Difficult for a son-in-law

When Wei Ning left, the ceremonial car of Princess Qingluan of Tibet had already entered the border of Yunnan.

When Wei Ning arrived at the imperial capital, Feng Jingqian had already received Feng Jingnan's note about marriage with Tibet.

"Zi Min, have you seen Princess Qingluan?" Feng Jing asked with a dry smile.

"I left earlier, and I haven't seen you yet." Wei Ning said respectfully, "However, I heard from my son that the marriage with Tibet was initiated by the Tibetan Khan. On the day I returned, my son had already started to choose a concubine."

Thinking about Ming Zhan's marriage, Feng Jingqian sighed softly, and said with regret, "I proposed marriage for Ming Zhan twice, but both were unsatisfactory. I only hope that this time he can choose a lady from a family, so I can rest assured." Touching the bright yellow cover of the memorial with his fingers, Feng Jingqian's lips curled up, "It seems that the Tibetan king's intention of marrying is quite sincere, otherwise he wouldn't let his beloved daughter go to Yunnan. Ming Zhan is really lucky to say the least. "

Wei Ning said with a smile, "Your majesty, the prince will definitely not be happy if you say that. I see that the prince is very troubled about how many houses he has to pay at once."

Feng Jingqian laughed loudly, and said to Wei Ning, "I like Ming Zhan's straightforwardness the most. In this life, I will not lose to Jingnan in everything, only this matter, I will lose to him."

Wei Ning hurriedly lowered his head, not daring to speak.

"Zi Min, you are not an outsider." Feng Jingqian seemed not to see Wei Ning's avoidance, and said with emotion, "Ming Zhan spent the past few years in the palace when he was a child, I watched him grow up little by little, so many children, Ming Zhan Zhan is the most suitable for me." After expressing his feelings, Feng Jingqian finally asked about the business, "How is it, how is the salt administration in Yunnan?"

Wei Ning said softly, "Originally, the prince planned to select only two companies to try to reform, but in the end, four companies were selected. The Tibetan-border trade zone is still under construction, and the bidding meeting for merchants participating in the Tibetan-border trade has ended."

"How much money did you get in the bidding?" Feng Jingqian was really tight now, so he was very concerned about this.

"This time, a total of ten categories of tea, silk, porcelain, livestock, horses, furs, pottery, furniture, gemstones, and medicinal materials have been opened. The bidding for the five-year trading right has won a total of 230 taels of silver."

Rao Feng Jingqian has to be praised for being beautiful, Ming Zhan's skill is so beautiful!Get the money first, how can the construction of the trade zone not go smoothly.

Merchants are not fools, on the contrary, they are very cunning, trying to get money out of their hands is not something that can be done by ordinary means.Feng Jing asked with a dry smile, "I originally thought that it was quite rare for him to be able to restructure the two salt mines. I didn't expect him to do so comprehensively. It's a pity that I can't personally join in this fun. Zimin told me about it."

Wei Ning laughed, "The son told me that his wisdom moved the world, so everything went smoothly."

Feng Jingqian was eating a cup of tea, when he heard this, he almost choked, and couldn't help but chuckle.Wei Ning also laughed and said, "After some inquiries, I heard that the prince divided the salt merchants into two groups, and first discussed the reform of the salt government. At the same time, he sent Mr. Zhu to Tibet to negotiate with the king of Tibet, and repeatedly publicized the business of the Tibetan border among the people. , clearly stated that the Zhennan Prince’s Mansion will withdraw from the tea-horse trade, and private merchants can also trade in the trade area. Discussions with the salt merchants on the reform of the salt government were not smooth, and the prince is not in a hurry, just drag them. After the matter was settled, Lord Zhu immediately held a bidding meeting for the Tibetan-border trade once he returned to Zhennan Prince's Mansion. At this time, the salt merchants had not yet come up with an accurate plan, but other merchants who were greedy for the Tibetan-border trade could not wait. So The salt merchants were in a hurry as soon as they were fired by private merchants. Because the prince had already mentioned to them that the bidding by salt merchants would be exempt from tax within three years. They were all red-eyed, and those who had negotiated not to hand over the salt mine changed their minds one after another, and offered the salt mine privately. In this way, it is a double win."

