Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

“Power?” Wang Wenzuo laughed. “Is Hebei not enough?” He shook his head. “We must know how to be content and cherish what we have!”

Cui Yunying lowered her head and said nothing, but it was obvious that she was still a little unconvinced. Wang Wenzuo shook his head in disappointment: "Yunying, power is not money. Once it is given to you, it is yours. If you cannot bear it, it will harm you instead. I don't know how many times I have said this. If you still don't understand, there is nothing I can do!"

"Sanlang, I understand what you mean, but why are Yanliang and Huliang——"

"You think I gave it to them?" Wang Wenzuo laughed, "You are wrong. At most, I just gave them a chance and some capital. As for whether they can get it or control it, it all depends on themselves. If they lose, even though I am their father, there is nothing I can do! This is especially true for Xu Tuo and Yuan Bao."

"Then Ah Sheng has gained a lot of experience in the prefectures and counties over the years!"

"Ah Sheng has indeed improved a lot over the years, so I gave Hebei to him! But what you want is to be above the other brothers, and this little experience alone is not enough!" Wang Wenzuo whispered, "But the others, Yanliang, Huliang, Xutuo, Yuanbao, the four of them have experience in leading armies to war, some more than once. If any of the four of them disobeys, can Ah Sheng lead the army to defeat them after I die?"

Facing her husband's questioning, Cui Yunying fell silent, and after a while she answered: "But Emperor Gaozong and the late emperor have never led an army!"

"They are the emperors, but I, Wang Wenzuo, am not!"

"But Saburo, you can do it, right?"

"That's right!" Wang Wenzuo was silent for a while: "I'm sorry, Ah Sheng, what I want to do is something that the emperor can't do."

Wang Qisheng was stunned. It was the first time in his life that he saw his father apologize to someone. He quickly knelt down and said, "I dare not!"

"Get up!" Wang Wenzuo said in a deep voice: "Although I am your father, everyone is his own master, and you are no exception. If you really want to be the emperor, it is not impossible. You just need to raise an army to wipe out the heroes. The land of Hebei is enough as a foundation for dominating the world. But before you raise an army, you must be prepared to die and your clan will be destroyed!"

"No, father, I don't want to be the emperor!" Wang Qisheng raised his head: "Hebei is enough for me, even a little too much!"

"Ah Sheng!" Cui Yunying looked at her son in surprise: "You are the legitimate son, how can you say that!"

"Because it's too difficult for me!" Wang Qisheng replied, "To be honest, I feel overwhelmed just governing Cangzhou, not to mention the whole world. Do you know, mother, in the first six months of this year, there were 500 seagoing ships with a capacity of more than dan sailing into the ports of Cangzhou, not including the ships that did not enter the port, but anchored in the nearby sea area and unloaded their cargoes with small boats to evade customs duties. The ship tax for one such seagoing ship alone is guan, and the customs duties on the goods are calculated separately. There are countless workshops in Cangzhou. When I first came to Cangzhou, someone told me that there were more than machine households here. I thought that person was deceiving me. Later, after I came to Cangzhou and took office, I checked the tax books and found that there were more than machine households recorded in the tax books that paid the "machine tax". If you add those who can't afford the new spinning machines, there will be even more!"

"That's enough!" Cui Yunying interrupted her son's enthusiastic statement and said angrily, "You are the son of Wang Wenzuo, the Prince of Hejian and the General of the State. How can you deal with account books all day like a businessman?"

"You don't go through the prefectures and counties, and you don't enter the government. Ah Sheng is a people-friendly official. What do you care about?" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "Ah Sheng, I didn't expect you to have made progress in the past few years. You may not be able to be the emperor, but you should have no problem protecting Hebei!"

"Thank you for the compliment, father!" Wang Qisheng said happily.

"It's not surprising that you think governing Cangzhou is a hassle!" Wang Wenzuo laughed and said, "The reason is very simple. Most of the households in other states and counties are farmers, and merchants are just an extra. At the end of the year, as long as the summer and autumn taxes are taken care of, the rest are just some criminal cases. If the governor and county magistrate are lazy, they will be busy for a few months a year, and the rest of the time they will leave the official business to their subordinates, and it is not impossible for them to govern by themselves. But in Cangzhou, it's the opposite. Farmers are an extra, and salt households, machine households, craftsmen, shipping sailors, and fishermen are the big ones. They have affairs every day regardless of the season. Just the lawsuits are different. In other places, there are disputes over land and property, adultery and murder; but in Cangzhou, there are more things, you should have experienced it, right?"

