May 17, Yi Jing
With the help of his servants, Ma Hongde slowly walked out of the carriage. Looking at the big word "Cui Mansion" on the plaque of the mansion in front of him, he nodded slightly and led a group of servants carrying gifts towards the gate of the mansion. The past··················
Just when they were about to enter the house, the concierge also came up to them. Seeing that Ma Hongde was dressed in a bright and elegant manner, and there were many servants behind him, the concierge also realized that this Ma Hongde had an unusual identity, and raised his hand to Ma Hongde and said;
"May I ask your surname? Have you made an agreement with my master?"
Ma Hongde smiled and said:
"My name is Ma Hongde. I was in a hurry when I came here and I didn't know whether I would be able to pass Master Cui. But when you go back, tell Master Cui that Ma Hongde has come to congratulate him on succeeding as the chief envoy of Youyan. I believe Master Cui will let me in." of!"
The concierge was a little hesitant after hearing Ma Hongde's words. He hesitated for a moment and then bowed to Ma Hongde and said:
"Master Ma, please wait a moment, I will go and pass the message right away!"
After a cup of tea, Cui Desheng, who was visited by Ma Hongde, did not dare to make the decision. He immediately went to Cui Shao's study to let Cui Shao make up his mind. When he entered Cui Shao's study, he saw Cui Shao practicing calligraphy by splashing ink. He knew the rules. Although Cui Desheng was anxious, he stood aside and waited.
Perhaps he was aware of Cui Desheng's arrival. Cui Shao, who was copying the handwriting, also quickly finished. He wiped his hands with a handkerchief and asked Cui Desheng, thinking about Cui Desheng:
"What happened?"
When Cui Desheng heard this, he said clearly:
"Third Uncle Ma Hongde is here! He also brought a lot of gifts. He said he came to congratulate Third Uncle on your becoming the chief envoy of Youyan... "
When Cui Shao said these words, although Cui Shao's expression remained calm and calm, his eyes narrowed slightly. Seeing that Cui Shao was silent, Cui Desheng hesitated and said:
"Third uncle, I heard that Ma Hongde gave Gu Sansi a pair of jade bracelets, but it didn't take long for Gu Sansi to return the jade bracelets to Ma Hongde. This Gu Sansi is the Lord Warlord's confidant, and he is very likely to do this. Eighty-nine times, I got the order from the warlord!"
"And I heard that the Coordination Office is investigating some corruption in Youyan's officialdom. It is said that Wang Xuecheng was like a chicken blood during this period. He fought hard for days and nights and dug up a lot of dirty information. Many people have been arrested, and many of them point directly at the Ma family. I think the Lord Warlord might want to deal with them!"
"Third uncle, he came to visit you with so many gifts at this time. He must have heard some rumors. I hope you can come forward to intercede with the governor. Should we avoid seeing him? The provincial governor has other ideas. I’ll go tell him that Third Uncle, you’re not here or you’re not feeling well..."
Listening to Cui Desheng's thoughts, Cui Shao shook his head and said with a smile:
"Before I came to Youyan, I heard that the Ma family in this generation county is very well-informed. Now it turns out that they are really famous and have a good reputation! Not even an hour after I came back from the Chief Secretary, he came to my door. Well, if I don’t see him at this time, I really won’t give him face!”
Cui Desheng wanted to say something after hearing this, but Cui Shao waved his hand and said:
"Although Ye Mingsheng is suspicious, he is not so stupid. Let Ma Hongde come in and let me take a good look at how capable this person is!"
"yes!"
Although Cui Desheng wanted to persuade him again, seeing that Cui Shao had made up his mind, he could only follow Cui Shao's idea. After a cup of tea, under the guidance of Cui Desheng, Ma Hongde came to Cui Shao's study and saw Cui Shao and Ma Hongde immediately bowed deeply and said:
"Ma Hongde, a common man, has met Ambassador Cui Bu!"
Although Ma Hongde claimed to be a grassroots citizen, he seemed to be respectful, but in fact he still went beyond the rules. Although Ma Hongde was very energetic in Youyan and had close interests with many officials and generals, in the end he was still a white man. According to the Great Zhou Dynasty, According to the law, a white man like him should kneel down and salute the chief envoy when he sees him, but now Ma Hongde just bowed and dealt with it...
