"ah?"
Li Xiao was stunned for a moment, and then he raised his hands and said, "Your Majesty, by the grace of your Majesty, please give me your instructions."
In fact, I already vaguely knew what was going on.
Since Zhu Yuanzhang has noticed the serious drawbacks of the imperial examination and believed in his own theory of a great world struggle, it is impossible for him to remain indifferent due to his character.
Most likely it is about the new imperial examination.
However, the imperial examination was such an important matter that it could not be changed easily. As soon as Li Xiao heard the word "privilege", he knew that Zhu Yuanzhang wanted him to try the new imperial examination method in the special zone.
as expected.
Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand, called Li Xiao to him, and said:
"Li Xiao, since you have suffered the disadvantages of the imperial examination, you want to just slap your butt and ignore it? That's not possible. The person who untied the bell has to tie the bell. We will give you the privilege. Go back to Peking and figure it out for yourself. You are the Duke of the country now. That kid The Xiaozhi County no longer matches your status, so it promoted you to the position of Beiping Magistrate and gave you the privilege of studying the new imperial examination method in Beiping Prefecture."
Li Xiao thought that he had indeed guessed correctly, and said with a cupped hand, "Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty. I will do my best."
Zhu Yuanzhang asked: "Does the court need to allocate money?"
Upon hearing this, Li Xiao obviously felt that the corner of Zhu Di's mouth, who was standing aside, twitched. He didn't even have enough money to fight the war, and now he has to do this.
Li Xiao smiled slightly and said: "Your Majesty is so trusting that he has given you privileges. If you want to transfer money, the court will definitely object. I won't let my father-in-law be in trouble. Beiping will bear the responsibility."
He is indeed my good son-in-law. Zhu Di thought to himself.
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly: "Okay, we almost understand what you want to do. I'm afraid the mountain you collected in Peiping will be of great use. It should be the same as snowflakes and white salt, right?"
Li Xiao shook his head with a smile and said: "It is more important than snowflakes and white salt. It is a good thing that allows everyone in the world to have enough to eat."
After the words fell, everyone's eyes lit up.
Zhu Gaochi asked excitedly: "But something as good as that sweet potato?"
Li Xiao smiled and said: "Even worse."
Zhu Yuanzhang said excitedly: "Come on, tell me, what is that?"
"Rong Chen is giving it a try."
Li Xiao cupped his hands and said, "When this thing comes out, Your Majesty will definitely know about it."
"You kid, you're good at keeping people's appetites."
Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows slightly, "Okay, then we'll wait."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Li Xiao cupped his hands and said, "If there is nothing else, I will leave."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly.
At this time, Li Xiaogang was about to leave when he saw Zhu Gaosui in Feiyu uniform hurriedly entering the palace, and then whispered something to Zhu Yuanzhang.
Zhu Yuanzhang's face turned gloomy and he explained some things.
"Good guy, Third Brother, you are really a good spy."
Li Xiao spat in his heart, without asking any more questions, and planned to leave.
Seeing this, Zhu Gaosui came over again, "Second brother, brother-in-law, I haven't seen you for a long time. My brother misses you. My brother is hosting this afternoon. I'll treat you to dinner at Yueyang Tower Restaurant. Remember to wait for me."
Zhu Gaoxu rolled his eyes and ignored it.
Li Xiao smiled and patted Zhu Gaosui on the shoulder: "Okay, we are leaving soon. We want to get together."
After explaining, they left.
Leaving the palace, on the way back,
On both sides of the street, there are a variety of shops, including fabrics, pottery, rouge and gouache. There are also stall owners who shout at the top of their lungs to attract passing customers. Restaurants and tea shops are even more noisy and bustling, with shopkeepers soliciting customers at the door.
Compared with this lively scene, Zhu Gaoxu seemed very silent.
He lost his former liveliness and kept staring at the ground while walking, feeling depressed.
"Gao Xu, why do you feel so unhappy?"
