Begging in late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 529
Dozens of shadows swayed back and forth on the wall, a gust of wind blew by, the beams of the house creaked under the action of gravity, and the candle flames were swayed by the cold wind of the twelfth lunar month, making a ghostly atmosphere in the gorgeous The hall kept turning around, and he pushed open the door suddenly, looking at the purple faces of men and women, sticking out their long tongues, Qian Qianyi was so frightened that his old face turned pale, and he sat down on the ground.

This is already the fourth one this month. As Song Qingshu sold grain for No. 17 days, the Yangzhou salt merchants who could no longer withstand the pressure also began to sell. The rice purchased for 11 taels a load was also sold for half a tael. Sorghum, rice and the like have fallen to five hundred cash a load, and soybeans are even two hundred cash, and no one cares about them.

It was Song Qingshu who was kind enough to buy the soybeans from these Yangzhou salt merchants. The soybean oil can be squeezed into five taels of silver a load, and the soybean meal can also meet the needs of the growing military horse farms in Taiwan and the Dabie Mountains.

However, this heavy price difference has also severely hit a large number of Jiangnan gentry from the Donglin Party and Fushe members. Yangzhou salt merchants are better. Although they lost the grain market and a large area of ​​tea production, they are still dead after all. Hold on to your lifeline, Yanzheng.In addition to some small salt merchants who are completely out of the game, such as the Bao family and the Wang family, these big salt merchants still have a chance to recover. However, the families of the family members of the society have mortgaged their old houses to Jiaduobao. After the death of Song Qingshu, those who became more and more prosperous were brought back. Fortunately, the family has been wiped out for hundreds of years. Many people can't bear the despair, either hanging themselves or throwing themselves into the river.

"master!"

There was a scream from behind, and a slender figure also rushed into the room, hurriedly helping Qian Qianyi up in a panic. Hearing Liu Rushi's concerned scream, Qian Qianyi just came back to his senses, but looked at Qian Qianyi's heart ached against Qiao Jiaren's pale cheeks in an instant, and there was only one and a half months left before the March appointment with Song Qingshu!

"Zhang Pu!"

Unknowingly, Qian Qianyi's eyes also turned red with blood, and a burst of heart-warming words forced out from between his teeth.

…………

Just when Qian Qianyi was gnashing his teeth, Zhang Pu's eyes were also red, but he vented his hatred on Song Qingshu as always.

Songjiang Loudong, Zhang Mansion.

A solitary lamp is also like a ghost fire. On the ground, messy waste paper is thrown all over the floor. Zhang Pu, who has always been known for his calligraphy, is trembling with his hand holding the brush, but his eyes are blood red. Grinding his teeth, he finally finished writing a cover book and put it in front of the window to dry. Looking at the names, Zhang Pu seemed to see beating human heads rolling down spraying blood. Well, it was hard for him to control the impulsive killing intent, and he didn't expose Song Qingshu's name, just like other waste paper on the ground.

At this time, there was a knock on the door suddenly, and the book boy hurried to open the door. After a while, a strong fat man with a lantern came in. His whole body was wrapped in a fox fur coat like a fur ball. Most of his face was covered by a fox fur hat, only a pair of cold blue hands were exposed, a huge thumb was worn on his thumb, and a rather elegant Wu character was looming.

Seeing the fat man's arrival, Zhang Pu wasn't surprised at all, but excitedly stretched out his hand to call him over.

"Come on, look, is there anyone missing from this list? If not, I'll send it to the capital!"

Looking at the list to be aired, Zhang Pu showed a perverted look of love and pity, as if stroking the skin of a lover, stroking the paper on it, staring at Song Qingshu's name, Zhang Pu grinned and said: "He Song thief thinks he has won? Hmph, this world is still ruled by the imperial court! As long as the teacher proposes impeachment himself! They will all die!"

However, Zhang Pu, who was intoxicated, didn't notice at all. When Wu Changshi looked at the list, the fat on the face under the hat jumped, and immediately he put away the shock, disgust, and anger, and took a look. The stock hung humbly on his face, smiled and hugged Zhang Pu.

"Qandu is right. Our teacher is Zhou Yanru, a great scholar! The chief minister! He is just a small merchant, Wu Fu! Trying to kill him is not like playing with him. For this list, Gandu might as well go first. Lend it to Wu, and Wu will go back, so that he can participate in the research again, don't miss anything!"

"It's easy to say, brother Wu can take it himself!"

When he said this, Zhang Pu generously took the list and handed it to Wu Changshi.

Calmly, he stuffed the list into his sleeve, and from the other sleeve, Wu Changshi casually took out an invitation card wrapped in beautiful silk, and put it on Zhang Pu's desk.

"Bao Lu's treat. At the end of this month, Yangzhou Ruanhonglou invites you, Zhang Cai, Mr. Qian, Mr. Jiang, and Taichong. They will enjoy the new play together."

"Hmph, Baolu is a vulgar businessman, how can he still have this kind of heart? Does he not feel sorry for the money he paid?"

Zhang Pu is quite capable of holding grudges. That day when Bao Lu was holding his collar, the beating he received immediately was recorded on that dead salt merchant. Hearing these words, Zhang Pu immediately had a sneer on his face. , said with a cold snort, Wu Changshi followed with a dry laugh.

"That's not it! This guy is so distressed. He hasn't eaten for several days, and he is actually a lot thinner than Wu, but it's his luck. Huaihe, and then sold some of his hoarded grain to Henan and Shanxi at a high price, and he made a fortune. With the money, no, he bought a few new skinny horses, please show off!"

