After being exiled, I led my whole family to rebel.

Chapter 295 The princess whose confidence is shaken

As soon as Master Pei left, everyone in the meeting hall began to curse as if a pot was exploding.

"The toad wants to eat swan meat! Is Zhou Heng crazy?"

"He has a pretty good idea. Is this what His Highness said if you can't beat us, just join? Seeing that he can't steal our firearms, why not just become a family with us? In this way, the firearms will become theirs! This I heard the abacus in Jinzhou Prefecture! "

"It's not just firearms, but also our cement, compost recipes, and movable type printing method. How can he take advantage of us? He has nothing to offer and doesn't want to get married, but he still wants to take advantage of us? How shameless!"

"You talk about divide and conquer, who wants to divide and conquer with them? Sooner or later, this world belongs to His Highness, do we need their help?"

Another general said angrily: "I told you a long time ago that we should fight directly to King Ming's hometown in the east! Look, now we are shaking off?!"

"He alone wants to marry our Highness? He's so beautiful that he can forget it!"

It was rare for Xu Zhenying to see the unprecedented unity of his subordinates, and he couldn't help but feel funny, and then said slowly: "The King of Renming is also a young talent, how can he be as miserable as you said?"

Xu Zhenying's words almost brought everyone down!

"He, a young talent? I think his appearance is not as good as Minister Jiang's, and his talent is not as good as Minister Fang's. If we mention all the young talents in Jinzhou Prefecture, how can it be his turn to shake them off?"

"Your Highness, please wake up! Even if you want to marry the emperor, you still have to audition three thousand men from Jinzhou Mansion——"

The corners of Xu Zhenying's lips trembled.

Auditions... for the royal husband?
Thank you very much.

"That's right, Your Highness, Zhou Heng clearly came up with such a despicable method just because he couldn't steal firearms. You must never believe in the idea of ​​co-ruling the world. Don't believe in the words of a man. I am a man, and I have Experience, no matter what he says now, when he truly dominates the world, he will definitely kick you away!"

On the other hand, Xu Yinxi and Mr. Lin didn't say a word, watching as the people under their command became less and less formal as they spoke, but it was Mr. Lin who scolded him with a face: "What are you yelling at? What do you look like! We are a government office. This is the State Council, the place where a country discusses matters, not the wet market on East Street!”

Xu Yinxi immediately said: "Everyone, please be patient. Your Highness is far-sighted and the smartest person in this room. We can all see through it. Don't you know that?"

This makes sense.

Only when His Highness has deceived others, no one has ever deceived His Highness.

Xu Zhenying held his head and said, "Although I allow everyone to discuss matters freely, your noise is giving me a headache! Do you know the duck seller at the corner of Dongshi Street? I seemed to have been standing there for an hour just now."

These words made everyone look ashamed.

Especially those generals who have extremely loud voices and don't care about anything they say.

However, Mr. Lin was trying hard not to laugh at this moment.

Sure enough, he still likes Jinzhou Mansion's style of saying whatever it is.

Xu Zhenying turned to the people below, and then called by name: "Mr. Lin, Fang Xun and General Xiao Chen. The three of you have either come into contact with King Ming or have fought with him. Let's talk about his character."

When talking about his former enemy, Fang Xun gritted his teeth and couldn't hide the hatred on his face, "This person is indeed very talented and good at patience. When he was studying in my family, as a prince, he could not study hard no matter the cold or hot weather. "Zhu never complains and has an extraordinary mind."

Mr. Lin also stroked his beard and said: "Zhou Heng is very kind to the servants. In the past, the palace people all praised him and said that he has a gentleman's style. He was born in a humble background, and his mother was not favored. When he was a child, he was often favored by the princes. Bullied, but never revealed the slightest bit of grievance to anyone.”

Xu Zhenying nodded and looked at General Chen again, "What about you, General Chen? Can you get any clues from his combat style?"

General Xiao Chen then said: "This man is considered the best in the world in terms of his military skills. Minister Jiang said that his tactics are similar to those of Bai Ci'en back then."

Someone immediately sneered: "That Bai Ci'en is our defeat!"

But some people immediately retorted: "Bai Cien is a military general and has studied military science since he was a child, but Zhou Heng is a prince and has never been on the battlefield."

