Prince Consort

Half a month passed by.

Xie Ze'an finally saw the capital.

The conversation on the car for half a month gave Xie Ze'an a general understanding of this era.

This dynasty named Daqing did not exist in the history he was familiar with. The wheel of history has undergone earth-shaking changes since the Sui Dynasty. There was no Tang Dynasty, and it was replaced by the Daqing Dynasty.

The Daqing Dynasty seems to be more inclined to the Song Dynasty. Taizu established the country with martial arts and ruled the country with literature, and the status of scholar-officials was extremely high.

Similarly, powerful enemies on the border of Daqing are on the lookout.Today, before Zhao Ying ascended the throne, he fought in all directions, and his reputation spread all over the prairie, and all the barbarians bowed their heads and proclaimed themselves ministers.

Today, Zhao Ying is old.

Zhao Ying is old.

These words were extremely heavy for the Daqing Dynasty, especially after seeing that the crown prince had made no progress, many people were secretly worried.

Zhao Ying is old, who can control the surrounding countries?

Zhao Ying is old, who can guarantee that the young prince is as wise as his father?

The officials in the court had various ideas, and the people in the capital had various actions—although these were all done in private, the atmosphere in the capital was still getting more and more serious day by day.

The rain is coming and the wind is all over the building.

Logically speaking, knowing all this, Xie Ze'an should stay away from the dangerous place of the capital, but that's not what Xie Ze'an would do at all.Xie Ze'an has never been afraid of wind and rain, the more windy and rough, the more he likes it.

He is a real villain who loves to watch the excitement and fears that the world will not be chaotic.

It's better to fish when the water is muddy.

Xie Ze'an jumped off the carriage and looked up at the majestic city in front of him.

In front of the city gate is the moat with a suspension bridge. The river is wide enough for five boats to pass by at the same time without being crowded. Willows are often planted along the river, but neat birch trees, white trunks and snow fields are planted on both sides of the river. Almost blended into one color, but still tall and straight.

After crossing the moat, there is a city wall that rises abruptly. It is made of huge blue-black stone bricks, and it looks as if it cannot be shaken.A plaque with a black background and a gold border hangs on the gate of the city, with the words "Huang Jing" written on it.

This is the power center of the Daqing Dynasty.

Xie Ze'an watched carefully for a moment, then reached out to hug Xiaomei Xie to get off the car.

Zhao Chongzhao and his party received an urgent letter from the palace not long ago. They had to get out of the car and take out the road guide for the guard to check before they could enter the city.

Xie Ze'an hugged Xiaomei Xie and followed Li Shi, looking peaceful and well-behaved.

After entering the city, Xie Ze'an took back the right to speak: "First find a place to live, something clean, and we have to discuss other matters in the long run."

Mrs. Li nodded.

It is not easy to live in Chang'an, the bigger and more prosperous the city is, the harder it is for the poor to live in.First-tier cities are expensive and housing prices are high, which is inevitable in any era.Thanks to Xie Ze'an's rich experience, he found a suitable place to live in just three and two clicks.

Although the alley is a bit out of the way, Shengzai's surroundings are clean and there is nothing messy about it.Compared with the starting house price of [-] and the rent of [-], Xie Ze'an felt that the rent mentioned by the owner was simply the conscience of the industry.

Of course, Xie Zean was not generous enough to rent the place out.He took advantage of the child's convenience to chat with the owner for a long time, coaxing the other party to smile, and he insisted on reducing the price by another [-]%!

The place to live was settled, and Xie Ze'an began to plan his next move.

His "father" is called Xie Qian, and his name is Ruogu, which means to be modest.He was quite famous before he was the number one scholar in high school. When he was named on the gold list, Emperor Zhao Ying boasted, "Is it Xie Ruogu from the Xie family in Tongchuan? Sure enough, he is handsome and handsome, with extraordinary appearance."

It was this rare compliment that made the widowed eldest princess so excited that she begged Zhao Ying to let Xie Qian be her son-in-law.

Originally thought that Xie Qian would not be willing to take the position of son-in-law, but Xie Qian readily agreed and married the princess soon after.

At the very beginning, many people felt sorry for Xie Qian: Xie Qian was so talented, if he entered the court as the No. [-] scholar, he might be able to rank among the third princes and rank first in the official rank.After marrying the princess, although he is expensive as a son-in-law, he is not so easy to be a relative of the emperor. At least there are many restrictions when serving in the court. It is probably impossible to become a first-rank official!

How could such an object of pity become a guy that everyone despises?There must be reasons that others don't know about.

Xie Ze'an wanted to know the reason.

Xie Ze'an is not afraid of trouble, but he absolutely does not want to be involved in trouble for no reason.

