The Wife is First

Chapter 36: Withdraw the vassal

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Sun Shangshu watched helplessly as King Cheng ran towards Princess Cheng, and then said excitedly, "Junqing, let's go eat prawns! It's time to sell out if it's late!" This is what is called an emergency? There is also the legendary cruel and cruel cold-faced king, why would he show such a smile like a flower

Seeing the gray-bearded Minister of War standing in front of the door awkwardly, Mu Hanzhang greeted him apologetically: "Wang Ye got up in a hurry in the morning and didn't have a meal, please don't mind, Lord Shangshu."

"Prince Concubine is serious." Sun Shangshu came back to his senses and politely returned the salute to Princess Cheng. Anyway, it was customary for King Cheng to leave after a few seconds.

Mu Hanzhang smiled and took his prince to eat.

It was still early, and there were basically no guests in the aftertaste building. However, Boss Zhou, who opened the door early every day, has already cleaned the shop and packed all the ingredients that should be prepared.

Jing Shao asked for a private room on the second floor facing the street.

"The crabs are still not fat at this time, let's wait until September to eat crabs." Because there was no business at the moment, Zhou Jin, who was dressed in bright pink, came to order for them in person.

For the Boss Zhou's dress, the two were not surprised.

"I want a pound of boiled brine shrimp, a pound of salt-baked shrimp, two pounds of aftertaste shrimp, a pot of flower carvings, and two bowls of rice." Jing Shao looked at the menu and said, everything with the word "aftertaste" is aftertaste Lou. 's signature dish, since fresh prawns have never been available, this dish is rarely eaten.

"You can't drink strong liquor when you eat shrimp, so let's serve you a pot of tea." Zhou Jin reminded.

Jing Shao frowned, eating delicious food and not drinking, always felt that something was missing.

When Mu Hanzhang saw it, he summoned Jingshao's servant Yunsong and asked him to buy a bottle of green plum wine from Qingmei girl in the south of the city: "Light wine can detoxify shrimp, bro Zhou, why don't you buy some light wine, you will be able to Good sale."

"That's a good idea," Zhou Jin was very happy to hear that, "Where is the green plum wine you mentioned?"

Mu Hanzhang informed him of the location. Even Zhou Jin, who opened a restaurant, didn't know the green plum wine. It seemed that the business of Miss Mei was really bad. Now that Jing Shao is going to take care of his childhood sweetheart for the elder brother Wang who died in battle, it is more useful to find a business for her than to buy her wine regularly.

"Junqing, you are really good at doing business." Jing Shao peeled a boiled shrimp and put it in the bowl of the opposite person.

Mu Hanzhang took a bite of the shrimp, dipped it in the sauce, and said with a chuckle, "I heard when I was a child that the descendants of the Gonghou family were rarely admitted to fame. I just quietly learned some business skills from my aunt, and I think it would be good to be able to take over the family’s business if you are not an official.”

The family of the princes generally does not test for fame. They rely on the grace of the emperor, and they have to wait for the grace of the royal family to be an official. They are often ostracized by the clear stream and difficult to be promoted.

Jing Shao listened to what he said with ease, but he could hear the hardships contained in these three or two sentences. The Duke and Earl are all military generals, and a son who cannot practice martial arts will naturally be looked down upon by his family, not to mention he is a concubine. 's concubine. Thinking of this, Jing Shao thought about Mu Lingbao again, but unfortunately the weather was getting hotter, and it would take a few more months to throw him into the river.

"This shrimp is deep fried, and it only tastes delicious when eaten with the shell on." Mu Hanzhang put an aftertaste shrimp into the Jingshao bowl, "After a while, let's go to the Erhuang brother's mansion to see, I will give the ceremony. Prepared, and I will let Yunzhu go back to fetch it later." Since Jingshao has emphasized the meaning of filial piety in the court today, there is no need to end the party by visiting his sick brother. Even if you don't believe in the provocation of traitors, the so-called three people become tigers, and if you talk too much, it will come true. The two brothers still have to meet each other from time to time.

Jing Shao also planned to go to the Second Prince's Mansion today to tell his brother the good news that the father and the emperor wanted to give him the title of Prince Rui. But Jing Shao, who went empty-handed every time and brought home some goodies along the way, realized that when he went to his brother's house, he had to bring gifts!

When they went, Jingchen was discussing matters with a few staff in the study. When he heard that Jingshao was coming, he let him in directly.

There were three people in the house, and Jing Shao had never seen them before. Standing beside him, Mu Hanzhang quietly observed the expressions of several people and lowered his eyes. The three of them seemed very nervous about their sudden entry. hostility.

"Let's go here today." Jing Chen frowned slightly and waved his hands to let the three go out.

Jingchen glanced at Mu Hanzhang, and under Jingshao's unobstructed gaze, he closed his eyes and said solemnly, "You did a good job in the court today."

