Chapter 7: Cruel Tips [Part 1]

The Ming Dynasty, Kangzhou, Prince's Mansion.

King Yuli of Kangzhou was checking the information, and there were two middle-aged scholars standing next to him. After waiting for King Yuli of Kangzhou to put down the information in his hand, he rubbed his forehead a few times and said, "We cut off the Yangtze River waterway downstream of Tizhou, and they immediately cut off our upstream waterway. Now all merchants in Kangzhou are led by the Dajiang Alliance and are already shouting."

"Prince, the Ming Dynasty court is now in name only. The seal on this imperial edict is obviously fake. Why do we have to obey the emperor's order? It is better to withdraw the Yangtze River ***, so as not to make a big fuss, and the tax revenue in Kangzhou will be damaged." said a middle-aged scholar.

King Yuli of Kangzhou glanced at the middle-aged scholar and said with a wry smile: "I have the courage to resist the orders and disrespect, but I still have to worry about the one in the backyard. As long as that person is still facing the Ming court, the Ming court will not be able to overcome it."

"Prince, I wonder how the person in the backyard is now in his condition?" said another middle-aged scholar.

"Oh." The King of Kangzhou sighed and said, "Day day is worse than day, and I don't know if I can survive this winter."

"Prince, we should be prepared. If that person has a bad situation, the morale of the military in Kangzhou will definitely be in chaos. If you are not careful, you will be attacked by the soldiers of Tizhou. That would be bad." said the middle-aged scholar.

"What else can I prepare? Let it go." Kangzhou Wang Yuli said with some negative words.

"No, Prince, if you don't make any preparations, I'm afraid this Kangzhou will not be protected." Another middle-aged scholar said with great concern.

King Yuli of Kangzhou massaged his forehead a few times again and said, "Whether you have the opinions of both of you, what preparations should you make?"

Two middle-aged scholars looked at each other, and then one of them said, "Your Majesty, there is a dangerous move for the humble position, and I don't know whether to speak or not."

"Let me tell you," said King Yuli of Kangzhou.

"Yes, prince." The middle-aged scholar paused for a moment, and then continued: "Actually, Mr. Luo and I talked about the situation in Kangzhou several times in private and discussed the situation in Kangzhou. Judging from the current situation in Kangzhou, it can be said that it is in danger. In the spring of next year, Lingzhou and Tengzhou will definitely attack the imperial city of Tianduzhou again. Once the imperial city is broken, the Ming Dynasty court will perish. At that time, if we have not yet drawn a clear relationship with the court, the army of Tengzhou and Lingzhou will definitely go south and capture the territory of Tengzhou!"

"So, before the spring of next year, we must clearly define relations with the Ming court! One is to block the excuse of Lingzhou and Tengzhou attacking Kangzhou, and the other is to appease Tizhou's army so that it dare not act rashly! If we can't distinguish between the court, Tizhou will have reason to continue to attack Kangzhou. In the end, both sides will definitely suffer losses and will eventually be profitable."

"Oh." King Yuli of Kangzhou sighed and said, "I have saved all these things, but unfortunately, it's hard to get rid of the tiger now."

"No, no, it's not true, but it's not difficult to get off." The middle-aged scribe paused for a moment, and then continued: "Prince, in the current situation, as long as you are willing to sacrifice your reputation, you can maintain stability in Kangzhou!"

"Sacrifice for the reputation?" King Yuli of Kangzhou was stunned for a moment, and then asked, "Mr. Gan, please explain it in detail."

The scholar surnamed Gan smiled and said, "Prince, you have three princesses under your knees. The second princess and the third princess have not yet been married. As long as you quietly send a message to Zhang Jiao, Tizhou, you are willing to marry Zhang Jiao, or marry Zhang Jiao's son, Kangzhou will be free of worries."

The King of Kangzhou was stunned again, then frowned, remained silent for a long time, and then said, "This matter is probably inappropriate. If the old marshal knew about it, it would be difficult to explain."

"Prince, this matter can be carried out in secret. As long as an oral agreement is reached with Zhang Jiao, the specific marriage can be postponed for a year or two." said the scholar Luo.

The so-called postponement for one or two years means that in another one or two years, Marshal Zhu Jiukang will definitely die of critical illness and will be easier to act.

"Yes, in fact, even if the old marshal knows, he will turn a blind eye and will not interfere. After all, the Ming Dynasty court is now in name only, and the old marshal is not a pedantic person and will not force you to death." said the scholar surnamed Gan.

The King of Kangzhou massaged his forehead a few times, pondered for a moment, then sighed, "Oh, that's all, but I'm sorry for the old marshal, and I feel uneasy."

… …………………

The Ming Dynasty, Tiandu Prefecture, Imperial City, and the Duke of Zhenguo Mansion.

"Master, Prime Minister Chang asked for a visit." A servant reported to Daming Zhenguo Duke Lei Song.

