Chapter 262: Smiling Tiger's Gentle Knife, Every Knife is Deadly
The headquarters of the Mengjia Escort Agency is in Zhongchuan, and the logistics operation center is also in Zhongchuan. Therefore, in order to take over the state-owned logistics of the escort agency, one must go to Zhongchuan to transfer power.
It was already August when we set out for Nakagawa.
The main group was Marquis of Changning Lei Li and his wife Zhou Yi. They were accompanied by a group of officials of all ranks, as well as a team of guards originally from the Kyoto Guard who were sent by the emperor to protect Marquis of Changning.
Only Lei Li and Zhou Yi went from the Lei family.
Lei Shengjiang is an editor in the Hanlin Academy. Although he is only a seventh-rank official, he cannot leave his post without permission. Miao Yurui is only three months pregnant and it is not easy to move her, for fear of accidents on the way.
Liu Ye'er and Lei Dashan are old and not suitable for traveling long distances.
When we came to Beijing from Qingmi County before, we went to Beijing slowly as if we were on a family trip. Now we are going to Zhongchuan on business, so it is not convenient to bring the old couple with us.
And Lei Jingsheng had to maintain order in the Marquis' Mansion.
Lei Shengjiang was only eighteen years old and held a low official position. Moreover, his petition to be named the Crown Prince had not been approved and was still pending with the Emperor. The Emperor would only approve it after Lei Li had completed the business of the escort agency. His status was too low to suppress the undercurrents in Beijing's capital.
Lei Jingsheng is a princess appointed by the emperor. She is experienced and arrogant. Relying on the fact that she is the son of Marquis Changning, she is not afraid of anyone and can naturally protect the Marquis Changning's Mansion.
If Lei Jingsheng doesn't go, Qingzhi will naturally not be able to follow his brother and his wife to Zhongchuan. Since Miao Yurui is pregnant, he has to be responsible for most of the affairs of the Marquis' Mansion and cannot rely entirely on the old housekeeper.
——The old butler was only loaned by the emperor to the Changning Marquisate for emergency use. You can’t really treat him like an animal.
There is no need to mention Lei Zhouzhou.
The boy was very happy when he arrived in Beijing, but when he found out that he had to go to school and suffer with his good friends in the village, he felt like the sky was falling.
Because the school did not accept girls from young boys, and the private schools mostly taught boys and girls about how to be a good wife and raise children, Lei Li did not like that, so he invited a teacher to the Marquis' Mansion to give Lei Zhouzhou one-on-one teaching.
He only focused on Lei Zhouzhou the whole time, forcing him to put all his attention into the class.
But the other teacher likes it very much.
That was a martial arts teacher, specially invited by Lei Li to teach Lei Zhouzhou.
The things Zhou Yi taught Lei Zhouzhou were all modern. Although they could be used to fight enemies and defend oneself, most of them were boxing techniques and sports for strengthening the body. The martial arts master was highly skilled in martial arts, proficient in riding and shooting, and was also good at several cold weapons.
Lei Zhouzhou wielded the broadsword with great power, and followed a martial arts master to learn martial arts, such as spear, whip, darts, and sword. After knowing how to use double swords and triple swords, he also wanted to learn riding and shooting.
Lei Li naturally agreed to his brother's request, "If Master Wen praises Zhou Zhou's good performance after Daddy returns from Zhongchuan, Daddy will buy Zhou Zhou a pony and ask Master Wen to teach Zhou Zhou horseback riding and archery."
"good!"
The boy nodded with a burning gaze, his eyes full of anticipation and joy for the foal.
"Daddy, buy a few more horses. When he comes back, we can go out riding together. Seventeen said he has a very large horse ranch."
"OK."
Lei Li responded with a smile.
Many people in the Lei family can ride horses, including Lei Li, Zhou Yi, Lei Jingsheng, Lei Shengjiang, and Lei Zhouzhou. Miao Yurui can ride a little, but he cannot ride a horse alone. Qingzhi also needs Lei Jingsheng to ride with him.
