I studied in modern times

Chapter 921 Cai Jing: Zhang Dun! I can replace him!
That night, the office of the governor in Yongzhou City was brightly lit.

The dancers from Champa and Chenla danced gracefully to the sound of stringed instruments and wind wind music, performing a dance that came from a distant exotic land.

Her posture is graceful and her figure is charming, which makes people feel spiritual and uneasy.

There were also dark-skinned Kunlun slaves who moved back and forth between banquets, pouring tea and wine for the hosts and guests, or serving the dishes.

As the lights flashed, Cai Jing finally noticed these waiters who were almost invisible in the dark.

He immediately remembered the story of Kunlun slaves in the Tang Dynasty vernacular novel "Legends" that he had read when he was young.

In that story, the Kunlun slave named "Mo Le" did all kinds of incredible things to help his master Cui Sheng win the beauty.

More than one person, without telling their master Cui Sheng and the beauty Hong Xiao, left the heavily guarded mansion of a first-class noble.

He also took away the dowry that Hong Xiaonu had accumulated over the years.

It is truly a legend of a brave, resourceful, loyal and courageous Warring States knight!
But Cui Sheng was a waste. Under the tyranny of the high-ranking officials, he actually sold out his loyal and courageous servant.

But it was precisely because of this that Cai Jing was deeply impressed.

So much so that when he noticed these Kunlun slaves, he was distracted for a moment.

Lü Jiawen, who was beside him, saw this and immediately smiled: "Is this the first time Yuan Chang has seen a Kunlun slave?"

Cai Jing nodded: "Yes!"

His gaze still lingered on the dark-skinned waiters.

Anyone who suddenly saw the characters described in the legendary stories he read in his youth appear before him alive would be surprised.

Looking at the waiters, Cai Jing asked, "Wang Zhi, didn't they say that Kunlun slaves had long been extinct?"

Lü Jiawen chuckled and shook his head: "Where did Yuan Chang hear that Kunlun slaves have become extinct?"

"During the reign of Emperor Taizong, the envoy of Keling, Pushina, presented Kunlun slaves as tribute..." Lü Jiawen, who had been in charge of market affairs for a long time, was very familiar with the business situation in the Song Dynasty. He smiled and said, "Among the sea merchants in Guangnan East Road, there is no shortage of Kunlun slaves..."

"I once heard from scholars in Guangnan East Road that when sea merchants in Guangzhou and other places go on long voyages, they must prepare several Kunlun slaves on board. This is because they are good at swimming and can hold their breath underwater for several days without dying, so they are called 'water spirits'!"

"According to legend, if there is a storm, Kunlun slaves can offer sacrifices to the sea, and the storm will naturally subside..."

As Cai Jing listened, he also recalled a strange story from the Tang Dynasty that he had heard before. Legend has it that Li Deyu was demoted to Chaozhou, and his ship ran aground on Crocodile Beach. A large amount of gift items sank into the river, but there were countless crocodiles in Hezhou, and no one dared to go into the water.

So Li Deyu ordered a Kunlun slave he brought with him to go into the water to salvage the items.

The Kunlun slave received the order and resolutely jumped into the water. From under the bloody mouths of the crocodiles, he salvaged all of his master's gifts!

So, he nodded slightly, and then asked: "Wang Zhi, have there always been Kunlun slaves in Guangnan West Road?"

Lü Jiawen shook his head and asked, "Where did the Kunlun slaves come from in Guangnan West Road last year?"

"Master Yuan, you may not know that the price of Kunlun slaves has always been extremely high!"

"One would cost more than a hundred or even several hundred strings of cash. How could the officials and merchants in Yongzhou afford it in the old days?"

"Ah!" Cai Jing's eyes widened, and he immediately reacted. He looked at Lu Jiawen and said solemnly: "Wang Zhi, treating people as slaves and animals is a shame for scholars and officials!"

"If the court knew about this..."

If those crows in the Censorate knew that the important officials of the imperial court in Yongzhou openly kept slaves,

Even so, those they held were not subjects of the Song Dynasty at all.

It's not even within Kyushu.

But, Kunlun slaves are also human beings!

