In May, Yongzhou is both summer and rainy. The weather is stuffy and humid, making it the most difficult season.

Xu Ping had moved to Taipingzhai to preside over the sugar sugar business here. The beginning of a new institution was full of things, including recruitment of personnel, arrangements of officials at all levels, and reclamation of new fields.

That morning, Xu Ping sat in the chief of the sugarcane business, looking at the letter in his hand for a while.

The letter was written by Wang Su, saying that a nephew passed the undergraduate degree and was appointed as a member of the Ministry of Sugar and Sugar in Yongzhou. He asked Xu Ping to take care of him.

The tone of the letter was very plain and simple, which was no different from the general correspondence between the same year, but Xu Ping always felt that something that had not been said was inside.

The Wang family was a newly rising clan in the Northern Song Dynasty, especially Wang Dan was in charge for many years and had deep roots. Not to mention that many ministers now have been promoted from him. Even the Empress Dowager and the Emperor also saw that the people in the Wang family were different from others, and there was a secular feeling of family friendship.

Such a big family will let their relatives come to the ghost place of Yongzhou?

What's more, Han Zong, a native of the family, was not from his usual background. His father, Han Yi, married Wang Su's sister. He was a Jinshi in the fifth year of Xianping. He is now a direct scholar of the Privy Councillor. Why do you come to Yongzhou for such a background?

Seriously speaking, it is a good job to recommend the sugar sugar service in Yongzhou, but the place in Yongzhou is too bad. I remember that when Xu Ping came, his mother Zhang Sanniang cried so hard that she could not bear the risk of her life.

According to convention, the supervision of the annual income of more than 30,000 yuan will not allow local officials to be promoted. The imperial court should send the official to the presidency. The scale of the sugar sugar business in Yongzhou far exceeds this number, and it is entirely because Xu Ping developed it, and it was part-time job of the Yongzhou Tongzong based on his face. When he stepped down, the court would inevitably send new officials to serve, which would be broken with the Yongzhou local area. At that time, the promotion of the same as the deputy was very likely to be promoted. With the scale of the sugar sugar business in Yongzhou, it is possible to be promoted beyond the level, which is a good springboard for the career of the official career.

But Han Zong is different from the ordinary poor Jinshi. He has long been promoted to Dali before he became a Jinshi. He was promoted to Dali before he became a Jinshi. If he had a Jinshi, he could directly become a magistrate in Dazhou. With his qualifications and background, he didn't need to come here to gilt. What are you looking for here?

What are they trying to do? Xu Ping was very worried. If he hadn't been frightened by the Judges Court and wouldn't have come to this ghost place before, why would these big clans be so keen?

Not only a Korean general manager, the governor Cao Keming has also been confirmed to leave his post in a few months. Because the Meishan Man in Jingnan caused trouble, he was transferred to serve as the governor of Tanzhou. Tanzhou is Changsha in later generations, but at this time there was no prosperity in later generations. The surrounding area was full of Miao Man, and the situation was not much better than that in Yongzhou.

The current governor of Yizhou, Feng Shenji, was replaced by the current governor of Yizhou, and he brought more titles of inspectors of Yong, Qin and Lian. Feng Shenji's father was Feng Zheng, the old prime minister, and another son from a big family.

Although he had a little conflict with Cao Keming, Xu Ping was generally happy to work with him. However, he served as the governor of Yongzhou for more than ten years, so it was normal to transfer him. Cao Keming, who was not from a high-level family, could be transferred away. The partners and deputys he received were from wealthy families, which made Xu Ping, who had no roots and no bottoms, very disappointed.

It is not easy to get out after one term in Lingnan. Xu Ping took up a part-time job in sugar business and had to do at least one term. However, he encountered this situation again.

Xu Ping was very upset.

Tan Hu reported outside: "Prime Minister Li Anren and his party have arrived and are waiting in the front hall!"

Xu Ping came to his senses and replied casually: "Oh, let them stay for a moment, I'll be there soon."

At this time, Xu Ping's treatment had surpassed the magistrate, and the number of soldiers in his arms increased to nearly 100. Tan Hu also rose to a higher position, promoted his position, and appointed him to a third rank, and officially became an official. After being promoted, he had a lot of affairs. He was almost always in charge of all the miscellaneous tasks of Xu Ping, but he was not as good as Gao Daquan and Sun Qilang Xiaoyao, who had no official position.

Putting away the letter in his hand, Xu Ping sighed. The officialdom was like a net, and he was gradually stuck on this net without realizing it. The officialdom was a big quagmire again. The longer he stayed, the deeper he fell.

He doesn't like this kind of life very much, and he doesn't know how to get rid of it.

In the living room in front, when Li Anren saw Xu Ping turn out from behind, his eyes lit up and hurriedly stood up to salute: "Students have met the Tongzong, congratulations to Tongzong for his promotion step by step."

