Chapter 206: The first person to take refuge is showing his true colors

Giving a heavy gift does not necessarily mean that you have to do something, and being empty-handed does not necessarily mean that you have nothing to ask for, which is a truth that Zhang Yue deeply realized on the first day of the first month after entering the official career.

Needless to say, the king of Han, who gave the heaviest gift, was not so much for Zhang Yue's errand, but rather to show a kind of enveloping attitude, and at the same time expected to get some kind of response from Zhang Fu in Beijing. The two big businessmen also learned about Zhang Yue's deep background and hoped that he would be promoted to the prefect of Qingzhou in the future, so they formed a good fate in advance. And it was precisely the one who looked like he was eating white rice with empty hands, and as soon as he came in, he bowed deeply, making it clear that he had something to ask for.

"Student Fang Qing greets the adults."

Although Zhang Yue was a newcomer, he had worked the famous family names in the province, so this square word made his heart move. The visitor was in his early thirties, with a blue Luo hat on his head, a blue and black wide-brimmed straight jacket, and a pair of black cloud-headed shoes on his feet.

That Fang Qing saw Zhang Yue's doubts at a glance, so he respectfully explained: "The student is a talent in the seventh year of Yongle Academy. ”

Seeing Zhang Yue nodding with a smile and telling him to sit, he gently lifted the hem of his robe and sat down upright, and his waist was just straight. At this time, a little servant brought tea, he bowed slightly, and his eyes looked at Zhang Yue again.

"The student was selected in his early twenties, and he has always been quite self-conscious, but he failed the township test for ten years, and this desire to seek fame gradually faded. Therefore, I heard that it took only four years for adults and young talents to be promoted from talent to talent, and the students were already impressed in their hearts. However, the talent of history has never been the same as the ability to govern, and the adults removed the two tumors at the beginning of Anqiu's tenure, and then praised the people for their fair relief. ”

This would have been naked flattery. However, Fang Qingbian said it very sincerely, and listening to it naturally made people feel good. At this moment, Zhang Yue was humble and said: "The Fang family moved from Shanxi during the Hongwu period, and thirty years of kung fu have been operating in Shandong for a long time. This official heard that the Fang family was transporting grain, and Shanxi Xuanfu opened a business tun. For me, Daming Border Town can be said to have contributed a lot. ”

Fang Qing deliberately did his homework before he came, and inquired about Zhang Yue's experience clearly, but he didn't expect Zhang Yue to know the origin of his family, and at this time, he even said that the Fang family had been in Tuntian, Shaanxi, and the last trace of contempt hidden in his heart disappeared without a trace. After some more politeness, he took something out of his sleeve, and immediately stood up respectfully and presented it with both hands, because he said, "The student was originally entrusted by the elders of the clan to come to pay New Year's greetings. Just now there was a lot of rudeness outside, this is the real gift list, it is our family full of sincerity to congratulate the Lord on his ascension, and to celebrate the joy of the New Year. ”

Since Fang Qing was a showman just now, Zhang Yue knew that the blank gift list at the beginning was not mysterious. So. At this time, the other party presented a list with both hands, and he didn't feel too surprised, and he didn't look at it after taking it, and casually put it on the high table next to him. He smiled again: "This New Year's holiday exchange does not care about the thickness of the gift, and the goose feather gift is light and affectionate, since you are a showman, even if you really come to congratulate empty-handed, it is also a heart." Many of the people in Shandong have migrated from all over the world, if there are a few more Fang families, won't the official's face also have brilliance? ”

Although Fang Qing said that his face was indifferent, he saw that Zhang Yue didn't mean to look at the gift list at all. I couldn't help but feel a little anxious in my heart, and after answering in vain, I gritted my teeth and said, "My lord, this gift list is a piece of the Fang family's heart. Adults are young and have an unlimited future, but my family really hopes that adults can stay in Shandong for a few more years. ”

Zhang Yue received three heavy gifts in a row today, and at this time he was already a little numb to the gift-giving, and he couldn't help frowning when he heard this. After a few answers, Fang Qing was gentle and elegant. More like a child of a family than a nouveau riche who rose in a short period of time. However. At this time, this last sentence is really impatient, is there really some secret on this list?

Ponder for a moment. Zhang Yue was about to say perfunctory, but when he saw that Fang Qing was staring at him with straight eyes, his originally straight waist leaned forward slightly, and his face was full of pleading expressions, he suddenly hesitated. Thinking that Du Zhen asked Du Juan to stay, and emphasized the word upstart, he temporarily dispelled many concerns. After all, he has already provoked even the Han Palace, and he is still afraid of a Fang family?

The gift list does not use any luxurious decorations such as gilding and bronzing, it is a simple plain white post, and it is not like the gift list of the Han Wangfu with countless valuable things written in it, but it is just sandwiched with a thick stack of paper. He picked up one of them casually and looked at it, and his brow furrowed in his heart.

"What does that mean!"

Fang Qing saw that the little guy who sent the tea had already retreated, and there were no outsiders at this time, so when he heard this, he immediately stood up, lifted the corner of his robe and knelt on the ground: "The student respectfully asks the adults to help on behalf of the Fang family!" ”

Without waiting for Zhang Yue to react, he said in one breath: "My lord, although the Fang family moved from Shanxi to Shandong, the roots of Shanxi have never been broken. At the beginning of the emperor's accession to the throne, he opened salt in Zhuwei in Beijing, and our family provided nearly 10,000 stones, and he should get 6,000 yuan. However, now the warehouse banknotes in the hands of the Fang family have been long for more than ten years, and the short ones have been several years. Don't hide it from adults, our family seems to have a big business, and the decline is just for a while. ”

When Zhang Yue learned the scriptures with Du Zhen in his early years, he also heard this teacher talk about the politics of salt tea in the Ming Dynasty, in which Du Zhen repeatedly mentioned the pros and cons of opening the Chinese law, and he still remembers it vividly.

