Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 634 Driving Force

The eighth year of Zhengxing was the Year of the Sheep.

The biggest event in the court after the beginning of the year was that Yuan Jie, the envoy of the Jiangnan East Circuit, submitted a memorial requesting the dispatch of another fleet to the ocean.

Yuan Jie was the earliest follower of the current emperor and one of the Five Scholars in the Spring Examination. In the years after the outbreak of the Anshi Rebellion, he did not participate too much in the power struggle, but was successively sent to important places such as Hedong and Jiangnan, and was a pragmatic minister.

The reason why he has not yet been appointed as prime minister is because he is too close to the emperor and does not want to be criticized for nepotism. He has accumulated enough experience and qualifications over the years, and once he returns to Beijing, he will definitely enter the central government.

However, as the emperor's confidant, he stayed in the East Road of Jiangnan with a huge mission. He decided to accomplish something that would have a profound impact on the Tang Dynasty, that is, ocean voyage.

Xue Bai started preparing for this matter long before he ascended the throne. Over the past decade, the court has invested countless financial and human resources in this endeavor, but has never seen any results. More and more people are beginning to wonder whether the emperor made a mistake in this matter.

When Yuan Jie's memorial was submitted to the Council of State, it was indeed met with opposition.

This time, Xue Bai did not act too forcefully. He expressed his support for Yuan Jie and then let the prime minister and other ministers discuss the matter.

He was already a skilled emperor with more means to achieve his goals and would no longer confront his subjects head-on.

And his ministers now respect him very much. They will no longer oppose him for other purposes as before, but will consider the facts realistically.

After all, this kind of continuous huge investment without seeing any results is also a heavy burden for the people.

In such an atmosphere, a very secret message quietly spread among the important officials.

On the third day of March, Huangfu Ran, the Chief Censor who was sent to the East Road of Jiangnan, returned to Chang'an.

Huangfu Ran was also the emperor's confidant, one of the five candidates in the Spring Examination, and a close friend of Yuan Jie.

After returning to the court, he submitted a memorial to support Yuan Jie's suggestion and firmly believed that ocean voyages would definitely bring extremely rich returns. He used the words "a huge profit with an investment", but he did not mention the reason in the memorial at all.

This matter had already caused a lot of discussion, and Huangfu Ran's memorial once again caused an uproar. Some censors even impeached him for ignoring the burden of the people in order to please the emperor, and called him a treacherous minister.

For this reason, Cui Youfu met with Huangfu Ran in private.

"You have been in the officialdom for a long time, how could you make such a mistake? Given your personal relationship with Yuan Jie, it is unfair to support him without asking why, not to mention that you are the chief official of the Censorate."

"There are reasons," Huangfu Ran said, "but it is not convenient to reveal it for the time being."

Cui Youfu asked, "Why is it that even the prime minister doesn't know?"

"Your Majesty will naturally inform the Right Prime Minister."

Hearing this, Cui Youfu raised his eyebrows, feeling that this matter was unusual.

If there was a secret that Li Mi knew, he should not have been kept in the dark, unless it was a particularly important matter.

"Mao Zheng, you and I have known each other for so many years, can't you trust my character?"

"It's not that I don't trust Brother Cui, it's just..."

Huangfu Ran seemed very embarrassed.

He had previously studied in Longmen, Luoyang, and had received favors from the Cui family, so they did have a friendship and mutual trust.

After thinking it over, he finally spoke.

"In fact, the reason we don't mention this matter is not to keep it secret, but because we haven't investigated it clearly yet."

"What do you mean?" Cui Youfu became more and more curious.

Huangfu Ran said: "When I returned to the capital this time, I presented a gift to Concubine Huangfu Shu, which was a string of jewelry made of emerald green gemstones. Concubine Huangfu Shu thought it was too expensive and refused to accept it, but it was not expensive."

"Why?"

"Brother Cui, if you go to the right storage, you will know it immediately."

Cui Youfu still didn't understand what Huangfu Ran meant by hidden meaning, so a few days later, he found a way to go to the Youzangku himself.

He had been here before, but this time he found a warehouse at the back locked. After all, he was the prime minister, so he asked the Duzhi envoy to open the heavy door, and was stunned.

The scene inside is both rich and simple.

The first thing that caught my eye was the mountains of gold ore, still covered with dirt, which looked like broken stones dug out of the ground and thrown there casually.

Turning around, there were huge pieces of emeralds. I guess the jewelry Huangfu Ran mentioned was made by knocking off a few pieces from them.

Looking around, he saw red agate, white ivory, corals taller than a person, more than ten complete rhinoceros skins... and the silver blocks and bronze stones covering the ground became the least valuable things here.

