Emperor Hongzhi raised his hand and pointed to the seat below, and said with a smile: "No courtesy, sit down and talk!" ”

Zhou Chen couldn't help but be stunned when he heard this, this is a seat?

However, Zhou Chen naturally didn't deliberately stand up when he could sit, he didn't say anything polite, he saluted and thanked him, and sat down directly according to his words.

Emperor Hongzhi was an extremely pragmatic and diligent monarch, so when Zhou Chen sat down, he didn't talk nonsense with Zhou Chen at all, and even went straight to the point to make his own meaning clear.

"I have summoned you this time for the sake of the essay you put forward in the temple examination, and I have specially intended to hear your opinion."

"Your Majesty, please speak, the minister must know everything, and say everything!"

Zhou Chen put his hands on his knees, sat on the chair honestly and said.

"I have also read the Pingrong policy you wrote many times, and I feel that the method of opening up the mutual market can help a lot in dealing with border troubles."

Emperor Hongzhi nodded with satisfaction, and said with a smile: "Since this Pingrong Policy was written by you, then I will ask you, if you are asked to implement the matter of opening up the mutual market, can you produce results in the shortest possible time?" ”

Emperor Hongzhi's meaning is very simple and clear, that is, he intends to hand over the matter of opening the mutual market to Zhou Chen, so as to reuse Zhou Chen.

But if Zhou Chen doesn't do well in this matter, then his career will probably stop here.

Through folk rumors and these contacts, Zhou Chen has a deep understanding of Emperor Hongzhi's pragmatic temperament.

"The minister dares to ask in what capacity is His Majesty going to let the minister preside over the opening of the mutual market? How big will this mutual market be? ”

Therefore, Zhou Chen didn't have too many scruples, and he directly asked Emperor Hongzhi how much support he could give.

"After all, the Pingrong strategy you proposed is still a theory, and for the sake of insurance, I can't just pounce on the entire frontier at the beginning.

Therefore, I plan to find a pass on the frontier now as a pilot, and if it is effective, then it will be implemented from the entire frontier area. ”

"Your Majesty Shengming!"

Zhou Chen also nodded in agreement.

After all, this is a fact related to the country's policy on the frontier, and it is better to be safe, and it is indeed very suitable to use a pass as a pilot.

"So in your opinion, where is the best place to place this pilot project of opening up the market?"

After determining a pass as a pilot, Emperor Hongzhi asked Zhou Chen again where the pilot of the opening of the mutual market should be placed.

In fact, this can be regarded as an examination of Zhou Chen by Emperor Hongzhi, and whether he really understands the situation in the frontier of the Ming Dynasty.

"I think it's best to choose a pass or a county seat around Datong Town as a pilot."

After Zhou Chen pondered for a few moments, he raised his head and handed over the report.

Most of the border troubles faced by the Ming Dynasty today are the threat of nomadic peoples in the northern grasslands.

Therefore, this pilot project of opening up the mutual market is naturally to be placed in the northern frontier, and in order to ensure the safety of the mutual market, this pilot project is naturally as close as possible to the important towns where the border troops are stationed.

Among the nine important towns of the Ming Dynasty, especially Liaodong Town and Datong Town are closest to the north.

Liaodong Town is the closest to the Jianzhou Jurchen Tribe, and Datong Town is the closest to the Tatar Warats and other Mongol tribes.

Now the Jianzhou Jurchen tribe is still under the rule of the Ming Dynasty, so the main problem here at the moment is Tatar Warat, so this pilot project of opening up the market is naturally the most suitable to be placed around Datong Town.

Zhou Chen's proposal was very realistic, and Emperor Hongzhi nodded in agreement after thinking about it for a while.

I only heard that Emperor Hongzhi finally made a decision and said: "Since this is the case, then put this pilot project of opening up the mutual market in Youyu County."

I plan to let you go to Youyu County, Datong Prefecture to take up the post of county magistrate, and take full responsibility for the establishment of the mutual market, are you willing?! ”

Youyu County, Datong Prefecture, is the county closest to the frontier in Shanxi, and many Great Wall passes are under the rule of Youyu County.

Moreover, Youyu County is extremely close to Datong Town, which is very in line with the pilot location that Emperor Hongzhi and Zhou Chen decided just now.

Hearing the voice of Emperor Hongzhi in his ears, Zhou Chen's heart couldn't help but be filled with joy.

He had planned to find a way to leave Beijing from the outside, but now that Emperor Hongzhi had sent a god-given opportunity, how could Zhou Chen miss it?

Even if this errand is very difficult, the benefits brought by success are also very considerable, and it can play a great role in Zhou Chen's future career.

Therefore, Zhou Chen didn't hesitate or hesitate at all, he stood up directly from the chair, bowed deeply and said: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, the minister will definitely do his best for the stability of my Ming Frontier, and go to the soup to fight the fire, and do not hesitate!" ”

Emperor Hongzhi's satisfied expression between his eyebrows became more and more intense, and he said with a smile: "I know that you are quite skilled in martial arts, but the place where you took up this post is a frontier land after all, and you are still dealing with those Mongols.

I asked you to do practical things for me, not to send you to death, so before you left, I also prepared two items for you to ensure your own safety. ”

Speaking of this, Emperor Hongzhi couldn't help but turn his head and glance at Wang Yue beside him, and commanded loudly: "Wang Yue, you will send the two items that I asked you to prepare before to Tanhualang!" ”

"Slaves obey!"

Wang Yue first bowed to Emperor Hongzhi, and then walked towards Zhou Chen with a tray in accordance with Emperor Hongzhi's instructions.

After placing the tray on the wooden table beside Zhou Chen, Wang Yue returned to Emperor Hongzhi's side to serve with light steps.

Looking up, the tray was covered with a layer of bright yellow silk, on which were placed a square token, as well as half a bronze tiger talisman.

Zhou Chen looked at Emperor Hongzhi for some reason: "Your Majesty, what are these two things?" ”

Zhou Chen didn't recognize the token, but he still knew the meaning of the half bronze tiger talisman, he just didn't understand the meaning of Emperor Hongzhi's move.

Emperor Hongzhi chuckled and explained, "I don't need to say much about what that half of the tiger talisman is!"

It represents the tiger talisman of the right Yulin guard, holding this tiger talisman, you are the supervisor of the right Yulin guard, and you can control the entire right Yulin guard without the general army of Datong Town, so as to open up the mutual market.

As for that token, it was a token unique to Jinyi Wei Qianhu.

With this token, the Jinyi guards in the entire Shanxi territory are at your disposal, specializing in spying on Tatar Varat intelligence! ”