The more Han Du said this, the more interested Fang Xiaoru became. In the end, he said happily, "If you have time, you really should go and see it."
"Do you want to go to Old Port?" Han Du was stunned for two seconds, looked up at Fang Xiaoru and asked.
"Of course, the Luzon in front of me surprised me enough. Since Old Port is as famous as Luzon, I naturally want to see it." Fang Xiaoru looked matter-of-fact.
Seeing that Han Du looked a little embarrassed, he raised his head slightly and asked, "What? Isn't it possible?"
Han Du did not hesitate and chuckled: "It's okay, but I want to know how you can tell that I won't go back to Annan, but will go to Old Port?"
When Han Du saw the playful look in Fang Xiaoru's eyes, he knew that he must have seen through his plan. Han Du indeed had no intention of returning to Annan. Even if he wanted to transport food, he would just arrange for his subordinates to make a trip.
Annan is Zhu Xi's fiefdom, and now everything is in the process of being demolished and rebuilt. On some directional issues, Han Du can give Zhu Xi some suggestions, but when it comes to specific matters, Han Du is inconvenient to get involved too much.
. If he continues to stay in Annan, it is inevitable that Zhu Xiang will ask himself about everything big and small. In this way, he will be suspected of taking over the host, which is not good.
My relationship with Zhu Xi is not so close that we can talk about everything. It is good for everyone to give each other some space.
Fang Xiaoru turned to Han Du with a proud smile, turned back to look at the bustling port, and said leisurely: "Is there any need to guess? Since the pacification of Annan, when you have been living in seclusion without even showing your face, I
You guessed it. If you continue to stay in Annan, you will embarrass King Qin sooner or later, so you have been eager to leave. This time you finally found an excuse to borrow food. Now that you have escaped, you will definitely not go back.
"
Han Du was reminded by Fang Xiaoru and laughed twice. Then he rolled his eyes and deliberately asked with a hint of testing: "Although you are right, I never said I was going to Old Port. Did I
Can't you just go back to Beijing? Why do you think I will go to Old Port?"
"Back to the capital? Haha" Fang Xiaoru chuckled and shook his head, then said: "You took 50,000 naval troops to sea just to send King Qin to Annan, and then returned to the capital. Do you believe this?"
Of course Han Du didn't believe it. In fact, he had made some guesses when he received Lao Zhu's order. But since Lao Zhu didn't say it clearly and Zhu Ping deliberately kept it secret, Han Du had no choice but to pretend
I don't know.
Sure enough, they are all foxes who have lived for thousands of years, and they can guess a thing or two even without telling them.
Han Du was not angry at Fang Xiaoru's slightly sarcastic tone. Instead, he breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "Let's go, let's go to the Luzon Governor's Mansion first and see if we can borrow some food from Marquis Cunshan."
These governor-general palaces in Nanyang are all near ports. There is no way, these ports are now the financial and taxation areas of each governor-general's palace. No one will be relieved if they don't guard them nearby.
The navy had already alerted Zhu Shou before it even entered the harbor.
When Han Du and Fang Xiaoru stepped off the warship, Zhu Shou immediately laughed heartily, stepped forward and gave Han Du a bear hug.
Han Du only felt that the air in his lungs was squeezed and all ran out of his mouth uncontrollably, and his face suddenly became red. Fortunately, Zhu Shou quickly let go of Han Du, otherwise he would say
He might die at the hands of Zhu Shou.
"Huchi~huchi" Han Du didn't even bother to talk to Zhu Shou, nor did he have the strength to talk to him. He breathed the air greedily. After finally regaining his composure, he immediately complained: "Are you crazy, you still want me?"
Die?"
Zhu Shou also knew that it was not serious, and almost strangled Han Du to death, and laughed apologetically.
He also muttered and complained in a low voice, "We didn't use much force, it's because you are too weak."
Han Du picked up his clothes bitterly, and there was a large bruise on his arm where Zhu Shou had just touched him. Forget about the pain, if An Qing found out about this, he would definitely make her fall.
Tears come.
Han Du angrily raised his foot and kicked Zhu Shou's calf.
Zhu Shou remained motionless and allowed Han Du to kick him in the leg.
