Pang Gang and Man Ting held each other's hands and walked slowly in the back garden. Although it was already winter and the flowers in the garden were withered, the two of them did not feel cold.
At this time, they were newlyweds. Wei Manting, who was originally very beautiful, had been nourished by Pang Gang, and her whole body seemed to become whiter.
Seeing his dazzling newlywed wife clinging to him, Pang Gang's heart felt as sweet as if he was soaked in a honey pot.
After walking for a while, Wei Manting asked softly: "Ms. sir, what do you want to discuss with me?"
Pang Gang glanced at her approvingly and praised, "The one who knows me is Man Ting."
"Thick-skinned." Wei Manting rolled her eyes at him with an angry look.
Pang Gang smiled and told Wei Man Ting what he and Eunuch Ma had just discussed, and finally asked: "Man Ting, do you think I am too impatient and want to make my father-in-law fat in one breath?
.”
Wei Manting glared at him angrily and amusedly, "You idiot, you don't want to discuss this matter with me. Do you think that the post of governor is just a cabbage on the street? You can buy it if you want? One million
You can't imagine buying a governor for two pieces of silver."
Pang Gang touched his nose in embarrassment, "Aren't I impatient? You said that although Meng Bozhen, the original governor of Shandong, was not very capable, he was at least a capable person. But now the one sent by the imperial court is called Cui Wenliang.
That idiot, who is said to be a member of the Donglin Party, has made Jinan Prefecture and Gunzhou Prefecture a mess since he took office half a year ago. If we hadn't been here to support him, I'm afraid he would have reached out to Qingzhou long ago."
"As a governor, Qingzhou is still under his jurisdiction. It is also his fault to point fingers at Qingzhou, but..." Wei Man Ting sighed and continued, "It's just that Governor Cui's appearance is too ugly, and he treats everyone
The tax rate in a state capital has been increased by 50%. Doesn’t he know that if he dares to increase it by 50% here, the people below will dare to double or even triple it?”
"That's why I advised my father-in-law to ignore that Cui Wenliang." Pang Gang curled his lips, "If he dares to be wordy, I will send troops to Jinan."
"You only know how to fight and kill." Wei Man Ting rolled his eyes at him, "If you really send troops to Jinan, the imperial court will send soldiers and horses from Xuanfu and Liaodong here no matter how patient it is. Then I will see
what would you do!"
Pang Gang said confidently: "So, what we have to do now is to work hard to recruit refugees and continue to expand our troops, so that no one dares to bully us."
Wei Manting stopped and snuggled into her husband's arms and sighed quietly, "Chaodong, do you think it's really good for us to do this? My father and you have all been deeply favored by the imperial court. We are like this
It’s disloyal to do that!”
Pang Gang shook his head. Wei Manting's words had no effect on him, a person from later generations. He really had no sense of belonging to this court.
Pang Gang sighed and said: "Man Ting, if it were the Yongle, Zhengde or even Jiajing years, I would never go against the court. I would definitely lead you sisters to live a peaceful life together, but not now. If I don't
If we work hard to expand our strength, the only thing waiting for us is destruction. Man Ting, you are a smart man. Look at the current imperial court. It is rotten to the core. How many years can it last, to put it bluntly?"
Wei Man Ting remained silent. Among Pang Gang's wives and concubines, she had the highest political IQ and vision due to the influence and education she received since she was a child. How could she not understand the situation in the court that was already in turmoil? It was just that she had been unwilling to face it.
That's all.
Seeing Wei Manying's silence, Pang Gang continued: "The bandits in the imperial court are rampant now, and the Tatars are also watching covetously outside the pass. But look, now the emperor can hardly even pay the military pay in Liaodong. In my opinion, if there is no great
With all the changes, Ming Dynasty may not be able to survive for a few more years."
After listening to her husband's words, Wei Man Ting said weakly: "My lord, can't you help the emperor? The current emperor... Although he cannot be regarded as a sage, he is at least very diligent.
"
"Qinzheng!" Pang Gang smiled bitterly, stretched out his hand to stroke his beloved wife's black hair and said: "Man Ting, I also admit that the current emperor is very diligent, but I don't think he is a qualified emperor. And today's emperor
Daming is already terminally ill and there is no cure. If you are still not convinced, then I will tell you..."
Pang Gang raised his finger and listed several reasons for her one by one as he spoke, "First, the household department of the Ming Dynasty is already empty. All that is needed for wars these days is silver. Without silver, you can't do anything. From this point of view,
You will know that the imperial court wants to attack me, the Qingzhou commander. Secondly, as the saying goes, the world is dominated by those who win the hearts of the people, but do you think the people still have the hearts of the people in the Ming Dynasty now? Thirdly, now it ranges from court officials to gentry and wealthy households.
