It was approaching late at night, and most shops were closing. The lights on Gaofu Tower were dim, and an important meeting was taking place here.

"...There is no right or wrong. The imperial court attaches great importance to maritime transportation, which is always a good thing in the long run. The world is vast, and away from the place below our feet, natural disasters and man-made disasters will take lives at any time. Unless we are willing to spare it, we will

Only strong ships and powerful guns can keep people at sea alive for two more days. Everyone should still remember what happened in the third year of Jinghan's reign. The emperor built treasure ships to send envoys to all corners of the country and convinced the foreigners. Not long after, the craftsmanship of the treasure ships leaked out, and the people in the southeast

We have killed a few scapegoats, but some of us among us still took advantage of the benefits of this skill."

"The capital of the Jinghan Dynasty was in Bianliang. The sky was high and the emperor was far away. A few scapegoats were enough. But today...and the behavior of the new king today is far different from that of the one back then."

"After the new emperor came, he fought for the hearts and minds of the people, seized power, and became a powerful force. Now that the next step is to go north and return to Lin'an, he suddenly wants to do sea trade. What is going on? Do you really want to go to the sea?

, or do you want to take advantage of us?"

"Is the little emperor short of money?" Wang Yikui, who was the last to sit down, asked with a cold expression only at this moment.

"The imperial court is always short of money," said the old Confucian scholar Tian Haoran.

Gao Fulai said: "Since the new king came to Fuzhou, he promoted things, ran newspapers, and implemented the New Deal. Recently, he said that he respected the king and rejected the barbarians. Half of the aristocratic families who originally stood on the side of orthodoxy have been offended by him. Even if they have intentions to attack the Wu Dynasty,

Yes, the sky is high and the road is too far to reach the southeastern seaside. But the ones who support him most inside and outside Fuzhou City have always been us maritime merchants. Since last year, my Gao family has donated more than 800,000 taels of silver to the imperial court.

, the ones you brought out should not be below this number."

He paused: "The new king is strong, which is a blessing to all the people. Now Wu Qimei, Tie Yan and others have knelt down and occupied Lin'an. We, the people of the Wu Dynasty, can't stand it. We are short of money for the war. You can say that. But now

It seems that stubbornness is the crux..."

Tian Haoran shook his head: "Brother Gao Xian is overthinking. The reason why the emperor is like this is all because we are merchants. If the court wants to share power with the scholar-bureaucrats, it has to shout the slogan of respecting the king and repelling the barbarians. If it wants to take profits from the merchants, there is no discussion.

It is a precedent. Moreover, not long after the new emperor took the throne, all he encountered were battles and killings. It was the habit of young people to use more direct methods. But the emperor can be direct, but the people around him should not be like this. I see, this

After all, there are treacherous ministers around His Majesty who are causing trouble."

Gao Fulai smiled: "Today, a few people in the room like me said it's okay to be merchants. The Tian family has been scholarly for generations, but now they also classify themselves as merchants?"

Tian Haoran touched his half-white beard and smiled: "It is said that we have been a scholar for generations, but our business has become so big that the outside world has long regarded my Tian family as merchants. In fact, Fuzhou is located in the southeast, and it was impossible to produce the number one scholar.

Instead of just studying, it is better to do some business. If I had known that the Wu Dynasty was going to move south, I would not be sitting with you."

After the old man said this, most of the other people laughed. After a while, Gao Fulai stopped his smile and said solemnly: "Brother Tian is humble, but among the people here, you have the most friends in the government. All the officials in the ministries should be

The prime ministers of the court and the left are all your guests. I wonder who you are referring to as the treacherous official who is causing trouble?"

Tian Haoran shook his head: "Several ministers and prime ministers in the dynasty were all old ministers. They followed the dragon boat to sea and watched the new emperor succeed to the throne. They had made great contributions from the beginning, but in the eyes of the emperor, it might just be a hard work.

The new king is young and has a radical personality. He does not like the steady words of the old ministers. He has always used young people in private and some people from the eldest princess's house. It is not unknown to you.

It's just that these people have low qualifications and poor reputations, so the positions go to a few veterans."

"Now, as Gao Xiandi said before, the Chinese army has a bunch of bastards who are even younger. They have won the favor of the emperor. They enter the palace every day, point out the country in front of the emperor, and confuse the public with their monstrous words. They are the ones in the southwest.

