Chapter 353: Song Juren, right? My Lord invites you
King Heng rebels... His Majesty is the only one who obeys...
In the "Cha Xiaozhai", the cold wind of late autumn stirred the autumn trees in the courtyard, and a few sparks flew up from the red-burning stove.
Zhao Duan finally had a surprised expression, sat up slightly and stared at this famous widow.
surrender! Submit your certificate!
The other party was so open and honest, and submitted the letter of nomination without any disguise!
"Mrs. Xiao, do you know what you are talking about?" Zhao Duan asked with squinted eyes.
Xiao Donger's eyes did not hide away, and there was still determination in her expression.
She knew that once these words were spoken, it would be equivalent to pushing the entire family to the gambling table. They would either win a big victory and be promoted to a truly wealthy family, or they would fall to the bottom and suffer a hundred years of accumulation and the family would be destroyed!
"Sir, if you didn't hear clearly, I can say it again." Xiao Dong'er said calmly.
Zhao Duan was silent for a moment and asked, "Why?"
He was not surprised that a family head at this level could see through the world's situation, and he was not too surprised by this woman's determination and gambling, but he was curious about what gave her the basis for her choice.
It had only been three years since the empress ascended the throne, and the eight kings were eyeing her.
Who will win in the end? Even Zhang Yanyi, who is proficient in deduction, cannot calculate or understand.
Xiao Donger said calmly:
"Because the Xiao family cannot be tied to Prince Heng. Although the remnants of Kuangfu Society are rampant in the world today, they have long since passed and are destined to be unable to compete in the world. Today, His Majesty's foothold is gradually becoming more stable and he has become an emperor. Although there are rumors that the eight princes may have The heart to aspire.
Maybe eight people working together can really fight, but even if they retreat ten thousand steps and the eight kings win, there is only one emperor's dragon chair, who can sit on it? Who can't sit?
It is recognized today that King Jing of Jiancheng Dao is the strongest, followed by King Mu of Yunfu Road... In terms of ranking, King Heng is probably in the middle, although he is much stronger than King Lingnan, but when it comes to aspiration... Qingzhou Road has a history of thousands of years There has never been an emperor. "
These words were eloquent and eloquent, and it was a woman who commented on the world's situation with extraordinary courage.
Zhao Duan said calmly:
"So, you have determined that King Heng will not win. Even if the eight kings join forces and do great things, when the credits are equally divided, King Heng will not be among the top three. And when the time comes, the one who sits on the throne of God will , how can you tolerate someone else sleeping beside the bed?"
Xiao Donger nodded and said:
"Your Majesty, you are aware of this. Therefore, if Your Majesty wins, then our Xiao family and Prince Heng will be tied together, and there will be no good results. If unfortunately we teach a certain prince to win, the Xiao family of East Lake who is tied to Prince Heng will still not be able to win." There will be good results. In that case, why not take a gamble?”
Why not gamble? !
At this moment, she spoke extremely frankly, and she even felt a little bit crazy.
Zhao Duan was silent. He could probably guess that this woman chose to bet on the Empress because she had been oppressed by Prince Heng's Palace for too long.
But still... very...
crazy.
"Did you know that just because of your idle remarks about government affairs, I can throw you into prison." Zhao Duan suddenly said.
Mrs. Xiao smiled brightly, without panicking, picked up the baked rice cake and presented it to her.
Zhao Duan took it and said:
"How can I believe what you said? What if you were sent by Xu Zudi to act?"
Mrs. Xiao smiled and said:
"If your Excellency is willing to nod, Dong'er will go out with you in a big way, or record what he just said into a video. Or, since our Xiao family does not take any profit from the business, even if it is fake, it will not harm the imperial court. ?”
You are quite thoughtful... Zhao Duan took a bite of the rice cake and said:
"Is this the decision of the entire Xiao family?"
"I am the head of the family. As long as I do something, the whole family will have no way of turning back."