Li Xiao said.
"Hey, the closer we get to leaving, the less happy I feel. My father, mother, concubine, and the third child are all in the capital. Look at the arrogant look on the third child today in his Feiyu suit, which makes people uncomfortable."
Zhu Gaoxu felt that his sense of existence was getting lower and lower.
In the past, his father liked him the most, but now the eldest brother helps his father, and the youngest Zhu Gaosui also helps the emperor, and he can't help but feel a sense of gap in his heart.
"I thought you were talking about something. Don't worry, you will be reused."
Li Xiao laughed and comforted him.
"I'm going back to Peking. How can I be put to good use?"
Zhu Gaoxu shook his head and said, "Brother-in-law, you don't need to comfort me, I'm fine."
Li Xiao smiled and explained: "What do you think, does the father want to collect military funds to attack Beiyuan?"
Zhu Gaoxu nodded: "Yes, but what does it have to do with me?"
Li Xiao said: "Of course it does matter. Where do you think my father will pass through Beiyuan?"
"Passing by."
Zhu Gaoxu suddenly realized: "I want to pass by Peiping"
Li Xiao smiled and said: "Isn't that right? My father said that he would conquer it himself. If he went to Peking, he would not use you? You are the king of Han now. Those generals in Peking, such as Zhang Yu, Zhang Wu, Zhu Neng and others are powerful The generals are all under your control, and you will be able to make great achievements when the time comes!"
"Yes, brother-in-law!"
After Zhu Gaoxu figured it out, his expression immediately turned gloomy, and he laughed and said: "When I return to Peking this time, I will definitely train my troops well to welcome my father's arrival!"
Li Xiao made Zhu Gaoxu extremely happy with just a few words.
The two of them walked and came to a prosperous place. Li Xiaoyi pointed out: "Isn't this the Yueyang Restaurant that Lao San mentioned? There is also a pear garden next to it. Let's just watch a show here today. It will happen in the evening. Let’s have a drink at this restaurant.”
"Okay! This is a good idea. I haven't seen a show in a long time."
Zhu Gaoxu immediately agreed and pulled Li Xiao into the pretty large pear garden in front of him.
"Sir, please come inside."
The waiter knew at a glance that the two of them were rich or noble, and immediately led them towards the yard.
The courtyard inside is very large, the ground is paved with flat tiles, and a large stage is set up in front, with actors singing on it.
On the stage below the stage, many spectators were sitting and eating melon seeds and watching the show. From time to time, they could hear people below clapping their hands and cheering.
Li Xiao and the two were led to the private room on the second floor. It was not only quiet, but also served by people. Li Xiao acted as the host and ordered a pot of good tea and some fruits. The two of them leaned on the chairs and watched the show.
Those who can come to watch a play in a theater of this size are all people with some wealth.
Especially if you sit in a private room, you will need more than ten taels of silver per day.
At this time, the actors on the stage performed "The Peach Blossom Fan", which tells the love story between the famous Tang Dynasty general Qin Shubao and the Liu family.
Zhu Gaoxu was bored and almost fell asleep while chewing melon seeds.
Seeing this, Li Xiao waved, "Can I change it to another one?"
The waiter on the side immediately bowed over and said with joy, "Sir, you need to pay extra for choosing a play. What play do you want to choose?"
Li Xiao looked at Zhu Gaoxu and said, "Second brother, please order."
Zhu Gaoxu became more energetic, crossed his legs and said: "That must be Farewell My Concubine, make arrangements quickly."
Li Xiao smiled helplessly, Zhu Gaoxu really liked Xiang Yu, and he would listen to Farewell My Concubine every time he listened to the play.
Hearing that these two gentlemen didn't even mention the price, and seeing that they were wealthy owners, the man said: "Okay, gentlemen, Farewell My Concubine is now fifth in line. Do you want to go in front?" You also have to add money.”
"Insert."
