Aspirations

Chapter 7
The capital city is the place where dragons and tigers stand.

Hundreds of years ago, when the Tang Dynasty was prosperous, the four seas surrendered.Some foreign envoys came to worship. Outside Chang'an City, looking up at the tall city walls, they were shocked for a while, and their mood was agitated.

Outside the city of Chang'an, people are like wind and horses like dragons, and the traffic is full of traffic all day long, raising the red dust in the sky, so there is a saying that the red dust is rolling.

Since then, China has been known as the Celestial Dynasty.

Compared with the former Chang'an City, Shangjing, the capital of Daxia today, has a high city wall and a vast area, which is several times larger than that of the former Chang'an City.The red door, which is several feet high, is covered with copper nails the size of a bowl.Standing under the base of the wall, looking up at the city wall with a height of dozens of feet, there is a towering feeling of a high mountain.Viewed from left to right, the brown city wall with a thickness of more than ten feet stretches endlessly, like a majestic mountain range.

When Daxia was established, the capital was not in Shangjing, but in Kaifeng, Tokyo.Taizu went north and recovered the mountains and rivers. The old marshal of Zong, who had the same ambition as Taizu, crossed the Yellow River several times in his life, but was repeatedly defeated by the Jin Kingdom and retreated to the south of the Yellow River.When he was about to die, he couldn't close his eyes and shouted to the north three times: "Cross the river! Cross the river! Cross the river!" He vomited blood and died.

In his lifetime, Taizu never crossed the Yellow River, which is a lifelong regret for Taizu.After Taizu, Taizong succeeded to the throne.Compared with Taizu, who was talented and strategic, Taizong was more belligerent and more urgent to regain lost ground.Emperor Taizong fought several times in person, and re-used the main battle generals Yue Xiang and Cao Wen to march north, and crossed the Yellow River three times. Although more than [-] soldiers were killed and wounded, he finally defeated the Jin Kingdom and attacked Shangjing all the way. , the great mountains and rivers north of the Yellow River all return to Daxia.

Under Taizong's great victory, he was determined to imitate the old ambition of "whoever violates the strong Han in the Ming Dynasty will be executed even if he is far away", and determined that "whoever violates the strong Xia in the Ming Dynasty will be executed even if he is far away". Earth, I wish that within the four seas, the land of Kyushu, wherever there is life, it is the territory of Daxia.

Yue Xiang, as the main general of the main battle faction that Taizong relied on most, the Yue family army under his name was well-known, and he was the main battle corps of Da Xia, which made Jin Guo feel terrified.Taizong intends to send Yue Xiang out of Shanhaiguan to sweep away the remnants of the Jin Kingdom.Yue Xiang, however, refused to comply with the decree, claiming that Daxia's forces were now at the end of the line, and if they attacked further, they would definitely lose.Taizong was furious and imprisoned Yue Xiang for the crime of confusing the army, and ordered Cao Wen to go north to get out of the customs and take Huining, the capital of the Jin Kingdom.

Cao Wen went out of the customs and was invincible all the way. He was invincible in all attacks and invincible in battles. A month later, most of the land of Baishan and Blackwater was returned to Daxia.Taizong was overjoyed and promised to make Cao Wen the king of different surnames.

There was a voice of disapproval in the courtroom. When Taizu was on the throne, he had clearly ordered the world, and he would never be named a king with a different surname.Taizong succeeded to the throne, not from father to son, but from brother to brother. Originally, the voices in the court and the opposition questioning whether Taizong's throne was orthodox were repeatedly banned, and Taizong so blatantly overthrew Taizu's last order. For a while, there was a lot of discussion in the court and the opposition.Many scholars of Confucianism scrambled to submit a letter, claiming that the ancestor's law could not abolish Taizu's legacy, and demanded that Taizong take it back and issue an edict.

Ever since Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty issued an edict against himself, until Daxia, several emperors have issued edicts against him.When Taizu was on the throne, there were frequent natural disasters for a year. Taizu wanted to commit a crime against himself, but was discouraged by the ministers.Now Taizong was asked by the ministers to commit a crime against himself, and he was furious.

