The days when I fished in Daming

Zheng Xiong quickly got up from the bed, walked to the door, and looked at the door that had been kicked into pieces, feeling like crying but unable to cry. He was holding back his temper but had no way to do anything, so he could only speak slowly.

"You kicked it, so you have to pay for it."

"My Lord, we are summoned by His Majesty. We are following his orders. Please understand me, my Lord."

"Compensate!"

"My Lord, His Majesty has given you half an hour to arrive. If you delay, you will be punished. Please don't delay yourself!"

Yo ho, you win!

"Humph."

Zheng Xiong snorted, expressing his inner dissatisfaction.

"Your Majesty summons me, and I will go, but you must pay for this door. Even if you sue His Majesty, you still have to pay me. You can't run away."

Zheng Xiong's tough attitude made the guard commander a little confused.

I have kicked him before, but I have never seen someone as picky as Zheng Xiong. Those who are picky either die or dare not care. After all, he is Zhu Yuanzhang's personal guard and represents Zhu Yuanzhang.

Speaking of this matter, to be honest, it doesn’t matter whether it is right or wrong. The main thing is that Zheng Xiong did not commit any crime.

After all, committing a crime and not committing a crime are two different things.

I am a little anxious about this matter. Old Zhu is a little angry, but Zheng Xiong is a royal concubine and a marquis, so it is indeed inappropriate to kick the door like this.

Given Zheng Xiong's tough attitude, it was difficult to back down.

"I will pay this money, are you satisfied, Lord?"

"Okay, Chenghui, ten taels of silver, take the money!"

The guard commander looked down at the broken gate, then at Zheng Xiong who was still furious, and his heart was bleeding.

If I had known this earlier, I would have regretted it!

The guard commander gritted his teeth.

"Ten taels is too much. I don't have that much on me. Please follow me into the palace first, and I will present it to you later."

"It's ok to do it later, then let's make a written agreement!"

"What do you mean, Lord? Are you afraid that I will run away?"

"Of course."

Suffocated!
But I can only grit my teeth and swallow it.

After a long while, he gritted his teeth and said.

"it is good."

One word, as if all the strength in the body was used up.

Zheng Xiong didn't waste any time and quickly brought out paper and pen, leaving no chance for regret.

At this point, the commander of the guards could only write an IOU.

"Are you satisfied, my Lord?"

"So-so."

Still not satisfied, the commander of the guards had the urge to kill Zheng Xiong with a knife, but fortunately he still had his rationality.

"Then please follow me into the palace, my Lord!"

"No hurry, it won't be too late until I finish washing up. Wait for me for a while."

"My Lord, you asked His Majesty to wait for you. You are so disrespectful. Aren't you afraid of His Majesty's punishment?"

"I am afraid! But if I go to see His Majesty in disheveled clothes, wouldn't it be a sin to offend His Majesty? Don't you think so?"

Well, that's the logic.

But there are priorities, and no matter how you look at it, it would be a greater crime to let Lao Zhu wait there.

"You might as well tell the Marquis that His Majesty did not sleep last night and is very tired after attending the morning court today. Since the time has been set, if the Marquis does not arrive on time, the consequences may be serious!"

"Isn't it just ten taels of silver? Is there any need to set a trap for me?"

"I don't understand, please don't delay me, my lord!"

"You don't have to play dumb. I know all about your tricks. Just tell me the truth about what happened today. I'm not afraid of you even if I'm right!"

Although he said he was not afraid, Zheng Xiong actually did so.

There is nothing else to it, just that there are many iron scrolls.

This is the confidence.

At the same time, Zheng Xiong was also trying to buy time and think of a solution.

From what the guard commander had said, and from the fact that Zhu had been summoned in a hurry, it was possible that Zhu had not slept all night and that this had a lot to do with him. And yesterday, he happened to be talking about cotton with Zhu Biao.

Judging from the existing signs, cotton is undoubtedly the most likely winner.

Cotton!
Zheng Xiong hesitated for a long time before slowly following the commander of the guards all the way to the palace.

"Your Majesty, the doctor has arrived."

"pass."

"Greetings to Your Majesty."

Old Zhu waved his hand and asked.

"What took you so long to come?"

"I plead guilty."

"Just plead guilty, we can let it go. I called you here to ask you, what is your intention in buying cotton at a high price?"

Here it comes, it’s indeed about cotton.

Zheng Xiong thought for a moment and replied.

"May I ask your Majesty, what do the common people want in their lives?"

Test yourself. This is not difficult for us.

"To have a full meal, of course."

No one understands the meaning of having a full meal better than Lao Zhu, and only Lao Zhu understands how important a full meal is.

"Your Majesty, do you think it is enough to have a full meal?"

"Eat well and keep warm!"

"Are you satisfied with this answer, or are you buying cotton at a high price just for the sake of keeping warm?"

"Yes, this is my purpose."

"Then what about Chagatai's cotton? Even if the quality is good, why don't we just grow more of it ourselves? Why do we have to buy it at such a high price?"

"Because the cotton there is not ordinary cotton."

After hearing this, Old Zhu's face turned black, and it was as if he had said nothing.

"Speak the key."

"Although our Great Ming is rich and powerful, we still have Japanese invasions in the east. Although the north has been pacified temporarily, there are still recurring disasters. In the south, local chieftains and small countries harass us from time to time. The thousands of miles of borders may seem beautiful, but in fact, there are many hidden dangers. We can only send heavy troops to defend them to protect the peace of our borders."

"Today, the Ming Dynasty is not afraid of war, so it is naturally not afraid of any villains. However, it is true that there is no way to guard against thieves for a thousand days, even if you can only be a thief for a thousand days."

"What will happen if the country becomes weak and the people become exhausted and chaos breaks out again?"

"So I want to improve the weapons, use sharp weapons as a supplement, and eliminate the courage of foreign enemies to spy."

"And this product requires Chagatai's cotton, which is why I am willing to buy it at a high price."

Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen and Zhu Yuanzhang all thought it was amazing after hearing it and imagined the scenes in it.

But ideas are one thing, and reality is another. I really can’t imagine what kind of weapon can have such a great effect.

"Doctor, are you really not afraid of your tongue being blown away by the strong wind? What kind of weapon can be so powerful?"

Seeing that Li Shanchang didn't believe it, Zheng Xiong replied.

"Korean Duke, you know about muskets, right?"

"I know. Could it be that the improved weapon you are talking about is the musket?"

Li Shanchang thought about it and then shook his head.

"The fire gun is indeed powerful. I also know that your doctor fought outside the Great Wall. Although the fire gun was very powerful, it still lacks the firepower to decide the outcome of the battle."

"And it's not difficult to break the formation formed by the muskets. If we charge with cavalry, we only need to sacrifice some manpower and rush to the front, and then we will be slaughtered at will."

"The Doctor wants to improve it. Forgive me, I don't know how much improvement it needs to make to the point where we are not afraid of cavalry charges."

"I wonder if the doctor can help me solve this problem?"

Zheng Xiong smiled confidently.

"You can do it at that time, you just need to shoot faster and farther."

Liu Bowen was also helpless and a little curious, so he continued with the conversation.

"How can I shoot faster and farther?"

"It's simple. Just use Chagatai's cotton and a little trick."

(End of this chapter)