall, where they were performing a large-scale ritual.

After reading the three urgent reports, Yang Yuan couldn't help but raise his brows.

Zhao Yu said nervously: "Ziyue, what do you think I should do?"

Yang Yuan turned the three memorials back, flipped through them quickly, and carefully looked at the official seals and signatures on them.

When this memorial was submitted, it would pass through each government office and be received by relevant personnel, with signatures and seals stamped on it.

Yang Yuan said, "The memorial from Wuzhou was delivered to Lin'an the day before yesterday, and the memorial from Dongyang was also delivered the day before yesterday. The memorial from Kuaiji was delivered yesterday. But they were not delivered together until today. What does that mean?"

When Zhao Yu heard this, a glimmer of enlightenment flashed across his eyes.

Yang Yuan said, "I saw this signature. Did it come from Councillor Tang?"

"Not bad!"

"Why didn't the two prime ministers sign the agreement?"

"Councillor Tang handed the memorial to Prime Minister Shen. When Prime Minister Shen heard that the matter involved rebellion, he immediately forwarded it to the Prince of Jin's Palace."

"Ha ha……"

"What the hell are you laughing at!"

Zhao Yu said unhappily, "I know, these old guys just want to take advantage of me and see how I deal with them.

However, now is not the time to argue with them. Someone has rebelled. If we don't deal with it quickly, the situation will inevitably escalate.

How to deal with those bastards, we have to solve the urgent problem first."

Yang Yuan thought for a moment and said to Zhao Yu, "How does the king want to deal with this?"

Zhao Yu said: "According to the convention, we should first send people to pacify them, and if pacification fails, then send troops to suppress them.

After defeating them, depending on the severity of their crimes, they will be severely punished or appeased..."

Yang Yuan looked at Zhao Yu with strange eyes and said, "My lord, this is not like your usual style."

Zhao Yu sighed and said, "I know what you are thinking, and I am also angry.

It's just that I'm here to look after my eldest brother's house. If he's not in Lin'an, I'll make the world a mess. How will I explain myself to him when he comes back?"

Yang Yuan asked: "So, Your Majesty also wants to follow the established rules?"

Zhao Yu said, "If I wanted to follow the old rules, why would I come to you? I just feel unwilling to be coerced by these treacherous villains, but I don't know how to strike the right balance, so I came to you to discuss it."

Yang Yuan thought for a moment and said, "In terms of the severity of redundant officials, there is no country like the Song Dynasty. However, redundant officials are not unique to the Song Dynasty.

There was once a man who also encountered the phenomenon of redundant officials everywhere in the court.

In his words at the time, nine people were herding ten sheep. This is the problem of redundant officials!"

"Nine out of ten sheep are shepherded?"

Zhao Qu had a vague impression, but it was true that he was not good at studying, especially boring history books, and he could not remember what specific event happened in which dynasty.

"So, he wanted to change this situation of too many people doing nothing, so he cut down on redundant officials! Of course, the redundant officials were not satisfied, and they used various means to put pressure on the court. The most extreme means was to rebel!"

Zhao Qu understood what he was talking about. This example was probably given so that he could emulate it.

Zhao Yu followed his words and said, "So, how did that person do it?"

Yang Yuan said: "He gave poisoned wine to a county prince who led the riot and shouted about rebellion, and left his body intact.

The other one who really caused trouble was publicly beheaded.

This is public, not done on the streets of a busy city, killing in front of the people.

Instead, he summoned the royal family, the civil and military officials of the whole court to a banquet, and during the banquet, he publicly executed him in front of them. "

The unlearned but skilled Goose King blinked his eyes and said, "What's the result?"

Yang Yuan spread his hands and said, "The result is that the elimination of redundant officials has been carried out smoothly. After the reduction of all the civil and military officials in the entire court, only 643 people are left."

Zhao Qu asked: "Who is he?"

Yang Yuan smiled and said, "He... is the same as you, both are ranked second. He is Li Er, and you are Zhao Er."

Zhao Yu was silent for a long time, looked at him deeply, and said, "Then tell me, what should I do, Yang Er?"