At this time, Duke Zhenguo Lei Song was lying on the master's chair smoking a dry tobacco, closing his eyes to rest. Duke Zheng was already in his seventies, with sparse white hair and an old face, but his skin was very rosy. When Duke Zhenguo opened his eyes, his eyes were bright and vivid, which dispelled a lot of his old look.

Lei Song handed the cigarette rod in his hand to the maid next to him, and then said to the servant: "Please invite Lord Chang in."

"Yes, lord." The servant responded and then exited the door.

A moment later, a middle-aged scholar in gorgeous clothes was led into the room of Duke Zhenguo by a servant. This middle-aged scholar in gorgeous clothes was Chang Wei, the prime minister of the Ming Dynasty today.

After Chang Wei entered the Duke of Zhenguo's room, he looked at Lei Song and said, "I have met Lord Lei."

Lei Song still stood up and said with a smile: "Sir Chang, why do you have time to come to Lao Immortal's mansion?"

Chang Wei smiled bitterly and said, "There are some things in the court that Chang dared not make decisions alone, so I came to ask Lord Lei for his opinion."

Lei Song smiled, then made a call, and then the two sat at the table, and the maid next to them poured tea for them, and then the two continued to chat.

"Mr. Chang, I have already said that Mr. Chang can make decisions on all matters in the court, both big and small. Lei is already in his sixties and really has no energy to deal with affairs in the court." Lei Song said.

"Chang also knows that Lord Lei is difficult, but today's matter is quite serious, so I have to ask Lord Lei for his opinion." Chang Wei said.

"Oh? What's the matter?" Lei Song asked.

"It's about the jade seal in the country..." Chang Wei said.

Chang Wei said halfway, and then stopped talking. Lei Song frowned. He obviously understood what Chang Wei meant, but he did not reply immediately. Instead, he picked up the teacup and slowly savored the tea. After a long time, he spoke, "What's your idea?"

Chang Wei took a sip of tea, then put down the teacup, and said, "Chang thought that he should send someone to Tizhou and would definitely buy or grab the jade seal of the Zhenguo! But on the surface, we cannot admit it."

Lei Song stroked his snow-white beard and said, "What is the Queen Mother's opinion?"

"The Empress Dowager has no objection, but the Empress Dowager sent several little princesses and little princes out of the palace and to the Zhenhai Dao Temple, Kunwu Sect and several hidden sects." Chang Wei said lightly.

Lei Song frowned, then let go of his brows and said, "Since the empress dowager has no objection, of course I have no objection. Lord Chang can do it by himself."

"Mr. Lei, this matter is simple, but the price of the jade seal in the town must be very high. Chang has no right to embezzle the gold and silver of the treasury. Therefore, Lord Lei needs to come forward for this matter, and there must be no record of the case in this account." Chang Wei said.

Lei Song stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, and then said, "How about a hundred thousand taels of gold?"

Chang Wei did not speak, but stretched out three fingers, which made Lei Song frown tightly, and remained silent for a long time, then said, "Okay! Just follow what Lord Chang said."

… …………………

Tizhou, Anmincheng, Zhang's mansion.

Zhang Yuan and Yuting sat on the bed. There was a wooden Go board between them. The two of them played chess back and forth, but Yuting had a smile on her face and a proud expression on her face. Zhang Yuan was frowning, and sometimes she was unable to hold the chess piece...

Bang!

Zhang Yuan fell a dark spot, and after Zhang Yuan got it, Yuting's smile became stronger and she smiled: "Hehe, young master, you lost again."

Bang!

Yuting said that she dropped a white piece, then picked up the black piece with a smile, and Zhang Yuan slapped his forehead and sighed: "I won't play anymore, this broken thing is too tormenting."

Since Zhang Yuan made two ugly games in Go, he has been thinking about learning Go. The way of playing Go is not difficult to learn, but if you want to play it well, it will be difficult.

Yuting smiled, then picked up Go, put it in the cabinet, and said, "Young Master, why didn't you go to the study to do your homework today?"

"Mr. Zuo left a few days ago, so what else is there to do?" Zhang Yuan said lazyly.

Mr. Zuo is the Feng Shui master hired by Zhang Yuan, who specializes in teaching Zhang Yuan the knowledge of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams. After more than a month has passed, Zhang Yuan has learned three hours of knowledge of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams every afternoon, and learned the principles and methods of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams. After Mr. Zuo had no way to teach, he automatically said goodbye.

Yuting didn't say anything else, but took out an apple and a fruit knife from the cabinet, sat in front of the bed, peeled the apple skin with a knife, and after peeling it, she fed it to Zhang Yuan piece by piece...

Just as Zhang Yuan was enjoying his life, the knock on the door suddenly sounded...

"Who?" Zhang Yuan asked.

"Young Master, it's me." Qingqing's voice sounded outside the door, and then said: "Young Master, the second master is here. The second master asked me to notify you and ask you to go to the side hall."

"I get it." Zhang Yuan said, turning over and get out of bed, put on his shoes, opened the door and walked out, then left the backyard and headed straight to the side hall of the main courtyard...

A few minutes later...
Chapter completed!