Between the vast sea of ​​clouds

In the second year of Taiqi, winter.

The horse's hooves crushed the ice, and a little snow fell from the sky.The war horse panted heavily, turning into a wisp of white mist in the icy air. The iron helmet on the horse's head was covered with enchanting frost flowers, showing different shades of ice blue.The leading soldier flicked his hand, and the long whip made several noises in the bitter wind.The guards moved forward quickly on the snow-covered plain, looking from a distance like a black feathered arrow, speeding across the vast expanse of land.

Yunzhou Zhoucheng, Guangyuan.

Located by the Anding Pavilion in the southwest of Guangyuan City, silver-armored guards hold red-tasseled guns to drive away passers-by.The Guangyuan people were no longer surprised by the strangeness, and the robes that were tightly wrapped around their bodies fell apart one after another.If someone looks up at the Anding Pavilion at this time, they will find this ancient building standing in the wind and snow, like a mighty and tall general, silently overlooking the plain outside the border city under the gloomy sky.The cornices of the Anding Pavilion were frozen by frost in the long winter, countless icicles hung down from the top, and sharp icicles shone in the light from the window coffin.A bright red flag billowed in the wind, revealing its broken horn amidst the faint sound of the horn.

This is the most important official in Yunzhou. At the time of the new year, as usual, it is the annual state meeting. Yunzhou state shepherds, three counties and county chiefs, and officials of the fifth rank and above must come from the jurisdiction , to attend this meeting.

Several wooden railing chairs are placed in the meeting hall of Anding Pavilion, a magnificent picture of mountains and rivers hangs above the high hall, and the glazed lamps are all lit up, emitting a soft and bright light.As the sound of the horn faded away, the subordinate officials in charge of receiving and guiding lifted the dark red curtain, and several officials entered one after another, taking their seats in descending order according to the order of official rank.

State shepherd Jiang Min, who was at the top of the seat, was wearing a scarlet court dress, holding the court pearl hanging from his shoulder in his hand, and glanced majesticly at the officials below, before asking after a long while, "Is everyone here?"

Xin Lan, the governor of Fengfeng County stood up and respectfully said: "My lord, except for Sun Congshan, the governor of Anping County, everyone else has arrived."

Jiang Min nodded, waved his hand, and signaled his subordinates to close the door and close the building.Suddenly a person said coolly: "Master Xin is really a nobleman who forgets things too much. If Mr. Sun doesn't come, didn't he send someone to come?"

Xin Lan replied: "Master Xia, don't forget the rules when discussing affairs with the fifth-rank officials."

Xia Mingchen, the county magistrate of Fucheng County, said indifferently: "Of course I understand the rules, but the booklet of Mrs. Li under her is already on the way. She is naturally qualified to participate in this meeting."

Xin Lan frowned, and said a little displeased: "From the fifth grade, I don't even have the qualifications to join the cabinet as an auditor. As long as the imperial decree is not reached, this matter can't be counted. Master Xia should know about it after 30 years in Yunzhou , rules are rules!"

Xia Mingchen said loudly: "The rules are also made by people, Mr. Xin!" She turned around and bowed to Jiang Min, and said, "Why don't you ask Master Zhou to decide?"

Although Jiang Min was close to the age of knowing the wrongdoing, he didn't look old at all. His sharp eyes glanced at the officials with different expressions, and said indifferently: "The matter has not been discussed yet, and you started arguing first? Xia Mingchen, Xin Lan, The two of you can be regarded as the head of a county anyway, don't be noisy all day long, just follow some rules and set an example for the people below."

The two sheriffs confessed their crime together, and then took their seats.Jiang Min went on to say: "If Sun Congshan can't come, it's okay to send someone to discuss matters. It's common for newcomers to get lost when they first arrive. Master Xin, do you think this makes sense?"

Xin Lan didn't expect to be called by name, her heart skipped a beat, facing Zhou Mu's eyes that knew everything, she secretly scolded the group of her subordinates who failed to accomplish anything and failed, even they couldn't stop anyone, and leaked the news , while scolding his mother, he said with difficulty: "My lord is talking about... the cold winter months, Anping County is so far away, maybe it's because of the delay on the road."

Xia Mingchen looked at her mockingly, as if he didn't like her acting like a petty person who was playing tricks on the wind.Jiang Min caressed the perfectly round Chao Mingzhu, and the jade shone faintly around her old fingertips. This state shepherd has been in office for 20 years, and has gone through the turmoil of the officialdom. There was nowhere to hide in her eyes, she was in the high position, listening intently to the long sound of horns outside the pavilion, she turned her head and asked the people around her: "What time is it?"

