The Wife is First - 36Chapter 36 Withdrawal of the feudal vassal

Sun Shangshu watched as King Cheng ran towards Princess Cheng, and then said excitedly: “Jun Qing, let’s go eat prawns! We’re late and they should be sold out!” Is this what is called an emergency? And why does the legendary cold-faced King Cheng, who is cruel and cruel, have such an expression of smiling like a flower?

Mu Hanzhang saw the gray-bearded Minister of the Ministry of War standing awkwardly in front of the door, and said hello to him apologetically: “Your Majesty, I walked in a hurry in the morning and didn’t eat. Please don’t worry about it, Sir.

“Princess, your words are serious.” Sun Shangshu came to his senses and politely returned the gift to Princess Cheng. Anyway, it was the custom for King Cheng to leave with a nod.

Mu Hanzhang smiled and took his prince to eat.

It was still early, and there were almost no customers in Huiwei Building. However, Boss Zhou, who opens early every day, has already cleaned the shop and packed away all the ingredients that need to be prepared.

Jing Shao asked for a private room on the second floor facing the street.

“The crabs at this time are not fat yet. Let’s wait until September to eat crabs.” Because there was not much business at the moment, Zhou Jin, dressed in bright pink, came to order food for them in person.

The two of them were already accustomed to Boss Zhou’s dress.

“I want one pound of boiled brine shrimp, one pound of salt-baked shrimp, two pounds of Huawei shrimp, a pot of Huadiao, and two bowls of rice.” Jing Shao looked at the menu and said, anything with the word “Huiwei” is Huiweilou The signature dish, because fresh prawns have never been available, this dish is rarely available.

“You can’t drink strong alcohol while eating shrimps. Let me serve you a pot of tea.” Zhou Jin reminded.

Jing Shao frowned. After eating delicious food but not drinking wine, he always felt that something was missing.

When Mu Hanzhang saw it, he summoned Jingshao’s servant Yunsong and asked him to buy a bottle of green plum wine from Qingmei Girl in the south of the city: “Light wine can detoxify shrimps. Brother Zhou, why don’t you also buy some light wine, it will definitely cure the poison.” Good sale.

“That’s a good idea,” Zhou Jin was very happy when he heard this, “Where is the green plum wine you mentioned?”

Mu Hanzhang told him the location. Even a restaurant owner like Zhou Jin didn’t know about that green plum wine. It seemed that Miss Mei’s business was really not good. Since Jing Shao was going to take care of his childhood sweetheart for Brother Wang who died in the battle, it would be much more useful to find a business opportunity for her than to buy her wine regularly.

“Jun Qing, you are really good at business.” Jing Shao peeled off a boiled shrimp and put it in the bowl of the person opposite.

Mu Hanzhang picked up the shrimp meat, dipped it in the sauce and took a bite. He chuckled and said, “When I was a child, I heard that the descendants of the Duke’s family rarely get the honors. Even if they do, it is not easy to become an official in the court. I I quietly learned some business skills from my aunt, thinking that if I can’t get an official position, it would be good to take over the family business.”

The families of princes and princes generally do not take merit tests. They rely on the emperor’s favor, and they have to wait for the royal grace to become an official. If they are educated and take the test of merit, they will often be squeezed out by the Qingliu and find it difficult to be promoted.

Jing Shao listened to what he said easily, but he could hear the hardship contained in these three or two sentences. Dukes and Earls were all military generals. A son who could not practice martial arts would naturally be looked down upon by the family, let alone a concubine. The bastard. Thinking of this, Jing Shao thought about Mu Lingbao again. Unfortunately, the weather was getting hotter and it would have to wait a few more months before he could be thrown into the river.

“This shrimp is fried thoroughly and only tastes good when eaten with the shell.” Mu Hanzhang put an aftertaste shrimp into Jingshao’s bowl, “After dinner later, let’s go to the Second Emperor’s house to have a look. I’ll give you all the gifts.” I’ve prepared some, and I’ll ask Yunzhu to go back and get them later.” Since Jing Shao had already emphasized the righteousness of filial piety and brotherhood in the court today, there was no suspicion of ending the feud by visiting his sick brother. Even if you don’t believe in the instigation of evildoers, the so-called three people become tigers, if you tell too many lies, they will become true. It is better for the two brothers to see each other from time to time.

Jing Shao also plans to go to the Second Prince’s Mansion today to tell his brother the good news that his father will grant him the title of Prince Rui. But Jing Shao, who always went empty-handed and even brought home some goodies along the way, realized that he had to bring gifts when he went to his brother’s house!

When they went there, Jingchen was discussing things with several staff in the study. When he heard that Jing Shao was coming, he let him in directly.

There were three people in the room, whom Jing Shao had never seen before. Mu Hanzhang, who was standing next to him, quietly observed the expressions of several people and then lowered his eyes. The three of them seemed very nervous about their sudden entry. One of them was obviously a little nervous. hostility.

“That’s it for today.” Jingchen frowned slightly and waved the three of them out.

Jingchen glanced at Mu Hanzhang, and under Jing Shao’s innocent gaze, he lowered his eyes and said solemnly: “You did a good job in the court today.”

