When he heard the news, Zhang Rui, the Duke of Chu, who had been staying behind closed doors for the past few days, just to cultivate his moral character, but actually to avoid the limelight, felt that one was the bigger one than the other, and he only blamed the emperor for half a life.
.What if it wasn’t because the emperor ordered her to impeach all the lecturers and readers of the East Palace that he would offend people as soon as he returned to Beijing after being full?
Had it not been for the late Emperor Ruizong's kindness in knowing him and Tuogu's trust, and the emperor had relied heavily on him since the beginning of his accession to the throne, and during this Northern Expedition, he had gone to great lengths to trust him to the end, and he would not have done what others thought was wrong.
It’s a matter of relying on your old age and betraying your old age!
Therefore, after taking a deep breath, the Duke of Chu, who had the same reputation as Zhao Guogong Zhu Jing among the nobles, but was actually much older, and could actually be Zhu Ying's grandfather, immediately made a decisive decision to the person who came to report the news as fast as possible.
The confidant said: "Let them try their best to delay it, and I will leave through the back door!"
The dignified Duke actually wanted to escape through the back door, but the confidant in charge not only snickered, but even nodded to urge him. If it were someone else's daughter, then of course my master would not be afraid, but the eldest lady outside had pulled the emperor's penis when she was a child.
The beard crawled all over the Queen Mother's body, and when she grew up, she became more favored than the princess in the palace, but the most important thing is... the master is in the wrong!
Bachelor Zhang didn't offend our family, but he insisted on writing a letter to scold him. The young lady's visit once was not enough to explain, so it was normal for her to do it again!
He ordered his servants to stall for time. Zhang Rui, Duke of Chu, was unambiguous at all. He was getting stronger and stronger. He was still very skilled and did not even bring a follower. He left the study and went straight to the back door - in fact, it was not the servants who came in and out.
The back door is a side door of the home that is usually bolted and locked from the inside and no one passes through.
However, when he opened the big iron lock and just reached out to open the door, he suddenly noticed something and hesitated for a moment. But in the end, he opened the two doors with a straight face, and then saw
A familiar little fat man arrived and was standing a few steps outside the door with a big smile.
Although he was not very familiar with Lu Sanlang, a junior, there was only one among the younger generation of officials in the capital who was as round and round as the little fat man, who was also very well-proportioned, and who was not timid in dealing with others. So, there was only one.
, Zhang Rui couldn't help but shouted angrily: "Little Fatty Lu, you already have a wife, and you still listen to Yingying like you did back then?"
"Who asked me to be my mistress?" Little Fatty Lu didn't feel embarrassed at all. He asked directly with a smile. Seeing Zhang Rui's long face, he coughed dryly and said, "Of course, Mr. Chu Guo, you
The old man is so powerful, and I know I can't stop you, so my little mistress gave me a helper."
Hearing the last sentence, Zhang Ruicai raised his head and looked not far away. He saw a young man quietly coming out from the shadow under the wall. He looked unremarkable at first glance.
He would grab a large handful in the crowd, but when people came forward casually, it was like a sword being unsheathed, gradually showing its edge.
On normal days, Zhang Rui, who is much older but still likes to compete with others, might meet Lie Xinxi and try his hand at fighting with others. But when he saw this scene today, he didn't know what to do.
Are they just waiting for something to happen? This kid must be the famous one next to Zhang Shou. Even the emperor called Ah Liu to teach the soldiers of the Rui Cavalry Camp!
When he just noticed the aura of Little Fatty Lu outside, he could of course lock the door and turn around and leave, but if they were able to stay here in advance, that would be to find out what he was thinking. God knows if he would turn around once he turned around.
You bumped into Zhu Ying within a few steps?
He and the girl's father had an enmity, and they had not been in contact with each other for the rest of their lives, so Zhao Guogong Zhu Jing never came to the house once. However, since the girl once slipped into his wife's car in front of the palace gate by mistake when she was a child, and then made a few loud noises.
His aunt's name made his half-old lady very happy, and he saw someone with pink makeup and gorgeous clothes. He thought it was the daughter of some family friend who brought him home...
Zhu Ying came and went often, and she probably knew his family better than him! That girl really didn't go a day without a fight, and she was all spoiled by Zhu Jing... and the emperor!
Therefore, Zhang Rui thought for a while and simply stood there without moving. He folded his hands and said angrily: "Yingying is going to fight with me? There will be a wolf in front and a tiger behind?"
