Thousands of Mountains

The secret guards had already informed about the impending arrival at Zhaoyang Mansion. The three of them rode horses all the way, and Yin Cen couldn't help asking Chen Ji, "Why can't you see Qin Nianqin?"

Chen Ji snorted slightly, "Teacher Liang once said that this man was a man of insanity, and he was indeed very insane. He treated you and me like nothing, and went to eat hot pot in front of his face..."

Yin Cen laughed, "Doesn't this just mean that this person regards the authority of officials as nothing? If it weren't for this kind of heart, I'm afraid I wouldn't dare to risk my life and go to check the tea tax alone."

Chen Ji didn't speak, Yin Cen tugged at his sleeve, and said, "Look at you, you obviously think he has the ability, but you just want him to be subdued. Qin Nianqin is a person who only really admires people, not easily subdued, ah If Yue wants to subdue this person, he has to show some skills." He glanced at Chen Ji with a smile in the corner of his eyes.

Chen Ji pursed his lips tightly, and said to Yin Cen, "What do I want him to do, my brother Pingshan is enough."

Yin Cen smiled, reached out and rubbed his head.

Wu Ye'er smiled beside her, showing her white teeth, and said, "Brother Pingshan, Your Highness the Crown Prince, you don't have to worry, anyway, I have a way to subdue him."

Yin Cen and Chen Ji looked at each other, then laughed together, Wu Ye'er touched his head, "What are you laughing at..."

Chen Ji joked, "You boy, so you like weak beauties."

"Hey!" Wu Ye'er blushed, what is weak... what beauty...

So bad so bad I didn't say anything.

There was not a single person on the official road. The three of them were surprised. They didn't know until they arrived at Zhaoyang Mansion that Qiu Luhua, the magistrate of Zhaoyang, ordered the entire road to be closed. The red carpet has also been paved for several miles.

Yin Cen didn't expect to be able to walk the red carpet in this life. He thought to himself that Qiu Luhua, knowing that they were here to investigate the case, made such a big battle, lest people would not know that he was a stupid official, and his IQ was worrying.

It was mid-afternoon when we arrived at the mansion, and the weather was as hot as midsummer. Zhaoyang Mansion is located on a plateau, and the sun is much hotter than that in Beijing. When the three of them entered the mansion, their faces were already red from the sun. Qiu Luhua and the tea and salt department The eunuch in charge Ren Tonghuan hurriedly welcomed the three of them into the house, and ordered someone to fetch ice cubes from the cellar and put them in the middle of the hall. He ordered them to chisel some crushed ice and made three bowls of iced sweet soup to cool them off.

Yin Cen carefully looked at Qiu Luhua's posture, and he is also a person who can enjoy himself. On the way from central Guizhou to Zhaoyang, the local officials he met were more enjoyable than those in the court. People control.

After the three of them drank the heat-relief soup, Ren Tonghuan opened his mouth first, instead of talking about business, he started to talk about family affairs, "His Royal Highness, Mr. Yushi, since my father was sent to Yunnan five years ago, I have never been back to the capital. , I wonder how the old man is doing all these years?"

Chen Ji picked up the teacup again and remained silent. Yin Cen smiled and said, "Eunuch Ren is referring to Eunuch Gao Ren Gao who is beside the emperor? Eunuch Gao has always been trusted by the emperor, so it is naturally very good."

Ren Tonghuan sighed as if feeling deeply comforted, and said, "That's good, that's good, I miss him so much..."

Chen Ji glanced sideways and said, "Your Majesty, you don't miss the tea and salt affairs sent by the Supervisor of Ceremonies, but you only care about your godfather?"

Ren Tonghuan's face was shocked, and he immediately knelt down and said tremblingly, "Your Highness, forgive me!" Then he slapped his mouth again, slapped the corner of his mouth and said, "Look at this stupid mouth of this slave, what should I say, of course the emperor is in my heart The most important thing is the affairs of the ceremonial supervisor, the godfather... the godfather is only a slave as a son, but anyone who sees the capital can't help but ask a few words, the slave has just been dazzled by filial piety, Your Highness must not Take it to heart..."

