Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 451: Spending Money to Buy Peace
"Old Chang! Don't be a jerk. If you really can't drink it, I'll drink it for you!"

"That's right. After all, you have been to the Nine Frontiers. Why are you so nagging?"

As he spoke, Fang Guoan stretched out one hand towards the wine glass in front of Chang Guanlin, and Hou Chengzu next to him took the opportunity to make a joke.

"How am I being nagging? When I followed His Majesty to defend Yingtian, I didn't even blink an eye. What's a mere glass of wine like?"

Seeing this, Chang Guanlin had no reason to admit defeat, but after he snatched the wine glass back into his hands, he just kept talking and didn't show any sign of wanting to drink it.

For ordinary families, it would be time to thank the guests at this stage of the ceremony, but the emperor's wedding was extraordinary, and the emperor and empress retreated into the Fengtian Hall to basically complete the public process, while the rest of the matters had to be carried out in the inner court.

It was naturally not convenient for court officials to get involved in the affairs of the inner court, but the emperor could not let so many court officials and nobles return to his palace hungry after spending most of the day there.

As a result, while Zhu Cilang and Xu Shaoyue were enduring wave after wave of trouble in the inner court, the banquet to entertain guests from all parties had already been halfway through.

Perhaps because the emperor was not around, the atmosphere in the square could no longer be described as simply warm.

Several guards were surrounding Chang Guanlin and urging him to drink, and it looked like they were trying to force him to drink.

In comparison, the civil servants' behavior was a little more reserved, but they could not let go easily when encountering such a scene, and there was always a constant stream of people coming and going in front of the desks of the cabinet and the ministry.

But then again, nothing is absolute.

While the civil and military officials were expressing their joy in their own ways, the nobles who had never been able to smoothly integrate into the court always seemed a little depressed.

"Sir, you are also a former minister of the Emperor, why can't you find a way out for us?"

After hearing the words, Zhu Guobi just glanced at Ning Chenghou who was sitting beside him. Seeing the other party's unwilling expression, he just pursed his lips and turned his head back.

He was not a proud man, and his smooth approach to doing things certainly played a great role in his ability to gain a foothold in Yingtian as a newly promoted duke.

But what can he say now?
At the beginning, he and Xu Yinjue helped His Majesty to secure the military power of Yingtian, and later he took on the task of governing Zhejiang. However, he had too many things in his mind. Sometimes he wanted to increase his own value, and sometimes he wanted to get a good price.

All along, he had only thought about how to gain profits with the capital in his hands, unlike Xu Yinjue, who was not very cunning and had been devoted to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince from the very beginning.

Of course, on the surface he wasn't bad either.

There were two important tax collection areas in the Ming Dynasty. Xu Yinjue was stationed in Nanzhili, while Zhu Guobi was stationed in Zhejiang.

In the eyes of people who don't know the details, these two old loyalists can be said to be the pillars of the country. There is no difference between them except that the Xu family has an extra queen.

But Zhu Guobi is such a smart man, how could he not know the difference?
Zhejiang is located in the heart of the Ming Dynasty. On land, there is Hou Chengzu stationed in Wuhu and Anqing, and on the sea, there is Shen Tingyang in Chongming and Zhoushan.

If we include Yue Qijie, who commanded the war in the south, he, the Duke of Baoguo who was stationed in Zhejiang, was basically a puppet. The power in his hands was probably much less than that of the prefect of Hangzhou, and being in charge of a province was just a title.

On the other hand, Xu Yinjue was guarding the Yingtian River Defense. Not only did he have the troops of the Yingtian camp under his command, he could also mobilize the inland navy of Huang Fei and others. If we count the Dianshi who was specially transferred there by Your Majesty, he was a legitimate garrison commander of Nanzhili, and his power was definitely not comparable to that of Zhu Guobi.

With Zhu Guobi's intelligence, he should have seen this situation early on.

It was just that Zhu Cilang was still immature at the time, so he always wanted to maximize the value of the chips in his hands. Even though Zhu Cilang would feel resentful towards him because of this, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who was in urgent need of a general to lead the troops, had to compromise with the reality.

But who would have thought
He was a top-notch general who led a group of surrendered soldiers and weak generals to fight in the south and the north, and he actually defeated the unrivaled Eight Banners Army, forcing it to cross the river and seek peace.

Under such circumstances, there was no need for any noblemen with a long history to lead the troops. The bargaining chips that Zhu Guobi held tightly in his hand were no longer of any value.

"Sir, please say something."

