Chapter 75 Chapter Seventy-Five

"The governor came at an unfortunate time. My father went to Xiling and hasn't returned yet." Zong Yao was a little disappointed, this was the third time he came to see Zhou Xiang in half a month, the previous two times the door was closed and he returned without success.The moment he opened the door just now, a glimmer of hope rose in his heart, but now it quickly disappeared. "My lord, don't worry, my father will be back in the evening, please rest in the room and wait." "That's good! Since Mr. Boya is not at home, it's inconvenient for me to wait in the courtyard for a long time. It just so happens that I will go to Huojing County to visit for half a day, and I will come to visit in the evening." After saying that, he wanted to leave.

"Your Excellency, please stay. Your Excellency has worked with my father for many years, so why bother to see outsiders like this. There is already someone waiting for my father in the house. Your Excellency must know this person, so why not come in together to reminisce about the past." Zong Yao was puzzled: Zhou Xiang had lived such a semi-reclusive life since he was the county magistrate. Few people knew that the famous counselor who helped the king of Shu to pacify Sanchuan lived in this house now.Who would take the trouble to come here to visit Zhou Xiang?While muttering in his heart, he followed Ziming into the courtyard.

Bypassing the screen wall is a spacious courtyard.But I saw a man about fifty years old, wearing a blue satin robe, sitting sideways in the courtyard, drinking tea leisurely.Just looking at his clothes, one can tell that this person is definitely not an ordinary person, if he is not a high-ranking official, he would definitely not be able to wear this exquisite silk and satin body. Hearing someone approaching, the man probably thought that the master was coming back, so he put down his tea excitedly and turned around... At this moment, the two looked at each other, both of them were shocked, and neither of them said a word for a long while.

It took a long time for Zong Yao to wake up like a dream, and shouted in surprise and joy: "Uncle, you miss Zong Yao!" Zhou Dequan. It turned out that ever since Wang Jian acquiesced to Zong Yao's opening of the tea and horse trade in Qiongzhou, that once barren land was always getting good news.The local Yi bureaucrats often harassed the prefecture and county in the past, which was once the most troublesome problem in Qiongzhou.During the Dashun period, Zhang Lin was appointed by Wang Jian as the queen of Qiongzhou to assist the mighty general Li Jian in governing Qiongzhou.Zhang Lin was tight inside and loose outside. On the one hand, she repaired the city wall to strengthen the defense, but on the other hand, she reduced taxes and extended kindness to the local aliens.In just a few years, this once conflicted state and county finally settled down.Four years ago, when Li Jian was killed in battle in Shannan, Wang Zongyao came here. Under the planning of Zhou Xiang, Zhang Qianyu, Zheng Xu and others, they turned a military important place into a commercial place.Wang Jian can get a lot of taxes and military horses from Qiongzhou every year, which makes him a little uneasy about Wang Zongyao-sitting on a frontier fortress, and having so much money and military horses, if he has a different heart, the consequences will be disastrous.It is true that Zong Yao is his adopted son, and among all the adopted sons, he has both ability and political integrity. However, the more power the king holds in his hands, the more he is afraid that someone will have two hearts.He didn't know what Zong Yao was doing in Qiongzhou, so he sent Zhou Dequan to secretly investigate the movement in Qiongzhou.

After Zhou Dequan quietly came to Linqiong, he naturally couldn't communicate with the governor's mansion, so he secretly stayed in Linqiong. Before dawn, the quiet streets all night were gradually replaced by the sound of pedestrians' footsteps and the sound of horse bells intertwined in the morning and evening.It was still four o'clock, and the cook at the inn began to make breakfast, and the smell of pork stuffed steamed bun spread throughout the street.When Zhou Dequan got up and dressed neatly, there was already a lot of traffic and people coming and going outside the store.Looking south along the street, the shops on both sides are next to each other: a newly decorated two-story attic, various tall guises, distinctive signboards...the fronts of the shops are also full of street stalls.From time to time, some burden-carrying salesmen also shuttled among them.Zhou Dequan thought to himself, although this small Linqiong is far less prosperous than Chengdu, this street market does have a taste of Jinli.