Xu Zhenying pursed her lips, "I heard that Zhou Heng is good at disguise and forbearance, and he is also very smart, and he is also cruel enough. He could even kill his fiancée and father-in-law's family at will. It sounds like... he is a rival. "

Then, Xu Zhenying raised his eyes and said slowly: "For such a cruel and resourceful person, do you think he is sincerely seeking marriage? I think... it seems more like he has ulterior motives."

Everyone fell silent.

Zhao Qiaonian said: "Unfortunately, his biggest mistake was to despise His Highness and also despise us."

Xu Zhenying smiled, "What's the explanation?"

When Zhao Qiongian saw everyone looking at him, he said calmly: "He proposed to join forces to conspire against the world. He just wanted to take advantage of the fact that His Highness is a woman. He may also think that because His Highness is a woman, , It is always shocking for a woman to become the emperor. Maybe His Highness’s subordinates are not of the same mind, so we are more willing to be loyal to him. "

Qian Zhenniang was immediately furious: "This person has a vicious mind!"

"It's not impossible." Xu Zhenying was not angry. "Compared to women, the world is more willing to invest in men. After all, in traditional culture, men need to make contributions. I think this is what most people in the world think today."

Zhao Qiaonian smiled and said: "So I understand that King Ming despises those of us who fight with His Highness. Compared with men and women, I think the selection of people is more important. If you follow His Highness, you have a greater chance of winning."

The other male officials in the room immediately tensed up and followed Zhao Qiaonian to express their loyalty.

"I know everyone's opinions. They all disagree with this kind of marriage. As there are pros and cons in everything, let me hear if you have any different opinions."

Everyone fell into deep thought.

Only Xu Yinxi said with a smile: "Your Highness always says that the truth becomes clearer with more arguments, so I will shamelessly talk about the benefits of marriage."

Xu Zhenying tilted his head slightly and looked at Xu Yinxi with an encouraging look on his face, "I'm all ears."

"As His Highness said, everything has advantages and disadvantages. We have fully discussed the disadvantages just now, but you have also forgotten one of the benefits of marriage." Xu Yinxi paused for a moment, then smiled, "Your Highness is now seventeen , it’s considered to be the age of marriage, you can choose anyone anyway, why not choose the most capable one?”

Mr. Lin's eyes lit up and he immediately answered: "Secretary-General Xu's words make sense! Your Highness is already seventeen. The princes of the Zhou Dynasty should also get married and have heirs when they reach sixteen or seventeen. Not to mention that if His Highness has a problem, , Our Jinzhou Mansion’s foundation will not have any successors. If we marry His Highness Prince Ming, at least the children born will be pure blood of the Zhou Dynasty royal family. In this way, the resistance to our competition in the Central Plains will be much smaller.”

Mr. Lin himself seemed to be more in favor of marriage as he talked. He completely ignored Xu Zhenying's expression and said to himself: "Furthermore, His Highness Prince Ming wants to use marriage to gain your empire. Why don't you take advantage of this and turn around to gain his Qiongzhou?" ? Your Highness is a heavenly being. You are a saint in heaven and earth, and you are the first of all living beings. Why worry that His Highness King Ming’s subordinates will not follow you? "

After Mr. Lin finished speaking, he met Xu Yinxi in a tacit understanding.

Xu Yinxi, on the other hand, couldn't help but look at Xu Zhenying with laughter.

Mr. Lin's words made the whole room feel silent.

I have to say that Mr. Lin is an old fox. He turned the situation around instantly with just a few words. Everyone who had been violently opposed before now looked pensive, as if they were thinking about the feasibility of marriage.

The corners of Xu Zhenying's eyes twitched, and she finally understood. Mr. Lin's intention was to let her use King Ming as a stallion, and finally leave the father to keep the son, and by the way, take away King Ming's family property——

It's really vicious.

Xu Zhenying even began to reflect on herself. Why were all her subordinates such sinister people?