Xu Ping's original official had been promoted to the Chief of the Palace and entered the ranks of the court officials. In the same Jinshi, except for the top scholar Wang Yaochen, Xu Ping and Wen Yanbo, who was renamed Yuci County, were both the Chief of the Palace and followed closely behind, surpassing Han Qi, who had just been promoted to the crown prince Zhongyun, and entered the first echelon. In the same year of the Jinshi in the fifth year of Tiansheng, the first three had already become leaders, but Xu Ping was in remote areas in Tiannan and had little contact with the same year, and his influence was far inferior to Wang Yaochen and Wen Yanbo.

Xu Ping sat down and saw three people standing with Li Anren. A barbarian boy, Li Xin, had met, and the other two were not old, but this was the first time they met.

Li Anren hurriedly introduced: "This Li Xin, the magistrate of the Communist Party of China, has seen him in Yongzhou. This is Li Dao and Li Yanei, the eldest son of the governor of Bozhou. This is the first time he has gone to Bozhou."

The two greeted Xu Ping together.

Li Xin suffered a little last time. Seeing Xu Ping's appearance, Li Daoze was much calmer.

Li Anren pointed to another person and said, "This one is Huang Kaiyane, the eldest son of the governor of Tianzhou."

Tian Kai bowed like a ritual, and his expression became more arrogant.

Xu Ping nodded: "Let's sit together."

The four of them apologized and sat down.

Xu Ping said: "This time I came to you for discussion. Because I was doing business, I asked Li Anren to come with me. You are the most trustworthy people in this prefecture. I want to be able to make the decision, right?"

Huang Kai and Li Dao nodded together: "Of course!"

"Let me tell you it. My sugar service is newly opened and I need a lot of horses. Tianzhou and Bozhou are both big provinces, and they are on the main roads, so I want to entrust things to you. How about it?"

Huang Kai said: "How dare you work for some small matters? Shangguan called us to give us instructions in person! Most of the road from Tianzhou to Yongzhou is open. As long as Shangguan gives us an order, many horses can come from Dali vendors!"

Tianzhou is a big province, and is on the border, next to Temo Road, which is the most convenient to get along with Dali. In previous years, from Dali, horse sales have been all the way from Tianzhou, along the Youjiang River to Yongzhou, and the other way is Guangyuanzhou, and after passing through Bozhou, they are sold to various places. Now Guangyuanzhou is occupied by Nong Cunfu, and the road is blocked, so most of them have to rely on Tianzhou.

Xu Ping nodded and said, "That's good."

Huang Kai then asked in a low voice: "I wonder how many horses Shangguan wants every year?"

"The more, the better, but it can't be less than 1,500."

After hearing Xu Ping say this number lightly, Huang Kai opened his mouth wide and was stunned. After a while, he said: "This - this number is a bit large, it takes tens of thousands of chunks a year. Where can Tianzhou have so much capital?"

Xu Ping looked at Li who had been cold on the side and said, "Isn't there still Bozhou?"

Li Dao was happy at first, then looked gloomy: "Bozhou is not as expensive as Tianzhou, and Guangyuanzhou is blocking the road, but this business is a bit difficult to do."

"The capital is easy to say. I can pay you some in advance with sugar. I don't know if you can do this business. One or two thousand horses, whether it's too much or too little, it's up to you or not."

Xu Ping's expression has not changed much, and Li Dao and Huang Kai are not sure what he is thinking, especially worried that Xu Ping will find other ways if the business is ruined.

The two looked at each other, and nodded together: "Shangguan promised to pay the capital in advance, and we could barely do this business. Besides, Shangguan had a golden mouth, and we could not refuse any difficulties. One thousand five hundred horses are only one thousand five hundred. We always have to drive the horses to Yongzhou for Shangguan."

Xu Ping nodded, said nothing, just looked at the two of them.

One is that when buying horses, it is really necessary to use sugar, and the other is that Guangyuanzhou has been very aggressive in the past two years and has to find a way to limit it. The horses that can be sold in Dali are always limited, and Xu Ping bought them here and came to other places, especially Guangyuanzhou. Even if the horses in Dali can be supplied, the price will be raised. How much sand gold can be fished from the river in Guangyuanzhou? How much sugar wealth can be compared with the growth of year-on-year sugar wealth?

Cao Keming was about to be transferred, and Feng Shenji was not familiar with him, so Xu Ping had to temporarily take charge of Youjiang. Now his official position is on par with the prefect, and with the promotion of sugar sugar, he is actually above the prefect in his position, and it is not considered abusing power.

During the Renzong Dynasty, there were still many general magistrates whose official positions were higher than those of the prefect, and some even served as magistrates. The division of responsibilities was not clear, and it also depends on the relationship between the two.

Li Dao and Huang Kai were so depressed by Xu Ping that Li Xin was at a loss while on the side. The atmosphere suddenly became dull, and Li Anren felt a little embarrassed.

Suddenly, Xu Ping said to the two: "You are well-known. If you are an official in the court, you will have to solve your problems. Don't worry, the court will not treat you badly for those who are interested in the court. Now, the market price of Yongzhou is about 20 to 30 stakes per Dali horse. This year, 1,500 horses will be set first, 500 horses every two months. I will pay you half of your capital first, and you will decide whether to ask for sugar, salt or satin. There are two algorithms for horse price. One is to die now, and a unified 25 stakes per horse. No matter what the market price is, I will pay at this price. Another is to go with the market. When the horse arrives, it will be calculated by the market price. What do you think?"

