When he just arrived at the archway outside the gate of Prince De's Mansion, Zhu Youli hurried out of the Prince's Mansion to greet him. When he was far away, he shouted: "Eunuch Chang didn't say hello in advance when he came this time. I am missing you." Welcome, disrespectful, disrespectful!"
Chang Yu laughed: "How dare you trouble the prince? It's too outrageous to say this based on our friendship!"
"No way." Zhu Youli was still surprised that Chang Yu came to Jinan. He couldn't figure out why he came here, and he felt a little guilty, although he thought he had done nothing extraordinary recently.
However, it is definitely not a trivial matter for the Governor of Dongchang to take action personally, but as long as he is not implicated, it will be fine.
"Your Majesty, this is General Zheng." Chang Yu quickly introduced Zheng Zhilong next to him.
"Your Majesty, Zheng Zhilong, pays homage to Prince De." Zheng Zhilong hurriedly saluted, and Zhu Youli responded casually. All his attention was on Chang Yu, and he had no time for others. He thought he was just an accompanying general soldier beside Chang Yu, but suddenly he felt that this name A bit familiar: "Zheng Zhilong?... Are you the one from Fujian..."
"It's the official!" Zheng Zhilong said quickly.
Oops, Zhu Youli was suddenly shocked. He had naturally heard of big guys like Zheng Zhilong. I wonder if the government and the public had not heard of all kinds of rumors about him. In the past, he was a big pirate who roamed the sea, but now he is a big warlord who dominates one side. There are With money, power, warships, power and strength, he can be called the most popular warlord in the Ming Dynasty.
At this moment, this leader is right in front of him. At first glance, he looks like a follower of the great eunuch.
Although Zhu Youli didn't know why he was following Chang Yu, and he didn't care about such things, he keenly sensed business opportunities. Zheng Zhilong was a pirate and a maritime merchant, the largest overseas trader in the past and now!
As a result, the attitude of the prince, who was full of business knowledge, became very enthusiastic, and he quickly welcomed Chang Yu and Zheng Zhilong into the palace. He just decorated the palace with lights, played gongs and drums. Of course, when he saw Chang Yu wearing casual clothes, he knew that Chang Yu was secretly leaving the capital, and he also He specifically ordered everyone in the palace to keep silent, otherwise he would pull out his tongue.
"Have you eaten, Your Highness?" Chang Yu and Zhu Youli are familiar with each other, and they speak very casually. There are not so many etiquettes and not so many rules. There is no need to be particular about the wording. They are just ordinary people talking to each other. Although Zhu Youli's identity is He was much more noble, but according to his power, Zhu Youli was like an ant in front of him that could be crushed to death at any time.
So don't put on airs in front of me and I won't put on airs with you either.
"You can eat again after you've eaten." Zhu Youli's words made Chang Yu and Zheng Zhilong laugh. They felt that this prince didn't have the airs of a prince.
Although it was already past noon and Zhu Youli had eaten, soon another table of rich wine and food was arranged in Prince De's Mansion. Everyone looked at the fine wine and food in front of them and wanted to gorge themselves on it, especially Zheng Zhilong, who was drinking wine. The addiction got out of hand, and Zhu Youli's eyes widened as he raised his glass repeatedly: "Mr. Zheng, do you know that we Shandong people are also very good at drinking? Let's see how my drinking capacity compares to yours." .
Zheng Zhilong readily agreed, but was rejected by Chang Yu: "Your Majesty, it's not that our family is destroying its prestige, but you really can't drink him." Zhu Youli was still a little unconvinced, and Chang Yu said again: "I'll drink too much later. I can’t even speak.”
Only then did Zhu Youli realize that no, two great gods of wealth came to the door. He couldn't just focus on drinking, he had to have a good chat about business, so he gave up and moved the topic from drinking to somewhere else.
"Has the prince's palace been repaired?" Chang Yu asked seemingly casually. The former palace of Prince De was extremely luxurious, but after the Qing army broke through Jinan City, it was looted and burned down again. It was abandoned for a period of time. After several years of renovations when Zhu Youli moved in, it could only be restored to one-third or even less of its original state. Chang Yu still remembered that when he first lived in Prince De's Mansion, most of it was deserted. Many places said that It's not an exaggeration to say it's a mass grave.
Zhu Youli smiled bitterly and shook his head: "It's bad." He said and rubbed his hands.
Chang Yu laughed: "Your Majesty, our family is just passing by to visit friends, not here to enjoy the autumn breeze." After hearing this, Zhu Youli breathed a sigh of relief, but said: "Eunuch Chang speaks like this, and it is obvious that if there is someone from Eunuch Chang or the court, If you need it, even if I sell it, I still have to get it together."