The man replied, "It's three quarters past noon."

Yiqi was the first to break into the protective line beside the Anding Pavilion with a token in hand. The black cloak of the soldier in silver soft armor raised, revealing the black iron epee around her waist. She shouted sharply: "Commander of the Twelfth Army of Feng Yunce!" Order, those who see the card are allowed to pass, please come out and speak personally!"

White mist covered the woman's resolute side face, but the golden token in her hand could not be ignored. One of the silver-armored guards stepped out with three flying feathers tattooed on his shoulder. After identifying the token, he clasped his fists and said, "My lords in the Anding Pavilion We are discussing matters, and idlers are not allowed to enter, what army are you from, do you have a circular letter to enter the state assembly?"

The woman was stunned, and took a few steps back while pulling the reins. A man came out of the team, wearing a thick blue hood and cloak, covering his entire body. The man took out a thin piece of paper from his bosom. Clamping fingers, white air overflowed from the brim of the hat, and said in a cold voice, "Is this what you are talking about?"

All the officials in the Anding Pavilion whispered to each other, Xia Mingchen felt a little uneasy when he touched the teacup that was turning from hot to warm, Jiang Min leaned on the armrest and read a book, she leaned over to look, it was actually a book "Tai Shang Inducts the Truth" through".

The fairy-like book didn't match the atmosphere of the discussion, but Xin Lan calmed down, and the old god said: "Master Xia, why hasn't this capable subordinate of Mr. Sun arrived yet?"

Xia Mingchen gouged her out and said with a sneer, "Master Xin is so concerned about others, why don't you think about the affairs of the land under your jurisdiction."

Xin Lan calmly held the teacup and blew on the nonexistent heat, and said, "Naturally, don't bother Mrs. Xia, I've always been very measured in my actions, and I'm not such an unruly person. It's okay to follow the rules. Wrong, Mr. Xia is born to be out-of-the-box, it’s okay to like to pursue new ideas, it’s just that one has to be safe in one’s actions, after listening to one thing today and another one tomorrow, why isn’t there a certainty?”

Xia Mingchen got up abruptly, staring at her all around quietly.Zhou Mu, who was sitting in the chief training seat, also looked away from the book and fell on her.Xia Mingchen's face was so hot that he couldn't get off the stage, but Xin Lan fanned the flames and said, "Master Xia, what's the matter? Why did you stand up and do what?"

A burst of cold air rushed into the room, the tassels under the lamp shook, the door curtain was lifted, and a person said loudly: "I'm sorry, I was delayed by something on the road, so it's too late."

This man's voice was very pleasant, clear yet gentle, and he also spoke Mandarin, but with a different flavor in it.Everyone looked back and saw a young woman in royal blue official uniform stepped into the hall. This low-grade dress was bright in color, but it dispelled the tense and oppressive atmosphere in the hall.

Jiang Min nodded, pointed to a vacant seat below and said, "Just stepped on the button and came in. Since Mr. Li is here to replace your boss, County Chief Sun, take her seat."

It was Qing Ping who came, she bowed respectfully, apologized to everyone present and took her seat.Jiang Min said lightly: "Okay, everyone is here now, right?" He ordered his men to go down and close the door to seal the building.

Everyone in the conference hall sat upright and said in unison: "Greetings, Mr. Zhou Mu."

Jiang Min said: "Now start the discussion, the clerk will take notes, and everyone will come one by one and explain everything clearly. Since we are colleagues, we should be a family, and it is true to be kind."

Xia Mingchen took the lead and said: "This year can be said to be not a year of peace. Everyone here knows that the frontier has reported several times, but it was suppressed by the Ministry of War and did not get stabbed in front of the imperial court. But this is what we say in Yunzhou I talked about it at the state meeting, so I can teach you to know what you know. It is not easy to do anything in this situation. It is enough to make some achievements and improve, and to get a good word from the people. But if you want to look at it in the long run Therefore, the implementation of the new law must not only be implemented in a corner of Anping County, but should be widely tried in Yunzhou."

As soon as these words came out, the topic of this state meeting was directly set.Qingping felt the cold fingertips gradually warming up in the warm room, and her hands also recovered some sensations, from numbness to soreness. She held the teacup in her hands and narrowed her eyes comfortably.

