Chapter 879 Joining the gang, blowing
A buffet banquet was held in Xin'an Lane, and neighbors came to ask why.
"If it's a happy event in the Earl's Mansion, we should at least send a small gift, right?" An old man asked Fu Cheng why.
Fu Cheng smiled and said, "My Lord, you have a happy event today, so just eat and drink, no need for gifts."
"How can this happen?"
"Come here, whoever has smoke coming out of the kitchen today is looking down on you, my uncle!" Fu Cheng said with a flushed face.
……
In the Prince Consort's Mansion, Cui Yuan was in the study, staring at a pile of account books in a daze.
"Son-in-law, the Yan family has surrendered." The housekeeper cautiously advised: "Others are fine, but Son-in-law is a close minister of His Majesty. If he openly opposes the new policy, I am worried..."
"That is the wealth that I have accumulated over the years, as well as the land that the princess brought as a dowry. This should have been the foundation of my Prince Consort's house, but now I have to take the initiative to give it away. I, this old man..."
Cui Yuan pounded his chest, making a loud thumping sound.
A while ago, he was still mocking those powerful people who were about to be cut off by the new policy, but he didn't expect that he would be the first to enjoy this.
"Jiang Qingzhi has set his sights on Qiu Luan and the Yan family since the beginning. Prince Consort, he is preparing to kill the monkey to scare the chickens!" The housekeeper was clear-headed, "Our family is not as valued by His Majesty as the Yan family."
Our family doesn't have the face of Yan Song and his son, so let's stop making trouble and just hand it over!
"Forget it!" Cui Yuan said, "Jiang Qingzhi and I are not on good terms. If he finds any evidence against me in this matter, Jiang Qingzhi will definitely take ruthless action. Go!"
Cui Yuan turned his face away and waved his hand.
The butler was as if pardoned, "Come here."
Several servants came in.
"Pack these account books and follow me to the Ministry of Revenue!"
Cui Yuan was so angry that he was confused. Hearing this, he came to his senses and said, "Yes, since you have to pay it, then pay it to the Ministry of Revenue."
Actively handing over something is cooperation, while having someone come to you and ask for it is being passive.
Since we are all paying it forward, we naturally want to maximize our benefits.
Watching the account books being packed into boxes and taken out, Cui Yuan leaned heavily back in his chair.
"By the way, go ask Qiu Luan how things are going."
When people are unlucky, they always hope that someone will be unlucky with them, or even more unlucky.
Not long after, the news came.
"The Xianning Marquisate has handed it over."
An unwilling roar came from the Prince Consort's Mansion, "Qiu Luan, you are a coward without balls!"
"By the way, where's Lu Bing?"
Lu Bing is having a hard time!
"Jiang Qingzhi first attacked the Yan family and Qiu Luan. This was to gain the upper hand and eliminate his opponents. He was sure that the Yan family and Qiu Luan would not dare to not bow down. With these two families in front, it would be like mercury pouring down on the ground. Whoever dares not to surrender would be moving against the current!"
In the lobby of Jinyiwei, Lu Bing sat half-way on a chair covered with thick cushions, and Shen Lian was analyzing the current situation for him.
"The people from the Ministry of Revenue did not go to the commander's house. I thought that this was..." Shen Lian was used to being unscrupulous, but he was merciful to this benefactor.
"He is afraid of Your Majesty." Lu Bing said dimly.
……
"The Yuanfu family paid, the Xianning Marquis paid, and then the Fuma family also paid."
Rui Jingxian bent over and talked about the latest situation.
"What about Lu Bing?" asked Emperor Jiajing.
Rui Jingxian lowered his head, with regret in his eyes, "The people from the Ministry of Revenue haven't gone yet."
"Qingzhi's strategy this time was to kill the monkey to scare the chickens, how could he miss Lu Bing?" Emperor Jiajing thought for a moment, shook his head and laughed, "That idiot, he is saving face for me!"
……
"Not dealing with Lu Bing is not because Lord Bo is afraid of Your Majesty, but because he wants to save Your Majesty's face."
