It is obvious that Chang Yu was unlucky this time. Although he had been mentally prepared, it can be seen that the situation in Prince Lu's house is really difficult to deal with. Although he is still richer than ordinary people, his current living standard is compared to that of ordinary wealthy gentry. It can be said that the family is completely destitute.
But for a thief like Chang Yu, a thief must make a profit if he can, otherwise he will not be able to afford the meal that his ancestor gave him.
"Your Majesty, everything is full of waste here!" After drinking tea, Chang Yu glanced around and sighed, but Zhu Yihai sighed longer than him: "It's hard for a clever woman to make a meal without rice, so she has to rely on the help of noble people."
Chang Yu smiled bitterly and shook his head: "How can the emperor not know the current predicament of the prince? However, with the continuous disasters and wars today, the court has too much time to take care of itself. Although it is intentional, it is not strong enough."
Zhu Yihai nodded: "I don't know, so I never bothered the emperor."
Chang Yu glanced at him and saw that he looked slightly disappointed, and then said: "But now that the war in the north has subsided, it only takes three to five years to recover. In addition, the rebellion in the south seems to be fierce, but in fact it is just a flashback to the past. , when the world is in peace, how can the emperor ignore the clan and then donate all his money?"
"At that time, I hope that Eunuch Chang will be in front of the emperor to explain the difficulties in Prince Lu's palace." Zhu Yihai cupped his hands and thought, at that time? The devil knows that in the year of the monkey, it is better to rely on yourself than to rely on the world. Fortunately, the palace has thousands of hectares of fertile land, and there will be some left in a few years.
"It's better to rely on yourself than to rely on others," Chang Yu said suddenly, which shocked Zhu Yihai. The eunuch could actually hear his own thoughts.
Chang Yu naturally couldn't hear what he was saying, and continued: "Instead of letting others remind him in front of the emperor, it is better to find a way to make the emperor take the initiative to think about him."
Zhu Yihai was startled for a moment and said quickly: "Please give me some advice from Eunuch Chang."
Chang Yu calmly picked up the tea cup and took a sip: "At this time, natural disasters and wars are going on, and the court and the emperor are anxious. If you can provide help at this time, it will be far more appreciated by the emperor than adding icing on the cake afterwards."
A timely help? Zhu Yihai understood, and spread his hands with a bitter look on his face: "But Prince Lu's palace is so poor that it means it has the will but is powerless."
"Your Majesty, the lineage of King Lu has been passed down for eleven generations. I don't care about anything else. I just want to ask who among the past kings of Lu is the most popular with the emperor?" Chang Yu smiled, and Zhu Yihai fell into deep thought.
After a while: "If we talk about the person who wins the emperor's heart, it must be the first generation prince, oh no, it should be the second generation prince Jing Wang."
Chang Yu nodded. The second-generation royal ancestor mentioned by Zhu Yihai was Zhu Zhaohui, Zhu Tan's son, the nephew whom Emperor Yongle loved so much that he even dreamed about it.
"My lord, do you know why the two princes won the emperor's heart?" Chang Yu asked again.
Zhu Yihai was surprised... "Eunuch Chang wants me to learn from the second ancestor and reduce the palace's salary expenses? Is this not the emperor's intention?"
Suddenly Zhu Yihai began to doubt Chang Yu's purpose of coming. Why did the emperor ask him to visit him? He was here to persuade him to reduce his salary. But he was already as poor as a beggar, so how could he reduce his salary?
Chang Yu shook his head and said seriously: "This is just a small suggestion from our family. Don't let the Emperor's concern be ignored."
Zhu Yihai quickly apologized: "There are many implications for what I said."
Chang Yu then made a suggestion that was even more difficult for Zhu Yihai to accept: salary reduction and rent reduction, and all tenants cultivating the palace's fields would be halved or exempted entirely.
Are you kidding me? I don’t have any money at all. I am counting on this little bit of land to repay my capital. If the rent is reduced and waived, the palace will be able to calm down. Although Zhu Yihai did not refuse outright, he shook his head and smiled bitterly.
"Drought and locust plague, the people have lost their harvests and are starving. This is also the biggest burden for the imperial court. If the prince can reduce and waive rent in the fiefdom at this time, it will undoubtedly be a timely help to the emperor. The emperor's gratitude will be rewarded in the future. , The honor and favor will definitely be no less than that of the two princes and ancestors back then," Chang Yu said from the bottom of his heart.
Zhu Yihai showed a hint of excitement, but Chang Yu struck while the iron was hot: "The palace is now very thin, so a hundred acres of land can be enough to support the family, and the rest can feed thousands of people. This is a great merit."
