"If you don't like it, then why are you trying to embarrass a widow?"
Chen Kan was a little suspicious. He just saw Zhu Gaosui looking like a dog licker. Now you tell me you don't like it?
Zhu Gaosui slapped his forehead: "As you said, I am also a prince after all. How can I bully a widow?"
"and you?"
Facing Chen Kan's suspicious eyes, Zhu Gaosui said angrily: "Do you know whose property the Hengfeng is?"
"Isn't it the property left to Yun Niang by the dead man?"
Although Chen Kan had not inquired about it, he had heard him mention it in his daily interactions with Yuncheng. Hengfeng Hao seemed to be a pretty big business.
"Yes, do you know the name of Yun Niang's dead man?"
"have no idea!"
Why would Chen Kan inquire about a widow's family background? Wouldn't that be damaging his own reputation?
Zhu Gaosui became angry and said: "The man who died in Hua Niang was the sworn brother of Grandpa Taizu. He was the eldest grandson of Hou Huayun of Dongqiu County. He was commanding Hua Zhong, the son of Hua Yi. This time, I came to Hua Niang just because I wanted to marry Yun." Mom is just cooperating, where do you want to go?"
"Hua Yun's grandson?"
Chen Kan was stunned. He really didn't know this.
However, Chen Kan knew about Huayun. He was Zhu Yuanzhang's most powerful general when he started his career. It was said that he was as brave as Lu Bu. In the 12th year of Zhengzheng, he and Zhu Yuanzhang's adopted son Zhu Wenxun led 3,000 soldiers to fight against Chen Youliang's 100,000 army.
Zhu Wenxun died in the battle. After being captured, Hua Yun would rather die than surrender. Instead, he grabbed a knife and killed several people in a row, and finally died heroically.
Hua Yun died in battle, and his heirs also fled to Chen Youliang's army. After Chen Youliang's defeat, the Hua family's maid Sun fled back to the Ming Dynasty with Hua Yi.
But the Hua family, like the Chen family, has long since declined, and now only Yun Niang is left to earn a living with her son, who is less than three years old.
It can even be said to be worse than the Chen family. Now that Chen Kan has grown up, the Chen family also has a teacher from the Ministry of Civil Affairs as a backer, while the Hua family is really just an orphan and a widowed mother living on a business.
He was a little suspicious: "Then why did you look like you were robbing a civilian girl just now?"
"Oh~"
Then Chen Kan suddenly realized something and asked himself: "She is worried that you are trying to seize the Hua family's property!"
Zhu Gaosui nodded: "The Hua family has a business road. It was when Taizu regretted that the Duke of Dongqiu died in the battle, and specially rewarded it for the retirement of Sun's daughter who escaped from the Han army and returned to the Ming Dynasty with Hua Yi. Sun After the death of his daughter, this business road fell into the hands of the Hua family."
Chen Kan followed Zhu Gaosui's words and said: "His Royal Highness, King Zhao, you have taken a fancy to that business route and originally planned to go to Yun Niang for cooperation, but Yun Niang refused, so Your Highness, you planned to rob it by force, right?"
"What a robbery, it sounds so ugly. I, the king, just want to cooperate."
After being exposed by Chen Kan, Zhu Gaosui not only did not feel any shame, but said calmly: "Even if Yun Niang doesn't cooperate with me, sooner or later that business road will fall into the hands of others. Could it be that Do you think she, a widow, can maintain a business line?"
"Oh~"
Chen Kan had a mocking look on his face: "By cooperating with you, His Highness, will she be able to maintain her business principles?"
"If you cooperate with me, for the sake of the Hua family, I won't kill them all. I will leave some soup for her to drink. If you cooperate with others, haha..."
Zhu Gaosui chuckled with a smile, but did not say the next words.
Chen Kan understood. Zhu Gaosui meant that there were others who were also interested in that business road.
Chen Kan asked doubtfully: "Isn't it just a business road? Is it worthy of being snatched by your majesty, King Zhao, and others?"
Zhu Gaosui sneered and said: "What do you know? That is not an ordinary business way. There are many jealous people."
Speaking of this, Zhu Gaosui suddenly looked wary and said: "Why do you ask so clearly? Why, are you also interested in the Hua family's business?"
Chen Kan shook his head and said, "It's just out of curiosity. I'm not interested in bullying orphans and widowed mothers."