Cui Youfu looked at them and stood there for a long time. After leaving, the first thing he did was to find Li Mi.

Li Mi heard his hurried footsteps, looked up and said, "It seems you already know."

"What's going on? The treasure land overseas that Your Majesty mentioned has been found."

"There is always a treasure trove on the sea. What matters is whether it is worth the effort to find it."

"Don't keep us in suspense." Cui Youfu said, "The fleet is coming back? Why don't you announce it to the world?"

Li Mi looked thoughtful and did not answer immediately.

Cui Youfu strode forward and looked at his desk, only to see a large map on it.

The map was very torn, with messy designs and writings on it, and the ink was of varying shades. It must have been drawn bit by bit over several months or even years.

"Is this the map drawn by the fleet?"

"good."

Cui Youfu narrowed his eyes, looked westward from the Tang Dynasty, pointed his finger, and said, "This is the Arab Empire."

Of course he knew about the Arab Empire, and he also knew that the Arab Empire was now at its peak.

Because the imperial court had already rehabilitated Gao Xianzhi's unjust case, Gao Xianzhi was still brooding over the defeat in the Battle of Talas that year, so he collected a large amount of intelligence and sent it back to Chang'an.

"The territory is really vast."

Cui Youfu continued to look westward and saw another city marked in large letters like "Baghdad", called "Constantinople". He was a little surprised, but did not pay too much attention to it.

Further west, two vast tracts of land were simply outlined on the map, with nothing written on them except "New World."

Finally, Cui Youfu frowned and asked, "What's going on?"

"Round."

Li Mi uttered two words, picked up the map on the table, rolled it up end to end, and the lines overlapped.

He murmured, "This side of the world we live in is round. My 'round sky and square earth' is wrong."

This was not the first time they had heard of this concept. Xue Bai had already tried to instill it in some people.

But Li Mi, Cui Youfu and others did not agree with this in the past, thinking it was just the emperor's fantasy.

Until this time, the returning fleet confirmed it.

Li Mi's voice was very low, because he now felt as if everything was collapsing, and everything he believed in the past might be wrong.

"Impossible." Cui Youfu said, "How can the earth be round?"

He lowered his head and the ground beneath his feet was so flat.

Li Mi took out a ball and said, "For an ant, this ball is relatively flat. Imagine if the ball was even bigger, so big that it was boundless, so big that it had a circumference of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of miles."

Cui Youfu was also a very smart person, so he naturally understood it, but he soon discovered that something was wrong.

"If that's the case, how can the people below not fall down?"

"We always feel that things are falling 'down there'."

"Is not it?"

Li Mi picked up an apple from the table casually, and as soon as he let go, the apple fell onto the floor with a "pop".

He asked, "Do you think he fell downwards?"

Cui Youfu said: "Yes, it fell down."

"Where did it fall?"

"It fell to the ground."

"Yeah, it fell to the ground."

Li Mi took out two more magnets, placed one under his palm, held the other in his other hand, and approached it little by little from above.

With a slight sound, the magnet on the palm was instantly sucked upwards.

Cui Youfu was stunned for a moment, then understood. He slowly reached out his hand, picked up the ball, and said, "You mean, this ball absorbs everything."

"Your Majesty said this is called 'gravity'," Li Mi said, "I always thought he was just joking. If it's true, then..."

To him, this would be horrible if it were true.

Cui Youfu was unable to digest such subversive cognition for a moment, so he shook his head and pulled his thoughts back.

"Is this why the court didn't announce the fleet's return?"

"That's part of the reason." Li Mi nodded slowly and said, "The court is not ready to tell the world about this, but there are other reasons."

Cui Youfu thought for a moment and asked, "Are you worried that the people will go to sea without permission to seek wealth and bring unnecessary trouble?"

"When the fleet left, there were 160 ships and more than 15,000 people, but when they returned, there were less than 30 ships and more than 1,000 people. In addition to the strong waves on the sea, it was easy to get lost, there was a shortage of food and water, and there was also hostility from the local natives, as well as plague. Therefore, a large number of sailors died of malaria. The risks of going to the ocean are huge. Even if the court wants to organize a fleet to go again, it must make more adequate preparations and should not let the people know. Therefore, this matter is not in a hurry to be made public."

~~
Summer came again in a blink of an eye. There were still officials in the court who opposed building ships for ocean-going trips, believing that the national treasury could no longer afford it. However, some changes were quietly taking place.

Shouan County, Luoyang.

The Cui family's Jinping Villa was a little more desolate than before, but as the first noble family to support the emperor's reform, the Cui family was ultimately able to survive.

