Zhang Fu and Mu Yan found their horses and mounted them.
The two men, Weng and son-in-law, were riding on horses and walking slowly side by side on the royal road.
"When does father-in-law think the emperor will officially move the capital?"
Zhang Fu fought with Emperor Yongkang when he was still King of Yan, and he knew the emperor very well. If he didn't mention what happened today, the emperor would not let him go. He just said what the emperor wanted to say for him.
Just come out.
As a minister, how can I still go against the emperor?
The birthday boy wants to hang himself because he thinks his life is too long?
"Even if we recruit millions of soldiers to build the Forbidden City, it will still take several years. I'm afraid it won't be possible in the next few years. But we can make some preparations."
Once the capital is moved, most of the imperial officials will still move to Beijing. Zhang Fu is very self-aware, and he will never stay in Nanjing.
Then the Zhang family will also move to Beijing.
It's easy for this family, but moving this family is definitely not just a matter of words.
Zhang Fu even felt that his head was heavy. As the leader of the clan, he felt that there were so many things and it was very confusing.
He glanced at his son-in-law and said, "I'm afraid your family won't miss it."
As a hostage of the Duke of Guizhou, who was in charge of the military, government and people's livelihood of a province, it was impossible for this son-in-law to stay in Nanjing.
The Duke of Guizhou is now the king of Yunnan. Can Emperor Yongkang rest assured? Can he not be more vigilant?
Mu Yan nodded: "Yes, my son-in-law knows. He has also made some preparations for moving the capital over the years."
He smiled again and said, "Xi'er went to Beijing to buy a house a few years ago. My father-in-law doesn't have to worry about not having a house to live in in Peiping."
Zhang Fu also recalled that year, when he was fighting in Mobei, and when he was leaving the city, he saw a girl disguised as a man among the crowd.
She also smiled and said, "Nanny thinks long-term, I am not as good as her."
Even though he knew in his heart that the emperor wanted to move the capital, saying it with his mouth was still different from issuing an edict to announce it to the world.
Moreover, although his ancestry is from the north and he was born and raised in the north, he has lived in Nanjing for many years and has long been accustomed to the southern climate. Furthermore, the Zhang family finally moved here, so it is not easy to move back to the north.
Just thinking about it is a lot of trouble.
forget about it.
"My daughter has made sufficient preparations long ago. As a father, I will just wait and enjoy my daughter's happiness. I will leave it to my daughter."
Mu Yan looked at him and smiled. His father-in-law cherished his son, so he naturally treated Master Taishan as his own father.
"I'm going to have a rest tomorrow. My daughter and I will bring Xiao Yu'er to our house for dinner. If I don't see Xiao Yu'er again, he will forget about me as his grandfather."
Mu Yan wanted to roll his eyes, Xi'er and Xiao Yu'er didn't go back to their parents' home very often? That means he didn't follow any rules, otherwise which wife would go back to her parents' home again and again?
And obviously I just met Xiao Yuer a few days ago.
"Little Yu'er asked us two days ago what he caught when he captured Zhou. Xi'er said that he caught the wooden sword carved by his grandfather. His eyes lit up astonishingly when he heard that, and he also said that he wanted to be a man like his grandfather.
General."
Speaking of his son, Mu Yan had a thick smile on his face.
"Hahaha. Well done, little fisherman."
Zhang Fu really loved his little grandson so much that he would have wanted Mu Yan to take Xi'er and Xiao Yu'er back to her parents' home if there were no other matters at the Yamen.
"I must remember to bring them home tomorrow."
"My son-in-law has remembered it."
At night, Mu Yan watched Huo Xi put Xiao Yu'er to sleep. He stretched out his long arms and carried Xiao Yu'er to the side of the bed.
"Be gentle and don't wake him up. Just let him sleep between us."
Sleeping in the middle? Wouldn't it be in his way?
It was magnanimous of him to let Xiao Yu'er sleep with them instead of sending him to find the wet nurse.
