The Chen family's caravan left with the overseas treasures that the Chen family's craftsmen had secretly imitated in Yingtian, and went to barter with old customers.
Zhu Wenzhen asked Chen Biao for a box of overseas treasures, saying that he wanted to give it to his wife.
Chen Biao was speechless: "This thing is not worth much. If you want to give something to your sister-in-law, ask me for it."
Zhu Wenzheng said, "It's because this thing is worthless yet looks valuable that I want a box for her. Otherwise, she would definitely not accept it."
Zhu Wenzheng played with the overseas treasures and exclaimed in amazement: "It's even more beautiful than the real overseas things I stole from the Yuan Dynasty officials."
"Please call your action seizure, not robbery." Chen Biao corrected, then said proudly, "No one understands foreign countries better than me."
The Western European court style he is creating now may not have been achieved by people in Western Europe themselves.
Chen Biao planned to wait until he was older and then use these imitation gold and silver objects and jewelry to establish connections with overseas courts, so that our Ming Dynasty products could truly become high-end jewelry specially supplied to Western European courts.
Who will say we are a fake then?
Chen Biao had been researching glass for a long time. However, only colorless flat glass could be used to make chemical and physical laboratory instruments. Chen Biao and his craftsmen racked their brains and tried for several years, but they still couldn't figure out how to make colorless flat glass.
Making glass is easy once you know the chemical formula, but creating the glass you want is incredibly difficult. Chen Biao couldn't even make colored flat glass, let alone large pieces of colorless flat glass. Even windows required piecing together small pieces.
What about the ancient method of glass blowing? The craftsmen all said that Chen Biao was asking too much!
Chen Biao used the largest piece of glass he could make to make a pair of plain sunglasses for his father Mo to protect his eyes when they marched in the hot sun.
Chen Biao melted down all the waste glass to make decorations. Their only use was to cheat people out of money.
To maximize the profits from glass scraps, Chen Biao deliberately hid the glass products and did not reveal that the Chen family had mastered the glassmaking method. All the glass products were transformed into "overseas treasures" by Chen Biao.
Based on Chen Biao's understanding of overseas, even if overseas Chinese came, they would not be able to find any fault with this batch of overseas treasures.
Even when the Chen family was selling "Chen Biao's specially made overseas treasures" near the Fujian ports occupied by Zhu Yuanzhang, the overseas merchants were the ones who rushed to grab them the most.
They firmly believe that these overseas treasures, which are unique to their country's culture and religion, made of precious materials and exquisite workmanship, must be treasures that the Chen family merchants obtained from overseas nobles and left the palace.
Chen Biao had his top artisans specialize in artwork from a particular country, choosing the corresponding country's foreign name and designing a cursive character to represent their signature. These top artisans would engrave their foreign names on every piece of treasure they created.
With the craftsman's name engraved on it, overseas treasures become more valuable.
With the hype created by overseas merchants returning to Europe from China, when the Chen family's merchant ships are able to travel around Western European countries and have more manpower, material resources and financial resources to carry out business layout in other countries, it will be very easy for these treasures to become real overseas treasures.
Chen Biao told his brothers about these business matters, but his brothers forgot what they heard. They only remembered that although these things were fake, Chen Biao wanted to sell them at a higher price than the real ones and use them to cheat the enemy of their food.
Although they didn't understand, they cooperated very well with Chen Biao and kept the secret a secret.
Originally, this line was managed by Chen Ying. After Chen Ying joined the army, Chen Biao had no choice but to take over these matters himself.
He also wanted to find a trusted deputy, but his father couldn't find one after searching for a long time.
Chen Biao knew that his family was of special status and was in charge of Marshal Zhu's purse. He was afraid that if he wanted to find a deputy, he would have to get Marshal Zhu's approval.
It must be Marshal Zhu who is interfering!
Chen Biao would not blame his father, but he was angry and privately made a note of it to Marshal Zhu.
Anyway, no matter how many times he wrote Zhu Dashu off, he couldn't get it back from Zhu Dashu. So he had become accustomed to blaming Zhu Dashu for everything, and Zhu Dashu didn't have to pay back his debts, so neither he nor Zhu Dashu had to worry.