Taizong's move triggered a greater backlash from the ministers.The ministers jointly signed a letter, asking Taizong to recall the exiled officials, appease and re-enable them in addition to taking back the fate of the king with different surnames and committing crimes.Otherwise, the ministers will resign and return to their hometowns.

What is different from Taizu's honesty and honesty is that Taizong has a strong heart in his generous temperament.In the face of the huge resistance from the unity of the ministers, Taizong was also aware of the struggle between monarchy and subject power, which has always existed.Now is the time to employ people, if the court is unstable, it will inevitably affect the war ahead.In desperation, Taizong decided to back down.

However, at this time, a branch suddenly appeared.

Yue Xiang, who was still in prison, wrote a letter. Although his words were sincere but implied threats, he asked Taizong to follow the style of Taizu's brother and his last brother and pass the throne to the third prince.This move completely angered Taizong, because when the Great Xia established the dynasty, he made a rule that military attachés were not allowed to interfere in the affairs of the state, Taizong immediately ordered the mouth to say to Yue Xiang: "Although your words are loyal, but you have a lot of troops outside, this is not what the minister should have foreseen! "And give him a glass of wine.

That night, Yue Xiang died violently in prison.After being buried in a beautiful place, there is a pavilion in front of the tomb, named Fengbo Pavilion.

The death of Yue Xiang chilled the hearts of some of the ministers, some retreated, and some wisely protected themselves.In the end, only a few people remained, and they were exiled one by one by Taizong.Not long afterward, Taizong officially established his eldest son as the crown prince, for the later Zhenzong.

Besides, after Taizong quelled the disputes with his ministers and gave Yue Xiang to death, he thought he could rest easy and continue his grand hegemony. However, the battle was tight ahead. .

Whether to continue to send troops for reinforcements, or to withdraw troops at this point, Taizong hesitated.A few days later, after receiving the battle report, Cao Wen was defeated and died in a vigorous battle. The 50 elite soldiers he led were all wiped out.The Kingdom of Jin united with Mongolia and invaded on a large scale, and the border was in danger.

Taizong was shocked and urgently summoned his ministers to discuss countermeasures.The main war faction advocated sticking to Shangjing, and then mobilized reinforcements from various places to ensure the safety of Shangjing.Going to Beijing is not easy to come by and cannot be given up.The Zhuhe faction believed that at this time, it was time to withdraw from Shangjing and retreat to Tokyo. With the help of the Yellow River natural insurance, they could be safe.

The main battle and the main peace faction quarreled endlessly and became a mess.Taizong couldn't be bothered, he suddenly slapped the dragon case, and said angrily: "Anyone who dares to claim to give up going to Beijing again will be cut down for the sake of the people, and will never be hired."

When everyone saw that Taizong's dragon intentions had been decided, they didn't say any more.More than a month had passed by the time soldiers and horses from all over the country arrived in Shangjing.Shangjing was surrounded by the Jin Kingdom and Mongolian troops and horses, struggling to support, countless casualties.

As soon as the reinforcements arrived, Taizong wanted to open the door to meet the enemy, but it was useless to persuade the ministers, so they had to follow Taizong out of the city to meet the enemy.Disregarding the body of a thousand gold, Taizong charged forward, the spirit of the army was greatly lifted, and the allied army was repelled three hundred miles away.

Taizong was overjoyed and wanted to flatten the Jinmeng coalition forces in one go.At this time, the soldiers and horses were exhausted and had no strength to fight anymore, but Taizong insisted on going his own way and continued to move forward.As a result, he was ambushed in Rehe and surrounded by Jinmeng's 20 coalition forces. Taizong led his troops to fight for three days and three nights, and the 30 troops he brought were almost wiped out before he was able to escape.

After returning to Shangjing, he discovered that Taizong had been shot in the back.Soon after, the arrow wound recurred, and Taizong died in Shangjing.According to Taizong's will, Taizong's body was buried in Shangjing, and he did not return to Tokyo.At the end of Taizong's life, although he was suspected of killing his brother and succeeding to the throne, he also fought countless battles from birth to death. I tried my best.

After Zhenzong ascended the throne, he did not go north to fight. He only did two major things in his life. One of them was to persuade him to learn poetry, and the other was to go to Beijing.

