The New Year's Day in Yangzhou City in the third year of Shaoxi was no less quiet than the atmosphere of Lin'an and other cities south of the Yangtze River. Because of the current openness of Yangzhou, the New Year's Day's atmosphere was more lively and prosperous than that in Lin'an and other places.

Especially with the improvement of other facilities after the expansion of Yangzhou City, Yangzhou, which is now larger than Lin'an City, has become a stable city inside and outside. Especially with the successive retreat of the Jin people in recent years, after the lack of worries of being attacked by war, whether it is officials at all levels in Yangzhou, the people, merchants, literati, etc., they are very impressed by Yangzhou today.

The rows of shops, white walls and gray tiles, the charm of Jiangnan, the pavilions and gardens with small bridges and flowing water, the beautiful scenery of the moonlit night of the Twenty-Four Bridges, etc., including various temples, now they all show a prosperous atmosphere.

The continuous expansion of the Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce, the continuous influx of merchant ships, the continued trade with Jin and Xia, and the further reduction of taxes on Huainan Road in the third year of Shaoxi have made Yangzhou and the entire Huainan Road begin to become as long as Suzhou and Hangzhou. This has also made Yangzhou, which was about to become an empty city back then, now the inner and outer cities are crowded and no longer empty.

Not long after the Spring Festival, the people of Yangzhou gradually began to re-enter the busy track. Even the government offices of various states have now entered a new year after the adjustment on the New Year.

Finally, the wife of Ye's mansion, Yan Qingcheng, who was no longer cold-faced, became more and more fond of climbing up the pavilion and looking at the entire Yangzhou City, or going to the Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce from time to time, looking at the increasingly busy carriages, etc., my heart was also filled with a sense of accomplishment.

In just a few years, the Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce has been continuously developing and expanding. Although it has encountered considerable resistance in water trade, Yan Qingcheng has always believed that such resistance will soon be passed by the Chamber of Commerce, especially as the vice president Jia Wei personally went to Lin'an and then began to focus on Fujian Road, everything seemed to have a turning point.

Before the New Year was over, Yan Qingzhi hurried to Lin'an. The old house of Yan's family was still there, and Jia Wei was also waiting for Yan Qingzhi. Of course, there was also his brother-in-law Qian Zhen, who had been in a disagreement with him for many years.

"Can the three of them do it?" Even though Yan Qingcheng was optimistic, he was still a little worried about it when he wanted to fight with the Fujian Chamber of Commerce, which was led by Shi Miyuan.

"It should be no problem. In addition to the Maritime and Transportation Office of Fujian Road, there are naturally some other factors. It is completely impossible for Shi Miyuan to cover the sky with one hand. As long as the three of them do not make any big mistakes, the Qian family is behind the banner that is no less than the royal family. You should be able to sit on an equal footing in one or two years. You are the most proficient in merchant affairs. If there is anything, you can remind them in Yangzhou so as not to be plotted by Shi Miyuan again." Ye Qing sat on his lap with her in her arms, and today she was still in a festive state. The treasure daughter in red clothes said.

After the New Year, Ye Xiaofeng was already two years old, but the little guy still liked this father she rarely saw. From the New Year to the New Year, sometimes even when he went to bed at night, the little guy would yell and stretch out his hand and point at the room where Ye Qing was.

The little guy's "eating inside and out" behavior made Liu Qingyan, who was biological mother, feel cold in his heart. From time to time, he would pinch Ye Xiaofeng's little face and shout with a little white-eyed voice. The daughter of the Ye family, in the face of her mother's dissatisfaction, would only laugh heartlessly, and then continue to enjoy the innocence carefree.

"When are you going to leave? This time... how long will it take?" Yan Qingcheng's heart immediately became heavier when he thought of Ye Qing going north soon. After so many years, the couple has been together for too long. Whether it is Yan Qingcheng or Bai Chun, Zhong Qing and Ye Qing are together for too long, so it also makes Yan Qingcheng's heart always feel melancholy and emotion every time he parts with Ye Qing. He hopes that one day, the family will be together and never be separated again.

"I don't know yet. When I arrive at Jinan Prefecture, I have to look at the situation before I can make the next judgment." Ye Qing looked at Yan Qingcheng with a melancholy expression and smiled: "Give me some time and in a few more years, I can give you a safe home."

"I always say this." Yan Qingcheng pouted, but pinched the innocent Ye Xiaofeng's face in Ye Qing's arms. After the little guy kept protesting, he continued to tease the little guy in Ye Qing's arms and said: "I originally thought that after we arrived in Yangzhou and bought this huge mansion, we could all get together happily, live here for a long time and never be separated..."

