Start with the humble bridegroom

Chapter 333 The Fang Family Again?

Zhang Zhe explained to Sanqi, Geng Liang and Gao Deshu some preparations they needed to make when they set off tomorrow, and then they returned to the courtyard where they lived.

Just as he was lying on the leather chair, a pair of soft pads stretched out behind him and gently touched his two temples, gently helping him to press them up.Zhang Zhe didn't make a sound, just closed his eyes and enjoyed. He could smell that the person behind him was Yue Zhao.

Yuezhao was his concubine in name, so naturally there was no need to notify when entering Gu's mansion and his courtyard.

In fact, Zhang Zhe has always had a headache how to deal with these nominal "concubines". They are just looking for a safe place to live, and maybe they also have expectations for him, but Yue Zhao and Xu Niangzi are not very competitive. .

After having Sister Mi, Zhang Zhe obviously found that the relationship between him and Meng Xiaowan is rapidly developing into a more peculiar feeling, and the part of family affection is rapidly increasing.

Before coming here, Meng Xiaowan discussed with Zhang Zhe that although Jiangling is good, it is not their foundation, and the mansion and land in Xiushan should not be empty for a long time.This time, he will take Yue Zhao and Miss Xu to Zhaoyang County to take up the post.

"The fields and acres in Xiushan are managed by the slave family and sister Xu together." Yue Zhao took another hot towel and applied it to Zhang Zhe's eyelids, and her jade-like fingers shuttled around his acupuncture points. Before taking Lang Jun to Chang'an, he left all the affairs here to the two of us. Uncle Wu and Liu can only come back and forth between upstream and downstream for more than half a year to check once after the autumn harvest. Although Lao Lei from Xiushan is loyal, But after all, she is just a servant girl, so the eldest lady doesn't dislike us two clumsy ones, and entrusts us to do it."

Zhang Zhe was listening to her with his eyes closed, when he heard the movement of the cloth curtain being lifted.

A voice said with a smile: "If I had known you would come today, I wouldn't have come. It would be nice if I came tomorrow, so people would come every day."

Yue Zhao answered with a smile: "Sister Xu is familiar with "The Story of the Stone", but she only read the last few chapters repeatedly and refused to show it to me, which made me wait all these days in vain. .”

In Zhang Zhe's ears, he vaguely heard Xu Niangzi coming to him, and the clear and crisp rubbing sound of porcelain. It seemed that Xu Niangzi had put down a bowl on the table, and there was still a porcelain spoon ringing in the bowl.

"Is Yutang here?" Zhang Zhe asked as he was going to get the hot towel from his eyes, but Miss Xu hurriedly reached out to stop him, "Mr. I don't care about this moment."

Zhang Zhe was not polite, he just lay on his back, and felt that Yue Zhao stopped his hands, and Lady Xu was sitting beside him, and a light familiar breath came, which made his heart sway for a while.

He only heard the porcelain spoon touch a few times, and a mouthful of light and sweet soup was spooned to his mouth.

"The big jujube Rongxu soup boiled by slaves, sir, let's eat a few mouthfuls!"

Rao Zhang Zhe and Meng Xiaowan were husband and wife for many days, even though they had passed the test of wind and rain, they were also confused by the naturally charming Xu Niangzi.

"Why did XX's concentration drop so much after having a daughter?"

Taking a few mouthfuls of hot sweet soup with Ms. Xu's hand, Zhang Zhe felt his eyelids loosen. He was about to open his eyes, but Ms. Xu persuaded him to stop him.After a while, she took hot water from the hot water stove at the side, and put a hot towel on his eyelids. It was slightly hot but very relieved.

Zhang Zhe deliberately mentioned Meng Xiaowan.

"You all read "The Story of the Stone", but you have been communicating with the eldest lady?"

"Isn't it?" Yue Zhao changed places and began to knead his knees, "We always exchange three or four letters with the eldest lady every month. At first, we only talked about poetry and articles, and later it was about the fields and family affairs. Although It took nearly half a month to see the letter, but I can feel the care of the eldest lady from time to time. When Mr. Lang is about a day or two away from Jiangling, the letter from the eldest lady will arrive."