Faced with Zhu Guobi who remained silent, Ning Chenghou was indeed a little anxious.

He naturally knew that the greatest support of the nobles had lost all value in front of His Majesty, and he also knew that it was all because of Zhu Guobi's private letter that caused all the nobles to fall into the ditch.

But there are only a few people who are qualified to represent the nobles. Except for Xu Yinjue, who completely cut off contact with others because his legitimate daughter entered the palace, the remaining families are not even as valued as the Baoguo Mansion.

Faced with such a situation, if he does not want to be left behind by the general trend, he must demonstrate his value to His Majesty as soon as possible. Otherwise, when the world is settled, who knows if anyone will report the illegal activities of the nobles?
just
"What did you want me to say?"

"Sir, you are also a former minister of the Emperor. Why can't you fight for a chance for us?"

"Opportunity? Wasn't the opportunity right before us when the Tartars crossed the river?"

When Ning Chenghou heard the words, his face immediately turned red, obviously he understood the sarcasm in Zhu Guobi's words. When he was about to say something else, the other party's voice came again.

"Don't think about it. Your Majesty has been using elite troops since defeating Duoduo. How could there be any extra troops for you to waste?"

There is nothing wrong with what Zhu Guobi said.

Although the Ming army fought all the way from east to west and from south to north, apart from the more than 100,000 troops of the five imperial guards, there were only a few tens of thousands of them that were actually useful.

Li Chengdong had more than 10,000 cavalry, but only 2,000 of them were well-equipped; Hu Maozhen had 20,000 infantry and cavalry, but only 5,000 of them participated in the battle.

As for Li Guo, Yang Zhan, Hao Yaoqi, and Liu Wenxiu, their troops have either just been reorganized and their numbers have been greatly reduced, or they have to garrison in one place and cannot move lightly. Under such circumstances, how could they possibly allocate troops to be led by the nobles?

According to common sense, since Zhu Guobi had said so much, Ning Chenghou should have retreated tactfully. However, to his surprise, the other party stayed there after hearing such ruthless words.

"My Lord, you misunderstood me. How come we don't know how capable we are?" As he spoke, Ningcheng Hou gave Zhu Guobi a fist bump. When Zhu Guobi was slightly surprised, he smiled and said, "Everyone thinks that your majesty is good at battle formations, but we think your majesty's political strategy is no less than leading troops in battle."

What's the point of flattering him here?
Zhu Guobi immediately felt impatient when he heard the words, but before he could react, the voice of Ningcheng Hou came again.

"The Maritime Trade Group and the Colonization Group seem to be done casually, but they are all at the critical points. It just so happens that His Majesty is planning to change the Weaving Bureau into a Light Industry Group these days, so we are thinking about whether we can buy some shares in the factory."

"factory?"

"Exactly."

"Hey, you have a good plan, but have you ever thought about whether your ambition is too big?" Zhu Guobi is not a man who only knows how to play tricks. How could he not understand the role of those groups after such a long time?

The Haimao Group wins over the gentry in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong, so that it can strike back and forth without causing any major incidents;
The settlement group controlled the land in the name of resettling refugees and weak soldiers, so that they could firmly control the newly acquired land in such a short time;

As for the Light Industry Group.
Zhu Guobi hasn't figured out what it's used for yet, but based on his understanding of His Majesty, it certainly wouldn't be set up just to make some money, otherwise the weaving bureau wouldn't be able to produce silk cloth?
As his thoughts turned, there was finally some contempt in his eyes when he looked at Ning Chenghou.

In his opinion, the emperor's son always had other purposes behind his actions. Now that the nobles have lost all their value, how could that deep-minded guy allow others to lay their hands on his beloved?

"Your Majesty is not short of money, so don't make such plans."

After adding another explanation to his words, Zhu Guobi turned his head and cast his gaze towards the bustling square.

At this time, the group of newly promoted military generals were still making a fuss, and the civil officials were also shuttling between the seats. Apart from the trembling princes of the royal family, only these nobles behaved quite restrainedly.

Seeing this, he wondered whether he should go out and offer a few rounds of drinks to avoid giving anyone with ulterior motives a chance to use him as evidence. But before he could make up his mind, the voice of Ning Chenghou came again.

"Your Majesty is short of money!"

Looking in the direction of the voice, Zhu Guobi saw that the other party was staring at him closely, and it was obvious that he was showing some signs of insanity.

At this point he no longer had the patience to argue with her, so after sorting out his words in his mind he retorted.

