It's getting late at night, and most shops are closed. The lights on the Gaofu building are blurred, and an important meeting is taking place here.

“…… What should not be done. The imperial court attaches great importance to shipping, which is always a good thing in the long run, the four seas are vast, and this place under our feet is far from natural disasters and man-made disasters, and human lives will be taken away at any time. Everyone should still remember the three years of Jinghan, the emperor made a treasure ship to send envoys to the Quartet, so that the four Yi guests were subdued, not long after, the treasure ship technology flowed out, and the southeast side killed a few substitute ghosts, but the benefits of that skill, we are still in the seat, there are still a few people who take advantage. ”

"The capital of the Jinghan Dynasty is in Bianliang, the sky is high and the emperor is far away, and a few substitutes for the dead ghosts are enough, but today...... Moreover, the style of this new gentleman today is far different from the one back then. ”

"After the new emperor came, he fought for the hearts of the people and seized power, which can be called a powerful soldier. Now the next step is to go north to Lin'an, and suddenly move the mind of Haimao, what is going on? Do you really want to go to the sea, or do you want to knock on our bamboo poles? ”

"The little emperor is short of money?" Wang Yikui, who was finally seated, asked with a cold expression when he arrived at this moment.

"The imperial court, there is a shortage of money at all times." The old Confucian Tian Haoran said.

Gao Fulai said: "Since Xinjun came to Fuzhou, he pushed things, ran newspapers, and implemented new policies, and recently said that he respected the king, and half of the families who originally stood on the orthodox side were offended by him. But inside and outside the city of Fuzhou, the most supportive of him has always been our maritime merchants, since last year, my Gao family has received more than 800,000 taels of silver from the imperial court, and you should not be below this number. ”

He paused: "The new monarch is strong, it is the blessing of all the people, and now Wu Qimei and Tie Yan's generation have knelt down to the golden dog and occupied Lin'an, and the people of my generation of the Wu Dynasty can't stand it." There is a lack of money for war, so to speak. But now it seems that self-reliance is the crux of the problem......"

Tian Haoran shook his head: "Brother Gao Xian thinks too much, the reason why the emperor is like this is because we are businessmen. If the imperial court wants to share power with the scholars, it has to shout the slogan of respecting the king, and it wants to take profits from the merchants, which is no precedent for negotiation. Moreover, not long after the new monarch succeeded to the throne, all he encountered was conquest and fighting, and the means were more direct, which was the habit of young people, but the emperor could be direct, and the people around him should not be like this, I see, after all, there are traitors around His Majesty. ”

Gao Fulai smiled: "In today's room, a few people such as me said that it is okay to be a businessman, the Tian family has been a scholar for generations, and now he is also listed as a businessman?" ”

Tian Haoran touched his half-white beard and smiled: "To the outside world, it is a generation of scholars, but the business has been so big, and the outside world has long regarded my Tian family as a businessman." In fact, this Fuzhou is located in the southeast, and it was impossible to produce the champion at the beginning, so it is better to do some business than to study. I knew that the Wu Dynasty was going to move south, and the old man would not sit with you. ”

After the old man said this, most of the rest of the people laughed. After a while, Gao Fulai restrained his smile and said solemnly: "Although Brother Tian is modest, among the people here, you have the most friends in the court, and the members of various ministries and the prime minister of the court are all your guests. ”

Tian Haoran shook his head: "Several Shangshu and Xiangye in the current dynasty are all old courtiers, following the dragon boat to the sea, watching the new emperor succeed to the throne, there is a lot of work from scratch, but in the eyes of the emperor, it may be just a hard work." The new monarch is young, has a radical personality, and does not like the steady words of the old courtiers, he has always used some young people in private, and he uses some people in the eldest princess's mansion, and you don't know it. It's just that these people don't have good qualifications and bad reputations, so the phase belongs to a few old ministers. ”

