Chongzhen nine years, the first month.

Not long after the Shangyuan Festival, the capital was still shrouded in a festive-like festive atmosphere, many lanterns were not taken off, and the faces of countless people in the capital showed a ruddy smile, because they rarely had a good year with a full stomach.

Only in the palace of the Forbidden City, it was a deserted scene, and there was no festive atmosphere, which was completely different from the previous two years.

Especially for Emperor Chongzhen, the past year only wants to be described in two words - thin year.

And it was a very fat year that could have been lived, and after a single operation, it became a thin year, which made people feel regretful and regretful.

Although there is still countless grain in the inner pocket.

Although relying on the operation of the imperial store, he can earn four or five hundred thousand silver dollars at the end of the year.

But to have a luxurious Shangyuan Festival family banquet, it will probably cost 100,000 silver dollars.

To distribute red envelopes to the palace maids, eunuchs, and guards in the palace, with the standard of two silver dollars per person, it also costs nearly 200,000 silver dollars.

There are also dried fish, canned food, sugar, soap and other New Year's goods, which have to be purchased a lot, and the cost is quite huge.

The hundreds of thousands of silver dollars earned by the imperial store did not play a big role.

As for the huge amount of grain in the inner treasury, he paid a monthly salary to the 50,000 new troops of the warrior camp at a price equivalent to 1 silver dollar per stone of grain, and as a result, Cao Huachun, the eunuch of the imperial horse eunuch, was besieged and almost mutinied! The soldiers were reluctant to accept grain, preferring white silver dollars as their monthly salary.

Grain can indeed be eaten, but it can't be used as money to spend, and it can't be exchanged for all kinds of things they need, and now the cheapest grain in the capital market is only half a silver dollar and a stone, what does this mean when converted into one silver dollar/stone? Is it a deliberate attempt to take advantage of them?

Zhu Youzhen could only scrape together and take out real money to quell the commotion.

Later, he moved the inner money to store grain, transported it to the important town of Jiubian, and gave hundreds of thousands of soldiers in Jiubian as a monthly salary, but found that the civil officials and nobles had already taken the lead and transported countless grains to Jiubian, not to mention the very cheap price, and let the grain flood into a disaster.

It's hard.

Zhu Youzhen found that it was too difficult to untie the trap, could he only mobilize the people in the palace to eat so much food, and it would take a few years to eat it?

Anyway, he swore that he would never touch grain again, and from this year onwards, he would never accept any more grain from the inner money, only silver dollars! Or something else, he was really hurt this time.

In addition, the palace seems deserted this year, and because the queen took the prince and others, went to Xujiazhuang Harbor City to visit, and spent all year after year in Harbor City, after all, the weather is too cold in the cold winter, and it is inconvenient to run around.

It's just that now the weather is starting to get warmer.

The queen and the crown prince have been in Harbour City for almost two months, why haven't they come back, are they having fun over there and don't want to come back anymore?

Of course, with the help of the radio station set up by Xujiazhuang, he can learn about the situation on the queen's side every day by sending telegrams, especially the alliance negotiations with Xujiazhuang, when Zhu Youzhen was more, he sent six telegrams a day to inquire about the progress, asking the queen to tell him about the specific negotiation situation, but Zhu Youzhen was too verbose, always telling him not to make concessions here, not to give in there, which often led to an impasse in the negotiations. And through telegraph contact, it is easy to expose the hole cards, or send less telegrams.

This forced Zhu Youzhen to reduce the intensity of interference.

It wasn't until the 22nd of the first month that Empress Zhou finally sent a telegram: "The negotiations have been negotiated, and we will leave for return in two days." ”

"Okay, I'm finally back!"

Zhu Youzhen felt a shock, and his heart, which was very anxious, finally settled down a lot.

But the specific details of the negotiation, he still does not know, it is not clear whether Empress Zhou and the imperial sister-in-law Zhang Yan made huge concessions, or successfully defended the interests of the royal family?

Wait.

If he wanted to know the specifics, he had to wait and wait.