How could someone who was taught by Demon Ning have any good intentions towards us? Such a simple truth cannot be imagined by the emperor. It was only after being bewitched by them that the rumors came out today. Brother Gao Xian, do you think this is true?"

"That's it." Gao Fulai nodded, "Now that the new emperor has occupied Fuzhou, what everyone in the world is eagerly looking forward to is for him to return to Lin'an with strong horses and strong troops. If this can be done within one or two years, the foundation of the Wu Dynasty will still be there.

But these bastards from the Chinese Army came over and tried to trick the emperor into caring about sea trade... Maritime affairs can make money in the long run, but in the short term, they are just throwing money at people and killing people. And within three or two years, there will be wars at sea.

I’m afraid no one can do business, Black Flag’s intention is to drag the emperor down in Fuzhou.”

When he said "when a fight broke out at sea," he looked at Wang Yikui opposite, and then swept away.

"Then there are two meanings now: first, either the emperor was bewitched and was determined to get involved in the sea, then he would offend the officials first, then the gentry, and today he will offend the maritime merchants again. Now

, I see that the Wu Dynasty is in danger, and we can't just sit back and watch... Of course, it may also be the second meaning. Your Majesty is short of money, embarrassed to speak, and wants to come over for a break, then... Everyone, we have to pay for this.

Things are settled."

Everyone looked at each other, and the room was silent for a moment. Pu Annan spoke first: "The new emperor is coming to Fuzhou, and we have never hindered it. After arriving in Fuzhou, we contributed money and efforts. The previous several hundred thousand taels, Pu Annan didn't care. But

Today, it seems that this money was spent a little unfairly. After spending so much money, the emperor turned around and said he wanted to dig up our roots?"

"When the country is in trouble, it is appropriate to contribute some money." Shang Bingchun said, "But after spending money, we have to listen to it."

"It's okay to spend money, but what should you do if your Majesty is determined to participate in maritime trade?" Gao Fulai took the teacup and made a gentle sound on the coaster.

Wang Yikui, who had always been silent, looked at everyone: "This is your place. If the emperor really wants to participate, he should find someone to discuss it. Why don't you ask someone to persuade you first?"

"If the emperor really comes to discuss the matter, then there is no need to persuade him. All businessmen, don't dare to refuse verbally..." Tian Haoran stretched out his hand and scratched his neck.

"The emperor has been chased to the southeast, how can he still be like this?"

"It's hard to say about the previous emperors, but ours... doesn't seem to be afraid of offending others."

While the five of them were talking about this, they were either playing with the teacups or rubbing their fingers on the table, and remained silent for a while. After a while, Gao Fulai finally spoke: "I have an idea."

Tian Haoran, Shang Bingchun, and Pu Annan raised their teacups, while Wang Yikui watched quietly.

"The imperial court wants to participate in maritime trade. Regardless of whether it is true or not, sooner or later this word will be passed on. Once the higher-up's intention comes down, if we say no, we may offend others. The old men in the court will lobby, and we will first

You have to be mentally prepared, I think... you can spend up to this amount to settle the matter."

As he spoke, he stretched out the five fingers of his right hand and moved them.

"fifty thousand?"

"Five million."

"You were frightened and you came out with so much?"

"If the court just wants to extort money, we can give money directly to stop the boiling. To stop the boiling is just to relieve the superficial. The real method is to draw fuel from the bottom of the cauldron. Brother Shang said to listen to it, but Brother Tian also said that there is a traitor.

North Korea, so what we have to pay today is money for selling our lives."

Gao Fulai glanced at everyone: "We will fully support the new king's move to Fuzhou. Many aristocratic families are pointing to the imperial court for benefits, and we are the only ones who provide money to the imperial court. It seems that maybe he is really soft, so we won't do it now.

To say hello, you have to find us. In this case, the impression really needs to be changed. Come to us before you find us. You can donate money, but you can't keep anyone."

Everyone looked at each other, and Tian Haoran said: "Without the temptation of caring people, His Majesty's thoughts will indeed be much lighter."

"The man named Ning from the southwest killed the Emperor of Wu Dynasty, and the people of Wu Dynasty were sworn in with him." Pu Anan said, "Today they came here in a big way, and those who really care about Wu Dynasty are eager to kill him.

It wouldn’t be surprising if something happened to them.”

"Although Mr. Pu comes from a foreign country, his thoughts towards our Wu Dynasty are quite sincere and admirable."

"My family has been here for several generations. Pu grew up in the Wu Dynasty. He is a genuine Wu Dynasty person, and it is right to care about the Wu Dynasty. I will prepare these five hundred thousand taels first."

