Chapter 147: Rumors Spread
Chongzhen five years, the first day of February.
The two rumors that made all the people of Jinling anxious quickly spread throughout the city in just half a day, and spread to the counties and towns within a radius of 100 miles at an astonishing speed.
The first rumor is that the eight great families of Suzhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Shaoxing, Songjiang, Taicang, Yangzhou, and Changzhou reached a secret agreement three days ago, deciding to hold a large-scale strike in Jinling City starting on the third day of the second lunar month.
The second rumor is even more frightening: the boycott of the eight major families has been secretly supported by Zheng Sanjun, the secretary of the household department in Nanjing, Zhai Fengchong, the squire of the military department, Xu Shilin, the governor of Yingtian, and Yin Ye Chengzhang of Yingtianfu, etc., in order to cause panic through this move, arouse public anger and make a lot of money at the same time. The peasants and the people of Nanjing surrounded and insulted the deep hatred.
Zheng Sanjun and other Donglin Party celebrities heard the rumors, and their first reaction was not anger, but dumbfounded.
They thought that this time they were acting very secretively, and had already formulated various contingency strategies and huge public opinion counterattack plans, but in the future, they were stabbed by their opponents first, and all kinds of rumors aroused filled the streets and alleys of Jinling, which not only caused panic and resentment among hundreds of thousands of ordinary people, but even officials at all levels of the Sixth Department of Nanjing and the eunuchs who stayed behind in the yamen could not sit still, and came to the door to ask the Donglin Party celebrities: "What are the rumors that have gone crazy in the market?" ”
Seeing that the uproar of the basin was constantly being detained on the head, Zheng Sanjun, the secretary of the household department, Zhai Fengchong, the waiter of the military department, and Yin Ye Chengzhang of the Ying Tianfu had to stand up and spread the rumors publicly, shouting loudly: "This is a vicious slander by shameless people with ulterior motives." It's a conspiracy with ill intentions to frame you! ”
That night, Xu Hongji, the Duke of Wei, who had been avoiding this matter on the surface, set up a feast in the mansion, and the old man Ying, the helmsman of the Ying family, and the current patriarch of the Yan family, Old Man Yan, and others were happily present, toasting each other, drinking and laughing.
Zhang Gongwei, the Marquis of Longping, who arrived at the latest, finished saluting. asked Xu Hongji in a low voice with a smile: "There are many rumors that spread throughout the city today, but my brother's generosity?" ”
Everyone smiled when they heard this, and Xu Hongji, who was in a good mood, personally poured a glass of wine for Zhang Gongwei: "Brother Xian looks down on Brother Fool, Brother Fool has such a little ink in his stomach, where can he make so many bends?" Ha ha! Come on, drink first, and if you're late, you'll have to drink first. ”
Zhang Gongwei picked up the wine glass and drank it all, holding the empty glass in her hand and looking around: "So, it's the handiwork of Dao Linxian's nephew again?" ”
"Who else but him could have thought of such a ruthless response? I remember you said it last year. It's reassuring to cooperate with a person like Dao Linxian's nephew who is full of bad water, and now it seems that you are really right. The old man's joke attracted a burst of laughter in the hall, and Zhang Gongwei couldn't help laughing.
Xu Hongji told everyone with great emotion: "Yesterday morning, the sailor sent a batch of good stock timber to the shipbuilding workshop of Hushan Manor, and I specially went to Shangyuan Wharf with the ship to inspect and report the secret report I received to Dao Linxian's nephew. I wanted to discuss with him to see how to defuse the opponent's ensuing ruthless methods? ”
"Who knows after this kid listens. Immediately angry eyebrows upside down gritted teeth, jumped out of the sentence 'Since you don't let Lao Tzu have a good time, Lao Tzu will make you even more uncomfortable', I suddenly remembered after listening to it, the third day of February is the happy day of his wedding......"
"Originally, I wanted to comfort him and say something uplifting. Who knew that this kid said to me, 'You can go home with peace of mind and wait to see the excitement', after saying that, he turned around and left, let me chase it, and I didn't go, and I was still full of worries when I returned home. I don't know what method he will use to fight back. ”
"As a result, when I woke up, my subordinates reported one after another that rumors were already everywhere inside and outside the city, and the bulletin boards in various streets and cities were full of shocking news exposing the conspiracy of the eight major families in Jiangnan and the Donglin Party to boycott the market and school, and I immediately knew that he must have struck first."
