Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 161 The so-called clever trick is just to fight fire with fire

October fourteenth.

Five minutes before the first day of the new year.

Along the Qinhuai River, there is a private brothel called Yichun Restaurant.

On the surface, this brothel is a high-end serious restaurant that sells wine, food, and hotel accommodation. In fact, it secretly provides accommodation and prostitution services to the outside world.

At this time, in the lobby on the second floor of Yichun Restaurant, a group of wealthy businessmen were drinking and having fun, each holding a charming woman in their arms.

"Come, come, drink!"

"The Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division has been ordered to patrol. Everyone else, please get out of the way! Quick!"

Seven soldiers in civilian clothes rushed to the second floor and drove away all the guests at the table.

Ji Gang and Pang Ying, who were temporarily transferred from the Shenji Team to assist the Military and Horse Division, are the captain and deputy captain of this seven-man team.

"Clearance!"

Pang Ying, who was also a recruit of the Shenji Team, had quick eyesight and quick hands. He pulled a chair from the side and placed it behind their seven-man team, Zheng Jizuna.

Ji Gang sat down calmly, and then shouted: "Where is the old bustard? Get out of here!"

"Hey! Come! Come!"

When the old madam saw that everyone was in a very aggressive manner and was not someone to be trifled with, he quickly bowed and asked, "Hey, gentlemen, which song are you singing?"

Pang Ying answered: "Old Madam, let me tell you that yesterday, His Majesty ordered the closure of all prostitutes' restaurants in the capital and other prefectures and counties, the elimination of official prostitutes, and strict laws and regulations. Officials are not allowed to spend the night in restaurants or bring prostitutes back to the government. "Any official who sleeps with a prostitute will be punished with a rod of sixty, and the matchmaker will be reduced by one rank. If the official's descendant sleeps with a prostitute, the same crime will apply."

"His Majesty also ordered the censor to strictly inspect officials and scholars. Any officials who stay in prostitutes or have even the slightest evil behavior will be demoted, or in severe cases, dismissed and never hired. Any scholar who stays with prostitutes will have his name revoked. , forbidden to participate in the imperial examination. Did you know?"

"Yesterday, the soldiers of the Army and Horse Division beat gongs and drums and went around the streets to preach about this matter." The old bustard replied.

Ji Gang said extremely arrogantly: "In that case, please listen carefully. From now on, you will stop opening this cosmetics shop and change it to a teahouse or a restaurant, whatever you want."

The old madam said with a smile: "Master, your joke is a bit too big. My restaurant is doing serious business. Where is the makeup shop?"

"Don't play tricks on me. Yesterday, the Military and Horse Division sent thirteen carriages specifically to deliver anonymous reporting letters to the common people in the capital. You said you are a restaurant, but how do you explain the girls in the cellar in the backyard of your restaurant?"

Ji Gang stared at the old bustard and asked loudly.

The old madam took three steps back and said hurriedly: "Although there are no swords, guns, or guards in this small restaurant of mine, I am not someone to be trifled with. There are some acquaintances of me in the court."

"Bah! If my master coughs, the dog officer you are talking about will be so scared that he will pee his pants." Ji Gang cursed angrily.

The old bustard mocked: "Hey! Is your master the emperor?"

Pang Ying immediately said: "How brave! Just based on your words, I should cut off your tongue and feed it to the dogs!"

As he spoke, he pretended to catch the old bustard.

Ji Gang raised his hand to stop Pang Ying, with a sullen face, and said slowly: "Old Madam, do you know who my master is?"

The old bustard saw that the speaker was exuding a murderous aura, and he was so frightened that he did not dare to speak any more.

Ji Gang cupped his fists and cupped his hands toward Dongfang, and whispered: "The common people call my master Yongle."

"Yongle?"

The old madam muttered it again, and her face changed with fright.

She was not stupid. She immediately thought that the people in front of her must be the emperor's personal guards, so she quickly knelt down and kowtowed: "Spare my life! Spare my life! I am so blind that I can't see Mount Tai!"

"Old Madam, if you dare to stay by the Qinhuai River for one more day, I will seal your door and chop off your head."

Ji Gang threatened.

Pang Ying persuaded in a low voice: "Ji Duizheng, His Majesty's decree is not to kill people, and the prince also strictly ordered us not to kill people."

"Yes, Your Majesty does not allow killing, and the Crown Prince has given repeated orders not to allow us to kill anyone."

Ji Gang raised his hand and patted his forehead, and said suddenly.

He thought for a moment, then leaned down and said sinisterly to the kneeling old bustard: "Then Ji will set a fire and burn down your Yi Restaurant. Roast all you adulterers and sluts into skewers. Then open a restaurant here and sell it to living people."

The old bustard's vision suddenly went dark, and he suddenly felt light-headed and fell to the ground.

"What's up with her?"

Ji Gang saw the old bustard tilting his body and falling over. He thought he was ill and asked quickly.

