Mixed with salted fish in Hongwudang

Chapter 238
After the seat allocation has been determined, it is time to pass the meal and sing the ceremony.

The two sessions were carried out at the same time, and the people below passed the meal normally, while the ceremonial officer stood beside the emperor and sang the list of gifts presented by the vassal kings, civil and military nobles.

If the emperor heard that he was interested, he would order someone to lift it up to have a look.If the Emperor Longyan is happy, he will be rewarded on the spot.

Even if no reward is given, even if the gift is lifted out of the warehouse and commented on, it is enough to make the giver happy.

After all, how many people gave gifts without even leaving an impression in the emperor's heart?
As the ceremony officer chanted, the ears of all the officials perked up.

Even though the maids and eunuchs brought up the dishes and drinks one after another, everyone didn't care to taste them, and all stole eyes to see the emperor's face, to see which gifts he was interested in.

"Song Guogong presents a bronze tripod from the Western Zhou Dynasty!"

"Mr. Ying Guo presents a pair of Ru porcelain vases from the Song Dynasty!"

"The founder of the country presents a strange luminous stone in the shape of longevity!"

"Bring it up!"

"promise!"

Not long after, the gifts of the three were carried up by the ceremony officer, which aroused everyone's amazement.

"Such a regular bronze tripod is rare. It seems that Song Guogong spent a lot of money this time!"

"The Ru porcelain presented by Duke Ying is not bad either. Ru porcelain of this quality is considered rare in this world!"

"The founding father is a strange stone... Tsk tsk, let's make a living."

Compared with the flattery of the military generals, the civilian officials are a bit pantothenic.

Lao Zhu is a person who strictly abides by the rules of the rich and the poor. As for the generals and nobles, as long as you fight bravely and don't always think about rebellion, you will turn a blind eye if you are greedy.But for the civil servants, one is found and one is punished, and there is no tolerance.

Therefore, civil servants are generally poor and cannot afford too good gifts.

"The patina on this bronze tripod is so bright, it looks like it was just made..."

"This Ru porcelain is really good, but it's a pity that it's not the most noble blue sky after the rain, and I always feel that it's not interesting."

"As for this strange stone in the shape of longevity...it is indeed too common, not worthy of His Majesty's favor..."

Influenced by Zhu Yunxi's "Yiwu Small Commodity Wholesale", everyone is immune to stones.

At the beginning, everyone was quite happy, thinking that they could buy such a miraculous thing at such a low price.

But as more and more people bought it, this thing was worthless, and the price plummeted in a straight line.

As a result, many people bought strange stones but did not dare to contribute them, they just used them as spare parts.

However, this kind of person is usually a big boss in the dynasty who wants to win His Majesty's favor by presenting birthday gifts.

For ordinary officials in the capital, they don't pay attention to these things.They gave gifts to the emperor with the intention of making up the numbers.

Don't ask the emperor to remember, just ask the emperor not to hate himself.

Lao Zhu saw that everyone was chirping and saying that it was almost done, so he commented on it himself.

"Duke Lao Song has spent money!"

Hearing His Majesty's praise, Feng Sheng hurriedly got up and left the table to thank him, and recited the lines Fu Youde had prepared for him.

"Your Majesty is polite!"

"My minister has received His Majesty's kindness, although I am so heartbroken, I can't repay it in case!"

Old Zhu nodded slightly when he heard the words, and then looked at Fu Youde who was beside him.

"Mr. Ying also has a heart."

Fu Youde, like Feng Sheng, left the table to thank His Majesty for his compliment.

"I am grateful for the emperor's grace, and I often feel so deeply that I can't sleep at night. When I got two porcelain vases by chance, I felt that I didn't have enough merit, and I was afraid that I would waste everything. It coincided with His Majesty's Spring and Autumn Birthday, and it happened to be dedicated to His Majesty, so that I would avoid the regret of the pearls being cast in secret. !"

Fu Youde's words of gratitude seemed mediocre to the civil officials, but to the military commanders, they were secretly stunned, and one by one began to make up congratulatory messages, launching a new round of introversion.

When Fu Youde returned to his seat, Feng Sheng stretched out his head again.

"Old Fu, you are not kind!"

"Why do you only make up a few sentences for me, and it's such a long speech when you come here!"

Fu Youde gave Feng Sheng a blank look, full of disdain.

"If I make up too much for you, can your brain remember it?"

"You...you wait with us and see what we will do to you later!"

While the two were chattering, His Majesty the Emperor commented on Chang Sheng's birthday gift again.

"This thing is really rare, it's hard for you to think about us!"

As soon as Zhu Yuanzhang said these words, all the courtiers were shocked, and the two big men who had just sent the bronze tripod and the Ru porcelain vase even exclaimed in their hearts, "Damn!"

The two of them sent such precious things, and His Majesty the Emperor just sent them away with a word of expense and intention. When he came to Chang Sheng, this broken stone, he said so many words for the first time. up!

