"A thermal power plant is being built on the outskirts of the capital. By the time you arrive in the capital, these electrical appliances may have been installed in your house." Back on the Jian Bridge, Li Xiao looked at the rough sea.

"This is indeed a good business. I, Zheng Zhilong, accepted this love. This time, I will follow you back to Beijing. I haven't seen Sen'er for several years, and I feel panicked." Zheng Zhilong also looked at the surging sea.

.

"It's decided, should we discuss it with the clan elders?" Li Xiao turned back and looked at Zheng Zhilong.

"It's decided! Ever since we fought with the Dutch in Macau, I have recognized you as my ally. No one is willing to break the covenant made with blood."

"You looked like you were going to eat me on the shore."

"Haha!" Zheng Zhilong smiled and said nothing.

"You haven't said it yet, what should I do if the clan elders don't agree?"

"What else can we do? They don't want me, Zheng Zhilong, to go to Beijing alone. The worst is, let the position of clan leader be given up to the capable person!" Zheng Zhilong seemed to suddenly have an epiphany.

"Have you thought about it? From now on, there will be no power from this family or that family on the sea. Everything floating on the sea must be controlled by the imperial court. If the elders of your Zheng family dare to resist the imperial court, don't tell me beforehand

I didn't remind you."

"I understand. I agree that the imperial court needs to exercise its rights. Princes who break the law are as guilty as the common people, and the elders of the Zheng family are no exception."

"Okay! I understand." Li Xiao nodded and stopped talking.

The small boat sent Zheng Zhilong back to the shore. Li Xiao did not go ashore again, but stayed on the boat for the night.

The sea breeze at night brought a cool salty smell to his nose. Li Xiao stood on the deck and looked at the dimly lit Quanzhou Port in the distance. Quanzhou Port was more prosperous than the previous Quanzhou Port. After Zheng Zhilong left, the market for ships was also high.

Everything was collected by the imperial court, and nothing happened to the Zheng family.

Using electricity in exchange for Zheng Zhilong giving up the sea also tied the Zheng family more closely to the chariot of the Ming Dynasty. As for the elders of the Zheng family who are ignorant of current affairs and still think about occupying the sea, there is nothing to say. "The Law of the Ming Dynasty"

Put it there, as long as it is violated, it will be dealt with according to the rules. Although Yuan Chonghuan is a military attaché, he was also a second-ranked Jinshi.

Leading troops and governing the people is the best choice. He brought the Second Division to Quanzhou and should be able to control the situation. As for the things on the sea, after Li Xiu's injury recovers, there should be no problems for the Zheng family. As long as they are safe.

After two years, Li Xiu's navy will have added more than three Zhenyuan-class battleships.

If the welding technology and materials are further developed, there may be battleships such as ironclads that defy the odds. Even Li Xiao would not believe that the backward wooden sailing ship would be the opponent of the steam engine ironclad.

In the next few days, Zheng Zhilong took Li Xiao to visit the mountains and rivers. The Zheng family heard that Zheng Zhilong was going north to the capital with Li Xiao, so everyone was gearing up and actively preparing for rebellion. As soon as Zheng Zhilong left, they immediately launched into a vigorous battle to seize power.

among.

Zheng Zhilong just watched indifferently and did not stop him. He took Li Xiao for fun in Quanzhou City. They are all people who don’t know how to advance or retreat. When the tree gets bigger, there are always branches and leaves that need to be pruned. With the help of Li Xiao, he completed the Zheng family pruning shears.

Leaves are also a good thing.

"This Kaiyuan Temple was originally a mulberry garden in the Tang Dynasty. Huang Shougong, a wealthy man in Quanzhou, dreamed that lotus flowers were growing from the mulberry trees, so he abandoned the mulberry garden and built a temple. It was originally named "Lotus Temple". It was later destroyed and abandoned several times and restored several times.

I funded the construction of this grand hall with the scale it is today." Zheng Zhilong and Li Xiao each took an entourage and walked in the famous Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou.

Zheng Zhilong was obviously very familiar with this place. From the moment he entered the mountain gate, he explained it to Li Xiao all the way. From time to time, he even told Li Xiao a humorous joke. The two of them had a great time.

The abbot and monk in the temple were not disturbed. The two of them were dressed in casual clothes and were no different from ordinary pilgrims. Li Xiao liked this way of playing very much. Usually when he went out, he would always be surrounded by people. Wherever he went to play, someone would clear the place in advance. He stood at a high place.

There are sentries, machine guns are set up in the distance, and sometimes even mortars are set up. Anyway, how can we create a tense atmosphere?

After two trips like this, Li Xiao lost interest. This was not just fun, but causing trouble for the local people.

Zheng Zhilong and Li Xiao went out in casual clothes, which made Li Xiao feel very comfortable. In fact, many times, Li Xiao was tired of the feeling of being surrounded by others.