On this day, Cui Dong was summoned by the head of the family, Cui Yu.

"You and Huangfu Ran are still on good terms, right?"

"Yes."

Before Huangfu Ran went to Jiangnan for an inspection tour, Cui Dong also went to see him off and wrote a poem called "Seeing Huangfu Ran off to Baitian". The poem goes, "The pheasants are singing and flying by the river all day long. When will you return to Baitian?"

Cui Yu pondered, tapping his fingers on his knees, and then said, "Then did you know that not long ago Huangfu Ran submitted another memorial suggesting that merchants should be allowed to participate in ocean-going shipbuilding?"

"I don't know." Cui Dong replied. He was not interested in these things.

Cui Yu took out a newspaper, threw it to Cui Dong, and said, "Read it yourself."

"The world is round?! This is impossible..."

Cui Dong first looked at the front page and immediately shook his head to refute this idea that subverted his understanding.

However, Cui Yu didn't care whether the world was round or square, and said, "Look at the next page."

Cui Dong flipped through the newspaper and saw on the back page that it said that the Jiangnan East Road Maritime Administration Office was raising 10 million strings of cash from merchants, which could also be equivalent manpower and goods, or even experience and skills, and the wealth brought by the fleet would be "distributed" according to the proportion of investment.

"This is?"

"What do you think?"

Cui Dong said: "How could anyone be willing to do such a stupid thing?"

"We do."

"Uncle?" Cui Dong was surprised and very confused.

Cui Yu didn't seem to be joking. His eyes were deep as he said slowly, "I got a confidential message. This matter is indeed very profitable. Therefore, I want you to go find Huangfu Ran and find out clearly..."

Although he did not say where he got the information, a noble family with such a deep foundation naturally has all kinds of old friends in the court, and they are the people with the most informed information.

A month later, Cui Dong went to Jiangnan East Road under the arrangement of Huangfu Ran.

After a long journey to Huating County, he unexpectedly discovered that there were quite a few aristocratic families and wealthy merchants there. Although some of the famous families did not send their children, they sent people who were in charge of business at home.

Cui Dong talked with these people and learned that they were all connected with important officials of the court, so it was no wonder that they could get such confidential information.

……

After staying in Huating County for seven days, Cui Dong hurried back to Shou'an and reported to Cui Yu what he had seen and heard.

"They did discover gold mines, not long after the fleet landed. But they were also attacked by the locals, and coupled with malaria, there were heavy casualties."

Finally, Cui Dong said: "The Cui family has passed down the family tradition with etiquette, so there is no need to participate in such profit-seeking things. The risk is too great. I don't know how many people will die in one boat trip."

But Cui Yu's answer was very straightforward.

"What does it matter if a few people die? If you want to accomplish something great, death is the most basic sacrifice. What we are least afraid of is the death of a few people."

"But the Cui family..."

"It's not a big deal. Since we can easily find gold mines, it's worth taking some risks." Cui Yu sighed, "Since the new law was implemented, the number of farmland and tenants in our clan has been sharply reduced. If this continues, our family will inevitably weaken. We must have the courage to give it a try in order to continue the blessings left by our ancestors."

"Yes."

Although Cui Dong still believed that the Cui family should not lower their dignity to engage in the lowly business of commerce and travel, he knew that he could not stop it, so he said no more.

"Go find Huangfu Ran again." Cui Yu took out a box and said, "Just take the money with you."

He is very decisive in doing things. Back then, when he said he would support Xue Bai, he gave up his own interests to show his support. Now that such a big thing has been decided, he immediately took out the money.

Cui Dong took it and was about to leave, but he turned around and walked several steps away.

"Wait a minute."

Cui Yu suddenly called him and asked another question.

"Is there really a fleet coming back?"

Although Cui Dong opposed this matter, he had never considered this question and asked in surprise, "Why did Uncle ask this?"

Cui Yu took in his surprise and said slowly, "If you don't plan ahead, you won't succeed. If you want to accomplish something, you must first consider all possibilities. For example, what if this is a scam?"

Without decades of life experience, one cannot be so cautious. For example, Cui Dong has no awareness of fraud prevention.

But when Cui Dong thought about it carefully, he realized that Cui Yu was worrying too much.

"Uncle, are you worried that Yuan Jie could deceive the emperor? Don't worry, this matter cannot be false."

"Why not?"

"I saw the gold and precious treasures with my own eyes. I also saw the ships that were infected with malaria. They also brought back some captives. They were dressed strangely and spoke strangely, which was different from the barbarians I had seen before. No one could have planned such a big show. There were so many things that could not be made up."

