Chapter 1157 Practical considerations

As soon as Chen Yixin entered the room, Tian Yeyou stood up with a smile and said: "Cao Cao is here, so you guys can talk slowly, I have to take one step in advance."

A middle-aged man wearing a sapphire blue silk robe sitting next to him quickly stood up to see him off, then cupped his hands to Chen Yixin and said, "Master Chen, you are polite!"

Chen Yixin waved his hand and said: "I told you not to call me a senior official or anything like that! Call me chief!"

"Yes, yes, I made a mistake, and I hope you can forgive me, Chief Chen!" The middle-aged man apologized quickly.

"Mr. Jiang, are you here to visit today, or is it because of the previous matter?" Chen Yixin's tone was obviously impatient. He was just supervising the construction of a reservoir on the mine site. It was Tian Yeyou who sent someone to inform him that someone was visiting. He

He hurried back. But when he saw this Confucian scholar named Jiang Sheng, he guessed the purpose of his visit.

Jiang Sheng smiled and said: "Chief Chen, on behalf of Ma Daguan, today I am sending you a batch of gifts for your army, including two thousand kilograms of white flour, two thousand kilograms of japonica rice, ten fat pigs, two cattle, and five hundred taels of silver.

.The gift list and things have already been accepted by Chief Shi Caitian."

Chen Yixin now knew why Tian Yeyou hurriedly asked someone to inform him that he was back. He was soft-spoken and short-handed, and he did this because of Jiang Sheng's benefit. But having said that, these things are absolutely impossible in Fushan County

It was considered a heavy gift. Many ordinary people may not even be able to provide twenty kilograms of grain at home, but here they sent thousands of kilograms at one go, and even livestock and cash. This was a very generous offer. And Fushan Copper

The mining area is far away from Zhifu Island, and daily supplies are not that convenient. The gifts given by the other party are indeed very practical. It is no wonder that Tian Yeyou did not refuse them.

Of course, Chen Yixin believes that this does not rule out the fact that Tian Yeyou did this deliberately to "sell out his friends for glory." After all, Tian Yeyou had always advised him to try to contact the squire before making a decision. He accepted the offer.

The gift actually had the effect of forcing Chen Yixin to contact the Ma family in disguise.

As for the "Ma Daguanren" who paid for the gifts, he is the real owner of this matter, Ma Dongqiang, a local squire in Fushan County. Jiang Sheng's sister married Ma Dongqiang as a concubine, and this was the daughter Ma Dongqiang wanted to introduce to marry Chen Yixin.

She is Jiang Sheng's niece. Ma Dongqiang is also somewhat smart. Instead of asking the three aunts and six wives to come forward as matchmakers, he asked Jiang Sheng, a Confucian scholar with a reputation as a scholar, to come forward to contact Haihan. Otherwise, I am afraid that he would not have been able to get an interview with Chen Yixin at all.

Chance.

Before this, Chen Yixin was also invited to Majiazhuang as a guest, but Chen Yixin politely declined the marriage at that time. Afterwards, Jiang Sheng also came to the mining area twice and mentioned the marriage again, but failed to get it.

Chen Yixin's positive response. But Ma Dongqiang was not discouraged. He believed that it was necessary to let the Haihan people see his sincerity and financial strength. He could not let the other party feel that he just wanted to get rich by marrying his daughter, so this time

Jiang Sheng was also sent to act as a lobbyist, and he spent a lot of money to prepare a big gift.

Even if Chen Yixin didn't like this kind of sales method, he didn't want to hit the smiling person, but he was really giving him a generous gift, and his companion had already accepted the gift, so he couldn't talk to Jiang Sheng with a dark face.

, and his tone softened a lot at that moment: "I am also very grateful to Mr. Jiang and Ma Daguan for their kindness. However, this gift is too expensive for no merit, and I really deserve it."

"Chief Chen's words are unheard of!" Jiang Shengneng was sent by Ma Dongqiang as a lobbyist. Naturally, his eloquence was not bad. He immediately responded: "After the Haihan Army comes to Dengzhou, it will wipe out the local bandits and rescue the local people.

, paving roads, building bridges, and providing relief, these things are all seen by everyone. Such a righteous act naturally requires full support. My brother-in-law Zhang Luo sent these things just to express his feelings. Chief Chen must not refuse.

.”

Of course Chen Yixin would not be fooled by his pretentious words. He smiled and said: "This is not the first time we have dealt with each other. People don't tell secrets. Please explain Mr. Jiang's real purpose."

