During this period of time, Zhu Biao took over Hu Weiyong's affairs.
He has also been making moves one after another.
Although there are two prime ministers on the left and right in the court now.
But Wang Guangyang was obviously inferior in front of Hu Weiyong, and he was basically suppressed throughout the whole process.
But it was the scene of such a dominant family that made Hu Weiyong feel more and more excited.
Now Zhu Yuanzhang deliberately delegated power to Zhu Biao to the greatest extent.
However, the power of a court is limited.
For example, there are only so many officials in each practical area.
As Zhu Yuanzhang gradually delegated power, officials in various positions also changed to a certain extent.
If Zhu Biao wants to control power, he must naturally control these officials.
The step of replacing some disobedient people who are not from one's own faction is naturally indispensable.
But such a replacement would naturally touch the area that Hu Weiyong had already mastered.
Therefore, the nearest court can be said to be extremely lively.
Every day I hear that someone has dismounted again.
This increasingly tense and anxious atmosphere naturally affected Lan Yu to a certain extent.
Originally, he had no intention of coming to Hu Weiyong's banquet.
Since having Chu Ze as his son-in-law, Lan Yu has become more cautious in all aspects.
Especially when he has not yet made any extraordinary achievements.
After receiving death warnings from Queen Ma and Zhu Biao, Lan Yu can now be said to be very honest.
Even Zhu Yuanzhang praised him many times during this period.
This naturally made Lan Yu trust Chu Ze more and more.
Chu Ze said that Hu Weiyong wanted to rebel.
Naturally, Lan Yu didn't want to tangle with this turtle grandson who wanted to drag him into trouble.
But who knew, Chu Ze told him that they had to go to this banquet.
"My dear son-in-law, this banquet is obviously a Hongmen banquet! If according to what you say, if we accept all the things he gives us, wouldn't we become his accomplices, in case something happens?"
"Don't worry, nothing will happen. It is inevitable that the scandal will happen, and we are here for the banquet today. To put it bluntly, we are here to pick up money. Hu Weiyong sent me two invitations. One is because of your relationship. , Secondly, it’s because I have extremely close relationships with many princes.”
"To put it bluntly, Hu Weiyong doesn't dare to take action openly now. He is afraid of His Majesty, but he is also extremely ambitious."
"With my special network, if he can drag me into trouble, he can easily get in touch with several princes by following me."
"If a certain prince has the idea of using Hu Weiyong to ascend to the throne, he can then use his network to fully support a certain prince. After the prince comes to power, he will continue to evade the imperial power and use the emperor to control the princes."
"This should be the main reason why Hu Weiyong targeted me."
"Whatever you want to do requires at least a price, and the chips must be enough to impress me."
"My father-in-law also knows that my experimental factory spends money like water every day. The national treasury is increasingly unable to support my squandering."
“At times like this, I need to get some funds of my own.”
Taxation during the Hongwu period was not particularly high. While the court had no money, the people also had no money.
Money is controlled to some extent by a very small number of people.
And Hu Weiyong has been in business for many years, and he has a lot of money in his hands.
The reason why he agreed to Hu Weiyong's request this time was to make money.
"Even if we are short of money, we won't be like this. If His Majesty knows about this."
When Lan Yu finished listening to Chu Ze's words, the corner of his mouth couldn't help but twitch slightly.
He was quite courageous, but he didn't expect that his son-in-law was actually more courageous than him.
This is directly and blatantly accepting bribes from others and then using them for your own use.
This... no matter how I hear it, I feel it is unreliable!
"Hey, this matter has to be prioritized. We clearly know that the other party has impure thoughts, and why don't we want the money he sent?"
Theoretically speaking, Chu Ze pointed out that Hu Weiyong had evil intentions.
Both Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao knew this very well, and they also knew that Chu Ze knew this.
Therefore, Chu Ze is not afraid that the other party will catch him or something.
He even said that if Hu Weiyong dared to give him money to seize Chu Ze's leverage, Chu Ze would be completely justified.
Chu Ze can agree to whatever conditions he proposes.
Then, after getting the money, just go back on your promise.
handle?
It doesn't exist.
Moreover, what he did was considered an undercover act at best.
"Master, we're here!"
