At noon, the Royal Palace of Zhongshan held a banquet to entertain Chang Yu and his party again. Xu Hongji invited some guests to accompany them, all of whom were dignitaries from Nanjing City. Of course, there were not as many as yesterday. Firstly, there were so many people that it seemed noisy. Secondly, it only took a long time to discuss this kind of thing. A few core people are enough, as long as you agree, the rest will follow.
These core figures are military advisor Liu Kongzhen, best friend Zhao Zhilong, Zhu Guobi, Tang Guozuo and others.
As the No. 1 nobleman in Nanjing, Xu Hongji was very particular about the food and wine served to Chang Yu, all of which were treasures. He even prepared six kinds of tea. It can be said that he was careful and sincere. Unusually, Chang Yu In the palace, he was joking with everyone in the garden. When they heard that Zhao Zhilong, Zhu Guobi and others had arrived, they were surprised to come out to greet them in person, and then they were even more speechless, because Chang Yu looked like he had lost his memory when he saw that the two of them were injured. Asked: "What's wrong with you two?"
Being bitten by a dog, Zhao Zhilong secretly cursed in his heart, but with a wry smile on his face: "I fell drunk last night..." Zhu Guobi said that he fell out of bed in his sleep... The people in the lobby were harmonious and chatting in harmony.
When the guests all arrived, Xu Hongji invited Chang Yu to sit at the main seat. Chang Yu refused a few times and let Chang Yanling sit. This made everyone feel a little baffled. Moreover, Chang Yanling seemed to take it for granted, which made everyone feel uncomfortable. He was even more surprised. Regardless of his status or seniority, this seat was not something he could sit on. But then he was even more dumbfounded when the little eunuch waved to the Taoist priest who had been standing outside the lobby to sit at the table. You should know that the person here has the lowest status. They are all marquis, but a wild Taoist...
Come on, I have business to do today, don't let these things disturb your mind, everyone can bear to be curious.
"When I first came to your place, I should have visited everyone one by one. However, I was busy with official duties and couldn't get away. So we are here to accompany you with tea instead of wine. I will make up for them one by one when I have time in the future." Chang Yu raised his glass at the beginning of the banquet. After saying such an opening statement, the big guys here were all adults and behaved extremely maturely. They all exchanged polite greetings and raised their glasses and drank it down. It was as if what happened yesterday had never happened.
"Now that the bandit army is approaching Nanjing, the top priority is to suppress the bandits and quell the chaos. However, the court is unable to do so at this time. I hope that all the armies will work together to share the worries for the country and the king and help our family to eliminate the danger of Nanjing and put an end to the chaos of thieves." Chang Yu went straight to the point in the second sentence. He didn't come to Nanjing just to tour the mountains and rivers. He didn't have much time to spend. He knocked on the door and entered the courtyard yesterday. Today, he either got things done or people got done. .
"My lord, you are the leader of Nanjing, please speak first."
There was not so much polite nonsense, nor was he as violent and domineering as yesterday. The little eunuch was holding a teacup in his hand, upright and calm, making everyone look a little confused. Is this the same person as last night?
Chang Yanling was the only one smiling at the banquet. He admired this descendant of the clan who suddenly came to his door more and more. He seemed moody but was actually part of his scheme. All the nobles in Nanjing were usually arrogant, but this was not the case. He has always been led by the nose.
Relieve your anger and feel happy!
Xu Hongji had actually negotiated with those nobles last night. If he didn't want to fight head-on with them and lose both sides, he would have to shed some blood, but the little eunuch's big mouth as a lion would never be satisfied.
Therefore, today’s discussion is not about whether or not to bleed, but how much is appropriate.
"The Duke of Wei has received the greatest favor from the emperor. Now that the country is facing a national crisis, he must set an example. One hundred thousand silver and ten thousand stones of grain have been sent to the Duke of Wei." Xu Hongji coughed lightly and said slowly, Chang Yu raised the corner of his mouth and gently touched his palm: "As good as the Queen of Zhongshan, you are so generous!"
"Eunuch Chang, I haven't finished speaking yet," Xu Hongji continued with a solemn expression: "Wei Guogong has a big business. To be honest, there is not much pressure to pay for the money and food, but not everyone is like this. If you have what you have on hand, you can donate it in response to the call, but Those who don’t have it shouldn’t be left to their own devices.”
