Looking the other person up and down a little rudely, Feng Ziying said without any extra words: "Your Majesty, are you asking for His Majesty or for yourself?"
"Oh?" King Zhongshun was stunned for a moment and then became interested, "So what if you ask for your brother, what if you ask for me?"
"If you are asking for the emperor, I have told the emperor before. How to do it and what strategy to use depends on the emperor. If the prince is asking for himself, it is simple. It depends on what the prince wants."
Feng Ziying became more and more relaxed and at ease, and could even pick up the tea cup and take a sip.
King Zhongshun's narrow eyes flickered uncertainly, and he also picked up the teacup and took a sip.
This guy's rhetorical question made him dare not speak easily.
The king chooses his ministers, and the ministers choose the king. The same goes for choosing partners.
King Zhongshun believed that he was qualified to get involved, but he did not think that he was the only choice.
Feng Ziying is now at the height of her power, and there are so many people who want to get involved. Even the emperor is still considering how to get involved.
It’s not that Brother Huang is not qualified, but that he has too many issues to worry about.
Similarly, King Zhongshun had ideas, but he also had concerns.
He is now highly respected by the emperor's brother, and even some important and secret affairs are entrusted to him to participate in the handling. However, in times of peace, King Zhongshun is very aware of the royal affairs. The Tian family has no kindness, and even if there is, it will never be extended to him. On the body.
King Zhongshun also knows that the emperor's body is very good. It looks good now, but internally he is weak and exhausted. The emperor himself knows it very well, so he pays great attention to maintenance now.
Once the imperial brother dies, no matter which of his imperial nephews takes over the throne, I am afraid that he will no longer value and favor his lineage as much as the imperial brother values him now.
Besides, he has thirteen sons, four daughters, and seven underage sons. Thinking of this, King Zhongshun himself felt worried. His legitimate sons and concubines are all sons. If he loses power in the future, how will he live his life?
The thirteen sons are the eldest son who can inherit the family business, but what about the other twelve sons?
Especially for the sons born to several beloved concubines, the pillow wind is already whining in their ears all the time, asking to buy some properties for them, otherwise they will really have to guard the property every year in the future. The small amount of salary given by the clan government goes to the northwest wind?
Look at your cousins, that is, the sons of your father's brothers. How many of them can still behave like human beings now? Many of them have been reduced to making a living selling their houses and houses.
At the end of each year, many people even go to the clan mansion or palace to cry out for poverty and ask for some reward, otherwise they will not be able to celebrate the New Year.
When my father was here, I could still spend some money every year, but after my brother came to the throne, there were no such good things anymore. Most of them were just instructions and a few taels of silver.
This does not include Emperor Tianping and Emperor Guangyuan, that is, the distant branches from the imperial grandfather and imperial great-grandfather. It is said that many of them have already gotten into the situation of beating Fenghe and helping others.
Over the years, there have been many soldiers with the surname Zhang, all descended from the Taizu lineage. They came to fetch and ask for favors at the beginning and end of the year, and King Zhongshun didn't even bother to see them.
In terms of seniority, some of them can be called their grandfathers, but not everyone can afford to eat.
The Zhou dynasty has only been in existence for a few years, less than a hundred years. It is said that according to the statistics of the Zongren Mansion, starting from the generation of Taizu brothers and uncle brothers, the population of this flourishing clan can exceed a thousand, and there are Many concubines simply refuse to admit it. They love them no matter what. The thought of this makes people shudder.
King Zhongshun can't control as much as other families, but he has so many sons, so he has to think more and think more about his own son. He can't just close his eyes and his son and grandson be reduced to begging on the street, right?
And he also heard some other meaning hidden in Feng Ziying's words, well, he hasn't figured it out yet.
"What do you want?" King Zhongshun chewed the question slowly, pursed his lips, and then put down the tea cup again: "Ziying, I am stupid, and I don't quite understand what I mean."
"My lord, it's simple. If you are simply looking for a way to make money, then don't get involved in the Liaodong trade and the trade with North Korea and Japan. The first is complicated, the second is time-consuming, and there will inevitably be some twists and turns. Ziying will show you a way. In fact, you may also know that even Yinzhuang, I dare not say that it is profitable, but it is a hen that continuously lays golden eggs."
Feng Ziying's slightly relaxed tone made King Zhongshun's heart beat a few times. Isn't this what he desires most?
He couldn't take care of his daughter. He could only give her a dowry and choose a good family. Hey, he also knew that a civil servant like Feng Ziying would never delay his future by marrying a daughter of the clan. Otherwise, no matter how much the dowry was, he would still have to pay for it. Guy tied up.
King Zhongshun himself didn't know how many of his thirteen sons would become useful men. He thought it was good to have a small number, but what about the other ten? Once this happens, I'm afraid that it will be a mess before I even have time to close my eyes.
