The Promotion of Yuanchun in the Red Chamber

Zhao Zhizhen glanced at Shi Jiang beside his son, and became more and more interested in the news this kid brought.

Shi Jiang cupped his hands immediately, and said in a low voice, "The family in charge of the prince disappeared last night." There was no need for anyone to ask, and he took the initiative to say, "The one with the prince's right guard is the in-law .”

The prince's left and right guards are the prince's personal soldiers.

Did the steward's family run away or died... Zhao Zhizhen laughed when he heard this, and thought: This is to prevent the crown prince from having a good year.

However, the elder brother who has already arrived, the eldest prince, is also not happy to see himself having a good time. Seeing that his father acquiesces, Hedong wants to let himself eat a big piece, how can this elder brother who is jealous of military power still sit still? live?

In the past, facing the elder brother's "coercion and lure", Zhao Zhizhen had few options other than talking about him, but now he has to let the elder brother understand what it means to "make a difference for three days": it would be too ugly to tear his face, and he was determined Just don't open your mouth.

He waved his hand, and his son Zhao Han understood, and took Shi Jiang to leave first.Zhao Zhizhen also got up and went out to meet his elder brother.

But he said that the eldest prince's situation is not very good recently.There are many old people behind him who support him. Although half of these old people have retired, and they have won the upper hand in the appointment and dismissal of several officials in the court, but... so what?

He had long planned to win over the military officer and get his hands on ~兵~quan, but after so many years of thinking, he still has nothing to say.

In comparison, the prince still has well-equipped personal soldiers who are often drilled - because King Pingnan is watching, the Holy One has always been worried that someone will take the risk to assassinate the prince, so he has always cared about the prince's left and right guards.

And the treatment of the guards in his eldest prince's mansion is like being raised by a stepmother compared to the crown prince's guard rate.

It was time for the first prince to eat when he was old, and the concubine Han Xu came forward to arrange the meal, so she tactfully avoided it, leaving only Zhao Zhizhen and his brothers to talk.

After a few glasses of wine, the eldest prince came out a little bit drunk, and there was not much left of his usual calmness, but this time he finally caught up with his stern-mouthed younger brother, and complained: Father is really partial.

Zhao Zhizhen just listened and didn't speak, but said in his heart: I knew that my father was biased.

He has some insights in the art of war, and he has gained a firm foothold by taking advantage of his father's small shareholders, but when it comes to caring, he really can't compare with the prince and the eldest brother. Of course, look at the third brother...he also calmed down .

The eldest prince talked about it for a long time, only to realize that his younger brother didn't talk to him other than "ummm".

In fact, he regretted that he didn't help his younger brother when he first led the army - that's because he wasn't optimistic about this younger brother at the beginning.

Never would have thought that the seventh brother would survive when he had no prestige and no hands, and accumulated irrefutable military exploits within a few years.At the current level of his seventh brother, if it wasn't for a big mistake, even the father would not be able to relegate him at will.

But having said that, even if the seventh brother is willing to come over now, the "place" around him has already been occupied by those aristocratic families, which is not enough for the seventh brother to display.

Forget it, what old things are you still thinking about?Anyway, his visit today is just to hold back Seventh Brother, so it's useless to think about it.

In the room, the two brothers were having a drink and talking. In the wing room, the Chief of the Palace, Shi, and Zhao Zhizhen's confidants looked at each other face to face: the Prince Steward mentioned by Shi Jiang is now on his way to escape to the north... and this family is still holding the Fourteenth Prince letter of recommendation.

Naturally, Zhao Zhizhen couldn't control the houses of aristocratic families, but there were a few officials in the post station who were willing to inform him.

Besides, the steward's family had just traveled more than ten miles out of the capital, and the courier would hurry up in less than an hour. Wouldn't this news have entered the gate of the palace?

When the prince and the fourteenth prince were involved, none of the aides in the wing room dared to come up with ideas lightly, although the matter was obvious—it was destined to involve a lot!

