Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

The old monk left for Zhejiang today to plan and implement the construction of point-to-point trade routes, and Zhao Fang, who promoted the city shipping department, also went to Ningbo on a business trip, so now there are actually only two chief officials in the yamen, Xu Jingchang and Jiang Xinghuo.

Although there are still many things going on at the moment, the most important thing is the matter of Qingtian, which must be settled before all the troops set off, and cannot be delayed any longer.

Jiang Xinghuo walked out of the yamen, got on his horse, and galloped through Nanjing city with Xu Jingchang and his guards.

The shops on the street are still lively, with merchants and peddlers coming in an endless stream, shouts of buying and selling, and the sound of children playing and playing. There are also many more pedestrians on the street than before, everywhere. All show the prosperity of this city.

Xu Jingchang held the reins in his hand, looked at the bustling crowd, and then looked at Jiang Xinghuo who was riding a little gray horse "ta-da-da" beside him, and he suddenly felt filled with emotion.

Since his birth, he has been taught by his father and sent to the martial arts school where the descendants of the founder of Hongwu gathered. There, no matter how noble your family background is, you must abide by one principle, and that is to obey orders.

Obviously, in the war of the cold weapon era, the army that relied on battle formations to maintain overall organization could only survive in the war by obeying orders to a high degree, and could use various means to save its own life.

Xu Jingchang learned a lot there, how to be a qualified soldier, how to kill the enemy on the battlefield, and how to make the enemy hate you under your sword and gun.

However, no one has ever taught him how to be himself.

Perhaps Xu Zengshou should fulfill this responsibility. Unfortunately, Xu Zengshou died too early. After Xu Zengshou passed away, Xu Jingchang entered the Ming Dynasty Military Academy. Although he had more friends in his life here, the content of his studies was not how to become a good soldier but how to become a good soldier. Those things about being a good officer, but essentially being a professional soldier.

Later, Xu Jingchang inherited the title of Duke Dingguo and had new tasks.

When he was in Jiangnan, apart from working hard to complete his tasks, there was nothing else in his life. He was so busy that he fell asleep every day.

After returning to Nanjing, Xu Jingchang suddenly relaxed from his busy schedule and seemed extremely uncomfortable because the factories under the Industrial Department were very orderly. Except for some planning and deployment, there was not much work that required Xu Jingchang to do personally.

During this period of time, it was Jiang Xinghuo, who was both a teacher and a friend, who accompanied him and taught him quietly and quietly how to be a good manager and how to be himself.

"Teacher, do you think life is always about parting?"

Since it is not strictly working time, but going out during lunch break, it is not necessary to claim the title, Xu Jingchang said naturally.

"certainly."

Jiang Xinghuo paused and said: "Many people can't see each other for a while. For example, sometimes I miss Zhu Gaoxu and Cao Duan and the others, but as long as I get busy, it will be fine. I don’t have time to think about this anymore.”

"So we still have to cherish the time when we are never separated."

Xu Jingchang looked at the familiar streets of Nanjing. In the past, his father Xu Zengshou always had a lot of things to do. When he asked to go out to play, he would be perfunctory again and again. But now that he has grown up, his father is no longer there, and he no longer has a boy. Sometimes I want to get out of my mind, and my friends around me are getting together less and more apart. I am living more and more like a big shot like my father, and I am trying my best to hide my emotions.

But is this really the growth that I dreamed of growing up in the past?

I wanted to buy sweet-scented osmanthus and carry wine with me, but it turned out that it was not the same as a young man traveling.

Xu Jingchang shook his head, and the road under his feet quickly retreated amidst the sound of horse hooves.

There are not many nobles who need them to visit in person.

The first one is the commander-in-chief of the Three Thousand Battalion, Tong Anhou Huoli Huozhen. This guy is a Tartar official. In the battle of Zhending, he took the lead in kicking Geng Bingwen’s camp. He is considered to be the most powerful man in the Yan army. The three men under his command are The Qianxiao Tatar camp was the elite of the Yan army. They had a bad temper and Zhu Di couldn't stop him even if he went crazy. In addition, he didn't speak Chinese very well, so it was very difficult to communicate. The first group came to Qingtian. The official was beaten back by him with a whip.

Huo Lihuo really didn't dare to hit Jiang Xinghuo, but Jiang Xinghuo specially brought a Mongolian translator, patiently communicated with him, and showed him the letter sent by Zhu Gaoxu. After all, he made the policy clear.

