Waterfront City.

Zou Mansion.

When Zou Huanzhang returned to the house, it was late at night.

He got out of the carriage, bid farewell to the coachman, and stood in front of the gate of the Zou Mansion.

At one time, this gate was painted with vermilion lacquer and was shiny and beautiful.

The word Zou Mansion on the lintel of this gate is still mentioned by Emperor Jinghua himself!

What a scenery Zou Mansion was at that time!

Can ...... now

The vermilion door had long since been mottled.

Only the word Zou Fu on the lintel, although the gold paint has also peeled off a lot, but it still has some light under the sunshine, as if telling the people of Linshui City about the glory of the past.

But under the light of this red lantern, it is not conspicuous and not bright.

In fact, the neighbors of Linshui City will no longer turn their heads to take another look when they pass by here.

Now that the regent has come to Linshui City, he has eaten two glasses of wine with the regent, and after listening to his words, Zou Huanzhang's heart, which has been silent, seems to be surging again at this time.

He stroked his long beard, looked at the lintel, looked at the mottled gate, and thought to himself that if the regent's words were realized, the Zou Mansion would probably regain its former glory.

He walked up to the door, reached out and grabbed the knocker, and tapped it vigorously.

In a moment, the door creaked open.

An old servant poked his head out to take a look, hurriedly opened the door, and bowed, "Master, you're finally back!" ”

"What's wrong?"

"The eldest young master, they are all very worried...... In addition, Xie Tongju, Master Xie and an old man are also waiting for you to come back in the house. ”

"Master, what's the matter, right?"

Zou Huanzhang smiled slightly, "Old Yang, it's a good thing!" ”

Steward Yang was immediately overjoyed, the lord was invited by the regent to go to the Admiral's Mansion!

The old man came back safely and said it was a good thing......

Obviously, the regent received the master, and it must be the matter of rebuilding the Guangling Sailor in this waterfront port!

Zou Huanzhang walked into the door, Steward Yang hurriedly closed the door, and he followed behind Zou Huanzhang with a lamp.

After walking through the two courtyards and crossing the three moon gates, Zou Huanzhang came to the study in the back garden.

He stopped and thought for a moment:

"You go and prepare a table of wine and food, and ask Jiahui and them to come to my study......

"By the way, what is the matter with the head of the Xie family?"

Steward Yang bowed and replied:

"It was originally a good thing...... The old man brought by the head of the Xie family is the old man Chen Dingmao, the head of the Chen family in Yingzhou! ”

"When the old slave heard about it, he said that Mr. Chen wanted to recruit a group of craftsmen...... Especially blacksmiths who know how to smelt and carpenter also need some. ”

"The eldest young master, they are drinking tea with the head of the Xie family and the head of the Chen family...... The eldest young master is very concerned about this, after all, the work of the Chen family in Yingzhou is usually very large, so he will not build some fishing boats like now. ”

When Zou Huanzhang heard this, he immediately became happy.

"The one who came was a guest, and he also invited the two of them to bring the old man's treasured altar of paintings!"

"The old slave obeys!"

Steward Yang turned to leave, and Zou Huanzhang walked into the study, sat down at the tea table and made a pot of tea.

Before the water boiled, his eldest son Zou Jiahui came to the study with six people.

Zou Huanzhang got up, arched his hand at Xie Tongju and Chen Dingmao, and said with a happy face:

"I don't know that Brother Xie and Guild Chen came to the cold house, and the old man came back because of the invitation of the regent, and he treated the two distinguished guests slowly, and asked the two to forgive him!"

"Please be seated, please be seated!"

Xie Tongju also arched his hand and said with a smile: "Brother Zou, looking at your old complexion, it must be a great thing!" ”

Chen Dingmao also arched his hand with a smile on his face: "Brother Zou is polite!" ”

"Ding Mao has heard of the old lady's name in Yingzhou!"

"Linshui Zou clan, that's a shipbuilding family given by the royal family!"