Xin Lan said leisurely: "According to Master Xia's high opinion, our new law has not been implemented for three years, so it will be implemented in the whole Yunzhou?"

Xia Mingchen said bluntly: "What's your opinion, Mr. Xin? Why don't you say it for everyone to hear?"

Xin Lan obviously came prepared, and called his subordinates to present a pile of blue books and said: "I don't have any good opinions, but please take a look, Master Xia, this is my account book for Fengfeng County, Lin'an, come out and give it to everyone." Say it."

A young official stood up at the end of the seat, stepped forward and said: "This is the account book of Fengfeng County for the past three years. Since the implementation of the new law, the funds borrowed by Anping County from our county have been consolidated and found to be large and small. Accounts, the accumulation of two million taels of silver."

"Two million taels of silver, this is real money!" Xin Lan was heartbroken, and thumped the table vigorously, "This new law is implemented, and our county is showing its sincerity, asking for money and people to give, and now I don't want this money anymore. I can't hide it anymore, and the Ministry of Household Affairs will investigate it, who will bear the responsibility?"

Everyone was in an uproar, Qing Ping looked at the sheriff with great interest, and found that she had changed her previous attitude of being passive and perfunctory in refusing to push the new law, and took the route of crying for poverty. tilt.

Xin Lan sat on the seat with some pride, stroking the account book with her hand, and wanted to take advantage of the victory to chase after him, when Master Zhou Mu said abruptly: "Master Li is here on behalf of County Chief Sun, and you should come up with an explanation for Mr. Xin's questioning." Bar?"

Qingping Shi Shiran got up and nodded under the eyes of everyone: "My lord, County Chief Xin is right, our county did borrow money from Fengfeng County. The cabinet is still discussing, and it is imperative to borrow money from Fengfeng County. But when it comes to the money, I am afraid it is not as simple as County Chief Xin said, it is just that Anping owes Fengfeng."

Xin Lan glanced at her sideways and said, "Otherwise, can there be other tricks here?"

Qingping stood on the dark red carpet in the conference hall, and said gently: "My lord, don't worry, just listen to the official. Five years ago, Li Feng once rumored that there was a copper mine in Cangjuan Mountain, but he was suffering from insufficient funds and manpower. My county borrows money from someone, and this account book is still here, must there be a backup there, sir?"

The crowd was in an uproar again. It was a long time ago that there was a mine in Fengfeng County, but nothing was found after the investigation, and the matter disappeared, as if it had never happened.But I never expected that there would be such a thing. Mining prospecting is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and a large amount of money must be spent. This kind of thing can only be carried out after approval from the Ministry of Households.Xin Lan did it without saying a word, probably to gain a reputation and add glory to her political achievements.But he didn't expect to suffer a big loss in the dark, and it must have cost a huge amount of money.

Xin Lan's face turned red, and she couldn't say that the story was false, so she gritted her teeth and said, "What do you know as an official who has not reached the fifth rank? It's your turn to tell me about this kind of thing, and it's not your turn." Question me!"

This is probably a dog jumping over the wall, Qingping turned over the account book with a smile, slightly parted his red lips, and spit out a sentence: "1605 million taels of silver."

This number was like a bomb, and the faces of everyone present changed greatly. Xin Lan pointed at her with trembling fingers, and the chief Shangzhou Mu scolded: "Quiet! Li Qingping, show me the account book." .”

Qing Ping submitted the account book, Jiang Min casually flipped through a few pages and asked, "Is this a photocopy?"

Qingping nodded. To be on the safe side, she still didn't bring the original as ordered by Sun Congshan. Jiang Min nodded slightly and said, "In this case, except for this amount, Anping still owes Feng Feng 35 silver. There is no need to bring it to the meeting." Discuss again, this matter is over, next one."

What Qingping listened to her seemed to be to save some face for Xin Lan, and he didn't want to pursue it to the end, so he sat back in his seat and continued to wait and see what happened.

A red-robed official in the middle of the right row got up and saluted, and asked in Qingping's direction: "Since Mr. Li is here in place of County Chief Sun, I wonder if your words are the same as hers and can count?"

Qing Ping rubbed his fingertips and said with a smile: "Small things are fine, but for big things, we still need to go back and discuss with adults."

The man pondered for a moment, then said: "I just want to ask Mr. Li one thing. I raise my hand to agree with the implementation of the new law, but this mutual market... I really don't know what it is. We are close to Anping. If the mutual market To open, the caravan must pass through here, Anping is adjacent to the sideline, if the market is opened, where will it be? Do you want to build a wall to enclose it?"

