Nanming Engineer

Chapter 422
Fatty's smiling eyes saw Hong Chengchou glance at him, this kind of businessman is the most clever, his eyes blinked, his eyebrows moved, and he immediately bent down, almost bent his body to ninety degrees, bowed deeply, his head parallel to the ground , Shouted in the mouth: "Caomin Wang Tao, pay homage to Prime Minister Hong!"

As the saying goes, don't hit people with smiling faces. Although Hong Chengchou doesn't like merchants very much, he still has a little disgust, but this rice merchant named Wang Tao is very polite. People don't like to kneel down and make big salutes, even common people with high ranks would just bow and bow their hands when they see high-ranking officials.

Hong Chengchou was bored, put down the paper in his hand, put the wolf hair on the pen holder, stretched out his hand casually, and said, "No need, let's get up and talk."

The fat man stood up in response, thanked him, and stood in the same place well-behaved, but his eyes secretly looked around from the corner of his eye, as if he was very interested in the office of the current grand scholar, his eyeballs rolled around.

Hong Chengchou has met many of these merchants who are wealthy but have no political status. He is in charge of military and civilian affairs in the south of the Yangtze River, involving military affairs and people's livelihood. , There are at least a dozen of them, some of them are grand, some of them are shy, like this Wang Tao, there are quite a few.

Vulgar, vulgar, and philistine, this is Hong Chengchou's first impression of Wang Tao. He is dressed in expensive goods but has a fake smile on his face. He is respectful on the surface but looks around. Looking at his appearance reveals his inner nature. Hong Chengchou, who has read countless people, can conclude at a glance , This is another mercenary guy.

However, the businessman seems to be doing the same thing, kindness does not lead to justice, and it is strange if the businessman does not look like this.

So Hong Chengchou also put on a slight smile on his face, and asked kindly: "Boss Wang was introduced by Zuo Menggeng?"

"Exactly!" The fat man named Wang Tao replied: "The villain is from Huai'an. He has been doing business in Huaiyou all year round. His main business is rice and grain, and he is also involved in cloth and cotton. When Master Zuo Menggeng was stationed in Huaiyou, he The villain has a lot of care, and also has a lot of trust in him. The grain and grass in his army are all raised by the villain's business. Hearing that Xiang Hong has a large grain and grass business, he called Jiangnan rice merchants. Lord Zuo recommended the villain. .”

"Oh?" Hong Chengchou continued to ask with the same smile: "Although Zuo Menggeng has been drawn by the imperial court in recent years, there are only tens of thousands of people now, but back then he was an important town with 20 people under his command, and he could afford food and grass for such a large army. Yes, he must have quite a lot of money, I don’t know how much is Boss Wang’s net worth?”

Wang Tao's face was pale, and he became a little proud. He bowed slightly, and replied: "Meng Hong asked me, the villain has been in business for generations, and this rice business has been in the hands of the villain for many generations. It is the fifth generation. Although there are twists and turns during the period , but generally speaking, it is stable. The rice and grain merchants in the Nanzhili area, when it comes to my Jufutang, everyone knows everyone. In Zhejiang, Fujian and other places, there are warehouses and grain stores of my family, and in terms of wealth and ability, the whole of Jiangnan can be counted among the best."

Hong Chengchou was slightly taken aback. One million shi of grain was handed over a year, which was a huge amount. During the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Ming Dynasty, the annual income of the national government warehouses was only 4000 million shi of grain. That was when the Ming Dynasty was at its peak. No harm or disaster.

He nodded slightly, and seemed to say in an admiring tone: "Boss Wang's family has a long history, and he is indeed a rich man. No wonder Zuo Menggeng can strongly recommend you."

He changed the subject and asked casually, "I wonder when Boss Wang and Zuo Mengeng met?"

Wang Tao's face suddenly became uncomfortable, half of his face turned up in embarrassment, he secretly glanced at Hong Chengchou, only to find that Hong Chengchou's eyes were as sharp as knives, as sharp as trying to peel his heart, he couldn't help but feel the fat on his face, He hurriedly bowed and replied: "This, this, I dare not hide from Hong Xiang. The villain and Zuo Shuai met in the second year of Shunzhi. At that time, Zuo Shuai was newly attached to the imperial court and had nothing to rely on. He was stationed along the way from Yangzhou to Huai'an. There are a lot of people under his command, but they are short of food and wages, and they are about to mutiny and disperse. The villain was transporting food, and accidentally learned that it is a good time to send charcoal in the snow. The car entered the barracks on the spot and offered a lot of food and grass to Zuo Shuai. Zuo Shuai was overjoyed and became friends with the villain since then. There are also some involvements. To elaborate, at the root, I have to thank the emperor and the court, if it weren't for the mighty grace of heaven to bring Zuo Shuai back, the villain wouldn't have made such a mess with a little bit of prestige."

Hong Chengchou narrowed his eyes, half-smile: "Your business, Zuo Menggeng also has a foot in it?"

Wang Tao became even more embarrassed, hesitating and unable to speak.

