Although Ninghai County is located in Zhejiang, it is close to the coast and agriculture is not prosperous. The so-called relying on the mountains to eat the mountains, relying on the sea to eat the sea. Fortunately, its coastline is jagged and concave, and it has become a natural dockyard. Therefore, Ninghai County is also the gathering place of several of the largest shipping companies in the Ming Dynasty.

Almost all the businesses in Ninghai County rely on the shipping industry. And the largest inn in the county, the Four Seas Inn, has been occupied by merchants who come and go to buy ships. Just like every inn where Ji Chang'an has lived, now the Four Seas Inn has been chartered by him alone.

About ten days ago, the inn began to stop accepting new guests. The boss spent a lot of money to renovate the stairs and walls in the inn in a hurry, and the flower stands and screens were also replaced with the latest styles. And all this is not just to please Ji Chang'an, the youngest Jinyi Wei Qianhu, the big celebrity in front of the emperor. It was even more for the young man named Zheng He who came with him.

Zheng He's original surname was Ma Minghe, and his nickname was Sanbao, and he was a native of Kunyang, Yunnan. His family was originally a wealthy family in Yunnan, and his father was a very prestigious person in the local area. Only because in the thirteenth year of Hongwu, the army led by Lan Yu attacked Yunnan, and he was also plundered to Nanjing by the army, and was castrated into a eunuch, and finally entered Zhu Di's Yanwang Mansion.

Today's Zhu Di has already ascended the throne in the capital, and Zheng He has also made great achievements. Zhu Di once gave him the word "Zheng" in the imperial book, and since then he has become Zheng He. Zhu Di also trusted him very much, and at a young age, he was promoted to the rank of internal official eunuch, with the rank of fourth grade, second only to the celebrant eunuch.

You must know that Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang hated eunuchs very much all his life. He strictly forbade eunuchs to read and write, and to communicate with foreign officials, and only ordered them to prepare for sweeping and running in the palace. He also deliberately cast an iron plaque and hung it on the palace gate. The iron plaque reads: "Ministers are not allowed to interfere in political affairs, and offenders will be beheaded." "Therefore, the power of the chamberlain at that time was probably the lowest in the entire history of China.

But in Zhu Di's hands, the situation changed again. You must know that the reason why he was able to achieve this great position in the world was because he had the support of eunuchs.

He knows that these people who walk on the side of the couch and table all the year round are the most vulnerable to being taken advantage of by others if they do not see hope.

And Zhu Di is a man of great talent, he can make good use of the eunuch's right-hand man, and will not be at the mercy of the eunuchs. Therefore, the eunuchs also gained unprecedented trust and authority in Zhu Di's hands.

Now this Zheng He can be described by the word "hot". Everyone knows that he represents the emperor's opinions, acts as the emperor's eyes and ears, and even sprinkles silver on behalf of the emperor. Such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attain enlightenment may not be met by ordinary people who have cultivated for ten lifetimes.

As long as Zheng He is well married, he may be able to have wealth in the future.

Bao Guoxing, the commander of Ninghai County, had been waiting in the inn for a long time. Suddenly, someone rushed to report that Zheng He and their men had entered the city, and they were about to turn into the inn in a blink of an eye.

Bao Guoxing is more than fifty years old, and his fat body is trembling with excitement at this time. He has reached this age, and he has no hope of being a Beijing official again in this life. This Zheng He is probably the biggest person he can see in this life.

Once again, he turned his head and asked Lao Cui, the shopkeeper of the Four Seas Inn, as if he was not at ease: "The pillows and bedding are the cleanest?"

Lao Cui nodded and repeated for the tenth time: "Back to the adult's words, they are all high-grade new goods bought from Hangzhou. ”

Bao Guoxing nodded and said, "Cleanliness is the most important thing. Our father-in-law Zheng is born to love cleanliness and can't stand the slightest bit of dirty. You must always be aware of this. ”

Seeing that Lao Cui nodded yes again and again, Bao Guoxing stood up. Walked outside the inn door to greet Zheng He and his group.

Sure enough, after a short time, three men and a woman led two horses to the inn. These four people are all good-looking and have their own charms. The two men at the head, one is a white and gentle jade son, and the other is a fierce warrior. They are well-dressed, obviously Zheng He and Ji Changan. There was also a man and a woman, which were not mentioned in the news. Although they are dressed simply, their appearance is also handsome and handsome, and they are elegant and elegant.

Bao Guoxing is not like a businessman like Old Man Shen and Widow Yan, he is a hundred times better informed than them, and he will never recognize the wrong person. I saw him rush towards Zheng He with an arrow step, and he smiled happily with a fat face. Stretched out his hand to grab Zheng He's hand, so that he could be close.

I saw him say in a loud voice: "Gonggong Zheng, you are so good to come." We have you here in Ninghai County, which is really a great creation. ”

Suddenly, he saw Zheng He carefully withdraw his hand from his pair of fleshy palms, and took a step back slightly, widening the distance between the two of them a little.

But after all, Zheng He is a celebrity who has been trusted by Zhu Di, and he still has a warm smile on his face. Although his voice is clear, his figure does not look contrived. only said: "Lord Bao is too polite." Our family is just an errand for the emperor, and where it can be, it can be a kind of creation. ”

He said this politely and gently, if he didn't know that he was a eunuch, he would really be a rich boy who read poetry and books.

Bao Guoxing didn't pay attention to this little thing at all, and talked excitedly. He also wanted to lead them to visit Ninghai, and said that he wanted to accompany them to taste the special seafood. He also proposed a song here. The prostitute has a wonderful voice, and it is worth inviting them to sing a few songs.

Zheng He chatted with him all the way, not showing the slightest impatience. Ji Changan was no longer so good-natured, clasped his hands, impatiently found a random chair, and sat down by himself.

Lu'er also listened to it for most of the day, and his feet were a little sore. She whispered to Fang Zhongjin: "It seems that it is not easy to be an official. The politeness in this officialdom is always unavoidable, and the people who say it are tired, and the people who listen are also tired. It's better to be a Jianghu person and be relaxed. ”

Fang Zhongjin said with a smile: "Don't you have a politeness when you are a Jianghu person?"

At this time, Ji Changan on the side finally didn't want to wait any longer. Originally, his status in the court was not lower than Zheng He's, but this time he robbed the messenger who escorted Zheng He, so overkill, precisely because he knew that Zheng He's destination was Ninghai. And the person he was looking for—Fang Zhongjin—was likely to be in Ninghai.

They didn't make a big deal this trip, so they only came with two people. Ji Changan was not idle along the way, and used all kinds of means to inquire about Fang Zhongjin's news. It was only now that this kid was caught outside Ninghai County. In fact, he had a lot of things that he had to say, but because Bao Guoxing was talking, he didn't have a chance to say it until now.

Ji Changan finally snorted, stood up suddenly, and said to Zheng He: "Ah He, I won't wait for you." Zheng He smiled and nodded to Ji Changan, with a look of handing it over to me here.

Ji Changan turned his head to Fang Zhongjin and said, "Come with me, I have something important to tell you." ”