The military general here saw that the founding father was praised by His Majesty, except for a few people who felt a little bit sour, on the whole they were sincerely happy for him.

As for the civil servants, they were completely silent, secretly wondering about His Majesty's intentions for this move.

Is it an excuse to praise the founding father's family, or is there a heart to cultivate "tuogu" important ministers?
If it was the latter, then the status of the founding father would inevitably increase. I am afraid that the five armies' governor's mansion may not be enough, and the Ministry of War may be handed over to Chang Sheng for management.

But in this way, the imperial government's national policy of controlling military affairs with civility will be destroyed, and the military generals and nobles will no longer be suppressed...

Next is the gift of the three "supreme" on the civil servant's side.

Compared with the luxury of the nobles, the civil servants are much more shabby.

Qin Kui and Chen Zongli each contributed a piece of "Non-luminous Shouzi-shaped Strange Stone", and the wholesale price was 30 taels of silver.

Qi Tai was even more shabby, he just presented a birthday picture, including the money for the frame, the total cost was no more than three hundred cash.

Of course, this is just the cost of materials. If Qi Tai's reputation is included, it can be worth 30 taels on the market.

Because of the explosion of Jin Ping Mei, the prices of Qi Tai's calligraphy, calligraphy and paintings have skyrocketed several times.

The literati in the capital are all proud of collecting Qi Tai's works.

Lao Zhu also commented on the birthday gifts of the three, especially praising Qi Tai's "strength of character", praising Qi Tai's restraint and restraint, and being a model for civil servants.

The military commander was not moved when he heard this, but the civil servant secretly exclaimed in his heart, His Majesty wants to promote Qi Tai, and intends to move his seat up!

Zhao Mian, Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, is even more on pins and needles, because Qi Tai is already a servant, and if he is promoted to another level, he can only be Shangshu, which corresponds to his position!
It seems that I need to re-adjust my relationship with Qi Tai. I heard that this guy has a younger brother who is weak and unmarried. Did he get married and win over his daughter?
When everyone had different thoughts, the ceremonial officer began to sing salutes to the vassal kings.

"His Royal Highness the King of Qin presents a large thick porcelain bowl with gaps!"

"His Royal Highness King Jin presents a Luminous Hongwu God Stone!"

"His Royal Highness King Yan presents a bloody horse from the Western Regions!"

"His Royal Highness King Zhou presents a blue luan, a bird of kindness!"

"His Royal Highness King Chu presents a strange stone..."

"His Royal Highness King Qi presents a strange stone..."

Since His Royal Highness the King of Chu, all the vassal kings presented strange stones of various shapes as birthday presents, which made Lao Zhu's face turn green.

Did these guys make an appointment, why did they all use stones to make up the number?

Besides, where did they search for so many strange stones, and all of them can shine?

But what interested her the most was the big cracked porcelain bowl presented by the second Qin Wang Zhu Xi. He was very curious as to who gave this guy the courage to present such a "magic thing".

"Present them all!"

Not long after, all the vassal kings presented all the birthday presents, and Lao Zhu stepped down from the dragon chair to look at them one by one, especially focusing on the "Gap-shaped Coarse Porcelain Bowl" presented by King Qin.

After looking at it, he was sure that it was really just an ordinary thick porcelain bowl, so Lao Zhu called Zhu Xi out on the spot.

"Second, get out of here!"

"We didn't expect you to spend money on our big birthday, but you make such a big bowl miserable for us, do you want to insinuate that we are beggars and not worthy of being the emperor of Ming Dynasty!"

When Zhu Xi heard this, he fell to his knees with a plop, and kowtowed to plead guilty.

"Father calm down!"

"My son swears to the sky, I have absolutely no such intentions!"

"I just don't have the money to buy a birthday present. Before entering the palace, I snatched this bowl from a beggar on the side of the road. I plan to go beg for food when I leave the palace soon, woo woo woo..."

Lao Zhu was even more furious when he heard this. How dare this guy snatch it from someone else for such a big rough porcelain bowl!

Thinking of this, Lao Zhu wished he could kick this guy to death.However, when he looked down and saw that this guy was dressed in tatters, like a beggar, he couldn't help being surprised.

"Huanger, why are you dressed in such a mess?"

Hearing his father's question, Zhu Xi hurriedly crawled to Lao Zhu's feet, hugged Lao Zhu's thigh, and started crying.

"Father, my son is suffering, wow..."

"My son was cheated out of 10,000+ taels of silver, and the family is so poor that they can't even open it!"

"hiss……"

Old Zhu gasped when he heard the words, the prince's salary is only 1 taels of silver a year including Lumi and various discounts, and this guy was cheated out of more than [-] years of salary in one go?
"Who is so bold that he dared to lie to you so much money?"

"I...I don't know..."

"What?"

