Chapter 410 Volume C: The Lecher

Emperor Yonglong listened very carefully, especially when Feng Ziying went to Linqing.

"So Feng Keng broke out of the bandit encirclement in Linqing City and rushed to Dongchang Mansion to ask for help? He and a boy of the same age?"

Emperor Yonglong liked young men like this who were both brave and courageous. Didn't he think that he and Lao Jiu were like this back then? The legendary adventure stories of Feng Ziying and Zuo Liangyu also seemed to evoke his memories of himself more than thirty years ago.

“Well, Zuo Liangyu, my colleague of the same age, joined the army at the beginning of this year and was selected from the Guards Army to join the border army. He has already gone to Liaodong..." Lu Song's investigation was quite detailed.

"Oh? Was the Feng family among them...?" Emperor Yonglong asked calmly.

"I didn't realize that this young man named Zuo was originally from a military family. He lost his father when he was young and grew up relying on his uncle. He is brave and unruly by nature and loves to fight fiercely. Originally, the Feng family probably wanted to help him and let him into the army. He studied in the school, but he didn't like studying, so he joined the army. Now he should be serving in the army at Zhenyuan Fort in Liaodong Town, and he is already a general bannerman." Lu Song paused, seeming to consider his words, "It is said that this He is skilled in bow and horse, and his temperament appears to be rough and arrogant, but in fact he is cunning."

Emperor Yonglong laughed. The sixteen-year-old boy actually got a comment that "looks like a rough man, but is actually cunning". No wonder it is not easy to be the general flag.

Of course, a general banner is nothing to the Feng family. If Feng Tang really wanted to help, it would be impossible for Zuo Liangyu to become a general banner in the border army. It is more likely that he would directly serve as a general's personal soldier and take this path. Road promotion is much faster.

 It’s a bit interesting.

"..., after Feng Keng arrived at Dongchang Mansion, the Governor of Cao Cao Li Gong, the Censor of Water Transport Qiao Gong, and the Chief Military Officer of Water Transport Master Chen were all in Dongchang Mansion. Feng Tang must have had an old relationship with Master Chen, so Feng Keng asked for help. Mr. Chen,..."

"Isn't the commander-in-chief of water transportation not authorized to mobilize troops?" This was the practice of the Zhou Dynasty, and Emperor Yonglong knew it very well.

"When I returned to Your Majesty, it was like this. Later, Feng Keng visited Duke Qiao and Duke Li, but he did not meet with Duke Li..." Lu Song elaborated selectively. He felt that the emperor seemed to be interested in Feng Keng's specific deeds. I'm not too interested, maybe this has already been mentioned in previous reports, but I am more interested in the people Feng Keng has contacted.

"..., during the Linqing Civil War, those who had close contact with Feng Keng were Mr. Qiao and Mr. Chen. Those who escaped with him at that time were the daughter of Lin Hai, the censor of the Salt Patrol, and his teacher Jia Hua. Jia Hua is now the prefect of Jinling. He was originally the prefect of Jiaxing, but was later dismissed from office due to the impeachment of the imperial censor, and he was reinstated in the third year of Yonglong... There were also two masters and servants, namely Xue Jun, the daughter of the Xue family who was originally the descendant of Ziwei, and his sister-in-law was the prince's sister. …”

Emperor Yonglong was slightly surprised. He did not expect that Feng Ziying's visit to the Linqing Civil War caused a huge disturbance, and that so many people were involved in it.

Although it seemed like they met by chance, like Jia Hua, he also knew that he had followed the path of Wang Ziteng. Lin Hai had been his father's personal minister for many years, and the Xue family was not worth mentioning.

Seeing that Emperor Yonglong remained silent, Lu Song continued the introduction.

“..., later Duke Qiao admired Feng Keng very much. After returning to Beijing, he also reported his achievements to the court, and later recommended him to study at Qingtan Academy, which was appreciated by Qi Yongtai, the then head of Qingtan Academy,..."