"Yes!" Wang Qisheng sighed, "I encountered a case of counterfeit currency two days ago. The guy drilled holes in the silver ingots and filled them with lead, then sealed the holes with welding. After being discovered, they were sent to the government office. The clerk on duty couldn't see it, and finally had to cut it open with scissors, only to find that it was filled with lead; and last time, a swindler used fake silver to cheat people to buy goods from Southeast Asia in the market..." He was so proud of himself that he didn't notice that Wang Wenzuo was already exhausted and almost fell asleep. Cui Yunying noticed it and reached out to support her husband, whispering, "Sanlang, how do you feel?"

"I'm just a little tired. I'll be fine after a short rest!" Wang Wenzuo smiled and nodded to his son: "You did a good job. Tell me more next time you have a chance!"

Cui Yunying helped her husband lie down to rest, and then went out with Wang Qisheng. Wang Qisheng saw his mother's worried expression and asked in a low voice: "Mom, how is Dad's health--"

"Ah!" Cui Yunying sighed: "If only you could be like today a few years earlier!"

"Mother, you are worrying too much. Didn't father just say that if you want to be the emperor, you have to lead the army to wipe out the heroes. Do you think I am a match for those brothers?"

Cui Yunying thought so too and said with a wry smile: "Well, it's not as good as the best, but better than the worst. At least there is Hebei, which is better than going to the smoke-filled and miasma-ridden south!"

Wang Qisheng consoled his mother for a few more words, and Cui Yunying felt better. She and Wang Wenzuo had been married for many years and had a deep affection for each other, but she had actually accepted her husband's death in her heart these days, and was more worried about the situation of herself and her son after her husband's death. After this conversation, she had accepted her son's future position as the King of Hebei, and her original worries had dissipated, and her mood naturally improved.

"Ah Sheng, since you have already thought this way, you should have a good relationship with Yan Liang and Hu Liang. Why not invite them over tonight and have a drink to talk about brotherhood!"

"Is this good?" Wang Qisheng hesitated. "What's wrong with that? After all, one of them is in the center, and the other is in charge of Japan. They are the most helpful to you among the brothers." Cui Yunying said, "Even though you have many brothers, they are the only two who can really help you when you encounter problems!"

"Okay!" Wang Qisheng nodded and was about to say something, but he saw a guard coming in from outside and bowing to him: "Young Master, a Javanese barbarian came from Jiaozhou with a letter from Prince Jumong, saying that he came to Cangzhou to study! Here is the letter!" Having said that, he presented a letter with both hands.

"Jumong's letter!" Wang Qisheng took the letter in surprise. Before he opened it, Cui Yunying sneered, "This Jumong is really tactless. He got into such a big trouble, but he still wrote a letter to recommend the barbarian to study. Who does he think he is? He might just be a prisoner!"

"Mother!" Wang Qisheng waved his hand to signal the attendant to leave, and whispered, "According to what Huliang and the others said, Jumong should only be fined some money, but not imprisoned!"

"Really? He's lucky!" Cui Yunying snorted coldly: "What are you going to do?"

"I plan to discuss it with the people on the panel before making a decision!" said Wang Qisheng.

"That's fine! I'm a little tired, I'll go back and rest first!" Cui Yunying nodded nonchalantly: "This Jumong has never been a quiet person, you don't have to care too much about brotherhood with him!"

"Farewell, mother!" Wang Qisheng bowed and watched Cui Yunying leave.

After seeing his mother off, Wang Qisheng returned to his office and dealt with some official business. It was already evening when he finished. He remembered what his mother had said about inviting Huliang and Yanliang to a party in the evening. When he saw that it was getting dark, he thought it was too late to send someone to invite them now, so he could only do it tomorrow. He called the servant and told him to send the invitation. After everything was settled, he just stood up, but a letter fell from his sleeve. He picked it up and saw that it was the letter from Jumong. He thought about it, then opened the letter and read it. The sentence in the letter was quite simple. It just introduced the identity and name of this Javanese nobleman, as well as his purpose of studying in the Tang Dynasty. Jumong said that Java was different from the Tang Dynasty. It was composed of many families. The so-called King of Java was just the strongest among these families. He could not command the people across these families. After the Javanese noble learned the technology of gunpowder and firearms from the Tang Dynasty, he would definitely not tell his compatriots about these technologies for nothing, but would use these new technologies to strengthen his family's power, attack his compatriots, and even fight for the throne. In this civil war, he would undoubtedly seek assistance from the Tang Dynasty, which undoubtedly gave the Tang Dynasty the opportunity to further intervene in Southeast Asia.

