Daming: I can’t kill such a greedy prince-in-law?

Chapter 663: The Proud Princes (Subscribe please!!)

Facing inquiries from other princes, Prince of Qin Zhu Chong was humble but with a hint of pride.

Over the years, the Ming Dynasty has developed rapidly, especially in infrastructure. Roads, bridges, houses, etc. all require cement. King Qin Zhu Chong was the first to notice the business opportunity. To be more precise, he keenly discovered that there were many raw materials for producing cement in his fiefdom.

After learning this, he immediately contacted his brother-in-law Ouyang Lun and eventually introduced a cement plant, which became the pillar industry of the Qin clan. It was precisely because of this that the development of the Qin clan was ahead of other clans.

"Brother, don't be so modest. Everyone knows that you have received a large order from the Beijing-Pinggu Railway. They buy all the cement they need from you. You have been making money for almost a year!" Jin Wang Zhu Gang smiled and continued, "The Beijing-Pinggu Railway will not be completed for several years. I'm afraid you will have a lot of money in the next few years!"

"It's not just the Beijing-Pingcheng Railway. I heard that the imperial court is planning to relocate the people living in the mountains and build many new villages. This is another big deal. I wonder if you have negotiated it, second brother?"

Hearing this, Qin Wang Zhu Chong smiled and said, "Third brother, you know my situation very well! Since you mentioned it, I won't hide it. I am very interested in the project of the imperial court relocation. Although there are several private cement suppliers competing with me, the cement in Qin is of good quality, large output, and affordable. I am very confident that I can win it!"

"It's just that the production capacity can't keep up now. I'm very worried that when we really get it later, the goods won't be able to keep up!"

After hearing this, the other princes all looked at Qin Wang Zhu Chong with envy.

"Second brother, so you came here just to ask brother-in-law Ouyang how to increase cement production?" Prince Yan Zhu Di asked with a smile.

"Ahem." After his thoughts were guessed, Qin Wang Zhu Chong coughed twice and quickly changed the subject, "Let's not talk about me, let's talk about the second brother. This guy's steel mill has been producing like crazy recently. This steel is more valuable than my cement!"

"Besides, building railways and houses also require steel. The second brother probably earns much more than me!"

"Brother, you are joking." Jin Wang Zhu Gang also smiled modestly, "Steel is indeed more valuable than cement, but the amount used is far less than cement, and I only have a few steel mills, which is nothing compared to you, second brother!"

"I still owe Old Four a ton of steel!"

"Haha, so it seems that you, the second brother, are also unable to keep up with the production capacity, so you come to ask for help from brother-in-law Ouyang?" King Qin Zhu Chong said with a smile.

"Second brother, third brother not only came to ask brother-in-law Ouyang how to increase production, but also to ask how to improve the quality of steel. I don't even like the steel he produces now!" Prince Yan Zhu Di said with a smile.

"Oh!"

Qin Wang Zhu Chong continued, "Fourth Brother, if we're talking about making money, you've got to be the one. Northern Zhili was originally run by Ouyang's brother-in-law, and you took over everything. Finance, military merit, and shipbuilding are all profitable businesses. Big money-making businesses!"

"You probably make more money in a year than the rest of us combined."

"Yeah, I think so too. The fourth brother is the richest among us. I heard that he has assembled an army of 200,000. This guy is very powerful!" King Jin Zhu Gang followed.

Upon hearing this, Prince of Yan Zhu Di hurriedly shook his head and said, "Second brother, third brother, please don't flatter me. Others may not know about the situation in Northern Zhili, but how could you two know about it?"

"Although the Yan Clan is well-developed in finance, military, shipbuilding and other industries, the largest shareholder is Brother-in-law Ouyang, and the second largest shareholder is the Ministry of Revenue of the imperial court. I am not even the third largest shareholder! I don't make as much money as you do!"

After hearing what Prince of Yan Zhu Di said, Prince of Qin Zhu Chong, Prince of Jin Zhu Gang and other vassal kings naturally did not believe it.

"Fourth Brother, please don't fool us. We are no novices in the economic field. You said that you can't get much from the two most lucrative industries, finance and shipbuilding, but military industry, carriages, construction companies, fisheries, etc. Which of these doesn't make money? Which one is not the best in your Yan Clan?"

"There is also tourism. Although the Beijing-Beijing railway has not been completed yet, the highway from Beijing to Beiping has been completed. Many people from the south will go to Yanfan for tourism. The reason is simple, because Beiping has the headquarters of Tianshang Renjian, the towering New Great Wall, and the largest seaport in our Ming Dynasty!!"

