In order to welcome Liu Jing, Zhu Gui can be regarded as spending a lot of thought.

For this reception, he invited most of the officials and businessmen in Datong Mansion today.

As for those wealthy families, some of them have now become officials, and some of them have become businessmen because of their investment in the Datong Chamber of Commerce.

What surprised Liu Jing was that these people came to the banquet and did not bring any gifts except for an invitation.

This is different from the 'officialdom customs' in Nanjing and even in other places throughout the Ming Dynasty.

You must know that even if the patriarch of a family has a birthday banquet, there is a practice of receiving gifts, not to mention that Zhu Gui is still a vassal king.

However, he noticed that Zhu Gui did not have any displeasure, and the guests and even the subordinates of the palace seemed to be accustomed to this.

There are more than 20 tables in the palace of the king, and many dishes on the table are unheard of by Liu Jing.

In fact, he also noticed this situation in Datong Mansion for more than a month, and the entire Yunzhou, in addition to the population, seems to be more prosperous than Nanjing.

This is not only reflected in the very low price level here, but also the fact that even ordinary people can buy a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables and other novelties, which are not even available in Nanjing.

And through the introduction of the businessman next to him, he learned that all this was 'invented' by Zhu Gui, the little prince next to him.

This made Liu Jing's heart can't help but set off stormy waves again.

Liu Jing was still a little puzzled by Zhu Gui's practice of giving such a high status to a businessman.

After all, valuing agriculture over commerce has been China's experience for more than 2,000 years.

But now he can understand Zhu Gui's approach a little.

It is precisely because of the work of these merchants that the goods in Datong Province have been greatly satisfied.

And what Zhu Gui, the little prince, has to do is to firmly control the power of the merchant in his hands.

He did it, and now almost all the businessmen in Datong Mansion have joined the Datong Chamber of Commerce, and as for the entire Yunzhou, more than half of the businessmen are also involved.

And once they join the Chamber of Commerce, these businessmen are all on an equal footing, and they have more opportunities to cooperate, which also avoids excessive competition among businessmen.

Thinking of this, Liu Jing's eyes when he looked at Zhu Gui had changed.

During the banquet, Zhu Gui also passed several proposals put forward by businessmen from the Datong Chamber of Commerce, one of which was the idea of establishing branches in other cities.

Although the Datong Chamber of Commerce has a decisive force in Yunzhou and even the whole of Shanxi, it can even be said to be the largest chamber of commerce in the entire Ming Dynasty.

But his influence was now limited to where the caravan could reach.

If you want to influence a place that radiates farther, you can't wait for the official road to be rebuilt to that place, but you must first make preparations.

Although the 'tradition' of valuing agriculture over commerce is still very serious in the territory of the Ming Dynasty, these merchants, with the strong support of Zhu Gui, are very optimistic about their prospects.

As one of the merchants at the table said, 'The former merchants were spurned by the state and the people because they were mercenary and disregarded the general interests of the nation, and the king taught us that the best way to change this practice is to take it from the people and use it for the people.' ’

Of course, although during the banquet, all the businessmen were very optimistic about the future development of the Datong Chamber of Commerce, but they also knew that all of them depended on the support of the acting king.

And once there is any mistake in the position of the acting king, they will be affected.

Therefore, many people were a little puzzled by Zhu Gui's practice of not celebrating the emperor's birthday in Nanjing at this time, and they even asked.

Liu Jing also put down his wine glass when he heard this topic, and he also wanted to hear Zhu Gui's opinion on this matter.

He also heard a little about the conflict between Zhu Gui and Jinyiwei in Nanjing, and he also learned about the increasingly tense relationship between the kings when the crown prince was seriously ill and bedridden, and he also learned from Liu Bowen's letter.

He wanted to know whether Zhu Gui was still staying in Datong Mansion at this time to avoid trouble or something.

Zhu Gui didn't speak much, but at this time, seeing that everyone was attracted by this topic, he had no choice but to stand up, raise his wine glass and say, "Everyone should have heard of the relationship between this king and the emperor, right?" ”

Zhu Gui paused after saying this, and his face remained silent.

However, the crowd began to whisper, and more than half of the merchants had heard of it.

After all, Zhu Gui's reputation as the 'Demon King of the Mixed World' is very loud in Nanjing.

Zhu Gui continued: "In fact, even if the king continues to stay in Nanjing, it will only cause the emperor's dissatisfaction, and the lightest will be fined at that time, it is all money, and the king doesn't want to be bored, so he left under the pretext." ”

His tone was very relaxed, as if he was not talking about his own business.

When everyone heard this, the people who didn't know it all laughed, thinking that the acting king not only had no shelf, but was also very humorous.

However, the faces of those who have their own news channels are a little solemn.

You must know that before Zhu Gui went to Nanjing, he defeated the Mongols in Ganzhou, and if it was an ordinary person who could enter the house with this record, he would be proud to reuse it.

Couldn't the acting king change the emperor's attitude with such military exploits?

But even though they had doubts about it, they didn't say anything.

The banquet lasted until the end of the day.

The guests left one after another.

However, Zhu Gui and Liu Jing moved to the study and continued to talk.

As soon as the two talked a few words, Liu Jing changed his words and suddenly asked, "Lord Wang, I don't know if the entanglement between you and Jinyiwei is true?" ”

Zhu Gui, who was originally a little drunk, suddenly sat up straight and stared at Liu Jing when he heard this, and said after a while: "There are some words, this king doesn't know if he can talk to Qing." ”

Qing is a very respectful name for guests.

When Liu Jing heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and immediately leaned over and half-knelt in front of Zhu Gui and said: "I originally came to visit this place on the order of my father, but what I have seen and heard in the past month, as well as the two conversations with the prince today, have made me feel that the prince is a dragon and phoenix among people, and I am willing to serve the prince, but I don't know if the prince is willing to take him in." ”

"Haha, the minister alone has more than 10,000 elite people, this is the honor of this king, please hurry up."

When Zhu Gui heard this, he immediately helped Liu Jing up with a happy face.

Then he continued: "As for the question that Qing asked just now, I can't hide it, there is indeed this matter, Jinyiwei wants to be unfavorable to this king, if it weren't for some means of this king, he would really be killed by them, and this king is now thinking about how to trip up the Jinyiwei organization." ”