Regarding the Queen Mother's sudden question, Zhang Shou was only slightly stunned, and then said calmly: "Old Salted Fish entered Beijing from Cangzhou before, and sent a lot of overseas crops planted in the Cangzhou Zanghai Courtyard, and after looking at the little peanuts he fostered in my house, he went to Tianjin to prepare for going to sea." The cinchona tree was discovered by him overseas, and if he wanted to plant it in Qiongzhou, he also needed to drive a boat to see it himself. ”

The Queen Mother gently turned the Buddha beads in her hand, and then looked at Zhang Shou for a while, and then smiled slightly: "You are certainly one of the reasons, but presumably he is also worried about his nephew Xian Yunhe, who was exiled to Qiongzhou to plant trees, right?" ”

"It should be so." Zhang Shou did not shy away from saying, "Qiongzhou has been a remote place since ancient times, the climate is humid and hot, there are often storms blowing from the sea for a few months every year, and it rains for several days. ”

"For this reason, I also bought prescriptions and a batch of medicinal materials in the capital, and even Ah Liu found two doctors who were slandered and suppressed by his peers and could not continue to practice medicine in the capital......

Zhu Ying was very puzzled why the Queen Mother suddenly asked Zhang Shou this, and wanted to interject and ask several times, but when she saw Ah Liu behind Zhang Shou shaking her head at her, she held back again and again, and simply went to observe the emperor who had been angry just now. found that when the emperor was talking to Zhang Shou, although there was a look on his face as if I was not interested, his eyes clearly betrayed him.

She was most familiar with the emperor, and she could see at a glance that the emperor was clearly listening attentively.

Zhang Shou talked about the whereabouts of the old salted fish now, and then reversed and explained the sailing experience that the old salted fish claimed before, although this was all mentioned by him in the book before, but at this time he naturally said it more carefully, and he didn't bother to do any whitewashing - because he understood that the whitewash was too peaceful, and the old salted fish had already done the corresponding artistic processing when he said to him.

And the Queen Mother listened carefully, but asked Zhu Ying sideways: "Yingying, weren't you also in Cangzhou at that time?" What else would you like to add? ”

"Me?" Zhu Ying blinked in confusion, and then said with a dry smile, "I went to Cangzhou to find Ah Shou, and I am not familiar with the old and wrinkled old salted fish, the second brother and him are life and death together, and they should know more than me." ”

The Queen Mother has always loved Zhu Tingfang and Zhu Ying, but for Zhu Er, who is not successful, it is naturally much worse, but in the end, she is the grandson and nephew of her mother's family, and she will always see her several times a year.

At this time, she thought that Mrs. Tai had said that Zhu Er seemed to have changed his mind and changed his face greatly, so she immediately bowed her head happily and said: "In this case, the next time your second brother comes, I will ask him if he is ......."

However, before she could finish her words, the emperor suddenly asked: "Zhang Shou, you haven't asked that old salted fish, how did he go to Haidong in the first place?" You know, if it's maritime trade, either Japan and Korea, or the South Seas, or farther away, at most the small countries in the West. ”

"If it was to make money, I definitely didn't cross the vast sea, crossed North Korea and Japan, and continued all the way to the east."

Without waiting for Zhang Shou to answer, he said lightly: "You went to the Ordnance Bureau to see the balls and maps made by Emperor Taizu Mengtian, you should know how big that vast ocean is." Moreover, such a map has not been circulated to the people, such as Lao Xianyu, such as the people, drifting across the sea to the land of Haidong, it is not normal to think. Don't talk to me about shipwrecks......"

"It is still possible to be blown to some small island by the wind, but it is absolutely impossible to be blown by the wind to that far continent. What's more, you also told me in the previous book that the old salted fish found the Ming people who had been displaced over there in the past, and even found the suspected Taizu stone tablet...... I haven't asked you yet, have you solved the stone tablet you found in the cave? ”

Seeing that the emperor was obviously suspicious, Zhang Shou remembered that Zhu Ying had mentioned to him before that Emperor Taizu said that he would die after abdication, but in fact he disappeared into the vast sea, so he didn't have to think about it to know what the emperor was suspicious.

