Chapter 136
After signing a contract with neighboring countries, it does not mean that everything will be fine. There are more follow-up matters, how to establish a mutual trade market, how to determine the qualifications for business, how to collect taxes... a lot of
things, fortunately, before Zhou Yi planning.
A few days after seeing off the envoy, the Dai Viet Times, which has opened branches in most parts of Da Viet, suddenly published a huge headline: "Border Trade Merchants Conference".
The article was widely advertised in the Dai Viet Times, saying that the imperial court has reached mutual trade agreements with more than 40 neighboring countries. If you are interested in border trade, please go to the capital to participate in the border trade business promotion conference. The time is scheduled for one month. Zhou Yi, the Minister of the Ministry, also stamped it.
With a bang, the influence of this article among businessmen is enormous.
Everyone knows that the Da Viet Times was written and approved by the emperor himself, and it is an official newspaper that can represent the imperial court. There must be no false statements.
Even the cheerful gossip they read on weekdays is true.
If it is said that the most pioneering people in the Dai Viet Dynasty were not farmers or princes living in temples, but businessmen. Businessmen pursue profits, and wherever there are interests, they are there.
When there was no sea ban in the previous dynasty, a large number of merchants followed the official ships of the imperial court to look for business opportunities, and exchanged various items from outside, which greatly enriched the food and clothing of the Han people.
But because the government has no intention of making a profit, in order to publicize the heavenly power of the kingdom, the things brought by the imperial court are directly given to others, and they go to sea. In addition to making a lot of noise, the imperial court lost all their underwear.
But the private businessmen who followed behind made a lot of money.
This is true for maritime trade, and so is for border trade. Although the surrounding countries are not as rich as they are big and have low productivity, they also have things that the Central Plains Dynasty did not have. Even horses can be brought back, back to the Central Plains Dynasty, and once sold, it will be innumerable wealth.
But later, due to various reasons, the imperial court banned maritime trade and closed border trade, so merchants could only toss and turn back and forth within the territory of Day Viet.
Now that the imperial court is actually saying that border trade will be reopened, how can these businessmen be indifferent.
Although I don't know what the trade and investment promotion meeting here means, such a good opportunity must not be missed, so after the Da Viet Times published this article, the slightly ambitious businessmen of Quan Da Viet started to rush to the capital.
This is also thanks to the repair of the canal in Dayue, otherwise it would really not be able to reach the capital in a month.
Zhou Yi also didn't want to work hard like this, but there is no local organization now. If this matter is handed over to the local government for assistance, needless to say, it will definitely be a mess. It's not that Zhou Yi is ignorant of the pissing nature of those local officials.
Now we can only select a group of merchants to carry out border trade in the early stage, and slowly spread it out.
Before the Border Trade Merchants Fair came, the time had already entered October, and Liu Ya was going to get married.
The preliminary preparations of the Ministry of Commerce have been completed, and now we are waiting for the opening of the Border Trade Merchants Conference. Zhou Yi could also breathe a sigh of relief.
Liuya's marriage is a major event for the Zhou family. Wang Yan and Zhou's second child have been busy since a long time ago. Because Zhou Yi has been busy with political affairs, after Liuya got married, he has no time to take care of it, and he feels a little guilty.
Although he knew that Wang Yan and Zhou Lao Er must have arranged the dowry, Zhou Yi personally took Liuya to the best jewelry store in the capital and bought several sets of jewelry for her.
On the way back, the two siblings were sitting in the carriage. Liu Ya looked at the pile of jewelry beside her and sighed, "I married in the capital, but my sisters are all in Guang'an. I'm afraid it will be difficult if I want to meet again in the future." "
Zhou Yi said silently, the capital is in the north, Guang'an is in the south, in this era of extremely underdeveloped transportation, once you are far away, it is extremely difficult to meet each other.
Seeing that Zhou Yi was silent, Liuya hurriedly said: "Look at me, what are you talking about, Liulang, don't worry about it, how many girls want to marry in the capital is not enough, I am all because of your favor, maybe I want to get married Now, so I always like to think about it."
