Li Shenxing was far away in Nanjing. He was not very clear about the things in the capital. He was even more unclear about the emperor's plans.
Encountering such a matter, Li Shenxing did not dare to delay at all. A few days ago, he wrote a memorial and sent it to the capital.
Regardless of what would happen in the future, it would never be wrong to report to the higher-ups. No matter what plans the palace had, they had to do things first.
"Sir, that Li He is here!"
Just as Li Shenxing was a little annoyed, a subordinate came in to report.
Li He is here?
Li Shenxing nodded and said, "Let him in!"
Not long after, Li He walked in from outside. After seeing Li Shenxing, he hurriedly smiled and saluted, "This lowly Li He greets Lord Li!"
"Alright, dispense with the formalities!"
Li Shenxing said with a smile, "Soon, we will be a family, so there is no need for these formalities!"
Hearing Li Shenxing's words, Li He's face immediately lit up. He hurriedly asked, "Lord Li, has the palace replied?"
Li Shenxing nodded. "Yes, His Majesty has replied. His Majesty values Eunuch Li very much and understands Eunuch Li's loyalty to Daming, so His Majesty is going to give Eunuch Li a heavy responsibility."
"In a few days, the eunuch from the palace who comes to deliver the edict should arrive."
Li He's face immediately lit up with joy, and he hurriedly said, "If that's the case, then it couldn't be better!" However, after saying that, Li He's face once again revealed a troubled expression.
"Your Excellency Li, I wonder where the eunuch from the palace is going to deliver the decree?"
Li Shenxing glanced at Li He. Li Shenxing naturally understood Li He's thoughts, or rather, Li Dan's.
He wanted a eunuch from the Palace to deliver an edict on the sea. Li Shenxing really didn't dare to agree.
Putting aside who the eunuch was and whether he was willing to go to the ship to deliver the edict, Li Shenxing did not dare to let the eunuch from the Palace go out to sea to deliver the edict.
If anything were to happen, he would have to bear the consequences.
Besides, this is the eunuch sent by the Emperor. What do you, Li Dan, mean?
Did they not believe in the Emperor's imperial edict, or did they not believe in the eunuch who came to deliver the edict?
If there was a misunderstanding, it would be even more troublesome.
Whether it was in the past when he was doing business, or now that he was the chief steward of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Li Shenxing had always been careful in doing things.
Li Shenxing glanced at Li He and said calmly, "Of course it's in Nanjing. Is there anything wrong with that?
Li Gong can leave for Nanjing now. "
"To appreciate the scenery of Nanjing, to receive the edict here, and then to take a boat north to the capital, it is also just the right time."
When Li He heard Li Shenxing's words, he was a little conflicted. But after thinking about it, Li He also knew that it would be difficult to argue about this matter, so he nodded. "Okay, I'll go back and report to my uncle."
The two of them chatted for a while more before Li He bid farewell and left.
As Li Shenxing watched Li He leave, his heart skipped a beat. He was actually very surprised that Li He had agreed so easily. In his heart, he felt that something was wrong.
After thinking about it, he shook his head. Right now, he really didn't have the mood and energy to care about these things. As long as he didn't complicate things, it would be the best thing.
Nanjing, Changshenglong.
Ever since theaters became popular in the north and south of the country, there were countless people who learned and imitated them. This industry supported a lot of people.
In particular, many scholars who were down on their luck relied on writing scripts to earn a living.
Changshenglong was a very famous theater in Nanjing.
In the front was a teahouse and a restaurant, where people could listen to books and drink tea. On the second floor was the theater, where people performed, and on the third floor was the casino.
Every day, business was booming because the proprietress, Qiu Niang, was a woman who was very good at running a business.
Qiu Niang was in her twenties. She was like a big ripe peach that everyone wanted to take a bite of.
Before, there had been people who had come to cause trouble, but they had all been beaten back. It was said that Changshenglong was backed by the House of Duke Wei.
In Nanjing, no one dared to offend the Duke of Wei's residence.
It didn't matter if you offended a high-ranking official, because he would leave office in a few years, but the House of Duke Wei couldn't.
The House of Duke Wei had been guarding Nanjing for generations. If you offended the House of Duke Wei, you wouldn't be able to live in Nanjing anymore.
Although everyone coveted Qiu Niang, no one dared to make trouble.
At this time, in the two-story building in the backyard of Changshenglong, Qiu Niang was no longer as charming and attractive as she was in the front yard.
