"Father, do you want me to drive people away!" The eldest son Xu Yinjue asked from the side. Wei Guogong thought for a while and said: "Since you have come with a generous gift, let's meet him!" The crown prince Xu Yinjue nodded, and turned to the servant who delivered the letter and said: "Take the person to the guest room first, and the Duke will go and see you later. he."
"No, bring it here directly." Wei Guogong said. The servant bowed and left the room. Wei Guogong is a title passed down from Xu Da. Although Ding Guogong is also a descendant of Xu Da, he received the title in the line of duty because of Zhu Di's Jingnan Campaign.
A family with two fathers can be said to be the most noble family in the Ming Dynasty. Now that the Northern Territory of the Ming Dynasty has been lost, the Duke of Wei has become the top family in the Ming Dynasty. Even the vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty are far less powerful than the Duke of Wei as the auxiliary minister.
Moreover, Yi Xu produced two auxiliary ministers at the same time. Even on ordinary days, there are many officials visiting the gate of Wei Guogong's mansion every day.
In addition to military generals, there are also many civilian officials among these officials. It's just that most of the civil servants are low-ranking or cannot be reused, and some are idle officials who want to be re-employed by the imperial court.
It can be said that there is a constant flow of traffic and people outside the gate of Duke Wei's mansion. Even if officials who came to visit Duke Wei could not see anyone, they would often hand over a generous gift in the hope of being favored by Duke Wei.
Moreover, any official who dared to come to Wei Guogong's place had a huge fortune, and those with no family fortune were reluctant to come to Wei Guogong's place.
"Mr. Fan, Mr. Fan." The gatekeeper of Duke Wei's Mansion stood on the stone steps and shouted several times outside. Not to let the many officials outside the Duke's Mansion notice that the door was coming out, they looked enviously at Fan Wencheng who was not far away.
"Here he is, he's here." Fan Wencheng hurriedly stepped forward and said to the doorman very politely,
"But the Duke agreed to meet me?" Menzi smiled and said to Fan Wencheng, "Mr. Fan is really lucky. The Duke happens to be free at the moment and agrees to meet you."
"Oh, thank you, thank you so much." Fan Wencheng cupped his fists and cupped his hands towards the door in front of him, and then asked his men who were following him to take out a few pieces of silver and stuff them into the door's hand.
The smile on Menzi's face became even brighter after receiving the benefit, and he said: "Mr. Fan, follow the little one in!"
"Thank you." Fan Wencheng thanked him, lifted up the hem of his clothes, and walked towards the Duke's mansion.
The people from Duke Wei's mansion walked in front to lead the way, and soon they arrived at the door of the study. He had been thinking about how to convince Wei Guogong after seeing the person, so Fan Wencheng didn't pay attention to the surrounding scenery along the way.
When the servant of the Duke's Mansion who led the way came into the house to announce, he realized that he had arrived at the destination of his trip.
"Mr. Fan, please come in. The Duke and the Crown Prince are both inside." A servant of the Duke's residence raised his right arm and made a gesture of invitation towards the study.
Fan Wencheng simply straightened the folds of his clothes, and after making sure there was nothing wrong with him, he lifted his legs and walked in.
"Fan Wencheng, the envoy of the Qing Dynasty, has met the Duke and the Crown Prince." Fan Wencheng first said hello to the Duke of Wei and the Crown Prince, and then turned to the Marquis of Funing next to him,
"It turns out that Marquis Funing is here." Marquis Funing glanced at him and ignored him. But Wei Guogong, who was sitting in the first seat, said with a smile on his face: "Mr. Fan has been in Nandu for so long, and this is the first time he has visited Wei Guogong's mansion."
"This is my envoy's fault. I would like to apologize to the Duke and the Crown Prince." Fan Wencheng bent down and bowed deeply.
Upon seeing this, Duke Wei of Wei stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Mr. Fan, don't get me wrong. I have no intention of blaming you. Please take your seat, Mr. Fan!" After saying that, he pointed to an empty seat diagonally opposite Marquis Funing. .
Fan Wencheng walked over and sat down slowly. At this time, Funing Hou said: "As the saying goes, no matter what, you don't go to the Three Treasures Palace. Mr. Fan suddenly came to the Duke's Mansion. I'm afraid it wasn't as simple as recognizing his family!" As soon as he opened his mouth, he carried a gun and a stick.
"It's my fault. I should have come a long time ago. It's just that I was busy running around all the time, so I couldn't make it. In addition to visiting, the other reason for coming here this time is to apologize to the Duke." Fan Wencheng said with a look of shame. .
Hearing this, Duke Wei laughed and said immediately;
"Mr. Fan, you are very polite. I am very happy that you can come to my country. Come and try this year's new tea. I heard that Mr. Fan was also a Ming Dynasty man. He must be used to drinking Ming Dynasty tea." The tea bowl was placed on the table beside Fan Wencheng.
However, Fan Wencheng was embarrassed by Wei Guogong's words, and a somewhat ugly look appeared on his face involuntarily.
"Try it. Such good tea may not be available in the Qing Dynasty." Hou Ning continued to stab Fan Wencheng unceremoniously.
At this time, Fan Wencheng's face had returned to normal. Just listen to him say: "The north and the south are different. There are many things in the south that are not in the north, and there are also some things in the north that are not in the south. This time I sent some rare Liao ginseng plants to the Duke. , as well as dongzhu and deer antlers, if Marquis Funing needs them, I can send some to you later."
"No need, I don't need this from you." Hou Ning did not give Fan Wencheng any face.
"It's such a pity." Fan Wencheng shook his head and sighed. I don’t know if it’s a pity that Funing Hou missed these good things, or something else.
Wei Guogong said with a smile: "Liao ginseng is indeed a good thing. Every year, I get some Liao ginseng through others and store it in the Duke's mansion. I think the Liao ginseng sent by Mr. Fan must be the best thing."
"If the Duke likes it, I can have it delivered to the Duke's house every year. It will be guaranteed to be the oldest Liao ginseng." Fan Wencheng said.
Wei Guogong smiled and waved his hand, and said: "There is no need to go to such trouble. The Duke's mansion does not use a few Liao ginseng every year. The people below can prepare enough of these things by themselves."
"No trouble. Although Liao ginseng is a rare thing in the south, in Liaodong, ginseng collectors collect a lot every year. Although it is considered precious, it is not as good as in the south." Fan Wencheng said.
"I appreciate the kindness." Wei Guogong refused again. Fan Wencheng looked disappointed. Both of them knew that although they were talking about Liao Shen on the surface, they were actually talking about the relationship between the two parties.
If the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty formed an alliance, they would naturally exchange supplies in the future, and Liaodong specialties such as Liaodong ginseng would be nothing.
The rejection by Wei Guogong was tantamount to rejecting the alliance between the Qing Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty. Although a Duke of Wei could not decide the alliance between Qing and Ming, it was not good news for Fan Wencheng.
The Marquis of Funing suddenly asked Fan Wencheng, "I heard that someone among the Qing envoys died in the courtyard of the Tiger-Character Banner envoy at night. As an envoy of the Qing State, Mr. Fan dares to ask if there is any About this?"