Cui Yu nodded and said, "I am overthinking. Go ahead."

~~
Only two months later, the Jiangnan East Road Maritime Administration Office received donations from many aristocratic families and once again began vigorous preparations for a long voyage.

The huge burden of the national treasury was shifted onto the nobles and their descendants.

This was something the court officials had never expected. After the reform, the emperor and the nobles and aristocratic families had become incompatible, but this time the nobles and aristocratic families vigorously implemented the emperor's will.

Of course, there are people who can figure out the ins and outs of this, secretly thinking that as long as it’s about profit, money really can make the world go round.

But we have to admit that these nobles and aristocratic descendants are well-informed and have a long-term vision.

Gradually, the fact that a large amount of gold mines had been discovered in the ocean could no longer be concealed, and some details were revealed bit by bit over time.

Time quickly came to three years later.

The eleventh year of Zhengxing was the Year of the Dog.

Cui Dong set out for Huating County again, and this time, he felt neglected and perfunctory.

After drinking the third pot of tea in the Navy Office, he finally slammed the table in anger and started shouting.

"Let the person in charge come out to see me!"

After a long while, a pair of official boots finally stepped over the threshold, and an official in a green robe came over slowly.

Cui Dong turned his head, and the moment he saw the person coming, the displeasure on his face froze.

"Yan Fang?"

"Yuan Zhiyuan, Chief of the Jiangnan East Road Maritime Administration, thank you Mr. Cui for waiting for so long."

Cui Dong had heard about this servant and knew that he had passed the imperial examination a few years ago. Of course, the imperial court had been increasing the number of candidates who could pass the imperial examination, and the title of imperial scholar had become increasingly unbearable in Cui Dong's eyes.

Correspondingly, the proportion of officials with family connections in the court has been decreasing.

"I think you are avoiding me on purpose."

Cui Dong did not exchange pleasantries with Yuan Zhiyuan. He said in a businesslike manner, "Do you know how much money the Cui family has sent here in the past three years? What is the result? We sent out two fleets, but why has no one returned so far?!"

"Mr. Cui, calm down. A long voyage is not something that can be done overnight."

Yuan Zhiyuan tried his best to maintain a neither humble nor arrogant demeanor, but when he spoke he unconsciously shrugged slightly, betraying his nervousness.

He asked Cui Dong to sit down again and said, "Just because there are strong waves on the sea doesn't mean that as long as one fleet returns safely, all other fleets will be able to sail smoothly."

"Then does that mean all the money the Cui family spent was wasted?!"

"Of course not. We plan to send another fleet out to sea."

As he spoke, Yuan Zhiyuan took out a file and said, "The shipyard now has new shipbuilding technology. It will use iron decks instead of old wood to make the big ships more resistant to wind and waves. However, it still requires more manpower and material resources..."

"Vote again?" Cui Dong interrupted Yuan Zhiyuan angrily and said, "Stop talking, I won't listen!"

"My dear, I won't harm the Cui family."

Yuan Zhiyuan began to calculate for Cui Dong that once a fleet returned, the Cui family would receive a generous return that would fully cover their previous investment.

Cui Dong was very impatient because he kept saying the same thing in different ways, and he didn't trust Yuan Zhiyuan either.

But when Cui Dong wanted to say "The Cui family quits", he couldn't make up his mind.

The Cui family has paid too much for the voyage.

At the beginning, Cui Yu did not expect that the investment in this matter would be so huge. With the continuous injection of manpower and material resources, the Cui family has sold a large amount of land, and many young men in the clan have been clamoring to split up.

The fleet that went out to sea three years ago may not come back. If we don’t send another fleet out to sea, the investment we made that year may be wasted.

"My dear, think about those gold mines."

Finally, Cui Dong snorted coldly and said, "You can't make the decision on this matter yet, take me to see Yuan Jie."

Two months later, the Cui family sold Jinping Villa and the money was given to Yuan Jie, who praised Cui Yu's courage.

After pacifying the Cui family, Yuan Jie called Yuan Zhiyuan over and praised him for doing a good job.

Yuan Zhiyuan was a little panicked and said, "Sir, I'm afraid the news can't be suppressed."

Yuan Jie sighed slightly and said, "Let's keep it a secret for as long as we can."

Yuan Zhiyuan nodded and walked out.

There was a piece of news that he actually knew a long time ago, but he didn't tell Cui Dong, so he felt a little guilty.

Soon, he suppressed the guilt and thought about his sister's death. He didn't think he had any reason to remind Cui Dong.

"We're even now." Yuan Zhiyuan murmured.

