The families of Zhang Rencheng, Dong Shu, Hou Fangyu and Mao Pijiang are all very wealthy, but this kind of wealthy people are considered rich families in the eyes of ordinary people. Compared with the families of Fang Yizhi and Chen Zhenhui, they are far behind. This time, Zhang Rencheng spent a lot of money to entertain guests in this luxurious restaurant.
Zhang Rencheng had no choice but to spend his money like this. Compared with the benefits he gained from the Youth Society, this was just a small amount of money. The funds invested by Tang Tong, the Fang family, and the Chen family in the Youth Society were a huge amount, enough to attract the attention of most people. The Youth Society Foundation, which was established based on this money, had many businessmen investing in it to sponsor it, making the amount bigger and bigger. Anyone with a little bit of common sense would understand that in the future, the Youth Society Foundation would become a treasure trove.
Of course, those businessmen would not invest money in it for no reason. These people are optimistic about Tang Tong's power. In the territory controlled by Tang Tong, the status of businessmen is very high. These businessmen support Tang Tong and want to take advantage of the development of the Youth Society to get more preferential policies in the future. At the same time, this is also an opportunity to show goodwill to Tang Tong.
Fang Yizhi and Chen Zhenhui were capable men under Tang Tong, and many businessmen who had been to Southeast Asia knew them. When Fang Yizhi, Chen Zhenhui and others sought development funds, they would generally sponsor a sum of money. Some politically sensitive people actively supported the development of this youth society. However, in this case, Zhang Rencheng, Dong Shu, and even Hou Fangyu did not understand and thought that it was the development of the youth society itself that attracted the investment of those businessmen.
Hou Fangyu pushed open the door to the private room and saw Zhang Rencheng and Dong Shu already waiting there. He felt even more superior and bowed to them. Hou Fangyu said with an apologetic expression, "Haha, I didn't expect Brother Zhang and Brother Dong to be here so early. I'm sorry for being late. I hope you two brothers will forgive me."
"No, no, come here, Brother Hou, Brother Mao, we haven't sat together for a long time. Taking advantage of this rare free time today, we brothers should have a few drinks together." Dong Shu stood up with a smile and enthusiastically pulled Hou Fangyu and Mao Pijiang to sit down. The waiter came over and waited on the four of them to order food.
Although this restaurant is the most luxurious in Jinling, Hou Fangyu and his three companions are not completely ignorant. The food inside is indeed very expensive. When they ordered the dishes, they were still very calm. Only Zhang Rencheng, who was paying for the meal, felt heartbroken in his heart. He had a smile on his face, but every time someone ordered a dish, a little more blood was added.
The four of them had known each other for a long time, so there wasn't much of a formality between them. After some of the dishes were served, Zhang Rencheng, as the host, took the wine glass and said to the other three, "To be honest, we four have known each other for a long time, and we've been fortunate enough to be honored by those scholars who call us the Four Talents of Jiangnan. You could say we're now one. For the sake of our friendship, I suggest we all drink this cup together."
Hou Fangyu and the other three also raised their glasses, obviously agreeing with Zhang Rencheng's proposal. After the first glass of wine was downed, the waiter beside them refilled the four glasses one by one. Hou Fangyu raised his glass again and said with a smile, "Ever since I met Brother Zhang, Brother Dong, and Brother Mao, our shared interests have led us to establish this youth club. It is truly gratifying that we have developed to this point. Here, I wish our youth club can one day become a place admired by people all over the world, just like the Donglin Academy of our predecessors. This glass, Hou, will drink first."
Hou Yu's words were meant to bring the topic back to the starting point. After all, the four of them didn't come to this place for drinking and merrymaking, and they were already very familiar with each other, so there was no need to waste time on pleasantries. After Zhang Rencheng, Dong Shu, and Mao Pijiang drank the wine in their cups first, Zhang Rencheng said, "Yes, time flies. When the four of us founded the Youth Society because of our common interests, we never imagined that it would develop to this point. Originally, this was a happy thing, but Fang Yizhi and Chen Zhenhui's actions were really excessive. It's simply an insult to us scholars. Brother Hou, I don't mean to slander anyone, but if they do this, they will make our Youth Society notorious."
"Yes, Brother Zhang is right. When the four of us founded this youth club, we've been through a lot of ups and downs over the past year or so. The four of us sitting here have invested a lot of effort in this youth club. We can't let two guys who suddenly jump out and destroy our youth club." Dong Shu sighed and glanced at Hou Fangyu and Mao Pijiang, observing their reactions. Of the two, Hou Fangyu was the one who could play the decisive role. Therefore, Dong Shu's attention lingered more on Hou Fangyu. Mao Pijiang, with his small influence and inactive personality, could almost be ignored.
"Haha, Brother Zhang, Brother Dong, I don't think this matter is that bad. Fang Yizhi and Chen Zhenhui are both very talented people. Seeing how tirelessly they work for the Youth Society, I think it's all for the good of the Youth Society. As for whether this method is correct, seeing how rapidly the Youth Society is developing, they shouldn't be making any big mistakes." Although Fang Yizhi and Chen Zhenhui were trying hard to win over Hou Fangyu and Mao Pijiang, Hou Fangyu didn't immediately turn to Fang Yizhi and the others. His words in front of Zhang Rencheng and the others seemed to be a defense of Fang Yizhi and the others, but in reality, they were trying to get Zhang Rencheng and the others to give him greater benefits. What Hou Fangyu wanted most was to seize control of the Youth Society himself.