"Ah!"
Zhu Gaosui sneered, but stopped talking.
Plate after plate of delicious food was served, and Chen Kan stopped asking any more questions.
In a word, the business way that makes Zhu Gaosui jealous is definitely not an ordinary business way.
This matter is not easy to handle, so we should go back and ask Yuncheng.
After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Zhu Gaosui asked calmly: "Don't you have something serious to discuss with me?"
"Um!"
Chen Kan did not hide anything and said bluntly: "Your Highness must also know what position I hold in the court now. The Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division wants to rival the Jin Yiwei, but there is still a heavyweight to take charge."
"Do you want me to go to the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division to take charge?"
Although Zhu Gaosui has been staying in Beijing, he still knows about the major and minor affairs of the court, especially the grievances and grievances between the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses and the Jin Yiwei. It is difficult for him not to pay attention.
So as soon as Chen Kan finished speaking, he figured out Chen Kan's purpose.
Chen Kan said: "Yes, among the Jinyi Guards, there is Cao Guogong. The Wucheng Soldiers and Horses Division started late and is at a disadvantage in dealing with higher-level figures. If His Highness King Zhao is interested, you can come to the Wucheng Soldiers and Horses Division. Put a name on it.”
Zhu Gaosui rubbed his chin, and after a moment, asked: "Aren't you afraid that this king also wants to seize the legitimate heir?"
"Afraid!"
Chen Kan spread his hands and said, "But... what does this have to do with me?"
A glint flashed in Zhu Gaosui's eyes, and then he slowly nodded and said, "That's true."
"I, the king, think about it!"
Zhu Gaosui didn't agree outright, but he didn't refuse either.
"Um!"
Chen Kan achieved his goal and said no more.
Zhu Gaosui's identity is there. If he is willing to come, he will come if Chen Kan says it once. If he doesn't want to, it will be useless even if Chen Kan talks about it.
Moreover, Chen Kan was very confident in Zhu Gaosui's political wisdom.
Historically, he and Zhu Gaoxu negotiated a rebellion, but the end result was that Zhu Gaoxu was made into a barbecue, and he lived to the end of his life enjoying the glory and wealth.
This shows that Zhu Gaosui is not a fool like Zhu Gaoxu.
He knows how to weigh things up.
After eating and drinking, Chen Kan waved to the old shopkeeper: "Shopkeeper, pay the bill!"
"Hey, come on!"
…
…
After parting with Zhu Gaosui, Chen Kan walked straight home.
Before asking Zhu Gaosui to go to Judelou to make a globe of wood for Zhu Di, he had already asked Fang Xu to take people to Shibafang to select it.
The next thing he wants to do is experience immersive carving.
But just as he stepped into the house, Chen Kan was stunned.
"You...what are you doing?"
Yuncheng and Yun Niang knelt in the yard. When they saw Chen Kan coming back, surprise appeared on their faces at the same time.
"Dong dong dong!"
"Please sir, please save my sister-in-law!"
Yun Cheng knocked his forehead heavily on the ground, making a thumping sound.
"Get up first!"
Chen Kan came to the two of them and motioned for them to get up and talk.
"Sir, please save my sister-in-law. I am willing to act like a cow or a horse to repay your kindness."
"Come into the house and talk."
Yun Cheng pulled Yun Niang to stand up, followed Chen Kan to the living room, and knelt down again.
Before the two of them could speak, Chen Kan looked at Yun Niang and said, "You should know that a man is guilty of carrying a jade while he is innocent."
Yun Niang's eyes were sad and she was about to cry: "Young Master said, how can I not know about my body, but this is something left by my husband's family, how can I hand it over to others at will? If I can't keep this family In the future, what will I look like when I meet my husband and the ancestors of the Hua family under Jiuquan?"
"stop!"
Chen Kan was most afraid of a woman being miserable in front of him, so he quickly raised his hand to interrupt her.
"Tell me first, what's going on with your family's business? It's just a business, it shouldn't make even the princes greedy, right?"
Yun Niang sobbed and said, "Master Mingjian, it's not that I'm unwilling to hand over the business path, but that I, the Hua clan, also have something to hide."
"Unspeakable secret?"
Chen Kan frowned and asked: "Since the business is in your hands, don't you have to say who you cooperate with and who you don't?"
