Chapter 44: A Guest Arrives at Jiangpu

  The capital responds to heaven, and Huang Guanfu, the Right Vice Minister of Rites, presents himself before the throne.

  Bang!

  A loud noise broke the tranquility of the front hall, and everyone was frightened, bowing their heads and closing their eyes, not daring to move slightly.

  Huang Guan was the first scholar in the Ming Dynasty to achieve three top honors, and in the 24th year of Hongwu, he entered the Hanlin Academy as a top scholar and was appointed as a compiler. He was deeply favored by the emperor until this year, when Emperor Hongwu regretted his talent and promoted him to the position of Right Vice Minister of Rites, often following the imperial carriage. At that time, he was only over 30 years old and was an extremely rare young and powerful minister in the court, with unlimited glory, and it can be said that it was a time of great success.

  Huang Guan was furious at this moment, and after slapping the table hard, he still felt unrelenting, pacing back and forth in the front hall.

  "This King Yan is really too arrogant! Far away in the land of Youyan, he led the army to defend the border, but stretched his hand into the capital city of Ying Tianfu, and turned the hundred-household generals under his command from military officers to civil officials. It was already absurd, and now he has the audacity to seize the power of the county magistrate. King Yan's move is a wolfish ambition, as clear as day!"

  County Magistrate Huang Rui-de of Jiangpu, who was standing beside him, looked embarrassed and his face turned bright red with shame.

  Huang watched Huang Rui De for a moment, opened his mouth, saw his embarrassed expression, and finally let out a long sigh, unable to say another harsh word.

  "Ruide brother, you are the magistrate of a county, how can you be manipulated by a subordinate county lieutenant? You govern on behalf of the emperor, but ended up with such a result, being usurped by your subordinate, it's really a betrayal to the emperor and the imperial court..."

  Huang Rui's face turned redder and redder with shame, he hung his head and sighed: "Shang Bin (Huang Guan's courtesy name) brother, I'm just a small seventh-rank county magistrate, offending Cao Yi is the same as offending Yan Wang, Yan Wang's power is great, how can I afford to offend him?"

  Huang Guan couldn't help but shout loudly again: "Although the King of Yan is a noble king, he's just a border guard king after all. What are you afraid of? The emperor has already decided that the crown prince will inherit the throne, and the King of Yan will at most be an imperial uncle in the future. This world won't be controlled by him!"

  Huang Rui De's face turned gloomy as he said, "Who in the world knows what the lower officials are doing? I only know that the King of Yan wants to put this small seventh-rank county magistrate to death, and it is as easy as turning over his hand..."

  Huang Guan heard this and looked at him sideways, his eyes full of disappointment and disdain.

  Huang Rui De licked his dry lips and said in a hoarse voice: "Shang Bin brother, you were the top scholar on the golden list back then, and I was also a fellow scholar who passed the exam with you. We have a bond as classmates from the same year. This time, I'm in trouble, and I hope Shang Bin brother will lend me a helping hand..."

  "Huang Guan angrily hummed: 'A mere eighth-grade county magistrate, acting so recklessly and disregarding official etiquette. If this person is allowed to dominate Jiangpu, wouldn't the whole world be turned upside down? Humph! I don't believe he can turn the sky around, after a few days, I will personally go to Jiangpu, and see if the authority of this county magistrate can suppress me, the Minister of Rites!'"

  Huang Rui De was overjoyed and hastily bowed his hands in gratitude.

  "Huang Guanzhong let out a deep sigh and said: "The King of Yan... Alas! The King of Yan! Our dynasty has been established for less than thirty years, yet it has already produced many hidden dangers that shake the foundation of the country. Among them, the greatest hidden danger is the vassal kings. The Emperor has divided his sons to rule different regions, replacing border generals with them, and the vassal kings hold the military and political power of a region, their power is too great. Especially the King of Yan and the King of Ning, who have many troops, are indeed the source of disaster for the country. The Emperor's move is really... Alas!"

  Huang Guan stopped talking before he finished speaking, and if he continued, he would inevitably be suspected of slandering you.

  "Shang Bin, I heard that you had foreseen the troubles of the vassal kings. Why didn't the Emperor heed your words?"

  "We walk in the imperial court, as if treading on thin ice. Since today's Son of Heaven rose from humble beginnings to establish this vast foundation for all eternity, he must be a heroic and far-sighted leader. He has enfeoffed his various sons as princes and stationed them at the borders to guard against external threats. The Son of Heaven naturally has his own profound intentions, and we ministers can only fulfill our duty as ministers, offering remonstrances about any shortcomings. Even when offering remonstrances, one must be tactful in speech. If the Son of Heaven does not adopt them, there is nothing we can do about it. Have you not heard of the lesson of Ye Boju in the ninth year of Hongwu?"

