Chapter Five Hundred and Twenty Seven: The Guardian
Places like Pengtai Gambling House are naturally bound to hide dirt, but as long as you are in Pengtai Gambling House, almost everyone will perform their own duties and never cause any trouble.
Relying on the gambling house, wine flags floated high. This inn is actually the business of the owner of Pengtai gambling house. Some gamblers will come here to spend money after making money.
In the inn, the guys were all waiting for guests, but there was a rush knock on the door outside a wing room on the top floor of the inn.
Most of the people living here are distinguished guests and have noble identities. In Qingya Pavilion, Wang Mai, the shopkeeper of the gambling house and the inn, is Wang Mai. Wang Mai rarely shows up in the capital, so many gambling house clerks don’t know that there is such a person. However, when talking about him, they will inevitably mention the new Minister of Works Wang Fen.
After the case of the Craft Bureau, the Minister of Works committed suicide. After that, Wang Fen took over. The reason why Wang Fen was able to take over was closely related to the court at that time, because the Ministry of Works became a little dirty from the hot department because of the Craft Bureau. Wang Fen took over as the governor and left deputy commander of the Craft Bureau. After he arrived in the capital, his first thing was to clarify the Craft Bureau. He quickly consolidated his position under the chaotic knot.
However, this Wang Fen is a very interesting figure. He is neither Liu Ji's party nor Liu Jian's party. He is from Zhejiang and is entirely supported by his fellow villagers. It is precisely because of his neutrality that the palace trusts him very much.
Wang Mai is Wang Fen's most trusted family, and this gambling house and this inn are actually Wang Fen's industry. Although the officials of the Ming Dynasty criticized merchants indignantly, most of them have their own industries. However, under normal circumstances, these businesses will naturally not interfere at will because of Wang Fen's preciousness. They will let their confidants take care of him. The gambling house is naturally under the name of Wang Mai.
The knocking sound was very rapid, which made Wang Mai, who had just stopped inside, very unhappy. Wang Mai was old and had business in the gambling house and inn. He just asked about it from the side and left the other matters to his own families to take care of them. He got up early in the morning to read the accounts. Then he took a nap and got up until noon.
"Shopkeeper...shopkeeper...what happened..." The voice outside was relentless and his voice was a little trembling.
Wang Mai had to lift his shoes. In fact, he was not surprised by the person knocking on the door outside. Is this the Ming Dynasty or at the foot of the emperor, his master was the Minister of Works. What else could happen if he was there?
He blew his beard and stared at the door. The people outside naturally recognized it as a family in the gambling house. When the man saw him, he immediately looked bitter and said, "Shopkeeper. Something big happened. The Jinyiwei got news from the Jinyiwei, saying that he wanted to investigate the chaos and the Queen's birthday. Someone has already rushed towards us. Shopkeeper, should we stop our karma first?"
"Investigate the rebellion! The Queen's birthday..."
These two high hats are quite big, either of which is enough for the Jinyiwei tossing for a while, but Wang Mai smiled coldly and said disapprovingly: "Don't pay attention, these people are mostly trying to blackmail some money. But they came to our Pengtai Gambling House. Tsk, they really got the courage to take."
In fact, Wang Mai roughly knew what was going on. A few days ago, many Jinyiwei lost money in the gambling house, and many people claimed loans. He now knows that there are tens of thousands of taels of various loans, involving hundreds of people. It is said that in addition to this Pengtai Gambling House, many other gambling houses are also like this. Don’t underestimate these loans. Although there are only tens of thousands, if the profit continues, I don’t know how many people can be exploited and controlled...< >-
Of course, Wang Mai also knew what a great fortune this was.
But I didn't expect that these Jinyiwei wanted to pay the debt and came to the door in the name of the Queen's birthday party.
Wang Mai couldn't help but sneer, with a little disdain on his lips, and then said, "Don't pay attention to anything, go and watch the gambling house, I'll go to the master's place."
After saying that, Wang Mai changed into clothes in the inner room and then left the door. He had always been low-key, so he just rode a quaint carriage to Wang Fen's mansion. After informing the doorman, he walked in. After waiting outside the hall for a while, he heard the sound of coughing inside, and a majestic voice came out: "Is it Wang Mai? Come in and talk."
Wang Mai nodded, walked in quickly, and said, "The villain has seen the master."
Wang Fen is about 50 years old and has a very good skin care. When he was a former governor of Sichuan, he was quite heroic because he had suppressed thieves. He sat on the chair and squinted his eyes, looked at Wang Mai. With his experience, he knew that something happened in the gambling house when he saw Wang Mai's face.