The plank road is being repaired in the open, and it is time to cross Chencang secretly.Feng Jing laughed dryly and praised, "I'm really not mistaken about Ming Zhan." He thought that his younger brother's life would inevitably be tense this year, and he didn't want his life to be good, so he gave birth to a lucky boy to relieve his worries.Feng Jingqian really has some feelings for Ming Zhan, at this moment, he is envious and jealous of Feng Jingnan, only regrets that he does not have such a son who attracts money.

"It's a pity, it's a pity that the Tibetan princess went to Yunnan. It's not good for me to ask Ming Zhan to come to the imperial capital." Feng Jing said dryly, "Otherwise, it would be most appropriate to invite him to come and preside over the bidding meeting of the imperial capital." Feng Jing did it. She is shameless, because Ming Zhan pointed out two bad relatives, and it is not good to force him to go to the imperial capital to be a cow and a horse when he is choosing a concubine.

"Leave the memorial, I'll read it carefully before I talk about it." Feng Jingqian said softly, "You go to pay your respects to the empress, it will take two months to leave, and the empress will miss you a lot."

"I also miss the Empress Dowager's aunt very much."

Empress Dowager Wei is not considered a smart woman, but she really took care of the Wei family brothers, and Wei Ning really had some affection for her aunt.

Wei Ning is careful and thoughtful in his work, and this memorial is informative and reliable, including all kinds of articles about the reform of the salt administration by the Zhennan Palace.Feng Jingqian also liked Wei Ning's detail, and he didn't finish watching it until dinner.

Most of them are simple and easy to understand, only the calculation of some tax rates involves extremely complex arithmetic concepts, Feng Jingqian simply sent someone to call Wei Ning to the study.

The Empress Dowager Wei kept her nephew for dinner, but before the chopsticks were opened, the eunuchs from the Xuande Palace came to summon someone.The Empress Dowager Wei said with a smile, "I just came back, why did the emperor not give anyone time to catch my breath." She was also happy that Wei Ning was reused, so she let him go.

In fact, Wei Ning only knew about sixty-seven of these calculations, and replied, "This is made by the prince. Because the Tibetan-border trade requires [-]% tax, many courtiers were puzzled at that time, so the prince explained the [-]% tax." How it was collected, these calculations, in fact, most of the people don't understand. Among the palace, Mr. Feng, who is in charge of money, is the most proficient in arithmetic. He asked the prince for a few months before he understood the root cause. "

"My head hurts." Feng Jing rubbed the center of his brows dryly, "It's hard to understand how he made it out of it."

After seeing the things that Ming Zhan made specially for fooling people, it is rare for him not to feel dizzy.

Princess Qingluan is not a big showman. She is dressed in gorgeous Tibetan costumes, with gold, jade and gemstones on her body. She has bright features and a tall figure.

Really tall.

Princess Qingluan was originally two years older than Ming Zhan, and she seemed to be taller than Ming Zhan.

"His Royal Highness Prince Zhennan." Princess Qingluan's Chinese is a bit awkward, and she probably learned it temporarily.

"The princess has come all the way, thank you for your hard work."

Qingluan shook her head, "The scenery on the road is beautiful, and I'm not tired." Ming Zhan invited the princess into the city, and Princess Qingluan suddenly asked, "I always take a car on the road, can I ride a horse now? Can you women in Yunnan ride a horse?"

Ming Zhan smiled, "Of course, my sister is very good at martial arts and horsemanship. The princess doesn't have to be restrained, she can be as happy as she wants."

"That's great." Princess Qingluan smiled gratefully at Ming Zhan and said, "I heard from the masters who taught me that women in Yunnan should walk in small steps and speak in a low voice. You have to cover your face so that other men can't see it. It turns out they were all lying to me."

A female officer next to Princess Qingluan was almost crying, because Ming Zhan was by her side, so she couldn't speak.

Princess Qingluan had ordered someone to bring a horse to come, and the princess was already riding a horse, so Ming Zhan was naturally too embarrassed to ride in a car, so the two of them rode into the city.

Although there were guards and officials around, Ming Zhan still briefly introduced to Princess Qingluan the roadside shops, customs and scenery.Princess Qingluan felt that although His Royal Highness was born thinner, he was still a good person.

Since Princess Qingluan bears the mandate of Tibetan Khan, it is a formal diplomatic visit.

Feng Jingnan held a banquet to entertain Princess Qingluan, and both sides expressed their friendly friendship.

