Smuggling Daming

After sending off Steward Xu, Zhou Zhong looked at the box on the table and came up with a hypothesis after thinking for a long time. This hypothesis was that the Jinyiwei Token and the waist knife in the box belonged to Zhou Hai, and Zhou Hai's original name was Wang Hai. The thousand households of Jinyiwei participated in smuggling under the orders of the above, and then developed rapidly with the support of Jinyiwei, making the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce one of the four major chambers of commerce in Shuangyu Port.

Zhou Zhong's assumption seemed very reasonable, and it also explained many mysteries about Zhou Hai, such as the development of the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce and the whereabouts of the huge profits.But when he thought about it seriously, Zhou Zhong felt that this assumption was not valid. If Zhou Hai really belonged to Jin Yiwei, then after his death, Jin Yiwei might have come to him long ago.

Thinking of this, Zhou Zhong couldn't help but shook his head in distress again. It seems that Zhou Hai's real identity may not be as simple as he thought, and there are three things in the box, the Xiuchun knife and the token must belong to the same person , but whose jade longevity lock is it?This thing is generally only worn by children, and depending on the style and material of the longevity lock, it is definitely not something that ordinary people can afford.

The few things Biao'er accidentally found in the ancestral hall brought Zhou Zhong great troubles, and even didn't sleep well for several nights because of this. Firstly, he was curious about Zhou Hai's identity. Why are there these Jinyiwei things at home? Secondly, he is also worried that one day, suddenly a group of Jinyiwei will break into the house, and then arrest the whole family and throw them into prison.

It was precisely because his mind was full of the above two questions that Zhou Zhong couldn't sleep.But as time passed, everything at home was normal, which made him feel relieved. In addition, he had another worrying thing to deal with, so he gradually put it behind him.

After meeting with Xie Da last time, the other party asked him to withdraw from the Wang family's marriage within one month, but thinking of the last time he met Wang Lun, the other party showed concern for him, and now the house he lives in still belongs to them of.This kind of favor is too great, if he goes directly to the door to withdraw the engagement, it will be too inhuman.

However, when Zhou Zhong was worrying about the Wang family's marriage, a big incident suddenly broke out in Daming. It is not accurate to say that it broke out suddenly, because this incident actually broke out last year.Moreover, it was also related to Xie Qian, Xie Lingyun's uncle, and it was this major event that implicated Wang Lun who was demoted at home.

The cause of the matter is this, when Xie Qian fought with Liu Jin, and after losing, he resigned and stayed at home.Seeing that the opponent failed, he would not pursue it anymore, but Liu Jin was a eunuch.She has a heart similar to that of a woman, and she likes to hold grudges the most, and she has always held grudges against Xie Qian in her heart. In addition, Jiao Fang, who was a cabinet scholar at the time, also disliked Xie Qian, so the two joined forces to treat Xie Qian together at the beginning of the fourth year of Zhengde. attack.

Jiao Fang is different from Liu Jin, he and Xie Qian don't actually have a big feud.It's just that he is a northerner, and he was very talented when he was young.However, at that time, most of the important officials in the court were from the south. When they promoted officials, they would naturally take care of their fellow villagers. After all, this is also human nature.However, Jiao Fang suffered greatly from it. Although he is very talented, he has been unable to get a promotion for a long time. In addition, his temper is extreme, so in the end he simply hated all southerners. It can be said that as long as they are from the south He disliked all the officials.

It was also under such circumstances that Jiao Fang discovered that when Xie Qian was in office, all the talented people in Zhejiang recommended by Xie Qian were from Yuyao, that is, Xie Qian’s fellow villagers. I would like to jointly write a letter that the impeachment of Xie Qian is an attempt to convict Xie Qian by forming a party for personal gain.

Speaking of which, the fourth year of Zhengde was the period when Liu Jinquan was in power. Emperor Zhengde didn't care about anything at all, and Jiao Fang, the chief minister of the cabinet, also followed Liu Jin. Therefore, the two of them joined forces, and Xie Qian could almost be said to be dead.Fortunately, there was Li Dongyang in the court. After his persuasion, and the fact that Emperor Zhengde still had some love for Xie Qian, in the end, he only dealt with some relevant officials. At the same time, it was stipulated that people from Yuyao were not allowed to enter Beijing as officials, and could only be sent abroad. As the county magistrate, Xie Qian was spared.

But still the same sentence, Liu Jin is a eunuch, he likes to hold grudges more than women, and at this time his ambitions are inflated, and he dared to tamper with Emperor Zhengde's orders without authorization. For example, at the end of last year, he ordered the recovery of Xie Qian, Liu Jian and others were given titles and officials, and even the jade belts and official uniforms that some emperors bestowed on them had to be recovered.

The matter of taking back the titles and appointments was a big deal. At the beginning, only a few people such as Xie Qian and Liu Jian were given back the titles and appointments. In the end, more than 670 people were involved at once, and among the nearly 700 people, Wang Lun happened to be one of them, and he was also a relatively high-ranking one.

