Chapter 138 Return
Fortunately, just when He Xi was about to leave. Zhu Yuanzhang's edict has arrived. It became natural for He Xi to return to Beijing.
This time, the fleet heading north was not much smaller than the fleet heading south.
When we went south, we had a large number of supplies and troops. But this time when we went north, the big and capable countries not only had one ship, but the small countries borrowed many ships from the Ming Dynasty. In short, there were dozens of ships, not to mention many merchant ships. They also traveled together with the large tribute ships.
Nowadays, He Xi doesn't pay much attention to the specific business of Ming merchants.
After all, when it comes to doing business, Chinese businessmen are no weaker than any businessmen in the world. In addition, the Ming army opened up a market for them. If Chinese businessmen still can't do business in this way, they should kill them with a piece of tofu as soon as possible.
But He Xi knew that this time going south, a large number of businessmen made a lot of money.
A large number of merchant ships took over the transshipment business of the Nanyang Governor's Palace, and many merchants discovered business opportunities in Nanyang and did various businesses.
One of them, or rather a business gang, caught He Xi's attention.
That is the Chaozhou Business Gang.
The reason why He Xi pays attention to them is because the business of this merchant gang is nothing but sugar. white sugar.
He Xi naturally knows the unlimited potential of the future sugar market. I also know that sugar cane is a very suitable economic crop in Southeast Asia. The two combined will have a powerful influence.
If no one is doing it, He Xi might get involved, but it has already been done, and He Xi is just observing. Life will find its own direction.
In short, a large number of merchants also followed the Ming Dynasty's fleet to the north, forming a mighty northbound fleet.
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It seems that God has protected me and this journey has been smooth sailing. Didn't encounter any problems. Arrive directly at Liujiagang, Suzhou.
In Liujiagang, Suzhou, I encountered some small problems.
The docks in Liujiagang are full. There are a large number of boats moored. And as mentioned before, although Liujiagang is a large port at the mouth of the Yangtze River, the conditions are actually not very good. And as time goes by, sediment accumulates. It is also slowly silting up. Even manual cleaning can only delay but not prevent it.
This is also the reason why Liujiagang had little reputation later on.
The final glory of Liujiagang was that Zheng He's voyages to the West started from here.
However, Liujiagang is a big port after all, and it is difficult for an ordinary fleet to fill all the berths in Liujiagang.
Soon, He Xi knew who owned this fleet.
It was none other than King Zhou.
When the king of Zhou dealt with Nanyang, he was divided into two states. Before He Xi's successive battles in Nanyang, the King of Zhou was very, very resistant. I simply feel that in this matter, Feng Sheng clearly betrayed him for his own benefit.
In particular, Feng Sheng later replaced Xu Da and took charge of Peiping, becoming the northern coach and controlling hundreds of thousands of troops. It can be said that the most important part of the country lies in Feng Sheng. It even made King Zhou feel resentful. He even had a conflict with Princess Zhou.
Of course, Princess Zhou, a tough girl in the general family, would not give in easily. Anyway, it was quite embarrassing.
But when He Xi turned his hands into clouds and rain in Nanyang, King Zhou's mind changed.
People always underestimate the difficulty of others doing certain things, and so did King Zhou. Among Zhu Yuanzhang's sons, there were very few who were incompetent. King Zhou is the younger brother of King Yan. Although he is hesitant and not decisive enough. But it cannot be said that there is no talent.
Historically, he made great contributions to medicine and compiled books such as "Herbal Medicine for Famine Relief". Very solid in knowledge.
Seeing that He Xi could do this, King Zhou suddenly felt that he should also be able to do this. He originally thought that Nanyang was a difficult and hopeless place, so he was unwilling to leave the Ming Dynasty and linger in the Ming Dynasty. First, he was not well prepared for this, and then he was not well prepared for that. He also made the excuse that the wind is in the wrong direction now and the zodiac will be unfavorable tomorrow. He procrastinated and never left.
But the news about He Xi came. King Zhou suddenly moved faster and did not mention the unfavorable wind direction.
After all, when the Ming Dynasty's ships faced headwinds, they only achieved twice the result with half the effort, rather than being unable to sail.
