"In this way, this guy is going to frame the salt merchant of Lianghuai, solve the matter of the salt merchant and the noble, and then help his own account with the recovered silver to smooth it out?"

In the study, when Zhu Youzhen summoned Cui Yingyuan, Li Ruolian, and Lu Wenzhao, Cui Yingyuan quickly asked people to investigate Wei Zhongxian's motives.

"According to Yang Huan's information, Wei Zhongxian has probably embezzled and embezzled more than 1.2 million taels from his internal funds in the past few years, and collected more than 500,000 taels from the two Huai salt merchants......

Cui Yingyuan faced Zhu Youzhen and said very humbly.

Lu Wenzhao and Li Ruolian beside him gasped when they heard that Wei Zhongxian was greedy for more than 1.2 million taels.

However, Zhu Youzhen lowered his head and took a sip of tea unimpressedly:

"Sooner or later, the things he is greedy will have to be made up, isn't that the case now?"

"It just so happens that the two Huai salt merchants are there, and I don't have any plans to clean them up."

"Since Wei Zhongxian is afraid that the two Huai salt merchants will shake out his affairs, then he will go and deal with the two Huai salt merchants."

Zhu Youzhen's idea is very simple, Wei Zhongxian is a matter of eunuchs, and all officials know it.

Now that Wei Zhongxian is directing Yang Huan to raid the two Huai salt merchants, it is good to sit and watch the play by himself.

Even if Wei Zhongxian could make things bigger and attract everyone's attention to him, then Zhu Youzhen's battle to sweep the north would be very easy.

"Let Yang Huan hand over all the evidence of the two Huai salt merchants in the past few years to Wei Zhongxian, and let him make things bigger."

Zhu Youzhen ordered Cui Yingyuan, and he obediently responded.

After dealing with Wei Zhongxian's matter, Zhu Youzhen looked at Lu Wenzhao and Li Ruolian and said:

"I have discussed the battle of sweeping the north with the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies, and in the beginning of March, Wuxiang, Tengxiang, Shence, and Jinwu Siwei took the lead in going north."

"At the same time, Sun Yingyuan went to Liaodong and waited for an opportunity with Xiong Tingbi."

"If the old slave learns the news of Baima Pass's troops, and does not support them at Hutudun, the soldiers and horses of Liaodong will take advantage of the arrival of the victims in Shandong to Liaodong, recruit them as people's husbands, and set out on March 15 to open the Northern Expedition."

"Jinyiwei gave me a way, there are some tribes in Horqin who are dissatisfied with Nurhachi, and they should be wooed."

"Yes!" Lu Wenzhao and Li Ruolian immediately responded, and Zhu Youzhen also waved his hand to signal them to retreat.

After they all retreated, Zhu Youzhen also leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to recuperate.

However, he closed his eyes for a few seconds before he heard the sound of very light footsteps, and after a few seconds, the tips of his ten fingers touched the top of his head and began to knead slowly.

The smell of the sachet came into his nose, and Zhu Youzhen straightened his waist slightly, allowing the owner of his hands to knead better.

After dealing with military affairs, this rare relaxation made him feel more comfortable, and after a cup of tea, the owner of his hands spoke:

"Your Highness, are you still eating in the study today?"

"Hmm......" Zhu Youzhen responded, and Yang Yuanai, the owner of both hands, also picked up the hot towel next to him and put it on Zhu Youzhen's face, and at the same time glanced at the niece who was holding the tray next to him.

"Ask the cook to prepare a meal, Your Highness will go out on an expedition in a few days, prepare more."

"Hmm!" Yang Ai responded, turned around and trotted out of the study.

Shooting horses on the battlefield, as a general, it is necessary to store a body of fat, not to mention preventing cold arrows, fat can both unload and store energy, so most generals eat more before the war.

Before Zhu Youzhen went out to conquer the Hetao, his weight soared to 140 catties, which was equivalent to more than 160 catties in later generations, and he was a little fat man.

As a result, the battle ended, and the whole person lost more than 20 pounds, which has been maintained until now.

The battlefield is unpredictable, especially in pursuit battles, and it is simply whimsical to want to eat a full meal.

