Zhao Hao's sincere words, coupled with some crooked remarks, finally moved the two of them, he knew that Empress Dowager Yang was quite trusting and relying on Jieyan and Liu Huang, even surpassing Lu Xiufu and Wen Tianxiang. Anyway, he finally won a place for Chen Shu, and if nothing else, he would go on according to his wishes, and the rest was Li Sanniang's problem.

"Sir, do you know that Li Sanniang was squeezed out by a group of show girls in the palace?" Zhao Hao asked with a sip of tea.

"There are such things, he and His Majesty have already had a marriage contract!" Ying Jieyan said with some surprise.

"Hmph, but some people look down on her from the bottom of their hearts because she is from a slang background, especially the Cheng family girl who you are optimistic about, which really makes me unbearable." Zhao Yu pouted and said.

"Li Sanniang was the queen mother back then, and the ministers testified, when the court was the matchmaker, the marriage contract was made, and someone still dared to do something wrong, it was really daring!" Liu Di said angrily when he heard this.

Needless to say, the reason for this marriage can be said to have been agreed to under the coercion of the Queen Mother and the ministers. But since I have promised, I should keep the previous covenant. And this is not only about my reputation, but also about the imperial court. You must know that we were able to quickly quell the slang chaos back then, and there was no turmoil in Qiongzhou for more than ten years, all of which were the work of Daning Village, and it was impossible to unload the mill and kill the donkey, otherwise it would be punished by God! Zhao Yu pointed to the heavens.

"What Your Majesty said is good, although it was forced by the situation back then, you can't break the contract lightly, otherwise it will definitely cause turmoil in Qiongzhou, and even affect the two Guangzhou." Liu Huang nodded.

"Exactly, marrying with the slang tribe is a move to appease the slang tribe, and it is also an alliance with the barbarians. Ying Jie Yan also thought it was authentic. He also knew very well that the marriage back then was more inclined to politics, and it was not allowed to compromise and seek perfection, but it was the interests of the little emperor that were sacrificed, but now the courtiers are not only unkind when they try to break the contract, but they have lost their morality.

"Then Your Majesty promoted Miss Li on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival to appease her, so as not to cause another incident!" Ying Jieyan thought that there was nothing wrong with what the little emperor did, and it seemed that someone was really making waves in it as he said.

"Of course, I have come to live in the temple, and I can't avoid these red dust trivialities, it's really annoying!" Zhao Yu was very reluctant to say.

"Your Majesty, the Central Plains must not have the heart of retreat if it is not restored, and the Great Song Dynasty is still inseparable from Your Majesty!" Liu Huang saw that the little emperor had brought up the old matter again, and hurriedly persuaded him.

"Eh, Governor Liu's words are wrong, everything is fine in the days when I leave the court, and all ministries and departments can operate normally, so why do I need to sit in the court every day." Zhao Yu waved his hand.

"Your Majesty must not be lazy, I think it will not take long for the Queen Mother to summon Her Majesty to the court to listen to political affairs." The little emperor repeatedly shirked, Ying Jieyan was unhappy, and said with a straight face.

"Sir......" Zhao Yu opened his mouth a little embarrassed and wanted to excuse himself, but it can be seen that the old man has an angry face, so he has to shut up.

"There is another matter, Your Majesty must stop singing those obscene words and songs, which not only damages Your Majesty's reputation, but also harms morals." Ying Jieyan continued to teach.

"Sir, what I sing is Qiongzhou slang songs, how is it obscene words, don't listen to those people. And there are very few people who know about this matter, and they can all be checked, I think it is nothing more than to confuse the public, and intend to use the hands of the Queen Mother and Mr. to suppress me, so as to profit from it. Zhao Yu listened and said.

"No matter who tells the Queen Mother, it is also because His Majesty has a precedent that he gives people a handle, otherwise why worry." Ying Jie said coldly.

"Your Majesty, don't be impatient, the governor should also have good intentions, the world is sinister, and those with ulterior motives will always have it. If some people seize this matter and do not take precautions, they will frequently write to advise, which will not only damage Miss Li's reputation, but also take the opportunity to ask the Queen Mother to cancel the marriage contract in the name of causing trouble in the harem. Seeing that the little emperor was dissatisfied, Liu Huang hurriedly took over and admonished. He knew that a teenager at this age was the time for personality, although there were very few stories of loving beauty and not loving the country, but if the little emperor couldn't stand the anger and ran away, things would be difficult to clean up.