In other words, if the family went all the way south, how could the Seventh Prince's aides be willing to "ignite the fire"?

You are all looking forward to when the prince will be honored, so that you can pass on the news quickly. Uncle Zhao Han came first after hearing the news. This time, the one who followed him was no longer the son of the Shi family, but Liu Huan.

Liu Huan had already joined Zhao Zhizhen's command, and during his tenure in the capital, it would be abnormal if he did not visit the palace during the holidays.But today, such a post came together with people, and I think I have to report to the prince face to face.

Chang Shi sighed: "One wave is not calm, and another wave is rising."

Zhao Han also trusted his father, the loyal and cunning long history, "It's a troubled time."

Mr. Fei, who has almost disappeared now, had the secret son of King Pingnan behind him when he first gained the trust of the crown prince.Since the Holy Majesty ascended the throne, it is not uncommon for several distinguished nobles and aristocratic families who have become more and more unhappy in these years to have contact with King Pingnan.

So many nails have been laid, but they have not been moved, it is obvious that the picture is not small.

Especially after the one in the south committed suicide, those old princes in the clan often talked about the Holy Majesty... If something happened to the crown prince when the waves were turbulent in Beijing, or the country was shaken altogether, it would be a good idea for Pingnan Wangbing to go out to the southwest Here's the chance. The reasons for "the king of the Qing Dynasty" and "the king of Qin" are all ready-made!

Reminiscent of the time when the Holy Majesty cut off the interests of several noble families and clans in order to take back the monarchy, these people endured and endured, and there will always be a day when they will unite and fight hard.

His father had told him these words a long time ago, and Zhao Han was not completely unprepared for today's situation.

But the "struggle" of this group of people should all be directed at the crown prince, and the uncle's arrival today seems to be fueling the flames. The steward who escaped is still holding the letter of recommendation from the fourteenth uncle... plus the father and the crown prince Zhao Han's affection is not as good as before, and Zhao Han doesn't know what to say: Uncle Prince's popularity is also a bit poor.

In addition, he has another worry in his heart: the father never said it clearly, but the father should have been more inclined to the prince before.But when the uncle failed to win him over, he resorted to some means, including secretly recruiting people and overtly suppressing Liu Huan's future under his father's command, but the prince did not come forward to say a word.

After two times and three times, the father was naturally cold-hearted.Although it is not possible to be separated from Germany, it is probably not possible to support the prince wholeheartedly.

As for the uncle, he already had a quarrel with his father, and abandoned the prince to be as close as a family with his uncle... This is also not in line with his father's disposition.

The two uncles and fathers don't want to "follow"... Do they want to form a family of their own?Thinking of this, Zhao Han's heart was beating wildly, and besides worrying, he also had a secret sense of openness.

Although it can't be announced, but as a serious son and grandson, who has never "thought about" that seat?

Zhao Han lowered his head slightly, trying to suppress the turmoil in his heart... His marriage may still be believed to be one of the proofs.Now that he has guessed the ambition of his father, how can he help his father achieve great things?

But Zhao Han was full of worries, and Liu Huan waited patiently... Either the two princes simply left the banquet, or they took advantage of the seventh prince's time to leave the banquet and change clothes to pass on a word.

He is not in a hurry because what he wants to report belongs to the category of "important but not urgent".

Liu Huan, Zhao Han, and even the Seventh Prince's confidants and loyal ministers have been in contact many times, and they understand each other's temperament somewhat.After everyone exchanged greetings with Liu Huan, Liu Huan didn't take the initiative to mention the reason for coming to visit, so naturally, everyone would no longer ask blankly.

The whole room waited for an hour, and the eldest prince finally left with a lot of content.

Zhao Zhizhen stood outside the gate, with a faint smell of alcohol lingering around him, and watched his elder brother go away in the sedan chair with a smile on his face, then turned his head and changed into a cool look, looking at his son Ai Jiang and all his confidants in front of him, "Go back to the study, Say the same thing."