"After deducting the various expenses of the court and the needs of the army, Your Majesty should have a surplus of 700,000 to 800,000 taels. If we take into account the reclamation and maritime trade, it is not a problem to have an extra 2 to 3 million. You told me that Your Majesty is short of money? Do you think I am old and senile?"

By the end of the conversation, Zhu Guobi had even brought up his title, and anyone with a bit of insight could see that he was truly angry.

Normally speaking, in such a situation, even if Ning Chenghou did not apologize directly, he should at least retreat. But who would have thought that after hearing the words, he would start talking again.

"The Duke has not been in Yingtian these days, so I don't know the inside story. Although your Majesty is a first-class money-making expert, his ability to spend money is rare in the world. The factory only occupies a small corner of Yingtian, but the money it swallowed must be in the millions." He paused for a moment, and when he saw that Zhu Guobi was curious, he said, "I heard that your Majesty asked Li Yongmao to build something called a steam engine, and the cost of the materials alone was more than 100,000 yuan."

"More than a hundred thousand?!"

"It's not over 100,000. The thing is said to be airtight. If there is even a tiny flaw, thousands of pounds of material will be wasted."

“Hiss~~~~!”

Hearing this, even Zhu Guobi, who was wealthy, couldn't help but gasp at the expense. When such expenses were applied to the entire factory, he felt that the little money in His Majesty's hands could not withstand such a waste.

just
"These are all outgoing and never returnable, far from the profits that can be shared from sea trade and weaving. Are you willing to throw your money into this pit?"

When the words came into his ears, Ning Chenghou's face suddenly fell. After a moment of silence, he whispered, "What if we don't lose it? We are all nobles, and we have not made any contributions to this dynasty. If we can't please His Majesty, I'm afraid that this ancestral foundation will be..."

"Then how much silver do you plan to use to buy Taiping?"

Seeing the expression on Ningcheng Hou's face, Zhu Guobi couldn't help but sigh.

He knew that the lord above him was not easy to deal with, and he also knew that the nobles who had lost their power valued their family property more than anything else.

Therefore, he asked tentatively, obviously not optimistic about this deal, but to his surprise, the other party hesitated for a long time and then grabbed his arm fiercely with one hand, and then a very surprised voice came out of his mouth: "One or all?"

"A family."

Half a million.

This number was probably nothing in the imperial court at that time, but it was a serious blow to every household.

But the situation is stronger than the people.

According to the current situation, the nobles are no longer worth winning over. When the situation stabilizes, if Your Majesty is magnanimous, you can let them hide in the corner. If you are more calculative, the nobles in Yingtian City may really be reported.

With this in mind, Zhu Guobi could only remain silent. After a long while, he finally opened his mouth under the anxious gaze of Ning Chenghou.

"I'll give my share, too."

"Oh! What are you saying, sir? Your willingness to stand up for us is already a great favor. The Duke's Mansion's share has already been prepared by me and others."

"No, you have to pay for it yourself."

Ningcheng Hou was a sensible man. In his opinion, since the cowardly Xu Yinjue had completely cut off the connection between the Duke of Wei's Mansion and all parties, Zhu Guobi, a nobleman who was highly valued by His Majesty, could be considered a rare treasure.

Under such circumstances, not to mention that the other party does not need to spend money to buy peace like them, even if they really need to use money to please His Majesty, they should pay the money.

But one knows one's own affairs best, and Zhu Guobi is very clear about his situation. Moreover, Wang Fuping's Jinyiwei has reached the point of being omnipresent in Yingtian. If he really accepts the kindness of the nobles, who knows what will happen when His Majesty hears about it.

"My Lord, you are too polite. Although our life is a little hard, we can still scrape together this little bit of money."

"Don't refuse. You have to pay for it yourself."

"Master, are you looking down on us?"

"How can we entrust the money we use to support the imperial court to other people's hands?"

Having said that, even if Ning Chenghou was sincere and sincere, he could not force it. Then the two of them changed the subject and stopped talking about it. By the end of the banquet, their topic had turned to His Majesty's future plans.

"My Lord, do you think His Majesty will attack Lianghuai or Xiangfan next?"

"I think it's most likely Lianghuai. Leaving Hong Chengchou at the gate of Yingtian will eventually be a disaster. It's better not to..."

Zhu Guobi wanted to explain his thoughts in detail, but halfway through he felt someone gently poking his arm. When he followed the direction of Ningcheng Hou's gaze, he saw Hou Chengzu being led by an eunuch to the inner palace.

(End of this chapter)