"Your Highness, the pier of Yuhang Mansion is just ahead." Lying lazily on the wide hut, two pretty little maids were kneeling tenderly in front of the handsome young man, one of them kneading his leg muscles. A fruit with a purple-red shell is being peeled off from the fruit plate, and the crystal white flesh exudes an alluring sweet aroma. The huge dragon boat traveled very smoothly on the wide canal. The slightly undulating water waves were simply negligible for a huge vessel. Not even a bit of the hot coffee placed on the low table next to it was spilled.
Swallowing the pitted fruit pulp in one gulp, the handsome young man nodded slightly: "Every time I eat this Hepu Dali, which is more delicious than any delicacy in the world. I never want to go back to the imperial capital again. This Liao Qichang really understands my thoughts, and he still Just a few baskets of big lychees were sent to me in Jinling. It’s hard not to feel grateful.”
The person who came in to report was a strong-looking guard with eagle eyes and a tiger body. His angular face was expressionless. He just bowed respectfully and was about to retreat.
"Chuanyue, come on. Let's take a rest." He greeted the other person affectionately. The handsome young man patted the seat next to him to signal to the other party.
"Your Highness, we will be arriving at our destination soon, and I still need to make preparations." The hawk-eyed man still shook his head indifferently and turned around.
The handsome young man who sat upright shrugged his shoulders. He was probably used to the behavior of the strong man in front of him. He didn't say anything. He just nodded and watched the strong man disappear outside the sand curtain. The handsome young man was thoughtful. He looked away and said: "This guy is always like this. He's not funny at all."
"Hehe, Your Highness. As long as he can complete the task for Your Highness, it is enough. There is no need to ask too much for other things, right? He has two special skills, and his name is not false." Zhong, who has been sitting in the corner by the porthole, The young scribe was wearing a blue Confucian shirt, and a huge folding fan opened and closed, but the scribe's eyes never left the scene outside the window.
"Well, I heard that he rebelled against two sects and killed countless people. It can be said that he can't move forward in the world. I don't know why he is competing?" The handsome young man didn't know much about the origin of the strong man who left, but he knew that he was recommended by his confidants. People are never weak, and their loyalty is unquestionable.
"Well, His Highness doesn't care about the sad things of sad people." A rare trace of pity appeared on the middle-aged scribe's face, and he probably didn't want to talk more about this issue.
"Oh?" The handsome young man was more interested and asked: "Tell me a little. I am quite envious of the world. I enjoy grudges and revenge, and sing wildly with swords. How peaceful and comfortable it is? It's not like being entangled with worldly things all day long now. Run around." The handsome young man's words were full of helplessness, as if he was referring to something.
"Haha, your highness is wrong. If what your highness is busy with can be considered vulgar, then wouldn't the affairs of the rivers and lakes be vulgar?" The middle-aged scribe shook his head and smiled bitterly, "the rivers and lakes are not as far away as your highness imagined. Freedom is like a big dye vat. Once a person falls into it, he has to climb out. That's hard to reach the sky. Unless you join the officialdom like Chuan Yue and rely on it, don't you hear the saying that people can't help themselves in the world, which is probably the most true portrayal. "
"So it seems from your statement that Chuan Yue has offended a lot of enemies in the world?" the handsome young man asked with great interest.
Seeing that his master was so interested, the middle-aged scribe had no choice but to follow his words: "Well, Chuanyue should say that it is difficult to gain a foothold in the north of the empire. Even in the entire empire, it is still very dangerous. Otherwise I don’t think he would come to me and ask me to introduce him to His Highness. He was originally from the Qingfeng Sect, a major martial arts sect in the Heshuo area. The Qingfeng Sect is a Taoist sect with Taoist and secular disciples. But he He was emotionally entangled with a young female Taoist Crown and was expelled from the sect by the Qingfeng Sect. He went back to seduce the female Taoist Crown and escaped together. This angered the Qingfeng Sect and pursued him with all their strength. , he had no place to hide, so he changed his name and joined the Wuhu Duanmen Dao sect of Yanyunlai Prefecture. Who knew that his wife was attracted by the brother of the Wuhu Duanmen Dao sect, and she repeatedly seduced and teased him, which made him angry. In a fit of rage, he killed the opponent seriously and then fled. At this time, his original identity was also revealed. There was nowhere for him to gain a foothold in the Central Plains martial arts world, so he had no choice but to seek refuge with his subordinates."
"Haha, I can't tell that Chuanyue, who is usually cold-faced, is still a romantic partner. I guess that woman of his must be very powerful." The handsome young man laughed, finding it very interesting.
"I have seen this subordinate before. I can only say that she is quite pretty. Maybe beauty is in the eye of the beholder." The middle-aged scribe shook his head and sighed. "You're a worthless guy. If his father hadn't been kind to me back then, I wouldn't have bothered to care about him. I don't know how his father taught him to end up in such a bad situation for a woman. But it's okay. With His Highness by my side, He can also find a wife to be his shadow, which can also be regarded as an explanation to his father."
"Then the Qingfeng Sect and the Five Tiger Duanmen Swordsmen are very powerful in the empire? Why have I never heard of them?"
"Your Highness has so many things to do all day long. He is only concerned about military and national affairs. How could he pay attention to these frivolous matters? Even his subordinates listened to Chuanyue after he came." The middle-aged scribe replied.
