Chapter 308: Entering the Sword (1)

Since the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Di, the gap between civil and military officials in the court has widened. In order to prevent military generals from abusing power and repeating the mistakes of the Tang Dynasty, they used the means of using civil officials to control military generals. After more than a hundred years of habits, military generals in the Ming Dynasty have no status in front of civil officials. Sun Chengzong, the governor of Liaodong, was also a literati, but the generals under his command still respected him and did not dare to disobey him at all. This is of course because he has the power to govern the army, but the identity of civil officials is also a key to preventing the generals from acting rashly.

In this era when the fourth and fifth-rank military officers were about to pay tribute to the seventh-rank county magistrates, there was no wonder that the provincial officials invited people like Zhang Wencong to the banquet. After thinking about all this, Tang Feng did not laugh. He said in a deep voice: "Don't you think this matter is a bit strange? If these officials were not looking at us directly because of my identity as an imperial envoy, how could there be such a big change today?"

After Tang Feng reminded him, Zhang Wencong suddenly realized: "You are right, you are not an imperial envoy. Although he brought the troops, he did not threaten them at all. There is no need for these adults to entertain me." After all, he is not a stupid person, and he can still see some clues after being given guidance.

Seeing that he could listen to his words, Tang Feng was also very satisfied. After a little thought, he said: "If what I expected is right, they want to ask something about you."

"What are you asking?" Zhang Wencong asked in a daze. Tang Feng said: "After going through the previous incident, I think they are convinced by my methods, so they will think about protecting themselves, in case I will discuss with the court after quelling the Shandong rebellion. In the officialdom, I want to deliberately make friends with someone but say it is a gift, but they are not sure whether I am the same person as them, so I want to get some exact information from you, the person who comes to Shandong with me."

"Oh, I understand. They want to give some money to the adults, but they are afraid that you will not accept it, and they will backfire, so they come to me to explore the way. What do you mean by that adults?"

"What these people get is all the money and money. If I can use it and give it to the people, it is a good thing, just like what I promised before. So if you are asked by them, you can say in a vague way that I have also received a lot of gold and silver in the capital. In addition, if they also give you gold and silver, you can also accept it first."

Zhang Wencong naturally would not refuse this order, so he nodded and said, "Sir, don't worry, I will do what you told me." But..." He suddenly remembered something: "Sir, are you too worried? We all saw that day. The mansions of these adults have been emptied. Where did they get the money for you?"

Tang Feng really forgot about this, but he still firmly believed in his judgment: "Even if they really have no money now, I think they will definitely think of another method. It seems that you can adapt to the situation in the future. As long as they can give me sacrifices, they can seize their evidence of their sins and truly calm the incident from the root."

After Zhang Wencong discussed with Tang Feng how to deal with the officials, he adjusted his clothes and went out to the banquet. It turned out that the joy when he received the invitation had turned into uneasiness. He had no idea what situation he would face, but when he thought about being able to do things for Tang Feng, he was still full of confidence.

Although the officials wanted to find something out of Zhang Wencong's mouth and gave him an invitation, they still had the reserve as a member of the party. They only sent a few minor officials to greet them outside the restaurant and took Zhang Wencong, who was a little late, to the second floor of the restaurant.

Before Zhang Wencong arrived, the adults were already waiting for him upstairs. When they saw that the time had come and they didn't see Zhang Wencong, they complained with dissatisfaction: "This person named Zhang is too arrogant. We third and fourth-rank local officials are waiting for him here, but he has not been able to do so. Do you really think that he is the imperial envoy?"

"That's right, if it weren't for me who wanted to ask him what he thought, this kind of military officer who only had the fifth rank was not in our eyes, even if he came from Beijing. It's really a tiger falling into the Pingyang."

Everyone expressed their dissatisfaction in words. At this moment, someone came to report: "General Zhang has arrived!" When everyone heard this, their unhappiness turned into a smile. Then several people stood up and met the stairs and bowed to Zhang Wencong, "General Zhang, you are so busy with noble people. Let's wait for a while. We must be fined three drinks later!" This sentence not only pointed out the little dissatisfaction in his heart, but also praised the other party, which was considered decent. However, their intentions were in vain for Zhang Wencong. After strode upstairs, he said: "It's because I'm late. If you want to punish me, I, Lao Zhang, are the least afraid of being punished by others!"