  Ye Boju, a native of Ninghai, Zhejiang Province, was admitted to the Imperial Academy during the early years of the Hongwu Emperor. In the eighth year of Hongwu (1375), Ye was assigned to Shanxi as an instructor at the Pingyao Confucian School. The following year, a rare astronomical phenomenon occurred, which was interpreted by officials and commoners alike as a sign from Heaven warning of impending disaster for the state. The Hongwu Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, issued an edict ordering scholars throughout the empire to submit memorials pointing out errors in governance or injustices perpetrated by the imperial court, along with criticisms and suggestions for improvement. Ye Boju took this opportunity to submit a memorial criticizing three major flaws in current government policies: excessive enfeoffment of princes, overuse of punishment, and overly hasty pursuit of results. Upon reading the memorial, Zhu Yuanzhang flew into a rage, shouting "This little wretch is piercing my very bones! Bring him before me at once, that I may personally shoot him to death!"

  Ye Boju was then taken into the capital, thrown into a large prison run by the Ministry of Justice, subjected to all sorts of torture and mistreatment, and eventually starved to death.

  With such a negative example standing in front of them, which of the many officials in the imperial court would still dare to bring up the matter of reducing the power of the vassals to Zhu Yuanzhang again?

  Huang Rui remained silent, he was just a seventh-grade county lieutenant, and his understanding of the overall situation in the world and the affairs of the imperial court was not too profound. For him, regaining control over Jiangpu was currently the most important thing.

  The cold wind howls, and it's already midwinter.

  On the official road leading to Jiangpu County in the west, several swift horses came slowly, and the loud hoofbeats raised a cloud of dust on the official road, which quickly dissipated in the wind.

  Among the crowd of knights, a young man stood out as the leader. He was surrounded by others who seemed to be protecting him. The young man appeared to be around 18 or 19 years old, with a face as white as jade and eyes that shone like stars. He was quite handsome, but his pale complexion made him look somewhat immature. His eyes exuded an air of majesty, yet also had a hint of bookishness. He wore simple clothing - just a plain long shirt made of ordinary fabric, with a pair of hemp shoes on his feet and a coarse cloth bag slung over his left shoulder. At first glance, he looked like a poor scholar, but his demeanor and movements revealed an air of elegance and nobility.

  Among the crowd galloping, they had already seen the city wall of Jiangpu County from afar. The young man immediately pulled the reins, looked at the city wall and sighed, his expression somewhat perplexed.

  One of the guards-like men bowed his head and said: "Your Highness, just ahead is Jiangpu County, would you like to enter the city and take a rest?"

  A young man with a nonchalant expression lazily said, "Whatever, it's fine whether we go or not. The emperor said that we should understand the people's hardships and often walk among them to take a look. But Mr. Huang said that all knowledge is in books, and the son of a wealthy family can't be expected to lower himself to the point of being unable to sit upright in his hall... Alas! I don't know who to listen to..."

  The guard smiled and said: "Of course what the emperor says is right, the emperor's words are definitely correct."

  A young man frowned and said, "But Mr. Huang is the emperor's appointed lecturer in the Eastern Palace, if what he says is wrong, wouldn't that mean the emperor's appointment was wrong?"

  The guard scratched his head in embarrassment: "Your Highness, haha, I'm a rough man and really don't understand..."

  The young man finally cracked a smile and said, "Forget it, why bother telling you all this? Since we're almost at the gate of Jiangpu City, let's just go in and take a look. Remember, after we enter the city, don't call me 'Your Highness', just call me Zhu Gongzi."

  "Yes!"

  The crowd responded in unison and galloped towards Jiangpu on horseback.

  Before long, a group of people entered from the south gate of the city. After entering the city, everyone got off their horses and walked slowly on the bustling Jiangpu Street, leading the reins. The young man's eyes were full of excitement, as if he felt that everything was very novel. After buying a pile of flashy but useless small items and being cheated by several unscrupulous vendors, the young man finally reluctantly stopped, unconsciously rubbing his waist, feeling a bit tired.

  The guard beside him said in a timely manner, "Young Master Zhu, there is a wine house ahead called Drunken Immortal Pavilion. If you are tired, why not go in and take a break, have a cup of tea to alleviate your fatigue?"

  The young man's eyes lit up, and he smiled: "That's great, I won't return to the capital today. You all go find an inn, put these small items I just bought into the room, and I'll go drink tea by myself."

  The guard hastily said: "Young master, you absolutely cannot have no one by your side. In my humble opinion, it's better to leave a few people behind for the young master to use."

