Twenty-six, conspiracy

  Zhou Dacheng had a short time to deal with Emperor Chongzhen, and at first he heard that the new emperor had taken down the eunuch party in one move. He was overjoyed and felt that the revival of the Ming dynasty was hopeful. Later, he was lucky enough to be selected as the Grand Secretary of the Ming Dynasty's Imperial Cabinet, and he searched his mind and presented three strategies: "Guarding the Ancestors", "Holding onto Emptiness" and "Taking Responsibility for Real Effects". He received praise and acceptance from Emperor Chongzhen.

  But the experience of officialdom's ups and downs for many years soon made him realize that this emperor was not indolent, but rather overworked; he didn't want to be a wise ruler, but wanted to be an overly wise ruler!

  Everything has a limit, and if it is exceeded, it will inevitably have the opposite effect. Moreover, Zhou Daodeng's ability was indeed limited. As a mediocre official, he might be barely acceptable, but as the prime minister in charge of state affairs, he fell short by too far. Therefore, after less than a year of reinstatement, he was dismissed again and continued to retire at home.

  This made Zhou Daodeng extremely fortunate, encountering such a master who could retreat wholeheartedly. But what he didn't expect was that when one is sitting at home, disaster comes from the sky; Zhou Tonggui had clearly been sent to Luzhou by himself, but who knew this wolf-hearted and dog-abdomened thing would go and accuse him of great irreverence!

  It's all right, it's all right. This guy had long wanted to make him his heir, but the result was not as expected. So he made this move. After the government confiscated their property, they would give him some reward...

  Thinking of this, Zhou Daodeng's eyes turned black and his body went limp. He was old and indulged in wine and lust, his body was not good to begin with (in fact he died of illness in the second half of that year), his heart was both furious and fearful, his blood surged up, and when it reached his chest, he collapsed.

  Yu Guozhen pulled him up again, but found that his body had become even heavier this time, with white foam dripping from his mouth and making a gurgling sound. Yu Guozhen was slightly stunned, loosened his hand and let go of him, Zhou Daoteng struggled to stretch out his hand towards the table, where there were tea cups, but he couldn't reach them!

  Zhou Daodeng looked at Yu Guozhen with a pleading gaze, but Yu Guozhen was coldly staring back at him. Knowing he couldn't get help from this "Brocade Guard", he struggled to crawl towards the table by himself.

  "Now you die, only you one person will die. If you don't die, then the whole family will die. Your old mother in your household is already over 80 years old." Yu Guozhen said coldly: "Do you think she would also suffer a knife for you?"

  Zhou Dao's hand trembled, and with his last breath, he let out a final gasp. His head tilted to the side, his body convulsed violently, and then a foul odor emanated from him.

  Gao Er Zhu stared blankly at this scene, his heart churning like a boiling pot.

  He followed Yu Guozhen to do things, originally thought it was like that night killing Yu Yigou's whole family, just coming to kill openly, but did not think that Yu Guozhen did not move his knife at all, only took a silk handkerchief for Zhou Daodeng to see.

  Then Zhou Daodeng died like this!

  Killing without using a knife is the ultimate state of killing!

  In the past, Gao Er Zhu thought he should be a fierce general, fighting and charging on the battlefield, just like in the novels. He could charge up and down Changban Slope seven times, but at this moment, he suddenly felt that this might not be what he wanted most.

  Perhaps... like Young Master, using a silk handkerchief to force the death of a retired official, this is the most brilliant move.

  Yu Guozhen felt a little regret in his heart, originally he didn't plan to let Zhou Daodeng die, but to make him know that he had evidence of his wrongdoings, if he dared to be unfavorable to himself, he would hand over the evidence to the real Embroidered Uniform Guard.

  Yu Guozhen repeatedly pondered Zhou Daodeng's character from Zhou Tonggui's confession. Although he had been a Grand Councilor, in reality he was timid and afraid of trouble. Moreover, judging from his personality, he was indeed fearful that such a confession would fall into the hands of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

  But what he didn't expect was that Zhou Daodeng's courage would be so small that he would be scared to death.

  He made a gesture towards the second pillar, and then the two of them quietly left the house again. At this time, Wujiang was still relatively peaceful, and because Zhou's house had deep courtyards, not many people noticed the inner courtyard. They climbed back over the wall to their own home, and incredibly, no one discovered them along the way.

  "Little... little official, is that old man really dead?" Back at the Guiguan Courtyard, Gao Erzhu finally came to his senses and asked Yu Guozhen.

  His eyes, looking at Yu Guozhen, shone with admiration and awe. Before, he had been extremely loyal to Yu Guozhen, but now this loyalty had risen to an unprecedented level. He even felt that his own little official, compared to Zhuge Kongming in the novels, was even more formidable.

  What's the big deal about killing Wang Lang, Zhuge Liang still wants to scold him in front of the army formation. Your own young master was killed by just two sentences on a piece of cloth, and that killed an imperial advisor!

  "Hmm, didn't I teach you that before? Breathing is not a reliable way to determine if someone is truly dead. The best method is by pulse."

  "Haha, haha, I didn't think of that, forgot......" Gao Erzhu chuckled softly: "Young Master... is really formidable!"

  "Don't mention this again." Yu Guozhen glared at him: "Shut your mouth and go to sleep."

