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

Chen Shouting said excitedly: "The emperor is indeed wise! Once this investment promotion system is promoted, we businessmen will have hope. I am willing to join the 'Zhu Ji Business' and work with the emperor to do great things together!"

Li Wancai and Zhang Fugui also expressed their willingness to join. Wang Hongru looked at the excitement of the crowd and finally made up his mind. He said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to follow you and make Zhuji Commercial Firm bigger and stronger, and contribute to the prosperity of Ming Dynasty's commerce!"

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed loudly, nodded with satisfaction, and said, "Great! With the help of like-minded friends like you, my 'Zhu's Company' will surely create a storm in the business world! Come on, serve some wine! We won't go home until we are drunk today!"

For a while, the private room was filled with clinking glasses and laughter. The sunlight from outside poured in through the window, shining on everyone's excited faces, as if foreshadowing that Daming's business was about to usher in a brand new era.

Beside the koi pond in the back garden of the clan residence, Ouyang Lun was holding a fishing rod with his babbling young son sitting on his knees.

The warm spring sun shone through the new leaves of the weeping willows, casting tiny spots of light on the bluestone slabs. The fish in the pond stirred up the water, causing ripples. The child suddenly clapped his hands and giggled, startling the sparrows pecking at the shore.

"Master, this is bad!" Zhou Bao stumbled through the moon-shaped door, the hem of his official uniform was covered in mud, and his hair crown was so crooked that it almost fell off. "The emperor has established the 'Zhu Ji Trading Company' in the capital, and Wang Hongru, Li Wancai and their gang have all joined!"

The fishing rod drew a half arc on the water surface. Ouyang Lun flicked the fishing line with his slender fingers. The earthworm on the hook swayed with the waves. "Why are you panicking? It's just a few businessmen who are playing tricks on you."

"But that's the retired emperor!" Zhou Bao was so anxious that he kept rubbing his hands, and his official boots made a harsh sound on the stone slabs. "He is personally involved in business. Who else in the world can compete with Zhu's Commercial Firm? The investment promotion system was painstakingly promoted by you, sir, and now it is..." His voice stopped abruptly. He looked at Ouyang Lun's still calm profile, his Adam's apple rolling restlessly.

"Besides, the emperor is doing business, so what are we going to do in the future?"

The young child suddenly grabbed his father's collar and babbled, "Daddy, fish, fish!" Ouyang Lun smiled and picked up the child. He gently scratched the red cheek with his fingertips, his eyes full of tenderness, "Don't worry, little baby. The fish likes to play and will be hooked soon."

Zhou Bao was so anxious that veins popped up on his forehead. He took two steps to the edge of the pool and said, "Master, this is not a joke! The emperor has connections with the royal family and is now supported by many businessmen. If Zhuji Commercial Firm participates in the bidding, other businessmen will have no chance to survive. Not to mention..." He lowered his voice, "Merchants pursue profits. If the emperor controls the lifeline of salt, iron and water transport, the court will be in chaos."

"Zhou Bao, you have been with me for ten years. When did you become so short-sighted?" Ouyang Lun finally retracted his gaze, his cuffs embroidered with gold thread brushing the bluestone beside the pool. "The old man has been a soldier for half his life. Now he has retired behind the scenes. What's wrong with letting him run some business? Do you want him to take charge of the government again?"

"When the time comes, the emperor will probably be the first to deal with officials like you."

The bottom of the pond suddenly rippled, and the fishing line suddenly tightened. Ouyang Lun raised his wrist lightly, and the silver-scaled koi jumped out of the water, its scales reflecting tiny pieces of light in the sun. The child clapped his hands excitedly, and his laughter scared away the catkins by the pond.

"But as for the China Merchants Group," Zhou Bao wanted to argue, but Ouyang Lun raised his hand to stop him.

"The emperor is not a fool. He is no longer the crown prince." Ouyang Lun put the koi back into the pond and watched it wag its tail and swim into the depths. "If the old man wants excitement, then let him have it. When he has had enough, he will naturally understand that the most difficult business in the world is never in the account book." He looked down at the child in his arms, with a meaningful smile on his face. "You, on the other hand, should spend more time on the details of supervision and don't let Zhu's Company break the rules of the investment promotion system."

"Your Securities Regulatory Bureau has a huge responsibility!"

Zhou Bao looked at Ouyang Lun's leisurely appearance, and suddenly remembered that in the past in the court, this prince consort also defeated his political enemies in this way while chatting and laughing.

The wind by the pond blew up his messy hair, and for some reason, he felt a chill on the back of his neck - beneath that seemingly lazy fishing posture, there was clearly a confidence as steady as a rock.

"Slave understands."

Just as Zhou Bao was about to leave, he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps coming from the corridor in the distance.

The spring sun was obscured by clouds, and the shadows of the willow trees by the pond twisted and swayed on the blue bricks, as if foreshadowing the coming storm.

