The First Corrupt Official of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 371: Two big thieves bravely entered the Millennium Confucius Mansion, Lu Shangshu’s messenger contacted Mr. Ye!

"Xu Shuai, this thousand-year-old Confucius Mansion really has a lot of background!"

"The courtyard outside looks very simple. Not only is the courtyard not as grand as your Duke Wei's Palace, but the area is not as big as your Duke Wei's Palace."

"But the rockery pool and forest scenery inside are much more exquisite than your Duke Wei's mansion."

"The decorations in this house are so magnificent!"

"Even compared to Ye Qing's house, it's no less generous."

"Look, the 'Colorful Horses Treading on Flying Swallows' made by Yanmen County Liulichang is actually here?"

"I remember the price, 100,000 yuan!"

The Millennium Confucius Mansion is not very spacious, but it is definitely much more majestic and more magnificent than the meeting halls of Wei Guogong's Mansion and Hu Weiyong's Prime Minister's Mansion.

The two men in black looked around like thieves.

Wang Baobao took the fire certificate and looked at these dazzling collections of ornaments, and felt that Zhu Yuanzhang's imperial study was just a 'thatched house'.

Xu Da also nodded and said: "Aren't these literati like this throughout history?"

"The clothes are extremely shabby on the outside, but extremely rich on the inside!"

"They want wealth, and they also want reputation. It's really a fish and a bear's paw, and they are not prepared to let it go!"

Having said this, he sighed again and said: "It's really hard on my brother the emperor. He doesn't even have a decent ornament, so he uses a transparent glass vase as his treasure."

"Look at these things, which one is not a hundred times more expensive than the ornaments of my brother the emperor?"

"This is the first time I have seen a family that can rival Brother Ye in terms of wealth!"

Wang Baobao just smiled coldly and said: "No matter how powerful Brother Ye is, it only takes a few years to develop."

"I have accumulated a lot of foundation since the Warring States Period!"

"Brother Ye has enough wealth to compete with them. He is already a talented person in the world."

"It's just that after these sages, they accumulated so much wealth for their own extravagance, but what about Brother Ye?"

"He says every day that his life is better than that of the emperor, and his women are more beautiful than the emperor's. But how much extravagant money has he spent?"

"Aren't they all used to develop the country and benefit the people?"

"After the sages, compared with the high-profile corrupt officials, they have to judge!"

Then, he said in a regretful tone: "Damn it, I was deceived by their simple family back then."

"If I had known this when I was defeated and exited, I would never have left them a hair."

When Xu Da heard this, he immediately smiled and said, "Thank God then."

"These wealth are still within the territory of my Ming Dynasty, but it doesn't matter even if they are taken away by you."

"Didn't you also take away the imperial seal?"

"In the end, it's back in the jade seal box of my brother the emperor!"

"."

On both sides of Huozhezi's dim light, the two snitches, with only two eyes exposed, began to look at each other again.

If conditions hadn't allowed it, there would probably have been another big fight!

After a moment, Wang Baobao smiled arrogantly and said: "You didn't get it back. It was Brother Ye who came up with the idea and you got it back."

Xu Da just smiled and said: "But your brother Ye is from my Ming Dynasty!"

"you"

Xu Da continued: "Not only that, because of Brother Ye, you have become a member of my Ming Dynasty, and you are also my deputy commander!"

When he said the word 'vice', he couldn't increase his volume, so he dragged the word very, very long!

"you win!"

Xu Da just smiled calmly and said: "I said, you can only beat me once in your life, no matter what aspect."

Before Wang Baobao could say his rebuttal, a voice came from outside.

"Everyone, come with me!"

Then, I saw the light of the lantern and the sound of footsteps.

The next moment, the two people who had been fighting back and forth before nodded in unison.

After Xu Da opened the window, Wang Baobao jumped out and fell out.

After Wang Baobao turned over, he held the window and Xu Da jumped out again.

Immediately afterwards, Wang Baobao dived down again and put his hands on his thighs.

Xu Da stepped on his hands and jumped into the air. At the same time, Wang Baobao also pushed hard. It can be said that the coordination was quite perfect.

After Xu Da went to the room silently, he stretched out his hand to grab Wang Baobao, and at the same time he pulled him up, he jumped up with all his strength.

