The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 206 Eye-opening
When Xiao Jing heard the news and rushed to Zhang Zhou's mansion, Chen Rui was being carried out of Zhang's house.

"How could this be?"

When Xiao Jing heard the news, the Chen family and the group who carried Chen Rui out asked the elders at the side.

The elder said sadly, "My master drank too much."

Xiao Jing wanted to remind Chen Rui, but found that Chen Rui was as drunk as a dead pig.

Xiao Jing waved his hand, meaning to quickly carry the person away, don't be ashamed here, and then Xiao Jing entered the courtyard.

"Mr. Zhang..."

When Xiao Jing saw Zhang Zhou, he found that Zhang Zhou was sitting in front of a wine table in the main hall. On the wine table were peanuts, pickles and other appetizers, and there were several empty wine jars beside him.

Zhang Zhou was holding a few sheets of paper in his hand, and was going through them one by one, with a complacent look, as if he was counting money.

Wang Mingshan behind Zhang Zhou looked at Xiao Jing with vigilant eyes.

Probably because he was afraid that Xiao Jing was here to steal things.

"Eunuch Xiao? Didn't you say you don't have time to spare? How come you come here?" Zhang Zhou stood up to greet him with a smile.

"I heard that Uncle Ping Jiang came here empty-handed. Our family thought he was not good at handling affairs, so we came here to remind him..."

Xiao Jing said, still looking at the paper in Zhang Zhou's hand.

Roughly speaking, it seems to be something like a house deed or an IOU.

Zhang Zhou smiled and called Xiao Jing to sit down and said: "Uncle Ping Jiang is still very hospitable, he brought his own wine and brought it specially, and said he wanted to get drunk before resting, but he didn't drink a few jars, he got drunk first! Drink When he was drunk, he said that he would give me something, made a list, and signed it."

"you!"

Only then did Xiao Jing know that what Zhang Zhou held was a gift from Chen Rui.

"Unheard of, he... what did he give?"

Xiao Jing became more and more curious.

Zhang Zhoudao: "He heard that it was very inconvenient for me to travel. He said that he got a good Dawan horse in the Western Regions, which can travel thousands of miles a day. I don't know if he is bragging. Anyway, he said he would send me a horse-drawn carriage."

"Dawan Liangju pulls the carriage..." Xiao Jing smiled wryly upon hearing this, "It seems that he still has intentions."

Suddenly Xiao Jing realized that with so many "IOUs" in Zhang Zhou's hands, he should not only have received a good horse, but also other things.

Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "This one is said to be that he got a beautiful woman in the Western Regions. She has a graceful figure, a dancing posture, a light voice, and a clear voice. It was given to him by the king of Turpan when he was in Yansui. You should also carry the beauty on your back, and send it to me when you send the good horse."

"This……"

Hearing this, Xiao Jing couldn't help but look at Zhang Zhou narrowly.

Don't you care about this tune?
The gift from Chen Rui is just right for you!
This time Zhang Zhou didn't hide it, and showed Xiao Jing the remaining "IOUs": "I said that there are wives and children at home, so it is inconvenient to accept beauties. He said that there is a mansion in the capital. It was just refurbished last year, and it was given to me together. It entered the courtyard three times. The location is a bit out of the way, but it just happened to give me a golden house. I said that there is nothing to hide for a beauty... He then said, Wang Weining gave me a Granddaughter, he also has a daughter who is newly widowed, and he will also send it to me."

"Ah?" Xiao Jing was taken aback, "New Widow? This...you want it all."

"Of course I don't want it, but he insisted on giving it to me. When he was drunk, he said that if I didn't accept it, I would look down on him. He said he didn't want any status, but he would serve me as a servant girl, carry a chamber pot, a footbath, and so on. Saying that you don't need to keep it at home, it's just right to keep it in a foreign house... unless you sign the deed of selling yourself, you can't stop it..."

"..."

Xiao Jing thought to himself that this new realm of receiving gifts is an eye-opener.

Is this the Ping Jiang Bo and Chen Rui he knew?

So unprincipled?

