Chapter 358: Two Song Men Wear Hairpins, Monsters and Demons All Take Off Their Armor

The new policies of the seventh year of Emperor Wanli were still mainly concentrated on enriching the country and strengthening the military. Enriching the country mainly involved deepening the promotion of land surveys and returning land to the people, and establishing Great Ming's maritime tax inspection system. Strengthening the military mainly involved organizing Great Ming's own cavalry and increasing the establishment of maritime defense inspection offices.

The ship ticket business that Zhu Zhu Yijun was tossing about was not only support for Zhang Zhang Juzheng's new policies of enriching the country and strengthening the military, but also a deepening of the Emperor's new policy of opening up maritime trade.

"Why have there been no movements from the wealthy families who migrated here recently?" Zhu Zhu Yijun's fingers tapped slightly on the table. He felt something was wrong. The wealthy families who migrated from the Western Tucheng were truly too honest.

"During the Han Dynasty, the wealthy families who migrated to Wuling were also very honest when Emperor Wu of Han was still alive. The Master said they were waiting. Waiting for what? I think they are waiting for the Master to die." Feng Bao thought for a moment. The wealthy families of the Western Tucheng were like poisonous snakes lurking in a dense forest. If you weren't careful, you would be bitten to death by them.

Feng Bao thought about it and felt it would be better to just let Qi Qi Jiguang lead the Capital Battalion to trample them flat, and just say it was he, Feng Bao, who whispered the suggestion.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng was a man who would avenge every grievance. Not only was Wang Wang Chonggu afraid, but the wealthy families were also very afraid. Zhang Zhang Juzheng handled people without any regard for feelings. On the political spectrum, he was a typical radical of reform and renewal, but sometimes, compared to His Majesty and Tan Lun, Zhang Zhang Juzheng was more like a conservative.

How many local squires and gentry, how many powerful and wealthy families had he offended with the land survey and returning land to the people? Now they were all silent, just waiting.

You, Zhang Zhang Juzheng, are not immortal; there will always be a day when you die!

Zhu Zhu Yijun stopped his tapping fingers, gave Feng Bao a thumbs up, and said, "Feng Da-ban makes sense. They still don't fear Me; they fear the Master more."

"Many people think that Your Majesty is also a victim of the Master's harsh laws and fear the Master's prestige, so they dare not oppose his new policies." Feng Bao never thought so. He had seen with his own eyes that Zhang Zhang Juzheng was hesitant in front of His Majesty.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng's heart was as firm as a rock. At forty, he had no doubts; at fifty, he knew the mandate of heaven. Zhang Zhang Juzheng, who already knew the mandate of heaven, had a deeply rooted "thought seal," but in the repeated court dialogues, it was hard-hammered and shattered by His Majesty's big and small hammers.

"Theory of Contradictions"—was His Majesty the author, or was Zhang Zhang Juzheng the author? Judging from the ranking of the published Theory of Contradictions, it was His Majesty.

Under the effect of the layers of information cocoons, for the situation in the court, except for the court officials who had daily court discussions in the Zhao Wenhua Hall, the remaining officials were all looking at flowers in the fog. Therefore, the young Emperor was also a victim. After Zhang Zhang Juzheng left office for mourning, the young Emperor's various tyrannical actions were releasing pressure, and Zhang Zhang Juzheng returned again to stop the young Emperor's rebellious behavior.

Zhu Zhu Yijun squinted his eyes and said, "The wealthy families never wanted a wise monarch. Of course, they also don't want a cruel, muddled monarch. What they hope to see is a monarch like the late Emperor, who manages nothing and enjoys himself in peace."

"How can I let them have their wish? It's best they don't take action against the Master. If the Master is gone, I would like to see who else can stop Me."

Zhu Zhu Yijun's actions throughout his life showed a great interest in killing. If Zhang Zhang Juzheng truly died in an assassination, Zhu Zhu Yijun could only become:

Heaven creates all things to nourish the people, but the people have no goodness to repay Heaven.

Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!