Yang Yuan said: "Since the ministers are deliberately standing aside and the prime minister is also vague, they all hope that you will do it for them. How can you let them down?"

Zhao Yu put his hands behind his back and paced back and forth for a few steps. Suddenly he stopped and said, "I will send three groups of troops, led by three scholars, to rush to the three places as soon as possible to conquer and pacify them. If they don't obey, how do you think?"

Yang Yuan shook his head and said, "What if he agreed? How will the king comfort him? He was dismissed because he was a redundant official.

Just because of this incident, you were reinstated and even promoted. Guess how many more prefectures and counties will have people causing trouble next?"

Zhao Yu's eyes darkened and he asked, "So what does Ziyue mean?"

Yang Yuan said, "They came to you to establish your authority, and the officials deliberately stood aside for you, the king, to let go. How can the king let them down?"

"You are more cruel than me..."

Zhao Yu sighed and said something, then suddenly stood still and said in a deep voice: "How about I dispatch troops directly to three places to arrest the main culprit and bring him to Lin'an to be punished?"

Yang Yuan shook his head: "The person that Li Er brought to the civil and military officials to be questioned was a royal relative and a prince. The biggest troublemaker in these three places was just a tax collector. Is he worthy of that?"

"Immediately take the hanging beheading?"

"And I'll behead him and put him on display in public!"

"You... are indeed more cruel than me!"

"Your Majesty is wrong. This humble official is being merciful. If you use more ruthless tactics today, I don't know how many lives will be saved in the future."

"it is good!"

A fierce look flashed in Zhao Yu's eyes, and his smile became a little ferocious.

He was a fearless person to begin with, but now he was not calm, but because he was the head of the family for his elder brother, so he was looking ahead and considering more.

At this moment, his unruly nature was aroused again by Yang Yuan.

Yang Yuan said: "This alone is not enough."

Zhao Qu was surprised and asked, "Isn't this enough?"

Yang Yuan said: "That's right! Because these heads are too cheap. So..."

Yang Yuan lowered his voice and discussed the matter carefully with Zhao Qu, finalizing many details.

After Yang Yuan left, Zhao Yu immediately summoned Privy Councilor Yang Cunzhong and Palace Guard Zhao Mi to go to the Prince of Jin's Palace to discuss matters.

According to the military system of the Song Dynasty, mobilizing more than 300 soldiers required the emperor's permission and the issuance of a military order.

However, the so-called rebellions in these three places, which were defined as rebellions by the Song Dynasty, were actually minor ones and there was no need to send too many troops.

Moreover, Zhao Qu was now the regent, and Zhao Yuan trusted him very much. The military orders were given to him, so he naturally had the right to mobilize troops.

What's more, the shadow of the chaos of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, coupled with the military power that Zhao Gou himself encountered, made the emperors of the Song Dynasty always hold military power very tightly, which created great convenience for Zhao Jue to directly dispatch troops without the court.

The military system of the Song Dynasty was a system in which military power was divided into three parts and was controlled by civilians.

The power to mobilize troops belongs to the Privy Council (civil officials), the power to command troops belongs to the Three Yamen (military generals), and the power to command operations belongs to the general (civil officials).

The Privy Council holds the power to dispatch troops, but not the power to command them;

The three yamen had the power to command troops, but not the power to dispatch them.

The command of operations was held by generals (mainly civil servants) temporarily appointed by the emperor.

The Privy Council is now controlled by Yang Cunzhong, a very rare figure in the history of the Song Dynasty who was a military general and served as Privy Councilor.

He was originally temporarily arranged to this position to play a transitional role of "escorting" after Qin Hui and his son were killed for treason.

Even now and then, civil officials from the imperial court and local governments would write letters of impeachment, saying that he should not be the Privy Councilor.

Among those who wrote the letter was even Yang Yuan’s good friend Lu You.

The purpose of their letter was not to express their opinion of Yang Cunzhong as an individual, but to express their concern that if this system was destroyed, there would be endless troubles.