"Ouch~" Compared with the sound of kicking Zhu Shou's leg, Han Du's scream was louder, completely covering up the sound.
Han Du felt as if he had kicked an iron plate.
Zhu Shou ignored Han Du, turned to Fang Xiaoru and said, "It's rare that Mr. Fang can come to this remote place, please." After that, he stretched out his hand to invite Fang Xiaoru in.
Fang Xiaoru quickly cupped her hands and said: "Marquis Shunshao is so polite, this is not a remote place. The prosperity of this place is not at all inferior to the many Ming cities in the Ming Dynasty, that is, the capital city can overwhelm them. Marquis Shunshao has managed this place so well.
You are so prosperous that I admire you so much."
He pays attention to his words. If Fang Xiaoru directly said that this place can be compared with the capital, it would be a compliment to Zhu Shou. On the contrary, placing this place second only to the capital can make Zhu Shou feel that he is sincere.
Those who admired the prosperity of Luzon naturally made Zhu Shou even more happy.
"Haha, Mr. Fang is so polite." Zhu Shou laughed happily and said quickly: "This is not the place where we agreed. Please invite Mr. Fang to come into the house to talk."
As for Han Du, Zhu Shou was completely left behind, leaving him to catch up on his own.
The Luzon Governor's Palace is located on the hillside behind Luzon Port. It overlooks the entire port from a high position.
The Governor's Mansion is made of bricks, stones and beams, and its shape is no different from the yamen of the Ming Dynasty. However, the difference is that unlike most of the shabby yamen of the Ming Dynasty, the Governor's Mansion of Luzon is built with a tall red door and is magnificent.
.
Fang Xiaoru was surprised when he saw it. He stopped and smiled and said to Zhu Shou: "I have only heard that being an official does not build a yamen, and building a yamen is not an official. I didn't expect that the Marquis would build the Governor's Palace like this."
As he spoke, he shook his head and glanced at Zhu Shou subconsciously. Fang Xiaoru even suspected that Zhu Shou was too inflated. He thought that the sky in Lu Song was high and the emperor was far away, and no one could control him, so he deliberately built such a governor's palace for him.
Enjoy yourself?
When Zhu Shou saw Fang Xiaoru's expression, he immediately guessed what he was thinking. After laughing, he explained: "Mr. Fang doesn't know something. This Governor's Mansion is not only responsible for guarding the people, but also dealing with businessmen.
Well. Comparatively speaking, we have more dealings with merchants. These are things that people look at through cracks in the door. Initially, we did not plan to build the Governor's Palace, but we were despised time and time again, thinking that we were
The Governor only has a title, but he is actually very poor and is not willing to do business with us.
Later, someone gave us an idea, saying that people rely on clothes to dress like gold, so we built the Governor's Mansion.
As a result, hey, guess what, Mr. Fang?"
"What's the matter?" Fang Xiaoru saw that at the gate of the Governor's Mansion, all the merchants wearing silk and satin were coming in and out, and he already knew the answer. But since Zhu Shou was interested in explaining, he had no choice but to follow the words and ask.
It is different overseas than inside the Ming Dynasty. Within the Ming Dynasty, merchants were not allowed to wear silk and satin. Only Han Du obtained a concession from Lao Zhu in the Jiaofang Division, so that merchants could wear it in the Jiaofang Division and enjoy the experience.
Fan.
However, there is no such rule overseas. This does not mean that Lao Zhu's will cannot be applied overseas. Moreover, Lao Zhu himself knows that it is impossible to prohibit merchants from spreading silk and satin overseas. Because in Nanyang, except for the Ming Dynasty,
Businessmen, there are many Western businessmen, these people have all kinds of clothes, let alone silk and satin clothes.
Can the Ming Dynasty force these people to wear common clothes?
If this is the case, then maybe people will no longer come to Nanyang to do business with the Ming Dynasty. In this case, the loss will still be the Ming Dynasty. Well, strictly speaking, it is Lao Zhu's inner treasury.
"Ever since we built the Governor's Mansion, hehe, those businessmen have become much less confident when they see the people in the Governor's Mansion, and they no longer look as aggressive as before.