Zhou Yi smiled: "Fourth sister, it's normal for you, after all, you are going to marry someone else's family, but don't worry, the Wen family is not far from ours. Mrs. Wen and Mrs. Wen are also good-tempered. Their family has a simple population. You will not be wronged when you marry in. Your natal family is so close to you. If you feel homesick, you can come back." Liu Ya burst out laughing: "How could you
say It’s as simple as that, once you get married, even if the distance is close, how can you go back to your mother’s house at any time? Even if Miss Li marries into our house, she can’t go back to her mother’s house at any time in the future!” Zhou Yi shook his head: “The girl is treated like a bead like a bead
. Raised by Yu, once she gets married, it doesn't mean she really has nothing to do with her natal family. If Yingru wants to go back to her natal family in the future, she can go back at any time.
" The blessings you have cultivated." Liuya said enviously after hearing this.
Zhou Yi was amused by Liuya: "Fourth sister, even if I am your younger brother, you don't have to praise me so much, there are many men who are better than me." Liuya shook her head: "
Whether you are my brother or not, I think You are the best man in the world, but Miss Li is also very good, you are able to marry her, it is also a blessing from your previous life, so your marriage is destined, and you will be happy in the future." Zhou Yi
listened , Knowing the thoughts in Liuya's heart, he comforted him: "Don't worry, Fourth Sister, you will surely live a very happy life. No matter what happens, don't forget that we are a family, and I, my brother, will support you."
When Liuya heard this, her eyes turned red, yes, who else knows Liulang's reliability better than her! "Yeah." Liu Ya nodded her head heavily.
Half a month passed quickly, and the day when the Zhou family married their daughter officially came.
Zhou Yi thought that there would not be many people coming to his house to congratulate him, but he did not expect that from early morning to noon, there was an endless stream of people coming to congratulate him, and many people in the court that he had never met with at all came.
Hearing the master of ceremonies calling this lord, that lord, Zhou Erer suddenly realized that their family was really different. Of course he knew who these people were after. It wasn't until this moment that he clearly felt , It turns out that Liu Lang really became a high official.
Then there was endless pride, his son became a high-ranking official, and all the people he made friends with were big shots!
Although Zhou Yi had heard before about how Zhou Yi was loved by the emperor and how beautiful his errands were, he had only heard about them and had never had close contact with them. When Zhou Yi faced them, he was still the same as when he was a child Similarly, the occasional poor mouth made Zhou Laoer not feel the gap at all.
Even if Zhou Yi came back with some tribute from the emperor from time to time, Zhou Er Er used it, but he just slapped his mouth, thinking that the taste was really good, and then it was gone.
It wasn't until this moment that Zhou Er Er felt that his feet were about to float off the ground. He was extremely proud of the fact that his son had become a high-ranking official. Father who has always been eccentric since he was a child: My son has a great future, and my second wife has been honored by the Zhou family.
Zhou Yi looked at Zhou Er Er suspiciously, not understanding how his father treated the guests so well, suddenly his face turned red and his footsteps were a little wandering.
"Father, are you okay? I see that your face is a little red, maybe you are tired, why don't you go in, I'll take care of you here." Zhou Yi asked Zhou Er Er worriedly.
Zhou Laoer let out a bewildered ah. After recovering from his senses, he hurriedly said: "It's okay, it's okay, I'm happy, you don't have to worry about me."
Zhou Yi looked at Zhou Laoer in wonder, and was relieved when he saw that there was nothing strange about him, and he murmured in his heart, maybe This is what it feels like to marry a daughter.
"Yang Zhiwen, Master Yang is here!" the master of ceremonies shouted, and all the guests in the courtyard looked towards the door.
Sure enough, Yang Zhiwen brought two servants to the door cheerfully.
The guests who came to the Zhou Mansion today included people from the Imperial Academy and the Ministry of Commerce. Zhou Yi was working in these two yamen, so they naturally came to congratulate them as colleagues and subordinates.