Li Xiao smiled and said: "Do you think we are people who are short of money? Just jump in at the front."
The waiter bowed and said: "You get twenty taels for ordering a play. Sir, you have intervened in three scenes. Each scene requires an extra twenty taels. The total is eighty taels of silver."
Li Xiao threw out a one hundred tael silver note and said boldly: "The rest is for reward, go and make arrangements."
"Thank you, sir. You two will definitely be rich and prosperous, and have great luck."
The boy was overjoyed, said some auspicious words, took the money and went to do the work.
Li Xiaoxin said, there are so many ways to make money in this Liyuan. It’s not expensive to follow, but it’s expensive to do what you like. If you want to jump in line, you have to pay more.
But the money is nothing to make the second child happy. Li Xiao is not the one to worry about money now.
After a while, the guy came up and explained: "I'm sorry, I have to step in front of you, but there is a guy over there who spent another twenty taels of silver to step in front of you. It's time for me to let you go." I sent you fifty taels of silver, saying that I wanted you to give in."
As he said this, the boy put fifty taels of silver on the table.
The waiter bowed down again and kindly reminded: "That man is a regular visitor to our place. There is someone here. Why don't you two just collect the money and wait a little longer?"
Because there is a rule about jumping in line, there are bound to be fights in this opera house.
The clerks usually act according to the situation, and they will mediate carefully depending on which side has the most important status.
As for the regular customer who comes often, the clerk probably knows that he has the backer of the Minister of Civil Affairs.
The Ministry of Personnel is the department with the greatest authority among the six departments. The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel is already a heavenly official in the capital, so the clerks tend to be on his side.
However, after hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu was a little unhappy.
He has been in a bad mood recently, and someone is pretending to be in front of him?
Zhu Gaoxu directly threw the fifty taels of silver notes on the ground, "Where are you sending the beggars?"
After saying that, he slapped a hundred taels on the table and said, "Give him these one hundred taels and tell him to get out."
"this"
Dude, it's a bit difficult to handle
Everyone who hangs out on such occasions pays attention to face.
It’s time to get started today
Zhu Gaoxu scolded: "Go if you are told!"
The guy couldn't afford to offend anyone, so he had to pick up the silver on the ground, picked up a hundred taels of silver and headed towards the room over there.
In the room over there, there were several fat-headed businessmen sitting.
The businessman at the head was obviously the most powerful, and next to him there was a graceful woman with a curvy figure, leaning against him to feed grapes.
"Tell me, will this iron ore tax increase be successful?"
Several businessmen were discussing matters, one of them said.
They came to Beijing this time and brought out a large amount of money. In addition to contacting their own inherent connections, they also needed to contact and bribe other officials.
After all, once taxes are increased, the losses will be huge. Of course, for them, less profit is a loss.
"Don't worry, I have met many officials over the years in the capital, and they all treat me well. Wang Xian, the left minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, was promoted from the chief minister to the imperial court this time, and it was indispensable for us, the Wang family, to help him. Can he just sit there and do nothing? He gets points every year. Haha, let’s not talk about this.”
The leading businessman laughed, looking like a big brother.
"Brother Wang is still great. We will have to rely on Brother Wang more in the future."
"Yes, Brother Wang, we have several small mines in our house. We spent a lot of money to get them up and running, but we can't let something like this happen."
"Come on, let's have tea instead of wine and give a toast to Brother Wang."
Several other businessmen picked up their tea cups and flattered him, which made the businessman surnamed Wang feel good.
The beautiful woman on the side said softly: "Brother Wang is a powerful figure in the capital."
The businessmen all responded: "Well, who in the capital dares not to listen to Brother Wang's words?"
"Haha, I dare not say that."
The businessman surnamed Wang said modestly: "There is nothing in the capital that I, Wang, cannot do."
at the same time,
On the roof of this house.
One person is watching all this.
"Very good. Those who colluded with government officials and businessmen in the DPRK will be penalized on you."
