I open a history tutorial class in Daming

Chapter 168: Acting in person
The second half of the Xu hour, converted into modern time, is around nine o'clock in the evening.

After arriving in Daming Dynasty, Song Shen's lifestyle became extremely healthy. He would go to bed after washing up at eight o'clock, and he didn't have to worry about insomnia. He only had to find some ancient documents from the system space in his mind, and he would squint while reading them. He was bound to feel sleepy.

He had just fallen asleep while reading some information.

As a result, not long after he fell asleep, Lan Yun hurried in to remind him that Chen Guorui and Chen Biao were here to visit and were waiting outside.

Normally, the master of the house had already gone to bed, and the servants should not disturb him. But the problem came because Song Shen had mentioned to Lan Yun before that if Zhang Wei, Chen Guorui, Xu Yungong and others came to visit, they should be invited directly to the study, and he would definitely meet them. If they were other strangers, or someone like Zhu Di who had been to his house and came alone, then they could be refused outright and everything would have to wait for Song Shen to arrange before bringing them in.

As luck would have it, today is just like this.

Who could have expected that Chen Guorui and Chen Biao, father and son, would come to my house in the middle of the night when there was a curfew outside!
Song Shen was in a bad mood when he woke up. He just put on some clothes casually and asked Lan Yun to tie his hair into a loose bun. Then he got up casually and went to the study to meet the guest.

He really hoped that the other party realized how presumptuous what he did today was and that it would not happen again in the future.

study.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao sat quite obediently on their chairs, with Mao Xiang standing behind them, quietly waiting for Song Shen to come over.

Before leaving the palace, the three of them changed their clothes. Zhu Yuanzhang wore a crimson-purple gown, which was not thick, but it was suitable for him as he had a strong body. Zhu Biao, on the other hand, did not have such a good physique, so he wrapped himself tightly in a moon-white padded gown - this was an order from Zhu Yuanzhang, who was really scared of his son's early death.

Mao Xiang was the most inconspicuous. He was wearing simple black shorts and a long sword on his waist. One could tell at first glance that he was a martial artist.

Even Zhu Biao, who had the worst physical fitness, inherited most of Zhu Yuanzhang's genes. He was tall and had a gentlemanly face, but his body could not cover up the intimidation brought by his body. Not to mention the other two. Zhu Yuanzhang and Mao Xiang were both veterans on the battlefield. Even if they restrained their murderous aura, the oppressive feeling they exuded was terribly strong.

Therefore, no servant dared to enter the study to wait with them.

When Song Shen entered the study, even though he couldn't see anything, he could feel that something was wrong with the atmosphere.

"What's wrong? No one is waiting for you?"

He asked with some doubt:
"Lan Yun, has the tea been served? We haven't even arranged for guests to stay. Don't let people think that we have no rules at home."

Lan Yun, who came in after him, was actually quite experienced. At least he treated people like a noble family and was fully worthy of being the arm and eyes of his master, Song Shen. Otherwise, when Song Shen moved away, old man Song Lian would not have been able to let this blind man divide the family business without worry.

For example, now, Lan Yun saw that his son was upset because his sleep was disturbed, so he apologized politely:

"Sir, the tea is ready, but it's late at night and the servants don't dare to stay in your study any longer. We have no choice but to let you sit there. I'm sorry for the poor arrangement. Please forgive me."

It looked like he was begging for mercy, but in fact, he was helping Song Shen scold those people for coming to his house without checking the time.

Of course, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't just sit there and watch the master and servant acting like this in front of him, making indirect accusations against each other.

He smiled and said to ease the embarrassment:

"Oh, Mr. Song, we are already disturbing you by visiting you so late at night. Your family is not inconsiderate at all. Please don't bother with the little girl."

"Come on, let's talk about serious matters, and then we'll leave!"

Mao Xiang stood behind, watching their conversation, not daring to watch them, for fear that he would burst out laughing if he couldn't hold back.

Zhu Yuanzhang usually had no emotional intelligence when dealing with his subordinates and palace servants - of course, he didn't need such a thing, so he always appeared very irritable, spoke harshly, and did things in a hurry.

But this doesn't mean he has no emotional intelligence.

It should be noted that if Zhu Yuanzhang, who came from a grassroots beggar family, had no sense at all, he would probably have been beaten to death before he could join Guo Zixing's army.