After learning that only part of the land needed to be returned, and that the property would be replenished in the form of sea trade dividends, Huo Lihuozhen actually beamed.

"You should have told me earlier."

Jiang Xinghuo: "."

The second one is Luan Chenghou Li Zhuang. Li Zhuang is not for any other reason, but because he has stepped aside now and does not know much about business management. Therefore, the most valuable things in the family are these fields, among which the less legal fields are used. The proportion of means occupied is quite high. It’s not that Li Zhuang cannot accept making more profits from sea trade every year in the future. The problem is that if Li Zhuang gives back the land now, he will not be able to collect the rent in summer and autumn. The Luancheng Hou Mansion, whose financial situation is quite tight, will soon go bankrupt.

This is a very real problem, so what Li Zhuang means is that his family is not ignorant of the general situation, nor is it unwilling to withdraw from the farmland, but can they wait a little longer and wait until the autumn harvest before withdrawing from the farmland?

His family has too many people to support. If the fields are taken away now, they will all starve to death. If people in the Marquis Guochao's family starve to death, it won't sound good if word spreads about it, right?

Li Zhuang said it sincerely and even brought all the ledgers. Jiang Xinghuo learned that the situation was indeed like this, so it was quite difficult to deal with it for a while.

But rules are rules after all. If Jiang Xinghuo gives Li Zhuang a "respite" because of his family's difficulties, should other nobles follow suit? Do you want to "take it easy"?

If you just "take it easy", then don't do this.

However, for the overall progress of Qingtian, Jiang Xinghuo finally came up with a solution for Li Zhuang, which was to apply for a low-interest loan from Daming Bank. Jiang Xinghuo gave him special approval and then reported it to explain.

The last one is Wudinghou Mansion.

The situation of the Wuding Hou Mansion is quite special. The first generation of Wuding Hou Guo Ying has just passed away a year ago, and the Wuding Hou Mansion is closely related to the Zhu family. Guo Ying's sister is Zhu Yuanzhang's concubine Ning. At that time, most of the founding nobles of Hongwu were in charge of real estate, and Guo was the only one who managed real estate. Ying didn't care about this. When Zhu Yuanzhang asked him, he replied: "I am a commoner, relying on favor, fortunately a title, and my descendants have plenty of food and clothing. How can I afford these things to make my descendants feel luxurious?" Zhu Yuanzhang sighed for a long time about this. , Guo Ying relied on this careful restraint to survive the turbulent years of the late Hongwu Dynasty.

However, no one from Wudinghou's family has succeeded to the title.

Quite paradoxical, isn't it?

In fact, in the history of Jiang Xinghuo's previous life, there was a whole Yongle Dynasty between the first generation Wuding Hou Guo Ying and the second generation Wuding Hou Guo Xuan!

Yes, you read that right, Wudinghou Mansion has been without an owner for more than 20 years.

There is a special reason for this. When Guo Ying died, Zhu Di decreed that Guo Ying be granted the title of Duke of Yingguo, with a posthumous title of Weixiang. This seemed to provide enough mourning and honor after his death, but the most important thing was whether the title of Marquis of Wuding was He could attack the prince, but Zhu Di never said a word.

In the beginning, when Wang Jing was still in the Ministry of Rites, they discussed with Zhuo Jing to reduce his salary and upgrade him to a noble title. In any case, he was so arrogant that he would have someone inherit the title, otherwise it would be shameful.

The reason for reducing the treatment is because everyone knows how much trouble Wuding Hou Guo Ying, a veteran, caused to Zhu Di during the Jingnan period. Zhu Di generally treated Guo Ying, Geng Bingwen, Sheng Yong, Ping An, and Mei Yin. Resentful, and in addition to Guo Ying leading his troops to many bloody battles with Zhu Di during the Jingnan period, another point is that Guo Ying's son-in-law, King Zhu Zhi of Liao, refused Zhu Di's recruitment when Zhu Di attacked Daning, and directly sided with Emperor Jianwen. Zhu Yunwen, this also caused him to be settled by the Queen immediately after the Jingnan.

But no matter what, according to the rules of the country, there must be a son to attack the title, right?