What were the wealthy families who migrated from the Western Tucheng doing recently? They didn't even have anything to do with scolding the Emperor. Their quietness was a bit excessive. The Emperor still had great wariness toward these people.

The wealthy families of the Western Tucheng were busy earning silver—to be precise, busy competing with the Shanxi merchants for the very limited subscription quotas of three-masted and five-masted ships. They could be said to have used all their strength, mobilized all manpower and material resources, and actually fought back and forth with the Shanxi merchants who had received the news in advance, holding a scale of ship tickets that was evenly matched, although the scale was slightly inferior, the quality was better.

The wealthy families of the Western Tucheng mainly held ship tickets for five-masted ocean-crossing ships.

Like Antonio, they were quite knowledgeable. If a businessman doesn't know goods, he shouldn't do business.

Originally, these wealthy families thought that the Great Ming Emperor's petty habit of wanting to eat alone meant that these five-masted ocean-crossing ships would forever belong only to the Emperor. But the subscription at the Yanxing Tower Trading House made the wealthy families of the Western Tucheng drop their jaws. When did this Great Ming Emperor become so generous? Those were five-masted ocean-crossing ships, and he actually took them out for subscription.

Even if they only had dividend rights, they were still shipowners of five-masted ocean-crossing ships!

Yao Yao Zhangzhen, Yao Xu Guangqi's father, angrily scolded the Western special envoy Diego for sinking the five-masted ocean-crossing ships. What did a five-masted ocean-crossing ship look like? To actually sink a ship—that Diego was the idiot of idiots!

When Antonio was leading them, in several years, only one was lost, and that was due to rare freak waves. This Diego ruined two ships all by himself.

Others didn't know the thickness of the maritime trade profits, but the wealthy families who migrated from the Western Tucheng knew it well. Others didn't know the domineering nature of the five-masted ocean-crossing ships, but the wealthy families who migrated from the Western Tucheng, who ran to the wharf every day, looked forward to the five-masted ocean-crossing ships day and night.

"Is Xu Guangqi here yet?" Yao Yao Zhangzhen waved his hand, asking if the protagonist of the day had arrived.

The protagonist was Yao Xu Guangqi, who had been sold as a discarded pawn to Ling Ling Yunyi. For more than half a year, this discarded pawn had been working by Ling Ling Yunyi's side. The Yao family had originally given up on this child, but now he was back, and Yao Yao Zhangzhen had to wait because he couldn't afford to offend him.

A father waiting for his son to start the banquet—this is unfilial. Yao Yao Zhangzhen had many wives and concubines, and he didn't lack such a son. This alone was enough for Yao Yao Zhangzhen to expel this rebellious son from the family.

He had already been sold as a discarded pawn, which was effectively expelling him from the family. That was fine.

"Father, uncles, uncles, this child is late. I hope you will forgive me." Yao Xu Guangqi's voice arrived before he did. He was originally a romantic scholar. When he was in the capital, he was a wealthy young master who made the girls in the brothels of the capital unable to close their legs, and he had fought several rounds with Wang Qian, occasionally winning a few times.

As soon as Yao Xu Guangqi entered the door, everyone was taken aback because there was a scar on his face from the center of his eyebrows to the end of the left side of his jaw, dense like a centipede, which made people's hearts tremble.

"Uncles, I didn't bring any good things back to the capital this time, just some dried kelp for you to taste." Yao Xu Guangqi greeted them one by one, and two small servants behind him placed a rolled-up kelp in front of each family. Yao Xu Guangqi said with a full face of smiles, "This thing is extremely beautiful when stewed with meat."

"Father, this child also brought you two portions." Yao Xu Guangqi saw his father, sent some gifts to his father, and then sat down steadily.

"Xu Guangqi, how did you get that scar on your face?" Yao Yao Zhangzhen looked at Yao Xu Guangqi, who had become dark and thin, with a scar on his face, and said with some heartache, "Was it cut by that murderous Ling Ling Bu Tang? He clearly invited you to be a staff member, why be so harsh!"