Therefore, after a little thought, he said frankly: "The emperor asked about the stone tablet, and the minister could only say that it had not yet been solved. And what the emperor said is indeed right, if it is purely for maritime trade, then it should take the mature routes of the East, South and West. However, just as Taizu Mengtian Emperor made a ball instrument, there will inevitably be more adventurers in this world who want to see the world with a wide range of eyes. ”

"Of course, maybe not so pure adventure, but for fame, for profit. As for the old salted fish, I think he was probably so poor that he hung his head on the waistband of his trousers when he was young, and he was bent on getting rich, so he went all the way to the mainland of Haidong. And how much does a ship cost, and how much does it cost to hire a crew? With the net worth he is showing now, someone must have contributed to fund it. ”

The emperor's eyes suddenly sharpened: "Who funded it?" Who knew that there would be remnants of my Ming clan in the Haidong Continent? Shouldn't this matter be investigated? ”

As soon as the words fell, he noticed that both the Queen Mother and Zhu Ying were all looking at him with quite subtle eyes, but Zhang Shou's face was as usual.

He knew that he was concerned about it, and it was ridiculous for the dignified son of heaven to claim that he wanted to investigate such a "trivial" trivial matter. However, when Zhang Shou said the next words, his last remaining composure was gone.

"A few days ago, Ah Liu met Song Huishou of the Guangdong Guild Hall, took Song Juren back from him, and also forwarded a request from Song Huishou to me. Song Huishou saw the business opportunity of the Imperial Chef Selection Competition, and said that the ingredients from overseas are not only in Cangzhou, but also in Guangdong, and many of them are fruits, but because they are sent to the capital from afar, they can only be dried and sent like raisins. ”

"There are fruits like mangoes and pineapples, but as far as I know, some of them are not native to Nanyang, which is close to Guangdong."

The emperor didn't pursue Zhang Shou's so-called "as far as I know" at all, where did he know this - he has now concluded that Zhang Shou has another teacher, but Zhang Shou has a clean background and has never left that small village before arriving in the capital, so as long as Zhang Shou does not hide what he has learned and does things wholeheartedly, it doesn't matter.

As for who Zhang Shou's teacher was, he felt that Zhang Shou probably didn't know it himself.

And if there were people all over the world who had been setting sail to find the traces that the imperial court had abandoned for years, he would not be able to bear it. Not only could he not bear it, but he also had a feeling like a thorn in his back.

"Under the whole world, it is not the king's land, and the shore of the land is not the king's minister!"

After these sixteen words burst out from the erection, the emperor said viciously: "When you asked Yingying to propose a dart boat to me before, I thought about this matter, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt that it was not a taste. Merchant ships roam all over the world, but the official ships of the imperial court are so stuck because of concerns about expenses and manpower, and it is no wonder that those small countries in the West and the South Seas also dare to move! ”

"I think that when Emperor Taizu did not dominate the world, he had the courage to send envoys to board the ship and travel far away, and now the Ming Dynasty dominates the mountains and rivers, the country is rich and the people are strong, but he breaks his fingers every day to count the money? What's more, a hundred years ago, the envoy who had been gone for several years returned from a long trip, not only made up for the expenses, but also made a lot of money, which is like the official ship during the reign of Emperor Taizong, which will only lose money! ”

Zhang Shou heard the emperor's words, and couldn't help but complain secretly in his heart. That's because the mighty official ships that covered the sky and the sun during the reign of Taizong were nine times out of ten to find the whereabouts of Emperor Taizu - just like Emperor Yongle who looked for Emperor Jianwen. And after arriving in Taizong, those emperors were too late to fight, and secondly, it had been too long since Taizu disappeared, and they gradually stopped.

Of course, the rising conservative forces in the DPRK and China, together with the families and groups that are likely to profit greatly from the maritime trade, will naturally try to prevent the official power of the imperial court from joining in this lucrative feast.

And the emperor didn't notice the change in Zhang Shou's face, and said with a smile: "If those merchant ships are unprofitable, they won't run out again and again, can't the official ships make a profit on the way when they set sail?" ”

The Queen Mother knew that the emperor would say this, but at this time, in front of Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying, she was helpless, but she was not easy to blame. And what made her even more ridiculous was that Zhu Ying actually shouted loudly: "What the emperor said is that as long as the official ship goes out, it can balance the income and expenditure, and even have a surplus, see what else those ministers can say!" ”

"Even if it can't be said that the people are working and losing money, they will still accuse the imperial court of sending official ships to sea, which is to compete with the people for profit."

Zhang Shou said a sentence slowly, and when he saw Zhu Yingdeng, he was dumbfounded, and the emperor's face suddenly turned cold, so he simply opened the skylight and said something bright.

"Your Majesty, the official ship has not been to sea for many years, for some officials, this is the ancestral system, and this is not to persuade them by pulling out the four words Emperor Taizu."

