"Passing by, I haven't been there yet."
Chen Kan's answer was concise and clear, and then he continued to eat.
Zhu Gaochi nodded slightly and did not continue to ask any more questions.
Chen Kan poured a glass of wine to himself, gestured to Zhu Gaochi, drank it all in one gulp, and then cupped his hands towards Zhu Gaochi and said: "Your Highness, I have eaten enough, so I will leave now."
"Wait!"
Zhu Gaochi hurriedly tried to persuade him to stay, but Chen Kan paused and asked, "Does His Highness the Crown Prince have any other instructions?"
"Sit down first. It's hard for you to come to my place. You just want to have a meal and then leave."
Zhu Gaochi waved to Chen Kan to sit down first.
After thinking for a moment, Chen Kan decided to sit down and listen to what Zhu Gaochi was going to say.
After all, from the moment he walked in until now, the two of them had basically said nothing constructive. If they just left, the purpose of visiting the East Palace today would be defeated.
Seeing Chen Kan sitting back down, Zhu Gaochi gave him another angry look.
Immediately he pondered: "Brother-in-law, do you still remember Li Tong?"
"Um?"
Chen Kan was stunned, but he didn't expect that Zhu Gaochi would use Li Tong as an entry point.
Of course Chen Kan remembered Li Tong, but he had no choice but to do so. He was the one who cried the most miserably when he faked his death to kill the White Lotus Sect.
And Li Tong can be regarded as Chen Kan's only friend in Ming Dynasty who has no interest entanglement.
Although after he went to Beijing, the two of them had less contact.
Chen Kan still remembered that the last correspondence he had with Li Tong was the year before last. Li Tong said in the letter that he had completed his qualifications in the Imperial College and was ready to accept the imperial court's dispatch and return to Yunnan to serve as a county official.
He didn't say which county specifically, but then Chen Kan went to sea with his army, and the two lost contact.
But Chen Kan always remembered the friendship he had with Li Tong in the Imperial College. It was a true friendship between gentlemen, as light as water.
In the officialdom, such pure affection without other things is really rare.
After being stunned for a moment, Chen Kan asked: "Your Highness, what's wrong with Li Tong?"
Hearing Chen Kan's questioning, Zhu Gaochi pondered for a moment, shook his head and said: "As far as I know, Li Tong's current situation does not seem to be very good."
"What do you mean, Li Tong is in trouble?"
Chen Kan's face suddenly became serious.
He didn't have many friends in Ming Dynasty. If something happened to Li Tong, he would never sit idly by.
Zhu Gaochi gave up and said, "Don't get excited, just listen to me and explain slowly."
Chen Kan sat back down, his expression rarely serious.
Zhu Gaochi showed a look of recollection on his face, and then asked: "In the past two years, my father has been building palaces and temples all over the country. Do you know?"
Hearing this, Chen Kan nodded in surprise and asked, "Is Li Tong's matter related to this?"
"related!"
Zhu Gaochi replied affirmatively.
Chen Kan's brows wrinkled into the character "Sichuan" in an instant. Li Tong's trouble turned out to be related to religion, which was very troublesome.
Not to mention Li Tong, even he felt that religious matters were difficult, so he made a deal with Zhu Di, otherwise he would not come to visit the East Palace today.
Chen Kan raised his head and was about to ask a question when Zhu Gaochi opened his mouth and said: "The place where Li Tong was appointed as an official is called Tonghai County. You should have been to this place when you went to Yunnan. In the second year of Yongle, his father ordered the palace to be overhauled." Over a hundred places, this Tonghai County was also ordered to build a Yongjin Temple.”
At this point, Zhu Gaochi paused, and when Chen Kan nodded to confirm, he continued: "Yunnan has been known as the Buddhist country since the Dali Kingdom. Most of the chieftains and officials in the area believe in Buddhism, and they are connected to the sea. The Yongjin Temple in the county was the largest temple built in Yunnan during the Yongle period."
Chen Kan frowned slightly. He knew that all the things Zhu Gaochi said were nonsense.
Noticing the change in Chen Kan's expression, Zhu Gaochi stopped trying to be a pessimist and said: "The year before last, Li Tong returned to Tonghai County and took up the post of official. In the middle of last year, Yongjin Temple stopped construction because it could not keep up with the funds. The chieftain under his rule The leader then put the trouble on Li Tong's head."
"I see. Doesn't Marquis Xiping care about this matter?"
Chen Kan asked doubtfully, feeling very puzzled.
As far as he knew, most of the scholars in Yunnan who could go to the Imperial College to study were inextricably related to the lineage of Xipinghou.
In other words, Li Tong's backer is Mu Sheng.
Since it was the chieftain causing trouble, Mu Sheng had no reason to ignore it.
"No matter what, why don't you care? Otherwise, what did you think the Marquis of Xiping was doing when he came to Beijing last year?"
Zhu Gaochi shook his head and explained to Chen Kan: "But the root of this matter still lies in the capital. It is impossible for the Marquis of Xiping to conjure up money and food to build temples out of thin air. Besides, the chieftains under Tonghai County did not raise an army to rebel, and it is impossible for the Marquis of Xiping to do so." Let’s raise an army to quell the rebellion, so this problem will eventually fall on the officials in Tonghai County.”
After listening to Zhu Gaochi's story, Chen Kan couldn't help but feel a little headache. In this way, Li Tong was really in trouble.
Chen Kan had dealt face-to-face with the chieftains in Yunnan, and he knew very well how difficult those chieftains were.