Jiang Sheng also responded with a knowing smile: "Since the chief understands, I will tell you directly. My niece is only twenty-eight years old. Although she does not dare to boast about her beauty, she is also well-known as a beauty in this country.

She has been studying and literate with me since she was five years old. She has read a lot of poems, books and classics. She is a daughter with both political integrity and talent. It can be said that she has an impeccable background. My family proposed to marry the chief, and it was also a good intention. Why did the chief always refuse?

Thousands of miles away, could it be that you look down on my niece?"

Chen Yixin denied: "This is a misunderstanding, sir. We have never met each other before. It can be said that we are strangers. I did not mean to look down on Miss Ma's family. In our country of Haihan, when a man and a woman get married, they must have a certain emotional foundation.

Things that will be considered later cannot be determined by the words of a matchmaker or the fate of parents."

Jiang Sheng said thoughtfully: "Then what Chief Chen means is that the Haihan custom is that the man and woman must first meet and get to know each other before discussing marriage? This is not impossible. We can make arrangements for Chief Chen to meet him after he returns home.

It depends on when it is convenient for you to meet my niece."

Chen Yixin waved his hand and said: "I just said that this is only one of the reasons, not the whole reason."

"I would like to hear the details." Jiang Sheng naturally refused to give up and continued to seek a reasonable explanation from the other party.

Chen Yixin said: "I have made it clear that Ma Daguan wants to marry his daughter to me. If you say that he just likes me, I don't believe it. Ma Daguan wants to use our power to annex Fushan County."

This is the real reason for the ownerless land, right? And your Miss Ma was betrothed to me without even knowing the inside story."

Jiang Sheng's face showed embarrassment, neither did he admit it, nor did he admit it. Although this kind of purpose based on interests was not completely invisible, it was still a bit embarrassing to be pointed out so bluntly in front of the other party.

Chen Yixin continued: "People die for money and birds die for food. Ma Daguan wants to expand his family business. This idea is understandable. It is just in exchange for his daughter's lifelong happiness. This is a bit inhumane. I also

I know that you Ming people have different ideas about marriage, but I will not force you to accept my point of view. Similarly, I also hope that you will not impose your own point of view on me."

Jiang Sheng said: "I don't dare to impose my point of view, but Chief Chen doesn't need to be too biased in his view of this matter. My niece's future happiness is not entirely dependent on the success or failure of this marriage. Chief Chen thinks that she does not

If I marry you, I will be able to find my right husband and live a happy life in the future? In fact, this is not the case. Even if she does not marry the chief, her future marriage partner will most likely be someone she has never met, and most likely she will win.

A well-established Confucian scholar in the county or a squire and landowner in the neighboring county could be favored by an official in Dengzhou city and marry into an official's family to become a noble lady. If this is the destination, Chief Chen thinks that is the right choice.

Is it the happiness she enjoys?"

Chen Yixin was speechless at the moment. He had no right or obligation to interfere with the marriage of children of common people, nor did he have the energy to take care of such civil affairs. But as Jiang Sheng said, the future marriage partner of the eldest daughter of the Ma family would also be

She may not be better than Chen Yixin. Most likely she will marry someone she doesn't know out of consideration for the family's long-term interests. As for whether her married life will be happy or not, that can only depend on personal luck.

Jiang Sheng continued: "As Chief Chen said just now, my brother-in-law does have practical considerations in wanting to facilitate this marriage. If we can use this marriage to strengthen the family, it would be the best. But there is no point in saying that.

It’s not necessarily the case that you are paying attention to this niece. Otherwise, there are several leaders of Haihan on Zhifu Island, why did you choose Chief Chen? Of course, this is because you are young and promising. You are about the same age as my niece, and you will be able to live a good life in the future.

Be more harmonious. Aren't these thoughts just for her?"

Chen Yixin said: "That being said, the customs of the two countries are different, so I always feel that something is wrong."

Seeing that his tone had softened, Jiang Sheng changed his angle and persuaded him: "Before Chief Chen came back, I also chatted with Chief Tian for a while and learned that he was married to a wealthy businessman from the Ming Dynasty in the south, and that he had already married me.

I have children and now have a happy family. Isn’t this the best example of cross-border marriage? According to Chief Tian, ​​Chief Haihan often married Ming Dynasty women as wives and concubines. Why is Chief Chen so resistant?”

Chen Yixin said to you, Tian Yeyou, that you have sold out your teammates thoroughly, and even exposed your own information to the outside world. If you want to tell Minister Hao later, your confidentiality awareness is too bad.

