There was more than one day on the way. On this day, when they arrived at the outskirts of Beijing, Qin Ning ordered the team to rest temporarily and sent people to report to the capital. At dusk, someone came from the capital to greet them, and the leader was none other than Dou Kui, the Minister of Household Affairs.
Dou Kui met Qi Ning and congratulated him: "The Marquis has made great contributions in the East China Sea. Now everyone in the civil and military circles is talking about it. No matter who mentions the Marquis, they will give a thumbs up. The emperor also made a decree. , the goods shipped back from the East China Sea will be received by the Ministry of Revenue first and put into the treasury, and the subsequent matters can be left to the lower officials by the Marquis. "
Qi Ning smiled and said: "Master Dou, these goods are all registered, so be sure not to line your own pockets."
Dou Kui said hurriedly: "The Marquis is joking. The emperor has issued a decree to prepare for the Northern Expedition. This time, Xianguan was worried to death. When he learned that the Marquis had confiscated a large amount of property and ordnance from the East China Sea, Xianguan didn't sleep for several days. Wait, just waiting for the Marquis to send rice for cooking. Yes, Lord Marquis, the Emperor has a decree. After the Marquis returns to Beijing, he should go to the palace to see you first, so don't delay."
Qi Ning immediately handed over the team to Dou Kui without any delay, and sent two people to escort Mrs. Tian home first. After entering the city, he and Fan Dehai went straight to the palace.
He had been away from Beijing for a long time, and he had many worries in his heart. The first thing he worried about was Gu Qinghan from the Hou Mansion. But the meeting was important, so he could only temporarily suppress the excitement in his heart. When he arrived outside the palace gate, the sky had already darkened. Fan Dehai led the Qi Ning entered the palace. Qi Ning originally thought that if the emperor wanted to see him, he should meet him in the imperial study. However, he did not want the young emperor to still be in Fengyi Palace, so he could only follow Fan Dehai to the harem.
This is the third time Qi Ning has entered the harem. When the king of a country receives his ministers, he has been summoned in the harem many times. Qi Ning really feels that it is very inappropriate. When he arrives outside Fengyi Palace, he thinks of Chi Danmei who is hiding in the harem, but he doesn’t know. Has Chi Danmei found what she wanted
Arriving at the gate of Fengyi Palace, Fan Dehai asked someone to report. Qining frowned and asked in a low voice: "Eunuch Fan, now you can't even go in and report directly?"
Fan Dehai sneered and said: "Master Hou, I don't know what Liu Jin said in front of the emperor. The emperor issued a decree that Liu Jin must report to the emperor if he wants to meet the emperor. It is difficult for the Za family to meet the emperor now."
Qi Ning nodded slightly, wondering what medicine Longtai was selling in this gourd
After a while, he actually saw Liu Cheng coming out. He said with a smile on his face: "Master Hou, the Holy One has summoned you to see you." He said to Fan Dehai: "Eunuch Fan, you have worked hard all the way, so go back and rest first." To Fan Dehai, it seemed that Very cold.
Fan Dehai suppressed his anger, nodded to Qining, and then retreated.
Qi Ning followed Liu Wei into Fengyi Palace. Liu Wei smiled and said: "Master Hou, the emperor has been thinking about you these days. Knowing that you have made great achievements in the East China Sea, he is so happy...!"
Qi Ning also smiled and said: "Eunuch Liu, do you tell others about the emperor's words and deeds?"
When Liu Wei heard this, his expression changed slightly and he stopped talking.
Entering the inner palace, Qining saw Longtai sitting on a chair reading a book, and went to pay homage. Longtai put down the book, raised his hand and said: "Get down!"
Qi Ning stood up and saw that Long Tai looked good. He thought he would be in a happy mood singing and dancing with the Queen every day.
"Give me a seat!"
Liu Wei personally moved the chair, and after Qi Ning sat down, Long Tai smiled and said: "I know that you have made great achievements in the East China Sea, and I am very pleased. The queen said that I will reward you heavily. I want to wait for you to come back and ask you what you want. , as long as I can do it, I promise you."
