Zheng He was very curious. The merchants in the capital did not have sea-going ships. If they wanted to go to sea, they had to rent them. It took them a few days to get the goods ready for sailing. Where did this Guangzhou merchant get the ship and how did he load the goods?
After walking out of the hotel, I stood on a high slope and looked at the pier to the west. Sure enough, there were twenty more ships, and there were many people carrying boxes and goods in and out.
"Sir, there is someone who violates the imperial court's maritime regulations!"
Zhu Neng was a little angry and almost called Li Jinglong's name.
Zheng He thought that Li Jinglong would restrain himself and reject the Guangzhou merchants, asking them to wait for subsequent court policies. But now it seems that Li Jinglong has opened a door for Guangzhou merchants.
"Twenty ships is not a small number. The fleet going to Nanyang is already huge. Adding more ships may cause panic among the countries in Nanyang."
Zhang Yu said with a serious face.
Zheng He took a long breath and said, "Gather everyone together and set sail in an hour."
"But sir, they..."
Zhu Neng pointed to the ships of Guangzhou merchants.
Zheng He stared and said in a low voice: "Gather the Srivijaya envoys and entourage to my ship and prepare to sail."
The news of the hour-long voyage spread quickly. The sergeants who had been resting on the shore got up and returned to the ship. Shen Yiyuan looked at Huang Facai and others and smiled slightly: "How much cargo can they prepare in such a short time?"
Guangzhou businessmen were anxious and approached Li Jinglong one after another, hoping that he could buy some time. One hour was not enough.
Li Jinglong heard the bugle sound coming from the sea, shook his head bitterly, and replied: "The bugle sounds, thousands of troops will follow. If you have time here, you might as well move more goods."
Looking at the sea in the distance, Li Jinglong completely understood that Zheng He was a person who would not cooperate with him, and he still had principles.
"We just agreed to let them go to sea. As for how much cargo they can bring, it has nothing to do with us." Li Zengzhi asked with a relaxed and smiling face: "Brother, it's time for us to return to the capital, right?"
Li Jinglong did not answer directly, but looked at the direction of the fleet and said: "The caravan's voyage to Nanyang is a message that the imperial court will most likely lift the maritime ban and reopen the shipping department. Although we have to leave Guangdong, we cannot live without our people here. People, Nanyang Panxiang is in short supply, and the benefits are huge. They and we all know it."
"What do you mean, brother, leave a fleet here to prepare for business?"
Li Zengzhi asked uncertainly.
"That's right, doing business."
Li Jinglong said bluntly.
Li Zengzhi shook his head and disagreed: "Brother, once we do business, the court will take back our land, and it will be too difficult for us to control the army. Aren't the Liao, Min, and Dai kings a lesson from the past?"
Li Jinglong chuckled, looked at his always shrewd brother, and said, "We need the money we get from doing business, but we don't necessarily have to go to Nanyang ourselves. We still have a few trustworthy people in our family, let them stay here."
Li Zengzhi understood that what Li Jinglong meant was to arrange for a few shopkeepers to go to sea and reap the profits himself.
Above the sea, the bugle sounded again, the naval fleet began to pull anchor, and the merchant ships began to adjust their sails.
"They're gone."
Li Zengzhi looked at the mighty fleet scattered on the sea, his eyes filled with pride. Some of the ships were built by himself.
"what are they doing?"
Li Jinglong frowned and pointed at Zheng He's warships. They stopped the fleet of Guangzhou merchants.
Li Zengzhi looked at this scene with confusion.
Above the sea, Zhu Neng shouted at the fleet of Guangzhou merchants: "What kind of fleet are you?"
"We are the fleet purchased by Sriwijaya's envoy."
A businessman responded.
"Where are the envoys, let them come out."
Zhu Neng asked again.
"this……"
Businessman turns his head
Look, it's over. Everyone from the Srivijaya Mission seems to have gone to the boat. They were busy moving the goods just now. I don't know when they left.