Although what Ma Hongde did was somewhat inappropriate, Cui Shao naturally would not make a fuss about this issue. However, Cui Shao was not very warm to Ma Hongde and just responded lightly, and then gave Cui Desheng a look on the side. , Cui Desheng immediately retreated quietly, deliberately leaving the door open before leaving.
After getting up, Ma Hongde looked at Cui Shao with a cold expression. After observing that the door was not closed, he already knew Cui Shao's thoughts. He simply stopped pretending and looked at Cui Shao directly and said:
"Master Cui, Governor Ye is your nephew, are you so afraid of him?"
Faced with Ma Hongde's direct provocation, the young Cui Shao would not be fooled and said calmly:
"If you come to me in public just to tell me this, then you will really disappoint me!"
Ma Hongde expected that Cui Shao did not fall into the trap. He glanced at the open door and then looked at Cui Shao and said meaningfully:
"It seems that Mr. Cui, you also understand very well that there is a ghost in the coordination office in your mansion!"
Cui Shao shook his head when he heard this and said:
"When I went to Luo'an to report on my work in the early years, I passed by Dai County and had a chance encounter with your father, Ma Yaowen. To be honest, Ma Hongde, your ability to collude with officials and businessmen is better than your father's, but when it comes to your character, you are really It’s embarrassing for your Majesty..."
As soon as these words came out, Ma Hongde's face turned pale, but he could not come up with any words to refute. Seeing that it was difficult to sow discord, he took a deep breath, looked at Cui Shao and said:
"Master Cui, you must have already made a guess about what I am here for today, right?"
Cui Shao heard this and said with a smile:
"You didn't come to me to ask me to plead with the Overseer on your behalf!"
Regarding Cui Shao's words, Ma Hongde did not hide his smile and said;
"Master Cui, your eyes are really admirable!"
Feeling the confidence revealed in Ma Hongde, Cui Shao looked at him deeply and said:
"The fact that you are like this makes me a little curious about what your trump card is?"
Facing Cui Shao's inquiry, Ma Hongde smiled mysteriously and said:
"Master Cui, I believe you will know it soon!"
After finishing speaking, Ma Hongde changed his voice and said:
"Now that the words have come to this point, Mr. Ma will open the skylight and speak frankly. The purpose of my trip is to make a deal with Mr. Cui. Mr. Ma is a businessman, and what matters in doing business is A win-win situation, let everyone get rich, and now I have a win-win deal, I wonder if you are interested, Mr. Cui?"
Cui Shao heard this and said noncommittally:
"tell me the story!"
After receiving Cui Shao's answer, Ma Hongde looked serious and said:
"I know Master Cui, your skills are as good as those of Zhang Liang and Xiao He, but this is Youyan, not Liaoyang..."
"Even though Mr. Cui, you have all kinds of means, it is difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without straw. If you want to secure your position as chief envoy, you need someone to help you. I don't need to tell you, Mr. Cui, I am afraid that Gu Zhong Lord Shigu has always regarded the position of chief envoy as something in his pocket!"
"And now, Mr. Cui, you have come out halfway and taken away the position of chief envoy. What will Mr. Gu Zhongshi think in his heart?"
After understanding Ma Hongde's bargaining chip, Cui Shao asked calmly:
"What else do you need from me?"
Ma Hongde said seriously:
"It's very simple! I need Mr. Cui to persuade the Governor at the critical moment. Don't do anything that will lead to death. Leave a way for us to survive. Since we have chosen the Fengwu Army, we can only follow the Governor at this time. The road is getting dark, why do we have to put us to death for some poor guy?"
After he finished speaking, Cui Shao's eyes flashed with a fleeting light. Facing Ma Hongde's gaze, he still didn't give an answer and continued to ask:
"You can definitely ask Gu Zhongshi to do this, why bother me..."
Ma Hongde shook his head with disdain and said:
"I thought Gu Zhongshi had this face at first, but in Governor Ye's mind, his face is nothing. How can he talk about anything else if Governor Ye doesn't even see him when he comes to see him?"
After speaking, Ma Hongde seemed to have thought of something, looked at Cui Shao and said with a half-smile:
"As for choosing Master Cui, not only because you are Governor Ye's uncle and deeply trusted by Governor Ye, but also because Master Cui is the biggest victim of Governor Ye's reforms. If anyone in the Fengwu Army hopes that I can succeed, , then I guess there must be you, Mr. Cui!"