"Of course, the most popular ones are the former residences of Brother-in-law Ouyang. Many people want to go and see where Brother-in-law Ouyang started his career!"

"Not only that, I heard that Lao Si is going to expand production recently. His arms business is booming! Oh, and by the way, Lao Si also built a health care product factory. I heard that he made a lot of money during the New Year!"

"Fourth brother, I didn't expect you to have so many ways to make money! You have to take care of the brothers!"

"Ahem, I don't make much money."

"Fourth brother, there isn't even a Tian Shang Ren Jian in my territory. Why don't you talk to the boss of Tian Shang Ren Jian and ask him to open a branch in my area? You can set any conditions you want, and I'll pay for it!"

"Who is the real boss of Tian Shang Ren Jian? Don't you know? Go and ask Brother Ouyang for help later!"

The princes discussed with each other that although they were all princes now, they were still brothers after all. They grew up together and studied together in the clan office. Although they were competing with each other now, there were also many opportunities for cooperation, and no one wanted to make the relationship awkward.

So even if there were any grudges in the past, everyone is maintaining harmony and friendship at this moment.

"Brothers, do you think the court summoned us to the capital in order to reduce the power of the feudal lords?"

Just when everyone was chatting enthusiastically, Prince Ning Zhu Quan suddenly spoke.

As soon as these words were spoken, the originally enthusiastic atmosphere at the scene suddenly cooled down.

After a brief silence, Prince of Yan Zhu Di spoke first: "Seventeenth brother, don't say that. We have all met our brother and father. If they really wanted to reduce the power of the vassal states, they would have told us directly when we were reporting on our duties. With our father's personality, we would have been imprisoned directly, and there would be no chance for us to come to Brother-in-law Ouyang!"

After Prince of Yan Zhu Di said this, the atmosphere at the scene eased a lot.

"I also think it's impossible for the imperial court to reduce the power of the vassal states at this time!"

"Yes! Now that the vassal states are developing so well, they pose no threat to the imperial court. There is no benefit in reducing the power of the vassal states at this time, right?"

"Reduce the feudal lords? Then what should we do?"

Prince Ning Zhu Quan continued: "Of course I don't want to reduce the power of the vassal kings, but I heard that many officials in the court are dissatisfied with the achievements of us vassal kings. They think we will be a threat to the court in the future and have been asking the court to limit our rights!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the princes began to have a heated discussion again.

"Yes, yes, I've heard about this too. It seems that the Huaixi Party led by Li Shanchang has repeatedly written to my brother, saying that we vassal kings will rebel in the future and that we have too much power! We need to restrict it!"

"I'll fuck Li Shanchang. I don't think we've provoked him!"

"This Li Shanchang is really old and confused. He actually bullies us. Wait until he falls into my hands. I will teach him a lesson!"

"Li Shanchang is nothing. He just relies on his father's early experience and seniority."

"Back then, there were people from the Huaixi Party who advised me to cooperate with Li Shanchang to deal with Brother-in-law Ouyang. I really don't know where they got the courage from!"

"Don't bother with Li Shanchang and his ilk. Our most urgent task now is to learn from Brother-in-law Ouyang!"

Just when the princes were chatting happily, Ouyang Lun walked in.

Seeing Ouyang Lun, all the princes fell silent.

"Brother-in-law Ouyang!" "Brother-in-law!"

After the princes calmed down for a while, they began to greet Ouyang Lun enthusiastically.

The vassal states have developed rapidly in the past two years, and Ouyang Lun must be aware of all this. In the eyes of the major vassal kings, Ouyang Lun will definitely praise them.

However, amid the expectant eyes of the princes, Ouyang Lun's face darkened and he directly scolded: "You really disappoint me."

Um! ?

After hearing Ouyang Lun's words, all the princes present were dumbfounded. They even thought they had heard it wrong.

But seeing the disappointed look on Ouyang Lun's face, it was obvious that Ouyang Lun had indeed said that just now.

"Brother-in-law Ouyang, you must be kidding us, right?" King Qin Zhu Chong asked quickly.

"Are you kidding? Do you think I'm kidding you?" Ouyang Lun continued, "I know you have achieved remarkable results in governing the fiefdom in the past two years, but so what? Haven't you heard a saying?"

“Standing on the forefront of the times, even a pig can fly to the sky!”

