Zhang Yanling smacked his lips and said: "Hey, if that's the case, then I'll accept this box of local specialties. I also want to taste the taste of crocodile meat and whitebait. I can't accept any money. I'll accept these silver coins from you."
With gifts, wouldn’t it have become a transaction? It wouldn’t sound good if it spread out. If those civil servants knew about this, wouldn’t they have to gossip and talk nonsense again? Secondly, if I accepted the money, wouldn’t it appear that there was a relationship between us?
The relationship is too vulgar. The most important thing our family does not lack is money, hahaha. What we lack is mutual trust and understanding, mutual support and help. Don’t you think so, Mr. Cheng Guo?"
Zhu Fu pondered for a moment, nodded and sighed: "I didn't expect that I really learned a lesson today. Marquis Jianchang turned out to be such a wise and generous man. I admire him very much. You are right, money is nothing, relationships are the most important.
Important. Young Marquis, I am making a statement today. From now on, Duke Chengguo and your Zhang family will be friends. If you have anything to do, please speak up. I am obligated to do so. I will do as you say."
Zhang Yanling smiled and thanked her, and ordered someone to carry a box of local specialties in. Zhu Fu ordered someone to carry the box of silver out. When the silver was carried out, Zhang Yanling's heart was bleeding. All he had to do was nod his head to get the few thousand taels of silver.
It's my own, but now the duck I got has flown away, which really hurts my heart.
"I heard that the Marquis of Jianchang went to Zhuangzi for a few days to do business. He must have been very tired, so I and his son will not disturb you much. In two days, I will invite the Marquis to my house for a banquet, and we will discuss it in detail. I will say goodbye, excuse me.
Sorry." Zhu Fu said, cupping his hands.
Zhang Yanling cupped her hands and said with a smile: "Since Duke Cheng is so kind, if you dare not obey your orders, I will not send you far away."
When Zhang Yanling arrived at the door of the hall, Zhu Lin turned around and whispered: "Little Marquis, tomorrow morning at six o'clock, I have reserved a private room on the second floor of Jiqing Restaurant in Zhengdongfang. Let's get together. You must come, I will also
I have invited the Young Master Zhang Lun from the British Duke's Palace, the Young Duke Xu Yande from the Dingguo Palace and others to accompany me. I must give you a compliment."
Zhang Yanling cupped her hands and said with a smile: "I will obey your orders. I will definitely be there."
Zhu Lin was so happy that he turned around and chased his father.
After sending the father and son away and returning to the hall, Zhang Yanling had just sat down when Ma Quan came up and said: "Why did the Marquis refuse the silver sent by Cheng Guogong? That box is at least four thousand taels of silver. We are not here now
Are you short of money? Why not? Besides, Lord Marquis was almost killed by Zhu Lin, so this small amount of money is actually not enough as compensation."
Zhang Yanling rolled her eyes at him. She didn't want to explain to him in detail, but seeing Ma Quan's earnest expression, she said, "Do you think it's the few thousand taels of silver that are more important, or the favors owed to you by others? Especially the favors from Duke Chengguo's house?"
Ma Quan was stunned and scratched his head and said: "What the Marquis means is that by not asking for his money, they will always be in debt to the Marquis. It may be useful in the future, right?"
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "You are smart. Although a few thousand taels of silver is a lot, but what is it compared to the favor from the Duke of Chengguo? This favor may be worthless, but it may also be difficult to buy for ten thousand gold. Cheng
The Duke's office is the best among the nobles of my Ming Dynasty, and their attitude is very important in some matters. This is an intangible wealth. When you need them to speak in the future, you will know how valuable this favor is."
Ma Quan thought for a while and muttered: "The Marquis has the protection of the emperor and the queen, so does he still need the favor of the Duke of Chengguo? Who are they? Their words are not as effective as those of the Marquis."'
Zhang Yanling was speechless. She wanted to explain but kept her mouth shut. How could she and Ma Quan explain it clearly? He is indeed a strong backer, but his backer will eventually fall. After all, everything needs to be planned and managed by himself, otherwise he will not escape misfortune.
.But what's the use of telling Ma Quan all this.
"Don't ask any more questions. Prepare your horses later and follow me to the Grand Marquis's Mansion." Zhang Yanling waved her hand.
Ma Quan agreed and bowed out of the hall, murmuring in his heart: "You don't want money from others, but now you are going to borrow money from the Grand Marquis. I really don't understand."
…
The Marquis Palace of Shouning Marquis Zhang Heling is located in Fucai Fang in the inner city. This is the old residence of the Zhang family. It was actually awarded by the emperor to his father-in-law Zhang Dai. Being able to own a decent large mansion in the inner city is a status in itself.
Symbolism. Even if several princes of the Ming Dynasty wanted to have a big house, they could only find a place to build it in a few squares in the outer city. This shows the kindness of Emperor Hongzhi to the Zhang family.
Zhang Heling is Zhang Dai's eldest son, so he naturally inherited this mansion. After the old lady passed away three years ago, Zhang Yanling and Zhang Heling brothers separated their families. As the second son, Zhang Yanling also had to move out of the Zhang family's mansion and built a mansion in Xuanbeifang.
Although they are only separated from Fucai Fang by a city wall in the inner city, and it only takes less than half an hour to enter and exit from Xuanwu Gate, one is in the inner city and the other is in the outer city, but there is a difference in status between the two brothers.
