0p0 Chapter 374 Found 1 Item
Chapter 374 Found 1 Item
"Everything you just saw costs money." Zhou Ziqi said with a smile, "Do you think His Majesty in the capital can afford to build a new city like this outside the capital? You just saw that the walls of the new city of Mang are higher and thicker than the original ones."
Zhou Chengjun broke out in a sweat after hearing this.
He knew that His Majesty was worried that Wei Ling was too powerful in Mangcheng, so he secretly instructed him to find any opportunity to weaken Wei Ling's control over Mangcheng.
And now his little cousin actually said such words in front of him without any hesitation. What's the difference between this and telling him clearly that no one can replace Wei Ling in Mangcheng, and that in a few years he will become a thorn in His Majesty's side and a direct threat to His Majesty!
"Uncle, you are telling me this now..." Zhou Chengjun said with a wry smile, "What do you mean?"
"You are so smart, do I need to tell you?" Zhou Ziqi said, "If you really become the head of the Zhou family, you will have to consider these things. Think about it carefully, why the Zhou family has been struggling for so long, but still can't become the Chu Qiao of those aristocratic families, what exactly does the Zhou family lack compared to others!"
What is lacking are the emperor's close ministers, who have made great contributions to the emperor!
Zhou Chengjun gave the answer in his heart almost at the same time Zhou Ziqi finished speaking.
Whether it is Zhou Ziqi or myself, isn’t the Zhou family cultivating a true minister close to the emperor?
Seeing Zhou Chengjun remain silent, Zhou Ziqi knew that he had taken his words to heart.
"I'll give this to you first." Zhou Ziqi took out a box from his arms and handed it to Zhou Chengjun. "If you want to become the head of the Zhou family, the things in that booklet are far from enough. These can help you become even more powerful."
Zhou Chengjun took the box suspiciously, opened it and took a look, his eyes suddenly widened.
Money!
The box is filled with banknotes.
Zhou Chengjun took a look at the silver note which was worth 50,000 taels of silver!
With his current salary, he wouldn't be able to save that much money even in ten years.
Compared to other places, the Censorate was still poor! The censors could impeach others with just their mouths, and there was nothing else to speak of. They relied purely on their salaries.
Although local officials would send ice and charcoal to the court every year, they only received a small amount.
With these fifty thousand taels of silver in hand, I can really do so many things!
"Little cousin!" Zhou Chengjun was so shocked that he almost stood up.
"Take it!" Zhou Ziqi said, "I look forward to you becoming the head of the family soon!"
Zhou Chengjun then took a deep breath and said to Zhou Ziqi with a serious expression, "Thank you for your help, my nephew knows what to do!"
"Okay. No need to be so polite." Zhou Ziqi waved his hand and told the people outside to stop the carriage. He got off the carriage himself, and the coachman sent Zhou Chengjun back.
Wei Ling's carriage was waiting for Zhou Ziqi in an alley.
After picking up Zhou Ziqi, he went straight to the military camp.
When Zhou Ziqi arrived at Wei Ling's tent, Xie Yingfeng was already sitting where he usually sat.
"Is your nephew interested?" Seeing Zhou Ziqi handing out the box, Xie Yingfeng knew that the matter should be settled.
"He is not a fool. Naturally he is moved." Zhou Ziqi walked to his side and drank the tea he poured for him. "I have talked too much today. My mouth is dry." Zhou Ziqi said.
"It's really hard for you." Wei Ling said indifferently.
"It's not that difficult." Zhou Ziqi sat down and laughed happily. "I really want to see how Zhou Chengjun will deal with those old guys after he returns. In fact, I don't really care about how they treated me back then, but they forced my mother to death! This account should be settled!"
"What do you think? Will Zhou Chengjun report us to the emperor after he returns?" Xie Yingfeng asked.
Wei Ling looked at Zhou Ziqi.
"No." Zhou Ziqi shook his head. "He has always been ambitious. Ambitious people will not put all their eggs in one basket. He will cover up for us until the last moment. He will only add insult to injury if we are really in trouble."
"You don't think highly of your nephew." Wei Ling couldn't help laughing.
He understood what Zhou Ziqi meant.
People like Zhou Chengjun, who are eager to climb up, just want more. Once he becomes the head of the Zhou family, he will be plotting the future of the entire Zhou family. At that time, he will not take the initiative to expose himself. Unless he really can't beat the current emperor, he will take advantage of the situation to step on him.
As long as he and His Majesty were evenly matched or even had the upper hand, he would always help him secretly. Wei Ling understood this principle.
"The Zhou family has always been like this." Zhou Ziqi snorted.
"What if your nephew is not able to become the head of the Zhou family?" Xie Yingfeng couldn't help but ask.
"Do you think the Zhou family's patriarch will keep him?" Wei Ling asked. "We won't have to do anything by then. The Zhou family will be the first to deal with him."
Xie Yingfeng nodded, "Why don't you be the military advisor?" He nodded at the table and said with a smile. "It's just that we gave Zhou Chengjun the impression today that we will rebel. In the future..."
When he said this, he and Zhou Ziqi both turned their gazes to Wei Ling.
"It is better to take the initiative than to sit and wait for death." Wei Ling said slowly with a calm and indifferent face, "I haven't done anything here, but he has many suspicions and actions over there. If he can send Zhou Chengjun, there will be a second and a third, and even other means will be used. There are thieves who travel a thousand miles, but there is no such thing as guarding against thieves for a thousand days. If you can't guard against it, it is better to be direct and make plans early, so as not to be in a hurry when the disaster comes."
Xie Yingfeng and Zhou Ziqi looked at each other again and knew what was going on.
The three of them had discussed before how to get along with Emperor Longchang, but it was always Wei Ling who said that he would never let Emperor Longchang harm them.
Today I have finally had a talk with both of them!
"Then we need to plan early." Xie Yingfeng said.
No wonder Su Jixiang asked everyone to reclaim more wasteland and find talents to farm! This is to prepare for a rainy day.
Xie Yingfeng thought for a moment and said, "In fact, we have everything. But we are short of money."
All in all, the money they had would be enough if it was used in Mangcheng, but once they took another path, it would be a bit stretched.
"Madam is very good at making money, but the amount of money she has is not enough compared to the amount of money needed for this journey." Xie Yingfeng said, "We need to think of other ways."
"Yeah." Wei Ling nodded, "So we need to find something!"