"My father is worried about the lack of military funds."
"Just extort money from you."
Zhu Gaosui took a small brush, licked it on his tongue, dipped it in ink, and wrote all the words he just said in the notebook.
Zhu Gaosui has an excellent memory, and he can write it down quickly almost as soon as he listens to it.
Those were all unique skills that I practiced with Li Xiao and Zhu Gaoxu when they were traveling in the south of the Yangtze River.
"Huh"
Zhu Gaosui suddenly froze and found that in the room opposite, his second brother and brother-in-law were eating melon seeds, talking and laughing.
"I can see you when I go out to do errands."
"Hey, I really envy you."
Zhu Gaosui cast an envious look and thought:
"The second brother knows how to fight and is born with supernatural powers. The brother-in-law has a quarrel in his heart and has thousands of ways to govern the country. My father's love for them is beyond words. I am the only one who is pitiful. My father doesn't love me and my mother doesn't love me. I can only give to my father." The king does these things so that he can see my existence.”
This is the true thought in Zhu Gaosui's heart.
He would never have imagined that Zhu Gaoxu was envious of him just now.
It really goes with that sentence. When you envy others for their money, others may also envy your ease and freedom. People inside the wall want to come out, and those outside the wall want to get in.
After withdrawing his thoughts, Zhu Gaosui looked down the room and continued to listen.
At this time.
A waiter came over and apologized: "Your Majesty, I'm so sorry. Those two gentlemen didn't accept it and said..."
The businessman surnamed Wang suddenly felt that he was losing face. In addition, there were so many people around him who had just flattered him for his magical powers, which made it even more difficult to live with.
He said coldly: "What did you say?"
The waiter said: "I will give you one hundred taels and ask you to let him jump in line first."
After hearing this, the businessman surnamed Wang's face darkened, and he was hesitating whether to give in.
After all, businessmen are doing business outside, and they pay attention to being friendly and making money, and not offending anyone when they have nothing to do.
One of the businessmen on the side said: "Otherwise, let's take a step back and forget it. It's just a matter of waiting a little longer, etc."
But the young woman next to me said softly: "Brother Wang, I just want to listen to Romance of the West Chamber. You are not very powerful, so this small request will not satisfy me, right?"
Hearing this, the businessman named Wang frowned.
The woman lay on his shoulder and whispered in his ear: "Brother Wang, please, I want to see it now. I just waited for a big shot, and now I have to wait again. I have been waiting for a long time."
For a moment, the eldest brother got a little carried away.
He had already waited for a general once, now he was still waiting?
Wait and wait, do you still want this face?
The businessman surnamed Wang looked at the clerk and said, "What are the backgrounds of those two people?"
The man shook his head and analyzed: "He must be a kid from a rich family, he is very generous."
A businessman surnamed Wang arrived: "How old are you?"
The waiter arrived: "One is eighteen, and the other looks to be only fifteen or sixteen."
Hearing this, the businessman surnamed Wang made a scornful sound and said: "Don't worry about him, just tell me the story of the West Chamber. I'll fill it with five hundred taels."
The meaning of full pressure is that the maximum limit is 500 taels, and others cannot jump in the queue.
After saying that, he slapped the banknote directly on the table.
"This" guy hesitated.
At this time, the shopkeeper also came. When he saw that it was a businessman named Wang, he smiled and said: "Go and do it. The prince doesn't ask anyone, and who in the capital doesn't give face?"
"Yes, from the shopkeeper." The clerk took the banknote and returned it to make arrangements.
The shopkeeper was also looking at the dishes. After learning about this, he secretly looked into Li Xiao's room and found two young men. He guessed they were from a rich family. He wanted to apologize later. Let this matter be over.
As for the people in this room, they have a great background, and they are regular customers, so the shopkeeper will definitely lean towards this side.
"My lord, you can watch the show in peace. If you need anything, please let me know."
