"Sir, Master Wang has been invited to visit." A servant came in to announce.
Huang Ke put down his brush, straightened his clothes, stood up and said, "Please!"
The servant looked troubled: "Sir, this Bachelor Wang..."
"Why are you hesitating?" Huang Ke asked.
The servant replied: "Scholar Wang is wearing a pair of iron armor, with a knife hanging on his waist and a bow on his back. He looks like he is looking for trouble."
Huang Ke has a kind of honest character. If you respect me a foot, I will respect you a foot. If you don't have a good face, I won't bother to pay attention to you. He was very angry by Wang Yuan, but in order to calm things down, he could only say:
"Invite him in!"
Huang Ke became the Minister of Household Affairs in September, and it was already the end of October when he returned to Beijing to take up his post. His main responsibilities were to governor the granaries and pastures, and to manage the collection and storage of grain. This included the school grounds where Wang Yuan trained his troops, and the pastures next door.
Supervised by Huang Ke.
This is indeed an illegal operation in Taicang. If Wang Yuan insists on being serious, Taicang officials at all levels will be punished.
Who is in charge of food and money? Who can be clean? Check and find out!
It stands to reason that Huang Ke was appointed as a new official and was responsible for supervising Taicang. If he seriously investigates and handles this matter, firstly, he can establish his authority, secondly, he can make meritorious service, and thirdly, he can take the opportunity to cultivate cronies, and he can definitely cooperate with Wang Yuan.
But now is not the time. Famines are continuing in various places, food and wages are tight on the front lines, and Sun Jiao, the Minister of Household Affairs, is almost exhausted.
Huang Ke's investigation and punishment of Taicang officials at this time was tantamount to stabbing Sun Jiao in the face. The treasury system was in chaos for at least a month. Seeing that the New Year was approaching, not only did the frontline soldiers have to be paid, but the Ministry of War also had to reward the frontline soldiers. At that time, something was done
What to do if trouble occurs?
There is no room for chaos, Wang Yuan must be appeased!
Huang E had been waiting in secret for a long time. When he heard the wind, he immediately ran out and hid behind the door to peek.
But he saw Wang Yuan coming in full armor, and his armor reflected the dark light in the sun. Huang E was stunned for a moment, then covered his mouth and laughed, thinking: This is not an invitation to a banquet, it is clearly an attack on the enemy, and dad will be angry.
It's too bad.
Wang Yuan seemed to sense something and suddenly turned his head and looked sideways.
Huang E was so frightened that he quickly shrank his head, hid behind the door, patted his chest, and said to himself: "He almost discovered me."
"Second sister, what are you doing here?" Suddenly the voice of her younger brother Huang? came from behind, and the little guy was looking up at her.
"No...nothing." Huang E quickly ran back to his boudoir.
Huang looked out curiously, then looked at his sister's room. He seemed to have understood something in his little mind. He ran to his mother and said, "Mom, my second sister was peeking at Xianggong Wang just now."
Mrs. Nie asked puzzledly: "Which King Xianggong?"
Huang? said: "He is Wang Erlang, who was the top scholar in high school and led troops to suppress the rebellion."
Mrs. Nie immediately warned: "My son, this matter must not be told to outsiders, remember?"
"I know." Huang? nodded.
Mrs. Nie sent her son away and paced back and forth in the room. Soon she called the maid to accompany her: "Do you know Wang Erlang?"
This maid has become an aunt. She is married to the housekeeper of the Huang family, and is now the head maid of the Huang family. When Mrs. Nie asked, she immediately smiled and said: "Who in the capital doesn't know Wang Erlang? Of course I know."
Mrs. Nie asked again: "Is he married?"
The maid thought for a while and said: "It seems that we are not married. There were people who talked about getting married a while ago, but nothing happened. I also heard about it. I don't know how to do it. I need to find someone to inquire carefully."
"Then send someone to inquire." Mrs. Nie said.
The maid master immediately understood and calmly accepted the order and left.
Huang Ke still didn't know what his wife wanted to do. As soon as he saw Wang Yuan's sword and armor, he couldn't help but ridiculed: "Is Master Wang going out to fight?"
Wang Yuan replied angrily: "You have to have money and food to fight a war. I am not very talented, but I can't defeat a bunch of hungry soldiers."
Putting the overall situation first, Huang Ke swallowed the bad breath and said: "As the right minister of the Ministry of Revenue, I am ordered to supervise the warehouse, and I am also responsible for Taicang. The food and salary of the six thousand soldiers should indeed be paid on time, but
Taicang is really difficult.”
Wang Yuan sneered and said: "It's difficult for everyone. My soldiers have no rice to eat."
Huang Ke said: "I also know that Scholar Wang is in trouble, so I ordered the Taicang envoy to raise money immediately, and it should be sent to the military camp tomorrow."