At this time, Qiu Luhua also chimed in and said, "Since Eunuch Ren took office, the tea and salt department has taken care of everything in an orderly manner. Not only our Zhaoyang Prefecture, but also the tea and salt affairs in the whole Yunnan are all thanks to Eunuch Ren. The governor's yamen is just assisting from the sidelines, if there is no father-in-law, such a big mess, just relying on the government office will be a mess."

Ren Tonghuan was still kneeling on the ground. At this time, he raised his head slightly to stare at Qiu Luhua, smiled strangely, and said, "Master Qiu is serious. We all serve the imperial court together, and what we do is our duty. All the things in Zhaoyang Mansion, If you don't do everything together, it becomes a matter shared by the assistants in front of His Highness and Lord Yushi, Lord Qiu is too self-effacing."

Yin Cen sat and drank tea calmly with a smile, feeling a little funny in his heart, before he started anything, he was in a hurry to get rid of the relationship and clean himself up. To say that the government office has nothing to do with this is to treat people like idiots.

But there is nothing to expose at the moment, Yin Cen followed Ren Tonghuan's words and made up the mud, "What Eunuch Ren said is true, not only Eunuch Ren, but also the Zhaoyang Mansion, the Chief Secretary of Yunnan, and even me as the inspector of the Inspectorate. It's not for the sake of the imperial court, since everyone's intentions are the same, why should we divide who is in charge."

Ren Tonghuan repeatedly nodded in agreement, and Qiu Luhua also agreed.

Chen Ji waved his hand to get Ren Tonghuan to stand up, and asked, "Since entering Yunnan, many tea fields are picking tea along the way. Is it the autumn tea that is being picked at this time?"

Qiu Luhua nodded and replied, "It's autumn tea, also known locally as Guhua."

Ren Tonghuan added, "Due to the large temperature difference between day and night in this season, the growth of tea trees is extremely slow, and the taste of the tea obtained is far more mellow than that of spring tea. These days, Riyan Tea House is already rushing to prepare for autumn."

Yin Cen asked inadvertently, "For autumn tea this season, how many catties of fresh leaves did the tea farmers in Zhaoyang prefecture deliver to the tea research workshop?"

Ren Tonghuan replied, "Because the tea is still being harvested, it has not yet been fully counted, but according to the situation over the years, the tea farmers' delivery should not exceed 60 catties."

"Is it so little?" Chen Ji asked.

Ren Tonghuan turned around and said respectfully to Chen Ji, "Your Highness does not know that the production of autumn tea is less than that of spring tea and summer tea. When it is prepared, the amount of tea that can be used as official tea is only about a hundred thousand catties."

Both Yin Cen and Chen Ji were silent, this amount...haha.

At the moment when there is no evidence and no evidence, there is no choice but to let people talk nonsense in front of their eyes.

Yin Cen said, "Eunuch Ren mentioned the tea research workshop just now, did you start preparing autumn tea today?"

Ren Tonghuan said, "That's right, will Your Highness and Your Excellency go to inspect?"

Yin Cen nodded, "The place where tea is produced is also the source of the official tea trade and the tea-horse trade. Of course, we must go there to learn more."

Chen Ji said, "Why don't we go now."

Ren Tonghuan and Qiu Luhua looked at each other, Ren Tonghuan stood up and said, "Boss Ye Ming Zhiye from the Tea House learned that His Highness and Lord Yushi are going to Zhaoyang Mansion today, and they have been waiting for a long time. You can go anytime."

Chen Ji also got up, "Then let's go," glanced at the two of them, "It's a waste of time to talk."

Qiu Luhua and Ren Tonghuan turned their backs on nothing, and they still smiled and invited Chen Ji and Yin Cen to sit in the carriage. Wu Ye'er rode beside the carriage and drove all the way to Yanchafang.

It turns out that this tea research house is not in the city, but in an open place surrounded by green hills on the outskirts of the city. Full-bodied and burnt when finished.

