The waste prince is so fierce

When Zhang Hu saw Li Quan, he immediately clasped his fists respectfully and said, "Zhang Hu greets your highness!"

Li Quan ignored Zhang Hu and rode on his tall horse, looking at Zhang Rui beside him: "I've heard that the imperial envoy went to the south of the Yangtze River, but why didn't he report to my palace?"

Although Li Quan was asking questions, his attitude was extremely tough and there was no room for negotiation.

"Your Highness, you are joking! I was ordered by the emperor to inspect the prefectures and counties in the south of the Yangtze River. How could I leave my post without permission? What's more..." Zhang Rui pretended to hesitate.

Li Quan snorted, "What's more?"

Zhang Rui gritted his teeth and said, "Besides, I am an important official of the court. How can I be inferior to anyone?"

Li Quan snorted coldly and said, "Zhang Rui, I don't want to beat around the bush with you. I just want you to tell me the truth. What is the real purpose of your trip to the south of the Yangtze River this time? As long as you tell the truth, I will never pursue the matter."

"What does your highness mean? I really don't know!" Zhang Rui shook his head and said.

"Okay! Zhang Rui, since you are so stubborn, don't blame me for being ruthless! Someone come here!"

"I'm here!" Two burly guards rushed out in response.

"Catch him for me!" Li Quan shouted.

"Yes!" the guards responded in unison.

"Your Highness, what are you going to do?"

Zhang Rui shouted in panic: "Your Highness the Ninth Prince, how dare you!"

"kill!"

Zhang Hu raised his sword with a grim smile on his face.

"Shhhhh..."

In an instant, soldiers swarmed in and surrounded Zhang Rui in an instant.

Seeing that he was surrounded, Zhang Rui's face suddenly showed panic.

Seeing these soldiers getting closer and closer, Zhang Rui kept backing away, saying, "Don't come over here! Don't come over here!"

"Alright! Stop making things difficult for our Lord Zhang, and leave."

Li Quan looked at Zhang Rui's appearance and sneered disdainfully.

The so-called literati in the court today really have no integrity at all.

Li Quan is gone.

Zhang Rui's arrival gave him a wake-up call.

This proves that the court has begun to pay attention to what he does in Yangzhou City.

Li Quan had to be cautious, for fear of losing the big picture for the small.

Zhang Rui was so frightened that he took him a long time to recover.

Wang Fu hurried forward to support Zhang Rui.

"Sir, please follow me!"

After Wang Fu helped Zhang Rui get on the carriage, he quickly drove away.

Soon, the carriage slowly drove out of the north gate, came to the street intersection outside the north gate, and turned into a remote alley.

The carriage stopped at the door of a private house. Wang Fu opened the curtain and said to Zhang Rui, "Master Zhang, we're here!"

Zhang Rui got off the carriage, walked up the stone steps and entered the house.

As soon as I stepped into the house, I saw a middle-aged man wearing coarse linen clothes and with a simple and honest look basking in the sun in the yard, holding a palm-leaf fan and fanning it gently with his eyes closed.

After hearing the noise, the middle-aged man opened his eyes, smiled brightly and said, "Ah Rui! You are finally back. During this period of time, my girl has been nagging me about your return."

The middle-aged man was none other than the former commander-in-chief of Yangzhou City who had retired.

Even though he has retreated now, he still holds a considerable weight in the Yangzhou City Defense Army.

Zhang Rui thought about it and realized that almost all the city defense troops were Li Quan's men.

He wanted to compete with Li Quan in Yangzhou City.

Internally, we must win over the power of the remaining four great families.

In addition, we have to rely on the power of the army.

Zhang Rui thought about it and thought that now only Zhou Ke had some weight in the army. After all, there were still many people in the current city defense army who were promoted by him.

Therefore, Zhang Rui specially brought gold and silver jewelry and went to Zhou Ke's mansion to visit him in person.

Zhang Rui bowed and said, "Meet uncle."

Zhou Ke laughed and said, "Ari, why are we being polite to each other? I am very grateful that you are thinking of me."

Zhang Rui smiled bitterly and said, "Uncle, I came here to ask for your help! I want you to recommend a trustworthy person to take over the military power from me."

Zhou Ke was slightly stunned and asked in confusion: "Ari, what happened? You can talk to your uncle."

Zhang Rui sighed, "Alas, uncle, there is nothing I can do now. This time, Yang Delong, the governor of Jiangnan, sent an imperial envoy to supervise the grain supply. I was ordered to go to Yangzhou to supervise the grain supply, but who knew..."

"So that's it!" Zhou Ke suddenly realized.

Zhang Rui said, "Uncle, can you find a capable official for my nephew? It would be best if he had military power!"

Zhou Ke frowned and pondered for a moment, then said, "There is indeed someone who holds military power. But he is an old sly guy."

"Uncle, what's the name of that old rascal? I'm willing to bribe him with money. As long as he agrees to serve as an official, I guarantee that he will have a bright future!" Zhang Rui said hurriedly.

"You stinky boy, are you sending away a beggar?"

"I dare not, I dare not, I am wrong, I am wrong. Uncle, please tell me who he is, and I will reward you handsomely."

"His surname is Huang, and his given name is Gui. He is the head of the wealthy Huang family in Yangzhou. If you really want him to take up an official position, you can try to win him over. His wife, children and mother are all in Yangzhou, and you can't just ignore them," Zhou Ke explained.

"Okay, thank you uncle. I'll visit you again some other day." Zhang Rui clasped his fists and bowed.

"and many more!"

Zhang Rui turned around and looked at Zhou Ke in confusion.

Zhou Ke took out a jade pendant from his arms, handed it to Zhang Rui and said, "This jade pendant was given to me by your grandfather. I hope it can be passed down in the future. Now I give it to you, you must keep it well!"

"Thank you, uncle!" Zhang Rui took it respectfully.

"Well, go back!"

Before leaving, Zhang Rui asked again, "Uncle, where is your official uniform?"

"Haha, I'm already in my forties. Why should I still wear an official hat? It's a waste to keep it. You can keep it!" Zhou Ke said with a faint smile.

"Uh--"

Zhang Rui was speechless for a moment.

"Let's go, I'll take you there!"

Zhou Ke sent Zhang Rui out of the courtyard, then returned to his own residence and closed the doors and windows.

"Someone come!" Zhou Ke shouted.

Soon, a middle-aged man appeared in front of Zhou Ke, knelt on one knee and asked, "What do you want, sir?"

Zhou Ke said, "Find out for me what the Yangzhou Commander Huang Gui is up to. Also, find out how Huang Gui has been secretly trying to win over military forces over the years."

"Yes, sir!" The middle-aged man clasped his fists and accepted the order.

"Go!"

Zhou Ke waved his hand, signaling the middle-aged man to leave.

After the middle-aged man left, Zhou Ke sat in the chair and fell into deep thought.

……

Zhang Rui took Zhou Ke's jade pendant and observed it carefully for a long time.

"It is indeed a piece of top-quality jade."

Zhang Rui was amazed.

Although this piece of jade is not as good as the white jade in his hand, it is definitely an ordinary piece.

Then, Zhang Rui carefully placed it in his arms, preparing to study it slowly after returning.

"Uncle Zhang!" A clear and pleasant voice sounded.

Zhang Rui looked up and saw a girl of about thirteen or fourteen years old standing in front of the door.