The imperial court cut off the money and food to build the palace. The chieftains were too far away from the capital to cause trouble with the court, and they did not dare to trouble Mu Sheng, so they recorded this account on Li Tong. From the chieftain's point of view This matter is completely reasonable.
But if you look at it from Li Tong's perspective, it's a big deal.
As a county official, the most important thing for Li Tong is to manage the land under his jurisdiction so that the government can make people live and work in peace and contentment.
But now the people under his rule not only disobey his orders, but also have trouble with him because a temple cannot be built. Even if one of them is not handled well, the chieftain under his rule may be forced to rebel. The chief official of a county If he did this, no matter what the reason was, how could the court let him go?
Not to mention that Tonghai County has been publicized many times by the imperial court as a successful pilot project of the land-return policy.
Obviously, they have successfully converted their native land back to the countryside, but when Li Tong left, you forced the chieftains to disobey the imperial decree. The impact was much more serious than your corruption and inaction.
If this continues for a long time, Li Tong will not be able to escape the end of being dismissed from office and exiled, even if Mu Sheng and himself protect him.
Seeing that Chen Kan was deep in thought, Zhu Gaochi wisely closed his mouth.
He told Chen Kan these things. Although he also had his own Xiao Jiujiu, there were some things that didn't need to be said clearly between smart people.
Soon, Chen Kan came to his senses and sincerely thanked Zhu Gaochi.
Chen Kan understood why Zhu Gaochi told him the news. In the final analysis, it was nothing more than a way to show kindness to others, but Chen Kan did not reject this approach.
To put it bluntly, it is much better for everyone to negotiate a deal in an amicable manner than for someone to make a big deal out of you as soon as they come up.
Obviously, Zhu Gaochi is the former, and Zhu Gaoxu is the latter.
After expressing his gratitude with cupped hands and fists, Chen Kan asked cooperatively: "I wonder if anyone has impeached Li Tong recently?"
Seeing Chen Kan's business ideas, Zhu Gaochi's fat face suddenly flashed a shrewd look, and then nodded and said: "Yes, there are many people who impeached Li Tong, but there are also many people who impeached Gu. After all, it was Gu and Mr. Fang who recommended Li Tong serves as an official in Tonghai County, and now there are rumors that Gu and Mr. Fang don't know each other."
Hearing this, Chen Kan nodded thoughtfully.
"Okay, since I already know about this matter, it is impossible for me to sit idly by and ignore it, both emotionally and rationally. I would also like to ask His Highness the Crown Prince to sit back and wait for the news."
Hearing what Chen Kan said, Zhu Gaochi's fat face suddenly showed a simple and honest smile.
"In this case, I will have a brother-in-law."
Chen Kan hummed and said goodbye again to Zhu Gaochi.
This time, Zhu Gaochi did not continue to persuade him to stay, but stood up with difficulty and said with a smile: "I'll see you off."
"Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
The two got up and left the hall. Chen Kan planned to go to Zhan Shifu to see the old masters. Zhu Gaochi sent Chen Kan to the palace gate and could not help but whisper: "Brother-in-law, remember to keep it tight so that your father can see it."
Chen Kan was stunned and turned around. Zhu Gaochi already had an expression as if nothing had happened.
After walking out of the east palace gate, Chen Kan walked towards Zhan Shifu thoughtfully.
When Zhu Gaoxu told him these things today, it was certainly not as simple as asking him to save Li Tong.
Then, Zhu Gaochi's purpose was obvious. He needed to use Chen Kan's help to spread the reputation of a man from the East Palace as arrogant and domineering.
Now Chen Kan is Zhan Shifu of Zhan Shifu. No matter what evil deeds he does, others will only blame Zhu Gaochi.
This is very interesting.
Zhu Gaoxu had just led the troops on the expedition, and Zhu Gaochi was preparing to make himself known as arrogant and domineering.
what is this?
Self-defeat?
Or Zheng Burke and Duan Yuyan?
Chen Kan thought as he walked slowly.
There is obviously no need to self-defeat himself. Zhu Gaochi himself is the legitimate Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty, with innate righteousness. As long as he does not rebel or lose his morality, no one can easily touch his position as crown prince.
So there is no need for him to shame himself.
And if it is Zheng Burke and Duan Yuyan, does that mean that Zhu Gaochi is now fully confident that even if Zhu Di really wants to change the crown prince, he will have the means to deal with the situation?
So, is he planning to move from behind the scenes to the stage?
But this is not very reasonable. The current Ming Dynasty is not the Ming Dynasty in history. Zhu Di did not go to war, and Zhu Gaochi did not have the opportunity to supervise the country. Where did he get the chance to develop his own power?
Could it be?
"Hiss~"
Chen Kan took a breath and didn't dare to think about it further.
After all, no one in the Zhu family is simple, he just needs to be a good tool for him.
The day will come when the situation becomes unmanageable. At worst, he will flee to the sea and become a pair of incompatible brothers with Chen Zuyi.
By the way, speaking of Chen Zuyi, the pirate leader, it seems that he was captured by Zheng He in history.
It’s been half a year since I came back, so Zheng He should be back in Ming Dynasty soon, right?
Maybe in a few days we will see the scene of Chen Zuyi not kneeling to Zhu Di in the court hall.
Chen Kan's thoughts were radiating, and his mood, which was a little depressed due to Li Tong's incident, gradually relaxed.
Again, no matter what the situation in the court is, his final destination is the sea of stars.