But the actual situation is that Guo Ying's eldest son Guo Zhenshang married Lao Zhu's twelfth daughter, Princess Yongjia, and was awarded the title of Prince Consort and gave up the right to inherit the title. Then the second son Guo Ming followed the King of Liao and served as the Dianbao of the Prince of Liao's Palace. Jing Nan was unable to Later they were liquidated together.

Guo Ying has a total of twelve sons and nine daughters. The family population is very large. However, because there are too many sons, and they are all born from concubines, after the eldest and second eldest children cannot inherit the title, they have to fight for this title. It's overwhelming.

Guo Ying had eleven sons. Except for the seventh son Guo Qi, who died young, eight of the remaining ten sons were eyeing the title.

In order to save its own decline, the Wuding Hou Mansion made efforts. The two youngest daughters of the Guo family were married to the King of Yan after the Jingnan. One married Zhu Gaochi as a concubine, and the other married She was given to Zhu Gaoxu as a concubine.

But precisely because of this, Wu Dinghou was involved in the dispute over the establishment of the crown prince, and the entire family became increasingly torn apart. Some people supported the eldest prince, while others supported the second prince.

Not only that, because the family is so big, in the short six years after Lao Zhu's death and the Jianwen and Yongle dynasties, the princes of Wuding Houfu bought a lot of land to support themselves, and these lands, Now most of them have become the targets of Jiang Xinghuo's investigation.

The other honorable nobles were somewhat concerned about their own future and the future of their family, so they were very cooperative in the matter of Qingtian. However, these boys in Wu Dinghou's family were all messy masters, and they didn't care at all. They were all shouting. "If you want to check, I'll check my so-and-so brother's first."

The Qingtian work really couldn't be progressed. It was a special household, so I reported to Jiang Xinghuo. Jiang Xinghuo came to see for himself what this group of people was about.

Wudinghou Mansion is not the same as the mansion on Wudinghou Street in Beijing City in Jiang Xinghuo's previous life.

Because the lineage of Wu Dinghou was relatively bumpy from the Yongle Dynasty to the Zhengtong Dynasty, but in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, things turned around. Guo Xun, the fifth grandson of Guo Ying during the Jiajing Dynasty, ascended the throne in the Zhengde Dynasty. During the Daliyi dispute, Guo Xun Xun took a gamble and directly sided with Jiajing, who had just ascended the throne. Guo Xun, who was good at guessing Jiajing's intentions, spoke for Jiajing on behalf of the Wuchen Group in every battle. As a result, he was greatly favored. Not only was he granted military power in the capital, but also He was granted the title of Grand Master and promoted to Duke Yi. The remaining residence in Wudinghou Street belongs to Guo Xun.

However, in terms of scale, the Wudinghou Mansion in Nanjing is even much larger than the Wudinghou Mansion in Beijing that has not yet appeared in this time and space.

Because Guo Ying did not own any property, and Zhu Yuanzhang liked this loyal and self-sufficient in-law very much, so since he did not reward land, he often rewarded the inner court with funds to decorate his house. He wanted Guo Ying to live better, but Guo Ying refused. It cannot be lost, so the Wuding Hou Mansion is very rare in terms of its large scale and high level of luxury.

When Jiang Xinghuo and Xu Jingchang's team arrived at the gate of Wuding Hou Mansion, they were immediately received respectfully by the concierge. After the concierge's old housekeeper saw Jiang Xinghuo, he quickly walked out with a smile.

"The Imperial Guard has arrived, but it's a long way to greet him."

"Don't dare."

Jiang Xinghuo smiled faintly, then dismounted and stepped forward.

The old housekeeper quickly led the way, leading Jiang Xinghuo and Xu Jingchang around the screen wall, through the long passage, and stopped in front of an open carved red lacquered door.

This is the second door.

Going further inside is the central hall of Wudinghou Mansion.

The old housekeeper wanted to say something else, but Jiang Xinghuo walked in without any courtesy, walked straight into the middle hall and sat down, and then ordered him: "Call all the heirs of Marquis Wu Ding."

If it were another noble family with Jiang Xinghuo's anti-customer attitude, even if someone didn't draw a knife to him, he would probably end up in a bad mood.

However, at this time in Wudinghou Mansion, both the old housekeeper and everyone passing by felt relieved.