Yun Niang said: "Sir, that's not the case. The current control of that business road is nominally in my hands, but in fact the person who really controls it is the Sun family. I want to use this business road to find a backer. But I am an orphan and a widower, how can I fight against the Sun family?"
"The Sun family?"
Chen Kan rubbed his eyebrows, why did another Sun family get involved?
"It is the family of the father-in-law and the wet nurse. The Sun family is a wealthy family in Zouping County, Jinan Prefecture, Shandong Province. I am staying in the capital with my child, so I can only live on the Hengfeng. Most of the profits from the business go to the Sun family."
Listening to Yun Niang's explanation, Chen Kan had a headache.
He couldn't help but ask: "Then why didn't you tell His Highness King Zhao that the trade route was not in your hands?"
Yun Niang smiled miserably and said, "Why didn't I say anything? But everyone in the world knows that Business Dao is in my hands. How can His Highness King Zhao believe that the actual person in charge of Business Dao is the Sun family?"
Chen Kan frowned and asked: "What exactly does this business road do, and why is it coveted by so many people?"
Now that Chen Kanjin has gone to listen to Yun Niang's difficulties, he doesn't even know what Shang Dao does.
Yun Niang said in a trembling voice: "This trade road is a special gift from Grandpa Taizu, allowing the Hua family to do salt and iron business with the Tatars on the grassland."
"What, salt, iron, and Tartars?"
Chen Kan lost his voice and stood up immediately.
Chen Kan understood. No wonder a small business road would attract the covetousness of a prince.
Salt and iron!
Still with the Tatars.
It is still a unique business specially gifted by Grandpa Taizu.
Not to mention Zhu Gaosui, even Chen Kan couldn't help but feel excited at this moment.
That was the salt and iron business that monopolized the entire grassland. It was more like a river paved with gold and silver than a business road.
Chen Kan couldn't understand why Taizu would give such a business road to the Hua family, but he knew that because of the existence of this business road, Yun Niang, her son, the orphans and the widow could still live to this day. It was definitely because they saved the earth in their previous life.
But with such a huge profit, Chen Kanting has never heard that Mr. Sun can afford it?
Chen Kan didn't believe it.
He asked: "Who is that Mr. Sun?"
Yun Niang shook her head and said: "I only know that the current head of the Sun family is named Sun Yu, and he is currently the chief registrar of Si Yongcheng County, Henan Chief Minister."
"Sun Yu?"
Chen Kan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly lost his voice and said, "Are you sure that the head of the Sun family is called Sun Yu?"
Yun Niang was startled by Chen Kan's sudden loss of composure, and then responded with some anxiety: "It's true...it's indeed Sun Yu!"
"It turns out to be him!"
Chen Kan muttered to himself.
He suddenly understood.
It wouldn’t be surprising if it was Sun Yu.
If he guessed correctly, the real person responsible for this business road was not the Sun family from Shandong at all, but the prince who stayed behind in Beijing.
That Sun Yu was the father of the Empress Dowager Sun in history, and the future father-in-law of Zhu Zhanji, the little fat man.
Historically, Sun Yu's daughter entered the palace on the recommendation of Zhang, the current Crown Princess, and was named a concubine as soon as she entered the palace.
And the Crown Princess Zhang happens to be from Yongcheng!
Chen Kan sat back on the chair, his expression a little uncertain.
As expected of Zhu Pangpang, the future executive deputy emperor of the Yongle Dynasty, he is not yet the prince. Unexpectedly, this situation has already been spread to the capital.
That Sun family is definitely Zhu Pangpang's.
Yuncheng's expression was a little uneasy.
Chen Kan's expression just now scared him.
He asked: "Master, what's wrong? Is there anything wrong with this Sun Yu?"
"oh!"
Chen Kan came to his senses, shook his head and said, "No problem."
He looked at Yun Niang's face, which I felt pity for, and suddenly sighed.
This is the tragedy of little people. Not only do they have to take the blame for others, but they also don't even know they have taken the blame.
It is clear that what he told is the truth, but others not only don’t believe him, but also come to him to force him to do so.
He suddenly thought of how similar his embarrassment was to Yun Niang now when he was forced to come to break off the engagement by Zhu Jixi.
He said calmly: "Since the business world is not in your hands, you can go back and live a good life. I will go to His Highness King Zhao to explain it to you. I will also find a way to help you solve the problem for other people who covet the business world."
