The Great Seminary

Chapter 117 The Disparity Between the High and the Low
The former stockade of Zhihai Town is now the headquarters of the Dragon and Tiger Generals, and has been changed into the temporary residence of King Song Zhen of the Ming Dynasty when he inspected the East Yuehai Province.

Although the weight of this prince, who was the first to leave the capital, in the court is not as great as the impression he is deliberately creating by touring the entire southern border.

But in addition to the Jinling capital and the twin capitals, the other five provinces in the Southern Ming Dynasty were East Yuehai, West Yuehai, Jingchu, Hubei and Hunan, and Fujian.

East Yuehai is an excellent place where the local aristocratic families are relatively weak, but their wealth is comparable to that of Jingchu.

It can be seen that the court and the royal family both trusted him very much.

July is the season, even though it is summer vacation.

The temperature in Yanjing in the Ming and Song dynasties was not that hot in the morning.

But the South is different.

Just after seven in the morning, the sun was already high in the sky.

With the help of palace maids and eunuchs, she tidied up her appearance.

Prince Zhen, who had usurped the throne, walked calmly from the backyard to the front yamen to hold his own 'small morning court'.

He is tall, dignified, and exudes an air of wealth. He looks extraordinary.

At just 25 years old, he looks young and energetic but actually knows when to act.

He knew that although his mother was an imperial concubine second only to the empress, he was also granted the title of prince at an early age because of his mother's status.

But there are still more than a dozen older brothers in front of him, and the oldest is almost fifty years old.

Based on his ability and prestige alone, it is impossible for him to be the first to leave Beijing to inspect the local areas.

The only reason could be that the more mistakes the father makes when he takes power, the less willing he is to let his mature, capable, talented, courageous and knowledgeable sons clean up the mess.

However, the political game in the outer court must be explained. If a son who is too young is sent out, it will be difficult to use it as a gimmick to train a prince.

They could only pick a few who were barely passable from the middle section and send them out to patrol the southern border one after another.

Moreover, it is said that he was "touring the country on behalf of the emperor", but in reality, the Nine Gifts only gave "chariots and horses, ceremonial guards, and tiger guards."

The most important "axe" to punish the guilty;
the 'bow and arrow' of conquering injustice;
There is no "Jiuchang" for offering sacrifices to the gods in the sky. It is just a name.

In this case, the provincial government or military headquarters that went to East Guangdong Sea would not have any deterrent effect on the local people and would most likely be highly regarded.

So I listened to the advice of one of the most trusted think tanks around me.

They directly bypassed Wuyang Prefecture, the provincial capital of Dongyuehai, and came to Siyang County, which was the most prosperous and close to the sea.

Then he randomly found a military camp in a remote area with a dock and set up his residence there.

Then, with lightning speed, he sent people to the "Longmen Tongbu Bureau", which belonged to the inner court rather than the local government, to summon the chief eunuch Wang Shitong to come and see him.

I have to say that this move was extremely unexpected and brilliant.

People are on the boat and the boat is in the sea.

The sea is windy and rough, and the authorities on land have no control over it, so anything can happen.

But once you get ashore, you have your own territory.

Once a place is established, it is no longer a matter of rushing on the road, but the official start of the "tour".

King Zhen's identity was transformed into an imperial envoy.

As for summoning the chief eunuch of the Longmen Tongbu Bureau, it was just like a young master summoning a household slave, and no one in the local area had any control over it.

In addition, since Wang Shitong was the one taking the blame and was in a criminal position, he should be able to come at any time.

Once this is successful, the situation will open up.

Come to the hall and sit down in the main seat.

The attendants on the left and right who were of the seventh rank or below kowtowed, and those above them bowed their hands in greeting.
"Your Highness, I wish you a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand thousand years."

Prince Zhen suddenly felt as if he were bathed in spring breeze. He felt indescribably comfortable all over his body and wished he could immerse himself in it for a while longer.

But he still smiled and said immediately:

"Everyone, please stand up quickly, we have to get down to business.

General Zheng Lang, you recruited…"

"Your Highness, the eunuch Wang Shitong, the chief of the Longmen Port Authority, has arrived. He is waiting outside for orders."

If he was interrupted under normal circumstances, no matter how urgent the matter was, King Zhen would slap the eunuch a few times.

But this time he was not angry at all, instead his eyes lit up with excitement.

Now that Wang Shitong has arrived, Longmenpo has been "taken".

As long as it is properly managed, it will be an endless river of gold and sea of ​​silver.

And if you have enough money, you will have enough substance.

Combined with the face of the imperial envoy, it is not a matter of one plus one equals two.

"Quick, go and summon Eunuch Wang Shitong to see you"...

King Zhen, who has usurped the throne, has begun to steal his father's women.

Over there, Zhang Gui and his friends finished eating the noodles with dipping sauce made by his mother, and hurried to the dock of Pingyang Town.

We boarded the speedboat and headed towards Zhihai Town.

After walking for a while, Zhang Gui stood at the bow of the boat and looked ahead and said to Zhang Jiujiang:
"Actually, you should go to the main house and meet the elders of the clan when you come back this time.

I'll go to Hehefang to see Uncle Bawang and Aunt Suzi. I haven't seen my parents for a few months..."

"Then why don't you go to Qijingfang to see Uncle Bashan." Zhang Jiujiang choked his friend and said, "If you go to see him now, even if he says he's no longer surnamed Zhang, he'll still..."

“Can it be the same?

What kind of person is my cheap dad? Before he became rich, he never gave me a grain of rice to eat.

Uncle Bawang and Aunt Suzi love you so much," Zhang Gui scratched his head helplessly when he saw Zhang Jiujiang's expression, "You are such a stubborn boy.

He strokes the fur in the right direction and gets upset if he's not satisfied.

How did your parents offend you?"

"It's still the same old stuff, we can talk about it later when everything is fine.

What matters now is what you do.

I can't let such a good foundation be taken away so easily."

In the mysterious realm, Zhihai Town is equivalent to Zhang Gui’s territory.

Prince Zhen really wants to usurp the throne. No matter how well he manages his business, the accumulated wealth in the future will belong to Zhang Gui.

On the contrary, it was the powerful man who appeared with King Zhen that made Zhang Gui feel uneasy.

However, he was a fourth-rank native official appointed by Emperor Hezheng himself. Unless Prince Zhen was crazy, he would never deal with him casually.

So, with a half-truthful sigh, Zhang Gui said:
"The reason why I have been able to succeed smoothly all this time is because of the four words 'take advantage of the situation'.

Although I seem to be fully grown now, in fact, the soldiers in Zhihai Town have only followed me for less than a year.

No matter how much I show them kindness and how much they are moved, what good will it do?

How many people would disobey orders for me, let alone the will of the prince?

If I think about it carefully, I don't have any backers who are willing to do their utmost to protect me.

There are no followers who will repay their kindness with their lives.

There are no peers who share honor and disgrace.

Their foundations are not as stable as those of the ten aristocratic families in Wen County.

At this moment, the situation is really overwhelming.

If the emperor's own son uses his authority as an imperial envoy to try to get me, what can I do?"

Zhang Jiujiang sighed and said nothing.

One of them was really melancholy, and the other was nervous, and they arrived at Zhihai Town in silence.

(End of this chapter)