It was Shi Jiang who was brought to Zhao Zhizhen's eyes first.

Shi Jiang is a scholar, and his father was not even able to pass the examination for a scholar, so the fame on his body was purely donated.He failed in school, but his father was extremely talented in business.Today, a quarter of Shan Guogong Shi's business is under the control of this person.

And a good businessman is naturally well-informed on his own "turf".Unfortunately, the escaped crown prince had a business relationship with Shi Jiang's father. Shi Jiang couldn't be more frank, "He owed the debt and didn't pay it back."

It was obvious that Shi Jiang's father would not keep an eye on the tens, hundreds, or even thousands of silver. Sure enough, Shi Jiang made a hand gesture, "20 taels."

The atmosphere in the room was suddenly stagnant, and the apparent income of the entire palace was only 20 taels a year... A prince's steward could owe a foreign debt of [-] taels!

Everyone in the room exchanged glances, only Zhao Zhizhen remained indifferent, "When did they leave Beijing?"

Shi Jiangdao: "Shen Chu."

Everyone did some calculations, from the time the family went out to now, they probably have already gone up the mountain road north of the capital.

This family didn't meet up with others after leaving the city, or go straight to the comfort zone they had chosen long ago, just to avoid the eyeliners arranged by each family outside the city.But after running into the mountains and forests, it would depend on luck to find someone.

But how could Shi Jiang feel any regret because he lost 20 taels of silver?How could he not have the confidence to marry the only daughter of the prince?

However, Zhao Zhizhen is not interested in the plans of Shan Guogong Shi's family and the Shi family's father and son, at least not now.Moreover, Shi Jiang's actions today can be regarded as "regular", he nodded, and then watched the chief executive entertain Shi Jiang well.

Seeing this, Shi Jiang resolutely left.

This time there are no "outsiders" in the study.

Zhao Zhizhen looked exhausted, and everyone ate refreshing ginseng tea with him, and a few snacks. After everyone had recovered a little, Zhao Zhizhen looked at Liu Huan, "How is the river east?"

Liu Huan said solemnly: "Just as the prince expected, the iron-making workshops in the western countries have increased too much and too fast these years, and the river east has naturally been affected."

Hedong can be regarded as the base of the Han family. Zhao Zhizhen has never been willing to give his father the impression that "the claws are stretched out". He seldom inquired about the news: it is really inappropriate for him, a prince leading troops, to care too much about the people's livelihood and economy in neighboring provinces.

And he felt that the iron-making trade workshop in Hedong was not quite right, and it still originated from Mr. Fei.Salt and iron has been very profitable since ancient times, and people who think they have a deep background and rely on a lot will always take risks.

Mr. Fei is not the first, and he will not be the last.When he was forcibly imprisoned by his family, he left a deficit of nearly one million yuan to the Southern Salt... He took away the salt to buy it, and even embezzled money to buy a batch of iron ore, but the money has not been recovered. But he couldn't go out anymore.

Regardless of whether the Fei family is willing or not, they must try their best to fill this big hole.

However, Mr. Fei "fallen", but the caravan of smuggling salt and iron is still passing through the river... The Han family thought it was the crown prince acquiescing to the Fei family to make up for the shortfall, so they simply turned a blind eye.

After all, when going out from the east of the river, the main destination of salt and iron is the countries in the west. Although Beidi people can also buy it from the countries in the west, it is not cost-effective not to mention the small amount.

Zhao Zhizhen guessed the same way.

Therefore, if the caravan passing through Guankou City and the northern pass secretly carried a small amount of salt and iron, he would pretend not to know - after all, those tribes in the northeast that have always been peaceful and orderly did not produce salt and iron...

But after several months, the Fei family's caravan passing by from his territory—that is, the northern pass... almost disappeared.

Zhao Zhizhen originally thought this was a "white lie" by his subordinates. After he was promoted by himself, his trusted and clever second and third confidants reported to him, he knew that the Fei family's caravan business followed suit, but Yan Tie I really dare not touch it at all, and I am far more cautious than other families.

