The rise of the prince

Chapter 400 The Emperor's Expectations

"My lord, Xiao Hongqi, a businessman from the Liao Kingdom, has not brought graphite to the capital for more than two months." Yan Yan said.By the Wangfu River, Li Xingzhou was supervising the workers to dismantle the hydraulic drive workshop that was unable to work due to the wear and tear of the main bearing, and at the same time listened to Yan Yan's report that the wooden bearings were indeed not wear-resistant.

In the future, the water-driven workshop will be built in the new Wangfu area, and steel bearings will be used to control the water power, unlike the unstable and uncontrollable water level on the river.

Li Xingzhou said with a smile: "In the past, Xiao Hongqi transported graphite for us, starting from Shangjing, taking the Tokyo Road, then crossing the Bohai Sea, and transporting it from the mouth of the sea to Kaiyuan." He said with a sigh: "Now the Tokyo Road has fallen into the Jurchens In his hands, Zhongjing has fallen, how could he go south through the territory of the Kingdom of Jin in Shangjing?"

Yan Yan also nodded helplessly: "Fortunately, the prince took a long-term view and let us buy as much as we can. Now the palace still has a lot of inventory, which is enough for next autumn, summer and autumn."

Li Xingzhou nodded, but this has become a big worry for him. In his previous life, there were more graphite mines in the northeast area. According to the current geography, it is probably in the area of ​​Tokyo Road.

And Xiaohongqi's graphite mine was mined from Shangjing Road, which means that Shangjing also has graphite veins. Graphite is the key to his ability to develop tool steel. If he loses the supply of graphite ore, the palace will lose its foundation.

If in the Han Dynasty, Liaodong also belonged to the imperial territory, but now it is Jing, which is already different. Liaodong was occupied by the Liao State before, and now it is occupied by the Jin State. It is uncertain whether Li Xingzhou has other graphite deposits in the State of Jing, and it is difficult to explore.

In his heart, he silently wrote down Shangjing Road and Tokyo Road, but he didn't say it.

In recent days, Li Xingzhou has started to make arrangements before going north.

Li Xingzhou also handed over the negotiations with the Jinren to Bao Zheng, the housekeeper of Honglu Temple.

Although I don't know if there is any connection between this Bao Zheng and that Bao Zheng, but after observation, this person is indeed talented and able to do things.Li Xingzhou set a low bottom line for him, Nanjing Road, and the seven states in the south of Xijing Road, and the four states in the northwest of Guijing. If Jin Guo does not back down, there will be no peace talks anyway.

If the important matter is undecided and he cannot be found, Tang Zhou will be asked to decide for the young minister of Honglu Temple.

The affairs of the new army are decided by Di Zhi.

The family, including the factory and business affairs, are all decided by the general manager Yan Yan.

But after hearing this, Yan Yan said: "The old man is old, the prince is still young, he can't use the old man for a long time, it's time for young people to take over."

"The little lady of Shiyu has done a good job. In the past two months, she has been in charge of the general account of the palace, and I just watched from the side." The old man said, "At first, because of her background, the old It is true that she said a few bad words, but I also see that she can do things and has skills. The prince, the young lady is a capable person, so leave the affairs of the house to her, and the prince should give the young lady an early date. Identity is."

Li Xingzhou nodded, then laughed.

At the beginning, Yan Yan objected to him bringing poetry back, and entrusted him with a heavy responsibility, because Yan Yan thought that poetry was an unclean woman, and was afraid that he would indulge in female sex, but now he cared about poetry instead.

Of course Li Xingzhou also wants to give Shiyu an identity, but Gillian is a marriage bestowed by the emperor, so it would be disrespectful to marry Shiyu before marrying Gillian.

He nodded and agreed, ready to let Shiyu take charge of the affairs of the palace.

There are many people coming and going on the river bank, and there are many people working, but they are far less than before.A lot of minutiae and simple tasks without technological content are handed over to outsiders by contracting labor.