"Oh, what did she say?"

This time it was Mrs. Xu who answered: "Ma'am, she explained very carefully. First, she wants us to take good care of your husband, and second, when I go to Xiushan, I want to take care of both the old land of Yushang and the new farm that I bought this year."

"Ma'am, I have one more thing to tell you. I wonder if the gentleman wants to know?" Yue Zhao chuckled lightly, with a hint of humor in his voice.

Lady Xu glanced at her and shook her head slightly, but Yuyao had already spoken without waiting for Zhang Zhe's answer.

"You don't need to hide these things from Mr. Lang. When the eldest lady told us to take care of you, she still had to take care of the secretary of Zhaoyang County. Mr. Lang is now in Zhaoyang, but he is the No. 1 Chinese official in Zhaoyang County. Fearing that the flattery would be too much, I sent all the famous actresses in Fangsi to Tongzhifu."

"Oh?" Zhang Zhe smiled, "So, the eldest lady is not wary of the two of you?"

"Prevention, why not," Yue Zhao giggled, "The eldest lady has always said that as long as the gentleman agrees, she has no objection, but the gentleman has always been hard-hearted."

"Come on," Zhang Zhe couldn't stand it anymore, and reached out to remove the towel from his eyes, "Let's talk about Tiandi Zhuangzi in Zhaoyang?"

Yue Zhao glanced at Zhang Zhe calmly, lowered her head and continued to press his knees, her tone became more respectful.

"Returning to Mr. Lang, the rice seeds that Mr. Lang obtained have been cultivated in Wuling for hundreds of acres, so now our family's Yushang Village in Xiushan and the 600 acres of fertile land are all planted with new rice seeds. Although this summer and autumn are rainy , but only our village has overhauled the canals at the beginning of the year, and other places have reduced production or even failed to harvest, but our village harvests more rice per mu than in previous years. In previous years, there could be four to five hundred catties of rice per mu, which is I want to worship the gods, but our Zhuangzi produced more than [-] catties per acre. If it hadn’t been soaked in water, I don’t know how much I can reap per acre.”

"Is there no one else who is curious about our seeds?"

"Lang Jun's question is strange." Xu Niangzi put down the soup bowl, "everyone is busy in autumn, who will go to check how much rice other houses have produced except the official family? Besides, we are Zhuangzi of Yushang, ten No tax is collected during the year, and the officials are too lazy to come to our land. The servants and maids in the Zhuangzi have all been punished by the fifth and sixth uncles, and now they are strict with their mouths. In private, they say that the lord learned the fairy method from his master!"

"It rains bitterly in summer and autumn, and there is no snow in winter. I'm afraid it will be bad next year. Didn't the lady buy a few new villages in Zhaoyang? What about the fields? I said it would be better to buy them in Wuling, but she wants to buy them in Zhaoyang."

Lady Xu glanced at Yue Zhao, and saw that she showed a look of embarrassment, so she took the initiative to answer the call for her.

"Several newly acquired counties and counties in Zhaoyang have withered a lot in the past two years. Therefore, at the end of summer this year, His Majesty ordered that the northern families, nobles, and officials above the seventh rank go to the homes of the newly acquired counties in the south. Counties buy land and build villages."

"In the state of Wu, only [-] to [-] paddy fields can be sold. The newly harvested Hai'an and Tuodong in the east, because of the Tuojiang River separated by the Wu people, and the main force of the army, so they should be like clouds. The price per mu It has always been on the top twelve. But you know the place in Zhaoyang, it is on the neck of the Wu people. Everyone said that the Wu people will definitely attack Zhaoyang County again, so no one wants to go there. A good paddy field only needs seven or eight acres per mu.”

"Yue Zhao and I reported this matter to the eldest lady. Just after Langjun was the champion, the family had a sixth-rank official status, and the eldest lady asked Zhao Ping to bring back [-] official tickets. A few days ago On the [-]nd, I bought another [-] mu of official land in Xiushan through Yue County Magistrate, all of which are eight to one mu. This time I go to Xiushan, and Mr. Lang needs to come forward to reward Yue Zhixian and Wei County Wei."

