Li Xiao's plan was established, and he immediately began to implement it, and the entire land of Shandong was busy.

When the new emperor was first established, everything was new, and Li Xiao gathered military and political power, and he was very busy during this time. On the contrary, for the emperor Zhu Cihong, who had just ascended the throne, after the hectic and restless time when he ascended the throne, it was a rare free time.

Because the body has not fully recovered, the movement of the right arm is still difficult, for this period of time, Zhu Cihong has been staying in the simple palace rebuilt by the Jinan Mansion, in addition to recuperation every day, at most take a walk inside and outside the courtyard, although the days are calm, but a little boring.

Now Li Xiao's arrangements and actions, he also follows the etiquette system, and gives a brief explanation and report to Zhu Cihong's rubber stamp in everything. As for Li Xiao's political and military affairs, Zhu Cihong was not very clear, so he approved all of them without any obstacles.

It's just that this fifteen-year-old boy is also very yearning for everything outside the palace, and he is full of curiosity to learn about it. But as the Son of Heaven, he is limited by his identity, and he can't go to the street at will, so now he is bent on recuperating and can only stay in the palace every day with nothing to do.

But Zhu Cihong thought of a way, that is, although it was inconvenient for him to go out, he could send his personal eunuchs, namely Cao Huachun and Wang Chengen, to serve him as his eyes and ears, and go to various places in Shandong to tour respectively, so that they could learn about the local situation in Shandong, and then come back to report to him.

Li Xiao didn't think about his idea, he immediately supported it, and told Zhu Cihong that if he sent eunuchs to various parts of Shandong, it would be very convenient and would never deliberately embarrass them.

After receiving Li Xiao's promise, Zhu Cihong was very happy and immediately began to send his subordinates.

There is a huge Shandong, and he only has Cao Huachun and Wang Chengen, two eunuchs who can be sent, so naturally he can't go everywhere, so he arranged for Cao Huachun to go to the south of Shandong to visit Li Xiao's heavy industry base Tielong City, and Wang Chengen was sent to the northeast of Shandong to visit Chifeng City and Dengzhou City next to it.

These two places can be said to be the foundation of Li Xiao's foothold in Shandong, and it is natural to send eunuchs to explore the local area, which is the most valuable place.

After about 20 days, the two eunuchs returned at about the same time, and Zhu Cihong, who was basking in the sun in the courtyard, was very happy and immediately summoned the two of them in the courtyard.

Zhu Cihong quickly found that the faces of the two were full of emotion, as if they had discovered something very interesting on this patrol, and they were eager to report what they had seen and heard to Zhu Cihong.

The first to speak was Wang Chengen, who reported to Zhu Cihong: "Your Majesty, the old slave has just returned from Dengzhou, and these days, everything he has done and seen along the way has made the slave and maid very emotional. ”

"Oh, but let's talk about it."

"Your Majesty, since ten days ago, the minister left Jinan and headed all the way to the northeast, heading to Chifeng City and Dengzhou City. The road on this road, I heard that it is a road built by plasterers with very cement, and the road condition is very open, straight and easy to walk, much stronger than any official road in other places in the Ming Dynasty. The carriages and horses traveled very fast on the road, which made the journey much easier. On both sides of the road, the fertile fields are flat, boundless, and the fields that are cultivated very flat are full of wheat that is being filled. ”

Wang Chengen paused, and then said: "In this field, you can occasionally see farmers shuttling back and forth, as if they are fertilizing the wheat and cultivating the soil, and everyone is very busy. The blue sky is like washing, the green mountains are like daisies, and the villages are covered, and the scenery is very moving. For a time, it caused the old slave to return to farming. ”

Hearing Wang Chengen's description, Zhu Cihong, who had lived in the deep palace for a long time, was also very yearning, he smacked his lips and replied: "The first emperor often said to me that the country should be people-oriented, as long as the people can live and work in peace and contentment, and have abundant food and clothing, the country can achieve long-term peace and stability." Now the world is full of swords and soldiers, and the people are displaced and killed, but the Tang King can keep the land of Shandong away from the flames of war and improve the realm, and he can govern it so well, which can be described as an outstanding achievement. ”

"What Your Majesty said is very true, the work of the Tang King is really self-explanatory, and it is a miracle of its own." Wang Chengen continued: "The old slave took his entourage and arrived at Chifeng City first. This place is said to be the first stronghold of the Tang Dynasty to land in Shandong from Liaodong. According to the locals, this Chifeng City, the earliest was an abandoned Baihu Fort, weeds from the birth, wild beasts infested, Tang Wang with his own strength, in the local functional facilities are extremely complete and advanced Qianhu Fort - Chifeng Fort. Since then, Tang Wangfang has officially established himself in Shandong. ”

"And then? Go on. Zhu Cihong was obviously interested.

