Sending away King Fu also means sending away trouble, and after King Fu left Xi'an, Xi'an returned to its usual calm. Mao Wenlong can finally put his mind on the affairs of Liaodong.

Chen Jisheng had already sent the news that Adou and Wu Sangui had successfully arrived in Liaodong and began to plan to cause trouble for Huang Taiji. Mao Wenlong was very relieved about this, he knew in his heart that Adou and Chen Jisheng would get things done, and as for himself, he didn't need to interfere too much, just let them do it.

Chongzhen sent a letter, in which he euphemistically expressed his sorry attitude towards King Fu, and then hoped that Mao Wenlong could ignore his previous suspicions, let the princess go first, and let her return to Nanjing.

Mao Wenlong shook the letter in front of Hong Chengchou, and said with a smile: "This emperor is getting more and more cheeky, bringing me so much trouble, he actually wants to say sorry and erase all the things, how can there be such a cheap thing in the world." ”

Hong Chengchou was not interested in reading Chongzhen's letter, he just glanced at it and whispered: "The detention of the princess really can't be done too much, or you can reply to the letter and verbally promise the emperor, and say that the princess has been freed." As for what to do or what to do in reality, it will not be realized. ”

Mao Wenlong said indifferently: "Tell the truth, who else dares to say that I am not Mao Wenlong." There is no need to pay attention to this matter for the time being, the Sichuan side has already explained it, and King Fu can take over the military power of the previous 5,000 soldiers and horses as soon as he arrives there. With the help of those hermits in Jiuzhaigou, it won't take long for Sichuan to surge, and then the emperor naturally doesn't have the heart to bother me again, let him go around with King Fu. ”

Hong Chengchou nodded lightly, without any indication, at present, the north is still a barren land, and after the war, there are many troubles that need to be solved. If the North does not recover for a day, the South should not pay too much attention.

"General soldier, now we have a lot of work to do, and what limits us is the population. Without the filling of the population, no matter how well everything else is done, it is just empty talk, do you think we should find a way to solve the population matter first, and then we will talk about other things? Hong Chengchou expressed the doubts in his heart.

When it came to this headache, Mao Wenlong was also quite distressed, he shook his head and said: "How can the population problem be solved by finding a way, this matter can only be done slowly, not in a hurry." ”

Hong Chengchou sighed lightly when he heard this: "I finally conquered the entire north, but because of the population problem, I have to stagnate now, it's a pity!" ”

Mao Wenlong was obviously not as pessimistic as Hong Chengchou, and he chuckled: "Actually, this may not be a good thing, there are few people in the north at present, and it is a good opportunity for our Dongjiang Army to consolidate its foundation." If you recruit displaced people from outside, it is difficult to guarantee that you will not be mixed in with some spies or people with other purposes. ”

Hong Chengchou smiled with relief: "What the chief soldier said is reasonable, but the subordinate is anxious. It seems that if we want to solve the population problem, we must first strengthen our Dongjiang Army. ”

Speaking of strengthening the army, Mao Wenlong suddenly laughed. Hong Chengchou didn't know what Mao Wenlong was happy about, and asked with a puzzled face: "What is there to be happy about the chief soldier?" ”

"The military division doesn't know that the number of Dongjiang troops on land is almost saturated. Of course, in the current situation of the population shortage of the entire north, as for the increase in population in the future, we can slowly recruit displaced people and slowly recruit troops. Carrying out both sides at the same time can fully ensure stability in the north. Therefore, there is nothing to worry about in this land-based matter, except for the resumption of agricultural production as soon as possible. ”

"Could it be that the general army wants to expand Shandong's navy again?" Hong Chengchou frowned, as if he had doubts about Mao Wenlong's decision.

Mao Wenlong nodded and admitted: "Yes, now is the time to go all out to develop the navy, Tianjin Wei and Phi Dao, I am ready to open the port to trade with overseas shippers." ”

"Open Port ......"

Hong Chengchou was very surprised, the Ming Dynasty has always implemented the policy of sea ban, and when Yongle was prosperous, Zhu Di was short-lived for a while. In the end, it was still closed again, and it was impossible to work in the prosperous era of the Ming Dynasty, but Mao Wenlong was delusional at the moment to open the port again to trade with foreign businessmen? Either he shot himself in the foot, or he was kicked in the head by a donkey.

Hong Chengchou sank his face and said solemnly: "Please think twice, the general soldier will not dare to come if the Japanese are not properly resolved in one day, and the port trade will be opened." Xia Guan thinks that this matter still has to wait a little longer, and don't rush it. ”

Mao Wenlong chuckled lightly, turned around and searched in the study, and soon took out a piece of paper that Hong Chengchou had never seen before. Mao Wenlong spread the paper on the table under Hong Chengchou's puzzled gaze.

This paper is obviously a map of the world, which is what he crossed with Mao Wenlong, who pointed out the current territory of the entire Ming Dynasty on the map, and said with a smile: "This is the entire territory of our Ming Dynasty, and these are all our coastlines." This is the South China Sea and the East China Sea, but such a vast sea area is so laissez-faire, and such a precious wealth is allowed to be spoiled by outsiders, do you think it is stupid? ”

"This, this is the map?" Hong Chengchou didn't listen to what Mao Wenlong said at all, at this moment, he was already shocked by the map in front of him.

In order to convince Hong Chengchou, Mao Wenlong had already taken out the thing at the bottom of the box, and before taking it out, of course he thought about how to explain the origin of this thing. At this time, Mao Wenlong explained unhurriedly: "Shocked! I got this map from a maritime merchant who is said to have traveled all over the world, and you can see how vast the area is outside. Compared with the vast area outside, do you still think that Daming is still the last dynasty and the first in the world? ”

Hong Chengchou was still in shock, but Mao Wenlong continued: "Do you know why the Yongle Emperor sent Zheng He to build such a large fleet to go to sea during the Yongle period of the first dynasty? ”

"Why?" Hong Chengchou's mind couldn't react at the moment.

Mao Wenlong smiled proudly: "Because he also discovered the vast world outside, but unfortunately he only went to explore at that time, but he didn't think about conquering." There was only effort but no income, and the huge expenses of the fleet were eventually forced to stop further exploration because of the inability to make ends meet. ”

Although Hong Chengchou still couldn't fully believe what Mao Wenlong said just now, he did not resist Mao Wenlong's decision to develop the navy as he did at the beginning. After a short period of thought, Hong Chengchou said: "The decision of the general soldier may be right, but the current situation is beyond the cognition of the lower officers, and it is impossible to give good advice to the general soldier, everything depends on the idea of the general soldier." The subordinate officer no longer had any discussion with the commander-in-chief on this matter. ”