Chapter 1597 Xin Zijuan Discussing Marriage
The communication with Qiao Yingjia also encountered such views, which made Feng Ziying feel powerless.
He analyzed the views of Qi Qiao and found that there were two reasons why he did not think that Prince Yi Zhong, the Jiangnan gentry, or a combination of the two could start a rebellion, or have the courage to rebel.
First, Emperor Yonglong has been on the throne for nine years, and no one can question his orthodoxy. Moreover, his rule has been basically stable during these nine years. Although there were many flaws such as the Ningxia rebellion, the Mongolian invasion, and the Bozhou Rebellion, Ningxia's suppression of the rebellion was a great victory and pacification. Taking advantage of the situation, they regained Hami and Shazhou, which had been lost in the previous Ming Dynasty, which greatly boosted the morale of the country. Under such circumstances, whoever said that he could replace Emperor Yonglong would undoubtedly be suicidal.
Second, the imperial court controlled unparalleled elite frontier troops, and its overwhelming advantage was unrivaled.
The nine border towns are elite. Even if the three towns of Gansu, Ningxia, and Guyuan among the four northwest towns are slightly weaker, the six border towns of Yulin (Yansui), Shanxi (Taiyuan), Datong, Xuanfu, Jizhen, and Liaodong are all ten. The elite of the important town with a strength of 10,000 troops.
Niu Jizong was barely able to control Xuanfu Town. Even if Wang Ziteng's Denglai Town was added, he only had a mere 100,000 troops, which was simply unable to compete with the imperial court with 800,000 frontier troops.
Moreover, Xuanfu Town, which they relied on most, was in a poor location and was still being attacked by Datong, Shanxi and Jizhen. Whether they wanted to rebel on the spot or flee south, Xuanfu Town seemed unlikely to succeed, so they decided that Niu Jizong Wouldn't be so unwise.
Third, although the Jiangnan gentry made a lot of noise, apart from some of the elites in the Nanjing Seven Ministries and the Metropolitan Procuratorate, most of them were still in the imperial court in the capital, including leaders of the Jiangnan gentry such as Ye, Fang, and Li. They never took the public opinion response of the Jiangnan gentry as one thing, but more often thought that it was just a gesture of bargaining with the court. Even the Jiangnan gentry had different opinions within themselves. How could they talk about rebellion, a major matter that might destroy their families and exterminate their families?
Based on the above three points, neither Qi Qiao believed that the suspicious points mentioned by Feng Ziying were the basis for Prince Yi Zhong and the Jiangnan gentry to rebel, because in their view, these three factors could not be circumvented in any case. Neither Prince Yi Zhong nor the Jiangnan gentry were fools. No one would do something that would lead to their own destruction, even though they knew it was self-destructive.
Of course they also agree with Feng Ziying's point of view. It is indeed suspicious. Long Jinwei, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the Ministry of Punishment should be instructed to pay attention and start investigations to find out who is causing trouble and disrupting the business order here.
That’s right, their point of view is that there are still businessmen taking advantage of the opportunity to build momentum and intend to make profits.
Feng Ziying also carefully analyzed their views and admitted that it was indeed difficult to explain.
As long as Emperor Yonglong is still there, any rebellion is likely to spread, and there will be no waves at all. Niu Jizong and Wang Ziyi have little military power, not to mention whether these officers and soldiers will follow them, even if they are really very powerful. , but facing a frontier army several times their size, they had little chance of winning.
Even if the Jiangnan gentry is on the side of Prince Yi Zhong, Ye Fangli and others are the leaders of the Jiangnan gentry. If they stand high and shout, the appeal of people such as Tang Binyin, Gu Tianjun, Miao Changqi and others will definitely be defeated. If it is greatly weakened, will the Jiangnan gentry really stand firmly on the side of Prince Yizhong? At the very least, they will split into two camps, or both will remain silent.
The reasons are all good, but what Feng Ziying faces is still various real signs and clues. Someone in Jiangnan is preparing for war. Is it really just a gesture?
Then this gesture is too real, and the cost is too high.
Rongguo Mansion is happily preparing for Jia Baoyu to marry Niu's daughter, and Feng Mansion is also preparing to accept Yingchun as his concubine.
Of course, these are not on the same level at all. One is a legitimate son marrying a wife, and the other is a concubine marrying. Even the word "married" is not accurate, but she is a concubine. Fortunately, this is a concubine for Xiao Feng Xiuzhan and Shuntian Fu Cheng. , not wronged at all.
Feng Ziying naturally wanted to let Yingchun pass her by to make up for the gap in status. Even if Yingchun didn't care about this, her lover's thoughts would make her extremely happy.
Even Jia Shexing and his wife were extremely shocked and very satisfied when Feng Ziying entrusted Fu Shi to come to discuss marriage and accepted the offer of betrothal gifts.
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Some wealthy and particular families are not even allowed to go through the corner door next to the main entrance, but can only use the back door or the side door. This also shows the low status of the concubine.
After following Feng Ziying for such a long time, he became more and more aware of his superior's ability. Not only did he have mentors like Mr. Qi Ge and Yushi Qiao Youdu, but he also had mentors like Cui Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry and Official Shangshu of the Ministry of Commerce. The reason why such important ministers as Chai Shilang of the Ministry of Civil Affairs valued him was because of Feng Ziying's proficiency in handling official affairs.
