Shen Chen hummed, raised his hand and wrote a letter and handed it to Xuesong: "Don't go through the post station, use our own channels to send this letter to father urgently."
Xuesong took the letter and was about to ask something else when there was a sudden knock on the door outside.
Han Bo reported anxiously from outside: "My Lord! Eunuch An's godson, the eunuch Wang Chong, has come out from the palace! He said that the emperor has summoned him!"
At this time?!
There was no sign before. Xuesong glanced at Shen Chen and couldn't help but worry: "Could it be..."
What you say won’t happen. Has Xue Changshi really informed the court and come to avenge Chu Jingxing
Shen Chen raised his hand to signal him to calm down, and after a quick thought, he shook his head: "No. Now the intelligence is in the hands of the Jinyiwei. If there is really news that is not good for us, it makes no sense that Young Master Lin would not have any information at all. It must be about something else."
Xuesong then felt relieved. He found clothes for him to change into when entering the palace, and hurriedly sent him out.
The person who came was Wang Chong, a favored man under Eunuch An. These eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department were always arrogant and said that their status was not inferior to that of the Embroidered Uniform Guards. They were always feared by others.
But he was polite to Shen Chen. He bowed and saluted with a smile, then said with a smile: "I haven't seen you for a long time, and you have become more handsome."
Shen Chen nodded jokingly: "I think so too. Eunuch Wang has good vision."
Wang Chong could not help but laugh. Seeing that Shen Chen did not ask why Emperor Longqing called him, he knew that he was a man who only liked to play for the sake of appearance but was actually very shrewd. As soon as he got off the sedan chair, he led him to the Taiji Hall.
Emperor Longqing summoned only Shen Chen, and no one else was allowed to enter. He sent them to the door and stopped, opened the door for Shen Chen, and then stood guard outside.
When Shen Chen arrived, Emperor Longqing was looking at something beside his desk. Hearing the noise, he knew he was coming and said without even raising his head, "Take a look at this memorial. It was sent urgently from Zhejiang four hundred miles away."
Zhejiang
Shen Chen was very perceptive and immediately guessed that something might have happened in Zhejiang. He responded and quickly stepped forward, holding the memorial in both hands and reading it carefully.
He read quickly, but obviously thought very carefully and slowly. After a while, he said, "Liu Biping's wolfish ambitions are obvious. Over the years, he has been exaggerating the influence of the Japanese pirates on Fujian and constantly asking for money from the court, but he has not done his best to fight against the Japanese pirates, so that now the Japanese pirates are becoming more and more rampant..."
He frowned and looked straight ahead, not daring to look directly at Emperor Longqing, and whispered: "It was his connivance that made the Japanese invasion increasingly serious, and... Zhejiang's maritime trade has been repeatedly frustrated. Later, even official ships were robbed by pirates. Pirates are rampant. Most of these pirates are from Fujian and Jiangxi... If I were to be more ruthless, I'm afraid it has something to do with Liu Biping. It's possible that Liu Biping cultivated these forces to make as much money as possible for himself... These days, because I'm going to Fujian, I've heard about Liu Biping's affairs. I know that he is the lord of Fujian, and everyone calls him the local emperor..."
These words sounded infuriating enough before, especially when Emperor Longqing was already extremely angry. He was silent for a long time before he gritted his teeth and said a few good words in a row, as if they were forced out of his throat. After a long time, he said, "He has wolfish ambitions. The Jinyiwei found out that he was involved in the Yi family's affairs. I ordered the cabinet to conduct a strict investigation at that time, but later he probably got away with Xia Song's connections. I trusted Xia Song at that time. At that time, Xia Song said that it was just a conspiracy between the Yi and Peng families, so I believed it. Now I know that Liu Biping has connections everywhere."
If I didn't have such great connections, I wouldn't have been able to reach this point.
But now is not the time to talk about this. After all, the thing has already happened and it is too late to repent. The most important thing is how to make amends.
Seeing Shen Chen's eloquent words, Emperor Longqing felt more relaxed and said softly, "Achen, now only you can help me. It has been rumored for a year or two that you are going to Fujian to build a customs office. Only if you go, it will not be easy to arouse his suspicion. You are a smart child and you know the current situation of the court. If Fujian is unstable, the southeast will also be unstable. Once the southeast is unstable, the Japanese pirates will take the opportunity to invade our Great Zhou, and the Tatars will definitely take the opportunity to invade... ... The King of Jin will also revive, and then all the efforts made by the court in this period will be in vain."
Shen Chen looked solemn and knelt on the ground, saying respectfully, "I understand! Your Majesty, please give me your orders. I will go through fire and water and die without hesitation!"
This child is really smart and loyal. Emperor Longqing was instantly moved. He patted him on the shoulder and praised him loudly: "Good! You are indeed my good nephew. You have lived up to your father's reputation! You said that for the sake of the people, we should go through fire and water and die without hesitation! I have asked the cabinet to draft the bill. You just need to prepare. It will probably take one or two days. We must not delay it any longer. I will let the Jinyiwei accompany you for protection. You can do it freely. I am waiting for your good news!"
Shen Chen responded heavily, thought for a moment and asked again: "By the way, Your Majesty, I would like to ask one more thing. If Zhejiang wants to fight this war, I am afraid it will cost a lot..."
It was hard for him to think of this. Emperor Longqing's expression became more relaxed and he said, "What else can I do? Even if I have to sell everything I have, I will make Zhejiang fight!"
The Japanese threat has been getting worse and worse. If it is not eliminated, it will become even more of a threat. When the day comes when it is out of control, it will be too late to save the Great Zhou.
His son was still young, and he couldn't leave him with a turbulent political situation.
Emperor Longqing closed his eyes and simply told Shen Chen the plan that Jiang Zining and the others had come up with: "When you arrive in Fujian, just say you are going to raise military funds for Zhejiang. Then the Ministry of Revenue will naturally send someone south to sort out the salt tax... Liu Biping probably didn't expect that I would send you to deal with him."
Shen Chen thought for a moment and then bowed to Emperor Longqing and said, "Don't worry, I will do my best and will never let you down."
Sometimes the more he looked at Shen Chen, the more he liked him. Emperor Longqing patted his shoulder and sighed: "I believe in you. I am waiting for you to come back. When you come back, I will grant you a marriage with Shouning. You are not young anymore. Since you have someone you like, it is time to settle down. Your father and mother are waiting in the underworld. Only when they see you get married can they rest assured and go without worries. I am also old, and I also want to see you get married and start a family..."