In a small alley in the deepest part of the east of the Ten Kings' Mansion, there is a mansion covering an area of more than 2 acres, which looks really shabby compared to the surrounding houses of three or four acres of land.

However, this is also about the concept of the person in charge of the construction of the Ten Princes' Mansion, where the prince is enthroned and leaves the palace, the farther away from the palace, the more unfavored he is. Since he is a prince who is not favored, he should naturally live poorly, so as not to be asked by other princes to find trouble, which can be regarded as a kind of protection in disguise.

Although this mansion has been built for some years, it has been well maintained because the place is small and easy to tidy up. It does not show an air of decay like the few mansions around it.

After passing through the big locust tree at the door, which obscured the sky in general, I walked into the small courtyard where a few plum trees were planted, standing here and smelling the faint fragrance, which always gave people a feeling of living in seclusion in the valley.

Such a courtyard that allows people to calm down and cultivate their nature, but it can't calm the heart of the deposed king of North Korea, Gwanghae-jun. From a desperate prisoner on Ganghwa Island to an overseas clan living in the capital of the Ming Kingdom, the change in the environment is really earth-shattering.

As a deposed king of Joseon who has been blinded, Gwanghaejun feels that he should be very fortunate to be able to spend the rest of his life like this. But this year's secluded life has never allowed him to gain peace of mind. In the end, he was still unwilling.

Just thinking that the rebels not only took his throne, but also blinded him and killed him, Gwanghae-kun felt like his heart was about to crack.

He really couldn't tolerate that after he had been treated inhumanely, those rebels could still enjoy the benefits of high-ranking officials, and their children and grandchildren could continue to rank in the second class in North Korea, enjoying the blood and food offered by future generations. Could it be that this god is just like him, blind?

Gwanghaejun originally hoped that the suzerainty of Korea, the Ming Emperor, would administer justice for himself. But this year, the emperor's ignorance of him finally made him sober, and Chongzhen had no intention of helping him return to Korea and make him the king of Korea again.

When Lin Yuanzhong came to say goodbye to him today, he said that he would return to Jeju Island next year and serve as the head of the water division of the Jeju Prefecture of the Ming Dynasty, and also inspect the North Korean water division inspection envoy. Finally made Gwanghae-jun figure out something that he hadn't thought clearly for a long time, and he couldn't take revenge on those rebels for himself just because he was blind.

Compared with his hatred of those rebellions, the child in Ren Aiying's belly is not so exciting to him. In any case, as long as this child exists, he will still have a chance to take revenge on those rebels.

After sending Lin Yuanzhong away, Guanghaijun, who was standing under the corridor, finally let out a long breath, and Li Yongji, who was standing behind him, immediately stepped forward cautiously and persuaded him: "Dajun, it's freezing outside, please go back to the room, don't freeze your body." ”

When he was on Ganghwa Island, Gwanghae-kun hated this guard to death, and he thought that if he had a chance to turn over, he would definitely beat this dog slave to death. But since leaving Ganghwa Island, this Li Yongji has become his closest person. Even Ren Aiying brought him a green hat, which was also a clue discovered by Li Yongji.

Since Ren Aiying was placed under house arrest by Gwanghae-jun because of this incident, Li Yongji has become the closest person to him, handling the affairs of the palace on his behalf and negotiating with the outside world.

It was rare that Guang Haijun didn't listen to Li Yongji's words, but said to him: "The temperature has plummeted in the past few days, is there enough charcoal fire in Ren Zhaorong?" ”

Although Gwanghae-jun often asks about Ren Aiying, he has a trace of crazy hatred every time he mentions it, but today he has a rare calmness, which makes Li Yongji a little surprised.

However, he quickly replied cautiously: "The villain has been arranged, and there will never be any problems with the child in Ren Zhaorong's belly." In the morning, Dr. Li from the Tai Hospital had just checked Ren Zhaorong's pulse and said that everything was normal. ”

Guang Haijun was silent for a long time before he said calmly: "Take me to see, I haven't seen her for a long time, and I want to talk to her..."

In a detached bungalow in the northwest corner of the province, remodeled in the style of North Korea, this is the residence of Ren Zhaorong, who is under house arrest.

The wooden floor, which is a foot away from the ground, and the deliberately narrowed portal, make the interior of these bungalows seem very warm. Ren Aiying, who has a belly the size of a watermelon, except for being a little plump, her complexion is still not bad.

She didn't have any surprised expressions about Guanghaijun's appearance, sent away the maids beside her, and after saluting Guanghaijun with difficulty, she sat down quietly and waited for the other party to speak.