……

The 28th day of the first month.

or Queen Zhou, Zhang Yan and other core members of the royal family who took a VIP car, finally returned to the capital after two months.

Zhu Youzhen, who put down the government affairs at hand and personally greeted him at the gate of the palace, found that Queen Zhou and others, who came back, not only brought back all kinds of valuables stuffed with more than a dozen cars.

And everyone has become a lot more rounded, with less than five pounds of weight, and more of ten pounds.

Even the imperial sister-in-law Zhang Yan, who has always had good self-control, became more plump, radiant, and her complexion became more than a little better.

"It's still the water and soil in the south to support people."

Zhu Youzhen said secretly, and after looking around, he didn't see the figure of the prince Zhu Cihong and the princess Zhu Yujiao of Changping, and asked Queen Zhou: "What about the prince and Changping?" Why didn't you see them? ”

"I left them in Harbour City."

Empress Zhou said: "Xujiazhuang's education level is much better than that of the imperial palace, so I plan to let the prince follow Yu Jiao, let them study in Harbour City for half a year, and then send someone to pick them up in the second half of the year to receive royal education, and learn things on both sides." ”

"Nonsense, this matter is absolutely not okay!"

Zhu Youzhen's eyes were about to pop out, and he reacted very excitedly: "Only the princes have ever sent protons into Beijing, how can there be a prince and princess, where can they stay in others as protons?" This is a great disgrace, hurry up and send someone to bring them back, and they must not stay in Harbour City! ”

"Your Majesty, Harbour City is not what you think, they are studying over there, receiving the most advanced and up-to-date education, not going to be a hostage, they can come back at any time, why are you so excited?" Empress Zhou explained.

"Then let them come back immediately, without a moment's delay!" Zhu Youzhen said with a dark face.

"Your Majesty, can you go back to the palace first, I'll talk to you slowly, tell you in detail about our visit to Harbour City, and the secret agreement will also show you, you listen to us, and then it's not too late to speak, we don't go to Harbour City just for fun, but for the benefit of the royal family, if you don't trust the palace, why don't you go there yourself?" Empress Zhou said with a little displeasure.

"Uncle Huang, although we are women, but we always think about the interests of the royal family, and the negotiators of Xujiazhuang, I don't know how many quarrels broke out, Uncle Huang, you don't ask about the merits of the process, you are so impatient, and you have no trust in us, how can this be the demeanor of a Ming Jun?" The imperial sister-in-law Zhang Yan also said very seriously.

"What the imperial sister-in-law taught is that let's go back to the palace first."

Zhu Youzhen quickly regained his composure and realized his problem, and this is a big court, not suitable for quarrels, so he has to find a suitable place to talk about it.

……

All the valuables you brought from Harbour City are all packed up.

Prepare gifts for the old lady Liu of Cining Palace, as well as gifts for the harem Tian Guifei, Concubine Yuan and others, and send the eunuchs and palace maids to send them one by one.

Until late afternoon.

After dinner.

In Kunning Palace, people lit bright candles, Zhou Yufeng, the queen of Zhou, and Zhang Yan, the imperial sister-in-law, only then had time for 1510, for the emperor Zhu Youzhen, to explain their visit to the harbor city.

Introduce how Harbour City is rich.

How developed the level of productivity.

There is also the advanced nature of the education system, the development of the medical level, and the civilization of the management system and legal system...... There are too many things to learn and learn from the Ming Dynasty, and it is necessary to reach an alliance and cooperation with Xujiazhuang in order to bring great benefits and benefits to the royal family.

And in order to enhance the persuasiveness.

Zhang Yan took out her smartphone and handed it to Queen Zhou, and asked her to show some photos and videos taken in Harbour City in front of Zhu Youzhen.

For example, there are photos of various foods, and there are videos of the scene of the city that never sleeps.

There is also a video of the factory assembly line producing four-wheeled carriages, showing Xujiazhuang's incomparably strong industrial production capacity - and this kind of internal production scene in the factory, Xujiazhuang's "Oriental Times" rarely shows it, and Zhu Youzhen also saw it for the first time, especially when he heard that the production capacity of this four-wheeled carriage factory exceeds the production capacity of all four-wheeled carriages in other places in Daming, and the quality is the best.

