Shao Xi walked out of the Imperial Study Room with his head hanging down. He always felt that he was at a loss this time and was taken advantage of by the emperor.
If you get some start-up capital from him, you still have to calculate the interest, and if you make money, you have to pay him dividends. The most disgusting thing is to throw such a big pot on your head with just one hand. It's so cunning!
When he was thinking about these messy things in his mind, he found that he almost bumped into someone. When he looked up, he saw that it was Xiao Yuzhi, the King of Tombs, standing in front of him with a smile.
"Why does Mr. Shao seem unhappy? But what serious words did the emperor say? Ordinarily Mr. Shao should have made a meritorious service!"
Shao Xi hurriedly bowed to Xiao Yuzhi and explained, "No, no, no! I had a very pleasant conversation with the Holy One, but the Holy One has entrusted me with such a heavy responsibility, and I am really afraid that I am not capable enough and will betray the Holy Grace!"
"Oh! I wonder what important things my father has entrusted to Master Shao? Only those who can be trusted by my father are trusted people. My father must trust Mr. Shao's ability before he entrusts important things to Mr. Shao. Mr. Shao, please don’t be too humble!”
"The Holy One has given the important task of promoting bamboo paper manufacturing and movable type printing to the lower official. Although this matter has been approved and supported by the Holy One, it is not easy to do it. The official is just afraid that his ability is limited and he will not be able to do it. If you don’t do well, wouldn’t it be a disgrace to the Holy One?”
Xiao Yuzhi laughed and comforted Shao Xi: "Master Shao, you are worrying too much. Father can leave this matter to you because he believes in your ability. Just go ahead and do it. Even if something is not satisfactory, believe in father." I won’t blame you, after all, no one has tried this before, even if there are some omissions, it is inevitable, Master Shao, don’t worry too much.”
Shao Xi thought to himself: "Of course I'm not worried. I'll make a lot of money from this business. I'm just trying to be polite and modest with you. You're quite warm-hearted and you comforted me."
"I wonder if His Highness Prince Ling has something to do with the official today? If His Highness Prince Ling has any instructions, I should do my best."
"It's nothing special. Didn't my father say that? Let's move around more on weekdays. I always hear my father praising Mr. Shao, so today I want to invite Mr. Shao to sit in the mansion and talk about this together. Experiences from all over the world.”
"His Highness has promoted this subordinate. In fact, he has little knowledge. He just occasionally comes up with some strange ideas."
Xiao Yuzhi stretched out her hand to hold Shao Xi, and while walking towards the gate of the palace, she said: "Master Shao, please don't be humble. When you come to my house today, you and I will have a few drinks together and talk freely! I still like it very much. Mr. Shao doesn’t have to refuse Mr. Shao’s weird ideas.”
In this way, Shao Xi was pulled all the way out of the palace gate by Xiao Yuzhi, got on the carriage, and went straight to Prince Ling's Mansion.
In the car, Xiao Yuzhi kept asking Shao Xi about the process of movable type printing and bamboo paper manufacturing. He seemed to be quite interested in this matter. Did he also want to get involved?
The carriage came all the way to Prince Ling's Mansion and stopped in front of the palace gate. When Shao Xi jumped out of the car, he looked up and was shocked by the scale and momentum of the mansion.
What I saw in front of me was a tall gatehouse, with two-story and three-section cornices, covered with Uwa purple rafters, which looked even more solemn under the sun; a black gold-threaded nanmu plaque hung on the top of the vermilion gate, which read "Prince Mausoleum's Mansion" There are three upright characters, and a door on each side of the door, which is also painted with red vermilion paint; the stone lions on both sides of the door are exquisitely carved and lifelike, showing the ingenuity and skills of the craftsmen.
Walking into the garden, pavilions, pavilions, ponds, pavilions and waterside pavilions are reflected among the green pines and cypresses, rockeries, rocks, and flower beds and bonsais are dotted there; on both sides are hand-painted verandas, in the middle is the hall, in the middle there is a red sandalwood shelf with marble on it. There is a screen; there is a small hall with three entrances in the front, and the main courtyard behind the hall. There are five upper rooms in the front, all with carved beams and painted beams. On both sides are verandas and wing rooms, with various parrots, thrushes and other birds hanging on them. The walls have exquisite carvings, and the roofs have exquisite carvings. More refined and beautiful.
Shao Xi couldn't help but secretly sigh. It was indeed a royal palace. It was extremely luxurious. I wonder how much gold and silver it would cost to build such a mansion? It seems that His Royal Highness the Prince of Ling really puts a lot of thought into his mansion. How many maids and slaves are needed to take care of such a large mansion?
Xiao Yuzhi let Shao Xi into the hall, and saw a granite floor at the door, and a mahogany floor beyond that. There were mahogany desks in the hall, tea seats and chess tables on the left and right, separated by rosewood screens; In the center is a miniature landscape, with mountains and waterfalls, waterwheel pavilions, small bridges and flowing water, all of which are vivid and lifelike.
Xiao Yuzhi and Shao Xi sat opposite each other, ordered the maid to serve tea, and then arranged for someone to prepare a banquet.
Shao Xi felt uneasy in his heart. There was something wrong with a man in his thirties and such a distinguished status being so attentive to a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy.
After inviting tea, Xiao Yuzhi said: "Now that we are not in the palace, there is no need for you and me to be polite. I will call you Brother Shao, and you can just call me Brother Xiao. There is no need to call you His Royal Highness Prince Ling, as it will be too pretentious. Yes, what do you think?"