The sun rose and it was getting hotter.Zhou Dequan came to this noisy place and walked back and forth twice, beads of sweat had already oozed from his forehead.He patted his growling belly, thinking about tasting local specialties in the wine shop in front of him, and then served a few bowls of sweet wine to relieve the heat—in Xichuan, the reputation of Qiongzhou fine wine is no less than that of Wenzhou. Junmeiren and Xiangru are talented. Dequan walked quickly towards the hotel with the largest front.Just after passing through an alley, he suddenly stopped his pace.It turned out that there was a stall selling fans in the shade under the eaves at the entrance of the alley. "What a coincidence, just a cattail fan to dispel the heat is missing." Dequan thought, then turned around and walked over to the stall.

The stall owner was all dark, so thin that the bones under his ribs could be clearly seen, and the creases on his face were piled up. If you didn't look carefully, you would think that this old man was already over seventy years old.When the old man saw the buyer, he hurriedly greeted him, "Master, do you want to buy a fan?" Zhou Dequan squatted down, randomly picked up different fans, and shook the handle from time to time to fan the wind.He picked out a big palm fan and said, "This is the one I want." "Five, five dollars..." The old man stretched out five fingers tremblingly.

De Quan casually took out five copper coins from his pocket, put them on the palm of his hand and handed them to the stall owner. The old man hesitated and didn't answer, then suddenly changed his words: "Three, three money..." Dequan smiled: "Brother, I didn't negotiate the price, five yuan is not much, you can keep it." Then he stuffed it into the stall owner's hand. The old man hurriedly waved his hands: "No way, no way! It's only worth three dollars... I usually ask for five dollars, and everyone else has to counter the price. If you don't make a counteroffer, you will lose money!"

It was the first time Dequan saw such a businessman, and he secretly praised the people here for their simplicity.He clasped his hand on the palm of the stall owner: "Brother, I can't lose, you take it!" "I overcharged you by two dollars, and I'm not at ease!" The man seemed extremely stubborn. De Quan had no choice but to take back two coins.He stood up and said earnestly: "Brother, this is the first time I have met a seller like you. I will accept the two money, but I will pay you as a friend! Just in time, at noon, I invite you You go to the front to have a light meal together."

"That's great! You take care of my business, I'm very grateful... Besides, my stall..." "Oh! It's easy to say. Don't look at this stall today, I want all these fans! I really want to make friends with you, brother, please give me a face..." Seeing that Zhou Dequan spoke with sincerity, the old man believed that he had met a nobleman today.Only then did he happily close the stall, and followed De Quan to the restaurant. Not long after, the guys filled a table full of food and wine.The old man had obviously never eaten such good wine and food, and he sat there dumbly, looking a little at a loss.Dequan smiled and filled the old man with wine, and poured himself another glass: "Come on, let's have a drink first."