"It's imperative to get together with those two," Zhang Zhe responded, "It's just that the newly bought fields in Xiushan don't hide any moths, right? I was from the sixth rank at that time, and I could only buy a thousand at most. Two hundred acres. If you haven't reached the ground yet, it's not a good sign to give someone a handle."

"Just rest assured, Mr. Yue," Yue Zhao forced a laugh, "At that time, Mr. Lang was only serving the order of the Zhongsi Temple, and you knew the magistrate of Yue County. How could he do this kind of business? It was Mr. Lang who was promoted to Zhao Yang Tongzhi, I only heard about it after I came back."

"What's the matter?" Zhang Zhe looked at Yue Zhao's face, showing a trace of suspicion, "Is there something you're hiding from me?"

Seeing Yuezhao bowed his head and said nothing, Lady Xu immediately took up the conversation again.

"Sister Yuezhao originally didn't want to cause trouble with Mr. Lang, but that person is really hateful. Yuezhao went to Xiushan to do business, and was invited by the wife of County Magistrate Yue to be a guest in the back office of Xiushan. When Yuezhao went out, the disagreement was blown away by the wind. After taking off the veil, he met a disciple from a well-known powerful family in Zhaoyang and saw him, but he kept pestering him endlessly. If Wei Xianwei hadn't drawn his sword to protect him, that person would have wanted to rob him directly!"

Zhang Zhe's face turned cold quickly. He didn't expect that the ground in Zhaoyang would be so chaotic?Although he and Yuezhao only had the name of concubines, this was someone else directly stepping on his face.

"Do you know which family it is from?"

Hearing Zhang Zhe's chilly voice, Yue Zhao glanced at Miss Xu in embarrassment, and finally said it through gritted teeth.

"It is the second master of Fang Zhaoyang's family, called Fang Chaoxiang, who is still a Cao official in the county. He is in charge of many messengers. He is really prestigious. However, fortunately, he learned from Wei County Wei that the slave bought a thousand Two hundred acres of land. Knowing that the slave's family is from the sixth rank, he let go of the road. Wei Xianwei was afraid that people would know that this would weaken the reputation of the gentleman, so he didn't tell him the origin of the slave. The matter has not yet been spread. , I didn't hide it on purpose, I just didn't want to cause trouble for Mr. Lang."

"The Fang family again?" Zhang Zhe frowned, "Do you know the rumors about this Fang family?"

"Could it be that Mr. Lang is also visiting this Fang's family?" Mrs. Xu looked at Zhang Zhe with slight surprise, "Actually, after this year's autumn harvest, I sent someone to inquire about this Fang's family, just because this Fang's family is the only one that sent me. Someone came to visit my Zhuangzi’s property.”

"Oh? Hehehehe, let's hear it," Zhang Zhe heard that the Fang family seemed to be eyeing his paddy fields, and he was a little worried that the Fang family would see the strangeness of their rice seeds, and would not like the Fang family again. scored three points.

"Fang Chaoli, the elder of the Fang family, used to be a judge in Jizhou. The third master, Fang Chaozhu, opened a rice shop. Because he followed the route of Luan's family, the Fang family's travels on the river have always been unimpeded. They helped Luan The family manages nearly half of the rice and grain business in the Jiangling area, and the rice is transported to Jiangbei in Zhaoyang every year. The master brought down the Luan family. The Luan family committed crimes and gave away all the Jiangling rice and grain business managed by others, in exchange for the position of Tuiguan in Zhaoyang County. When the imperial court recovered Zhaoyang, the local high-ranking households were cleared because they resisted the rebellion of the heavenly soldiers. It’s clean, so the rice grain business in Zhaoyang County is now owned by his family. He sent someone to visit our fields, just to collect our rice grain.”

"Hearing this way, it's not surprising. Since his family is in the rice grain business, it's normal to send someone to check."

"Mr. Lang only knows one thing, but not the other." Yue Zhao finally said all the words that were on his mind, "In Zhaoyang, there is only Fang's family in Zhaoyang, except for the nobles in Lianyang County. The biggest ones are the one hundred and ten-acre Hirado families. The Fang family didn’t go to Lianyang to provoke nobles, but they dominated the rice business in the rest of the counties.”