"Ding Mao came to visit rashly, it's good that Brother Zou didn't blame me for being abrupt!"

Zou Huanzhang stretched out his hand and said: "The head of the Chen family came in person, making my humble house shine, and it is too late for the old man to rejoice, so why say it abruptly." ”

"You two, please take a seat!"

Xie Tongju and Chen Dingmao sat down.

Zou Huanzhang's three sons and one grandson waited beside him in a regular manner.

Xie Tongju leaned over at this time and asked in a low voice: "Brother Zou, looking at your old look, does the regent intend to repair those warships of the Guangling Navy Division?" ”

"Hey......

Zou Huanzhang stroked his long beard, "It's not a secret, and you don't have to hide it from the two of you." ”

"The regent invited the old man to a table with a jug of wine!"

"I tell you, our regent is young, elegant, learned, and ...... Affinity! ”

It was of course a very glorious thing to be invited by the regent to drink at the same table.

Zou Huanzhang naturally boasted about Li Chen'an fiercely, and everyone here was stunned.

They couldn't imagine that such a high-ranking young man would be so casual and so unassuming.

"The old man is just a small people, don't say that you should kneel when you see the regent, even if you see the Admiral, you should kneel."

"But the regent stopped the old man from bowing down, and invited the old man to sit on the throne!"

"Hey......"

Zou Huanzhang sighed, but it was not regret, but admiration:

"The regent is so open-minded, he is impressed by the old decay!"

"If he is emperor...... He must be the greatest emperor of all ages! ”

As soon as Zou Huanzhang's words came out, Zhou Tongju and Chen Dingmao looked at each other, and they felt that Zou Huanzhang's words were a little bigger.

Zou Huanzhang didn't care.

He took a pinch of tea and put it in the teapot, and said:

"Do you think the regent is just going to repair the warships of the Guangling Naval Division?"

"You're wrong!"

"I never expected it when I went!"

Zhou Jiahui, who was standing on the side, heard this, and his eyes suddenly lit up, "Dad, is the regent still going to build a new warship?" ”

"It's not just about building new ships!"

"Next, some of our Zou family are busy."

"Jiahui,"

"The child is here!"

"Tomorrow, no, you'll write a letter and issue a family summoning order!"

"Order all the disciples of the Zou clan to return to Linshui City as quickly as possible...... Please also invite all the craftsmen who followed our Zou family in the past to return to Linshui City! ”

This battle ......

Xie Tongju's eyes widened: "Brother Zou, are you talking about what kind of big work the regent is going to do?" ”

"Hehe, next, we are going to rebuild the dock of Linshui Port, and we will also build a new dock in Linfengdu and Huaishan County!"

"The regent needs to build fifty new warships in Linshui City and Linfeng Ferry, do you think this is a big job or not?"

Zhou Tongju and Chen Dingmao were stunned.

Zou Jiahui and the four are no exception!

Zou Jiahui made a rough estimate, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and whispered:

"Dad, if that's the case, at least ...... 40,000,000 taels of silver! ”

"We, Ningguo, where did we get so much silver?"

Everyone looked at Zou Huanzhang.

Zou Huanzhang extinguished the fire and poured three cups of tea, "I don't know if I am old, but since the regent said it so seriously, he has a way to solve this silver." ”

The study fell silent.

No one knows how the regent was able to conjure up 40 million taels of silver in a short period of time.

After a while, Chen Dingmao asked:

"Since Linshui City and Linfeng Ferry are used to build warships, what is the dock of Huaishan County used for?"

"By the way, I was about to tell you about it."

"The regent is going to build merchant ships at the Huaisan County Dockyard...... But it is not the Caoyun Division attributed to the Ministry of Households. ”

Chen Dingmao was stunned: "Which yamen does that belong to?" ”

"The ship no longer belongs to any yamen!"

"What the Lord Regent means is that merchants can have their own fleet."

Chen Dingmao was suddenly shocked, his eyes widened, and after a while, he cautiously said two words:

"Really?"