Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 224: If Hard Measures Don’t Work, Try Soft Measures
The small weaving and dyeing workshop that Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu bought together is located in the North City, where the land price is the cheapest in the inner city of Beijing, and is only two alleys away from the Imperial College. As for why they bought this, firstly, it is close to the Imperial College, which is convenient for taking care of it at any time, and secondly... it's very simple, because it's cheap. Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu have not yet separated, and they are both poor. All the money was paid by Zhang Shou.
With this little money, Zhang Shou spent all the money he had, including the small tuition fees that the young masters had offered him when he was studying in Cuiyun. If it was still not enough, he would have to ask Wu for money, which would be embarrassing. It was all thanks to the blacksmith shop that Lu Sanlang bought, otherwise, he would be even poorer at this moment.
At this moment, near the dyeing and weaving workshop, where the door was ajar and only the sounds of spinning and looms could be heard, there were more than one pair of eyes staring. Even though most people were paying attention to the selection of concubines for the first and second princes, someone who had been harmed by Zhang Shou was trying his best to use this place as a breakthrough point.
"Are you sure that Ah Liu is in the Xiao family?"
"Yes, boss, don't worry! After all, that kid is the sworn brother of Zhao Guogong's eldest son Zhu Tingfang. No matter what, he is more important than the property purchased by Zhang Shou's two nominal students. So when someone suddenly threw stones and shot arrows from outside, Ah Liu rushed over immediately! Besides, Zhang Shou , Zhang Wu, Zhang Lu and others are all still in class at the Imperial College!"
"Very good, tell everyone to be quick, if we can do this, the bounty given by the Second Prince will be enough for everyone to live a worry-free life!" After saying this, the sturdy man in the lead saw the short man behind him immediately beaming with joy, then bent over to pass on the message to the others, and he couldn't help but reveal a smug smile. When everything was ready, he puffed up his lips and whistled.
Following this crisp sound, more than a dozen people swiftly rushed towards the small courtyard. However, they all tacitly left the tightly closed door open, and instead worked in groups of two, one holding the door with his hands while the other climbed up. In a moment, several people quietly climbed over the wall and jumped into the courtyard, and the leading man was among them.
However, just when the few people who were waiting outside to meet and watch heard that there was no unusual movement inside and just breathed a sigh of relief, a shocked and angry voice suddenly came from inside: "How is it possible... Quick, retreat!"
Almost at the moment when the word "retreat" came out, several people on the outer wall who heard the leader's voice ran without thinking, not caring about the leader and other companions who had not yet left the yard. But they only ran a few steps before they found that their way was blocked by someone, and the leader was Zhu Hong, who seemed to be smiling.
"What a large group of thieves!" Zhu Hong gestured to the guards of the Duke of Zhao's , and then laughed, "Catch all these thieves and send them to Shuntian Prefecture!"
Zhang Shou asked the Madam to personally order him to lead the group to wait here for so many days, but he didn't expect to actually wait for a group of stupid thieves who thought this place was unprepared. As for sending the thieves to Shuntian Prefecture after they were caught, it was naturally very simple. Except for the upright and strong Shuntian Prefecture Yin Wang Jie, small officials like Daxing County Magistrate and Wanping County Magistrate would definitely not be able to handle this case.
When the Second Prince learned that the people he sent out to investigate Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu's weaving and dyeing workshop were arrested by the guards of the Duke of Zhao's mansion and then sent to the Shuntian government office, it was already an hour later. Faced with this bad news, he was so angry that he smashed everything, but in the end, even though he was panting, he still had to face reality.
He might be able to control other minor officials, but he couldn't deal with a stubborn guy like Wang Jie, the governor of Shuntian Prefecture!
Previously, the Queen was confined to Kunning Palace because of a remark by the Queen Mother. He and the eldest prince were also confined to the east corridor of Kunning Palace. After many days, they were finally able to leave the palace and live in their own courtyard outside the palace. He had not yet opened a mansion, so his residence could only be a courtyard, not a palace or a prince's residence. And even this courtyard was given to him by the Queen.
At this time, the Second Prince was pacing around in his study like a trapped beast. He realized that he was likely to be in trouble again. Although he hated Zhang Shou and the Zhu family even more, and had cursed Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu countless times, he knew that he could not just sit there and wait for death. After thinking it over, he knew that it was useless to ask anyone for help, and his mother could not help him either. He only had the last straw to save his life.
