Zheng He looked at Xia Yuanji, who was generously speaking in front of him, and couldn't help but be silent.

Natsuhara looked a little drunk, and what he said seemed to be just some drunken words.

Maybe he wasn't drunk, but he just told some big truths hidden in his heart through the wine.

However, Zheng He knew that what he said was all his sincere words.

Not only Natsuharaji, but most of the ministers in the DPRK and China are all holding the same idea.

They have no selfish intentions, they are completely for the sake of the country and the people, and they are not wrong for the sake of the country.

However, Zheng He did not agree with their opinions, and he had completely different ideas about them.

Although these adults are for the country and the people, and for the society of the country, their vision is too narrow after all.

They are all high up, sitting firmly in the court of the capital, they have not been to the sea, they have not seen the vast, seemingly boundless magnificent scene.

Only above the sea can you truly feel the insignificance of people, the emptiness of life, and the vastness of the world.

For ministers like Xia Yuanji, the territory of the Ming Dynasty in front of them is already the most extensive world they can know, but for Zheng He, this is not the case.

Although for the time being, these ocean-going countries that the voyage went to are still very weak, so weak that they do not pose a threat to the Ming Dynasty at all, and even make these adults worthless, but what about the farther away?

On the other side of this vast ocean, is there another more expansive land? Are there other people? Is there still a country that is strong enough to pose a threat to the Ming Dynasty, or even surpass it?

Even if it doesn't now, what about 10 or 20 years from now? 100 years from now? Who can guarantee that this will not happen?

Zheng He didn't know.

It's just that the farther he sails, the more different lands and people he sees, the more abrupt such thoughts appear in his mind.

These countries that seem to be still very weak now, they have different customs and customs, and have their own different rich specialties, once they find their own advantages, work hard, and flourish, over time, become a lingering piece of heart disease in the Ming Dynasty, this is definitely not an impossible thing.

Could it be that on the other side of the ocean, there is already such a country?

Zheng He had such worries.

Therefore, the current Ming Dynasty must not blindly terminate the voyage plan because of the difficulties in front of it or because of the stable environment that it knows at the moment.

On the contrary, we should develop this plan more vigorously, and strive to understand our surroundings, understand the other side of the ocean, and understand the world we live in.

Be prepared for danger in times of peace and take precautions, only in this way can we truly ensure that the country of our Ming Dynasty will be eternal and the emperor will be forever.

However, all this, all his worries and worries, there was no way to tell Xia Yuanji in front of him, or those ministers in the court, or even the emperor himself.

Once you say it, they will ridicule it as unfounded, right?

People are always like this, instinctively have a kind of doubt and rejection, and even fear of what they don't know.

In Zheng He's eyes, ministers like Xia Yuanji are like frogs at the bottom of a well, chattering about how beautiful the palm-sized place at the bottom of the well is, but they don't know how vast and magnificent the world outside the well will be.

However, Zheng He couldn't tell them all this, because they would never believe it.

He could not and was not entitled to laugh at and despise them, for he himself was only a frog glancing out at the mouth of the well, and he was only a fifty-step laugh and a hundred-step laugh.

So all he had to do now was to do his best to continue the voyage and tell others what the real world was like. Use practical actions to eliminate those hidden dangers that may threaten the world of the Ming Dynasty in the future.

And the first step in this is to get rid of the Tobe Shangshu in front of him, Lord Xia Yuanji, who is holding the money bag of the imperial court.

Before meeting Xia Yuanji, Zheng He never thought that this nerd, who was buried in official affairs and account books all day long, would have such an incisive understanding and analysis of the current situation in the future, nor did he expect that his opposition to the voyage plan would be so resolute.

Obviously, he had carefully read his own account of the voyage, which of course the emperor had allowed him to see, and he had also come to the conclusion that the countries around the ocean were no threat to the Ming Dynasty, so such a costly voyage plan was completely meaningless.

It seems that it is now completely impossible for me to convince him of his plans through what I have seen and heard along the way.

Then he had to find another way to persuade this stubborn Lord Xia, although this was the method that Zheng He was most reluctant to adopt.

He smiled and got up and poured a glass of wine for Xia Yuanji, and said: "I didn't expect that Lord Xia was so concerned about the current situation and the victims in various places. ”

Xia Yuanji raised his glass and drank it all, looking at him with a drunken and hazy look, and he didn't seem to hear his sycophants.

Zheng He sat back in the chair slowly, and said in a long and faint voice: "It's just that when it comes to what benefits the country and the people, Lord Xia, do you think you really understand the emperor's thoughts?"

Xia Yuanji was stunned for a moment, the drunkenness in his eyes decreased slightly, and he looked at Zheng He waiting for his next step.

Zheng He showed an unfathomable smile on his face, and said slowly: "Do you think that the emperor is trying to resolutely implement this voyage plan at any cost of public opinion, is it really just for those unwarranted rumors, what Emperor Jianwen is actually not dead, but has fled overseas, waiting for an opportunity to rise such nonsense? Do you really believe it?"

As soon as these words came out, Xia Yuanji's face changed greatly.

Since Zhu Di ascended the throne, he has always been secretive about Emperor Jianwen's self-immolation and death.

He even changed the name of "Jianwen" in the historical records, and ordered the year of Jianwen to still use the "Hongwu" year name of Emperor Taizu, as if to erase the traces left by Zhu Yunwen's reign, so as to prove the legitimacy of his inheritance of the unification.