"No." Yao Xu Guangqi touched the scar and shook his head, saying, "Sea pirates were robbing the fishermen's kelp, and I stepped forward to stop them, and was cut. If the maritime defense inspection office's water division hadn't arrived in time to catch these sea pirates in one net, the kelp would have been robbed clean. A bunch of heartless things who were born without parents—robbing the fishermen's kelp, it's truly heartless!"

"As for this injury, it's nothing serious."

Yao Xu Guangqi said it nicely, "nothing serious." The small scars like centipede feet on the scar were traces after suturing, and there were flesh tumors. If it weren't for the Great Physicians following Ling Ling Yunyi who saved him with all their might, plus his hard life, he would have died long ago. If he had been cut here and it had become inflamed and entered his brain, he would have had a funeral on the spot.

"Is it really nothing serious?" Yao Yao Zhangzhen asked blankly. Before, this good eldest son of his had been exceptionally concerned about this handsome face. In the summer, he would carry an umbrella for fear of getting tanned, and he would apply aloe juice for no reason. He was somewhat of a "monster and demon."

In the first year of Emperor Jingtai, the male actors in the capital were dressed in a way that was very similar to women, and their makeup was even better than that of prostitutes, making it impossible to distinguish between men and women. The censor Cai Yuji scolded these male actors as "monsters and demons."

That is to say, these male actors learned to apply rouge and powder like women, their clothes were extremely similar to women's, and their makeup was even heavier than that of prostitutes, making it impossible to distinguish between men and women. The customs were declining day by day, which is why Cai Yuji scolded them as monsters and demons.

This matter alarmed Emperor Emperor Jingtai, and Emperor Emperor Jingtai issued an extremely absurd decree, requiring the Wucheng Military and Horse Division to "catch monsters," which meant catching these types of men and sending them to the Tonghui River to do hard labor. The reason why the court officials all said it was absurd was that the Emperor issuing a decree to catch monsters was simply nonsense.

Emperor Emperor Jingtai said a sentence: "Two Song men wear hairpins, monsters and demons all take off their armor."

During the two Song Dynasties, there were many men who wore hairpins on their heads. When the country perished, loyal and righteous people were not reused, and the country perished because of the disaster of war, and it happened twice.

Emperor Emperor Jingtai was fully qualified to say this sentence. Before him, the Emperor being captured meant the country perished and moved to the south. The two Emperors of the Western Jin were captured, and the two Emperors of the Northern Song were captured, all of which led to moving to the south and the people living in misery.

After him, the Emperor being captured did not mean the country perished and moved to the south. He could also reuse loyal and righteous people, repel the invading enemies, and even force the other side to hand over the captured Emperor. Even more, during his tenure, he provoked discord on the grasslands, letting Alazhiyuan rebel against Yesian, and took Yesian's head to Great Ming in exchange for a reward.

Indeed, Yu Qian was a loyal and righteous person, a hero rarely seen in a century, but without the Emperor's support, could Yu Qian truly have done it? At that time, the Southern Migration faction represented by Xu Xu Youzhen had a very loud voice. If Emperor Emperor Jingtai had been cowardly and followed Xu Xu Youzhen and others, I fear Great Ming would have already perished.

"It's already like this." Yao Xu Guangqi touched his scar and said quite calmly.

He had long since been relieved.

After experiencing the great terror of life and death, it was a lie to say that Yao Xu Guangqi didn't care at all about the scar on his face, but it was also not true to say that he cared very much. It was just that the scar on his face was not as important as the kelp. This was Yao Xu Guangqi's true feeling.

Wherever he went, he liked to give people two bags of dried kelp. It had become his habit.

On one hand, it was the harvest of the fishermen's hard work; on the other hand, kelp had a miraculous effect in preventing goiter. Since Shandong began planting kelp, in the past few years, children rarely had goiter. It was a good thing to save the world and the people.

"This time I returned to the capital, on one hand, it was to wipe out the sea pirates. Ling Ling Bu Tang sent me to receive the reward. On the other hand, Ling Ling Bu Tang knows that our family has a large business, and hopes to sell this kelp to the north and south of the Great River." Yao Xu Guangqi didn't even drink a cup of tea and started talking about business.