Zhu Wenzheng also remembered Chen Biao's words. While playing with a beautiful colorful glass and gold bracelet, he said, "Your sister-in-law said that if you have any jewelry you want to sell in the future, we can buy a set first and wear it out to help you open up sales."
Chen Biao said, "Sister-in-law, you have a good business sense. In fact, I have also told my mother about this and even wrote a letter to Marshal Zhu. But Madam Xiuying and my mother are both going for simple styles now, so it's not suitable to promote luxury goods. Is it okay with you, sister-in-law?"
Zhu Wenzheng grinned, "Your sister-in-law is indeed simple, but I'm not. Who doesn't know that I, the only adopted son given the surname 'Zhu' by Marshal Zhu, love these mundane things the most?"
Chen Biao said angrily, "Who said bad things about you? Who doesn't love shiny things? A gentleman loves money but earns it in a proper way. Our Chen family is a wealthy merchant. How can we call ourselves wealthy merchants if we can't produce a few boxes of gold, silver and jewelry? Besides, you have military merits, so those are the spoils you deserve! Ignore those people, they are just jealous of you, humph!"
Zhu Wenzheng put down the table, picked up Chen Biao, rubbed Chen Biao's baby fat, and said regretfully: "Biao'er, you've grown taller. In another year, I, your brother, may not be able to carry you on my neck and run around?"
Chen Biao covered his rubbed cheek and complained, "Isn't that better? You said it as if I like being pushed around by you. You and Dad ran so fast without caring about my feelings at all. I want to vomit on you guys."
Zhu Wenzhen laughed out loud.
He put Chen Biao down and said, "I've delivered the things to your sister-in-law. Talk to her yourself about how you want to display these things. I don't want to pass on messages for you. It's a headache to pass on messages, and I can't remember them at all."
Chen Biao said, "There are differences between men and women... Ouch, don't pull my face, I know, I know."
Chen Biao kicked Zhu Wenzhen angrily.
Zhu Wenzhen screamed in pain while running as fast as he could while carrying the box.
Chen Biao squatted down, covering his feet and groaning.
I don’t know if his cousin was really hurt by his kick, but his foot was definitely hurt.
Are my cousin's calves made of iron? Oh, my poor feet...
After Chen Ying finished her work and went home to find Chen Biao, she saw Chen Biao squatting on the ground crying in pain, and she was shocked.
When Chen Ying learned that Chen Biao's foot pain was caused by kicking Zhu Wenzhen's calf and hurting his own foot, he could not help but turn his back.
Chen Biao jumped up in anger and kept hitting Chen Ying on the back: "Are you making fun of me? Are you making fun of me? Brother Ying, you've learned bad habits!"
Chen Ying covered her mouth with one hand and her shoulders trembled constantly.
Li Wenzhong sauntered in, carrying a roasted chicken wrapped in a lotus leaf. "What's so funny? Tell me and make me laugh too. Biao'er, the roasted chicken Deng Yu recommended is pretty good, want to try it?"
Chen Biao jumped up and down: "Don't laugh!"
Li Wenzhong: "Puchi...hahaha...cough, although I don't know what Wenying is laughing at, but Biaoer, your expression and actions right now are really funny hahahaha!"
Chen Biao was so angry that he turned into a bouncing doll, constantly furious and helpless.
That night, Chen Biao put a small amount of croton seeds in his three brothers' rice as revenge.
When the three brothers met in the toilet, they immediately knew that their younger brother was being petty.
Zhu Wenzheng kept crying out for injustice: "You guys laughed at him, so why am I suffering too?" Puff! ~
Chen Ying was holding a book, squatting and reading: "Because Biaoer kicked your leg and hurt your foot, we laughed." Puff! ~
Li Wenzhong covered his nose with both hands: "Yes, you are the culprit!" Puff! ~
Chen Biao was passing by the toilet with his hands behind his back. When he heard the sound from the toilet, he raised his little head and turned to leave, as proud as a little rooster that had won a fight.
