"What's your order? Sir Qian Shi just said it doesn't matter. As long as the villain can do it, he will definitely do his best..." As if he was aware of Hu Lian's intention, Master Kang Lin thought about it again and again, and decided to test it out. Let’s see what kind of medicine this fourth-grade scarlet-robed official is selling in the gourd.
"Okay, very good. He is capable and responsible. He is worthy of being a hero in Hu's eyes! Brother Kang, this is Hu's villa, not a yamen's public house. Therefore, don't say anything. As a gentleman, if you think highly of me, please call me "Brother Jingting!"
Lifting the lid of the tea, he slowly blew away the foam in the bowl, and then gently sipped the hot tea with his lips. Hu Lian remained calm and leisurely sipping the top-quality Xuezhao tea in the celadon lidded bowl. , he did not give Kang Lin a direct answer, but continued to greet the latter enthusiastically to drink tea. It was not until the latter showed a hesitant and uneasy look on his face that he opened his slightly narrowed eyes and started to get to the point.
"Brother Yuan Jingxian, this time I heard from my subordinates that you assisted the soldiers in Zhujiawan to defend the stronghold. Not only did you achieve an unprecedented victory, but you also captured eight or nine real and fake Japanese heads. , yes or no?”
"This is indeed true. It's all thanks to the efforts of the commander, Qianshi, Hongfu, General Manager Hao, and Meng Li. I have achieved some trivial gains. If you want it, I will send it after you return." I'll bring it to you..." No wonder this guy was so polite to me, with gentle words and the best tea. It turned out that he was waiting for me here. Kang Lin had a look of understanding on his face. However, the next moment, he was severely slapped in the face by the former. It was right to think about it. What kind of person Hu Lian and Hu Qianshi were, how could they be bribed by such a small benefit? The warm smile on this guy's face disappeared. , showed a serious look for the first time and said,
"Who do you think he is? You risked your lives to get the Japanese pirate heads. What do you want to give to me? What I mean is that if you really have so many gains, I can help you run it and get a trial." Hundreds of households, or even hundreds of households are doing it..."
"What can that little man do for Mr. Jing Ting?" Being courteous for nothing is either a traitor or a thief! Kang Lin never believed that there was hatred without reason in this world, let alone love without reason. Hu Lian was so enthusiastic about helping him seek an official position without mentioning benefits or rewards. It was clear that he had a big goal. He could not I don’t want to owe someone such a huge favor at this critical moment! After all, debts are easy to repay, but favors are hard to repay, and this Hu Lian is not a fuel-efficient lamp at first glance. He should not tie himself and his Chiyang fleet to a mere trial of 100 households. His chariot will be taken away and used at will, which will be very bad! Therefore, knowing that directly interrupting others might offend others, he still asked the questions in his heart without hesitation, because, in his opinion, it is better to talk about some things!
"Refreshing, Mr. Hu just appreciates my brother's cheerfulness. Let's do it this way. Today, Mr. Hu invited me to have a banquet. How about we sit down and talk while eating?" However, to Kang Lin's surprise, Hu Lianwen After speaking, he did not get angry, and then yelled at himself for being rude. Instead, he put down the tea bowl in his hand, stood up, and warmly invited himself to the flower hall next to him for a meal. There were servants from the Qianshi Mansion there. The maid had arranged everything, and he was waiting for the second time. We've discussed it and we're going to have dinner!
"Okay, thank you very much for the hospitality, Mr. Jingting!" Looking around, he saw that the servants of the Qianshi Mansion, who were not fully armed, came up to treat him to Ban Dao Noodles. Only then did Kang Lin understand that Hu Lian really asked him to follow him to the banquet. Face, so he let go of what he had been holding on to, reached out to touch the gift list he carried in his arms, forced a smile on his face, and followed Hu Lian step by step into the Qianshi Mansion, which was used to entertain guests. There is a small round table in the West Flower Hall where we talk about some private matters, with a few round stools beside it, which is suitable for temporary entertaining and family banquets.
At this time, the round table was already filled with large and small bowls and plates, which were very beautiful in red and green colors. Kang Lin took a quick look and saw that there were four plates of fresh fruits (pears, oranges, plums and dates), four plates of fresh fruits (Taizhou duck eggs, Liaodong gold). Shrimp, deep-fried roasted bones, dry-steamed and sun-dried chicken), and there are eight main dishes, namely roast duck in sauce, crystal hoof, white fried pork, stir-fried kidney, steamed anchovies with willow, mutton in clear water, and snails soaked in butter. There are two soups, namely Lao Turtle Soup and Black-bone Chicken Soup. There are a total of 18 delicacies. This size is much higher than the two-liang set meal that Kang Lin, Han Wu, Liu Chongqi and others had at Hongbin Tower, because it is light In this autumn when all things are withered, you can't buy them for just a few taels of silver. Add to this the meticulous preparation of the chefs in Qianshi Mansion and slow cooking, and the entire banquet will cost ten taels no matter what. Go up! However, even with such a table made of solid and exquisite materials and full of color, flavor and taste, the only people eating were Kang Lin and Hu Lian. This clearly shows that extravagance among officials was prevalent at this time. You must know that ordinary garrison camps in Zhujiawan The monthly salary of a soldier is less than eight coins and half a stone of rice. Even so, he is often exploited by his superiors. In the end, he may only get half or even one-third of his salary! And the senior officials of the guard station casually invited people to have a meal, and the money they spent was enough for the Ming Dynasty to support twenty strong soldiers in the camp. If they did not take any pay and fed their own guard flag troops, they could support them. The number of people would probably be even greater. How could Kang Lin not doubt Hu Lian's true purpose? As the saying goes, "When you treat others with courtesy, you must ask for something." When the latter met him for the first time, he acted like a courteous corporal. Pai obviously did not really regard him as a sleeping dragon and phoenix chick. Therefore, in order to save his life in danger, and Xu Tu went one step further, Kang Lin had to cooperate with the latter obediently and staged a scene of three visits to the thatched cottage, where the king and his ministers met each other. What a drama!