"No matter which family's field, they have to put the rice grains in the warehouse of Fang's family first, but the money will be reckoned at the next autumn harvest, and the price offered is only [-]% of the market price. This is clear robbery! Is there any If you are willing, the guards who push the official yamen will lock the door and take it away, saying that it is the remnants of the former Wu. When the Fang family went to our Zhuangzi, they almost fought with the stewards of the Zhuangzi. Later, Uncle Lei rushed over. A serious official, it was Uncle Lei who scared those people away with the title given to Tianmu Zhuangzi."

Hearing this, Zhang Zhe couldn't help but stood up and walked a few steps in the room.

In this way, this Fang family is a newly emerging tyrant in the empty window of Zhaoyang County.

"There is one thing for you to know," Ms. Xu said in a low voice, "After the autumn harvest last year, half a month after Fang's family visited my Zhuangzi, Uncle Lei was robbed when he went out. , I was forced to break a leg. It’s just that it’s the gentleman or Chengfeng Lang. It’s Uncle Lei who told us not to tell you and the lady. Uncle Lei’s leg was only healed during the summer harvest this year. Some people said Those who have been robbed are idlers who eat under the hands of the second master of the Fang family."

"Strange, really weird?" Zhang Zhe smiled instead of anger, "After doing this, the Fang family still wants to marry Gu Fu?"

"He thinks he has the means," Yue Zhao also laughed, "The fourth master of the Fang family, named Fang Chaolu, who came to the house to propose marriage, now lives in the Four Seasons Hundred Flowers Hall. He entertains guests and invites friends all day long. He spread the news about marrying the Gu family everywhere. He even bought molds for the scriptures written by the county king in the past, and printed a lot of copies, and gave them away directly on the street. He almost said that he was from the county prince's mansion! "

Zhang Zhe shook his head. The Fang family's methods against the former Jiang Zhongchao and his son might be very effective.It's a pity that the Fang family underestimated how much the emperor and concubine valued the county prince and his son.The future Wang, Fu, Changshi and other subordinate officials are probably not easy to provoke, even if I come to the front now, I will not let the Fang family do harm everywhere in Zhaoyang.

The old general judge from the sixth rank in Zhaoyang County is not there, so he is the promoted official of the seventh rank county who is domineering.And when he came to office, not to mention Fang Chaoli, even the old general who returned to Zhaoyang had to obey his call to act.

As for the new backer that the Fang family found after abandoning the Luan family, Zhang Zhe didn't care at all. Could the background be greater than that of the emperor and imperial concubine?No!So, this Fang's family has been cleaned up!

Yue Zhao and Ms. Xu looked at each other, they both saw the disdain in their husband's eyes, and couldn't help but feel a little worried.

"Your Majesty, don't be careless. I heard that Fang's family has kept a lot of servants and idlers, and they are also part of the servants of the government office. If Fang's family messes around, I'm afraid it will be detrimental to Mr. Lang."

But Zhang Zhe was not at all afraid of the thugs and idlers that might exist in the Fang family, even those servants who were recruited by the Fang family.

"Zhaoyang County is now under military control, and five thousand officers and soldiers control the city gates and walls. The general is General Xue. General Xue and I are old acquaintances, and we both work under His Majesty's eyes. They also involve the crown prince and the King of Zhaoyang County respectively, so Fang If anyone wants to be tough on me, they must first ensure that they can fight through the 300 official troops. Besides, even if Xue Xiong refuses to send troops to help me for other purposes, there are still [-] guards in the newly built Zhaoyang Palace. Tian is the emissary in the imperial concubine's palace, and she has the county king's letter in her hand, so it's no problem to mobilize the guards of the palace. I'm afraid he will do something to a mere Fang family? If he dares to be tough, I can't ask for it, sir."

"Mr. Lang is actually planning to directly take down the family?"

"Where?" Zhang Zhe shook his head, "Up to now, it's all hearsay, and there is no real evidence. Everything will be discussed in Xiushan."

(End of this chapter)