Chapter eight hundred and sixteen husband and wife
Those who visited Duke Zhao's residence were Marquis Yongping, Marquis Yichun and others.
In the capital, there are some families like this. Although they are powerful, the entire family only has one title left. Apart from receiving some salary from the court every year, they have no real power. After a few years, this remaining title will
It will also be deprived by the court again as a generation passes.
The Marquis of Yongping, the Marquis of Yichun, and the Zhou family are all such families.
The short period of time that followed was the last light they could ignite in the capital.
For these families, revitalization is already a luxury. When the family has no successors, they will eventually decline. However, even if they decline, there are two situations.
Some families have nothing after their decline, while some families have accumulated enough wealth long before their decline, and can still live happily in the capital for many years with a little bit of family shadow.
Marquis Yongping, Marquis Yichun and others have long given up hope of reviving their family. Over the years, they have followed the Zhou family and amassed a fortune. Even without their titles, they can still live the same life as they do now.
They have only done one business in these years, and that is to send people to the Western Regions to plunder those beautiful women from the Western Regions and sell them to the powerful in the capital at high prices.
These families had some small businesses in Kyoto before, but none of them were as profitable as this business without capital. Over time, they only engaged in this business.
Now, if the imperial court wants to ban their business, it will cut off their future.
After several people heard the news, they gathered at Zhou's house to discuss countermeasures.
"We are arresting people from the Western Regions. What is the matter with Tangning and King Huai? Will doing this do them any good?"
"They were the ones behind the last tax reform. The two of them repeatedly cut off our financial opportunities..."
"Mr. Zhao Guo, didn't you go to the palace today? What did the Queen Mother say?"
…
In this business, they have always been led by the Zhou family, and Zhao Guogong Zhou Wu is naturally their backbone.
Zhou Wu was irritated, waved his hand and said: "What else can I say? The entire court is now one-sided. This matter will definitely not be done openly in the future."
"What?"
"Then how much money will we lose?"
…
One person's expression changed drastically and he said: "I have already received a deposit of 100,000 taels for the next batch of goods. Now they tell me that I can't do it. How can I explain it to the buyer?"
Zhou Wu glanced at Marquis Yongping and said, "There is always no need to worry about buyers for goods from the Western Regions. Who makes you anxious to collect the money?"
Marquis Yongping looked gloomy. The buyers had already given him deposits. He used the money to hire many people and was about to go to the Western Regions. However, at this juncture, the court prohibited them from going to the Western Regions to rob people. Wouldn't it mean to cut off his wealth?
road?
This is not the most important thing. What is important is that he has been squandering money in the past few years. Every time he has money in his hands, he will soon spend it all on gambling. Now that his business is bad, how can he pay back those people's money?
None of those buyers is a powerful person. If he can't pay them back and pay them back, then he will definitely die in an ugly way.
Zhou Wudao: "I can't do anything about this matter. It's up to you to figure it out... Zhou Da, see the guests off."
Marquis Yongping looked at him and said hurriedly: "Dong Zhao, Marquis Yichun, we are all in the same boat, you can't ignore me..."
Zhou Wu glanced at him and said: "This is the trouble you caused yourself. It has nothing to do with us. You can solve it yourself..."
These dignitaries came to Zhou's house worriedly, but soon returned disappointed.
If the imperial court does not allow them to do this thing again, they will naturally not be able to oppose His Majesty and the courtiers in the palace. At most, they will just turn the matter from the public to the underground.
As for getting them to give up completely, this is of course impossible.
This is their only and most important source of wealth. Giving up on this matter means that they will have nothing to lose, and all the wealth they have accumulated will be lost in a short time.
Compared to them, Marquis Yongping was obviously in a worse situation.
He likes to gamble and is extravagant. If the court bans this business, he will be in trouble immediately.
But this time, he had collected money from those people and had gathered all the manpower, but at this time something like this happened. Not only was he deprived of both men and money, but he also had to think carefully about how to deal with the big shots behind him.
After walking out of the Zhou family's gate, Marquis Yongping quickly caught up with someone and said, "Marquis Yichun, stay..."
Marquis Yichun stopped, and Marquis Yongping stepped forward and said with a smile: "I'm a little short of money recently. I wonder if Marquis Yichun can..."
The Marquis of Yichun looked troubled and said, "I don't have much money either."
He knew the virtue of Marquis Yongping all too well. If he lent this money, he would be like a meat bun beating a dog and he would never get it back.
Marquis Yongping said: "As long as Marquis Yichun can help me get through this difficulty, I will remember your kindness for the rest of my life!"
The Marquis of Yichun looked at him and asked, "How much do you want?"
The Marquis of Yichun shook his head and said: "One hundred thousand taels is too much, and I can't afford it even if I bankrupt my family."
Marquis Yongping said: "Then how much can you lend me?"
The Marquis of Yichun thought for a moment and said, "One hundred taels."
…
When Marquis Yongping returned to his mansion, he could no longer suppress the anger in his heart. He took out the one hundred taels of silver notes lent to him by Marquis Yichun from his sleeve and tore it into pieces.
He scowled and said bitterly: "How dare you humiliate me like this!"
He took a deep breath, calmed down, raised his head, and found a figure standing in the courtyard.
The man looked back at him and asked: "When will the twenty maids from the Western Regions arrive?"
Marquis Yongping's expression changed and he said, "Listen to me, the imperial court has recently..."
"We don't care about the affairs of the court." The man looked at him and said, "It's a rule to accept money to do things. If you break the rules, it won't be good for anyone. Either you hand someone over when the time comes, or you give us the money we gave you."
I'll pay you back twice as much, otherwise, I won't be the one who comes to see you next time..."
Long after the man left, Marquis Yongping stood in the courtyard, his face pale, as if his soul had been taken away.
I don't know how long it took before he raised his head, his face was extremely gloomy, and he gritted his teeth and said: "Tang Ning, King Huai, surnamed Zhou... you forced me to do this!"
…
In the imperial study room today, after Princess Anyang left, what Emperor Chen said to him showed that he agreed with Tang Ning and Prince Huai's proposal.
These gray industries have existed in Chen State for a long time, and they are usually hidden in the dark, where no one can see them.
And when these things were brought to the table, Chen Guoren, who had the word "ritual" engraved in his bones, couldn't stand it on his face.
Tang Shui's case was completely put to rest after Princess Anyang made such a fuss. Tang Ning turned her head and glanced at the pavilion behind her, hoping that after this incident, Princess Anyang would stop trying to steal his money.
In the pavilion, Tang Shui looked at Princess Anyang and said, "Thank you..."
"No need to thank me." Princess Anyang glanced at Tang Ning and said angrily, "Your Majesty still prefers him, otherwise, this matter would not end so easily."
When she talked about this incident, she remembered the way Tang Ning treated her with disdain in the palace, and she felt a little embarrassed. However, thinking about what he said later, she felt a little more balanced.
After all, in addition to being his cousin, Tang Shui is also his unmarried wife. She is indeed unmatched by an outsider.
She looked at Tang Shui, then looked at Tang Ning who was not far away, and said, "Don't tell me, you two look like a couple..."
Tang Shui glared at her and said angrily, "You are the only ones who have it!"