Selling kelp.

Kelp is a cold-water plant. In the past two years, the output in Shandong had been rising steadily. Originally, demand exceeded supply, but now supply exceeded demand. This made Ling Ling Yunyi extremely headache-stricken. In fact, the solution was very simple: reduce the planting scale. But Ling Ling Yunyi was unwilling to preside over the production reduction. He looked around, and among his staff, there was still a character like Yao Xu Guangqi, so he sent him back to the capital.

"Small profit." Yao Yao Zhangzhen looked at the kelp placed on the side but shook his head, not interested in this at all. Selling this kind of thing, how could it be as profitable as five-masted ship tickets? It was thankless, and he had to deal with Ling Ling Yunyi, this god of killing. Yao Yao Zhangzhen was even less willing.

"The profit is indeed not big." Yao Yao Zhangzhen's younger brother, Yao Yao Changxing, weighed the kelp, put it aside, and said with a smile, "My nephew finally returned to the capital after a long journey. Let's not talk about business. Come, come, come, let's drink."

Yao Xu Guangqi still wanted to speak, but seeing the indifference of his uncles and the other wealthy families of the Western Tucheng, he knew that the work Ling Ling Yunyi gave him hadn't been done well. He let out a heavy sigh, and as for the toasting and drinking at the banquet, he cared even less.

Yao Xu Guangqi clearly knew that he had truly been expelled from the family and became Ling Ling Yunyi's staff member. Those two hundred taels of silver were his settlement fee. He had younger brothers. With Yao Xu Guangqi gone, those younger brothers would replace him as the family heir, and his father would not tilt the family's resources toward him. As a staff member, a minor official in charge of supervision, how much achievement could he have in the future?

These people waited for him to start the banquet just because they feared Ling Ling Yunyi.

Yao Xu Guangqi was a bit unwilling, but soon he was not so unwilling. He felt that the status quo was also quite good. Living a life of luxury was one way to live, and washing and drying kelp was also one way to live.

People leave and tea cools; human nature is like this.

Yao Xu Guangqi didn't drink. Ling Ling Yunyi was a Ming Jinshi and also a general. Great Ming's military forbade drinking. Following Ling Ling Yunyi, Yao Xu Guangqi didn't learn much else, but he did quit drinking. He used to be unable to enjoy himself without wine, but now he didn't drink a drop.

After Yao Xu Guangqi walked out of the Yanxing Tower and said goodbye to his uncles and father, he felt a bit lost. He had gone from a wealthy young master who was sought after by everyone and whom the girls in the brothels couldn't wait to hang onto, to a staff member and minor official with a fierce scar on his face whom everyone avoided. This transformation had only taken half a year.

"Oh, isn't this Young Master Yao? Only this one small servant by your side? Where are your beauties? Where are your retainers and guards?" A voice that Yao Xu Guangqi detested came, carrying three parts of ridicule and seven parts of casualness.

The person who came was the second wealthy young master of the capital, the son of the Grand Secretary and Minister of Justice, Wang Qian.

Back when they fought with dogs, he lost by one move, and Yao Xu Guangqi was defeated completely, bruised and battered.

"Oh, oh, oh, what's going on with this scar on your face? Which girl scratched it?" Wang Qian took a close look. There was an extra scar on Yao Xu Guangqi's face, and he started mocking him directly. But Wang Qian looked carefully again, and asked with suspicion, "Eh, knife wound?"

Wang Qian recognized that this was a knife wound. His father had several on his body. This was clearly a life-and-death crisis. Being able to survive after being wounded in this place was indeed a great stroke of luck.

Yao Xu Guangqi felt for the first time that the laughter of this dog thing, Wang Qian, was so unpleasant, and his words were like a dog barking. He said coldly, "Knife wound."