The guards on the border need countless military rations every year, if they have to be transported by the imperial court, this money is a huge expense every year, after the opening of the line, the salt merchants have to go to the border to pay grain in order to buy salt, in order to reduce expenses and even recruit displaced people to tuntian, it is undoubtedly a good policy to Anbian. In the early years, when Zhang Fu conquered Jiaozhi, the transfer of grain also relied on the power of merchants. However. Fang Qing said at this time that the banknotes in his hand could not be exchanged for salt, and he had to wait for the salt, although he understood some of the disadvantages, he was still greatly shocked.

If there are really 8,000 salt leads, measured at 400 catties per large lead, what a terrifying number is this? Such a large stack of warehouse banknotes can never be cashed in the hand, and in the long run, which businessman will go to the border town to pay grain again?

He took a deep breath. Seeing that Fang Qing was still kneeling on the ground, he asked in a deep voice: "You should go to the Shandong Capital to transfer salt envoys for this matter, this official is only a fellow of Qingzhou Mansion, didn't you ask the wrong person?" ”

"My lord, in order to exchange the warehouse money for salt, the people in the Fang family don't know how many times they have been to Shandong to transfer the salt envoy, and now it is easy to exchange two thousand salts. Shandong Du transferred salt to Si Dao from the salt fields of Le'an and Shouguang to transfer salt, but I don't know when to wait. The students heard that there are salt farms in Le'an and Shouguang. There is really no way to take the risk and buy the remaining salt of the stove households, but who knows that those stove households say that the surplus salt has been collected by King Shouguang of the Han Dynasty! Even if those profiteers have never opened the middle to pay grain, as long as they send enough money, they can transport salt from the two kings' mansions, and even sell smuggled salt by dignified officials. ”

Going around in circles. It's still going to break ground on the head of the vassal king!

casually brought the stack of salt back to the gift list, and Zhang Yue's face gradually turned cold. He didn't have a good impression of Zhu Gaoxu, the king of Han, and he was even more disgusted with Zhu Zhanqi, the king of Shouguang, but he didn't want to do things like hitting stones with eggs. Not to mention can't do it. Don't look at Yongle Emperor Zhu Di seems to have hated Zhu Gaoxu very much, but how can Emperor Laozi's likes and dislikes be reasonable?

"This matter is beyond the control of this official."

"My lord, these 8,000 salt land warehouse banknotes are just offerings from students, and I don't ask my adults to help me cash them. King Shouguang plundered hundreds of thousands of catties of surplus salt from the Shouguang salt farm, and he had already taken a fancy to my family's 2,000 salt leads, so he ordered someone to ask my family for it. For these salts, the Fang family tried their best, but King Shouguang refused to leave even a penny of profit. But I want our family to sell, and I want our family to bear all the risks! The Fang family is already in decline, so the students know that the adults are virtuous, and they only hope that the Fang family can attach the tail of the adults! ”

Fang Qing glanced up at Zhang Yue's face, and the last glimmer of hope was born in his heart: "The student also said before, the Fang family is not only a big family in Shandong, but also quite powerful in Shanxi, with hundreds of people in each room, old and young. Hundreds of lives can be lost in the minds of adults. Students are not talented. Each room has elected a student as the patriarch, regardless of any request from the adults. Students can make their own decisions! ”

From the beginning of the secrecy to the naked refuge now, this attitude has changed dramatically one after another, making Zhang Yue really a little unbearable. It is said that the icing on the cake is not as good as sending charcoal in the snow, but now this charcoal can really be sent? However, after all, this is the first person he has asked for since he took office, the Fang family is kind and charitable in Shandong, and his reputation is quite good, if he lets go, it naturally doesn't matter, but ......

In the midst of lightning, Zhang Yue already had an idea. After receiving so many gifts from the King of Han, he definitely couldn't lean on it, because the master was too rigid and self-serving, and he couldn't make any tricks. And, on the Beijing side, sooner or later, he should have a position. After staring at Fang Qing for a moment, he nodded and said, "You get up and speak first." ”

Although he didn't agree explicitly, Fang Qing didn't understand this hint, his heart was overjoyed, and he hurriedly thanked him and stood up, but he didn't dare to go back to his original seat and sit down, he still stood respectfully.

Over the years, for these warehouse banknotes, the Fang family didn't know how many brains they had used and how many methods they had used, and it was easy to redeem two thousand salt leads, and the rest had to find another way. The root cause is precisely because the Fang family moved from Shanxi to Shandong at the beginning, and their roots in this province were too shallow, and they were almost implicated during the Jianwen period, and now they are also in danger. Although Zhang Yue is not a prefect now, and he may not be able to become the prefect of Qingzhou in the future, he has more than one prefect in the future!

"Your Fang family is going to take food from the official's mouth!" Zhang Yue glanced at Fang Qing meaningfully, and when he saw that he lowered his head deeply, he put aside the matter for the time being, "From the middle of winter last year to the present, many places in Qingzhou Mansion have suffered from snowstorms. February is the final tax payment time for the autumn grain land, and the official is in charge of the money and grain, and a big family like your Fang family has to be an example. In addition, even if it is the Chinese New Year, the ceremony to Beijing must also be prepared. ”