"Now, as Brother Gao Xian said before, a group of rabbit cubs came to the Huaxia Army, who were younger, and won the favor of the emperor, entering the palace every day, pointing out the country in front of the emperor, and confusing the public. They are the people who were taught by the Ning Demon in the southwest, how can they have any kindness to our side? Such a simple truth, the emperor couldn't think of it, and after being bewitched by them, it was only today that the rumors came out, Brother Gao Xian, do you say that this is the truth. ”

"That's it." Gao Fulai nodded, "The new monarch now occupies Fuzhou, and what the people of the world are looking forward to is that he will return to Lin'an." If this matter can be done within a year or two, the foundation of the Wu Dynasty will still be there, but these rabbit cubs of the Chinese army will come over and trick the emperor into caring about maritime trade...... Things at sea, in the long run, there is money to be made, but in the short term, it is just to throw money and people into it, and within three or two years, if there is a fight at sea, I am afraid that no one will be able to do business, and the meaning of the black flag is to drag the emperor down in Fuzhou. ”

When he said "when there is a fight at sea", he looked at Wang Yikui opposite, and then swept away.

"Then there are two meanings now: first, either the emperor is bewitched, and he really wants to intervene in the sea, then he first offends the hundred officials, then offends the gentry, and today he will offend the maritime merchants again...... Of course, it may also be the second meaning, Your Majesty is short of money, embarrassed to speak, and wants to come over for an autumn breeze, then ...... Ladies and gentlemen, we have to pay to settle this matter. ”

Everyone looked at each other, and there was a moment of silence in the room. Pu Anan was the first to speak: "The new emperor is coming to Fuzhou, we have never made a hindrance from it, after arriving in Fuzhou, we have contributed money and efforts, hundreds of thousands of taels before, Pu doesn't care." But today, it seems that this money has been spent a little unjustly, and after spending so much money, the emperor turned his head and said that he wanted to cut our roots? ”

"The country is in trouble, and it is appropriate to give some money." Shang Bingchun said, "But I spent money, but I can't help but listen to it." ”

"It's okay to spend money, but what if Your Majesty is determined to participate in sea trade?" Gao Fulai held the teacup and made a gentle noise in the coaster.

Wang Yikui, who had been silent, looked at everyone: "This is the place for a few of you, if the emperor really wants to participate, he should find someone to discuss, do you want to ask someone to persuade you first?" ”

"If the emperor really comes to the door to discuss, then there is no need to persuade you, you who are in business, dare to refuse to ...... verbally" Tian Haoran stretched out his hand and scratched his neck.

"The emperor has been chased to the southeast, can he still do this?"

"It's hard to say the first few emperors, our ...... It seems that he is not afraid to offend people. ”

When the five of them said this, they either played with the teacups or rubbed their fingers on the table, and did not speak for a while. After a while, Gao Fulai spoke: "I have an idea. ”

Tian Haoran, Shang Bingchun, and Pu Annan lifted the teacup, and Wang Yikui watched quietly.

"If the imperial court wants to participate in the maritime trade, whether it is true or not, sooner or later this word will be passed on. When the meaning of the above comes down, let's say no, I'm afraid we'll offend people. The court is lobbied by those bosses, and we must be mentally prepared first, I think...... At most, it is possible to spend this number and settle this matter. ”

As he spoke, the five fingers of his outstretched right hand moved.

"Fifty thousand?"

"Five hundred thousand."

"If you are scared, there are so many?"

"If the imperial court just wants to knock on the bamboo pole, let's give money directly, which is to stop the boiling. Raising the soup to stop boiling is just a solution, and the real way is to draw salary at the bottom of the kettle. Brother Shang said that he wanted to listen to it, and Brother Tian said that there was a traitor in the court, so what we want to come out today is to sell money. ”

Gao Fulai's eyes swept over everyone: "The new monarch lives in Fuzhou, we support it wholeheartedly, many families are pointing to the court for benefits, only we will pay for the court." It seems that it may be really soft, so now I don't say hello, I want to find our head, in this case, the impression really has to be changed, while we haven't found it yet. You can donate money, but you can't keep people. ”

Everyone looked at each other, and Tian Haoran said: "If there is no temptation from someone with a heart, Your Majesty's mind will indeed be much lighter." ”

"The one surnamed Ning in the southwest killed the son of Wu Dynasty, and the people of Wu Dynasty did not share the sky with him." Pu An Nandao, "Today they came here with a swagger, and those who really care about the Wu Dynasty are eager to kill them as soon as possible." It's not surprising that something happened to them. ”

"Although Mr. Pu came from a foreign country, his intentions for my Wu Dynasty are quite sincere and admirable."