Hearing this, the Yun brothers and sisters were overjoyed.
"Thank you sir, thank you sir!"
Yun Niang kowtowed like a fool. No one knew how much suffering she had suffered these past years.
A widow, with a son, guarding a business road that only has a name, everyone wants to step on it.
Recalling the grievances she had suffered over the years, Yun Niang could no longer hold back her tears.
"Thank you, sir. I kowtow to you."
Chen Kan gave up and said, "Go and raise your son well."
Seeing that his sister had finally found a reliable supporter, Yun Cheng also cried with joy. He kowtowed to Chen Kan and said, "Thank you for your help, sir. I will definitely work like a cow to repay you for the rest of my life."
Chen Kan could understand their feelings and was very happy to be able to help others, with a sense of accomplishment in his heart.
Thinking of this, he looked at Yuncheng and asked, "Is your nephew begging for flowers?"
Yuncheng said: "Young master, your name is indeed Yun Shi."
"Well, if you have nothing to do on weekdays, you can bring him to the house to play."
When Yuncheng heard this, he suppressed the ecstasy in his heart and kowtowed heavily to Chen Kan.
"Thank you for your cultivation, Master! Thank you for your cultivation, Master!"
He is sensible and knows what Chen Kan's words mean.
His nephew has a great future waiting for him.
"Okay, let's get to work!"
Chen Kan issued an eviction order, and Yun Cheng took Yun Niang to the door. He ordered her to send Hua Shi to the Chen Mansion tomorrow.
Although Yun Niang is a business woman, she also knows what kind of opportunity this is.
He immediately nodded and said, "Don't worry, brother, I will send Shi'er over tomorrow. Please take care of me in the future."
"What are you talking about? I am his uncle. How can I not take care of my nephew? Go now, go now!"
Chen Kan walked toward the backyard with his hands behind his back.
As the saying goes, if you give someone a rose, the fragrance will linger in your hand.
Although he came from a later generation, this body was raised by Fang Xiaoru. If he could do it, he wouldn't mind passing on this act of love.
The further he walked toward the backyard, the more Chen Kan felt that his body was shining with the brilliance of humanity.
Zhu Yuelan was feeding the fish by the small lake. When she saw Chen Kan looking like his aunt was possessed, he couldn't help but ask: "What, did you step on dog poop when you went out?"
Chen Kan walked to her side with a smile, spread his hands and said, "Don't you notice anything different about me today?"
"No!"
Zhu Yuelan held a small clay pot in her arms. She grabbed a handful of fish food from the clay pot and handed it to Chen Kan: "It's been extremely cold this year, and the fish in the lake have become hungry and thin."
Chen Kan: "?"
He glanced at the small lake with some suspicion. The fish were growing fat and strong one by one.
"How did you tell that they were starving and thin?"
"Didn't you notice that the brilliance of humanity shines in me today?"
"Don't be poor!"
Seeing that Zhu Yuelan was trying to pull him to feed the fish, Chen Kan turned around and left.
He is very busy!
There were only three days left before Yuan Zheng, and he had to make the globe quickly.
Zhu Di was still waiting to show off his globe to the courtiers on the first day of the year.
Chen Kan ducked into the study. Two wooden balls the size of basketballs, which had been polished extremely smooth, were quietly placed on the desk.
The servants in the mansion thoughtfully prepared chisels and carving knives for him.
Chen Kandang is busy.
…
…
Three days passed quickly.
Today is New Year's Eve, and the whole capital is looking very happy.
The common people have been busy for a year, and today is their day to be lazy, and the courtiers are no exception.
The courtiers of the Ming Dynasty were definitely the worst in history.
Since Lao Zhu was a workaholic, Lao Zhu asked the courtiers to follow him as an example.
Throughout the year, I can only take a few days off during the Chinese New Year.
Later, the courtiers couldn't stand it anymore and strongly demanded that Lao Zhu increase the official's holiday. Lao Zhu was bothered by them and had to give the courtiers a day off on his birthday.
After finally surviving until the Jianwen Dynasty, the official days of vacation were changed to the same as those of the Imperial College, and they had to rest on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month.
As a result, Zhu Di rebelled, and the banner he used was "Jing is in trouble, restore the ancestral system."
So the officials once again lived the hard life of the Hongwu Dynasty.
Really, less money means more things. For the courtiers of the Ming Dynasty, 996 was a real blessing.