Pang Ying leaned over and stretched out his hand to test the old bustard's nostrils. He found that the other party was still breathing, so he said to Ji Gang: "The old bustard must have fainted from fright."

"You are too cowardly to be so unintimidated!"

Ji Gang stood up very disappointed, stretched and said.

He suddenly remembered something and turned to ask Pang Ying: "How many of them are left down there that need to be inspected?"

"Not much more. Each team is responsible for inspecting ten houses. We have already visited six houses and there are four left." Pang Ying replied.

Ji Gang took the lead to go downstairs, and then asked: "Where is the next house?"

"This, it's hard to say." Pang Ying hesitated.

"What's not good to say?" Ji Gang asked doubtfully.

Pang Ying explained: "According to the instructions of His Highness the Crown Prince, anyone who is involved in the powder industry without being registered in the Jiaofang Department, whether it is teahouses, restaurants, private houses, etc., will be inspected. But although the next place also involves skin and flesh trading, it is It’s the Huitong Pavilion.”

"Those merchant envoys dare to openly bring prostitutes back to the hall to have fun. If someone catches them, they will have the hall closed!"

Ji Gang said extremely arrogantly.

"Absolutely not!"

Pang Ying was frightened to death and said anxiously: "These merchants and tribute envoys are all guests invited by your majesty. If we come here by force, we will definitely make the Ming Dynasty laugh overseas, and may also undermine your majesty's national policy of caring for people far away. This But it’s a big sin!”

Ji Gang's heart skipped a beat, and he was frightened by the arrogant idea just now, but he said forcefully: "Are we just going to have to watch these people turn the joint hall set up by the imperial court into a brothel?"

"You can't do this nonsense." Pang Ying advised.

"This won't work, that won't work either, what do you think we should do? How should I explain to His Highness the Crown Prince?" Ji Gang said angrily, "I'm really pissed off!"

Pang Ying said: "It is not easy to change customs. We'd better skip the Huitong Hall and go to the next one. Besides, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has sent Zheng Du Gong to go to the Huitong Hall to deal with it in person. We still don't want to get involved."

at the same time.

We will be in the same hall.

Zheng He, the first governor in the history of the Ming Dynasty, was sitting at a square table, pointing to the jade mahjong on the table, and introducing mahjong to the crowd of spectators in Nanyang dialect.

"Everyone, the mahjong tiles that Zheng introduced to you are also called mahjong tiles and mahjong'er tiles. They were originally Taicang's 'food protection tiles'. After the founding of the country, Emperor Gao, Taizu of this dynasty, set up a large granary in Taicang to stockpile rice all year round. For the military needs of the four parties."

"With abundant food, there are frequent bird attacks, and a lot of food is lost every year due to bird attacks. In order to reward those who catch birds and protect food, the officials who manage the granary use bamboo chips to record the number of birds caught, and use this to pay out rewards. This is It’s Taicang’s Food Protection Card.”

"This kind of chip is engraved with various symbols and numbers, which can be viewed, played, and used as a certificate to claim bonuses."

When Zheng He said this, he heard someone in the crowd asking how to play the "food protection tile", so he began to introduce how to play mahjong.

"The gameplay, symbols and terms of this food protection card are all related to catching sparrows. The names of the three basic suits of the sparrow card are Wan, Shu and Tuan."

"The pattern of the tube is the shape of the mouth of the gun tube printed on the paper, and the number of tubes represents the number of fire guns. A string is a string, which is a bird strung with a thin rope, so the pattern of a rope is represented by a bird , a few ropes is a bunch of birds, and the reward is calculated according to the number of birds. Ten thousand is the unit of reward, and tens of thousands is the amount of reward."

"In addition, southeast and northwest are the wind directions, so they are called wind. When shooting birds with a fire gun, you should consider the wind direction. Hit means to hit, so it is red. White is a blank board, and the fire gun hits empty. The reward will be distributed when the shot is fired."

"The terminology of mahjong playing is also related to catching birds to protect food, such as the banging sound of a fire gun after hitting the lead bullet, and the sound of making a tile, which is a homophony of falcon, which is a kind of eagle that catches birds. In addition to There are also terms such as eating and gong, which are also related to bird hunting."

At this time, another person asked: "Envoy Zheng, why is the food protection tile also called mahjong?"

Zheng He replied: "In Taicang dialect, the accents of mahjong and mahjong are close, so playing mahjong is naturally called playing mahjong."

After introducing Mahjong, he pointed to another box of Pai Gow and said: "The name of this game tool is Pai Gow. It is an ancient domino game in China. It originated hundreds of years ago and is known as Pai Gow among the people."

"It is said that Pai Gow was first used to piece together patterns and then use the patterns to tell fortunes and pray for blessings. Later, it gradually evolved into a game tool."

"There are 32 cards in Pai Gow, including heaven, earth, people, and (goose), three long, four short, four miscellaneous and supreme. The design of the cards contains the wisdom of ancient Chinese people."

Many people heard that Pai Gow contained the wisdom of ancient Chinese people, and some people couldn't help but ask: "Excuse me, Ambassador Zheng, what Chinese wisdom is it?"