Although there are always people who criticize the drawbacks of literati governing the army, even Yang Yuan, who has the insights of later generations, agrees with the views of Lu You and others in his heart:
If a military officer holds supreme military power, the disadvantages will outweigh the advantages. The harm it brings to the country is far greater than its benefits, and far greater than the military power held by a civilian official. However, at least for now, Yang Cunzhong controls the Privy Council, which provides great convenience for Zhao Yu to mobilize troops to "suppress the rebellion" this time.

Yang Cunzhong of the Privy Council successfully issued an order to mobilize troops, and Zhao Mi, who commanded the three yamen, successfully dispatched the troops.

As for the combat command, if necessary, Zhao Qu would transfer people from the Censorate and send Yang Yuan, Xiao Yiran and Lu Chengze.

It was a spectacular sight to see the top three candidates in the imperial examination lead their troops out of the capital at the same time.

Fortunately, the first two hurdles were passed, and the power to appoint the commander-in-chief was in the hands of the emperor (regency). He only sent a thousand people to one place, so there was no need to send a civil servant to escort the battle.

Qin Hui was able to quietly bypass the emperor and mobilize General Xin Li to lead a thousand soldiers under his command to leave the capital and go to the local area to quell the rebellion. Zhao Gou only found out about this by chance several months later.

At that time, Qin Hui only controlled the Privy Council. Now that the Privy Council and the Three Yamen are in his hands, Zhao Ju can naturally do more powerful than Qin Hui.

……

Since its establishment, Cuiyu Tower has never had such a glorious moment.

Many high-ranking officials of the imperial court gathered in Cuiyu Tower, the room was filled with red and purple, and it was extremely noble.

The twelve courtesans of Lin'an were originally competitors with each other, but today they all came to Cuiyu Tower.

When they heard the names of the high-ranking officials and dignitaries announced to them by Cuiyulou, they did not want to miss this opportunity even though they were competing openly or secretly with Shui Fu.

Not only did the courtesans come, but they also showed off in all the grandeur, with clothes, jewelry, and makeup that were as gorgeous as could be, all hoping to outdo the others.

Those seated in the hall on the first floor were all noblemen and young talents from Lin'an.

Among this group of noble sons and wealthy young men, the second son of the Wang family probably played the role that Qin Hui played when he was in the Imperial College: long legs.

The private rooms on the second floor were packed with people.

But now all the partitions of the private rooms have been removed, making the room transparent and brighter.

The two rulers, Tang Situi and Chen Kangbo, the three ministers of the Ministry of Personnel, Tan, Xi, and Zhang, the Minister of Justice, Qiao Zhen, the prefect of Lin'an and the elderly father of the people of Lin'an, the two direct scholars, Lu and Ye, and the famous scholar Yan Shen who has been very popular recently and is well-known in Lin'an...

Under them were many officials such as assistant ministers, directors, and doctors.

The twelve courtesans treated this place as a competition arena, competing with each other for beauty.

Officials also used this place as a stage for demonstrations.

Are they really coming to this banquet to welcome Miss Shui Fu, who has been acquitted?
It is just a display of collective strength to put pressure on the radicals who have been aggressive recently.

In the night city of Lin'an, music and singing are everywhere and colorful lanterns are hung high.

On the second floor of Cuiyu Tower, Qiao Zhen sat there, chatting and laughing with the girl Nan Yuan who was accompanying him, and they raised their glasses frequently.

Qiao Zhen is the prefect of Lin'an. Compared with other ministers, he has closer relationship with the people of Lin'an. If he can get close to him, it will be of the greatest help to himself.

Therefore, all the courtesans who were invited from other brothels, whether they were prostitutes or not, first set their sights on him.

As a result, she was finally overtaken by Nan Yuan, one of the twelve new courtesans at the beginning of the year.

Those who can become the Oiran not only have extraordinary talent, temperament, appearance and figure, but also are as elegant as fairies in public. You will never see any worldly airs in them.

Miss Nan Yuan is such a woman. Her silk dress is as red as water, and her personality is as gentle as water. Her conversation is elegant and her manners are graceful, even better than those of the ladies from wealthy families.

