Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 67 Invincible
After deciding these things, Prince Gong Yixin reached out for the teacup, intending to serve tea to the guests.

He is very busy with official duties every day, and it is extremely rare for him to spare such a long time to chat with us.

According to court rules
Zheng Guohui quickly stood up, walked quickly to the ceremonial gate, clasped his fists and saluted, saying;
"Your Excellency, I am deeply grateful for your kindness. Jinghai has no way to repay you. Since I have made some progress in business, I would like to offer you a monthly tribute of one and a half silver coins... to put my heart at ease."

Bribery is not shameful.

Zheng Guohui originally wanted to say "two" every month, but then he couldn't bear to say it and blurted it out, so he said "one and a half", and now he can't change it.

According to court rules, when a superior official served tea to guests, his subordinates had to immediately move to the door to show respect.

If a superior serves tea to see off guests but still sits on the chair with his butt slouched, it means he is "ignorant of etiquette, ignorant of rules, and disrespectful to his superior."

Although there will be no punishment, the impression has been greatly reduced.

Hearing Zheng Guohui mention the "regular silver tribute," Prince Gong Yixin raised his teacup, shook his head helplessly, and said with a smile, "I am rich as the world, how can I ask a little bastard like you for a few melons and dates? Go and have a rest, and don't bother me."

"I wish you the best of luck and good health! I will take my leave."

Zheng Guohui knew he couldn't stay any longer, so he stepped back out of the door and turned to leave.

Along the way, his steps were as joyful as if he was floating in the clouds. He was so excited.

During the half hour I spent with Prince Gong, I gained so much that it was unimaginable. From then on, I could rest easy.

Prince Gong personally chose the pen name "Jinghai". From then on, Zheng Guohui became a member of Prince Gong's faction, and one of his closest friends. Who in the court would not be surprised?
Zheng Guohui finally reported something like "I have made considerable progress in business management". If Prince Gong did not allow it, he would say it directly, otherwise it would mean tacit approval.

It is impossible for Prince Gong Yixin to say directly, "I will protect you, so go ahead and do the private salt business, and we will split the profits."

How decent is that?
In officialdom, there are many things that can be done but cannot be said, and some things that can be said but not done. The difference between “can and cannot” depends on your understanding.

As the saying goes; dragons mate with dragons, phoenixes mate with phoenixes, and mice's friends dig holes.

The court officials that Prince Gong could look down upon were either rich or noble, and had tremendous power. They were all top officials of the first and second ranks in the court. Those who were slightly inferior were not worth his attention.

Zheng Guohui’s biggest gain was of course the “entrusted marriage”. Being able to climb up the high branch of the Li family and get a little help from them would bring him endless benefits.

As for whether this daughter of the Li family was pretty or not, Zheng Guohui did not consider it at all, as long as she was acceptable to his eyes.

Then again

Is there anyone ugly in the Li family?
Whether it is Li Hanzhang, Li Hongzhang or other children of the Li family, their aesthetic tastes are quite online. The men of the Li family are handsome and have the demeanor of the ancient gentlemen who are as delicate as jade.

Women are all beautiful and charming, and they are all beauties!

If you don't believe it, just look at Li Hongzhang's family photo. He has many wives and concubines, and they are all top-notch in appearance and family background. None of them is bad.

Ahem…off topic.

Zheng Guohui slid onto his horse, his expression barely restrained as he said, "Come back, boys. Let's prepare a few tables for a drink tonight. I'm so happy!"

"Thank you for the reward, General. Let's drink as much as we can until we are drunk." Zheng Fu winked happily and said in a joking manner.

"Drink up! I've had enough wine and meat. What else do I need? It doesn't matter how much, as long as it doesn't hurt my body."

"Hehe...that's great! I'm going to have a feast today."

"It's all thanks to the General. I wonder how happy the brothers will be after hearing this. Hahahaha..."

Zheng Fu and Zheng Gui were both born in the family and had a close relationship with the second young master. They were not as restrained in front of him as other officers and all smiled happily.

The group left Prince Gong's mansion happily, which naturally revealed a deep meaning worth pondering in the eyes of many people.

The entrance to Prince Gong's Mansion was always crowded with people. All the forces in the capital had spies here, not to mention the officials at all levels who came to pay their respects in an endless stream. Any disturbance would cause repercussions.

Not long

Jiangnan Deputy General Zheng Guohui paid a visit to Prince Gong. After talking for more than half an hour, he was given the name "Jinghai" and was betrothed to the legitimate daughter of a high-ranking official in the imperial court. The news spread quickly and spread throughout the court and the country.

The doorman at Prince Gong's mansion was very generous in collecting money. Every time he spread the news, he could get a benefit of twenty or thirty taels. He made a lot of money from more than ten waves of business.

It is not easy to earn tens of thousands of taels of silver a year by being a doorman in Prince Gong's Mansion.

Of course, there are more than twenty guards and attendants at the gate of Prince Gong's Mansion. In addition, they also have to share the profits when the news leaks out. The doorman alone cannot take that much.

"Let's go back. It seems that this person is valued by Prince Gong and we can no longer be his enemy." The young man in gorgeous clothes said with a gloomy face after hearing the news, and then retreated into the tented carriage.

Driven by the coachman, the covered carriage left the gate of Prince Gong's Mansion and headed forward, with several attendants jogging after it.

Walk forward for a while
After turning a few corners, the covered carriage stopped at the gate of a three-courtyard house. A young man in brocade clothes and a middle-aged man dressed as an aide got out of the carriage and went straight into the gate of the mansion.

The covered carriage and the servants continued to move forward, went around to the corner gate of the mansion, opened the door, and pulled the covered carriage into the house.