The problem is, he's new here, no one has no money, and he can't start an investigation at all.

Money is a good thing.

Xie Ze'an bit the pen in his mouth, stretched out his fingers and tapped the white paper he just bought.He needs to start a small business with low cost and quick money, but he can't do it himself, he can only ask someone to help him.

Xie Ze'an didn't know many people when he came here, so he thought for a while, talked to Mrs. Li and went out.

Xie Ze'an was visiting Zhang Dade's elder brother.Zhang Dade is not very old, only fifteen or sixteen years old. According to him, he was sent to the palace as a eunuch when he was six years old.

Zhang Dade's family left the capital soon, only his honest elder brother stayed here. In the beginning, it was his elder brother who worked hard to do coolies to bring money to Zhang Dade in the palace, so that Zhang Dade had spare money to manage things up and down, and saw the opportunity Became Zhao Chongzhao's valet.

Who is Zhao Chongzhao?No one said it, but everyone knew it.

He is the current prince.

What do you worry about when you become the prince's servant?At least in the job of eunuch, Zhang Dade was able to straighten his back and be a man with elation.

Zhang Dade is grateful for his elder brother's support in the early years, and will definitely go to see his elder brother when he has the opportunity to go out of the palace.

Xie Ze'an heard Zhang Dade talk about the Zhang family's elder brother's home several times: there are willows in front of the door, a small bridge in front of it, and a wharf that has been trampled bare beside the bridge.

There are not many clues, but Xie Ze'an can't be troubled.He has an excellent memory, and he will never forget the road he has traveled. It seems that he has a natural map in his mind. A few sentences of description are enough for him to determine the direction.

Xie Ze'an took notes while walking, and walked around half of the capital, and luckily found a place that fit Zhang Dade's description.

He walked forward along the willow tree, and saw a neat small courtyard in front of him.

Zhang Dade's elder brother is called Zhang Dayi, and he no longer works as a coolie, but instead does some small business with ships, nothing more than taking the cheap things in the capital to other places, and bringing back some goods from other places, earning a lot of money every time he goes back and forth. price difference.

Few people are willing to be merchants these days, because the status of merchants is low, not only the taxes are extremely high, and they are not even allowed to take the imperial examination after starting a business!

Merchants who can really get rich must be tied to the government, but this is only "big rich" and cannot be "big expensive". Scholars, farmers, businessmen, merchants rank last, and their status is lower than craftsmen.

Zhang Dade was not happy for a long time when he first learned that Zhang Dayi became a merchant, but Zhang Dayi said: "Anyway, I am not a material for studying, and being a merchant is more free."

Only then did Zhang Dade accept it.

These are all Xie Zean heard from Zhang Dade. If Zhang Dade is telling the truth, then this Zhang Dayi must be an honest man who values ​​love and righteousness—this kind of honesty is not a stupid honesty who doesn’t know how to adapt. Just from the beautiful courtyard, he knows that he is doing well now.It can be seen that Zhang Dayi's mind is alive and he has figured out the way to do business.

Xie Zean stepped forward and knocked on the door.

There was a hearty "Hey" from inside, followed by the sound of striding footsteps approaching.Soon, the door creaked and opened. A man with a mustache sized Xie Zean up and asked politely, "Who are you looking for, baby?"

Xie Ze'an said, "I'm looking for Brother Zhang Dayi."

Bazihu ​​curled his lips and smiled: "I am Zhang Dayi, you don't know me, how could you find me?"

Xie Ze'an said: "If I don't look for you, how can I know you?"

Zhang Dayi looked at Xie Ze'an, said with a smile: "It seems that you are an interesting little guy, I like interesting people, come in."

Xie Ze'an said: "Just listening to what Dade told me, I thought you would be a thick and strong man, but I didn't expect you to look like this, Brother Zhang."

He is tall and thin, with a handsome face, two beards that are neatly trimmed, and a businessman's shrewd eyes. He doesn't look like the "simple and honest person" that Zhang Dade said.

Zhang Dayi declined to comment.

He asked: "Is there something wrong with the Dade asking you to come?" He looked at Xie Ze'an sympathetically, "You haven't been in the palace for a long time, have you? Does it hurt?"

Xie Ze'an: "..."

Xie Ze'an felt that Jiji was in pain.

Xie Ze'an said, "I am not from the palace."

Zhang Dayi looked at Xie Ze'an in surprise, and said, "I misunderstood? Look at your red lips and white teeth. You are not as rough as other boys at all. You can't blame me."

Xie Ze'an: "..."

Although half a month is not too long, it is not too short either. It seems that he ate, drank and dressed with Zhao Chongzhao all the way. Not only did he take care of his body, but he also made him look handsome!