After experiencing that once, Zhu Youzhen can be regarded as knowing why some generals are prone to illness in their old age.

However, judging from the genes of the old Zhu family, Zhu Youzhen still felt that as long as he didn't take any pills, he didn't take too much medicine, and it would not be a problem to live to his sixties.

Fifty years from now, maybe Daming's medical system will be a few grades ahead of now, and there will be no need to worry about it then.

When he was thinking like this, Yang Yuanai, who was helping with the massage, suddenly spoke:

"In recent days, it has been rumored in the capital that Her Royal Highness the Queen is going to choose a concubine for Your Highness."

"Hmm...... I heard ......" Zhu Youzhen responded without a word.

Seeing this, Yang Yuanai asked curiously, "Isn't Your Highness curious about your princess?" ”

"Generally......" Zhu Youzhen replied lazily, because he really didn't care about the so-called princess.

When he became Zhu Youzhen and stepped into the political arena, he knew that it was impossible for him to get such a thing as love.

Since he became the king of Qi and took charge of the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies, he has become even more uninterested in the so-called independent love.

There are a lot of things waiting for him, and in his opinion, as long as the princess can see it.

And as long as he wants...... What woman can't get it?

Thinking so, Zhu Youzhen stopped talking, and Yang Yuanai also closed her mouth.

In the days that followed, Zhu Youzhen was either practicing basic martial arts, or going to the palace to train equestrianism with Zhu Youxiao.

The court was very quiet, perhaps because of Zhu Youzhen's existence, which made all parties in the capital dare not go too far.

In short, spring went to autumn, and a month and a half passed quickly, and Zhu Youzhen also ushered in the moment of going to Baima Pass.

On 17 February, when the Eight Guards and Horses of Beizhili and 300,000 people were transferred to Baima Pass, Zhu Youzhen also embarked on the road to Baima Pass early in the morning.

The reason for choosing early in the morning is very simple, he is afraid that his brother will come over to greet him again, and when the time comes, the two of them will chat, and he is afraid that it will not be over in an hour or two.

Therefore, when he arrived at the Desheng Gate, he began to ride his horse north with the cavalry of the cavalry.

However, he could anticipate Zhu Youxiao's thoughts, and Zhu Youxiao could naturally anticipate his thoughts.

When he rode his horse north, Zhu Youxiao was not in the palace, but appeared on the gate tower of Desheng Gate, behind the female wall, looking at the back of Zhu Youzhen under the city, and finally sighed:

"Alas......"

"Long live, Yang Huan has already arrived at Yanzhou Mansion with people, it is estimated that when His Royal Highness sweeps the north, the matter of Lianghuai will ......"

Zhu Youxiao was sighing, while Liu Ruoyu was whispering about Wei Zhongxian behind his back.

Zhu Youxiao, who has a brocade guard, is almost very clear about what Wei Zhongxian did, and the only thing that is not as clear as Zhu Youzhen is about how much money Wei Zhongxian has eaten.

But even so, Zhu Youxiao also knew that Wei Zhongxian was very greedy.

But in the same way, he also thinks that people who are greedy for money are the best ones to manipulate......

"The salt merchants of Lianghuai have great influence in Jiangbei, and they sent someone to tell Cui Yingyuan, pay attention to it, don't cause public anger......

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Liu Ruoyu slightly, and Liu Ruoyu also bowed his head.

Seeing Liu Ruoyu's actions, Zhu Youxiao turned his head to look at the Xiao Cavalry Guards who had disappeared into the sky, and muttered to himself:

"With my brother gone, I'm afraid that the party struggle between the DPRK and China will start again."

Zhu Youxiao is very clear about the difference between his younger brother in the capital and not in the capital.

He was in the capital, the five parties of Qichu, Zhejiang, Xuankun and Kun among the eunuchs, as well as a group of small parties, as well as Donglin, who was struggling to survive, did not dare to do anything excessive.

But now he is gone, opening up territory for the Ming Dynasty and settling down on the border.

But the side plug is stable, but what about the court......

