"Your Majesty, Kunning Palace has arrived."
The old eunuch's gentle voice sounded next to Lao Zhu's ears, which made Lao Zhu suddenly come to his senses and step down from the chariot.
"Welcome Your Majesty~"
Lao Zhu was angry and didn't bother to pay attention to the palace maids, and walked directly into Kunning Palace.
"The Emperor has arrived~"
After hearing the eunuch's sharp roll call, Queen Ma still sat motionless on the kang. Ever since she got this kang, Queen Ma fell in love with its warmth and spaciousness. Although she doesn't need to light a fire now, she still likes to sit on it. It's so soft that it doesn't bump at all, and it's very comfortable to lie down on.
Even when she heard that Lao Zhu was coming, Queen Ma did not get up and just sat on the kang as before.
Lao Zhu walked in quickly and sat down next to Queen Ma.
Queen Ma glanced at Lao Zhu in surprise, and asked with a smile: "What's going on, Your Majesty? Who made you angry again?"
"Not your precious son-in-law?" Lao Zhu said angrily.
Queen Ma's son-in-law was not just Han Du. When she suddenly heard Lao Zhu's words, she really didn't realize who it was.
When Lao Zhu saw it, he slapped the memorial in front of Queen Ma.
Queen Ma picked it up and opened it. After a moment, she suddenly laughed and said, "It seems that going out for a walk is really useful. Biao'er should be completely recovered."
When Lao Zhu heard this, he became even more angry. He tapped the memorial with his fingers several times, "Biao'er is fine, but he was taken to the West by Han Du. There is still no news until he comes back. , you see how I deal with him."
Queen Ma rolled her eyes at Lao Zhu, saying that Han Du instigated Biao'er to go to the West, Queen Ma really didn't believe it. She knew that Han Du was a family-loving person. Logically speaking, after Zhu Biao's illness recovered, Han Du should try his best to return to Beijing. Now that the fleet has gone to the West, it is probably not Han Du's fault, but it may be Biao'er's decision.
Because only when Zhu Biao issued a strict order, Han Du would have no choice but to obey, and no one else could influence Han Du.
"Is the emperor worried about Biao'er's safety?"
Lao Zhu glanced at Queen Ma and sighed: "The Western Ocean is tens of thousands of miles away, and it is completely different from Nanyang. After all, Nanyang has too many merchants and countless people walking through it, so the risks are much smaller. . Moreover, the Ming Dynasty has governor's mansions all over Nanyang. If anything happens, you can rely on the help of the governor's mansion.
But the Ming Dynasty had nothing in the West, and it was unfamiliar with the place. If something happened, it didn’t even have any support..."
The more he talked, the more Lao Zhu shook his head and started talking.
On the contrary, Queen Ma had a different idea, "The emperor is overly worried. Han Du is not a person who does not know the importance of things. If he was not absolutely sure, he would not agree to Biao'er going to the West. Since he agreed Biao'er, then I believe that he will be able to bring Biao'er back intact."
Lao Zhu felt much better after listening to Queen Ma's advice. Then he sighed and said, "Do you think I'm just worried about Biao'er's safety?"
"Oh, what worries does the Emperor have?" Queen Ma asked casually.
Lao Zhu nodded and said: "You believe that Han Du can bring Biao'er back, and I also believe that Han Du can bring Biao'er back, but will the officials believe that Han Du can bring Biao'er back?"
Queen Ma was speechless after hearing this.
The court is mixed, and it is impossible for everyone to be of the same mind. Some people may believe Han Du, but at the same time, there must be people who will take the opportunity to criticize Han Du.
Lao Zhu looked into Queen Ma's eyes and said: "It is certainly impossible to hide the news of the naval fleet heading westward from everyone. Now I can only delay it as much as possible, but I am not sure how long it can be delayed. If... ."
Seeing that the emperor hesitated to speak, Empress Ma immediately answered: "Is the emperor worried that Biao'er will not be able to come back in time?"
Lao Zhu nodded solemnly, "If the officials know that the prince has gone to the West and has not returned, I am worried that someone will take advantage of it and use the country's foundation as an excuse to cause trouble."
"Here, what should we do?" Queen Ma was frightened when she heard this. It's not that she is timid, but that the turmoil in Kunimoto is too great.
Zhu Biao was canonized as the prince since the founding of the country. He first stood in the Fengtian Palace to observe the government affairs, and later assisted Lao Zhu in supervising the country's governance for more than ten years. His power was so great that other princes were not qualified to compete with him.
Originally, Queen Ma didn't think anyone could compete with Zhu Biao for the country's foundation, so she didn't take it to heart. But now, Zhu Biao is far away from the capital, tens of thousands of miles away in the West, and there is no news at all.
If someone takes advantage of the situation and uses the country's foundation as an excuse to cause trouble, I don't know what kind of horrific bloody storm it will be.
Even Queen Ma couldn't help but tremble in her heart when she thought about it. Because she knew that there must be her son's blood in this bloody storm.
Zhu Biao's prestige among the princes was unmatched. All the princes followed him. When he was there, no one was qualified to compete. But this also led to a problem, that is, without Zhu Biao, none of the other princes would be convinced by the others.