After all, even a big-name gangster like Dan Niang has to carefully study and plan her every move, every frown and every smile in front of others.

All of these women who could become the oiran had studied the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, painting, behavior and sitting manners seriously.

The difficulty for them to become an oiran is no less than passing the imperial examination and becoming a jinshi.

Not only their appearance, but also their inner qualities, each of them has their own unique skills.

“No one in the world is always 18 years old, but there is always someone who is 18 years old.” They rely on their youth, and if they want to stay popular for a few more years, they naturally cannot just rely on their looks and figure.

Miss Nan Yuan is obviously not just a good-looking person. She is already nineteen years old, and in the brothel industry, this age is already the beginning of the decline.

Moreover, she is still a prostitute and has never been "combed" so far, just to sell herself at a really high price and find a high-quality meal ticket for a lifetime.

At this moment, she is beside Master Qiao, who happens not to be too old, in his early forties, and well-maintained, which is the peak of a man's mature charm.

So, Nan Yuan, like a little bird, used all her skills to please Qiao Zhen.

Although Mr. Qiao is not an inexperienced person, the tenderness and thoughtfulness of an oiran is obviously not something he can enjoy often.

Therefore, not long after the banquet started, Mr. Qiao was already intoxicated by Nan Yuan.

He raised his glass frequently, and was already drunk, his eyes were only fixed on the sweet and soft body of Miss Nan Yuan.

"Zhongjie, it hasn't been long yet, you've drunk too much."

Zhongjie is Mr. Qiao's pen name. Accompanied by Shui Fu, Tang Situi toasted colleagues and friends at each table. Seeing that Qiao Zhen was already unable to sit still even after the banquet had started for a while, he couldn't help laughing.

Tang Situi and Qiao Zhen were classmates and both were second-class Jinshi in the same subject, but they did not have much personal relationship before.

In terms of career success, Tang Situi is much better than Qiao Zhen. He already has one foot in the prime minister's cabinet.

However, Qiao Zhen has now become the prefect of Lin'an, which means he has great potential among Tang Shitui's "old classmates".

Therefore, after Qiao Zhen took office in Lin'an, Tang Situi intended to get close to him.

The two were originally of the same age, and their relationship gradually became closer.

Therefore, Tang Situi also sent a notice to invite him to today's banquet in order to enhance his own prestige.

Qiao Zhen laughed loudly and said to Tang Shitui, "When you meet a good friend, a thousand cups of wine are not enough."

Shui Fu said mischievously, "I just wonder if Mr. Qiao's confidant is Mr. Tang or Miss Nan."

After hearing this, Nan Yuan lowered her head shyly: "Sister Shui Fu, you are making fun of me. Mr. Qiao's confidant is naturally Mr. Tang."

As she spoke, she glanced at Qiao Zhen and said in a tender voice, "Drink wine with a bosom friend and recite poetry to an understanding person. Master Qiao should have a drink with Mr. Tang."

"Hahaha, good, good, drink it up, drink it up."

Qiao Zhen immediately raised his glass to greet Tang Situi.

Tang Shitui said with a smile: "I did it. Zhongjie is already drunk. Just a token of my appreciation."

After saying that, he drank the wine in the glass in one gulp.

Qiao Zhen said, "Since my husband has finished drinking, how can I not drink? Finish it, finish it."

He also drank the wine in the cup in one gulp, and said to Miss Nan Yuan with a drunken look: "Mr. Tang is the top scholar with erudition and eloquence, and Nan Yuan is the most beautiful courtesan in the country. Qiao drank a cup with the top scholar, and he should also drink a full cup with the courtesan."

The other guests immediately started to make a noise, saying, "In that case, you two should drink from the same cup of wine."

Nan Yuan looked shy, but she stood up gracefully and said, "Let's exchange cups. Yuan'er is not afraid."

She filled Qiao Zhen's glass first, held the cup with both hands and offered it, saying softly, "Master, please."

Qiao Zhen took the cup, and the two of them put their arms around each other and drank from the cup together. There was immediate cheering from all around.