Taking people as slaves is against the ethics of the scholar-officials.

He will definitely be impeached!
Lü Jiawen chuckled and explained, "Master Yuan, you don't know, they..." He looked at the Kunlun slaves and servants, "They are all slaves of the Jiaozhou Tusi farmers!"

"As for them serving here, they are merchants from Yongzhou, hired from farmers!"

Only then did Cai Jing nod.

Although, these Kunlun slaves were still slaves.

But they were the chieftain's slaves.

They were not slaves of the scholars and officials of Yongzhou, and even those who hired them were not gentry or officials, but merchants from Yongzhou.

Although, this seems like an attempt to cover up one's own mistakes.

But, that's how things are in the world.

As long as I can just give a perfunctory explanation to everyone above and below me, it will be enough.

No one will really take these minor details seriously.

This is like the imperial court strictly enforcing the family education of scholars and officials, and not allowing them to favor concubines and neglect their wives.

The crows are even more vigilant against this kind of situation. They will impeach anyone they find and will never tolerate it.

At this time, if you really have a beloved concubine and don’t want her to be bullied by the Hedong Lion at home, what should you do?
Just prepare a house outside and keep it in it.

In the city of Bianliang, Jing'anfang, which has now been converted into the Bianliang Academy, was a famous place where concubines gathered in the past.

In the past, most of the concubines of court officials were kept in it.

After Jing'anfang was demolished, as far as Cai Jing knew, the concubines of the ministers in the court were now moved to the Yimenfang area.

As for this well-known fact, the crows were as blind as if they were blind and didn't care at all.

Thinking of this, Cai Jing nodded, and then he asked: "Wang Zhi just said that each Kunlun slave would cost hundreds of strings of cash, or even tens of thousands of strings of cash!"

"Why is it so expensive?"

This is too expensive!

Even in the city of Bianjing, hiring a servant only cost two or three strings of cash a month.

Only if the servant has the skills required by the master will his salary increase to more than five strings of cash.

The labor prices in Bianjing were the highest in the world.

How can Yongzhou compare to Bianjing?

Then he heard Lu Jiawen complain: "Prince Yuan, you don't know that these Kunlun slaves are all sold by the Arab merchants..."

"But they have always been cunning. In order to get a high price, the Kunlun slaves they brought in were only men, and they were all castrated in advance..."

"So, in the old days in Guangnan East Road, the price of Kunlun slaves was already like this!"

"In March of this year, after hearing that there was sugar frosting in Jiaozhou, merchants from the Arab Empire came to buy it. They brought dozens of Kunlun slaves with them and sold them to the chieftains of Jiaozhou, such as Nong, Wang, Peng, and Cen, at high prices... It is said that each of them asked for more than 500 strings of cash!"

"Even this, all the chieftains are vying to buy it!"

At this point, Lu Jiawen's expression was full of disappointment.

But there's nothing he can do!

Who can blame the fact that the current chieftains of Jiaozhou have all been imitating the famous families of the Tang Dynasty? They really think of themselves as descendants of famous officials of the Tang Dynasty. All of them can trace their family tree back to a high-ranking official of the Tang Dynasty or even a famous figure of the Southern and Northern Dynasties or the Three Kingdoms era.

And, in the minds of these toasts.

Since the generals, ministers and dignitaries of the Tang Dynasty all liked to keep Kunlun slaves and Silla maids.

Then, they, the descendants, naturally have to follow the example of their ancestors.

If they did not keep a few Kunlun slaves and a few Silla maids at home, how would the world know that they were the descendants of famous officials of the Han and Tang dynasties and the descendants of Chinese aristocrats?

So, when the Arabs arrived with the Kunlun slaves, these guys almost bought them with their eyes closed!
For Lu Jiawen, the only good news is that these leeks are not only for the Arabs to harvest.

The Song Dynasty can also be ceded.

Gao Zunhui had been transporting Silla slaves to Jiaozhou through the express transport system, and he sold them all at high prices, making a fortune.

As for where Gao Zunhui's Silla maid came from?
Lu Jia didn't dare to ask or investigate, he just pretended not to know.

