lady, please calm down

In June, the biggest news in Qi was that Cai Yuan took over as the new prime minister.

Regarding this appointment, although the outside world thinks it is a matter of course, there are still different opinions.

Cai Yuan was promoted to prime minister, and the official minister was temporarily idle. Tang Jing'an, the prefect of Sizhou, was promoted to the left minister of the official department because of his calmness and merit in defending the land during the Zhou army's northern invasion. This official who also rose like a rocket was the king of Chu's civil servant. One of the few direct lineage figures in the system.

The reason why he did not take over as Minister in one step was precisely because he was still inexperienced, and everyone knew this.

At the same time, Chen Jingyan, the manager of Huaibei, was awarded the title of Marquis of Longchang because of his diligence and loyalty to the country and the people. His son Chen Yingjun was appointed as the official of Xinzhong Shushe.

Although the latter two pieces of news are not as widely known as the first piece of news, anyone with a discerning eye can see that Chen Jinglue has won a consolation prize.

The title of Qi State cannot be hereditary
In other words, the Cai family won the favor, and the Chen family won the face.

However, Chen Yingjun took up the post of Zhongshusheren and Zhizhigao in his early thirties, and his future achievements will be limitless.

From this, it can also be said that the Cai family has won the present and the Chen family has won the future.

These appointments and dismissals may affect the trend of Qi's court for more than ten years. At a time when the government and the public are discussing it, some low-level official positions will become less conspicuous.

Mao'er wrinkled her little nose, turned to look up at Chen Chu and said, "The officials always say this. But how can they be busy with important things? When the officials have time to go home, there are Sister Cai, Yunong, and Ayu. , Jiarou. In the future, I will add Tie Guan, so how can I have any free time to accompany a yellow-faced woman like Maoer?"

The cat, who had always shown himself to be virtuous, now clearly smelled of jealousy.

Since we got married, we haven't had any time together for many years.

Once Cai Si and Ximen Chong are familiar with the household registration and land registration, they can gradually implement land reform in Huainan.

While the officialdom of Qi was being adjusted, Zhou Guoan and Feng Dynasty were not idle either.

"Even if I stay in Anfeng, I'm afraid I won't be able to see the officials easily in the future. Is the official going to fight again?"

They are all at the bottom of the ninth grade, at most only from the eighth grade. But after a closer look, you can find that these people are distributed in military, administrative, judicial, financial, engineering and other departments.

Cai Kun, the second son of Cai Yuan, came to Anfeng in June, but could not go back in the end. He stayed and became the chief of the Kaizhe Department under the Third Division of the Anfeng Dynasty. Far worse.

"Even if we use troops, it won't last for just one or two days. Mao'er can stay in Anfeng for ten more days and a half."

Even civil servants such as Chen Jingan, Ruan Xianfang, and Han Fang also sent their families to bring gifts to congratulate him.

"Hahaha, my wife is very charming, not a yellow-faced woman."

Chen Chu was very happy, stretched out his hand to rub Mao'er's delicate earlobe, and suddenly said: "Then you might as well stay in Anfeng for a longer time."

Above the official road, there are green trees and cicadas chirping.

There is no need to say more about the grand occasion of that day.

"In June and July, Daqi and Anfeng dynasties frequently mobilized officials. It is expected that the layout of officials in the dynasty has been completed. At this time, it was time for new wheat to enter the warehouse, and the new army compiled and trained by General Han in Luzhou was already in place. Updated The important thing is that we in Huaibei are in urgent need of a large amount of goods to stabilize the market, but the Lin'an Dynasty has never been able to reach an agreement with the officials on the matter of compensation. Given the official's temperament, they will not do this loss-making business, and they will definitely hurt the Lin'an Dynasty. , only officials can get what they want."

Mao'er sighed feebly and said softly: "Mao'er, isn't it just to appear virtuous? She is a royal lady, how can she convince the public if she occupies officials all day long?"

With the cooperation of the new prime minister Cai Yuan, these people either served as counselors of the Privy Council, secretary of Dali Temple, branch secretary, general supervisor, etc.

Because of Chen Chu's high-profile appearance, the Huaibei clique gave Han Shizhong, who was not from the Huaibei clique, great respect. The generals stationed in Huainan attended the wedding in person if they were available, and those who were not had people send congratulatory gifts.

On July 19th, the King of Jin and his wife returned to Anfeng.

Compared with the Qi court, which had long been submissive, the Anfeng Dynasty made some resistance to Huaibei's blatant control of Huainan's finances.