This... is a bit wrong no matter how you think about it.

In terms of closeness, Zhao Zhizhen is more reliable than the Han family even if he has a slight relationship with the prince.In terms of control over his own territory, Zhao Zhizhen is even better.

If the prince and the Fei family really wanted to continue to "secretly cover Chencang", they would definitely choose Zhao Zhizhen's side.

You must know that Mr. Fei would rather be caught by Zhao Zhizhen than the Han family.

The reason is also logical: being caught by the Seventh Prince Zhao Zhizhen, he must be "a taboo for the venerable", and will try his best to block the news for the sake of the face of the Holy Majesty and the Prince, and will never think of making things big... In the end, it is up to the The Holy One is arbitrary.

But the Han family is different. Being caught by his family is not just a ready-made excuse, threats and intimidation, so that one can use it well and not know whose hands it will fall into.

If you fail and suffer, you might as well have a good time!

All in all, although the Fei family were thoughtful and courageous, they had a strong spirit.

Zhao Zhizhen was afraid that he was "self-confessed" and had a wrong understanding of the Fei family, so he sent someone to ask the chief steward of the Fei family at the pass, and the answer he got was that their caravan in Hedong only sold jewelry, jade, cloth, and paper.

Which road did the group of people who smuggled salt and iron under the name of the Fei family in Hedong come from?

But he said that Zhao Zhizhen's thoughts were mostly on training and employing soldiers. Although he had doubts at the time, he only sent two or three people to Hedong to investigate... Originally, he was worried about his brother-in-law, Mr. Han, but after a few exchanges, Zhao Zhizhen felt that this person was better than him. His Han'er was more "real", and at that time, people were only thinking about the prince, so he didn't mention it at all.

Today's Liu Huan came here to report the news of those two or three people... Everyone present knew everything about it. The sudden increase in the number of iron smelting workshops in the past few years was a big enough "exciting" event.

As the number of workshops increased, so did the number of naturally produced ironware—anyway, these ironware would never be farm tools.

If the Fei family was secretly transporting salt and iron, everyone wouldn't care so much: Beidi people are not only Daqi's strong enemies, they will bully the western countries and the tribes in the northeast when they can't eat Daqi.

As for the source of the weapons of the latter two, they have indeed had to rely on the merchants of Daqi for a long time.

Zhao Zhizhen sneered with his hands on his forehead, "Apart from their own use, I'm afraid they have won a good business." Otherwise, since he is too busy, he still has to distribute some smelting ore sales to the artisans in Hedong?

After a while, he sighed softly again: "The one from Southwest is really good."

The black pot Fei’s family has carried more than half of it, and they rely on the business of salt and iron to tie many people together firmly: opening a new workshop also requires money, and relying solely on craftsmen to build workshops spontaneously to buy stoves and coal, how can they be in a few days? Has the number of workshops become so large within a year?

Zhao Han also followed with a long sigh: "Those people originally thought that selling ironware to the western countries and the tribes in the northeast would make a lot of profit and not violate the big taboo, so it would be difficult to separate the relationship."

Zhao Zhizhen nodded, "Make more preparations next year."

King Pingnan wants to raise troops, and Beidi people will send troops from north and south to respond even if they think of the money and weapons.

Everyone sat together and discussed some countermeasures. Chang Shi and several staff members were responsible for conveying Zhao Zhizhen's orders overnight.Zhao Zhizhen had a dull pain in his temple, he walked slowly into Yuanchun's yard, and saw that the bedroom was still lit.

His troubled heart immediately warmed and settled down.After entering the door, Yuan Chun first pulled Jianer away from his legs, and rubbed his eyes after getting up, "Oh, I almost can't wait."

Zhao Zhizhen deliberately angrily said: "How do you talk!"

Yuan Chun smiled and said, "I almost fell asleep, but I can't wait for me to wake up."