The old man was still a bit cautious, after drinking, he asked cautiously: "Master, you are not from the local area, are you?" "Oh, my ancestors are from Xuzhou. Now, I'm doing some business in Chengdu." "It must be a big business!" The old man smiled, and his face was wrinkled, "I said, you are the owner of a big business, how can you use the cattail fan used by people in our village? You should use that folding fan in your status. ! The above asked the big scholar to write the two characters, and it looks very stylish!" "Haha... Is that so, so rich people use folding fans?" "That's not right!" "To be honest, I was on my way and I didn't have anything to cool down. I saw you selling fans so I bought them." "Then why did you want all my fans? Could it be that you think I'm poor and want to take pity on me?" "Brother, you think too much! I am in business and have a lot of guys. Seeing that your fan is cheap and you are nice, I just bought it and distributed it to the guys." The old man believed it as soon as he heard it, and gave it a thumbs up. Tiao: "Guys followed you, a Bodhisattva-hearted master, it's a good fortune! Come on, I'll send all these fans to you in a while." The two talked and laughed and clinked glasses again.At this time, Zhou Dequan suddenly found a folding fan in the old man's arms. "Brother, you still have a fan in your arms!" The old man suddenly looked a little embarrassed, but he still took out the folding fan from his pocket and held it tightly: "This... this fan is the treasure of my town house, it's not for sale..." "A gentleman does not take away the beauty of others! If you say you won't sell it, I won't buy it by force. But since it's a good thing, can you let me see it?" "Okay...okay..." The old man hesitated, and slowly handed the folding fan to De Quan. Zhou Dequan took the fan with both hands, and unfolded it gently, but saw two lines of writing written on the white paper fan, saying: "The world is a real dragon, the people are safe and the world is prosperous." The inscription is Yingchuan Boya. "It's Zhou Xiang!" Zhou Dequan was startled, and read it carefully again. It was indeed Zhou Xiang's handwriting. Then he closed the fan and handed it back to the old man. "Brother, where did you get this fan from?" The old man put the folding fan back into his arms, and then he felt relieved and said, "It's a long story. My family is living in poverty. After my son joined the army when he was 20 years old, the family was able to have enough to eat. Eat. Who knows, a few years ago when the King of Shu conquered Shannan, my son was recruited to the front line and never came back. We are the only old couple left in the family, and we have to take care of the little grandson. There is no one in the family. Poor I had no other way, two years ago I went to Longxing Temple to offer incense, and I wanted to ask Maitreya Bodhisattva to show us poor people a way to survive. Who would have thought that the Bodhisattva appeared! In the temple, I actually met Mr. Zhou, the county magistrate. Mr. Zhou knew For my family’s difficulties, he gave me a penny to start some small businesses, and said that now the governor encourages poor people to run small businesses, and even tax money can be exempted for the first three years! Not only that, Master Zhou also left me money when he left. Put down this fan, and say that if you have nowhere to go, you can take this fan to the Lord Inspector King, and say that he will help our family..." "So it is!" Zhou Dequan felt sour in his heart.In the battle a few years ago, countless soldiers died on the front line.In the past, he only felt that those soldiers were miserable, but this time he felt for the first time the pain of the family members who couldn't survive behind them... "Officer, I've heard people say that Mr. Zhou and the governor are friends by fate, but I won't exchange this fan for money! When Mr. Zhou was in office, he was really a parent official! Every family living in Linqiong He has asked about all households. No, he pointed out a way for me to survive. Although I only earn a dozen small money a day, I can still make ends meet. When I bring up my little grandson, I can live a good life for two days! See this The fan, I think of Mr. Zhou, I always carry it with me! Mr. Zhou is a good man!" Zhou Dequan listened and praised in his heart.It goes without saying that Zhou Xiang loves the people like a son, and Wang Zongyao's promotion of the market in Qiongzhou has also achieved results.Old people like this who can't farm can rely on these few fans to make a living. When people's livelihood is stable, Xichuan will naturally become strong.No wonder the inscription on Zhou Xiang's fan is "Min An Tian Xia Xing"! "Brother, where is the magistrate this week?" "Let's go! I resigned half a year ago. I heard that I went to Huojing County to become a smaller official! I don't know why, such a good person! The official is getting smaller and smaller..." A few years ago, when Zhou Xiang left Chengdu, he asked Wang Jian to be the magistrate of Linqiong County.But later, according to Wang Zongyao's report, Zhou Xiang lived in seclusion in a lower county in Qiongzhou after his term of office expired.When Zhou Dequan came to Qiongzhou, he planned to visit Zhou Xiang, but because he was visiting incognito, it was inconvenient to inquire about Zhou Xiang's whereabouts from Zong Yao.Just in the restaurant, I learned of Zhou Xiang's residence from the old man who sold fans for a living, so he rushed to Huojing County without stopping. Back then, when the imperial court crusade against Chen Jingxuan and Tian Lingzi in Xichuan, Wang Jian was granted the title of envoy of the Yongping Army, and the government was located in Qiongzhou.At