"Later, the Tang Dynasty managed Chifeng Fort better and better, so he expanded the area, set the original Chifeng Fort as the inner city, and expanded the land outside to build the outer city, and finally built the first prosperous place in Shandong, Chifeng City." Wang Chengen had a look of yearning and nostalgia on his face, and he continued: "Now in this Chifeng City, thousands of sails are moored in the harbor, all of them are merchant ships from all over the world, and the coast is crowded with people, cars and horses. And in Chifeng City, there are many shops and all kinds of goods, the flow of people is like a tide, and the sound of selling comes and goes, but it can be the first downtown in the world that the old slave has ever seen. Please forgive your Majesty for being clumsy, I really can't describe in words the prosperity of the local trade and trade exchanges, I can only say that if Your Majesty has been to the local area, you will be deeply shocked by the prosperity and liveliness of Chifeng City. ”

"Oh, I didn't expect Chifeng City to be so prosperous, but I really want to go and see it to relieve my admiration. I heard that the Tang Dynasty not only built this Chifeng City into a first-class shopping mall in China, but also built Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, and Manila City, which is more remote and wild, into a prosperous commercial port second to none. If I wasn't the Son of Heaven, I would really want to visit all of these places. It's a pity that the Tang King has such governance achievements, I am a Ming China, who can reach it? ”

Zhu Cihong looked yearning, he stood up, paced back and forth a few steps, and asked, "Then what are you going to do next, but have you gone to Dengzhou to check?" ”

"Yes, the old slave remembered His Majesty's entrustment, and after exploring Chifeng City, he immediately went to Dengzhou City, which is not far away. In this Dengzhou City, it is almost a completely different scene from Chifeng City. ”

"Oh, how is it different?"

"Your Majesty, that Dengzhou City, speaking of which, is actually an extremely huge military castle." Wang Chengen blinked and said: "Looking at Dengzhou City, the military camps are dense and heavily guarded, which can be mainly divided into the naval camp in the north of the city and the infantry camp in the south of the city. Speaking of which, if it were because I had greeted King Tang in advance, I was afraid that I would not be allowed to enter. ”

Wang Chengen paused, and said hurriedly: "Now in the land of Dengzhou, a new army of two towns is being formed, and when the old slave went, soldiers were being recruited outside the city at that time. ”

"Oh? I used to hear the first emperor say that I recruited troops in the Ming Dynasty, and the people were all suffering from their labor, and they were not able to continue with food and salary, so it was not easy to recruit soldiers. Don't say that recruiting from the people means that there are many military households in the guards in various places, and there are many people who have fled, and there are many people who do not want to join the army. It is strange why these young men and women would come to join the army so enthusiastically. Zhu Cihong looked surprised.

"Your Majesty, this is His Royal Highness the Tang King, which is very different from other military towns in my Ming Dynasty, and it is also the most special and clever place." Wang Chengen replied with a sigh: "The old slave heard that the Tang army under the Tang King was treated very well, and the military salary rewards were never in arrears, and there were many military merit awards and in-kind rewards. Moreover, whether the Tang soldiers died in battle or were wounded and retired, the bereavement pension was very abundant, which was enough for the soldiers and their families to live without worry for a lifetime. Rao is a variety of benefits, so that all over the country is young and strong, enthusiastically sign up for the army. ”

"The ability of the Tang King, who is really unsurpassed, how fortunate it is to have such a humerus. It's just that I heard that the king of Tang plans to recruit more soldiers and horses in the two towns, with more than 50,000 people, but I don't know, is the king of Tang recruiting in Shandong? Zhu Cihong asked again.

"This is not true, according to the old slave's understanding, the number of recruits in Shandong only accounts for about half, and the rest of the soldiers are from Jeju Island, Taiwan, Luzon, New Guinea, Australia, and Hokkaido, and so on. Although the soldiers recruited by it are mainly Han Chinese, there are many indigenous students from all over the country, and even Manchurians, Mongolians, etc., all of whom have signed up for the army. It can be seen that the golden signboard of Tang Jun is extremely popular regardless of Han and fan. ”

Hearing this, Zhu Cihong couldn't help but sigh, he nodded, but asked again: "King Tang has recruited a lot of soldiers and horses, can the ordnance, horses, firearms, and the like keep up?" ”

As if he guessed that the emperor would ask such a question, Wang Chengen replied with a smile: "Your Majesty, such a thing, if he is in a military town, it is extremely difficult to do, but for Tang King Li Xiao, these things have already been arranged in an orderly manner, and there is no need to worry about it at all." “

Wang Chengen paused, and then said: "The officers and skilled veterans needed by the elephant can be transferred from other places to ensure the combat effectiveness of the soldiers." As for the armaments such as swords, guns, swords, and shields, as well as the armor worn by the soldiers, the weapons factories in Shandong and Taiwan worked day and night to ensure the production of horses, and the horses were ensured by large horse farms on Jeju Island and Hokkaido. The old slave heard in Dengzhou that within three months, the two newly formed military towns that were fully staffed could be successfully established in Dengzhou, and there would be no delay. ”

Listening to Wang Chengen's words, Zhu Cihong's face was suddenly full of surprise and appreciation.