"The envoy is on board the ship. Uncle Zheng can vouch for us. Please be lenient."
the businessman shouted.
Zhu Neng took a step back and told the sergeant: "According to the imperial decree, no planks are allowed to be put into the sea. Prepare the trebuchet to sink them."
"As commanded."
The sergeant was busy arranging the trebuchet, and the sergeant was carrying the big stone.
The Guangzhou businessman looked at this posture and turned pale with fear.
"No pieces of plank are allowed to go into the sea. You are required to dock quickly and not enter the sea. Otherwise, you will bear the consequences."
Zhu Neng's sergeant shouted again and again.
"They won't really smash it, right?"
"No, behind us is Duke Cao."
"Yes, Cao Guogong is the general of Zhennan, and Zheng He is just the deputy general. Go to sea with peace of mind."
"But……"
"But what?"
"They're already coming...Run, turn the helm, turn the helm!"
Plop!
The rushing water rose into the sky and rushed into the merchant ship, soaking the merchants who had no time to escape.
Bang bang bang!
After several cannons were fired, waves rose everywhere on the sea. When the Guangzhou merchants saw that Zheng He's fleet was actually coming, they no longer bothered to go to sea and quickly ordered to return to port.
Zhu Neng looked at the Guangzhou merchant fleet leaving the team, grinned, and returned to the cabin.
Zheng Bo, the Srivijaya envoy who was a guest on Zheng He's ship, heard the commotion, but could not leave because Zheng He was toasting...
Li Jinglong on the shore was dumbfounded, and Li Zengzhi's face turned pale.
Although the attack was not aimed at merchant ships and was intended to be a deterrent, looking at the navy fleet retreating in the distance, it was already impossible for the Guangzhou merchant fleet to go to sea again...
"Brother, we should return to the capital immediately."
Li Zengzhi said uneasily.
You got the benefits but didn't get the job done. If someone comes to you, where will you put your face?
"Go back to Beijing! Find someone to impeach Zheng He!"
Li Jinglong gritted his teeth and turned to leave.
Northeast, Daning Prefecture.
Ning Wang Zhu Quan picked up the knife, opened the fire paint, and took out the secret message. After reading it, his face became gloomy, and he said sternly to the guard Keshan: "What happened to Tuolu Huchaer? I have already told the Security Bureau The man is now staring at Daning Mansion and no more transactions are allowed! He actually keeps asking for salt and iron, what does he want to do?!"
Keshan lowered his head and replied cautiously: "Your Majesty, not only Tuolu Hucha'er of Duoyan Guard, Anchu of Fuyu Guard, and Hu Labanhu of Taining Guard all hope that the Prince will increase the supply of salt and iron. . Now that winter is approaching and the grass and trees are drying up, their people, livestock, and horses all need a lot of salt."
Zhu Quan knew this, but he also knew that controlling salt and iron was a key bargaining chip to control the Duoyan Three Guards. Once the salt and iron were provided excessively, they would have reserves, and by that time, the control of the Duoyan Three Guards in the imperial court would be weakened.
Without the full support of Duoyan Sanwei, he would not be able to stay in Daning Mansion any longer.
Zhu Quan lit the secret letter on fire, shook it in his hand, watched the ashes fall to the ground, and then said: "It is unusual for Liu Changge to come here. No matter whether he is staring at Fang Kuan or the king, he cannot be allowed to stay here forever. here."
"What does the prince mean?"
Keshan raised his hand and scratched his neck.
Zhu Quan glared at Keshan and said: "He is the former commander of the Security Bureau, and he came here on orders. If something happens in Daning, the court will be furious, and a thorough investigation will definitely affect me. He cannot die. At least you can’t die in Daning!”
Keshan felt helpless and said: "Your Majesty, Liu Changge will not leave Daning easily."
Zhu Quan spread out the map on the desk, thought about it, and said, "Let someone tell Liu Changge that I am going to inspect the three guards of Duoyan."
, hoping he can accompany him. "
"My lord, is this too risky?"
