Cheng Qiyun saw that Yang Ling's face was stinky, she couldn't help blinking, and said with a smile: "What's wrong with my lord?" ”

Yang Ling touched his nose and said, "Does this count as Wang Zhaojun's out-of-the-box and pro-marriage?" ”

Cheng Qiyun couldn't help but smile and said, "Don't count, right? If it counts, it's also upside down."

Cheng Qiyun laughed out loud as soon as she finished speaking, unrestrained and unpretentious, and laughed very happily. Yang Ling had never seen her laugh so freely in front of her, her voice was extremely crisp, and she was infected, and Yang Ling finally couldn't help laughing. The soldiers and maids at the door poked their heads inside in surprise, and quickly shrank back.

Yang Ling sat back on the chair with a smile, glanced at Cheng Qiyun meaningfully, and said: "The 'best strategy' of becoming a great military division is not advisable. You, although you are full of wisdom, some ideas still can't get rid of the shackles of a woman after all, that is, state affairs and family affairs are mixed together and it is not clear. Besides, not to mention the dignity of the court, it is the official himself, and it is not a gentleman to go for this purpose. What do you see, isn't this official a gentleman? ”

Cheng Qiyun wrinkled her nose playfully, stroked her forehead and thought about it, then rolled her eyes and said slyly: "Then there is only a two-pronged approach." ”

"Oh? What do you mean by that? Yang Ling glanced at her suspiciously.

Cheng Qiyun said to him in a low voice, Yang Ling thought about it after listening to it, and said with a smile: "It seems that this official doesn't want to hear any upright plans from you, hehe, let's give it a try." ”

It is not surprising that most of the Han Chinese who smuggled boats and even ran to Westerner ships as sailors were illiterate, and she was able to learn Chinese so smoothly in just two years of communication.

Yang Ling still has a large number of official documents to deal with, but now that Cheng Qiyun has arrived, many affairs can be handled by Cheng Qiyun. All important official business, the yamen of all ministries and departments were sent to Yang Ling's study, and after Yang Ling read it, he picked up the ones that had to be handled by himself, and the rest were transferred to Cheng Qiyun's study, and the work was handed over to Adney.

Adney was very happy about this, and Adney was obviously tired of hiding in the boudoir all day without leaving the door, and as soon as she had a job, even the simplest things made her whole person refreshed, and her eyes were bright and full of energy.

Once Yang Ling gathered officials from various ministries and departments of military, government, taxation, criminal and industrial departments, as well as local ethnic minorities, to discuss political, military, economic, administrative, tax, employment and other issues, as long as Adni was present, she listened attentively and paid great attention.

Especially when Yang Ling talked about many more modern and scientific theories and concepts that transcended the current era, it made Adney's eyes shine and she was extremely admirable. When there were only two people in the room, Yang Ling was reading the official documents, and Adney was gently shaking the feather fan on the side, serving tea.

"Hmm, I didn't expect such a small matter of the Ryukyu garrison to have such a big repercussion. It was the first time that the Ming Dynasty had sent permanent troops abroad, and the surrounding small feudal states reacted strongly, some hoped to follow this example and ask the Ming Dynasty to garrison them for safety, while others were extremely nervous, worried that the imperial court would interfere too much with them", Yang Ling said, pointing to a secret report from the factory guard.

Adeni already knew the geographical location of the Ryukyus and the relationship between the Ming Dynasty and the other countries, and said with a playful smile: "That's natural, the more powerful the country, the more unwilling it is to be controlled by others. In fact, the small countries around the Ming Dynasty have been established for at least hundreds of years, with a perfect system, as long as they submit to the vassals, the Ming Dynasty is so powerful and has a large population, why not develop further and open up colonial territories? ”

"Colonization?" Yang Ling was stunned.

Adney said: "Yes, there are many places where there is no unified state, but some loose tribal organizations that occupy vast lands and are easy to conquer. The occupation of these places, and the establishment of governors, if not for the purpose of plundering, will generate great wealth for the country if they are used as their own source of raw materials and markets."