Even Zhao Qionnian, who was firmly opposed at first, was also a little shaken, "According to Mr. Lin, the successor of His Highness is very important——"

"Stop it." Xu Zhenying finally couldn't help interrupting everyone's floating thoughts, and then glared at Mr. Lin and Xu Yinxi. The two of them were as unmoved as old men, "I'm not seventeen years old yet. It's a good time to work hard. According to my calculations, I can still work for at least ten or twenty years. Besides... we still need to discuss the matter of selecting the emperor from the beginning... later. "

"Also." Xu Zhenying added, "Don't think about any marriage. I won't get married, and you don't need to get married. Aren't we doing our careers just to find freedom and fairness? We are people, not objects. Don't. I always want to commercialize myself. Not only you, but also me, have the right to pursue happiness. If I get married, I must have a relationship with someone and want to start my own family. There is no other reason. "

Xu Zhenying's words were a bit loud and empty, and everyone didn't seem to understand.

Xu Zhenying couldn't help but feel frustrated.

Sure enough, is it too early to propose "freedom of marriage and freedom of love" at this time?
That is to say, she said this. If any other girl dared to say this, she would be immediately labeled as "devilful words".

Mr. Lin keenly grasped what Xu Zhenying said about "the emperor's selection."

Selection?

In other words, maybe His Highness has no plan to determine the successor through the eldest son inheritance system like the Great Zhou Dynasty?
Selection... Selection...

Mr. Lin tasted it carefully and felt that it had infinite meaning.

Is it possible that His Highness wants to imitate Yao and Shun in abdication?

Or should we follow the way of the gods coming down from your highness to decide the next person in power?
This had to make Mr. Lin yearn for it.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Xu Yinxi smiled and said, "Your Highness said that he should listen to different opinions. We have been talking for a long time, but I don't think that Prince Ming is really seeking marriage. I think this is more about firearms, after all?"

Xu Zhenying also laughed: "It doesn't hurt. Let Mo Jinchun's people follow closely to see their activities and hot spots in Jinzhou Prefecture. By the way, Dean Luo and the people from the institute will also send additional manpower."

The people from the Ministry of Military Affairs were about to take the order, but were suddenly stopped by Xu Zhenying: "As the saying goes, soldiers never tire of deceit. If they are here just for firearms, then we can't alert the snake. People from the Ministry of Military Affairs should do things more secretly, so as not to expose the truth. "

After everyone dispersed, Xu Zhenying left Xu Anping alone again, "Minister Xu, you can quietly visit Dean Luo and ask him to be more vigilant in the past few days and go out as little as possible."

Xu Anping was beating a drum in his heart.

After a while, she carried the book box and eagerly walked into the streets of Jinzhou Mansion in the name of buying books. The streets were crowded with people, and Xu Anping walked among the crowd in a low-key manner, not squinting, wishing he could be invisible. She was seen stumbling around, and then walked into a quiet house. After checking the password with a few plainclothes guards in front of the door, she entered the house and saw Luo Qingzhou and everyone in the institute. .

Luo Qingzhou now holds the blueprints of firearms and cement recipes in his hands. He can be said to be the key protected figure in the entire Jinzhou Prefecture.

Especially this time when people from Qiongzhou came, Luo Qingzhou was the top priority, surrounded by layers of guards. Even Mo Jinchun wanted to protect him personally.

However, the person involved did not take it seriously, and even hid in a private house and danced with teachers from several research institutes.

Seeing Xu Anping coming over, Luo Qingzhou didn't seem to see her face, and he pulled her excitedly and said, "Teacher Xu, last time His Highness talked about improving the public carriage, we discussed a plan, which was to first replace the wooden wheels with Change it to iron, and then use the rubber tree that His Highness mentioned. It is highly stretchable and is used as a shock-proof material to cover the outside of the wheel. In this way, the car will not experience any bumps when driving on the cement road, and it can even travel hundreds of miles a day. It’s nothing! It’s the rubber material. Your Highness said it is only available in areas with hot climates. Go hurry up and ask her to send someone to deliver it!”

Xu Anping frowned and calmly took out his hand. Dean Luo seemed to realize something was wrong and touched his head in embarrassment.

"Dean Luo, His Highness has something to convey."

Other research institutes knew what was going on and immediately found an excuse to leave.

After the others left, Xu Anping sat down on the chair leisurely. Seeing her like this, Luo Qingzhou didn't know what he thought of, and looked happy, "Anping, Your Highness agrees to our matter?"