The third son, Guo Yong, is currently the right governor of the Central Military Governor's Mansion. The fourth son, Guo Jian, served as the deputy of the Zhongdu Remaining Department during the Jianwen Dynasty. Now he is waiting for a new appointment at home. The fifth son, Guo Yao, is appointed as the Sanqisheren, and the ninth son, Guo Quan, is appointed as the flag bearer. The sixth son Guo Quan, the eighth son Guo Yu, the tenth son Guo Bin, and the eleventh son Guo Gang currently have no official status.

The second child Guo Ming's daughter married Zhu Gaochi as a concubine, and the second child Guo Ming and the third child Guo Yong were born to the same mother. Although they are concubines, it stands to reason that the third child Guo Yong is ranked higher and is also a member of the Chinese Army. The right governor of the Dudu Mansion should inherit the title of Marquis of Wuding. The problem is that in the noble group, people who are close to Zhu Gaochi are not welcome.

Therefore, all nobles and nobles were basically opposed to Guo Yong, the third child, and Zhu Di did not like him either.

This has led to Guo Yong's current awkward position in the Wuding Hou Mansion. He can neither take charge of the family business as the eldest son nor give orders to his younger brothers.

The fourth child, Guo Jian, married his daughter to Zhu Gaoxu as a concubine. Although he has no official position now, he relied on this relationship to get along well in the circle of nobles.

The fifth lao Guo Yao is also close to Zhu Gaochi, and the ninth lao Guo Fang is close to Zhu Gaoxu as the commander of the standard guard. The remaining influence without official status is very small, so it's okay not to mention it.

In short, the third oldest Guo Yong and the fifth oldest Guo Yao are currently siding with the eldest prince Zhu Gaochi, and the fourth oldest Guo Jian and the ninth oldest Guo 钫 are siding with the second prince Zhu Gaoxu. The battle to inherit the title coupled with the battle to establish the crown prince, it can be said that in the Wuding Marquis Mansion, The fight was more lively than in the court.

And this situation, if no accidents occur, may last for more than 20 years. It was not until Zhu Gaochi became emperor that he canonized Guo Xuan, the son of the second son Guo Ming, as the second generation Wuding Marquis. At the same time, Guo Yong and Guo Yao each had their own rights. The reward is his reward for standing in line.

However, the current situation in the military circles is that people who support Zhu Gaoxu are obviously in the majority. Thinking that Jiang Xinghuo is Zhu Gaoxu's teacher, Guo Yong's heart immediately skipped a beat when he received Guo Yao's notice at the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion.

"Today is a good day, I'm afraid."

Lao Wu Guo Yao is a member of the Xunwei Sanqishe. This official position is held by the second son of Lao Zhu Zegong, marquis, uncle, governor, and commander. As a palace guard, he shows Zhu Di the gate. He usually knows the situation in the court better. .

"you mean?"

Guo Yong's eyes narrowed slightly, and at this time he had already prepared for the worst.

"The National Master is a giant Buddha, and we can't afford to serve him here."

Lao Wu Guo Yao was not on duty today, so he regretted that he was at home at this time, but it was useless to regret.

"Let's go, we can't avoid the disaster."

Guo Yong sighed. Even though he was the right commander of the Central Military Governor's Mansion, in fact, they, the Hongwu nobles, were in a state of neglect. They sat in their own duty room at the yamen of the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion, drinking tea and reading "Ming Pao" every day. 》, in addition, let alone the Northern Expedition, they were not spared, even the errands to the sea were not ignored.

In the flag-bearer guard on the other side, Commander Guo Fang also received the notice.

The Banner Guards were one of the twenty-six guards of the Hongwu Dynasty. They were stationed on the outskirts of Nanjing. It was convenient to go home. However, during the Jingnan Campaign, the Banner Guards had long been wiped out. Now they are a rebuilt unit and their combat effectiveness is very high. He was weak and could just stay in Nanjing to look after the family and nurse the hospital, but he couldn't think of following the Northern Expedition. Therefore, Guo Chuan was more concerned about how to inherit the title of Marquis of Wuding. Even if he couldn't inherit it, he could let his fourth brother Guo Jian inherit it!

When Guo Fang returned to Wudinghou Mansion, the old housekeeper hurriedly came to greet him and immediately said with a low eyebrow: "The Imperial Master has been waiting for a long time, please come with me."

After saying that, he led Guo Fang inside, while several guards behind him were blocked outside the door. No matter how they explained, they would not let anyone in.

