Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 700 Welcome
The profits from maritime trade are enormous, which is what Shanxi merchants have always wanted to do but have never been able to do. After all, Shanxi is located in the north and inland. Not only is it not close to the sea, but the only place closest to the sea from the north is Shandong.

But Shandong is close to Zhili and not far from the capital. How can it be so easy to go to sea from Shandong? Moreover, the imperial court has been at war for many years. Because of Liaodong, Shandong is equivalent to a war zone, and it is even more impossible for private merchants to conduct sea trade from Shandong.

Wang Zhichen and Zhang Guozheng were both prominent figures in Shanxi merchants. The Shanxi merchants had long coveted the benefits of maritime trade in the south, but unfortunately the north was not as good as the south, and no matter how capable they were, they could not reach out to the south. Now Zhu Shenzhu not only planned to open border trade in Shanxi, but also extended an olive branch of maritime trade from Shandong. How could he not be tempted?

Wang Zhichen and Zhang Guozheng were smart enough to see clearly what Zhu Shenzui's purpose was in asking Kang Youfu to come to Shanxi to talk to them about these things. Although this was a form of inducement and solicitation, Wang Zhichen didn't care at all. What he cared about was how much benefit his family could get from this deal.

What businessmen pursue is wealth, and everything else can be put behind wealth. Otherwise, Fan Yongdou would not have done such a thing at the risk of being condemned by the world.

Zhu Shenzhui knew that it was better to loosen up than to block, and he also understood the strength of the Shanxi merchants and the interests they represented. Moreover, in the current Ming Dynasty, if he wanted to get anything done, he had to win over a group of people and give them generous gifts to lure them, so that he could achieve twice the result with half the effort.

On the second day after Wang Zhichen and Zhang Guozheng discussed, several other Shanxi merchants came to visit one after another. Everyone had the same idea, planning to consult with Zhang and Wang, especially to see what the decision of Zhang and Wang would be. In the Shanxi merchant group, Zhang and Wang were the leaders. If they did this, then the others would naturally follow. If Zhang and Wang were not involved, then this thing would definitely not be done.

A few days later, Kang Youfu arrived on time at Fengling in Puzhou, Shanxi. This place was not only the ancestral home of the Zhang and Wang families, but also the meeting place for the border trade agreement.

Choosing this place to negotiate was also a display of Kang Youfu's sincerity. When he arrived in Fengling, almost all the prominent figures among Shanxi merchants had arrived. In the following days, the gate of the Wang family compound was closed, outsiders were sent away, and the matter was discussed in secret.

Just when Kang Youfu arrived at Fengling, Wang Jinwu was also preparing to return with his troops in triumph.

In this battle, the Ming Dynasty won a great victory unprecedented in decades, and the victory also consolidated Zhu Shenzhu's position as regent.

To welcome the general's triumphant return, Wen Tihen originally arranged a grand welcoming ceremony in the name of the chief minister of the cabinet. However, when the matter reached the Ministry of Rites, the Minister of Rites Fang Fengnian immediately expressed his opposition, believing that the ceremony set by the cabinet was inconsistent with the system and was too heavy. The Ministry of Rites firmly disagreed to follow the plan drawn up by the cabinet.

Wen Tihen pressured the Ministry of Rites to deal with this, but Fang Fengnian ignored Wen Tihen and even used a lot of arguments to refute him, saying that although Wang Jinwu won the battle, he only repelled Huang Taiji, so how could he use such a grand ceremony? If he used this ceremony today, what ceremony would he use to destroy the Jian Nu in the future?

Back then, Qi Jiguang wiped out Japanese pirates and put down Japanese rebellion in the southeast, but he was just an ordinary person when he came to Beijing. Could it be that Wang Jinwu's contribution was greater than Qi Jiguang's?
Not only Fang Fengnian opposed it, but also the Minister of Works Zhang Fengxiang, Deputy Censor-in-Chief Fang Kezhuang, the Censor-in-Chief of the Military Affairs Bureau Gong Dingzi, the editor Wu Weiye, Xiang Yu and others opposed it. They all said that the cabinet's welcoming gift was too heavy and did not conform to the rules. When Wang Jinwu returned to the capital, only an ordinary welcome would be enough, and there was no need for such grand gifts.