As for the people, especially the ministers of the DPRK and China, it is strictly forbidden to talk about or even mention the word "Jianwen".

Zheng He has never had a friendship with himself, but now he calmly said the word "Emperor Jianwen" to himself, although there was no one present at this time, but it also surprised Xia Yuanji, and he was also grateful for his trust in him.

After a while, he asked softly, "If it's not for this, then why?"

Zheng He shook his head and said, "The emperor has always acted with foresight and foresight, how can a courtier like you and me understand his thoughts?"

He slowly picked up the wine glass in front of him and sighed softly, "Just like the wine in this cup, before entering it, except for the person who filled it, who can know in advance whether it is filled with elixir or bitter wine?"

He raised his glass and drank it all, and said, "But what choice do we have as courtiers? No matter what others think, we can only drink water like a person, and know whether it is warm or cold." ”

Xia Yuanji also lowered his head when he said this, and he seemed to be quite touched.

There was a moment of silence, as if he wanted to say something.

Zheng He opened his mouth again and said: "The emperor usually loves chess, and the importance of chess is especially in the layout, maybe you and I are just an inconspicuous little chess piece in the emperor's big layout, together with this huge cost, the voyage plan of the army, maybe it is just a small chess piece, why do you have to understand it so well? Sometimes born in the world, the most rare thing is that it is rare to be confused. ”

What Xia Yuanji wanted to say was forcibly blocked back by Zheng He, and he lowered his head again, thoughtful.

Zheng He stretched out his bamboo and took a bite of the dish, and said casually: "When I returned to Beijing this time, I heard that a lot of major events have happened in the capital!"

Xia Yuanji asked casually absentmindedly, "What's the big deal?"

Zheng He said lightly: "I heard that Ye Feng, the son of the former Jinyi Guard's commander Ye Zhiqiu's family, suddenly died in the Qin Emperor's Mausoleum. And the son of the British duke, that

The little fat man of the Zhang family also suddenly committed a serious crime, was arrested in prison, and was expelled from the house by the British public, but finally escaped from prison inexplicably. ”

Xia Yuanji was stunned for a moment, but there was no squeak.

Zheng He suddenly changed the topic at this moment, and suddenly asked seemingly casually: "By the way, Ling Gongzi is now on an errand in the Ministry of Officials, right?

Xia Yuanji's heart shook violently.

Zheng He's seemingly brainless nonsense, listening to his ears, it meant something completely different.

Xia Yuanji naturally knew clearly what the relationship was between his son, the boss of the Xie Jin family, the little fat man of the British family, and Ye Feng?

Of course, he also knows why these children have been so good since they were young, and even married Jin Lan later, of course, this is not accidental.

Up to now, several other children have died, imprisoned, and fugitive, but only his son Xia Xuan is unscathed and is still working as an errand in the ministry.

However, these words came out of Zheng He's mouth, which made Xia Yuanji extremely shocked.

How did he know all this?

Even though the emperor favors Zheng He like that, the plan behind this matter that he has been planning for many years will never tell Zheng He, who is an outsider.

But at this moment, Zheng He mentioned this matter, and Xia Yuanji heard some threats from these words.

Don't look at the safety now, his son, himself, and even his whole family and clan, the safety of the family, young and old, are all in the emperor's thoughts.

Does he dare to disobey the emperor's will now?

Looking at Xia Yuanji's face changing several times, Zheng He knew in his heart that he had succeeded.

In fact, he didn't know what kind of plan these children were involved in.

It's just that he has been by the emperor's side for many years, and he knows the emperor too well, and from the emperor's special concern for these children, intentionally or unintentionally, he keenly feels that there is something wrong.

In addition, as soon as he heard about the fate of these children when he returned to Beijing this time, he naturally guessed that there must be some plan involving the emperor, and it was a very huge plan that had been planned for many years.

Among the children, only Xia Yuanji's only son stayed out of the matter and was unharmed, so it was absolutely impossible for Xia Yuanji, as a father, not to know about it.

Therefore, Zheng He took the risk to say this here, and the vague adventure mentioned Xia Yuanji.

Although there are some subordinates in this way, Zheng He can't care about so much at the moment.

Luckily, it looks like he succeeded this time.

Xia Yuanji's face showed that his words had caused a violent shock in his heart, as long as he had the slightest doubt about whether the emperor had ordered it behind this private meeting, he had absolutely no other choice.

Sure enough, after Xia Yuanji sat for a long time, he sighed and said in a low voice: "Regarding that money, the household department will be able to allocate it tomorrow at the latest." ”

Zheng He smiled and bowed and said, "Then thank you Lord Xia." ”

Xia Yuanji snorted coldly, stood up, and said bluntly: "Xiaguan is busy with official business, so he has no time to accompany Lord Zheng to enjoy this wine and food, Lord Zheng will take care of himself, and Xiaguan will leave first." ”

With that, he turned around and strode out of the room without looking back.

After he left, Zheng He's face showed a helpless smile, it seemed that this time he really offended this important minister of the court, not only him, but I was afraid that a large number of important ministers who were good friends with him in the future would regard him as an enemy.

In the future, when I return to this once familiar capital, I wonder if there will still be a friend who is willing to talk to me?

Looking at the snow blowing outside the open window, Zheng He felt a hint of midwinter chill.

At this moment, on the street outside, I don't know who is singing Li Bai's poems loudly: "Li Bai is about to go on a boat, and suddenly he hears the sound of singing on the shore......"

For some reason, Zheng He heard a strong sense of desolation and gloom from this singing.