Zhu Youxiao frowned slightly, and Liu Ruoyu behind him also glanced thoughtfully at the emperor's back.

The behavior of the master and servant was a little inexplicable, and it was not until a quarter of an hour later that Zhu Youxiao turned around, and this strangeness came to an end.

The two returned to the palace under the guard of the Han general, but at the same time as they returned to the palace, the old port, tens of thousands of miles away, also ushered in a group of people who were either rich or noble.

"Put!"

"Bang bang bang-"

The climate in the South Seas in February is pleasant, under the white clouds and blue sky, above the blue sea waves, the twelve cannon salutes of the old port province and the pier of Palembang Province make the atmosphere of the whole Palembang a lot more festive.

One by one, the 9,000-pound cargo ship docked, and then lowered the ladder, followed by a man dressed in silk and satin disembarking in an orderly manner.

On the dock, Huang Long did not personally meet this group of people, but sent Li Dan, who is currently temporarily serving as the Governor's Office of the Navy and is in charge of the fourth grade, to greet him.

More than a year is enough to change a lot of things, and Palembang Province, as the Malay Peninsula with millions of natives, once these millions of natives are united, it can be said that it is easy to build a prosperous city.

Palembang Prefecture is located in Palembang County, and its location is located in the later Ji*Po.

After the construction of millions of people, a large city with a circumference of more than 40 miles of walls was erected along the coast here.

There are nearly 60,000 acres of land in the city, and some flat land has been preliminarily reclaimed on the east and west sides of the city.

But the strange thing is that looking at the flat land from the wharf, all the flat land is full of Han people, and the number of Han people is only a few thousand.

"Li Dan, the secretary of the Navy Governor's Mansion, greetings to all of you ...... long history"

When hundreds of palace officials were still surprised by the prosperity of Palembang, Li Dan's sudden opening instantly broke their surprise and returned the salute.

Among the feudal domains, the powerful feudal king Changshi still stood at the forefront, and when Li Dan reported to his family, a Changshi who didn't know him very well said:

"Qin Domain's chief Shi Sun Yu and Zi Jianxin, dare to ask where is the Governor of Huanglong now? When can I leave for Little West? ”

Sun Yu's words asked the question that the chief historian of the feudal domains cared about, and in this regard, Li Dan said with an unhurried smile:

"Governor Huang is still organizing the encirclement and suppression of rebels in Dongshan Mansion, and now the matter of going to the West is temporarily in charge of this official."

"Everyone, please rest here for two days, tomorrow the Huangshan fleet arrives at the dock from Nanhai Mansion with a hundred supply ships, and the fleet of ships going to the West can set off."

Li Dan's words made everyone breathe a sigh of relief, they were most worried that the old port would be short of supplies, which would cause them to need to stay here for a long time.

"The resting place for you has been arranged, please ......"

Li Dan didn't give Sun Yu a chance to speak, and immediately signaled for them to enter Palembang County, instead of letting them stay at the dock for too long.

Although many long histories are suspicious, after all, they have not done anything excessive on other people's territory.

Shi Sun Jianxin, the head of the Qin Domain, who was the first to speak, took several officials of the Qin Domain to escort him first, and the other feudal domains also followed into Palembang County.

Li Dan watched them leave, and after arranging for a principal to entertain them, he turned around and walked towards the reclamation not far away.

After all the feudal chiefs entered Palembang County, a general who followed Li Dan also spoke:

"This group of clans, coming to Palembang to rest for two days, I don't know how much it will delay us."

"It's a holiday for those natives." A general next to him followed and spoke, while Li Dan said:

"Don't look down on them too much, in the future, after the development of the old port natives, maybe we will need to get some gold and silver from their vassal states to engage in trade."

"Let's talk about the reclamation of new land in Palembang Province." Li Dan looked at a general behind him, and the other party immediately responded:

"From the first month of last year to the present, more than 1.45 million mu have been reclaimed hastily, and this year we only need to intensively cultivate for another year, and we can plant rice next year."

"Hmm...... It's not bad, but it's a little slow. Li Dan bowed slightly, and a general next to him said:

"The governor ordered that the cultivated land of the old port must reach 30 million mu by next year, and at this rate, I am afraid that I will be exhausted to death......"