"Although this move is inevitably suspected of being vicious, I have to admit that his method is the most effective and the most money-saving at present."
The hall burst into laughter, Zhang Gongwei was decisively impressed by Zhu Daolin's killing, and asked Xu Hongji again after laughing: "The day after tomorrow is the happy day of Daolin's nephew's wedding, what kind of congratulatory gifts does my brother plan to give?" ”
Speaking of congratulatory gifts, Xu Hongji couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Half a month ago, the eldest of my family learned that in the beginning of February, the nephew of the third Dao Linxian would marry the only daughter of the late Mr. Xia Jincheng of the Tobu Langzhong as the main house, so he asked him what gift he liked?" ”
"This kid is not polite, saying that he doesn't want money, he doesn't want silk real estate servants, as long as the set of secret color porcelain that my family boss once mentioned to him!"
"I'm afraid you don't know, this set of secret color porcelain is a precious thing that Emperor Yongle rewarded my ancestors of the Xu family after the Jing Martyrdom, it is said to be the royal thing in the palace of the Tang Dynasty, and there are not a few sets left in the Forbidden City now, I am really a little reluctant!"
"But this kid has a lot of treasures in his hands, he doesn't lack anything, I don't know what to give him, I think about it, I still think it's okay to give him this set of secret color porcelain at home."
The old man Ying was also deeply puzzled by Zhu Daolin's special hobby, and told everyone another thing: "Daolin's virtuous nephew doesn't seem to look down on many exquisite things in this dynasty, as long as the antique calligraphy and paintings before the Tang and Song dynasties, and the Tang Dynasty funeral ceramic horses that are regarded as ominous things, few people are willing to take a look, and occasionally a few pieces are not worth a few taels of silver, but he likes it very much." ”
"I heard that his favorite is the bronze artifacts stolen and sold by tomb robbers in Shaanxi, Henan and Jingchu, in order to prepare a few bronzes for him in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, my third child sent people to Luoyang and Wuchang before the Spring Festival, and a few days ago he got back four large pieces of bronze tripods and bronzes of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and I am planning to send them to him tomorrow."
When everyone heard this, they were very curious and whispered.
Old Man Ying shook his head and continued: "The old man pondered for a long time, and felt that it was likely that the Tianshu Pavilion overseas liked the ancient antiquities, and Dao Linxian's nephew had to collect these things and send them over. ”
"A few days ago, he came to visit the old man, and he mentioned the antique trade when chatting, he doesn't seem to be very proficient in antique calligraphy and painting, but he knows a lot about porcelain and bronze before the Tang and Song dynasties, and he also likes the large gilded Buddha statues of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, but this thing is rare on the market."
"The old man told him that he could still see it in the temples in Luoyang and Xi'an, and he was very happy to hear it, and he probably began to find a way to ask someone to find it."
Old Man Yan, who lost two front teeth, was happy to say how he felt, and there was one more thing he was embarrassed to tell everyone: Zhu Daolin carefully examined his declining eyesight and teeth for him, and also used slightly heated beeswax to make a few lifelike tooth molds for him, and it is estimated that the next time he goes to the overseas Tianshu Pavilion, he can bring back a few pairs of reading glasses and dentures for him.
Zhang Gongwei heard that Zhu Daolin liked the large Buddha statues of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and immediately laughed happily: "There are two gilded Buddha statues in my Buddhist hall, after my mother passed away, no one took care of those two bulky things, one day let Daolin's nephew go to me to see, if he likes it, he can take it away, haha!" ”
"You can't be too cheap for him, you have to ask him to get two large porcelain vases with a height of one person."
Xu Hongji's joke was once again greeted with laughter, and he seemed to have forgotten the threat of the powerful forces in the southeast and the Donglin party, and was full of confidence in Zhu Daolin's ability and counterattack methods.
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PS: The second update of the guarantee! Xiaohuo continues to beg for subscriptions, tips, and monthly pass support! (To be continued......)