The shopkeeper of the Liyuan said hello and bowed out.
Those who can open a pear orchard in a prosperous place in the capital naturally have some background. He feels that this matter is not a big deal today.
The businessman who was called Prince nodded slightly, feeling that all aspects of his face were taken care of, and he felt particularly happy.
At this time, the actors on the stage finished singing the Peach Blossom Fan, and the actors came on stage one after another.
Zhu Gaoxu in the room suddenly became energetic.
Finally, his favorite Farewell My Concubine arrived.
Zhu Gaoxu was born with supernatural power, so Shi Chang claimed to be the reincarnation of Xiang Yu, and the weapon he used was also a halberd, which shows how crazy Xiang Yu is.
"I'm coming."
Zhu Gaoxu sat upright and prepared to listen to the play.
A group of actors were replaced on the stage, and they began to sing Romance of the West Chamber.
As the tone came, Zhu Gaoxu frowned slightly, and he said with some doubts: "That's not right, Farewell My Concubine is not in this tone?"
After speaking, he looked at Li Xiao.
Li Xiao shrugged and said, "You ask me, who am I asking? This is my first time accompanying you to the theater, and I have never heard of it."
So, Zhu Gaoxu waved to the person next to him: "Come here."
A clerk came over and said, "Sir, what are your orders?"
The shopkeeper of the opera house replaced the waiter with another waiter.
The waiter said: "Sir, this is The West Chamber."
"The West Chamber?"
Zhu Gaoxu frowned and said, "Where is Farewell My Concubine?"
Seeing the fierce look on Zhu Gaoxu's face, the waiter was frightened and quickly explained: "Sir, it's like this. Our opera house has regulations. If a guest directly pays five hundred taels of silver for the full payment, he can be placed directly at the front and behind him. People can’t spend money to jump in line. Generally speaking, if you spend five hundred taels of silver, no one will compete.”
"So, you didn't say anything?"
Zhu Gaoxu stood up abruptly. He was a prince, and he was being suppressed by someone in a theater. He felt completely humiliated.
Cursed: "Is it because I can't afford five hundred taels of silver? Ah??"
Li Xiao was also a little displeased. He didn't inform him in advance. Don't I, Mr. Yongle, be shameless?
"Call your shopkeeper here!!"
Li Xiao scolded, "It's no use looking for these guys, just go directly to the shopkeeper."
"Yes, yes, I'll go right away."
The guy felt like he couldn't handle the matter, so he left immediately.
Soon, the shopkeeper of the Liyuan came in with a bow and said with a smile: "You two, I'm really sorry. This is a small business. We can't afford to offend you here, and we can't afford to offend you there either. I can let you two make do with it."
Zhu Gaoxu slapped the table and scolded: "Change it immediately! Also, call over the person who stole the show from me on that table!"
The shopkeeper suddenly looked ugly, straightened his expression, and said: "Master, don't be too arrogant. You can't afford to offend the people in that room over there. Keep a line in your behavior so that we can meet each other in the future. Your order today, Our Liyuan is exempted, do you think so?"
When the shopkeeper saw that the two were young, he thought they were the young masters of a wealthy family, so he didn't pay too much attention to them. However, the people in the other building were all well-known businessmen, and many officials in the court were familiar with them, so he said so.
First with some threats, and then with a step.
When most people encounter this situation, they give in.
But Zhu Gaoxu refused to accept this softness.
"Damn, there are still people I can't afford to offend!"
"If you can't watch it, then don't watch it at all."
After saying that, Zhu Gaoxu flipped the table over, and the porcelain tea sets suddenly fell to the floor, and some even fell downstairs, hitting the heads of passers-by below.
Such a big commotion immediately silenced the entire opera house. The actors stopped acting one after another, and the individual guests in the private rooms and below all looked towards Zhu Gaoxu.
Zhu Gaoxu pointed directly at the seat in the center. He seemed to have seen the waiter running that way just now. It was most likely that those people were stepping on him.