Xiao Donger calmly replied, "As long as I become an imperial merchant, no matter how angry and targeted Prince Heng is, at least I can't do anything on the surface, my Xiao family can handle it."
You are bringing the entire tribe to the gambling table. You are really a crazy woman... Zhao Duan rubbed his chin and said:
"Last question."
He suddenly smiled evilly: "Since you are here to beg me, how can you please me?"
Mrs. Xiao was stunned, with a hint of sadness and sigh in her eyes.
After hesitating for a while, she seemed to have finally made up her mind. She stood up, took off her shawl, and said in a soft voice:
"You can do whatever you want Dong'er to do."
She was thinking wrong.
Seeing that Zhao Duan remained silent, this widow, who was extremely famous throughout the Yu Dynasty, gritted her teeth, took a few steps closer, and was about to kneel down...
But he was stopped by an iron chaxu.
"Madam, what do you mean?" Zhao Duan smiled.
Mrs. Xiao was stunned for a moment, unable to speak, and seemed to finally realize that she might have been wrong:
"I……"
Zhao Duan said calmly:
"I do need you to do one thing. In a few days, the imperial court will open a market in Huting. Do you know?"
The change of topic was so abrupt that Mrs. Xiao's mind shut down for a moment before she nodded:
"Of course I know. This is the major event that merchants from all over the world are paying most attention to recently. It is said that the imperial court will hold a meeting in Huting to announce the list of the first batch of imperial merchants and discuss strategies with them."
Zhao Duan nodded and said calmly:
"I can give you a place as an imperial merchant, but not now. I need you to attend the Huting Meeting and wait for my news. Maybe the Xiao family will need to set an example publicly."
Mrs. Xiao was startled at first, then showed surprise on her face, and she hurriedly bowed her head respectfully:
"Yes! The Xiao family will live up to your lord's respect!"
"Go back. Before that, don't alert the enemy." Zhao Duan ordered.
Mrs. Xiao was overjoyed, she hurriedly responded, thanked him several times, then put on her cloak again and left in a hurry.
In the blink of an eye, only Zhao Duan was left warming himself by the fire in the small courtyard.
He picked up the cup of hot tea with milk and took a sip, feeling the heat rolling into his esophagus, and suddenly smiled to himself.
"There are surprises everywhere in the world."
Zhao Duan also had an idea just now and dropped a child. Although some of the plans in his mind were not clear yet, things in the world are unpredictable and will not follow the set track. Just as he never expected, a contest with Xu Zudi would actually lead to the defection of the Xiao family from East Lake.
Similarly, if a chess piece he casually dropped on the chessboard, who would dare to say what miraculous effects it would have later on?
When Yuan Li laid out the chess layout, he could only be a chess player in the corner.
When the Empress and Prince Jing played chess in Taicang, he became a pawn in the battle again.
Now, he first deployed spies to deal with Zhuang Xiaocheng, and then used Xiao Dong'er to suppress King Heng, but unknowingly, he had a strategist to launch a counterattack.
Shaking his head and putting this unexpected episode aside for the time being, Zhao Duan drank the milk tea in his cup, looked at the sky, muttered something, got up and left.
The meeting with Mrs. Xiao was just a temporary stopgap. His real plan today was to snipe Mr. Zhengyang.
"Look at the time, it's time to leave. Hey, Zhengyang, Zhengyang, let's test your quality first."
…
…
other side.
Mrs. Xiao walked out of the tailor shop, the maid still holding a few wrapped garments, got into the carriage, and the group went straight back to the grand courtyard of yesterday.
This place was originally the property of the Xiao family, and Xu Zudi forcibly followed him there, eating, drinking and staying.
A group of talents entered the courtyard and caught a glimpse of Xu Zudi, who looked like a young man in rich clothes, practicing boxing.
There is actually a bit of a tiger and a tiger in the wind.
