Chapter 626: They are all old foxes
Xie Chengjie was arrogant, but never lost his wit. Even among the children trained by the Haoying family, even if they were playboys, they were rarely good-for-nothing.
At the very least, the necessary vision is still there.
His Majesty Li Er is involved in Jiangnan. Xie Chengjie has deeply felt the crisis that the Jiangnan nobles are about to face, and is even more aware that the future of the Xie family is precarious...
Everyone can see that the current emperor has no favorable impression of those wealthy and prosperous aristocratic families. He always forgets to attack and weaken these intertwined family forces, and even does not hesitate to reform the imperial examination system left over from the Sui Dynasty. To support the poor families and fight against the wealthy families.
It is conceivable that in the upcoming imperial examination, a large number of scholars from poor families will pass, and then be assigned to various ministries of the imperial court and promoted quickly.
The family members will suffer an unprecedented blow, and the danger will be no less than the "Yongjia Disaster"...
Now, Fang Jun pointed out a golden road to the sky for him. As long as he cooperated with Fang Jun's actions in Jiangnan, he would be in the emperor's eyes. No matter how the Jiangnan gentry suffered in the future, the Xie family would be considered stable. Go ashore.
As for the upcoming rejection and hostility from allies, Xie Chengjie couldn't care less.
The interests of the family are above all else.
If the Xie family needs to be eradicated to protect themselves, will Xiao have any hesitation? Absolutely not!
Therefore, Xie Chengjie doesn't feel any moral guilt at all for secretly hooking up with Fang Jun.
Since he had made up his mind to stand on Fang Jun's side and actually be loyal to the emperor, Xie Chengjie thought that he should do it more thoroughly.
Duplicity and vacillation are the most taboo things when taking sides. Not only can’t you please both sides, but you may not be the same person inside and outside...
So Xie Chengjie decided to betray Xiao.
Fang Jun raised his eyebrows, looked at Xie Chengjie in surprise, and asked, "I wonder if Uncle Xie Shi has anything to tell you?"
Xie Chengjie leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice: "As far as Xie knows, in the last impeachment of Erlang, Song Guogong received the support of Zhao Guogong. In exchange, Song Guogong has informed us Jiangnan nobles that Jiangnan iron smelting will be opened. industry, allowing the Changsun family’s iron factories to enter Jiangnan to mine, smelt and sell iron.”
Fang Jun was slightly stunned.
No wonder that during the last Tai Chi Hall, officials who were not from the Jiangnan gentry also jumped out to impeach him, and they were more ferocious. Presumably Changsun Wuji, an old fox, had a crooked idea to retaliate for his past suppression of Changsun Chong and to take the opportunity to open up the trade routes south of the Yangtze River.
What a great move that kills two birds with one stone!
But obviously, Song Guogong is not a vegetarian either...
Seeing that the situation was not good, Xiao Yu immediately terminated the impeachment of Fang Jun, so at that time, only Changsun Wuji and his party were left in the court to condemn the impeachment. The Qingliu party that originally initiated the impeachment stopped.
The final result showed that Xiao Yu's decision was correct. The Qingliu faction was unscathed, but Changsun Wuji's men suffered heavy losses.
However, Fang Jun did not think that Changsun Wuji had made a mistake. He should have used the dismissal of those civil servants to achieve the established fact, making Xiao Yu unable to eat his words and tear up the agreement between the two.
Fang Jun knew that Jiangnan had always been equivalent to the "private land" of the Jiangnan nobles. These Jiangnan nobles had been in Jiangnan for thousands of years and were deeply rooted. They had long regarded Jiangnan's interests as taboo and extremely exclusive.
Changsun Wuji seized the opportunity when the Jiangnan nobles' successive mistakes led to His Majesty Li Er's determination to suppress them severely. He took advantage of the opportunity and obtained Xiao Yu's promise. Once the iron factory of the Changsun family entered Jiangnan, it could quickly occupy the market by taking advantage of the emperor's suppression of the Jiangnan gentry.
As a result, the interests that should have been the emperor's were lost to the Changsun family.
Compared with the massive wealth that the iron factory is about to gain, the loss of one or two low-level civil servants is completely acceptable.
They are all old foxes...
Fang Jun couldn't help but sigh to himself, realizing once again the cunningness of the ancients, and there was no trace of contempt in his heart.
Although these ancients were limited in their knowledge, Fang Jun would take advantage of them for a while, but each of them was a hardened elite with sufficient IQ. Even if they were lagging behind and being beaten, once they caught their weaknesses and loopholes, they would immediately Able to take advantage of opportunities and do everything possible to maximize benefits.
