Ming Dynasty: Traveling through the harem, Zhu Yuanzhang was dumbfounded

Chapter 143 The fish is hooked

Standing next to Hu Weiyong was a girl in a red robe.

The girl has rosy cheeks and almond eyes, and is very pretty.

However, Yang Chen could vaguely see a hint of reluctance on his face to be forced to submit to fate.

It can be seen that Hu Weiyong must have used some unknown means in the process of marrying this concubine.

At least that's what Yang Chen knew.

From the moment he entered the room, his eyes were fixed on the girl, his gaze deliberately creating a silly look of being bewitched by her beauty.

This trick really fooled Hu Weiyong.

Hu Weiyong narrowed his eyes slightly, and most of the worries in his heart were immediately eliminated.

He made a rough judgment of Yang Chen in his heart.

"Haha. It's really just like what my mentor said. Young men are hot-tempered. There is no man who doesn't like beautiful women. In this case, it would be too easy to attack him."

Hu Weiyong turned to look at the girl and said in a commanding tone:
"What are you standing there for? Go and pour some tea for Young Friend Yang."

The girl obviously didn't react immediately. Her eyes were moist like gemstones. After a breath, she bowed and responded in a light tone.

"Yes~"

As soon as he finished speaking, he walked towards Yang Chen in small steps.

"Please, Lord Yang."

"You're welcome, sister-in-law."

Yang Chen sat upright, seemingly unmoved by the beauty, but in fact his eyes kept moving between Hu Weiyong and the "girl".

Hu Weiyong saw all of this.

Seeing this, Hu Weiyong became even more confident and spoke with a smile, wanting to further improve the relationship between the two and start a conversation.

"Hehe, Yang Xiaoyou, this should be our fourth meeting, right?

Today is the day I am taking a concubine. You are a popular figure among the ministers in the court recently. How about you drink a few more glasses later and let me add to your happiness?"

If people outside saw this posture, they would definitely be dumbfounded.

You know, how many people want to meet Hu Weiyong.

As long as you can chat with them for a few minutes, it will be the greatest help to your career.

Now, this Prime Minister Hu, whom many people dream of, actually behaved in a natural manner in front of Yang Chen.

It's really surprising.

"Mr. Hu, you are too polite. I am still young, so how can I say who is popular or not? I am just a little smart. Compared with an old senior like you, Mr. Hu, a young man like me still needs more experience."

The two of them were communicating formally, and Yang Chen knew not to be too fake.

Otherwise, it would be too hypocritical and people would easily see that you are acting.

Putting down the teacup, he bowed to Hu Weiyong and said:
"Today I am honored to be entertained by Prime Minister Hu alone. After returning, I will definitely have my servants register all the visits.

By the way, Mr. Hu, I haven't congratulated you on your wedding yet."

"Hahaha!"

Hu Weiyong seemed less distant and had no airs at all.

After having the tea taken away, he personally poured some wine for the other party.

Looking at the wine glass handed to him, Yang Chen considered for a while and finally decided to accept it.

If you want to act, you have to act your best. At this point, giving up halfway is not a good option.

"Young friend Yang is so modest. I have been an official in the court for such a long time, and I have seen all kinds of geniuses. They are all arrogant without exception.

At your age, to have reached your current position, I'm afraid they would have already looked down on people and held their noses high. It is quite rare for you to have the quality of remaining humble in front of your elders.

According to your current momentum, in time, I am afraid that my position will belong to you!"

Hu Weiyong's words were still full of temptations towards Yang Chen, and he seemed still worried.

This action made Yang Chen speechless.

"Prime Minister Hu, you can't say that. How dare I, at such a young age, take your position?

At the beginning, it was just by chance that I was able to give some good suggestions to His Majesty, which made His Majesty satisfied and promoted me.

But I think that I will probably stop here in the future. Without anyone's support, I will probably have to be an official in one place until I die. How can I dare to dream of becoming the prime minister like Prime Minister Hu, a position that all officials dream of.

I still know my own weight."

As the two of them talked deeper, Hu Weiyong looked at Yang Chen, the junior, almost as an elder.

He told Yang Chen all of his many years of experience as an official.

This is what Hu Weiyong himself said.

"I am naturally grateful to you, Minister Hu, for teaching me everything you know. But, Minister Hu, there is one thing I don't understand. I wonder if you can help me solve this puzzle?"

From the time they started talking until now, Hu Weiyong seemed to want to have as much contact with him as possible, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Yang Chen could understand it.

As a prime minister, the fact that he was able to still implicate tens or even hundreds of thousands of people after his death was enough to show that he often relied on his status to win over people's hearts.