For this job, Xue Huiyan, the chief of the Third Division, who was in charge of the financial expenditure of the Anfeng Dynasty, was an old minister of Huainan. However, the chief of the Kaizhe Division, the most important of the ten divisions under the Sansi Yamen, was appointed by the in-laws of the King of Jin.
Quite intriguing.

The bride, Liang Hongyu, was born in a wealthy family, and she only brought a maid with her when she married Po Hanwu. Mao'er was worried that the rough brothers in the army would cause too much trouble and scare the bride, so he stayed at the bride's place for midnight last night before returning to her residence.

After hearing this, Mao'er rubbed his sleepy eyes, but still looked at the receding green trees outside the car window. After a while, he murmured: "I don't want to sleep. Mao'er and the official haven't been alone like this for many years." Already."

In addition, Cai Si, Ximen Chong, Xu Zhiyuan and others who had made great achievements in Hebei Road and Huaibei respectively entered the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Third Division in charge of household registration and field registration for questioning.

Chen Chu said apologetically: "After I finish working for a while, I will spend time with my wife."

Indeed, taking advantage of this opportunity to attend Han Shizhong's wedding, Huaibei's senior leaders have made a fall combat plan to launch troops in August.

This trip could barely be considered a business trip, so Mao'er left his son and daughter with Caihua in Zaoyuan.

Xu Zhiyuan took office as the head of the Finance Department of the Du Branch Department under the Third Department. The head of this department was in charge of currency, taxation, and treasury.

One of him and Cai Kun is in charge of income, and the other is in charge of expenditure.

I got up early this morning and went on the road again, and only slept for about two hours.

Chen Chu had never told Mao'er about these things. It was only through her careful observation and speculation based on the current situation that she came up with such a truth that was extremely close to the truth.

On July 18, Chen Chu and Maoer went to Luzhou to attend Han Shizhong's wedding.

Chen Chu couldn't help but smile and said: "Every time I go home, I want to stay with you for a few more days, but you just rushed to another yard for your husband, and now you come to get Qiao."

Although it is inconspicuous at the moment, it is the first time that Huaibei technical officials have contacted the center on a large scale.

It was easy to get tired in the afternoon. In the swaying carriage, the cat lay on Chen Chu's lap. Even though he was so sleepy that he couldn't help but yawn, he still refused to fall asleep.

The purpose of using troops this time was not to occupy land, but to obtain a large sum of money from the Lin'an Dynasty to make up for Huaibei's financial deficit. Therefore, the Lin'an Dynasty had to be hurt.

In early July, Chen Yingjun took office, and with him arrived in Beijing more than ten young people who had graduated from new schools.

When Chen Chu saw Mao'er's eyes turning red, he couldn't help stroking Mao'er's slender back and said with a smile: "Madam, go to sleep when you are sleepy. We will arrive in Anfeng tomorrow and the day after."

"Oh? How did the cat know that a war was about to begin?"

However, after learning from the experience of Zhou Zishan being arrested by the Anfeng District Procuratorate, the old Huainan ministers headed by Pei Weishu did not dare to express their dissatisfaction face to face, and chose to express their dissatisfaction by being passive and sabotaging.

However, based on the information that Mao'er had access to, it was not difficult to guess that Huaibei was about to use troops, but she could guess Chen Chu's intentions all because of her understanding of the officials.

When Chen Chu spoke, his fingers were still unconsciously moving around the cat's ear. This ear is the most sensitive part of a cat. It is hot in summer, and the familiar cat is already familiar with the beauty of men and women, and can't help but be aroused. , almost agreed on the spot.

However, in the end, reason prevailed. Mao'er raised his hand to open the official's hand, stood up and sat up straight, and said softly: "We are using troops on the front line, and Huaibei has to be responsible for raising food and wages. I won't worry if I don't go back. Wait." When we arrived in Anfeng, I took them back to Caizhou to prevent the officials from being distracted."

It is true to say 'so that the officials will not be distracted'. There are three women in one drama, especially when the Daqi phase has not yet settled last month, the atmosphere among the palace's female family members is indeed a bit subtle.

But, in this world, no one is alone, and they all have relatives they value.

Some things in the back house are just projections into the court and cannot be avoided.

Since Mao'er had some selfish intentions, he had handled it well, but Chen Chu spent some energy on it after all.

Chen Chu couldn't help but sigh with regret. When Mao'er saw this, he pursed his lips and chuckled: "Why are you sighing, sir? Otherwise, why don't I send you the twins of poetry and painting to Anfeng to take care of you?"

"Uh"

Is there such a surprise?

When Chen Chu heard that the twins could communicate with each other, Chen Chu really wanted to confirm whether it was so mysterious.

