Ming Dynasty: Traveling through the harem, Zhu Yuanzhang was dumbfounded

Chapter 167 I am honest and upright
Inside Zhou Shizhong's mansion, the huge mansion was bustling with people and noise. The cook in the kitchen was about to fry his ancestral spatula until it smoked, but he could hear a voice urging him on in his ears.

"Chef Zhang! When will the remaining twenty dishes be served? The prefect has been waiting for a long time. If you neglect the guests from the capital, you will lose your chef hat!"

The chef named Zhang was a rough guy about six feet tall. He put his whole face into the white steam rising up to observe whether the food was ready.

The noisy sound in his ears immediately made him angry, and he didn't care whether the guest was from the capital or a businessman.

With his mouth wide open, spit flew everywhere:
"Get lost! I don't care where he comes from. I just took some time out to come here to help. Who would have thought that you guys would treat me like a donkey? If I had known I would go home to find a wife to warm my bed and not do these troublesome things with you. If it weren't for the face of the prefect, I would have quit long ago!"

The servant who had just been yelling at Chef Zhang immediately lowered his head and dared not say a word when faced with such a rebuttal.

When some newcomers saw this, they immediately became very curious and wondered where this guy came from.
How dare he act disrespectfully in the prefect's residence? This is obviously not in line with common sense. Doesn't he know that the prefect is a petty person?
Soon someone explained that Chef Zhang was a famous chef in the surrounding area of ​​Zhenjiang Prefecture. It was not only because of his superb cooking skills, but more because he had a relative who was once a general in the Yuan Dynasty. He later accepted Zhu Yuanzhang's surrender and joined the Ming Dynasty. It can be said that relying on his skills and relatives, ordinary people really couldn't touch Chef Zhang.

Firstly, he has an unusual status, and secondly, his cooking skills are enough for many restaurant owners to be willing to spend a large sum of money to hire him as the head chef.

No one dared to say anything, and Chef Zhang continued to mutter and curse:
"What the hell, what kind of guest could make the prefect so determined to let me bring all the staff in the hotel here? Could it be that they are the people who have fled here from a certain county?"

This idea was shot down by Chef Zhang as soon as it came to mind.

"Oh my god, how could I have thought of refugees? This prefect is usually very stingy, it's good enough that he doesn't squeeze our money, and we actually want him to help the people?

It is impossible for the sun to rise in the west."

Chef Zhang found it funny to think of his absurd guess. He immediately took a look at the steamed meat in the boiler, took a bite and found that the taste was right, so he quickly asked the servants to bring the dish over.

At the same time, in the huge guest square, Yang Chen had been arranged by Zhou Shizhong half an hour ago.

All the people who moved from the capital sat here.

Tao Chengdao, Zhu Chong and other people of status were all sitting at the main table. Zhou Shizhong looked around and found that any one of these people was someone he would not dare to associate with in normal times.

Even Wen Huabiao, the gunpowder maker, is a seal-holder under the Ministry of Works, able to mobilize all the masters who make military equipment. He has real power, which is much better than him, the prefect who lingers in the wilderness.

Most of the officials in the Ming Dynasty wanted to be promoted, and as for where they would be promoted to, that would naturally be the imperial palace in the capital.

After all, Zhou Shizhong had been in the capital before. Although he was a minister who made mistakes, he understood that the way to be an official was to be as flattering as possible to high-ranking officials.

Maybe a small number of people would not buy into this, but they didn't mind You Ran treating them like this. Everyone has vanity, and if they could satisfy the other person's high-ranking position and power, they would feel much better.

When he thought of this and saw that all the dishes were served, he raised his glass and said to Yang Chen:
"Hahaha! Mr. Censor! As the prefect of Zhenjiang Prefecture, I am honored to have you come down to inspect in person. Zhenjiang Prefecture is also honored by your arrival!
If possible, please stay here, Your Excellency the Censor. Although Zhenjiang Prefecture is relatively unpopular, it has many beautiful scenery. I heard that there are many big insects, snakes, wild deer, and wild boars in the nearby counties. These treasures can only be found in the hunting park of Your Majesty. If Your Excellency the Censor wants to try hunting, I can personally take you there tomorrow."

Zhou Shizhong was quite clever. He could tell from many subtle details that Yang Chen was the real leader among all the people, especially when he saw several times that Zhu Chong was obviously unhappy with him, and had to control himself after being reminded by Yang Chen again and again.