Thinking of this, a strange look flashed in Lu Jiawen's eyes: "Fortunately, we are not ordinary people!"

"I took the opportunity to sell the icing sugar at a sky-high price! I charged them ten strings of cash for one pound!"

"Will the Arabs buy it?" Cai Jing was surprised.

"Why not?" Lu Jiawen chuckled, "Just last month, another Arab merchant came to buy icing sugar!"

"I heard that the price of the icing can be increased by more than ten times when they ship it back to the country!"

Cai Jing listened and nodded silently: "No wonder the emperor often tells me that there are great opportunities on the sea, because wealth comes from the sea!"

Lu Jiawen nodded: "I have also been taught by the government - wealth comes from the sea, and danger will also come from the sea!"

"So he ordered me to pacify Jiaozhou, promote maritime trade, make friends with merchants from various countries, find out their strengths and weaknesses, and report back to them!"

When Cai Jing heard this, he remembered that the government had ordered Cai Que to govern Fujian and open the port of Quanzhou. Originally, Cai Que should have completed his term and returned to the court in February this year.

However, the emperor issued an edict saying that the Quanzhou Maritime Customs was of great importance, and specially ordered Cai Que to preside over the completion of the construction of the Maritime Customs before he could return to the court.

At the same time, before he left Beijing, he heard that the government allocated 100,000 strings of cash to Jingdong Road and ordered Xiong Botong (Kumamoto) and Su Shizhan to build a port and a navy in advance in preparation for the northern barbarians' maritime army.

In addition, the official report mentioned that Chen Mu from Mingzhou encouraged sea merchants to go out to sea in Mingzhou and other places, and used the envoy money, Qingmiao money, exemption money, etc. from the Liangzhe Road to lend to merchants at low interest rates so that they could hire craftsmen, build shipyards, or go out to sea for business.

Taking all these things into consideration, let’s look at the current situation in Guangnan West Road and Jiaozhou.

Cai Jing knew that the current emperor was indeed determined to promote maritime trade and welcome merchants from all over the world.

Therefore, if he wants to create political achievements that will astonish the officials and leave a deep impression here in Guangxi, he probably has to start from here.

Thinking of this, Cai Jing asked, "Wang Zhi, I heard that when Prime Minister Zhang's son Hou was in Guangxi, he recruited Tanka people to serve as the navy to supervise the transportation of tribute rice from Jiaozhi?"

"It's true!" Lu Jiawen nodded.

"It is said that some Tanka people can sail out to sea and transport rice to Yazhou, Leizhou and other places?"

"Ok!"

"Then can they transport the tribute rice to Guangzhou, Chaozhou and other places on Guangnan East Road?"

"This..." Lu Jia asked after a moment's hesitation, "We have to ask the Henghai Commander of the Chenghai Army!" "Henghai Commander?"

"That's General Huaiyuan, Envoy of Yanbianxidong, and Governor of Lianzhou, Cen Ziting!"

"Since Zhang Xianggong is familiar with the affairs of the Tanka people, he was recommended to the government to temporarily appoint him as the commander of the Chenghai Navy and the governor of the grain transportation to Leizhou and Yazhou!"

Cai Jing listened and thought for a moment, then he remembered who this person was.

The son of Cen Zhongshu, a former general under Di Qing, who was posthumously named Duke of Yue.

Speaking of which, this also has a big background.

Because Di Qing's son Di Yong is now the commander of the three yamen troops, and as the commander of the three yamen troops, he is also the commander-in-chief of the Dragon Guards.

Di Yong's daughter, Lady Linzhen, is now the adopted daughter of the empress dowager and a close associate of the emperor.

One of the candidates for the future queen!

Therefore, when Cen Ziting arrived at the Di family, he could call himself a "disciple and former official".

As long as he was not stupid, he should have established this relationship long ago - last year, it was Di Yong who led the army to the south.

At that time, Cen Ziting was ordered to lead the army and serve under Di Yong.

He had a thousand ways and reasons to take the opportunity to renew his relationship with the son of his father's former head coach.

Thinking of this, Cai Jing asked Lu Jia, "Where is Governor Cen now?"