"Your Majesty, what should we do?" Queen Ma couldn't help but grab Lao Zhu's arm with both hands. Now she only had Lao Zhu to rely on.
Lao Zhu lowered his head, patted the back of Queen Ma's hand a few times, and said comfortingly: "Don't worry, I will take care of it."
Empress Ma misunderstood Lao Zhu's words, and shook her head in horror, pleading: "Your Majesty, those are your flesh and blood..."
"Don't worry, we haven't reached that point yet." Lao Zhu was calm, glanced at Queen Ma, and continued: "The most important thing now is to find Biao'er first. I have secretly issued an order to the Jiugang Xuanwei Division and the Governor's Mansion, ask them to send a ship to the West no matter what, to bring my will to Biao'er. As long as Biao'er can return to Beijing in time, then nothing will happen."
As for what to do if Zhu Biao is not found, or if something unexpected happens to Zhu Biao, Lao Zhu did not say.
But the hint of cruelty that flashed across Lao Zhu's eyes was caught by Empress Ma. Knowing that the emperor has made up his mind about something, no matter how hard he tries to persuade him, it will be of no use, and may even be counterproductive.
Queen Ma immediately let go of Lao Zhu's arm, hoping that Han Du could bring Zhu Biao back in time and safely.
...
The naval fleet was temporarily anchored in the sea. In just one day, Han Du commanded the navy to clear a temporary place on the hillside.
The surrounding area was deserted, not even a ghost was seen. Zhu Biao was bored and asked Han Du Tang Ding, Fu Yong and others to talk.
Everyone sat around on the simple floor covered with blankets, with Zhu Biao at the top, Han Du and Tang Ding at the bottom, and Fu Yong and others at the bottom.
Zhu Biao held up the tea and motioned for everyone to drink it. After drinking, he looked at Fu Yong with a smile and said: "This place is deserted. It seems that there is no business to do, but the trip to Mr. Fu's family has been in vain."
Fu Yong hurriedly returned the salute and said with a humble smile: "Your Highness summons you, let alone the deserted place, even if it is a mountain of swords and a sea of fire, the common people and others will have to climb even if they have to crawl."
"Hahaha, I appreciate your kindness." Zhu Biao raised his glass to Fu Yong and others with satisfaction.
Fu Yong and others toasted happily in return. His Highness the Crown Prince's words made them even happier than they had earned a boatload of gold.
The reason why Zhu Biao found Fu Yong and others was, firstly, as an excuse to chat, and secondly, to take the initiative to get closer to them. Zhu Biao has a new understanding of the power and role of money since he read the Wealth of Nations written by Han Du.
He even asked Han Du specifically about the role of businessmen. Han Du said this at the time, "In the eyes of the world, businessmen who are not engaged in production and who buy low and sell high may seem insignificant and can be discarded like worn-out shoes. But in my opinion, the role of businessmen cannot be ignored. The role of businessmen is Buying low and selling high is actually a kind of production.”
"Let me give you an example for Your Highness. If the imperial court has to transport five million dan of grain to the border every year, how much manpower and material resources will be needed?"
"At least 300,000 civilians must be recruited. As for the total cost of other people, the cost will probably exceed 5 million yuan." Zhu Biao was very familiar with these matters and casually gave the specific figures.
"Three hundred thousand civilians cost five million guan to transport only 5 million dan of grain to the border." Han Du shook his head, "If I were to run it, I wouldn't have to recruit a single militia, and I could still have five million dan of grain at the border." Millions of stones of food are available, does Your Highness believe it?"
Zhu Biao obviously didn't believe it. "You don't need a peasant to carry five million stones of grain? Can you carry the grain on your back?"
Han Du shook his head, "There is no need for me to carry grain at all. If Ming's business is developed enough and there are enough merchants, I only need to announce a message at the border and purchase five million shi of grain at the price of two guans and one shi." . Five million shi of food plus five million guan of expenses, which is exactly 10 million guan."
"Didn't it still cost 10 million yuan? What's the difference?" Zhu Biao was very puzzled. "Besides, merchants also spend money to transport food. If they don't make money, will they listen to you and transport food to you? ?”
Han Du smiled and stretched out a finger to indicate, "I will answer His Highness's first question first. Is there any difference? The difference is huge. First of all, this saves the manpower of the court, and it is also necessary to mobilize food. Countless officials, big and small, are running around. Secondly, it saves 300,000 people from working hard. Your Highness must know that working hard is also a heavy burden for the people. If the imperial court can reduce or reduce some working hard for the people, the people's lives will be much easier."
Zhu Biao couldn't help but nodded, but he still asked: "But in this case, wouldn't the businessman lose money? Who is willing to do a loss-making business?"
"No loss." Han Du shook his head and rejected Zhu Biao's idea. "The mentality of imperial officials transporting food is different from that of merchants. Officials transport food to complete the affairs of the court. They have no enthusiasm at all. They just want to transport food." If you can deliver the grain, everything will be fine, and you won't care at all about the losses during the transportation process. But merchants are different. Merchants transport grain to make money. If they don't save a little, it means they can make more. Therefore, merchants will do everything they can to reduce consumption during transportation to ensure they can make the most money."
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