When Deng Yu came to find Zhu Wenzhen, he heard Yan Qian, who had risen from Chen Ying's subordinate to Chen Biao's exclusive bodyguard, say that Zhu Wenzhen, Chen Ying and Li Wenzhong were all stuck in the toilet and could not come out. If there was anything important, he could talk to Chen Biao about it.
Deng Yu was puzzled: "Both of them got upset at the same time? Could it be the problem with that roast chicken restaurant I recommended?"
Yan Qian didn't know whether he should say it or not.
Chen Biao opened the door curtain and walked in, admitting his evil deeds very frankly: "I gave them croton."
Deng Yu immediately said, "They definitely deserve it. Come, Biao'er, take a look at this... uh, it's called the acceptance report, right?"
Seeing how close Deng Yu and Chen Biao were, Yan Qian couldn't help but twitch his lips, and then he revealed a helpless smile.
Ever since Deng Yu was fed several times by Chen Biao on the construction site, his attitude towards Chen Biao changed drastically, and his doting on Chen Biao was almost catching up with Chen Biao's three brothers.
However, Chen Biao was too smart and brought many benefits to Hongdu. Zhu Wenzhen and Li Wenzhong were too "naughty" with Chen Ying and often "bullied" Chen Biao. This was also the reason why Deng Yu stood on Chen Biao's side without thinking.
After reading the acceptance report, Chen Biao asked in confusion, "Why is it that you, Brother Boyan, are being punished? What could possibly go wrong while you were building the city wall? How could you possibly ruin yourself?"
Deng Yu's expression was gloomy.
Chen Biao looked at Deng Yu's expression and immediately understood: "Is it your wife?"
Deng Yu did not hide it: "He is a relative of the Cao family."
"What on earth are you thinking? Just letting your wife do whatever she wants?!" Zhu Wenzhen came over with his butt covered and just heard what Deng Yu said.
At this time, "po niang" does not refer to "wife", but is a derogatory term for married women, that is, a swear word.
Although Zhu Wenzhen had a bad temper, his temper improved a lot after he was forced to study by Chen Biao and married a wife he liked.
He scolded Deng Yu's wife in front of Deng Yu, which shows that he was very angry.
When Chen Biao saw Zhu Wenzhen covering his butt, he couldn't help but grin and laugh silently.
Zhu Wenzhen gently nudged Chen Biao with his knee to express his dissatisfaction.
Deng Yu lowered his head and said nothing.
After exchanging glances with Chen Biao, Zhu Wenzheng turned his gaze to Deng Yu, his expression becoming very serious and cold: "If this happens again, I will report to my adoptive father that you are not fit to be a garrison commander."
Deng Yu raised his head, opened and closed his mouth for a moment, and finally spoke with difficulty: "I'll take care of it. I just, I just don't want to force her to death."
Zhu Wenzheng took a deep breath, then scratched his hair in annoyance and said, "I can understand you. Forcing her to death wouldn't improve your reputation either. Your family originally wanted you to marry a lady from a prominent family to improve your status, but in the end... Alas. Biao'er!"
Because it had nothing to do with him, Chen Biao, who was distracted, said: "Huh?"
Zhu Wenzheng asked, "Can you think of a way to help Boyan divorce that woman without endangering her life? Even if she dies in a few years, that's fine."
Yan Qian knew that he shouldn't speak out given his current status, but he couldn't help himself: "Biao'er is only nine years old! How could he know all this!"
Chen Biao rolled his eyes.
That’s right, he is now nine years old, and not even eight years old. How can he interfere in other people’s backyard affairs?
Who gave my stupid cousin the habit of asking Biao'er for help when he's in doubt? It had to be my dad, right? It had to be my idiot dad, right?!
Zhu Wenzheng begged, "Biao'er, use your prodigy brain and think about it. If you can't figure it out, forget it."
Chen Biao: “…” My cousin’s expression was very sincere, but what he said seemed like he had given up on Brother Deng.
After Zhu Wenzheng finished begging, he sighed at Deng Yu, shrugged his shoulders and said, "Even someone as smart as Biao'er doesn't know how to deal with your shameless wife and Yue's family. I think you should be a little more ruthless."