Yang Ling thought for a while, shook his head and smiled: "Impossible." Our Han people have been inherited for thousands of years, and have formed a unified national concept, and ideologically we do not want to expand outward, and we can gradually change people's consciousness by opening the sea and trade, but in terms of political system, the imperial court will not allow a powerful armed force to exist outside the central power, and it cannot be restrained at the end of the world."

Adney frowned slightly: the Han people's thoughts are really strange, and no one in her country will think about this issue at all. What seems to work in the West may not work in the East.

But Adney was not convinced, she thought about it carefully, and said: "If the wealth generated by these places is enough to tempt the imperial court, and there is no need for the imperial court to spend a lot of financial and human resources like sending heavy troops to garrison the Ryukyus, these places can still be included in the rule of the empire, and the emperor will not allow it?" ”

Yang Ling straightened up and said with interest: "Go on, what do you mean?" ”

Adney Chengzhu said in her chest: "As I just said, there are many places where there are only many loose tribes, and they are extremely backward, with the weapons and equipment of the Ming army, a small number of troops can conquer them.

I don't think any emperor who has anything to do with the imperial court would be so short-sighted and untouched by the fact that these places can now be incorporated into the empire's territory, providing a great deal of wealth and dumping the goods produced. ”

Yang Ling nodded and said, "What about the continuous rule?" Since there is a vast land there, it is obvious that it cannot be maintained by a small army, how can order be ensured there, relevant laws can be enacted, a large amount of supplies can be transported, taxes can be collected, and rule can be exercised? ”

Adney seemed to be interrupted by his questioning, she frowned in displeasure, and said a little forgetfully, "My lord, it is rude to interrupt a lady."

She is young at the bottom, although she has knowledge, but she has no city, and she completely forgets the identity of the other party when she debates, and she doesn't expect that in Daming, it is extremely rude for a woman to interrupt a man's words at will.

Yang Ling didn't think it was wrong, he raised his eyebrows, nodded funny, and quickly closed his mouth to listen to her.

Adney thought for a moment and continued: "As for the fear of sending a large number of expeditionary forces, the ends of the earth, as if they were self-established kings, will eventually be counterattacked, this situation will not arise. First of all, as long as the central power is strong and unified, it is difficult for the colony to rebel, after all, its existence depends on the central power, and it requires many conditions to read power, which can be described as difficult.

Secondly, since there was no strong, unified government in those places, there was no need for a large army, and a Ming army of a thousand men, with artillery and swords, was enough to conquer those poorly equipped tribes. Will the Empire be afraid of even a thousand-strong army?

In the future, you can recruit indigenous officials and mercenaries locally, and hire people from abroad to obey your own army, which is what my country does, so that the supreme ruler of the land belongs to the Ming Dynasty, but they are in the minority, relying on the power of the empire to conquer the local area, and do not have the courage to rebel.

Moreover, the governor can be changed every three years, and he is not given the opportunity to establish a private armed force that is absolutely subordinate to the individual. However, the local natives were intimidated by the Empire's force, and many of their people were hired by the Empire to become benefit-sharing, so it was difficult for them to organize an effective resistance. You know, they originally had no state, and as long as they were not treated too harshly, it would be difficult for them to have a common belief to form a strong [***] organization"

As she spoke, she pulled a chair and sat opposite Yang Ling, and continued: "Perhaps, in a few hundred years, they will have the strength to resist, but what does it matter? As far as the current emperor is concerned, he only sends a thousand households, a place that does not belong to him in the first place, will serve his court for hundreds of years, provide wealth for hundreds of years, even if it is abandoned one day, there will be no loss for the Ming Dynasty."

Yang Ling's heart was pounding, he pinched his chin and thought for a long time, and said with a smile: "It seems to make some sense, now there are Tatars in the north of the Ming Dynasty and Japanese in the south, and when these places are pacified, the opening of the sea and trade has also been effective, and our sailors are also more powerful, familiar with the countries near and far and the sea marching and fighting, all the conditions are ripe, I will make a statement to Your Majesty."

