First Prince of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 259

The few people who were so frightened that they knelt down coughed a few times and stood up in embarrassment. Only then did they realize that they really had to check. After all, this is the rule in every house. Unless there are friends of similar status and old friends, there will definitely be body searches. examine.

It's just that they have been treated this way for a long time. In Jiangnan, they are decent people who have stood up to the heavens. They don't need to do this anywhere. But when they come to the prince's gate, they don't have a fourth or fifth official position. It's decent, and you won't be able to get in without checking.

Liu Jin laughed accompaniment, then asked people to check the rest of the people, and walked up to the three heads of the three families in person and said: "Of course the prefect Chen is not needed, and we will check the remaining two. This is the rule in the palace. I still look forward to Haihan."

Chen Zhifu was naturally happy to be honored in front of people, and he cupped his hands inside the room and said: "It is our fault that so many people rushed to visit, it is a great kindness for His Highness to allow me to visit, please don't be polite, Eunuch."

After Chen Zhifu finished speaking, he took the initiative to walk in front of Liu Jin and opened his hands. Liu Jin was polite in his mouth but not at all polite in his hands. After careful inspection, he said, "Why is Chen Zhifu an official of the imperial court?"

The head of the Zhang family looked on with a smile, and Li Qiantang twitched the corners of his mouth. This was why he looked down on the Chen family. This family is used to doing this kind of thing.

After the inspection, you can naturally go in. Inside, Zhu Biao is sitting on the desk reading a book, Xu Yungong and Chang Mao are waiting on the side, these people are panicked when they come in, not to mention His Royal Highness, even if these two young masters come to Jiangnan alone, they have to serve comfortably.

This is the person who is the eldest son of King Kaiping and King Zhongshan who will succeed in the future. Generally, nobles of this level are very prone to accidents, but you can tell from the way these two people stand next to the prince. Wrong, at least the wealth of his family has been stable for a hundred years.

After everyone stood up, they were about to kowtow and salute again. His Highness the Crown Prince put down the books in his hand, glanced at them roughly, and only bowed their heads in awe. No matter how capable they are outside, once they enter this room, they feel that life and death are beyond their control. dead.

Seeing that they were about to kneel down again, Zhu Biao said softly: "I have already saluted outside, so let's skip it now. You are all representatives of a century-old family in the south of the Yangtze River. It is really gratifying for me to come here specially to see you."

Chen Zhifu first cupped his hands and said: "We are the people of the Holy One, and now that the Crown Prince is here, there is no reason why we should not come to see him, and all the senior brothers have asked for many times to come to see His Highness."

Zhu Biao nodded with a smile, and moved his eyes to Li Qiantang. This person's temperament was out of place again. He could guess his identity just by thinking about it. Li Qiantang also felt the prince's gaze on him, and the rest of the people watched their hearts. in silence.

Li Qiantang let out a sigh of relief, after all, the characters who have been killed all the way, it's no fun to be cowarded in Longtan and Tiger's Den, for no reason to be underestimated, he took half a step forward and clasped his fists and said: "Li Qiantang, a grassroots Li family, pays homage to the crown prince."

Zhu Biao ignored him and continued to look at him with great interest, until he was sweating, before he said: "I have heard about the great name for a long time, and I have heard about the deeds of Patriarch Li when I was on the coast. Those who sell private salt dare to throw themselves into the trap, I don't know what to rely on."

Li Qiantang smiled wryly: "The grass people have nothing to rely on. Just now I wanted to escape outside, but I knew I couldn't escape for the rest of my life. Why don't you ask Your Highness to forgive me. Anyway, the grass people can feel at ease as soon as possible."

Zhu Biao admired this person quite a lot when he heard the words, and said without going around in circles: "Since you entered Hangzhou the night before yesterday, you can't get out. I didn't see you today, but tomorrow I can only see your head."

Li Qiantang swallowed, he entered the city through a tunnel outside the city, and even the other two didn't know when he came. After all, one must be careful in his business, and it's not a real business after all.

Zhu Biao was not talking to Li Qiantang anymore, he looked at the Patriarch of the Zhang Family in a blink of an eye, and made a few polite words, and the people behind him were not qualified to be polite to Zhu Biao, they all stood obediently aside, looked at the ground eagerly, and walked away empty-handed. I didn't have the confidence to bring things and I was afraid that the delivery would be indecent. I lost my life for nothing. It was too difficult.

Zhu Biao casually picked up the book that had just been put down and read it. The atmosphere fell silent all of a sudden, and everyone didn't know what to say. Prefect Chen also didn't speak. Those who were more clever probably guessed it, and they all quieted down honestly.

It's just that there is still a feeling of being out of breath. They are not unfamiliar with this kind of method, and they have basically used it personally. There are thousands of people under them who rely on them to live.

It’s just that it’s clear, but you’re still afraid. If this thing doesn’t work well, it won’t be spread since ancient times. In a word, your wealth and life are in other people’s hands, so you can’t help but not be afraid.

Li Qiantang couldn't bear it, no matter what the rest of the people were, they were just secretly supporting and helping the Li family to sell illicit salt. Salt has only been around for 30 years.

It's not that he doesn't want to transform, but that the rest of the family can't tolerate him. Before finding the next family, the Li family can't get away. With this huge profit, they have become one of the three big families. Those who started from his family failed to marry the Chen family.

Li Qiantang knelt on the ground, and the rest of the people also knelt down when they saw it. Prefect Chen and Patriarch Zhang both sighed, but it didn't matter, they would kneel sooner or later, but no one wanted to be the first.

Zhu Biao turned a page of the book and said: "Jiangnan is a water town after all, with numerous waterways, but the rivers have not been sorted out for a long time since the previous dynasty, and it is inconvenient for the people to come and go. Even my palace originally wanted to go back to Beijing directly by waterway, and never thought that there would be too much congestion. .”

Li Qiantang opened the mouth and said: "Your Highness is kind and generous. The Li family has lived in the south of the Yangtze River for a long time. Why should we contribute to our hometown? I am willing to donate all my family's wealth to dredge the river."

As soon as this remark came out, all the family members looked at Li Qiantang's back fiercely, and said to his mother, just pay 8000 taels of silver. If you donate all your family wealth, then we can only pay a few. Thousand taels? "

Chen Zhifu breathed a sigh of relief, that's why he didn't come out first, all the family wealth is nothing, why don't His Highness leave some for him, it's not that he ransacked the family, but he wanted to integrate the power of the Jiangnan family to help him in the court. How can you offend so many people if you go further.

The Zhang family followed the ancestral motto, never to be the leader no matter what, and it was precisely because of this that most of the Jiangnan family married with the Zhang family. In the end, the Zhang family was the real leader of the Jiangnan family.

Chen Zhifu glanced at the Patriarch of the Zhang family and said: "I am the prefect of Hangzhou, and there are also two sections of waterways in the territory that are silted up. It is my fault to seek government affairs in his position. I am willing to donate my family's wealth to dredge the river."

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(End of this chapter)