Zhang Heling is the eldest son of Zhang, and his title of Marquis of Shouning is Zhang Dai's title at that time. After Zhang Dai's death, he was posthumously awarded the title of Duke of Chang. It is conceivable that in the near future, Zhang Heling will definitely take over the title of Duke of Chang, because he
He is the eldest son. As the second son, Zhang Yanling cannot inherit his father's title under normal circumstances. This is the normal situation in the Ming Dynasty, a society with strict hierarchy. The more powerful the family, these rules
The more insurmountable it becomes.
Of course, as far as the Zhang family is concerned, Zhang Heling still can't make the decision. The person who talks about the Zhang family is Empress Zhang, and there is no doubt that everything in the Zhang family is earned by her. Empress Zhang loves Zhang Yanling the most, because of this
, Zhang Heling did not dare to regard his brother Zhang Yanling as too majestic as his eldest brother. The relationship between the two brothers could not be considered good, but it could not be considered bad. Usually you play with yours and I play with mine, without interfering with each other.
However, when it comes to issues involving the interests of the Zhang family, both brothers adhere to one principle, that is, they share the same hatred and hatred towards the outside world. And one thing is the same between the two brothers, that is, they love to eat, drink, have fun and spend a lot of time. Compared with those who have just grown up,
As for Zhang Yanling, Zhang Heling went even further in this regard. A few years ago, this man had sex after drinking, and actually molested a maid in the palace. This incident caused an uproar and shocked the government and the public. Yang Tinghe and other ministers and everyone in the inner court wrote letters asking for it.
He was severely punished, but in the end Hongzhi refused to let it go for the sake of Queen Zhang. Not only that, the Zhang family siblings also retaliated and beat an eunuch of the inner court who had informed the whistle to death. Hongzhi still chose to ignore this, which shows that he is partial to the Zhang family.
It has reached the point of being unprincipled.
Like all the dignitaries of the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Heling was also a man who was crazy about amassing money. He owned more manor land than Zhang Yanling. The size of Zhang Yanling's Xishan Manor was scary enough, but Zhang Heling owned two manors with a total area of more than 1,600 acres.
One hundred hectares, which can be converted into more than 160,000 acres. Moreover, Zhang Yanling's methods of amassing money are even more fierce and he is even more harsh on tenants. Once he fails to pay the rent, he will be kicked out. Anyway, there are so many refugees, so farming
There is no shortage of people in the land. He will even use the wives and daughters of the people as mortgages. There are seven or eight maids in his house who are tenants who cannot pay the rent and are forced to sign a deed of sale and work as maids in his house. Of course, these girls
Everything becomes his plaything.
All in all, the Zhang brothers' notoriety is not groundless. Both Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling have done a lot of dirty things. However, Zhang Yanling is younger and has been doing bad things for a shorter time, so his bad reputation is slightly worse than his brother. .
In the hall of Shouning Hou Mansion, Zhang Heling asked Zhang Yanling to take a seat with a smile. There was no need for too much politeness between his brothers. After Zhang Heling asked about Zhang Yanling's physical condition, Zhang Yanling got straight to the point.
"Brother, I came here today to ask my eldest brother for help. But this matter is a bit hard to talk about."
"Tell me, why are you so polite to my brother? If you have anything to say, just say it." Zhang Heling straightened his chubby body and leaned on the back of the chair, waving his hands.
"That's right, I'm a little short of money recently, and I want to borrow some money from my eldest brother to help me make ends meet," Zhang Yanling said.
"Borrow money?" Zhang Heling sat up and asked, "How much do you want to borrow?"
Zhang Yanling stretched out a finger. Zhang Heling said: "One thousand taels? That's easy to handle. I'll have someone go get it from the cabinet for you."
Zhang Yanling shook his head and said: "No, ten thousand taels."
"Ah? So much? Why do you need so much money? Brother, I am not saying this to you, but you are spending money lavishly. Although the money comes quickly, it is spent even faster. You can't do it without restraint. Why don't you spend it lavishly? You want to borrow ten thousand taels, are you attracted to the girl in that building again? Those women are not actually worth spending so much money. Ten thousand taels of silver is enough for you to buy dozens of maids and maids, **** It still tastes good, so why waste money?" Zhang Heling frowned.
"Brother, you misunderstood. I borrowed money for things in my manor. My manor is suffering from both drought and waterlogging. The harvest is not good and the rent cannot be collected. I am thinking of building a reservoir upstream. The harvest is guaranteed despite droughts and floods, so some money is needed for turnover. When the reservoir is built, the livelihood of the people will be guaranteed, and the output of the manor will be greater." Zhang Yanling answered honestly.
Hearing this, Zhang Heling looked at Zhang Yanling in surprise, and suddenly laughed: "Hahahaha, my little brother, have you really broken your brain? Are you going to build a reservoir? I heard that you went to the manor for a few days. I didn’t expect you to go there for this matter. I really don’t know what to say. What does the manor’s poor collection have to do with you? There are many ways to collect the rent. Those mud-legged people are all unruly people. Don’t you? How can they think of a way to force them? The land is given to them to sow, and the harvest is their business. If they can't pay the rent, they will raid their houses and arrest their people. Can't they all have children? There are a lot of sons and daughters, which can be used to pay off debts. That's it. Let me tell you, the current market situation in the capital is one hundred and fifty taels for a boy and one hundred and fifty taels for a maid. As soon as they change hands, the money comes. I tell you, in my manor, I wish they could not pay the rent, then I would justifiably arrest them or drive them away. If they can't pay the rent, I will make more money. You don't know this, right? But you have to fix it for them. What is Laoshizi Reservoir? Are you crazy?"
Zhang Yanling looked at Zhang Heling's fat face and was completely speechless.