Dong Shu initially sneered inwardly at Hou Fangyu's pompous words. He understood the meaning behind them, but at this moment, he couldn't help but be concerned about Hou Fangyu. It was obvious that Fang Yizhi and Chen Zhenhui were simply trying to suppress him, Dong Shu, and Zhang Rencheng. If he couldn't hold Hou Fangyu back and confront Fang Yizhi and the others, he, Dong Shu, and Zhang Rencheng would be no match for them. Numerous thoughts raced through Dong Shu's mind, but in the end, he could only sigh inwardly.
"Brother Hou, Brother Mao, you are both upright gentlemen. Your deeds are of course very honest and upright. But Fang Yizhi and Chen Zhenhui are not Brother Hou. Brother Mao, the way people like you behave is not at all like a scholar. The original purpose of our Youth Club was to provide a place for young scholars in Jiangnan to express themselves. But what did Fang Yizhi and Chen Zhenhui do? They actually wanted to take those businessmen away.
"They've even dragged lowly servants into the Youth Club. If that's not insulting our decorum, then what is? If they do this, the nature of our Youth Club will completely change, turning it into a gathering place for the lower classes." Dong Shu said this not entirely to sow discord between Hou Fangyu and his group and Fang Yizhi's. His main purpose was to bring out Hou Fangyu's proposed conditions. Whoever proposed them first would suffer.
Hou Fangyu calmly took a bite of food. He knew in his heart that he had to remain calm. If he expressed his stance too soon, he would be the one to suffer. In the face of enormous benefits, many things could be changed. However, Mao Pijiang clearly didn't understand Hou Fangyu and Dong Shu's plans. Mao Pijiang was a gifted scholar. He was proficient in everything from music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and was extremely intelligent. However, his intelligence had no connection to politics.
Mao Pijiang, who was extremely dull in politics, saw that Zhang Rencheng and Dong Shu were very dissatisfied with each other's wisdom and wisdom, so he also interjected: "Actually, Brother Fang and Brother Chen are both very insightful people. They have their reasons for doing this. In the time I have spent with them, I feel that Brother Fang and his men are the kind of warm-blooded and sincere people who do everything for the people of our country."
Mao Pijiang had also had many quarrels with Fang Yizhi and Chen Zhenhui. Under Fang Yizhi and others' deliberate solicitation, Mao Pijiang's heart had long been tilted towards Fang Yizhi and others. Mao Pijiang was not very concerned about things like power, and he had no intention of playing political games with others, so he spoke his inner thoughts on such occasions. However, this made Zhang Rencheng and Dong Shu frown in anger, and in their hearts they classified Mao Pijiang as an enemy.
"Brother Mao, I'm afraid you've been fooled by the hypocritical behavior of Fang Yizhi and Chen Zhenhui. What do they mean by passionate and sincere good men? They made our Youth Society a mess as soon as they arrived, and they kept talking about that overseas bandit leader Tang Jing all day long. Judging from their attitude, they are going to praise Tang Jing as a saint." Zhang Rencheng was the first to help. Originally, Zhang Rencheng also liked to read "The Shout" and was deeply influenced by some articles written by Tang Tong. He still had some admiration for Tang Tong, but Fang Yizhi and others kept expanding Tang Tong's influence in the Youth Society, and publicized Tang Tong's various great achievements among the members of the Youth Society all day long. Zhang Rencheng hated Tang Tong in his heart because he was against Fang Yizhi.
"Brother Zhang, what you said is right. Regardless of what Brother Fang and the others do, how can you slander Prince Tang so casually? Not to mention the painstaking effort Prince Tang put into founding the "Shouting Newspaper" back then, over the years, he has wiped out the emerging Japanese pirates on the sea for our Great China, and made a name for himself among the Western colonists. Recently, he wiped out the Jiannu who threatened our Great China in one fell swoop. How can you, Brother Zhang, close your eyes and slander such a great hero?" Although Mao Pijiang is not active, once it comes to some things that he thinks are right or wrong, he will argue without mercy.
None of the four people present knew that the person Tian met was the overseas Prince Tang. Later, after Fang Yizhi and Chen Zhenhui arrived at the Youth Society, they did not reveal anything about Tang Tong. Although Tang Tong had found a gathering place for the Youth Society, what happened later was not done by Tang Tong himself, but by Tang Tong's subordinates. In Jinling, there were not only Tang Tong's intelligence personnel, but also many members of the Tang family caravan who ran the Tang family's business in Jinling.
Seeing Jiang's excited expression, Hou Fangyu couldn't help but sigh in his heart. His good friend was a little too naive. The two sides were still arguing. Before Fangyu could say anything, Zhang Rencheng sneered and said, "What great hero? Since ancient times, the victors have been kings and the losers have been bandits. What's so great about what Tang Jing did? He just had a sharp musket in his hand and was bullying others overseas. The Jiannu, with only tens of thousands of people, how could they be considered a threat to our country? He called himself a prince overseas, what difference is there between him and the bandits today?"
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