But when did my wife become so considerate? Chen Chu finally retained some vigilance. When he saw Mao'er looking at him with an inquiring and scrutinizing gaze, he coughed quickly and said, "Ouch! Let's forget it, my husband is not that lecherous person."

Before he finished speaking, Mao'er curled his lips and said, "The official is obviously attracted to me just now!"

"I don't!"

"There are obviously officials!"

"Is there any?"

"Yes! Huh~" Mao'er snorted pretending to be arrogant, and then said: "Hey, I will cooperate with Uncle Chen to prepare food and wages when I go back. Anfeng also needs someone to take care of him, so let Sister Cai stay and support him. "

On the 21st, Chen Chu and his wife returned to Zaoyuan.

Unexpectedly, Cai Si, Ximen Chong, and Xu Zhiyuan, who had just taken office, were talking to Cai Hua in the front house with a few strangers.

He and others rushed to Anfeng on July 16th to take office, but unfortunately the King of Chu had already gone to Luzhou.

Counting the days, today was the day when King Chu returned, so they specially chose this time to visit.

After learning that the King of Chu was still home, they were not in a hurry and simply let Cai Si come forward and meet Cai Hua in the name of visiting their cousin.

It seems to be an unintentional move, but it has profound meaning, especially now that Cai Yuan has just taken over as Prime Minister.

Speaking of which, although the five clans can all be considered to be from Tongshan, the children of Cai, Xu, and Ximen, who have grown up together and have intertwined families, are undoubtedly closer to each other.

During the founding period, there was no discernible difference between the Yingchuan Chen family and the other three families. In recent years, as the power of the King of Chu has grown stronger, Yingchuan Chen family has quickly emerged with its family background, gradually leaving the other three families behind. behind.

Especially after Chen Jingan became prime minister of the Anfeng Dynasty, the Chen family became the most popular in the Huaibei system.

Among the three families in Tongshan, only Cai Yuan, the Shangshu, supported the appearance.

Xu Bang and Ximen Gong knew that their fifth brother was far inferior to their elder brother in terms of ability and investment, so they recognized Cai Yuan's position as minister.

But when the trouble at Caiwei Pavilion came to a head in Yingchuan and Chen, the third child pretended to be dead and was dragged aboard by force by his brothers who opened his fingers.

But now, the Chen family has received the most generous rewards below the fifth brother from the Huaibei family, so there is naturally some unspeakable jealousy.

By last month, Cai Yuan's imperial edict had been widely announced to the world. The Xu and Ximen families only felt that their eldest brother had saved Tongshan and prevented the Chen family from being better than before!
But this time, several people brought their colleagues to visit Cai Hua, and there seemed to be a vague intention of joining forces among the three families.

The current situation has nothing to do with clique fighting. No one dares to restrain each other in official affairs. It is more like a kind of competition.

With Cai Hua's exquisite mind, how could she not see this sign?

Therefore, the atmosphere during the meeting that day was particularly harmonious.

"Sister, now the Anfeng court is so poor that it has to sell its official position. My brother-in-law has let Zhiyuan and his second brother take charge of the expenses respectively, but it is difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without rice! Sister, your Sihai Trading Company must help us overcome the current difficulties. .”

Even though Cai Si served as a county magistrate in Hebei, he could not change his shameless style. It was clear that the Anfeng Dynasty was in financial difficulty, but he asked Sihai Trading Company to help subsidize it like a rogue.

Cai Namei, who was sitting lazily in the chair, her eyes turned pale, and she cursed: "Go, go, go! You don't know how many wars we fought last year! The Huaibei family is all empty, how can I have the money to supplement you, you can figure it out on your own."

Cai Si knew very well how kind her cousin was to her family, so she was not afraid even if she was scolded. She still pestered her and said, "Cousin, we were recruited to Huainan by our brother-in-law. If we don't do our job well, we will not only lose your face." , the three of us Tongshan family can’t hold our heads high in front of my brother-in-law! By then, we will be outclassed by that thousand-year-old scholarly family.”

Ximen Chong and Xu Zhiyuan only laughed dryly when they heard this, but Lu Yuanke and Huang Shiqian who came with them glanced nervously at Cai Hua.

This is the first time that the two of them have met the famous Concubine Cai, but they had interacted with each other five years ago.
In the eleventh year of Fuchang, it was the demon concubine, er, the virtuous concubine Cai Hua, who had an affair with the squire Li family in the west of Beijing, which directly led to the Xuandemen incident that shocked the world.

Both of them were imperial scholars who had gathered in front of Xuande Gate. Even though they had been transformed and integrated into the Huaibei clan, the name of Concubine Cai was already engraved in their hearts.