The two of them said together: "As for Shangguan's instructions!"

Xu Ping nodded: "How do you think about the price? Can you make the decision?"

Li Dao and Huang Kai looked at each other, both hesitating.

Xu Ping smiled: "It doesn't matter if you can't make a decision now. You can think clearly before telling me. However, once you decide, don't repeat it. You need to know that the court has rules for doing things, and the most taboo thing is mother-in-law and mother!"

"Shangguan Grace, we understand!"

The most beneficial thing for the two states is naturally the fixed price. Otherwise, Xu Ping could use the horses in his hand to control the market price. Moreover, the market price would naturally drop if there were too many horses sold. However, Xu Ping thought that most of the Huang family and the Li family would still choose to go with him, and they were afraid that they would suffer losses. These people took advantage of Xi Guan, but they could not settle the big accounts. Xu Ping asked him to choose by himself, which was not considered as cheating them.

The big direction was decided, and the remaining small matters were naturally discussed by the public officials. Xu Ping did not have so much spare time to tell them everything. After explaining it, he exposed this level.

After drinking a sip of tea, Xu Ping said to the two again: "Although horse sales are business, the court still has a lot of places to borrow from you. Tell me, what do you want the court to reward you?"

As soon as he said that, both Li Dao and Huang Kai's eyes lit up, and Xu Ping just said that he didn't see it.

However, the two of them were just excited, but they looked at me and I looked at you, and they didn't speak.

At this time, Li Anren was used. He stood up and bowed to Xu Ping and said, "Prime Minister Tong, the two prefectures mentioned to the students that they were working for the court and they were bound to pass through the prefectures and counties. Now they are a little embarrassed, and they are afraid that other Tuzhou Tuxian will cause trouble for them."

Xu Ping remained silent: "What do they do?"

"The two states mean that the governors are the ones who hope that the court will grant them the title of governors, so as to control the surrounding areas and comfort the local area. Moreover, Guangyuan Prefecture has become very powerful recently and has the title of governor, and can compete with the Nong family."

Xu Ping looked at the few people and said with a smile: "Do you know what the governor of this dynasty means? Do you know what the state where the governor is the one who is the governor?"

Huang Kai rushed to say: "During the Tang Dynasty, our Huang family was the governor of Tianzhou!"

"You have to let this dynasty be appointed as the official of your previous dynasty?" Xu Ping looked at Huang Kai and almost laughed.

Huang Kai was unnatural by Xu Ping and still stubbornly said: "This dynasty also has a governor. Don't bully me as a barbarian, so I don't understand the official system of this dynasty!"

Xu Ping nodded: "Yes, this dynasty does have a governor, but if any governor is in office, all government affairs will be handled by the Tongzong. Would you like to send a governor to your two states?"

The county's chief officials include county magistrates and magistrates, and the prefectures are also divided into governors and prefectures. However, unlike the county, the prefectures in which the governors must have a magistrate, and the power and responsibilities are magnified, surveillance and strong restraint of the governors. In the saying goes, the governors were vassal officials of the late Tang and Five Dynasties. The Song Dynasty did not allow the existence of vassal states. No matter how favored the governors were, they were not allowed to hold power alone. This was to prevent separatism, and the court did not believe in the ability of military officials to govern civil affairs. At this time, there were still many states that did not have a magistrate, but the prefectures in which the governors and the prefectures in which the military officials served as magistrates, except for the special circumstances, they would set up a magistrate to manage civil affairs. Of course, it was not a magistrate of the entire government affairs committee. This was just Xu Ping scared them. The governors had a high position and were mostly royal relatives, and the magistrate could only be restrained.

Huang Kai and Li Dao heard Xu Ping's words and looked at each other. They were both angry, but they did not dare to talk back.

The two states should be the governors. One is to consolidate their authority legitimately, and the other is to follow the examples of the previous dynasty, control the surrounding Tuzhou and Tu counties, and expand their own power. This is the most taboo thing in the Song Dynasty. If you want to do it, you must be able to fight yourself enough. The court cannot do anything to you. Not to mention the governor, the governor can also do it. For example, the Jiaozhi in the past, such as the Dangxiang in the past, were all real-time governors and semi-independent status. No matter how capable, the king who is actually responsible can do it, such as the current Jiaozhi.

In short, you have to be able to be practically independent. These two states are also worthy of?

Xu Ping shook his head: "It is important for people to know themselves. You do things for the court, and the court has never treated you badly. Remember, don't mention those irrelevant conditions, otherwise you will suffer!"

Li Dao and Huang Kai were not talking.

Xu Ping sneered: "I'm here, I'll be honest in managing the local government for the court, and don't dream of separatist territory. Otherwise, if the knife hits you, don't blame me for not admonishing you and killing you without preaching!"

Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Li Anren hurriedly said, "The magistrate is serious, and the two states do not understand the court rules, so they just mention it casually. Now that they understand, they will no longer have those ideas."
Chapter completed!