Zhu Youzhen did not have any doubts, and subconsciously chose to believe, because the assembly line production model is extremely advanced, even if it is the first time to hear about its characteristics, and if you think about it carefully, you will believe that the high efficiency contained in this division of labor and cooperation and technical specialization is definitely much stronger than the carpenter master fighting alone.

And the reason why Xujiazhuang is strong and rich is probably hidden in this factory.

In short, after watching all the pictures and videos on my smartphone.

Even if he was very unconvinced, Zhu Youzhen still had to admit that the content in the "Oriental Times" was not deceiving, and Xu Jiazhuang was truly powerful.

Concentrated more than sixty percent of the wealth of the Ming Dynasty.

The army was only in the tens of thousands, but it was enough to sweep away an army of millions.

Whether it is education, medical care, management, legal system, etc., they are more advanced and civilized than the Ming Dynasty, and it is useless to deny it by deceiving themselves, just like some civil officials, who criticize Xujiazhuang every day in the court, "businessmen, mercenary, sooner or later will die", but what disease they have, the first time is to go to the doctor in Xujiazhuang to prescribe medicine, and will never go to any miracle doctor and imperial doctor, and they are very honest in their bodies.

Zhu Youzhen has an irritable and arrogant personality, but his mouth is really not too hard, and his face is not as thick as that of some civil officials, so after listening to the introduction and explanation of Queen Zhou and Zhang Yan, he believes that Xu Jiazhuang's strength is indeed far above the Ming Dynasty.

The reason why he didn't send troops to destroy the Ming Dynasty and change the dynasty may be that he really has no interest in this and doesn't want to carry this burden.

Even so.

When Empress Zhou took out the "Secret Covenant of Alliance between the Royal Family and the Xu Family", unfolded it in front of him, and saw the terms above.

Zhu Youzhen's eyes widened, it was difficult to settle down, and he didn't have the slightest joy, thinking that he had suffered a big loss.

For example, the first article: the royal family owes 20 million silver dollars to Tianxia Tong Bank, with zero interest, and can be repaid slowly within 30 years.

For example, the royal family should fully support and cooperate with the development and expansion of Xujiazhuang, and in return, Xujiazhuang will give the royal family 12 million silver dollars of financial support every year, which will be increased in the future depending on the situation.

For example, in the territory of Daming, under the endorsement of the royal family, Xujiazhuang has more than ten rights such as "the right to build roads and prospects", "the right to freedom of movement", "the right to do business tax exemption", "the right to kill human rights justly", "the immunity of the Ming law (only need to abide by the laws of Xujiazhuang)", "the right to investigate and crack down on illegal acts (Xujiazhuang can investigate and crack down on all illegal acts in the Ming Dynasty, such as arresting absconding criminals, etc., but will cooperate with the Ming officials)" and so on.

and the last one: When the crown prince Zhu Cihong becomes an adult, he should appoint Xu Qingmei as the crown princess; When the princess Zhu Yujiao grows up, she will marry Xu Yuan's eldest son, Xu Jiaguang, - and the two families form a strong marriage.

With these terms, Zhu Youzhen's face turned into the color of pig liver, not ordinary dissatisfaction, but extreme dissatisfaction!

"Didn't Qi Chunnian say before that as long as he fully formed an alliance with Xujiazhuang, he could forgive all debts, why is the 20 million arrears still there?"

"Only 12 million financial support is given every year, not that the money and grain are 10 million each, even if the grain is converted into silver, the price is half a silver dollar and a stone, and there are 15 million silver dollars, why is it so much less?"

"There are so many privileges that Xu Jiazhuang asks, the first few items are just that, and the later Ming Law immunity, investigation and crackdown on illegal rights, what do these rights mean? Is it that as long as the alliance is formed, the people of Xujiazhuang can be lawless in the territory of Daming, no matter how many illegal things are done, Daming can't ask questions, and the magistrate can't deal with it, even if it's murder and arson? ”

"My crown prince, you can marry that Xu Yuan's daughter, but this Xu Qingmei, but a concubine, how can she become the mother of a country in the future?"

