Chapter 615 Let her lose

After returning to Chang'an, as the wife of Xie Zhan and the wife of the patriarch of the Xie family, Zhao Yutan had a lot of social engagements.

One day, she was invited to attend a flower-viewing banquet.

At the banquet, Zhao Yutan was surrounded by people.

"Madam Xie, you really make me envious."

"Looking at Chang'an, there are few men like General Xie in the world. Madam Xie, you are so lucky."

"Isn't it? General Xie is devoted to Madam Xie. Everyone knows that in the entire General's Mansion, there is only one mistress, Madam Xie."

"The most important thing is that even when General Xie was imprisoned, he still stayed with his wife. I really envy him."

Zhao Yutan smiled lightly. Her husband is now the General of the Dali Army, and she is a first-rank lady. There are too many female relatives who compliment her.

Madam Wang, the wife of Wang Yuan, the Dali Temple Minister, who was sitting next to her, curled her lips and looked at Madam Li. They both saw a bit of disapproval in each other's eyes.

Madam Li's husband is Lord Li, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites. Lord Li and her husband were both promoted in the past few years. A few years ago, they were both junior ministers, and now they are both senior ministers.

The Wang and Li families often interact with each other.

At this moment, the two of them are just waiting for time, thinking that they can leave when it's almost time.

"Madam Xie, you are really lucky. Unlike some people, your family has problems just after getting married..." The speaker is Zhao Yutan's lackey, the wife of a minor official, whose surname is Meng. At this time, she looks to the left of Madam Wang with a hint of meaning.

Everyone's eyes also looked over. Madam Wang's daughter-in-law Zou was at a loss. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, she was sitting on pins and needles.

Madam Wang was furious. She took her daughter-in-law out to socialize, thinking that she had been cautious enough, but she didn't expect that she would be harassed by Zhao Yutan's people.

It's unbearable, no need to endure it anymore!

Madam Li on the side also saw Madam Wang's anger and hurriedly pulled her back.

After the Xie family returned to Chang'an, the Yao family was overthrown, and Yao Songwen, the Dali Temple Minister, was even more demoted. If the Yao family had not had some foundation, they would have been ordered to be beheaded in the market long ago, instead of being imprisoned as they are now.

It is not surprising that Xie Zhan would take action against the Yao family.

The Yao family and the Xie family have always been at odds. Later, when the Xie family fell into trouble and was exiled, they were interrogated and had their legs broken by torture. At that time, Yao Songwen was the Dali Temple Minister, so it was hard not to suspect that he did not take revenge on his own.

Xie Zhan returned to the court. As the saying goes, a new official takes three fires when he takes office. It is normal to take action against the Yao family.

Madam Li was very worried that Madam Wang would offend Zhao Yutan in a moment of impulse.

But unfortunately, she did not stop him.

Mrs. Wang put the teacup on the table and said, "Speaking of fate, we are nothing. What's the matter with good or bad fate? Even if you are a super first-class lady, what's the matter? You can't compare to the one in Pingzhou."

After Mrs. Wang said this, the whole place was silent.

Everyone knew that the one in Pingzhou referred to Lu Songli.

The name of Lu Songli, the governor of Pingzhou, is now known to everyone. As a woman, she ruled the land of two states, commanded the civil and military forces under her command, and governed millions of people.

But how many Lu Songli are there in this world?

Zhao Yutan's face fell instantly. Mrs. Wang mentioned Lu Songli at this time, which was obviously a slap in her face!

At this time, Meng took over and said, "No matter how powerful the Pingzhou woman is, she can't avoid her identity as a woman. As a wife, she has been married for several years, but she still has no children. She is like a hen that can't lay eggs. She is unworthy of being a wife!"

Everyone looked at her strangely. The reason why Lu Songli couldn't give birth was because she was injured while saving Xie Zhan before, and was rejected because of this. Now she has achieved such a high achievement. Meng mentioned it at this time, isn't it a slap in the face of Xie Zhan and Zhao Yutan?

Zhao Yutan: Idiot!

Madam Wang nodded, "Hehe, some people can lay eggs, but in so many years, they have only laid one egg. You are still more powerful, Meng, you laid three eggs."

Madam Wang's words made Zhao Yutan tremble with anger. Under her sleeves, she clenched her fists and asked with a smile on her face, "Madam Wang praises her so much, is it because Lord Wang is attracted to her--"

Pah!