Lei Li and his companions were quite good at horseback riding because they often went out for fun. However, their skills were limited to riding. Their archery skills were only half-baked. They might not be able to hit a rabbit even if they shot arrows ten times while riding. They were purely amateurs.
The Six Arts of a Gentleman.
Etiquette, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics.
Lei Shengjiang had learned horse riding and archery in the county school, but horse riding and archery were not tested for the top scholar in the imperial examination, so the county school did not pay much attention to them. The horse riding and archery teacher's level was average, so he only knew the basics and could not teach Lei Zhouzhou.
However, the Lei family is looking forward to the horseback riding trip after returning to Zhongchuan. This is the first time the family has gone out for fun together since coming to Beijing.
But on the way to Zhongchuan, Lei Li was so annoyed that he almost wanted to kill someone.
Because the deputy accompanying him was an old minister, who was a representative of the conservatives in the court. He was also the one who argued the most fiercely with the innovative faction represented by Lei Li and the one who disagreed the most with his approach.
The old minister is steady and pedantic.
He felt that all under heaven belonged to the king, and all the people in the world were his subjects. Especially since the Meng family was supported by the emperor, they should respectfully submit the escort agency to the court, instead of using it as a threat to confer official titles and rewards.
The Meng family cannot be sealed.
The escorts in the Meng family escort agency cannot be banned.
Others either have to make great achievements or study hard for decades, passing the examinations from being a student to becoming a juren or jinshi before they can become officials. Most of them are ninth-rank officials, and only those in the first or second class have a higher starting point.
What achievements did the Meng family, who were just merchants, have? What achievements did those bodyguards have?
How could the Marquis of Changning just talk and make those merchants and escorts leap from humble beginnings to officials? The Marquis of Changning insisted on bestowing official titles and rewards. Could it be that he was conspiring with the Meng family to conceal some shameful plot?
certainly.
The old minister was a scholar, and scholars would not speak so bluntly, but Lei Li had to be a fool not to understand the roundabout ways and innuendos in his long speech.
And Lei Li: Hehe
He was also very gentle and polite, and he kept retorting to the old minister with a smile for two quarters of an hour, making the old minister's face turn red and unable to finish a sentence.
The old minister was so angry that he was furious, and he disliked Lei Li even more.
Just right.
Lei Li also couldn't stand him.
The 42-year-old Marquis of Changning and the 72-year-old minister came into conflict.
They can coexist peacefully when they don't meet, but when they meet, they are at loggerheads. One is a smiling tiger with a gentle knife, and every knife is deadly; the other one is puffing his beard and glaring, and every word he says is heart-wrenching.
The lower-ranking officials dared not say a word, while the higher-ranking officials tried to persuade both sides. The Marquis' wife Zhou Yi was caught in the middle. She had to go along with her master's temper, but also prevent the old minister from getting hurt by it.
It takes nearly a month to get from Beijing to Zhongchuan.
No matter how spacious and comfortable a carriage is, it is still bumpy and uncomfortable whether you sit or lie down.
If they came across a post station or an inn, it would be fine. They could stay in a single room and have a good rest. Lei Li could eat Zhou Yi to fill his stomach at night and sleep well, so he would be in a good mood and would be less aggressive when he met the old minister.
If they were in the middle of nowhere, with a sore back after sitting in a carriage all day and no place to rest, they wouldn't be able to do anything to Zhou Yi in public. If it rained all night, Lei Li's energy would be low and his attack power would be full.
At this time, even if the old minister did not come to pick a fight with him, Lei Li would lock onto him and attack.
At the same time, whoever comes will die, and all other officials, big and small, will behave like quails. Zhou Yi will not be attacked by Lei Li, but he will drag him in to be a judge to judge the case. The old ministers will not drag him in to be a judge, but they will attack him for being young, having healthy hands and feet, but being a gigolo.
In the end, the old man would often be so angry that he would jump up and down, while Lei Li would be in a good mood and feel proud.
