I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 523 Uncle and Nephew

On the pleasure boat on Beihai Lake, Zhu Yijun's happy family dinner ended after noon.

Zhu Yijun returned to Ziguang Pavilion to take a nap as he still had a lot of military and national affairs to deal with in the afternoon.

Chen and the seven daughters of Xue made an appointment to go to the Qionghua Palace to watch a play together in the afternoon. Several Grand Empress Dowagers and Imperial Concubines would also come from the Forbidden City at that time.

Feng Bao was ordered to return to the Imperial Household Department to take over from Chen Ju, then went home, packed his luggage, and prepared to go to Chengde the next day.

Everyone knows Zhu Yijun's temper. He is decisive and efficient in doing things. If you drag your feet when someone calls your name, you will be criticized.

Yang Jinshui followed him to the Imperial Household Department to take over the affairs, then left Nanhua Gate, got on a carriage, and went to the residence of Marquis Deping in Dongcheng to pick up Li Xuan, the eldest son of Marquis Deping and Zhu Yijun's uncle.

Then he went to pick up the two brothers Chen Chengzong and Chen Chengde.

When the three of them get together, they immediately become a bunch of funny people.

Chen Chengde and Chen Chengzong were the third brothers of Empress Dowager Chen, the sons of Chen Mingyan, the commander of the Jinwu Guard. Chen Mingyan then married the younger sister of Zhu Yijun's biological mother, Empress Li, who was Xiaoyi Zhenhui Shunzhe Gongren Li Tianxiang Shengzhuang.

Therefore, regardless of etiquette or family ties, Chen Chengde and Chen Chengzong are both cousins ​​of Zhu Yijun and nephews of Li Xuan.

"Eunuch Yang, are we going to divide the money for today's gathering?" Chen Chengzong asked with his eyes wide open.

"Young Master, we are not dividing the money, we are discussing matters."

Chen Chengde quickly asked, "What are you discussing?"

"Discuss how to make more money in the future."

The Chen brothers immediately said, "Good thing, this matter must be discussed carefully."

Li Xuan asked, "Eunuch Yang, who will be attending?"

"You three, the son of Duke Chengguo, Zhu Shitai, and Duke Chengguo's brother, Marquis Wanjing, Zhu Xixiao, the son of Duke Yingguo, Zhang Yuangong, the son of Marquis Zhenyuan, Gu Chengguang, the fifth uncle of Marquis Xining, Song Gongliang, and the two relatives of Marquis Xiangcheng and Marquis Yangwu."

Xue Han, Marquis of Yangwu, is now the father-in-law of the emperor, but the Xue family is small in number, and his only son, born in old age, is only ten years old. He is unable to represent the Xue family in handling such matters.

"There are also more than 20 big managers of banks, trading companies, and companies."

"What's the main topic?" Li Xuan continued to ask.

Chen Chengde quickly replied: "Didn't Eunuch Yang say that? Let's discuss how to make more money in the future."

Li Xuan acted like an uncle and said bluntly, "That's the goal. I'm asking about specific things."

Yang Jinshui smiled and replied, "The emperor has said that we, the owners and managers of industrial and commercial enterprises, should gather together to form a semi-official deliberative body. In the future, if there are any issues in industry and commerce, everyone can sit down and discuss them together."

Li Xuan suddenly realized: "So they are discussing the establishment of the Federation of Industry and Commerce?"

Chen Chengde and Chen Chengzong were stunned. "What Federation of Industry and Commerce?"

"Last time at the Xiyuan inner training ground, the emperor mentioned that the Ming Federation of Industry and Commerce was only busy competing in horseback riding and archery."

"Didn't pay attention."

"forgotten."

Chen Chengde and Chen Chengzong answered awkwardly.

The carriage traveled south along Chongwenmen Street to a place not far from Chongwenmen, then turned right into Dongjiangmi Street.

Li Xuan asked curiously, "Why don't you go through Chongwenmen?"

Chen Chengde glanced at him and said, "Uncle, how long have you not been here?"

Li Xuan answered honestly: "I've been busy preparing for the Imperial College entrance examination recently, and I rarely come here."

"Right now, in the east of South City, outside Chongwen Gate, Shao Yin Pan is building a lot of buildings."

"Ah, is there any movement at Chongwenmen? Aren't they doing some kind of old city renovation at Xuanwumen to the west?"

Chen Chengzong replied: "Over there is the reconstruction of the old city, and over here on Chongwenmen is the reconstruction of ditches and rivers. There are many wastelands over here on Chongwenmen, and there are ditches and rivers that are all over the place, such as Paozi River, Sanli River, Toutiao River, Sancha River, and more than a dozen ditches whose names I can't remember, all filled with garbage.

