Zhu Shishi and the princess didn't expect that this dirty-looking old man turned out to be a descendant of Liu Bei, Emperor Zhaolie of the Han Dynasty, and they were all in awe. Although the two of them don't know martial arts, they have seen Li Qiufeng fight off the Chengdu Mansion Yamen on the street before, and they know that this is a person with great skills. And Humpty Dumpty is Li Qiufeng's master, and his skills must be even stronger. Listening to Humpty Dumpty, how could there be the slightest contempt? I only heard Zhu Shishidao: "Where did Mr. Liu think, we only admire Mr. Liu, how dare we have any doubts?"

Humpty Dumpty pondered for a moment, and then said: "The prince and the princess entrusted the prince to the grass people, naturally not only to let him find a place to eat, but to let him achieve something. The grass people are involved in both literature and martial arts, but I don't know if the prince and the princess want the prince to learn literature, or do they want him to practice martial arts?"

Zhu Shishi and the princess glanced at each other, and then said to Humpty Dumpty: "Mr. Liu's vision is high, beyond the reach of ordinary people. Whether children learn literature or practice martial arts depends on Mr. Liu's teaching according to his aptitude, and I have no objection. I just hope that he can live a peaceful life, learn some skills to settle down, and not live in a hurry every day like me and the previous king, and he will be satisfied. ”

Zhu Shishi's voice fell, and the princess said on the side: "It's just that after he learns art with Mr. Liu, can he take him back to stay for a few days every year?" The prince can't go out of the city at will, and if he wants to visit Mr. Liu's residence, I'm afraid it's even more difficult than climbing to the sky." ”

Humpty Dumpty laughed, "That's easy to say." The retreat of the grass people is not far from Chengdu. If I have free time, I will bring my son to visit the prince and the princess. When he succeeds in his studies, the grass people will definitely give back to the two of them a great young hero. ”

Zhu Shishi and the princess were overjoyed, secretly thinking that this person was a master in the world, and with his teachings, the youngest son finally had a chance to get ahead.

Humpty Dumpty continued, "But there's something I want to say in my head." Whether it is learning literature or practicing martial arts, you have to endure all hardships before you can achieve something. It is the son of the world who is handed over to the grass people, and it must be strictly supervised. At that time, I hope that the prince and the princess will not feel sorry for the prince. ”

Zhu Shishi waved his hand and said, "Mr. Liu, don't worry." The child is in the hands of the gentleman, and the gentleman strictly controls us on our behalf, which is something that cannot be sought, how can there be unhappiness?"

After a few more idle words, the princess took her leave. Zhu Shishi, Humpty Dumpty and the others had just sat down, and the old servant walked into the hall, first giving a salute to everyone, and then looked at the wine and food on the table, and said: "This wine is cold, wait for the old slave to re-scald, and then invite the prince and all the distinguished guests to drink it." ”

After the old servant left with two pots of wine, Zhu Shishi said: "Every time you slaughter more dogs, most of you are scholars! Over the years, I have endured the cynicism and ridicule of those dog officials, but it is the common people who have been very kind to me. But the people are miserable, and their days are hard. Chengdu Mansion is a prosperous place in Shuzhong, but it is not uncommon for people to sell their children and die of cold and starvation. The big tomorrow is not precarious, but it is also full of dangers. A little king like me doesn't even have a name, so he can only sit and eat empty. But one day, if the world changes greatly, the first unlucky one is our surname Zhu. The reason why I want to entrust my child to Mr. Liu is that he can have a background and not worry about food and clothing. In addition, I also thought that if one day I fell into the nest, there would be heirs to inherit the incense. ”

When Zhu Shishi said this, he let out another long sigh. Humpty Dumpty said: "The prince has such a sympathetic heart for the people, and God will be blessed, so don't worry too much." It's just that I see that Chengdu Mansion is still safe, and there will be no major disasters, right?"

Zhu Shishi shook his head and said, "Mr. Liu is not a person who lives in Chengdu Mansion, so naturally he doesn't know the suffering of the people in Chengdu Mansion. If nothing else, let's just talk about the dog official Wang Jingcheng of the Ministry of Rites we met today. Do you know what he's going to do here?"

