My eunuch godfather

Chapter 70 Turn Enemies into Friends

Zhang Jingzhen is quite beautiful.

Although she is far inferior to Cheng Wenqing, the top magistrate of Datong back then, and not as good as Ning Xuan'er and Sun Shuyun, she is still above seven points.

Moreover, she has a very good figure, perhaps because she has practiced martial arts since childhood, which has given her a pair of long legs.

The problem is that marrying Zhang Jingzhen would brand Zhang Kun as belonging to the British Duke's family!

In officialdom, the friends you choose are the enemies you choose.

If they are tied to the British Duke's Mansion, then the Chengguo Duke's Mansion and others who have been fighting with the British Duke's Mansion for many years will be pushed to the opposite side.

Zhang Kun wanted to do business in raw rice and various other businesses. He believed that business was all about harmony and making money, and the more friends he had, the better.

Even former enemies, as long as there are no irreconcilable underlying conflicts, should be turned into friends.

Moreover, Zhang Kun's desire to side with the Duke of Ying's mansion would not be approved by his eunuch godfather and the palace behind him.

Therefore, Zhang Kun could only give Zhang Jingzhen a perfunctory reply:

"This matter is of great importance; I need to consult my mother and godfather..."

"It is my daughter who has put Commander Zhang in a difficult position."

Zhang Jingzhen apologized to Zhang Kun, taking out the prepared wound medicine, "Since Commander Zhang is unwilling, I will not force you."

......

After leaving Jinan, Zhang Kun and his party headed south, crossing Mount Tai.

The route passed through Tai'an Prefecture and Ziyang Prefecture in Yanzhou, before arriving at Jining Prefecture.

Further south, one would leave the territory of Shandong Provincial Administration and arrive in Xuzhou, Southern Zhili.

A private room in a teahouse near the main store of a newly opened business called Yanning in Jining City.

Lin, the nominal owner of the Yanning, is entertaining Zhang Kun:

Take a ceramic pot and place it on a small stove to boil water. After boiling, let it cool for a while and then pour it into a teapot.

After waiting a few moments, the tea was poured, and the speaker introduced it with a smile:

"Master Qianhu, this is a new type of tea from the south, produced in Chong'an County, Jianning Prefecture, Fujian Province."

Passing through Tongmu Pass on Huyi Mountain from Chong'an County, we encountered a large insect infestation and picked a lot of tea that hadn't been processed and had been stored for a long time.

Unexpectedly, this aged tea has a unique flavor after being stir-fried. Although it has lost its freshness, it is sweeter and more mellow...

Zhang Kun looked at the tea tray handed over by Master Lin. The tea leaves were dark blue with a hint of brownish-red.

It has a light tea aroma and a strong pine smoke aroma, making it look somewhat like loose-leaf black tea.

I picked up the teacup and took a sip. It was indeed sweeter and smoother than green tea, with a faint aroma of tiger eye fruit.

black tea!?

At that time, tea was only classified into three types: green, yellow, and black, with green tea being the main type.

There are five shapes: needle-shaped, snail-shaped, round, bud-shaped, and slice-shaped. There are two methods for fixing the green: stir-frying and steaming.

The compressed tea that Emperor Hongwu stopped making was essentially a steamed green tea.

Yellow tea is made by lightly fermenting pan-fired green tea by "steaming" it until it turns yellow.

It looks like a poor-quality tea with a very different aroma, and not many people like to drink it.

Black tea originated from the Tea Horse Road trade. It is made by fermenting pan-fired green tea through "piling and aging" and then storing and transporting it in tea bricks.

It is said that the longer it is aged, the better it becomes, and it is mainly loved by the Tatars and the southwestern barbarians.

Black tea, on the other hand, is made without steaming or frying green tea, but rather by deeply fermenting green tea to promote its red color.

Only Zhang Kun knew that black tea would defeat dark tea, yellow tea, and even green tea to become the most popular type of tea in the world!

Compared to green tea, black tea is less bitter, milder, and easier to enjoy.

Moreover, its flavor is stable and it is easier to preserve, unlike green tea which places great emphasis on freshness.

Compared to yellow tea, black tea has a more pronounced aroma, and its processing is simpler, resulting in higher production volumes.

Compared to black tea, red tea is much refreshing and less likely to develop off-flavors.

"What's the name of this tea?"

Zhang Kun put down his teacup and smiled at Master Lin, asking, "What's the price?"