The garbage from residents of East City, West City, and South City was dumped into these rivers and ditches in truckloads, and there were flies and mosquitoes swarming in them like black clouds.

People from the Epidemic Prevention Bureau of the Imperial Medical Service said that these rivers and ditches breed mosquitoes and flies, which are the source of the spread of the disease.

Pan Shaoyin said that if he drove a sheep alone, he would also drive a flock of sheep. He found a valley in the northeast of the city, which was deep and wide, covering an area of ​​several miles, and turned it into a garbage dump for Beijing.

All the garbage from the five cities was dumped there, with a layer of garbage, a layer of lime, and then a layer of soil."

Li Xuan asked curiously, "Is it so particular?"

"Of course, we, Pan Shaoyin, are very particular. The garbage dump will be moved there. From now on, no one in the Five Cities will be allowed to dump garbage in the east of South City. There are garbage stations in each block and street. People from the City Hall Environmental Sanitation Bureau will collect the garbage and transport it to the garbage dump in the northeast.

Next, Pan Shaoyin dug up all the ditches and rivers east of the south city, dredged those that needed to be dredged, and built underground canals where necessary. These days, the place was dusty, with cars and horses everywhere, and it was very chaotic.

Now everyone should go through Zhengyangmen when going to Yongdingmen."

Li Xuan patted Chen Chengzong on the shoulder and said with a mature look on his face: "Not bad, Chen Laoliu, you are ambitious. You are really stupid when you talk about these things."

Chen Chengzong smiled awkwardly.

Li Xuan is several years younger than him, but he is older than him. Uncle, what can you do?
Chen Chengde was trying not to laugh. "Lao Liu didn't get into the Imperial College last year, and he didn't get into the Xishan Military Academy this year. My dad was worried that he would wander around and become a street urchin, so he asked someone to find him a job as an errand boy at the Nancheng Old City Reconstruction and River Canal Repair Command Center temporarily set up by Pan Shaoyin."

Li Xuan couldn't believe it. "Sixth Brother, it's impossible. You didn't even get into the Imperial College and Xishan Military Academy?"

Chen Chengzong said embarrassedly: "When I took the Imperial College exam, I didn't write a good essay on Chinese, and the examiner gave me a shitty comment. I'm taking the Xishan Military Academy exam."

"what happened?"

Chen Chengzong was embarrassed to speak, so Chen Chengde spoke for him.

"He wrote directly on the battle analysis question, 'Based on the conditions of both sides, we have no choice but to surrender.' It is said that the examiner was so angry that he almost fainted."

Li Xuan gave a thumbs up and said, "Sixth Brother, you are really amazing. How dare Xishan Military Academy accept you? But I am wondering, you are a descendant of Gu'an Marquis Mansion, why don't the examiner do you a favor?"

Chen Chengde shook his head, with an expression of sympathy or gloating that was hard to tell, "Sixth Brother is so unlucky. For both examinations, the Censorate happened to send the Right Censor-in-Chief Hai Gong as the chief examiner." "It can't be that serious. They actually sent Hai Gong out for two recruitment examinations?" Li Xuan asked in horror.

Now even Yang Jinshui couldn't help but look at Chen Chengzong with sympathy.

When Hai Qingtian was the invigilator, the examiners were less likely to show mercy to the children of prominent families like Chen Chengzong.

There is no way, Hai Qingtian is targeting these people.

If caught in the act by Hai Qingtian, those children of noble families might not be in any danger, but the examiners would not only lose their official hats, but their names would also go down in history.

Your name is on Hai Qingtian’s impeachment memorial!
It's quite famous!

Chen Chengde was still babble-ing, "I heard that Lord Hai was bored in the Censorate, and he wanted to do something, so he took the initiative to apply to be an invigilator for every exam.

It is said that he was also the invigilator in last year's Imperial College recruitment examination and the civil servant recruitment examination.

My little uncle, he may be the invigilator for the Imperial College exam in the fall."

Li Xuan couldn't help but shudder, but he still kept his mouth hard.

"I have real talent and knowledge, and I don't need to be partial to others or cheat, so what should I be afraid of?"

Yang Jinshui sat opposite, watching the three chattering with a smile, only occasionally interjecting a word or two.

The carriage passed through Zhengyang Gate and continued south along Zhengyangmen Street, passing between the Temple of Heaven and the Temple of Earth, passed through Yongding Gate, and turned into the East Gate of Nanyuan.

Nanyuan is now becoming more elegant and refined.

It is said that the master craftsman of the construction company who built this place had once renovated the West Garden.

Since the first year of the Longqing reign, the Western Garden has been continuously renovated under the guidance of Zhu Yijun.

It uses reinforced concrete, blue bricks and stones, and was built directly in accordance with certain architectural concepts of later generations, combined with current architectural styles.