Yang Chen's eyes were calm, with a hint of smile, he raised his hand slightly and arched:
"You are too polite, Governor Zhou. We are all working for the court. There is no need to talk about these unnecessary things.

I hope you won’t do these things in the future, and the rest is up to you.”

As soon as he opened his mouth, he widened the distance between the two of them, which surprised Zhou Shizhong. He never thought that someone could refuse his kindness.

He subconsciously felt a little confused. Could it be that the imperial court had sent someone to deal with him?
Just when he was suspicious, Yang Chen's words instantly dispelled all his doubts.

"Prefect Zhou, before I came from the capital, I heard that you had a lot of involvement with Prime Minister Hu in the capital. Prime Minister Hu gave you this letter in order to let me work with you."

After saying that, Yang Chen handed over a letter from Hu Weiyong, which he found from another pile of gold, silver and jewelry that had been donated.

Seeing the familiar envelope, Zhou Shizhong took it and opened it without thinking. There was a piece of paper inside with the word "goodness" written on it.

The moment he saw the handwriting, everything became self-evident. Zhou Shizhong understood that Yang Chen was actually sent by Hu Weiyong!
All worries disappeared in an instant, replaced by a tacit sense of cooperation.

Zhou Shizhong's face was filled with a smile:
"So it turns out that the Censor has some connections with Prime Minister Hu. I am so happy! From now on, whatever you want to do, I will definitely do my best to help you!"

After receiving such a response, Yang Chen knew that the layout had been completed. While everyone was eating, the crowd around him was lively and noisy.

He got straight to the point and brought everything to the table:
"Since the prefect has said so, I will not be polite. I heard that something happened in Zhenjiang Prefecture today. I wonder if Prefect Zhou can tell me about this matter?"

Zhou Shizhong was very surprised by Yang Chen's misleading words. He thought that since the other party came here to inspect, it was very likely that he came here to gild his skills. Why was he asking about serious matters now?
After a brief moment of hesitation, Yang Chen guessed that this guy must be trying to hide something, so he used an excuse to change the subject:

"I was reckless just now. I actually wanted you to speak in such a crowded place. Please forgive me, Governor Zhou. How about this? Tomorrow, you and I will go to Ningming County to inspect it in person?"

It had been less than half a day since Yang Chen had met Zhou Shizhong when he suddenly asked about such a confidential matter. Yang Chen knew that the other party would not answer the question, so this was expected.

After hearing this delay, Zhou Shizhong knew that he had to give face to the other party, otherwise the other party would be unhappy and he would not be happy either.

Besides, he has already revealed his identity. He is Hu Weiyong's man. Could Hu Weiyong really harm him?
You have to know that there was an account book for the money he gave to Hu Weiyong. If the other party wanted to persecute him, he would also be afraid of the account book in his hand.

Thinking of this, Zhou Shizhong responded with a smile on his face:
"Okay! Okay! I'll obey you, Lord Censor Yang."

After saying that, Yang Chen didn't pay much attention to the other party and started eating by himself. To be honest, traveling in ancient times was quite uncomfortable. It was not as relaxing as he expected to enjoy the scenery along the way.

This is the case even when the distance is only a few hundred miles, not to mention places that are thousands of miles away.

Because of this, Yang Chen was more determined to advance the technology of Ming Dynasty as soon as possible, and he vowed to manufacture the railway carriage within a year at least.

He already had a rough plan. The earliest prototype of the railroad carriage actually used wooden tracks, but wooden tracks were prone to wear and tear and had a lifespan of only two years. Later, the British John Ullant wanted to make the carriage run on it for a longer time.

Therefore, during the industrial development process, a uniform layer of iron sheet was wrapped around the wooden rails to extend the service life of the rails.

It was not until the steam age officially arrived that the industrial level was greatly improved and human steelmaking technology developed rapidly. Only then did metal tracks officially replace wooden tracks. However, at that time, there were only a dozen years left before the railway carriages were officially replaced by steam trains.

Therefore, Yang Chen still adopts the core strategy, first solving whether it exists or not, and then solving whether it is good or not.

As for the main task at hand, it is naturally to deal with this guy Zhou Shizhong.

The next morning, Yang Chen got up early from the inn arranged by Zhou Shizhong. He thought he had woken up early.

As the daily routine of this era became more regular, Yang Chen found that he was gradually becoming like an ancient person, going to bed early and getting up early.