Whether they were coming out of the room or going to the roof, they all cooperated in perfect harmony without leaving any trace.

In fact, the two of them are very good in light-body kung fu, but no matter how powerful the light-body kung fu is, it is not the volley leap in the script interpretation.

They also need to find a point of strength, or use the scout (scout) method that requires cooperation to "build a ladder" to the room, or jump up by stepping on the wall.

Obviously, they couldn't leave footprints on the wall, so that was the only way.

The two of them are like this. When they are opponents, they are fighting to the death, but there is no way to make the other party completely defeated.

But when they work together, their opponents will really be defeated!

Like Mao Xiang, they were only able to remove the tiles at a distance of a black eye.

The two of them lay face to face under the moonlight, lying tightly on the roof, watching everything below.

Under their two dark eyes,

Four young and beautiful maids were lighting lamps everywhere. As the lights gradually became brighter, they could see clearly the true contents of these four maids in Tang-style maid uniforms.

Seeing this scene, Wang Baobao's Adam's apple twitched immediately, and then he raised his butt slightly.

You can’t do it without sticking your butt out!

It would be terrible if the tiles beneath him made a sound!

"You really know how to enjoy it!"

"Why don't you let these maids hold your feet and help warm them when it's cold?"

"Brother Ye, I don't even know how to enjoy it!"

"."

When Wang Baobao thought of this, he suddenly felt something was wrong.

If Brother Ye is so good at enjoying it, his daughter will suffer in the future!

Thinking of this, Wang Baobao quickly gave up the idea.

Xu Da did not pay attention to the contents of the maid, but was observing the layout of the hall.

I have to say that compared to this, his emperor brother's meeting hall is more than a little poor.

It can also be said that none of the top handicrafts produced in Yanmen County were placed in the imperial palace, but all were placed in the Confucius Mansion. Presumably, the Millennium Meng Mansion in Jining Prefecture, Shandong should also look like this.

Although Xu Da was shocked, he didn't find it strange either!

Since they only respected Confucianism, they have been the leader in China's education industry, and can even be said to be a semi-monopoly.

The people from these two families not only control so many private schools, but also produce many imperial teachers.

The ones who like to ask them to be emperor's teachers the most are those foreign emperors!

The reason why foreign emperors asked them to be emperor's disciples is also very obvious!

This is definitely a win-win deal for those foreign emperors and them. The foreign emperors can use them to tell the people of the Central Plains that although they are foreigners, they have been Chineseized.

And they can also use their status as 'Emperor Master' to continue to vigorously develop their own family 'business'.

Only the founding emperors of the Han family like Zhu Yuanzhang would be wary of them and would only give them a position that seemed to have some status but no rights at all.

But even this can bring them a lot of prestige!

When he thought of this, Xu Da also frowned!

Because it is really difficult to fight against them.

Just when Xu Da started thinking about ways to 'win' them, everyone was already seated, and fragrant tea and fruits were served.

"Everyone knows that my brother Kong Kebiao is a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, and now he wants to be the Imperial Scholar of the Imperial Academy!"

"As long as he becomes the state's sacrificial wine, the benefits for you will only be greater."

In the eyes of Xu Da and Wang Baobao, the big man sitting on the throne was Kong Kebiao's younger brother, Kong Kelin!

The actual patriarch Kong Kebiao is an official in the capital, so this Kong Kelin is the 'acting patriarch' of his hometown!

And these dozens of people who are echoing him are local officials, squires and wealthy businessmen!

Immediately afterwards, Kong Kelin continued: "However, the emperor asked my eldest brother to be the imperial envoy to implement [sharing the land] and [the gentry all work together and pay the grain], and he also wants to do a pilot project here."

"What's this for?"

“This is about using our influence to lay the foundation for national rollout.”

"Can my eldest brother do this to steal food from our mouths?"

"He can't do it!"

"But he can't tell the emperor directly that he doesn't want to do it. He can only say that he is not suitable for it!"

"For this reason, he recommended Ye Qing, the prefect of Ningbo Prefecture, as the imperial envoy to implement [sharing the land] and [the gentry as one body serving as errands and one body receiving food]."

"Our imperial envoy will arrive at our Guide Mansion soon."

As soon as Kong Klin finished speaking, everyone started talking.

