On August 19th, the capital city, Jianchang Hou Mansion.

Zhang Yanling was admiring the wealth that others respected, with four large boxes worth three thousand taels of silver.

"...Mr. Marquis, look, this is all for your filial piety. Now the martial law in the capital is strict, and the whole capital is watching you. If you can mention one more word in front of His Majesty, then maybe... Gaosheng. Marquis, this is the first batch. There will be 6 subsequent filial piety. I just want you not to dislike..."

Zhang Yanling was the number one borer in the Ming Dynasty. The filial piety he received was tens of thousands of taels every year. If he encountered the greed from his responsibilities, it would even reach a huge amount of 100,000 taels.

"very good."

Zhang Yanling only had these two simple comments on the property delivered to her door, but in the hearts of the generals of the Beijing camp, he felt that this was recognized by Zhang Yanling.

"Marquis, now the capital is martial law, and there are merchants everywhere in the city gate. They want to transport goods outside the city in, but the city gate is very cautious. Even if the city gate is occasionally opened, the city gate tax collected is too heavy. Those merchants want to respect the two marquis, please let me do it for convenience, you see..."

Zhang Yanling sneered: "The courtesy must ask for something. These gifts are not only intended to seek promotion, but also to make this marquis openly violate His Majesty's will and disrupt the laws and regulations of the Ming Dynasty?"

"No, Marquis, you misunderstood. I have no intention of this. Didn't you come here to discuss with you? Marquis, please rest assured that these merchants sent to the capital only some scarce goods in the city. Originally, there were some secret passages connecting the outside of the city, so you could deliver goods to the city, but you also know that it was a drop in the bucket."

"Now the prices in the city are soaring, and the people are complaining. Those merchants value the marquis for the country and the people. They know that the marquis is polite to the people, so they want to... calm down the prices in the capital?"

Zhang Yanling squinted his eyes and asked, "Is that true?"

"It is precisely because those merchants have no way to ask the villain for the meaning of the marquis. If the marquis agrees, they will not only contribute 30% of the goods income to the marquis... No, they will contribute to the court, let the officers and soldiers of the Beijing camp follow and serve the country. Some singers and dancers will also be sent to the mansion, all from the Jiangnan land, with beautiful and beautiful people, and know that the marquis appreciate the gentleness and affection of the women in Jiangnan most."

"Um."

When Zhang Yanling heard this, he nodded with satisfaction, "I am willing to help the country and the people. The prices in this city have indeed risen a little harder. If the prices cannot be stabilized and the people have a problem, how can I explain to Your Majesty? Do you think so?"

"What the Marquis said is, Marquis, the young man turned around and told the city guards that he allowed them to open the city gate in the middle of the night and release some goods. You..."

Zhang Yanling said: "You must find someone to keep an eye on it. Don't let the Tatars take the opportunity to sneak into the city!"

"The Marquis is too worried... Just imagine how can the Tatars not even come in Juyong Pass now? Even if they come in, there are hundreds of thousands of soldiers guarding the capital. Are you still afraid of a few Tatar cavalry? There is a moat outside the city gate to protect it!"

Zhang Yanling was originally worried that the Tatars would take the opportunity to attack the city, so he would become a criminal in the Ming Dynasty and would make the capital fall for his own selfish interests. He could not bear the responsibility.

But after thinking about what the officials said, Zhang Yanling felt relieved. How could the Tatars enter the capital? In his opinion, the Tatars naturally came and went freely outside the pass, but it would be too delusional to break into the inner Great Wall, and there was no need to worry about this unnecessary worry.

But Zhang Yanling ignored one problem, that is, the Tatars' detailed works. Now the capital is martial law and there is no Tatars' spies in the city, so it is difficult for them to investigate the movements of the Ming court. However, if there are more Tatar spies in the city, they can pass the news through the mouths of "merchants" entering and leaving the city's gate, and every move of the capital will be exposed.

At this moment, Zhang Yanling was just considering his own interests and did not consider the Tatars at all. He thought about the money and the beauty sent from Jiangnan.

Zhang Yanling nodded and smiled, "What he said is, a boy named Chen, didn't he just lead his troops to Juyong Pass? Calculate the days, it's time to leave the customs in the past few days. There are more people who are sent to death in the northwest, and the capital is still very safe!"

"What the Marquis said is that the boy named Chen is ungrateful and dares not give him face. He is asking for trouble to go to the northwest. This trip will definitely lead to no return. If the Marquis doesn't deal with this boy, the Tatars will help you solve him. Marquis, there is a little meaning here, which is the little Marquis Xiao who accepts it with a smile..."

...

...

In the face of national crisis, Zhang Yanling only wanted to fight for money. The martial law in the capital brought him great opportunities for money.

Not only did Zhang Yanling hide it from the court, but even his brother Zhang Heling was also kept in the dark.

Relatively speaking, Zhang Heling should be much more cautious and would not take risks in such a crisis in the country. Zhang Yanling is an unscrupulous person for the sake of his interests and does not realize the risks at all.

In the Eastern Palace, Zhu Houzhao has been sulking these days.

After all his efforts, he finally left the palace through a new channel and successfully found Chen Xi's mansion. He originally hoped that Chen Xi could follow him to fight in the northwest and complete his dream of making achievements, but Chen Xi directly gave him a blow, not only letting him know that the martial arts he learned were nonsense, but also letting him know that he was insignificant.

This had a huge blow to Zhu Houzhao, which almost caused his worldview to collapse.