Hong Chengchou waved his hand and snorted: "I don't care about the tricks you two are doing under the table, so let's stop here. But since your business is quite capable, it can be used. I wonder if Boss Wang is willing to do something for the court." Business?"

The light in Wang Tao's eyes lit up, his whole body suddenly became energetic, his fat face was filled with a smile again, he rubbed his hands and raised his head and said with a coquettish smile: "I am willing, willing, it is my duty to do things for the imperial court, and I will go through fire and water without hesitation! "

Hong Chengchou also laughed, patted the table lightly, and said slowly: "That's not necessary, as long as you do your job well."

.......
After a long time, Zu Tianci, now named Wang Tao, walked out of the palace with small steps. He was smiling as if he had received a huge reward. A bank note handed out from inside, also waved goodbye to him with a smile.

Turning his face around, Zu Tianci walked away quickly, and got into a carriage that had been parked outside the palace for a long time. When the door curtain was closed, the smile on his face disappeared, replaced by a calm and indifferent face.

He stroked the non-existent beard on his chin, pondered solemnly, stared at the ceiling of the carriage with his eyes fixed, and did not speak for a long time.

After a while, his eyes blinked, and there were faint tears.

……

In Wenlou, Hong Fu, who had sent Wang Tao away, returned to Hong Chengchou, holding a stack of papers in his hand, and gently placed them on Hong Chengchou's table.

Hong Chengchou, who was resting with his eyes closed, opened his eyes slightly, took a glance, closed his eyelids again, and continued to doze off.

Hong Fugong said: "It's all here. There are eighteen big businessmen in total. Their backgrounds and wealth are all written on it."

The stack of papers was placed on the table, but Hong Chengchou didn't reach out his hand to move it, just closed his eyes and didn't speak, Hong Fu also kept silent, standing quietly, as if he suddenly became dumb after saying the above sentence.

The room was silent, and the wind was blowing from the window, bringing a little bit of coolness. Nanjing is already a bit hot in summer, and the breeze is very pleasant.

Hong Chengchou raised his head and felt the smell of the wind. After a long time, he slowly opened his eyes, as if he was asking the wind: "Chenggan... and the old lady, where are you now?"

Hong Fu lowered his head and replied softly: "The second master and the old lady live on a painting boat, living with the waves, someone takes care of it, and it's on the bank of the Yangtze River."

The wind was a little stronger, and the paper on the table was blowing a little "squeaky", Hong Chengchou ignored it, he stood up, walked to the other side of the table, looked out the window, and unexpectedly showed a rare look of despair.

"Hong Fu...Tell me, me and Cheng Yan, who did the wrong thing? He or me?" At this moment, Hong Chengchou, who is extremely old, has no bearing of a superior person, and his back is a little hunched , the stature is actually a bit rickety.

Hong Fu still lowered his head, his brows were slightly wrinkled, and he was a little surprised.

"This..." Hong Fu hesitated, not daring to answer.

Hong Chengchou smiled, a little desolately: "It's hard for you to say, is it? It's not your fault, it's not your fault."

He looked out the window and saw the endless rows of rooftops. The palace with red walls and yellow tiles was majestic. The Wen Building was already tall. Standing here, it seemed as if the entire Forbidden City was beneath his feet.

"The soldiers of the Eight Banners are withdrawing. They are fine. They left as soon as they left, leaving me here to take care of the situation and raise rations for them. The war in Shanxi is tight. The rations must be transferred from here, otherwise it will not be necessary. Domishang is here." He said to himself, as if he was talking to Hong Fu, but also to himself: "It's also good for Chengyi, he looks down on me, and he promises that he will never set foot on Qingtu, and he will never set foot on Qingtu for the rest of his life." Living on the boat, he has integrity, unlike me, although he is my younger brother, he is better than me."

"Integrity." He repeated: "Integrity, but... what's the use of integrity? I lost, and even the emperor wrote me an elegiac couplet, which cut off my way back to Daming alive. What's the use of integrity? If I hadn't protected Chenggan, he and the old lady would have been killed by the Qing court long ago, can Qi Jie save them? Can you?"

As he spoke, Hong Chengchou's tone gradually became higher. When he said the last two words, his voice was already roaring. The guard downstairs looked up, then turned his head and leaned into the distance. depend on.

"Master, now that the matter is over, you should focus on the present." Hong Fu lowered his head and said.

"Yes, yes, look in front of you, look in front of you." Hong Chengchou took a long breath and smiled self-deprecatingly: "Although Shanxi is chaotic, it is not out of control, and the south is calm and peaceful. The regent personally Going to war, I think it is reliable, no matter how fierce Jiang Yu and Wang Huan are, they will not be as fierce as the Tartars, oh, I was wrong, it is the imperial court. It has been so long, and I still can’t change it, I always say it wrong.”

He reached out and patted his cheek, as if he had slapped himself, put his hand down, held on to the window frame, and stared at the distant roof.

It was almost evening, and the golden roof under the setting sun shone brightly under the sunlight, blending with the entire Forbidden City, resplendent and majestic.

The light reflected in Hong Chengchou's eyes, mixed with the black pupils, changed into countless colors, complex and profound, just like his heart, extremely contradictory.

(End of this chapter)