Just ten days after Jinping Villa was sold, a piece of news that was like a bolt from the blue for the Cui family reached Shou'an County.

When Cui Yu heard the news, he was teaching a lesson to the clan member who was leading the charge to split up the family, and he did not hear it clearly at first.

"what?"

"It's a lie that the fleet returned that year..."

"Oh." Cui Yu said, "I have heard many rumors like this."

"An insider let it slip that no ship returned that year. The crew members were all hired to act, the gold and gems were moved from somewhere else, and even the captives were played by Kunlun slaves." "I'm afraid the insider is fake." Cui Yu said, "How can I believe him? The court does not admit this matter, so it's useless for others to say it."

"Ah Lang, look at this."

What was handed over was a newspaper, the "New Thought News" from Dongdu. Although this newspaper was run by the private sector, it always sought truth from facts and the things it reported were always carefully verified. Even Cui Yu believed it quite a bit.

The newspaper devoted a large amount of space to discussing the doubts about the return of the long-distance fleet, and the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, Yao Runeng, wrote it himself.

Yao Runeng somehow found an official document from long ago, which was Yan Zhenqing's memorial on the matter of the voyage. It mentioned that the emperor insisted on the voyage to the ocean for the high-yield crops called "corn" and "potatoes", but after the fleet returned, the world had not seen these two things yet.

Seeing this, Cui Yu still didn't believe it and thought that the emperor might have made a mistake.

He continued reading. Yao Runeng had been looking for sailors returning from the oceans over the years. However, although various rumors about the oceans had been emerging one after another, Yao Runeng had never seen a real sailor who had been to the New World.

Writing such an article would not bring Yao Runeng any benefit, but he might be convicted of a serious crime for obstructing the emperor's ocean-going plan. After reading it, Cui Yu was 80% convinced and his face gradually became gloomy.

"I've been playing with eagles all my life, but in the end, I got my eyes pecked by an eagle."

"Uncle." Seeing Cui Yu so depressed, Cui Dong could not help but comfort him, "It is impossible for the court to lie to us about such a big thing. In my opinion, Yao Runeng must believe in 'the sky is round and the earth is square' and does not believe that the sky is round, so he made up a story."

"Don't you understand the character of the current emperor? What he wants to do must be accomplished no matter what. The first two fleets could not return, the court was overwhelmed, and the ministers opposed it. He was unwilling to give up, so he set up a trap to trick us. As for those overseas anecdotes, he can write "Journey to the West", so what can't he make up?"

When Cui Yu finished speaking, he felt a sweetness in his throat and actually spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Uncle!"

Cui Dong rushed forward to help him, but his face was covered with blood. When he looked at Cui Yu again, his face was as pale as gold paper and his breath was barely visible.

A few days later, Cui Yu passed away.

From then on, the branch of the Boling Cui family in Shou'an County gradually began to disperse, with clan members clamoring to split up, and many people sold their shares in the Maritime Administration at a low price.

As the person who ran this matter for the Cui family, Cui Dong suffered tremendous pain for a long time afterwards.

His uncles and brothers turned against him, and the tribesmen who should have supported each other scolded and hated him.

In order to appease the public anger, he sold all his private property, including houses, farmhouses, collections, and even books and paintings. He borrowed money from his friends and compensated his clansmen for their investment in the voyage.

All he got were the certificates from the Navy Office which were becoming less and less valuable.

"You've become stupid from reading so much that you even believe when people say 'the world is round'."

When the last sum of money was handed over, a member of the tribe threw the voucher in Cui Dong's face and ridiculed him.

Cui Dong said nothing. He bent down to pick up the certificate that had fallen on the ground. After thinking for a while, he opened his palm.

"despair."

The voucher fell to the ground again.

He picked it up and let it go several times before he carefully brushed off the dust on the ticket and turned away.

Cui Dong went to Huating County again.

He broke into the Navy Office and saw Yuan Zhiyuan talking to others about his gains from the ocean. He stepped forward and grabbed Yuan Zhiyuan by the collar.

"Cui Lang? The third fleet has already set sail..."

"Damn it."

Cui Dong cursed and punched Yuan Zhiyuan in the face, knocking him to the ground.

"The Cui family saved you, raised you, and let you fight for your future. It would be fine if you didn't want to repay them, but you turned around and hurt me!"

"The fleet will be back."

Yuan Zhiyuan did not fight back. He held Cui Dong's legs and endured the blows with his back, shouting, "Even Lin Ji went there this time. He will definitely come back."

"Idiot." Cui Dong was still cursing.

But he knew who Lin Ji was. Lin Ji passed the Tongshi exam together with Yuan Zhiyuan, and studied together at Shou'an County School. He was the top scorer in the imperial examination in the seventh year of Zhengxing.