While Chu Ze and Lan Yu were chatting in the carriage, the coachman also whispered a reminder outside.
After hearing what the coachman said, Chu Ze also smiled slightly.
This coachman is also an eyes and ears.
Zhu Yuanzhang knew what he wanted to do from the beginning.
This in itself was one of the reasons why Chu Ze dared to do this.
"Come on, father-in-law, don't be stressed and relax. We are here to collect wool, just remember this."
"But I suggest you send the wool you harvested directly to the prince. We can just keep none of it."
Before Chu Ze got off the carriage, he did not forget to give Lan Yu another explanation.
After Lan Yu saw the confident smile on Chu Ze's face, he gradually felt confident.
Anyway, just listen to Chu Ze.
The prince and the queen both said so, and he did the same!
"General Lan, come to the banquet with your young master and wise son-in-law!"
When Chu Ze and Lan Yu arrived outside Hu Weiyong's government office side by side, the receptionist at the concierge loudly announced the identity of the visitor directly to the courtyard inside.
Because of Chu Ze's identity issue, the identity he can best use is that of Lan Yu's son-in-law.
So even though both of them came with invitations, Chu Ze directly became Lan Yu's pendant.
When the concierge read out this, Lan Yu frowned and wanted to get angry, but Chu Ze stopped him directly.
In his eyes, things like identity are just that.
As long as you can achieve your goal, you don't need to worry about the rest.
Seeing Chu Ze like this, Lan Yu could only give up.
But when he entered, he still gave the other concierge a vicious look.
"A dog looks down on people. If we had our previous temper, we would have had his teeth pulled out today."
After arriving in the front yard, Lan Yu still felt a little bit uncomfortable about the previous incident.
Although Chu Ze is his son-in-law, Lan Yu is extremely convinced of Chu Ze now.
As for the other party's disdain for Chu Ze, in Lan Yu's view, this was simply looking down on him from the side.
"It doesn't matter, you have to argue with a bunch of dead heads. The dead are the bigger ones. Just relax."
For Lan Yu, who was still a little angry, Chu Ze also smiled and whispered to calm his emotions.
By the way, he glanced around the front yard of Hu Weiyong's house very casually.
The landscape is picturesque.
These four words are perfect to describe the front yard of his home.
Rockeries of different shapes and flowing water slowly flowing down.
The purple-glossy purple bamboo and various flowers shine accordingly.
It is both tasteful and luxurious.
Just by glancing around, Chu Ze could feel the strong smell of money coming towards his face.
"It is indeed the home of the prime minister! Compared with this place, my previous yard looks like a beggar's house."
At this time, the front yard of Hu Weiyong's house was filled with all kinds of drinks and snacks, large and small.
And the gifts from those who came to celebrate were piled up like a hill.
This is the power of a prime minister!
"General Lan, my master has invited me. Please also speak to your son-in-law in the courtyard."
While Chu Ze and Lan Yu were still looking at the front yard of Hu Weiyong's house.
A servant came to them very respectfully, and after saluting Lan Yu, he extended an invitation to them.
At this time, the front hall can be said to be overcrowded, and all kinds of people who came to celebrate were chatting with each other.
As soon as Chu Ze and the others entered the door, the other party directly arranged for someone to come to them.
It was obvious that he had been paying attention to them.
Regarding Hu Weiyong's invitation, Lan Yu just looked at Chu Ze without any trace.
At this time, he still had to let Chu Ze make the decision.
Lan Yu deeply remembered the advice given to him by the Crown Prince and the Queen.
Listen more to what Chu Ze has to say.
"You can lead the way."
Chu Ze didn't say much about Lan Yu's actions.
He immediately gained the right to speak and agreed to the other party's invitation.
Lan Yu, on the other hand, remained silent throughout the whole process.
If you talk too much and make mistakes, he would be right if he didn't say anything. His son-in-law will take care of it.
Regarding the performance of the two of them, Hu Weiyong's servant who came to invite him could not help but have a flash of surprise in his eyes.
Ever since Chu Ze proposed the policy of enfeoffing the vassal king to the imperial court, he has become somewhat famous among the senior officials of Yingtian Mansion.
Of course, his greatest fame comes from his status as Lan Yu's son-in-law.
