"That is to say, when Feng Bao went to Zhang Juzheng's house, the entourage he brought with him were all servants of his own house, and there was not even a Dongchang Dajun or fanzi? Are you sure?"
"I'm sure, we all know his cronies in Dongchang, and none of them are following him."
"How long has he stayed in Zhang Juzheng's mansion?"
"Nearly an hour before and after."
"Did you bring anything in or bring anything out?"
"I brought in a long mahogany box, which looks like it should be used to store calligraphy and paintings. When I came out, my hands were empty. I shouldn't have anything else with me, unless it's too small."
"Well, how was his mood before he went in, and what was his mood like when he came out?"
"Well...because it rained before, it was still drizzling when we came out. He was wearing a raincoat and a big bamboo hat on his head. It was hard to tell. However, he was walking in a hurry when he went in. When he came out, he was wearing a raincoat. When I’m walking, my steps are easier.”
"Very good, your observation is very careful. I will receive an extra two hundred taels of silver as a reward later."
"Thank you, young master, thank you Gao Yude."
"You should know that you can't tell anyone about this, right?"
"Young master, I understand. My ancestors have been imperial guards for nine generations. I still understand this rule. Please rest assured, young master."
"Very good, then you can go down. As promised before, the three of you will each receive five hundred taels. You responded appropriately and Gao Yude was generous. I promise you to get an extra two hundred taels... After you take the money, go back and make arrangements immediately. , tomorrow I will send you to Nanjing on a business trip for half a year, just think of it as a trip to relax, and when you come back, I will take care of the arrangements for the errands."
"Thank you young master, thank you Gao Yude."
"Well, go ahead."
…
In the room, Zhu Yingzhen put away the folding fan in his hand and said to Gao Pingshi with a smile: "Pragmatic brother, I didn't mess up what I promised you, did I?"
"Brother Ying Zhen, if I didn't trust you, why would I entrust you with such an important matter?" Gao pragmatically said with a sweet smile: "But this matter is not over yet. There are still many follow-up matters that must continue. Please, Brother Yingzhen, please.”
Zhu Yingzhen said with a smile: "Hey, when you say that, you are out of touch, aren't you? What is the relationship between you and me as brothers? Why is this troublesome? Don't worry, your business is my, Zhu Yingzhen's business... It's not just me, God Among the noble families in the capital, who wouldn’t try their best to help you when you heard something happened? But..."
"Brother Ying Zhen, don't worry. I have never fulfilled my promise immediately. The oral alkali from Shanxi will be your business from now on, brother Ying Zhen. Let's not talk about other things. At least I, Jinghua Soap Factory, will only buy from you." Get the goods here.”
Zhu Yingzhen laughed loudly and patted Gao Pingshi's shoulder hard, as if he was talking to his own brother: "Pragmatic brother, you really believe in people, you really promise a thousand pieces of gold..." When he said this, he paused slightly and coughed lightly. , asked in a low voice: "However, I heard that Yuan Gong got a deal to sell briquettes?"
Gao Pragmatic didn't seem to find it strange at all, and nodded repeatedly: "It is true. After all, Brother Yuan Gong is also dealing with some troublesome things for the younger brother... Of course, the things on his side are not as important as Brother Yingzhen's, so It’s almost enough to get a Gyeonggi marketing authorization for briquettes.”
He said, paused slightly, and explained briefly: "After all, Brother Yingzhen, you also know that the soap factory is about to expand its production, and the demand for alkali will only increase in the future, so the income from the alkali business will also increase. It must be that the sesame seeds are blooming more and more every year. But the briquettes are different. Even if Brother Yingzhen doesn’t fight with Brother Yuan Gong, he can only take advantage of Gyeonggi’s marketing. This business seems to be not small. But there is not much room for growth. This year’s number is this, and next year and the year after that it will be almost the same number, but it cannot be compared with oral alkali.”
Zhu Yingzhen thought about it for a while and generally agreed with Gao Jingshi's statement. However, thinking of Gao Jingshi's ability to make money, he still felt a little itchy and couldn't help but ask: "Brother Jingshi, they say you are the Midas Touch, Wei Hui The rich man borrowed 300,000 taels from the government, and the wealthy gentleman Wei Hui gave it to you without blinking an eyelid. I'm thinking that you have been very active recently. Is there any other way to make a fortune? Can Brother Yu get some of the glory too? You also know that although our Duke Chengguo’s family has a big business, it also has a lot of expenses. Brother Yu’s hands are tight, so he can only count on you to help him. Those bastards are all iron roosters. How can I have a brother like you? So heroic, right?”
Gao pragmatically curled his lips inwardly and thought to himself: I just gave you a business with an annual income of at least 20,000 to 30,000 taels and a net profit. In a few years, it may reach 30,000 to 50,000 taels per year. Besides, you don't know how to use it except to transfer some from the Beijing camp. Useless manpower, you don’t have to do anything else, you can just lie down and count money. You are not satisfied with this. Do you really think that someone like me is a good person?
He wanted to shirk it, but after thinking about it, he decided to forget it. After all, although Zhu Yingzhen was the one who came forward, he actually represented the two grandfathers behind him-Zhu Xizhong and Zhu Xixiao.
Although the power in the hands of these two men did not play any role in the historical battle of Gao Zhang, that was just because the two brothers did not need to get involved. It does not mean that the power was not enough, or that it was not easy to use.
At least Gao Wuzhi needs their support and cooperation now, especially the Jinyiwei at Zhu Xixiao's disposal - if we want to narrow the scope a little further, it is Jinyiwei North Town Fusi.
Zhu Xixiao was no better than the average Jinyiwei governor. His family background and the status of his brothers in the emperor's mind had already determined that his control over the Jinyiwei was far inferior to that of the nominal governors, and he had no control over Beizhen Fusi. This man's prestige in Beizhen Fusi may be slightly lower than that of Lu Bing back then. He told them to drive dogs to the east, but they would never dare to drive chickens to the west.
And Feng Bao relied on the advantage of taking advantage of Dongchang to stir up troubles in private. Gao Pragmatic had known about it for a long time. However, Zhi Gui knows that the power he has at hand is not easy to deal with - it's not that he wants to rebel, how can you still suppress Dongchang Fanzi?
Therefore, he could only use the power of Jinyiwei North Town Fusi to deal with it, so the Chengguo Duke's face should be given to him if he could.
Money, if you don’t spend it, you don’t have it. What's more, if you can't deal with Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng, you may not be able to keep Gao Gong, and if you can't keep Gao Gong, you may not be able to keep the money, so why should you hesitate?
What's more, he didn't give real money, he just gave options...
"There is a business, and it's a big deal, and..."
"And? And what?" Zhu Yingzhen couldn't help but his heart beat wildly when he heard that Gao Pragmatic said it was a "big deal" - he was already very familiar with Gao Pragmatic, and knew that in Gao Pragmatic's eyes, anything less than one hundred thousand taels The business is all drizzle, such as the business of Gyeonggi honeycomb coal. Every time Gao Pragmatic mentions it, he looks like he has nothing to do, which makes people itchy but dare not say a word. After all, he really seems to have learned the Midas touch. , whatever you do is good, whatever you do makes money.
Gao Pragmatic's face was calm, but his tone seemed to contain the devil's temptation: "And this deal is not only big, but it may snowball and get bigger and bigger."
Zhu Yingzhen's eyes were so wide that they almost fell out, and his throat moved several times in succession.