It is actually not comfortable for a person to be protected like a giant panda.

"The vegetarian food at Kaiyuan Temple is very good. When you get tired from wandering around for a while, we will go to the abbot, the old monk Huifa. Although the old monk is a monk, he is also a gluttonous person, and his cooking skills are as good as Yi Ya.

"I donated a Mahavira Palace, so I should disturb him for a vegetarian meal." After lighting incense inside the Mahavira Palace, Zheng Zhilong took Li Xiao and continued walking back.

"It is rare to eat vegetarian food. There is a dish in my hometown called river crab tofu. It is made by squeezing out the juice from river crabs and making it into a tofu-like shape. It tastes very delicious. After Zheng Gong arrived in the capital, on August 15th, I

Ask someone to bring two cages over. After eating them, you will know that they taste better than Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs in the south of the Yangtze River." Speaking of vegetarian dishes, Li Xiao thought of all kinds of tofu dishes.

It is said that good vegetarian cooks make tofu with fish or meat flavor. From Li Xiao's understanding, this is purely because he wants to be a bitch and build an archway at the same time. The abbot monk of Kaiyuan Temple is not an eminent monk.

.

"By the way! What is your title?" Zheng Zhilong suddenly asked in a confused manner.

"Title?" Li Xiao thought for a long time, but he didn't remember what title he had. Zhu Youxiao had never given it, and Zhu Youjian seemed to have forgotten it. The current emperor, Zhu Yihai, caught crickets in the Forbidden City every day. He named himself

..., Li Xiao still wants to lose face.

"You don't have a title?" Zheng Zhilong seemed to have discovered a new world and looked at Li Xiao with curiosity.

"No! Why do you want that thing? Mr. Sun also said that there will be no titles after the new dynasty. And from now on, the princes of the Zhu family will no longer be able to spend money and food at will from the sealed treasury. I am also planning to abolish the Zhu family

The prohibition that descendants cannot engage in business has been in place for more than two hundred years since the Hongwu period. The Zhu family has reproduced for so many generations, and the number has long exceeded one million." Thinking of the Zhu family clan members who received a large amount of money and food from the court every year, Li Xiao said

angry.

They are just a group of cysticercids that do not give birth. They cannot lift their hands or shoulders, nor do they work. They only know how to give birth to children all day long. Sun Chengzong checked the genealogy of the clan family and found that the Zhu family actually exceeded one million. What kind of family is this?

Man, this motherfucker is a bunch of rats.

"Oh, that's it!" Hearing what Li Xiao said, Zheng Zhilong also gave up the idea of ​​getting a title. Since the new dynasty was not interested in this, there was no point in getting it himself.

"In the future, if you have military merit, you will be rewarded with houses and money. After the "Da Ming Law" is revised, fundamental changes will occur. The biggest change is that all the land within the Ming Dynasty territory belongs to the imperial court. No matter whether you are a second-ranked Jinshi, or a

All famous country squires had to pay taxes to the court.

By the way! The country will also collect taxes on your future business. But even if you pay the tax, you will still be as rich as the country. I am a little jealous of such a good business."

"Jealous? Our Zheng family never treats our friends badly, so I want to give you 30% of our shares?" Zheng Zhilong said with pride.

"Forget it! I don't have that idea, not from the beginning to now. Your family can monopolize this business, which is a reward for your help over the years. Don't think of me as so dirty. In fact, I prefer to collect money.

fight.

But when I led the troops, I realized that I can't fight this damn war without money. If you open your eyes and everyone asks you for money, you will also become a good money-maker. There is no way, you have more than 100,000 mouths.

Wait." After finally meeting a close friend, Li Xiao vomited his bitterness.

"I'm about the same as you. I can't control such a big territory if I have fewer people. But if I have more people, I can't have much money left at the end of the year. Others think we are superior, and everyone wants to be with us.

We reap the benefits, but who knows the suffering in our hearts." Zheng Zhilong felt this.

"Yes! It's really not easy for us."

"Are you not feeling guilty for saying this?"

"You said it first."

The two of them were walking and talking and laughing when they suddenly saw a group of people making noise in the pavilion in front of them. Judging from the appearance of those people, they should all be students. Two of them looked like fighting cocks. They were so noisy that their faces were red and their necks were thick, so they moved.

Fight with your hands.

"The current emperor is not a direct descendant of Emperor Hongwu, but a false emperor." The young scholar in a blue shirt pulled his neck and shouted.

"King Lu is the tenth son of Emperor Hongwu. If we say he is not a direct descendant, Chengzu was not the daughter of Emperor Hongwu's wife, Empress Ma, and Emperor Sejong succeeded to the throne from a foreign vassal." The young scholar in a white shirt had veins popping up on his neck.