Mu Hanzhang was slightly surprised. He had planned to leave first, but unexpectedly the two brothers started talking about the court affairs in front of him. This showed that the two brothers really regarded him as someone he could trust. , and even those who plotted with them to seize the throne. He turned around and glanced at Jing Shao, who gave him an innocent look in return.

“Based on the current situation, the King of Southwest has angered my father. It will be a matter of time to withdraw the vassal, but you can’t mention this matter. I will let other people in the court mention it first, and I will come back to the court in two days to issue a charter. For father.” Jingchen showed a stack of folded papers to Jing Shao.

“Is this method useful?” Jing Shao looked at it for a long time. Generally speaking, it was a method of withdrawing the feudal vassal without troops. It was densely packed and complicated. In his previous life, he was in Tibet, and he didn’t know if anyone had mentioned the peaceful withdrawal of the vassal, but given the temperament of the Southwest King, this battle must be fought.

“Brother-in-law, take a look, too.” Jingchen motioned to Jingshao to give the things to Mu Hanzhang.

“Brother, just call me Hanzhang.” Mu Hanzhang took the charter, read it quickly, thought for a moment and said, “This method is feasible if the vassal king’s troops are not strong.”

Jingchen nodded slightly and looked at Jing Shao: “If there is a war, do you want to go?”

“Go!” Jing Shao said resolutely, “This is a good opportunity to gain military power. If you delay it for a few years, you can control at least half of it.” Once the War of San Francisco begins, it may not last for many years. Even if Jing Shao Knowing the weak points of each feudal king, he did not plan to attack them immediately. He would not make the same mistake again in his previous life.

Mu Hanzhang listened to the conversation between the two brothers and closed his eyes in silence. If a war breaks out, Jing Shao will not return for many years, right?

The next day, there was finally news that the eldest prince was rescued by the Shu army. Fortunately, he survived and was temporarily recuperating in Dian and Tibet. As for the King of Southwest, he was not as quick as the Shu army in sending troops. This move completely angered Emperor Hongzheng, and many ministers took the opportunity to propose withdrawing the vassal. They argued like this for several days, and when Jingchen returned to the court, he directly issued a charter to withdraw the feudal vassal.

Jingchen proposed to demote the vassal and withdraw from the vassal. That is to say, the current vassal king is still a county prince, and in the next generation he will be reduced to a prince, and in the next generation he will be reduced to a marquis… Emperor Hongzheng thought this method was feasible, but it didn’t show up in appearance. After the ministers mentioned it again and again, they agreed to withdraw from the vassal state.

Therefore, the matter of Yunnan and Tibet was put on hold for the time being, and the matter of withdrawing the vassal was put on the agenda.

In June, Aunt Qiu moved to the side room, and Marquis Beiwei invited Jing Shao and Mu Hanzhang to watch the ceremony.

“A few days ago, my aunt sent me a message, asking me to meet her after the ceremony today.” Mu Hanzhang was sitting in the carriage, thinking of the letter that his mother had sent to Mo Lianju.

“I must have something special to say to you,” Jing Shao chuckled, “Just go and I’ll be waiting for you in the front hall.”

The concubine ceremony is not complicated. The main thing is to change the concubine’s body contract into a marriage contract, then pay homage to the elders and report to the ancestral hall.

As a side room, Mrs. Qiu moved into a real small courtyard. The house was more than a little more spacious than before, and it even had its own small kitchen.

Mu Hanzhang looked at his mother, who was dressed in pink and gorgeous clothes. Although she was already a lady, her style was still the same. The intelligence and gentleness of a Jiangnan woman was clearly evident in her.

“Mother…” It was the first time that Mu Hanzhang could say this in front of others. When Qiu heard this word, she couldn’t help but get wet in her eyes.

“Son, my son…” Mrs. Qiu held her son’s hand, and tears fell down one by one like broken beads. For twenty years, she had not dared to call her son by his name. He was the young master, and she was just a humble concubine. She should be the one to bow to the young master when they met.

Seeing this, the maids in the room retreated one after another.

“Why did you come to see me?” Mu Hanzhang took the handkerchief from his mother’s hand and wiped her tears.

Mrs. Qiu took the handkerchief from her son’s hand, wiped away the tears on her face, and sighed softly: “I can’t help but think about it in this inner house. I have been thinking about something for a long time, and I still think I should talk to him. You tell me.”

After listening to his mother’s worries quietly, Mu Hanzhang couldn’t help but smile and said, “Don’t worry, mother, he doesn’t want to sit in that seat.”

“Who wouldn’t want to sit in that seat?” Mrs. Qiu frowned, seeing that Mu Hanzhang seemed to trust Jing Shao, “Even if he doesn’t have that intention, he is a prince and has no heir to inherit the title. How can he be willing to do so? ? Besides, he is still so young, and there will be many opportunities to go out and fight in the future…”

Mu Hanzhang didn’t listen to the other words, but he could clearly hear the last sentence. Recalling what he heard at the Second Prince’s Mansion that day, Jing Shao wanted to use this campaign to seize military power. The three vassal princes were not fuel-efficient. It would take at least three to five years before he could return to the capital. Did he have to stay in the prince’s mansion? Will Zhongku wait for him for three to five years?