  The next day, they woke up to hear a commotion outside. Yu Guozhen was somewhat surprised and told Er Zhu to go find out what was happening. After a while, Gao Erzhu ran back with an odd expression: "Young Master, that Wu Jiang former official is dead."

  At this point, he blinked his eyes and couldn't help but reveal a hint of a smile. Yu Guozhen carelessly swept him with a glance: "If you're dead, then die, why make a fuss all the way to the Returning Home Courtyard?"

  "This matter is related to what I heard yesterday... about that old man taking a concubine..."

  The original discovery of Zhou Daodeng's death was made by the Zhou family members last night, but it looked like an ordinary stroke and there were no suspicious signs at the scene. Given that Zhou Daodeng had been ill before, no one suspected anything abnormal about his death. The Zhou household was in a state of turmoil, with all the wives and concubines insisting that Yang Ai, the maid, was the primary culprit, claiming she was a jinx who brought disaster to the family. Why else would Master Zhou have said he wanted to take her as a concubine on the same night he died? It's clear that she is the one who brought about his demise.

  The hat came off, and the little maid Yang Ai could no longer stay at the Zhou's house. Mother Zhou thought of how she had served them diligently every day, so she sold her back to the Guiyuan House.

  Speaking of which, Er Zhu thought of the little maid's appearance and couldn't help but add a sentence: "No wonder that old guy wanted to be with young girls, that little maid is indeed quite lively."

  Yu Guozhen was not very interested in this, although he came here as an excuse to recruit craftsmen, he actually needed to recruit craftsmen back. Xiang'an is a small town after all, far inferior to the Taihu Lake area where handicrafts are highly developed.

  But he did not expect that after a while, Zhang Yu and Xu Fo actually sent someone to invite him.

  "Mr. Xi Ming, brother of Fo Er." To Zhang Yu, Yu Guozhen was always respectful, so although Zhang Yu was somewhat dissatisfied that he did not immediately join the Fushe, he did not dislike him.

  "Yu Gongzi, the matter you entrusted to me yesterday has taken shape. Our best weaving artisan has arrived and is waiting outside." Xu Fo smiled and said: "I still have some matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave first."

  Zhang Yu didn't avoid suspicion. After those few workers arrived, he smiled and listened from the side, probably wanting to observe how Yu Guozhen practiced his practical skills.

  Yu Guozhen first asked their names, and there were three of them. After inquiring about the situation with the looms for a while, Yu Guozhen said: "To be honest, I don't just want to buy looms, but also invite craftsmen to our Lu state, do you three have any intention?"

  As soon as they heard that they had to leave their hometown and go to Luozhou, the oldest of the three immediately looked embarrassed: "Please don't blame me, my family has old and young people, I can't leave for a moment."

  "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. If you are willing to go with me, you can naturally bring your family along. I am willing to spend five taels of copper money every month." Yu Guozhen said: "This price will increase as the time spent working for me increases. This year is five taels, next year it will be six taels, and if you work for me for ten years, then each month will be fifteen taels!"

  This is a pretty good income, usually about one or two silver taels, while the annual salary of a county magistrate in the Ming Dynasty was only 45 taels of silver! Therefore, all three were taken aback, and even the oldest one couldn't help but widen his eyes.

  Zhang Yu slightly shook his head, feeling a little disappointed. This Guo Zhenxian, it seems, is still just talking on paper.

  "Is what Young Master said really true? One tael and five mace per month, in a year... that would be sixty taels?"

  "It's all right, you don't have to worry about the registration either, I'll send someone to take care of it at the government office." Yu Guozhen gave them another reassurance.

  The three craftsmen looked at each other, hesitated for a while, and finally the older one said: "It's not that we don't trust you, young master, it's just that the price you offered is really too high... Are you really going to hire us to make a loom?"

  "Not making a weaving machine, but improving a weaving machine." Yu Guozhen smiled slightly.

  As soon as the words were spoken, Zhang Yu, who had been rapidly lowering his evaluation of Yu Guozhen in his heart, suddenly raised his head and looked at Yu Guozhen with a strange light in his eyes.

  If one desires to improve his craft, he must first sharpen his tools. This principle Zhang Yu should understand. Moreover, he claims to be a disciple of Xu Guangqi, although there is some strain in this claim, but he still has a good understanding of Xu Guangqi's academic ideas. Xu Guangqi attaches great importance to the improvement of tools, so he also knows that if the loom is improved, what it will mean!

  If it can greatly improve the loom, even if it costs five or six taels a month to hire craftsmen, it's worth it, let alone ten or eight taels!

  However, for the three craftsmen, they still had to think again. They looked at each other and hesitated in their hearts. Yu Guozhen was not in a hurry either: "You can go back and discuss this with your family members. If your family members have any skills, I can also find work for them to do."

  Three craftsmen left somewhat dejectedly, and Zhang Yu finally spoke up: "Brother Guo Zhen... can you really improve the loom?"

  They were mostly wealthy scholars from families with significant assets related to the silk industry. Improving the loom was crucial for them, and Zhang Pu thought about how much it would boost their reputation and attract new scholars to join the Fushe.

  The world is in a state of turmoil, and everyone is rushing after profit. Even scholars who pride themselves on their integrity are no exception.

  I am another divider line

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