Ah Liu only followed Zhang Shou because of Zhang Shou's order, and because of Zhu Ying's order, he came to serve as a guard for Little Fatty Lu. After all, with the little fat man's ability, if he really wanted to run into Zhang Rui, his force would not be enough, and he would not be able to stay even if he stayed on guard.
The rabbit would be crushed to death by the rabbit, so since Zhang Rui didn't take action now, after he stepped forward, he stood behind Fatty Lu, like a bodyguard.
Faced with Zhang Rui's question, Little Fatty Lu was not frightened at all. Instead, he took two steps forward with a smile on his face: "Mr. Chu Guogong guessed wrong this time. In fact, the young lady came to see you today, wasn't it?
I am asking for help, but I have a great thing to discuss with you."
"Pull him down, what good can that girl do to me?" Zhang Rui sneered on the face, but he was suspicious in his heart. The last time Zhu Ying came to visit, she said it was just a show. Logically speaking, she really shouldn't make trouble again today.
At one point, he seemed to be a little disappointed... But when he thought about it again, his face turned dark again.
Look at how convinced his second brother Xiangyang Bo Zhang Qiong is to Zhang Shou now. Don't they think he is a brainless Zhang Qiong and plan to fool him?
Full of vigilance, he squinted his eyes and looked at the little fat man, and then said word by word: "Since you were ordered to block me here, you must also know about it? Then let's be honest, I don't like beating around the bush, anyway, there is Yingying.
In order to save face, I agreed to most of the things, but if I can’t agree, then I have no choice.”
Seeing Zhang Rui being so straightforward, Little Fatty Lu was not upset, but beamed with joy: "Everyone says that you, Duke of Chu, are a cheerful person, so let me just say it straight. I am here to beg for alms, and I hope you can contribute to the development of the northwest of the Ming Dynasty.
Contribute to the fund!”
At this moment, even though Zhang Rui, Duke of Chu, had lived for most of his life and was well-informed, he was still stunned. He probably understood the meaning of the word northwest development, but what was a fund? And he could be in front of it.
Called Ming Dynasty? Is this a newly established yamen? But if that's the case, why hasn't he heard of it?
Zhang Rui, who quickly regained his composure, did not want to show that he did not understand, and said lightly: "Speak more carefully."
Of course Lu Sanlang knew that Zhang Rui was just pretending to understand, but he would not expose it. He immediately said vividly: "The thing is like this, my young master and my junior wife know that after the Northern Expedition, the Xuanfu Datong people
The area has become peaceful, but the bandits have either fled north or fled west. On the contrary, Shaanxi and Gansu further to the west have never been so peaceful..."
The little fat man very patiently and carefully explained the current situation in the northwest to Zhang Rui, Duke of Chu, as if he didn't realize that he was playing tricks in front of Guan Gong's gate. Zhang Ruihu listened with a face, but he was actually confused.
.
Is this really just... asking for money? But if Zhu Ying personally took action and sent people to block his matter, would it be so simple?
After the little fat man briefly led him across the river and introduced Hexi in detail, he paused and then said sincerely: "I heard that many of your old troops, Duke of Chu, are still staying in Ganzhou and Suzhou in Hexi to guard the border.
, although there are continuous oases over there, it is not as wealthy as the capital city. From food to clothing, many things rely on supplies from the southeast..."
Zhang Rui was getting even more confused by the little fat man's nonsense. Thinking that Zhu Ying was about to catch up, he immediately interrupted impatiently: "To put it simply, how much does it cost?"
?”
The little fat man's foreplay was really just to delay time. At this time, Zhang Rui obviously didn't want to take this trick, so he changed his method very wisely. He said with a smile: "A hundred golds and a hundred silvers, for you, it means uprooting the roots."
A hairy thing."
Zhang Rui originally planned to spend money to eliminate the disaster, so after hearing this amount, he didn't take it too seriously and directly agreed: "Okay, you can pay it to the account later, just say it was my order, and let them directly
Give you the check!"
"Mr. Chu, don't worry." Little Fatty Lu pretended not to see Zhang Rui's sudden anger and said with a smile, "Of course this hundred gold and silver is nothing to you, but no matter how generous you are, you can't tell me
I still have to finish. Although the Ming Dynasty Northwest Development Fund has received strong support from the Queen Mother, the Imperial Concubine, the Imperial Concubine and the Xian Concubine..."
"Wait...wait!" This time, Zhang Rui was finally really surprised. He stared at the little fat man with wide eyes and asked word by word, "Who do you think you have strong support from? You
What I mean is that the Queen Mother and the others spent real money to support your... what kind of Northwest Development Fund is this?"
