If Sheng Yong is not wronged at all in his heart, he is telling a lie.

Zhu Di's rebellion gave him and Ping'an almost equal opportunities, but Ping'an won the crucial battle of Baoding and took the lead, and is now one of the only three remaining princes of the Ming Dynasty; But Sheng Yong did not lose his discouragement, he believed that if he came to fight the battle of Baoding, he would not lose to Ping'an, Zhu Di's cavalry would be more vulnerable when they encountered their own firearms, and he felt that it was just his bad luck.

But this time, it seems that his luck is also relatively poor, although he broke through Seoul all the way, but let Li Fangyuan run away, and then Xu Kai landed in Jeolla Province, plus Li Fanggan entered Seoul, except for Li Fangyuan who was cowering in Gyeongju, North Korea almost spread the word, but unfortunately it was already winter at that time, not suitable for the army to fight, and the grain and grass were also insufficient, Sheng Yong had to wait for the next year, invade Gyeongju, and capture Li Fangyuan alive.

However, the country encountered the Shandong Rebellion, which led to a large number of supplies not arriving on time, and I felt a little bad at that time, and immediately wrote to the imperial court to ask the imperial court to transport grain and grass as soon as possible, but the imperial court was short of transportation capacity and there were not enough ships, and His Majesty also personally wrote to himself, asking himself to hold on for a period of time, and the supplies would be delivered soon, so he could only wait.

But at this juncture, Li Fang died, when he heard the news, Sheng Yong was eager to scold his mother, he had a bad premonition, and soon thereafter, he felt that there were signs of instability in the Guiyi army, and he immediately ordered Zhang Hantian's cavalry to assemble quickly, but unfortunately it was too late, and in less than twenty days, Sanzhou quickly fell.

At this point, Sheng Yong is not in a hurry, now that North Korea is the political envoy of the Ming Dynasty, he can justifiably quell the rebellion, and for some officials who do not obey orders, he also has the privilege of dealing with it on the spot, and this point once gave him a headache, so Li Fang died, which is also a good thing, and now it is time to fight for strength and national strength......

Dengzhou, Shandong.

Since the rebellion in Shandong, Dengzhou has become a busy port, first of all, it is responsible for receiving the grain for relief in Shandong, and secondly, it also has to be used as a transit for the imperial court to transport grain to North Korea, so there are a lot of ships coming and going every day at Dengzhou Wharf, and you can see the spectacular scenery of thousands of sails fighting for the ferry and mast like a forest on the nearby hills, coupled with the sea and sky, seagulls flying, you can't help but feel relaxed and happy, and you are full of emotion.

This is how Yang Rong feels, this morning, he has been sitting in the pavilion at the top of the mountain for half an hour, he has been staring at the ships in the harbor, it seems that he can never finish looking, never get tired of watching.

"My lord, Lord Zhou is here!"

"Lord Zhou? Which Chou adult? Yang Rong put down the teacup and looked back.

I saw his family member Yang Hu running quickly towards the mountain, what he said just now, and behind him was a panting official, it was Zhou Xin, the waiter of the Criminal Department in charge of Shandong relief.

Yang Rong saw Zhou Xin coming, and hurriedly got up to greet him: "Lord Zhou, long time no see!" How's it going? ”

"It's okay," Zhou Xin returned the salute slightly, then walked up the hill quickly, looked at the port below, and blurted out: "So many ships? ”

"Yes," Yang Rong walked to Zhou Xin's side: "From the morning to now, there are about 100 ships that have entered the port to unload, and at least 200 ships that entered the port yesterday and left the port for North Korea today!" ”

"How much grain can this kind of ship transport at one time!"

"The ships that enter the harbor are smaller, and they carry about 400 stone of grain; Leaving the port to rush to North Korea were large ships, which could carry about 1,000 koku of grain at a time. Yang Rong thought about it for a moment and replied.

"That is to say, from the morning to now, in half a day, the grain for disaster relief in Shandong is only 40,000 stones, and the amount that goes to North Korea is 200,000 stones?" Zhou Xin was a little stunned and turned around and asked.

"That's pretty much it, I heard that the war in Korea is tight, two guard commanders have been killed, and Your Majesty set up a North Korean political envoy a few days ago, there will definitely be a war, and food cannot be lacking in any case!"

Yang Rong finished speaking, but he didn't hear Zhou Xin's answer for a long time, so he couldn't help but turn his head to look at him, and found that his face was sinking like water, and his expression was a little hideous: "What's wrong?" Lord Zhou? ”

Zhou Xin closed his eyes, took a breath of water vapor in the air, then sighed and pointed in the direction of the sea ship: "Lord Yang, you are a close minister of Your Majesty, and you know Your Majesty's mind well, so can you tell me, what is good about North Korea?" If you have to send a large army to conquer it, what if you get North Korea? What's in it for my Daming? ”

"Could it be," Zhou Xin's voice suddenly became excited: "Don't Your Majesty know that after the chaos in Shandong, countless people were displaced and homeless, and in Qingzhou, Jimo, Zhucheng and other places where bandits had been ravaged, the people were no longer one in ten, like an empty city, don't you know that hundreds of people are waiting to be fed, waiting for that mouthful of relief food?" As a messenger for the relief of the victims in Shandong, this official worries about the source of food all day long, but when he arrives in Dengzhou today, he finds that a large amount of grain is being transported to North Korea! ”

"Lord Yang," Zhou Xin turned around and grabbed Yang Rong's arm with both hands: "Lord Yang, can you tell me, why is this?" Why? ”

After speaking, Zhou Xin let go of Yang Rong, squatted on the ground, hugged his head and cried.