Old Zhu was completely angry when he heard this, he broke free from King Qin's claws, and kicked him out.

"idiot!"

"Being cheated of so much money, and not even knowing who was cheated, it's a complete loss of face to the royal family!"

"Two Tigers, quickly order Jin Yiwei to investigate this matter with all his might, and we must bring all those gangsters to justice!"

The two tigers took the order and promised, but they didn't move.

Because he knew this very clearly, and indeed, as Zhu Xi said, there were no so-called villains at all.

If there is, it is because of King Qin's greed, and it is no one else's fault.

Seeing that his father was angry, Zhu Xi hurriedly defended himself.

"Father, it's not that the son is stupid, it's that those monsters are too treacherous!"

"They first said that there are gold mines underground, and they tricked You Erchen into buying hundreds of ancestral graves of the troublemakers' families, which cost Erchen tens of thousands of taels of silver..."

"Then they lied to their ministers, saying that they had to build a mountain temple at the foot of the mountain and worship the mountain god, so that the gold mine would appear."

"In order to meet the construction schedule, I bought beams, bricks and other things from nearby villagers, and spent tens of thousands of taels of silver..."

"Later they said that they would put money in the pockets of the gold mining workers, 100 taels of silver per person, to mobilize Gengjin's spirit. However, the group of workers all ran away the next day, and there was no one left. left..."

"In the end, they said that as long as the gold is buried in the soil, the gold veins in the ground can be drawn out..."

When Lao Zhu heard this, he basically understood that his stupid son was completely tricked.

What puzzled him was that the second child is usually very shrewd, how could he even fall for this kind of trick?

"And you buried the gold in the ground?"

"Reporting to the emperor, the son doesn't want to either. But they told the son that if the son doesn't do this, all the money spent earlier will be wasted!"

"In order not to fall short, my son raised money and dismantled it, and buried 2 taels of gold in the soil. However, after only one night, the gold disappeared, and the mysterious Taoist disappeared!"

"Now my son has not only been cheated out of his family's money, but also owed a huge amount of foreign debt. My son is suffering, wow..."

Zhu Yunxi, who was sitting on the edge of the dragon chair eating and drinking, suddenly understood what was going on when he heard what happened to his silly second uncle.

This guy has been locked up, if he can cut his wrists like a strong man, it's fine to admit his death after buying the cemetery.

But if you have the idea of ​​getting back the capital, you will only get deeper and deeper, until you are defrauded of all your money.

It's just that this group of scammers are interesting, and they waste so much effort, not for personal gain, but for the benefit of the people around them?

Lao Zhu also understood what was going on, this stupid son of his family was counted to death, chain by chain until he was wiped out.

It's just what happened to the mysterious Taoist priest mentioned at the end. Could it be that some expert is teasing King Qin?

"Two tigers, bring King Qin to Jinyiwei for detailed questioning, and make sure to bring that mysterious Taoist priest to justice!"

"promise!"

After sending away King Qin, Lao Zhu was in no mood to comment on other gifts, and waved his hands at the ceremony officer.

"We have seen the wishes of the emperors, so send them all back to the warehouse!"

Others were indifferent when they heard the words. After all, King Jin was not here. Except for King Yan and King Zhou who spent a little money, the rest of them bought cheap goods at "Yiwu Small Commodities" for hundreds of taels of silver.

But the king of Zhou was not happy after hearing this. He spent 2 taels of silver. If he couldn't even get a compliment from his father, wouldn't it be a waste of money?

"Father, you haven't seen my son's bird yet!"

"bird?"

When the civil and military officials sitting below heard this, they all secretly laughed, thinking that His Royal Highness King Zhou's speech was really bold, and he dared to let His Majesty the Emperor look at the "bird".

King Zhou also reacted quickly, blushing in embarrassment and explained.

"It's the sacred Qingluan bird that Erchen bought with a huge sum of money. This bird not only has colorful feathers, but what's more rare is that it can talk!"

"Oh?"

Old Zhu had seen the big bird standing on the shelf a long time ago, but he was not very interested in such rare things, and even the bloody BMW just glanced at it lightly.

It was only due to Zhou Wang's filial piety that he said patiently.

"In that case, let's demonstrate it to us!"

"promise!"

King Zhou got up and left the banquet, and said in front of his own Qingluan divine bird.

"congratulate……"

"congratulate……"

"congratulate!"

After repeated reminders from King Zhou, Sha Niao finally came to his senses.

"Congratulations, old man!"

When King Zhou heard this, he was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat.The other officials sitting next to him also widened their eyes when they heard this.

If they heard correctly just now, didn't the divine bird say "Congratulations to the old man?".

Lao Zhu was also inexplicably surprised, staring blankly at the silly bird, then at King Zhou, and finally fixed his eyes on Zhu Yunxi who was eating and drinking.

If he remembered correctly, it seemed that this guy was the only one who secretly scolded him for being a bad old man!
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(End of this chapter)