"My Lord, save me!" The official rushed over holding his official hat, the hem of his official robe was stained with mud, "Yangzhou salt merchants jointly wrote a letter saying that Zhuji Company wanted to interfere in the salt permit trading. How can we, the government, collect taxes?"

Before he finished speaking, the lecturer of the Hanlin Academy came to the front row, holding a scroll of documents and said, "The move by the retired emperor is really a political disorder! The Zhou Li says 'scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans', and merchants are at the bottom. Now that the emperor is bent on pursuing profits, how can the scholars of the world cope with it?"

The official from the Ministry of Works pushed his way through the crowd, his official uniform still stained with sawdust, and he had obviously rushed over from the construction site. "My Lord, Zhu's Company has sent people to measure the canal embankment, saying they want to contract the dredging project! If they hire civilians at a low price, the craftsmen in the official workshops of the imperial court will have no food to eat!"

The head of the Ministry of Justice looked pale, and staggered forward with a trembling secret report: "News came from the Jiangnan Canal Gang that the 'Zhuji Company' promised to pay double wages to the boatmen, and half of the canal boats have already hoisted their flag. The canal transport is related to the foundation of the country, if something changes."

"This is simply nonsense!" The Dali Temple's Shaoqing was so angry that his beard trembled, and the white jade hairpin on his official hat jingled as he trembled. "The royal family and merchants are in the same boat. Where is the majesty of the law? If a merchant commits a crime in the future, what rules should be used to deal with it?"

The Minister of the Ministry of Rites clutched the documents of the foreign envoys and cried, "The Siamese envoy heard that the emperor was engaged in business and asked me if the Ming Dynasty was short of silver! How can the Celestial Empire maintain its dignity?"

The director of the Imperial Astronomical Observatory was holding a star map and squeezed to the front, looking panicked: "Mars was in the heart last night, which is an ominous sign. The emperor abandoned his dignity as the emperor to do business, I am afraid he has angered the heavens!"

The eunuch of the Imperial Stables interrupted with a shrill voice, swung the whisk in his hand and made a crackling sound: "It has spread all over the palace that Zhuji Trading Company wants to exchange the fine horses from the Western Regions for spices. If the supply of horses to the Imperial Stables is cut off, what will happen to the royal procession?"

Ouyang Lun handed the baby to the nurse, and when he stood up, the cloud pattern on his brocade robe was faintly visible in the light and shadow. He slowly adjusted his cuffs, and glanced at the officials who were whispering in the crowd: "You are all so anxious, but is it because Zhuji Commercial Firm has taken away your business?"

The crowd suddenly became quiet, with only the wind blowing willow catkins onto the officials' flushed faces. The head of the Ministry of Justice suddenly stumbled forward, his official boots slipping on the stone slabs: "Your Highness, please understand! The other day, the Canal Transport Office received a secret report that Zhuji Commercial House is going to take over the transportation of tribute rice from Jiangnan. This concerns the lifeblood of the court, and the emperor..."

"Enough!" An old scolding voice came from outside the moon cave door.

Li Shanchang walked in with a jujube wood cane, his robe embroidered with golden cranes fluttering in the wind, his gray beard trembling slightly with his breathing, "I knew there must be someone behind this farce!"

"What do you mean, Grand Tutor Li?" Ouyang Lun raised his hand to signal the attendant to look at the tea. The celadon teacup made a crisp sound as it hit the table.

"What do you mean?" Li Shanchang slammed a roll of memorials on the stone table. When the papers spread out, dense red comments were revealed. "Since the introduction of the merchant invitation system, you have been against all odds. Now that the emperor has abandoned his honor to engage in business, you are watching coldly from the sidelines! Ouyang Lun, what on earth are you thinking?"

There were gasps from the crowd.

Zhou Bao stood in the corridor and watched the prince consort's hand holding the tea pause, and the tea soup in the cup created tiny ripples.

"Grand Master, are you saying that I encouraged the Emperor to do business?" Ouyang Lun put down his teacup, and when he stood up, his sleeves blew in the wind, and he rolled up half a corner of the memorial on the table. "When Grand Master followed Your Majesty to fight in all directions, did you ever think that one day you would use the word 'incite' to speculate about your emperor and father?"

Li Shanchang slammed his cane on the ground: "Everyone knows that you are the one who pushed for the investment promotion system! Now the emperor is competing with the people for profits with his dignity as the emperor, and the court and the public are in an uproar. You are the son-in-law of the emperor, but you are fishing here. Aren't you a sinner of the Ming Dynasty?"

The birds on the willow trees beside the pond were startled and fluttered their wings. Ouyang Lun suddenly smiled. He walked slowly to Li Shanchang and stopped his black brocade boots next to the trembling official boots of the old minister: "Grand Master, do you know why your majesty wants to promote the investment attraction system?"

Without waiting for an answer, he turned and looked at the palace wall in the distance: "During the Hongwu period, the Grand Tutor assisted Your Majesty in combating corruption and killed many officials? But why is it that merchants collude with officials despite repeated bans?" His voice suddenly rose, startling the fish in the pond and scattering them, "Because there is a lack of a clear price-marking path between the court and the people!"