"So I'm going to be pickled by these villains? What kind of ability is it to bully a weak woman, when I find out the culprit, I will expel her from the palace, leaving such an insidious person by my side, I am afraid that I will not even be able to sleep well. Zhao Yu's face softened a little when he heard this, but his mouth was still tough.

"Your Majesty has been intelligent since childhood, and you should know the responsibility of the emperor. Although this matter cannot be as good as the monarch wants, it cannot be done willfully, and the selection of concubines should also be based on state affairs, and some grievances should also be tolerated, so as not to delay state affairs. Ying Jieyan looked at the little emperor and sighed lightly, he saw that he had grown up since he was a child, and he knew that he would rather bend than bend his temperament. And marriage is a big deal for everyone, who doesn't want to pick a satisfactory daughter-in-law, but he has to be subject to all kinds of restrictions and blame, it must be depressed and tight, but sympathy is sympathy, and persuasion must be persuaded.

"What Mr. said is that I also know the truth, but my heart is still panicked, and I can't act arbitrarily in matters related to my life, what is the reason for this!" Zhao Hao spread out his hands and said helplessly and angrily.

"The ministers know that His Majesty has made many sacrifices for the sake of state affairs, and at the age of his knees, he took up the important task of restoring the country, worked hard in that wild place for ten years, resisted strong enemies several times, rectified the government, and trained elite soldiers. In the year of the weak crown, he personally led the army to capture Jiangnan and returned to the old capital. It can be described as an emperor in a hundred years, and his achievements are high. This choice should have upheld the holy will, but for the sake of the stability of the court and the great cause of restoring the country, the minister implored His Majesty to suffer some grievances and take a step back! "Bow solemnly and deeply.

"Eh, sir, why should I be like this, how can I deal with myself!" The old man was soft, but Zhao Yu was at a loss, and hurriedly got up and hugged each other.

"The minister also asks Your Majesty to tolerate some for the sake of the Great Song Dynasty and for the sake of hundreds of millions of people!" Liu Di said and persuaded each other.

"This ...... I agreed, and I did what the Queen Mother and Mr. said! Seeing this, Zhao Hao thought for a moment before gritting his teeth and speaking as if he had made a lot of determination.

"Your Majesty, the minister will also inform the Queen Mother of what His Majesty wants, in order to achieve both!" Liu Huang said again......

Zhao Hao played a foolish performance, although he failed to make the result of the matter completely in line with his wishes, but he also knew that he should stop in moderation, and he could not put himself and everyone in a situation where he could not talk, that would result would be a lose-lose situation, and appropriate compromise could strive for more benefits. The answers of the two are already very clear, they will persuade the Queen Mother to add Chen Shu and Li Sanniang to the list of re-selections, and Cheng Su, who she dislikes, is only afraid that she will not be able to choose the concubine.

This matter came to an end, and Zhao Yu also knew that the day when he would return to Beijing was not far off, and he would fall into a huge amount of paperwork at that time, because it was now about to enter September, and the trade winds were coming, and he had to seize the time to care about his money bag and the money-making fleet, so he summoned Zhuang Shilin of the General Division and Shangguan Hong, the head of the procurement and comprador office, to come to the audience.

The Silk Road is a trade route between China and the world, Zhao Yu knew it in his previous life, but after coming to this world, he has a deeper understanding, and there is quite a debate about the starting time. However, as far as he knew, the Maritime Silk Road mainly included the East China Sea Route and the South China Sea Route, the East China Sea Route was mainly to the Japanese archipelago and the Korean Peninsula, and the South China Sea Route was mainly to Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean region.

However, the facts in front of him made Zhao Hao a little frustrated that the so-called Silk Road was still called 'Tonghaiyi Road' at this time, and China was not as stated in his previous life, it was China that dominated this route. Because at the western end of the so-called Silk Road, whether by land or sea, it is not the West or Western Europe as it is said in modern times. There is also no direct business between the two places. Their dealings were all through Arab and other intermediaries, and Western Europeans who wanted to obtain Chinese silk and porcelain had to go through Arab and Venetian Genoese merchants.

