jdhmnovel Chapter 114 The game of beating drums and passing flowers
Chapter 114 The game of beating drums and passing flowers
Lingchuan and the other two boarded Luo Xia's boat. Luo Xia naturally knew that the three of them were not there to have fun, so after Rong Xiuhua left, she also found an excuse to leave.
Then the three of them drank and chatted about some interesting things and gossip in the court.
Among the three, Ling Chuan had the least contact with the court, so he basically just listened and asked a few questions occasionally. Later, the topic turned to the Investigation Bureau.
The predecessor of the Jishisi was the Dongchang. Compared with Lingchuan and Zhao Youtang, Shi Xing was the person who knew the most about the Dongchang. Three years ago, he was already the deputy commander of the Bingmasi and could be said to have personally experienced the war that year.
Although it had been three years since Prince Yan seized the throne, it was still a taboo topic. That was why Shi Xing started talking about it after drinking a few too many glasses and they were on a pleasure boat.
"Speaking of which, the East Factory was extremely powerful back then. How should I put it? No one dared to offend it, including Prince Ning who is behind the current Judicial Bureau."
Shi Xing squinted his drunken eyes and said, "Let me tell you this. When I was the deputy commander of the East City Military Department, the entire Military Department could be deployed at will by the East Factory. There was no need for their supervisor to show up. As long as a supervisor came with a copper plate in his hand saying that the supervisor has ordered, who among the five commanders of the Five City Military Department would dare to disobey?"
Ling Chuan couldn't help but secretly pinch the bronze medal in his pocket and asked, "Why did the East Factory disband so suddenly?"
Speaking of this issue, Shi Xing's previous boasting could not help but be restrained. He lowered his voice and said, "The court said on the surface that the East Factory was resisting the rebels and was killed by the rebels, but in fact, the East Factory was killed by an unidentified force. The identity of this force has not been found out yet."
Ling Chuan was suddenly shocked. No wonder Tiekai and the others were all injured. They might be the eyewitnesses of the incident. He would have to ask them later when he had the chance.
"According to this, my position is quite dangerous. Who knows, I might be killed by this mysterious force one day?"
Shi Xing curled his lips and said, "How can it be so weird? It was because of the war back then. Now the government is stable. What kind of mysterious force dares to show up?"
He patted his chest again and said, "Besides, my army is not just for show. If Brother Ling has any problems, I promise to be the first to send troops to help."
Ling Chuan rolled his eyes: "I still hope you don't come to help."
"Hey, I made a mistake, I'll drink a glass as punishment."
Ling Chuan asked another question: "Speaking of which, don't the princes of Dasheng have to go to their own fiefdoms when they come of age? Why is Prince Ning still in the capital? Doesn't Prince Ning have his own fiefdom?"
"How is that possible?" Zhao Youtang, who had not had a chance to speak up, said, "Prince Ning's fiefdom is in Yangzhou Prefecture, which can be regarded as the richest fiefdom among the many princes of Dasheng."
"Why then?"
"Because of the Imperial Clan House, Prince Ning is the Imperial Clan Master, in charge of the royal family genealogy, so of course he has to stay in the capital. But Prince Ning doesn't have anything to do now, after all, the Emperor..."
Zhao Youtang suddenly covered his mouth. He could not discuss the royal family affairs casually, so he quickly changed the subject: "Speaking of which, why did Wu Kun target Brother Ling? Could it be that Brother Ling has some grudge against King Ning?"
Ling Chuan spread his hands and said, "How could I possibly have a grudge against Prince Ning? Maybe I got into the Criminal Investigation Department through connections, and ruined Wu Kun's business?"
Zhao Youtang nodded: "That's possible. Wu Kun was born in the Imperial Guards, and later went to the border army. He was later dismissed. If he hadn't been recommended by Prince Ning to be the head of the Judicial Affairs Department, I'm afraid no one would remember who he was."
Shi Xing raised his head and added, "Prince Ning single-handedly promoted the Investigation Bureau, so how could he have arranged for only Wu Kun to be in charge? Brother Ling's entry into the Investigation Bureau is likely to have ruined Prince Ning's plans, so you should be more careful in the future."
Ling Chuan leaned back on the chair, looking relaxed: "Don't worry, we will deal with any problem. By the way, I have a big plan to make money. Are you interested?"
The big money-making plan he was talking about was the sugar futures business. He was determined to get Guangfeng. Unless Liu Quan didn't fall for it, the life and death of Guangfeng depended on his decision.
Originally, he only planned to operate secretly by himself, but now the contradiction with King Ning is becoming more and more obvious, so he plans to speed up the progress and get more people involved. This thing is just a financial game, the more money there is, the easier it is to operate.
To be honest, both Shi Xing and Zhao Youtang's families can be considered as noble factions. Although they are not short of money, who would complain about having too much money?
"Brother Ling, what are your plans for making money? Why don't you tell me about it?"
"Yes, yes, yes, let us take part in making money."
Ling Chuan smiled slightly, briefly explained the matter of sugar futures, and concluded: "To put it bluntly, this business is just a game of passing the parcel. The person who takes over in the end is the unlucky one, and I..."
Ling Chuan patted his chest and said, "It's the one beating the drum, and he doesn't need to be blindfolded."
Zhao Youtang and Shi Xing looked at each other, their eyes full of horror.
"Brother Ling, do you mean to go against King Ning?"
Ling Chuan shrugged: "Even if I don't go against him, can he let me go?"
The two of them fell silent. Wu Kun was in trouble. After all, his status and position were there. But if it involved Prince Ning...
Naturally, they can't make this decision.
Ling Chuan naturally knew what was going on, and said nonchalantly, "To be honest, the flower has already started to be passed around, and it will soon be known to everyone. If you are interested, you might as well get involved and make a little fortune. By then, even if King Ning wants to investigate, he will investigate me, the one who beat the drum. There is no reason to hit the person who passed the flower with a stick."
The two of them looked relaxed.
"Since Brother Ling said so, I'll get involved. It's a good idea to make some money."
Shi Xing looked at Zhao Youtang as he spoke, observing the expression on his face. When their eyes met, they quickly reached a tacit understanding: "That's right, relying solely on Brother Ling's business methods, isn't that just like picking up money?"
The three of them raised their glasses together, and the atmosphere became lively again.
The drinking session did not end until they were drunk as expected. As they got drunker, Lingchuan suggested that they meet again another day, and the other two readily agreed.
The three of them returned to the city with their own thoughts. Zhao Youtang and Shi Xing naturally went back to discuss the sugar futures with their fathers, while Lingchuan was worried about whether Chuyi had sent the letter.
However, when Lingchuan asked this question, Chuyi told him that today's information had been sent back as soon as he got on the ship.
Ling Chuan breathed a sigh of relief, but he asked again: "Then how will you report what happened tonight?"
Chuyi looked up at the sky and said, "Lingchuan, Zhao Youtang and Shi Xing were drinking in a pleasure boat on the Qinhuai River. Luo Xia and Rong Xiuhua were with them. They returned to the city at midnight..."
"Wait a minute, wait a minute, this is not very kind of you. Since you mentioned Rong Xiuhua, you have to explain why she was on the boat and when she left, and why I didn't pay much attention to her the whole time."
Chuyi glanced at Lingchuan and said, "The pigeon is too small and has a limited load capacity, so I can't go into details."
"Then you are misleading me. Look, according to what you mean, Miss Lu will think that I drank with Rong Xiuhua all night? Aren't you making a false accusation?"
Chuyi was stunned for a moment: "Then how should I write it?"