Amid the objections of countless people, Zhenzong insisted on setting the capital in Beijing, using Tokyo as the companion capital, and named it Lin'an, which means that the temporary placement of the king is safe.Daxia set the capital in Shangjing, and firmly controlled the great rivers and mountains from the north of the Yellow River to Shangjing, [-] miles away, in Daxia's hands. .

Zhenzong passed the throne to Xia Zhen.

Xia Zhen is the current emperor. He ascended the throne at the age of ten and has been in power for 30 years now.As a Ming emperor who can be compared with Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Xia Zhen has both benevolence and righteousness. During his reign, he fought south and north and established today's Daxia territory. Return to Daxia.What is more farsighted about him is that he also opened up the sea ban, successively established shipping departments in Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Quanzhou and other cities, carried out maritime trade, opened up the Maritime Silk Road, and sold the exquisite porcelain, tea and silk of Daxia to the South China Sea. countries.

It was during the 30 years of Xia Zhen's reign that the national power of the Great Xia flourished day by day, and the whole world surrendered. It was true that the land of the king under the whole world led the ministers of the king on the shore of the land. Looking at the universe, the Great Xia is the most powerful country!After many foreign missions came to Daxia, they were amazed, and even some small princes would rather stay in Daxia and be a small citizen of Daxia than return to China to be a prince.

Although Xia Zhen fought countless battles and hurt people and money, he was very thrifty himself, unlike Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.It is for this reason that Daxia did not deplete the treasury as it did when Emperor Wu of the Han campaigned.In addition, because Daxia encouraged business, and the port trade was very prosperous and the tax revenue was abundant, Daxia did not weaken because of the war, but because of the expansion of the territory, its strength increased steadily.

"Today, the Sage is kind and honest, but unfortunately the good times don't always come. Now that he is old, but he has no children, who will inherit the throne is a matter of national security. And the Sacred Dragon is not in good health, it has been some time, and it will not heal for a long time..."

Although Xia Zhen has been successful in all his life, he did not give birth to a son and a half daughter, which is the biggest regret.Li Dingshan shook the folding fan, took a sip of Jiancha, and sighed, his eyes fell on the tea lid.On the edge of the tea lid, there is a line of small characters that are not easily discernible, in teeny small letters - good times are always there.

Li Dingshan looked through the window again to the tea banners floating outside the tea shop. The tea banners fluttered in the wind and the sunlight was just right, making the red tea banners particularly bright and eye-catching.

On the tea streamer, there are four big characters in official script - good times are always there.

Haojingchang Tea Shop is the most prestigious chain of tea shops in Shangjing. There are at least [-] shops in Shangjing alone. If it is in the whole Daxia territory, there are probably more than a thousand shops.It is said that there are not only chain stores in Daxia, but also stores in neighboring countries and the countries of the South China Sea.

"The emperor is seriously ill?" Xiao Jia, dressed in plain clothes and a hat, sat in the corner. If she hadn't paid attention, almost no one would have recognized her as a woman. She played with the teacup in her hand and looked at the "good scene" at the bottom of the cup. Chang stayed on the four characters for a long time, "The emperor is the Taizong branch. When the Taizong branch was passed to the emperor, the population was not prosperous, but the Taizu branch was flourishing. The eldest prince, the fourth prince and the fifth prince, They are all descendants of Taizu, only the emperor and the third prince, who are the descendants of Taizong. Whether to choose one of several princes to succeed the throne, or to have other plans, depends on the emperor's heart."

Thinking of Xia Xiang again, Xiao Jia's cheeks were slightly red, and she turned her head to the side to prevent Li Dingshan from seeing her embarrassment: "Calculate the time, Xia Xiang should also go to Beijing, did something go wrong on the way, or was he arrested? Which lady likes it and is in the family? I heard that the person behind the scenes of the good times is a stunning woman. Dad, after Xia Xiang entered Beijing, it is impossible not to know that the good times are always there. Inns, restaurants, tea shops, good times are everywhere, He might have a relationship with the woman behind the scenes who is always in good times."