Adney pursed her lips and smiled when she heard this, and stood up triumphantly, not paying attention to the flickering look in Yang Ling's eyes at all, bringing out a meaningful smile.

Yang Ling often read the official documents, while picking up the main points and listening to her, at first Adney pretended to be ignorant, not knowing that a good person who has always been regarded as honest and simple once he pretends to be an image, it is most easy for people to be deceived in an unsuspecting situation.

At first, Yang Ling only skillfully asked how these things were handled in her country, and only asked her to state the facts of the country's affairs, so that even if she confided something, it would not be inconsistent with the identity of a village girl, not to mention that Adney was very accustomed to women's participation in political affairs.

With the reluctance to confide and appropriately narrate, until she refuted some of Yang Ling's opinions 'unbearable', and refuted them indignantly, she was led step by step by Yang Ling, an opponent who was familiar with the psychology of others and the best at debating, and improved her own opinions without a trace, and Adney said more and more, not realizing that what she was expressing had long been inconsistent with her identity.

Although Adney is very knowledgeable, she is a young girl of eighteen years after all, and she knows so much about the cunning of officialdom. What's more, this eastern country has existed for thousands of years, and its officialdom is far more complicated than that of the West, far more complicated than her small country that is less than one province of the Ming Dynasty.

It was not the first time that Yang Ling had discussed political affairs with her, and she had unconsciously become accustomed to this kind of identity that was almost an internal staff member, and she was quite happy to be able to show her own intelligence.

Yang Ling listened to her talk eloquently, and often had unique opinions, so when she encountered some difficult problems, she casually said to listen to her.

At this time, Adney was like a competitive child, completely forgetting her identity as a slave girl, pulling a chair and going to the opposite side of Yang Ling, and began to mention the facts and set the basis, regardless of politics, economy and military industry, she talked endlessly, and did not notice Yang Ling's playful and playful eyes at all.

After all, Yang Ling is from modern times, and his ideology is hundreds of years more advanced than her, sometimes Adenie is speechless, she thinks about it carefully, and she will calmly admit that Yang Ling is right, this kind of frank surname is very likable.

But the consciousness that is too advanced is very unrealistic in the environment and conditions at that time, sometimes Yang Ling thinks that it is now the right idea to put it forward, Adney put forward a few basic material conditions and consciousness requirements necessary to achieve it and asked Yang Ling, every time Adney bent her eyebrows, the smug color overflowed, the expression was indescribably charming.

Unconsciously, the two became familiar, and their relationship with each other was not like an adult and a maid, but like a boss and a female employee in the office, very easy-going and harmonious. As a foreigner who lives alone in a foreign country, has no relatives and no friends, although Adney is so self-reliant, her emotional dependence on Yang Ling is still getting heavier and heavier.

This is the great empire of the East described in Marco Polo's travels, which drifted on its oceans for more than two years, and finally set foot on its land as a slave.

Fortunately, this place is more civilized than the world described by Marco Polo, and the adults here do not regard slave girls as personal belongings that can be disposed of at will, and he, the Marquis of the East, has great respect for me, and he has great knowledge and noble upbringing.

She quietly glanced at Yang Ling, who was shirtless and wearing a silk shoulder, and was looking intently at an official document. The thick and jet-black hair, the firm nose bridge, and the smooth lines of the face, and the focused eyes quietly stirred the feelings of Adney's girl.

It was the most handsome Oriental man I had ever met, and he had a good conversation. The homeland, I will never be able to go back, will he be the man I will accompany for the rest of my life? Perhaps, for a slave girl, there is no happier thing than this, after all, he is such a good man.

The governor who commanded hundreds of thousands of troops, oh my God, all the old and weak women and children in my country have a population of only a million, and the six provinces of his governor are six times larger than our kingdom.

Adney's dream was that a handsome knight would come to her on a tall horse, get down on one knee, kiss her on the hand, and take her back to her manor and castle. Although it is not an imaginary scene now, he should be destined to belong to his own prince.

