The imperial palace of the Lanfang Empire occupies a very large area. The towering buildings are simple and majestic, and the layers of buildings and pavilions are majestic, showing the powerful national power of the Lanfang Empire and the majesty of the emperor. Arriving at the palace gate, an emperor
His attendants had been waiting here for a long time. When he saw Fang Rui and the other three arriving, he immediately stepped forward to greet them and led them into the palace.
The tall Qinzheng Palace was the place where emperors of the Lanfang Empire presided over political affairs. When they came to the door, Fang Xiaoyu secretly looked inside. He saw a middle-aged man in his fifties wearing a crown and a luxurious brocade robe.
Sitting on a high throne, he has a gray beard and his face is a little pale after overindulgence, but his whole person has an indescribable majesty. This is Xia Houying, the fourteenth emperor of the Lanfang Empire.
There are four people on both sides of the throne. The one closest to the throne on the left is a short fat man. He is caressing his belly with his hand. On his white face, he looks at Fang Xiaoyu and the other three who come in with a pair of narrow eyes.
People. Next to him was a tall and thin man. The man did not look at Fang Xiaoyu and others, but stared at the opposite side, unconsciously combing a few long beards with his left hand. The two people on the right belonged to Fang Xiaoyu.
Old acquaintances, the person near the throne is Marshal Xia Jun, and next to him is the prince of the royal family, Marshal Xia Houfeng, the younger brother of the current emperor.
After Fang Rui and Fang Qiong walked into the hall, they bowed to Xia Houying and saluted, then stood on both sides. Fang Xiaoyu then realized that there were civil and military groups on the left and right. He also quickly stepped forward and saluted: "The humble minister Fang Xiaoyu has met your majesty."
Xia Houying nodded and said: "Are you Fang Xiaoyu? Is it you who made the Lanfang candy?" Fang Xiaoyu immediately replied: "Thanks to your majesty's great blessing, I accidentally got this method and succeeded by luck."
Fang Xiaoyu has never been to the palace, and this is the first time he has seen such a big person. When he came, although his two grandfathers had taught him how to salute and how to reply, they were all temporary lessons, so he didn't know what to do when he came here.
What did you say? Fortunately, Fang Xiaoyu also watched the Qing Dynasty drama in his previous life, so he learned the lines and said this sentence. Unexpectedly, the Lanfang Empire had never flattered the emperor so much, which made Xia Houying extremely useful.
Xia Houying nodded with satisfaction and said: "Yes, he is a talent that can be made." Seeing that the emperor was so satisfied, Xia Houfeng continued: "To report to the emperor, Fang Xiaoyu not only made white sugar, but also modified it as the minister said last time
He is also the one who produced three types of firearms." Xia Houying nodded: "According to my brother, I should be given an official position in the Ministry of Industry."
At this time, the short and fat old man said with a smile: "That's not entirely true. I think it's okay to reward him with some gold and silver. It might not be appropriate to make him an official." Marshal Xia Jun frowned and said, "What's wrong?" Shorty said.
The fat old man added: "He is already serving in the army. It would not be good if he was awarded another official from the Ministry of Industry. It seems that the only three lords in the Lanfang Empire who can take charge of the military and political circles are only three lords. Besides, at such a young age, if he is awarded a big
Officials will make other countries laugh at me for having no one in my empire, and that such a child can hold a high position."
Marshal Xia Jun said: "What Cheng Shoufu said is wrong. If you have merit, you will be rewarded. Why should you care about age? What's more, there has never been a provision in imperial law that people who join the army cannot participate in politics." After hearing Marshal Xia Jun's words, Fang Xiaoyu immediately understood that this short and fat man
The old man has always been at odds with Marshal Xia Jun. Cheng Yuhuan, the head of the Cheng family, ranked third among the four major families, and the chief minister of the cabinet.
The Cheng family controlled most of the officials in the political circles, so they often suppressed the Xia family in front of the emperor. Fortunately, Marshal Xia Jun had outstanding achievements, and even the emperor was polite to him, so he often contradicted him in the court. Both sides were on the same page.
The tall and lanky man next to Cheng Yuhuan smiled and said: "I also think it is inappropriate to appoint him an official. What does he know as a child? These firearms are so complicated. Maybe he is taking someone else's name. I heard that Fang Xiaoyu is about to
By being engaged to Marshal Xia's granddaughter, could it be that Marshal Xia wants to pave the way for his future grandson-in-law for personal gain?"
As soon as he finished speaking, before Marshal Xia Jun could answer, Fang Rui said coldly: "You are stupid, so you think others are as stupid as you? What a joke." The tall and thin man pointed at Fang Rui and said:
"You." Before he could say anything, Marshal Xia Jun said: "What are you? If you are not Cheng Yuhuan's son, how can you become the Minister of the Ministry of Finance with a loser like you." "You." The tall and thin man has already
I didn’t know what to say. After listening to what a few people said, Fang Xiaoyu knew that this tall and thin man was Cheng Wei, Cheng Yuhuan’s eldest son. I didn’t expect that there was such a big difference in stature between father and son. This Cheng Wei could not be someone else’s race.
Well, Fang Xiaoyu thought a little obscenely.
Cheng Yuhuan opened his eyes slightly, glared at Cheng Wei and said, "Don't back down yet." Cheng Yuhuan secretly blamed his son for not being able to speak, and he offended two major families by opening his mouth. He quickly came out to smooth things over and said, "The dog can't speak."
My words caused the two marshals to misunderstand. In fact, it is also good for soldiers not to engage in government affairs, at least to avoid being dictatorial."