"Hahahaha, Jia'er, you..." Li Dingshan burst out laughing, the woman's mind is really delicate, and she can think of many coincidences, but she is worried that when Xia Xiang enters the flowery land in Beijing, the flowers will catch your eye and will get lost, but Xiao Jia Her guess is too imaginative, not to mention the origin of the woman who is behind the scenes, just saying that she controls such a huge industry shows that she is by no means an ordinary person, she must be rich or expensive, let’s not talk about her Is there a fate to know Xia Xiang? Step back [-] steps, what if she and Xia Xiang know each other?She may not have a crush on Xia Xiang and Xia Xiang may not necessarily like her.

After laughing, Li Dingshan picked up the tea packaged in the exquisite bamboo tube. On the bamboo tube, there was a poem engraved: I don't envy the golden stalk, I don't envy the white jade cup, I don't envy the province, I don't envy the people's platform in the evening, I envy the Xijiang River. The water once descended to Jingling City.

It is the six envy songs of tea saint Lu Yu.

Turning over the bamboo tube, there is a square seal at the bottom, and the square seal is engraved with four small characters in seal script - good times are always there.

Li Dingshan doesn't know whose business the good times are.When I left Beijing three years ago, there were no good times. Today, three years later, good times are always emerging. From inns, restaurants, tea shops to tea leaves, God knows what other industries are covered. Qi penetrates the Changhong trend.

With Haojingchang having such a layout in just three years, there is no doubt that behind Haojingchang, in addition to the guidance of experts, there will be an incomparably huge force behind the scenes.

"Daddy is not allowed to laugh at Jia'er." Xiao Jia blushed, knowing that his father saw what was on his mind, he couldn't help but feel embarrassed, "Jia'er knows that it is impossible to be with Xia Xiang, but after spending three years together day and night, I still like him. I also like him. I don't want to, but I can't be the master. People say that women are as beautiful as spring flowers, but their lives are as cheap as grass, but I don't believe them. What happened to women? Women can also live out a world for themselves."

"That's right." Li Dingshan nodded slightly, with a look of approval in his eyes, "Jia'er, Daddy has always been optimistic about your prospects. Although you are a woman, you are no worse than most men. Good times are always there. In the industry controlled by women, you may not be able to make a career like her."

Xiao Jia was overjoyed when he heard it: "Daddy really think I can be rich too?"

"It's not just the richest one, but the richest world." Li Dingshan didn't just say something to comfort Xiao Jia. With his knowledge of Xiao Jia, he believed that with Xiao Jia's smartness, he could achieve a great career in the prosperous Xia. Not difficult.

Li Dingshan once again looked at the beautifully designed tea cups, teapots and tea packaging, as well as the well-designed and highly recognizable logo of Haojingchangyou. He felt more and more that Haojingchang was born in the sky and seemed to be seriously ill today. There is some kind of inner connection that is not known.In the end, which one of the great princes is the power behind the good times?Or someone else?He was puzzled.

"Little Er..." Xiao Jia smiled quietly and called the shop's second, "How much is a tael of tea from your shop?"

The younger two years are about fifteen or sixteen years old. Although he is a teenager, he is dark-skinned and tall, like a black tower. He respectfully accompanies his smiling face: "Guest officer, the tea in our shop is not sold to the public, only for customers who drink tea in our shop. official."

"It's weird... Could you invite the owner of your shop to come out to see you?" Xiao Jia thought to himself and smiled, "I want to discuss with her how to promote the Haojingchang brand."

"Hey..." Xiao Er smiled contemptuously, and only after laughing did he realize the rudeness, and said hurriedly and sternly, "This guest officer, my master is usually not in Beijing, and even if he is, he will not easily show his face, even the three kings today. If you want to see her, you have to bow down and post first. Whether she sees it or not depends on your mood. When it comes to promoting the Haojingchang brand, I don’t know where you think the Haojingchang brand needs to be promoted? Do you know how many teahouses, restaurants and inns there are in Shangjing? [-]% of the total number of teahouses, restaurants and inns in Shangjing are signs of good times, do you know? Guest officer, please be careful if you want to drink tea Tea tasting, the way of tea lies in peace of mind.”

It's incredible, a little Er who is always in good times is so articulate, Xiao Jia was almost choked up by the other party's words with a gun and a stick, but she is not a person who is easy to get along with, and does not immediately refute the other party, but takes it slow. After taking a sip of the tea, he said slowly: "Under the first taste, the lips and teeth are fragrant, so it should be a good tea. After the aftertaste, the aroma remains too short and fleeting, if not for the lack of money during the frying process. The heat means that the sky is not beautiful and the time is wrong when picking. This tea is considered to be a good first-class tea, but it is still a bit worse than the special-class.”