The young man in brocade clothes and the middle-aged man dressed as an aide walked backwards and stopped under a big tree in the second courtyard.

This strong and vigorous tree provides shade from the sun. Beneath the tree lies a table, two stools, and a Go set. Two old men in elegant clothes are playing Go, looking very comfortable.

"Father, Lord Li, I'm back," the young man in brocade clothes said, clasping his fists and bowing. The portly old man at the head leisurely placed his child down, then took a sip from the teacup on the table. Then, holding the cup in his hand, he asked, "How... did you gain anything?"

The thin old man sitting opposite was Lord Li. He looked at the chessboard and then raised his head, smiling silently as he cast his gaze on the young man in brocade clothes.

The young man in brocade clothes said solemnly, "Father, we can no longer be enemies with Zheng Guohui. He has already taken refuge with Prince Gong's palace and has been given the courtesy name 'Jinghai' by Prince Gong. He has also arranged a marriage with the daughter of a high-ranking official in the imperial court, clearly favoring him."

The obese old man was Wang Chengyao, a third-rank Left Vice-Minister of the Imperial Censorate. Upon hearing this, his expression changed, no longer as calm as before. After saying "Oh", he hurriedly asked, "Do you know whose daughter this is?"

"I haven't found out about that yet." Speaking of this, the young man in brocade clothes showed resentment on his face and complained, "The doorman at Prince Gong's Mansion is really greedy. He wants 80 taels of silver for this information. A good table at Cuiyuan Pavilion costs only 6 taels. It's simply a rip-off."

"Stupid... Is this about money?" Wang Chengyao's face darkened and he scolded.

He was the biggest supporter of the salt merchants surnamed Wang of Weiyang in the capital. The two of them belonged to the same Wang family of Weiyang and were distant cousins. He had been receiving financial support from the Wang family for decades.

As his career rose, he gave back to the salt merchant named Wang, which was a typical collusion between officials and businessmen in the Qing Dynasty officialdom.

The salt merchant surnamed Wang suffered a huge loss at the hands of Zheng Guohui, losing more than 70 taels of silver. Although he shared the loss with the salt merchant surnamed Zheng, it was still a serious loss.

If you say you don't hate me, you are lying.

At this moment

The thin old man sitting opposite spoke, saying;

"Brother Chengyao, please calm down for now. Based on the information we have received, there is no doubt that Zheng Guohui has turned to Prince Gong's residence. He is truly extremely slippery.

In this case, we must never become enemies.

Let’s end the matter between the Wang and Zheng families here.

I wrote a letter asking the other companies to be more stable. It is better to earn less than to fail. If it really doesn't work out, just move to northern Anhui or Hunan.

The world is so big, you can go anywhere you want. Why fight to the death with Zheng?

Prince Gong has the final say on all matters of the court, and we have done our best."

The person who spoke was Li Wenxiu, a fourth-rank official in the Zhanshi Mansion. He was the elder brother of Li Wen'an, a salt merchant from Weiyang. Naturally, he had also received a letter from his hometown.

It was obvious that he was wilting from what he said.

Zheng Guohui spared no effort in suppressing these Weiyang salt merchants, and with the prefecture and county officials also actively instigating them, their lives were really difficult.

In the past, everyone was wary of the Weiyang salt merchants' powerful connections, so naturally they were full of flattery.

Now that Zheng Guohui has broken his golden body and made a lot of money from the Weiyang salt merchant, that's hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. Who wouldn't be greedy?
"I don't have that much ability, but I can at least get a few thousand taels of silver."

Once this idea became prevalent, it became clear that the difficult situation faced by the Weiyang salt merchants in various prefectures and counties was like buzzing blood-sucking mosquitoes and flies that could not be driven away.

Therefore, the salt merchants wrote letters to the officials of the imperial court, complaining about their actions naturally, which needs no details.

Wang Chengyao sighed with a bleak expression, put down the teacup in his hand and said, "Brother Wenxiu, it seems that you and I are old and useless. We can't even take care of the family affairs. We have completely lost our face."

"Respect is a minor matter. The arm cannot twist the thigh." Li Wenxiu was quite open-minded and said in a consoling tone;

"Prince Gong is in good health and has at least another twenty to thirty years of life left. You and I can't endure that long.

The ebb and flow of the tide is determined by heaven and cannot be changed by human power.

Our clans have enjoyed blessings for more than a hundred years and have become extremely wealthy. We can't possibly take all the good things in the world for ourselves.

If you have more silver, use more; if you have less silver, use less.

It would be fine if each family member could be more frugal, but it is unwise to do something knowing that it is wrong.

I then asked someone to go to Prince Gong’s mansion to inquire about the news and find out which court official was the one who arranged the marriage.

In this way

The importance of this young General Zheng in Prince Gong's heart can be roughly estimated."

"Yes, this is what an experienced planner says. It is a good idea to observe carefully before taking action." Wang Chengyao nodded in agreement with a relaxed expression.

Li Wenxiu smiled and said, "Earlier, I made a move. When General Zheng just arrived in the capital, I invited Master Zhang Peilun to visit me.

The two of them had a very pleasant conversation and developed some friendship.

If this person is valued by Prince Gong, you can ask Lord Zhang Peilun to mediate and establish a good relationship with him. This would be a great opportunity to turn hostility into friendship!"

"Brother Wenxiu's plan is far-reaching. He can attack when advancing and defend when retreating. I can't match him. This is wonderful!" Wang Chengyao smiled when he heard it, and laughed while clapping his hands.

These experienced court officials worked for their hometown clans mainly out of interest rather than family ties.

When something happens, don't get yourself involved.

(End of this chapter)