"Damn, you're amazing. It's a pity I didn't get to eat at your funeral." Wang Qian's mouth was truly cheap. Every word and sentence was sprinkling salt on Yao Xu Guangqi's wound. He didn't speak politely at all. It was no wonder Wang Wang Chonggu wanted to kill his rebellious son every day.

Wang Qian's father was the Grand Secretary, and his family was rich. With this identity, he had no friends. He envied the friendship between Zhang Zhang Siwen and Jiao Hong—that was a friendship that could be reconciled even after fighting with fists and feet in the Material Investigation Academy. Wang Qian didn't have such friends.

"I have something to do, so I won't stay long. Goodbye." Yao Xu Guangqi was helpless and planned to leave. He was no longer qualified to fight with Wang Qian. If he continued to argue, wouldn't he just be asking for humiliation?

Wang Qian took a look, put his hands on his hips, laughed loudly, pointed at Yao Xu Guangqi, and said, "Hey! Young Master Yao has a patch on his clothes? Has it fallen to this point? My family still has a few clothing stores. Do you want me to send you two sets of clothes?"

"You still have younger brothers. Eh, my father, I only have one!"

"Haha!!"

Wang Qian's greatest advantage was being an only son. Even if he were exiled, his father could only leave the family business to him or his son, no one else. Yao Xu Guangqi was different. If he left, the family would be completely cut off.

Yao Xu Guangqi smiled awkwardly, looked at Wang Qian, and said, "Wang Young Master's mouth is as hateful as ever. I really want to give you two slaps. Goodbye."

Yao Xu Guangqi walked away quite freely, leaving Wang Qian feeling a bit awkward on the spot.

"Hey, this Yao idiot, why is his temper so good? In the past, he would have retorted a few times. Now that he's made me so confused, what's the situation?" Wang Qian scratched his head. Fighting with Yao Xu Guangqi, who didn't talk back, was meaningless. Arguing was only interesting if you went back and forth.

Yao Xu Guangqi walked a few steps, then suddenly turned back urgently, leaned over to Wang Qian, his eyes full of hope.

Wang Qian was so scared that he took two steps back and said loudly, "What are you doing! Let go! Let go! I like women! Don't touch me! Back! Back! Back!"

Wang Qian was truly frightened by this look. He had seen similar looks many times. It represented longing. The girls in the brothels didn't have such a longing to get him. Yao Xu Guangqi's eyes were full of light!

"I have a request. Why don't we go into the Yanxing Tower and talk in detail?" Yao Xu Guangqi rubbed his hands and said, "Wang brother, you also saw it. Xu Guangqi is down and out now. I should be the one treating you, but this Yanxing Tower is truly too expensive. I hope Wang brother will forgive me."

Yao Xu Guangqi bowed after saying this.

"Your father just left, you just finished eating your father's funeral banquet, and now you want to sponge a meal?" Wang Qian thought about it and got such an answer, and then he cheaply mocked him again.

Yao Xu Guangqi and Wang Qian had fought for a year, so how could he not understand? What "your father just left," what "finished eating your father's funeral banquet," what "sponging a meal"—each sentence was more disgusting than the last. If it were before, he would have wanted to tear Wang Qian's mouth apart immediately.

But now that he had something to ask for, Yao Xu Guangqi could only pretend he didn't hear it and put on a smiling face. Where in the world is there so much "it should be so"? He had to ask Wang Qian for help.

Wang Qian's family started with salt, and they only needed to sell it in bundles. For Wang Qian's family, this was a matter of lifting a hand.

But why should Wang Qian's family lift this hand? Because you have a scar on your face, or because you have a patch on your clothes?

Yao Xu Guangqi had of course thought about asking His Majesty, but what was His Majesty's status, and what was his status now? He couldn't even see him, let alone ask for help.

Ling Ling Yunyi couldn't ask His Majesty for help with every big or small matter. If he did, wouldn't this local official be very incompetent? Moreover, to let His Majesty help, he had to make some achievements.

Wang Qian finally invited his former nemesis to the restaurant, set up a grand banquet, and invited the best girls in the building.