In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, literati and businessmen had very close contacts. Merchants took literati to improve their style and social status, and literati also used the financial resources of businessmen to eat and drink, and they were suave, and they often didn’t need to be dumped by businessmen. The complexion, the good thing of eating and drinking for free and being a master, naturally everyone is willing to go, Zhang Pu has been very depressed recently, and wanted to settle accounts with Bao Lu, hesitated for a while, and nodded.

"Okay, Zhang has made a note, it's a face for this fat pig surnamed Bao!"

"Oh, then I'll just return him like this!"

The two sat together again, exchanging some current affairs with each other, as well as their understanding of Neo-Confucianism. They stayed for almost half an hour before Wu Changshi offered to leave.

This year is much colder than later generations. Even Shanghai in later generations, Songjiang today, has a light snowfall, and the snowflakes fall in profusion, and there is an atmosphere of tranquility everywhere. There is a layer of snowflakes on the top of Wu Changshi. On the way, he left Zhang Pu's house with a smile, brushed off the snow from his hat, and climbed into his four-wheeled carriage.

It's just that the moment the carriage door slammed shut, the smile on Wu Changshi's face also disappeared, replaced by full of viciousness.

"Hmph, childish!"

With a sneer, Wu Changshi casually pulled out Zhang Pu from his sleeve and wrote for a few days. The list of Song Qingshu's anti-party members who worked so hard to count was thrown into the burning brazier in the car. The flames steamed up.

…………

At the end of November, Yangzhou, Ruanhonglou.

Although the salt merchant suffered a huge loss this time, the other landlord families made a lot of money from selling grain, pocketed the salt merchant's bottom line, and had two salesmen The low-cost food, these low-level people have also improved a lot, and the Shilihong Alley in Yangzhou has become more prosperous.

It's not like in later movies, prostitutes are like a dog skin plaster, they stick to a man when they see it, this is a high-end consumer place, and the staff at least have the temperament of heaven and earth. Zhang Pu just arrived at the door with the snow, and immediately there were two pretty girls The girl came up to meet Zhang Pu and took Zhang Pu's coat and hat, leading him to the backyard.

The luxury of the salt merchants is vividly reflected here. The entire courtyard is occupied by Baolu. In the cold winter months, the courtyard is filled with colorful flowers. They are real flowers. In this season, the cost of these flowers is no less than the same volume. The silver, but the high-quality delicacies on the table under the corridor are mediocre.

However, if the ostentation is big enough, there are only a few guests. Apart from Bao Lu and a dozen salt merchants, Wu Changshi, Zhang Cai, and a few Jiangnan celebrities who he is not familiar with, Zhang Pu couldn't help frowning.

"Haha, Mr. Renxue has arrived, and we are far away to welcome you! At the command of Empress Wu Zetian in the same year, all flowers in Luoyang are in full bloom, and the winter is in full bloom. Bao is obsessed with enjoying the fragrance in the cold snow. I am busy arranging the arrangements. Please forgive me, Mr. Renxue." crime!"

"Old Qian, what about Chaozhong and the others?"

"Oh, Mr. Fang, Mr. Qian and the others are busy recently. As for Mr. Hou, he has gone to Songjiang. Mr. Renxue should know who he is going to see!"

Hou Fangyu and Li Xiangjun's stalk, the entire core of Fushe is not ignorant. Hearing that Hou Fangyu went to ask Song Qingshu's woman and put a cuckold on him, Zhang Pu felt a lot happier. He sneered and walked into the banquet arrogantly. Following behind him, Bao Lu hastily greeted him eagerly.

"Mr. Renxue is here. Today, Mr. Bao's Hundred Flowers Banquet was not in vain. Mr. Zhang is both excellent in poetry and calligraphy. Today everyone is lucky!"

"Brother Gandu, hurry up, sit this side!" Wu Changshi on the side also eagerly led Zhang Pu to sit down. Inadvertently, the eyes of the two intersected, but they showed a fierce look. It's a pity that Zhang Pu was patronizing Yeah, totally ignorant of it.

The gathering of literati was no different from the one Song Qingshu met in Luoyang. It was nothing more than reciting poems, listening to music and appreciating music. The Yangzhou skinny horses called up one by one, asked them to take off their shoes, and showed their little feet for the big guys to play with. Facing the golden lotus with deformed feet, a group of literati were in a daze, composing poems and writing essays. The whole afternoon.

Because he was determined to force Zhou Yanru to get rid of Song Qingshu, Zhang Pu seemed a little more relaxed. He drank a few more glasses of wine in the afternoon, and when night fell, Bao Lu respectfully took out the small building to the east to entertain him alone. He also sent his favorite Yangzhou skinny horse to serve him in the afternoon.

The scholar-officials are also men, not to mention such a delicate beauty, who does not play for nothing, relying on his alcoholism, Zhang Pu prancing his horse again, tossing and tossing in the middle of the night before he fell asleep drowsily.

However, this soft red building is really weird. In the cold winter months, the room is getting hotter and stuffier as you sleep. Lying on the beautiful bed, the feeling of suffocation makes Zhang Pu move, struggle, and feel sleepy in an extremely uncomfortable way. Oh hello, I opened my eyes with difficulty, but in the next second, the leader of the largest opposition party in Ming Dynasty, who was even able to support and control the chief assistant of Ming Dynasty, widened his eyes in horror.

Strands of ribbons wrapped him like a cicada chrysalis, and he couldn't move on the bed. In the room, several flames were already burning, and the thin Yangzhou horse who served him was strangled to death, and his body lay on the bed. On his body, the tongue was sticking out beside his face, and in the light of the fire, two ferocious faces were standing beside his bed with a grinning smile under the reflection of the torch.

Baolu!Wu Changshi!

(End of this chapter)