"This Ye Qing is a popular person in His Majesty's eyes!"

"Being corrupt, perverting the law, building an arsenal privately, and yet directly becoming a fourth-grade magistrate from a seventh-grade county magistrate?"

"How can you recommend such a person to do this job?"

"."

Kong Klin shouted loudly: "Everyone, be quiet. This is the wisdom of my elder brother."

"Let him come, wouldn't it be better if we didn't let him get things done?"

"As long as he fails to complete his errand, he will lose his merits for a thousand years, and he will turn from a popular person to a sinner, and he will fall out of favor!"

"As long as this person falls out of favor, my eldest brother will have a greater chance of becoming the prince of the country!"

"This is a plan that kills two birds with one stone. It will not only prevent the implementation of these two national policies, but also ensure that my eldest brother will succeed in becoming the son of the nation!"

"."

When everyone heard this, they all agreed.

At this moment, a middle-aged man who looked like an official stood up.

He asked loudly: "Do you have any letters from Scholar Confucius and Prime Minister Hu, telling us how we can prevent them from completing this job?"

Xu Da looked at this person and recognized him immediately.

He is the prefect of Guide Prefecture in Henan Province, and I can't remember his name at the moment.

But he can be sure that this person is Hu Weiyong's disciple!

Just when Xu Da was trying to recall his name, Kong Kelin continued: "Please rest assured, Mr. Gou, I informed you just to talk about this matter."

"My eldest brother has written a letter asking us to send people to stay fifty miles outside the city now. Once we discover his whereabouts, we must go out to greet him immediately."

"The standard of greeting cannot be too high, so as not to say that we are extravagant, but it cannot be too perfunctory. We must treat each other with courtesy and show our sincerity."

"At the same time, it is also to show our strength in front of him."

"The other thing is, you have to do something now!"

“Make concessions that benefit the people!”

"Let the common people support us and resist the imperial envoy from the bottom of their hearts!"

"Of course, I won't let it go for too long. As long as this thing is over, I can make more money back."

"."

In the eyes of Xu Da and Wang Baobao, all the officials and wealthy businessmen and gentry below nodded thoughtfully.

The two of them frowned at the same time as they watched this scene.

I have to say that Hu Weiyong is really a talent!

If they understood the essence of Hu Weiyong, it would be really difficult for Ye Qing and the two of them to handle it!

After a while, Conklin sent these people away.

At the same time, Xu Da and Wang Baobao also disappeared on the roof of the thousand-year-old Confucius Mansion at just the right time.

On the way back to the inn, Wang Baobao frowned and said, "Xu Shuai, what should we do?"

Xu Da rolled his eyes at him and said, "Don't you want to win against me?"

"You can think of a way to beat me!"

How can Wang Baobao come up with any solution? After all, this is not a battle on the battlefield, this is a real struggle for political interests!

Of course, Wang Baobao would not admit defeat on the surface. He looked at Xu Da and said, "How about you think of a way to defeat me?"

Xu Da shook his head and said, "I'm not interested in winning you now. I've beaten you many times in my life!"

"you"

Xu Da was too lazy to pay attention to Wang Baobao, so he rode his horse quickly towards the inn.

At the moment, he really didn't have any good ideas.

If he was asked to do this, it would be to take advantage of their status to forcefully order the local Han family military households, as well as the Meng Yuan and Semu military households, not to accept their so-called 'profit concessions'!

But doing so is a bit untenable in theory.

A few days later,

Ye Qing's team finally arrived fifty miles ahead of the inn.

Because his team was so high-profile, Lu Ben's messenger, who had been hiding in the woods, immediately recognized them.

Under the morning light, on the official road, a knight wearing a bamboo hat and a raincoat suddenly fell from the woods into the middle of the road!

"alert!"

Baihu, the elite cavalry riding in front, gave the order and surrounded him.

There were even many archers aiming at him.

But he just said calmly: "I have no ill intentions. I am just a caring person in the court who asked me to deliver a letter to Mr. Ye."

"Young man, I have been waiting here for a long time."

As he spoke, he took out the letter, presented it with both hands, and knelt down.

When the cavalrymen saw that he had knelt down and worshiped him, they took the letter and headed towards Ye Qing's carriage! .

(End of this chapter)