Chapter 362 Gifts
Wang Jianhuo received an invitation from Henan Yin Han Chou, one citizen and one official, both of them are among the best in Luoyang city, but they rarely interact with each other. This is the first time that Han Chou has officially invited the ugly king to a banquet.
If it was in the past, Wang Jianhuo would have directly rejected him. He is a hero and must maintain a good relationship with the government, but he cannot get too close. Now he is doing things for the emperor, and he cannot directly show coldness to local officials.
The banquets in the Hou Mansion have always been famous for their luxurious and sumptuous feasts. They usually start at noon and end at the third watch, so everyone must be entertained.
Not only local officials, but also businessmen from all over the world, and there are more of them. They can't come empty-handed. They have to give gifts and show them on the spot.
The reason for today's gift is that one of Han Chou's grandsons is over a full moon, but the real protagonist is the ugly king.
Ever since he was in charge of supervising the resettlement of refugees, Wang Jianhuo has been uncharacteristically refusing to eat and drink with his former friends, which once made Luoyang’s businessmen very nervous, thinking that they had met a clean and honest adult, but it turns out that Wang Jianhuo is very flexible and does not stick to the government. Articles, as long as the merchants are willing to contribute money and efforts, they will mostly acquiesce to their secretly annexing land and buying slaves.
When the emperor was trapped in Jincheng, the Ugly King's status plummeted. His former friends thought he was complacent, while officials and businessmen thought he was useless and would never take him seriously.
Wang Jianhuo was accustomed to being cold and warm, and he just tried his best to accommodate as many refugees as he could.
As soon as the siege of Jincheng could be lifted, he became a big celebrity in Luoyang again. As long as he opened his mouth, he would have everything in money, grain, carts and cattle, and the rest of the refugees were soon sent back to their origins.
Although the merchants got everything they wanted, there was one thing that made them very nervous. The Ugly King did not accept gifts, nor any gifts from anyone. The merchants hoped to make the Ugly King smile through various means. Both were seen through and returned as is.
A person who refuses to accept gifts and can directly contact the emperor makes everyone sleepless.
It was in this situation that the ugly king was invited by Henan Yin.
At the banquet, many businessmen just gave gifts to Henan Yin as usual. For the ugly king, they seemed to give up trying, but took turns to toast, very humble and polite.
In the evening, while the banquet was still in progress, Han Chou asked the ugly king to move to the study for a secret conversation.
Han Chou has a big belly. Because of drinking, his face is flushed, he is panting heavily, and his stomach rises and falls like a bellows. He first invites the guests to drink tea, "I don't know where it comes from, and I don't understand this. It is said that it is very expensive and tastes bad. Nothing special, but it works wonders for sobering up."
Wang Jian took a sip and praised: "It's really good."
"Alas, it's a pity that the tea is not there. The person who sent the tea, I don't know where he died, and he didn't show up for several years. Some people say that he was killed by a robber. Who knows? The place is full of friends, and no one knows the origin of this tea, not even the name."
"It must be for someone who is destined to."
"Haha, this 'fate person' had better come quickly." Han Chou put away his smile, "Ugly brother, can I call you that?"
"It's the honor of the grass people to lift up the Lord."
Han Chou, as a Marquis of Luoyang, likes to be called "Master Hou" by others, he smiled and said, "Brother Ugly is too polite, we should have gotten closer a long time ago, really, we all live in Luoyang, why didn't we communicate much before? "
"There is a difference between officials and people..."
"Hey, you are not a citizen now. Although there is no official position for the time being, but how many people in the world can directly submit memorials to His Majesty? Even me, the so-called Marquis of Luoyang and Yin of Henan, have memorials to Zongzheng Mansion or The Prime Minister's Mansion is not comparable to the Ugly Brother's one step to the sky."
Wang Jianhuo's face is not easy to make a smile, he can only move the corner of his mouth, "The road to the sky is not easy to walk, one step to the sky, sooner or later, one step will fall.
Han Chou slapped the table hard, "That's right, it's hard to accompany the king like a tiger. No, I have worked so hard to find a stunning beauty that is unparalleled in the world and send it to His Majesty, but His Majesty I handed it to my favorite minister, sigh, I am really suffering, but what can I do? Can I still complain if I am a minister? I have to continue to do my best, so that I can understand my loyalty in the palace and let me in Luoyang chooses many women from good families to prepare for the choice of the harem."
"In the palace?" The Ugly King was not an official after all, and did not understand these emerging titles in the officialdom.
"It is His Majesty's biological mother. There is no official title yet, but it is a matter of time to become the queen mother, so it is called 'Palace' for the time being. The heart of a loving mother in the palace, I look forward to hugging my grandson early, and I look forward to Da Chu's early establishment. Therefore, Luoyang is the most valued in the world's draft, and half of the talented girls must be provided."
The Ugly King knew very well in his heart that this was the amount that Han Chou had won by himself.
At the same time, this is also a kind of euphemistic hint: the ugly king can go directly to Sheng Ting, and Han Chou can also reach the sky in one step.
The ugly king cupped his hands and said, "This is a great achievement, congratulations, sir."