"Ming Gong, I borrowed flowers to offer to the Buddha today, and I would like to propose a toast to you first!" After the wine and food were served, Kang Lin and Hu Lian immediately sat down as guests and hosts, and began to enjoy the fine wine and food. The former, from later generations, was more or less He was a clever and thoughtful person. When he saw Hu Lian and Hu Jingting sitting down in a grand manner, he poured a glass of Huadiao wine and started toasting with a smile on his face!
"Okay!" Hu Lian and Hu Qianshi, who was sitting in the upper position, obviously gave Kang Lin a lot of respect. He raised his wine glass and drank all the Huadiao wine in the glass with a "Zi Liu" sound. Next, this guy lifted up the skirt of his robe. , stood up, held the pot, filled the latter's cup with yellow Huadiao wine, and said,
"Brother Yuan Jing, you have dozens of ships and hundreds of troops under your command. In addition, you assisted the army in Zhujiawan to defeat the Japanese pirate brigade and achieved great military exploits. Even if you are actually awarded the official seal to a hundred households, it is not enough. It's too much, but your background is not good, which will become the main point for others to criticize you. They will not tolerate a white-washed pirate to be a full-time officer of the guard. Therefore, you need to find a strong backer. Rely on, to help you calm those different voices! And a certain Hu Lian, the commander of the East China Sea Guard, will be happy to be your backer and let you rely on it. The prerequisite is that you have to be sincere enough..." Tuqiong Now, the whispers in Hu Lian's mouth sounded like the devil whispering in Kang Lin's ears. Sure enough, this guy had nothing to hold back from the beginning. He not only wanted to recruit his own men with good combat capabilities. , and even want his own loyalty, but once he eats the honey-coated poison of Baihu, it will not be so easy to break away from his control. Isn’t there a saying that goes well, “It’s easy to get on a pirate ship.” , shipwrecked." Kang Lin had reason to believe that as long as he accepted Hu Lian's "good intentions" now, he would be labeled by him in the future. Once he tried to draw a clear line with him, he would definitely be punished by him. Crazy backlash!
"Sincerity, what kind of sincerity, Ming Gong thinks that these vulgar things on this villain may be able to catch your eye?" Pretending to be crazy, Kang Lin couldn't directly refuse Hu Lian's solicitation, so he could only take out the list of gifts in his arms. I hope these yellow and white things can temporarily stabilize the latter and buy me enough time to think about how to decline this guy's "good intentions" without offending the latter! To be honest, this scale is difficult to control, because if you are not careful, you will bring death to yourself and your subordinates. Kang Lin does not think that with the current strength of his fleet, he can withstand the heavy blow of the Guard Army. Attack, even if those beggar-like flag troops look really weak, they have an absolute advantage in numbers. Once they make up their mind to deal with themselves, a full Ming Dynasty guard of 5,600 people will be Dui Ye He can kill himself alive! At this thought, the smile on Kang Lin's face became brighter and his tone became more courteous and courteous. He was even preparing to take out another batch of silver, treasures, and novelties from his private treasury to bribe the Donghaiwei general. Third in command.
"Yes, but it's not enough! Mr. Hu heard that you brought the high-end oil lamps that are sold out on the ground in the East China Sea. So, you can ignore how you run the business firm jointly owned by Liu Chongqi and Han Wu, but I will account for 60% of the annual profits. If you agree, I can guarantee you that from today on, the 100 households in Donghaiwei Chinan Thousand Household Station and Nanhezhai Hundred Household Station will be yours!" To get to the point, Hu Lian's words had a strong allure. He exchanged 60% of the profit of a business firm that had not yet produced any results, or even existed only on paper, in exchange for the friendship of Hu Qianshi, an actual worker in the health center. No matter how you look at buying or selling, you can do it, but Kang Lin just feels that things will not be that simple. There may be invisible traps waiting for him somewhere. Besides, the asking price of the former is also a bit too cruel. Thinking that he and his subordinates and allies have worked hard for a year, come and go, and the hard-earned money cannot be pocketed, and most of it has to be handed over to others. How can Kang Lin readily agree to the former's proposal? proposal!