The banquet at home would be later, so Xu Wei and Zhang Ju were warming themselves by the fire in the study outside the front yard while waiting for dinner.
Zhang Juzheng did not know Jiang Qingzhi as well as Xu Wei did. He said, "Lu Bing is your majesty's brother after all. No one will say anything if we turn a blind eye to it."
"You deliberately didn't tell him who he was." Xu Wei pointed at Zhang Juzheng. "He is the commander of the Jinyiwei, a notorious figure. Who dares to offend him? If he is targeted by the Jinyiwei, your whole family will suffer."
"There are always people who are not afraid of death." Zhang Juzheng smiled. "Also, if you really want to kill a monkey to scare the chickens, Lu Bing is the best monkey. Lord Bo is not afraid of him. At worst, he can send a confidant to ask for the account book."
"Loyalty!" Xu Wei inexplicably thought of Yang Zhaodi.
The relationship between the two has made a great progress. Xu Wei is a little anxious, but Yang Zhaodi has to consider her parents' thoughts and always says to wait.
"How much do you know about Mr. Jingchuan?" Xu Wei suddenly asked.
Zhang Juzheng shook his head. "This man is like a mysterious dragon that can only be seen from head to tail. I don't know much about him either."
"He was once a giant in the School of Mind and an official with a promising future, but he threw it all away and became extremely unrestrained and uninhibited," Xu Wei sighed.
Zhang Juzheng raised his eyebrows. "You, Xu Wenchang, pride yourself on being free and unrestrained, but you are not as good as this person!"
Xu Wei was about to retort when Sun Chonglou's voice came from outside, very cheerfully, "Dinner is ready!"
Xu Wei stood up and said, "This is the inauguration banquet for the mysterious Mr. Jing Chuan."
Zhang Juzheng stood up and said, "My Lord respects this man very much."
"You say it's a close friend." "A close friend?"
"You want to know what we are?"
"What do you say?"
"We... Uncle once said that we are a family."
"family?"
"Once, Master Bo got drunk by Lord Xia, and he put his arm around Lord Xia's shoulders and said something like... Honey, you should give me a good review! Lord Xia couldn't sleep that night, and he couldn't figure out what this meant after thinking about it all night."
"Tsk! Then today, do you want to..."
The two men looked at each other outside the study.
"necessary!"
The dining hall of the Bo's Mansion was decorated under the personal guidance of Lord Jiang, and it is clean and bright. Lord Jiang once said that eating is about mood, and if you are in a good mood, everything you eat will taste delicious.
As soon as you enter, you can see two paintings on the wall. They depict a few bamboos. With just a few strokes, they convey an ethereal and otherworldly atmosphere.
The dining table was made of natural wood and was varnished. Someone suggested painting it bright red, but Uncle Jiang kicked him out.
——What can you think of while eating beef, mutton or pork and looking at the red table?
Jiang Qingzhi would think of killing a pig.
Jiang Qingzhi's father came from a rural town. It was called a small town. All the businesses in the town were concentrated in a square, which was a small square. There were shops around the square. Outside the small square, there were some tobacco shops scattered outside. If you want to buy something in the evening, I'm sorry, please come early tomorrow.
The place was poor, and Jiang Qingzhi was abandoned by his father at his hometown before elementary school. He went to herd cattle before dawn every day, and came back so hungry that he thought everything he saw was delicious.
Whenever someone in the town slaughtered a pig, Jiang Qingzhi would run over to watch the fun.
"A group of people grabbed and pressed the fat pig, and finally put it on the chopping board and tied it with a rope. The butcher cut it with his knife, and the pig grunted and struggled, and blood plasma splashed into the basin like water. His helper cut a hole in the pig's feet and blew hard through the hole, blowing until his cheeks became sore, and then he blew up the pig. Then someone poured boiling water on it, shaved off the hair, and cut open its belly..."
Before the meal, Jiang Qingzhi was going to give a welcome speech. Everyone thought that he would mention some of Tang Shunzhi's great works and express his warm welcome.
