The Imperial Study.

Chongzhen smiled and picked up a copy of the notebook on the desk, and said to Qin Shuhuai, "Brother Qin, what do you think is good news today?"

Qin Shuhuai took a piece of pastry from the table and stuffed it into his mouth, and said while chewing, "The dredging and widening project of the Kaifeng section of the Yellow River has been completed?"

The Ming Dynasty attached great importance to the governance of the Yellow River, but in the later period, either there was no money to repair it, or the money allocated was deducted layer by layer, and it was not in place at all, so it led to floods for many years and accelerated the demise of the dynasty.

Everyone knows this, and Chongzhen knows it even more.

So after getting rich in the past two years, Chongzhen has been building water conservancy, of which the Yellow River, which has been flooding for years, is naturally the top priority.

The dredging and widening project of the Kaifeng section of the Yellow River mentioned by Qin Shuhuai is one of the largest projects invested by the imperial court this year, with a total cost of 280,000 taels, and Zeng Qicheng, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, is directly responsible.

Chongzhen has issued a strict decree that the money is enough, but if there is another major flood in this section of the river within ten years after the completion of this project, all relevant officials will be severely punished.

Now is the critical period when the project is about to be completed, since last month, Zeng Qicheng took his team to soak in the Yellow River in Kaifeng every day, rolled up his trousers and accepted the project one by one, it is said that this guy is now covered in sludge every day, like a flower child.

As a result, the title of "mud leg book" spread among the people.

But Zeng Qicheng was not only not angry, but also liked to listen to it, and joked that he could engrave this title on the tombstone after a hundred years.

The common people call him "mud-legged Shangshu", of course, it is not derogatory, but contains a strong sense of gratitude and admiration. Don't you see that almost every day, people send chickens and ducks to reward this "mud-legged Shangshu"?

This is probably a microcosm of today's Ming officialdom.

Straight to the point.

Chongzhen smiled and said, "The Kaifeng section is still more than a month away from completion, and Zeng Shangshu has already applied for an extension with me twice in a row. I have good news, Brother Qin, you really don't know?"

Qin Shuhuai said in his heart, of course I know, isn't it Zheng Zhilong who won against the Dutch!

But can I say? Am I telling you that I knew before you, the emperor, knew about it?

So he said, "Hehe, the minister can't guess, please make it clear to the emperor." ”

Chongzhen said, "It was Zheng Zhilong who won a big victory! Now that the Dutch red-haired army of the Eastern Domain has been wiped out, Liu Xiang's pirate is also dead." What's even better is that the little Francos not only voluntarily gave up the two ports of the Eastern Domain, but also made a statement to me, saying that they were willing to make friends with the Ming Dynasty, and asked me if I would allow them to bring tribute to the court. Haha, Brother Qin, why do you say these Xiyi are so knowledgeable?"

Chongzhen's happiness was beyond words, just as he didn't hide his melancholy, doubts and fears from Qin Shuhuai at the beginning.

Qin Shuhuai said, "Your Majesty, this is the prestige of the country! Now that the Ming Dynasty is peaceful in all seas, the soldiers are strong and strong, and the emperor is benevolent and virtuous, and he works hard to govern the country.

Chongzhen smiled, "Brother Qin, you're slapping my ass again, but I sound weird and comfortable, haha!"

Qin Shuhuai also smiled and said, "The ministers naturally have to shoot the sycophants, otherwise they can't stand so many rare treasures that the emperor has rewarded every once in a while!"

Chongzhen has to appreciate Qin Shuhuai almost every month, for example, sometimes when appreciating the calligraphy and painting of famous artists, he will casually say, "This painting is very meaningful, Brother Qin can see or understand the essence of painting, send him to learn." ”

So the eunuch packed it and sent it to the Guogong Mansion.

If someone else receives the emperor's calligraphy and paintings, it will be too late to be happy, but Qin Shuhuai is very depressed every time he receives this kind of thing.

But the problem is that every time he finishes sending calligraphy and painting, Chongzhen will inevitably ask "how do you feel after viewing" the next time he sees him?

Well, that's right, I want to write about the aftermath!

He can't just say he doesn't feel it every time, and then chat like that, right?

So every time he receives calligraphy and paintings, he has to carefully prepare some impressions, so don't be too annoying.

After the joke was over, Qin Shuhuai said again, "However, the emperor must not underestimate these Xiyi people." These Xiyi people have studied the astronomical calendar and arithmetic grids, and many of their achievements are far above those of our dynasty. If I want to survive for thousands of generations, I should learn from each other's strengths and learn with an open mind. ”

Chongzhen nodded, "That's right, for example, isn't this Hongyi cannon something they researched? ”

"The emperor is wise. The minister thought that the reason why the Tang Dynasty was strong was because of its open-mindedness. Therefore, the door of the Ming Dynasty should always be open, and our merchant ships will never stop shuttling through the world. In this way, we can find out at any time what good things and new things in the world can be used by us at any time......!

"Okay!" Chongzhen interrupted, "Brother Qin, I now find that you are more and more preachy, and you are not far behind Teacher Sun!"

Qin Shuhuai was stunned for a moment, and suddenly realized that he seemed to have said a little too much recently, no wonder Chongzhen was annoyed.

But if you don't say it now, will you have a chance to say it later?

At the current pace, it will be almost a little more than a year before I should leave here, right?

I really want to tell him everything I know!

This vast empire has managed to slow down, but don't make the same mistakes as history.

Chongzhen saw Qin Shuhuai with a wry smile on his face, and felt that what he said just now was a bit heavy, after all, Brother Qin was talking to him about the way to govern the country, and there was nothing wrong.

So he said, "Okay, Brother Qin's suggestion has been listened to. Now can we stop talking about that and talk about something else?"

Brother Qin chuckled, "It's okay, what does the emperor want to say?"

Chongzhen coughed lightly, and then said to Wang Dehua, "You go out first." ”

Wang Dehua was very knowledgeable and immediately retreated.

Now that there were no outsiders in the study, Chongzhen finally lowered his voice and said, "Brother Qin, do you remember that, that Liu Yan girl?"

"I remember. Why, is it difficult to ......"

"Hey, hey, hey!"

"What do you mean, hey, hey, Your Majesty?"

"Brother Qin, you asked knowingly. I didn't see Miss Liuyan that time, and I regretted it. I'm a lot more free now than I used to be, so why don't we go and see?"

"Ah, this ......"

Qin Shuhuai didn't know what to say for a while.

It can't be said that in fact, Liu Yan is from the White Lotus Sect, and now he has become an important figure in the sect, and it is impossible for him to appear in the Qinglou in the future, right?

Also, Hua Shen's kid still has the idea of beating Liu Yan, if Liu Yan is asked to accompany Chongzhen at this time, this kid has to bite himself.

"How about it, what do you say!" Chongzhen asked again.

After all, he is twenty years old, if it is peaceful today, the court situation is stable, and the fun of sneaking out of the palace last time is still often recalled in his mind, Chongzhen really wants to take another trip that he can just leave.

Now he is at ease when he goes out, how can he say that now the government and the opposition are praising his "rule of Chongzhen", and it is completely reasonable for him to go out to observe the people's feelings.

Besides, with Qin Shuhuai going with him, he only needs to bring two or three more internal guards with him, and he can ensure safety without a large number of guards. In this way, the road is light and simple, and it will not cost the people and money at all.

Then again, he wouldn't be happy to go with a bunch of people.

If you want to have fun, of course, you have to go out quietly with Brother Qin.