Shao Xi thought that being courteous for nothing would lead to adultery or robbery. If this kind of close contact is caught, I'm afraid it won't be clear in the future, so it's better to keep a distance as much as possible, lest the fox misses it and makes a mess.
"Your Highness is the son of the current Holy One. There is always a difference between you and me. This etiquette must not be discarded. If Your Highness feels that it is troublesome to address you, you can call me by my first name. I will not use my title when calling Your Highness. , the word “Your Highness” must be included.”
Xiao Yuzhi originally wanted to get close to Shao Xi, but she didn't want Shao Xi to be so cautious, so she just replied to him. Although he was slightly embarrassed, Xiao Yuzhi also understood that court officials did not dare to get too close to him, for fear of being suspected of clinging to a clique.
"Shao Xi, you have such a talent at a young age. Have you ever thought about taking a step further in the court in the future and becoming a powerful minister in the Jingyuan Dynasty, so that you can display your ambitions in the world between heaven and earth? Show off your skills and do something impressive?"
Shao Xi was secretly shocked when he heard this.
what does this mean? What does it mean to go further? Why do you want to become a powerful minister? What ambitions are you pursuing? What is that outstanding performance that shows off one’s skills?
This opening revealed the intention to win over, promising huge profits, and talking about ideals and ambitions. It seemed that the second prince must have something in mind.
Now that he can say that he has great grace, does he want to establish his own power in the court to compete with the prince? What does that mean? That means he must have the desire to seize the throne.
"The lower official is very lazy and has no lofty ideals and ambitions. He just wants to live a comfortable life. To be honest, this official position was an accident. I never thought about becoming a high official. I I am originally a person in the world of martial arts, although this is my first time getting involved, I still intend to be involved in the martial arts."
Xiao Yuzhi saw that Shao Xi deliberately wanted to avoid what he said, so he simply followed Shao Xi's words and continued the conversation.
"Whether you are in the court or in the world, you can make contributions and leave your name in history. Since brother, you said that you are not interested in the court but in the world, have you ever thought about opening a sect one day in the future? How about establishing a sect, dominating the world, and becoming an immortal legend in the martial arts world?"
When Shao Xi heard this, he said, "What?" Found a sect and dominate the world? Are you kidding me? Don’t you know that if you work hard in the arena, you will die quickly? Above the court, everyone still plays within the rules. In the arena, no one will tell you these messy rules. The so-called rules of the arena are just that everyone gives each other face. If you give face, abide by the rules. If you don't give face, you should abide by the rules. My rules are rules.
"Your Highness, I like the rivers and lakes that are free and unrestrained and wanton, not the rivers and lakes that are bloody and life-and-death. I like the comfort of the rivers and lakes, but I don't like the cruelty of the rivers and lakes. What are the rivers and lakes? The rivers and lakes are not about fighting and killing, the rivers and lakes are The world is wise. I only want to be a son and daughter of the world, and never want to be the overlord of the world. As long as it doesn't touch my bottom line, I don't like to fight with people until we end up fighting without you or me."
Seeing that Shao Xi was indifferent, Xiao Yuzhi had no choice but to do something about it. The banquet happened to be ready at this time, so they invited Shao Xi to join them in the flower hall, intending to test it again at the wine table to see if they could win him over.
In fact, Xiao Yuzhi has always been dissatisfied with the appointment of the crown prince. He is only two years younger than the prince Xiao Yuming, and he feels that he is smarter and more capable than the prince. However, he does not understand why his father established that nerd as the prince so early? Obviously he has more talents as an emperor, but now he can only be a prince. He is really unwilling and feels even more resentful.
On the wine table, the two of them exchanged glasses. Xiao Yuzhi toasted again and again to express his closeness. Shao Xi couldn't refuse him thousands of miles away. For a while, the two people seemed to be talking happily.
"Brother Shao, I wonder what you think of the situation in our Jingyuan Kingdom and the surrounding states? Can our Jingyuan Dynasty have the power to unify the world?"
"Our dynasty naturally has the potential to dominate the world. After all, the Central Plains is rich in products and is the largest food producing area in the world. If there is food, people will be educated, and if there are people, there will be enough troops."
Xiao Yuzhi nodded in agreement. It was indeed the case. Jing Yuan Kingdom exclusively occupied four states among the nine states in the world, and these four states were the richest among them. Not only were they well-equipped with soldiers and food, but all walks of life were prosperous. Although the local people could not call themselves home, The families are wealthy, but at least most of them can still have enough food and clothing.
"According to your words, our Jingyuan Dynasty has the power to dominate the world, so why does the Dongmu Kingdom launch war against our dynasty every year? Aren't they afraid of defeat and subjugation?"
Shao Xi said with an expression as if he had a big chest and a big world in his belly: "It's just a bid to sell out, and it's just a matter of survival."
"Oh? Why do you see it?"
"Dongmu State is just delaying the growth of our country's national power by overdrafting its own national power. In fact, whether the two countries fight or not, Dongmu and Wu Kingdom's ultimate fate will be the same. They will eventually be owned by our country. The current approach It's just drinking poison to quench thirst and struggling to the death, it's not a cause of danger."
"Dong Mu has been our dynasty's strongest rival for many years. It can be said to be a serious thorn in our side. Why is it not worth mentioning in the hearts of Brother Shao?"
Shao Xi thought to himself: "You don't have to bother me to explain to you why Zhuge Liang left Qishan six times!"