Han Chou waved his hand, "I don't care about the credit, as long as the palace is satisfied and Your Majesty is happy, to be honest, we have no other ambitions in Luoyang, we just hope to stay in Luoyang steadily. Be loyal to His Majesty and serve the court."
"Luoyang is the most prosperous in the world, and it is all the work of adults."
Han Chou laughed, and suddenly put away his smile, "There is a banquet outside, and I actually invite the distinguished guests to drink tea here. It's really rude. I won't waste my time by beating around the bush, and just ask, Ugly brother, what do you think? "
"What do you mean by that, my lord?"
"Those businessmen outside, we all know that they are profiteers, money is easy to come by, and gifts are naturally generous, in fact, there is no other meaning, but to ask for peace of mind, but the ugly brother refuses to be a thousand miles away. "
Wang Jianhuo was silent.
Han Chou said with a smile, "I can understand that when you are an official for the first time, no one wants to make mistakes, let alone leave a handle on them, especially when you are directly working for Your Majesty. There are people staring at the ugly brother everywhere, and maybe anyone will stab His Majesty. , I don't dare to accept gifts casually."
"Those who know me, my lord."
Han Chou laughed, rummaging through the desk, finding two pieces of paper from the messy pile of papers, pushing them to the ugly king, separating them from left to right, and placing them side by side.
By the candlelight, Wang Jianhuo looked down. There were two house deeds with Wang Jianhuo's name written on them. One was in Beijing and the other was in Linzi, one west and one east, thousands of miles apart.
"This is……"
"The two small houses are by no means conspicuous, and they are not worth much. I chose some from the gifts that everyone gave me. Quan is a housewarming congratulation. They are all stored in the house at the moment, and the ugly brother can send someone to check. Heaven knows everything, you know it, I know it, Luoyang doesn't know it, Your Majesty doesn't know it, and even the businessmen outside don't know it. They only need a word from me, saying that the ugly brother is reliable, and they are all at ease."
Wang Jianhuo was still pondering.
Han Chou lowered his face slightly, "Brother Ugly, you don't accept other people's gifts, and I don't accept mine? Do you think the gifts are not serious enough, or do you think I will leak secrets? Can I be the same as those businessmen? What good will it be for me to come before Your Majesty? Don't worry, Brother Ugly, in Luoyang, your reputation for being 'clean' will not be affected at all."
"Since the adults value Caomin so much, Caomin is disrespectful, so I have to be polite."
Han Chou immediately resumed his smile, "I treat the ugly brother as a real brother, and I hope you and I can support each other in the future."
"There is one difficulty."
"Ugly brother, please speak."
"Caomin once mentioned to His Majesty the various methods of merchants. When His Majesty came to Luoyang again, Caomin could not say that Luoyang merchants suddenly changed their temperament and became good people. They have to..."
"Understood, I understand." Han Chou laughed even more cheerfully, "I'm not afraid that the ugly brother will put forward the conditions, but I am afraid that the ugly brother will not open his mouth. As soon as you say it, I will understand. Don't worry, this matter is extremely simple."
Han Chou flipped through the pile of papers for a while, and took out another piece of paper, which was full of teeny small letters, densely populated with names.
"As long as these people don't move, the businessmen in Luoyang will be disposed of by the ugly brother, even my brother, I have to find a few early birds to clean up, it has nothing to do with giving gifts or not, but these people are too arrogant and lose their duty, I really think it is useful Money can buy anything, it's time to knock it out and let them distinguish between high and low."
"It would be more convenient for you to give Caomin a copy of the list of 'early birds'."
Han Chou was stunned for a moment, then laughed, "Okay, okay, I knew that Brother Ugly knew all over the world and it's not a waste of fame. I don't have a ready-made list at hand, let's go drink first, after the banquet is over, Brother Ugly will definitely get it. "
The two walked out together, and Wang Jianhuo whispered, "Is there still no fingerprints on the deed?"
Han Chou blinked, "Brother Ugly, don't worry, someone will come to the door tomorrow to deal with this matter. Brother Ugly will also send his confidants to check it out in two places. If there is anything else missing, just speak, and Brother Ugly will be satisfied."
"If the gifts from Lord Hou can't satisfy the Caomin, the Caomin's appetite will be bigger than the sky."
Han Chou laughed so hard that he couldn't open his eyes. He said that the ugly king has been difficult to deal with recently. That's because the tide has risen. Can the people who climb the dragon be moved by a few businessmen? You have to go out on your own.
Not completely satisfied, Wang Jianhuo walked out of the study and whispered to Han Chou, "Are you enough about the draft?"
The ugly king wanted to please the future queen mother, and Han Chou felt more at ease, "As long as it is someone sent by the ugly brother, he will definitely be selected. Five, how about it, is that enough?"
"One is enough."
After the banquet was over, Wang Jianhuo went home with two house deeds and two lists.
Coupled with the large amount of evidence collected before, it was enough to turn Luoyang upside down. Wang Jianhuo didn't care about his situation, he only worried about one thing, whether the emperor had the courage to do it.
Although he is only a hero, Wang Jianhuo knows best that the emperor is far from omnipotent. In many cases, the emperor has more concerns than ordinary people.