"The fat guys over there, come here!"
Zhu Gaoxu pointed in the direction of the elegant seat and shouted.
Suddenly, all eyes turned towards those fat men.
Those with sharp eyes will recognize it.
"Isn't that the second shopkeeper of the Wang family in Jiangxi?"
"Oh my God, these two young men are so brave. They dare to offend even the Wang family."
"I guess they came to the capital from out of town, right? The Jiangxi Wang family is very powerful in the capital, and ordinary people can't afford to offend them. Even some high-ranking officials can't afford to offend them."
"Yes, I heard that a young man's woman was robbed last time. The young man wanted to take revenge, but the man disappeared the next day. If you can't see him alive or dead, that family can be considered somewhat powerful, but they don't know it at all. Dare to report to the official."
"Hey, it seems to be the woman on the second floor. Look at the woman next to the second shopkeeper of the Wang family."
"Is that the woman who was robbed? No wonder, who wouldn't be tempted?"
"As expected, she is so beautiful. She has such a big figure and is so enchanting. If you let me sleep for a while, I would live ten years shorter."
"Keep your voice down, let the second master of the Wang family hear you, be careful not to save your life."
"Hey, these two poor boys are probably dead."
The onlookers were discussing one after another, obviously knowing the background of the second shopkeeper of the Wang family.
The Wang family is a wealthy family. There are many big businessmen in the family, and many court officials were promoted by the Wang family. They have a lot of property, and the family is big, and ordinary people can't afford to offend them.
Obviously, they thought that Li Xiao and Zhu Gaoxu would be in trouble today.
As Zhu Gaoxu's shouts and curses passed through, the men of the second shopkeeper of the Wang family in the room over there moved one after another.
The servant dressed in black cursed loudly: "How presumptuous! You dare to talk to our master like this, you are so tired of living."
The businessman surnamed Wang was also angry. He gave the young man face today.
I didn't expect that he would dare to be so arrogant now. He was a little shameless. Since he was tired of living, let him know how much he weighed.
"Let's go over and teach him a lesson."
When the businessman surnamed Wang came together, more than a dozen servants followed him aggressively. The dozen or so servants accompanying the merchants also followed, and there were almost fifty or sixty people in the crowd.
These big businessmen usually bring their servants with them when they go out. To put it bluntly, they are just raised thugs, all of whom have practiced martial arts.
The group of people walked towards Li Xiaoya's room with great momentum.
There were more and more onlookers, all waiting to see the show and the fun.
At this time, Zhu Gaosui, who was watching the theater on the roof, smiled happily and said to himself:
"That's great, second brother. As expected of you, you are a troublemaker. You are indispensable everywhere. Zhengchou has no reason to arrest these big businessmen. When they start fighting later, there will be a reason. Dare to fight against the emperor's relatives? , that’s a serious crime, you can totally rip them off.”
Zhu Gaosui was overjoyed. He immediately touched down from the roof and began to summon his men. When the fight started, he immediately led the Jin Yiwei to capture the people directly and asked the wealthy families to use money to solve the problem.
at this time.
The second shopkeeper of the Wang family came over aggressively with a group of people, and said with a disdainful smile: "Do you know who I am? I am..."
"Get the hell out of here, I don't care who you are!" Before the fat man could finish his words, Zhu Gaoxu slapped him in the face.
There was a crisp sound.
Everyone in the audience was stunned.
The whole pear orchard was instantly quiet.
"You dare to hit me."
A red mark suddenly appeared on the face of the second shopkeeper of the Wang family. The second shopkeeper, who was in his forties, was slapped in the face by a young man in public, and he immediately became furious.
"Kill him to death! I will be responsible if he dies!"
He felt extremely humiliated and immediately called for help.
When dozens of servants saw their master being beaten, they looked fierce and drew out their sticks.
He greeted Zhu Gaoxu.
(End of chapter)