In fact, the Queen Mother and the others just took out the money. They had no idea what Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying planned to use it for...
Little Fatty Lu complained in his heart, but this time he admitted it without hesitating.
"The four boxes of gold and silver sent by the palace are now in Zhangyuan. This money is the money of the empresses. They just feel that it is useless to leave it like this. It is better to take it out and do something solid.
matter."
"The young gentleman said that you ladies have already donated a lot to public schools and girls' schools before, and you can't always use the money of the ladies in the palace to fill the bottomless pit. Good steel must be used on the blade, and this time the ladies'
It’s better to put good intentions in a longer-term place, where you can see returns.”
"You can buy a house, buy land, buy a shop and do business. The palace servants can do it, and the wealthy businessmen can do it. And they are criticized by some censors for competing with the people for profit. Isn't that right?
Thank you for the kindhearted deeds of the ladies."
"You know, we have never seen ladies in the palace use money to build Buddhist temples or Taoist temples. But in recent years, whenever there is drought, flood, rain or snow near Gyeonggi, how often has the Queen Mother not taken the lead in cutting back on food and clothing, and then used the money to donate money?
But just like this, there are actually people in other places who don’t have free food because of the disaster, so they blame the ladies here in Gyeonggi for providing disaster relief!”
"For example, public schools have also been criticized by academies and private schools from other places. No wonder the sage said that he is not worried about the scarcity but the inequality, so this time the young master and the young master decided not to use the names of the Queen Mother and the Empress alone.
Instead of taking it out, we put it together and use it to do things in the name of a fund. The so-called fund is money that is raised and used for specific purposes."
The little fat man spoke very passionately, and even he was moved. He even wiped his eye circles at this moment. Although Zhang Rui would not be taken to the pit so easily, he had to admit that the little fat man's words were quite interesting.
Quite organized.
If you want to convince others, you must first convince yourself. After the little fat man wiped the corners of his eyes, he said in one breath: "The money that the four empresses took out together is two or three thousand guan. It seems to be a lot, but in fact it is really
It was necessary to do something practical, but it was far from enough. So, the young gentleman called me to discuss it, and the final decision was to use the money that the ladies gave as the benchmark."
"He took out this penny, and I also took out this penny, and then used this basis to find someone to beg for help. You are the first one, Duke Guo of Chu. Next, I will probably go to Duke Zhao, Duke Qin, and Uncle Xiangyang.
, Uncle Weinan and the others..."
Lu Sanlang's mouth burst out with the names of nobles one after another, but he deliberately omitted the word "development of the northwest". Sure enough, this time, the Duke of Chu Zhang Rui couldn't bear it anymore and interrupted him directly.
.
"Just tell me directly, what is Zhang Shou planning to raise so much money for? What did you mean by Hexi just now?"
"Didn't we just say that? The Ming Dynasty Northwest Development Fund! Of course it is to invest in the northwest and benefit the local military and civilians." Lu Sanlang opened his mouth with a lot of nonsense, and then changed the topic and said, "Of course before that,
This money will be injected into Tiangongfang first for turnover. After all, if there are no trustworthy people in Hexi, the young gentleman will not dare to invest in it rashly."
"Tiangongfang's supply of everything from clocks to glassware exceeds demand. Money can be doubled in one turn. If the young gentleman hadn't known that ladies don't like money, he would have taken it as a matter of course and calculated it as a capital investment, and calculated dividends for ladies in the future.
That would save trouble."
This time, Zhang Rui finally understood. The four most noble empresses in the palace, below the Queen Mother, each took a bet to say whether it was more or less, and gave Zhang Shou a lot of spare money, presumably to entrust Zhang Shou to invest in the informal business.
I don't think they particularly care about whether there is any return. Even if they lose money, it will at most damage Zhang Shou's image in their minds. It would be better if they make money.
Of course, the reason for this is, firstly, Zhang Shou's reputation as a self-made man, and secondly, of course...these four all have a very close relationship with Zhang Shou. This is also a joint effort to express trust to Zhang Shou, and it is also a kind of mutual trust.
alliance.
After all, Concubine Yu had just given birth to a son, and there were a lot of rumors outside. This was also a matter of concern among the most noble women in the palace.
However, this was supposed to be something that Zhang Shou could quietly make a fortune and operate quietly, but he actually planned to do it openly, recruit more people, and then create a bigger scene! How could Zhang Shou be so bold!
Thinking this in his heart, Zhang Rui, Duke of Chu, glared at Little Fatty Lu, the lackey, angrily, and then said with a cold face: "Okay, don't talk about this kind of thing at the door, follow me into the house!"