However, these officials had never met Chang Yu or Chang Yaozong.
Therefore, they came to support Gao Jie. After all, the title of King of Xuzhou was not for nothing.
Of course, it is also related to Huaiyuan Hou. Officialdom is all about human relations and sophistication.
Chang Yu had stayed in Gao Jie's General Military Mansion several times before when he came to Xuzhou and never interacted with other yamen officials. Therefore, no officials from yamen at all levels in Xuzhou had seen him. But this wedding could not be avoided. After all, They are needed to cover up appearances.
Gao Jie is not a king, but he is a king in Xuzhou. From the government offices at all levels to the common people, he is regarded as a king. He has power, soldiers, power and money. He is nothing but a king. I am afraid that the vassal kings are not as awesome as these warlords. Bar.
What's more, this guy has a very bad temper, so the officials in Xuzhou's officialdom are particularly afraid of him. No matter how they scold him behind his back or impeach him, everyone who sees him is always polite with a smile on his face, so this time when he heard about it The groom's official of the Zhang family had a close relationship with him, and when the matchmaker was Mrs. Xing, the official knew that the wedding would cost double the money.
The wedding banquet will have to be held tomorrow, but when I heard that the groom’s official was here, I wanted to see what was going on. I also wanted to pay a visit to the Marquis Huaiyuan, so I went to the door today. After being invited into the lobby, I first greeted Chang Yanling in various ways. Compliments, and then all kinds of compliments to the groom, even Zheng Zhilong was praised so much. Although Zheng Zhilong could not show his true identity in front of them, he only said that he was a general from the Beijing camp and Chang Yu's immediate boss.
Talking and laughing, it was already noon soon, and several officials from Zhizhou had no intention of leaving. They seemed to want to hang out and have a meal here. Gao Jie knew Chang Yu's character and didn't like to deal with civil servants. He felt like sitting on pins and needles even in any conversation. What's more, he kept his identity concealed and stayed with them here, so he drove these officials away on the grounds that he still had wedding matters to attend to and would come back tomorrow for the wedding banquet.
Although this move is rude, it is Gao Jie's consistent style.
After lunch, Chang Yu wanted to go to Zhang's house, but was stopped by Mrs. You are busy with all kinds of things, so don’t make trouble and make jokes.
Chang Yu thought so, so he said that he was going out for a walk. Gao Jie wanted to go with him, but he refused, saying that it was too ostentatious to be with him. Then he took Qing Yi out, and Gao Jie didn't know or care where he was going. , but called his generals Li Guoqi, Sun Shoufa, Hu Maozhen and his nephew Li Benzhen into the room and warned him again not to gossip about this matter. If there is any leakage, it will only harm his family!
In other words, Chang Yu's transformation into Chang Yaozong and his marriage could be hidden from others, but not from his close confidants. After all, they had all met Chang Yu and had social interactions with him.
But as Gao Jie's confidants, Hu Maozhen and others naturally knew the stakes and swore not to spread the news.
Chang Yu and Qing Yi wandered around Xuzhou aimlessly, sometimes going to teahouses to sit for a while, sometimes chatting with vendors on the streets. Qing Yi knew that he was making secret visits again, but in fact, these things were done by his subordinates or Jin Yiwei. He would do it and then report it to him, but Chang Yu still made a habit of walking around and listening wherever he went.
No matter where there are rich households, there are mostly poor people, so there are sufferings everywhere. The great famine that last year lasted until now, although Xuzhou is not the center, has been affected. Even if it is not affected, the lives of ordinary people these days are still a blur. It's miserable, but this year things have gotten a little better, for reasons that are a bit unbelievable to the people.
When the famine was at its worst, Xuzhou's commander-in-chief Gao Jie opened a warehouse to provide relief and set up a porridge shop, and called on the wealthy gentry in the city to respond. The king of Xuzhou set an example, and the wealthy gentry in the city who dared to say no or not put out some grain all agreed.
This kind act naturally attracted applause from the people.
