Chapter 138: The Return

Fortunately, just when He Xi was ready to leave. Zhu Yuanzhang's edict arrived. He Xi's return to Beijing became logical.

This time, the fleet going north was not much less than the fleet going south.

When going south, there were a large number of material troops, and this time when they went north, the capable big countries not only had one ship, but also many small countries borrowed the ships of the Ming Dynasty, in short, there were dozens of them, not to mention, many merchant ships also followed the big tributary ships together.

Now He Xi doesn't pay much attention to the specific business of the Ming merchants.

After all, when it comes to doing business, Chinese businessmen are no weaker than any businessman in the world. In addition, the Ming army opened up a market for them. If the Chinese businessmen are still not doing good business, they should take a piece of tofu and kill them as soon as possible.

But He Xi knew that this time when he went south, a large number of businessmen made a lot of money.

Some merchant ships undertook a large number of transshipment business from the Nanyang Governor's Palace, and many merchants found business opportunities in Nanyang and did all kinds of business.

One of them, or the Shang Gang, caught He Xi's attention.

That is the Chaozhou merchant gang.

The reason why He Xi paid attention to them was because the business of this merchant gang was nothing else, but sugar. Sugar.

He Xi naturally knows the unlimited potential of the sugar market in the future. I also know that this sugarcane is a kind of cash crop that is very suitable for the South Seas. Together, the two will have a powerful impact.

If no one does it, He Xi may intervene, but it has already been done, and He Xi is just observing. Life itself will find its own direction.

In short, a large number of merchants also followed the Ming fleet north, forming a mighty northward fleet.

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It seems that God is sheltering, and the journey is smooth. There were no problems. Directly to Suzhou Liujiagang.

In Liujiagang, Suzhou, I encountered some minor problems.

The docks in Liujiagang are full. There are a large number of ships moored. And as mentioned earlier, although Liujiagang is a large port at the mouth of the Yangtze River, the conditions are not very good. And with the development of the times, sediment has accumulated. It is also slowly silting. Even if it is cleaned up manually, it can only be delayed, not stopped.

This is also the reason why Liujiagang had almost no reputation later.

The last glory of Liujiagang is that Zheng He set off from here when he went to the West.

However, Liujiagang is a big port after all, and it is difficult for ordinary fleets to fill all the berths in Liujiagang.

Soon, He Xi knew whose fleet it was.

It's none other than King Zhou.

The king of Zhou was divided into two states. Before He Xi won a series of battles in Nanyang, King Zhou was very, very resistant. I simply felt that this incident was clearly Feng Sheng betraying him for his own interests.

In particular, Feng Sheng later replaced Xu Da and sat in Beiping, becoming the commander of the north, controlling hundreds of thousands of horses. It can be said that the weight of the country is half in Feng Sheng's body. It made King Zhou even more resentful. There was even a conflict with Princess Zhou.

Of course, Princess Zhou, the tiger girl of the gate, will not be easily softened. Anyway, it's a mess.

But when He Xi turned his hands into clouds and turned his hands into rain in Nanyang, King Zhou's mind changed.

People always despise the difficulty of others doing certain things, and the same is true for King Zhou. Among Zhu Yuanzhang's sons, there are very few people who are not successful. King Zhou is the half-brother of King Yan, although he is hesitant and not decisive enough. But it can't be said that there are no talents.

Historically, he has made great contributions to medicine, and has also compiled books such as "Materia Medica". He is very solid in his studies.

When King Zhou saw that He Xi could do this, he suddenly felt that he should be able to do this. He originally thought that Nanyang was a difficult and hopeless place, so he was reluctant to leave Daming, and he struggled in Daming, first saying that this preparation was not good, and then that preparation was wrong. And under the pretext that the wind is not in the right direction today, the zodiac will not be good tomorrow. It dragged on and didn't leave.

But the news of He Xi came. King Zhou suddenly moved faster, and he didn't mention that the wind direction was unfavorable.

After all, when Daming's ship faced headwinds, it was only half the effort, not that it could not sail.

