Chapter 240: Fraud?
In this age of scarcity of entertainment, the rich and powerful have limited options for pastime.
Drinking, getting themselves drunk, and filling their numb and empty inner world with excitement is their favorite pastime.
The second is the brothel, but money is limited after all.
"The Ming Dynasty wants to negotiate peace with Altan Khan. Altan Khan's envoy is still a few days away from the capital. After this, I'm afraid we won't have the opportunity to fight again."
"It's a pity that I have all the skills in martial arts, but I have no place to use them."
"It's a pity that my family's military tactics have been lost in obscurity."
Several military heroes were complaining.
Qiu Luan was drinking, and the woman beside him served him food from time to time and occasionally brought him a few leather cups.
"Speaking of which, it was Jiang Qingzhi who strongly advocated peace talks with the Altan tribe." A military hero pinched the woman next to him and cursed with a giggle: "Damn it, you've cut off our way out."
"Stop talking." Someone whispered, nodding at Qiu Luan.
The gloom in Qiu Luan's eyes almost materialized.
He prepared to reinstate twice, and everything was ready, just waiting for the right time, but both times he was slapped down by Jiang Qingzhi.
To ruin someone's future is like killing his parents!
Qiu Luan was half drunk and very angry. He suddenly picked up the wine glass and threw it out.
Bah!
He stood up shakily and said with a smile, "I swear to make Jiang Qingzhi pay the price and make him regret his actions. Do you believe me?"
Everyone nodded.
"Master Hou!"
An attendant was peeking outside.
"Get in!"
Qiu Luan cursed.
The attendant came in, lowered his head, and said, "The results are out over there."
"Is Jiang Qingzhi in a state of panic?" Qiu Luan said with a smile, "Cui Yuan and others have joined forces to give Jiang Qingzhi a heavy blow."
"Jiang Qingzhi expelled Cui Yuan and others' spies..."
“So what?” Qiu Luan supported the prostitute and burped. “Whoever dares to bid a high price, I will kill him later!”
"Jiang Qingzhi had people distribute pieces of paper, and the wealthy merchants wrote the prices on the paper, and the highest bidder won." The attendant shuddered.
A military hero was stunned for a moment. "In this way, no one knows the price of their offer. Great! Uh!"
Qiu Luan's face suddenly turned red. He took out a whip from his waist and started whipping him without any reason.
"what!"
The follower covered his face but did not dare to dodge.
"Get out! Get out of here!"
……
"Quietly offer?"
"Yes, Prince Consort, Prince Consort..."
Wang Xia and Pan En looked at the depressed Cui Yuan, and then looked at Zhao Wenhua, who looked calm but broke the brush in his hand into two pieces...
This thing is messed up!
……
"This boy is quite good!"
Yan Shifan said softly, "I originally thought that Jiang Qingzhi's role in Your Majesty was to check and balance us, but now I have some new guesses."
Yan Song flipped through the memorial and said, "Tell me about it."
Yan Shifan held up the brush to His Majesty, "If Your Majesty is determined to rise up, you must have strong ministers."
"You mean Wang Anshi and Shenzong?"
"Yes, but... Impossible, Impossible!" Yan Shifan shook his head and smiled, "I think too much."
"Your Majesty has been in seclusion in the Western Garden for many years. How could you have any ambitions?" Yan Song also laughed.
……
"…Merchants are best at exchanging interests. If the price is made public, they will collude in various ways. In this case, I will have someone get some paper and ask them to write down their prices. The host will review them and the one with the highest price will win."
"What do you call this?"
"Bidding, secret bidding."
"Secret bid."
Emperor Jiajing nodded, "You are indeed smart. However, Altan's envoy will soon arrive in Beijing, and some people suggest that we trade with Altan. What do you think?"
"No big deal!" Jiang Qingzhi said, "Your Majesty, we have to keep some things to ourselves in any situation."
"Tribute?" said Emperor Jiajing.
Tribute is an unfair way of trade, and the Ming Dynasty suffered losses.
Jiang Qingzhi frowned, "Your Majesty, the Ming Dynasty should give some benefits to the foreign vassals who submit to the Ming Dynasty, but who is Altan? He is the Ming Dynasty's mortal enemy. What can we get in return for giving them benefits? Only contempt."
Emperor Jiajing said in a deep voice: "The Ministry of Rites is quite enthusiastic about this matter, saying that if Altan can be made to bow his head, it will comfort our ancestors."
Hey!
Jiang Qingzhi said: "This group of people like to create some fancy things that attract people from all directions, but they are flashy but not practical."
"This matter requires the cooperation of all departments. Please submit your ideas in a memorial and let the court discuss it."
Jiang Qingzhi agreed, and suddenly laughed dryly. Emperor Jiajing frowned, "What's the matter?"
"Your Majesty, last time I ate a dish in the palace, stewed with beef, it was extremely delicious. But I've been feeling weak lately, so I was wondering if I could get some tonic..."
Huang Jin's eyes widened, thinking that this guy actually dared to ask His Majesty for food, where does he think this palace is?
Treat it as your own home!
Emperor Jiajing was also startled and pointed at Jiang Qingzhi, "You idiot, give it to him!"
Huang Jin lowered his head and suppressed the shock in his heart. He had a vague feeling at the moment that Daoye treated Jiang Qingzhi... not like an ordinary cousin, let alone an ordinary relative.
"Your Majesty, the commander of the East Factory, Rui Jingxian, requests to see you."
Rui Jingxian came in and saw Jiang Qingzhi smiling. The emperor pointed at him as if he wanted to scold him, but Huang Jin looked up at him and actually smiled at Jiang Qingzhi.
Very kind.
Who is Huang Jin?
