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

Chapter 144 I want it all
"Ah! Your Majesty is really a fool. You are so talented, but you cannot stay in the capital. Instead, you are sent to work in Zhenjiang Prefecture. I know this place. Although it is not as wealthy as the south, I also understand a simple truth.

Even a powerful dragon cannot defeat a local snake! Although you are from Ningming County, you have been in the capital for a long time, so your past connections will certainly not be useful. Going back and asking those gentry to hand over silver and land to measure the land is definitely a very difficult task. Not to mention you, even an old man like me may not be able to complete it.

You will definitely be frustrated on your first day there, so remember, don't get into conflict with the locals. As the saying goes, poor places produce bad people. As an official of the imperial court, you have a bright future ahead of you. Don't pay attention to those guys. If you have any problems, come back to the capital and tell me. I promise to help you solve these troubles!"

Hu Weiyong acted very generously, as if he was Yang Chen's relative or elder and could help him solve all problems.

On the other hand, Yang Chen was trembling with excitement.

"Mr. Hu, I have no way to repay you for this!"

"Hey! Young friend Yang, you are too polite. The court is a complicated place. It is normal that you cannot control yourself when you are young. You should not always call me Hu Xiang. You and I should treat each other as friends regardless of age difference. If you really want me to be your elder, just call me Uncle Hu."

'Does this count as winning me over?'

Yang Chen lowered his eyes and rolled his eyeballs in his eye sockets.

Asking him to call the other party Uncle Hu should bring the two closer together.

At the same time, he also told Yang Chen that if he wanted to get help, he had to acknowledge this relationship as a relative.

If you hang out with him, you will have a bright future! The situation is very good!
The price he paid was that he had to follow Hu Weiyong. To put it bluntly, from now on, he had to do whatever Hu Weiyong asked him to do and was not allowed to resist.

Living under someone else's roof is just like this.

Yang Chen stood up without any hesitation and bowed to greet politely.

"Uncle Hu! You are truly my half-grandfather and half-grandmother's uncle!

When I was young, I heard some rumors about you from my neighbors, so I was a little prejudiced against you. I hope Uncle Hu won’t blame me!
I am blessed by Uncle Hu today, so I will pay my respects to you first!"

Yang Chen moved very quickly and bowed directly.

There is no intention of getting up, just maintain this posture.

He looked at the ground and sighed inwardly.

"Oh! Forget it, forget it. The dead are the greatest. Anyway, he is only one step away from being beheaded. I will pay him a visit in advance as a sign of respect."

With this reminder in his mind, Yang Chen's original unhappiness disappeared instantly.

"Oh my! Nephew Yang, look at this, really, please stand up quickly. From now on, you and I will call each other uncle and nephew in private. I just hope you won't hide everything from me, your uncle."

"Look at what Uncle Hu said. I, Yang Chen, never lie to my elders!"

Seeing Yang Chen like this, Hu Weiyong was so happy that he couldn't open his eyes.

Originally, he planned to win over the military generals. He had already won over Lan Yu and others, and the only one missing was Mu Ying's lineage. Mu Ying was the most important candidate for him.

After all, in terms of seniority, Mu Ying was superior to Lan Yu. The older generation witnessed that Mu Ying received special care from Marshal Zhu in the military camp.

Even when Zhu Biao became the crown prince and served as regent, Mu Ying still had absolute say in private.

He had tried to win over Mu Ying before, but ended up in failure.

Now, he no longer needs Mu Ying. He only needs Yang Chen as a spy he has arranged among Mu Ying and others.

For now, Hu Weiyong is very satisfied with Yang Chen's performance.

His lust has been revealed, and next he wants to see if this guy is both greedy and lustful!

"My dear nephew, you will be going to Ningming County in a few days. An official will definitely need money for travel expenses. Even if you put aside the travel expenses, money is the courage of a man.

You can't go to this poor place without money, how about I give you some?"

"Ah? Uncle Hu, what are you doing? Oh! This goes against the principle. We are officials and we work for the people. How can you say that?"

Seeing that Yang Chen looked like he had never seen the world, Hu Weiyong became more and more certain that this guy was just a fool.

The reason why Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao chose him was largely to choose a guy who was untainted by the mud and could be trained to become a weapon against him.

I never expected that this weapon would fall into my hands.

"My dear nephew! In principle, it is not possible. But who am I, your uncle Hu? I am the prime minister! You are my junior. Tell me, how can an elder not take care of the younger generation?"

"Is this okay?"

Hu Weiyong liked Yang Chen even more because of his embarrassed look.

Who is this?

Greedy and lustful! He likes such pure guys the most, and the pure bad ones are easier to control.

"My dear nephew! If I don't do this, how can I be your Uncle Hu? This is a small token of my love from Uncle Hu, please don't refuse it."

Seeing that the big fish was finally caught, Yang Chen sighed with emotion.