"It's like the minister refuted Hong Shan Chang in the Guozijian before, according to Emperor Taizu's instructions, when the third class of servants was not cheap servants, Hong Shan Chang was still unconvinced. Because from the Han and Tang dynasties to the Song and Yuan dynasties, how much did the decrees of the founding son of heaven change? ”

"The matter of the dart boat, when the emperor issued the edict before, there was actually a lot of opposition, but because it did not involve major military affairs, but a few more petty officials, plus the rest of the things overshadowed the limelight, so it finally calmed down. Why don't the emperor first take a look at what kind of news these dart boats can bring back, and then send a big ship to sea to raise the prestige of our country? ”

Seeing that Zhang Shou did not pry the emperor, the queen mother immediately sent an official ship to Haidong to investigate, and the boulder hanging in her heart finally fell. She has always felt that Zhang Shou is eventful, but now that she thinks about it, depending on the emperor's character, there is no Zhang Shou and Li Shou, and there may be Wang Shou without Li Shou, in short, even if the emperor has been on the throne for 27 years, the flying meaning in his bones is still there.

So, she could only retreat and persuade earnestly: "Emperor, Zhang Shou is right, Emperor Taizu has passed so many years since now, and many people are used to today's system. If you insist on checking and insisting on sending official ships to sea, you might as well throw stones and ask for directions. ”

Of course, the emperor understood what it meant to throw stones and ask for directions, and it was nothing more than asking someone to find an inconsequential petty official to mention the matter, and then see who supported and who was against, and then decided the next step according to the specific situation.

However, he has been the son of heaven for so many years, and he has moved away from Jiang Ge Lao before, and now even the first assistant of the cabinet is empty, completely ignoring the unaccustomed and opposition of the subordinates, and insisting on implementing reforms in many places, where is he willing to compromise?

Therefore, he narrowed his eyes slightly, but said conclusively: "If the old salted fish you said has not set off for Qiongzhou Mansion yet, then let him come to the capital, and I will ask him face to face." ”

"I've always wanted to know who those who want to find out the whereabouts of Emperor Taizu and those people back then more than the royal family!"

"Moreover, the information of the Ordnance Bureau about foreign countries is more than ten or twenty years old, or even more years ago. Emperor Taizu once said that children and grandchildren must look at the world. Now that the Ming Dynasty has calmed the northern troubles, and the people are also considered to have long-term peace and stability, at this time, take a new look at the world, which can be regarded as living up to the ancestral teachings of Taizu. ”

When the emperor said this, he suddenly changed his words and said: "In the years after Taizong, official ships no longer went to sea, and in the early years, there was even a sea trade that harmed the people, and the voice of asking for a ban on the sea was noisy. When my father was alive, he once said to me that some people were worried that there would be people overseas who would swagger and deceive under the guise of Taizu and Miao descendants, or even return to Daming to make trouble, but this is simply a joke. ”

"Emperor Taizu reigned for ten years, Emperor Taizong reigned for twelve years, Emperor Gaozong reigned for twenty years, Emperor Sejong reigned for fourteen years, Emperor Yingzong reigned for fourteen years, and Emperor Ruizong reigned for six years.

"That being the case, to this day, I just want to know what kind of new world Emperor Taizu discovered! Since he did not hesitate to open up the territory with the respect of the founding son of heaven, but the son of heaven in later generations ignored it and abandoned it, is it the way of the descendants of people? ”

There was a dispute with the Queen Mother just now, and the emperor at this time poured out the words that he hadn't had time to say before, and then stood up and said word by word: "I didn't teach the two sons of Da Lang and Erlang well, and being a father is actually the same crime of dereliction of responsibility as the abolished queen, that is, Concubine Jing!" For the sake of long-term peace and stability in this world, I plan to issue an edict on a certain day......"

Seeing that the Queen Mother suddenly left her seat and got up, as if she expected what she wanted to say, her face was full of anger, so he said in a deep voice: "I will choose a day to issue an edict, abolish the prince as a concubine, ban him in Zongzheng Temple for life, and he will not be pardoned in case of forgiveness." As for the second prince, if he plants trees in Qiongzhou Mansion, when he can get the miracle medicine that can cure malaria, he will come back one day. Their marriage was put on hold beforehand, so that they would not harm anyone! ”

"Emperor!" The Queen Mother felt that her temples were about to explode at this time. It's just that the emperor has made up his mind on this kind of thing, and it's just that he is stubborn when arguing with her, why do he want to mention this matter when Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying are there?

She glanced at Zhu Ying and Zhang Shou casually, and saw that Zhu Ying was just stunned, Zhang Shou frowned slightly, neither of them had any gaffe expressions, she secretly said that she was lucky, but immediately after, the emperor said something that made her completely out of shape.

"The East Palace has been hanging for so many years, and I don't know how many people have advised me, this time, I will set up a prince!"

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