"My Lord, you even know this?" Zhang Juzheng was puzzled.
"I don't know either." Xu Wei was confused.
"Someone helper put salt in the pig's blood and stir it, take out the pig's internal organs, and stew the heart, liver, bones and large pieces of meat together. Wow! That smell. Boil a big pot, slice it, add some mashed garlic..."
Jiang Qingzhi's words made everyone drool.
He looked at everyone and said, "It is fate that we are all sitting together at this moment."
"Mr. Xia." Jiang Qingzhi pointed at Xia Yan. "When I met Mr. Xia on the way to Beijing, I thought that although this old man looked down and out, he had a stiff neck, which made him interesting, so I went over to talk to him. This is fate, isn't it?"
Xia Yan smiled and nodded.
"Old Xu." Jiang Qingzhi called Xu Wei's name second. Zhang Juzheng was very curious about how the two got together.
"Old Xu used to teach a female disciple next door. This man was arrogant, but he and Old Hu fell in love." Jiang Qingzhi pointed at Xu Wei.
Xu Wei smiled and said, "I didn't fancy you at all at first."
"Just a parasite, right?" Jiang Qingzhi said with a smile.
Xu Wei nodded.
Zhang Juzheng sighed secretly, thinking that Jiang Qingzhi could be so humble and open about his situation at the time. His broad-mindedness surpassed many people.
"As for Old Hu, this is a serious case of no friendship without fighting." Jiang Qingzhi laughed as he talked about the feud between himself and Hu Zongxian, "... I saw that this man looked so pitiful and wondered who it could be. After a closer look, wasn't it Censor Hu? He was standing outside the general's mansion, holding a wine gourd and looking like he had lost all hope in life."
"Hahahaha!" Everyone laughed wildly, even Hu Zongxian himself was laughing.
Jiang Qingzhi's eyes turned, "Zhou Xia is busy outside the city, and Uncle Da has just arrived. I don't want to expose his shortcomings..."
He glanced at Xu Wei, who coughed dryly, "At that time, my uncle fought against hundreds of people in the Hanlin Academy alone, leaving those so-called proud children speechless. Afterwards, my uncle spoke up for my uncle and was beaten up by the people in the Hanlin Academy."
"It would have been fine if they had just beaten me up." Zhang Juzheng was affected by the atmosphere and said self-deprecatingly, "Later, I said a few fair words for the Mohists and the Lord, and the Hanlin Academy took out their anger on me."
"This is a blessing in disguise." Xu Wei said, "The last time Uncle Da returned to the Imperial Academy, those who used to suppress him changed their attitude and wanted to worship him. They just wanted him to say a good word to their uncle."
Jiang Qingzhi coughed dryly, "We are brought together by fate, for a common goal, the New Deal! Ming Dynasty!"
He looked at everyone slowly, "The Ming Dynasty has many problems, and these problems are like a fat pig. I am a butcher, but I can't hold this fat and greedy pig alone. When the knife is used, someone has to blow the air, someone stir the pig's blood, someone cut the belly, someone boil the big bones, someone cut the vegetables, someone pour the wine... One tree cannot make a forest, and one hero needs three helpers."
Jiang Qingzhi pointed at the smiling Tang Shunzhi and said, "There's a new person in our house today, Mr. Jing Chuan."
Tang Shunzhi stood up slowly.
Hand over.
"Tang Shunzhi meets you all."
Tang Shunzhi had come to the Bo's Mansion many times in the past. This time he was joining the business, and Jiang Qingzhi specially organized a joining ceremony, which showed his respect and regard for Tang Shunzhi.
Everyone stood up and saluted.
"Meet Mr. Jingchuan."
Jiang Qingzhi smiled and said, "Everyone has his own duties in this family. What do you think you do, Mr. Jingchuan?"
Tang Shunzhi glanced at him, shook his head and smiled, "Me? Blow it up!"
Jiang Qingzhi raised his glass.
"Then let us join forces and give a sigh of relief to the Ming Dynasty!"
"Dry!"
(End of this chapter)