that time, Zhou Dequan came to Huojing with his brother-in-law.Seeing the ruins of those years turned into today's bazaar, Zhou Dequan was really taken aback.Here, he asked around for the county magistrate's residence, but was surprised that no one knew it.He simply lived in the county seat again, continued to visit merchants, craftsmen and nearby farmers unannounced, and asked about Zhou Xiang's residence at the same time.Hard work pays off, and finally found the answer in this small town.He never dreamed that the former generation of wizards lived in such a deep seclusion now!In this way, Zhou Dequan knocked on the door of Zhou Xiang's house. Chengdu is not too far from Linqiong.Correspondence with her father-in-law, He Yiyang, let Wang Zongyao know about Zhang Lin's death and the events of Wang Zongji's dinner in time.However, his three visits to Zhou Xiang were not for the affairs of Chengdu these days, but for a further perspective: the decline of the Tang court, the usurpation of power by the Zhu family, how the three Shus should deal with it is the top priority at present.It has been a few days since Zhou Xiang left his side, without Zhou Xiang, he really felt that he had lost his backbone. Zhou Dequan and Wang Zongyao hadn't seen each other for many years, so they simply set up wine and dishes in Zhou Xiang's courtyard, and they exchanged cups and drank until Zhou Xiang returned in the evening. Before Zhou Xiang entered the door, he heard someone talking presumptuously in the courtyard, and smelled a strong smell of alcohol.Walking around the screen wall, I suddenly saw these two rare guests, and I was surprised and dumbfounded.Zhou Xiang hurriedly ordered the butler to serve good wine and food, and sat down himself, confiding in his two long-lost friends. While saying goodbye to the lovesickness they haven't seen for many days, the three of them introduced the situation in Chengdu and Linqiong respectively.After drinking for three rounds, Zong Yao couldn't help revealing the real purpose of coming here. He said bluntly to Zhou Xiang: "It just so happens that my uncle is here today, so I won't hide it. Seeing that King Liang is about to usurp power and proclaim himself emperor, my father Zhu Quanzhong is not subdued by heroism, I have come here to ask you for advice, if my father wants to proclaim himself emperor, what preparations should he make?" Zhou Dequan slapped his thigh: "That's right! If the King of Liang can be the emperor, why can't the King of Shu?" At this moment, Zong Yao's gaze never left Zhou Xiang's expression.He found that when Zhou Dequan was excited, Zhou Xiang looked very calm, and his brows seemed to wrinkle slightly.Zong Yao put down her wine glass and said earnestly, "Please sir give me some advice." Zhou Xiang seemed a little embarrassed.Although far away from war and current affairs, he still couldn't let go of his concern for Wang Jian. For more than ten years, he depended on each other. The king of Shu is no longer just his lord, but has become an inseparable part of him in the world. feelings.The square scarf wrapped around Zhou Xiang's head still kept his hair undisturbed, but a few silver strands had grown out of his temples in vain.Although his steps are vigorous, his eyes are not as sharp as before.Perhaps in the eyes of ordinary people, the most terrifying thing in the world is time, which can make people grow old!After a little silence, Zhou Xiangcai said: "The rise and fall of dynasties in the world is based on ancient laws, and the sunset of the Tang Dynasty is unstoppable. The king of Shu occupies the three rivers and enjoys all the people, so he can have the world. The sage teaches, governs with virtue, such as Beichen, who lives in it. Therefore, all the stars share the same. To be an emperor is not as good as to be a king. If the king of Shu really ruled the three Shu, then he can be called a king, or an emperor, it’s just a form..." Zong Yao may not be able to understand the difference between Zhou Xiang's so-called king's industry and emperor's industry.He thought to himself: Since it is possible to be called king or emperor, it is natural for the father to be called emperor.In the whole world, who is more noble than the emperor? "If you want to become emperor, what do you think is the best way to plan?" "Since I have retired, I don't want to enter political affairs. The king of Shu has his own pillars of the country. Wei Duanji not only has a great reputation, but also understands the classics of the kingdom. There is no one who is better than him. No matter what To be king and proclaim the emperor, if the king of Shu only asks Duke Wei, everything will be over." Zhou Xiang seemed to think that he had said everything he needed to say, and wanted to stop the topic here.But he suddenly saw that Zhou Dequan's longing eyes never left him for a moment.Such a gaze is so familiar!That's right, he met Wang Jian for the first time on the morning of the first day of the first lunar month 19 years ago.In that ancient cypress inn, he had to meet the Ming Lord, and only after more than ten years of fighting and displaying what he had learned all his life.Back then, Wang Jian looked at him with such longing eyes, that kind of sincerity and sincerity deeply moved Zhou Xiang.Now, seeing this familiar gaze, Zhou Xiang's heart, which had already returned from afar, trembled slightly for a moment.He blinked hard, but his eyelids were still moist.Looking at the lofty mountains in the north, he said meaningfully: "The King of Shu really wants to become an emperor, maybe the Taoist priest on Qingcheng Mountain can help..." Zhou Dequan suddenly realized that the Taoist priest Zhou Xiang was talking about was Du Guangting, Mr. Guangcheng ...