You know, Shen Yi has actually done almost everything in the southeast, and what is left is some finishing work. Among these finishing work, the most important thing is actually to deal with the local officials in Guangdong, so that the Guangzhou Prefecture and City Shipping Department can smoothly Landed.
Originally, Shen Yi was already planning to discuss with the emperor to allocate some profits from the Guangzhou Prefectural Shipping Department to the Guangdong Governor's Yamen.
After all, the sky is high and the emperor is far away there. It will not be easy to calm down the conflicts between all parties in a year and a half, so we can only use interests to pave the way.
If Zhang Jing's letter is effective, then most of the local resistance in Guangdong will basically be eliminated, and Shen Yi's main remaining task is to form the Coastal Command Division and the Coastal Five Guards attached to the Coastal Division.
Difficulty dropped sharply.
If this is the case, Mr. Shen can even spare some energy this year to do other things, such as taking his soldiers to take a look at Japan's main island.
Even if you don’t have the strength to challenge Japan’s main island, it’s not a bad thing to go and enjoy the autumn breeze and do some homework for landing on the island in advance.
Thinking of this, Shen Yi looked serious, bowed his hands to the old man and said, "Thank you, old prime minister."
He lowered his head slightly and said: "Old Xiangguo has put in so much effort, I wonder if there is anything that requires Shen Qi's service? But if you have the ability, I will do whatever it takes."
Zhang Xiang waved his hand with a smile and said: "As an official, I used to be a very popular minister. Now that I have retired, what else can I do at this age?"
He looked at Shen Yi and said with a smile: "Qilang and my Jian'er get along very well. I hope that you brothers can also get along well with each other and help each other in the future."
"It's natural."
Shen Yi lowered his head slightly and said: "Senior brother treats the juniors very well, and the juniors will keep it in mind."
"pity."
The old man shook his head slightly and said, "It's a pity that you and Jian'er are junior brothers, otherwise I would have wanted to take a student with such a talented person."
It is relatively common for scholars nowadays to become apprentices.
When you are studying and taking exams, it is natural for you to learn from other scholars who have achieved fame and academic achievements, and to do some knowledge about contemporary literature and policy theory. However, some scholars, even after being awarded Jinshi, will still worship new teachers.
There are all kinds of reasons.
Learn gongbi, painting, poetry, calligraphy, and so on.
This master-disciple relationship is actually a disguised father-son relationship, and it is also a disguised political contribution.
There is quite a meaning in it: "If you don't abandon me, I would like to be your adoptive father."
It's just that this variant of the father-son relationship is somewhat unbreakable under the constraints of etiquette and law of this era. It is impossible to stab the adoptive father to death just like Fengxian did.
And Prime Minister Zhang's words already have a more obvious flavor of coaxing.
However, the old man himself retired from the court. No matter how powerful he was, now that he is old, he can no longer be a political figure.
Therefore, Prime Minister Zhang did not want to win Shen Yi under his command, but mainly wanted to give Shen Yi some benefits on behalf of his grandson Zhang Jian.
The benefit he gave is indeed not small. After all, if Guangdong's Shipping Department is successfully established, Shen Yi's mission of managing the coastal areas will basically be completed. At the same time, Shen Yi will also receive this huge political capital. In the bag.
This can no longer be said to be of great benefit to his future career, but can simply be said to be a great tonic.
By then, there will basically be no bottlenecks in Master Shen's career advancement path. The only thing that can restrain him is probably his age.
The old man gave me a favor, and Shen Yi naturally also gave him face. He immediately smiled and said: "Xiang Guo taught me a lot. In Shen Qi's heart, he is already a teacher."
Zhang Jing was obviously quite satisfied with Shen Yi's answer. The old man turned around and rummaged on his bookshelf for a long time before he found a wooden box and placed it in front of Shen Yi. He smiled and said: "This It is a coastal chart that someone gave me as a gift to me in the early years. I heard that it took about twenty people and more than ten years to draw it. There are more than a dozen maps in total. They are of no use to me anymore. Now they are given to me as a gift. To Shichiro."
As he spoke, he opened the box and found a complete picture from a stack of atlases.
Although this picture is still somewhat different from the picture in Shen Yi's memory, it is already very detailed in this era.
Of course, the whole picture in the old man's hand is only half of the picture.
Prime Minister Zhang pointed at the upper part of the map. In the upper part, he simply drew a rough outline, wrote the word "Qi", and drew the general provinces of Northern Qi.
The old man said slowly: "It is not convenient for them to go to Northern Qi, so detailed maps of the Qi people have not been drawn."
