The Third Part Serving Chapter 14 On the Road

  Gao Jian suddenly stood up, walked back and forth in the courtyard with his hands behind his back: "Fang Jue, it must be Fang Jue!" If this matter can proceed as Zong Ze envisioned, then the Mingjiao will hold a large amount of silver every year, which can be used to pay taxes. In this way, the Mingjiao will become an organization between many ordinary people and government officials, and the number of its followers will inevitably increase greatly. Secondly, mining silver mines must employ a large number of workers. As the direct mining party of these silver mines, the Mingjiao naturally also controls these strong laborers. With the passage of time, this group of laborers will obviously become the core followers. If they are trained in military tactics, they will form a semi-militarized backbone force. In this way, Fang Jue has money, soldiers, and popular support, and it is not difficult to dominate one side.

  "Could Fang Zhong's rebellion have been premeditated? Had he started plotting from this moment on?" As soon as he thought of this, a gust of cool wind blew by, and Gao Qiang shivered with a chill, only then realizing that he had unknowingly broken out in a cold sweat, the back of his newly changed undershirt already soaked through.

  Xiao Huan watched anxiously from the side, seeing Gao Qiang's forehead covered in cold sweat, and quickly stepped forward to take out a silk handkerchief to wipe it clean. She asked softly: "Sir, is it because of the heat? You've been exhausted for the past two days, why not go back to your room to rest for a while?"

  She smiled faintly, but shook her head: "It doesn't matter, I'll sit here for a while longer. Xiaohuan, go and get me another pot of tea." As she sat back down, it was almost dusk, under the shade of this big tree, with the small courtyard surrounded by dense foliage, occasionally a gentle breeze blew by, and it really wasn't hot at all.

  Still worried in her heart, she couldn't say anything, so she just slightly bowed and turned to go brew more tea.

  Gao Jian gazed at her slender back, suddenly feeling a little sentimental. If it weren't for Xiao Huan's meticulous service, his life in this era would probably be much more dull and troublesome. At the very least, there would be many more problems in daily life, such as eating and dressing, which were a bunch of things he didn't understand. Fortunately, this girl hadn't complained at all, serving him with every detail, making him feel comfortable and content.

  But soon, Gao's thoughts returned to the silver mine in Yuan Dong. There is no record in history of the imperial court mining for silver in Zhejiang at this time, nor is there any record of Mingjiao disciples entering the capital to report, if it weren't for his own arrival changing history, perhaps this matter would have been buried and unknown.

  So, what kind of process would it be if there was no history of its own? Is there someone in the imperial court who knows about this matter but conceals it for various reasons, or is Fang Xian seeing that there is no one in the imperial court to preside over and implement this matter, so he suppressed the discovery of the silver mine and took his own measures to extract it?

  After thinking for half a day, Gao Fang couldn't help but let out a deep sigh: This business of going back to the past really isn't something humans can handle! Even if it seems like there's a clear and well-documented path ahead, taking that first step is still fraught with difficulty, and one has to tread carefully as if walking on thin ice. Not to mention that history is full of truths that have been intentionally or unintentionally distorted or hidden, making the road ahead seem more like a narrow mountain path filled with thorns, with landmines and pitfalls waiting in ambush. This road is particularly isolating, with no allies to accompany you at any time, leaving one to bury all these emotions deep within their own heart, and drown them in drink...

  "Last night, the west wind withered the green trees; alone I climbed a high building to gaze out at the distant horizon!"

  "Is the official reciting poetry again? Can I use the teacher's song and dance?" A slightly childish but already very soft, beautiful and elegant voice suddenly came from beside my ear. Looking up at the sound, I saw that Shi Shi was wearing a light green loose sleeve, with two braids hanging down from her temples, each with a string of jade pendants, holding in one hand the He Tian jade flute brought back from Cai Jing's mansion the other day, standing vividly under the sunset, by the bamboo forest, as if she were a delicate painting that made people unknowingly drunk and forget their worries.

  "Master, do you still remember the day you first arrived at our mansion and sang Li Taibai's 'Bring in the Ale' in this small courtyard? Today, I'd like to hear you sing another poem by the Poet Immortal, 'The Hard Road'. Can you do it? As they say, seeing things makes one think of people, and seeing people also brings back memories of past feelings. At this moment, with a long and difficult road ahead, I couldn't help but think of this poem, 'The Hard Road'."

  "Please, sir, sit back and listen." Little Shifu bowed slightly, then tapped the jade flute in his hand a few times, singing in a melodious voice: "Golden cups of clear wine worth ten thousand taels, Jade plates of delicacies worth tens of thousands of dollars, Putting down cup and chopsticks unable to eat, Drawing sword and looking around with a bewildered heart..."

  Although the voice is still a bit childish, it's not easy for a young girl to sing this poem by Taibai with such boldness and grandeur, but at this moment, Gao Fang's mood is just like the atmosphere in this poem, and she has already been immersed in it.