Therefore, when they heard Cai Si talking to Cai Hua like a scoundrel, they couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Unexpectedly, Concubine Cai pondered for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "It's not impossible, but I will be returning to Caizhou with the concubine in the next few days. Even if I want to help you, I can't reach you."

Ximen Chong was a smart man and said hurriedly: "Huainan is now in ruins and is in need of reconstruction. I think it is only right for Concubine Cai to stay in Anfeng and borrow business to help Huainan rebuild!"

These words touched Cai Hua's heart, but she still laughed and scolded: "Do you think it's useless? If your principal doesn't say anything, I will go back honestly, otherwise, someone will give me some excuses to join me in politics."

Said Cao Cao, Cao Cao.

As soon as Cai Hua finished speaking, word came from the front that the prince and princess had returned home.

When Cai Hua arrived at the door, Chen Chu and his wife had already entered the courtyard.

When the concierge learned that there were guests at home, Chen Chu laughed and greeted a few people to come in and sit down again.

Chen Chu and these second-generation people haven't seen each other for some time. Now he can't help but feel relieved to see that they all look like dogs and are much more stable.

After a few words of greeting, Cai Si introduced Chen Chu to Lu and Huang, who were also here.

Unexpectedly, Chen Chu thought for a moment and then said: "Yuan Ke, right? In the first year of Xuanqing, he followed Asi to the north of Hebei Road. He contributed a lot during the land reform in Fucheng and served as the chief registrar of Fucheng."

Lu Yuanke didn't expect that the King of Chu would actually know about him. His hands and feet could not help but tremble with excitement, and his normally sharp mouth could not speak.

Chen Chu said a few gentle words of encouragement, and then Cai Si once again mentioned the current financial difficulties faced by the Anfeng Dynasty.

After the Huaibei army marched southward to Huainan, a large number of squires and farm owners fled to the south of the Yangtze River, leaving behind a lot of unclaimed land.

This was a good time for land reform, but land reform was not a matter of words. Those tenants who were unable to flee south were almost all in abject poverty.

There are no cattle, no farm tools, and there is not even enough money to buy seeds. According to Hebei's experience in field reform, it is best to dredge the canals during the winter slack and use work as relief.

But this move meant that the government would need to spend a lot of money. In the past, Hebei had the support of Huaibei, but now Huaibei is also nervous. Cai Si naturally put forward the suggestion that he want his cousin to stay in Anfeng and preside over the Sihang Trading Company to help the local economy recover.

"Brother-in-law, I don't have any selfish intentions! My sister is free and talented. This matter has to be her. My brother-in-law hides his energy in military and political affairs. My sister's stay in Anfeng just allows my brother-in-law to not be distracted by financial matters."

Cai Si looked upright, but Cai Hua, who was sitting on the right side of Chen Chu, made brief eye contact with Mao'er first, and then said with a hint of confusion on her charming face: "If you want to revive Huainan, it involves many things and requires the cooperation of the government. If I come I don’t know how many people I will offend by doing this, and then people will accuse me of being involved in politics.”

Immediately afterwards, Mao'er, who was sitting on the left side of Chen Chu, lowered his eyelids and said, "Sister Cai's words are wrong. You and I are both husband and wife and subjects to the prince. Since we have this errand, Sister Cai will only serve as an official." The thing is, why worry about the gossip of gossips! How can a wise official be deceived?"

As if being persuaded by Mao'er, Cai Hua hesitated for a moment, and finally said with a solemn expression: "In this case, I am willing to help the prince achieve great things even if I am not willing to suffer infamy!"

"."

Chen Chu looked left and right, speechless, and then said in a voice that only the three of them could hear: "If you want Hua'er to stay in Anfeng, just tell me, what kind of double act do you two sing?"

Since Mao'er and Cai Hua met, the change in the relationship between the two has been wonderful.

From meeting each other like enemies, to being at odds with each other, to barely getting along, to knowing each other and being as close as sisters.

But they have never cooperated so closely as they do today. At this moment, it seems that these two have become allies, and they are the kind who don't avoid others.

In this way, Mao'er is in charge of guarding the family in Huaibei, and Caihua is in charge of guarding the people in Huainan. It can be said that there is no leakage.

Chen Chu's words had no impact on Cai Hua, and she even smiled a little proudly.

Mao'er, on the other hand, after being exposed by Chen Chu, her face suddenly turned red and she defended herself in a low voice: "Sister Cai is very thoughtful. I can rest assured that she is staying in Anfeng. Can Mao'er still cheat officials?" (This chapter) over)