Xu Anping's face turned red suspiciously, "I haven't mentioned this matter to His Highness yet."

Luo Qingzhou stared at her face, "Are you shy? If you are embarrassed to mention it, I will tell His Highness. In the past two years, I have made cement and firearms according to Your Highness's request. If I open my mouth, Your Highness will not refuse. That’s it.”

"That's not what happened." Xu Anping shook his head and hesitated, "It's me, I haven't thought about it yet."

"Why?" Luo Qingzhou's delicate face was full of doubts, "You and I obviously have feelings for each other, and you and I are both seventeen or eighteen, which is the age for marriage. What's more, if the man is unmarried and the woman is unmarried, why can't we talk about marriage? "

Xu Anping couldn't explain clearly, "I just haven't thought about my future path."

"Didn't we discuss it last time? Even if we get married, I will not restrict you. You will continue to be your minister of education and I will continue to be in the research institute. There is no conflict."

Xu Anping lowered his head, "I just didn't think it through. Marriage is only beneficial to you men and has no harm, but for women, it is a lifelong choice. Naturally, I am more cautious than you. Since you and I are in love, Yue, why do you care about this moment? Can you let me think about it? "

Luo Qingzhou was speechless, then sat down and sighed: "It's my fault, I'm impatient. You and I are still young, and we are His Highness's right-hand men. You are also busy with official duties on weekdays, so let's not be impatient."

Anping was naturally happy to see Luo Qingzhou willing to give in.

In fact, after Xu Lezhi got married, he seemed to have changed as a person, as if the aura belonging to the girl had disappeared overnight. Instead, he became lifeless and resented General Zhou, the Xu family, and the Zhou family's mother-in-law.

But as far as she knew, General Zhou treated Xu Lezhi extremely well.

Is it possible that getting married is such a terrifying thing?

Also, for a woman, getting married means marrying into the man's family. She, Xu Anping, is now used to being free and undisciplined. She doesn't know how to be a female celebrity, nor does she know how to do things in the kitchen. She is in public all day long and busy with official duties. If her mother-in-law dislikes her for not being able to do anything about the household affairs, or dislikes her for being too much. What if her son's reputation was overshadowed by his shrewdness and force?
See it.

Whether this woman is strong or weak, her husband's family will have something to say.

She, Xu Anping, felt upset when she thought about having to deal with a large Luo family after her marriage.

She just wants to do her job in education well, so that every child can read and write, and enlighten the people's wisdom. How can she be reincarnated as a tacky stay-at-home woman?

But this is not the time to think about this.

"The man from Qiongzhou just now said that he asked to marry His Highness, so that the world can be divided and ruled in the future. His Highness is thinking that he is afraid that the marriage proposal is a lie, and that the firearm drawings in your hand are genuine."

Luo Qingzhou was also shocked when he mentioned this matter.

He is not someone who is completely obsessed with scientific research and ignores secular affairs. He naturally knows that he has several hot potatoes in his hands. If he is not careful, he may be in danger of losing his head and body.

"Prince Ming is also persistent. He used to send people to secretly investigate, but now that the investigation and theft failed, he just shamelessly asked to marry His Highness. It's so shameless!"

"Yes, everyone in the court had the same attitude just now." Xu Anping said a few words of comfort, "That's why His Highness sent me to tell you that you should be more vigilant in the past few days. If you feel If anything is wrong, report it immediately.”

Luo Qingzhou was naturally not careless, "I know. Your Highness is working hard for my safety, and I will naturally protect myself."

If he was really unfortunate enough to fall into the enemy's hands, he would bite his tongue and commit suicide immediately.

Of course, he didn't say this out loud.

The sixth princess, Zhou Ying, was currently wearing light men's clothing and was walking in the streets of Jinzhou Mansion with a few soldiers in civilian clothes.

After walking a few streets, Zhou Ying had to sigh to General Ma beside her: "I seem to understand why my brother has been unable to take back the territory that originally belonged to me in Qiongzhou. Have you seen those patrolling soldiers?"

Zhou Ying pointed at the people patrolling on the road from afar, "They are all well-fed, well-dressed, and physically strong. They are all covered in tendons, have fierce eyes, and behave in a controlled manner. What's even more frightening is that they all seem to be able to read and write. What Xu Zhenying trained was not soldiers, but generals.”