"Okay, needless to say, you just need to complete the military orders of the Governor and His Highness." Li Dan interrupted what the other party wanted to say, then squatted down and pinched a handful of soil, and sighed:

"In this old port island, except for Dongshan Province, which is relatively barren and difficult to reclaim, the land of the other islands is very fertile."

"Such fertile land, which has been occupied by this group of natives for thousands of years, has not yet been developed, which is really a tyrannical thing."

"What the story is saying is that compared with this group of natives, the people who migrated from my Ming Dynasty can endure hardships a little more." A general chimed in, and the general next to him also said:

"What's the matter, this time the Huangshan fleet is sent to escort the small Western fleet, will there be too few troops?"

"The Huangshan fleet is just a pawn, figuring out the sea area and route for the fleet behind, and the Huangdu Governor has already sent the rest of the first-class fleets here." Li Dan said, and also looked at Palembang County not far away.

He didn't quite understand why Zhu Youzhen wanted to divide this group of vassal kings into Tianzhu, after all, if any of these vassal kings eliminated the other vassal kings in the future, they might become the enemies of the Ming Dynasty.

The feudal war, this kind of thing has happened countless times in history......

Li Dan's idea is actually the idea of the vast majority of Ming generals.

However, such an idea is also thinking in my heart, if anyone dares to say it, I am afraid that they will be taken away by the Jinyi guard of Beizhen Fusi the next day......

Thinking like this, Li Dan also let go of the idea that he shouldn't have, and began to continue to arrange some government affairs in Palembang Government.

He is not a servant who is specifically stationed in Palembang Mansion, but a servant who is accompanied by Huang Long.

If the Western fleet doesn't come, I'm afraid he and Huanglong are exploring the big island south of Dongshan Mansion at this time.

"I don't know where the governor has explored......

Thinking of the big island in the south of the Southeast Prefecture, Li Dan's thoughts drifted thousands of miles away.

Just as his thoughts drifted to Huanglong, a ship thousands of miles away also ran aground in the reef due to improper operation.

The captain who found the stranded ship immediately asked people to wave the flag to the fleet behind and send a vigilant flag, and many captains who saw the flag also avoided the reef group.

"It's a bit interesting, and the vegetation is getting more and more lush as you go south."

When the binoculars were lowered, the yellow dragon, who had grown a short beard, appeared on a huge warship.

The sails were blown by the strong wind, the sea was beating the hull, the dark clouds in the sky and the stranded warship did not stop Huang Long, he looked at the coastline on the right side of the fleet, turned his head and said to the people next to him:

"Order the whole army to continue south, find a place to dock in the front, and wait for the supply ships in the rear."

"Yes!"

When the deputy captain heard this, he immediately began to order people to wave the flag and pass the flag, while Huang Long was holding his hands on the fence, looking at the scene of the angry sea and waves, and his heart was indescribably happy.

Since he had dealt with all the natives along the coast of Dongshan Province half a month ago, Huang Long had left a battalion of Gongwei Battalion, and then marched to the south of Dongshan Province with a first-class fleet.

The fleet has been gone for half a month, from the initial disinterest in the barren coastline, to the interest when the vegetation has become more abundant, and then to the curiosity at the moment, all of which satisfy the man's nature of wanting to take risks.

Soon, the overcast sky began to rain heavily, and the naval fleet in the face of the rain did not stop, and they stubbornly headed south.

The waves crashed, and the entire deck was filled with salty water, and Huang Long himself was also photographed to the core, but this did not dampen his enthusiasm.

Looking at the swaying appearance of all the sailors on the deck, looking at the ups and downs of the warship, Huang Long wanted to roar loudly at this moment, in order to vent his emotions that had been suppressed for a year.

It's just that no matter how high the enthusiasm is, when it is slapped by the sea several times in a row and blown by the wind countless times, it will eventually turn into hunger and cold.

Fortunately, just before nightfall, Huanglong and the others found a long sheltered bay.

All the boats drove close to the beach, then lowered their anchors just before entering the shallow water, and after securing them, everyone ran back to their cabins, gasping for air with a bowl of hot tea in their hands.