  A young man impatiently said: "What are you afraid of? In my grandfather's reign, everything was peaceful and the people were simple and honest. Could it be that I would still encounter some danger? Hurry up and go! My grandfather told me to experience the hardships of the common people, but how can I do that when you're always surrounding me?"

  The guard hesitated for a moment, looked around again, and felt that there didn't seem to be any suspicious people nearby. He finally nodded and said: "Alright then, young master please go first, we'll get the guest house room ready, and someone will come to pick you up right away..."

  Young man waved his hand impatiently: "Hurry up and go!"

  He hastily stepped into the Drunken Immortal Building as soon as he finished speaking.

  Inside Drunken Immortal Pavilion.

  Xiao Fan was standing inside the counter with Dogzi and Da Shuan, instructing them on the grand plan for the development of Zui Xian Lou.

  "Go and spread the word to the wine merchants in Dong City, saying that our wine house is buying a large quantity of good wine. We accept female red, bamboo leaf green, rice wine, and burnt wine. Also, didn't Song Mama from Cang Spring Pavilion say that several pretty girls recently used their savings to buy back their freedom? Go find them..."

  "Hey boss, you're also the uncle of the Chen family, but before getting married, you've already found a mistress, and not just one, but several... isn't that being too greedy?"

  "Slap!" A loud slap landed on the dog's hindquarters, Xiao Fan said irritably: "Don't say such dirty words to a decent person, am I that kind of lustful person?"

  "What... does the shopkeeper mean?"

  "The profit from food is not that great, since it's called a 'wine house', we should focus on the 'wine' character. A good Huadiao wine, others call out for 'waiter bring wine', we can only sell it for two silver coins. But if these charming ladies were to sell this jar of Huadiao, with a few flirtatious glances, they could get one or two silver coins for the wine. Others might think it's expensive, but who would dare to lose face in front of women? Moreover, if we make the packaging more exquisite and the wine quality even better, with red sleeves adding fragrance while pouring, the price is only slightly higher than before, less than one or two silver coins. Would frequent customers care about this? In this way, customers get beauty to accompany their wine, and we earn a lot more silver coins, including those ladies who have retired from their profession but still have a steady income. It's a win-win situation, why not do it?"

  As soon as Xiao Fan's voice fell, the dog had not reacted yet, but a young man wearing an ordinary long shirt next to him suddenly exclaimed "hmm" in surprise, then widened his eyes and stared at Xiao Fan carefully, as if he had discovered some kind of interesting toy.

  Xiao Fan also opened his eyes wide and stared at him, puzzled in his heart. This guest came in the door, didn't look for a table to sit down and eat and drink honestly, but instead leaned on the counter staring at himself, that gaze made people's hair stand on end, could he think I'm running a duck shop?

  "I apologize, sir, but I'm afraid the boss doesn't sit at the counter..." Xiao Fan politely nipped any potential misunderstanding in the bud.

  The young man blinked his eyes and said in a tone with a hint of command: "Come out."

  "Sorry, this shopkeeper won't come out either..."

  The young man raised an eyebrow, seemingly unaccustomed to being rejected by others. He then regained his composure and asked with a hint of curiosity: "Your words just now seemed quite reasonable. I didn't expect that selling wine in a tavern could also sell so many principles. Ah, I'll ask you, if your wine is too expensive and people are unwilling to buy it, what do you do?"

  It's rare to have such a chance to show off the superiority of a traverser, Xiao Fang stood inside the counter with his hands behind him and said proudly: "Very simple, I'll just change my strategy and do a buy one get one free activity..."

  "What is buy one get one free?"

  "For example, the girls in charge of helping me sell Huajiao wine, each jar of wine sells for one or two silver coins. If others are not willing to buy it, I will raise the price, and each jar of wine will be sold for two silver coins. However, if you buy one jar, I will give you another jar for free. According to the national character of loving cheap things, do you think they will flock to it? Moreover, every time someone buys a jar of wine, I will also give away a dish of stir-fried appetizers, which is a bargain without any cost. In this way, I will make even more money..."

  The young man applauded and said: "Buy one get one free, it's really a good idea. You have some skills..."

  "That's for sure..." With a self-satisfied and pretentious smile, Xiao Fan suddenly froze, staring at the young man in shock: "Right, who are you?"

  Taking advantage of Xiao Fan's pause to drink tea and replenish his water, the young man smiled and nodded, saying: "Alright, alright, my name is Zhu Yunwen, nice to meet you, brother..."

  "Pffft!" A mouthful of hot tea was suddenly spat out by Xiao Fan, splashing Zhu Yunwen's face.

  Zhu Yunhe wiped his face and said calmly: "From the fresh hot tea in your mouth, I feel like you know me."