"Your Majesty is very particular about people." Chang Yu quickly extended his thumb and asked, "Is the harvest bad this year?"
Zhu Youli nodded.
As mentioned before, it was pie in the sky that Zhu Youli could succeed King De, but this pie had no fillings. The Tatar army gave up the entire city of Jinan, and Prince De's palace was also in ruins. What he inherited was almost just a title. , Fortunately, there are still a lot of land that can collect rent to make a living, but Liu Zeqing is completely ignored in Jinan when he is the only one. At best, he is only a big landowner in Jinan. After several years of hard work, he finally managed to save some money, and Chang Yu even lent him to him. Almost done.
But later Chang Yu didn't treat him badly. First, he helped him get rid of Liu Zeqing. Although almost all of Liu Zeqing's family property was confiscated, at least one-third of the real estate, tens of thousands of hectares of fertile land, went into Zhu Youli's hands. And he finally became the king of Jinan!
After acquiring so much land at once, plus he made a lot of investments, such as investing in Daming Bank, Chang Yu estimated that this guy had nearly a million in savings.
But Zhu Youli spread his hands and said, "I can barely make ends meet."
Chang Yu didn't believe it at first, but after hearing what he said, it suddenly dawned on him. It turned out that Zhu Youqi had so much more land and investment income should be much higher than before. However, the drought and locust plagues two years ago greatly reduced the harvest, and then there was a famine in the capital and Jinan. It was also within the scope of the impact. I don’t know how many people starved to death in and outside the city. At this time, Zhu Youli did not stand idly by. He reduced rents, opened warehouses and porridge shops, built shelters, and even set up schools...
In short, he did do a lot of things during this period, and the good things that benefited the country and the people made Chang Yu very impressed with him. He couldn't help but praise him for setting an example for the world, and wanted to report to the emperor to ask for credit.
In fact, it’s just a name request!
The Dewang lineage is now too weak in the large imperial family and has been marginalized. What Zhu Youli wants most now is to increase his presence. He is a very smart person. Ever since he found Chang Yu as his backer, he has Know how to operate.
Once you are famous and have influence, you will get twice the result with half the effort, even if it is just to make money, it will be much easier. What's more, the emperor will still remember your good deeds, mention you and praise you when there is nothing wrong, and you will be very respectable in front of other clan members.
"Among all the vassal kings in the north, our family has the best friendship with Prince De and has the same goals. Based on this, those in our family who stutter in the future will not dare to forget Prince De. But if you are told, just speak up." Chang Yu heard Zhu You Yue opened a porridge shop, a school, and a shelter again. He was indeed moved. Although he also knew Zhu Youju's intentions behind his back, he did do a lot of practical things to help him in times of need, not to mention that he had borrowed money to donate food before. Feeling loyal.
So when he was moved, he said something that spoke from the bottom of his heart. Of course, the words that spoke from the bottom of his heart were full of water, but Zhu Youli was greatly moved after hearing this. As a prince, he also had channels for information. The few surviving vassal kings in the north They all have an inextricable relationship with this eunuch. Prince Heng of Qingzhou is regarded as Dongchang’s biological mother. He borrows money and grains without hesitation. He talks nicer than the emperor. Prince Jin of Taiyuan and Prince Dai of Datong also collaborate in the coal business. However, he only ignored King Lu of Yanzhou Prefecture.
"I don't dare to give orders. Eunuch Chang's words are enough." Zhu Youli stood up and raised his glass: "It's all in this wine." He raised his head and drank it all. Chang Yu also quickly stood up and drank the tea in the cup: "Our family is not a person who makes random promises, isn't this? "Bring the prince a God of Wealth." He winked at Zhu Youyue. Zhu Youyue understood instantly and looked at Zheng Zhilong and raised his glass again: "Mr. Zheng, oh no, let's go with Zheng Wealth God?"
Zheng Zhilong smiled bitterly and stood up quickly: "Your Majesty, just say whatever you need."
At this moment, the palace steward came to the door and said, "Your Majesty, Wei Chengzhong would like to see you."
"What's he doing here?" Zhu Youli raised his brows, wondering if this guy knew that the eunuch was coming to Jinan, so he came here to keep him warm? It's impossible. If Chang Yu's people hadn't informed him in advance, he wouldn't have known about it.
"Our family asked him to come here," Chang Yu said lightly. Zhu Youli said oh, then waved to the housekeeper and said, "Bring him in."