"What kind of crooked melons and cracked dates are these? Go, go, go!" Wang Qian took a look and waved his hand. The best girls were not bad, but compared to the past, they were truly hard to swallow.

"When you reach the top of the mountain, you see all the other mountains as small."

Wang Qian played with his lackeys for a while. After three rounds of wine and five courses, Wang Qian started chatting with Yao Xu Guangqi.

"What?! This scar on your face was cut by sea pirates? For the fishermen's kelp?" Wang Qian stood up abruptly, asking with incomparable surprise.

"The situation was urgent at the time, and I was just trying to delay time." Yao Xu Guangqi said calmly. At that time, the maritime defense inspection had already gone to invite the water division. As long as it took half an hour, they would arrive. If Yao Xu Guangqi hadn't spoken, I fear those sea pirates would have cut all the kelp away. That was the harvest of the common people for a whole year.

"I have been disrespectful." Wang Qian sat down blankly, feeling a bit confused. They had agreed to be playboys until they died, so how did you secretly become a capable official for the country and the people?

Are you kidding me?!

"What?! You gave all your remaining two hundred taels of silver to the fishermen?" Wang Qian stood up abruptly again. He felt he was sweating. Damn, it would be better not to have that scar; everyone could just be playboys together!

"The situation was urgent, and the fishermen had become disaster victims, so I spent the silver to buy grain for relief. Alas, at that time, I hadn't turned the corner and didn't realize I wasn't a wealthy young master anymore." Yao Xu Guangqi felt a pain in his heart when he mentioned it—that was two hundred taels of silver. Because of this, his wife divorced him.

However, Yao Xu Guangqi also thought about it. He found that if he had to choose again, he would still choose this way. As for his wife, it was a marriage alliance. Two hundred taels of silver couldn't even buy his wife's rouge and powder for a year. In the end, they were going to be strangers, so divorcing was fine.

"What do you want me to do, Yao brother? For this knife wound, for these two hundred taels of silver, I will do whatever you ask, brother!" Wang Qian slapped the table and took it all on himself.

Yao Xu Guangqi was extremely pleasantly surprised. This Wang Qian had always been a playboy, but he could usually do what he said. He hurriedly said, "Wang brother is two years older than me. Wang brother is the big brother. This is the kelp I brought from Shandong. Wang brother, please take it back and taste it. I am asking Wang brother to do me a favor, which is to let your father say a word. I want to talk to your father about this kelp business."

"Just this little thing? Yao brother, rest assured, I, Wang Qian, will handle it for you!" Wang Qian gulped down a cup of wine and said loudly, "I call you brother, you call me brother, let's talk about it separately. Come, come, come, let's drink."

Yao Xu Guangqi was almost vomited by Wang Qian's pouring!

Wang Qian could truly drink, but asking for help, people poured wine for him, and he couldn't refuse. He had long clearly known that he was no longer the arrogant young master.

Before getting into the carriage, Wang Qian was drunk and confused, still holding the kelp, and asked the Yanxing Tower's waiter to arrange a carriage to send Yao Xu Guangqi to the Hall of Meeting, which was Yao Xu Guangqi's current residence.

After getting into the carriage, Wang Qian sat steadily, holding the kelp, his eyes flashing with complexity. He had a high tolerance for alcohol, and that little wine was not a problem at all. He was just pretending to be drunk to cover up the awkwardness of mocking Yao Xu Guangqi yesterday.

"Slap!"

Wang Qian slapped himself. This slap was very forceful. He gripped the kelp fiercely, angrily saying, "Why is my mouth so cheap?"

Cheap mouth—naturally, it was that remark about the scar being scratched by a girl, naturally it was that patch, naturally it was that remark about sponging a meal. Yao Xu Guangqi's scar was a knife wound he received for the interests of the common people. In front of His Majesty, he could stand straight and speak loudly! His poverty was because he spent the silver on disaster relief. Even if Yao Xu Guangqi, who still had the mindset of a wealthy young master at the time, hadn't turned the corner, disaster relief was disaster relief; Yao Xu Guangqi wasn't sponging a meal, he truly had business to find him.

