Don't underestimate the impression of just leaving a family care for the emperor is not very eye-catching, in fact, many wise and resourceful officials and generals in history who know how to advance and retreat often leave an imperfect impression on the Son of Heaven, only in this way, the emperor will really use him to believe in him, and give him more convenience and power.

For example, in the last years of the Warring States Period, Wang Qian, who repeatedly made military exploits and won the trust of the first emperor, led the troops of the whole country of Qin to attack the Chu State several times, hoping that the king of Qin at that time could reward his family property. In the eyes of others, this is clearly a manifestation of insatiable greed and coercing the army for their own selfishness. But in fact, this is exactly Wang Qian's clever way to ensure the safety of himself and his family.

Because this shows that he still has something to ask for, and it also shows his loyalty to the Qin State. You must know that at that time, he could hold 600,000 Qin troops in his hands, no matter how bold Yingzheng was, it was inevitable that he would not feel a little uneasy about this. But after seeing this letter begging for money one after another, the king of Qin finally put his mind at ease, so as to fully support his battle against Chu in terms of logistics, thus taking the state of Chu with acceptable national strength in one fell swoop.

So this time, Lu Zhen showed his concern for his family, which also made Zhu Qiyu feel more at ease with him, even if he wanted to be punished, he would only raise it high and fall gently, which would not affect his plan to open the sea.

After revealing this section, the Son of Heaven asked about Lu Jin's various details about the opening of the sea, which was also the purpose of his urgent summoning Lu Jin into the palace today. Although Lu Zhen does not give the Son of Heaven a lot of music on weekdays, but after all, he can't take into account all aspects, so face-to-face communication is naturally much more convenient at this time.

When he heard Lu Zhen mention that the harbor had been basically formed, and large sea ships would be able to enter and exit by the beginning of spring next year, the emperor suddenly showed a satisfied smile. Since he has sat in this position, he always hopes that he can make some achievements and leave a name in history. And now, once the act of opening the sea is really done, as the king of a country, he will naturally have a long history.

But then, Zhu Qiyu glanced at Lu Zhen again: "It's been hard Lu Qing for a long time, you have been troubled by local opponents, right?" ”

"Fortunately, thanks to Your Majesty's heavenly prestige, coupled with the cooperation of the officials below, although there is occasional resistance, it does not hinder too much." Lu Jin hurriedly replied.

"This is all done by you, and I dare not covet this credit. Take the Yan Shenggong as an example, I don't dare to be as bold as you do. As he spoke, his face sank suddenly: "Lu Qing, you actually dare to use such means to deal with the Kong family, do you know how many people attacked you as soon as this matter was reported back to the imperial court?" The impeachment of you is enough to drown you out! ”

"The minister is guilty, and please punish His Majesty." This time, Lu Zhen did not kneel down with some panic to defend himself as just now, but just bent down and said: "But at that time, the Kong family deliberately wanted to destroy the policy of opening the sea set by the minister several times, and the minister had to use some means to deal with them out of helplessness. ”

"Hmph, I can guess that you were forced by them to have no way out, so you would take such a risky move with endless consequences. But you haven't thought that the Kong family is extraordinary, are you causing trouble for yourself with this move? The emperor said with a straight face.

"The minister knows, and the minister is terrified. But at that time, things were like arrows on the string, and they had to be sent. Otherwise, the minister will not be able to open up the situation in Shandong, and he will lose His Majesty's trust. The two sides are weighed, and the minister thinks that since he eats the king's fortune, he should be loyal to the king, even if he will be criticized by others, he can't take care of it. Lu Zhen explained, while peeking at the Son of Heaven above, he found that Zhu Qiyu's face had eased a lot, and even had a satisfied expression.

His play really tickled the itch of the Son of Heaven. In fact, Zhu Qiyu didn't have any respect or good impression of the Kong family, but just expressed it in a hypocritical manner. As a minister, Lu Zhen can not hesitate to be the enemy of the Kong family for his own errands, and is willing to be criticized by the people of the world, isn't this exactly the performance of loyal ministers that the emperor wants to see?

So after a little beating and warning him, Zhu Qiyu sighed and said: "That's it, Lu Qing, after all, all this you did was for the sake of the court, and I naturally blamed you for it, which made the courtiers of the world who do practical things cold." But don't do such a self-righteous thing in the future, or I won't spare you! ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your tolerance, and the minister has written it down." Lu Zhen agreed in his mouth, but he smiled in his heart, this can be regarded as completely eradicating the troubles caused by dealing with the Kong family. As long as the emperor issued a decree and said that he would deal with the Kong family for the sake of the court, it would be difficult for those officials to hold on to this point anymore, otherwise they would not be able to get along with the Son of Heaven.

"By the way, as far as you think, when will this ship really go to sea from Shandong?" The Emperor suddenly remembered something and asked with great interest.