"My family is here, it has been passed down for several generations, Pu grew up in the Wu Dynasty since he was a child, he is a genuine Wu Dynasty person, and his heart should be about the Wu Dynasty. I'll prepare the 500,000 taels first. ”

Everyone drank tea and chatted a few words, and Shang Bingchun said: "If even so, it still can't solve the problem, what should I do?" ”

Then he packed his luggage, went to the sea, guarded the trade route with the dragon king, and fought with the court for three years. I'd rather not make money in the past three years, and I can't let the court taste the slightest sweetness - these words can be passed on, and they have to know that the man who walks the sea ...... "Gao Fulai put down the teacup," ...... How ruthless can it be! ”

**************

At night, a whining sea breeze blows through the city streets of Fuzhou.

As the sun approached, the carriage passed through the city streets of Fuzhou and headed for the royal garden at the northwest end of the city.

This garden located in the city is not far from the downtown of Fuzhou, and after Junwu occupied Fuzhou, many places in it were divided and allocated to officials for office use. At this time, the night is dark, but beyond the fence of the garden, you can still see many places with lights on. The carriage stopped at a side gate, Zuo Xiuquan got out of the car, walked for a while after entering the garden, and entered the place called Wen Han Yuan.

This Wenhan Garden was originally used as a royal collection and storage of ancient books. Three two-storey buildings with a landscaped pond nearby. At this time, the hall of the main building was open on all sides, the lights were lit inside, and the long tables were put together into a lively office space, and some young people were still writing and processing documents at their desks, and Zuo Xiuquan said hello to them.

"You haven't rested yet, where's Jiazhen?"

After asking Zuo Wenhuai's location clearly, he went to the second floor near the small building to look for him, and on the way, he met several young people and greeted him.

There are more than 30 young people from the southwest, led by Zuo Wenhuai, but of course not all of them are children of the Zuo family. In recent years, the Chinese army has fought from the northwest to the southwest, and most of the participants are staunch "rebels", but there are always some people who have different family backgrounds in the past, and they do not completely adopt a hateful attitude towards the new monarch of the Wu Dynasty, so some of the people who followed this time have some family backgrounds. There is also another part, with a curious and observant mentality, who followed this side.

Thousands of miles from the southwest to Fuzhou, and some supplies from the southwest were transported, and this journey was not easy. Although relying on the identity of the Zuo family, he borrowed the cheap of a few large caravans and went all the way, but he still encountered several dangers along the way. It was also in the face of several dangers that Zuo Xiuquan saw the ferocity of this group of young people in the face of the battlefield - after experiencing a series of battles in the southwest, each of these battlefield survivors who had flexible brains was made into murder weapons on the battlefield, they were determined in the face of chaos, and many people's battlefield vision even surpassed many Wu Dynasty generals in Zuo Xiuquan's view.

In fact, Ning Yi did not have special preferential treatment for elite soldiers like Zuo Wenhuai with an enlightened foundation in the past—in fact, there was no room for preferential treatment. This time, they were transferred after various selections, and many of them were not superiors and subordinates to each other, and they had no experience as partners. And thousands of miles of road, several tense situations on the way, let them run in with each other, and when they arrived in Fuzhou, they were basically a team.

They arrived in Fuzhou in April, bringing with them the southwestern Gewu system and many advanced experiences, but of course these experiences could not be fully integrated into the system of Fuzhou through a few "secret books". Especially in Fuzhou, Ning Yi has not yet sent a large number of corresponding professional teachers and technicians as he did to Jindi, and the preliminary planning for reforms in various fields has become quite crucial.