But others include those from Dali Temple, the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of Punishment... In short, people who have not dealt with Zhou Yi much are all here.
They came to Zhou's house, and it's true, some of them had a good impression of Zhou Yi because of what he did at the banquet that day, and some came because they saw that Zhou Yi was a celebrity in front of the emperor's eyes .
As for the grievances between Yang Zhiwen and Zhou Yi, most of these officials knew about it. Could it be that because Yang Zhiwen spoke for Zhou Yi that day, the two of them made peace now?
"Xueshi Zhou, congratulations, your sister is married, such a big happy event, you didn't inform the old man, so the old man had to come to the door by himself." Yang Zhiwen narrowed his eyes and said.
Zhou Yi hurriedly said: "Is it the lower official, the lower official thinks that Mr. Yang must be very busy, so I don't want to disturb you..."
Yang Zhiwen waved his hand: "We are officials in the same dynasty, and when we are on duty, we are called superiors and inferiors, but now is not the time when we are on duty, so you don't need to be called a subordinate official, let's be casual. This is your father, right?" Zhou Yi smiled
: "That's right, this is my father, dad, this is the minister of the cabinet." He didn't say anything about Cifu, and it was very pleasant to Yang Zhiwen's ears. Xin said, if this kid really wants to make friends with someone, his words at any time will sound very satisfying.
Since Zhou Yi became an official, Zhou's second child has more or less learned about some court officials. Now the two most famous figures in the court, one is the first assistant Xing Jing, and the other is the second assistant Yang Zhiwen.
He just appeared in front of Zhou Laoer like a thunderbolt, and he was a little at a loss.
Yang Zhiwen didn't wait for Zhou Laoer to speak, and said directly to Zhou Laoer: "It's really amazing that Duke Zhou can teach such a talent as Bachelor Zhou. I also want to thank Duke Zhou for cultivating such a pillar of talent for the court..." Zhou
Laoer When Yang Zhiwei said this, he didn't know how to respond.
"Look at me, today is Yuanyuan's big day, I said what to do, the old man went in right away, congratulations!" He said, gesturing to give the gift to the master of ceremonies, and walked into the courtyard with a smile.
"Liu Lang, Mr. Yang has such a good temper and is so polite to people, far from what the rumors say." Zhou Laoer was relieved to see Yang Zhiwen enter the yard and sit down.
Zhou Yi smiled when he heard that, that good-natured face is really easy to deceive people. I heard that Yang Zhiwen and Xing Jing have been fighting very fiercely recently, and Xing Jing was specially called by the emperor to criticize him yesterday.
It seems that the position of the first assistant and the second assistant has changed!
Zhou Yi pulled out of his thoughts, took a closer look, and said in his heart, this really means that Cao Cao and Cao Cao are coming, and Xing Jing also came to the gate of Zhou's house with a gift.
The usual drooping face now squeezed out a few smiles: "Congratulations Mr. Zhou, you are very happy to have your sister married."
Zhou Yi felt a little strange listening to this congratulatory speech.
If Yang Zhiwen came to Zhou's house to congratulate him before, the officials in the yard felt a little suspicious, but Xing Jing also came to Zhou's house, so he was shocked.
Is the sun coming out in the west? Why did the two Master Zaifu, who were fighting like a raging fire, come to Zhou's house to congratulate at the same time?
All the officials in the yard stood up and saluted Xing Jing. Xing Jing waved them to sit down, and then sat next to Yang Zhiwen.
Yang Zhiwen squinted his eyes and said to Xing Jing: "I didn't expect that Master Chief Assistant would come to Zhou's family to congratulate him."
Xing Jing was recently deceived by Yang Zhiwen for a while, and immediately pushed back when he heard the words: "Why, Master Second Assistant can come. The official can't come?"
Cifu, Cifu...
Xing Jing went straight to poke Yang Zhiwen's sore spot.
Yang Zhiwen still smiled and said, "Of course I'm here. If we know that Mr. Shoufu is coming, then we can be together."