, they only see themselves without the imperial court and the country, even if the patient is dying, they are still greedily sucking the flesh and blood of the patient, I wonder if there is any justice if the imperial court survives?"
Having said this, Pang Gang sighed and asked softly: "To save this court and this country, we must deal with these cancers, but Man Ting, do you think the current emperor has the courage?"
Wei Man Ting was silent. She was a smart woman, and she naturally knew that the foundation of the current emperor's rule was based on these wealthy gentry. If these people were eradicated, would he still be able to remain the emperor?
"Although I have known for a long time that the imperial court is hopeless, I still harbor illusions." Wei Man Ting reached out and hugged Pang Gang's arm, buried her head deeply in her husband's arms, and murmured softly.
"Okay, don't say these depressing words." Pang Gang patted his beloved wife's shoulder and said softly: "We have no say in matters in the court. The emperor is taboo on me. Now you should think more about what to do.
Let’s keep ourselves safe.”
"You, you only care about yourself." After her husband's persuasion, Wei Manting's sadness slowly faded away. After thinking carefully for a while, she said: "Chaodong, it's not impossible to let dad be the governor.
But Jinan is not as good as Qingzhou, which is the center of Shandong Province. Not to mention that there is also an envoy there. According to the constraints of the envoys and other great lords, it can be said that King Lu in Jinan Prefecture is not an economical lamp.
Although my father has been an official for many years, I am still worried that my father will be unable to support himself after arriving in Jinan."
"It's hard to support a tree alone?" Pang Gang disagreed with this, and said disdainfully: "Actually, the so-called officialdom is not just that. Those civil servants just suppress one group, divide another group, and finally win over another group.
As for how to do it, my father-in-law must have learned from being an official for many years. Can we teach him?"
When Wei Manting heard this, she laughed, stretched out her slender jade finger and pointed at her husband's chest and said coquettishly: "You, the truth is really a set of rules, but what you said makes sense, this is what happens in official circles.
"
Pang Gang, who was praised by his wife, smiled and said nothing, and said to himself: In fact, I have read a lot about officialdom on the Internet before. This is also the essence summarized by countless officialdom experts, and it is absolutely unmistakable.
Wei Man Ting frowned slightly and slowly put their little hands together, "I am not worried about whether the court can agree to my husband's conditions. I think that since the court is so short of money now, there is a high chance that it will agree to my husband's conditions.
, the only thing I’m worried about is that if dad comes to Jinan alone to take up the post, I’ll always be a little worried.”
"My husband, I have thought of this a long time ago." Pang Gang patted his beloved wife's shoulder and comforted him: "If my father-in-law can take office in Jinan Mansion, I will send Cheng Kai and three thousand soldiers to follow him. Anyone who wants to
Anyone who has trouble with him should consider the consequences. These days, it still depends on who has the biggest fist."
"You know how to fight and kill, so why don't you talk properly?" Wei Manting still couldn't stand the fact that her husband always liked to use his fists to talk.
"Haha, your husband-in-law, I like to use my fists to speak, but you have to admit that this is also the most effective way. Besides, if my husband-in-law's fists are not strong, how can he protect you sisters..."
While Pang Gang and Wei Manyu were worrying about whether their father-in-law could become the governor of Shandong, Zheng Sen and Zheng Zhibao, who had already rushed back to Quanzhou, were also reporting to Zheng Zhilong, the leader of the Zheng Group, about the "insults" they had suffered in the past few days.
"Dad, that's what happened. My child thinks that Pang Gang doesn't take our Zheng family seriously at all, and judging from the size of his fleet, it is an indisputable fact that they have the construction blueprints of the Fuchuan. My child and
My fourth uncle also saw in their port that they have built more than ten shipyards in Qingzhou and are working day and night to build new ships. If they are allowed to develop like this, within three years they will have the power to challenge us.
By then, our good days will be gone forever.”
Zheng Sen calmly told what he saw and heard in Qingzhou and his thoughts.
Listening to his son's story, Zheng Zhilong kept his eyes closed for a long time and then slowly opened his eyes and asked: "Sen'er, what do you think it should be like?"
Zheng Sen said resolutely, "We must eliminate them before they develop, and we must not allow them to grow! We cannot let them become our competitors!"
"Yes!" Zheng Zhibao on the side touched his chest that was still aching and said: "Brother, you don't know, Qingzhou is full of merchants now, and it's a very lively scene. If we can go there and work,
, I dare not say anything else, I guarantee that I can at least earn this amount!" Zheng Zhibao said while holding out two fingers!
"Two million taels!" Everyone in the hall was moved...