high official

Chapter 1029 Tea House
"Do we still have the strength to bargain?" Zhang Fu said, his gaze became sharp.

"Hey..." Liu Sheng rubbed his temples, sighed resignedly after a long time, and said, "No."

"Uncle Shi, don't worry." Zhang Fu was very satisfied with Liu Sheng's attitude, and said in a very rare way: "I will use my wealth and life to keep you safe!"

"Can you keep it?" Liu Sheng glanced at Zhang Fu wearily, and said weakly.

"I think it should be safe!" Zhang Fu said in a deep voice, "For one thing, if it were me, I would have chosen to attack Qingzhou instead of rescuing the King of Han." What Zhang Fu said was true. How powerful the White Lotus Sect is, now that it has been cut off all of a sudden, it can only be trapped in Le'an Prefecture, becoming a day and night.It was all because of Liu Sheng's decisive decision-taking advantage of the fierce battle between the King of Han and the White Lotus Sect to seize Qingzhou, the home of the White Lotus Sect and the throat!
It's just that no one expected that the invincible King of Han was wiped out in a single battle by the mob's White Lotus Sect army... Liu Sheng's wise decision at the beginning became his damn reason!

"Furthermore," seeing Liu Sheng's deeply appreciative expression, Zhang Fu went on to say, "The King of Han is also to blame! As a vassal king, he left his fief to fight without permission, and even instigated the imperial army and murdered the important officials of the imperial court! Protecting one's weaknesses also has to be weighed and weighed, in order to avenge this traitor, killing his confidant and beloved general, is it worth it!"

"Hmm..." Liu Sheng nodded, as if he was persuaded by Zhang Fu, grinned and said: "My nephew said this, the old man's heart is much more open." He laughed loudly: "It seems that I have got into a dead end !"

"Who says it's not." Zhang Fu was also in a good mood, and laughed along with Liu Sheng.

.

The next day, Liu Sheng raised his account, handed the seal of command to Zhang Fu in front of all the generals, and reprimanded him with a beard and a stare: "From today onwards, Duke Ying is your commander. You should obey my orders, Honestly abide by the commander-in-chief of the Duke! If anyone violates the military order, he will be beheaded by the Duke, don't blame me for not reminding you! Did you hear clearly!"

"Follow the order!" All the generals responded loudly.

"Master, please give me a lecture!" Liu Sheng walked down the steps and gave Zhang Fu the commander-in-chief position.

Zhang Fu stood on the steps, looked at the generals in the tent with deep eyes, and after a while slowly said: "The Marquis of Anyuan has worked hard and made great achievements, the emperor thought of him because he is old, so he kindly allowed him to return to Beijing to recuperate, and I will take over the seal of command. Now, although the White Lotus Sect has been recruited, but the traitorous nature has not changed, it is most likely to repeat itself, so the generals must not relax a little bit, strictly guard, order and prohibit, I have clear rewards and punishments, neither soft-hearted nor stingy rewards! "

After a brief speech, all the generals naturally took orders in unison.Zhang Fu ordered all the generals to retreat, and said to Liu Sheng: "Uncle Shi, please stay a little longer and help me stabilize the morale of the army."

"Hey, the old man's luggage is all packed," Liu Sheng waved his hands again and again: "Don't mix it up, with your great reputation as the British Duke, you still can't restrain those boys who have never seen the world?"

Seeing that Zhang Fu couldn't keep him, he had to ask someone to host a banquet to see Liu Sheng off. After the banquet, he personally sent Liu Sheng out of the camp. It can be regarded as having done enough work on the scene before hitting the horse back to the camp.

On the way back, the lieutenant Zhang Fu at the side said with a displeased face: "Brother, you are just a man waiting to die, why bother?"

Zhang Fu glanced at his third younger brother, and said coldly, "If it wasn't for you, an idiot waiting to die, why bother to wade through this muddy water!"

Three years ago, Zhang Fu followed the King of Han in rebellion and took control of the capital for the King of Han.After the incident was defeated, he should be punished according to the crime, but the emperor spared him for the sake of the Duke of England. He was only imprisoned for half a year, and then he was sent home to contemplate his mistakes behind closed doors.This time Zhu Di ordered Zhang Fu to go south to take over Liu Sheng's army.According to Zhang Fu's original intention, he refused to take this hot potato.

With Zhang Fu's current status and weight, if he changed his ways and resolutely refused to accept him, the emperor would have nothing to do with him, but the emperor proposed to let Zhang Fu go south with him, so Zhang Fu couldn't refuse now.Because the British Duke regards the honor of the family more than the sky, but Zhang Fu's rebellion happened in the family, which made the British Duke always feel like a light on his back, and he couldn't sleep peacefully.

This time, having the opportunity to cleanse Zhang Fu and allow him to be reused will undoubtedly wash away the shame of the British government. This is a temptation that Zhang Fu cannot resist.And when the emperor mentioned Zhang Fu at this time, he was reminding Zhang Fu that I sold you a favor before, but now you have to pay me back!

After various considerations, Zhang Fucai had no choice but to bite the bullet and take up this burden...

.

Hearing Brother Nai's scolding, Zhang Fu was a little annoyed, but he didn't dare to show it on his face, and followed Zhang Fuxing for a while without making a sound.