Wang Qian returned home, handed the kelp to his father, and told him in detail about meeting Yao Xu Guangqi.

"Han Xin suffered the humiliation of crawling between legs and later became a military genius. My son, you just barked twice, it doesn't matter. Yao Xu Guangqi came to you for help, that is not counting personal honor and disgrace. Your father is old and can only protect you for a few more days. Alas." Wang Wang Chonggu didn't ask for a ring-headed sword, but taught his son earnestly.

"This child knows he was wrong." Wang Qian was full of wine, but his speech was still clear.

"I saw it." Wang Wang Chonggu saw the slap on Wang Qian's face. In the entire capital, even Zhang Zhang Juzheng wouldn't dare to hit his son like that. If something happened, it was for Wang Wang Chonggu to teach him. Obviously, Wang Qian hit himself.

Wang Wang Chonggu waved his hand and said, "Your father will settle this matter for you. Call Yao Xu Guangqi to the house tomorrow. This Yao old dog is truly an idiot. Thin profit? The profit is greater than the sky! Son, this profit is not in the amount of silver, the key is that if it is done well, you can show your face in front of His Majesty. This is a great merit, imperial favor! How much silver can buy this?"

"Shortsighted Yao old dog, 'the meat-eaters are despicable,' the ancients do not deceive me. I snatched a great opportunity, and it came from the hands of this Yao old dog's son. Haha!"

"The people are the foundation of the country; when the foundation is solid, the country is peaceful."

Wang Qian stretched out his thumb and praised fiercely, "Old father! Great vision!"

"That's a must!" Wang Wang Chonggu stroked his beard, feeling proud. If he didn't have vision, why would His Majesty keep him? To be a rice worm and make Great Ming's rice price expensive?

That night, Wang Qian, who was sleeping soundly, suddenly sat up straight and slapped himself again, blankly saying, "Stupid, why is my mouth so cheap?"

The next day, Yao Xu Guangqi went to the All-Shanxi Hall to pay a visit to Wang Wang Chonggu. Wang Wang Chonggu was exceptionally enthusiastic, calling him "worthy nephew" in every sentence, and even asked about his marriage. Upon learning that Yao Xu Guangqi went to Shandong to be Ling Ling Yunyi's staff member and his wife couldn't endure the hardship and divorced him, he was immediately furious and immediately betrothed his niece to Yao Xu Guangqi as his successor wife.

As for whether there was truly this niece, Wang Wang Chonggu didn't say, and Yao Xu Guangqi didn't ask. Wang Wang Chonggu said it was his niece, so it was his niece. Wang Wang Chonggu held a grand banquet at the All-Shanxi Hall, which was considered the official recognition of Yao Xu Guangqi as his son-in-law by their old Wang family.

All this happened too fast. Yao Xu Guangqi was still a bit dazed when he became the son-in-law of the Wang family. In the capital, he had a residence and a legitimate wife, and the kelp business he was thinking about day and night was directly negotiated with his father-in-law Wang Wang Chongyi.

This brings up an old matter from back then.

On April 4, the fifth year of Emperor Longqing, Censor Gao Yongchun inspected the salt affairs in Hedong. At that time, Gao Yongchun said: "The salt law is ruined because of the monopoly of big merchants and the reliance of powerful families, which is why it doesn't work." Because he pointed to the Governor and Minister Wang Wang Chonggu's younger brother and the father of the Minister of Personnel Zhang Zhang Siwei as big merchants, and Wang Chonggu and Zhang Siwei as powerful families, he requested to punish Wang Chonggu and dismiss Zhang Siwei.

This matter finally reached the court discussion. The Hedong Salt Case was also one of the events in the struggle for the position of Grand Secretary between Zhang Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong.

Wang Wang Chonggu's younger brother Wang Wang Chongyi, Zhang Zhang Siwei's father Zhang Yunling, uncle Zhang Xialing, and younger brother Zhang Si-jiao were all targets of Censor Gao Yongchun's accusation. Even though Zhang Zhang Siwei pleaded in every way, he eventually ended up with the result of retiring.