"..., in Qingtan Academy, he has a close relationship with Fang Youdu, Zheng Chongjian, Xu Xie, Wang Yingxiong, He Fengsheng, Fan Jingwen and others who are currently editors, writers and state affairs scholars of the Hanlin Academy. Among them, Fang Youdu and Zheng Chongjian are especially famous The two of them are very fond of each other. In addition, Geng Ruqi, a minister of the Ministry of War, is a fellow countryman with him, Yang Sichang, editor of the Hanlin Academy, Hou Xun, a scholar in charge of political affairs, and others are also on good terms with him..."

“…, Wang Xiangchun, a scholar in charge of government affairs, had a quarrel with him, saying that he was fond of sensationalism, but he was actually a traitor but a loyal person,…”

Emperor Yonglong leaned slightly on the imperial chair, appearing more relaxed, but his facial expression was enough to prove that he was still listening carefully.

“..., it is also said that Duke Qiao intended to attack him and got married to the legitimate daughter of Shen Jue, the magistrate of Dongchang Prefecture,..."

"Oh? The matter has been decided?" Emperor Yonglong was slightly surprised, but then he was relieved.

 This is a good thing. Shen Jue knows that it is very reasonable for the scholars of Nanzhili to marry into the families of civil servants.

“It has not been finalized yet. It is said that it was originally intended at the beginning of the year, but due to Feng Keng’s Western expedition to quell the rebellion, the matter was shelved. It is estimated that Duke Qiao may propose marriage to his favorite protégé in the near future,..."

Lu Song knew that the emperor had a very good impression of Qiao Yingjia, and Qiao Yingjia was also approaching, so his tone was a little more relaxed.

"..., Feng Keng was in Beijing with Wei Ruolan, the son of the eldest princess, and Han Qi, the deputy commander of the North City Army and Horses Division after Jinxiang Hou Han Zhonghou, and had close contacts with the Jia family of Rongguo Gong. Feng Keng had close contacts with Jia Lian and Jia Baoyu of Rongguo Mansion. They had a good relationship with each other, and the Jia family gave him three beautiful maids in succession. It is said that he was grateful for his reading and teaching to his legitimate son Jia Baoyu..."

 “Beautiful maid?” Emperor Yonglong was amused, “Lu Song, do you mean that Feng Keng is a womanizer?”

Lu Song said somewhat sarcastically: "Your Majesty, I can't answer this matter, but the Jia family of Rongguo Mansion is indeed closely related to Feng Keng, and it is normal to give away their maids. Since the Feng family moved to the capital from Datong not long ago, everything is probably still good. There is a shortage of people..."

Emperor Yonglong laughed loudly, probably because he never thought that a concubine who was neither humble nor arrogant and calm in front of him, and even talked endlessly, actually liked women.

Well, it's not wrong to like women, and it's normal at this age. It's just a matter of accepting maids as gifts from the Jia family of Rongguo Mansion. It's common in the capital city and Jiangnan that high-ranking families in the south of the Yangtze River give maids and servants as gifts, but you accepted it in one breath. Having married three beautiful maids, aren't you afraid of people laughing at the Feng family's lack of background? Didn't you say you would give something back to me?

Lu Song also understood why Emperor Yonglong was laughing, and to be honest, he also found it interesting.

If the Jia family has declined martial arts, if there is no accident, the next generation will completely sink in ten or twenty years. This family has no other skills. It is quite discerning to climb big pillars, and it actually uses the gift of maids. They used various methods to win over and make friends, and what's even more funny is that this guy Feng Keng actually still does this.

“This Feng Ziying, is this how the Feng family accepts maids as gifts?…”

Emperor Yonglong was so happy that he shook his head. He probably thought it was so interesting that a young handsome man whom he admired very much actually liked beauty. Well, he just wanted this before he was married. Well, it was interesting.

"No, Your Majesty, the Feng family still has a gift in return. When they came back this time, Bu Shitu gave Feng Tang a horse, and the Feng family gave two horses to the Jia family." Lu Song explained with a smile.

"Oh? This is very profitable for the Jia family." Emperor Yonglong nodded, which is what he meant.