However, Wang Fen was a little surprised when something happened in the gambling house. He was a man who had seen the world. The experience of governors gave him a kind of calmness in the face of changes. When he saw Wang Mai like this, he felt a little displeased. No matter what, Wang Mai was from the Wang family, but his joy and anger were written on his face, which was really lacking in heat.
He stroked the desk, looking tired. Fortunately, he didn't have to go to the office today. Since he took office in the Ministry of Works, he realized that this Secretary was much more tired than the governor. Although the matter may not be as complicated as the governor, there are surprisingly many things about pretending to behave. After the past few months, he has been exhausted. Now Japan wants to take a good rest, but he has encountered such a thing again.
"What are you doing here if you are not staying there? Didn't I say that? Don't come here if you have nothing to do."
Wang Fen did not say the following sentence, and he wanted to avoid suspicion. After all, Wang Fen is also one of the leaders among the Shilin, so he naturally needs to avoid suspicion. The more people know about this kind of thing, the more people will inevitably have some impact on reputation.
Wang Mai's face turned red and said, "Master, I came to report to the master after something happened. The Jinyiwei is coming to our gambling house."
Then, Wang Mai began to talk in a nagging manner, pouring out the things that Jinyiwei had gambling in the gambling house until now, like a shaking bean. He looked at Wang Fen carefully. Seeing that Wang Fen's face was as normal, he felt even more nervous. He knew the master's temperament. The more he was calm, the more he was really angry.
Wang Mai didn't say anything, but a hint of suspicion flashed across those eyes.
Jinyiwei moves the gambling house? It is good for them to move the gambling house. He had known for a long time that the Jinyiwei has been very uneasy recently. The two sides are fighting each other. However, at this critical moment, it is said that the Beizhen Prefecture Department is in trouble now, but who would have thought that Jinyiwei actually took action at this moment?
Who is the one who took action? Is it Wantong? Wantong just took the seat of the commander of the Jinyiwei, how could he suddenly make such a big move? Not to mention his sensitive identity, doing such a thing is not good for him at all.
But what about that Liu Chengfeng? Yes, maybe it is Liu Chengfeng. Liu Chengfeng has always been unreasonable and has a very courageous behavior.
But... Wang Mai was even more confused.
Liu Chengfeng and Wan Tong fought to death. No one knew about this, but Wang Fen knew about it. Will this be beneficial to Liu Chengfeng?
After thinking about it, Wang Fen had some clues. The key to the problem was that the Jinyiwei was owed to the debt. Taking advantage of the fear of the Jinyiwei's debt to directly copy the gambling house, it is indeed the most powerful way to win over the hearts of the people. The Jinyiwei who owed the debt was already in panic. If Liu Chengfeng took these people to copy the gambling house, not only would everyone's debt be slapped, but they would also have invisibly established majesty among the Jinyiwei.
While showing kindness, he also established prestige. Doing so is indeed the fastest way to enhance his position in the Jinyiwei in the shortest time. From now on, who will not be grateful to him, and who will not be in awe of him? It may be of some use to convince the public with a black hat alone, but it is a delusion to make the people devoted to you and work hard for you.
"Liu Chengfeng... the picture is really pretty. He was still not satisfied with being a commander-in-chief..."
Wang Mai was not angry, but instead talked to himself, then smiled, and a little smile appeared on his face. He asked lightly: "You don't have to worry about the gambling house, they will copy it if they want to."
"Ah..." Wang Mai couldn't help but exclaim, and said aloofly: "Master..."
Wang Fen shook his head and said, "I have my own opinions. If the Jinyiwei comes to check, I don't have to pay attention to anything. Just listen to their instructions honestly. Anyway, the copy is not our family. You go and get the pen and ink. I want to write a note. If the Jinyiwei comes, you can hand it over to them directly, and say it is for Liu Qianshi, and ask him to take a look."
Wang Mai had no choice but to go to pick up the pen and ink in confusion. Wang Fen wrote a handwritten book and then delivered it to Wang Mai, and said seriously: "The biggest competitor of your gambling house is Fangji Gambling House next door, right? Zhengzhou Hou is doing a big business. This person is very popular and is a person who refuses to suffer losses. Today, I am afraid that his beauty will be good. If you like it, go to Zhengzhou Hou's gambling house to watch the fun. Yes, tonight, maybe Liu Chengfeng will come to the mansion to pay a visit. Come and search in the treasury to see if there is still Emei Mountain Tea left by me from Sichuan. Wang Mai, go down."
Wang Fen waved his hand, but there was no intention of getting angry at all.
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Chapter 2 is delivered, and it will resume normal updates tomorrow. I have been stuck recently. I am adjusting now and feel much better now.