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Chapter 741 Ming Dynasty Backpacker

"Your Majesty, I met a few strange people outside the palace gate. I was quite puzzled, so I ordered people to arrest and interrogate them. One of them claimed to be Liu Shimin, an official of the Cuju team. He was ordered to leave the palace to do business, but his waist badge was lost on the way."

After arranging the work of these departments, it was already completely dark. Wei Zhongxian and Wang Zhizhen hurriedly took their leave. Zhang Ran had just gone out for a short while when he came back and reported a small accident in a low voice.

"Liu Shimin... has been ordered to leave the palace... Is this person on the Cuju team?"

Hong Tao's eyelids were already drooping, and he couldn't help but feel annoyed when he heard the trivial things. There were already nearly 200 people on the Cuju team, and he couldn't remember so many names. This matter shouldn't have come to him at all.

"...Your Majesty, I remember that there was a man named Liu Shimin, the son of the deputy general of Liaodong, who castrated himself in a dream and joined the Cuju team. Then Your Majesty sent him out to travel. It's been about ten years now!"

Now it was Wang Chengen's turn to worry. Even though he had a good memory, it took him a long time to get a vague idea. Then his expression involuntarily became more complicated and he tried hard to hold back his laughter.

After Wang Chengen reminded him, Hong Tao finally remembered that, yes, there was indeed a young eunuch who aspired to be the Sima Qian of the Ming Dynasty. As a result, he was chosen by himself to leave the palace and travel around the country, visiting the people to collect information.

Time flies so fast. Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye. Liu Shimin seemed to have evaporated from the face of the earth and never appeared again. Everyone forgot about him. Then he suddenly appeared again.

"…Let him…Forget it, let him enter the palace immediately. Remember, today's work is best done today, don't put it off until later. The longer you put it off, the lazier you become. This trend must not be allowed to grow!"

I originally wanted to summon him tomorrow, but then I changed my mind. I have to inspect the Yongdinghe Chemical Plant tomorrow, and give a lecture at Haihu Division the day after tomorrow. I don't know when I can take care of it. I always say that we should not be lazy in politics. Now is a good time to set an example and educate Zhang Ran and Wang Chengen.

"I am Liu Shimin, a servant girl, and I have returned from traveling under the imperial order. I would like to meet His Majesty..." After a while, Zhang Ran brought three figures into the courtyard of the Palace of Tranquil Longevity. Two of them stood waiting outside, and one entered the palace to pay his respects.

"Look up... Well, it's okay. Get up and find a place to sit down."

Hong Tao couldn't remember whether the person was Liu Shimin or not. When he left, he was only 16 years old, fair-skinned and a little shy. Now he is a middle-aged man with a dark face, bronze skin, a thin waist and a strong back. The hemp clothes he wears are a little old, and his shoes are covered with dust. It seems that he has traveled a lot.

In fact, there is no need to worry about whether it is Liu Shimin or not, Wang Chengen had already verified her identity before daring to bring her in. If it wasn't a little late, she would definitely wash up first and change into palace clothes before coming to see the emperor.

"Liu Shimin, why don't you use the badge I gave you? Why did you throw it away?"

But there was one thing that Hong Tao couldn't understand. In order to make it easier for Liu Shimin to travel around the country, he specially made him a badge of the Supervisor of Rites. He used the badge to meet supervisors from various places, ask for a hundred or so taels of silver for travel expenses, and solve some minor problems.

But ten years passed, and no local supervisor reported his whereabouts to the Imperial Household Department. That is to say, Liu Shimin did not use the waist badge, and it is even possible that he never used it once. So how did he travel across the country?
"Reporting to Your Majesty, I used the skills you taught me to earn money for my journey and also made friends with two extraordinary people. We have been traveling together for many years and have never encountered the opportunity to show my badge.

Four months ago, the three of us encountered bandits in Lin'an Prefecture. Our belongings were looted, and our badges were taken away. We had to return halfway. After this incident, I was afraid that the punctuation I had measured over the years would be lost, so I had to return to Beijing to report. "When Liu Shimin talked about his experience in the past ten years, his face immediately lost its restrained look, and his eyes were full of light. If he was not facing the emperor, he would probably have stepped on a stool and danced.

"…It seems that I am still too lenient with them. They actually dared to rob the imperial envoys of the inner palace. Zhang Ran, send someone to Hangzhou to investigate who is so bold under his rule, and whether any of them have evil intentions!"

Looking at this eunuch who didn't look like a eunuch at all, Hong Tao didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but was mostly curious. However, when he heard that he was robbed in Hangzhou and even his badge was taken away by the robbers, he couldn't help but get angry.

"Your Majesty, please calm down and allow me to ask you something clearly...Liu Shimin, is the Lin'an Prefecture you are talking about Hangzhou?" Strangely enough, Zhang Ran did not obey the order and leave.

"Hangzhou... No, no, no, Your Majesty, you don't know. I encountered bandits in Lin'an Prefecture, Yunnan. It has nothing to do with Hangzhou!" Liu Shimin seemed to understand after Zhang Ran asked and hurried to explain.

"Fuck... Wang Chengen, open the map!"

Now it was Hong Tao's turn to be embarrassed. As the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he didn't even know the names of the places under his rule. Fortunately, he was thick-skinned and regained his composure by lighting a cigarette, but to be on the safe side, he still looked at the picture.

"It's probably here... There are few locals but many mountains, and the people are tough. Each village has dozens or even hundreds of households, and armed fights often occur. If they encounter outsiders, they may turn into bandits."

Wang Chengen quickly pulled open the curtain on the wall, lit two lanterns, and held them with Zhang Ran on the left and right. As a result, before the emperor came over, Liu Shimin approached first, and fumbled around in the lower left corner, but ultimately could not find the place that was robbed, and could only give a rough summary.

"...You are really good at making trouble... Come on, tell me where you have been in these years! Wang Chengen, prepare some snacks and make a bowl of cocoa powder."

Hong Tao leaned over to take a look and immediately felt that Liu Shimin was really lucky. The so-called Lin'an Prefecture really had nothing to do with Hangzhou. Its specific location should be near Jianshui County in the Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province in later generations.

Hong Tao had been to this place before. The fermented tofu was delicious, and there was also a kind of grass sprout that was only produced locally and was very delicious. The locals liked to eat barbecue, and there were barbecue restaurants all along the roadside, grilling everything on an iron plate, which was different from the taste in other places in Yunnan.

As a smoker, the tobacco leaves grown and fermented by the local people themselves are the best. Whenever you go to the market in a village or town, there will always be old men squatting on the roadside selling tobacco, including tobacco for hookahs and tobacco for cigarettes, with many varieties.

The most cost-effective cigar is a hand-rolled cigar, which is very cheap, less than one dollar per cigar and has a rich flavor. As long as you can go to more fairs and taste more stalls, you will definitely find the food and grass that suits you.

However, this was not the later times. The population of Yunnan was smaller than that of Suzhou Prefecture, and the majority of the population was ethnic minorities, so the power of the government was very limited. They could not even speak the language, and there were no roads or railways. There seemed to be no other explanation for being able to go deep into the hinterland and come back alive except for being lucky.

(End of this chapter)