What's more, among all the people in the army, he was the only one who won the favor of Guo Zixing and married Ma Xiuying to him. Was it just because he was handsome? What nonsense! Of course it was because he was handsome and knew how to behave!

Leaders are like this. No matter whether they are smart or not, at least they tend to have extremely high emotional intelligence. As for those who seem to have no emotional intelligence... if you meet them, you may have to reflect on whether there is something about you that makes the leader dislike you.

For example, in this situation, if it were someone else, the entire servants in the mansion would not be too much of a stretch, not to mention someone like Lan Yun who helped Song Shen openly and secretly scold them for disturbing the people in the middle of the night. But in Song Shen's house, His Majesty could only hold his nose and try to smooth things over, and also apologize.

When Song Shen heard the steps he gave, he felt a little relieved. He didn't hold on to it anymore and just went down the steps.

"Okay, let's get down to business."

He sat down with the help of Lan Yun, and asked Lan Yun to leave the study before asking seriously:
"I wonder if Uncle Chen came to my house so late at night to discuss something important?"

The little old man who wrote Chen Guorui and read it as Zhu Yuanzhang chuckled twice, with an unclear meaning.

"Didn't Mr. Song guess what I came here to ask?"

Song Shen fumbled to pick up the tea that had been poured and left to cool, took a sip, and felt a lot more awake. The drowsiness and anger from being pulled out of bed just now also disappeared for the most part.

He thought for a moment, and his clear mind turned slightly, and he thought of Xu Yungong who also came to visit him this afternoon.

"Could it be because of the imperial edict posted during the day, indicating that the court is preparing to hold an imperial examination to recruit craftsmen to serve as officials?"

Zhu Yuanzhang slapped his thigh.

"That's it!"

He moved closer to Song Shen, his tone tempting:
"We have been dealing with each other for quite some time. There are some things that we can talk about without hiding anything. I will speak directly."

"You provided the technology, and I provided the manpower and channels. Recently, the alcohol issue has been almost completed and will be put on the agenda soon. Although the ship for the long voyage has not been arranged yet, it won't take long. It will be completed before the end of the year at the latest."

"The latter is a matter that will cost you your life, so let's not talk about it for now. But the former is a great opportunity at this critical juncture!"

"The court is going to hold an imperial examination. The emperor specifically asked for people with expertise to serve as officials. The overall situation has just been settled, but the northern grasslands are still not peaceful. There will definitely be wars in the next few years. You should be aware of this."

"Alcohol is certainly useful in normal times, but it is by no means as useful as it is on the battlefield."

"Since Young Master Song has his own opinions on the court, I don't think there is any need for me to say anything...right?"

Anyone who still doesn't understand what's said is a fool. Song Shen was silent for a moment, took another sip of tea, and didn't reply immediately. Zhu Yuanzhang was not in a hurry either, he just sat there calmly waiting for him to think about it, completely ignoring the anxious look from Zhu Biao next to him.

Zhu Biao was almost dying of anxiety.

It was already very presumptuous to visit in the middle of the night, and now he was speaking so directly. He was afraid that his father would say something unpleasant and force Song Shen to agree to it tonight, which would really offend him.

But surprisingly, Song Shen was now very calm and no longer in a bad mood as he had just when he woke up.

After a while, Song Shen spoke.

"Uncle Chen came here in such a hurry today, I'm afraid he didn't just want to persuade me to take advantage of Enke's trip?"

"If it's really about this, we can do it tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, or before the exam next spring. There's always time to do it. The alcohol has already been made, so it doesn't matter when you take it out. Why bother coming here in the middle of the night?"

Song Shen actually wanted to see the expressions of the Chen father and son opposite him, but unfortunately he was blind and could only guess from their tone.

So, he just paused and continued:
"If I remember correctly, when we first met, I reminded you not to get involved with the Left Prime Minister. Uncle Chen, with your years of experience in business, you should be able to guess the impact of this matter on the court."

"Even though you know that the court will be in turmoil in the next few days, or even unrest for several months...are you still unwilling to give up this opportunity?"

After reading so much historical data, from the distant past such as Fan Li and Lu Buwei in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the recent world-famous tycoon Shen Wansan, Song Shen has deeply understood how much businessmen can pay in pursuit of profits from ancient times to the present.

The person sitting in front of me now is a typical businessman.