Seeing Zhu Yihai's silence, Chang Yu decided to add fuel to the fire: "The Ming Dynasty is facing a national crisis. Everything done by the kings of the Ming Dynasty is seen by the emperor. The imperial court like King Fu of Kaifeng appears to be grieving and submissive. In private, our family has heard the emperor angrily rebuke: "It is not a pity to die! "
ah! Zhu Yihai couldn't help but exclaimed. Chang Yu continued: "Although it is sad to see the disaster in Prince Lu's Mansion two years ago, it is hard to sympathize with. If King An (Zhu Yipai, King of Lu An) could have used one penny and one grain of rice to support food and pay to encourage the soldiers, , and it is not like what it is now. Why was King Heng of Qingzhou Prefecture safe when the Qing army came to the city?"
"This..." Zhu Yihai looked embarrassed.
"Our suggestion is for the good of Prince Lu's Palace both inside and outside. Reducing rent for two years will not make you poor, but it will make the emperor remember your goodness, and it will also make the people of Yanzhou Prefecture recognize and accept the new Prince Lu's Palace again. This is for you." Come on, haven't you heard that the people in the city rolled their eyes and said they deserved to end up like this when they mentioned Prince Lu's Mansion? "
"Ah, he, they really said that?" Zhu Yihai looked decadent and extremely frustrated.
Now that I have no power, no money, no influence, and if there is no popular support, there is really no point in being a prince, so I feel more and more what the little eunuch said makes sense.
In a sense, Chang Yu is a liar.
But to a certain extent, when he deceives others about benefits, he also gives some benefits to the other party, so it is equivalent to an exchange.
Just like the advice he gave to Zhu Yihai this time, he could indeed win the favor of Emperor Chongzhen and at the same time wash away the impression that the Prince of Lu had to pick his nose for being rich and unkind in the hearts of his fellow villagers.
Although it did not bring substantial benefits to Chang Yu, it was a huge benefit to the people of Yanzhou Prefecture.
Now that he had done it, he launched a big event with great fanfare and made the Lu Palace famous in one fell swoop. Seeing that Zhu Yihai was persuaded by him, Chang Yu asked him to lobby the wealthy gentry in the city to participate in this activity of reducing rent and waiving rent to benefit the people. In the end, If things don't work out, some food will be provided for disaster relief.
This puts Zhu Yihai in a difficult position. To put it bluntly, he is a short-term prince. He does not have much influence among these wealthy gentry. Even if he initiates it, no one will criticize him.
"The more this happens, the more the prince has to do it. This is the time for you to set an example and establish your authority. Although you have no money and power now, the three words "Prince Lu's Mansion" are your foundation and your golden signboard. As long as you are in Yanzhou Those who want to make a living in the government must recognize your brand. As long as the Zhu family falls, they will recognize it!"
Hearing these words, Zhu Yihai's blood suddenly surged with enthusiasm. This little eunuch is right, the Ming Dynasty belongs to my Zhu family. Even if I am poor now, I am still a descendant of the Zhu family and the king of one party!
Indeed, although it is dilapidated now, it is also the best time to establish a prestige image!
At this time, Zhu Yihai felt more and more that Chang Yu was a person. Rumors that he was brave and good at fighting might be a bit unfair, but his knowledge and conversation were extraordinary, and he felt more and more speculative.
Before he knew it, it was almost noon, and Zhu Yihai had a banquet hosted. The food was very rich. Unexpectedly, the princess was invited to accompany him. There were only three people at one table, and it was a family banquet. Chang Yu's entourage held a separate banquet.
Princess Zhang, the eldest daughter of Zhang Youguang in Jining Prefecture, is beautiful but unlucky.
Historically, when the Qing army broke into Yanzhou City, Zhu Yihai was captured. The Qing army who stabbed him three times but failed to hit him told him that a beautiful and noble woman was captured by the Qing army a few days ago. "He refused to comply." , died under the wall. What do you think of your wife? You can bury her! "That's Princess Zhang.
It means that if you catch a beautiful woman, what do you want to do with her? If she doesn't jump from the city to death, is it your woman? If so, you can go and bury her. I just can imagine that in that situation, a beautiful woman was captured by the Tatars. Wouldn't it matter to you?
Chang Yu was filled with emotion when he saw Zhang's virtues during the banquet. However, Prince Lu and his wife did not notice anything unusual. There was a lot of laughter and chatter during the banquet. The young eunuch's eloquence made him feel like he was late for meeting, and he secretly made a wish to be together in the future. We should have close friendship as relatives.