Xing Jing watched Yang Zhiwen acting, snorted, and said nothing.
The process of ancient weddings is to welcome the relatives at noon and worship at dusk. Therefore, the woman's house is held at noon, and the man's house is held at night.
Of course, this is just a formal table. For those who want to have a good time, whether it is a man or a woman, the three-day running water table can also be arranged.
When the congratulators arrived at the Zhou family, more than half of the officials from Beijing had arrived, and the Zhou family's not-so-small yard was crowded.
The voices of people were so loud that people from far away on the East Street could hear them.
The Zhou family was lively, but the lunch table set up by the Wen family in advance was deserted except for some Wen Qu's old relatives and relatives from the Imperial Academy.
But this wasn't the banquet at night, so Wen Qu didn't care.
He was urging Wen Xin to welcome the newcomer, "It's almost noon, what are you dawdling about, don't miss the auspicious time."
Wen Xin was wearing a brand-new groom's outfit with a big red flower on his chest. Qu came in, and asked happily, "Father, do I look good?"
Wen Qu was more rigid, with a serious face: "What do you want a man to look good? Hurry up and tidy up, so you don't miss the auspicious time." "I know.
" It's over, dad." Wen Xin was very happy, he really liked Liu Ya.
Mrs. Wen stepped forward to adjust the safflower for Wen Xin, and said lovingly: "I always feel that I am still a child in my mother's arms. I didn't expect that
now I will get married in the blink of an eye."
Wen Xin rubbed the back of his head: "Mother, when did you hug me? My son has grown up for many years."
Mrs. Wen patted Wen Xin's arm: "Nonsense, no matter how old this child is, In the eyes of parents, he will always be a child." Looking at Wen Xin again, he suddenly said with some embarrassment: "It's a pity that my son is so promising, hey..." "Ma'am, haven't you figured it out
? Wen Qu stood aside and listened to Mrs. Wen's words, then said with a frown.
"I figured it out? It's so easy to figure it out. If it wasn't for you, master, who kept talking about Zhou Yi's future, how could I let my son marry a country girl." Mrs. Wen said melancholy: "Our new son is a scholar at a young age. Looking at it, there is no better child than him in the capital, even if it is a noble daughter, the new son can marry."
Wen Qu felt a little headache after hearing this: "Then why didn't you say it at the beginning? If you don't want to The Zhou family didn't have to marry us. If our son is promising, why don't you look at Zhou Yi, who is younger than him, and has done so many great things in the court now. He is favored by the emperor."
Wen As soon as Xin heard it, he became anxious: "Father, mother, I have been engaged to the girl from the Zhou family long ago, what are you talking about now!"
Mrs. Wen glanced at Wen Xin resentfully: "Look, he It looks like I really like Miss Zhou, how can I object."
"Mother, Miss Zhou is very good, don't you also say that she is virtuous and capable?" Wen Xin hurriedly comforted Mrs. Wen.
Mrs. Wen sighed: "Miss Zhou is not bad, but you can obviously marry someone better. Their family only has one Zhou Yi, so their roots are a bit shallow.
" The girl is no worse than anyone else, and our family is not from a wealthy family. We all came from humble backgrounds, so why bother about these things. Besides, I'm afraid that in a few years, this marriage will be ours..." Mrs. Wen said a
little Do not believe.
Wen Qu took a look outside and said, "If you don't believe me, you can watch it in a few years."
Now that the conversation has come to this point, we are about to welcome the bride, so Mrs. Wen naturally has nothing to say.
In Liuya's boudoir, Wang Yan was wiping tears: "You are the only girl left by my side, and now you are getting married, and there will be no one to talk to your mother in the future.
" Tears came down, but she still wanted to comfort Wang Yan, "Mother, what happened? Don't you still have Liu Lang Ba Lang and Dad at home? Besides, the Wen family is not far from our house. I can come back anytime I want.
" Yan shook her head: "When you are married, how can you go back to your mother's house at any time? In that case, others should pick on your gifts and make your in-law's family displeased." A servant next to her persuaded: "Ma'am, don't cry
. Today is Miss Si's big day, she should be laughing..."