He was not used to it at first, but gradually he found that getting up early gave him more time and he could finish half of the day's work before the sun came up. Then he could do as he pleased during the rest of the day.

After waking up, Yang Chen had breakfast with Guli's help and asked for some information.

"Did you see where Zhu Chong went?"

Guli's delicate face was slightly stunned, as if she didn't expect Yang Chen to talk to her, but she quickly responded, and said softly with her pearly teeth:

"The King of Qin seemed to have woken up this morning, but he saw that you were still asleep, and then he disappeared. He must have gone to do something else."

Today I was supposed to go to the surrounding counties with Zhu Chong for a brief observation, but I didn't expect that Zhu Chong would get up early. Seeing that he was still sleepy, I didn't disturb him to rest.

This surprised Yang Chen a little. After thinking for a moment, he gave an order and stood up to leave.

"Go tell the King of Qin that I'm waiting for him outside the door."

Guli nodded, bowed, and saluted, then immediately walked upstairs.

After knocking on the door where Zhu Chong was, he heard the noise outside disturbing him and subconsciously got angry.

"Your Highness Prince Qin, the master asked me to tell you to get ready to go downstairs. He will be waiting for you outside the door."

Upon hearing the news that they could prepare to leave, Zhu Chong responded simply and immediately changed into tight clothes.

I have to say that the food at the Zhu family is really good. Zhu Chong has a well-proportioned body and he is also a martial artist, which makes his physique much better than many people. His upright figure holds up his black clothes, and he looks very energetic.

The two met downstairs. Yang Chen said nothing and rode his horse directly towards Zhou Shizhong's residence. Seeing this, Zhu Chong hurried to catch up with him. Then he saw that Zhou Shizhong was also packing up his things, as if he was preparing to go to the inn to find them.

The moment he saw the two people moving, Zhou Shizhong hurriedly got off the carriage and bowed to Yang Chen.

"Ouch! Censor Yang, why don't you take a rest? You are still looking for me here. This is different from what we said yesterday!"

Yang Chen waved his hand in the air and said nonchalantly:

"It's okay. I just wanted to go to Ningming County for inspection as soon as possible. I saw that you didn't come to the inn to find me, so I thought of going over first to take a look, and I happened to see you getting on the carriage.

Since you can already get on the carriage to come to me, you must be able to set off at any time. Why not leave now while the sun is not too hot? You can catch fish in the pond when you get to the river later."

He had finally sent people to Ningming County to make preparations, but he didn't expect the other party to come to him on their own initiative. Zhou Shizhong didn't know what Yang Chen wanted to do for a moment.

Since the other party is Hu Weiyong's man, there should be no reason for him to force me into a fight.

Judging from the current situation, no matter how he looked at it, he felt that the other party was sent by His Majesty to deal with him, and did not seem to be from Hu Weiyong's side.

"Why, is the prefect still worried that this time is too fast? Is there something wrong? Otherwise, why would you act like this?"

Zhu Chong, who was outspoken, already had some grievances against Zhou Shizhong. Now that the other party was hesitant, he naturally couldn't help but warn him.

After he finished speaking, he pretended to draw his sword, which frightened Zhou Shizhong so much that he spoke quickly.

The old man even raised his hand with a trembling motion, indicating that he had no other intentions, but was just a little dazed:

"Don't worry, Your Highness Prince Qin. I was just distracted for a moment. I have never led you to the remote countryside of Ningming County to see the world.

But I still hope that you can be prepared. This Ningming County has been transformed by me into a mining area. If you see anyone talking nonsense later, please do not believe it.

They are used to being crazy and will shout at anyone they see. I was just worried about disturbing you two, so I hesitated for a moment. "

Just two or three sentences were like a shot of prevention for Yang Chen and Zhu Chong, and it could be said that it was done without any loopholes.

If he had not met Cui Shulan in advance, most people would probably have believed what he said.

Fortunately, neither of them was someone who was easy to fool, so Yang Chen naturally didn't believe such a low-level lie. He just nodded symbolically and said nothing.

Looking at Zhou Shizhong's flattering expression, he felt angry. He thought of the grievances suffered by Cui Shulan, the sister of his subordinate, and the persecution suffered by the other party's entire clan.

Zhu Chong suppressed his anger and urged:

"Alright! Take us to Ningming County right away. You'd better be as the people say.

You must be a good official who is ‘honest and incorruptible’. Otherwise, don’t think that my title of King Qin and the Border Guard Prince is undeserved!”

(End of this chapter)