Qi Ning stood up and cupped his hands and said: "It is the duty of a minister to share the emperor's worries. I don't want rewards."
Longtai smiled slightly, and then asked: "Have everything been settled in the East China Sea?"
"Back to the emperor, General Xin is guarding the Donghai Navy, and the governor of Donghai Chen Ting is also a minister of the defense. The two of them cooperate with each other, so there won't be any big problems." Qining said: "And Donghai is also chasing the remaining party, no. We will let the fish that slip through the net go.”
Longtai reached for a fold and handed it to Qining. Qin Ning took it with both hands, opened it and looked at it. Longtai said: "This is the fold submitted by Duke Yiguo two days ago. The East China Sea family has been destroyed, but the trade on the sea cannot." With this interruption, Duke Yiguo means that the court should take this opportunity to take back maritime trade from the hands of the noble family."
The Duke of Yiguo was naturally Tantaihuang, and Jindaohou Tantaihuang was granted the title of Duke of Yiguo during the Jin Dynasty, becoming one of the two great dukes in the empire.
Qi Ning said: "Your Majesty, I have also seen clearly the situation in the East China Sea. Due to the existence of maritime trade in the East China Sea, the Jiang family has accumulated a lot of wealth over the years. Although they pay a lot of taxes every year, the surplus is dozens of times the tax. , I also believe that maritime trade is an important source of increasing the national treasury and cannot be interrupted no matter what." After a pause, he continued: "I also feel that it is just a good opportunity to control maritime trade in the hands of the imperial court and directly establish a trade Yamen, it's just... I heard that the imperial court is discussing the Northern Expedition, and I don't know whether it is true or not. If the Northern Expedition is really going to happen, the money in the treasury will be used for the frontline war, and it will be difficult to allocate money for maritime trade. .”
Qi Ning's words may seem like an understatement, but they contain deep meaning.
The Northern Expedition is the top priority of Chu State at present, and the imperial court is also preparing various matters for the Northern Expedition in full swing. However, it is really strange that Jin Yihou, one of the hereditary princes of the empire, cannot be involved in it.
Longtai didn't seem to understand the meaning of Qi Ning's words, and said with a smile: "If you can think of this, it can be regarded as understanding my heart. All matters in the Northern Expedition are currently being planned by the Duke of Zhen personally leading the ministers. Duke Zhen is our great leader. A veteran of Chu, since the founding of the country, Chu and the Northern Han have fought countless times. The one who understands the situation between the two countries best is the Duke of Zhen. This Northern Expedition will be managed by the Duke of Zhen, so it is naturally foolproof."
Qi Ning hesitated to speak, but finally did not speak.
Longtai noticed Qining's expression and asked, "What do you want to say?"
"Your Majesty, I would like to ask, will we join forces with Eastern Qi in this Northern Expedition?" Qi Ning hesitated for a moment, and finally asked: "If we jointly send troops, what kind of plan do the people of Qi have?"
Longtai said: "Yesterday the envoys sent by Qi State arrived, and today they have begun to discuss the alliance with the Duke of Zhen. I have not yet summoned them to inquire about the specific combat arrangements. The two countries are joining forces to attack Han, which is of great importance. Naturally, it cannot be decided in three or two days. It involves many specific things. Qi State secretly sent more than 20 people here this time. At present, not many people know about it. The results of the discussion will naturally be presented to me. "
Qi Ning was a little surprised. He didn't expect the situation to progress so quickly. Prince Duan Xuan of Qi State came to see his relatives. Although the two countries had concluded an alliance, there was no specific consultation on the joint attack on the Han Dynasty because of the imperial tomb incident. , and there is no unified attitude.
In a short period of time, Qi State sent another group of people, and they had already begun to discuss a specific coalition battle plan.