Wen Tiren and the Ministry of Rites repeatedly negotiated with Fang Fengnian, but Fang Fengnian refused to do so. Zhang Fengxiang, Fang Kezhuang and others also sided with Fang Fengnian. Although Wen Tiren was the chief minister of the cabinet, he could do nothing about them. In desperation, Wen Tiren could only go to the palace to meet Zhu Shenzhu, inform him of the matter, and plead guilty.

After listening to Wen Tihen's story, Zhu Shenzhui felt unhappy, but he had no good solution. Although he was the regent, he was not the emperor yet. Even if he was the emperor, he could not suppress the influence of the current civil service group to the extent of making a final decision.

Moreover, Zhu Shenzhu did not make any major moves on the government after entering Beijing. He was worried that any major moves would backfire. Moreover, Fang Fengnian, Zhang Fengxiang, Fang Kezhuang and others were the backbone of the Donglin Party and had considerable influence in the court. Moreover, Fang Fengnian was the Minister of Rites and he made many arguments on the grounds that it was not in accordance with etiquette. It would be meaningless to argue with him about this.

God knows how long this matter will drag on. The most important thing is that Zhu Shenzhui knows what these people's real purpose is.

Zhu Shencui entered the capital, became the Prince of Jiaocheng and supervised the government. It was natural for these people to be dissatisfied. Before, it was only because Zhu Shencui held military power and they were afraid that Zhu Shencui would stir up bloody storm in the capital, so they just stayed out of the spotlight for the time being.

As time went by, when they saw that Zhu Shencui did not make any big moves against them, these people began to have their thoughts stirring again. Especially when they learned that Huang Taiji intended to repeat his old tricks and lead his troops to bypass Shanhaiguan and attack the Great Wall again, these people even hoped that Huang Taiji would lay siege to the city and drive Zhu Shencui away from the capital.

Unfortunately, Huang Taiji did not succeed. Not only did he fail to attack the Great Wall, but he also suffered a great loss on the Great Wall defense line and finally retreated to Liaodong. When the news of the victory on the front line came, the whole capital was jubilant, especially the people of the capital were smiling and telling each other. For them, being able to avoid war and repel powerful enemies was an unprecedented happy event in many years. The Ming Dynasty won a powerful battle and demonstrated the dignity of the Celestial Empire. After this battle, the public's view of Zhu Shenzhu as regent also improved a lot.

But compared to ordinary people, Fang Fengnian and others did not see it this way. With the victory of this battle, Zhu Shenzhui's position became more and more stable, and they felt more and more uncomfortable. If they did it according to the cabinet's request at this time, wouldn't it be equivalent to making Zhu Shenzhui's reputation further improved? Once Zhu Shenzhui's reputation was greatly boosted by this great victory, his power would be more stable, which was a result that they absolutely did not want to see.

For this reason, Fang Fengnian and others had to exert pressure on this matter and absolutely did not allow the momentum of this triumph to be too great.

In their view, whether it was the emperor or the regent, the best way to govern was to let the emperor stay in the palace as a mascot, and let the scholars handle the affairs of the world. Moreover, the army must not be controlled by the emperor, let alone by the nobles. Using civil officials to control military power was the best way to govern the country.

Facing this situation, Zhu Shenzhui did not blame Wen Tiren. He knew very well that this was not Wen Tiren's problem, but a problem that existed in the court. As time was too tight and Wang Jinwu was about to return, Zhu Shenzhui could only instruct Wen Tiren to negotiate with the Ministry of Rites to try to improve the treatment of the soldiers who returned victoriously. If there was really no other way, he could only do this first. He couldn't let Wang Jinwu and the soldiers wait and not return, right? He could only let them suffer for a while and make up for it later.