Deng Yu was a little confused by Zhu Wenzhen's singing, reciting, acting and fighting, and his expression became even more dejected.
Chen Biao couldn't bear it any longer, so he twisted Zhu Wenzhen's arm hard, causing Zhu Wenzhen to let out an "ow" sound, attracting everyone's attention.
Chen Biao said, "This matter is easy to resolve. Brother Boyan just chose the wrong path. Don't start with your wife; she can't decide her own future. The Cao family is the only one who can resolve this matter."
Zhu Wenzheng rubbed his waist, which had been twisted by Chen Biao, and said with a smug smile, "Sure enough, it was right to ask Biao'er... Ouch! My stomach hurts again! You guys talk slowly!"
Zhu Wenzhen rushed out of the door.
Chen Biao felt a bit disheveled: "I haven't finished peeing yet, what is he doing here?"
Deng Yu: “…” I don’t know.
Yan Qian: “…” Who knows.
Chen Biao held his forehead with one hand and sighed deeply. He mourned for a moment for having such a weird cousin before continuing, "Well, anyway, the problem in your backyard is only the Cao family. As long as you can deal with the Cao family, your wife has nothing to fear."
Deng Yu whispered, "Deal with the Cao family..." He seemed to have grasped something in his mind, but still couldn't figure it out.
Chen Biao said helplessly, "Brother Boyan, you've been completely blinded by the Cao family's glamorous facade of being a noble family. This is the chaotic late Yuan Dynasty, not the Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties. Do you still think this is an era of ever-changing emperors but enduring noble families? These noble families have been beaten countless times, leaving only a layer of skin behind."
Deng Yu and Yan Qian both asked in confusion, "Huh?"
Chen Biao climbed onto the chair and popped his head over the edge of the table.
When he was almost eight years old, he could finally sit on a chair with his head higher than the table. Chen Biao was very satisfied and thought he was very majestic.
"Brother Boyan, it's okay if you say 'ah', but Uncle Yan, you've read so many books, why are you saying 'ah'?" Chen Biao was puzzled. "You can understand these things by reading history books, right?"
Yan Qian thought to himself, not everyone can understand things just by reading a book, otherwise what is the role of a teacher?
But all he could say was, "I joined the army when I was young, and I've neglected my studies for many years. I'll definitely pick them up when I have time."
"Biao'er! Are you giving advice to Boyan? Where were you?" Li Wenzhong walked into the room with his feet turned outward, interrupting Chen Biao's advice.
Chen Biao said with a stern face, "Shut up and stay aside quietly to listen."
"Oh." Li Wenzhong glanced at Chen Biao, whose head was just visible, picked him up and placed him on the table. Then his stomach growled. His face changed drastically, and he rushed out.
Chen Biao, who was sitting at the table, said angrily, "What is he doing here?!"
Deng Yu: “…” He wanted to block the door of the toilet with stones.
Yan Qian: “…” Zhu Wenzhen and Li Wenzhong are indeed cousins.
Chen Biao ordered Deng Yu and Yan Qian to lock the door and posted guards to prevent anyone from entering before continuing to offer advice: "Even during the Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties, those aristocratic families would use their daughters to win over newly emerged warlords and powerful people. By the Tang Dynasty, the aristocratic families were reduced to a mere shell. By the Yuan Dynasty... aristocratic families? If they had any dignity, after reaping the tributes of the Han Dynasty for so many years, they would have jumped into the sea with the Southern Song emperor. You two-faced people, what on earth do you think of them?"
After Chen Biao finished speaking, he remembered that there were some words they didn't understand. He explained that they were called filters and used the Kong family, the only immortal family, as an example .
If Confucius knew about this, he would definitely send down a meteor from the ninth heaven to smash the Kong family in Qufu into a huge meteorite crater.
"In troubled times, the only useful thing is the military. Your father and your father-in-law hit it off right away. One wants a clean reputation, the other wants a backer. Why do you make it sound like you owe his family anything?"
"The Cao family won't let you divorce their daughter, not for some chastity arch. Since the Cao family lives in Marshal Zhu's territory, what chastity arch do they need? Huh? Madam Xiuying has done so much, didn't you see it?"