"It is in the headquarters of the Chenghai Navy in Lianzhou..."

"If Yuan Chang wants to see him, he can send someone to Yongzhou!"

Cai Jing thought for a moment and said, "Governor Cen is responsible for the transportation of tribute rice, and he is also a meritorious official of the country!"

"I will go to Lianzhou in person to ask for advice on Dongxi, the Tanka people, and all matters concerning Jiaozhou!"

The Di family is the future royal family, and Lady Linzhen will definitely be the royal concubine in the future.

If she could give birth to a healthy prince, her future would be invaluable.

But Cai Jing was a civil official and could not get close to the Di family.

But as a minister in the Song Dynasty, one had to curry favor with the nobles in the palace so that they could persuade him at the critical moment. The story of how Grand Tutor Wen Yanbo curried favor with Empress Zhang Wencheng and was appointed as prime minister with the help of her was well known to everyone.

When Prime Minister Jiefu was in the court, his situation was extremely difficult because he had no support in the palace!
With these two positive and negative cases, Cai Jing naturally wanted to curry favor with a future royal relative and become the emperor's concubine.

For Cai Jing, the appearance of Cen Ziting was like a ladder prepared by God for him.

So, during the following dinner, Cai Jing kept thinking about how to meet Cen Ziting.

Until late at night, when he was supported by his followers and returned to his bedroom in the backyard of the governor's office, he was still thinking about this matter. He kept thinking about it until dawn, and then he fell into a deep sleep.

……

Two days later, on the official road south of Yongzhou.

A team of hundreds of people was marching slowly.

Cai Jing rode on a horse, escorted by Yuan followers, and gazed at the road, which was said to have started to be expanded during last year's war and has not yet been completed.

From Cai Jing's perspective, this official road is very similar to the official road of Jiangnan West Road in the inner county.

In this Lingnan area, a road similar to the standard of the inner county official road appeared.

This surprised Cai Jing very much.

"Zhang Zihou is indeed quite talented!" He thought to himself, "No wonder the government is so lenient with him!"

"I should take him as a role model!"

From Cai Jing's perspective, the main reason why Zhang Dun was so favored was because of his strong political achievements!
After all, everyone knows that the current emperor had never even met Zhang Dun before he ascended the throne.

Even after he ascended the throne, they met only a few times.

At the same time, the government did not pay enough attention to Zhang Dun at the beginning.

Zhang Dun's treatment and imperial favor really began to improve after his great victory in the southern expedition to Jiaozhi.

So, in Cai Jing's view, Zhang Dun could definitely be defeated.

As long as I surpass Zhang Dun in political achievements, that will be enough!
However, Cai Jing has full confidence in this!
Because he was a close minister of the emperor and was deeply favored by the emperor.

A clear proof of this is that he served as the acting governor of Kaifeng Prefecture for more than three years from the seventh year of Yuanfeng to the second year of Yuanyou.

Now, the government ordered him to replace Zhang Dun and govern Guangxi and Jiaozhou.

This provides him with a fair chance to compete!

As long as he can achieve results, he can at least get the same emperor's favor as Zhang Dun.

If he could surpass Zhang Dun's achievements...

Three years later, Zhang Zihou returned to the court to observe mourning.

He will find that his former junior is already wearing his robes and sitting in the position that originally belonged to him!
Thinking of this, Cai Jing waved his hand and called for his trusted confidant Zhou Bangyan - this former Taixue student was invited by Cai Jing when Cai Jing went south. Now he has been appointed by Cai Jing as the confidant of the Guangnan West Route General Affairs and Pacification Office.

Although this position was of low rank, the person was the confidant of the governor and was in charge of the confidential matters of the shogunate.

Historically, only close friends are employed.

The fact that Zhou Bangyan was able to get this position shows that Cai Jing trusted him.

"Mr. En!" Zhou Bangyan rode his horse to Cai Jing, bowed and asked, "What can I do for you?"

"Any response from the high defense side?" Cai Jing asked.