Isn't it God's grace that a young girl wanders among wolves until she is so lucky enough to meet him? It was a crazy relationship, no balls, no banquets, no moonlit dates, no roses he had picked for himself, he was about to become his woman, and he seemed to be really in love with him.

Adney's heart was pounding like a fawn, and when she grew so big, she really never had a man in her heart, for she had been learning aristocratic manners, ladylike conversations, and dancing since she was five years old.

She also had to learn fencing, horseback riding, and shooting. She is taught by the best teachers in the country in terms of language, history and philosophy, and is fluent in Latin, Greek, French, Spanish and Italian.

She was the pride of Agarve, the most conspicuous lady of Portuguese high society, and many handsome knights, young barons, and viscounts circled around her pomegranate dress, treating her like the noblest princess, and now she was reduced to a slave girl.

Adney sighed softly, and she noticed that Yang Ling's eyebrows were also locked, and there was irrepressible anger on her face. The hand holding the official document was trembling slightly, and she couldn't help but stop the fan in her hand and asked with concern, "My lord, what happened?" ”

Yang Ling didn't talk to her about the content of the official document as before, and looked at her with even a hint of disgust and hatred. Adney couldn't help but take a step back in surprise, Yang Ling lowered his eyes, forcibly suppressed his anger, and said coldly after a while: "Give this official document to Master Cheng and ask her to read it immediately."

Adney obediently didn't ask again, she agreed and took the official document, hurriedly walked to the door, and heard Yang Ling call: "Wait, if Master Cheng is not too busy there, ask her to see me after reading the official document."

"Yes, my lord," Adney agreed in a panic and quickly slipped away.

Cheng Qiyun's room sat two officials in green robes, who seemed to be talking to her about business. Adney has always been afraid of Cheng Qiyun's eyes that seem to know everything, she may not have as much knowledge as herself, and she knows so many skills, but her understanding of people's surnames and the clarity of people's hearts often make Adney feel that there is nothing to hide in front of her, so she often unconsciously avoids Cheng Qiyun.

After repeating Yang Ling's words, Adney silently exited the room. Yang Ling had never spoken to her in such a cold tone, and his eyes would be filled with disgust when he looked at her. If Yang Ling had treated her as a slave girl from the beginning, and had never respected her, she might not care so much about Yang Ling's attitude, but now she felt very sad in her heart.

As soon as Adni walked out of the door, she heard Cheng Qiyun scream angrily: "Beast! ”

Adney was startled, she involuntarily stopped, looked left and right and saw that there was no one outside the door, then quietly flashed to the side, leaned on the grape trellis and listened, only to hear an official in the room ask in surprise: "Master Cheng, what happened?" ”

Cheng Qiyun seemed to be angry, and sneered: "The Fu Lang Ji pirates who are full of thorns and take advantage of me to gather troops to sweep away the Japanese invaders, take advantage of the gap to occupy Tuen Mun Island, sneak attack the border of Dongguan County, rob women and children, those who are insulting women and eating children raw, what a group of devils!" ”

Adney is horrified: Franc machine pirates have attacked the Ming court? She knew that these pirates from her own country were murderous, and there were many insults to those small countries along the way, and killing people was commonplace, but in the case of the pirate ship she was on, because she had not figured out the true strength of this huge empire, she was afraid of the Ming Dynasty, and rarely took the initiative to provoke the Ming Dynasty.

But when it comes to eating children raw, Adney feels quite aggrieved in her heart, the Ming people have always regarded them as savages, but they don't know that they came all the way east, and they are always worried that those strange-looking and strangely dressed natives of the country will be cannibals She is on the pirate ship hired by the Ming people, those people often talk and laugh and often say that the past is wrong to blame the Yi people, see their strange appearance, folk legends say that they are from the cannibal country, and also say that they are best to eat children, often use an iron pot steamer to steam the children to sweat, and then use an iron brush to brush off the bitter skin, At this time, the child was still alive, so he disemboweled, went to the stomach and cooked it. Adeni was sick when she heard it.