It also shows that many officials knew that if they had too much contact they would be sentenced to death, but they still chose to get close to them.

If there is no interest connection, how could anyone do this?

In the attic, Hu Weiyong still maintained his warm smile, and his eyes gave Yang Chen a feeling of full affirmation.

As soon as he asked this question, Hu Weiyong responded.

"Hahaha! Look at you, you still can't help it. In life, there are bound to be things that are not satisfactory, even for someone as powerful as me.

I know you will be wary of me, and I didn't intend to bring this up, but since you brought it up, I'll just say it straight."

Suddenly, Hu Weiyong's eyes seemed to have become a different person. His eyes were deep, as if they could absorb all the light around him.

"You are so young and yet you are able to hold such an important position as the Censor of the Capital. I would never believe it if you didn't have any skills.

Mu Ying is one of the few important military generals. When Your Majesty was the Marshal, he had no children, and he was Your Majesty's eldest son.

At the beginning, even we had to give him some face. Even when the current crown prince was born, Mu Ying was the general that His Majesty valued most to guard the Ming Dynasty in the future. And you can actually become his son-in-law, which means that you must be extraordinary.

In addition, at the grand court meeting some time ago, His Majesty and the Crown Prince both gave you great affirmation. It is not an exaggeration to say that they value you more than they value me.

During this period of time, the Prince of Yan, the Prince of Qin and other princes have been visiting your mansion one after another. Many people want to get close to these princes but cannot, but my friend, you can make the princes look for you on their own initiative.

You say you are simple, but I am afraid even ghosts will not believe you. "

Hu Weiyong said the last sentence almost in a mocking tone.

There was envy, but more of jealousy, this was the feeling he gave Yang Chen. Sitting in the chair, listening to Hu Weiyong explain his own affairs one by one, he did not feel any surprise.

His interactions with these princes were almost all open and aboveboard, without any concealment, so it would be extremely easy to investigate.

Not to mention that Hu Weiyong was a prime minister. If he wanted to investigate a person or a matter, he only needed to show a little interest and his subordinates would do it themselves.

If Hu Weiyong knew nothing today and acted crazy and stupid to him, Yang Chen would be surprised.

Seeing this, Yang Chen thought there was no need to hide anything from the other party.

"Ah! Hu Xiang is really a shrewd man, worthy of being the prime minister. In this regard, I still have a lot to learn. I really admire him very much.

Yes, Prime Minister Hu is right, but not entirely right."

The other party admitted that it was within Hu Weiyong's expectations, but why did he say that he was only half right? What does this mean?
Hu Weiyong pretended to be calm, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised, as if everything was under his control, and said confidently:
"Oh? I'm not entirely right."

Yang Chen raised his eyes and looked directly at Hu Weiyong. This guy's eyes were fixed on him like an eagle staring at its prey.

“The reason why I am close to the princes is because His Majesty has agreed to the policy of enfeoffment of vassal kings.

Prime Minister Hu, you should also know that it was the Crown Prince who proposed the title of Prince of the vassal state, and I am merely speaking on behalf of the opinions of all the ministers.

Your Majesty has already agreed to this method. Although I have not been following Your Majesty for as long as you, you should know Your Majesty's temper. Once a decision is made, no one can pull it back.

As a subject, I just went with the flow and caused the final situation to happen.

As for what is simple or not, that's a matter of opinion. Hu Xiang is so smart, he definitely wouldn't be the same as others, right?"

Hu Weiyong wanted to play it straight with him, simply because he wanted to see what else he was hiding.

This was his temper. Zhu Biao had already told him that Hu Weiyong was the most tolerant of all the ministers, at least that was the case in the past.

Liu Bowen was once granted the position of Chief Censor by Zhu Yuanzhang to fight against Hu Weiyong. Later, Liu Bowen fell ill and had to pass the matter on to his student Yang Xian.

Hu Weiyong was almost killed by Yang Xian's strategy. It was a pity that Zhu Yuanzhang felt that Hu Weiyong's value had not been fully exploited, so he did not punish him severely. He just gave him a punishment similar to facing the wall and that was it.

Afterwards, Hu Weiyong wanted to use the remaining power of his teacher Li Shanchang to deal with Yang Xian.

In the end, somehow, Hu Weiyong stopped and waited until his power grew before he started to take action against Yang Xian, Liu Bowen and other cronies in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

This is his forbearance. At the grand court meeting, even if Yang Chen stole his limelight, he remained indifferent and hid all the emotions in his heart.

An official should do his job well within his position, and the secret lies in the word "do".

After hearing what Yang Chen said, Hu Weiyong was obviously a little surprised.