For the sake of profit, Chen Guorui could tell Song Shen openly that he had the power to get imperial merchants like Shaodaozipu to make alcohol for him, and that he could risk the Nine Clans Candy Crush Saga to get an ocean-going ship to go to Japan. Now, knowing that the imperial power and the power of the ministers were in a fierce struggle, he dared to get involved in the affairs of Enke.

As long as the benefits are great enough, Chen Guorui dares to take risks with his head on his belt.

Zhu Yuanzhang also knew what image he had in Song Shen's mind.

He smiled, but did not answer directly. Instead, he said:

"Mr. Song, I don't know why you are so cautious."

"A real man is born in this world. When the wind and clouds are stirring, he should take advantage of it and rise to the top. Being too cautious will only lead to missed opportunities."

"Of course I know that it is dangerous to get involved in the affairs of the court, but I have done more dangerous things. What am I afraid of? My Chen family did not get their money out of thin air. If we do business without taking risks, we can only guard our own piece of land and not make any progress. If I am honest and only care about the present, why should I send my son to study at the Imperial College? Wouldn't it be better for him to learn business and inherit the family business?"

"Now that the imperial court has opened a special examination, we have ready-made alcohol in our hands. As long as we present it to the emperor, we will be able to live a stable life in the future. The alcohol in the army will be directly supplied by us. What a huge sum of money!"

"To put it more harshly..."

Zhu Yuanzhang lowered his voice in a very personal way and leaned close to Song Shen's ear:

"From ancient times to the present, so many emperors and prime ministers have fought each other for thousands of years. Has anything happened? There are many affairs in the world, and the emperor always has to rely on those civil officials. Even if Prime Minister Hu is not sensible, there will be other sensible people to take his place."

"Plus, the one we have now is a man who doesn't tolerate any injustice and is very decisive. If he says he wants to hold this imperial examination, will the officials still be upset?"

"Don't miss this opportunity, it will never come back again!"

Song Shen wanted to laugh when he heard it.

He did laugh, and he laughed out loud.

Seeing Song Shen's creepy smile, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but be stunned:
"No, Mr. Song, did I say something wrong? Why are you laughing?"

Song Shen rubbed his cheekbones and relaxed his apple cheeks a little before he adjusted his expression.

"Chen Shuyi just said that the emperor is a man of swift and decisive character. Why do you think he can't create a new situation?"

His eyes were unfocused, yet seemed to be able to see through people's hearts.

At least Zhu Yuanzhang now feels that he has been somewhat seen through.

Song Shen drank a sip of tea and said with a smile:
"You should be able to guess that I am not the only one working with you. As soon as the imperial edict came out today, someone else came to me, also wanting to take advantage of this favorable situation to profit."

"Not only us, but other wealthy families who have inventory of craftsmen will definitely be interested."

"I'm not necessarily going to stop you from making money. No one wants too much money. I'm just an ordinary person. Of course, it's best to have money, but this money, if you have the life to earn it, you also have to have the life to spend it, right?"

"The current emperor has posted an imperial edict to announce it to the world. Did you see clearly what was written on it? He is looking for craftsmen, not merchants! Of the four words "scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans", the current emperor values ​​farmers the most and hates merchants the most. Of course, he just hates them the most. Emperors of previous dynasties did not like merchants because merchants do not produce or farm and it is too easy for them to make profits."

"What the court needs to do now is not to recruit craftsmen. This is just a means. Your Majesty's goal is obviously to allow people who are not scholars to enter the officialdom, to completely disintegrate and prevent civil servants from forming cliques from within, and to avoid the prince having to spend time dealing with these people forming cliques and pursuing personal interests when he ascends the throne in the future."

"If he knew that some businessmen took advantage of this opportunity to make a profit, how many heads would he have?"

"Uncle Chen, if you really want to do this, I won't stop you. Just wait and see until the thirteenth year of Hongwu, okay?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was completely silenced.

He wanted to ask, why is it the 13th year of Hongwu? It is now the autumn of the 10th year of Hongwu, and there are still more than two years before the arrival of the 13th year of Hongwu. Even if we have to wait, we should wait until the next year when the special examination is held to see the situation, right?

But he didn't know how to ask.

During the silence, Song Shen suddenly spoke again:

"It may not necessarily be the 13th year of Hongwu..."

"When your majesty gets angry and Hu Weiyong's family is confiscated and exterminated, then you can enter the venue."

(End of this chapter)