After dozens of quarrels, big and small, they finally arrived at Nakagawa Prefecture.
The Meng family had people waiting at the city gate a few days ago. When they saw Marquis Changning and his party coming from afar, they quickly ran back to report, and the entire Meng family started to move.
Officials of all ranks in the city also received the news and rushed to the city gate to welcome him.
Changning Hou Lei Li was exhausted from the long journey and was too lazy to exchange pleasantries with the prefect and other local officials. He had an expressionless face, spoke briefly and coldly, and handled his business impartially.
The prefect and others thought they had done something wrong, and for a moment they were trembling with fear and sweating profusely.
However, when he saw the Meng family members standing behind the officials, those Mengluo elders, Lei Li became much gentler and greeted them with a smile.
"Master Meng, Madam Meng, Brothers Meng, long time no see. I hope you are well."
His usual attitude made the Meng family feel flattered.
"I am blessed to have my family with me to see you, Lord Marquis."
In public, Meng Fuguang did not dare to act recklessly. He led the Meng family to pay a respectful and careful salute, which was the proper etiquette for the Marquis.
Hearing the strings, you can understand the elegant meaning.
Lei Li naturally didn't insist on special treatment. After the Meng family members saluted, he immediately asked them to stand up. Meng Fuguang didn't exchange pleasantries with Lei Li, but returned the right to speak to the prefect.
"Please come in, my lord."
Prefect Zhongchuan smiled and respectfully invited Marquis Changning and his entourage in.
The welcoming banquet was lavish. It was Nakagawa's famous "official banquet" that had been booked for a year later. Even the head of the official banquet came out to welcome the guests.
Lei Li was very satisfied with the fine wine and delicious food, but during the meal, the old ministers, the prefect and other officials seemed to be addicted to talking and talked too much, which really disturbed his meal.
Lei Li couldn't stand it any longer and slammed the table, "Alright, shut up. Don't you know that you shouldn't talk while eating or sleep? Can't you just let people eat properly?"
The prefect didn't dare to say a word for a moment.
The old minister was so angry that his face turned red and his neck became thick. He pointed at Lei Li and was speechless.
And Zhou Yi...
He silently picked up a piece of meat for Lei Li, picked up a piece of vegetable with chopsticks, and then poured a bowl of soup to cool it down so that Lei Li could drink it later.
After dinner, it was getting late and it was already night, so Lei Li went to the mansion prepared for him by the prefect and slept with Zhou Yi until dawn.
I didn’t see the prefect and others.
Lei Li and Zhou Yi went to Meng's house.
"The higher-ups mean to nationalize the escort agency. The Meng family can keep 20% of the profits, but they can no longer interfere with logistics. The escort agents in the escort agency will be incorporated into the official system like the constables in the government office. Those escort leaders who have made great contributions and are well-received can be appointed as minor officials."
Lei Li said bluntly, "Strictly speaking, this minor official isn't an official, because it doesn't belong to any of the nine ranks and eighteen levels. It just has certain rights."
"The Escort Agency is under the Imperial Court's jurisdiction, but it is independent and not under the jurisdiction of the Six Ministries or local governments like Zhongchuan. Instead, it has a dedicated Logistics Department and a Logistics Officer to oversee it."
"I'm currently in charge of this department. Whether it will be in the future depends on the emperor's opinion. After all, our two families have a good relationship. It doesn't make much difference whether you manage it or I manage it. I might be able to avoid suspicion in the future."
Zhou Yi added, "From the court's perspective, there's not much difference."
The Lei family and the Meng family are closely related and complement each other. If one of them falls, the other will not be far behind. The court will naturally think that they are a nest of snakes and rats and are in cahoots with each other.
"I know."
Mr. Meng was in a heavy mood.
I gave away almost half of my family property. How could I not feel heavy?
This power was said to be given to Lei Li, but in fact it was given to the court and the emperor, but it could alienate the two families and make them suspicious of each other.
Regardless of the relationship between the two families, the escort agency has nothing to do with the Meng family at all.
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