Today, they can finally take a good rest.
Yuan Zheng's morning court must still be attended as normal.
After the morning court, Zhu Di would give food to his ministers. After giving the food, the ministers would present gifts to the king and then go home for the holidays.
Chen Kan did not have a specific official position, so naturally he could not participate in the morning court, but he was the consort and needed to go to the palace to accompany him.
So early in the morning he took the cute girl with big eyes and two globes, one big and one small, into the harem.
Under the eager eyes of Little Fatty, Chen Kan took out a globe from the gift box with a smile.
The globe made this time was very exquisite and took Chen Kan two days.
On the wooden ball, not only the outlines of various continents and islands are clearly visible, but even some tall mountains were carved out by Chen Kan based on his own memory.
The surface was brushed with a layer of tung oil by Chen Kan, so the whole sphere looked antique, and it looked like a high-end product at first glance.
Chen Kan took out an exquisite tray, placed the globe on it, turned to Zhu Zhanji and asked, "Your Highness, maybe you can see where our Ming Dynasty is?"
Zhu Zhanji raised his head proudly and said, "Who are you looking down on? Isn't the word Ming written here?"
He had memorized all the continents on the globe from the last time he was in Fengtian Temple.
Chen Kan pointed to the highest mountain range on the globe and asked quietly: "Does Your Highness know the name of this mountain range?"
Zhu Zhanji said: "Isn't that the snow mountain in Uzang!"
Chen Kan continued to ask: "Does Your Highness know where the Tatars live?"
"here"
"..."
After asking Zhu Zhanji a few questions, Chen Kan nodded with satisfaction.
As the future heir to the throne, Zhu Zhanji's geography is still very good.
Zhu Yuelan was whispering to Queen Xu, and the other consorts and princesses had not arrived yet.
Seeing Zhu Zhanji and Chen Kan having a great time, Queen Xu was also very satisfied.
Since marrying Zhu Di, her only pursuit is family harmony and prosperity.
"Report..."
"Mother, Princess Yong'an and Marquis Guangping are here!"
Princess Yong'an Zhu Yuying is Zhu Di's eldest daughter. She married Yuan Rong, Yuan Hong's son, in the 28th year of Hongwu.
Yuan Rong achieved military success in the Battle of Jingnan. After Zhu Di ascended the throne, he was granted the title of Marquis of Guangping.
After hearing the palace maid's report, Queen Xu suddenly showed a smile on her face.
"Let them in!"
Soon, a woman in palace attire who looked exactly like Queen Xu led an unsmiling man into the main hall of Kunning Palace.
The first time he saw the woman, Zhu Yuelan stood up and took her arm like a butterfly.
"Eldest sister, eldest brother-in-law, why are you here~"
Zhu Yuying said with a smile: "We are already married, but we are still so unstable. What time of the year it is, we are already here early enough."
After saying that, he and his consort Yuan Rong came to Queen Xu and bowed down: "See you, Queen Mother."
"Haha, Pingshen, get up quickly."
When her own daughter arrived, Empress Xu was so happy that she pulled her two daughters to sit down.
He told Yuan Rong: "You two brothers-in-law, go and get in touch with each other yourself, and let's talk a little bit about ourselves..."
Yuan Rong bowed and said, "Yes, Queen Mother."
Here, Chen Kan was playing with Zhu Zhanji in ecstasy. When he saw his eldest brother-in-law Yuan Rong coming over, he just bowed his hand to him without saltiness.
Chen Kan was not very familiar with Yuan Rong. He only knew that Yuan Rong seemed to be more arrogant in history and had a good relationship with Zhu Gaosui.
But Chen Kan knew Yuan Rong's father Yuan Hong.
Yuan Hong was originally a hero of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, and he rose to the rank of Commander-in-Chief of the Zuojun Commandery.
But Chen Kan knew him not because of his official position, but because his in-laws were so famous.
His eldest daughter married Zhu Yuanzhang's 18th son, King Min Zhu, his second daughter married Li Wenzhong's eldest son Li Jinglong, and his younger son Yuan Rong married Zhu Di's eldest daughter Princess Yong'an.
In other words, Yuan Rong wants to call his eldest sister Aunt Eighteen.
The key point is that all this was done by Zhu Yuanzhang, and the main theme is a weird one.
"A big chapter of six thousand words, there will be another chapter soon."