  "What a difficult journey it is! The matter of Cai Jing's reappointment as Prime Minister has not been decided, and although I have made many plans and preparations, it seems like I have everything under control. However, the world is unpredictable, human emotions are hard to fathom, and how can one predict success or failure before things have even started? Even if Cai Jing is reappointed, I will be entering the treacherous waters of officialdom, with a foolish ruler Zhao Ji above, a powerful Prime Minister Cai Jing, and below, a group of sycophantic officials like Tong Guan and Yang Jie. The imperial court is devoid of virtuous officials, only a bunch of demons dancing wildly, how can the country's affairs be salvaged? And this is not all, externally there are the threats from Liao, Jin, Xia, Tubo, Dali, and other predators lurking in the shadows, internally there are widespread discontent among the people, with rebels like Fang La waiting for an opportunity to strike. I may boast that I am from the future, but in reality, I have no money or food, no soldiers or horses, and in the eyes of the world, I am just a spoiled rich kid. Furthermore, I am ignorant of modern technology such as glass, cement, steam engines, TNT, and blast furnaces, and my knowledge of history is also lacking. I dare not even touch the subject of democratic reform. With all these limitations, how can I possibly hope to turn the tide of this crumbling dynasty?"

  He faintly smiled wryly, although reality is like this, what else can one choose? Life is nothing but drifting and wandering, whether in the Northern Song Dynasty of Huizong or in the 21st century, people are all struggling in the red dust. Having such an opportunity to experience a life that people of the same era cannot experience, the colors of life will not become dull, right? The road may be difficult to walk, but with these two feet slowly walking, as long as you leave behind a few footprints, isn't it also a happy thing in life?

  "...directly hanging cloud sail to cross the blue sea" The teacher sang to the end, the tail tone slightly raised upwards, like pulling out a bright color, just right for the atmosphere of this famous poem.

  "Good, well sung!" Gao Jian clapped his hands in praise, but in his heart he had already made up his mind: Fortunately, this matter of the silver mine in Yuandong has fallen into my hands. Who knows if it's not heaven's will to use me to turn things around? If I want to resolve the accumulated problems of the Song Dynasty, with my current status and capital, I can hardly play a significant role. To obtain a higher position, I must wait for the big comparison in three years' time. If I can collude with Cai Jing to get a jinshi degree, and have some actual achievements to back it up, everything will go smoothly, and within a few years, I should be able to reach a position close to that of a central government official. But where will these achievements come from?

  In the meantime, it's been nearly three years, and I've only managed to get a low-level position as a yinbu, which is already quite fortunate. What can I do about important matters? Looking at it this way, this time helping with the Yandong Silver Mine affair might actually be an opportunity. The five routes of the southeast, within the officialdom, I must go and take a trip!

  "Indeed, a wonderful song!" A voice of praise also came from the garden gate, and Shi Shi heard the high praise and was somewhat shy. When she heard that there were guests coming, she didn't make a sound and stood aside with her head down.

  Gao looked up to see Yan Qing and Lu Qian standing shoulder to shoulder at the door, his heart filled with joy. It seemed that the matter he had asked them to handle was making progress. He immediately put aside his worries and smiled as he told Xiao Huan to take Shi Shi away, then ordered lunch to be served and sat down to eat and chat with the two men.

  Two people thanked and sat down, Lu Qian first said: "According to the instructions of the official, I went to various flower farms outside the city to search for it. Indeed, I found that there was a family who planted some purple grass as mentioned by the official. Since it only had a faint fragrance and nothing else remarkable, they did not plant much of it. I took some samples here and asked several gold and purple medical shops in the Sweet Water Alley area of Bianliang City to take a look. According to the method of extracting medicine mentioned by the official, we indeed obtained some essential oil here. Please take a look." As he spoke, he took out a few stalks of small grass and a small porcelain bottle from his bosom.

  Gao was overjoyed, and he quickly picked up the few sprigs of grass to examine them carefully. He even brought them to his nose for a sniff, and indeed they were the popular lavender from the 21st century. He recalled that the essential oil extracted from this herb was a favorite among women, with functions such as beauty, skin care, calming the mind and soothing the spirit. It was especially effective in removing minor blemishes on the face, and when combined with various spa treatments, it had many uses. If he were to add some packaging and promotion to this product, it would surely cause a sensation in Bianjing City, where the entertainment industry was more developed than ever before. Wouldn't that be a great way to build connections within the palace?

  He asked the flower farmer to buy out all the fields of lavender, and then hired people to plant on a large scale. Next to it, he also built an extraction workshop, asking Master Physician to take charge. It is expected that within a year, the hundreds of acres of lavender fields will be able to supply thousands of taels of refined oil. At that time, the market will have opened up, and new lavender fields can be built according to the situation. All expenses do not need to come out of Gao Qiang's own pocket. After all, his father, Gao Yun, is in charge of military supplies, and there are countless ways to embezzle funds from within. Using this to make some contributions to the future of the Song Dynasty is better than being wasted on unnecessary expenses.

  Lu Qian took the errand, shook his spirits and went to handle it. He thought that with the name of the Temple Front Department, he would naturally be able to intimidate a small farmer like a thunderstorm, and Lu Yu would not miss any opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

  On this side, a thing was settled, and on the other side, Yan Qing took out a scroll from his bosom. Gao Qiang received it and unfolded it to take a look, only to see that there were five or six women painted on it, some with bright makeup and others with light powder, some were radiant and others were elegant, all of whom were extremely beautiful women. Next to them were written small characters in fine brushwork, which were comments of some sort.

  Gao Jian glanced at Yan Qing and said: "Xiao Yi, who are these women?"

  Yan Qing smiled and said, "Back to the yamen, these are the various brothels and pleasure houses that Xiao Yi has visited in Bianliang over the past few days. He spent half the night drawing pictures of several outstanding women he saw, along with some comments, for your selection."

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