Zhang Zhou continued: "He also said that he would give me 2000 taels of silver with the house to buy furniture and renovate bricks and tiles. I said I would not accept the money, and Li Guang's lessons from the past should not be forgotten. He asked me how much money I had in the Jingtian house, and I He said that he only has a house but no land. He said that he has [-] hectares of fertile land near the capital, and he usually has tenants renting it out. It's..."

Xiao Jing swallowed, and said: "Mr. Zhang, it doesn't sound like you are accepting a gift, you seem to want to let him go bankrupt?"

Xiao Jingxin said, our family can see it.

You are using him to get drunk, talk too fast, and empty out his property step by step.

In terms of means, you, Zhang, are still brilliant.

Zhang Zhou asked curiously: "Is this the only thing in his house? I asked him for it according to the order, and His Majesty told me not to be polite, but I was already very polite. Shouldn't the 2000 taels of silver be collected as well?" ?”

"You joke, you can take as much as you want, as long as he is willing to give it, it's just..."

Xiao Jing hesitated.

Zhang Zhoudao: "It's just because he promised me this recently. He will renege on it later, right? By the way, he also said that he would give me 12 servants and maidservants with the house. In addition, he has a small one in the city." There is no one to take care of the rice shop at ordinary times, and he said he would give it to me. Eunuch Xiao, if he is sober, he still wants to give it away, so should I accept it or not?"

"hiss……"

Xiao Jing took a breath.

He looked over with a look of "you exploited the one surnamed Chen once, how can I exploit him in the future?"

Xiao Jing said: "Then why don't we help you to ask His Majesty for instructions?"

"There is work, there is work!"

Zhang Zhou smiled and gave Xiao Jing all the IOUs.

It means that this is all obtained from my extortion of bribes. Since you want to ask for instructions, what you say is useless, you should show it to His Majesty and have a look. Whatever His Majesty asks me to accept, just bring it back to me.

leftover……

Whether to return it to Chen Rui or how to deal with it is up to you.

……

……

Inside the Qianqing Palace.

Xiao Jing finished talking with his head down, except that Zhu Youtang was looking through the various IOUs that Chen Rui had issued to Zhang Zhou, and Dai Yi, Chen Kuan and Wei Bin beside him were all secretly laughing. Later, Wei Bin couldn't help but almost burst out laughing, covering his mouth and trying to hold back.

Zhu Youtang didn't think it was so ridiculous, he raised his head to look at Xiao Jing, frowned and said, "What does Uncle Ping Jiang mean by this?"

Xiao Jing hesitated and said: "Your Majesty, thinking about it as a servant, Uncle Ping Jiang originally looked down on Mr. Zhang. He thought that Mr. Zhang helped Wang Weining achieve today's achievements, so he already regarded Mr. Zhang as a different person in his heart, so when he went, he didn't even think about it. Didn't bring any decent presents, just a wine jug and a stove for warming wine."

Now Xiao Jing doesn't care about Chen Rui anymore.

You, surnamed Chen, were not so generous when you gave gifts to our family. Now that you are almost squeezed out by Zhang Zhou, how can our family wipe your ass in front of His Majesty?
"It's called ignorance!" Zhu Youtang said angrily, "It's his own fault for his current situation! What does it have to do with Bingkuan?"

Xiao Jing continued: "Maybe Mr. Zhang mentioned that he is not strong enough to drink. In order to let Mr. Zhang recommend him in front of His Majesty, Ping Jiang asked people to fetch a few jars of wine from his house, saying that he wanted to get drunk, but in the end... ...he got himself drunk first, and then..."

The implication is that your Majesty knows all the following things.

Chen Rui is called stealing chickens without losing rice. He himself thought he was a wine fairy, and he wanted to put Zhang Zhou down on the wine table and make Zhang Zhou soft. He probably wanted Zhang Zhou to promise to recommend the paper and pen. For signing.

The result was good, and I folded myself in.

Dai Yi tentatively said: "Your Majesty, do you think Uncle Ping Jiang was embarrassed to break the previous barrier and got drunk on purpose, taking this opportunity to give Mr. Zhang a gift, so that he can advance and retreat with restraint?"

"How to say?" Zhu Youtang asked.