Only then did Zhang Fu sigh, and said in a deep voice: "The current situation is very delicate, and if it is not handled properly, it will be out of control. At this time, peace of mind is more important than anything else. If you can take over the military power smoothly, let alone gifts Marquis of Anyuan, so what if I just kneel down and send it off?"

"Brother is too careful," Zhang Fu muttered in a low voice, "I have the handsome seal in my hand, so what else is there to worry about?"

"Hmph! Others think it's a handsome seal, but if they don't, it's a piece of scrap metal!" Zhang Fu said with a stern expression, "You've also brought in soldiers for many years, and you don't even understand the truth?"

"Will anyone dare not recognize the seal of command granted by the emperor tomorrow? Can't you rebel?!" Zhang Fuyou was not convinced, still muttering.

"Shut up!" Zhang Fu yelled in a deep voice: "You idiot, if my Zhang family were like you, they would have been wiped out so many times!" He glanced at another lieutenant beside him and said: " Tell me, what abnormality did you see in the barracks?"

"Responding to the Lord's words, there are indeed some abnormalities." The deputy general did not give Zhang Fu face at all, and replied in a deep voice: "It is said that this army was established by An Yuanhou and trained by himself, and the officers and soldiers should have great feelings for him. Profound. But from the time when Marquis Anyuan was going to leave, until Marquis Anyuan left, there was almost no abnormality in the entire battalion, this is the biggest abnormality!"

"That's right," Zhang Fu nodded approvingly, and said in a deep voice, "In a short period of time, it is almost impossible to cut off the connection between Liu Sheng and these officers and soldiers." Changes, while stepping up the control of the generals, those who do not obey orders must be replaced mercilessly!"

"Yes!" The generals responded loudly.

"Everyone, if you don't want to ruin your fame in Shandong, you should cheer me up!" Zhang Fu said in a more emphatic tone.

"Yes!"

.

The emperor decreed that lanterns from all over the country should be suspended for one year, and all kinds of New Year festive activities were also suspended, so that the Beijing city in the first month was no longer as lively as in previous years. People suddenly felt a little at a loss, and could only gather in teahouses and restaurants to listen to books and chat. It's a great time...

Inside the Qianmen Gate, the largest Chunfeng tea house in Beijing is full of guests at the moment. The tea drinkers are dressed in Chinese New Year clothes, hugging each other to salute, and exchanging auspicious words such as "auspicious new year" and "good luck".Then seven or eight people gathered together at a table, with melon seeds, walnuts, and dried fruits of various colors, drinking a large bowl of hot tea, chatting about gossip.

"It's been a fucking boring year." A bearded man in a coarse cotton robe held two walnuts in his hands, and when he squeezed them hard, the walnuts shattered. "I don't have any fat in my stomach, I can't even watch a lantern festival, it's boring, it's boring!"

"Just be content," the thin middle-aged man wearing a satin robe with patched cuffs unceremoniously took a piece of walnut from the man's hand and chewed it in his mouth, "At least the whole family won't be hungry yet. How many people can’t have a full meal at home during the Chinese New Year?”

"Mr. Liu, you rich lords from the south of the Yangtze River," the bearded man stuffed the remaining walnuts into his mouth, and said vaguely, "Have you never lived such a hard life?"

"Hey..." Mr. Liu said with a distressed face: "When my family was in Jiaxing, there were [-] mu of fertile land and [-] hectares of ponds, not to mention the rich clothes and fine food. How can I imagine that it has only been a few years and it has fallen to Such a field!"

"Hey, it's all the fault of the current emperor..." The old man who had been drinking tea with his head down all the time couldn't help but sigh: "If Master Hongwu is still here, he will definitely die of anger again."

"Speak carefully, Father Qiu," the tea drinkers at the side hurriedly persuaded the old man: "Now that Dongchang is in charge of Jinyiwei, it's the capital that arrests people!"

"The loess is buried up to the old man's neck, and he is afraid of a ball," but Father Qiu shouted excitedly: "Eight years ago, our weaving shop in Hangzhou had six looms and more than a dozen weavers. If we don’t move, we will earn thousands of taels of silver! But Emperor Yongle ordered us to sell our property and move to this windy and sandy city of Beijing! What’s even more hateful is that we could only sell the shop to Zhizao Mansion. The Zhizao Mansion only gives money that is too hard to wipe your buttocks! This is more hateful than robbing! At least I can still run after being robbed. With Emperor Yongle, if I dare to run, I have to beheaded!"

Father Qiu was in tears, wiping away his tears and sobbing: "A few years ago, I was able to weave cloth for others to make ends meet, but now I am too old to do it, and everything in Beijing is so expensive, I think I'd better get started sooner." Find a rope and hang Li Suo!"

Everyone hastened to persuade them: "For those who celebrate the New Year, what are you saying is unlucky?" But they all felt the same in their hearts.Now that the Daming banknotes have depreciated to the point where you can only buy two steamed buns in ten denominations, the majestic capital of the Ming Dynasty has seen a depression in which trade is sluggish and shops are closed in large numbers.The common people are almost barren.Every day, hundreds of poor people who starve to death are dragged to the outskirts of Beijing...

Especially those people Zhu Di forcibly relocated from all over the south. They used to be well-to-do wealthy households in various places in the south of the Yangtze River, but now they have reached the point where they can’t even eat. The gap and resentment in their hearts can be imagined...

(End of this chapter)