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

Forehead.
Upon hearing this, the expressions of the princes including Prince of Qin Zhu Chong, Prince of Jin Zhu Gang, Prince of Yan Zhu Di, etc. became quite complicated.

Isn't this equivalent to calling them pigs?

If it were someone else, given the personalities of the men in the Zhu family, they would definitely attack him in unison.

But the person in front of them was Ouyang Lun, so they didn't dare.

They still vividly remembered the lesson they had been taught by Ouyang Lun in the past, and Ouyang Lun had left a psychological shadow in their hearts.

Of course, this doesn't mean they are convinced.

"Brother-in-law Ouyang, isn't it a bit too much to say that about us?" King Qin Zhu Chong said cautiously.

"That's right! Brother-in-law Ouyang, we are vassal kings after all, please give us some face instead of comparing us to pigs." King Jin Zhu Gang said unconvinced.

"Brother-in-law, we brothers have made great contributions and worked hard in the past two years, but why are we nothing in your eyes? I don't accept this!" Prince of Yan Zhu Di said with a stiff neck.

The other princes also looked dissatisfied.

"Oh? Are you still not convinced?" Ouyang Lun glanced at the princes present and continued, "Of course I know what you have done in the past two years. You have indeed made contributions. I don't deny that!"

"But so what? Isn't this what we should do?!"

"I thought you would become more mature and stable after these two years of experience, but now it seems that you have become more active!"

"Look at how arrogant and proud you are. Do you think you are awesome now?"

"Haha, if you don't say anything, I'll assume you really think you're amazing."

Ouyang Lun paused for a moment, then spoke again, "Let me ask you a few questions. How did you get your fiefdom?"

"Isn't this a question you ask despite knowing the answer? Our fiefdom was naturally bestowed upon us by our father!" Prince of Jin Zhu Gang asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"So you knew that your fiefdoms were conferred upon you by the retired emperor! You were laughing so happily and talking so loudly just now, I thought all the territories were conquered by you with your swords and guns!" Ouyang Lun said with a smile.

"The second question is, the fiefdom is developing rapidly. In addition to the policies and funds from the court, how much have you invested in the fiefdom? How many policies have been issued independently? How much impact have these policies had on the development of the fiefdom? Generally, is there any impact?"

Faced with this question, the expressions of the princes suddenly became complicated.

They did issue many policies, but most of them followed the plans of the Ming court. There were very few independent policies. Even the pillar industries of the major fiefdoms were the result of unified planning by the court.

"The territory was conferred by the Emperor, and the policies were set by the court. Your own governance policies have not had even half the impact on the fiefdom. I really don't know what you are so proud of!" Ouyang Lun said frantically, "If you think you are very powerful, you can compare yourself with the Emperor, your father!"

"The Emperor conquered the country by himself. It took him more than 20 years of hard work to make the Ming Dynasty what it is today. Even I have to admire him!"

"Compare yourselves and see how far you are behind!"

Ouyang Lun didn't care that these people in front of him were vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty and started scolding them directly.

Faced with Ouyang Lun's crazy output, the princes such as Qin Zhu Chong, Jin Zhu Gang, and Yan Zhu Di were more confused than each other.

They never expected that after seeing them, Ouyang Lun not only did not praise them, but instead attacked them crazily.

The key point was that they were scolded so badly that they had no idea of ​​refutation at all, because Ouyang Lun scolded them so badly that they had no way of answering. They could only stand there obediently, like children who had made a mistake.

"Cough cough."

Just at this moment, Zhu Biao walked in.

Seeing this, everyone hurriedly saluted.

"Greetings to His Majesty the Emperor!"

"Brother-in-law Emperor, weren't you talking to the retired emperor? Why are you here?" Ouyang Lun turned around and saw Zhu Biao, feeling a little surprised.

"I just came over to take a look. I have no intention of disturbing you, my brother-in-law. You don't have to worry about me. Just continue." Zhu Biao said hurriedly.

Although he said this, Zhu Biao was actually muttering in his heart. If he had not come today, his group of vassal king brothers would probably be scolded to death by Ouyang Lun. In fact, Zhu Biao came here very early, and he saw and heard everything that happened just now.

He came in just to ease the situation.

"But brother-in-law, my brothers must have known they were wrong." Zhu Biao said hurriedly.

"Your Majesty, I have actually restrained myself!"

After Ouyang Lun finished speaking, he once again looked at the princes of Qin, Zhu Chong, Jin, and Zhu Gang.
(End of this chapter)