The palace has chosen a good festival, and will canonize two concubines at the beginning of March of the first year of Wude, among which Li Xianhui of the Xianguo clan is the concubine of Zhuang, and Shen (Baoyan) is the concubine of Zhuang.

Kang Shunchen, the envoy of the Xian State, originally thought that after seeing Li Xianhui canonized, he would be able to return to China to resume his life. However, they were not told when they would attend the "feast"; Recently, Kang Shunchen and Park Jingwu met the Ming Emperor in the Rouyi Palace, and they did not mention when they would leave.

It seems that the trip will have to be delayed for a while.

Sure enough, Kang Shunchen quickly inquired about something else.

The officials of the Ministry of Rites of the Ming Dynasty are discussing with the envoys of their own country, and they want to send a Ming delegation to their country to canonize the king, and the final number is determined to be 30 people; The imperial court also proposed that because the Fasujima daimyo sheltered the Japanese invaders, in order to ensure the safety of their envoys and Ming missions, they wanted to send a fleet of sailors to escort them. The envoys suggested that it was not easy to send troops close to the country, so as to avoid misunderstandings; Because during the Hongwu period, the court of the Ming Dynasty threatened to use force against the country.

Park Jingwu returned to the "Huitong Pavilion" outside the right gate of Chang'an, and his mood still seemed very depressed.

Kang Shunchen persuaded him in Korean: "It is a good thing for the Park family that the emperor canonized the virtuous and virtuous lord as a concubine." ”

Unexpectedly, Park Jingwu showed a very ashamed forced smile.

Seeing this, Kang Shunchen said: "Why does the eldest husband have no wife? The King of Huai'an (Li Fanggan, the king's fourth brother) married the Ming royal family, and the king would inevitably take the initiative to improve his relationship with the King of Huai'an in order to be friendly with the imperial court. With the relationship between the Park family and the Lord Huai'an, General Park will also be valued by the king's courtesy; What's more, General Park's sister also entered the palace. The general has power and wealth, isn't the beauty at your disposal? ”

Park Jingwu seemed to be dissatisfied with the emperor, so he retorted: "Won't the king be worried, the king will take advantage of the power of the Ming court to sit big, but will suppress the family close to the Huai'an monarch?" ”

Kang Shunchen was stunned and said: "When the dynasty was in the Xian Kingdom, it had already given up the national policy of expanding its territory to the north, and instead made good intentions to Daming, and the two countries have been friendly since then. During the Hongwu period, Wang Shang had established a friendship with Emperor Taizong of the Ming Dynasty in Beiping. Why did the Ming court have trouble with our army? ”

Park Kyung-wu was speechless, his knowledge of these major events was limited, and what he said just now may just be because of personal grudges.

However, Kang Shunchen was a civil official, and he was responsible for diplomatic relations in the country all the year round, and when he said this, he suddenly fell into deep thought.

Maybe Park Jingwu's unintentional words really have a certain amount of truth. Will the Ming court use the Great Prince of Huai'an as a pawn in order to further blackmail and dominate the military and political affairs of Korea?

When Kang Shunchen first entered the Ming Dynasty, the emperor was marching north against the Mongolian Dynasty, which created a false impression for him, as if the main direction of the Ming Dynasty was to deal with the Mongolian and ancient people. But Kang Shunchen came back to his senses and thought about it, at this time, the Mongolian and ancient tribes were no longer the Great Yuan, or the border troubles of the Ming Dynasty, but it was difficult to threaten the Ming Dynasty court.

On the contrary, the repair of sea ships in Longjiang Port, as well as some things that Kang Shunchen had heard recently, made him feel that the Ming Dynasty seemed to attach great importance to sailors going to sea, and was preparing to expand its influence in Chaoxian, Yueben, Annam, and the Western Ocean.

The new emperor of the Ming Dynasty was a young, strong and ambitious emperor, and it seemed reasonable that both father and son seized power by force, and wanted to make meritorious contributions to improve their prestige and stabilize the throne.

Kang Shunchen was ready to report some of his new insights to the monarch after returning to China.

…… On the southeast shore of Xuanwu Lake, in the past two days, many young men wearing cloth clothes have come. They should be the people of the Jinyi Guard and the Imperial Division's North Office, who are conducting secret investigations and surveillance around the Shen family's mansion.

Shen Xu has received news from the eunuch that the emperor is coming to the Shen family's mansion. But she didn't know the exact time. When she got up in the morning, she dressed up and put rouge on her face, which she would not normally do when she was not going out.

Shen Xu persuaded Baoyan and told her to wait for the emperor to come and meet her. But Bao Yan seemed to resist and immediately refused.

Bao Yan did listen to some people's slander, so she came to this. This also made the Shen Xu family more aware of the problems within the family: after the industrial business in Yunnan was left to the Shen family, the Xu family was dissatisfied and wanted the children of the Xu family to marry Baoyan in order to obtain the inheritance and control of the wealth.

But once Baoyan enters the palace, those risks will be solved. Whether it is the Xu family or Baoyan, there is no way to disobey the emperor's holy decree, otherwise the consequences will be very serious, and everything will be unstoppable.

There was a light rain in the air, and the sky was gray. There are bells and drums on the tower of Taipingmen to tell the time, and just after noon, the emperor's carriage arrived. Shen Xu invited "Wang" (Ma Enhui) to welcome Zhu Gaoxu to the mansion.

That Wang must be Zhu Gaoxu's good friend, Shen Xu almost confirmed this from Wang's eyes this time.