But she did not dare to turn back and defend herself, because the women who had been taken captive were bound to be humiliated and eventually sold into slavery with the children in India or the West, which was the main purpose of the pirates' trafficking in human beings, and it was also full of evil, so what could she justify?

No wonder Lord Yang looked at himself like that, it turned out that it was for this reason.

Adney felt even more aggrieved, their country is not like the Ming Dynasty, where the country is small and numerous, and there are many races, because of different religious beliefs, they can't fight at every turn. Therefore, the aristocracy pays the most attention to the family group, and there is no such strong national consciousness and ethnic consciousness as the people of the Ming Dynasty now. So she doesn't feel kind to those pirates just because they are Franc Machine, and she doesn't feel that she should take responsibility for the pirates who were born with Franc Machine.

However, although Adney thought so, she also knew that the Orientals did not think so, otherwise there would be no such thing as the Zhulian Nine Clans, which could not be understood and could not exist in their criminal laws, which was the legal basis spawned by the different ideologies precipitated by the social systems of the East and the West for thousands of years, and Adney had to return to Yang Ling's room sullenly.

This Yang Ling is extremely cold to her, and the attitude of all the subordinates and the public servants in the house towards her has also quietly changed, as a human being who needs to live in a group, especially she has gradually adapted to the environment and atmosphere here, this kind of indifference abandoned by everyone makes Adney depressed, and she can't eat dinner.

On the second day, Adney took care of Yang Ling even more meticulously, serving tea and water, and fanning hand towels, but Yang Ling was busy and very polite to her, but she lost the kindness of the past.

She only noticed that Adney was also there, and hurriedly said to her, "Adney, you leave first, I have something important to discuss with the adults."

Adney silently bowed, quietly withdrew, she turned the door and walked a few steps down the corridor, and as soon as she withdrew from the view of the door, she stepped over the railing, crept to the base of the window with her skirt in her hand, and crouched down. This place is full of vines, and inside is the position of Yang Ling's desk, if Cheng Qiyun wants to talk to adults about business, he should hear it most clearly here.

When she heard Cheng Qiyun mention the Franc Machine, she had been snubbed by others for the past two days, and because of this incident, how she would be dealt with in the future would probably be tied to this matter, how could she not be concerned?

Adney squatted under the window, only to hear Yang Ling ask, "What's the news?" ”

I only heard Cheng Qiyun say: "My lord, my secret agent pretended to be a businessman, and has made contact with the people of the Ming Dynasty on the Franc machine pirate ship, and promised them a lot of money, they have promised to escape from the pirate ship by small boat tonight, if it is convenient to carry a small Franc cannon, if it is not convenient, it doesn't matter, they have understood the manufacture and use of that kind of cannon, and our cannon craftsmen can make a picture and describe it." ”

"Good! That's great! Yang Ling said excitedly: "Arrange heavy troops to respond, and be sure to ensure that these sailors go ashore safely." Our ships and artillery can deal with this gang of pirates, but they are slightly inferior in firepower, and if you are familiar with the construction and power of their artillery, it will be much easier to win, hahaha."

Adeni Yiqi: "It turns out that the Lord sent the sailors on the pirate ship to steal the secret of the artillery. He asked me if I was familiar with Western artillery, was that also for this reason? I thought he had doubts about my identity."

Adney was thinking about it, when she heard Cheng Qiyun say again: "My lord, you already know that Adney knows how to use swordsmanship and muskets, can a folk girl know these things?" A slave who was abducted and sold, if it is said that the pirate kept her virgin body in order to sell it for a high price, it is naturally very possible, but the pirate ship came to Daming and allowed her to stay on the ship for two years before selling, how is this possible? Now we are going to war with the Franc Machine, she is the Franc Machine, and it is too dangerous to stay with the adults."

Adney almost cried out, "What does it have to do with me that those pirates are killed?" Despicable, she's trying to get rid of me from adults."