Qiao Zhen's face flushed, and she sat down laughing. However, her footing was unstable and she sat off balance, almost falling on the ground.

He leaned against the table hastily and overturned the plate in front of him, splashing the juice onto his robe.

When Nan Yuan saw this, she quickly supported Qiao Zhen and said, "Master Qiao has drunk too much. I will help him down to have a rest and have a bowl of sobering soup."

"No, no, no, I'm not drunk, I'm not drunk, it was just a careless..."

Tang Situi found it very funny. He, a classmate of the same year, had never been a particularly prominent one among the successful candidates in the same imperial examination, so he had never paid much attention to it before.

Now it seems that it is not deep enough.

However, it is also good this way. He is lucky and now sits firmly in the position of Lin'an Prefecture. If I can win him over and make him my own, he will be a powerful arm.

"Miss Nanyuan, please serve our Master Qiao well." Tang Shitui said with a smile, using a double meaning.

In such occasions, although these dignitaries all have beauties as their companions, they only talk about elegant things and do not do anything vulgar.

But, in private...

We are all human beings. Many high-ranking officials are willful and indulgent, and are worse than ordinary people.

Everyone burst into laughter after hearing this, and Nan Yuan's rosy cheeks suddenly turned red as if they were covered with rouge. It seemed that she was really embarrassed this time.

She lowered her head slightly, and walked away holding the staggering Qiao Zhen who still looked reluctant.

Naturally, there are guest rooms in this Cuiyu Tower for guests to rest.

Qiao Zhen was helped into a guest room. When she was helped to the couch by Miss Nan Yuan, a shrewd look quickly flashed in her misty eyes.

Is he drunk?
I did drink too much.

It's hard to control yourself if you don't drink, how can you hide it from these smart people?

However, Qiao Zhen has an extremely powerful ability: he only gets drunk physically, not mentally.

Even if he was extremely drunk, he could always keep a clear mind. He might behave a little more unrestrained than usual, but he would never be unconscious.

Tang Situi is the first person in power, a powerful figure who is half a prime minister. He absolutely cannot afford to offend him.

But the wind was clearly blowing from the southeast, and he didn't want to take the risk of the wind blowing from the north.

In particular, the Palace Cavalry Division sent out three teams of a thousand men today, all cavalry, and dispatched them in three directions.

Others don’t know about this yet, after all, the Ma Junsi is stationed in Xixi.

But he is the official of Lin'an. Even if others don't know, how could he not know?

He was transferred from his post in Shanyin to Beijing because there was a huge storm in the capital, which caused many people to fall.

Seeing that the storm in the capital was rising again, he didn't want to be the one to be overturned.

Since people have to come, they can only leave as soon as possible and try to minimize the impression they leave on others at today's banquet.

Qiao Zhen lay on the couch, thinking in a daze.

Then, his hand was grabbed and placed on a soft, smooth and elastic surface.

"Ok?"

When Qiao Zhen opened his hazy drunken eyes, he saw a beautiful woman in her arms, who had taken off her clothes.

She smiled shyly at Qiao Zhen, called him "Master" in a tender voice, and leaned into Qiao Zhen's arms again.

Her slender hands reached down through his robe, gently and twisting it.

Datong Lane and Cuiyu Tower.

Outside the Cuiyu Tower, there were five horses and five people.

The five talented young men stopped their horses, looked up at the lintel of the Cuiyu Tower, and then dismounted.

"It looks like the Cuiyu Tower is very lively today!" Yang Yuan said with a smile.

Xiao Yiran smiled and said, "It's better to be lively. It will add some atmosphere for us to celebrate Brother Anguo's administration in Jiankang."

There were five people coming, namely Zhang Xiaoxiang, the former number one, Yang Yuan, the current number one, Xiao Yiran, the second place, Lu Chengze, the third place, and Liu Shangqiu, a beautiful girl whose gender was difficult to distinguish.

Yang Yuan smiled and said, "In that case, let's go and join in the fun!"

A group of five people walked into the building.

PS: I owe JJM two chapters, one about the place where the orioles sing at dawn and one about Dayu governing the country.

(End of this chapter)