"Why can't I do it when Mr. Chen sees people with a low eye? It's clear that he is timid and afraid of being punished by his father, so he dare not take me to the northwest. If he dies in the northwest, I'm willing to forgive him, which means he has not lie to me, but if he makes great contributions in the northwest, or even seals the wolf's servant like Huo Qubing, then I will always..."

"Hmph, if he hurt the Tatars, the Tatars may not be able to relieve themselves for generations. He took my credit. Where can I go to seal the wolf's servant? Yes, I cannot forgive!"

Personal heroism is something deeply embedded in Zhu Houzhao's bones. He is not suitable to be a king, but rather an adventurer. He is very addicted to leisure and joy. In his mind, it is delicious and fun, and can show off and slap the hero in the face, making others care about him...

Zhu Houzhao in history did achieve his wishes and even did a good job. However, his job was very incompetent as an emperor who benefited the country and the people.

The capital was martial law and the palace ban was also strengthened. At this time, it was impossible for Zhu Houzhao to leave the palace again. Moreover, he was no longer interested in leaving the palace... Except for Chen Xi who could take him to the northwest to fulfill his ambition, no one else had the ability. Now Shen Xi has left the capital, and it is too late for him to chase him.

Zhu Houzhao's daily task is to attend classes. Although the emperor and the queen were unwilling to take care of their sons, the lecturers of the East Palace still performed their duties and taught naughty children their knowledge.

On August 19th, Zhu Houzhao was in class when he suddenly learned about "bad news". His mother, Empress Zhang, gave birth in the side room of Kunning Palace.

In this difficult era of growth, it is a very happy thing for an ordinary child to have a younger brother and sister, which means he will have help in the future. But Zhu Houzhao seems very selfish. He is afraid that my mother will give birth to a son and compete with him for the throne, so he is very reluctant to have a younger brother, and he doesn't even like his younger sister, because it will be less likely to disparage his father and mother's love for him.

Feng Jiu taught the class on "Twenty-One History" and Jin Gui taught the class.

Although Jin Gui tried to make his class lively and interesting, Zhu Houzhao couldn't listen to it at all, because a lot of what Jin Gui said was cliché. Although Zhu Houzhao could not memorize the original text of "Twenty-One History", he was basically clear about those characters and historical materials.

It is all because Chen Xi taught it easily and easily. Although nearly two years have passed, it is still deeply rooted in the minds of naughty children.

Zhu Houzhao was the most nervous about giving birth to a child, just like his concubine was about to give birth to a son, but in fact, he didn't even have a crown princess at this time. He didn't see any pregnant lady who was teased by him on weekdays, and he was even indifferent to wherever he went.

In the imperial family, most people are as affectionate as naughty children. It is unique to treat their wives like his father Zhu Youzhang.

With Zhu Houzhao's anxiety and uneasy class in the afternoon, Zhu Houzhao finally finished her class. Before she could salute her husband, she put down her book and ran outside the Xiefang Palace, aiming directly at Kunning Palace.

"Your Highness, where are you going?" Zhang Yuan, the attendant of the Eastern Palace, quickly chased out, and with the help of the other eunuchs, he stopped Zhu Houzhao.

"Bastard!" Zhu Houzhao angrily rebuked, "I am going to see my mother... Now the mother is going to have a baby. I'll care about it. Can't I go over and take a look?"

Zhang Yuan said bitterly: "Your Highness, you...can't leave the bedroom casually. You forgot that Your Majesty once told me that you did not call me, so you can't leave without permission? A few afternoons ago, you played hide-and-hide with us for no reason. Although you came out on your own initiative later, it scared us very much. You must not do this in the future."

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, please be calm. If the queen successfully gives birth, she will send someone to spread the word as soon as possible."

"Nothing nonsense. When the mother gave birth to a child, she should notify the father. How could she send someone to inform me as soon as possible? You should move out of the way and don't leave. I will drag you out to beat the board!" Zhu Houzhao continued to threaten.

But Zhu Houzhao's threat lost its due effect at this time because Zhu Houzhao often ran out of Xiefang Palace. Zhu Youzhao was very angry about this and specifically told him to be optimistic about the prince, otherwise he would have to do it.

They simply got beaten, but Zhu Houzhao's threat was to let the eunuchs in the East Palace beat their companions by themselves. There was always a place to take advantage of the situation, and the emperor asked the palace guards to fight. That was serious. They naturally had to consider which one was more important.

"Your Highness, you have to go back no matter what!"

Zhang Yuan said he would not give way because he was afraid of being beaten. He had been in the palace for five or six years and had been beaten a lot. A place like the Eastern Palace is not a place of peace. The emperor may beat the queen, and even the prince may beat him. Shunde, brothers will lose his sister-in-law's wishes, and there are always people who dislike him.

Zhu Houzhao was very angry, but there was no way. In the end, he returned to the Xiefang Palace surrounded by a group of eunuchs. Who would have thought that before he could sit down, a little palace maid came to pass the message and said, "Your Highness, the prince, the emperor summoned you to Kunning Palace!"

"Has it been born? Is the mother and son safe? Or should I keep the older ones but not the younger ones? Did the man or the woman give birth to? "

Zhu Houzhao asked with concern, confused the little palace maid and could not speak.

"Hey, what are you asking about it? I'll answer it quickly. What's going on with my mother?"

"I... I didn't go in, I don't know, please forgive me!"

The palace maid didn't know what to do, so she could only kowtow and apologize. In the eyes of the palace maid, the prince is synonymous with poisonous snakes and beasts, and whoever encounters will be in trouble.

ps: The third update is here!
Chapter completed!