He looked up at Shen Yi and said with a smile: "I will definitely not be able to see the day this picture is completed, but Qilang, you are still young. Maybe you will be able to see this day in your lifetime."
Shen Yi took the wooden box with both hands, bowed his head slightly towards the old man and said: "Old Prime Minister Guo has a long life, and if he lives for more than twenty years, he may not see this day."
The old man smiled slightly and said nothing.
Obviously, he had no expectations for this.
…………
The sixth day of the Lunar New Year.
Shen Yi, who had been resting at home honestly, received a letter.
A letter from the south.
After receiving the letter, Shen Yi read it once and then threw it into the furnace in the room and burned it to ashes.
As soon as the letter was burned to ashes, there was a knock on the door outside the study, and then the voice of the maid Qing'er came: "Master, someone is coming from the palace!"
Hearing this sentence, Mr. Shen's eyelids jumped and he couldn't help but complain in his heart.
Why did the people from the palace come just after I did something bad?
He even stood up and looked around the beams of his study room, suspecting that there was something that did not belong to this era.
However, since someone was coming from the palace, Shen Yi had to see him. He put on his clothes and went to the front yard. He saw a young man in casual clothes, with a white face and no beard, who looked to be in his twenties or thirties, standing in the front yard of Shen's house. After seeing Shen Yi, he immediately stepped forward and saluted: "Scholar Shen, Your Majesty has summoned you..."
Shen Yi recognized this person.
The eunuch of Deqing Palace.
However, seeing that he was not wearing eunuch clothes, but civilian clothes, Master Shen thought for a while and asked: "Your Majesty...isn't in the palace?"
"Um…"
The eunuch lowered his head and said, "Scholar Shen is here with your servant."
Shen Yi thought about it and felt that the probability of this person lying to him was not too high, so he asked his family to help arrange his hair, and then followed the eunuch out.
The eunuch walked all the way and led Shen Yi through two or three streets before arriving at a restaurant with no signboard on the bank of the Qinhuai River.
Seeing this restaurant, Mr. Shen looked strange.
He recognized this restaurant.
The Shibazilou, the property of Jin Shizi Li Mu, was usually the place where the Li family in Jiankang gathered and ate.
But when you think about the emperor also having the surname Li, it seems to make sense.
After following the eunuch into the Shibazi Building, Shen Yi discovered that there was no longer a single customer in this restaurant.
It seems that it was cleared by the emperor.
Arriving at the private room on the second floor, His Majesty the Emperor was leaning on a sofa, his posture was lazy, but his face was not very good-looking.
Mr. Shen stepped forward to salute, bowed and said: "Your Majesty Shen Yi, I have been ordered to see you..."
The expression on the emperor's face was still not very good. He pointed to the chair in front of him and motioned for Shen Yi to sit down.
After Master Shen sat down, the emperor sat up straight, reached out to pick up the cup on the table, and didn't know whether he took a sip of tea or a sip of wine.
After drinking, he looked at Shen Yi with a bad expression.
"I left the palace early this morning."
It is already afternoon, which means that His Majesty the Emperor has been wandering around outside all day.
"I went to six or seven restaurants and teahouses."
Having said this, His Majesty the Emperor could no longer hold back the anger in his heart and slapped the table hard.
"No one is talking about palace affairs!"
"How hateful!"
Obviously, the so-called "things in the palace" mentioned by His Majesty the Emperor refer to the upcoming birth of Concubine Hui.
Although the eunuch who spread the news has long since cooled down, this "rumor" is very vital and spreads like a raging fire in Jiankang.
After all, everyone likes to gossip.
As the protagonist of the gossip, His Majesty the Emperor was naturally in a very unhappy mood.
"I am ready to beat those honorable men according to the method you said."
The emperor squinted his eyes, looked at Shen Yi, and snorted: "After Shangyuan is over and the court begins, I will immediately ask the Ministry of Revenue to check them!"
"Inventory their properties!"
Hearing these words, Shen Yi was stunned.
He looked at the emperor blankly, and then asked in an uncertain tone: "Your Majesty, this matter..."
"It seems that the Yushitai should send the Yushi to investigate. After finding out, the Ministry of Household Affairs will go to check the land...?"
"I just want the Ministry of Household Affairs to investigate."
The emperor glanced at Shen Yi.
"What? Are you feeling sorry for your uncle?"
"No...no."
Mr. Shen quickly shook his head: "I just feel that something is not in line with the rules..."
The emperor curled his lips and dismissed Master Shen's words.
He reached out and pinched a piece of snack and stuffed it into his mouth. While chewing, he looked at Shen Yi: "I haven't seen you for seven or eight days."
The emperor's eyes were dark.
"It's rare that you are so honest. Did you do something bad behind my back?"