"Don't worry, I promise that there will be no more things like Guan Shan this time." Ye Qing began to interrupt Yan Qingcheng's words with a headache, just like when he parted with Zhong Qing in Lin'an, Zhong Qing was also talking about some family matters in his ears, but in the end, he would still turn back to his concerns.

"In a few years, we will all be old and old. Even if we can finally be reunited, you, Lord Ye, have no longer had us yellow-faced women in your eyes. I'm afraid you will be even more reluctant to go home to face us." He complained so much, but there was a smile on his face, teasing Ye Xiaofeng in Ye Qing's arms, saying: "Girl Feng, are you right about your aunt? Is your father a flirtatious person who is tempted by others?"

Ye Xiaofeng was itchy by Yan Qingcheng, and laughed and kept responding. Ye Qing just looked at two women, one big and one small, and scolded him in front of him.

I met Bi Zaiyu who came to take office in Yangzhou Prefecture. A few days later, Ye Qing embarked on the journey north again. This time, Ye Qing's itinerary was extremely slow. In addition, Shen Mu, the former Haizhou prefecture, who had been waiting for him in Sizhou early, had been waiting for him in Sizhou for a long time, so Ye Qing's itinerary to Jinan Prefecture in the north only took only thirty or fifty miles a day after starting from Sizhou.

After entering Shandong East Road, one of the four northern routes, Ye Qing's itinerary can be described as turtle speed, exploration of large and small river channels, etc., which made the Jin people's envoys still wander nearly two hundred miles away from Jinan Prefecture after they had arrived at Jinan Prefecture.

In April of the third year of Shaoxi, in Qufu, Ye Qing passed by the official road he fought when he first went north. Before entering Qufu, he stepped into the fields full of farmers before the spring plowing was over.

The sun is gentle and everything is silent. The vast fields are filled with farmers who are bent over and ploughing. From time to time, people will look up and look at Ye Qing and others standing in the fields. Then, after curiosity passes, they will continue to cultivate the fields under their feet.

Just as Ye Qing took Jia She, Zhong Can and Chen Mu who accompanied him along the way to enjoy the harmonious scenery, two figures were approaching them, one step deep and one step shallow.

"Who is that?" Jia She was about to send someone to stop him and ask, but Ye Qing still stopped him.

"The one who ran the funniest in front should be Xiao Zhen. It is said that when building Jinan City, he accidentally fell off the city wall and lame one leg." Ye Qing put on a canopy with his hand, looked at two figures from far to near, and said, "This guy is really dark and thin now. He doesn't rest honestly when his legs and feet are inconvenient. Why are he running to this field for farming?"

Just as Zhong Can responded with a smile, Xiao Zhen, who was approaching in the distance, and a teenager behind him, was already smiling and saluting to Ye Qing: "I didn't expect that I would meet Lord Ye first here. I thought I could only meet Lord Ye if I got Jinan Prefecture."

"What's wrong with your legs?" Ye Qing asked straightforwardly.

Xiao Zhen was also unwilling to do so, lifting his left leg and mocking himself: "It's still possible, it's still useful, but the unevenness of the land always makes my shoulders sink and sink when I walk."

"Yes, I think it's unfair." Ye Qing smiled and patted Xiao Zhen on the shoulder, then glanced at the young man following Xiao Zhen, and pulled Xiao Zhen to sit down on the ridge of the field.

"You are not in Jinan Prefecture, but you are running to Qufu for what? Visit Saint Kong?" Ye Qing looked up at the gentle sunshine above his head, and asked Xiao Zhen with his eyes narrowed.

Xiao Zhen first looked at the young man who had been following him and said nothing, and said, "Maybe he doesn't know. Mr. Zhu Xi, who was well-known in the Song Dynasty, is now in the Confucius Temple in Qufu, and as for me, I came here to see the reputation. Today, the Confucius Temple gathers many scholars from both north and south to worship Confucius here."

"The Confucius Temple was repaired and expanded, so you came in with it?" Ye Qing thought for a while and then understood why Xiao Zhen appeared here.

When the Jin people went south, they initially destroyed the Confucius Temple. Later, after Wanyan Yong inherited the throne, in order to adopt the Song system and appease the Song people, they restored and sacrificed the Confucius Temple. This also made the northern land under Wanyan Yong's rule gradually lean towards the Jin people in the hearts of the people.

This is why, after Ye Qing regained the four routes of the Northland, the people of the North and South were always hostile to each other. Although the contemptuous name of the Northland was also one of the reasons, for the people of the Northland, in addition to being disgusted with the contempt given to them by the people in the south, it was a series of actions by the Jin people to appease the people in the Northland, which made the vast majority of the people of the Northland began to regard themselves as Jin people.