The whole tea research workshop was full of people, the raw material grades of tea growers, handling and sorting, tea drying, tea baking, etc. All the links seemed busy and orderly. The group of people did not see Du Mingzhi from entering the door until they walked in. Ren Tonghuan grabbed a The person who hurried out with the abacus asked, "Hey, where is Boss Ye?"

After being stopped, the man turned his head abruptly, saw Ren Tonghuan, who seemed to be familiar with him, cupped his hands and said, "It turns out that Eunuch Ren is here, and Boss Ye should be in the warehouse. Today, a large number of fresh leaves just picked suddenly arrived. , Boss Ye went to tally the goods himself."

Ren Tonghuan led a group of people to the warehouse in a familiar way, and before entering the door, he heard a reprimand, "These are the fresh leaves sent by Pingbian County yesterday, and you can see that the quality is the same as that of Cangyuan County. There is a lot of difference, how can you all mix together? Are you out of your mind, and you can still make this kind of mistake after working here for a few years! If you mix it up like this, can the tea produced be good? A bunch of trash!"

Yin Cen guessed that this should be Ye Mingzhi, who was said to have controlled the official tea trade in Yunnan and Sichuan. Just as he was thinking, Ren Tonghuan and Qiu Luhua pushed open the door of the warehouse, and Ye Mingzhi angrily shouted, "Who?!" The color was all over his face, and he complained to the two of Ren Qiu, "Why did the two adults come here without notifying the younger one, and just reprimanded these idiots at home, which made the adults laugh."

Qiu Luhua moved away and said, "You and I are old acquaintances, it's okay, His Royal Highness and Lord Yushi have just arrived in Zhaoyang Mansion today, and they are going to visit your tea research house, Boss Ye is really embarrassing .”

Only then did Ye Mingzhi realize that the people in front of him were the two whom he had been waiting with all his might for the past few days, and he immediately knelt down and saluted, "Grassman Ye Mingzhi, see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Lord Yushi."

Chen Ji and Yin Cen said at the same time, "Boss Ye, please come up."

Ye Mingzhi got up and led everyone out, "The warehouse is too messy, let's talk in the front hall."

Yin Cen took a quick look at this person, his shoulders were wide and his body was tall, and his figure was burly. In a quick glance, he only saw that he met him handsomely, not like a businessman, but like a general.

In the front hall, Ye Mingzhi ordered someone to make tea. Yin Cen lifted the lid of the tea, and saw that the tea soup was clear and mellow, and smelled tangy. After taking a sip, he felt that the taste was sweet and fragrant, and he sincerely praised, "Okay Tea."

Ye Mingzhi looked at Chen Ji, Chen Ji took a sip and said, "It's really good, but it's still a bit inferior to the tribute tea presented by Yunnan."

Ye Mingzhi smiled heartily, and said, "His Royal Highness and Lord Yushi really taste good, what His Highness said is very true, the best tea here by Ye Mou is the variety in the hands of the two, which can only be regarded as high-grade official tea , As for the tribute tea, all of them have been handed over to Jingzhong over the years, and there is not a trace of Ye Mou here."

Yin Cen hooked the corner of his mouth, "I can tell from what I saw just now that Boss Ye is under strict rule. No matter how he manages people or making tea, Boss Ye is expected to do his best."

Ye Mingzhi waved his hand, "Caomin is just grateful for the kindness of the tea and salt department, the magistrate, and the governor. If you can take charge of this tea research house for a day, you will do your job well."

Yin Cen said again, "The tea farmers we saw picking along the way recently, and what we saw in the tea research workshop today, all feel that the harvest of autumn tea is quite rich, but just now, as Eunuch Ren said, the number of fresh leaves of autumn tea over the years is only 60. The official tea is only [-] catties, I don’t know how much fresh leaves have been counted by Boss Ye this year?”

Chen Ji observed the crowd calmly, only to see Qiu Luhua hanging his head in silence, Ren Tonghuan glanced at Ye Mingzhi inadvertently, but Ye Mingzhi completely ignored other people's expressions, after hearing this question, he raised his head slightly and counted with his fingers, and replied, "My lord Yushi, what Eunuch Ren said is not false. The number over the years is indeed the same. At this time, the picking and grade of fresh leaves that several adults have seen are only the first grade. Ten catties of fresh leaves have been removed. There are only six or seven catties of fresh leaves that can be used to make tea, and then used to make tea, and only one or two catties of official tea, and the rest can only be counted as crude tea."