Humpty Dumpty and the old man surnamed Huang are not from the officialdom, so naturally they don't know the origin of this person. Li Qiufeng was on an errand in the capital, but he knew a little about it. He pondered for a moment and said, "All the ministries of the imperial court have some money every year. Some officials used the money to make money. Shu Jin is famous all over the world, and some bigwigs in the capital have long been worried about it. These petty officials are the petty officials procured for the Ministry of Rites. The surname Wang is the priest of the Ministry of Rites, and when he arrived in Chengdu, he naturally took the silver of the adults of the Ministry of Rites, came here to buy Shu brocade, and transported it back to the capital, which could be profitable. ”

When Li Qiufeng said this, he glanced at Zhu Shishi, and then said: "It's just that these things are just heard, as for whether they are true or not, I dare not assert them." ”

Zhu Shishi nodded and said: "Today, Mr. is on the long street, and he once reprimanded the dog official surnamed Wang, and I knew that Mr. was not an ordinary person. The various ministries of the imperial court, as well as the twenty-four yamen in the palace, will send people to Chengdu Mansion every year to purchase Shu brocade and transport it to the capital and various parts of the Central Plains to make huge profits. If it is an ordinary transaction, the transaction is fair, but it is impossible to say what is wrong. However, these officials relied on their power and colluded with the officials of Chengdu Prefecture, big and small, to buy and sell at a low price, and to feast on their own pockets. It made the weavers in Chengdu Mansion jump and be miserable. In a few years, not only will no one open a weaving mill again, but I am afraid that the people's resentment will boil and they will have to cause a big disaster. As the saying goes, the world is not chaotic before Shu is chaotic, and the world is not peaceful. This Chengdu Mansion, and even the entire Shuzhong, is now like a big pyre, just splashing a little spark is a fire. When the time comes, the situation will be out of control. ”

Li Qiufeng and the other three looked at each other, and they were all a little suspicious. Humpty Dumpty said: "It's just a few hundred Shu brocades, even if these dog officials get some oil and water from it, it's not so terrible, right?"

Zhu Shishi shook his head and said, "Mr. Liu doesn't know about the dirty things in between. When these officials went to Chengdu to purchase Shu brocade, a horse of Shu brocade could give thirty percent of the silver money was not bad. This bit of silver, the weavers have to lose their capital, who wants to sell it to these Beijing officials? However, if they do not sell it, the weaving mill will be seized by the government immediately, and the government will lose all their money, not to mention that they will be arrested by the government and put into the yamen and imprisoned. Over the years, the weaver could only swallow his anger and endure the exploitation of officials of all sizes. But the more they tolerate, the more greedy these dog officials become, after the first month of each year, the officials of the capital go to Chengdu Mansion to purchase Shu brocade, collude with the officials of Chengdu Mansion Yamen, and take the fast messenger to collect Shu brocade in various weaving mills, making Chengdu Mansion a miasma, and a mess. A few days ago, I heard from a weaver that the Ministry of Rites sent officials to Chengdu Mansion to purchase Shu brocade, so I guarded the prefect's yamen every day, and finally stopped the dog official surnamed Wang. ”

When Humpty Dumpty heard this, he said: "Although these dog officials are like wolves and tigers, Shu brocade is in the hands of weavers after all. When the time comes, the Shu brocade will be hidden, and it will only be said that there is no inventory in their hands, and these dog officials will not be able to rob it openly?"

Zhu Shishi said: "Mr. Liu is too underestimated by these dog officials. They did everything they could to exploit the people. What you can imagine, how could they not have imagined? The officials from the capital arrived at Chengdu Mansion and their eyes were indeed black. However, these officials have long colluded with the officials of Chengdu Prefecture, and Chengdu Mansion has long been clear about how much Shu brocade is produced by which weaving workshop. If the weaver concealed it, the prefect's yamen would casually charge the weaver and send a messenger to break in. When the Shu brocade is found, the weavers will not only not receive a penny, but will also be thrown into prison and tortured. It is that the weavers can only swallow their anger and suffer all the exploitation. Moreover, after the first month, the six departments and the twenty-four yamen sent people to Chengdu Mansion to purchase Shu brocade almost at the same time, and went to each weaving workshop to pick up the goods according to the brochure submitted by the Chengdu Prefect Yamen. The three of them might as well think about it, if they want so much Shu brocade at once, even if it is a large weaving workshop with hundreds of people, they can't get the goods out for a while. The weavers had no way but to get the Shu brocade to be purchased from all over the city outside the mansion, which was counted as the finished product of their own weaving workshop and handed over to those dog officials. Seeing this, the officials of the Chengdu prefect's yamen came up with a way to make money. Before the first month of each year, they go to various places around Chengdu Mansion to buy all the Shu brocade of scattered weavers at a low price, and then sell them to weavers in Chengdu at a high price. After the officials of the capital arrived in Chengdu, the officials of the prefect's yamen forced the weavers to sell at a low price. In this way, the big and small officials from the capital and the officials of the Chengdu prefect's yamen each made a fortune. It's just that the large and small weavers in Chengdu Mansion have suffered, and many people have been forced to die because of this. Alas. ”