Originally, Wang Lun would be fine as long as he handed over the rewards he had received before like others, but he happened to meet a villain. During the process of handing in the rewards, the eunuch who came to collect them insisted on saying One piece of official uniform was missing, but Wang Lun didn't remember that he was awarded such an official uniform at all, but the other party just killed him, and even took out the records in the palace. He wears an official uniform.Now Wang Lun finally understood that the other party must have been bribed by some people, and they were going to punish him. As for the records in the palace, they could be fabricated at will.

Although Wang Lun had been dismissed from office, he was not a soft persimmon to be squeezed, so he had a big fight with the eunuch from Beijing on the spot, and immediately contacted some relatives and friends to protect himself after returning.After all, Liu Jin is powerful now, and he has offended the other party before. Even if Liu Jin didn't instigate this incident, he probably has something to do with it.With his strength, it is impossible to fight Liu Jin, at most he can only find a way to protect himself.

It was also under this premise that Zhou Zhong received a message from Wang Lun, asking him to visit the palace.Zhou Zhong also heard about what happened to Wang Lun at this time, and he was very anxious about it, so he rushed to the palace immediately after receiving the news.

Wang Lun lived in the north of the city, just far away from the Zhou Mansion. When Zhou Zhong hired a carriage and drove there at the fastest speed, he happened to see Wang Lun saying goodbye to someone, and Zhou Zhong also knew the person who was leaving. Mr. Xu, the magistrate of Songjiang Mansion, also Xu Shenzhong's father, Zhou Zhong had met twice before, so he hurried forward to salute.

But Xu Zhifu seemed to have something to do, so after a few words of politeness with Zhou Zhong, he immediately got into the sedan chair and left, and then Zhou Zhong entered the palace with Wang Lun.

The architectural layout of the Wangfu is similar to that of the Zhoufu, both of which occupy a large area, but there are differences in some decorations and details. For example, the reception hall of the Wangfu is much more elegant than that of the previous Zhoufu. There are some literati calligraphy and paintings hanging in a patchwork manner, and there are also many antique jade articles on the shelves on both sides. One can tell at a glance that the owner here is a person of taste.

Wang Lun and Zhou Zhong sat down as guests and hosts, and a servant brought tea, and then Wang Lun said, "Zhou Zhong, I heard that something happened to you a while ago, and you didn't even go home for the New Year. What happened? What's going on?"

Others may not know about Zhou Zhong's disappearance years ago, but as his prospective father-in-law, Wang Lun has a lot of contacts in the Songjiang Mansion, so he must know. Zhou Zhong also guessed this before, so now he heard Wang Lun's news He wasn't surprised when he asked the question, he just told Aunt Wang and Zhuan'er what he had lied to Aunt Wang and Zhuo'er before, and just said that he and Xie's family joined forces to do business, and then they were trapped on the island when they encountered storms.

But Zhou Zhong's words can fool Aunt Wang, but they can't fool Wang Lun who has been in the officialdom for many years. After hearing this, he glared at Zhou Zhong and said, "You still want to hide it from me at this time? Tell me, have you accepted your father's chamber of commerce?"

Zhou Zhong was also surprised when he heard this, and looked at Wang Lun in astonishment, and said, "Uncle Wang, you... how do you know this?"

"Hmph, how did I know that you should leave it alone, and now I want to ask you a question, do you still plan to obtain fame in the future?" Wang Lun seemed very annoyed at Zhou Zhong's taking over of the chamber of commerce, and he didn't say a word. Not as nice as before.

"This..." Seeing Wang Lun's angry look, Zhou Zhong didn't know how to answer for a while, but finally thought about it, but gritted his teeth and said, "To Uncle Wang, it's not that my nephew doesn't want to get a job. , but now the family is in decline, and I am the only child in the family, and my two younger sisters still depend on me to support me, so I can only take over the property left by my father first, and as for studying, I really can't spare the energy!"

Zhou Zhong knew that he could fool others, but he might not be able to lie in front of Wang Lun, so he had to tell the truth.But what he didn't expect was that after hearing his words, Wang Lun suddenly showed a complicated expression on his face. He first looked at Zhou Zhong for a while, then lowered his head and thought for a while, and finally said: "Now the eunuch is in power. , the officialdom is also full of smog, and His Majesty the Emperor is even more deceived by these people, and even the old man can't see any hope, since you don't want to get the honor to enter the officialdom, the old man won't force you."

Zhou Zhong was taken aback when he heard Wang Lun's words. He didn't expect the other party to be so open-minded. When he heard that he didn't want to take the imperial examination, he didn't object, and even used the darkness of the officialdom to help him find a reason.

"Thank you, Uncle Wang, for your understanding. My nephew also feels that the eunuchs in my Ming court were in power. These eunuchs tried their best to search for the people, even the officials. I heard that Liu Jin even came up with many names. As long as it is an official If you get promoted, you have to give him thousands or even tens of thousands of taels as a thank-you gift, and with my nephew's current wealth, even if he is admitted to fame, he probably won't be able to afford these gifts." Zhou Zhong also put on a wry smile. In other words, since Wang Lun had already given him a good reason, he would naturally use the slope to get off the donkey.

But before Zhou Zhong could relax for a while, Wang Lun suddenly sighed and said, "Zhou Zhong, since you don't want to be an official, I won't force you, but I have a difficult thing to ask you now, I hope you can help me once." !" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation.)