Wang Wang Chongyi was a very big salt merchant, and now Yao Xu Guangqi had become Wang Wang Chongyi's son-in-law, so this business was naturally even easier to do.

The next day, Yao Xu Guangqi also asked his wife clearly. She was not Wang Wang Chongyi's own daughter, but a distant cousin of the Wang family. Wang Wang Chongyi didn't have a daughter of suitable age for marriage, so he had to adopt one from a distant branch. Obviously, Wang Wang Chonggu and Wang Wang Chongyi didn't intend to hide it from Yao Xu Guangqi; otherwise, they would have already made up their story.

But Wang Wang Chonggu held a grand banquet at the All-Shanxi Hall, and Wang Wang Chongyi recognized this son-in-law in the capacity of a father-in-law. Even if she wasn't his own daughter, she was still his own daughter. Wang Wang Chongyi specially sent two big managers to Shandong, which was considered the official start of this business.

Yao Xu Guangqi was still very grateful to Wang Wang Chonggu. Their Wang family had a large business and did a lot of buying and selling. This kelp business, if done well, would have an annual profit of 100,000 silver; if done poorly, it might lose money. Wang Wang Chonggu could have completely avoided this suspicion, but Wang Wang Chonggu still took on this business and truly took action.

Yao Xu Guangqi received the reward from the Ministry of War. This was a military merit reward. The sea pirate stronghold of three hundred people that was wiped out was enough to be rated as a fifth-class merit reward medal. Each of the five hundred soldiers who participated in the suppression of the bandits could receive a reward of twenty silver.

Yao Xu Guangqi finished his business at the Ministry of War. Just as he walked out of the door, he saw a small eunuch rushing from the Noon Gate. This small eunuch recognized him as soon as he saw him.

To be an official in Great Ming, you have to be good-looking. Otherwise, even if you are a top scholar, you will be moved to the second rank because of your appearance. For example, Qiu Jun from Qiongzhou, the one who wrote "Supplement to the Extended Meaning of the Great Learning," the first Ming Jinshi from Hainan, had his top scholar title given to someone else because of his appearance.

This long scar on Yao Xu Guangqi's face was truly too eye-catching, and he was recognized by the small eunuch immediately.

The small eunuch grabbed Yao Xu Guangqi and said, "Are you the supervisor Yao Xu Guangqi of the Mizhou Shipping Bureau?"

"Exactly." Yao Xu Guangqi hurriedly said.

"His Majesty summons you." The small eunuch took Yao Xu Guangqi to the Left Shun Gate, let him wait there for a while, and then led him to wait in front of the Zhao Wenhua Hall. This wait lasted for half an hour.

Yao Xu Guangqi wanted to open his mouth to ask, he was a bit thirsty after drinking salty soup in the morning, but the small eunuch stood motionless beside him, very serious, making Yao Xu Guangqi not dare to open his mouth.

"Proclaim Yao Xu Guangqi to appear." A team of eunuchs hung their voices and passed down the imperial decree. Only then did Yao Xu Guangqi, under the guidance of the small eunuch, walk up the Zhao Wenhua Hall step by step. Crossing the hall door, he didn't dare to look up, and hurriedly performed a grand ceremony.

"This subject pays respects to His Majesty. Long live, long live, long live." Yao Xu Guangqi bowed his head and ears, very submissive.

"Rise, be seated." Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Yao Xu Guangqi, his tone was relatively relaxed, and he even bestowed a seat on Yao Xu Guangqi. This was a super-standard treatment that many fourth-rank assistant censors didn't have when entering the hall. Zhang Hong also gave Yao Xu Guangqi a cup of tea.

"After half a year, seeing Yao Minister again, you are very different. My heart is very comforted." Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Yao Xu Guangqi, his tone was quite gentle.

His Majesty was very happy. Feng Bao and Zhang Hong, as the two lackeys under His Majesty's command, could both see His Majesty's attitude and tone.