She exuded a fierce aura as she played with a dagger in her hand. She was not wearing that long dress, but a clean black training suit.
She raised her eyebrows at the person in front of her and said, "Have you confirmed it?"
"Your Excellency, I've confirmed it. That person is Li Dan!"
Standing in front of Qiu Niang was a man in his thirties. He bowed and didn't dare to raise his head to look at Qiu Niang. He said respectfully, "Our people have confirmed it. That person is Li Dan. He came with Li He this time."
Qiu Niang immediately laughed, "I didn't expect Li Dan to be so bold."
"That's good. The factory manager will arrive in Nanjing in two days. This is good news!" Qiu Niang glanced at the man, "Bring some people to watch him, but don't let him find out."
"And don't let anyone disturb this distinguished guest. If he causes trouble, we'll all be finished."
"Don't worry, Your Excellency. I know what to do!" The man said quickly.
When Qiu Niang waved her hand, the man hurriedly bowed and left.
No one would have thought that Qiu Niang, who was so flirtatious outside, was actually the supervisor of the inner factory in Nanjing.
As one of the few female executives in the inner factory, Qiu Niang was more famous than many men.
Whether it was her hands or her wrists, they couldn't be compared to ordinary people.
It was said that when Qiu Niang was found, she was dug out from a pile of corpses. The nine-year-old Qiu Niang was looking for food among the corpses.
After entering the inner factory, the little girl grew up at an amazing speed.
Perhaps because she was used to seeing dead people, Qiu Niang turned a blind eye to human life and was even more merciless when it came to killing.
During the first killing lesson in the inner factory, everyone else vomited until they fainted. Only Qiu Niang held a dagger and slit the throat of a condemned prisoner. She didn't even bat an eyelid and didn't even flinch. Everyone was shocked at that moment.
Seeing that there was no one else in the room, Qiu Niang stretched her body, showing off her perfect figure.
"The factory manager has secretly arrived in Nanjing. I'm afraid Nanjing will be bustling with activity!"
As she spoke, Qiu Niang turned around and walked backward. Her training clothes slid off piece by piece. Finally, she stepped into the warm pond and slowly sat in the pond that was sprinkled with flower petals.
Nanjing City, Liu's Old Inn.
This inn by the Qinhuai River had always been the choice of many rich businessmen.
Although it was by the Qinhuai River, it was not a brothel, but a real inn.
Moreover, it was not far from the Qinhuai River and could maintain a relatively quiet environment. Therefore, it had always been the first choice of many people.
For example, Li Dan!
After Li He came back from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, he went straight to the Liu's Old Inn.
In a small courtyard in the back, Li He met his uncle, Li Dan.
Although Li Dan used to travel to the sea in the early years, as his business got bigger and bigger, he was no longer what he used to be.
Dressed in a scholarly robe, Li Dan looked like he was in his forties. If he held a scroll in his hand, he would look more like a learned scholar than a big pirate.
Seeing Li He come back, Li Dan put down the book in his hand, stroked his beard, and said, "You're back?"
"Yes, uncle!"
Li He said hurriedly, "Mr. Li from the Ministry of Internal Affairs has sent the news. The palace has agreed. The imperial edict and the eunuch who will deliver it will arrive in a few days."
Li Dan nodded. He didn't seem surprised at all.
"Our people have sent the news!"
Seeing that his nephew was looking at him, Li Dan explained, "It's already spread in the capital. It's not a secret."
"The Emperor is going to summon me in the capital, but there aren't any waves in the capital."
Li He was stunned and said hesitantly, "Uncle, could someone secretly attack us?
The south hasn't been peaceful these days. I'm afraid the imperial court's business tax has made many people feel uncomfortable! "
Glancing at his nephew, Li Dan said with a smile, "All under the sky is the king's land, and all under the king's command are the king's subjects. So what if you're uncomfortable?
Besides, what does this have to do with us? "
"If the tax is collected, then we'll raise the price. If this side increases by 30%, then we'll increase it by three times. What would the red-haired man dare to do?"
"When I enter the capital and accept the Emperor's conferment, these people in Jiangnan will have to listen to me. If I don't take their goods, their goods will rot in my hands."
"If those red-haired people don't buy, I'll make sure they have no goods to buy."
Seeing his uncle like this, Li He was speechless. Is that what I'm talking about?
Glaring at Li He, Li Dan said snappily, "Do you think the people of the imperial court are all useless?
Can't you tell what kind of person our emperor is?
Remember your uncle's words. At a time like this, whoever makes a ruckus will die. "
"There isn't enough blood in Jiangnan. This time, there will definitely be more."