The reason why King Zhou rushed to Nanyang in such a hurry was that he wanted to enter before the situation in Nanyang was settled and get a piece of the pie. Under the unstable situation in Nanyang, King Zhou still has a chance. But once the South Seas stabilized. I guess the situation is not very easy to manage.

Lu Zhongheng would not give what he got to King Zhou.

Even if King Zhou is a prince, he can't suppress Lu Zhongheng, an old general.

After He Xi learned about these situations, he seemed to be a little worried in his heart.

Happily, King Zhou went south with at least tens of thousands of people. Maybe not a single shipment. In short, the strength of the Ming Dynasty in Nanyang has increased again. But what worries me is the power struggle in Nanyang. Contradictions and cooperation between the Nanyang Governor's Office and the local vassal kings.

However, this is inevitable in He Xi's original framework.

On the one hand, it is to deal with the imperial court. Go to the country and hang away. It is almost 10,000 miles away from the imperial court, and if you don't have enough autonomy, you can't do anything, and if you have enough autonomy, you won't be able to cut off your dominance in the future.

He Xi's situation of holding a stack of blank middle orders in his hand can only be an extraordinary situation.

Therefore, it is necessary to induce a containment force. The best choice for the vassal king.

In terms of power, the Doge's Office could command the troops of the vassal kings. But for the vassal king, it is not moving. I can't move. But the vassal king is the future tiger of Nanyang. This is the inevitability of reassuring the imperial court.

On the other hand, it is also inevitable to cooperate with the Ming Dynasty to open up overseas and move the hidden dangers of the domestic vassal kings out.

At this time, suddenly a small boat came over, but it was King Zhou who asked He Xi to come over and talk about it.

He Xi had no reason to refuse.

So, He Xi moved the boat to board the ship.

King Zhou has been waiting for a long time.

It was not the first time He Xi and King Zhou had met. The two exchanged a few words. The two sides sat down.

King Zhou sighed and said; "Brother He, you have lost weight. It's also dark. ”

King Zhou is younger than He Xi, and he is the same age as He Xi, so it is also very appropriate to call him a brother.

He Xi said: "Everything in Nanyang is good, but the sun is too poisonous. The prince went. This is expected to be the case in the future. ”

King Zhou laughed and said; "Brother He is happy, I won't go around in circles. I invite you here today to ask you about the affairs of Nanyang. ”

He Xi naturally knew everything, said everything, and even when it came to the rise, he even withdrew the wine and food. Bring pen and paper. He Xi drew a map of the islands in the South China Sea on the table with his bare hands, and as far as the situation around the old port was concerned, he did not hesitate to pay attention to detail. By the way, sell yourself the Old Port Governance Plan.

He Xi said; "Your Highness, as long as you can do this thing well. Zhou dominates the South Seas, no problem. ”

King Zhou was also fascinated when he heard it, but he quickly gathered his mind and said, "Not bad, not bad." It's just that in this kind of marginal wasteland, such a big project has been made. Thousands of miles of causeways were built, as well as seawalls, and so on. It is difficult to complete it in a hundred years. Or rather, it's almost impossible to accomplish. What are the benefits of doing so? ”

"Benefits?" He Xi was stunned. Immediately, I suddenly felt that King Zhou asked this question so well. Because to do or not to do this project. The quality of life of King Zhou and his family will not change at all. Even, I push forward this project. On the contrary, it will affect the quality of life of King Zhou.

A lot of things seem taken for granted. But in fact, they all turned a few corners.

He Xi's heart moved, and he said: "There are some words, I only say them here, and when I go out, I don't recognize anything." ”

King Zhou said, "Brother He, please speak." ”

He Xi said: "Your Highness's glory and wealth, power over the world, is it your own?" ”

King Zhou's heart moved, and he said secretly: "What kind of nonsense is this?" How is it not mine. ”

He Xi said leisurely: "In fact, it is the biggest benefit to be a king in Nanyang. It's what you have, it's really your own. It will not be taken away by someone else's will. That's all there is to it. Leave. ”

King Zhou was quite rude and didn't get up to see him off at all. It was because he was immersed in He Xi's words.

Many times, when people have something for a long time, they will have the illusion that after renting for a long time, they feel as if the house is their own.

The same is true for King Zhou.