Chapter 106

In Songzhou city, early in the morning, a carriage drove into the city from the south gate. In the carriage sat an old man about fifty years old with a regular face, fine features, a body of moderate fatness and thinness, and agile and strong. He was the imperial envoy who came to Songzhou this time, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Guo Chonghou. Cheng Chaolun's evaluation of him was: moderate, simple, and self-aware. He knew that his qualifications were mediocre, and he had always adhered to a principle in his way of being an official, which was to follow His Majesty closely and work diligently. Pang Jun did not need to deliberately please him, but could just respond normally.

　　However, the Lord Guo Chonghou mentioned by Cheng Chaolun, this time, went against his usual practice and played the trick of going on a secret visit. He left the large group of imperial envoys behind for two days' journey and came to Songzhou City with only one person and one guard.

　　In the impression that Guo Chonghou got from books and hearsay, Songzhou was a cold and barren land. Due to the numerous ethnic groups and complex population flow, there was a lack of education and the people were tough and aggressive. However, the scene before him surprised him: at the moment of noon, the streets of Songzhou city were already bustling with people and cars, a scene of bustling activity.

　　Guo Chonghou found a tavern and sat down. He said to the guard Shen Que beside him, "I often heard people say that Songzhou was a lawless place, but I didn't expect that it was well-organized and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment. Guard Shen, I heard that this Lord Liu was your colleague before. What do you think of him? Did he really create this scene in just three months?"

　　Shen Que was a member of the Divine Guards. His mission was to protect the safety of the imperial envoy with his colleagues. He bowed to Guo Chonghou and said, "Your Excellency, although Shen Que and Mr. Liu were both Divine Guards in the past, we are not in the same department and we don't know much about Mr. Liu. But according to what my colleagues said, I know that Mr. Liu looks gentle and kind, but in fact, he is both tough and gentle. He is strict and serious in official business, but he is not arrogant in private and is loved by his subordinates."

　　"Well, let's put it this way, Guard Shen, you go to the street and do some undercover work to find out what's going on. I'll wait for you here." Guo Chonghou pondered for a moment and instructed Shen Que.

　　Shen Que hesitated and said, "But Lord Guo, if I go to inquire, there will be no one to protect you. What if..."

　　Guo Chonghou said: "It's okay, you can go for now."

　　"As you command," Shen Que said, then left the tavern and went to the market to inquire about information.

　　After Shen Que left, Guo Chonghou drank by himself in the tavern, and kept paying attention to the conversations of the guests around him. There happened to be a table of middle-aged people sitting in front of his left, drinking and chatting. Guo Chonghou saw that they looked like a few traveling merchants, so he paid special attention to their conversation.

　　I only heard one of them say, "I haven't been to Songzhou for a few months, and the world has changed. But I don't know when it will be good or bad."

　　Another person replied, "Yes, the former local emperor of Songzhou disappeared overnight, and a new governor came. In the past, we purchased goods from the shops of the major wealthy families in Songzhou. It was a bit more expensive, but the supply was stable. As long as we had money, we would have enough goods. But now the governor has set up a trading market. The prices of goods there are much cheaper than before, but the supply is not as sufficient as before."

　　The last person said, "There's nothing we can do. I heard that a few days ago, several large ships arrived from Jiangnan Province, loaded with goods from Jiangnan and the southeast. They also made large purchases at the trading ground and bought up a large amount of goods from the trading ground. If we want the trading ground to replenish its supply, we may have to wait a few more days."

　　The second person said, "Also, we transported those silks and Zhejiang brocades from Jiangnan with great difficulty. We paid tolls when passing through other states in Liaodong. The arrival of the large batch of goods from the Jiangnan fleet may have left us with little profit. If Songzhou had not cancelled the tolls, we would have lost a lot of money."

　　The first merchant said, "Oh, I really can't accept it, but what can you do? The owner of the fleet is very capable. Don't you think that you can just pay a little toll in those states and arrive in Songzhou safely? The fleet still has to deal with pirates along the way. There are so many pirates on the sea from Jiangnan to Liaodong. The fees for handling the way are the income of you and me working hard for several years. If we are not careful, at most our goods will be detained, and we will be fine. But the pirates who kill and rob will throw you into the sea and take away your ship. The risk is much greater."

　　The other two nodded again: "That's true. If nothing else, just this shipload of goods would bankrupt us small merchants. It's the big merchants who are more courageous."

　　"But I heard that the governor has started to invite more Hu people and more tribes in Liaodong to gather more of their goods in this trading place. The supply of goods may be replenished faster. Maybe we don't have to wait so long. The price of this supply is low. Even if our goods can't be sold at as high a price as before, we should still be able to make a profit."

　　Although Guo Chonghou was an official of the Ministry of Justice, he was promoted from a county magistrate many years ago and had some knowledge of such business and people's livelihood matters. He could tell that Songzhou in front of him was indeed the initial result of the governance after Lord Liu took office. Although these merchants had some complaints, they had not yet reached the point of complaining. On the contrary, Pang Jun's reforms were more beneficial than harmful to Songzhou as a whole. This gave him a good impression of Pang Jun and thought that he was at least a capable official.