After he sat down, he had three glasses of wine in anger, and then he began to greet the officials who were staring at him in a daze: "Don't be polite, don't you invite me to drink today? Then please use it!" Well, in one sentence, he became the host of the guest, so that everyone could not know what to say.

Fortunately, these officials were prepared before. Knowing that the person they were invited was just a rough man, they were not angry because of his attitude, so they accompanied him to drink a few cups. But the delicacies on the table were not allowed to be enjoyed with him. It was not that the dishes were not as good as their appetite, but that Zhang Wencong ate all the dishes on the table as soon as he came up. Each dish that seemed very exquisite became a mess, which made these people completely lose the courage to cut off their chopsticks.

But Zhang Wencong didn't know if he didn't see everyone's expressions. While smiling and eating food, he also greeted him: "Please use it with all of you. Don't be embarrassed, isn't it just a meal here?"

Seeing his eating habits like wind and clouds, everyone said in their hearts that the table of dishes was not enough for you to eat alone, so no one moved their chopsticks. At the same time, some people secretly despise themselves: "After all, I am a rough man, I don't know how to be etiquette, and I don't know that we invited him to come not only for dinner. Since that's the case, we can only say it straight!"

After seeing Zhang Wencong ate a whole chicken with only one head left, someone said, "General Zhang, are you satisfied with today's banquet?"

"Yes, I haven't eaten so well in a long time." Zhang Wencong nodded, but his hands didn't stop. He drank another bowl of soup, and then wiped his mouth and said, "Do you guys have anything else to say?"

"You are always cognizable and said something that is right." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and said, "General Zhang, how is your friendship with Lord Tang? Do you know his character?"

"I have been with him for some time. Lord Tang is still good and has great skills, but sometimes he likes to make things difficult for some people who want to ask him for help. I can't stand it." As if he had eaten and drunk enough, he touched his round belly and said casually, "I asked him why this was for him, and he just smiled. But later I realized that those who were embarrassed by him would send some exquisite boxes in afterwards, and then he helped them get things done."

After hearing this, everyone immediately showed a "as expected" smile on their faces, and they put down a big stone in their hearts. Obviously, Tang Feng, like ordinary officials, also likes those yellow and white things. But then they were a little worried. Now there was not much silver and money around them that could satisfy the appetite of the imperial envoy. Seeing that he gave out hundreds of thousands of taels of silver as soon as he made a move, they asked themselves that they didn't have so much money.

Just as everyone was thinking about what to do, Zhang Wencong burped and asked, "What, do you guys have any requests from Lord Tang? But you have miscalculated your calculations when you look for me. Although I have been with you for a while, he will not listen to me as a rough man in major matters. If you really want the master to help you do things, you have to see him."

Everyone laughed dryly and said, "Thank you for General Zhang's advice, but we are really embarrassed. It's not that we don't know how to ask Lord Tang, but that we don't want to give it to Lord Tang. You have also seen that the whole Jinan was in chaos before, and the money we put in our mansion was swept away by those chaotic people. I wonder if General Zhang has anything to teach us?"

"That's it..." Zhang Wencong laughed in his heart. These people were indeed deceived by their very rough behavior. They spoke so directly. They pretended to think for a while before they said what Tang Feng told him: "I have one, but..." As soon as they stopped, they gave a wink to the few people.

These people are all the experts who take bribes and accept bribes. Naturally, they understand what his expression means and immediately said without any worries: "General, don't worry, as long as you help us this time, we will definitely not forget you."

"That's good. I tell you that as long as you are still a parent, you will naturally have a lot of money. As long as you are willing to write a note to Lord Tang, saying that you owe him how much money he owes him, he will generally accept it with a smile. He once said that this is called raising fish. What he dislikes the most is what kills chickens and gets eggs, and what fish is doing."

Seeing that a rough man actually said something about killing chickens and fishing in the dry pond, everyone believed that this was Tang Feng's original words. Finally, they felt relieved and thanked him for a while. Then they promised to prepare a generous gift for General Zhang and then sent him out.
Chapter completed!