And this was not over yet. Next, Gao Jie called on the wealthy gentry and big landowners to reduce rent and waive rent. He said that it would be fine to release some grain to provide disaster relief and open a porridge shop just to gain fame. Why should he reduce rent and waive rent? In years of famine, landlords don’t have much food left.
But Gao Jie had spoken, and anyone who dared not obey would be in trouble with him. I wanted to agree with him, but soon Gao Jie invited the rich gentry in the city and the famous landowners outside the city to the General Military Mansion for tea. Just one sentence inside and outside the words, whether I will give you face or not!
Now that the words have come to this, who dares not to give him Gao Jie face? In this case, no one dares to just show off and implement the reduction and exemption policy, for fear that the deception will be discovered by the King of Hell, and the consequences will be very miserable.
But everyone was murmuring in their hearts, this Gao Jie is not a good person. Ever since he took charge of Xuzhou, this guy has always been able to get in and out, both black and white. How come he is doing good deeds now?
Although he kept talking about natural disasters and wars that caused the people to be displaced and couldn't bear to do more good deeds to accumulate virtue, and that he took the emperor's salary to share his worries and so on, these rich gentry didn't believe that this murderous maniac still remembered the Buddha.
But Chang Yu knew.
This is all for him and the court to see.
Everyone knows the reason. Nowadays, there are many warlords in the Ming Dynasty, and each of them is domineering and disobedient. They dominate one side and do whatever they want, which is short of becoming a king. Each one accumulates capital for himself for the sake of powerful plunder. But I, Gao Jie, will do the opposite and be a clear stream for the common people. Everyone praised him, and the court and the emperor also looked up to him. Then in the future... not to mention that he and Chang Yu had a good personal relationship. During the famine years, Chang Yu was thinking of ways around him. As a sworn brother, he couldn't let go and hold him back.
Of course, Chang Yu also knew that he would not be able to think of such a rough job with such thorough thinking. It must be Mrs. Xing's idea.
When we returned to the General Military Mansion, it was already dark and the family banquet had started. There were still the same people at the same table. Mrs. It has nothing to do with weddings, it's either government affairs, military affairs or the current situation.
And the topic soon turned to Gao Jie. The generals who followed the southward campaign to suppress the bandits last year were either transferred to the Yellow River defense line or stationed along the river. Only Gao Jie returned to his own territory to recuperate.
While others were running around outside, he felt more comfortable when he came home with melon seeds, beer and peanuts. Naturally, Chang Yu's care was indispensable for this, but this care was not entirely due to personal relationships, because Xuzhou, as an important town connecting the south and the north, plays such an important role. Big.
The Grand Canal waterway along the way and the turnover granary in Xuzhou all need a Dinghai Shenzhen to hold them down.
Moreover, after Gao Jie returned to Xuzhou, he didn't really eat melon seeds and bask in the sun every day. He had a lot of work at hand.
Suppress bandits!
Historically, Xu Dingguo deceived Gao Jie into killing him, but in this life it was the other way around. Xu Dingguo, his two sons and his subordinates were deceived by Mrs. Li Jiyu continued to act as a monster, while Gao Jie led his troops to eliminate Li Jiyu from time to time during this period.
It's just that Li Jiyu is really strong and cunning. He has been fighting guerrillas with Gao Jie. When he saw that the situation was not going well, he ran into the mountains and circled around. When Gao Jie left, he came out to cause trouble again: "If we don't get rid of this thief, it will be really difficult."
"Grasshopper after autumn, he won't be able to jump around for long. After the peace talks, the army will clear out and see where he can hide!" Chang Yu said coldly.
As soon as peace talks were mentioned, the topic opened up again. After the meal, tea was served and the conversation continued. After chatting until late at night, seeing that several people still had no intention of stopping, Mrs. Xing could no longer hold back: "Tomorrow. We are getting married, and there are still many things that have not yet been explained..."
After everyone dispersed, Mrs. Xing pulled Chang Yu around and warned him for a long time, and then told him to go to bed early and get up early tomorrow...