Qi Ning remembered that when Duan Shao came to send his relatives, although the attitude of the Chu State towards the alliance to conquer the Han was not clear, two factions were vaguely formed. One faction was naturally led by the King of Huainan and advocated uniting with the Qi State to take the opportunity to conquer the Han. However, at that time Sima Lan's attitude was ambiguous and he did not show a positive attitude toward the two countries joining forces to attack the Han. Because of this, Duan Shao returned without success.
Now the imperial court has given Sima Lan the responsibility of planning the Northern Expedition, and the people of Qi quickly sent people over. This is of course because Sima Lan's attitude has changed greatly.
Without Sima Lan's nod, Qi State would certainly not have sent someone quickly.
"Your Majesty, if the people of Qi State really want to join forces to attack the Han Dynasty, I, the Great Chu, would naturally like to see it, but...!" Qi Ning paused for a moment before continuing: "I would also like to ask Your Majesty to beware of the ulterior motives of the people of Qi State."
He was just thinking about telling Longtai the suspicion that the hermit master was probably from the Eastern Qi Dynasty, but Longtai had already said: "Jinyi Hou, all matters related to the Northern Expedition will be left to the Duke of Zhenguo, so you don't have to participate."
Qining's expression remained unchanged and Longtai said: "I might as well tell you directly that I also wanted you to assist the Duke of Zhen in planning this matter at the beginning, but there is a hint that there is some misunderstanding between your Jinyi Qi family and the Sima family. I'm worried that your participation will make many things more troublesome. After all, the Jinyi Qi family commanded the Qinhuai Army, and the main force of this Northern Expedition is also the Qinhuai Army. Your Jinyihou's suggestions will naturally affect the Qinhuai Army. Once You have a disagreement with Duke Zhen, which is not good for this battle."
Qi Ning smiled and said: "The emperor is overly worried. The Duke of Zhen is a veteran of the empire, and the minister is just a fledgling official. No matter in terms of qualifications or talents, he is not as good as the old Duke. It is the best choice for the emperor to hand over the heavy responsibility to the old Duke. .”
"Gong Zhen Guo has his own affairs, and you also have your own affairs." Longtai said: "I summoned Duke Yi Guo about the maritime trade I just mentioned. He had been guarding the East China Sea and knew the East China Sea very well, so I asked What he meant. Duke Yiguo recommended you to me and advised me to let you take full responsibility for the preparation of the Maritime Trade Yamen. Moreover, Duke Yiguo told me that although the preparation for the establishment of the Maritime Trade Yamen is very difficult at the moment, if it is left in your hands Here, all problems will be solved."
Qin Ning knew in his heart that Tantai Huang, the righteous Duke, was reciprocating a favor.
During this incident in the East China Sea, Qi Ning was a huge help to the Tantai family, allowing the Tantai family to survive the huge waves. The Tantai family was naturally grateful to the Jinyi Qi family.
Qi Ning mentioned the idea of setting up Haibosi Yamen to Xin Ci in the East China Sea. At that time, he had the idea to convey the matter to Duke Yi Guo through Xin Ci. Qi Ning knew that once Duke Yi Guo knew about it, My own idea was that I would take the initiative to help me promote this matter. Now it seems that the goal has been achieved. Lord Yi Guo did not let Qining down.
If Qi Ning personally proposed to the court to establish the Haibo Division, there would be many obstacles. On the contrary, if it was proposed by Lord Yiguo, the resistance would be much smaller.
Qi Ning said: "If the emperor has already decided, I will naturally go all out to do it, but at the beginning of the establishment, I am afraid there will be some twists and turns...!"
"I'll leave it to you how to do it." Longtai said: "I only want you to control the maritime trade rights in the hands of the imperial court. As for what method to use, you have time to think about it." He stood up and said: "You just came back. Jing, I won’t keep you here, I’ll go back and have a look earlier, and I’ll talk to you another day, Liu Cheng, please send Jin Yiwai out.”
Liu Wei, who had been waiting nearby, came forward and bowed: "Master Marquis, please!"