"How can I say this? Uncle Hu, I will never forget your care for me!"

"Hahaha! Great! I think you're smart, so leave this matter to me. Don't hide anything from Uncle Hu in the future. Follow your Uncle Hu, and I guarantee you'll have a good life in the future.

And what about the Oiran? What is an Oiran? I will give you two personal maids, one is a Hu Ji from Fanwai, and the other is a Jiangnan Jade Girl, who will definitely satisfy you.

A man who doesn't have a few wives and concubines will be laughed at if he goes out! "

"Uncle Hu, this gift is so great that I really don't know how to repay you right now!"

"Hey! You're alienated again. Didn't I tell you? If you have any problems in the future, just tell me. I won't treat you unfairly. Go out and ask around. People older than you can vouch for me!"

Hu Weiyong kept patting his chest and said a lot to Yang Chen in a boastful tone.

If these words were said in front of other people, they would definitely be stunned.

But Yang Chen only had one impression of what he said.

Shooting list!

Just now, Yang Chen finally understood why the Hu Weiyong case had lasted for decades.

First of all, this guy Hu Weiyong has won over too many people!
Among the nobles who followed Zhu Yuanzhang to conquer the world, almost 90% of them had direct benefits transferred to him, and the remaining grassroots managers were countless.

The murders of these people cannot be called unjust cases; they simply brought it upon themselves!
Yang Chen kept his inner thoughts mostly to himself; he was already looking forward to the scene of Hu Weiyong's property being raided.

Therefore, in response to his showing off, Yang Chen would smile from time to time to show his politeness. After all, the other person had just sent him a big gift, or to be exact, two.

In addition to the money, there were also two maids. He didn't care whether they were here to monitor him or to accompany him.

He accepted everything Hu Weiyong gave him, except for one thing, which would have shown his deep inner strength.

The two chatted in the house for almost an hour before he left.

"Uncle Hu, please don't send me off. As the saying goes, the wedding night is worth a thousand gold coins."

As he spoke, Yang Chen glanced over, an expression that every man would understand.

Hu Weiyong laughed and waved his hand to signal him to leave.

After Yang Chen left, Hu Weiyong sat on the chair, an expression of having already controlled the overall situation appearing on his face from time to time.

"Master, what is the origin of that little adult just now? How could he allow you to treat him like this?"

The concubine who was married today had ripples in her tone, looked at Hu Weiyong curiously and asked casually.

The red-robed girl was able to restore her reputation today, and she thanked Yang Chen from the bottom of her heart.

Without him, I might just be a wild girl with no status.

To be favored by the Prime Minister is something that many people in this world dream of.

Hu Weiyong opened his eyes slightly, glanced at her with a clever look, and warned her:

"Don't you understand the rules of this mansion?" In an instant, the red-robed girl's originally joyful mood seemed to be extinguished by a basin of ice water. Goosebumps appeared all over her body, and she immediately bowed her head and admitted her mistake.

"Master, I am ignorant. I hope you won't blame me."

"Humph!"

On the way to the place where he had just separated from Mu Ying, Yang Chen thought that the things sent by this rich man would not disappoint him.

After all, you are the prime minister. If the things given by you are not presentable, aren't you afraid of being laughed at?

In the backyard, the crowd around was still very lively. They took advantage of this banquet to start socializing for their careers.

It is no exaggeration to say that this banquet was a collusion between corrupt officials.

Many people lingered around Mu Ying. Some of them came voluntarily, while others were deliberately arranged by Hu Weiyong. They had only one purpose.

That is to hope that the other party will join their camp.

Unfortunately, Mu Ying was very smart, and tried his best to mediate with them, until he saw Yang Chen appear, and then he just found an excuse to leave.

"Alright, alright! Thank you for your kindness. I will have a few drinks with you next time. I'm going to go see my son-in-law first."

After saying that, he walked from the crowd to Yang Chen.

Without saying a word, he started to touch her all over, which surprised Yang Chen so much that he immediately pushed him away.

"No? Father-in-law, what are you doing?"

Yang Chen was of course surprised that Mu Ying treated him like this as soon as he came out. He first raised his hand to push the other person away, so that the two of them were at a safe distance, and then immediately stared at the other person to ask the reason.

Mu Ying looked alert and spoke anxiously:
"My dear son-in-law, that guy just took you away and left me here alone chatting with those idiots.

Let me see if he did anything to you?"

As he spoke, he wanted to continue watching. Yang Chen never thought that his father-in-law could be so funny. He immediately said with a smile:

"Come on, what can Hu Weiyong do to me? Your worry is unnecessary, father-in-law."

He approached Mu Ying and whispered:

"I'm telling you, father-in-law, the big fish has been hooked. You'll know how much you'll get soon."

Mu Ying's expression changed, and he showed understanding in his eyes.

"really?"

"More real than pearls!"

The two of them came close and started laughing at the same frequency. If you didn't know them, you would have thought they were villains.

