After farming, I opened a family tree

Chapter 157 Arrival in the Capital

The vermilion gate had been opened early, and there were two stone lions at the door, looking majestic and magnificent.

Eunuch Deng walked up to Shen Tang and said with a smile:

"This was originally the residence of the Marquis of Zhenbei. The wife of the Empress of Zhenbei was from Jiangnan. The Marquis of Zhenbei and his wife were deeply in love, so the late emperor specially granted them this residence... Later, the Empress of Zhenbei was promoted to the Duke of Zhenguo, and the residence was taken back by the emperor. By the way, the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion is on the street behind the Marquis' Mansion..."

Eunuch Deng told Shen Tang the origin of the mansion.

Shen Tang knew that the Duke of Zhenguo was not only from a noble family, but also from the mother's family of the current queen.

They were considered a top-notch wealthy family in Da Qi. The emperor actually gave her the mansion of his father-in-law's family. He must have valued her very much.

Eunuch Deng led Shen Tang and others in through the main gate and began to explain.

The gatehouse was exquisitely carved, the halls were spacious and bright, and the interior of the mansion was even more exquisitely laid out. Pavilions and waterside terraces were scattered in an orderly manner, and there were also rockery peaks and ridges with exotic flowers and trees. Because the mansion was maintained by someone, there was no snow in the mansion. On the contrary, even in the cold winter, there was plenty of greenery.

There were many plum blossoms planted in the backyard of the mansion. Shen Tang and others smelled the refreshing fragrance of plum blossoms as soon as they entered the door.

"The Marquis of the County has come all the way from Jiangnan. It must be a long journey. It will ... take some time to recuperate in the Marquis' Mansion. It won't be too late to enter the palace tomorrow."

Eunuch Deng was a close associate of the emperor, so what he said must have been the emperor's intention.

After seeing that the tasks assigned by Emperor Jing had been completed, Eunuch Deng stood up to say goodbye. Shen Tang escorted him to the door and stuffed a purse into his pocket.

"This is Shen Tang's first visit to the capital, so he's not clear on many things and isn't well-informed. Thank you so much, eunuch, for today."

Eunuch Deng took the purse and put it into his sleeve without weighing it.

"You are so polite, Lord. I will go back and report now."

Eunuch Deng took his men away, and Shen Tang and others began to rest.

"Although the house has been cleaned, it's too late to eat. Let's go out to eat."

When you arrive in the capital, you should also try the food of the capital's restaurants.

The Marquis's Mansion is extremely large, with more than a dozen courtyards, large and small, all of which are exquisite.

According to regulations, Shen Tang chose the largest yard.

The group traveled light and did not bring much luggage.

But it must be said that Shen Tang was highly valued by Emperor Jing, and he had all the necessary tools.

Shen Tang was still packing up his things and preparing for going to the palace tomorrow when he heard someone visiting outside the mansion.

I was wondering who came to visit me so early, and the key point was that they didn't even send a visiting card, but just came directly.

"The Marquis of the County, it's Master Zhu and the others."

Ever since entering the capital, Shen Tang has asked people around him to change the way they address him.

After all, no one would consider the title of "Dongjia" rude in Qingshan Town, but she had better be cautious under the emperor's feet, so as not to be accused of despising the emperor's grace.

"You guys clean up first, I'll be back soon."

As early as when Emperor Jing sent people to the Ning'an County Marquis's mansion, some people in the entire capital had guessed that the Ning'an County Marquis might be coming to the capital. Later, one of the close eunuchs beside Emperor Jing was seen leaving the city gate. After asking around, they found out that it was true that Shen Tang was about to come to the capital.

Many people secretly felt that Shen Tang was truly favored by the emperor, but they had never even met Shen Tang, let alone had any friendship with him.

It's so presumptuous of you to come here so rashly.

But now someone went directly to the Ning'an County Marquis' Mansion to see who it was.

Zhu Yi and others sat in the main hall, secretly looking at the Marquis' Mansion.

When they were young, they had followed their family to the Marquis' Mansion. After the Mansion was taken back, they had not seen it again. However, it was certain that this Marquis' Mansion was more exquisite and luxurious than the one they had seen when they were young.

When they saw Shen Tang, they bowed.

"How come the Marquis came to the capital without even saying hello to us?"

When a few people saw Shen Tang, they felt that Shen Tang was still the same Shen Tang.

Although we haven't seen each other for a long time, a sense of familiarity suddenly came over me.

I remember that after returning home, Shen Tang and his friends were rewarded by the emperor.

You know, Emperor Jing was notoriously strict, and it was very difficult for even the princes to get praise from him on a daily basis.

During this period of time, not only did they live like a duck in water at home, they had also become the children of other people's families that everyone in Beijing talked about.

Therefore, when they learned that Shen Tang was coming to Beijing, they naturally wanted to see this good friend as soon as possible.

What's more, not only them, but also the elders in their families kept giving them reminders.

It's okay to be presumptuous. If not, after a few days, I'm afraid Shen Tang won't have time to see them.

"I didn't expect you to arrive so soon. I haven't had time to clean up yet. I'm afraid there's no tea left to drink. I can only drink water."

Shen Tang looked at the young men, still full of vigor and vitality.

"Although your house is regularly taken care of, I'm afraid there aren't enough people. Today, I'll treat you well."

"That's right. This is your first time in the capital. I must treat you well tonight."

"After a few days, the threshold of your county mansion will be trampled flat, and it will not be our turn."

Unable to refuse such a kind offer, Shen Tang had no choice but to agree.

"Don't worry, we will naturally make arrangements for those who will accompany you to the capital."

"It's getting late, let's go, let's go early and come back early!"

Shen Tang thought about it and felt that he had something else to ask them, so he stood up.

The door of the Marquis's Mansion opened again, and several carriages drove towards the restaurant.

Shen Tang did not hide his whereabouts, so naturally the news reached other people.

In the restaurant.

The food and restaurants in the capital city were indeed incomparable to those in Qingshan Town, and Shen Tang was very satisfied with the meal.

"I won't hide it from you. I want to ask you something."

"Just tell me what kind of relationship we have!"

Shen Tang thought for a while and spoke carefully:

"I want to know what the situation is outside the Great Wall now?"

Seeing Shen Tang asking about the outside of the pass, several people could not help but feel puzzled, but seeing Shen Tang's serious expression, they answered seriously:

"My father said that the border is not peaceful. The ministers are divided into two factions, one advocating peace and the other advocating war!"

"Yes, I heard that the general wanted to fight. The Northern Di had a heavy snowstorm this year, and they even started raiding the homes of people outside the Great Wall.

I heard that the houses of the people who did not live in the city were all looted by the Northern Di people."

"What's the big deal? I heard that the general advocated war because they not only robbed people, but also killed unarmed civilians because of the people's resistance. That's why he asked the court to allocate food and fodder."

"The Northern Di people deserve to die, but fighting in winter consumes a huge amount of food and fodder. Not only food and fodder, but also the cold outside the pass. We also need a lot of coal and cold-weather supplies."

"But Shen Tang, I heard from the Ministry of Revenue that the food supply is nothing to worry about. The military officers said that the grain in the granary should be sent to the border, and we can replenish it by next year when your thousand kilograms of rice seeds are ready."

"But these charcoal fires and warm clothes are really hard to come by, especially for the hundreds of thousands of soldiers guarding the border..."

Shen Tang secretly wrote down this information and pondered it in his mind.