The Western Garden was renovated in a grand and beautiful manner. All the civil and military officials who had been summoned in said that it was well renovated. The layers of flowers and trees and the staggered buildings complemented each other, and it was both grand and elegant.

These construction company craftsmen expanded the new architectural concepts acquired in Xiyuan in Nanyuan, making it shine even more brightly.

Today, the architecture in Nanyuan is varied and some of the buildings even have different styles from foreign countries such as Western Yi, India and Da Shi.

The carriage went along the tree-lined avenue in the garden until it arrived at a "Jinhua Garden".

The carriage entered the gate and stopped in the stable. Yang Jinshui, Li Xuan and the other two got off the carriage. The steward was waiting at the door.

"Young Marquis Li, Young Master Chen, Young Master Chen II, and Eunuch Yang, I am sorry for not coming to greet you in person.

Please, this way."

The steward led the four people through the corridor and walked deeper into the courtyard.

The front yard is in the style of Suzhou gardens.

The rockery, pond, corridor and pavilion are arranged in an orderly manner, simple and spacious, quiet and profound.

Climbing up a small hill along the corridor, you can see the Nanyuan Lake not far away, with sparkling waves, green floating grass, and startled water birds.

nice view!
After descending the hill, the steward led the four people to a waterside pavilion. It was three stories high and nearly 400 meters in radius. It was magnificent with carved beams and painted buildings.

When I walked closer and took a closer look, I saw that the foundation was made of piled stones, the pillars were painted cement, the walls were blue bricks painted with putty, and the doors and windows were made of wood.

The first floor is the hall, where the cooks and servants are busy putting dishes on plates, pouring wine into pitchers, and arranging chopsticks, bowls and plates one by one, and carrying them up to the third floor along the stairs on the right like water.

The steward took Yang Jinshui and the other two up the main staircase on the left.

A group of servants sat on the second floor, ready to serve at any time.

On the third floor is a spacious private room, divided into eight tables, filled with fine wine and dishes.

On the long tables against the walls on both sides are placed fruits, preserved fruits, fruit juices, as well as local specialty drinks such as milk tea, soy milk, almond tea, lotus root powder, tortoise jelly, and eight-treasure tea.

That’s right, milk tea has existed since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, or even earlier.

Milk and strong tea are the drink that grassland herdsmen like to make. It is popular in Beijing and the north. Some people also add ground nuts and dried fruits to it.

By the end of the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, sugarcane began to be produced in large quantities and its price was no longer high, so people added sugar to milk tea to replace the always expensive honey. The sweetness of milk tea became even sweeter, sweeter than first love.

It is said that during the reign of Emperor Qianlong, a British delegation came to China and drank this strange drink. They thought it was delicious, so they learned how to make it and brought it back to Britain. Then it was exported and sold domestically, becoming Hong Kong-style and Taiwanese-style milk tea.
It is said that almond tea was originally a medicinal soup.
There is a dazzling array of drinks from all over the world, and you can find them here regardless of the type of drinks available on the market.

It's impressive!
There were about forty people in the room, standing in twos and threes, vaguely divided into three or four circles.

The largest circle was surrounded by a thin and tall middle-aged man wearing a long shirt and a net scarf on his head.

Chen Chengzong, Chen Chengde and Li Xuan were discouraged when they saw him. How could we be so embarrassed that there is such a handsome man in this world!
He is the general manager of Xing Ruixiang, chairman of the board of directors of Wells Fargo Bank, president of Ping An Marine Insurance Company, and the father of Concubine Song, Song Yingqing.

He was surrounded by a group of big managers, owners and general managers.

Another relatively large circle is Wan Jingbo Zhu Xixiao, who is surrounded by a group of nobles.

When Yang Jinshui and his three companions walked in, everyone turned around and gathered around them.

Song Yingqing and Zhu Xixiao walked in front and greeted the four people.

We are all acquaintances and often get together. After exchanging a few pleasantries, everyone dispersed after a while and chatted in groups of three or four.

Li Xuan blinked and saw Yang Jinshui, Song Yingqing, Zhu Xixiao, Song Gongliang and Zhang Yuangong gathered together and whispered. One of them looked familiar. Oh, it was the brother-in-law of Yangwu Hou Xue Han and the uncle of the current queen, Yu Qingyun.

Another glance showed that the brothers Chen Chengde and Chen Chengzong were gathered together with several sons of noble families such as Zhu Shitai and Gu Chengguang, as well as the head managers and second bosses of businesses such as Deshengmao and Lianshengxiang.

Li Xuan didn't want to join in the fun, so he was walking leisurely. When he heard someone next to him talking about Japan, he immediately became interested and went over to talk.

"I heard that there has been a recurrence in Japan. Is that true?"

(End of this chapter)