He also said, "This is the tea produced in the big tea-producing counties with good quality like Cangyuan County. If it is from other areas, the fresh leaves are of inferior quality, and the proportion of prepared tea will be even lower."

Yin Cen said again, "Screening is the next step. Now we only see this first step, so we only ask about this first step."

Ye Mingzhi replied bluntly, "To tell you the truth, this autumn, the total number of fresh leaves registered in Yunnan Tea House is about 80 catties, of which the fresh leaves from Cangyuan County, Zhaoyang Prefecture total 30 catties."

Yin Cen immediately said, "Okay! The 30 jin in Cangyuan County is recorded. According to Boss Ye's words, excluding the damage, there will be 25 jin of fresh leaves that can be used for tea making."

Ye Mingzhi hesitated for a while, then nodded slightly.

Yin Cen said again, "I have ordered Qin Nianqin, the magistrate of Cangyuan County, to come here tomorrow. In the days to come, Qin Nianqin, the magistrate of Cangyuan County, will work with me to investigate the tea tax case."

Qiu Luhua blurted out, "My lord, he is just a county magistrate. It is enough for me and Eunuch Ren to help you two. The magistrate Qin can't help you much here."

Yin Cen smiled slightly, "Even though he really can't help much, he is the one who gave the emperor a letter. Because of his letter, His Royal Highness and I have traveled thousands of miles to come here. It's reasonable for him not to be here." Is it there?"

He also said, "The 30 catties of fresh leaves in Cangyuan County mentioned just now were registered by Boss Ye here, and there is another account book in the hands of the county magistrate Qin. The fresh leaves presented in Cangyuan County this autumn, every pen The catties are all registered and recorded by the county government. Whoever picks them in a few days, how many catties are in taels, and sends them to the research tea house in a few days. where."

For a moment, Qiu Luhua and Ren Tonghuan were shocked, but Ye Mingzhi looked at the ground and remained calm. Chen Ji and Yin Cen stared at the crowd, but it was Ye Mingzhi who raised his head and said with a smile on his face, "That's fine, since the magistrate of Qin County also does it. It’s just a matter of time for the two parties to talk about it, and if there is any misunderstanding, it can be resolved face to face.”

Both sides appear to be at peace.

After a while, Qiu Luhua recovered his senses and looked at the sky, and hurriedly said, "It's already dark, and the officials have prepared a reception banquet in the city, and I invite you all to go together."

Chen Ji got a headache when he heard the word Jiefengyan, he sneered and said, "Master Qiu, don't be another toast song."

Qiu Luhua was stunned for a moment, then responded with a smile and replied, "You can't, don't worry, Your Highness, the barbarians and foreigners are not popular in the government office. We just prepared delicious wine and food with local characteristics in Yunnan to comfort the two adults for their hard journey."

It was inconvenient to refuse, Chen Ji and Yin Cen got up, Ye Mingzhi followed, and the group went to the city again.

On the way, Yin Cen said to Chen Ji, "This Ye Mingzhi is not an ordinary person."

"Why?" Chen Ji asked.

"Either he is the best businessman's wife, or he is good at calculating accounts among those who are good at kung fu. In short, I think this person's walking gait has kung fu, and it is not low."

Chen Ji smacked his tongue, "It's difficult for everyone to deal with this broken place."

Yin Cen smiled, "Ah Yue is afraid?"

Chen Ji snorted, "What is fear? This prince has never experienced it."

When they arrived in the city, Qiu Luhua led his people straight to Fuzuilou, the most luxurious restaurant in Zhaoyang Mansion, and entered the private room on the second floor. Something seemed to be moving inside, Chen Ji looked forward, his eyes turned black and his knees softened immediately, Yin Cen's eyes were bright and his hands quickly supported him, Chen Ji leaned on Yin Cen's shoulder with a pale face, pointing at the table and said , "Bugs, worms...all worms!"