Every member of the team who has experience in physics has been arrested, and is responsible for sorting out a certain aspect of information, discussing and producing plans. What does something look like in the southwest, why, what can be learned, what areas can be changed, what can't, what are the problems of people, and what are the problems of funds...... These days, the Wu Dynasty was led by Wen Renji, who came over to have a lot of meetings and discussions with everyone, and these young people would also work in it late into the night every day. Standby station

Thousands of miles from the southwest, and through hardships along the way, Zuo Xiuquan was already familiar with most of these young people. As a representative of a great clan loyal to the Wu Dynasty, he would feel excited and relieved to see these young people with outstanding hearts shining under various trials. But at the same time, I can't help but think that the young people in front of me actually have different thoughts, even Zuo Wenhuai, who is a child of the Zuo family, may not have the same inner thoughts as the Zuo family, and it is even more difficult for others to say.

Ning Yi, who was far away in the southwest, threw the seeds of such a team of more than 40 people casually, and at the moment, it seemed that they would sooner or later become outstanding people in charge of their own affairs. On the surface, it seems that they have brought various experiences from the southwest to Fuzhou, but in fact, what role will they play in the future court of the Wu Dynasty? As soon as he thought of this, Zuo Xiuquan faintly felt a little headache.

Of course, this is just getting started, and it's not yet time to worry too much. He went all the way to the nearby second floor, Zuo Wenhuai and Xiao Jingyi, the deputy of the team, climbed down from the roof, and said something like "pay attention to the shift change", after the two sides said hello, Xiao Jingyi left on the grounds of preparing for supper, Zuo Wenhuai and Zuo Xiuquan went to the study next to them, poured a cup of tea, and began to discuss things.

“…… After leaving Fuzhou for a while, I came back, and I heard about something in the evening, so I came here...... I heard that recently, you suggested to His Majesty that the direction of Gewu should be focused on maritime trade? Your Majesty is still quite moved? ”

After the great reform of the Fuzhou Imperial Court, it hurt the hearts of many families, but after all, there are many old Confucians and families who have received the grace of the country and have wavering minds, and in this regard, the Zuo family has always been the best lobbyist of the Fuzhou Imperial Court. After Zuo Xiuquan returned to Fuzhou, he began to go out and walk around again, and when he came back at this time, he realized that things had changed.

As soon as he asked at this time, Zuo Wenhuai showed a relatively soft smile: "Mr. Ning used to pay attention to this part in the past, I just mentioned it casually, I didn't expect Your Majesty to really mean this." ”

Zuo Xiuquan frowned slightly and looked at him.

This nephew of his own family looked weak and deceitful at first glance, but after a few months of peers, he really understood that the face under this smiling face was really ruthless and resolute. He may not have understood most of the rules of officialdom when he came here for a short time, but the prelude to such a key place, how can he mention anything casually.

Seeing Uncle Clan's expression like this, the smile on Zuo Wenhuai's face changed: "There is too much innovation here in Fuzhou, there are not many allies, and if you want to support a situation, you must consider large-scale open source." At present, it is not wise to attack to the north, as soon as the territory is expanded, if you want to carry out the innovation, the cost will only increase exponentially, and then the imperial court can only increase the harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes, and the people will not be able to make a living, and they will kill themselves. Located in the southeast, the big open source can only be a way of sea trade. ”

"There are several big problems with maritime trade." Zuo Xiuquan said, "After His Majesty got Fuzhou, he said to the outside world that he would go north and return to Lin'an, this matter can be delayed for a year or two, and if it drags on for a long time, the people who stand on our side today will slowly walk away; Second, the sea trade business is not a person or two, a day or two can be familiar, to take this road open source, when can you make contributions? Now that there are corresponding maritime forces in all the waterways in the southeast sea, if one is not good, I am afraid that dealing with them will be protracted, and when the time comes, on the one hand, it will damage the morale of the north, and on the other hand, the trade routes will not be opened, and I am afraid that the problem will be even great......er."