However, the price of horses is not expensive now. It is common for horses to be sold in the border area, and the general price is between 20 and 40 taels. It must be more than this price. Each horse should be more than two hundred taels.

The average price of slaves in the capital city is only twenty or thirty taels. Even a good-looking maid or a strong and healthy slave can only be sold for thirty or fifty taels. If there is a great disaster in the North, those who have no food to eat will sell themselves. I'm willing to pay for a few taels of silver or even for free.

“..., Feng Keng, Wei Ruolan, Han Qi, Chen Daoxian’s son Chen Yejun, Xue Pan, Liu Xianglian and others opened a theater in Nanxunfang with Ziwei family members Xue family,..."

Emperor Yonglong was happy again, "Then Lao Jiu was unhappy again. After the Enrong Banquet last year, he even said that he had a good impression of Feng Keng..."

The Zhang family of the Great Zhou Dynasty was originally a merchant, and they could not help but do business with the family members of the ministers and workers. The Great Zhou Dynasty itself followed the Ming Dynasty, and the official salaries were meager, so it was really impossible to survive without making a living and family wealth.

Especially in the capital city, none of these officials does not have hundreds of acres of farmland in their hometown. Qi Yongtai, who has always been incorruptible, still has hundreds of acres of farmland in his hometown of Baoding. Otherwise, how could he, a minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, be able to work in the capital? Can you survive in the capital city? How can this person maintain the favor of visiting guests?

“After the Feng family and Ziwei left the Xue family, Xue Jun also made a living in gold and silver jewelry in Shandong. However, Xue Jun died at the beginning of the year. This business seems to be taken care of by the Feng family,…”

“Feng Keng and Rongguo Gong Jia’s family are so close, but they intend to marry?” Emperor Yonglong thought for a while before asking.

"The Jia family of Rongguo Gong has three daughters. The eldest daughter is a female historian next to the imperial concubine in the palace, and the other two daughters are concubines. The Jia family of Ningguo Gong has a legitimate daughter, but she is still young..." Lu Song hesitated for a moment. He also said: "Lin Hai, the Huaiyang salt censor, is from the Jia family. Jia pardons Jia Zheng's brother-in-law. His daughter is currently living in the Jia family. In addition, the eldest daughter of the Xue family, who is the descendant of Ziwei family, also has a legitimate daughter, who is also temporarily living in the Jia family..."

"A legitimate daughter is a concubine next to the imperial concubine? You said that Feng Keng has frequent contacts with the Jia family, and is it related to several other daughters?" Emperor Yonglong really didn't expect that it would be absolutely impossible for two concubines, but this Huaiyang It is possible that she was the daughter of Lin Hai, the censor of the Salt Patrol. After all, Lin Hai was also a Jinshi.

"Your Majesty, Jia Yuanchun, the legitimate daughter of Jia Zheng, a member of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, is a female historian by the side of the imperial concubine. It is said that the imperial concubine is very fond of her." Lu Song nodded, "As for the others, I have no solid evidence."

 Emperor Yonglong was noncommittal.

The relationship between the Crown Princess and him and Lao Jiu is relatively subtle. To say that both he and Lao Jiu were raised by the Crown Princess and are very affectionate. However, the Crown Princess now often represents the father, and the father treats the boss Their attitude has always been ambiguous, so the relationship and identity between these two people seems to be very complicated and subtle.

“Well, I know, Feng Keng has been active recently…”

“Feng Keng recently went to Qi Gong and Qiao Gong’s offices, and also went to Rong Guo Gong Jia’s house. At the same time, he also summoned Xu Xie, Hou Xun, Fang Youdu and others to discuss "Internal Reference"..."

 …

Emperor Yonglong finally listened to Lu Song's report. This can only be one side. Lu Song would not judge Feng Tang and Feng Keng's political performance in the court. That should not be his job, but Yonglong's job. The emperor will judge for himself.

"Lu Song, you said that Feng Keng is so young and has made great achievements, but his views are quite in my opinion. How do you think I should reward him?" Emperor Yonglong said leisurely.

 (End of this chapter)