." Zhu Shou said with a proud smile.
Of course, what he just said was just one of the reasons for building such a governor's palace. He also had the idea of enjoyment in his heart. After all, he had traveled thousands of miles to come here. If he had to treat himself badly even in daily life, such a thing
Zhu Shou can't do it.
Fang Xiaoru just asked casually without any extra thought, so when he saw Zhu Shou explaining to him so seriously, he felt a little embarrassed.
Just in time, Han Du followed up at this time.
Zhu Shou avoided the awkward atmosphere and cordially invited the two of them into the house again.
Han Du also heard the conversation between the two from behind, and came up and said to Fang Xiaoru with a smile: "This place is different from the interior of the Ming Dynasty. The inner yamen of the Ming Dynasty are more dilapidated, and the people will think that the court is incorruptible. But here we need to deal with those Western businessmen.
, if the Governor's Mansion is too dilapidated, it will be looked down upon by others. People will think that the Ming Dynasty is nothing, and it may even attract their covetousness and war."
Fang Xiaoru's expression changed and he suddenly asked: "Those Western businessmen dare to attack the Ming Dynasty?"
"Of course they don't dare." Han Du curled his lips in his heart, but on the surface he looked solemn and calm, "But behind these businessmen, they also have their own countries. If the Ming Dynasty gave them an illusion of weakness, it would cause them to
Greed is not impossible."
As he said that, he sighed in his heart. Han Du looked at Fang Xiaoru earnestly and said: "Overseas, the exchanges between countries do not rely on benevolence, justice, propriety, wisdom and trust, but on real strength. If you want to win the respect of other countries, you want to
If we want other countries not to dare to take advantage of Ming Dynasty easily, we must show Ming Dynasty’s tyrannical strength.”
It is good for scholars like Fang Xiaoru to be able to come to Nanyang to experience it in person. Many scholars in the Ming Dynasty still regard Nanyang as a barbaric overseas land. They believe that only businessmen who do anything for money will choose to go there.
I never thought about them going to see it for themselves.
But these people don’t know that if Nanyang didn’t have abundant wealth, how could the maritime merchants of the Ming Dynasty become wealthy one by one in just a few years?
Han Du's words really shocked Fang Xiaoru's three views. It was very different from the etiquette he had learned from books. He couldn't tell for a while whether it was what the books said was right or Han Du's.
What you said is correct.
But there was no rush, he was going to put this issue down first and take a walk around to take a good look before making a judgement.
Zhu Shou arranged a banquet and entertained Han Du and Fang Xiaoru warmly. The banquet at Luzon Governor's Mansion was naturally more sumptuous. Some of the dishes even Han Du had never seen before, but the taste in his mouth was still very good.
When Han Du saw that he was almost done drinking, he put down his glass and said to Zhu Shou with a smile: "I remember you have been in Luzon for more than five years, right? Why are you still here?"
"Five years? What five years?" When Fang Xiaoru heard Han Du say something he didn't understand, he quickly put down his chopsticks and prepared to listen carefully.
Zhu Shou didn't think much about it, and directly explained to Fang Xiaoru: "It's like this, the emperor is considerate. We governors can return to the Ming Dynasty after five years of guarding."
"Oh? Is there such a thing?" Fang Xiaoru was just slightly surprised and didn't take it to heart. Originally, when he saw governors like Huang Zhong and Zhu Shou arrogantly arrogant overseas, he had thought about what would happen if
If these people continue like this for a long time, they will inevitably end up with a big tail that cannot be lost.
It now seems that the emperor had already anticipated this and therefore limited each person's time as governor to five years.
"How long has the Marquis been here in Luzon?" Fang Xiaoru asked curiously. Judging from the tone of Han Du's words just now, it seemed that Zhu Shou's time had come and he should be able to return to Beijing.
Zhu Shou nodded slightly, stroked his beard and said with a smile, "It's been more than six years."
Fang Xiaoru glanced at Han Du, then looked back at Zhu Shou, and asked strangely: "Oh? Didn't the emperor only allow him to serve as governor for five years? Why did the Marquis do this?"