For example, firmly seizing the official's room and execution room, purging the third class of yamen and the prison department, almost a month gave the entire Shuntianfu yamen a completely new look. Even Wu Daonan, the governor who had been watching with cold eyes, privately admitted Feng Ziying is an able minister in governing the world and deserves to be the Prime Minister of Shuntian Prefecture.
Precisely because he is more and more optimistic about Feng Ziying's future, Fu Shi also wants to cling firmly to this big tree, so a little face is not worth mentioning to him. Originally, Rongguo Mansion was his teacher's home. Although Jia Zheng was not here, But Jia Yingchun was his niece after all, so there was nothing embarrassing about discussing marriage and employment with Jia She on behalf of her boss.
"Sir, Mr. Fu Cheng entrusted the students to discuss with Mr. Lao the marriage of the two girls. Previously, Mr. Fu Cheng also explained that considering that the marriage of Baoyu in Fu has been decided, on the eighth day of September, Mr. Fu Cheng also asked I have chosen a date, and it will be September 12th. I wonder what the boss and the eldest wife want?"
Although Fu Shi is also a general judge of the sixth grade, he is still very polite in front of Jia She and his wife today, which is very different from the reserve in the mansion in the past, which makes Jia She and his wife very proud.
In the past, the man in front of me was a disciple of Lao Er and a scholar from the imperial examination. In addition to being more humble in front of Lao Er, he also maintained a scholar's arrogance in front of others. Even Jia She was neither humble nor arrogant in front of him. His posture was completely different today, he was extra polite.
“Well, since Brother Keng has already chosen an auspicious day, let’s make it September 12th.” Jia She pretended to stroke his beard and muttered, “Just this matter, has Brother Keng ever said anything about it?”
Fu Shi smiled secretly in his heart.
Jia She's needy temper for money is well known to everyone in the house, and even an outsider who often comes to the house knows it very well.
Feng Ziying also mentioned to him before coming here that they would probably talk about the money Jia She owed the Sun family, and they might also talk about matters related to betrothal gifts. He had been entrusted with full authority to handle them. As long as there were no special requests, the second girl would In terms of face, they all agreed.
"I don't know what the relevant matters are that the boss mentioned?" Fu Shi asked in a deep voice: "As far as the students know, there are regulations for accepting bribes and hiring, and the Prime Minister has also explained it, so we just have to follow the highest standards. Your Excellency has also prepared a pair of Hetian jade from the Western Regions, four black pearls from the South China Sea, eight black fox skins, sixteen Taihu shark pearls, four horses, not counting gold and silver,..."
Jia She and Xing both looked at each other in awe, but the mixture of love and greed made their expressions very exciting.
This is almost comparable to what a wealthy family would use to marry a wife. Baoyu's marriage to a daughter of the Niu family is probably at this level, but that was a legitimate son of the Rongguo Mansion marrying a wife, and here Feng Ziying took a concubine. This is too exaggerated.
A pair of Hotan jade bis may cost one or two thousand taels of silver. The Feng family's offering will definitely not be too bad. South China Sea black pearls are also a must-have item for the matrons of wealthy families in Beijing. The high-quality ones cost hundreds of taels. Silver, the price of black fox skin is not low, especially after the tension in Liaodong, the price has skyrocketed. Eight skins need at least one or two thousand taels of silver to get them. Shark pearls are big pearls, and Taihu pearls are also known as lake pearls. Among the treasures of freshwater pearls, these sixteen are estimated to cost hundreds of taels of silver.
The four fine horses are also valuable. The Feng family has been an official in the border town for a long time, and the tribal leaders on the grassland must pay tribute. The price of this horse may be a thousand taels, and the difference is one or two hundred taels of silver.
In total, I'm afraid it will cost five or six thousand taels of silver?
It turns out that Jia She and his wife were thinking of Feng Ziying accepting the Spring Festival. It was estimated that at most one or two thousand taels of silver would be enough as a betrothal gift. After all, it was taking a concubine and it was not as good as marrying a wife. But they did not expect that Feng Ziying would spend such a large amount of money.
Even Fu Shi, who came to discuss the marriage, felt that Feng Ziying's betrothal gift was a bit excessive. It greatly exceeded the regulations and standards for concubines in the capital city, and even exceeded the standards for wives from wealthy families.
But Feng Ziying was stubborn, so it was naturally difficult for Fu Shi to say anything.
The betrothal gift was so extravagant, which meant that the dowry should not be too bad. This immediately put Jia She and his wife in a dilemma. Moreover, the key point was that Fu Shi did not even mention the Sun family's debt, which also made Jia She and his wife doubly embarrassed. Feeling anxious.
“Brother Keng’s generous gift is too much for me to bear.” Jia She suppressed his mixed feelings of joy and sorrow, smacked his lips and said, “Did he say anything else?”
Before Fu Shi could respond, Ms. She was given to the Sun family as a wife, but for various reasons it didn't work out, but Brother Keng fell in love with the second girl, so this marriage happened. However, in the early stage, we borrowed a lot of money from the Sun family in order to support the government. …”
(End of this chapter)