Ming Zhan was a little annoyed, he didn't think about food and tea, and didn't eat anything for dinner.

Qingfeng Mingyue has been by Ming Zhan's side for many years, and kept asking, "Your Highness, who doesn't think about eating and drinking like this, is it because you feel uncomfortable? The servants and servants go to invite the imperial physician, and let Your Highness take a look."

"I'm fine. Go to the Department of Internal Affairs and call a shoemaker." Ming Zhan walked around the room twice and ordered.

When it was time for a cup of tea, Lin Zhongliang, Director of the Department of Internal Affairs, arrived with the craftsmen.These days, most of the Department of Internal Affairs is busy with Ming Zhan's affairs, and Lin Zhongliang dare not neglect the prince anymore.

"Okay, let's all get up and talk." Ming Zhan doesn't like to kneel when he sees people, "Mingyue, you take people down, and Qingfeng stays to serve."

Lin Zhongliang's heart beat secretly, could it be that he has some confidential matters to order?No, if it is really a secret, he must not be allowed to be a shoemaker.As long as it is not confidential, Lin Zhongliang put his heart in his stomach.

Ming Zhan was embarrassed to speak, took a few sips of tea to suppress the embarrassment in his heart, and asked the craftsman with a serious face, "I want to make a kind of shoes, I wonder if you can do it?"

The craftsman bowed his head and listened carefully. Ming Zhan put down the teacup and said, "That is to say, let the soles of the shoes be slightly thicker. Come here, and I will tell you that the soles are made like this." Inclined, opened into a slope shape, and the heel of the shoe is increased. "However, the soles are still flat from the outside." It would be embarrassing for others to see it.

The craftsman makes shoes because he is old, and he can tell at a glance that wearing these shoes will instantly increase the height of a person. He felt that Ming Zhan had a novel idea, and after thinking about it for a while, he said, "I can try it. I don't know when I will send it to the prince. ?” He is the deputy head of the shoe making team. He usually makes shoes for Ming Zhan. He also has grades, from the ninth grade, so he calls himself a minister.

"The sooner the better." These days, I have to see Princess Qingluan, who is shorter than a woman. Although it is true that Princess Qingluan is taller, it is still enough to hurt Ming Zhan's self-esteem.

The craftsman replied respectfully, "Then tomorrow morning, I will send it to the prince."

Ming Zhan had something on his mind, nodded in satisfaction and said, "Then it's hard work for you to work on it tonight."

The craftsman said in fear, "It is my blessing to be able to serve the prince."

Ming Zhan breathed a sigh of relief, and ordered Ming Yue to reward the craftsman with 20 taels of silver.When it comes to rewards, it is really not popular these days to give rewards of hundreds or thousands of taels like in TV dramas. Like Ming Zhan, his annual salary is only two thousand silver, and of course all the food, drink and lax are paid by the palace.

Like on TV, the waiter who eats and enjoys the shop can throw a big ingot at it, which is really something only fools will do.

The reward of 20 taels was already quite a lot, Ming Zhan actually felt a little distressed, but ten taels was too stingy to offer.They also specially called someone to come over. In order to add some pressure to the shoemaker, they must drive out the shoes, so they gritted their teeth and rewarded them.

The craftsman thanked him, and hurried back to make Ming Zhan's shoes with inner heightening.

At this moment, the craftsman's ordinary face was flushed with excitement, and Lin Zhongliang thought it was funny, thinking that it was the first time Xie Fan had met his son, and it was inevitable that he would be excited, so he told him, "You must do well." , don’t tell the prince to reward you for nothing.” 20 taels of silver are not lacking for anyone, the key is this decency.However, if you don't do it well, you will be slapped in the face.

Xie Fan responded heavily.

He was excited not only to see the son, but also to be rewarded by the son.He was born into a shoemaking family, his ancestors were shoemakers, and he worked in the palace for many years. Because of this signboard, his family runs one of the best shoe stores in Kunming City.

In fact, Xie Fan knows the reason why the prince made this shoe. The world is so big that there are not one or two people who have the same troubles as Ming Zhan. If this shoe is successfully developed... Xie Fan seems to have seen the golden light on his black gold signboard Let go, and the wealth will flow.

It was as if Xie Fan was flying under his feet, and a layer of floating soil was trampled off the ground.