Jiang Sheng struck while the iron was hot: "My brother-in-law also went to Zhifu Island to see the chiefs a few days ago. The chiefs' intention is also to support local gentry who are willing to get close to Haihan. If it is just money exchanges, wouldn't it be cliché?

In my humble opinion, from ancient times to the present, marriage has been the best way to reconcile the two countries. If the blood is connected, the people will be connected. This principle is the same whether it is in the royal family or among the people. I don’t know if it’s true.

What does the chief think?"

Chen Yixin sighed and said: "I'm not against the transnational marriage between Haihan and Daming, I just don't want others to interfere with my choice... Alas, even if I tell you, you won't understand!"

Jiang Sheng responded quickly: "I understand! How could you not understand! What Chief Chen means is to make the decision himself. This is actually not inconsistent with our initiative to propose marriage! Think about it, if you meet my niece first, what if

If you like what you see and agree with us, it's not too late to talk about the rest. If Chief Chen feels that it doesn't suit your eyes, or if the words don't make sense, then it's not too late to refuse the matter. My family is just proposing marriage, not

Chief Chen should not feel any difficulty in forcing the marriage."

Jiang Sheng's words made Chen Yixin quite comfortable. The reason why he has been unwilling to accept this arrangement is mainly because he has inexplicable resistance to this old-style arranged marriage. Moreover, he does not want his life to be affected by this time and space.

After all, the purpose of coming to this world is to control his own life, not to be controlled by others. But if he can experience something he has never experienced before, Chen Yixin does not completely refuse to try it.

Chen Yixin said: "But there are a lot of things happening on the construction site here now, and I won't be able to leave for a while. I think this..."

"It's not a problem, it's not a problem. I can prepare my own carriage and horse to send my niece over to meet with Chief Chen." Jiang Sheng saw that this matter was coming to an end. He was not willing to let Chen Yixin make excuses to fool him, so he quickly volunteered to take over the matter.

Come down.

Chen Yixin was dumbfounded when he heard this. If someone who didn't know the inside story heard this, they wouldn't think it was marrying off his daughter. It just smelled like pimping. But he could also feel the other party's kindness, and if he said it with absolute certainty, it seemed that

It was a bit unreasonable, so I had to give way to the trail at the moment: "In this cold winter, how can I let Miss Ma travel far away to this barren mountain place? I think this is the best. I will make time to go to Majiazhuang in two days.

alright."

"Is this true?" Jiang Shengxi asked with a smile, making sure Chen Yixin came up with the right words: "Chief Chen, don't let me entertain you!"

"Seriously, we Haihan always keep what we say!" Chen Yixin responded with a wry smile, thinking only of sending Jiang Sheng away quickly.

Jiang Sheng knew what was going on, so he stood up and said, "Then I'll go back to Majiazhuang and wait for Chief Chen to arrive!"

Chen Yixin sent him to the door of the courtyard, and Jiang Sheng turned around and said, "Chief Chen, when you say two days later, are you talking about the third day from today or the third day from tomorrow?"

Chen Yixin sighed and said: "Starting from tomorrow. If there are more questions, don't ask now. I promise to come when the time comes."

"Okay, we'll discuss it in detail then, but Chief Chen will stay!" Jiang Sheng said farewell to Chen Yixin triumphantly, then got into the small sedan parked at the door and left in a hurry.

"What... what is this!" After Chen Yixin watched Jiang Sheng leave, his mind was in confusion. He was obviously not interested in the proposal of marriage, so how could he be persuaded by Jiang Sheng and finally agree in a confused way?

I'll go to Majiazhuang to see Miss Ma again. If Tian Yeyou finds out about this, I'm afraid he will have to laugh at himself again.

As Chen Yixin expected, Tian Yeyou, who soon heard that Jiang Sheng had left, turned back and winked at Chen Yixin and said, "Xiao Chen, how was your talk with Jiang Sheng?"

"Brother Tian, ​​are you helping me or harming me?" Chen Yixin couldn't help but smile bitterly: "I came all the way to Dengzhou to lead troops to fight, but ended up getting married here. This news will not be spread back to Sanya.

It’s a joke!”

Tian Yeyou put away his smile and said: "Who is laughing at you? If you say you get married, the executive committee will immediately send a congratulatory message here. Do you believe it? How many people want to arrange a marriage for you, but you have been stationed outside. I don't know.

It’s just these things.”
Chapter completed!