Capital Datang

Youzhou is one of the ancient Kyushu states, and its location is probably in the Hebei and Liaoning areas of later generations. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, because of the excavation of the Grand Canal, the northernmost Yongding Canal ended in Youzhou. When Goguryeo used troops, the geographical location of Youzhou was more important. For example, the last time Li Shimin used troops, Youzhou was the rear of the land army.Because of this, Youzhou can be said to be one of the important military, transportation and commercial centers of Datang.

It is also worth mentioning that there is an ancient name in Youzhou called Fan Yang, and the famous Fan Yang Lu family was born here, and the core strength of the Lu family is also in Youzhou city.Since Youzhou is the birthplace of Fan Yang's Lu family, the Lu family's influence here is naturally extremely huge. Among other things, most of the land in Youzhou is almost all Lu's family land, and even a few neighboring There are also a large amount of land controlled by the Lu family, so although these states are owned by the Tang court in name, they are actually controlled by Fan Yang and the Lu family.

The current Inspector of Youzhou is surnamed Zhou, and he is also from a wealthy family in the south of the Yangtze River, but the wife of the Inspector Zhou is from the Lu family of Fan Yang.It is precisely because of this relationship that he, the son-in-law of the Lu family of Fan Yang, can sit on the seat of governor of Youzhou. After all, Youzhou is the headquarters of the Lu family. It is possible to secure this position, but it is a pity that officials of the Tang Dynasty have to be officials in other places, so the children of the Lu family cannot serve in Youzhou, and finally have to choose a son-in-law of the Lu family to be the governor.

Although Governor Zhou came from a wealthy family in the south of the Yangtze River, his family was in decline, and the family did not pay much attention to him. Later, thanks to the help of the Lu family, he was able to obtain the honor and become an official, and finally sat on the position of governor. Lu Shi was naturally very grateful.In addition, Lu's power is deeply rooted in Youzhou, without Lu's support.He couldn't sit firmly in the governor's seat at all, so he has always been Fan Yang Lu's hard-core support.

Youzhou is an upper state, not only has a large population, but also is very prosperous in agriculture and commerce, so there are many officials in the state, and the prefect of Zhou himself is quite talented, so the whole Youzhou is governed in an orderly manner, although it is relatively Dengzhou was not prosperous under Li Yin's rule, but it was also one of the most famous states in the Tang Dynasty.Capital Datang 172

He has made political achievements under the rule, coupled with the support of Fan Yang and Lu's family.In the past two years, Governor Zhou seemed to be proud of himself.Many people know that the governor of Zhou will be promoted soon, and as long as there is a suitable seat in the imperial court, Fan Yang Lu will push him to be the governor of Zhou.And Governor Zhou is also very satisfied with his current situation, coupled with his gentle personality.No matter what happened to everyone, he got a nickname, "Smiling Inspector", but what happened during this period made this smiling Inspector unable to laugh anymore.

"My lord, another textile factory has opened outside the city. The big boss behind the scenes is the Lanling Xiao family. I heard that there is also a stake in Princess Qi, and in other places. The construction of textile factories has also started one after another, and they are recruiting everywhere. Man, many of our farmers in Youzhou have put down their hoes and started to sign up in the factory!" An official reported to Governor Zhou with his face covered in sweat. Seeing his panting appearance, he must have just rushed out of the factory. return.

This is the governor's office in Youzhou.Inspector Zhou sat upright with a serious face, and there were several people wearing official robes sitting below them. Judging from the grade of the official uniforms, they should be the county magistrates of the counties in Youzhou.It's just that these county magistrates, like Governor Zhou, looked helpless.

"My lord, it seems that Youzhou City is also surrounded by large and small textile factories just like our counties. If this situation is allowed to continue, I am afraid that no one will cultivate the land in Youzhou." Stand up The person who spoke was surnamed Cui, and he was born in the Cui family of Boling County. The Boling Cui family is much stronger than the Lu family.

As soon as County Magistrate Cui’s words came out, several other county magistrates also talked a lot. The reason why they came to find Governor Zhou together today was because a large number of textile factories suddenly sprang up in Youzhou. It was a good thing, but because the textile factory recruited people, a large number of poor farmers gave up their plan of renting land and entered the factory instead. But in this way, Fan Yang Lu, who occupies a large amount of land, may not be able to find tenants to cultivate in the future. Well, County Magistrate Cui and the others, Lu's cronies, naturally want to get together to discuss countermeasures.

Inspector Zhou frowned even more when he heard some of his subordinates' comments. Finally, he slapped the table and interrupted everyone's discussion: "Enough, everyone, stop talking!"

Inspector Zhou spoke, stood up and walked back and forth in the hall for a few steps, and then said: "You only see the situation in your own county and Youzhou City, but you don't know that in the surrounding states, as long as Fan Yanglu Almost all the places where Lu’s land is concentrated are running textile factories, and they also specially recruit tenants who lease Lu’s land to work, it is obvious that the other side uses this to attack the foundation of Lu’s.”

"Lord Inspector, I heard that His Royal Highness King Qi is leading this time to set up a textile base in our Youzhou and the surrounding states. Now it seems that the other party's textile industry is fake, and attacking Lu's is the real thing." !" Although the county magistrate Cui has a relatively small official position, he is from the Boling Cui clan, and he has received news from the family a few days ago, so he knows a lot.