Cheng Yuhuan's words were harsh enough, and he directly took off the label of dictatorship. Originally, Xia Jun wanted Fang Xiaoyu to join the Ministry of Industry. With Fang Xiaoyu's genius design, his army would definitely have a steady stream of good weapons in the future.
But he was reluctant to let him leave the army, because the detailed and forward-looking military training plan had already made Xia Jun very attracted to Fang Xiaoyu's military talent, and he even planned to train him to be his successor.
Fang Xiaoyu was also shocked by Cheng Yuhuan's words. He didn't expect that he already had the awareness of separating military and political affairs to avoid dictatorship. He didn't know if this was a temporary idea to make Marshal Xia look bad, or if he had such an idea in the first place. Seeing the tension between the two sides, Xia Houfeng came out
He smoothed things over and said, "What both of you said is unreasonable. Why don't you just promote Fang Xiaoyu to a military position?"
Xia Houying nodded: "In that case, let's promote Fang Xiaoyu to lieutenant colonel. If he has further merit, he will be rewarded separately."
He was directly promoted to three levels in a row. Seeing that Xia Houying had already decided, everyone had no choice but to thank him.
On the way home, Fang Qiong asked: "Brother, you contradict Cheng Wei so much, aren't you afraid of the Cheng family's revenge?" Fang Rui smiled and said: "Since they know that we and the Xia family are getting married, they will naturally restrain themselves, not to mention
We are both one of the four major families, and we cannot be bullied by others, otherwise they will get worse."
Fang Qiong nodded: "What the elder brother said is true, but the Xia Cheng family is the descendant of the founding hero. They have been in business for hundreds of years and have a much deeper foundation than our decades of development. Now let's talk about our marriage with the Xia family.
If they come out, if the two families fight each other, I'm afraid our Fang family will be the first victim." Fang Rui also nodded and said: "I understand this too, which is why I wanted to keep the engagement secret before and not announce it yet.
Now that it's broad daylight, we simply take the initiative to attack openly and openly, which makes the Cheng family a little afraid of us, not to mention that the Xia family will never watch us fall." Fang Qiong nodded at the side. Fang Xiaoyu, who listened for a long time, said:
"Grandpas, you should have something to tell me. Are you getting married to the Xia family? Why didn't I know?"
Fang Rui looked at Fang Xiaoyu with a smile and said, "We have indeed decided privately with the Xia family to get you engaged to Marshal Xia's granddaughter Xia Tingyun. This was agreed upon by your mother and your Aunt Ping first. Marshal Xia went to our house that day just to see her.
It depends on you, and he will be very satisfied with you later, so the marriage will be decided first." After hearing Fang Rui's words, Fang Xiaoyu felt dizzy, and he didn't expect that he would also become a victim of an arranged marriage. But Fang Xiaoyu knew that in such a big family,
, even in the era of freedom and openness in the previous life, arranged marriages were still unavoidable. This was an alliance between big families to maintain their power, and it was understandable in terms of family interests.
Fang Xiaoyu thought for a moment, raised his head and smiled at the two grandfathers: "If this is the case, then I have sacrificed a lot for the family, can you make it up to me?" Fang Qiong laughed and scolded: "You kid, you are a monkey spirit.
, What conditions are you asking for? Do you know how bright your future will be with the support of Marshal Xia Jun? Besides, the same is true for several of your aunts and uncles. They don't want any compensation." Fang Xiaoyu said with a smile: "They don't want it.
It's because they don't need it. I'm going to get more things like Lanfang Candy to revitalize the family industry, so don't compare me with them." Fang Xiaoyu laid some bait for the second grandfather, who is in urgent need of manpower now.
Before Fang Qiong could answer, Fang Rui, the great grandfather on the side, spoke first: "Xiaoyu, I know your ambition is not small. If you want any help, you can tell me." Fang Xiaoyu said: "I need a bigger place to open my business.
For more industries, of course, safety issues also need to be solved at home." Fang Rui nodded: "This is no problem. After the Chinese New Year, I will have people acquire the land near Lanting Villa and let you develop freely. At the same time, I will send
One thousand guards are responsible for the safety of Lanting Villa." Fang Qiong continued: "Xiaoyu, if you want to develop such a high-profile development, you naturally have your own ideas. Can you talk to the second grandfather about it?" Regarding the minister of the Ministry of Industry,
Fang Qiong was more sensitive to this. Fang Xiaoyu smiled strangely and took out a crystal clear porcelain bottle from his arms.
Seeing the porcelain bottle in Fang Xiaoyu's hand, Fang Rui and Fang Qiong showed puzzled looks. Fang Qiong took the porcelain bottle and opened the lid. A strong aroma of wine slowly spread. Fang Rui sniffed and exclaimed: "It smells so good.
Ah, it seems to be wine." Fang Qiong also said: "It is indeed very fragrant, but how can there be such fragrant wine?"
"That's not all." Fang Xiaoyu smiled and took out the porcelain cup for drinking water from the drawer under the seat and said, "Second Grandpa, please pour it out and have a look." Fang Qiong took the cup, carefully tilted the porcelain bottle, and said
A clear stream of wine flowed from the mouth of the bottle and quickly filled the cup.
Looking at the crystal clear wine in the cup, Fang Rui said, "Why is this wine so clear?" Fang Qiong raised the cup and put it under his nose and smelled it, then couldn't help but raise his head and drink it. He drank it all in one gulp.
Fang Qiong took a breath and said, "It's a strong wine, but it's really delicious." Fang Qiong is the most greedy of the three brothers. He has never been able to resist delicious food. When Fang Qiong heard that
After Qiong's words, Fang Rui also took the cup, poured a glass of wine and drank it, then nodded and said: "It's really good, the taste is very good, and it is very suitable for the taste of our soldiers.