Mrs. Xiao returned to her low-brow, harmless vase image, and stood aside to watch silently.
After finishing a set of punches, Xu Zudi slowly exhaled and stared at Xiao Donger, who looked lonely, with a half-smile but not a smile:
"How about it, can Master Xiao knock on the door of the Yamen today?"
Mrs. Xiao shook her head in frustration.
Xu Zudi laughed heartily, with undisguised joy on his face:
"My prince has already said that the imperial court will not let you enter the market. How about I don't believe you? If you are a good family head, you will go to the government office to show your warm face to someone else's cold butt."
Mrs. Xiao sighed softly, seeming to accept her fate: "The prince said it is true."
Xu Zudi was in a good mood and suddenly said:
"After a while, the imperial court will open a market in Huting. Please go there."
Madam Xiao was stunned for a moment: "His Royal Highness, what are you..."
Xu Zudi smiled proudly:
"Since the imperial court does not want you, then the Xiao family master should understand that it is better to be with Prince Heng Mansion with all his heart. At the time of the Huting meeting, merchants and wealthy families from all over the world gathered, so you should set an example so that these people can learn from it. See the situation clearly and know which side to take.”
"..."
Mrs. Xiao's eyes were extremely strange, but the emotion lasted only for a moment, and then disappeared. She bowed slightly, and her meaning was unclear:
"As commanded."
…
…
The capital is getting more and more lively.
If the news about academic discussions had just spread yesterday, today it has already caused an uproar, and even people who are not scholars have heard about it.
The gate of the Imperial College.
Song Juren and a group of scholars who also belonged to the "Zhengyang School" were almost driven out.
This move aroused a burst of anger from his companions:
"What an Imperial Academy, but he can't argue openly and honestly, so he just teaches others to drive us away! He really is not a scholar in the first place!"
"That's right! They are nothing more than a group of thieves who know they can't argue with Mr. Zhengyang, so they resort to such means of blocking the mouthpiece! But you can block us, but you can't block the mouths of all the scholars in the world!"
"Brothers and gentlemen, it's still early, let's go to several literary gatherings in the city, and be sure to clear your name!"
"Go together! Go together!"
A group of impassioned scholars turned Song Juren around and left.
Four days later, the academic debate between Dong Xuan and Zhengyang began, but public opinion outside the academic debate was also an important factor.
Therefore, in the past few days, the more than one hundred disciples who followed Zhengyang into the city have begun to contact classmates and old friends in the city, organize various cultural gatherings, and build momentum in advance.
Today, they went into the Imperial College to build momentum, and ended up having a lively quarrel with a group of students. However, they were discovered by the Imperial College and ordered to be kicked out directly.
Song Juren was trapped in the crowd. After all, he was an old man in his fifties, no more energetic than his younger brothers from the school.
After a fight, he lost his energy, so he waved goodbye to the rest of the "Zhengyang School", walked alone through the long street, and returned to the inn.
Song Juren has been very excited these days.
At first, he was actually planning to send Mr. Zhengyang to the capital and leave. After experiencing the Gong Taicang case not long ago, he was somewhat wary of the bloody disputes among the upper echelons of the court.
I don’t really want to get involved.
But the other brothers couldn't stand it anymore, and they all shouted loudly and refused to retreat. Song Juren, who was very concerned about his face, stopped him... He really had no shame in saying that he wanted to leave.
So he entered the city in a daze, and after entering the city, there was even more noise. Song Juren was surrounded by fanatical scholars, and he also developed a heroic spirit to support the people of the world and reshape etiquette.
In short, on top.
He even had the urge that he had lived in vain for the past few decades and that he should fight vigorously for the whole life of his studies and would rather die for the saint's teachings without regrets.
"I'm talking about being a teenager..."
Song Juren was walking on the long street, feeling excited, until a young man suddenly appeared in front of him and smiled at him:
"Song Juren, right? My lord has invited you."
(End of chapter)