Keshan asked in surprise.
Zhu Quan said confidently: "The Security Bureau is the emperor's eyes and ears. Taking Liu Changge to let the emperor see that if the king is in Daning Mansion, the Duoyan Guards will be as safe as a mountain. If the king leaves, the Duoyan Guards will be gone." supply……"
Hungry wolves will eat people.
Keshan's eyes lit up, and he leaned forward and said: "If this is the case, the prince will surely be able to stay in Daning. However, most of the generals of the three guards of Yingzhou and the three guards of Guangning obey Fang Dusi's orders and are loyal to the imperial court. They must be careful... …”
"Fang Kuan is just a reckless man. He knows a few words but has no strategy. As long as he works a little, the surrounding guards will surrender. What I am worried about is not him, but the emperor in the capital. He will give me The impression left was really profound.”
Zhu Quan punched the table with a hint of fear in his eyes.
Zhu Yunwen's genius insight and prediction was like a god predicting the future trend, taking advantage of every opportunity, and completely crushed the King of Yan Zhu Di with his "power".
Zhu Di's surrender was regarded by Zhu Quan as a kind of weakness and the result of a lack of strategy.
The king of Yan is good at fighting, and the king of Ning is good at planning.
He will not make the same mistake as King Yan. Although Daning is outside the customs, all supplies can only be provided by transportation within the customs. However, Daning is deep and deep, and even if there is some noise, the court can't do anything about it.
"Your Majesty, there is news."
After the knock on the door, someone shouted outside the door.
Keshan opened the door, and Shi Liujian, the head of Prince Ning's palace, walked in, holding a small bamboo tube in his hand, and bowed and handed it to Zhu Quan.
Zhu Quan took off the bamboo tube and took out the note. There were only two lines of words in it:
Kaifeng.
Zhu Quan's eyes froze slightly and he said to Liu Jian: "The King of Zhou is going to be in trouble. Inform those people and find a way to impeach the Kaifeng officials and take the King of Zhou with them. Don't target the King of Zhou directly."
"As commanded."
Liu Jian took the order and left.
Zhu Quan burned the note to ashes and said to Keshan: "Go and notify Liu Changge. The support for the three guards of Duoyan cannot be delayed for too long."
Keshan left and took the door to the mountain.
Zhu Quan stood next to the desk, picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and slowly wrote two words: stroke by stroke:
Ancient and modern!
Examining the words on the paper carefully, Zhu Quan raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and added two more strokes, and the word "ancient and modern" became "吉灵".
In a house, Liu Changge was lying on a chair, enjoying the warm sun. A woman sat beside him, adding tea from time to time.
Qianhu Yang Cheng came over but did not speak.
Liu Changge waved his hand and said to the woman: "Qi Rou, go down."
After the woman left, Yang Cheng frowned and said, "Don't you really like this woman?"
Liu Changge sat up straight, picked up the tea bowl and said: "She is Prince Ning's eyes. With her by my side, Prince Ning will think that I am here just to investigate Fang Kuan and will not target him. Deal with people with high intelligence." , we must let him relax his vigilance and tell us what he discovered?"
Yang Cheng looked around, took out a booklet from his arms, handed it over, and said, "Sir, this morning, a flying pigeon flew from the south and finally entered Prince Ning's Mansion."
"Treading on the Stars"
"south?"
Liu Changge opened the booklet, and what was recorded on the booklet was about Fang Kuan, which was completely different from what Yang Cheng said.
Yang Cheng solemnly affirmed: "That's right."
To the south of Daning Mansion is a series of city gates, and after the city gates is Xifengkou.
Xifengkou is the pass of the Great Wall, with Jizhou on its back and Beiping Prefecture to the west.
"It seems that Prince Ning has a connection with Guan Nei, which is an indisputable fact."
Liu Changge stood up, with a stern look on his face, and said slowly: "Let the brothers at Songtingguan keep an eye on it to see if there is a pigeon left. I want to see who is colluding with Prince Ning!"