Because they were all from Shou'an County, the Cui family paid great attention to this top scholar and even sent people to investigate. They learned that Lin Ji had a background in Jimin Society and was a person that the emperor had started to train in Yanshi County. He could be said to be a direct descendant of the emperor.

"Lin Ji won the first place in the imperial examination at a young age. He was the center of attention and had unlimited glory. If he was not absolutely sure, why would he go on a long voyage?"

As Yuan Zhiyuan spoke, his eyes gradually became red as he thought of the determined figure on the deck when the fleet set sail.

As a lifelong friend, he once tried his best to persuade Lin Ji not to board the ship, but Lin Ji had made up his mind at that time and no one could pull him back.

——"I will go. I believe everything your majesty said. There is a vast world at the end of heaven and earth. People in the world today don't believe it, so I will prove it to the world for your majesty!"

Cui Dong shook his head and murmured, "Everything I lost cannot be compensated by his life."

"Then let him bring back a ship full of gold, and let you know that all your efforts are worth it."

"Ah."

Cui Dong sneered and thought, what else can he do?
He let go of Yuan Zhiyuan, turned around and walked out.

From that day on, Cui Dong changed.

He settled in Huating County, stopped writing poetry and having idle conversations, and changed many of the habits of a young man from aristocratic families. He studied the Theory of Earthly Circles and read the speeches of the current emperor. He changed his previous attitude and began to believe in it all.

Gradually, he became the most devout supporter of the current emperor, firmly believing and advocating that the voyage would be successful.

His former friends were very disappointed in him, thinking that the elegant and eloquent Cui Dong had disappeared and become a blind and vulgar person. Whenever they met, they would shake their heads and make comments.

"He's crazy."

In this way, several years passed and Cui Dong became a strange man who lived in seclusion.

During these years, those short-distance fleets that went to the Western Ocean for trade also brought considerable gains, and few people in the world talk about those long-distance fleets anymore.

~~
In the 16th year of Zhengxing, Yuan Jie returned to Chang'an to report on his work. Xue Bai summoned him to the Xuanzheng Hall and dismissed his attendants.

The two had not seen each other for many years. Xue Bai looked at the white hair on Yuan Jie's temples and sighed, "Brother Cishan has also grown old."

"Although my body is old, my heart is not."

"I owe you the position of prime minister."

Yuan Jie said: "I have failed to arrange the voyage for Your Majesty, and I am ashamed to return to the court."

"Do you still believe me?"

From their conversation, it can be seen that the return of the fleet in the eighth year of Zhengxing was indeed a false image they fabricated.

Over the years, the lies were gradually exposed, but Xue Bai didn't take it to heart because he knew that there would be consequences sooner or later.

The person who suffered the most was Yuan Jie, who always had to waver between belief and doubt.

"Believe it." Yuan Jie said, "Your Majesty, rest assured. Maritime trade has been booming in recent years, and the court's investment in maritime affairs will soon be recovered."

Xue Bai smiled and said, "What you and I seek is not this little benefit, but a great achievement."

After saying this, Xue Bai changed the subject and mentioned several children from aristocratic families.

"I heard that Cui Dong is still supporting the naval administration?"

"Yes." Yuan Jie said, "But Cui Dong is like this, so he has no choice."

Xue Bai said: "He made the right choice. Since he believes in me, it won't be long before he will have huge gains."

Yuan Jie didn't know what the emperor was thinking. Thinking of the new law used to suppress the noble families, he murmured, "He got an advantage..."

"Just let him have it, no problem." Xue Bai said, "Let him be the first one to let the nobles take their eyes off the land and look at the wider ocean."

This is the biggest reason why Xue Bai made this plan.

His method of dealing with the nobles was not only suppression, but also guidance. Using interests to guide them from annexing land to exploring the ocean was the only way to solve the accumulated problems and open up the way for the future.

What the court lacked was not only the financial and material resources for long-distance voyages, but change.

At this time, the first batch of children from aristocratic families like Cui Dong were still in depression over the loss of their inherent superior life, and had no idea what kind of wealth and glory they would soon face.

~~
On the ninth day of the winter month of that year, before Yuan Jie returned to the eastern route of Jiangnan, fishermen on the coast saw a large ship slowly approaching in the sky.

"Another merchant ship is back!"

After shouting a few words, people rushed to the port, carrying all kinds of dishes, fruits, vegetables, and cakes on the roadside and selling them, preparing to make a fortune from the boatmen.

At first, people were used to it and thought it was a ship returning from the West.