舔了舔嘴唇，这是忠顺王紧张兴奋激动的习惯，小时候没少因为这个习惯挨揍，虽说随着年龄增长，这个习惯动作日渐少见，但是到了这等时候，还是控制不住。
"What if I'm not satisfied with this? I want to hear, apart from this hen laying golden eggs, what else can I do and what can I get?"
At this time, King Zhongshun's tone was already very serious and solemn, no longer as relaxed and casual as before, and his eyes were focused on Feng Ziying's face.
Feng Ziying remained the same, and even picked up a piece of tea fruit and stuffed it into her mouth and tasted it.
This is somewhat disrespectful.
If you are not a particularly familiar or close friend, you usually just drink tea when you are waiting for tea. If you have a very different status or a relatively distant relationship, even serving tea is just a decoration. But Feng Ziying seemed to regard herself as a regular customer.
But King Zhongshun did not feel dissatisfied, and was even a little happy. This showed that the other party did not regard him as an outsider, and was even willing to have further and deeper exchanges with him. This was the most willing.
"How about the tea fruit in Gufu? This lotus root powder and cinnamon sugar cake, the lotus root powder comes from Baoying, and the osmanthus sugar is made by a famous Weiyang family. This chestnut powder cake is made in-house, try it."
King Zhongshun himself found it strange that he actually persuaded people to have tea and snacks, and he was still a young man of sixteen or seventeen years old. Well, yes, only young people like this kind of appetite. For someone of his own age, That's just tasting tea.
"Well, it is really delicious. There is no such delicious food in Ziying's house." Feng Ziying ate it with a smile, and then turned back to the topic: "If the prince hopes to share the emperor's worries, I hope that the future heirs can also have something. If you want to make a profit, you might as well spend some time on maritime trade with North Korea and Japan."
"Oh?!" King Zhongshun was in high spirits. Taking care of the emperor's worries meant that he could have more things to do. The last sentence made him even more excited. If one or two of his sons could make a difference, then It simply solved a big problem for him.
Before Feng Ziying came to Prince Zhongshun's Mansion, he had already known about it, and he also had an understanding of Prince Zhongshun's situation.
Among the thirteen sons, in addition to the three legitimate sons, there are also ten concubine sons. Except for the eldest son who can succeed to the throne in the future, there are twelve others. Among these twelve, the second legitimate son and the third concubine son are all. He is already sixteen years old, and the eldest bastard is almost thirty, and he even has two sons.
"I'd like to hear the details." King Zhongshun was really moved. Before, he really just wanted to get involved and make money, but now he felt that maybe he really wanted to find Feng Ziying this time. By the way, maybe there really is more to gain.
"Your Majesty should be clear about the matter of Yinzhuang. Ziying doesn't dare to say what His Majesty's plans are for the time being. We'll see what His Majesty's final decision is. Your Majesty might as well follow His Majesty's actions. This account can be settled openly. If the Emperor decides to Lai Shipyard based its orders on the Imperial Navy’s fleet, and also explicitly granted exclusive rights to maritime trade with Liaodong, Korea, and Japan, and even the Ezo and Barbarian Jurchen tribes that bypassed Korea..."
"...I dare not say in a year or two, but once the routes to Korea, Japan, Ezo and the savage Jurchen tribe further north are opened, ginseng velvet, fur, gold sand, mountain products, and medicinal materials from the bitter and cold places will be continuously supplied. Come, we Dazhou only need to pay for our most common porcelain, salt, ironware, etc., which can be said to be a huge profit. From shipbuilding to opening up trade, all the expenses required for this trade line will be borrowed from the bank. The prince can imagine... "
To deceive people, seven points are true and three points are false, seven points are true, and three points must be half true and half false. Only one point must be false, but this point is very critical.
Most of what Feng Ziying said is correct and true. Trade with Japan, Korea, Ezo and even the savage Jurchen is definitely very profitable, but there are many problems here, which Feng Ziying will naturally not mention.
The first is time. It will take more than one or two years. I am afraid that it may not be completely opened up in three to five years. The second is the volume of trade. It is meaningless if it is small-scale, and it will take time to expand the trade volume. The third is the trade between North Korea and Japan. It's not easy to open.
But once the navy really develops and grows, if trade is hindered, it means that swords and artillery will have to be used to open the doors of Korea, Japan, and even more countries.
In this process, there will definitely be a lot of opposition, and only by connecting more supporters can we counteract the power of these oppositions.
Feng Ziying is still not sure where the opposition force will come from, whether it is the civil servants or the gentry behind them, the generals and the martial arts behind them, or other businessmen who have not benefited, or even the emperor.
As the situation develops, friends can turn into allies or enemies, and allies can turn against each other. Everything depends on the interests at the time.
But one thing will not change. If you attract more people to become allies, then for the sake of profit, he must stay in the same camp with you, even if he betrays his original identity and interests.