"Jumong really thinks long-term!" Wang Qisheng finished reading the letter and smiled: "That Geng Anlu probably didn't expect that he would become a pawn of others! Oh, right! He brought this letter with him, could he have peeked at it on the way?" Thinking of this, Wang Qisheng hurriedly checked the envelope from beginning to end to confirm that there was no sign of it being opened or reassembled in the middle. He thought to himself that Geng Anlu probably didn't know Chinese, and he wouldn't be able to understand it even if he opened it, so he breathed a sigh of relief.

The next day, Wang Qisheng invited Huliang and Yanliang to his residence. After a few drinks, he took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it to Huliang, saying, "My two brothers, yesterday a barbarian from Southeast Asia came to Cangzhou, claiming to be a noble from Java and wanted to study in the Tang Dynasty. He brought a letter from Jumong with him. Please read it!"

"A Javanese nobleman came to the Tang Dynasty to study? A letter from Jumong?" Huliang unfolded the letter and frowned, "How could Jumong be so ignorant of the importance of things? The secret of gunpowder and firearms is so important, how could we let a barbarian from Southeast Asia know about it? Isn't this just nonsense?"

"Brother, please take a closer look. Jumong has a very long-term vision!" Wang Qisheng said.

"Long-term?" Hu Liang read the letter patiently and snorted coldly, "What long-term? The secrets of gunpowder and firearms are the country's most important weapons that my father has worked hard for many years. How can we let a foreign barbarian know about it casually? It's a good idea to use gunpowder to confuse the people and take the opportunity to defeat them, but we shouldn't let them know such an important thing. Not to mention that Jumong is just a guilty person, and he is making a mistake on top of a mistake. He must be severely punished!"

"Hmm!" Yan Liang took the letter and read it, and nodded. "That barbarian wants to come to the Tang Dynasty to study, which is nothing. He doesn't have to learn firearms! Spinning and weaving, sericulture and sugar pressing, brewing and making sauce are also good things. If he wants to learn, let him learn for a few years. As for gunpowder and firearms, they are military tools, so they can't be given to others easily. As for Jumong, he did go too far. In my opinion, we should send a special envoy in the capacity of the Council to deal with this matter. What do you think?"

"This is a very good idea!" Huliang nodded: "Ah Sheng, what do you think?"

"Since you two brothers have made the decision, then I will naturally agree as well!" Wang Qisheng said with a dry laugh.

"Then it's settled!" Hu Liang said with a smile, "As for the selection of the special envoy, do you have any idea, brother?"

"Let Yannian go!" Yanliang said.

"Okay!" Huliang nodded.

Yanliang clapped his hands twice, and Gao Yannian came in from outside, kneeling and bowing to the three people. Yanliang said in a deep voice: "Go back and pack up, go to Jiaozhou in a few days, and tell Jumong the decision of the Council. Also, tell him a message for me; 'If you are short of soldiers or money, you can tell me, whether it is 3,000 soldiers or 100,000 gold, it's just a matter of a word, why make such a promise to outsiders and waste the treasure left by your father? In the future, you must reflect on yourself and don't lose your status, otherwise, I will not forgive you!"

Gao Yannian took out a pen and paper from his bosom, quickly wrote down Yanliang's words, and then presented them to him with both hands. After Yanliang checked and confirmed that it was correct, he took out the jade seal from his waist, stamped it on the letter paper, and said in a deep voice: "Yannian, this letter can only be read to Jumong in person, and there must be no third person around, so as not to damage his face. Do you understand?"

Gao Yannian took the letter with both hands, carefully put it in his arms, kowtowed, and then left the house. Yanliang smiled and said, "Be lenient when necessary and strict when necessary. This is the way to manage a family!"

"Brother is right!" Hu Liang nodded: "You should have a say in family matters in the future!"

"That's not necessary. After all, I am a foreign vassal!" Yan Liang said with a smile: "After all, Ah Sheng is the one who should be in charge, Ah Sheng, right?" (End of this chapter)