Xie Ze'an said, "Brother Zhang, I'm here to discuss something with you."

Seeing the earnestness on Xie Zean's face, Zhang Dayi's eyes moved slightly, he stopped joking, and replied with the same sincerity: "Speak."

Xie Ze'an said, "I want to cooperate with you in a small business. I will not show up, and I will not contribute capital."

Others would definitely laugh at Xie Zean's whimsy, but Zhang Dayi didn't.

Zhang Dayi is a weird person. He often does things that others can't think of. For example, he stays when his family leaves the capital; The goods that have appeared in the capital have been sold at high prices again and again—from this point of view, Zhang Dayi is a smart man again.

Smart people are always keen to grasp the opportunities that come their way.

The first meeting between Xie Ze'an and Zhang Dayi was very successful.

They both made a great impression of each other and made a great impression on each other.

A few days later, a furniture called "Zhangjia Chair" quietly appeared on the market.At that time, people were used to sitting with their legs crossed on the couch, and chairs were not yet popular, because most people thought it was a barbarian's seat, and most of them thought the sitting posture with their legs vertical was weird.

Zhang Dayi found a lot of ways, and dedicated the "Zhangjia chair" with wheels to Mrs. Qin, who had handicapped legs and feet and resigned from office.

The "Zhangjia chair" presented by Zhang Dayi is exquisite in workmanship and looks simple and elegant, as if it was made according to the old master Qin's preferences. The old master Qin liked it very much when he saw it.After being bedridden for many years, I was finally able to sit up again and read and write articles. Mrs. Qin was so excited that she invited a few students to say that she would start compiling history books at home!

Master Qin's students were very excited.

In order not to let their teacher sit on the "Hu chair" alone, they bought a "Zhangjia chair" from Zhang Dayi one after another and sent him to Mrs. Qin's house, and the master and apprentice all sat on it.After coming and going, there was a rumor in the capital that "literati and bureaucrats all sit in Zhangjia chairs".Scholar-bureaucrats are the most sought after class, even if they accept something, how can others not accept it?

"Zhangjia chairs" quickly became popular in the capital, but "Zhangjia chairs" are sold in a limited number in the name of exquisite workmanship, ten pieces a day, and the store will be closed when sold out!

The more you can’t get many things, the more you want them. Even though other carpenters imitate similar chairs quickly, the price of “Zhangjia Chair” is still rising, and there are even exaggerations that “a thousand pieces of gold are easy to get, but a chair is hard to find”. reputation.

As a person who participated in the whole process of "packaging" and "publicity", Zhang Dayi felt like he was in a dream!

Originally, Zhang Dayi thought that he was smart enough, that he could still make a lot of money when others couldn't.But after seeing Xie Zean's "marketing strategy", Zhang Dayi felt that he was too far behind!

Zhang Dayi is very glad that he didn't try to take advantage of Xie Zean just because Xie Zean was young, otherwise he would not only miss such a good opportunity, but also create a terrible enemy for himself!

Zhang Dayi sighed: "Sanlang, I really want to know how your brain grows, how can you come up with so many ideas?"

Xie Ze'an said: "Don't rush to praise me, this is just the beginning."

Zhang Dayi said, "Huh?"

Xie Ze'an smiled and said nothing.

Xie Ze'an had made an appointment with Zhang Dayi in advance to split the accounts between four and six, he would be four and Zhang Dayi would be six.Although he came up with the idea, but Zhang Dayi found the way, and Zhang Dayi paid for it, so he was a white wolf with empty hands, waiting for the money in vain. "Zhang's chair" made him a lot of money, and he will spend the principal to sign a new contract when he starts to do something else.

Of course, we have to wait for Zhang Dayi to stabilize this new business.

Xie Ze'an said: "I'm going back, brother Zhang, you go now."

Zhang Dayi nodded and sent him to the door.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Xie Zean left, Zhang Dade came out of the palace.He hurriedly opened the door, found Zhang Dayi and asked happily: "Brother, did you make the 'Zhangjia Chair'?"

Zhang Dayi was surprised: "Dude, have you heard about it?"

Zhang Dade was overjoyed: "Of course I heard about it! The crown prince also heard about it! He also said that he wanted me to get one back and present it to His Majesty. If this is done, maybe you can become an imperial merchant!"

Zhang Dayi opened his mouth wide, his mustache straightened.

It took him a while before he found his voice: "No wonder he said 'this is just the beginning', no wonder! That guy must be a monster!"

Zhang Dade asked in bewilderment: "Who?"

Zhang Dayi was more puzzled than him: "Who else? Sanlang! Didn't you tell him that I live here?"

Now it's Zhang Dade's turn to open his mouth: "Sanlang?!"