"Aren't you afraid that I might turn over in the middle of the night and crush my son?"
Huo Xi thought for a while, and it seemed to be the case. This little Yu'er has long arms and legs, and a short body. If they were pressed down, they would be asleep and didn't notice. What would happen.
Seeing that Huo Xi didn't insist anymore, Mu Yan was overjoyed. He covered his son with a quilt, then opened another quilt and covered Huo Xi in it...
Afterwards, the two hugged each other to calm down. Huo Xi was a little confused from exhaustion and half-squinted her eyes.
"Today at the court meeting, officials from the Ministry of Rites proposed to move the capital, and the emperor agreed."
Huo Xi opened her eyes, "Is it mentioned by an official from the Ministry of Etiquette?"
"The officials of the Ministry of Rites are not the emperor's mouthpiece!"
"Aren't the censors making trouble?"
"Why don't you make a fuss? You choked on your head and banged on the ground. My teeth were sore when I heard it. There were also a few censors who wanted to hit the pillars, but they were pulled away. Otherwise, blood would be spattered on the spot." Tut tsk tsk.
"How can a minister defeat the Emperor?"
"No."
"Then when will the capital be moved?"
"I asked my father-in-law, and he said that it would take several years to build the Forbidden City, and I'm afraid it won't be completed within these few years."
Huo Xi thought of the history of another time and space. The Forbidden City in Beijing took millions of people and took five years to build. History may have twists and turns, but there shouldn't be much difference.
"Five years should be about the same."
"How did you know?"
"I have a keen eye. And judging from the speed at which Beiping City has been built over the years, I'm afraid it won't even take five years."
"But when the city of Beiping was built, there was still money left in the treasury. In recent years, various expenditures have been huge. Look at Changling. Although Queen Wen has been moved and buried, the buildings in Changling have not been completed yet.
.”
The manpower is sufficient, and no one dares to disobey the emperor's orders. But without money, it will be in vain.
"You all said that the emperor had decided to move the capital long ago. Where there is a shortage of money, there will be a shortage of money to build the Forbidden City."
If the emperor wants to do something, why don't he try every means to get it done? It's not easy if he doesn't have money. He just raids the homes of a few salt merchants and has everything.
Huo Xi was stunned when she thought of something.
"What's wrong?" Mu Yan stroked her soft arm and looked down at her.
"Tell me, is there a shortage of money to build the Forbidden City?"
Mu Yan nodded, "What do you want to do?"
How could it be said that the couple had a mutual understanding? Huo Xi just mentioned it, and Mu Yan knew that she wanted to do something. Huo Xi stood up and pecked him on the lips, which made Mu Yan not let her go.
The kiss deepened.
After a while, Huo Xi pushed him away and said, "I have something serious to discuss with you."
"you say."
"I was wondering, is it right that the emperor is short of money? Then we should give him money and exchange for some things with him."
"What to change?"
Huo Xi immediately told Mu Yan what he was thinking, and Mu Yan was stunned.
"Are you willing?"
"White sugar and rock sugar have brought us a lot of wealth over the years. With our sugar mill, our annual income is no worse than that of a salt merchant. And after hiding it for so many years, it has become difficult to hide it anymore. People often come here
Searching in Beijing, I want to buy sugar. I just want to use the method of making sugar to exchange with the emperor."
Mu Yan thought for a long time and said, "It's okay. We'll go back to the British government office tomorrow and we'll discuss it with my father-in-law before making a decision."
"Go back to the British government tomorrow?"
"Well, my father-in-law said he missed Xiao Yu'er. He was afraid that Xiao Yu'er would forget him."
Huo Xi couldn't help laughing: "We haven't seen each other for a few days. No matter how young Xiao Yu'er is, he can't forget his grandpa so quickly."
"Aren't you happy that your father-in-law loves Xiao Yu'er? Go to sleep and get up early tomorrow and go back early."
The couple stopped talking and lay down together. After a while, they fell asleep.