"Their only goal is to tie you, Deng Yu, to their side. Even if your wife is divorced and forced to commit suicide by their father and brother, given your personality, you will definitely continue to treat the Cao family well out of guilt and treat them as your in-laws."
"My silly brother, it's not you who clings to the Cao family, it's the Cao family who clings to you. You clearly hold the initiative and can make the Cao family kneel down and beg you!" Chen Biao sat cross-legged on the table, arms folded, and said angrily, "You only need to do one thing now, and that is to detain Madam Cao, not allowing her to leave the house or contact the Cao family, and then bully the Cao family as much as you can!"
"The reason for bullying the Cao family is simple. You say that everything your wife Cao did was ordered by the Cao family. The Cao family looks down on you and forbids you to live with her, or else she will be removed from your official position. The Cao family looks down on your colleagues, so they forbid her from interacting with their wives, or else she will be removed from your official position. The Cao family uses the servants who came with her as a dowry to tightly control her every word and action. It's as if you're married to a wife or not."
"This is all because your father and brother were both deceased. When you came to the Cao family with the engagement, they wanted to cancel the engagement, but Madam Cao insisted that since we were already engaged, we must get married. So the Cao family deliberately used these conditions to make things difficult for you."
Chen Biao stretched out his hand.
Yan Qian was about to pass the water to Chen Biao, but Deng Yu snatched it away and handed it to him respectfully.
Yan Qian: "..." He was speechless. Never mind, it seemed Deng Yu had listened.
Chen Biao took a sip of tea, set the cup aside, and continued, "The Cao family has publicly announced that Cao is a noble lady from an aristocratic family who is well-versed in the 'Instructions for Women' and places great importance on chastity. If you divorce her, she will die."
Chen Biao sneered.
The Cao family cleared themselves of all charges to the outside world. If Cao committed suicide, it was not because the Cao family wanted to be honored for her chastity, but because Cao herself was a well-educated and sensible lady from a noble family.
If Cao died, the Cao family and the literati who were on good terms with the Cao family would probably immediately create a model of a heroine, and Deng Yu would be trampled upon and become a scumbag for all time.
Don't underestimate the power of the pen of the literati. How did Chen Shimei become the epitome of a scumbag?
Deng Yu did not dare to divorce his wife. Not only did he not want to be responsible for a life for no reason, he also did not want to be infamous for no reason.
Since he married the daughter of the Cao family, he had to serve the daughter of the Cao family and the Cao family for the rest of his life. Even if he finally lost his patience and his conscience was wiped out, and killed the daughter of the Cao family, he would still have to continue to serve the Cao family.
The Cao family even hoped that Deng Yu would kill the Cao daughter so that they would have a better handle.
More importantly, what the Cao girl did wasn't out of line—perhaps if it were a commoner, her behavior would have been out of line. But as a woman from an aristocratic family, her actions were definitely above the bottom line. Even if she were to be made public, no one would find fault with her.
Deng Yu had no father, mother, brothers or sisters, so the daughter of Cao did not need to support Deng Yu's family. Although the daughter of Cao did not give birth to a son, she gave birth to a daughter, and agreed to take Deng Yu as a concubine, and gave Deng Yu several of her own maids... As for her loyalty to the Cao family, her luxurious life, and her treatment of servants as her private property, this is what a carefully raised daughter of a noble family should be like.
From ancient times to the present, daughters of aristocratic families have always been loyal to their own families. This is known to the aristocratic families who marry daughters of aristocratic families. This is called a marriage of alliance.
As for Cao's refusal to associate with the women of Deng Yu's colleagues, this further demonstrates Cao's untainted character.
If Deng Yu wasn't ruthless enough, he would be completely trapped.
Chen Biao even felt that not only Deng Yu was trapped, but his father and Marshal Zhu were also blinded by the halo of the girl from a noble family.
Marshal Zhu even heard that Cao had given birth to a daughter and wanted to marry Deng Yu. In Marshal Zhu's mind, he probably thought that the girl from an aristocratic family must be well-educated.
As for those words of aloofness and arrogance, isn't that a compliment? That's what girls from aristocratic families are like.