Han Du also looked at Zhu Shou curiously, waiting for his answer. At the same time, he couldn't help but feel a little angry with Lao Zhu. It was clearly agreed that he would be elected every five years, and when the time was up, he must go back no matter what the reason was. Unexpectedly, Lao Zhu actually
The first one broke the rules. Perhaps in Lao Zhu's heart, he didn't feel that anyone dared to violate the rules in front of him, but he always had to think about future generations, right? If he did it like this from the beginning, wouldn't the people in the future be like this?
Can we learn from him? If the future emperors do not have Lao Zhu's skills and can easily suppress the world, wouldn't that leave hidden dangers for future generations of emperors?
Zhu Shou didn't know what Han Du was thinking. Seeing that the two of them were very curious, he shook his head and said: "I don't know about this. We also asked the emperor to return to Beijing, but the emperor asked us to stay in Duodu."
Guard for two more years. Since the Emperor has told us to guard for two more years, we have no choice but to guard for another two years."
Since it was Lao Zhu's intention, we could only wait until we returned to the capital to find a chance to ask what Lao Zhu was thinking.
Han Du did not pursue the question any further and instead said, "Actually, in addition to wanting to see you this time, I came to Luzon. I also have something I want to ask for your help with."
Fang Xiaoru immediately knew what was going on, and quickly closed his mouth and sat quietly aside, letting Han Du talk to Zhu Shou to avoid disturbing the two of them.
"Why are you and I so polite? Tell me, what exactly is it? But if it is useful to us, I will never refuse." Zhu Shou patted his chest with a smile and said boldly to Han Du.
Han Du also smiled and nodded in response, organized some words and said: "That's it. His Royal Highness the King of Qin sealed Anping Port, but by chance, he discovered that the Li clan in Annan secretly massacred King Annan's lineage.
Clean. As you know, the Ming Dynasty has never allowed such treasonous things. Therefore, in order to make the decision for the Chen family, the King of Qin sent troops to wipe out the Li family.
Now Annan has been pacified by King Qin, but there is a problem, that is, the people do not have enough food. Originally, King Qin was going to petition the emperor to transfer food from the Ming Dynasty, but I think Luzon is not far from Annan. If you have
As for food, it is more convenient and faster than transferring it from Ming Dynasty. I just want to borrow some food from you, what do you think, Brother Zhu?"
"Hahaha, I thought it was some big deal. I also heard about King Qin's affairs outside the vassal state, but I didn't expect His Highness King Qin to have conquered the entire Annan. Isn't it just food? Why don't you borrow it?
Just use it on your face.
I don't know, how much food do you want?" Zhu Shou didn't know how to beat around the bush. Originally, Han Du said that it was King Qin who had no choice but to attack the Li family in order to avenge King Annan's lineage. But under Zhu Shou,
It turned into knocking down Annan. In this case, it always gives people the feeling that Ming Dynasty has been planning this for a long time.
However, since Zhu Shou was willing to borrow food, Han Du didn't care about his words at all. He quickly replied: "It requires five million dan. Of course, it will be whatever Brother Zhu can provide. I will go to other governor's offices to think about the rest."
Think of ways to."
"Hey, look at what you said, what are you thinking of? What can you do with other people? It's just five million stones of grain. I'll give the order right away and have people prepare it. I can ship it to you the day after tomorrow at the most."
"How come Brother Zhu has so much food?" Han Du was surprised. You must know that five million shi of food is not a small number. When Henan was suffering from drought, the imperial court could not even come up with one million shi of food. In the end, Dong
I just managed to get it together by piecing everything together.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Shou looked like he had a huge headache when he mentioned this. He sighed and said: "We didn't want to. Speaking of this, Luzon is really a treasure island. You can grow crops three times a year, and you can grow whatever you want every year."
Just enough to satisfy everyone.
Therefore, the cheapest thing on the island is food, and even if the food is transported to the Ming Dynasty, it will not cost much. Even the businessmen are not willing to come to Luzon to sell food. They just sell some sugar and copper ingots.
You can earn much more than food.
We have warned those people more than once, asking them to plant less grain and more sugar cane. When we told them, everyone smiled and nodded in agreement, but when we turned around, they went their own way and continued to plant grain."