Yan Yan walked slowly, and told him what he should pay attention to when going north. The old man had fought with King Xiao in all directions, so he naturally went to the north. The battle of King Xiao's fame was fought in the north.

He naturally knows a lot about the north.

While chatting and exhorting, the old man talked about the matter of King Xiao back then, and when he talked about King Xiao, he naturally looked proud.

Regarding the legends of King Xiao back then, Yan Yaneng told them one by one like a few treasures.

Li Xingzhou sometimes looks back on the glorious era of his predecessors, but he has to say that the most glorious era of Jing Guo, except for the founding emperor, belongs to the era of Zhong Daoyu. Prince Xiao is certainly powerful, but if compared with Zhong Daoyu, he is still a little witch Meet the great witch.

At the beginning, Zhong Daoyu pacified Baiyi, attacked the Liao Kingdom, once sent troops to Zhongjing and Shangjing, and then returned to the army to quell the rebellion of King Wu, but now, Zhongdaoyu is old, and the emperor is also old, their era has passed.

In the past few days, Li Xingzhou explained the affairs of the mansion, and asked Wang Tong to learn about the basic situation of Jiangzhou when he was free. It was similar to what he thought, but there were many details that he did not know.

Wang Tong is a bookish person, soft-hearted and thin-skinned. After knowing that he was involved, he was filled with guilt, and he couldn't hold back his airs. After a cup or two of tea and wine, he naturally knew everything.

At the beginning of September, there was continuous autumn rain, and there was a sound of frogs in the pool of the Imperial Garden.

The emperor called him into the palace again, and told him to finish the Jiangzhou affairs quickly, and then asked about the negotiation with Jin Guo.

Concubine Tian was also nearby, and the maid brought refreshing lotus seed porridge and some offensive melons and fruits, and they started talking by the pond under the warm autumn sun.

Li Xingzhou explained the current situation to the emperor, and when the emperor heard that Jin Guo was willing to give up Nanjing and the seven northwestern states, he was momentarily stunned.

His fingers trembled slightly, and he slowly put down the spoon in his hand: "This is true!"

"Really." Li Xingzhou nodded: "But Jing Guo must send troops to attack."

"It's natural, if they give it for nothing, I won't be relieved!" The emperor seemed a little excited, his cheek muscles twitched, but he didn't miss a smile.

Even putting down the jade bowl and porridge spoon in his hand, he looked at him and asked, "Why is the Kingdom of Jin willing to do this? The Dao of Nanjing plus the seven prefectures of Jing Dao, but there is a large area of ​​land, not to mention the land of dark clouds, how many more are there?" state."

"Because the people of the Kingdom of Jin are afraid of me." There is no need to hide this from the emperor, after all, sooner or later everyone will know about it.

"Oh, why are the people of the Kingdom of Jin afraid of Xingzhou?" Before the emperor could speak, Concubine Tian asked with a curious smile, and at the same time handed him a peeled pear. Autumn pears taste the best.

Li Xingzhou took over. In the harem, both the emperor and the empress feel oppressed by the superiors. Only Concubine Tian is easy to get along with. He said with a smile: "Hahaha, it's actually not a big deal. I made it for business. Six big ships."

"The kind of big ship that went south to reinforce you this spring and summer?" the emperor asked, and Li Xingzhou nodded.

"But what does this have to do with the Land of Nether Clouds?" The emperor was still puzzled.

While eating pears, Li Xingzhou said: "I threatened the Jurchens. If they don't give up the Nanjing Road and Xijing Road, our Jingguo will lead soldiers, take a big boat, take the big river into the sea, go north from the East China Sea and Bohai Sea, and land in Liaodong Prefecture. , attack Tokyo Road, and let them be attacked from both sides."

The emperor was stunned for a while after listening, his face was expressionless, and he remained silent for a long time, but Concubine Tian didn't understand this, and just looked at the two of them in puzzlement.