That is to drag his annoying elder brother, the eldest prince, into the water ! It is better for two people to bear the responsibility than for one person. As for whether the eldest prince is willing to bear the blame...what does it have to do with him? It is just like when the eldest prince deliberately tricked him into causing trouble for Liu Qing, the daughter of Minister Liu. Now, as long as the eldest prince makes some moves behind the scenes, he can make a big deal out of it!
Anyway, his good elder brother had been identified by the emperor as an instigator last time, so he can never wash off this impression in the future!
When the second prince made up his mind to rely on his elder brother, the eldest prince also got the news that the second prince sent people to raid the weaving and dyeing workshop, but all the people were caught and sent to Shuntian Prefecture. He was gloating, but thinking that Zhang Shou made Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu the sons-in-law of the royal family, and controlled the people in Zhaoguo Mansion, he was naturally not in a good mood.
Faced with such news, he, who had also left the palace and stayed in his own courtyard, paced back and forth in the courtyard, trying to think about what to do next. When a report came from outside the courtyard gate, he couldn't help but shouted impatiently, "Who is it?"
"My Lord, the Queen sent someone to bring you rose water."
Hearing that it was someone sent by the Queen Mother, the eldest prince's heart skipped a beat. However, it was impossible to avoid them, so he could only order them to be brought in. Sure enough, it was Ning Xi, the manager of Kunning Palace, who smiled and bowed, presented the gifts, and then lowered her voice and said, "The Queen Mother has already known about the incident caused by the Second Prince..."
As soon as he said this, the eldest prince interrupted him impatiently, "My second brother is causing trouble every day. Does mother want me to clean up his mess? This matter has already been brought to the attention of Wang Datou. I can't do anything about it!"
"Of course the Queen will not implicate you just because of the Second Prince's mischief." Ning Xi explained with a smile, while taking a step forward and lowering her voice, "The Second Prince probably thinks that the brothers Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu must be working together with Zhang Shou to do something, but forcing your way in to find out is really stupid."
Seeing that the eldest prince's expression had indeed eased, he knew that his statement had suited the eldest prince's taste, so he struck while the iron was hot and said, "To destroy their plan, we can only use our wits, not force. The Queen said that you must have a better way than the Second Prince."
After hearing these words, the eldest prince finally felt better. After all, he was sure that he was the one his mother could really rely on, and his mother was willing to rely on him. This was much better than the previous situation where he and the second prince were beaten with fifty sticks each. He nodded slightly and said, "Go back and tell my mother what the little weaving and dyeing workshop is all about. I will find out."
"Yes, I will report this to the Queen." The mission was accomplished, and Ning Xi left with a flattering smile on her face. The Queen would certainly be very satisfied with the reaction of the First Prince, and the Second Prince... since he had done such a favor, lobbying between the Queen and the First Prince, he was worthy of the generous gift given to him by the Second Prince!
The eldest prince was always resolute and swift. He found out that the weaving and dyeing workshop bought by Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu had left six spinners, and these people had not returned home for five or six days. He had an idea. He was quite disdainful of the second prince's brainless behavior, and directly asked someone to spend a lot of money to bribe the relatives of several spinners and asked them to go to the weaving and dyeing workshop to ask to visit.
Sure enough, although the request was rejected at first, after several families made such a fuss, Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu could not stay inside all the time, and the spinners finally met their families. And these families did find out a piece of news. When the eldest prince learned the inside story, he almost wondered if he had heard it wrong.
"Those spinners actually told their relatives that the spinning machines they were using were several times faster than the ones they used before? This is simply ridiculous, how could it be possible!"
The guard who personally did this also found it incredible, but since several people answered in unison, he had no choice but to believe it at first. He vowed, "Your Highness, I can guarantee that those guys would never dare to deceive me. I wonder if it was because of these new spinning machines that Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu just rounded up the people and kept it a secret?"
"You're right. It's very possible!" The eldest prince thought about it and felt that it was true. He took a deep breath and said, "Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu were originally just illegitimate sons of marquis families. They were of low status. Even in the future, Marquis Nanyang and Marquis Huaiqing may not be able to give them much of the family property. So it's reasonable for the two brothers to think about making money from this."
The guard nodded quickly and said, "Your Highness is wise, this must be the case!"
"But where did they get the new spinning machines?" The eldest prince was so annoyed that he clapped his hands and started walking around in the study again. He said he was a prince, but in fact he had no property like them. The money allocated by the palace treasury every year was not enough to support himself, let alone support any talents. He even lacked the money to make friends with talented people!