Everyone knows that Lan Yu is Chang Yuchun's brother-in-law, and he is also the staunchest supporter of the prince's family.
Although Lan Yu still doesn't have an extremely popular minister now.
But everyone knows that as long as the crown prince ascends to the throne, Lan Yu will surely rise to great heights with the crown prince.
Therefore, as Lan Yu's son-in-law, many people think that Chu Ze was able to go to court just because of Lan Yu's success.
This Hu Weiyong's domestic servant can also be regarded as a confidant around Hu Weiyong.
Naturally, he knows a lot.
But it was precisely because he knew these things that he was a little surprised by the relationship between Chu Ze and Lan Yu.
After all, judging from the performance, it seems that Chu Ze is the one who has the dominant position.
And it completely refutes the rumors and speculations.
Although there was some surprise, the other party did not show it too obviously.
After Chu Ze gave his reply, he turned around and made a gesture of invitation to the two of them.
After Lan Yu brought Chu Ze all the way to the atrium, he looked around and saw that the entire courtyard was still full of people.
After all, Hu Weiyong was the prime minister of the dynasty at this time. Especially with Zhu Yuanzhang's deliberate connivance, he could be said to be extremely powerful and extremely popular.
Both the government and the public, as long as they still want to hang out in the court, have to give him some face.
Although he was just taking a concubine, he still had to come to give him a show.
When they saw Lan Yu come in, many people stood up and started chatting with him.
But when Lan Yu was tired of dealing with it, Chu Ze disappeared from the spot at some point.
When Lan Yu discovered this, his brows immediately frowned deeply.
I wanted to look for Chu Ze, but found that I was already surrounded by various people.
Even if he wanted to escape, he would have no chance for a while.
"Sir, Mr. Chu Ze is here!"
When Lan Yu was still tired of dealing with the people around him who came up to have a relationship with him.
Chu Ze had already walked all the way to a side courtyard under the leadership of another Hu Weiyong's servant.
"Go down first."
Following the servant's report, Hu Weiyong, who was wearing a festive red silk dress, turned around from the desk.
When he saw Chu Ze, a friendly smile appeared on his slightly fat face.
When he put down the brush in his hand, Chu Ze could clearly see what he had on the desk.
"It's destiny! Hu Xiang's calligraphy is really amazing! Even though I can't understand it, I still feel that it looks amazing!"
When Hu Weiyong's servants retreated, Chu Ze also looked at Hu Weiyong with a smile.
Although this person always had a smile on his face, it was not difficult to see a hint of arrogance in his eyes.
"Little friend Chu Ze, this should be the third time we have met, right? As the saying goes: Once we are familiar with each other, we should be considered friends now. Today is my big day, so I will have two more drinks soon. !”
Hu Weiyong didn't take Chu Ze's flattery, which sounded a bit sinister, seriously at all.
Even after putting down his pen, he took the initiative to walk to Chu Ze, cupped his hands at the seat next to him, and personally asked Chu Ze to sit down.
Afterwards, he took matters into his own hands and poured wine for Chu Ze.
"Little friend Chu Ze, you have become very popular recently! Judging from His Majesty's intentions, I'm afraid it makes sense for you to accumulate knowledge in the court. Your future will be boundless!"
"From now on, we may or may not be colleagues. From now on, I have to ask my friend to take care of me."
After Hu Weiyong poured wine for Chu Ze, he even smiled and began to praise Chu Ze.
Moreover, there was no airs that a prime minister should have in his words.
There was even a hint of licking Chu Ze in it.
Regarding the other party's proactive gesture of goodwill, although Chu Ze looked thoughtfully at the wine glass he pushed over, in fact, he couldn't help but marvel in his heart.
As the prime minister of the dynasty, Hu Weiyong can be said to be a man who can dominate the court with one hand.
Being able to put down his body like this to win over people was something Chu Ze never expected.
But he soon felt relieved.
If Hu Weiyong did not have such means to win over people, it would be impossible for Hu Weiyong to drag 30 to 40 thousand people to be buried with him in one case.
"Hu Xiang is too praised! I just rely on a little nepotism, how can I be as powerful as you say!"
"I just don't know what I want to give you when Hu Xiang is summoned today?"
(End of chapter)