Until someone suddenly shouted.

"Lin Ji? Is that you?!"

Yuan Zhiyuan, the then-rebel officer of the Navy Administration, saw a familiar figure, suddenly dropped the documents in his hand, and strode towards that direction.

Someone turned around, revealing a dark face, which looked nothing like the young and famous top scholar.

Yuan Zhiyuan was stunned and a little disappointed for a moment.

But when he looked again, an expression of ecstasy suddenly appeared on his face. He climbed up the rope ladder without waiting for the ship to stop, and rushed over to hug Lin Ji.

Then, a foul odor emanating from Lin Ji entered Yuan Zhiyuan's nose, and he almost vomited.

"Hahaha."

The two men laughed so hard, and they had never been so crazy when they passed the imperial examinations one after another.

"Come." Lin Ji patted Yuan Zhiyuan on the shoulder, "I'll show you."

"I saw your ship was very deep in the water."

The two men walked quickly down to the bottom of the cabin. Yuan Zhiyuan walked too fast and tripped over the rope and fell, scraping his hand on a big rock.

He stood up and found that what looked like debris thrown on the ground was a pile of copper ore.

Looking into the cargo hold, I saw it was filled with gold and silver.

Lin Ji, however, ignored all this and led him forward until he pushed open a hatch.

"This is?"

Yuan Zhiyuan was stunned and unexpectedly found that there was sunlight shining down from above the cabin.

He looked down at the black stuff on the ground and asked, "Is this soil?"

"do not move."

Seeing Yuan Zhiyuan trying to dig the soil on the ground, Lin Ji quickly stopped him and said, "I planted crops."

"Crops?" Yuan Zhiyuan raised his eyebrows.

"Follow me again."

Lin Ji excitedly pushed open the door of another cabin, and inside was piled with sacks.

He untied a sack, took out something from it and stuffed it directly into Yuan Zhiyuan's mouth.

"eat."

"This is?"

"I don't know either." Lin Ji said, "But maybe it's the high-yield crop that Your Majesty mentioned."

"Then let me try it."

Yuan Zhiyuan was also a careless person. When he heard this, he opened his mouth and started biting.

"what!"

Soon, Yuan Zhiyuan shouted loudly.

"Hiss... It hurts, hiss... My lips are burning... hiss..."

~~
In early spring, at Shaoyuan Mausoleum in the southern suburbs of Chang'an.

"This is called 'potato', this is called 'corn', this is called 'peanut', this is called 'sweet potato', and this one is a persimmon."

Du Wulang held a small shovel and dug the soil in the vegetable garden, then identified the new crops that had just been delivered with his family.

Xue Yunniang was surprised and asked, "How come Wulang recognized all of them? Have you seen them before?"

"I have seen it before." Du Wulang stroked his long beard and said slowly, "Your Majesty has shown me a painting before."

As he spoke, he glanced at his children behind him, and then said to Xue Yunniang, "In the future, our grandchildren will use these crops as nicknames. They will be easy to raise."

"Grandpa, I don't want to get married yet. My sister hasn't even married yet."

"Where are the A-Ji people?"

"His Highness also wants to come and see Grandpa planting potatoes. Sister is going to meet him."

"Then I have failed to welcome you."

Du Wulang sighed casually, but in his heart he was thinking, "What's so good about growing potatoes? A crown prince of a country, instead of doing his job, he comes here to mess around."

After a while, Du Jing brought Li Zuo over.

Both of them have grown up, one is graceful and elegant, the other is tall and handsome. They walked side by side, like a perfect couple.

When Xue Yunniang saw this, a confident smile appeared on her face.

Du Wulang frowned and asked his youngest son Du Kui to squeeze in between the two of them to separate them.

In fact, he and the emperor had already restored their former friendship, but the fear of power struggle had already penetrated into his heart, making him unwilling to let his daughter have too much contact with the East Palace.

Some time ago, he wrote a calligraphy piece and hung it in his study.

The content is "Be cautious and tread carefully."

Seeing that Li Zuo was still talking to Du Jing through Du Kui, Du Wulang stepped forward and said, "Your Highness."

"uncle."

Li Zuo bowed politely.

He would come to Shaolingyuan several times a year and was familiar with Du Wulang. Du Wulang was not in a position to perform the etiquette of a monarch and a minister, so he said, "You are my second sister's godson, so just call me uncle."

Li Zuo was quite quick-witted and responded, "If my uncle is willing to serve in the court, I will not lose the courtesy of being the uncle of the emperor."

Du Wulang was just showing off in front of the younger generation. In fact, he didn't dare to do such a thing that would bring disaster. He waved his hands and said, "I was just joking with you."