He thought for a while, turned his head, and asked Cao Huachun, who had been standing aside, with interest: "Huachun, then you are going to Iron Dragon City, have you ever seen how Li Xiao's firearms factory operates?" ”

Cao Huachun hurriedly replied: "Your Majesty, of course the old slave has taken a closer look. We set off from Jinan, to the Iron Dragon City in Lunan County, all the way to see the scene, are a prosperous countryside, but similar to the difference between the prince and the prince, and after arriving at the Iron Dragon City, the scene in front of me is enough to make the old slave breathtaking. ”

"Oh, tell me more about it." The emperor looked interested.

"Your Majesty, the old slave and his entourage, before they entered the city, heard a huge roar from afar, and from afar you could see that there were as many as ten huge chimneys, almost as flat as the sky, and the smoke was billowing out, and the whole sky was blackened, and outside the city, there were teams of people, pulling wide four-wheeled carriages, which were filled with iron ore from the mines, like ants moving, and pulling them into the city, and the whole scene was spectacular. In the city, batches of weapons, armor, ordnance, and a large number of guns, iron bullets, gunpowder, and household utensils were constantly transported out of the city. The whole scene can be described as a busy traffic, endless flow, and spectacular. Not to mention the inside, just talk about the appearance of this city, this prosperous scene, I don't have any iron-making place anywhere else, which can be compared with it. ”

Cao Huachun spoke loudly, and said loudly: "When the old slave went to Iron Dragon City, he happened to see that there were cast cannons, which were transported out of the city in a special four-wheeled carriage. Good guy, the cannon is very huge, the whole is dark gray and white, and the gun body and gun carriage are very thorough. The old slave heard that this cannon was all made of stainless steel, and it looked like it was clumsy, but it was very finely made. Your Majesty, you don't know, that cannon is really called a big one, just the black hole cannon muzzle, it is like a giant beast that chooses people to eat, it is awe-inspiring and mighty, and it makes people feel cold. ”

Seeing that Zhu Cihong listened very attentively, Cao Huachun continued: "After the old slave entered the city, according to the craftsmen inside, there are ten blast furnaces, eight converters, and all kinds of equipment that the old slave can't name, and the daily steel output is very amazing. In the Iron Dragon City, in addition to the iron-making and steel-making workshops, there are also many weapons factories, armor factories, household utensils factories, as well as firearms workshops such as firearms factories, artillery factories, ammunition factories and so on. Let's just talk about the workshop that makes artillery, good guy, this factory occupies nearly one-sixth of the Iron Dragon City alone, and the sound of machining inside and the sound of the gun field test are endless, and the scene is very shocking. The old slave heard that this artillery workshop can produce nearly thirty guns in a month, the kind of large artillery that the minister encountered. ”

Cao Huachun said spat and talked endlessly, Zhu Cihong was also fascinated by it, and he finally sighed: "Under the rule of King Tang, it is so extraordinary, and the ability to govern the world is better than Li Xiaoye!" Your remarks have been an eye-opener for me even if I only listen to the rumors. Alas, if I am a minister of the Ming Dynasty, and his ability is as capable as Li Xiao, my Ming An will end up in the fall of the Beijing Division, the first emperor and the second brother were killed by the Liukou, and the north is a bloody place! Every time I think of this, my heart grieves, how can I say it! ”

Zhu Cihong, Cao Huachun, Wang Chengen and others, while they were sighing in vain in this courtyard, Li Xiao was in the office room of his own house, constantly signing chapters and documents, and he was very busy.

And when he was busy, Chen Zilong hurried in from outside the room with a worried face.

Seeing Chen Zilong's expression, Li Xiao was unconsciously suspicious, and hurriedly asked, "What's wrong, what's going on?" How can you be so beaught? ”

Chen Zilong let out a long sigh and arched his hand: "King Tang, it's not good!" A secret report came from the Security Department, saying that in the current place of Nanjing, Zhu Yousong, the king of Nafu, has been supported by Huang Degong, Liu Liangzuo, Zuo Liangyu, Zheng Zhilong and others, claiming to be the supervisor of the Ming Dynasty and acting on his own! ”

"Ahh There are such things! ”

Li Xiao's face changed greatly, he subconsciously exerted force, and the brush in his hand snapped and was pinched in two. （）