"We have also considered these things, but Uncle Quan, have you ever thought about what Your Majesty is carrying out reforms for?" Zuo Wenhuai looked at him, and then paused slightly, "In the past, the big families pointed fingers and wanted to mix sand into the court, but now in the face of internal and external troubles, they really can't get by, Your Majesty said that they want to respect the king, this is the first principle of today's innovation, what you have in your hands is good, you can't hold it, so you don't think much about him." ”

“…… Our Zuo family lobbied all parties, hoping that those who still trust the imperial court will contribute money and efforts to support Your Majesty. Of course, it's good that someone does this, but if they can't do it, should we meet their expectations? The little nephew thinks that at the moment, there is no need to attach too much importance to the ethereal support of these big families. For their expectations, they went back to Lin'an, and then raised their arms and relied on the next various supports to defeat He Wen...... Not to mention that this is underestimating He Wen and the Fairness Party, in fact, the deduction of the whole process is really idealistic......"

“…… The future is the era of elite soldiers, Uncle Quan, I have stayed in the southwest, and if I want to train elite soldiers, one of the biggest problems in the future is money. In the past, the imperial court and scholars ruled the world together, and the various families stretched out their hands to the army and the imperial court, and there were millions of troops at every turn, but they ate empty salaries, and they supported the army but also relied on the army to make money...... If you want to cut off their hands, you have to take the money yourself, and if the past gameplay doesn't work, solving this problem is the focus of innovation. ”

“…… As for the second thing you said, Uncle Quan, there are two fleets in the imperial court that are now in hand, saying that there are no talents to use, in fact, there is no shortage of talents who have gone to sea in the past. Moreover, the imperial court attaches great importance to sea trade, and in the long run, it will be beneficial to all those who rely on the sea to eat. Mr. Ning said that the old school is not extremely afraid of innovation, but the essence of their fear is the loss of profits......"

Zuo Wenhuai's tone is not high, but he is clear and logical, and he talks eloquently, which is different from the youth he occasionally shows on the Golden Palace.

After saying this for a while, Zuo Xiuquan said: "But have you ever thought that your identity is currently from the Huaxia Army after all, and the first innovation proposal you put forward when you came here is so unreasonable. Next, some people will say that you are the spies deliberately sent by Mr. Ning to bewitch the people and hinder the orthodox rise of the Wu Dynasty...... Once you have that argument, all the reforms you have to make in the next place may be half the effort. ”

When Zuo Xiuquan mentioned this, Zuo Wenhuai was slightly stunned, he lowered his head and thought for a while, and when he raised his head, his eyes flashed with a terrifying murderous aura.

"Uncle Quan, we are young people." He said, "What we have learned in the southwest over the years is to have qualities, speculation, and reforms, but in the final analysis, what we have learned the most over the years is to go to the battlefield and kill our enemies!" ”

After he finished speaking, the room fell silent, and after a while, Zuo Wenhuai said: "Of course, we are new to the city, and many things will inevitably be inconsiderate. But in the general direction, we still think that this should be better. There are many craftsmen in His Majesty's Gewu Academy, and it should be appropriate to copy the Gewu technique in the southwest only need some people, and the other part of the people to explore the direction of maritime trade. ”

"In fact, it is already remarkable that you can think about it so much, in fact, some things are really as you said in Jiazhen, maintaining the confidence of all parties is just the icing on the cake, too much attention, the gain outweighs the loss." Zuo Xiuquan smiled, "People are terrible, there are some things that should be considered when you can think about them." But when you just said that you killed the enemy, I was very moved, this is what you young people need, and it is also what the Wu Dynasty wants right now. The things that people say, then we old people will fix it, and now that you have thought it through, you will concentrate on doing things. Of course, don't lose your caution and think about it at any time. ”

"Yes, Wen Huai has been taught. Thank you Uncle Kwon for taking care of you. ”

Zuo Xiuquan stood up, sighed slightly, and then patted Zuo Wenhuai's shoulder. They are all assertive people, and they can't make sense of each other for a while, so they give in to each other, and for characters like Zuo Xiuquan, seeing that there are real talents in the family, even if they think differently for a while, he is proud and relieved after all.