Dai Yi said: "If Mr. Zhang doesn't do things for him afterwards, he can completely say that he was drunk and was coerced to write these things down, and he doesn't admit it. Even after Mr. Zhang helped him, he can... deny it. "

Zhu Youtang frowned and said: "He didn't have such a strategy on the battlefield, but he used that little thought to plot against his own people? I wanted to help him restore his reputation. It seems that I believed him wrong, and he should be notorious from now on. Failed!"

Dai Yi listened.

I just analyzed it, and His Majesty decided not to help this old boy?
"Your Majesty, this old slave is just saying something casually, or it's not what Uncle Ping Jiang thought in his mind. This servant is talking too much." Dai Yi quickly denied what he said earlier.

Zhu Youtang asked Xiao Jing: "In Bingkuan's opinion, is this person still available?"

"This……"

Xiao Jing was confused by the question for a while.

When I left just now, I was thinking that Zhang Zhou's methods of extorting bribes were unheard of, so how could I have time to ask Zhang Zhou if his surname, Chen Ke, was available?
But thinking about it, His Majesty was quite sure about using Chen Rui at first, but seeing that Chen Rui gave a gift and beat around the bush, drank alcohol and issued an IOU, he probably should have been terrified. I wonder if this person can still be used by himself. .

If he couldn't be "one of his own", why would the emperor hold on to Chen Rui with so many nobles?Isn't it good to use others?
"Careless, if Bingkuan dared to deceive him like this, there must have been a finalized case, and he came to report to me without asking clearly. What's the use of showing it to me? If Bingkuan helps him, these things have already been established. , even if not, he just said it, and it should be fulfilled! Take it, ask it clearly before talking."

Xiao Jing understood now.

The emperor didn't care what gift Zhang Zhou received from Chen Rui, or as the emperor said earlier, it was a means to win over Chen Rui.

And he, Xiao Jing, felt that it was a mistake for Zhang Zhou to "open his mouth like a lion" and show it to the emperor.

……

……

Pingjiangbo Mansion.

When Chen Rui woke up, it was more than two hours later.

"Master..." Elder Sui looked at him bitterly.

Chen Rui said: "Oh, why are you here? Aren't you going to visit Master Zhang?"

"Master, you were drunk, and when you were drunk, you gave a house in our house, two hundred hectares of land, your Dawan horse, and even Miss Six..."

"What's wrong?"

"I promised to go out, and signed a deed, saying that I will send the fields and people over when I turn back. I'm afraid you won't remember, so someone has made a list. You can take a look."

As he said that, the elder handed over the list of things he promised to give to Chen Rui.

There was a woman standing at the door, she was Chen Rui's daughter, she heard that she was "sold" by her father as soon as she returned to Chen's house, so she came to find out.

"Go, go, go, go!"

Chen Rui drove out a group of servants.

Just as he was talking, someone from the other side came in and reported: "Master, Mr. Xiao, the admiral of the East Factory, is here."

"Please!"

Chen Rui may not pay much attention to Zhang Zhou, but he compliments Xiao Jing in every possible way.

At most Zhang Zhou could be regarded as an "imperial envoy" who was favored for a while, while Xiao Jing was the permanent "governor".

When he saw Xiao Jing, Xiao Jing came up and shook his face at him: "Your Majesty said, you, Mr. Chen, don't usually devote all your attention to military and political matters, but you are careful with people in the court, which is quite a lot."

Chen Rui knelt down and said, "I would like to follow His Majesty's instruction."

"No need to be like this, Uncle Ping Jiang, our family is just passing on a message from the saint, and the things promised to be delivered cannot be relied upon."

"In addition to what you listed... the 2000 taels of silver that I mentioned earlier was also carried away and placed in the house. Our family also mentioned to Mr. Zhang that he doesn't want your things, but this is His Majesty. As ordered, he will not take it."

"A compromise... You send people and belongings in. Once the door is locked, the key can be left at our house first. When you really have meritorious service in Liaodong, you will send the key to Zhang's mansion in person, respectfully Plead guilty to Mr. Zhang."

"As long as your attitude is sincere, His Majesty and Mr. Zhang will be satisfied. This matter should be considered exposed!"

(End of this chapter)