　　Not long after, Shen Que came back from asking around in the market. He said to Guo Chonghou, "Sir, I just asked around in the market and found that most of the people here have a very good opinion of Sir Liu. They said that since Sir Liu took office, there have been fewer cases of the children of the Songzhou nobles, the Hu people, and the wild people doing wrong in the city. Anyone who dares to offend will be severely punished, regardless of whether they are Han or Hu people. There was once a Hu person who led a rebellion, but was directly defeated by one of Sir Liu's subordinates. The head of the leader was hung in the downtown area for three days, and no one dared to cause trouble in the city after that."

　　"In troubled times, severe punishments are used. Although it is not a troubled time now, it seems that Songzhou was no different from a troubled time before."

　　"Yes, sir. I have been to Liaodong before. It is said that Songzhou may be the most chaotic place in Liaodong and even in Dajin. But now it seems to me that the stability here is almost catching up with Yanzhou. People here say that since Sir Liu came here, Songzhou City has become lively, and more and more people are coming and going." Shen Que said.

　　Guo Chonghou shook his head: "No, it's just because the time has not come yet. After a while, if the Northern Hu cavalry finds that this place has become stable and prosperous, a large number of Northern Hu people will come to plunder. By then, Songzhou may be beaten back to its original state. However, Liu Jun was able to stabilize Songzhou in a short period of time with both kindness and force. He is really a talent."

　　There was another layer that he didn't say. The emperor needed Pang Jun to do not only to govern Songzhou well, but also to use Songzhou to provide a new and stable rear base for the troops fighting in Chao State. The war between Jin Dynasty and Japan in Chao State had been at a stalemate. The stability of logistics was an important factor in ensuring victory in the war. The logistical supply of Jin Dynasty's troops now relied on entering Chao State through Yanzhou and Xinzhou, and the other way was to support them through Chao State's homeland.

　　However, the imperial court was weak, and its nobles were corrupt, so they could not be relied upon too much. Therefore, most of the pressure was on the side of the Jin Dynasty. In this way, it was very important to open up a new rear line. Pang Jun's outstanding governance methods made Guo Chonghou feel that after this trip, when he returned to the capital and faced the emperor's questions, he would have a very good explanation.

　　Thinking of this, Guo Chonghou said to Shen Que: "I have a general understanding of the situation here. Let's go somewhere else and ask about the Zu family. Maybe we can find something new."

　　"As you command," the two men said, then left the tavern and disappeared into the crowd.

　　On the other side, Pang Jun, who didn't know that the imperial envoy had entered the city, arrived at Songzhou market not long after Guo Chonghou and Shen Que disappeared in the crowd. He was accompanied by Pan Tong and Yue Siwan, mother and daughter.

　　Pan Tong and Yue Siwan, the mother and daughter, were the first women to follow Pang Jun. As Pang Jun brought back Ji Shuanghua and several other girls from Xichuan, as well as the recently joined Lyudmila, and Fei Qingyu who occasionally came back to visit, Pang Jun spent much less time with them. Although in Pang Jun's eyes they were just a pair of playthings, he still had feelings for them, so he decided to take them out for a stroll. The mother and daughter therefore knew that Pang Jun still had them in his heart and was not fickle, so they felt a lot more at ease. The mother and daughter dressed up, and happily accompanied Pang Jun out, one on the left and one on the right.

　　The mother and daughter had lived in the south of the Yangtze River for a long time. They followed Pang Jun to Songzhou. It took them a lot of time to adapt to the climate, soil and living environment here. The things they used on a daily basis were even scarce here. They planned to make some purchases while the Zhejiang fleet was docking and a large amount of goods from the south of the Yangtze River were arriving.

　　Seeing a large number of Jiangnan artifacts, Yue Siwan happily walked up to ask the price to buy, while Pan Tong, despite being happy, had a sad look on her face. Seeing this, Pang Jun on the side asked sympathetically, "Tong'er, what's wrong? Do you miss Jiangnan?"

　　Pan Tong looked at Pang Jun in surprise, lowered her head, nodded slightly, and said nothing.

　　Pang Jun held Pan Tong's hand tightly and whispered in her ear: "Don't worry, one day, your husband will take you and Wan'er back to Jiangnan with a glorious identity. Believe me."

　　Pan Tong's face turned slightly red, and she regained her smile and said to Pang Jun, "Well, I am very content. My husband has given me a good home, and I cannot be more satisfied. Even if I can't go back to Jiangnan, as long as I can serve my husband by his side, it will be enough for me." After that, she released Pang Jun's hand, threw him a wink, and walked into a shop. Pang Jun took a closer look and found that it was a shop that only sold women's clothes. He knew in his heart that tonight, the mother and daughter would serve him with all their heart again.

　　Just as he was distracted, one of Song Hao's men from the Songzhou branch came up to him and whispered, "Sir, the shopkeeper said that two guests came today. They looked like officials. They seemed to be trying to find out about the Zu family's affairs, intentionally or unintentionally."

　　When Pang Jun heard this, he was startled and thought to himself: They are finally here. He calmly ordered: "Notify Qi Lin and tell him that someone is here. Maybe it is an old colleague. Ask him to send Sun Zihan or go himself to monitor those two people."

　　"Yes." The visitor took the order and left.

　　After the visitor disappeared in the crowd, Pang Jun looked at the mother and daughter not far away. At this moment, the beauty was smiling like a flower, and was extremely beautiful.