"The market price of silver?" Wang Yuan asked.
Huang Ke said angrily: "Official price!"
Wang Yuan suddenly took off his iron armor in front of Huang Ke, revealing the casual Taoist uniform underneath, and threw aside his bow and sword, and said with a smile: "Huang Shilang, I was training sergeants in the camp before, and I was in a hurry and didn't have time to take it off."
Armor. You shouldn’t be blamed for this, right?”
Huang Ke was dumbfounded by this incident, and said with thorny words: "Who dares to blame Bachelor Wang, for fear of being arrested and detained in the military camp!"
Wang Yuan laughed loudly: "Misunderstanding, it's all misunderstanding. I just invited the warehouse envoy to have a drink and will send someone to take him home this afternoon."
Huang Ke's position is the God of Wealth. Why offend such a person unless it is absolutely necessary?
As the saying goes, don't hit the smiling person. Huang Ke really didn't want to fall out on the spot. Now he was so angry that he couldn't vent his anger. He said with a cold face: "It would be nice if the misunderstanding can be resolved."
Wang Yuan smiled and chatted: "From Huang Shilang's accent, it seems that he is from Sichuan?"
Huang Ke said: "People from Suining."
"Oh," Wang Yuan said in a fuss, "that's a coincidence. The junior Taoist examination master is also from Suining! The Sichuan and Gui families are related. Come to think of it, Huang Shilang and I are also from the same hometown."
Damn it, the Chuangui family is related. There was no such thing in the Ming Dynasty.
Huang Ke didn't want to have a conflict with the emperor's favorite, so he followed up and said, "I wonder who the scholar Wang's Taoist examination master is?"
Wang Yuan said: "Xi Gongbaoshu, who has just been promoted to the right to participate in politics in Guizhou."
Huang Ke finally smiled: "It turns out to be Xi Wentong. His father and I were classmates when we were young."
In the small place of Suining, there were three scholarly families, Huang, Xi, and Lu. They had no conflicts with each other. Instead, they often intermarried and became in-laws.
Strictly speaking, Huang Ke and Xi Shu were relatives. As Xi Shu's student, Wang Yuan could barely maintain a relationship, but he was just two generations shorter than Huang Ke.
Wang Yuan deliberately resolved the conflict, and Huang Ke was also concerned about Wang Yuan's status as a favorite, but he followed this relationship and quickly got along well with each other.
"Place the wine!" Huang Ke shouted.
This gentleman was a poor drinker, but he always held banquets for guests at home and got himself drunk every time.
In the boudoir.
The maid trotted in, and Huang E quickly asked: "They didn't quarrel, did they?"
"I was drinking and joking." The maid laughed.
Huang E was quite surprised and asked: "Didn't Wang Erlang come to the door wearing armor?"
The maid replied: "I have taken it off and threw the weapon beside it."
Huang E asked again: "What did they say?"
The maid shook her head and said, "I didn't dare to get too close because I couldn't hear you clearly. How about you go and inquire again?"
"No need, as long as they didn't quarrel." Huang E said with a smile on his face and suddenly laughed out loud.
The maid also laughed and said jokingly: "Miss, Wang Erlang is much fairer than when he returned in triumph."
Huang E said: "He must have sunburned from the war. There is not so much sun in winter, so he is naturally much fairer."
The maid said: "Actually, it looks better in black. Wearing armor is particularly majestic."
"He is very majestic even without wearing iron armor." Huang E said.
"Hee hee, the young lady is shameless and comments on her husband's family in the boudoir." the maid teased.
Huang E's cheeks suddenly flew up, and he rushed over: "Don't talk nonsense, and see if I don't tear your mouth to pieces!"
"Oh, I'm so angry that I'm being told that it's a big deal." The maid ran away with a smile.
The master and the servant were having a fight, and soon they came to the garden. Huang E stepped on the swing, and the maid pushed her to swing high. The garden was filled with the laughter of girls.
Wang Yuancai was slightly drunk, but Huang Ke was already lying on the table, and he couldn't wake him up no matter how he shouted.
In desperation, Wang Yuan could only say goodbye and let his servants help Huang Ke to rest.
In the evening, Huang Ke finally woke up, and Huang E said: "Dad, you seem to have a good chat with Wang Erlang today."
"This guy has a good drinking capacity!" Huang Ke said.
Huang E thought to himself: Compared with you, everyone has a better drinking capacity.
Huang E made a sideways comment: "What does dad think of Wang Erlang as a person?"
Huang Ke thought for a while and said: "He is extremely cunning and has a deep city. In addition, he is still young and is appreciated by His Majesty. He will definitely become a very popular minister in the future!"
"Really?" Huang E became more and more happy.
Huang Ke glanced at his daughter and warned: "This person has unpredictable thoughts and is extremely cunning. He may not be a good match."