"Thank you, Madam!" Madam Wang interrupted Zhao Yutan, "You are so malicious in speculating and framing important officials of the court. Are you trying to exclude dissidents?"

At this time, the host of the banquet hurriedly stepped forward to smooth things over, "Thank you, Madam Wang, calm down and talk nicely." Don't talk nonsense when you are angry!

She was so anxious. If she continued to talk, they would all be finished!

"Yes, yes, calm down." Everyone stepped forward to persuade, and separated the two groups of people.

The topic involved Lu Songli, and no one wanted to make a big fuss, otherwise it would be in front of the emperor and everyone would have to suffer.

This banquet happened like this, of course, it ended unhappily.

When Zhao Yutan went back home, she was still in a bad mood.

When she washed up and returned to the bedroom, Xie Zhan sent away the servants.

"I have something to tell you."

"What is it?" Seeing that he was still wearing official clothes, Zhao Yutan felt uneasy for some reason.

Sure enough, her premonition was correct. Xie Zhan actually mentioned the matter of taking a concubine to her!

"Xie Zhan, you bastard!" Xie Zhan made her lose!

Zhao Yutan raised her hand and waved it at him, but he grabbed it.

"I'll sleep in the study tonight. When you calm down, think about this matter carefully."

Xie Zhan ignored her and walked out.

Some forces in the court that are difficult to subdue must be married.

He couldn't just kill gods and Buddhas. The former might shock people, and occasional compromise would make the people under him feel at ease.

Pingzhou's reply stimulated him. He wanted to be the one who was above everyone else. He wanted to be truly powerful. He wanted to make the imperial power exist in name only!

...

The person in charge of the negotiations on the Dali side was Fan Yang, and the person in charge of the Xianbei was Tuoba Jinlai.

The negotiations in Juyang went smoothly. As long as Pingzhou stopped sending a large amount of affordable salt to Dali, Dali would agree to lift the blockade order.

It was just that the two sides argued for a long time about the pricing of Pingzhou salt.

Fan Yang and Guo Chong knew that only when Dali and Pingzhou unified the salt price could the phenomenon of Pingzhou salt dumping be stopped.

"Fan Yang, you have to understand how to price our salt in Pingzhou. You Dali only have the right to suggest, not the right to decide!"

"How much do you plan to sell Pingzhou's salt per catty?"

"One hundred and eighty."

"No!"

"This price is already so high for the sake of your Dali."

"You should at least sell it for two hundred coins per catty."

"Two hundred coins per catty? You are so cruel to the people, don't you feel guilty?"

"We Xianbei don't agree to such a high price!" Tuoba Jin interrupted. Just kidding, who doesn't like cheap and good quality things?

Fan Yang withstood the pressure and insisted on the price of two hundred coins per catty. If it is lower, the people will be in chaos.

He bet that Pingzhou will definitely compromise in order to let Dali lift the blockade of Pingzhou. Anyway, Dali's salt tax this year is over, and they can afford it!

As for the threat of Xianbei? Their court army has arrived in Xinxing and Zhongshan and other places. If they really want to fight, then fight.

Guo Chong saw that Dali's bottom line was here, "Okay, as you said, the price of salt is 200 wen per catty."

Anyway, there are policies from above and countermeasures from below.

Before departure, the governor had already given a solution to the price of salt.

No matter how the price of salt is, they can implement a tax refund policy in Pingzhou later.

Next, the people of Pingzhou will have receipts when they buy salt. In February of next year, the people can take their household registration books and receipts to the government office to handle tax refund matters.

In this way, on average, the price of salt is about 150 wen per catty.

But this tax refund policy also has regulations that each person can refund no more than 10 catties of tax per year. If it exceeds, the excess amount cannot be refunded.

Tuoba Jin was very dissatisfied with the price of salt. "Military Advisor Guo, Dali doesn't like Pingzhou's cheap salt, but we Xianbei do. ​​Can you Pingzhou continue to sell salt to us at a fair price?"

"No. We Pingzhou will not trade with Xianbei. You Xianbei can buy cheap salt privately, so we Pingzhou people must have been deceived by you." Guo Chong said righteously, leaving no evidence.

Tuoba Jin: ... I'm very angry!

After this battle, everyone in the Dali court knew that Pingzhou was not something they could blockade just because they wanted to.