I only heard Yang Ling's hesitant voice and said: "I think Adney's surname is innocent and kind-hearted, not like a person with evil intentions, besides, those pirates do a lot of evil, she is also a victim of pirates, how can you doubt her?" ”

Adney's heart warmed, and a warm current of gratitude and happiness surged through her body.

I only heard Cheng Qiyun snort coldly and said, "My lord, since she is good at using muskets and long swords, how can she be completely ignorant of artillery?" The adult asked her, why did she hide it from the adult? Since she was a victim of pirate captivity, why did she hide her true identity from adults?

The adult is concerned about the safety of the six provinces, the so-called son of a daughter, who can't sit down, and is responsible for the safety of the adult, how can a person whose background is a mystery and may be dangerous to the adult stay with the adult? Whether she is fine or not, such a person cannot stay with adults, please think twice."

Adney bit her lip, secretly annoyed in her heart: This woman must be jealous, she has seen that she likes adults, I didn't expect her to frame me, my identity is indeed special, but I have never thought about harming adults, I dare not say my identity.

The room was silent for a moment, only to hear Yang Ling's voice say in a low voice: "Then what are you going to do with her?" ”

As soon as she heard this, Adney poured down like a basin of cold water, she hung her head in despair, two tears gently dripped on the green grass blades, and only heard Cheng Qiyun's voice in the room said coldly: "She is just an unidentified woman sent by pirates, where else can she be placed?" It's better to kill it."

Adney's body was shocked, only to hear Yang Ling hurriedly say: "No! ”

Cheng Qiyun immediately said: "Then sell it into the Qinglou Museum."

Adney's lip was bleeding: "Woman! Sure enough, only women are the real enemies of women, and jealousy is like a cup of poison, making them as vicious as snakes and scorpions! ”

"No way!" Yang Ling stopped again, and he sighed and said, "Alas! I really hope that Adney is someone you can trust, but unfortunately we are now at war with the Franc Robot, and her identity is unknown, so it is really not appropriate to stay in this military location. Well, I'll go back and ask her again, if she still won't be honest with me, and she can't survive as a foreign woman, help her find someone who is willing to ask for a foreign woman, and marry her."

Adney's tears flowed down, and Cheng Qiyun stood opposite Yang Ling in the room, raised her eyebrows, and silently mouthed him: "My lord, you are also, more and more, more and more evil."

Yang Ling also replied with his mouth: "I learned from you", and then the two looked at each other and smiled.

Cheng Qiyun had been away for a long time, and Adney slowly moved the window, stood up with her numb thighs, and staggered back to the door, where she stood for a long time.

Yang Ling was flipping through a bunch of official documents, not noticing her appearance, Adney bit her lip and struggled for a long time, finally mustered up the courage, raised her head and said, "My lord! ”

Yang Ling looked back in amazement, and when he saw that it was her, he bowed his head and said, "Adney? Come in".

When he had finished speaking, he turned his head away, suddenly feeling a little strange, and turned his head to look at Adney again. This eighteen-year-old foreign girl is still dressed in the costume of the Ming woman, but the smile that is always humble and even a little cowardly is gone.

She was dressed in women's clothes, but her body stood straight, exuding a reserved, noble, elegant, and confident temperament, and she seemed to be a little tragic like going to the execution ground. On her beautiful and exotic face, due to nervousness and seriousness, the delicate and ruddy thin lips were tightly pursed, and the bright and moving eyes, the straight nose, and the charm revealed a vigorous and heroic posture.

Yang Ling frowned and said suspiciously, "Adney, what's wrong with you?" ”

With a blank look on her face, Adney took a sharp breath, then stepped into the door, snapped her feet on the ground, raised her head with her chest straight, and said a series of strange words.

Yang Ling didn't understand, he put down the official document in his hand, stood up and was just about to ask, but Adney had repeated it again in Chinese.

She looked at Yang Ling and said very seriously, word by word: "Captain of the Royal Portuguese Navy. Instructor of the Francisco Maritime School, Yali. Baron Adney, see Governor of the Great Ming Dynasty, His Excellency Yang Ling"

(To be continued)