Prince Linjiang was still a little concerned about Chu Jingxing going out alone.
Although Chu Jingxing admitted his mistake with tears in his eyes, and his admission was very sincere.
But a person's knot is not planted in one day, and naturally it is impossible to eliminate it in one day. He frowned and looked at Chu Jingxing standing in front of him, coughed and asked: "Are you going out?"
Chu Jingxing stood in front of his father calmly and responded calmly: "My mother asked me to go to Princess Chang'an to deliver the newly presented golden pheasant and a pair of black bears to Princess Chang'an's mansion."
Princess Linjiang did mention before that she wanted to go to the Chang'an Princess's Mansion to return the gift, but Chu Jingxing did not say that he would go in person.
Moreover, Chu Jingxing had been depressed for quite some time, but in recent days he suddenly seemed to have an epiphany.
King Linjiang hummed calmly. Seeing that he looked calm, he did not ask any more questions. He just asked him, "After the Lantern Festival, your uncle Zheng will have his wedding. Then, it will be your wedding celebration with Princess Xianrong. On the third day after your wedding, we will return to our fiefdom. Do you know all this?"
This was the news he had received before, and King Linjiang had also told him about it. Chu Jingxing nodded, as if he had realized something.
He knew what King Linjiang meant - he had finally managed to get the chance to return to his fiefdom, and if something unexpected happened along the way...
He was startled, straightened his back, looked into the eyes of King Linjiang, and solemnly promised: "Don't worry, I won't cause you any trouble, and I will never do anything that is detrimental to the palace."
King Linjiang looked at the letter on the desk and laughed: "Since you said so, I feel relieved."
He waved his hand and let Chu Jingxing go. When Chu Jingxing reached the door, he suddenly called him, looked at him meaningfully and said softly: "I hope you will never disappoint your father again."
King Linjiang's eyes seemed to be able to see through everyone's thoughts. Chu Jingxing frowned and was about to speak when he heard King Linjiang's voice behind him.
"When I leave the capital, the situation in the capital will change, and your life will be much more difficult. With Chang'an's care, there will always be more security. It's okay for you to be closer to them." Linjiang Wang said: "Just don't go too far."
Chu Jingxing agreed. It was almost noon when he arrived at the Princess Chang'an's house. As soon as he entered the princess's mansion, he was taken to pay his respects to the Princess Chang'an.
Princess Chang'an was meeting a girl from the Yuan family. When she saw him, she smiled and asked someone to help her up. She sent someone to take the girl to the garden to see the plum blossoms and enjoy the snow, and then she took Chu Jingxing to the study.
Mr. Bai, the princess's trusted adviser, was already sitting in the study. When he saw the princess, he quickly stood up and greeted her.
The princess graciously exempted him from the formalities, led Chu Jingxing to the side and introduced him, then glanced behind the screen and whispered, "Then let's begin."
Mr. Bai bowed and unfolded a map on the yellow pear wood desk. He tapped the word "Datong" and stroked his beard and asked Chu Jingxing, "May I ask, my lord, where is this place?"
Chu Jingxing naturally knew it, and said loudly: "The key to the north."
Mr. Bai showed his appreciation and laughed, "Since you already know, there is no need to say more. I would like to ask you again, how many guards does Datong have? How many soldiers are stationed there? How many war horses do they have?"
Chu Jingxing frowned slightly.
These are military secrets, how could he know
As the son of a vassal prince, if he knew all this, Emperor Longqing would have charged him with treason long ago.
Mr. Bai obviously knew why Chu Jingxing frowned. He shook his head and said bluntly, "Your Highness may not know, but I do. Datong now has jurisdiction over 13 guards, 823 forts, 307 watchtowers, four roads, and nine routes. There are now more than 136,900 soldiers stationed there and more than 61,300 war horses..."
Chu Jingxing's expression gradually became solemn.
Mr. Bai did not take it seriously. He just coughed and then continued, "Therefore, some people in Datong joked that the Datong scholars are the best in the world."
This shows the importance of Datong.
Chu Jingxing understood somewhat but was also somewhat confused. He glanced at Princess Chang'an, then looked at Mr. Bai and asked softly, "My aunt told me before that she wanted to do something big. Does it have anything to do with Datong?"
Princess Chang'an leisurely poured herself a cup of tea, took a sip, and nodded to Mr. Bai.
Mr. Bai said, "Your Highness, why don't you guess again? If these war horses were exchanged for silver, how much would they be worth?"
Chu Jingxing looked at them in shock and asked in a low voice, "Are you planning to sell war horses?!"
But what's the difference between this and treason? !
"No need to get involved, Prince." After receiving the look from Princess Chang'an, Mr. Bai said quickly, "You don't need to be involved in this matter. Someone else is doing it. However, the people in this business are really forced into a desperate situation, so they want to come to the capital to find a way to get through the current difficulties... In order to get through this difficulty, he is willing to offer 60% of his family's surplus from doing business outside the Great Wall in the past four years..."
Sixty percent
Chu Jingxing lowered his head.
He knew that smuggling was a very profitable business. How much would that be worth if he could get 60% of the silver he had accumulated over four years? !
He used to be a man without money.
Now that he has no money and no one, whether he can continue to be the crown prince depends entirely on King Linjiang.
But if he could provide such a huge sum of money to the Linjiang Palace...
If he could find a way to make money, he could be of great help to the palace...
The reason Shen Chen went to Fujian this time was just to make some money, right
He coughed.
Mr. Bai laughed again: "To be honest, he has offended some people, so he wants to find a backer. We know that the prince is unwilling to do this, and we also know that you have your own way..."
No matter how capable Princess Chang'an is, she is still a woman after all, and there are limits to what she can do. The Prince Consort's family is an ordinary one and cannot help her much.
Even if she wanted to swallow such a large sum of money privately, she didn't have the ability to digest it completely.
Of course, we have to find someone else to provide this protection.
As her son-in-law, Chu Jingxing is in this situation now and has the identity of the prince of the royal palace. He is undoubtedly the best candidate.
She looked at Chu Jingxing and raised her chin slightly: "That man is very sincere. If we can get through this difficult time, we will have a steady flow of money in the future... And..."
She deliberately glanced at Chu Jingxing: "And, to be honest, these people did have a very important background... What they can give is not just money..."
-----Five updates a day, five updates a day, I've kept my word... ... Keep asking for subscriptions, I'm a little flustered looking at the results... ...