He had saved for so many years, and with the various subsidies from his mother, he had only saved five or six thousand strings of wealth. Most of it was from his mother's family, who sponsored him, the grandson who might become the crown prince in the future... However, his mother's family fell into decline too quickly, and they only had this little wealth, and there were no talented people! Why didn't he get that new spinning machine!
Self-pity has never been the eldest prince's principle, so he took a deep breath and said word by word: "Go and check, I don't believe that such a spinning machine can appear out of thin air! Someone must have supplied spinning machines to Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu, no matter if they used money or intimidation, anyway, I want to get a finished machine! As long as I can get it, I will reward you generously!"
I heard that Jiangnan now has an entire industry from cotton fields, spinning, weaving to ready-made clothes. If he could master such a spinning machine, he would undoubtedly be able to establish connections with those wealthy merchants in Jiangnan, and perhaps even get their financial support!
A big reward would always attract brave men, not to mention the eldest prince's status, there would be many people willing to work for him. After thorough investigation, he soon got some good news.
"Those spinners said that the spinning machines were actually delivered by Fatty Lu himself? Some people also heard that Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu promised to give 20% of all future profits to that fat guy?" Although the eldest prince found this answer unbelievable, when he thought about the prodigal son who had returned to the right path and was praised by both Ge Yong and his father, he finally decided to believe the news.
If it was the second prince, he might have planned to kidnap Lu Sanlang and use threats and bribes at this moment, but the eldest prince prided himself on being magnanimous and graceful, and he had never had any disagreements with Lu Sanlang, nor had he had any substantial conflict with Zhang Shou. So he chose one evening when the classes at the Imperial College were over, and waited for Lu Sanlang on the road he would take on his way home.
Then... he waited for a full hour, but never saw the conspicuous little fat man come out of the Imperial College!
The eldest prince simply thought that Lu Sanlang had studied so hard that he had not left Jiuzhang Hall yet. However, when he sent someone to inquire about it in annoyance, he learned that except for going home on holidays, which was about once every three days, Lu Sanlang spent most of his time staying in the cramped dormitories provided by the Imperial College for students.
It was only then that the eldest prince remembered that he had heard about this incident before, but at that time he just thought that it was Lu Sanlang spreading rumors of diligence, but he didn't expect it to be true! But because of this, although he was unhappy, he gradually felt that the possibility that the new spinning machine was invented by Lu Sanlang was gradually increasing. After all, without diligence, how can you become talented?
Now that he knew where he was wrong, the eldest prince no longer hesitated and sent someone to inform Lu Sanlang in the name of the Lu family, saying that Lu Wan had to call her son back for an urgent matter. Of course, using the news that Lu Wan or Mrs. Lu had suddenly fallen seriously ill might be able to trick Lu Sanlang out faster, but the eldest prince knew very well that cursing someone's parents like this would definitely make Lu Sanlang disgusted.
Just as he expected, after the news was sent to the Imperial College, although it was a little slow, Lu Sanlang finally came out. He looked around and finally got on the carriage that was indeed driven by the driver of the Lu Mansion. Not long after, the carriage stopped in front of his carriage that had been parked in the alley for a long time, and then he smiled and watched the driver of the Lu Mansion open the curtain in front of the carriage.
"Why did you stop all of a sudden? Didn't Daddy say he was looking for me urgently?"
Lu Sanlang asked impatiently, but when he saw the eldest prince sitting in the carriage opposite, his face immediately darkened. He glared at the driver standing beside the carriage and cursed: "You wicked slave, how dare you betray your master!"
"I just asked him to do a small favor, Lu Sanlang, please don't be angry."
The eldest prince nodded to Lu Sanlang with a smile on his face, and then said sincerely: "Recently, everyone in the capital has been saying that Lu Sanlang is very talented. I didn't believe it at first, but after secretly investigating, I found that the rumors are not only true, but even less than one ten-thousandth of your real talent. So I asked your servants to meet you privately."
If someone had praised him like this in the past, even if Lu Sanlang couldn't jump three feet high, he would at least show his joy on his face. But now he has been numb to the praise. He sneered in his heart, but said smugly on his face: "You are a good judge, my Lord. May I ask what you want from me?"
The eldest prince took a deep breath and said word by word: "I would like to ask you to join forces with me to conspire for a huge fortune!"