When Li Yongji served tea to the two, Guang Haijun suddenly said loudly: "Steward Li, you can also go out, I want to talk to Ren Zhaorong alone, you guard the door for me, and no one else is allowed to come and eavesdrop." ”

Li Yongji subconsciously glanced at Ren Aiying, and saw that her face was calm and unusual, so he agreed and retreated. When the door was closed, Guanghaijun listened sideways, and after making sure that the people around him had left, he said to Ren Aiying, "Is there still a month?" ”

Ren Aiying was a little confused when she heard it, but she quickly reacted and replied in a low voice: "Imperial Doctor Li said that it will be around the 20th of next month." ”

Guang Haijun suddenly fell into a long silence, Ren Aiying was very calm, she didn't think that Guang Haijun came over to ask about the child's birth date.

"He's my child." Guang Haijun suddenly said something without a head, and Ren Aiying's face suddenly turned red, not knowing how to answer this question.

Before she could come to her senses, Gwanghae-kun added, "He is also the future king of Joseon." ”

Ren Aiying hesitated for a moment before replying softly: "The concubine thinks that this is a girl..."

Gwanghae-kun unceremoniously interrupted her and said, "No, he must be a boy." I want you to swear to me that you will make this child the king of Joseon, let him wash away my shame, and make the whole rebellious clan of those rebellious people into official slaves and maids, so that their descendants will become cheap slaves for eternity and eternity. ”

The hatred in Guanghaijun's words finally made Ren Aiying change color a little, and she couldn't help but persuade: "Dajun, why can't you let it go so much." We're all away from North Korea now, isn't it okay to live in peace? ”

Guang Haijun suddenly reached out and took off the glasses made of black jade on his face, widened a pair of pale and unfocused eyes, gritted his teeth at Ren Aiying and said, "Look at my eyes, is this a peaceful life?" Even if you can forget, I can't forget the humiliation and pain over the years.

Don't think that without your help, I can't make him the king of Joseon. No, I just want to give you a chance to atone for your sins. You can also give your child a choice, whether to let me inflict all these years of pain on him, or let him give it back to the rebellious ministers. ”

Ren Aiying's eyes subconsciously widened, and she looked at it in disbelief, this madman who looked a little hysterical was the once gentle and elegant king of Joseon.

She was about to say something, but a fetal movement from her abdomen made her swallow back the words silently. She thought for a long time before she said cautiously: "If this is the king's order, then the concubine will definitely follow it..."

Gwanghae-kun, who came out of the room, walked towards his bedroom with the help of Li Yongji. When he left the small courtyard where Ren Aiying was, he said to Li Yongji beside him: "You go and inquire, the baby boy who was born at about the same time as the child in Ren Zhaorong's belly, find a healthy one to bring back and raise it well... In addition, prepare a letter of letters, and when the child is born, I will ask Your Majesty for him to be crowned the son of the world..."

In December, representatives of merchants from all over the country began to arrive in the capital one after another. First, they came to Beijing to attend a regular meeting of merchant representatives; The second is that they want to meet the emperor and report to Chongzhen about the difficulties they have encountered in the past year.

Almost at this time, representatives of maritime merchants from the coastal provinces also began to gather in the capital, preparing to make a summary of the situation of overseas trade this year and to negotiate some issues. Of course, they also wanted to meet with the emperor and tell him about what they had learned about the expansion of overseas trade.

The merchants' congress focuses on the domestic trade environment, and for many businessmen, even if it is a problem, it is just a small thing that happens around them. Therefore, what they valued was not the emperor to solve the problem for them, but the ability to meet the emperor, and for those local gentry, a person who could meet the emperor was enough to solve most of the problems encountered by these merchants. After all, no one knows what they will say in front of the emperor.

For Xu Xinsu, Zheng Cai, Zheng Zhilong, Liu Xiang and others, the problems they encountered were really only solved by Chongzhen or the imperial court.

When these people are pirates, they naturally don't have to think about what others think, they have to think about whether their ships are fast enough and whether their subordinates can fight. But now that he has changed his career to become an official and soldier, it is natural to change his style.

However, when they explored the south on behalf of the Ming official army, they found that this year was not very suitable for the development of Southeast Asia, because the whole of Southeast Asia seemed to be at war, and their merchant ships not only had to face pirates at any time, but also faced various forces that temporarily changed their careers to become pirates.

Perhaps the most confident of these pirates are Xu Xinsu and Zheng Cai, after all, both of them are now under the command of Chongzhen, and they have a general understanding of the attitude of the Ming Dynasty towards various forces in Southeast Asia in the future. Others don't, and most people lose their way in this chaotic and complicated situation.

Even Zheng Zhilong only reluctantly opened three Southeast Asian trade routes, but these routes lacked strong support points and could easily be cut off.

Therefore, compared with the meeting of representatives of the Ming merchants, nearly one-third of the delegates did not arrive. Representatives of the Maritime Association, except for Liu Xiang, more than ninety percent of the representatives have already arrived in Beijing.