Huang Long was no exception, he held the hot tea, blew it, and took a sip to dispel the chill around him.

He sat in the corner, not involved in the discussions of the many generals on the ship about this new continent, and his heart was full of things about Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youzhen.

I don't know how long it took, but when the clothes on my body were dried by the stove, the sound of the waves outside the cabin became quieter.

Huang Long walked out of the cabin with a lantern, and sure enough, the storm had passed.

On the pitch-black sea, only a dozen of their warships braved the hazy firelight, which made Huang Long's heart feel a little depressed.

However, this repression disappeared with the emergence of a fleet in the distance.

The fleet's huge supply fleet followed, and all the fleet's sailors ran to the deck, cheering for them.

Such a cheerful scene made Huang Long smile a little, maybe only at this time, he could forget about those political things and relax himself a little.

"Put the boat out and set up camp on the coast."

The supply fleet arrived, and Huanglong also issued a military order.

Soon, hundreds of small boats began to be lowered, and then rowed to the shore by sailors.

They arrived at the shore in an orderly manner, and after towing the boat to the beach, they began to set up the tents on the boat one by one.

They formed a large circle on the beach with small boats, like a fortification.

Some people go in search of slightly dry firewood, while others explore the surroundings.

After making sure that the beach was safe, they began to use torches as flags to wave the flag.

Given the safety of the situation, Huang Long also landed on the beach with a large number of sailors, and the cooks of the supply fleet landed on the beach last.

By the time they landed, Huang Long had already sat in a large tent that had been built.

He had a candle lit, and then he took out the book and began to read it repeatedly.

This can be regarded as the only thing he can have for recreation in the South Seas, except for fighting and exploring.

After about half an hour, the bonfire began to ignite, and the tent was lit up inside and outside, and the sailors gathered around the campfire, singing the folk songs of their hometown, which soothed Huanglong's tense nerves a lot.

At this time, a captain also opened the curtain with a plate of food:

"Governor, the meal is ready, let's eat some first."

"Hmm...... Got lamb? Huang Long, who smelled the smell of mutton, moved his index finger, and at the same time asked curiously.

After all, in Nanyang, the number of sheep is still relatively small, and even an existence of Huanglong's level can only eat one meal a month at most.

"Yes, it's a supply fleet sent by Nanhai Prefecture, and someone has sent you a letter from the Mandu Governor."

"Huh?" Hearing that it was Man Gui's letter, Huang Long didn't care about the tenderness of the mutton, but directly grabbed the handwritten book and opened it to take a look.

He looked nervously at the contents of the handwritten book, all because he had been thinking about how many people could support his idea these days.

After all, if the relationship between Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youzhen is not resolved, their group of people will have to worry and fear all the time.

He thought that in the letter, Man Gui would bring him a long list of people who were willing to support him, but he didn't want to open the letter, but he saw the content of the emperor and Man Gui's openness.

"......" Looking at the contents of the handbook, Huang Long frowned.

"Governor, what's wrong? Is there a war in the north? The captain asked curiously, and Huang Long also lit the handwriting and threw it into the furnace after reading it.

The flame lit up his cheek when the handbook was lit, but it was quickly extinguished again, plunging the whole tent into a dusk.

Huang Long's expressionless face bowed slightly: "Well, Your Highness is going to launch the second battle to sweep the north." ”

"Wouldn't that be nice?" The captain didn't understand why his own governor's face was like this.

"You go down first, I'll be alone and quiet." Huang Long waved his hand and motioned for the captain to go down, and the captain saluted when he heard this, and then withdrew from the tent.

After he left, Huang Long didn't speak for a long time, until the hot broth on the table stopped smoking, and then he sighed:

"Alas......"

A long sigh has many meanings, I don't know if Huang Long is sighing for the miscarriage of his plan, or if he is sighing for Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youzhen's brothers, friends and brothers, in short, Huang Long's expression is complicated.

He looked at the black ash that no longer existed in the furnace, and after a moment muttered to himself:

"Brother and brother are good, but what about uncle and nephew......"

(End of chapter)