Fang Jun would naturally not sit back and watch Changsun Wuji bring the iron factory into Jiangnan. With Changsun Wuji's cunning and the behemoth of the Changsun family, he would definitely use the iron factory to quickly spread his influence into all aspects of Jiangnan. By that time, it will inevitably become his biggest constraint.
The interests of Changsun's family conflict with Fang Jun's.
Just how to prevent the Changsun family from entering Jiangnan is a matter of making a living...
*****
The weather is getting warmer day by day, and pedestrians on the street have taken off their bulky winter clothes and put on light spring clothes.
The imperial examination hosted by the Ministry of Rites is about to take place, and there are more and more scholars from all over the streets. The whole city of Chang'an seemed to be coming back to life from hibernation, with noisy voices and pedestrians. Merchants from all over the world gathered with goods produced from various places, making it noisy and lively.
For several days, Fang Jun didn't leave the door.
Supervise the projects of the Ministry of Industry's construction team in Fuzhong, and also receive the stewards returning from the Western Regions and listen to reports from the Western Regions.
As winter turned to spring, the Fang family's winery in the Western Regions had already been built. Truckloads of "glycerin" refined from lard transported from Chang'an arrived in Gaochang. The grape wine brewed last autumn was filtered and then repackaged into exquisite bottles. The porcelain altars were then transported to Guanzhong and distributed all over the world.
The grapes planted last year have not yet produced, and the production of grape wine is limited. By next spring, the production will be doubled.
A wool spinning workshop will also be built in the summer, and a large number of finished products will be shipped to Guanzhong for sale.
Regarding the "sheep-eating-man" strategy in the Western Regions, Fang Jun does not need to invest too much energy. The basic strategy has been laid out. It only needs to transport grape wine and cashmere products to the Central Plains for sale, and then give a large amount of money back to the nobles in the Western Regions. This will inevitably inspire them to pursue wealth even more crazily and turn all the land into grapes. Land and pasture, there is no longer any land to grow a small amount of food...
The lifeline of the Western Region will gradually be in the hands of the Tang Dynasty. Once the food supply is cut off, the entire Western Region will be in dire straits.
The situation in Tibet was very similar, but progress was slightly slower.
After all, Tubo is now a unified regime. If it wants to achieve the same effect as the chaotic Western Regions, it will definitely be more difficult and face greater resistance.
Fang Jun is now fully focused on his upcoming trip to Jiangnan.
I also found Li Daozong to discuss some preparations.
Now that spring is warm and flowers are blooming, the ice and snow in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River are melting, and a large amount of snow water flows into the river, causing the river water to surge and the river surface to widen, forming a spring flood.
This time of year is a good time to put on the dumplings...
The main purpose of rafting is to transport wood. This kind of business has its own particularity. The raft is both a means of transportation and an object of transportation. Of course, the production of this kind of wooden raft has its own unique process. It must be economical and practical to transport the maximum amount of wood, and at the same time it must be strong and secure to ensure safety.
In ancient times, laying pavilions was the most important means of transporting wood.
The "timber yard" by the river is filled with timber that has been cut down from the mountainous areas on both sides of the river and transported by backs and lifts. The wood is stacked in piles and bundles, stacked layer by layer on the "timber yard" in the open space by the river.
The process of tying rafts is called "tying rafts", which is both a physical and technical job. When "tying and rowing", the tools for "tying" should be carried out in a crisscross method. They are usually "ropes" twisted from bamboo. This kind of "ropes" are called "fiber ropes" or "cables". They are durable and durable. It is foamy, tough, and non-elastic, which is better than steel wires and plastic ropes in later generations.
When arranging, the wood is tied layer by layer in the water. Sometimes the arranged wood can reach more than ten layers. When the arrangement reaches the top layer, a radial pole is tied, which is commonly known as "棹". In fact, it is A large piece of wood, with the back end whittled into a pulp and the front part thinner. This became the rudder of the wooden raft. When breaking through the beach and crossing the gorge, the men stood on the raft, holding up the small bowl-thick paddle together, chopping the waves like a swinging fish tail, and rushing through dangerous passes one after another.
Li Daozong once commanded the navy in the world, and the best commanders were often the most powerful navy. Whether building a shipyard or building a sea-going ship, a large amount of high-quality wood is needed, and most of the best wood in the world is produced in Sichuan. Timber from mountainous areas can be cut down and transported down the river easily to anywhere along the river.
Li Daozong immediately ordered his original subordinates to cut down the giant trees and release them along the river.
After arranging this important matter, Fang Jun settled down and began to make plans to build a shipyard. Unfortunately, before the planning started, I received an invitation from Wei King Li Tai, asking him to have a banquet at Luoxia Temple at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain... (End of Chapter)