Someone in the crowd was talking in a low voice, and Li Shanchang's beard was shaking even more: "What nonsense! How can the emperor be engaged in business?"

"Propriety?" Ouyang Lun turned around suddenly, his eyes flashing coldly, "When your majesty was a shepherd boy, did you ever think about propriety? When you were a beggar, did you ever observe propriety? Now the emperor is just a businessman, paving a new way for the court!" He grabbed the memorials on the stone table and shook them in the air, "Grandmaster, take a close look at these impeachments, which one is not saying that 'Zhu's Company' has robbed someone of their wealth?"

Li Shanchang's face turned the color of liver, and his cane made a harsh sound on the blue bricks: "You...you are just making a sophistry!"

"Master Li, you are old." Ouyang Lun gently put the memorial back on the table. His tone suddenly became gentle, but it was more frightening than his previous roar. "You always say that the emperor should be on the highest throne, but if Your Majesty does not look down at the world, how can you know what the people want?" He raised his hand to signal everyone to be silent. "Everyone, listen carefully: Zhuji Commercial Firm will still pay taxes according to the regulations when participating in the bidding. If the emperor oversteps the boundaries, this prince consort will be the first to report him!"

The courtyard fell into a dead silence, with only the wind blowing through the koi pond, turning the gold fragments in the pond into thousands of stars. Li Shanchang's cane suddenly slipped out of his hand and fell to the ground with a dull thud. This old minister who once dominated the court was now shaky as if his bones and muscles had been pulled out.

"Your Excellency, your Excellency has a good idea!" The Minister of Rites suddenly spoke up, breaking the deadlock. "I talked to Wang Hongru the other day, and he said that Zhuji Commercial Firm has drafted new rules, and all bidding documents must be made public for three days to be subject to public supervision!"

The crowd suddenly became agitated. Ouyang Lun looked at the officials with different expressions, and a meaningful smile appeared on his lips: "If you really care about the court and the country, instead of arguing about etiquette, you might as well check whose interests those who shout "The emperor competes with the people for profit" are protecting."

Li Shanchang staggered and bent over to pick up his cane, anger surging in his cloudy old eyes: "What a high-sounding pretense! When your majesty pacified Jiangnan, the Huaixi people fought bravely for it, but now they have become the termites that collude with merchants in your words?"

"Is Grand Tutor Li trying to put a hoodwink on the Huaixi Party?" Ouyang Lun leaned against the white marble railing, his fingertips slowly stroking the jade pendant on his waist. "If you're talking about protecting someone, why did Grand Tutor repeatedly plead for the officials involved in the Lan Yu case?"

Several officials from Huaixi in the crowd immediately became agitated. An official who looked like a military commander stepped forward with his sword drawn, his copper wrist guard clanging against his armor: "Don't slander me, my dear son-in-law! We are defending the borders of the Ming Dynasty, how can you slander us!"

"Defend the borders?" Ouyang Lun sneered, and suddenly raised his voice to question, "Why is there no trace of the 300,000 dan of grain stolen from the Tongzhou granary last year?" These words were like a heavy hammer, and the general's face turned red instantly, and he stammered and couldn't speak.

Another civil servant squeezed to the side of Li Shanchang, the Xiezhi patch on his official robe trembling slightly: "After the introduction of the merchant recruitment system, the tax silver in various places did not increase but decreased. It is clear that someone is secretly manipulating it! If the son-in-law really has a clear conscience, why doesn't he dare to investigate thoroughly?"

"What a great way to put the blame on someone else!" Ouyang Lun slammed the jade pendant on the stone table, shocking everyone and making them step back. "Last year, the tax revenue dropped sharply. Wasn't it because some people allowed the noble families to conceal the land area? I have already written to Your Majesty, requesting a re-measurement of the land in the country. What's wrong? Are you, the Huaixi nobles, afraid of exposing your true colors?"

Li Shanchang's Adam's apple rolled up and down, and his old voice was filled with the last bit of stubbornness: "Even so, as the Son of Heaven, it is against the ancestral system for the Emperor to do business himself!"

"Ancestor's rules?" Ouyang Lun suddenly laughed, startling the egrets perched by the pond. "When Emperor Taizu abolished the prime minister system, was there any ancestral rules to follow? Now the emperor is promoting new policies as a businessman, which is clearly to open up financial resources for the court, but you are here to stop him. Are you loyal to the ancestral rules or to your own selfish interests?"

After that, Ouyang Lun suddenly raised his voice and shouted to the guards standing beside him: "It's getting late, send everyone back home! If you still have the time to argue, why not make it clear in front of His Majesty at the morning court tomorrow!"

The guards surrounded them like wolves and tigers. Several officials wanted to argue, but they were dragged away by the guards. As Li Shanchang was being carried out, he turned back and shouted angrily: "Ouyang Lun, don't be too proud!" (End of this chapter)