The old man beside Emperor Jiajing has been the most trusted confidant since he was in the palace. He always has a cold face. How many people in the world can make him smile in a friendly way?
Rui Jingxian and Huang Jin are old rivals. Although the governor of the East Factory has considerable power, how can he compare to Huang Jin who is by the side of Emperor Jiajing?
He planned to replace him several times, but they were all thwarted by Huang Jin. Then Huang Jin's counterattack made him quite embarrassed and he almost fell.
If Huang Jinruo and Jiang Qingzhi teamed up...
Rui Jingxian lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, the entourage of Altan Khan's envoy startled their horses in Tongzhou and injured several civilians."
Huang Jin glanced at him and thought that there was no need to report such a small matter to Emperor Jiajing. Rui Jingxian was taking the opportunity to meet the emperor.
The smile in the corner of Emperor Jiajing's eyes had not yet faded, and he scolded: "Take my delicacies, and you will solve the problem. If it is not appropriate, I will take it back with interest."
Jiang Qingzhi smiled and said, "It's just a small matter."
Someone brought a lunch box and Jiang Qingzhi smiled and left.
"Cousin."
King Jing is here.
"To see His Majesty?" Jiang Qingzhi asked.
King Jing nodded, "Oh, right, I saw Lu Bing just now, and his face looked dark."
"hehe!"
Jiang Qingzhi smiled, and not long after he walked away, he saw Lu Bing.
Lu Bing's face looked unhappy, but after seeing Jiang Qing, he nodded lightly.
Although the two reached a consensus on the affairs of the Altan tribe, their completely different interests made them rivals.
"Your method is indeed good." There was a look of regret in Lu Bing's eyes. He thought that if Jiang Qingzhi became his ally, the two of them could join forces and even compete with the Yan Party.
In this way, he doesn't have to please both sides.
"Haha!" Jiang Qingzhi smiled.
In the distance behind, Rui Jingxian stopped and whispered, "Between Jiang Qingzhi and Lu Bing..."
"It is said that they have some tacit understanding." said the eunuch beside him.
"This guy has a good relationship with Huang Jin, and his relationship with Lu Bing is also beginning to ease..."
But Huang Jin and Lu Bing are both Rui Jingxian's enemies!
Lu Bing looked at Jiang Qingzhi deeply and said, "It's a pity that we have different paths."
"I will walk my way, and you will walk your way."
Jiang Qingzhi said lightly.
Both of them knew that if they had the chance to kill the other, neither would show mercy.
Jiang Qingzhi went to Zhilu carrying the lunch box.
"It's just right. Someone from the Ministry of Rites is looking for you." The old playboy asked someone to find the official from the Ministry of Rites and asked, "Why are you carrying a food box? Hey! This looks like something from the palace."
"I'm so poor! So I come to the palace to beg for money." Jiang Qingzhi sat down lazily.
"Extortion?" The old dandy's eyes widened. "Didn't His Majesty kick you out?"
Jiang Qingzhi pointed at the food box and said, "There are only a few nobles in the palace, they can't eat so much."
"Long Wilbur."
The person who came was Zhang Gu, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. As soon as he came in, he said angrily, "Is Xiao Zhuo Chang Wei Bo's man?"
"He's my man, so what?" Zhang Gu was impolite, and Jiang Qingzhi responded coldly.
"The entourage of the Altan envoy frightened the horse in Tongzhou, but only injured a few civilians, but Xiao Zhuo said that it should not be let off lightly and should be punished. Listen to what he said."
"Human words!" Jiang Qingzhi took out the medicinal cigarette and said lightly.
"Chang Wei Bo, this is an embassy. If you angered the Altan tribe, why did you negotiate peace in the first place?"
"Who said this is a peace talk?" Jiang Qingzhi said coldly.
"Isn't it?" Zhang Gu was still angry.
"It's just a temporary truce." Jiang Qingzhi knew Altan's ambition.
"How ridiculous!" Zhang Gu said, "Wouldn't it be better to just stop fighting? Why do we have to keep fighting? Of course, some people can gain fame and fortune by killing each other, but how can the people of the world be blamed? Aren't they the ones who have to bear the countless money and food that have been wasted?
Long Wei Bo used to say that he had compassion on the people, but I didn’t expect that his kindness was not real…”
Jiang Qingzhi took a puff of herbal cigarettes and asked, "Why do I feel like you came here on purpose to cause trouble today?"
Zhang Gu sneered, "I am just telling the truth. By the way, Xiao Zhuo contradicted his superior and was punished by me..."
Jiang Qingzhi threw the teacup over.
With a bang, Zhang Gu screamed and touched his face, feeling a burning pain. He pointed at Jiang Qingzhi and said angrily, "How ridiculous! How ridiculous! I will definitely go to His Majesty to seek justice."
He turned and left.
"Qingzhi, that's not right." The old dude said coldly.
"He did this on purpose." Jiang Qingzhi shook off the ashes from his cigarette. "So I'll help him."
"But you shouldn't do it."
"I think I was too gentle."
"Oh, right." Zhang Gu appeared outside the door again. He pointed at Jiang Qingzhi and said, "Chang Wei Bo, I know that Xiao Zhuo's words must have been instructed by you. My Ministry of Rites..."
call out!
This time it's a teapot.
Bah!
Zhang Gu was splashed with hot tea and walked out screaming.
"Fake news? Then I'll help you." Jiang Qingzhi sneered, "Get lost!"
"You, you wait!"
Zhang Gu hurriedly asked to see Emperor Jiajing.
Not long after, Jiang Qingzhi received the news.
——Zhang Gu was scolded by Emperor Jiajing and left the Western Garden in embarrassment.
in the palace.
Huang Jin said quietly, "Your Majesty got tired of playing this when he was over ten years old."
(End of this chapter)