The reason why King Zhou rushed to Nanyang in such a hurry was because he wanted to enter Nanyang before the situation was settled and get a piece of the pie. With the situation in Nanyang unstable, King Zhou still had a chance. But once Nanyang stabilizes. It is estimated that the situation will not be easy to handle.
Lu Zhongheng would not give the things he got to the King of Zhou.
Even if the King of Zhou is a prince, he cannot suppress Lu Zhongheng, an old general.
After He Xi learned about these situations, he seemed a little worried.
Fortunately, when King Zhou went south, he brought at least tens of thousands of people with him. Maybe not a transport. In short, the Ming Dynasty's military personnel in Nanyang increased again. But what worries me is the power struggle in Nanyang. Conflicts and cooperation between the Nanyang Governor-General and the local vassal kings.
However, this was bound to happen within He Xi's original framework.
On the one hand, it is to deal with the court. Go far away from the country. It is almost thousands of miles away from the imperial court. Without enough autonomy, nothing can be done. If there is enough autonomy, then there will be no separation of powers in the future.
He Xi's situation with a blank stack of edicts in his hand can only be an extraordinary situation.
Therefore, a restraining force must be introduced. The feudal king's best choice.
In terms of power, the Governor-General's Palace can command the troops of each vassal king. But the feudal king was immovable. Can't move either. But the vassal king is the future leader of Nanyang. This is inevitable to reassure the court.
On the other hand, it was also inevitable to cooperate with the Ming Dynasty to expand overseas and move the vassal kings who had hidden dangers at home.
At this moment, a small boat suddenly came over, but it was King Zhou who invited He Xi to come over and talk.
He Xi had no reason to refuse.
So He Xi moved the boat and boarded the ship.
King Zhou had been waiting for a long time.
This was not the first time He Xi and King Zhou met. The two exchanged pleasantries. Both sides sat down.
King Zhou sighed and said, "Brother He, you have lost weight. You have also become darker."
The King of Zhou is younger than He Xi, but similar in age to He Xi, so it is very appropriate to call him brother.
He Xi said: "Everything is good in Nanyang, but the sunshine is too poisonous. The prince has gone. I guess it will be like this in the future."
King Zhou laughed and said, "Brother He, please be happy. I won't talk in circles anymore. I invite you here today just to ask about Nanyang affairs."
Naturally, He Xi talked about everything he knew, and he even withdrew the food and wine when it came to getting excited. Get pen and paper. He Xi drew a map of various islands in Southeast Asia with his bare hands on the table, and he was even more meticulous about the situation around the old port. By the way, we are promoting our old port management plan.
He Xi said, "Your Highness, as long as we can do this thing well, it will be a piece of cake for Zhou to dominate Nanyang."
King Zhou was also fascinated when he heard that, but he quickly gathered his thoughts and said: "Yes, yes. It's just that such a big project was done in such a remote place. Thousands of miles of embankments and sea walls were built. Wait. It won’t take a hundred years to complete. In other words, it’s almost impossible to complete. What are the benefits of doing this?”
"Benefits?" He Xi was stunned. Then I suddenly felt that King Zhou had asked a really good question. Because of whether to do this project or not. The quality of life of King Zhou himself and his family will not change at all. Even, advance this project. On the contrary, it will affect the quality of life of King Zhou.
Many things seem to be taken for granted. But it actually took a few turns.
He Xi's heart moved and she said, "There are some things I will only say here. Once I leave the house, I won't recognize anything."
King Zhou said: "Brother He, please speak."
He Xi said: "Your Highness's glory, wealth and power are all yours, are they yours?"
King Zhou's heart moved and he said to himself: "What nonsense is this? Why isn't it mine?"
He Xi said leisurely: "In fact, the biggest benefit of being a king in Nanyang is that the things you have are really yours. They will not be taken away by someone else's will. That's all. Farewell."
King Zhou was quite rude and did not get up to see him off at all. It was because he was immersed in He Xi's words.
Many times, when people own certain things for a long time, they will have an illusion, just like renting a house for a long time, they feel that the house is their own.
The same is true for King Zhou.