"Why do you think your uncle came in such a hurry this time?
We've saved up some wealth over the years. When the turmoil in Jiangnan is over, we can take over some of Jiangnan's businesses. "
"After this opportunity, who knows when there will be such a good opportunity next time?"
"The situation in the Japanese Empire is very complicated. There's something wrong with that old fellow Toyotomi Hideyoshi's head. We can't put all our businesses in the Japanese Empire. That will cause problems."
Li He looked at Li Dan and said hesitantly, "Uncle, what if the Emperor fails?"
"Fail?"
Li Dan shook his head, "Impossible. The current Son of Heaven's prestige is like the sun in the sky. He has a lot of capable officials and generals under him. How could he fail?
The Son of Heaven of the Zhu family doesn't shrink back much. "
"Think about the current Son of Heaven's grandfather, the Emperor of the World Sect. Did he ever shrink back?"
"The current Son of Heaven is more decisive than the Emperor of the World Sect. Just watch. There will be a good show in Jiangnan."
Capital, Hall of Literary Glory.
Zhu Yijun casually put the memorial in his hand to the side. He looked up at Zhang Jing and slowly asked, "Xu De should have arrived in Nanjing by now, right?"
"Yes, Imperial Majesty. According to the date, he should have arrived in a few days." Zhang Jing quickly answered.
Zhu Yijun nodded and said, "Is there anything going on in the capital these days?"
"Imperial Majesty, everything is fine." Zhang Jing quickly said.
Zhu Yijun nodded. In reality, other than the business tax, there wasn't much happening in the imperial court recently. Everything was going smoothly.
The roads were being repaired, the houses were being built, and Pan Jixun's river inspection was also going smoothly.
Zhang Xueyan's military reform at the three borders was also going smoothly. Obviously, the people at the three borders couldn't cause any harm to Zhang Xueyan.
The shipyards in Tianjin were already expanding production. Although it wasn't easy to build large ships, they still had the ability in the Daming area.
In this era, the Netherlands had hundreds of shipyards in the capital, Amsterdam. The entire country could build hundreds of ships at the same time.
The Daming couldn't compare to this kind of shipbuilding ability, but Zhu Yijun believed that it was only a matter of time before the Daming caught up.
Now, most European countries were buying ships in the Netherlands. This also greatly promoted the development of the Dutch shipbuilding industry. It also gave the Netherlands the strength and capital to run amok on the ocean and beat down Spain and Portugal.
Zhu Yijun didn't have the ambition to go to Europe to fight for supremacy, but in the eastern hemisphere, the Daming's hegemony was not allowed to be shaken.
Develop the Daming shipbuilding industry, promote the Daming shipping, and let the Daming merchants go out.
Zhu Yijun had a plan for all of this. Starting from subduing Li Dan, Zhu Yijun believed that the Daming merchants wouldn't be afraid to go out to sea.
In the absence of the Daming's support, there was Wang Zhi and Yu Hai in the front, Li Dan in the middle, and Zheng Chenggong in the back.
Once he opened up his support, Zhu Yijun believed that it wouldn't take long for the Daming merchant ships to spread throughout the eastern hemisphere.
As for whether they would do something unique to this era of colonization, Zhu Yijun didn't doubt it at all.
Merchants pursued profit. In the face of profit, merchants wouldn't be soft-hearted, and the Daming merchants were the same.
Especially now, the Daming people's view of foreigners was that they were overseas barbarians. Their contempt came from the bottom of their hearts.
Zhu Yijun felt that if the Daming merchants were really sent out, they would probably be very ruthless.
"Has there been any memorials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs?" Zhu Yijun turned to look at Zhang Jing and asked.
"Imperial Majesty, yes, Mr. Li from the Ministry of Internal Affairs has sent a memorial!"
Zhang Jing said quickly. As he spoke, he walked to the pile of memorials, reached out to find the memorial, and then respectfully handed it to Zhu Yijun.
Reaching out to take the memorial, Zhu Yijun quickly flipped through it.
The front of the memorial detailed the process of his contact with Li Dan, and the back wrote about Jiangnan's reaction to the commercial tax and the current situation in Jiangnan, especially his own worries.
Zhu Yijun reached out to knock on the memorial and said with a sneer, "It's really like a storm is brewing!"
"I'd like to see if your storm is big enough to blow my Daming country." After that, he handed the memorial to Zhang Jing, turned around, and walked to the dragon desk.