Mu Hanzhang was slightly surprised. He originally planned to leave first, but unexpectedly, the two brothers talked about the court affairs in front of him. This means that the two brothers really regarded him as someone they could trust. , and even those who plotted with them to seize the throne. Turning his head to look at Jing Shao, the other party gave him a non-obtrusive look.

"In the current situation, the king of the southwest has already angered the father and emperor. It is a matter of time to withdraw the vassal, but you can't mention this. I will let other people in the court mention it first, and I will return to the court in two days. To the royal father." Jing Chen showed Jing Shao a stack of folded papers.

"Is this method useful?" Jing Shao looked at it for a long time. Generally speaking, he was talking about the method of evacuating the vassal without troops. It was very cumbersome and dense. In his previous life, he was in Yunnan and Tibet, and I don't know if anyone had mentioned the peaceful withdrawal of the vassal, but considering the temperament of the King of Southwest China, this battle must have been fought.

"Brother-in-law also take a look." Jingchen motioned to Jingshao to give things to Mu Hanzhang.

"Brother called me Hanzhang," Mu Hanzhang took over the charter, read it quickly, and thought for a moment, "This method is feasible if the vassal king's troops are not strong."

Jingchen nodded slightly and looked at Jingshao: "if there is a war, do you want to go?"

"Go!" Jing Shao said decisively, "This time is a good opportunity to gain military power. After a few years, at least half of it can be controlled." Knowing the death points of the various vassal kings, he does not plan to finish the fight immediately. Birds are all bowed, rabbits are dead and dogs are cooked. He will not repeat the same mistakes he made once in his previous life.

Listening to the conversation between the brothers, Mu Hanzhang closed his eyes and said nothing. If there is a war, Jing Shao will not return for many years, right

The next day, the eldest prince finally got news and was rescued by the Shu army. Fortunately, he did not die and was temporarily recuperating in Yunnan and Tibet. As for the King of Southwest China, he was not as quick in dispatching troops as the Shu army. This move completely angered Emperor Hongzheng, and many ministers took the opportunity to propose to withdraw the vassal. After arguing like this for several days, when Jingchen returned to the dynasty, he directly issued a charter to withdraw the vassal.

Jingchen proposed to demote the vassal and withdraw the vassal, that is, the current vassal king is still the prince of the county, and the next generation will be demoted to the prince, and then the next generation will be reduced to the marquis... Emperor Hongzheng thinks this method is feasible, but it is not obvious on the surface. The ministers mentioned it again and again before agreeing to withdraw the vassal.

Therefore, the matter of Yunnan and Tibet was put on hold for the time being, but the withdrawal of the vassal was put on the agenda.

In June, Aunt Qiu lifted the side room, and the Duke of Beiwei invited Jing Shao and Mu Hanzhang to watch the ceremony.

"My aunt sent me a letter a few days ago, and asked me to see her after the ceremony today." Mu Hanzhang sat on the carriage, remembering the letter sent to Mo Lian Ju by his mother.

"There must be something I want to tell you," Jing Shao said with a chuckle, "you can go, I'll be waiting for you in the front hall."

The side chamber ceremony is not complicated. The main thing is to change the concubine's body deed to the marriage deed, and then worship the elders and report to the ancestral hall.

After becoming a side room, the Qiu family moved to a small courtyard in the true sense.

Mu Hanzhang looked at his mother in a pink dress. Although she was the age of Xu Niang, she still had the same demeanor. The wisdom and gentleness of Jiangnan women were undoubtedly evident in her.

"Mother..." It was the first time that Mu Hanzhang could call out that in front of others. When Mrs. Qiu heard this, she couldn't help but wet her eyes.

"Son, my son..." Mrs. Qiu took her son's hand, and tears fell down one by one like beads with a broken thread. For 20 years, she has not dared to call her son's name. He is the young master, and she is just a humble concubine. She should be the one who salutes the young master when she meets her.

Seeing this situation, the maids in the room retreated one after another.

"What's wrong with my mother looking for me?" Mu Hanzhang took the handkerchief in his mother's hand and wiped her tears.

Mrs. Qiu took the handkerchief from her son's hand, wiped away the tears on her face three or two times, and sighed lightly: "I can't help but think about things in this inner house. I've been thinking about one thing for a long time, but I still think I should talk to you about it. Say it."

After listening to her mother's concerns quietly, Mu Hanzhang couldn't help but smile and said, "Mother don't worry, he doesn't want to sit in that position."

"Who wouldn't want to sit in that position?" Mrs. Qiu frowned, seeing that Mu Hanzhang seemed to believe in Jingshao, "Even if he doesn't have that heart, but he is a prince, but he has no heir to inherit the title, how can he be reconciled? Besides, he's still so young, and he still has the opportunity to go out to fight in the future..."

The other Mu Hanzhang did not listen, but the last sentence was clearly heard. Recalling what I heard at the Second Prince's Mansion that day, Jing Shao wanted to use this campaign to gain military power, and the three vassal kings were not fuel-efficient lamps. At least it would take three or five years to return to Beijing. Does Zhongku wait for him for three or five years