Everyone drank tea and chatted for a few words. Shang Bingchun said: "What should we do if we still can't solve the problem?"

"Then pack your luggage, go to the sea, guard the trade routes with the Dragon King, and fight with the imperial court for three years. I would rather not make any money in these three years than let the imperial court taste any sweetness. These words can be spread, and they must be known.

A man who walks on the sea..." Gao Fulai put down his tea cup, "...how cruel can he be!"

******************

At night, the whining sea breeze blows through the city streets of Fuzhou.

Near midnight, the carriage passed through the city streets of Fuzhou and headed towards the royal gardens at the northwest end of the city.

This garden located in the city is not far from the downtown area of ​​Fuzhou. After Junwu occupied Fuzhou, many places in it were divided and allocated for officials to use for their offices. It was already dark at this time, but beyond the garden wall, there were still many views.

You could see lights on in many places. The carriage stopped at a side door. Zuo Xiuquan got out of the carriage. After entering the garden, he walked for a while and entered the place called Wenhan Garden.

This Wenhan Garden was originally used as a royal library to store ancient books and curios. There are three two-story buildings with a garden pond nearby and beautiful scenery. At this time, the main hall of the main building has its doors open on all sides, and lights are on inside.

Long tables formed a lively office space, and some young people were still writing and processing documents at their desks. Zuo Xiuquan said hello to them.

"You haven't rested yet. Where is Jia Zhen?"

After asking for Zuo Wenhuai's location, he went to look for him on the second floor of the adjacent small building. On the way, he met several young people and exchanged greetings.

There are more than thirty young people in this group from the southwest, headed by Zuo Wenhuai, but of course not all of them are children of the Zuo family. In recent years, the Chinese army has fought from the northwest to the southwest, and most of the participants are determined "

"Rebels", but there are always some people who had different family backgrounds in the past, and did not completely hate the new king of the Wu Dynasty. So this time, some people who followed here have some aristocratic families.

Background. There is also another part who followed here with a curious and observational attitude.

Thousands of miles from the southwest to Fuzhou, and some supplies from the southwest were escorted. This journey was not an easy one. Although relying on the identity of the Zuo family, they borrowed the advantages of several large caravans to travel all the way, but along the way

He still encountered several dangers. It was only when facing several dangers that Zuo Xiuquan saw the ferocity of this group of young people when facing the battlefield. After experiencing a series of battles in the southwest, these original

Each of the battlefield survivors with their flexible brains has been forged into a weapon on the battlefield. They are firm-willed in the face of chaos, and many people's battlefield vision, in Zuo Xiuquan's view, even surpasses that of many.

General of the Wu Dynasty.

In fact, Ning Yi did not give special preferential treatment to elite soldiers like Zuo Wenhuai with enlightenment foundation in the past. In fact, there was no room for preferential treatment. This time, after various selections, they were transferred out, and many of them interacted with each other.

They were neither superiors nor subordinates, and they had no experience working together. However, thousands of miles of road and several tense situations along the way allowed them to get to know each other better. By the time they arrived in Fuzhou, they were basically a team.

They arrived in Fuzhou in April, bringing with them the southwest's system of objects and many advanced experiences, but of course these experiences cannot be fully integrated into the system in Fuzhou through a few "secret books". Especially in Fuzhou, Ning

Yi had not yet dispatched a large number of corresponding professional teachers and technicians like he did to Jin, so early planning for reforms in various fields became quite critical.

Every member of the team with experience in geophysics has been recruited as a young man, responsible for the compilation of information in a certain aspect, the negotiation and production of plans. What does something in the southwest look like, why, what can be learned from, and what areas

What can be changed, what cannot, what is a human problem, what is a financial problem... During these days, the Wu Dynasty was led by Wenren Fuji, who came over and held a lot of meetings and discussions with everyone, and these

Young people also work there late into the night every day.

After traveling thousands of miles from the southwest and sharing hardships along the way, Zuo Xiuquan was already familiar with most of these young people. As a representative of a wealthy family loyal to the Wu Dynasty, he watched these young people with outstanding personalities shine under various tests.

You will feel excited and gratified. But at the same time, you can't help but think that the young people in front of you actually have different thoughts. Even Zuo Wenhuai, a descendant of the Zuo family, may not have the same inner thoughts.

The Zuo family is completely consistent, but it is even harder to say for others.
To be continued...