"Yes."

Li Zuo only responded with one word, but his expression showed that he wanted Du Wulang to be his father-in-law.

Du Wulang couldn't stand this young man, so he shook his head and said, "Grow potatoes."

He has been living in the countryside for many years and is quite good at growing crops, fruits and vegetables. Surprisingly, Li Zuo is also familiar with these things. He talks about how to grow these crops very clearly, and he must have learned from Xue Bai.

After planting all the other crops, Du Jing picked up a small red fruit and asked, "What is this?"

"chili."

Du Wulang was about to answer when Li Zuo spoke first.

"Speaking of this chili, there is an interesting story. When the fleet just came back, the judge of the Shipping Department, Yuan Zhiyuan, took a bite of this chili and it was so spicy that his mouth was smoking."

After hearing this, Du Jing did not just giggle like the other girls. Instead, she tilted her head and thought for a moment, saying, "He suffered this little misfortune, but it made you remember his name. It was worth it."

Her personality is not quite like Du Wulang and Xue Yunniang, but is somewhat similar to Du Jin.

Li Zuo smiled knowingly, took the pepper from Du Jing, peeled it, and said, "Peppers are different from potatoes. The seeds are inside."

Of course Du Wulang knew the answer, so he grabbed the seeds and planted them.

When he turned his head, he saw Du Jing smelling Li Zuo's hand.

"Oh, that's choking. Can this thing really be eaten?"

Li Zuo said: "Uncle Du is the best at studying food, do you know how to eat this chili?"

"Try it."

Du Wulang wiped his hands, picked some vegetables from his vegetable shed, and led everyone to make a fire and cook.

Researching new recipes is one of the pleasures of his leisure life. When these new crops were delivered today, in addition to planting some of them, he had been eager to try and make some new dishes.

After asking the cook to kill a chicken and wash some potatoes, Du Wulang hesitated for a moment before saying, "Cut some peppers as well."

This was the first time he cooked these dishes, but he could always recall the scenes of chatting with Xue Bai when they were young.

Soon, with a crackling sound, a cloud of white smoke rose from the pot, choking the young man waiting outside and making him cough.

Li Zuo was very happy.

Du's residence in Shaolingyuan was the most relaxing place for him outside of his cage-like life in the Eastern Palace. Only here could he laugh and chat like ordinary people and smell the smell of fireworks.

After a while, the dish was ready.

Soon, the dishes were served, and everyone, regardless of status, age, gender, sat down around a round table to eat.

Ever since Xue Bai reached the pinnacle of power, some of his past habits and concepts have been retained by Du Wulang.

"Is this really edible? I'm not going to smoke, am I?"

Du Jing looked at the plate of fragrant roast chicken with potatoes, and a look of vigilance appeared in her eyes.

But she was the first one among the crowd to pick up the potatoes with chopsticks.

She blew twice, put the golden potato covered with soup into her mouth and chewed it. She raised her eyebrows and showed surprise.

"Is it tasty?"

Du Wulang was not in a hurry to taste it, but waited for his daughter's reaction, feeling a little nervous.

Du Jing nodded vigorously and said with certainty: "It's delicious!"

Only then did Du Wulang smile.

He was in a good mood that day, and when night fell and everyone else left, Li Zuo said he wanted to ask him some questions about academics. He agreed and even took out a bottle of wine, intending to have a few drinks with Li Zuo.

"How much can you drink? Is it the same as His Majesty?"

Li Zuo said: "It's just that I can drink a little bit better than my father."

His words sounded modest. After he drank two cups, his face flushed and he swayed slightly. Du Wulang knew that he was telling the truth.

It was too late to stop Li Zuo from drinking. Du Wulang wanted to take the wine away, but Li Zuo snatched the jug, poured himself a glass, and toasted to Du Wulang with both hands.

"Uncle, this matter should have been brought up by my father, but a man should make his own decisions!"

Li Zuo's speech was a bit lisp, but his eyes were clear and determined.

"Uncle Du, please agree to marry Sister A-Ju to me!"

"you're drunk."

"I'm not drunk." Li Zuo became more determined.

Du Wulang stroked his beard and thought that he should not get too close to this boy.

He was reluctant to marry his daughter to the Eastern Palace. The Du family had suffered two setbacks in this regard and were afraid to avoid such wealth and splendor.

I only regret that I didn't move to a farther place.

After thinking it over, he came up with a plan. He sighed, patted Li Zuo on the shoulder, and said, "I asked someone to tell my fortune. The Du family will never produce a queen or concubine. So, do you still dare to marry Ah Ju?"

(End of this chapter)