Cui Shao said calmly:
"You are too conceited!"
Ma Hongde shook his head and said:
"Master Cui, you are wrong! I am not conceited, I am confident! If I didn't have this confidence, how could I dare to put all my worth and life on it this time!"
After finishing speaking, Ma Hongde did not wait for Cui Shao's reply. He looked at Cui Shao with a meaningful look, then turned around and left in a swaggering manner.
Looking at Ma Hongde's leaving figure, Cui Shao had a look of solemnity in his eyes. He had underestimated this person before. This person gave him a gift in a big way, but he was just pretending to show it to Ye Mingsheng. In fact, it was true. He had another purpose. Looking at him looking determined to win, Ye Mingsheng seemed to be really in trouble...
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Yijing, Governor's Mansion
Ye Mingsheng was sitting on the Grand Master's chair, slowly sipping the new tea shipped from the south of the Yangtze River, while flipping through the classics in his hands.
Qin attacked Chu and sent Wang Jian to send 600,000 troops. The First Emperor sent him to Bashang. Wang Jian went to invite people to have beautiful fields and houses. The First Emperor said: "The general is on his way, why worry about poverty?" Wang Jian said: "Why? The king's generals will not be granted the title of marquis after their meritorious service. Therefore, when the king's ministers are invited, the ministers will also promptly request the garden land for their descendants." The First Emperor laughed. Wang Jian was at the gate.
Seeing this paragraph, Ye Mingsheng showed a faint smile and murmured in a voice that only he could hear:
"You want to be Wang Jian, then who am I? Qin Shihuang?"
After speaking, Ye Mingsheng shook his head with a smile, then put the books on the table and prepared to start working. Since he was beaten last time and he knew that there was a vacancy for a deputy inspector in the Liaoyang Inspectorate, he acted particularly hard. He worked hard and dug out several big tigers in the government, as well as countless flies, jackals and wolves.
Although he was determined to change the atmosphere in Youyan officialdom, for the sake of the stability of the political power, Ye Mingsheng did not intend to deal with them all immediately. Instead, he planned to respond to the voice of the people and deal with a few people who were extremely angry. Forgive people, then transfer other purposes away from important positions, and then process them in batches to minimize the impact.
After all, the Fengwu Army had just captured Yijing. If they captured all these people at once, it would paralyze the administrative and judicial institutions on the one hand, and it would also create very bad rigidity and cause a violent backlash from local forces... ···············
Just when Ye Mingsheng was about to make a choice from the tiger list submitted by the Coordination Office, his new attendant Ye Cheng also came over and reported to Ye Mingsheng:
"Your Majesty's Coordination Office came to report that just before the stick of incense, Ma Hongde brought many valuable gifts to Mr. Cui's house to visit!"
As soon as these words came out, Ye Mingsheng, who was selecting people from the list, couldn't help but pause. Seeing this, Ye Cheng hesitated and continued:
"I heard that some time ago, Ma Hongde mobilized the power of Guangtai Heng Trading Company and found three authentic works of Yan Zhenqing. Mr. Cui has the best calligraphy in his life, and he especially admires Yan Zhenqing in calligraphy. Ma Hongde must also know this, so he joined him. alright!"
Ye Mingsheng was silent for a while, then nodded and said:
"I know about this! Go and urge the General Staff to get the latest status of the war in Xinle and Shunping as soon as possible!"
"yes!"
After receiving Ye Mingsheng's order, Ye Cheng quickly took the order and left.
Ye Mingsheng, who was alone in the study after Ye Cheng left, was thinking about Ma Hongde. He had asked Gu Sansi to return the bribes given by Ma Hongde to Gu Sansi. This could be regarded as a warning to Ma Hongde. If Ma Hongde could repent at that time, , to change his ways, it is not impossible for Ye Mingsheng to treat him leniently.
But instead of understanding Ye Mingsheng's painstaking efforts, Ma Hongde intensified his efforts to take the wife's route and give gifts to the women in his family. Fortunately, An Miaoyi knew his own rules and did not accept this gift that was full of people's blessings. .
And now, through a series of excavations by the Coordination Office, it has been discovered that the masterminds behind many illegal activities such as bullying, hoarding, market manipulation, insider trading, harvesting leeks, etc. in Youyan market are all pointed at the Ma family, and the Ma family is even more responsible. They have protective umbrellas, big and small, to protect their interests...