Wang Yan sighed leisurely, "How can I laugh?"
At this moment, the sound of crackling firecrackers suddenly sounded in the yard, and Wang Yan hurriedly wiped away tears: "Welcome to the relatives!" Here we come."
Sure enough, after a while, Zhou Yi came in, bent down and squatted down in front of Liuya: "Fourth sister, I will carry you into the sedan chair."
Zhou Yi came to the front hall with Liuya on his back. Chasing and crying all the way, Zhou Yi felt that his shoulders were also wet with tears.
"Fourth sister, don't be afraid, that will be another part of your life, live well, I will always be behind you," Zhou Yi comforted in a low voice.
He thought that when he came to this world and opened his eyes, he saw Liu Ya who looked like bean sprouts. He was obviously two years older than him, but he looked thinner than him. He was always biting his fingers, swallowing when he saw food, After a few older sisters beat pigweed, do housework within their ability, and later learned to protect him...
"Liuya, Liuya, mother's child..." Wang Yan was crying so hard.
The second son of Zhou supported Wang Yan: "Don't cry, it's a happy event for a child to marry..."
Liuya heard Wang Yan's crying, and the tears couldn't stop falling. At this moment, she felt very hesitant, but when she heard With Zhou Yi's calm words, his heart inexplicably settled down again.
Sending Liuya into the sedan chair, Zhou Yi walked up to Wen Xin and said, "Brother-in-law, take good care of my sister after we get married."
Wen Xin nodded hurriedly: "This is natural."
The suona blew and the sedan chair left the ground, and finally this day came So far, Zhou Yi married off his four older sisters one by one.
The banquet at Wen's house at night was not half as lively as that at Zhou's house.
After the worship, the banquet, and the young couple entered the bridal chamber, Wen Qu and Mrs. Wen also returned to the room.
Mrs. Wen waited for Wen Qu to take off her clothes, and the two went to bed, Wen Qu lay down and sighed.
Mrs. Wen heard the melancholy in his tone, and asked what was wrong.
"You also said that Ren Xin'er should not marry a daughter-in-law, but do you know that there are more than twice as many colleagues in the court as Zhou's side than our side." In the Hanlin Academy, it is true that the contacts with the officials are not so close. However, Zhou Yi has only been in the court for more than half a year, and his network is already wider than his, so it is still a bit embarrassing to think about it.
Mrs. Wen sat up: "Master, are you serious?"
"Of course there will be no lies." Wen Qu also sat up with his clothes on: "So let me say that this marriage is not as high as the Zhou family as you said.
I'm afraid that Zhou Yi will be more promising in the future." "I didn't say that Zhou Yi is not promising, but the daughter-in-law is just his elder sister. This elder sister is no different from his daughter. When Zhou Yi marries a wife, this elder sister is still an outsider. " Mrs. Wen whispered.
Wen Qu glanced at Mrs. Wen: "What does Madam say these things, our family doesn't point to the Panlong Association, do you still want your son to marry a noble girl, and point to the Yue family to support him?" Madam Wen then said:
" Otherwise, master, you are upright, and if Xin'er has someone to support
him, he will walk better." "Ma'am, you have to be strong when you forge an iron. If Xin'er is promising, he will naturally stand out. Look at Zhou Yi, what does he have?" , but whether it is knowledge or work, even I admire it. My daughter-in-law has married into our family, so don't let people see anything."
"I know, I'm not a wicked mother-in-law. Except for the fact that she's a peasant girl, I'm quite satisfied with other things." Mrs. Wen said, then pulled off the quilt and lay down.
Wen Qu looked at Mrs. Wen's back, smiled, and lay down too.
Liuya gets married, although only one person is missing, but the family seems to be much deserted.
Wang Yan sighed from time to time.
Seeing her frowning all day long, Zhou Laoer and Zhou Yi took turns persuading her.
Wang Yan has to go through this situation every time she marries her daughter, and the father and son are very familiar with it.