Chapter 188: Playing a rival show

The noisy neighbors of Youyu Fang watched the "Nine-Character Generation" two heroes of the Pingyang Zhang family walk into Zhang Gui's courtyard in a brotherly manner.

Many "capable people" immediately began to discuss excitedly.

"Speaking of which, Guige and Jiuqing are both talents from our Youyu Fang, which has pulled the wind pulse of the market for hundreds of years!

Now that both of them have become figures in literature and martial arts, it seems they want to join hands to do something big."

"Has our Pingyang Town been built for hundreds of years? They have pulled the wind pulse for so long.

If your own son is useless, he is useless, don't blame the geomancy for 'not being able to shit and blaming the latrine'."

"Gua Qi, your mouth is really damaging, am I saying that?"

"That's enough, that's enough, we are talking about big things, why are you pulling to that side.

But I also feel that Jiuqing's return this time is unusual."

"Don't worry about whether it is unusual or not.

In the future, with these two pillars in the clan, it can at least guarantee the prosperity of our Pingyang Zhang family for another sixty years.

Great goodness, great goodness!!"

"Still great goodness, Uncle Bagong, you have read books for two or three years when you were young, so you have been pretending to be like this, is it interesting?

With your status and mine, can the clan's prosperity reach the sky?"

"You bear child, what do you know? In this day and age, the prosperity of the family is not to guarantee your development.

It is to guarantee that you can live your life properly."

"That's right, there are towns in the Siyang Prefecture area that are suffering from famine.

I heard that 'rice grabbers' have appeared, and people have died, but the Yamen doesn't care at all."

"What is a 'rice grabber'?"

"It means people who are about to starve to death are looking for food on the street.

They don't give money, they grab it and stuff it into their mouths, letting you beat and scold them.

Some of them are beaten to death.

Some rice grabbers don't dare to grab adults, they stare at children.

But think about it, how tender a child of a few years old is, one punch to the head can kill them.

In short, when there is no food, people are no longer people.

So being able to be protected by the family and eat and wear well is already a very good life.

You have to remember the kindness of the adults in the clan."

The noise of the miscellaneous fish outside the door was noisy.

On the stone stool in the courtyard.

Zhang Jiuqing straightened his long legs and tapped his knees lightly with his clenched fists,

"Cousin Guitang, did you hear the discussion of the clan members outside?"

"Cousin Jiujiang, it's noisy outside, I can't hear clearly."

Zhang Gui, who was sitting opposite, continued to eat noodles while pretending to be stupid:

"Are you really not hungry? Don't be restrained.

The shrimp paste noodles made by my Amu are truly a masterpiece.

I have never eaten enough since I was a child, and I feel it is sweeter than any seafood."

"That should be the case.

The blessing of being able to eat the food made by one's mother from childhood to adulthood is not something everyone can have, so naturally, no mountain or sea delicacies can compare."

This sounded ordinary, but combined with Zhang Jiuqing's life experience, it revealed a sense of desolation.

Zhang Gui usually couldn't stand this kind of tone, so he didn't talk nonsense anymore.

He smiled dryly and continued to eat noodles with his head down.

But the tree wants to be quiet, but the wind does not stop.

Zhang Jiuqing said again:

"Cousin Guitang, I have loved to secretly measure talents in my heart since I started reading, and I have rarely made mistakes.

The most blind thing I have done in my life is you."

"Brother Jiuqing, you flatter me. I have risen to a high position in two or three years, relying on blood inheritance;

second, relying on luck, which is different from a great talent like you who really has something in your belly."

"Then according to what you said.

I read books well and interpret scriptures thoroughly, isn't it because of the good brain given by my parents?

Being able to have the opportunity to submit that memorial to the 'current one,' isn't it because of the appreciation and guidance of Wengye, who promoted me to enter the officialdom early?"

"In fact, the princes, generals, talented scholars, beautiful women, giant merchants, and wealthy businessmen in the world... in short, those who have their own strengths and are powerful enough.

Who hasn't received the favor of God since birth?

It's just that some favors are invisible talents, such as photographic memory when reading, thousands of miles a day when practicing, or Spirit Cong sprouting while sleeping, etc.

Some are tangible gold and silver treasures, fiefs, land, servants, slaves, etc."

Zhang Gui felt a sense of agreement with Zhang Jiuqing's argument.

But because he didn't know Zhang Jiuqing's intention, in order to lead to the topic, he deliberately played the devil's advocate:

"Brother Jiuqing, according to what you said, isn't it that a person's life is destined by heaven?

Why bother to work hard and fight?"

"Then how do you know that the heart of self-reliance is not a kind of talent?"

Zhang Gui was stunned, put down his chopsticks, and laughed loudly,

"Brother is truly good at sophistry, the younger brother is convinced."

"Actually, I admire you, Cousin Guitang. You have risen to a high position at a young age, but you can show your methods when you should, and hide your head when you should.

This is not a powerful talent for achieving an 'overlord'."

Zhang Gui's face twitched when he heard this, and he could no longer suppress the doubts in his heart,

"Cousin, you suddenly came to reveal your heart to me, and the younger brother is really moved.

Although I hold the title of the fourth-rank Opening Dragon Tiger General, it seems that I have formed my own pattern.

But in fact, the territory is only a small Zhihai Town, and there are less than two thousand soldiers under my command.

And they are all miscellaneous troops.

They rarely train, just collect taxes and patrol for public security.

It is more than a hundred thousand miles away from an overlord.

Besides, I am such an honest person, and I don't have such ambition.

Don't go around in circles anymore, what exactly do you want to say?"

"Cousin Guitang, your Dragon Tiger General's curtain office is not as unbearable as you say.

Didn't you build cities and station troops on the nine islands in the East Inner Sea, known as the 'Nine Islands Expedition,'

and are competing with the Yuanshan Guard Army and the White Sheep Borjigin elite cavalry and Qianji warriors on Xianrong Island?"

Zhang Gui's eyes widened, and he understood Zhang Jiuqing's meaning.

He stood up "whoosh" in a half-true, half-false manner,

"You want me to turn fake into real and play a rival show against Prince Zhen!"

"Not bad, as long as you succeed, you will be a vassal state sovereign of the Ming Song Kingdom, an overlord.

And it is extremely difficult for others to ask for such a status in the court, don't even think about it.

But you are originally the true son of the Stone Corpse Kingdom sovereign.

As long as you truly occupy those nine islands in the East Inner Sea and make them your territory, everything will be logical."

"And this is also what the 'current one' personally promised before I left the capital."

Zhang Gui finally realized,

"I knew that the 'Royalist' title of Crane Township Duke is known all over the world.

As his closed-door disciple and granddaughter-in-law, how could your butt lean towards Prince Zhen?

That memorial, on the surface, looks like it is solving Prince Zhen's predicament,

but actually, as long as Emperor Hezheng and Prince Zhen don't tear their faces apart.

The emperor as the father can always suppress Prince Zhen as the son in the general trend.

You helped Prince Zhen untie a tangible shackle.

From now on, he can recruit refugees, move overseas, and station troops and build cities in various parts of the Ming Song Kingdom without any constraints.

But you have strengthened an intangible shackle.

The father has shown such broad-mindedness to the son, if the son opposes the father in the future, wouldn't he be worse than a pig or dog.

Brother Jiuqing, oh Brother Jiuqing, you really have such high-level methods!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 189 =====

(End of Chapter)