It turned out that he was interceding for others. Chang Yu chuckled, put a piece of braised pork into his mouth and chewed it slowly. He raised his head and glanced at Chang Yanling: "Mr. Chang Marquis, can you afford this money and food?" Chang Yanling smiled slightly. A smile: "The matter of eating the emperor's salary and being loyal to the emperor, since the imperial court has opened its mouth in the face of national crisis, it has also been accepted."
Hey, isn't this a slap in our face? As soon as Chang Yanling said these words, Xu Hongji and others' faces turned green and white, and they cursed in their hearts. Chang Yanling seldom interacted with them on weekdays, but why? This time it's time to add insult to injury...
Chang Yu smiled even more happily and looked at Zhu Guobi again: "Master Zhu Hou, you won't say that you can't get enough, right?" Without waiting for Zhu Guobi to say anything, he smiled softly: "I heard that the year before last, the Marquis spent a lot of money to get the beauty back. In brothels and restaurants, you can get a thousand dollars a night, but you won’t be short of money at all.”
Uh... Zhu Guobi looked around and finally gritted his teeth: "Mr. Chang is right, the people who took the blame for the national crisis also joined in." Things have come to this point, and he knows that it is better to be more relaxed than to be forced to squeeze out bit by bit. Cutting meat can at least appear refreshing and gain a good reputation.
Chang Yu looked at Zhao Zhilong, Liu Kongzhao and others again. They lowered their heads and said nothing, and then sighed: "Everyone ask yourselves how much these one hundred thousand taels of silver are? Is it really impossible to get it? Our family has been in charge of the East Factory for only half a year, and we have more than just oil and water." One hundred thousand taels, which one of you here has a century-old foundation, really can't afford such a small amount of money? I have been receiving the emperor's favor for more than a hundred years and have wanted to be rich and glorious. Now that the country is facing a national crisis, is it really so difficult and reluctant to come up with some money? Is it really necessary? Will you be willing to wait until the thief army breaks the city and watch your family destroyed and people killed? Or should you admit that the thief is the master at that time? Dare I ask how you will have the face to meet your ancestors a hundred years later? The world of Ming Dynasty is all about their concerted efforts. It was beaten down!"
"The national crisis is facing us, and we dare not follow others. We will do our duty to the country by smashing the pot and selling iron as Lord Chang said!" Liu Kongzheng and Zhao Zhilong could not sit still after hearing this. At this time, they responded even if they really had no money. We can't lose our family's dignity.
Wonderful! Chang Yanling was so excited that she almost broke into a fight. Yesterday, Chang Yu made all kinds of threats and even hurt people, but today he just played the bitter card! One red, one white, one tight and one loose, these honorable nobles who wanted to save face could no longer resist in an instant.
Xu Hongji secretly sighed, this little eunuch is so talkative.
"Perhaps every family has its own scriptures that are difficult to recite, but our family hopes that at this juncture, everything will focus on the overall situation and work together to overcome the current difficulties. Our family will not push people too hard, so..." Chang Yu said and stretched out a Finger: "One price, one million taels of silver, one hundred thousand stones of grain and grass, no matter how you share it, even if you ask the rich people in the city to raise donations and borrow it, that is your business. As long as our family sees the silver and grain in three days, we will I would like to thank you all on behalf of the court and the emperor." Chang Yu stood up and picked up the tea cup, and everyone quickly stood up and drank it all with him.
There are more than 10 million nobles in Nanjing City, and the average cost per person is less than 100,000 or even less than 100,000. The young eunuch gave him a discount, and also said that he could go to the rich to raise funds, which was a discount, so he readily agreed. .
Finally, the deal was settled. Although Xu Hongji and others felt a little reluctant, they finally breathed a sigh of relief. Calculating silently, it was not a big loss. After all, it was only tens of thousands of taels of silver per person, and none of them were rich. Dependence, if you donate some and spread it out evenly among them, even less will be done.
It seems that the little eunuch has indeed given in. As Liu Kongzhen expected, he does not want to fight with them to the death. As the old saying goes, keep a line in life so that we can meet each other in the future. Moreover, they have also had some changes in their views on Chang Yu at this time. , for example, he is more straightforward and sincere. He just said without hesitation that the amount of money he has dealt with is worth less than 100,000 yuan, which is much more true than those who claim to have a clean mind.
Perhaps having solved the problem, Chang Yu also felt happy, so he even picked up the wine and drank three glasses in a row to express his gratitude.
After three drinks, the atmosphere of the banquet was getting warmer, so Xu Hongji struck while the iron was hot: "You can say that Eunuch Chang's strategy of retreating from the enemy is now with us."
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