"Yes, Zhu Xi had been to Jinan Prefecture a few days ago. Later, after being introduced to Yang Hui, he found me. At that time, everything in Jinan Prefecture was complete, and I was idle, so I agreed." Xiao Zhen was not like others. When he saw Ye Qing now, he would be cautious. Instead, he was as relaxed and relaxed as before Ye Qing.

"So you hit me again, you knew I would pass by now?" Ye Qing felt a little bad premonition in his heart. He was afraid that he was stopped by Xiao Zhen here, and he might have lost a lot of money.

"Mr. Ye is so smart. I haven't said that..." Xiao Zhen was stunned for a moment, obviously not expecting that his purpose was seen through by Ye Qing, so he became embarrassed and said in an instant: "Mr. Ye said this, I don't know how to speak."

"Don't come." Ye Qing hurriedly began to refuse and said, "You are waiting for me here. Obviously, you have already encountered a nail in Xin Qiji before, so he pretended to meet me here, right?"

"Sir..." Xiao Zhen paused with a smile, and then continued: "This matter is also extraordinary. You once said that the Emperor Wanyan Yong of the Jin Dynasty repaired the Confucius Temple back then and won a large number of people's hearts. Now that we have taken back the northern land, wouldn't it be possible for the people to be loyal to me if Wanyan Yong's actions were copied? This is a very beneficial thing for the adults and the court."

"If this is the case, I'm afraid you've told Xin Qiji too? Then why didn't he agree? Don't forget that Xin Qiji is from Jinan Prefecture, and this place is still his hometown. Logically speaking, he should be very concerned." Ye Qing asked with a smile, holding the loess in his hand.

"No money." Xiao Zhen spread his hands and said helplessly: "As long as I go to find Xin Qiji, no matter what I say, he will always tell me that he has no money with a cold face. He said that over the years, he has repaired the river embankment, sorted out the silt, and placed the victims to spend all the money, so he can't do anything."

"Then can't you wait for another two years?" Ye Qing was also in a dilemma. At this time, repairing the Confucius Temple, especially at the time after it was recaptured in the north, Zhu Xi and others had sufficient reasons to handle this matter. In this way, it was like raising Ye Qing on a fire, roasting him, and being in a dilemma.

Letting the poor-rich spend money on oneself, or let the equally poor-rich Jinan Mansion spend money on it is as hard to give up as if he had cut his flesh, and he had to worry that if the Yellow River really flooded again this year, then the Jinan Mansion would have no money and food to help the victims.

But if you don’t spend money to repair the Confucius Temple, the construction of Jinan Prefecture in the past two years will inevitably be criticized by the people for being a waste of money. The scholars of scholars from the north and the south, led by Zhu Xi and others, will inevitably be scolded by themselves, and they may also fall into a situation where even the people are angry.

"I'm afraid I can't wait anymore. Since the New Year, the scholars from all over the world from both north and south have already flocked to Qufu. In the past two days, there are still scholars from all over the country who come to Qufu. Such a grand event, lord, it's not enough to not pay any money. People's words are terrifying. If they refuse their request for repair, the people in the north will be discussed... now under the rule of the Song court, it is better to respect the saints as they did under the rule of the Jin Dynasty." Xiao Zhen also said with a embarrassed look on his face.

Rather than taking the initiative to take the initiative to repair Qufu, he said that he had seen through the reasons. Once he rejected Zhu Xi's invitation, it would be like putting himself under the verbal criticism of a scholar and accidentally becoming a sinner.

"No wonder when I returned to Lin'an, Lin'an disappeared. Who would have thought that he... actually ran here!" Ye Qing sighed. He thought that Zhu Xi was unwilling to meet him because he returned to Lin'an, so he didn't know where to go. Unexpectedly, he didn't go south, but went north: "How many literati have gathered in Qufu now?"

"No less than a thousand people." Xiao Zhen replied.

"So if I want to go to Jinan Prefecture, I either take a detour or I can only pay a considerable repair fee first? So who is he?" Ye Qing finally asked the boy who was silent beside Xiao Zhen.

"I'm called Zhu Shijie, from Yanjing." Xiao Zhen said.

"Follow Zhu Xi..." Ye Qing frowned.

"It doesn't matter, but Zhu Xi thought they had the same surname as Zhu, so they should be a family." Xiao Zhen continued to answer.

Ye Qing looked at the young boy who was still a little young, then sighed and asked Zhu Shijie: "In view of the current disasters in the north for years, do you think you should repair the Confucius Temple first? Which one should be the first, the food and clothing of the people and the face of the saints, and which one should be the next?"

"If you say that, I think it's equally important." Zhu Shijie was a little nervous, and then replied with some silence after saluting.
Chapter completed!