Chinese history books refer to the Arab Empire as the Great Food Country, and there were basically Arab merchants in all the port cities along the ancient Seven Seas Route. From the Mediterranean Sea to the South China Sea, their ships can be found in the entire known waters of the Old World, and the Tang Dynasty called these ships from far away as "South China Sea Ships", "Western Regions Ships", "Southern Barbarian Ships", "Kunlun Ships", "Lion Ships" or "Borneo Ships", most commonly collectively known as "Persian Ships". Until the middle of the Song Dynasty, Chinese merchants or monks went to sea, and most of them took "fanboats", and it was not until the middle and late Song Dynasty that the development of China's maritime industry surpassed that of the Arab world.

In addition, this sea route is also called the 'Aromatic Medicine Road', which shows that not only Chinese silk and porcelain flowed on this sea route, but also spices. China's exports are mainly silk, porcelain, tea, and copper and ironware; The main imports were spices, flowers and other rare treasures for the court to enjoy, and this situation has continued to this day. China should be regarded as a supply base for silk, porcelain, tea, etc., and the spice trade is actually the hard currency and the most profitable trade in the circulation process.

Zhao Yu also came to this era to know that in his previous life, extremely ordinary spices would have such a high value, and he even regretted that he didn't stuff a few packets of pepper in the courier box back then. Let's just put a lot of pepper in your cooking, and your extravagant and corrupt life is enough to make any ancient European emperor drool with envy. He had also heard that in distant Europe, the price of pepper was comparable to gold, and sometimes a grain of pepper could be exchanged for a gold coin, which was actually many times higher than the price of gold.

Of course, the price of some spices in China is also extremely expensive, ordinary agarwood and sandalwood can be sold for hundreds of guan a tael, and the best ambergris can reach tens of thousands of guan a tael. Thinking that the envoy who manages the incense medicine warehouse in the palace is a four-rank official, he knows the preciousness of these things. In the first year of the Great Song Dynasty, the largest number of spices imported reached more than 300,000 catties, so you can know how big the market is and how much profit there is. In order to monopolize the interests of the imperial court, the spices are all official camps and do not let others interfere.

At first, Zhao Hao also wondered why spices were so valuable, and why people still bought them at great expense, and why they would not die if they put a little less in their meals. According to the previous life, the role of spices in medieval Europe was mainly to disguise the smell of spoiled food, but if you think about it, spices have become very valuable trade goods at that time, and spices from the East are even more luxuries, and the rich who can enjoy spices can naturally enjoy unspoiled food.

But he soon discovered that he was wrong, and in ancient times, spices were used for cooking, food storage, and seasoning. The aristocracy of the Middle Ages used spices for a more elegant purpose than simply to suppress bad tastes. The aristocratic cooks made a variety of sauces to please his employer. One of the oldest and most popular is black pepper sauce. And spices don't just work for the main meal. After the main meal, the nobles also needed dried fruits, spices, preserves, and other foods.

In addition, in the Middle Ages, people drank wine and beer often accompanied by spices. Due to the backwardness of sake brewing technology, sake at that time had undesirable flavors such as sour and bitter. Medieval public health was at a very rudimentary level, and daily water consumption became a strong source of infection, so much so that medical theories exaggerated the harm of water, and because wine was less dangerous to microbial damage, it led to a large consumption of alcohol. And like sauces and sweets, spices greatly increase the drinker's possible variety.

Due to the erroneous medical theories of the Middle Ages, it was believed that spices not only satisfied people's desires, but also had healing and relieving effects. One basis that gave rise to this belief was the extreme skepticism of foods that are considered very nutritious today. At that time, many of the more deadly but unexplained pathogens such as salmonella, cholera, pneumonia, and other hazards were blamed on food. According to medieval medical theory, many foods needed to be adjusted before they were safe to eat, and spices were believed to have had their heating and drying properties as a form of compensation.

Spices can also be used in witchcraft rituals, incantations, purification, embalming, makeup, perfumes, healing, and even poisons. In addition to being used in cooking, a large part of the spices imported from China are made into incense and used in religious activities. When worshipping the Buddha, not only incense is burned, but incense is also mixed with water to bathe the Buddha to show piety. Thinking that the Buddhist temples and Taoist temples of the Great Song Dynasty are all over the place, and the believers are even more innumerable, you can imagine how much demand for incense medicine is.

Zhao Hao pondered how to insert a foot in the spice trade on the basis of traditional export goods, so as to obtain huge profits from it, not to mention being able to sell to the European market, even in China. And it is not easy to get into it, you must know that part of the spices of the Great Song Dynasty are tributary trade, most of them come from the hands of big food merchants, and the thickest layer of oil has been skimmed off......