"General Mu, Lord Yang, according to the master's instructions, the things have been placed at the back door. Please follow me."

At this moment, the butler who had led them away just now appeared again and told them the purpose of their visit again. Mu Ying was immediately delighted and smiled from ear to ear.

"Okay, okay! Take us to have a look."

The butler said nothing, but kept smiling and led the two people towards the side door.

Looking at Mu Ying's appearance, Yang Chen gradually began to look forward to how big this gift package was.
When the two arrived at the side door, a carriage was already parked there. There was no coachman in it, but they could vaguely hear some crying sounds coming from the carriage.

Based on Mu Ying's intelligence, he guessed that there was a living thing in the car besides money, and this living thing was a human!
Listening to the voices, one was crying and the other was comforting, he guessed that there were at least two people in the car.

When they wanted to catch the butler for a thorough interrogation, they found that the butler disappeared through the back door, and at the same time, they heard the sound of the door being locked.

Without a butler, Mu Ying could only look at Yang Chen.

I glared at him and asked:
"No! Son-in-law, why did you take this thing?
Don't you know that this kind of thing is really immoral?
I have always despised bullying men and women, so please don't make the same mistake again!

If your mother and father knew about this, they would never forgive you!"

What he hated most was the humiliation of women and children. As a general, he stipulated that no one was allowed to attack unarmed people without orders.

At the same time, he also set an example himself. Once he found someone trafficking women and children, or even bullying them, Mu Ying would definitely stand up against the injustice.

He didn't expect that his son-in-law would do such a thing today. How could he not feel angry?
"Father-in-law, listen to me. This is not my initiative."

Suffering this unexpected disaster, Yang Chen immediately leaned close to his ear to explain.

"I say, father-in-law, you should do the whole show, how can you just take the money and not the people?
If I only take the money and not the person, wouldn't that be too serious?"

Mu Ying, who was angry, was about to say a few words for his daughter when he heard this.

When I thought about it carefully, I found that it did make sense.

If Hu Weiyong only took the money and not the person, he would definitely think there was something wrong when he realized it later. Now he had to admire Yang Chen's meticulous mind, which was more than he thought.

After coming to his senses, Yang Chen had already opened the locked door behind the car.

There were two women inside, one of whom was obviously not Han Chinese.

She opened her eyes wide, wanting to succumb to her fate but not daring to resist. She could only use her eyes to maintain her last bit of dignity.

The other woman was a little petite and looked like a Han Chinese.

After questioning, it was found that the exotic woman was from the small Yuz in Kazak and lived in the western region of Kazakhstan. Her name was Ayiguli.

She had just turned nineteen and was originally an ordinary woman in a tribe. Later, her tribe was defeated and she was captured and sold to the Central Plains. An official gave her as a gift to Hu Weiyong, and finally she fell into the hands of Yang Chen.

The other one was born in Jiangsu and originally came from a merchant family. However, his father became addicted to gambling and sold all the family’s land and eventually even his wife and daughter.

Her name is Jiang Juan, and she is only sixteen years old today. She has the unique charm of a Jiangnan girl, giving people the feeling of a beautiful girl from a small family. At this moment, her eyes are slightly red and she keeps crying, which makes people can't help but feel pity for her.

"Damn it! Hu Weiyong is worse than a beast. He even secretly took in a little girl. Why doesn't the emperor kill him now?"

The scene before him made Mu Ying, a military general with a strong sense of justice, very angry. He lowered his voice and cursed Hu Weiyong.

Yang Chen ignored the two women's vigilance, got into the car and opened all four boxes.

When the box was opened, a flash of gold appeared on Mu Ying and Yang Chen's faces.

"I'll go! Golden Legend!"

Two of the four boxes contained neatly stacked gold ingots.

One box contained silver ingots, and the other contained various luxurious items, such as pearls, gemstones, glass, jade, etc.

"How much money did this old man Hu Weiyong embezzle? How could a prime minister have so many things in his house?"

Mu Ying looked at the scene in front of him in disbelief and said with emotion.

"It doesn't matter where these things come from. As long as they fall into our hands, they are all good treasures.

Father-in-law, thank you for your help later."

"What do you want from me?"

Noticing that Yang Chen was staring at him with malicious eyes, Mu Ying subconsciously spoke with caution.

"Please ask my father-in-law to drive the carriage and take me to my mansion."

The two men succeeded in their plan and the carriage quickly drove out of the alley. The person who was watching secretly also passed the news back to Hu Weiyong.

"Haha, money can move people's hearts. How can anyone not be tempted by beauty and wealth? Yang Chen is still too young after all."

The news from his subordinates made Hu Weiyong quite satisfied. He knew that Yang Chen and he were already on the same boat.
"No, no, how can a grasshopper describe me? I should be a person on the same boat!"

"As for Mu Ying, even his son-in-law is mine, so he has no choice!"

(End of this chapter)