"I didn't want to get involved in your family's affairs. I'm just a child from the Chen family, and it's really too much for me to meddle in your Deng family's backyard." Chen Biao frowned and said with his hands in his pockets, "But they actually tampered with the city wall. I can't tolerate this. My two brothers are both garrisons in Hongdu and will be stationed there for a long time. If something happens in Hongdu..."
Chen Biao bit his lip.
He wondered what would happen to his two brothers if he had not come to Hongdu and discovered the wall. If someone attacked Hongdu and those sections of the wall collapsed, what kind of danger would they face?
Even though he was a wealthy businessman, when fighting, what he hated most were the unscrupulous merchants who cut corners and used shoddy materials to make up the numbers.
What distant relatives of the Cao family? Who doesn't understand the intricacies of aristocratic families? Aristocratic families are aloof and never engage in business. So how do they maintain their extravagant lifestyles? They let the collateral branches engage in business to support them, while they cultivate their reputations and official titles, acting as protectors for the collateral branches.
The Cao family was able to undertake the construction of the city wall in Hongdu, and the people they sent were definitely merchants directly under their direct lineage. When something went wrong, it turned out that it was a distant relative who used the Cao family's name to defraud people.
Deng Yu saw Chen Biao's fear and sadness, and was at a loss. He looked at Yan Qian for help.
Yan Qian sighed inwardly, gently rubbed Chen Biao's head, and said, "Don't be afraid of things that won't happen. Is it enough to just put all the blame on the Cao family? Will the Cao family admit it?"
Chen Biao collected his thoughts and continued, "The Cao family is too arrogant. They thought Boyan didn't understand the intricacies of this, so they acted very bluntly. And... well, they're very confident in themselves, thinking Boyan wouldn't dare turn against them. They need the Cao family's reputation to improve their own status."
"Brother Boyan, do you need their reputation to improve your status and elevate yourself from a peasant to the son-in-law of a noble family?" Chen Biao asked.
Deng Yu shook his head vigorously: "I went to the Cao family to ask for marriage only to fulfill my father's last wish."
Chen Biao nodded: "You are already married, and your last wish has been fulfilled. I believe that Brother Boyan's father would definitely not leave a last wish for you to hold the Cao family."
The corners of Deng Yu's mouth trembled slightly, and Yan Qian also coughed dryly.
"The Cao family has already molded their daughter into a chaste and heroic woman devoted to you. Just follow their lead. If you don't want to be kind to them, expect them to beg you on their knees." Chen Biao said, "Our Chen family's writers can lend it to you, but you have to pay for it."
Brothers should settle accounts clearly. If you help others without asking for anything, you will be looked down upon. Chen Biao will not do business at a loss.
He spread out his hands. "You have to pay for your advice and consulting fees. You can pay for this with your labor. You still have a lot of soldiers, right? Can you command them to help me with the work?"
Deng Yu immediately said, "As Biaoer tells you! How much money you want is up to Biaoer!"
He can provide any amount of money and manpower to solve the Cao family’s problem!
Chen Biao withdrew his hand. "Straightforward. I like straightforward people. For the specific measures, you should follow what I wrote. There are two key points. First, keep an eye on your wife and don't let her go out. Second, you should be better at acting and pretend to be affectionate to the outside world, so that your concubine will cooperate a little. This matter depends on who is more shameless and can disgust others more."
Yan Qian raised the question: "Will the Cao family deny it and put all the blame on Madam Cao?"
Chen Biao raised an eyebrow. "No. Women from aristocratic families are arrogant and devoted to their natal families. They are proud of their husbands. Although this is the unspoken rule of the aristocratic families, it means that unspoken rules cannot be spoken openly. They are also too confident. They have long since established Madam Cao's reputation as a chaste and heroic woman, so they dare not take the initiative to criticize Madam Cao."
"If Madam Cao, the model of aristocratic women they've promoted, wasn't a good wife, who would dare marry the daughter of their Cao clan? For a family without soldiers, the only thing they value is their looks. They only do such crude things because they look down on Brother Boyan." Chen Biao spread his hands. "If they had a slightly smarter and more experienced general, the Cao family would have been crushed long ago. Tsk, Brother Boyan, you really are too young."