Qingping took a sip of tea and said: "This matter is also the purpose of my visit. Mr. Sun told me earlier that you must understand what the mutual market is, how it works, and where the delineated area is. "

While speaking, she fixed the prepared scroll on the exhibition board in the conference hall. Seeing this, Xin Lan said coldly: "The ancestral system has a saying that 'you are not allowed to have any contact with foreign races'. How long has it passed? Master Li was born in the Ministry of Rites We all know the rules and regulations, and then forget them all?"

"What County Chief Xin said is true, but whether this mutual market is a ancestral system, the cabinet has already discussed a charter 100 years ago. The mutual market is not unique to this dynasty. 150 years ago, when our dynasty and Xirong lived together The exchange market has been open for nearly ten years, and it was closed due to the war. This is something you all know, so I don’t need to say more.” Qingping spread out the scroll, and it was a map of Anping County, which was drawn very delicately. Outlined a place with his hand, and said: "The scope of the mutual market is this area. Look at it, including the ten counties, and the surrounding areas of the city are all within the scope of the mutual market."

Jiang Min got up to watch, all the officials also hugged her and walked to the edge of the picture, waiting eagerly for her to continue speaking, Qingping cleared his throat, and suddenly had the illusion of being a tour guide, one of them said: "But Li My lord, I am afraid that the opening of the mutual market will cost a lot of money. In the early stage, I have to invest 80 million yuan. How do I get the money? If I insist on opening it, I am afraid that I will have to keep throwing money in the future. The state tax is not higher than that of the other five states, so the amount turned over to the national treasury every year must be kept? Besides, it has been closed in recent years, no matter how hype you say, everyone will not be able to come up with this money. "

Qingping glanced at the person who spoke unexpectedly, the person touched his nose, and said embarrassedly: "The lower official used to be a supervisor of the household department, and he was a bit fussy about the calculation..."

"As I said before, the mutual market is a good thing to open up the trade between the two countries. In the past ten years, the mutual market was opened and then closed. There is really no one in the court to take care of the mutual market. After all, everyone is a scholar. To be honest Let’s start with the calculations, how can we compare with merchants from several prefectures, so when Mr. Sun returned to Beijing to report on his duties last year, he proposed to the Holy Majesty that the trade market should be handed over to the chamber of commerce, and the court would preside over the opening, and sit back and watch the overall situation, only needing to review the accounts.”

She purposely looked at the expressions of the people around her, and she had some concerns in her heart, and said: "Your Majesty has already agreed, and now that Mr. Sun has obtained the oracle, he will discuss it with the Minister of the Household Department. At that time, the Household Department will send people to Anping County——"

The problem in principle has been solved, and the rest should be the question of how to divide up the benefits.Qingping pointed at the edge of the map, smiled very shyly and said: "Presumably the big merchants in Chenzhou and Hezhou are already on their way, and the Yunce Twelfth Army also promised that when the mutual market opens, it will definitely send troops to guard it. "

Her words were filled with an unspeakable allure, as if once the market opened, commerce and trade would be facilitated, and wealth would be at your fingertips.Jiang Min let go of the Chao Mingzhu in his hand, and said meaningfully: "Master Li is really a good-looking talent. At a young age, he has the demeanor of your County Chief Sun."

Qingping saluted modestly and avoided, watching her walk back to the high position.Everyone also gradually returned to their seats, and one could tell from Guanzhou Mu's attitude that she should support the opening of the mutual market.For a while, those who wanted to express their opposition were silent. After exchanging glances, they decided to continue to wait and see.

Qing Ping breathed a sigh of relief. There were only a few problems in opening the mutual market, but there were too many relationships involved, and no one wanted to take responsibility. But if someone has prepared all these, tell them that they can sit back and enjoy the success .Now it's just a matter of attitude. To support the mutual market, the new law must be implemented.This is something she has repeatedly deliberated with Governor Sun in Anping County. When everyone is tied to the car, they have to be driven by a huge chain of interests and protect everything spontaneously until all links are connected. When one is established, the mutual market will naturally open and run smoothly, and the new law can also be promoted in Yunzhou.

The author has something to say: I'm sorry, because I have to attend banquets and visit relatives on National Day, so I don't have much time.

The time of this chapter is three years later, the follow-up story will be explained slowly, thank you for your support, bow

I wish you all a happy National Day!Woohoo!