Listening to Zhou Xin squatting on the ground and crying like a child, Yang Rong couldn't help sighing, he didn't know what to say, Zhou Xin had a strong ability to handle cases, did things seriously and steadfastly, and was very honest, but he had a fatal weakness, that is, he was too serious, he thought it was right, and he would do it at all costs; And what he thinks is wrong, he will denounce it with all his might. The transportation destination of grain and grass, no one dares to change it without authorization, it must be approved by His Majesty, Zhou Xin is very dissatisfied, but he can't directly accuse the emperor, so he made such a fuss, venting his thoughts to himself, in fact, he wants to admonish the emperor through himself, but it's a pity that Yang Rong won't do this kind of thing.

But Yang Rong couldn't let Zhou Xin cry all the time, so he retreated everyone first, then pulled Zhou Xin up, helped him to sit in the pavilion, handed him a handkerchief first, and then poured him a cup of tea: "Lord Zhou, it doesn't have to be like this, is there a mess in Shandong's disaster relief?" ”

Zhou Xin wiped his eyes with a handkerchief, shook his head and said, "It's okay at the moment, the official just felt it, and he lost his temper for a while, which made the adults laugh!" ”

"Nothing! The adults are concerned about the disaster victims, dedicated to the public, and selfless, they are a model of pure ministers and a model for lower officials! Yang Rong hurriedly denied it, and gave Zhou Xin a few high hats to wear.

However, Zhou Xin didn't seem to hear it, but raised his head and looked at Yang Rong: "Lord Yang, is North Korea really worth paying so much?" ”

"In His Majesty's conception, it is worth it!" Yang Rong said without hesitation.

"Why?"

"Why does Lord Zhou think it's not worth it?" Yang Rong stared at Zhou Xin's eyes, his gaze was extremely sharp.

"The first emperor Zeng Yun: 'It is not enough to supply its land, and it is not enough to give orders to its people.'" The situation in North Korea is like this, its land is barren, the people are weak, and the officials are worried that the civil unrest will continue in the future, and the Ming Dynasty will be overwhelmed, and the gains outweigh the losses! ”

"Hehe, Lord Zhou, have you learned about the balance of the thirteen political envoys of the Ming Dynasty?" Yang Rong looked at Zhou Xin's serious appearance, and couldn't help but smile and said.

"I don't know about this!"

"Lord Zhou, among the thirteen political envoys of our Ming Dynasty, only the six political envoys of Yingtian, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Henan, Shaanxi, and Shandong have surpluses, and the other seven need to be transferred from other provinces and cannot be self-sufficient! Do we have to give up all these places? ”

"Can this be the same?" Zhou Xin was stunned for a moment, but immediately reacted: "The other political envoys, some of which are located in northern Xinjiang, are the front line to resist Mongolia, and it is impossible to give up; In other places, the Tusi is rampant, and the taxes collected by the imperial court are very small, but if you don't conquer these places and don't subjugate the local natives, these people will attack the hinterland of my Ming Dynasty, and they will ......" Speaking of this, Zhou Xin suddenly reflected, he pointed to the boat in the distance, and said astringently: "Could it be that Your Majesty pacified North Korea, it is also ......"

"Yes!" Yang Rong nodded, he stood up, faced the sea, and opened his arms: "Your Majesty is in the next game of very big chess, the Northeast, Mongolia, Korea, and the Japanese Kingdom, in fact, they are all one, and they affect the whole body, so Your Majesty will spend so much effort to tear up his face with North Korea, just to stabilize the Northeast, and at the same time ban the Japanese Invaders, and protect the sea transportation line of my Ming Dynasty." ”

Looking at Yang Rong's back, Zhou Xin looked a little excited, but at the same time a little gloomy, he stood up and walked to Yang Rong's side: "Can these be done?" Mongolia, Korea, and the Wa Kingdom, there is no shortage of Ming monarchs and saints in all dynasties, and there is no shortage of famous ministers and good generals, but they have never done it! Is Your Majesty really okay? ”

"I'm sure Your Majesty can!" Yang Rong said categorically.

......

"What's that?" Zhou Xin, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly listened attentively and pointed to the port road.

"Song?" Yang Rong listened attentively for a moment, and said with a dumb smile: "This is a song written by His Majesty for these sailors, called "Sailor"!" ”

“...... He said, in the wind and rain, what is this pain, wipe away your tears, don't ask, why ......" Zhou Xin listened intently for a while, and said: "This song is not good!" ”

"Why?"

"Except for those few passionate lines, this song is filled with a decadent and helpless emotion, which is not suitable for circulation!" Zhou Xin pondered for a moment before finally speaking.

Seeing Zhou Xin's caution, Yang Rong smiled and said: "Lord Zhou, Xia Guan also said so at the time, but His Majesty said that in the vast sea, sailors are lonely, and it is normal for them to be a little decadent and helpless in the face of the power of heaven and earth, and only by realizing their own insignificance can they become a qualified sailor!" ”

"It's strange to say, after this song spread to the water master, it immediately spread, and I don't know why!" Yang Rong smiled helplessly: "Perhaps, Your Majesty is the one who really understands these sailors!" ”

"Well, maybe!"

......

"Lord Zhou, Xia Guan plans to go to North Korea!"

"Why?" Zhou Xin was a little surprised, Yang Rong has been by His Majesty's side for a long time, he has won deep trust, and his future is limitless, how can he have such an idea?

"As the sailor sings, 'Always fantasize about another world at the end of the ocean, always think that the brave sailor is a real man!'" Now that His Majesty has opened the sea, there are countless rare things, and all kinds of strange things are endless, and if you see too many of these things, it is easy to have an impulse to go there to see, doesn't Lord Zhou have this idea? ”

Looking at Yang Rong's eager gaze, Zhou Xin was stunned for a moment, looked into the distance, and finally, slowly shook his head.