The Cao family is very lucky, but the person in charge now is really not smart.
They were really lucky to meet Deng Yu, an orphan commander who led a tribe of more than 10,000 people at the age of 16 and had lost all his parents and brothers.
But they could have just let go of their family pride and treated Deng Yu a little better, which would have made Deng Yu, who had no kinship with the Cao family, consider the Cao family his own. But they took advantage of Deng Yu, an orphan who didn't understand, and resorted to coercion.
If Cao's father, the old patriarch of the Cao family who quickly hit it off with Deng Yu's father, were still alive, perhaps the Cao family would have become a family of Deng Yu.
Even if the daughter of the Cao family is a typical arrogant girl from an aristocratic family, as long as her father and brother tell her to be honest, the daughter of the Cao family who has received aristocratic education will be honest even without the support of her natal family.
Chen Biao really didn't understand what was going on in the Cao family's heads.
Deng Yu is considered a golden son-in-law by many aristocratic families. How could they have the guts to humiliate him?
Deng Yu left with Chen Biao's suggestion, but Chen Biao was still sitting cross-legged with his chin in his hand, thinking.
The three brothers finally finished defecating and drank the anti-diarrhea medicine that Chen Biao had prepared long ago. When they came to Chen Biao refreshed, Chen Biao's legs were numb from crossing their legs.
After leaving the toilet, the three of them took a shower and changed their clothes to avoid the culprit who made them squat in the toilet from being smelled.
Chen Ying picked up Chen Biao, who was staggering on the table, and asked, "What are you thinking about so intently?"
Chen Biao said, "I just went through the Cao family's affairs for Brother Boyan, and the more I sorted it out, the more I felt something was amiss. Uncle Yan, I saw you frowning. Did you also notice something was amiss?"
Yan Qian said, "I just think that since they have to work under the Lord, it is unreasonable for them to treat General Deng like this."
Chen Biao nodded: "I think so too."
Chen Ying was most familiar with Chen Biao, so he followed Chen Biao's train of thought and said, "Does Biao suspect that the Cao family has secretly defected to other forces?"
Chen Biao said, "It's not necessarily a secret surrender, it could be a multi-pronged bet. They're least optimistic about Marshal Zhu's side, so they're deliberately creating such a rift with General Deng. Their thinking might be that as long as Madam Cao gives birth to a legitimate son, even if he doesn't get along with General Deng, the eldest legitimate son, with the support of the Cao family, will definitely inherit General Deng's position. However, Madam Cao only gave birth to a daughter, and her temperament is too 'arrogant', so it may be difficult for her to have a son in the future. General Deng might become a discarded child."
Zhu Wenzheng was completely confused. "Biao'er, could you please stop talking about the analysis process and just tell me the result?"
Chen Biao rolled his eyes at Zhu Wenzheng and said, "I guess someone will come to attack Hongdu soon."
Everyone present was silent at first, and then they all jumped up as if there were springs under their feet.
Chen Ying's voice trembled: "Are you serious... No, even if it's possible, Biao'er, I will send you back to Yingtian tomorrow morning!"
Chen Biao reached out and patted Chen Ying's chin, shaking his head. "I can't leave. If the Cao family really has an agreement with some other faction to attack Hongdu, then the news of my arrival in Hongdu might have leaked out. Do you think it's safer for me to stay in Hongdu, or to rush back to Yingtian with a small group of guards?"
Zhu Wenzheng patted his chest and said, "I will send a large army to send you back!"
Chen Biao held his forehead and said, "Go away. Brother Zheng, go away. Don't joke around now."
Zhu Wenzheng said anxiously: "Who is kidding you! Biao'er, you are much more important than Hongdu!"
Everyone nodded. Let alone losing Hongdu, even if they lost the neighboring cities, as long as they could keep the leader safe, it would be worth it!
Chen Biao held his forehead and said weakly, "Don't act rashly. First, I'm just speculating. I have no evidence, so I can't use this to disrupt the army's morale. Second, if anyone were to attack Hongdu, it would definitely be Chen Youliang. Although Hongdu is a strategic location, given Chen Youliang's broad mind, if he didn't care about any strategic goals and just wanted to vent his anger, he might really attack Hongdu to the death."