Xiao Er opened his mouth, as if his throat was choked by something, he wanted to refute but had nothing to say, the shock in his heart lingered.Last time, he also overheard the owner talking about the new tea that came in this year. The quality of the tea was slightly lacking. It was due to the continuous rainy weather during picking, and then the wood used in the frying process was not old enough, which resulted in it not reaching the premium grade. standard.However, the owner also emphasized that unless there are top-level tea masters, ordinary customers cannot taste the subtle differences.

In his opinion, the top tea masters are either a tea saint like Lu Yu, or a worldly expert who is fluttering like a fairy, and the worst is a person who is over sixty years old with white hair and a long beard. Old man, I didn't expect that the person who revealed the defects of this year's new tea was a [-]- or [-]-year-old woman!

How could such a young woman have such a clever tea tasting technique?Xiao Er immediately put away his contempt, and bowed his hands in a salute: "What the guest official said is very true, I have been taught."

Xiao Jia was not humble, but accepted Xiao Er's gift calmly, picked up the bamboo tube, and turned it over: "The logo of good luck is always on the bottom of the tube, which is easy to be ignored and is not good for the promotion of the signboard. Although the bamboo tube is elegant, it does not It is not exquisite and not high enough, so it is better to use lacquer packaging. Engraved on the lid "Good View", "Always" on the barrel, most people have the psychology of arranging symmetry, when the lid is closed, they like to go up and down Aligned, in this way, 'good times' corresponds to 'always present', and over time, 'good times are always present' will be deeply rooted in people's hearts."

Xiao Er was stunned on the spot, the expression on his face changed, puzzled, puzzled, and unbelievably shocked!
Li Dingshan had a smile on his face, and he was very relieved. Yes, Jia'er has really grown up and lived up to his teachings over the years.From the moment Jia'er followed him, he decided to cultivate Jia'er into a force that could call the wind and the rain. Yes, he firmly believed that Jia'er, like Xia Xiang, was a rare talent.The difference is that Xia Xiangzhi is in officialdom, and Jiaerzhicai is in business.

In fact, he knew more about Jia'er than Xia Xiang.

When I met Xiao Jia, Xiao Jia was only five years old.Five-year-old Xiao Jia lived on the streets and was almost sold to a brothel by traffickers. After he rescued Xiao Jia, he took her as a righteous daughter, raised her to grow up, and taught her many things, not only literacy, but also strategy and business. road.Yes, maybe others can't understand why Li Dingshan wanted to teach a woman strategy and business, but Li Dingshan himself knew that even though Daxia's atmosphere was clear and bright, women still couldn't seek a background through reading, and they couldn't join the army. There are two ways to go, one is to marry into a wealthy family, and the other is to do business.

Xiao Jia is smart and witty. Although she is not as knowledgeable as Xia Xiang, she also has her fickle side.The way to be an official is to be calm, magnanimous and talented, as majestic and firm as a mountain.The way of doing business, however, lies in the ever-changing and fickle, converging and flowing like flowing water.

Li Dingshan has been cultivating Xiao Jia's business acumen since she was sensible.Xiao Jia never let him down, he knew it at all, many things were analogous, and it was much better than he expected.

Today's events have made him firmer in his judgment. Xiao Jia's talent in business is no less than Xia Xiang's talent in reading.If he spends his whole life to cultivate a Xia Xiang and a Xiao Jia, even if he is a commoner, he will never return to the court again, and he will have no regrets.

"Guest officer..." Xiao Er's throat twitched a few times, remembering the master's explanation that if he encounters a first-class tea master, he must stay as a guest and let her know in time that the master is far away in Quanzhou now that the master is present. , he did not dare to neglect, "I don't know if I can ask the guest officer to leave a name sticker, and when my master comes back, he will come to visit."

"Don't dare to work your master." Xiao Jia took the pen and paper, brushed a few strokes, drew a sketch of lacquerware, and left a word "Xiao" in the sign, "I will know when your master returns. You know, I will come to visit you when the time comes."

(End of this chapter)