After Wen Tiren left, Zhu Shenzhui sneered in his heart. These people had been pretending to be the scoundrels for several months, and now they were jumping out again. Could it be that they thought they were really a piece of mud that could be manipulated at will? They were simply shameless, thinking that the knife in my hand was just a decoration?
After two more days of haggling, Wen Tihen finally reached an agreement with the Ministry of Rites the day before Wang Jinwu arrived in Beijing. Although the final price was still much lower than what the cabinet had originally required, it was better than the original proposal from the Ministry of Rites.

Facing this result, Zhu Shenzhui did not say anything and directly asked Wen Tiren to do it according to the result of the discussion. When Wang Jinwu's triumphant return camp arrived in the capital on the third day, not only did the Minister of Rites not come, but even the Vice Minister was not sent. Only a few mid-level officials went to greet them. Facing this situation, Wang Jinwu's subordinates not only looked angry, but also felt indignant in their hearts. However, Wang Jinwu was like an ordinary person. Not only was he not angry, but he smiled and stepped forward to greet everyone. Then, after completing the welcoming ceremony with the officials of the Ministry of Rites, he led his subordinates into the city gate and headed to the palace.

Just as they were about to reach the palace, a sudden thunderous cannon shot startled several officials from the Ministry of Rites, who turned pale instantly. Some even fell on the spot, too frightened to even get up and just hid to the side. But Wang Jinwu seemed to have known what was going on, and not only did he not change his expression, but he stood firmly.

At this time, everyone came to their senses and realized that it was not the roar of cannons, but the sound of salutes.

At this moment, the Meridian Gate, which had been tightly closed, slowly opened in front of everyone. As the Meridian Gate opened, two teams of fully armed guards in distinctive armor lined up from the gate. Then everyone saw Zhu Shencui, wearing a dragon robe and a winged crown, walked out from inside.

Just as everyone was stunned, Wang Jinwu strode forward, came to Zhu Shenzhui and bowed down, saying: "Your Highness Wang Jinwu, I have returned triumphantly from the capital camp. I pay my respects to the Regent. May the Regent live a thousand years and a thousand thousand years!"

Zhu Shenzhui smiled, stepped forward and helped Wang Jinwu up, looked him up and down and nodded: "Good! Good! It's good to be back. You've worked hard in this battle."

"This battle was planned by the Regent, and the soldiers obeyed orders. I dare not take credit for it."

"If it's your contribution, then it's yours. I know very well how well you did it." Zhu Shenzhui said this with a smile, and then waved his hand. Someone came forward from behind, holding a plate with a gorgeous dragon robe on it.

Zhu Shenzhui reached out to take it and wanted to put it on Wang Jinwu. Wang Jinwu subconsciously wanted to refuse, but Zhu Shenzhui held him firmly and said, "You deserve this robe. Come, put it on and show it to me."

“Your Majesty…” Wang Jinwu gave a bitter smile and could only let Zhu Shenzhui put the dragon robe on him. Then Zhu Shenzhui looked Wang Jinwu up and down and nodded with satisfaction: “You look good in it, hahaha! Come on, generals, follow me. I’m going to entertain all the meritorious officials of the Ming Dynasty today!”

After saying that, Zhu Shenzui invited Wang Jinwu to enter the Meridian Gate, and at this time someone came to guide the generals who entered the city with Wang Jinwu to follow.

Seeing this, several officials from the Ministry of Rites could no longer hold back and hurried forward to try to stop it, saying that this was not in accordance with the etiquette. How could it be done? But who would have thought that the chief eunuch Du Xun of the Ministry of Rites would push them back with a light sentence, saying that the etiquette of the Ministry of Rites had ended at the Meridian Gate, and that the next thing was the private banquet for the victorious soldiers by the Regent, which was no longer an official ceremony. Moreover, the inner court of the Ming Dynasty was not under the jurisdiction of the outer court. The Ministry of Rites was too involved, and it even wanted to intervene in the affairs of the palace? What exactly was it trying to do?
(End of this chapter)