It took the emperor a long time to come back to his senses, and he nodded slowly after thinking for a long time: "Okay, okay, okay! You did a good job!" He stood up and paced with his hands behind his back as he spoke, as if thinking, Concubine Tian hurriedly got up to help He was afraid that the emperor would slip into the pool accidentally because he was old.

After walking back and forth for a long time, the emperor stopped, turned his head and said in a serious and blunt tone: "You have done a good job on this matter! But it needs to be settled quickly, for fear of changes, if the matter is settled, then I will form an alliance with them personally Can."

Li Xingzhou smiled: "But I'm going to want the eleven states of Xijing, and as long as I persist for a while, the Jinren will definitely let go."

"Are you sure?" the emperor asked with a frown.

Li Xingzhou nodded: "It's [-]% certain. Although Jin Guo captured Zhongjing, it will take a year or two to occupy the Zhongjing Road and Shangjing Road states. This time is enough for us to talk slowly."

"One or two years! This is too fast." The emperor frowned, as if he didn't believe it.

"No, don't underestimate the Jurchens. They are more difficult to deal with than the Liao Kingdom." Li Xingzhou reminded, then took the peeled tangerines handed to him by Concubine Tian, ​​and said, "Your Majesty, after I go north, Honglu Temple All affairs are handed over to Bao Zheng, the house official of Honglu Temple, and he is also fully responsible for the negotiations with the envoys of the Kingdom of Jin."

"Oh, Bao Zheng." The emperor thought for a while, and seemed to be unable to recall such a person, and asked directly, "Is this person reliable?"

"Ability and perseverance are personal talents."

"In that case, I will add him as a co-prefect of Honglu Temple." The emperor said lightly.

After that, he said some innocuous words. Although Li Xingzhou was the grandson of the emperor in terms of blood relationship, he didn't take this blood relationship to heart. Compared with the emperor, he cared more about the people in the palace, so There is always a sense of estrangement when getting along.

Concubine Tian was present, so it wouldn't be too embarrassing, and then Concubine Tian bought him a lot of food and gadgets from various places, all of which were very novel and precious, such as musk and ice flakes, which are also precious things for big families, but in the palace It can't be used up.

Unknowingly, in the afternoon, the emperor invited him to have dinner. At the dinner table, he seemed to be preoccupied, his face expressionless and he didn't know what he was thinking.

They didn't talk when they ate or slept. After the meal, everyone rinsed their mouths with water, and the emperor backed away and said to him: "You are not young anymore, you are young, and you will get married within this year. There are some things I should say." .
I had high expectations of you, and hoped that you would be like my father.Up to now, you have made mistakes, but what you have done has also surprised me and amazed me. "

Li Xingzhou didn't understand what the emperor wanted to say, so he didn't speak.

The emperor glanced at him, his face was full of dimples, his face was old, but his eyes shone shrewdly and coldly: "I have as many demands as I have for you, and it's all up to you to go where you go, do you understand?"

The emperor frowned and stared at him firmly: "Also, if the land of Youyun can return to our Central Plains orthodox rule this time, I guarantee that you will at least be the prince who governs Youyun."

The emperor spoke slowly, his words were clear and calm, and his tone didn't fluctuate too much, but Li Xingzhou could hear him clearly, and as soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding air became quiet.

After autumn dusk, the setting sun was like blood, dyeing the whole garden red, depressing and dazzling, making people feel uncomfortable. Li Xingzhou nodded calmly, but did not speak.

"However, you should also be careful not to interact with bad people, so as not to be mistaken for evil words, such as that Chen Yu"

After the emperor finished speaking, he entered the room, and after a while, an old voice came from the hall: "You step back."

　I remembered it when an old reader mentioned it, and I would like to tell the writers: Regarding the tricks, you don’t have to be so serious. In the play, there are still many people who will appear on the stage, so it saves me from thinking about names.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)