"What's the matter? Emperor Sejong succeeded to the throne because Emperor Wuzong had no heirs. Emperor Sizong (Chongzhen) had heirs, so why didn't he establish Sizong's heirs?" Scholar Qingshan continued to argue.

"If we say so, Emperor Yongli of the Southern Ming Dynasty was not born from Sizong. Does it mean that the Emperor of the Southern Ming Dynasty was righteous when he took the throne?"

"you……!"

"What am I? Say it! Say it!" The boy in white shirt was unforgiving, like an aggressive little rooster.

"You...! You...!" The young man in green shirt was furious, but he had nothing to say. He was so anxious that he couldn't even speak!

"Shi Lang! What you said is a bit unreasonable!" Seeing that the young man in green shirt couldn't say anything, a middle-aged man behind him stood up.

"Mr. Zeng, why am I being unreasonable?" Shi Lang asked the middle-aged man, holding his neck.

"Emperor Yongli was a virtuous minister of Donglin, supported by Qian Qianyi and Wen Tiren. He implemented benevolent government and appointed virtuous ministers in the Southern Ming Dynasty. He was a promising emperor! But look at Emperor Longwu, what did he do after he ascended the throne? Appointment around him

The important ministers are either cunning and cunning like Sun Chengzong, or butchers like Li Xiao.

The imperial court was controlled by them and became a mess. First, they abolished the ancestral motto of officials and gentry not paying food and not paying taxes. Then they raised troops to go south, causing Henan, Guanzhong, and Jiangnan to be devastated. Nanjing, the place where culture and culture gathered, was the capital designated by Emperor Hongwu.

It was literally reduced to rubble by that butcher Li Xiao.

Now Li Xiao has come to Quanzhou again in order to mess up our land of Fujian and let his tiger and wolf soldiers rule cruelly on the people of Fujian. Can you tell me, is Emperor Longwu a virtuous king or a coward?

This virtuous act of fainting does not prove that Emperor Yongli is the one we should obey?"

"Mr. Zeng, you are wrong.

I just came back from Liaodong a year ago and I heard from the merchants on the boat that the Tatars were poisoning the people in Liaodong, and the Miao descendants of our Han family were almost extinct. It was Li Xiao who led the Liao army to fight against the Tatars, so that our land in China would not become an alien race.

pasture.

When passing through Shandong, I saw that the people on the ground were living and working in peace and contentment, and commerce was prosperous. The Longwu court appointed Lu Xiangsheng as the governor of Shandong. Within one year, the bandits in Shandong were wiped out, water conservancy projects were built, bridges and roads were built in Shandong, and the gentry were occupied.

All the common people's land was distributed to poor tenant farmers. Two high-yielding crops, potatoes and corn, were promoted. The people of Shandong no longer had to worry about hunger. These things were only seen in the prosperous times in history books.

The sage once said that the state of the country values ​​the monarch over others. The emperor governs the people on behalf of the sky, and whoever can make the people live a good life is the real emperor." Shi Lang cocked his neck, looking stubborn.

When Li Xiao heard the name Shi Lang, his eyes widened. Look at the boy who is only eleven or twelve years old in front of him. He has a round face, a broad forehead, and small but very bright eyes. Especially his stubborn temper.

, it makes people fall in love with it just by looking at it.

Hearing that Zeng Jing was slandering Li Xiao, Zheng Zhilong wanted to step forward to intervene, but Li Xiao reached out and grabbed him.

"You only see the illusion of a place, but you can't see where Li Xiao's Liao army went. Thousands of years of civilization were destroyed in one day. They slaughtered the gentry in the countryside like dogs, and abused the children of saints like untouchables. Such people will sooner or later destroy our country.

The thousand-year-old etiquette of our ancestors has led to a place that will never be restored. You are so blind that you dare to speak so shamelessly. You need to be punished!" The middle-aged man became angry and moved around, as if he was holding a ruler.

"Brother! You admit your mistake to Mr. Zeng, or you will be beaten again today." Behind Shi Lang, a seven or eight-year-old boy held Shi Lang's hand and shook it.

"Shi Xian! Father wants us to learn the truth, not just listen to the words of saints. If the people can have enough to eat and live a good life, then they are a good emperor. In my opinion, it is better to let Li Xiao become the emperor directly. If that is the case,

People's lives will only get better."

"Traitor! From today on, you are no longer my disciple Zeng Jing. A child like you will grow up to be a cannibal. Why don't I kill you now to prevent you from harming others in the future."

Zeng Jing's face turned red with anger, and her fingers stretched out like hooks towards Shi Lang's neck.

"stop!"

Zeng Jing was so frightened by the loud shout that she paused and saw four people standing outside. Two of them had short hair and looked like they were from the north. The one who shouted stop was one of the young men with short hair. It looked like two of them were from the north.
Chapter completed!