Zhu Gaoxu had already gotten out of the carriage, and the three of them walked up a corridor, followed by some men in black cloth clothes, eunuchs, and slaves and maids of the Shen family. In order to make the atmosphere a little more relaxed, Shen Xu smiled and said some inconsequential topics as he walked.

"The concubine opened the 'Pear Garden' on the side of Jubaomen, and the shopkeeper is still Xu Cailiu."

The relationship between the three of them was a little strange, and Zhu Gaoxu was also relatively silent just now, and immediately looked interested at this time, and said, "Next to the Qinhuai River? ”

Shen Xu nodded and said, "Exactly, in Dagongfang." ”

Zhu Gaoxu praised: "Madame has a good eye, there are many people in the market over there, and it is not far from the school, and there are many people who listen to the play, drink tea and set up banquets." How's the business? ”

"It's really much better than Yunnan." Shen Xu said with a smile, "To start this kind of business, you have to have a place with a lot of cash, after all, we can't collect grain, cloth, charcoal, etc. Jingshi is a place where the world's wealth gathers, and there are many people with cash. ”

At this moment, Zhu Gaoxu suddenly stopped and stood next to the railing of the corridor and looked into the courtyard. Shen Xu and Wang had no choice but to stop.

What attracted Zhu Gaoxu was a water leak next to the pool. When Shen Xu saw Zhu Gaoxu's gaze, he immediately felt very interesting, as if an emperor had become a big boy full of curiosity. The big water leak was made with water from a funnel and a wooden gear, and the world would have built it hundreds of years ago.

"It's just a decoration in the garden, and it's as useful as a rockery." Shen Xu said, "Now the timing has long been without water leakage, and with the 'six-wheel hourglass', I am not afraid of freezing in winter." Qin Tianjian must have these things, and there may be more complicated structures. ”

Zhu Gaoxu smiled and said, "I thought that the civil officials thought it was a strange and ingenious skill, but it seems that they are quite keen on this kind of machinery. ”

Shen Xu guessed that he had not been on the throne long ago, and he was busy with other things, so he might not know about it.

The three of them walked into a living room with a coffee table. Like in the pear orchard in Yunnan, the tea set on the coffee table is a tea set for making kung fu tea, which is not common in Jingshi. After Shen Xu and the others saluted, she handled the tea herself.

In this situation, it is naturally inconvenient to say something too private, so Zhu Gaoxu began to talk about national affairs.

Shen Xu listened carefully, she actually liked to listen, which made her feel very noble...... After all, businessmen have a low status. In the past, when Zhu Gaoxu and Mu Sheng were in her garden, they made decisions on military and political affairs while drinking tea, which made Shen Xu feel very stylish at that time.

Zhu Gaoxu seemed to come prepared, and took out a map. He said: "As Mrs. Shen said, the Ming Dynasty now lacks currency in circulation. Bao Banknote faced problems such as the collapse of credit overdraft and counterfeit banknotes, and did not find a good solution for a while. Therefore, the safest way is to get a lot of gold, silver, and copper.

It seems that there are silver mines in my country, and I have decided to send a mission to investigate. There are gold mines in the South Seas, as well as gold from trade. Muslim areas such as Tianzhu and Arabia have been trading with the East and the West since the Han Dynasty and have accumulated a large amount of gold. There are copper mines in Yunnan, which can be minted and shipped out of the southwest.

Therefore, I intend to establish a maritime trade order from Europe, Africa, Tianzhu, Nanyang, Daming, Chaoxian, Yuben, and possibly even to the Americas, spanning east, west, north and south. The imperial court could not only obtain a large amount of cash, but also promote the prosperity of domestic industry and commerce after flowing into the country. ”

(The circulation of currency in the Ming Dynasty was very strange and chaotic, and fake coinage could also be used.) People in the world don't care whether it's true or not, they only look at the quality to value. After the credit of the treasure banknote is bankrupt, it can still be circulated; Because of the two civil wars, the imperial court issued a large number of treasure money, and now the value of treasure money and copper money has fallen to the extent of ten to one. ）

Shen Xu lifted the boiling water, waited for it to cool down a little, and said while owing money: "The saint has this grand plan, and the concubine admires it." However, all dynasties have always advised agriculture to suppress business, and the saint is so strategic, will there be no minister to oppose it? ”

Zhu Gaoxu frowned and said, "There should be someone who opposes it." However, in this world, as long as it is a meaningful event, it is not an easy task. ”

When "Wang" heard this, he immediately looked sideways at Zhu Gaoxu, and his gaze became a little strange. Shen Xu noticed this detail, but couldn't understand it.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "After the prosperity of industry and commerce, there may not be a reduction in grain production, after all, the people who occupy the fertile land are reluctant to let it be barren.

Moreover, Siam, Chenla, Annam and other places, after the introduction of advanced farming technology by the Han people, the yield is very high, at least three crops a year. We can trade grain from these places by sea and come back to stockpile. The land in Liaodong is fertile, and it is also an important place for the development of the imperial court at this time, and the criminals are exiled to Liaodong as much as possible, and the military and civilians are compensated for their migration. I judged that there would be no famine in the country at this time. ”

When Shen Xu heard this, he took the opportunity to say a little "misunderstanding" before in a joking tone: "No wonder, the imperial court once promised concubines to use salt to fill some dowries, but they were withdrawn by the saints. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said with a smile: "I don't want a talented woman like Mrs. Shen to be delayed by that boring salt business, and there is a more profitable business for you to keep." Don't worry about money, I'm planning to issue treasury bonds. ”

"National debt?" Shen Xu asked.

However, she was worried about the boiling water, and it was almost cold by this time, so she picked up the kettle and began to make tea. The living room was filled with the fragrance of tea.