General Ma also looked sad.

He didn't feel anything else. He only knew one thing: the soldiers in Jinzhou Prefecture were eating really well.

During the previous confrontation between the two armies, the soldiers on the opposite side had meat and eggs almost every meal. At meal time, they could always smell the aroma of meat coming from the opposite side.

"General Ma, if my brother comes with me this time, I'm afraid he will no longer have the confidence to fight Xu Zhenying."

General Ma was dejected and speechless.

Yes, if we say that the soldiers on the front line are just the tip of the iceberg, the places such as Bao'an Prefecture and Xiangshui Prefecture that we pass along the way are also in ruins, but when we arrive at Qianzhou and Jinzhou, it is like arriving at a land that we have never set foot on. .

Everything here is new.

Standing on the streets of Jinzhoufu, you even feel like you have been abandoned by the tide of the times.

The roads here are smooth, and the people here have already lived in concrete houses that are warm in winter and cool in summer. Everyone here is very busy and has something to do. I am afraid they are the only ones wandering on the street.

Even babies who can walk are taken to school or some kind of preschool class.

Parents only need to pay a few cents a day, and their children will be taken care of, and they can earn money in peace and quiet.

A couple can earn fifty or sixty pennies a day, and spending a few pennies to hire someone from the court to look after their children is a very good deal no matter how you look at it.

"You think, if our Qiongzhou is like them, gathering children together and letting everyone learn to read and write, can Qiongzhou become as prosperous as Jinzhou Prefecture?"

General Ma was silent. He was just a rough man who had studied a few military books.

He only knows how to fight.

Even in battles, they always lose to the people of Jinzhou Prefecture.

Fortunately, the sixth princess was just talking to herself and did not ask him to respond, "I'm afraid it won't work. Where can we find so many teachers in Qiongzhou and pay so much salary? The changes in Jinzhou Mansion cannot be achieved in a day." , requires a lot of wealth to achieve, so the first step is not to provide comprehensive education, but to set up a Ministry of Commerce like Xu Zhenying to do business everywhere and replenish the national treasury.”

But the sixth princess shook her head again, "That's not possible. Everything in Jinzhou Mansion is so imaginative. Soaps, pencils, movable type printing, and clocks are all in short supply, and the prices are astronomical. We can't learn it at all, and we can't learn it. So. We still need to promote universal education first. Only when more people read, can we have more ideas and create shocking things. "

Should we engage in education first or business first? This is really an endless cycle.

The Sixth Princess was eager to know how Xu Zhenying pulled up such a huge monster and ran forward at an extremely fast speed.

Why, except for Jinzhou Mansion, time seems to have stopped, and there has been no change for decades.

This trip to Jinzhou really shattered the confidence of the Sixth Princess.

Her mother-in-law's status was not prominent, and she had learned to read people's emotions since she was a child in the palace. Her brother was strict and never allowed her to slack off in her studies just because she was a woman, so she was earlier and wiser than others.

Because of this, the tip of the iceberg in Jinzhou Mansion was enough to make her think of a longer-term place.

The eldest brother's loss to His Highness Prince Zhao was truly not unfair at all.

She really wanted to stay here and study with Xu Zhenying. She wanted to know how Xu Zhenying could support such a huge family business and how he could feed the millions of people in the eight states of Jinzhou Prefecture.

General Ma suddenly pointed to a shop and said, "Sir, you can get the cowpox vaccine in front of you!"

Zhou Ying was surprised, "Is this the legendary special medicine that can prevent and cure smallpox?"

She was a little hesitant, "Is this thing really effective?"

Although General Ma didn't want to admit it, he still didn't hide it: "It must be effective. I heard that when Jinzhou Prefecture was marching westward, the plague was rampant there, and almost no soldiers in Jinzhou Prefecture were infected. As you can imagine...this cowpox It’s true that vaccines can prevent and cure smallpox.”

Zhou Ying looked desperate, "Is it that institute again?"

The eldest brother’s foundation will not all be ruined in the hands of those low-level craftsmen in the institute, right?

If possible, she would really like to use firearms to blow the institute to the ground!