In the Yueji Garden in the West Garden, Zhu Youzhen and the dressed Ada walked and talked. Yueji has a 'periwinkle', a 'moon red', a douxue hong, a 'shenghong', and a 'thin guest'. Irrigation is everywhere, and people plant it more. The green stems are long and vinely, the leaves are smaller than the roses, and the stems and leaves have thorns. The flowers are red, white and light red, and bloom month by month. The flowers are thick petals, and also roses.

April is the beginning of the season, and the bluestone-paved path is lined with red and white flowers. However, Zhu Youzhen obviously did not pay too much attention to these flowers, but listened attentively to Ada's experiences in Portugal, Spain and England, as well as the information she collected in European countries on a daily basis.

It should be said that Ada's intelligence-gathering skills are as good as her appearance. And during her time in England, she obviously became the object of attention of the British high society, so some information that should be top secret was also casually said by those noble children who were carried away by her beauty.

For example, the king's cronies told her that the king intended to appoint William Lauder, a high catholic, as the Archbishop of Canterbury, and hoped to get his help in ordering the Church of Scotland to use the prayer book drawn in London in order to unify the religious activities of the two kingdoms of England and Scotland.

In Zhu Youzhen's view, Charles I was simply asking for trouble. A unified religion, while conducive to maintaining the unity of the country, is more likely to threaten the appeal of the royal power. Moreover, Charles I, who took over the throne of England as King of Scotland, did not defend the roots of his origins, but tried to assimilate the Church of Scotland inclined to him with the unreliable Church of England, and sooner or later he would have to suffer from this.

In fact, there were forces in the city of London against Charles I, the Puritans who opposed the Spaniards and supported the independence of the Netherlands. While these Puritans spontaneously went to Holland to participate in the war against the Spaniards, they criticized Charles I for his ambiguous attitude towards the Spaniards and the Catholic Church. To make matters worse, Charles I married a French princess who embraced Roman Catholicism, which made him naturally untrusted by the English Puritans.

After Cardinal Armand Jean Diplessis de Richelieu was appointed Prime Minister of France in 1624, he sent troops to eliminate the Huguenot sect and force the Huguenots in France to convert to Catholicism. The Huguenots in France either fled to England or to the New World altogether.

These Huguenots, who fled to England, resented not only the Catholic Church, but also the French crown. With these people stirring up emotions, the English Puritans were naturally very wary of the king's religious tendencies, for fear that the king would turn to the Catholic Church and purge the non-Catholics in the country as the French did.

Ida felt that the squires, merchants, and burghers of the lower and middle classes of London were full of opinions about the king and the upper nobles, but Charles I and his favored courtiers were always unwilling to listen to the people, and that conflict between the two sides was obviously inevitable, so she took this opportunity to return to China.

As for the countries of the European continent, all but France were caught in the war between Protestantism and Old Christianity. However, in the Battle of Lüzen on the 6th of the month, King Gustav II of Sweden, known as the lion of the north, was killed, which greatly boosted the morale of the old Christian alliance and the Protestant alliance retreated again and again, and it seemed that the war finally had a hint of an end.

In addition to the war, one of the more interesting news in Europe is that in the Netherlands, a flower called tulips is being popular among the Dutch. This plant, which comes from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean, has only been in the Netherlands for about 70 years, but since the 30s, its price has skyrocketed.

When Ida and the others left London, it was said that in Holland a slightly more chic tulip was equivalent to: 4 tons of wheat, or 4 cows, or 8 pigs, or 12 sheep.

Ida just told the emperor about this news as a strange news, but in Zhu Youzhen's ears, this is the most useful piece of information that Ida brought back, and now it is the most useful for Daming.

Tulip fever, this is the first financial crisis in human history. Zhu Youzhen had naturally heard this story, and the only thing he couldn't be sure of was when the tulip fever broke out. But the information that Ida brought back made him sure that the first financial crisis in human history might soon break out in the Netherlands.

The value of this news to Daming is that if you want to attack the Dutch East India Company, this time is no better. The Dutch, who were about to encounter a financial crisis, would soon adopt a defensive stance towards the Dutch overseas colonization strategy, because they would soon have no capital to support the current overseas expansion strategy.

Ida only said a little bit of information, and the sun was already beginning to set in the west. Zhu Youzhen looked up at the sky, and couldn't help but stop and said, "It seems that I can't finish talking today, so it's better for you to enter the palace tomorrow and tell me about it." ”

Ida also stopped with Chongzhen, bowed to the emperor and said, "Obey Your Majesty." ”

Zhu Youzhen stopped her again and said: "This time you went to Europe and made a lot of contributions to the Ming Dynasty. Before you left for Europe, I said that if you were able to complete this mission, I would reward you. Now that you have returned safely, I would like to ask you what is your most desired reward? ”

Ida, who was about to retire, was stunned for a moment, when she didn't go to Europe, all she wanted at that time was to be sheltered in the name of a nobleman, so as to live in the capital of the Ming Kingdom in peace, and she was even ready to enter the palace at that time.