"This should not really happen until the turn of spring and summer." Lu Zhen hesitated for a moment before briefly explaining the situation of shipbuilding. After seeing the approval of the Son of Heaven, he continued: "In addition, there is actually another problem that needs to be solved. ”

"But what?"

"In fact, our supply may not be enough." Lu Zhen sighed and said, "Although the minister has made suggestions to the merchants over there, they are still worried, and only a few people are willing to spend the capital to purchase various commodities for sale and ship them overseas. In fact, this is also expected by the minister, after all, everything is difficult at the beginning, and everyone is waiting to see if it is really as stable as said. It's just that in this way, the profits that can be obtained from going to sea for the first time may not be satisfactory. And the income of the imperial court is even more meager. ”

"Don't cry poor in front of me. I already understand, you want to fight the autumn breeze here with me, and I hope the imperial court can help you get some goods, right? ”

Lu Zhen didn't make a sound, only gave him a tacit acquiescence. The Son of Heaven couldn't help laughing: "That's it, you are also doing things for me, for my Ming Dynasty, I can't let you be so shabby." In this way, there are still a lot of silk and satin cloths in the treasury of the palace, and there are also a lot of various kinds of porcelain that have been paid tribute from below, and I will order them to be transported to Shandong at that time. You should be able to get a good price for these, right? ”

Lu Zhen was overjoyed when he heard this, and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, the minister guarantees that as long as there are no accidents, these goods will definitely bring rich returns to Your Majesty." ”

"Then dare to be kind, I'm worried about the use of the palace." Zhu Qiyu laughed.

Seeing that several major events had been finished, Lu Zhen wanted to retire. But when he looked up, he found that although the Son of Heaven was smiling, there was still a sadness between his eyebrows, which made him ask unconsciously with concern: "I don't know what else Your Majesty has to do, can you tell Weichen, and I can refer to one or two details." ”

The emperor obviously hesitated for a moment, and then sighed: "Do you see it too?" I've been bothered by this for a while, and you've not been in Beijing lately, so I don't know. ”

After a pause, Zhu Qiyu continued: "Just two months ago, news came from the north that the Mongolian people actually intended to release the Emperor Taishang to my Ming Dynasty......"

"Are they still as open as they were before?" Lu Jin hurriedly asked.

The Son of Heaven frowned: "This time, not only did they not ask the court to take how much silver to ransom, but they even directly wanted to return the Emperor Taishang to us." However, I always felt that there was a deception in this, so I never agreed to them. ”

Lu Zhen bowed his head in contemplation, in fact, he knew this point of the emperor's mind quite well. Where is he worried that the Mongolian people will use fraud, he obviously doesn't want his imperial brother to return to Daming. If Zhu Qizhen, the emperor of a year ago, suddenly comes back, how should he, the new emperor who has only been on the throne for a year, deal with himself?

If such a thing happened when Zhu Qiyu first sat in the position of emperor, with his heart and brotherly relationship with Zhu Qizhen, he might not hesitate to invite him back, or even take the initiative to abdicate the throne, return the throne to his brother, and become an idle vassal king again.

However, today, a year later, Zhu Qiyu's state of mind is naturally very different. He has already tasted the taste of imperial power, and it is impossible for him to give up his position to his brother again. Not to mention giving way, it is impossible to even accept such a threat around him.

As for Lu Jin, he actually doesn't want Zhu Qizhen to be restored. Because of the relationship, he and Zhu Qiyu are much closer, and the opening of the sea, which is now in full swing, can only move forward smoothly with the support of Zhu Qiyu.

Therefore, in public and private, Lu Zhen is a staunch supporter of Zhu Qiyu, and he does not want Zhu Qizhen to come back again. But he also knew that in history, Zhu Qizhen still returned to Beijing, although he was locked up by his younger brother, but in the end he really succeeded in restoration.

As a result, he felt a little entangled, and he didn't know what to say for a while. Of course, he can speak out and support the Son of Heaven, but does this work? Moreover, maybe Zhu Qiyu will be grateful for his support now, but in the future, he may have doubts about his intentions. After all, this is a family affair of the Son of Heaven, and he was once a courtier of Zhu Qizhen, how can he comment at will?

After pondering for a while, Lu Zhen could only give a vague answer: "The minister thinks that His Majesty's concern is not unreasonable, if the people harbor evil intentions, it may be unfortunate to rush to welcome the Emperor back." But this is a family matter of the Son of Heaven, and the minister really does not dare to judge it. ”

"Hey......" The emperor sighed softly, but he didn't force Lu Zhen to tell the truth: "Since there is something going on in your house, and now the opening of the sea in Shandong cannot be moved for the time being due to the New Year's Festival, then simply rest in the capital for a few more days, and then return to Shandong after next year." ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Lu Zhen immediately bowed his head and thanked him. With the emperor's words, he can rest assured that he can stay in Beijing and wait for Chu Yunrong to give birth to a child safely before returning to Shandong.