"First, Hongdu is the largest city his subordinates presented to Marshal Zhu. Second, Hongdu has three of Marshal Zhu's adopted sons, one of whom is the only special adopted son to bear Marshal Zhu's surname." Chen Biao lowered his hand from his forehead and looked at Zhu Wenzheng. "Brother Zheng, you carry too much hatred."
Zhu Wenzhen pointed at his nose and wanted to shout out his grievance.
Did I implicate Biao'er?! Chen Youliang, fuck you! If you dare attack Hongdu, I'll kill you myself!
Chen Biao said, "But it might also have something to do with me. When I arrived, I started repairing the city wall with great fanfare, which also exposed how close my relationship with you is and how important I am to the Chen family. Alas, Shao Rong..."
Chen Biao stopped talking halfway.
Yan Qian knew that Chen Biao was concerned about him, so he continued, " When my cousin was plotting rebellion, he wanted to take Biao'er away and force Chen Guorui to rebel. I'm afraid Chen Youliang would have thought the same."
Zhu Wenzheng and Chen Ying knew that Shao Rong was plotting a rebellion, but they had no idea that Shao Rong had also been planning to take over Chen Biao. They flew into a rage and punched Yan Qian.
But Chen Biao was quicker, throwing out two books and hitting the two men in the face: "What does Shao Rong's mistake have to do with Uncle Yan? My father is Shao Rong's best friend. On the eve of Shao Rong's execution, he even invited Shao Rong to sleep at my house. You can beat up my father too."
Zhu Wenzhen and Chen Ying immediately retracted their fists and bent down to pick up the books to hide the distorted expressions on their faces.
Shao Rong wants to force Chen Guorui to rebel, so Chen Guorui takes Shao Rong home to see Biaoer... Although they know it's wrong, why do they want to laugh?
Shao Rong must be feeling very complicated.
Yan Qian, who already knew Chen Biao's identity, felt very complicated when he learned about this.
"Alright, alright, I won't vent my anger on him." Zhu Wenzheng threw the book he had picked up back on the table and said, "But Biao'er, I'm not kidding. Even if there's even the slightest possibility that Chen Youliang will attack Hongdu, I will send you away."
Chen Biao said, "Do you think I'm not afraid of death? I'm afraid of death, so I want to stay in Hongdu. Even if you use all the troops stationed in Hongdu to escort us out, is it safer to rely on the city walls to defend us, or to be surrounded by a large army on the way? You can fight your way out, but what about me? I'll be held in your arms as a burden. I don't ask to be born on the same day as you, but I ask to die with you."
Chen Ying immediately said, "Biao'er, stop being such a pessimist!"
Chen Biao said earnestly, "I'm not being mean, I'm telling the truth. I'm just guessing from the Cao family's behavior that they might use Hongdu as a gift to surrender to others. That's not necessarily true. Even if it is, we should stay in Hongdu and hold it until Marshal Zhu sends someone to rescue us. That's safer than running around... Ah, right in front of Hongdu is Poyang Lake."
Chen Biao's expression suddenly became very, very strange.
Shock , regret, realization... a variety of expressions intertwined together, making Chen Biao's entire face distorted.
"What happened to Poyang Lake?" the three brothers and an uncle they had just met asked nervously.
"Nothing..." Chen Biao slowly hugged his head with both hands, "Poyang Lake, Poyang Lake... How could I forget such an important thing."
Chen Biao didn't know much about history, but he had read "Romance of the Three Kingdoms." Because many of his middle-aged and elderly clients were so fond of the novel, Chen Biao had even studied it carefully. Therefore, Chen Biao should have known that the Battle of Red Cliffs in the novel was based on the Battle of Poyang Lake between Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang.
He had long forgotten this scrap of information in his memory until he heard that Chen Youliang was going to attack Hongdu and that Poyang Lake was in front of Hongdu.
Poyang Lake Water Battle!
Chen Youliang is definitely coming to attack Hongdu! My father and my mother!