"It seems that in this world, the jungle is always the strongest," the handsome young man said with some emotion. "There is no pure land in this world. This sentence is indeed true."
"Haha, Your Highness, there is no need to be sentimental. This is how the world is. Natural selection, the strong survive, and the weak are eliminated. No matter which way you walk, you cannot escape from this law." The middle-aged scribe disagreed, "This time Your Highness is ordered by His Majesty to go on a tour. East China Sea and Jiangnan, aren’t these part of them?”
The handsome young man is Situ Yuan, the seventh prince of the current Tanghe Empire. He was ordered to inspect the armaments in Donghai and Jiangnan counties, focusing on supervising the defense status of the naval fleet against the Japanese in the Atlantic Ocean. The East China Sea and Jiangnan are the places where the richest man in the empire is located. There has been no war for hundreds of years. Except for the harassment by the Japanese in the Atlantic Ocean in recent years, the entire Jiangnan region has been peaceful. Half of the empire's financial revenue comes from Jiangnan. Taxpayers from Jiangnan and Donghai counties account for about 70% of the empire's total fiscal revenue. Including Wuhu County, the figure reaches nearly 90%.
However, with the vigorous rise of industrial and commercial forces in the two counties, it has also directly challenged the gentry forces headed by the landed aristocrats. Especially in Jiangnan County, the emerging industrial and commercial families known as the seven major families in Jiangnan are all from the common class. After taking advantage of Jiangnan's unique geographical environment and location to make a fortune and gain huge wealth, their political aspirations became increasingly intense, and their relationship with the local gentry became increasingly tense.
"Well, my father has worked so hard to separate me, eldest brother, and third brother so early to pave the way for Lao Jiu. I wonder what eldest brother, third brother, and the others think?" Situ Yuan's face slowly revealed a hint of coldness. The smile seemed a bit inconsistent with his handsome face. He waved his hand to signal the two maids to leave, leaving only two people in the spacious cabin.
The refreshing river breeze blew the embroidered silk curtains on the portholes, and the vivid embroidered cloud and thunder patterns on the straight silk sand curtains swayed in the wind. The middle-aged scribe stretched out his hand to hold down the silk curtains and slowly tied them, and the sparkling light outside the window could be seen from time to time. Seeing the ships passing by at a distance, the soldiers on the navy ships who were on guard were fully armed and closely monitored the surrounding movements to prevent any accidents from happening.
"Your Highness, I think we are in a delicate situation right now. In terms of military strength, we are not as good as His Highness and His Highness the Third. But in terms of economic strength and the environment we are in, we are much stronger than the two Highnesses. ." The middle-aged scribe withdrew his gaze from the window and said calmly: "Your Highness has a solid foundation in the East China Sea and Jiangnan, and is backed by the Kingdom of Milan in the south. He is already in an invincible position. This God-given opportunity, Your Highness can use your Majesty's name to clean up the country. The naval army consolidates the local administrative power in the East China Sea and Jiangnan. In this way, even if the big thing fails for a while, it is not too late to rely on the strong strength of the two places to pursue big things."
Situ Yuan slowly shook his head, his eyes focused. The ambergris curled up in the corner, making people's minds clear. "It's not that simple. My father dared to put me back to Jiangnan, so he naturally had his plans. Although Jiangnan is My mother's family seems to be calm, but in fact, there are undercurrents. In the past few decades, the common people have relied on the economic power they have in their hands to echo the business forces in the court, demanding reform of the government and giving the common people more opportunities. The call for more political rights has always been loud, but it has been met with strong opposition at all levels. My father has always had a vague attitude on this issue. He neither supports nor opposes it, but he also indulges the news media that cheer for the business faction. On the surface, he seems impartial, but deep down, it’s hard for me to say what his intentions are.”
Casting his eyes on Situ Yuan's face with some confusion, the middle-aged scribe blinked and said, "Your Highness, what you mean is..."
"The local common people forces in Jiangnan represented by Liao Qichang are not only closely related to the common people forces in the East China Sea, but also have secret connections with the industrial and commercial forces in Wuhu County. The power they represent is also very important in the empire, although they have no say in the military. Right, but Liao Qichang has already put his hands and feet into the Navy. It can also be seen that they have noticed the changes in the empire's situation and begun to prepare for the response. I think Lao Jiu also visited Liao Qichang frequently when he returned to Beijing to report on his work last time, hum. Huh, no matter what the idea is, you can tell. If there is Father's tacit approval, and some people are pulling the strings, I'm afraid the variables in the middle will be very big."
There were layers of gloom on Situ Yuan's face, obviously he was extremely worried about this matter. Situ Lang was originally quite popular in the court, but if he reached into his backyard, his status would be in jeopardy. However, the gentry forces in the two counties that support him are on the same level as the common people represented by Liao Qichang. It is extremely difficult to reconcile the conflicts between the two parties. At this moment, it is impossible for him to take such a risk to please those common people. Then Otherwise, he will lose both ends. Fortunately, his influence in the Eastern Military Region is relatively stable. If he can get the full support of the Kingdom of Milan, there should be no trouble in these two places.
The middle-aged scribe was speechless for a moment, just silently thinking about the joints.
"Your Highness, the ship is about to dock. Officials from Jiangnan County are already waiting for you at the dock."