"His Royal Highness Qi is targeting Fan Yang Lu's so much, isn't it a bit too much?" A county magistrate shouted with a wry smile, and several other county magistrates didn't know the inside story, and they all complained after hearing it.They also know about the suppression of industry and commerce by the five surnames and Qiwang, but there are so many aristocratic families involved in the suppression, but the King of Qi chose the Lu family for revenge. Although they are not members of the Lu family, each of them has a great relationship with the Lu family Well, if Mrs. Lu gets hurt, they will have a hard time in the future.

Hearing the complaints from several colleagues, County Magistrate Cui smiled and remained silent. Of course he knew why Li Yin wanted to target Mrs. Lu, but although this matter was no longer a secret among several great aristocratic families, the outside world still knew nothing about it. Know.

Governor Zhou's expression darkened when he heard this. Although his surname is not Lu, he has a deep relationship with the Lu family. Coupled with his high position and authority, he also knows something about the attack on Li Yin, but it is difficult to explain it clearly. In the end, he had to say vaguely: "Don't make wild guesses. The major families and His Royal Highness King Qi's industry and commerce have been at odds for a long time. This time, maybe it's King Qi who took Lu's first operation to deter others!"

The other county magistrates were also fine people. Seeing Governor Zhou's expression, they immediately guessed that there must be something tricky in it, but as their subordinates, it was difficult for them to point it out.However, the magistrate Cui thought of one thing, and he smiled slightly and said: "Master Governor and everyone don't know, there is actually a reason why His Royal Highness Qi targeted Lu family so much."

When Inspector Zhou heard this, he thought Cui County Magistrate was going to tell about the attack on Li Yin, but he was about to stop him, but he saw a mysterious smile on his face, and said: "Our Youzhou is a little far away from Chang'an, so everyone Maybe you don't know that a big event happened in Chang'an a few days ago, involving Fan Yang Lu and His Royal Highness King Qi."

Hearing Cui County Magistrate's words, Governor Zhou felt relieved. He also knew about it, so he simply took over the words and said, "Hehe, after Cui County Magistrate said that, I remembered that some time ago Chang'an sent Newspaper, one of Lu's sons wrote an article on it, exposing King Qi's obscenity and seducing married women. It must be for this reason that His Royal Highness Qi was dissatisfied, so he made a move against Lu! "

"Hmph, so that's the case. Everyone said that Qi Wang Xianda is also a womanizer behind his back!" Upon hearing Governor Zhou's distorted facts, someone immediately jumped up to express their dissatisfaction with Li Yin.

"Hey, the facts are more than that!" County magistrate Cui saw that Governor Zhou took Lu's face into consideration and concealed something when he spoke, and immediately added, "I heard that the person His Royal Highness Qi seduced was the one who wrote the article. The fiancée of the Lu family’s disciples, and King Qi even said that Fan Yang and Lu family begged His Royal Highness to withdraw the engagement, it is estimated that the matter of the textile factory this time is aimed at that matter!”

Hearing that County Magistrate Cui exposed Lu's shortcomings all of a sudden, Inspector Zhou was also a little displeased, and he couldn't help snorting and said: "Magistrate Cui really knows a lot, but do you know that the girl who was seduced Is it you Cui's daughter?"

The Cui family of Boling and the Cui family of Qinghe came from the same source. Although there were some internal struggles, they were consistent externally. That's why the governor of Zhou said this.However, when County Magistrate Cui heard it, he said with a normal face: "The Governor of Zhou is right, but as the so-called Cui family daughters do not marry the royal family, our Cui family will never agree to marry a woman from the clan to Li Min, the king of Qi. However, the situation of the Lu family is a bit worrying. King Qi’s large-scale textile factory not only took away the farmers on the land of the Lu family, but also the textile industry, and the linen industry that the Lu family relied on as a pillar must not be able to support it. The survival of the family, I am afraid, can only be done according to the orders of His Royal Highness King Qi?"

Hearing the true and false words of Cui County magistrate pouring dirty water on Li Min, the other county magistrates were very angry, but thinking about King Qi's power and means, they had to calm down. Naturally, there is an important material basis for the existence of the Lu family, but King Qi is using a two-pronged approach, attacking the two economic pillars of the Lu family at the same time. If this situation is allowed to continue, the result is likely to be the fall of Fan Yang and the Lu family.Capital Datang 172

"Hmph, that's not necessarily the case!" At this time, Governor Zhou suddenly snorted coldly, "The production of cotton in the Tang Dynasty is limited, and there are not many people who grow it. King Qi has opened so many textile factories, and there will be insufficient work at that time. Operating at a loss, even with the financial resources of King Qi and Chang'an's upstart families, I'm afraid it won't last long."

"Master Inspector, you don't know about this. I just got the news yesterday that Gaochang Kingdom has been defeated, and merchants from various aristocratic families rushed to Gaochang for the purpose of planting cotton. And I also know that, King Qi came up with another strange trick, and is robbing the land for growing hemp crops!" County Magistrate Cui said again with a smile.

The reason why he told all the news he knew, in fact, the biggest purpose is to use the mouth of the governor of Zhou to spread the news to the Lu family, so that he can prepare early so that he can support himself under the attack of King Qi. longer.In this way, the Cui family and the other aristocratic families can also breathe a sigh of relief and consider the next step of the family. (To be continued..)