"It hasn't been officially named yet."

Seeing that Zhang Kun was interested, Lin Dongzhu had someone bring over a box of tea as a gift, and continued to answer:

"This tea is produced in small quantities, and it is currently in short supply, but it is not too expensive."

If you like this tea, I'll ask them to produce more next year and send it to you.

What a great business opportunity!

Zhang Kun instructed Xu Xin to put away the black tea, and then discussed the tea business of Yanninghao with Lin Dongzhu.

That's right, the Yanning has obtained the qualification of a carrier and has gained a share of the market in the entire Yanzhou Prefecture.

As for who is the backer of the Yanning?

A narrow alley in Jining City.

Tang Sheng, a trusted confidant of Zhang Kun, followed a young man into the courtyard at the end of the alley and into a secret room inside.

In the locked room, a beardless middle-aged man was tied to a chair, his ears and eyes covered and his mouth gagged.

The eunuch in charge of the estate of Prince Lu's mansion, and the elder brother of Qiu, the protector of the nunnery in Linqing City.

Upon seeing Tang Sheng, another middle-aged man in the secret room signaled to the young man to restore Eunuch Qiu's senses.

"Huff, huff... This is—Master Ping!?"

After catching his breath, Eunuch Qiu looked around and saw another middle-aged man, as if struck by lightning.

A moment later, the eunuch Qiu, realizing what had happened, hurriedly begged for mercy:

"Master Ping, what have I done wrong? Please allow me to see His Highness..."

A hint of sadness flashed in the middle-aged man's eyes. He pointed to Tang Sheng beside him and introduced him to Eunuch Qiu:

"This is the supervising officer of the river works camp, and the garrison officer under Commander Zhang Kun."

"What!?"

Upon hearing about the River Works Camp and Zhang Kun, Eunuch Qiu paused for a moment, then said with disbelief:

"Your Highness is... is he going to kill me to curry favor with that Zhang fellow!?"

"What nonsense are you spouting? You're about to die and you still won't repent!"

The middle-aged man, addressed as Master Ping, shouted at Eunuch Qiu and rebuked him:

"It was clearly you who instructed your brother to force Commander Zhang in Linqing to smuggle goods for you!"

"It's only because His Majesty has served you for so many years that he hasn't handed you over to the authorities, so as not to implicate your family!"

Then he ordered the young man, "Send him on his way!"

The young man who led Tang Sheng to the secret room had already taken out a hemp rope and, upon hearing the order,...

Immediately from behind, use a hemp rope to tightly strangle Eunuch Qiu's neck!

Once Eunuch Qiu stopped struggling, the middle-aged man walked up and reached out to close the man's unseeing eyes.

Turning to Tang Sheng, he said coldly, "Officer Tang, does Commander Zhang want to see the head?"

"No need,"

Tang Sheng said expressionlessly to the middle-aged man:

"Commander Zhang said he believed that the Prince Lu's Mansion would enforce the family rules well."

Several months ago, Zhang Kun led his troops to break into the nunnery and seized a total of more than 30,000 taels of silver.

For Zhang Kun at the time, it was an enormous number.

Nowadays, the monthly turnover of silver in the Jin Yun ship alone exceeds 300,000 taels!

Faced with the exorbitant profits of the raw bamboo shoot business, the Prince Lu's mansion would not care about a mere eunuch in charge of the estate.

Killing a eunuch in charge of the estate in exchange for a 30,000 tael discount when purchasing a merchant's quota would not even make Prince Lu blink!

The Prince of Lu's mansion was tyrannical and used despicable methods, earning it a very bad reputation in Yanzhou Prefecture.

But Zhang Kun needs a fierce tiger to guard the important canal town of Jining.

Anyone who dares to travel north along the Grand Canal to smuggle tampons will have to get past the Prince Lu's mansion first!

Unlike Zhang Kun, the Prince of Lu's mansion would not offer a way to mitigate punishment by planting danbagu (a type of wild rice).

They really will skin you alive and tear out your tendons, leaving no one alive!

On the other hand, Zhang Kun also defeated an enemy whose hard power was not very strong, but who was extremely difficult to defeat completely.

Although Emperor Wanli treated distant relatives and vassal states harshly, he would not easily reduce or eliminate their power.

After all, Emperor Wanli wanted to enfeoff several of his sons in various places, and he was worried that he would be too harsh and that later emperors would follow suit.