But after a trip to Europe, Ada felt that she could no longer be confined to the palace walls. She longed to maintain the life she was now free and comfortable enough to drive the men who were once unattainable to run around for her. It made her feel like there were interesting things waiting for her every day.

Ida maintained a bent posture, grabbed Chongzhen's right hand with both hands and put it on his forehead and said, "Freedom, if Your Majesty can reward me with a free life, then I will have nothing to ask for." ”

Hearing Ada's request, Zhu Youzhen also endured it, and it took a long time before he said with a wry smile: "Freedom? You've picked a request I can't promise. Even if I am unable to have complete freedom, how can I reward you? ”

Ida said tremblingly: "Your Majesty is rich all over the world and has supreme power in the East, how can he not give freedom to a little girl?" ”

Zhu Youzhen stretched out his hand to help Ida up, shook his head and said, "Okay, I will give you enough freedom within my own power, as long as you don't try to challenge my Ming law..."

After sending Ida away, Zhu Youzhen returned to Xiyuan Jingshe, and Lu Qi and Wang Chengen sent reports from all over the country. The most important piece of information today is that the team of Arslan, Gushi Khan, and Zhangjia Living Buddha accompanied by the Fifth Emperor* and others has arrived in Lanzhou.

The fifth* and his entourage took the Qinghai-Tibet road, and the intelligence also described that after arriving in Qinghai, the Mongolian tribes in Qinghai came to worship*, and tens of thousands of people followed them. When the team arrived in Xining, the Mongolian herders were persuaded to go back.

Zhu Youzhen was also silent for a long time, at this time, the Mongolian tribes' belief in the Yellow Sect was almost at its peak, and even he had to be cautious. After Zhu Youzhen pondered, he instructed Wang Chengen: "Order Liu Jingting and Fu Wang Shizi to go to Xi'an to welcome the Living Buddha instead of me, and allocate 100,000 yuan from the Internal Affairs Office as an offering for the * group to enter Beijing." Tell Liu Jingting that Hao Shengtong* said that I am looking forward to meeting him. ”

Wang Chengen agreed, and then returned to his original position. In the next report, the leader of the eight rows of Yao in Lianshan, Guangdong, accepted the invitation of the governor Xiong Wencan, but asked the imperial court to provide a batch of cheap salt every year, and did not pursue the military liao and horse arrow and two Yao platoons that attacked the county seat.

The cabinet was a little unhappy that Xiong Wencan gave Bapai Yao such generous conditions, but Zhu Youzhen had learned that Bapai Yao was not completely anti-all, but the Junliao and Ma Jian Liang Yao platoons took advantage of the invasion of Vietnam to raise their flags and rebel, but the Eight Pai Yao has always been in a group, and if the official army sends troops to exterminate the Junliao and Ma Jian Liang Yao Platoon, it will inevitably cause the entire Bapai Yao to rebel.

Xiong Wencan sent troops to recover Lianshan County, and then appeased Bapai Yao, which is currently the most costly way to quell the riots. In the final analysis, the reason why the two Yao platoons of Junliao and Ma Jian wanted to pull the flag and rebel was also because of the abnormal climate, which led to the poor harvest of local agriculture and the lack of food and clothing of the Yao people. In particular, the salt imported from other places is twice as expensive to sell to Yaomin, so Yao is so resentful.

Zhu Youzhen thought for a moment, and then said to Wang Chengen: "Guangdong and Guangxi are not only a Pai Yao who has grievances, if they are blindly tough, I am afraid that the mountain people in the two places will be even more reluctant to trust the imperial court."

The Yao people are also the people of the Ming Dynasty, and we cannot treat them differently. I don't think there is anything wrong with this appeasement condition, and there is no need to intensify the contradictions between the two sides. However, the people of Lianshan County are also the people of our Ming Dynasty, and the imperial court cannot turn a blind eye to the damage they have suffered, and let the Guangdong Customs allocate 50,000 yuan to compensate the people of Lianshan County for the damage.

However, the imperial court appeased Bapai Yao in order to ease the contradictions between the two sides and then solve the problem. It's not that if Bapai Yao is appeased, the local government can act as if nothing happened.

A document was sent to Xiong Wencan, ordering the officials of each county in Liangguang to conduct a basic survey of the poor people in the territory and propose ways to solve their living difficulties. Then invite the leaders of the ethnic minorities in Guangxi and Guangxi to find a place to talk. What to talk about? The first is about economic development, the second is about the judicial system, and the third is about the education of the next generation. If we can't reach a consensus, then the local people will not be able to live a stable life..."

Wang Chengen agreed again, and then under Chongzhen's instructions, soon the stack of folds on the table was reduced by more than half. At this time, Wang Chengen said: "Your Majesty, it's not early, why don't you rest first, and pass on dinner?" ”

Zhu Youzhen looked out the window and found that the light outside was also a little dim, he nodded and said, "It's okay, you ask someone to pass the meal, Lu Qi, tell me, is there any important news from Jinyiwei's side?" ”