"Absurdly weak, losing power and humiliating the country! Once exposed, you will definitely laugh for the world! How can such an alliance be signed? I don't admit it, I don't agree, you don't count if you sign it! ”

Zhu Youzhen waved his hand again and again and said.

"Your Majesty, in fact, we don't want to sign either, but the Fang Qingyan who negotiated with us is too tough, and he will not let go of his interests in terms of interests, and he also threatens that if the royal family is unwilling to form an alliance, the deficit of the royal family's financial management account, and His Majesty's hoarding of grain and speculation, will all be exposed in the "Oriental Times", and the more than 20 million yuan owed to Xu Jiazhuang will also have to be returned, otherwise they will find ways to seize the assets of the royal family, cancel some cooperation, etc., and some are ways to exert pressure, such as the remaining 20 million deposits in the royal family's financial management account, If they are all deducted and frozen and are not allowed to withdraw money, those who support the royal family and stand on His Majesty's side are afraid that they will immediately turn away and ask His Majesty to get back the principal...... This is called betrayal and separation, Your Majesty, once Xu Jiazhuang really does this, we will be very passive. Queen Zhou said helplessly.

"What? This, how can this Fang Qingyan be so despicable, all femme fatale? ”

Zhu Youzhen's face changed drastically, and he didn't dare to imagine the consequences of those threats once they came true.

"Your Majesty, who told you not to agree to an alliance earlier, if Xu Yuan is still in Harbour City, and the two of us reach an alliance quickly, maybe the conditions we won will be too much, then Xu Yuan will talk too much better than Fang Qingyan, but you haven't seized the most suitable opportunity."

Queen Zhou said, she didn't expect that Fang Qingyan, who was called so affectionately by her sister, why did she behave so toughly and not let go at all in the negotiation stage, of course, another reason may be that Xu Yuan sent a smartphone to the imperial sister-in-law Zhang Yan, and Fang Qingyan knew about it, so when negotiating, as long as the imperial sister-in-law Zhang Yan was present, Fang Qingyan would be tough like a different person, if the imperial sister-in-law was not present, it would be easier to speak, more reasonable, hey, a woman's defensiveness, but Queen Zhou can understand, After all, the position of Xu Yuan's wife has been vacant for a long time, once a threat appears, it is impossible for Fang Qingyan to remain calm and determined, and hostility is normal.

"This ......"

Zhu Youzhen was stunned and felt speechless.

At this time, he finally realized that some things are precious only when they are lost, compared with Fang Qingyan, the femme fatale in the mouth of Queen Zhou, the owner of Xu Yuan Xu Zhuang is indeed too good at talking, and even easy to talk, so that Zhu Youzhen feels that if he thinks about it and arrogant for a while, he may be able to fight for better conditions.

It turned out to be even worse.

"Zitong, is Xu Yuan back? When will he return? Can you talk to Xu Yuan again, as long as you revise these terms and return to the conditions he mentioned before, I will recognize this "Secret Covenant of Alliance", and the two sides will officially form an alliance. ”

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Zhu Youzhen finally thought about it.

"I want to continue to stay in Harbour City and wait for Xu Yuan to come back, but you have been urging in the telegram, and Fang Qingyan also ordered the reimbursement amount to be reduced, with the intention of driving us away, so how can I continue to wait."

Queen Zhou rolled her eyes and looked at Zhu Youzhen's gaze, as if she was looking at her pig teammates.

“……”

Zhu Youzhen suddenly became numb, looking at the "Secret Covenant of Alliance" in his hand, and finally realized that even if he was dissatisfied with it and disagreed, he still contributed to this result after all, and he had to accept it if he didn't accept it! At least for now.

Unless you don't owe Xu Jiazhuang money at all, and you don't have any handle and are not afraid of their threats, you can only straighten your waist and be a man, otherwise you can only passively accept the harsh conditions.

82 Chinese Net