Zheng He said with a smile: "The sky card is the biggest card, with the most points. The two cards add up to 24 points, which corresponds to the 24 solar terms. The earth card corresponds to the sky card, which has the smallest number of points. The human card ranks third, which means people. Between heaven and earth, behind heaven and earth.”

"The reason why the human card has eight points is because people stand in the world and their morality is reflected in the eight points - filial piety, brotherhood, loyalty, trust, propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame. People in the Ming Dynasty called people 'bastards', which is actually ' "Forget the homophony of Baduan'."

"The Harmony Card symbolizes the harmonious coexistence of all things in the world. These are the four great virtues of heaven, earth, people and geese. The 'goodness' here means good. No matter which one of these four cards is caught, whatever the shape of the card in your hand is They all work well together.”

"In fact, this is the concept of life that we Ming people most pursue - human beings live between heaven and earth, worship heaven above, and stand on earth below, and harmony means the natural harmonious coexistence between humans and everything in heaven and earth. As the saying goes, 'the weather is not as good as the right place, the right place is good' Not as good as human beings', that's what it means."

"In addition, Pai Gow can also be used as a divination tool, corresponding to the four pillars and eight characters of a person, etc."

All the merchants and envoys were stunned when they heard this. They didn't expect that the little Pai Gow actually had a hidden secret, and they all expressed their desire to learn how to push Pai Gow.

"Okay, since you all want to learn Pai Gow, let me play with you first with Zheng. After you get familiar with it, we will start over."

With a smile on his face, Zheng He ordered his people to put away the mahjong and spread Pai Gow on the square table.

"You all are guests from afar, so Zheng has no choice but to sit in the village for a while."

October sixteenth.

After morning morning.

Wenhua Hall.

"My son has seen his father."

Zhu Gaoxu bowed and saluted.

Zhu Di said: "You came just in time. I just wanted to send Li Xing to call you. Come, sit down next to me and talk."

"Thank you, father." Zhu Gaoxu said respectfully.

After Zhu Gaoxu sat down, Zhu Di sighed: "I heard that since the Fanshang tribute envoys in Huitong Hall learned to play pai gow and mahjong from Zheng He, many of them have been playing for twelve hours without sleeping a wink."

"Some people have discovered the value of Pai Gow and Mahjong, and are buying mahjong and Pai Gow of various materials in the capital, preparing to ship them back to China for sale."

He looked at Zhu Gaoxu and said with a smile: "Did you come up with this wonderful trick?"

Zhu Gaoxu smiled and said: "Sure enough, everything I do cannot be hidden from my father's eyes and ears."

"I racked my brains, but I never thought of using this method to entertain those merchants and envoys. You can do it!"

Zhu Di joked.

Zhu Gaoxu lowered his head slightly and smiled: "My son, I'm just fighting fire with fire."

"After Admiral Zheng He took charge of the Wucheng Bingma Division, in just a few days, the people became more honest, and many private brothels in the capital were sealed. The Wucheng Bingma Division suddenly did so many things to benefit the people. It’s really unexpected!”

Zhu Di sighed again: "And all this is thanks to your idea. I will remember your contribution this time."

"It seems that Father already knows."

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said respectfully.

Zhu Di said: "Yes, I just read the memorial submitted by Yin Xiangbao of Yingtian Prefecture this morning and learned that the Wucheng Army and Horses Division has done a lot of practical things for the people these days."

"Let's talk about an incident that happened yesterday. There was a grain and oil shop in Nancheng market. The owner of the shop had two scales. One was used to deal with the military officials who were responsible for inspections. It was not commonly used on weekdays. The other one was tampered with. , which is short of a pound and is used to sell grain and oil on a daily basis.”

"Yesterday, when the shop owner was using a tampered scale to weigh rice to his customers, a foreman from the Bingma Division suddenly appeared and caught him on the spot."

"Subsequently, the tampered scale was broken and destroyed by the pawnbroker on the spot, the boss was punished with a sixty-sixty cane, and the store was ordered to close for three months. Once the matter was publicized, the people clapped their hands and applauded."

Zhu Di smiled happily and said: "It seems that the Five Cities Military and Horse Division has one more person in charge, so he is more attentive to the work!"

When he said this, he looked at Zhu Gaoxu and asked, "Are you here this time for the two cases that Ying Tianfu Yamen is trying?"

"Exactly." Zhu Gaoxu said respectfully.

PS1: Thanks to Crazy Reader, Immortal Emperor, C17000, Brother Zichuan, Huo Xingyanshang, Dapan, Hua Qiuluo, Shu Hitchcock, Han Jiangjiao and other brothers for their monthly votes and recommendation votes. Thank you!
PS2: There are many theories about the origin of Mahjong. This book uses the theory of catching sparrows.As for Pai Gow, according to research, it originated in the Song Dynasty and evolved from dice. It was originally used for prediction.

(End of this chapter)