"Reporting to you, Prime Minister, an hour ago, I received a reply from Gao Yuhu, saying that since you are going to inspect the various places under your jurisdiction and comfort the soldiers and civilians, he will be waiting for you in Guangyuan Prefecture!"

Cai Jing nodded and said, "Then write back to Gao Yufu and tell him that after inspecting Lianzhou, Qinzhou and other prefectures, I will also inspect the areas of Youjiang. It is expected that I will arrive in Guangyuanzhou in late November or early December!"

He was somewhat dissatisfied with Gao Zunhui for not following him to Lianzhou.

But since they are royal relatives, he can do nothing about it.

I can only tell the other party secretly - if you are waiting for me in Guangyuanzhou, then you will have to wait!
If you want to wait, then wait!

……

Three days later.

The official residence of the pacification office of Guangyuan Prefecture.

Gao Zunhui received Cai Jing's letter and laughed after reading it: "This Cai Yuanchang has such a narrow mind!"

"That's all!"

"I will go to Lianzhou to meet him in person!"

As he said this, he ordered someone to inform Li Taide, the younger brother of the King of Jiaozhi, the Prime Minister, and the Marquis of Chongxian, who had come with him to Guangyuan Prefecture.

After receiving the order, Li Taide immediately took his men and began to prepare to set off.

He was very anxious to meet the new governor!

There is no other reason - Jiaozhi Kingdom had a decisive battle with Champa Kingdom in the south this year.

The result of the war was that Champa was defeated and its king barely escaped with his life. The Jiaozhi army even surrounded the Champa capital at one point.

However, the Zhenla people launched an attack on Jiaozhi from another direction at this time, threatening Li Taide's retreat. In addition, his brother Li Qiande in Thang Long Prefecture, after learning that Zhenla had sent troops, actually sent people to secretly collude with Zhenla, hoping to cooperate with Zhenla from inside and outside to eliminate him outside.

Li Taide had no choice but to withdraw his troops with the captured Champa people, the gold and silver treasures seized from the temples, and the food looted from warehouses and villages across Champa.

When Li Taide returned to Thang Long Prefecture, he immediately launched a purge.

A large number of Jiaozhi officials and nobles who were dissatisfied with him were beheaded by him.

Under this circumstance, Li Taide's dissatisfaction with his brother Li Qiande had reached its peak.

I swear to kill him!
But, Li Qiande is the king after all!
Using a minister to kill the king and using a brother to kill his brother, this is a taboo in the Southern Dynasty!

If he acted rashly before confirming the Southern Dynasty's attitude, he might summon the Southern Dynasty's troops again.

Therefore, after he cleared out Thang Long Prefecture, he did not even dare to blame Li Qiande, for fear that Li Qiande would become depressed and commit suicide, giving the Southern Dynasty an excuse.

In addition, the current Jiaozhi, the system he controls.

In essence, it was a military looting group that relied entirely on the tribute rice trade with the Southern Dynasty and the sale of slaves from Zhenla and Champa to the sugarcane plantations in Jiaozhou.

Not only military funds came from the Southern Dynasty.

Even the strong armor and powerful crossbows that enabled him to sweep across Champa and Chenla were bought from the Southern Dynasty.

In other words, he is a comprador agent!

Although he didn't understand or know what a comprador was.

However, the objective political, military and economic realities made him become a standard comprador agent without his knowledge.

In this situation, the newly appointed Guangxi General Manager and Pacifier of the Southern Dynasty is like a father to him!
He must, at all costs, befriend this person and gain his support.

Otherwise, he would suffocate if the other party just pinched his neck.

Therefore, for Li Taide, wherever Cai Jing is, he will go there! Whatever Cai Jing tells him to do, he will do it!
Without blinking an eye, without any hesitation!

Because, in reality, he is a kept comprador agent without independent personality!

Therefore, over the past year or so, the Jiaozhi court controlled by him fulfilled the tribute rice obligations stipulated in the tribute rice treaty on time and in quantity without any discount.

A full two million shi of rice were transported to Jiaozhou.

As a price to pay, from last year to this year, tens of thousands of farmers have starved to death in Jiaozhi!

However, Li Taide turned a blind eye to this and showed no mercy.

(End of this chapter)