Inner evaluation:
"This boy has little experience, but he has a very good attitude. He can be neither humble nor arrogant in front of me, and his words are flawless. If I give him a few more years, I'm afraid he will be the prime minister.
But young people are young after all, which is both an advantage and a disadvantage.

I can win him over in time, give him favors, and train him to be my man, but afterwards all the officials in the court will still have to act according to my wishes.

The overall situation remains unchanged!"

Coming back to his senses, Hu Weiyong showed admiring eyes to Yang Chen again and nodded repeatedly.

"Yes, you are calm and capable. His Majesty likes people like you the most, and I like you too.

Although you are only a seventh-rank official now, in my opinion, you have a bright future and can at least become a second-rank official.

When you get married, please remember to treat me to a drink at the wedding so that I won’t be so lonely in my old age.

It may sound funny to you, but although I am a prime minister, each of my sons is as good as you.

He spends all day either doing bad things outside or causing trouble, which really ruins the family tradition.

If there is one person who is half as capable as you, Yang Xiaoyou, my Hu family will be blessed with great success!"

Faced with Hu Weiyong's constant praise, most people would have been very proud and wished that these things were true.

But in reality, Yang Chen knew clearly that the other party was playing the trick of 'making them crazy before they can destroy them'.

Having been an official for many years, Hu Weiyong could be said to have relied on this method to apply to everyone.

Including Li Shanchang, why was he able to take over the position of prime minister from Li Shanchang?
Isn't it just about praising each other and being grateful to each other?

Of course, it is undeniable that he does have the ability, otherwise Zhu Yuanzhang would not have allowed him to sit in this position.

It's just a pity that the curse of being smart all his life but stupid for a moment finally fell on him.

It seems that throughout history, there have been many smart people who thought they were smart enough, but in the end, they were too smart and died.

Not only did Yang Chen not show any happiness after being praised, but his face was filled with sorrow.

"Hey!

Prime Minister Hu! Things are not as simple as you say. Although I am a popular figure around His Majesty now, you are not unaware that many people have regarded me as a thorn in their side since the last grand court meeting.

They are eager to replace me, especially in the Censorate where I am. They would rather isolate me than get along with me.

The Censor of the Capital sounds very impressive and powerful, but as you know, Prime Minister Hu, the salaries of most officials in the Ming Dynasty are very scarce. My monthly salary and attendance bonus combined are not as much as those merchants’ daily wine money!

Have you heard about it recently?
Some time ago, a romantic place called Qimengxiange opened in the capital. There was an oiran inside, her figure was amazing, her appearance was simply stunning!

Many people spend a lot of money on it, which makes me curious and I want to go and find out what's going on. Unfortunately, I am short of money. Not to mention meeting the courtesan, I don't even have the money to buy a pass to get in."

Yang Chen acted as if he was very disgusted with his official position, which surprised Hu Weiyong.

It can be said that in his eyes, Yang Chen is a sea surface, and he can absorb it as long as he is given some water.

As long as he sucks it in, won't he be at the mercy of Hu Weiyong?

This made him determined to seize this opportunity and make Yang Chen his person, or at least not the opposite of him, Hu Weiyong.

Ordinary people don’t have this treatment.

But Yang Chen is not an ordinary person. He is Mu Ying's son-in-law and a minister highly valued by Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao.

“It’s really an unfortunate thing.

By the way, Mr. Yang, I heard some time ago that you were preparing to leave the imperial city?

You are going to return to your hometown to take up a post. I wonder what the prince wants you to do when you return?"

'coming! ’

Yang Chen had been prepared early in the morning, waiting for Hu Weiyong to ask. Now that the other party had taken the bait, he naturally had to make an embarrassed expression.

"Mr. Hu, don't you know?
The prince recently told me that some people seemed dissatisfied with the policies he proposed at the previous court meeting, so he sent me to investigate.

Who is obstructing the policy of surveying land? In addition to these trivial matters, the prince also asked me to find out where the large amount of physical silver in the private sector is.

After all, according to the policy, isn't it required that these things be recycled back to the court as much as possible?
According to the prince's intention, I plan to return to Ningming County as a starting point, and then think about it from above, that is, to find out what the situation is in Zhenjiang Prefecture.

Find out the culprit and hand him over to the court for punishment.

It's a pity that I have not even had a chance to enjoy myself in the capital for a while and now I have to be sent to this remote and poor countryside. It is really painful!"

Yang Chen acted as if he was regretful, which made Hu Weiyong make a decision instantly.

The other party is already in this state. If he doesn't do something, wouldn't it be a waste of all the time he has spent setting up the court?

(End of this chapter)