Guo Fang walked all the way inside, passed through several arched doorways, and finally reached the nave.

In addition to Jiang Xinghuo and Xu Jingchang, there were three men sitting in the hall, namely the third child Guo Yong, the fifth child Guo Yao, and the fourth child Guo Jian.

As for the sixth son, Guo Quan, the eighth son, Guo Yu, the tenth son, Guo Bin, and the eleventh son, Guo Gang, these few without official status could only stand there aggrievedly even in their own homes.

When Xu Jingchang saw Guo Fang come in, he immediately nodded slightly as a courtesy.

The two of them knew each other, and compared to his brothers, Guo Fang was not that old.

Guo Quan saluted Jiang Xinghuo and said with a hearty smile: "The Imperial Master came here specially, and I hope you will forgive me for not being able to welcome him from afar!"

Jiang Xinghuo smiled: "I came uninvited and disturbed everyone's peace. I'm really sorry."

After saying the polite words, Guo Fang originally thought that Jiang Xinghuo's next decision would be biased towards him and Guo Jian, but he did not expect that Jiang Xinghuo was very businesslike.

"The land occupied by the Wuding Marquis Mansion is all in this account book, and it must be returned within ten days."

With that said, he pushed the thick account book in front of Guo Fang.

Guo Fan didn't need to look through it to know that it was fertile and fertile farmland, belonging to the first class. The rent collected every year was enough to support hundreds of people in the Wudinghou Mansion and its servants. It was said to be a large amount of money, but now it was forcibly deprived of it. Of course Guo Fang was dissatisfied.

But for Jiang Xinghuo's sake, he still held back.

Guo Yong took it and turned it over, his face suddenly turned ugly. Although he was a military minister and was not very proficient in these things, he still knew the approximate number very well.

Although Guo Yong has encountered many obstacles in his pursuit of the title, overall, he is still very confident, because after all, he is now Guo Ying's oldest and highest-ranking son, and his father Guo Ying's title , he should inherit it.

Therefore, Guo Yong has always regarded these properties in Wuding Hou Mansion as his own private property. However, this private property does not belong to him now, and it does not matter if he says so.

Because of this, Guo Yong used the excuse of brothers' disharmony in the matter of Qingtian to try to shirk the blame, in order to keep these high-quality fields.

Why are other nobles so cheerful? Because Hongwu Xungui had already obtained a large amount of land through legal means, and the land in Jingnan Xungui's hands was basically rewarded by Zhu Digang, and the occupied proportion was very small.

Only Wu Dinghou's family, obviously the founder of Hongwu, fell into such an embarrassing situation because Guo Ying did not buy land before, and they only started to buy it after Lao Zhu's death. They used illegal methods.

And if these fields were gone, the Wudinghou Mansion would be seriously damaged soon.

Guo Yong looked up at Jiang Xinghuo and asked bitterly: "Master, these are the properties of the Wuding Marquis Mansion to support the family. Can't we take a break?"

"This is the emperor's order. If you don't want to, just go to His Majesty!"

Guo Yong suddenly became speechless. He didn't want to do this, but now that the emperor's order had been issued, it was useless for him to go back on his word. Moreover, Jiang Xinghuo didn't give him any room to refuse, so he could only grit his teeth and nod and agree.

But these fields do not belong to Guo Yong alone. Several of their brothers have a share.

"You brothers, discuss it carefully. Duke Dingguo and I will stay away for a while. After a stick of incense, I want the result."

After saying that, Jiang Xinghuo put down his account book and walked out of the central hall with Xu Jingchang.

In the corridor, Xu Jingchang asked worriedly: "National Master, do you think they will surrender?"

"So what if I don't give in?"

Jiang Xinghuo asked rhetorically.

"Then do you want it?"

Jiang Xinghuo still didn't understand what Xu Jingchang meant, which was whether he wanted to favor Guo Fang and others who supported Zhu Gaoxu in this incident.

But Jiang Xinghuo shook his head and said: "This is a business matter, and it must be done in an upright and upright manner. The Crown Prince has already made an agreement to compete openly and without favoritism. Favoritism will only lead to others being punished."

As expected, just as Jiang Xinghuo expected, a moment later.

"Don't worry, Imperial Master, we will deliver the fields within ten days without any delay."

Jiang Xinghuo breathed a sigh of relief as the last Wuding Hou Mansion was finally settled through coaxing and intimidation.