newbobooks Chapter 794 Trade Route
Chapter 794 Trade Route
He understood that no matter where he was, as long as he had poetry in his heart, he could find his own world. However, every night when it was quiet, Shen Mo would still think of Chang'an and his former ideals and ambitions. He would sit alone in front of the window, looking at the bright moon, drinking wine, and the melancholy in his heart still lingered. But he knew that life had to go on, and he would continue to move forward in the world of poetry with this melancholy and write his own legend. As spring went and autumn came, the mountains and rivers of Jiangzhou witnessed Shen Mo's changes. His style of poetry was no longer limited to the resentment and sorrow of the past, but had more insights and open-mindedness about life. Although his fate of being exiled could not be changed, he cultivated a new world with his pen and ink in this foreign land, and those days of drowning his sorrows in wine became a unique and unforgettable experience in his life. This story depicts the poet's change of mood and struggle after being demoted. If you think the story rhythm and emotional expression need to be adjusted, or if you want to add new plot elements, please feel free to tell me.
In the winter of the third year of Longqing in the Dayin Dynasty, the cold wind was as sharp as a knife, blowing Su Mingtang's thin figure to the point of collapse. She clutched the torn marriage certificate, her nails dug deep into her palm, blood dripped through her fingers, and red plum blossoms blurred on the snow. Her brother's words just now, "It's useless for women to study, and it's just right to exchange for fifty taels of silver to pay off gambling debts" were still echoing in her ears. Seventeen years of family affection could not withstand the sound of dice in the casino after all. "Sell your daughter! A pretty and smart young lady, only fifty taels!" The sharp voice of the matchmaker pierced the sky. Su Mingtang looked at the closed carriage not far away, with dark red blood stains seeping out of the gaps in the carriage. Suddenly, she remembered the beggar who starved to death at the alley the day before yesterday - their fate might end in this carriage full of "cargo". Just as the matchmaker's hand was about to grab her wrist, a moon-white figure flashed by. "Wait a minute." The person holding an oil-paper umbrella, the hem of her dress embroidered with gold thread swept across the snow, "I want it." Su Mingtang looked up and met a pair of amber eyes, which seemed to be able to penetrate her broken soul. This person turned out to be Gu Minglan, the daughter of a famous merchant in the capital. When the carriage drove away, Su Mingtang saw through the window that her brother was counting silver with a smile on his face, and her embroidered shoes were left in the snow like a butterfly with broken wings. "Why save me?" Su Mingtang curled up in the corner of the carriage, her voice hoarse. Gu Minglan pushed the heater over and smiled, "I see the same thing in your eyes as I do - unwillingness." She unfolded a volume of "Female Commandments", but in the ink marks she annotated the strategy of governing the country, "This world wants to eat people, but there will always be someone who wants to break its teeth." In the Gu family, Su Mingtang began her rebirth. During the day, she pretended to be a servant and followed the accountant to learn how to count, and at night she hid in the attic to study classics, history, and collections. Gu Minglan often came to talk with her, from "Zizhi Tongjian" to the trade routes in the Western Regions. As the candlelight flickered, the ambitions of the two women gradually spread. However, the good times did not last long. Three years later, the Gu family was convicted of a smuggling case. On the eve of the house search, Gu Minglan stuffed an account book with the seal of the Ministry of Revenue into her arms: "Go to Yingtian Academy and find Lu Zian." The threshold of Yingtian Academy was higher than Su Mingtang imagined. When she stood in front of the mountain gate dressed as a man, looking at the plaque "Women are not allowed to enter", her nails almost pinched into her palm. Coincidentally, a carriage drove by at this time, and when the curtain was lifted, half of the black python pattern was revealed - it was the current prince Zhao Chengjun. "Get out of the way." Su Mingtang suddenly spoke up amid the guards' scolding: "May I ask, Your Highness, can the governance of a country be divided into men and women?" Zhao Chengjun glanced at her tied-up hair crown, and the corners of his mouth curled up: "If you can answer the three questions of this prince, you will be allowed to enter the school." Three days later, in front of the full room of teachers and students at the martial arts arena of the academy, Su Mingtang impressed everyone with three policy papers: "How to balance taxes in Jiangnan", "The drawbacks of the trade routes in the Western Regions", and "The method of selecting talents from poor families". When she wrote "Those who govern the world should be based on talent, not gender", Zhao Chengjun clapped his hands in praise, and the students in the audience looked at her vigorous handwriting with a little more complexity in their eyes. However, enrollment is only the first step. The difficulties of classmates, the prejudice of teachers, and the crisis of being exposed as a girl at any time, follow her like a shadow. The most thrilling time was when a classmate deliberately knocked over a basin of water. Su Mingtang had no way to avoid it. When her black hair fell, she grabbed the inkstone and smashed it against the bronze mirror, sneering: "It's just that I had a strange disease when I was young and all my hair fell out. You are so curious, is it because you are gay?" During her days in the academy, Su Mingtang met many like-minded friends, including Jiang Yanbai, a poor student who later became her right-hand man. Jiang Yanbai was born in poverty, but he had extraordinary strategies. The two often discussed the way to govern the country all night, from farmland water conservancy to border defense. Time flies, and it's the year of the big competition. Su Mingtang defeated the heroes with an article "On the Governance of the World" and won the first place. When she stood in the Golden Palace to accept the emperor's award, Zhao Chengjun looked at her meaningfully. After the court session, Zhao Chengjun summoned her alone and said bluntly: "I need a sharp sword to pierce the corruption of this court. Are you willing to serve me?" Su Mingtang knelt down and kowtowed: "I am willing to go through fire and water for your majesty." From then on, she stepped into the turbulent officialdom. When she first entered the officialdom, she was assigned to the Ministry of Revenue as a minor official. Here, relying on the accounting skills she learned in the Gu family and the knowledge accumulated in the academy, she soon discovered many loopholes in the accounts of the Ministry of Revenue. Her actions touched the interests of many people, and the memorials impeaching her flew to the emperor like snowflakes. However, Zhao Chengjun overcame all objections and not only did not punish her, but promoted her to the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. This move caused an uproar in the court, and countless ministers jointly wrote to denounce the emperor for "hens crowing at dawn." Faced with pressure, Su Mingtang did not back down. She began to implement a series of reform measures to rectify the canal transportation, measure land, and reform the tax system. Every reform was strongly opposed by vested interests. Her mansion was often pelted with stones, and she even received bloody threatening letters. When reforming the canal, Su Mingtang personally went to the canal to investigate the drawbacks of the canal. She found that there was serious corruption in the canal, collusion between officials and businessmen, and exploitation at all levels. In order to break this situation, she formulated a strict supervision system, appointed new people to be in charge of the canal affairs, and severely punished a group of corrupt officials. However, her reforms also triggered some unexpected consequences. The reform of the canal caused many people who relied on the canal to make a living to lose their livelihoods. Under the instigation of some people with ulterior motives, they gathered together to make trouble.
Leng Wuhen took the secret order and knelt on one knee: "Yes, sir!" In the following days, Leng Wuhen took the "Blood Dropper" to collect evidence everywhere.