The two walked out the door all the way, and at the moment they were chatting about all kinds of homely things. When he went downstairs, Zuo Xiuquan patted him on the shoulder and said, "There is still a secret whistle on the roof of the building." ”

"After all, I haven't been here for a long time, I'm used to it, I'm used to it." Zuo Wenhuai said with a smile.

"When you get here, Your Majesty attaches great importance to you. The forces of the Zuo family are now also staring at this side, and when they are home, there is no need to be so vigilant, don't be tired of them. ”

"Yes." Zuo Wenhuai nodded, smiling at the elders' words.

**************

In the early morning, in the Fuzhou Imperial Palace, Tie Tianying walked through the eaves and patrolled the post.

In the study, the lights are still on.

When Zhou Pei and the palace maid came over with lanterns, Jun Wu was wearing pajamas, holding a brush in one hand and an oil lamp in the other, looking at the southeast map on the wall, and on the table was half written letters.

"Your Majesty, it's not too early, it's time to rest."

"There's still something to write." Jun Wu didn't look back, holding the oil lamp, still looking at the corner of the map, and after a long time, he spoke: "If you want to open the sea route, I've been thinking about where to break the situation these days...... Mr. Xi Nanning said about the spider web, the so-called innovation, is to exert force on this spider web, no matter where you go, someone will pull you for profit. People who have interests on their bodies can remain unchanged, this is the common sense of the world, but yesterday I thought that if I really made up my mind, maybe I could solve the matter in Guangzhou next. ”

Zhou Pei frowned, and then, his eyes lit up.

Jun Wu was still holding an oil lamp: "Since settling down in Fuzhou, we don't have much territory in our hands, and the south is just to Quanzhou, and most of the people who support us can't be transported in." Over the past year, we have been shaking our necks in Guangzhou, and we have a lot of things to do. ”

"In the past two months, several ships of cargo have been said to have suffered accidents, and the details are still unclear."

"Our Wu Dynasty, after all, has lost the entire country. In retaking Fuzhou, it is the merchants of Fuzhou who are happy, but those who are far away in Guangzhou will inevitably suffer their interests. Liu Fuming guards Guangzhou and has been delivering materials for us, which can be regarded as conscientious. But for the businessmen and people of Guangzhou, what is the difference between the so-called community is difficult and the people's fat and ointment that scrape them? This time, if we want to develop maritime trade, use the power of the Gewu Yuan to improve the ships, equip them with new artillery in the southwest, and open it to the maritime merchants of Guangzhou, we can form a joint benefit with the Guangzhou side, and when the time comes, we will be able to truly ...... One more piece of land......"

Zhou Pei looked at him quietly, nodded, and then asked softly, "Are you really sure?" Want to go this way? ”

Countless pros and cons are analyzed, but in the end, they have to fall on a certain general policy. Whether to go north to Lin'an or look at the sea, once it starts, it may form two completely different routes Jun Wu put down the oil lamp and did not speak for a while. But after a while, he looked up at the night outside the door and frowned slightly.

There seemed to be some movement faintly in the distance.

“…… Got water in the city? ”

Originally, the area of the palace was not large, and it was located on a high place, so you could feel the signs of commotion from afar. Since something may have happened in the city, the guards in the palace are also being mobilized. After a while, the Iron Aquila came to report.

"Your Majesty...... Wen Hanyuan was attacked by bandits and ignited a fire......"

Jun Wu was slightly stunned: "...... What the? ”

"Wen Hanyuan was attacked, and Weichen has sent nearby guards over. There have been reports of fighting, fires and casualties ......"

With a bang, Jun Wu's fist slammed on the table, and the bloodshot in his eyes that had accumulated from staying up late was particularly obvious at this moment.

"Take the sword, put on the armor, I want to leave the palace."

"At this time, the situation is still unclear, and Your Majesty should not move."

"Don't be impulsive—"

Tie Tianying, Zhou Pei and others hurriedly stopped.

In the cities of Fuzhou, many people have been awakened from their sleep, and the night seems to be burning. The fire in Wenhanyuan ignited the prelude to a series of struggles in the southeast that followed......