Chapter 1086: Going south by boat and staying at Zhou Mansion
Jianwu 2**.
Su Mingzhe finally got on the dragon boat to Hangzhou.
Dozens of naval warships escorted him.
On both sides of the canal, there were more than 10,000 veterans of the Yinu Army accompanying them.
Watching the dragon boat go further and further away, the new Han Emperor Su Shaoan, who was seeing him off on the shore, finally relaxed his frown that had been furrowed.
"Your Majesty, let's go back."
As the new queen, He Zhenniang accompanied the emperor to see the emperor off.
Seeing the change in his man's expression, he was afraid that he would be criticized for showing a happy expression, so he quickly pulled it to remind him.
Su Shaoan reacted immediately, nodded silently and said:
"Zitong, you take the prince back to the palace first, I will return later!"
Today is the happiest day since Su Shaoan was canonized as crown prince.
From the time he married He Zhenniang at the age of twenty, Su Changan began to learn to supervise the country.
Originally, Su Mingzhe and Su Shaoan had agreed.
The prince supervised the country for half a year, and the emperor went south to Hangzhou to enjoy a wonderful life.
As a result, Su Shaoan received the advice from the Crown Princess. When the emperor was about to go south, he rushed towards him, hugged his parents' thighs, cried non-stop, and refused to let Su Mingzhe and Cui Yingying leave.
This move is still the old wisdom of Cao Pi.
Although it is an old trick, it is very useful.
Cui Yingying couldn't bear to leave immediately, and the Crown Princess He Zhenniang was also pregnant. Cui Yingying proposed to the Han Emperor that she wait until she had a look at her grandson before heading south.
For this reason, Su Mingzhe's plan to go south must have been postponed for four years.
Seeing that the prince is becoming more and more skillful in handling government affairs, the grandson has also reached the age where dogs hate cats.
Su Mingzhe finally abdicated the throne and started his plan to go south.
Thank you Emperor Sui Yang.
With the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal he dug.
Only then could Su Mingzhe take the dragon boat to go south, without much fatigue from the carriage.
I set off in March and stopped and stopped along the way.
During this period, I also accompanied Xiao Ai, Qing Ping and other women back to Peidi.
The former King of Pei, now the Gong of Pei Liang, was naturally very happy to see his sister Qingping arrive.
It was really helpless for the whole country to surrender.
Fortunately, after the surrender, Su Mingzhe kept his promise and not only granted Peiliang the title of Duke of Pei, but also rewarded him with an iron scroll of elixirs that could avoid death, ensuring the prosperity and wealth of the Pei family for generations to come.
When Qingping saw that her brother was living a healthy life, she put aside her years of worries.
Before leaving, Qingping gave most of her savings over the years to her nephew.
In June, the fleet arrived in Yangzhou.
At the dock of Yangzhou City, an old man wearing a crimson official robe and a group of local officials and squires came to greet him.
"Old minister Zhou Zong, please bow to my emperor, long live my emperor!"
"Tai Tuo, all the ministers are in peace, I have troubled Tai Tu this time!"
In order not to disturb the place, Su Mingzhe tried his best not to get off the boat every time he passed by the place.
However, Yangzhou has many places of interest.
The women on the boat wanted to get off the boat and walk around after sitting there for a long time.
Su Mingzhe then contacted Zhou Zong, the minister who had retired and returned to his hometown, and planned to stay at Zhou's house for a few days.
Before Zhou Zong retired, his official position was Shangshu of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. After his retirement, Su Mingzhe rewarded him with the title of "Taifu".
When Zhou Zong saw that Su Mingzhe was treating his ministers as kindly as always, the worries in his heart dissipated a lot, and he raised his hands and said politely:
"It is an honor for the Holy Lord to come to you, so how dare you say 'trouble'?"
The dock is not a place for chatting either.
After everyone finished reciting the ceremony, Su Mingzhe and his concubines took a carriage to the Zhou Mansion.
As soon as they entered the Zhou Mansion, the girls couldn't help but be surprised.
Wan Hou, who was waiting beside the man, couldn't help but exclaimed:
"Your Majesty, the courtyard of Zhou Mansion is not inferior to the palace of Shangyang Palace!"
Su Mingzhe was also surprised at first, but as soon as he thought about it, he knew what was going on:
"Taifu Zhou was an upright official. When he retired and returned to his hometown, his family's luggage was packed in only one carriage. I saw that he had nothing to offer, and I was afraid that he would not even have a place to stay when he returned to Yangzhou. Then he was rewarded with a Jiangnan garden and a thousand acres of fertile land!"
After hearing this, Wanhou could only admire respectfully:
"Your Majesty is still kind!"
Su Mingzhe took the girls into the Zhou Mansion and asked the women to wash up and rest in the backyard, while he began to meet with local officials and gentry.
The interview is over.
Su Mingzhe began to wander around the Zhou Mansion.
After watching for a while, Su Mingzhe discovered a problem.
This Zhou Mansion was indeed awarded to Zhou Zong by Su Mingzhe.
However, many of the scenery in the garden are newly added.
Looking at the seemingly newly built Jiangnan garden courtyard, Su Mingzhe thought of Cao Xueqin, who wrote "A Dream of Red Mansions".
Historically, the reason why the Cao family borrowed hundreds of thousands of taels of silver from the national treasury was because they received Kangxi who visited Jiangnan six times.
Now, in order to welcome the Supreme Emperor, the Zhou family even redecorated the originally unique Jiangnan gardens.
Thinking of the prices in Jiangnan, Su Mingzhe couldn't help but guess that the current Zhou family should be like the Cao family, having depleted all their wealth over the years, right?
Su Mingzhe is not a mean and ungrateful person, and he will not bear to see his loyal ministers suffer.
After the feast, Su Mingzhe called Zhang Kui, the commander of the guards:
"Zhang Kui, I have given you a task. You must handle it carefully so that no one notices it!"
Zhang Kui is considered Su Mingzhe's best friend.
He was originally the commander-in-chief of the Imperial City Department, but was later sent by Su Mingzhe to find Iwami Yinshan.
When the treasury of the Han Dynasty became abundant, Su Mingzhe sent him to serve as a servant to the prince.
After waiting for the prince to ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor, Su Mingzhe recruited Zhang Kui to his side again.
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"Please give me your Majesty's orders!"
Zhang Kui knelt down on one knee and performed a military salute.
Su Mingzhe said seriously:
"Go and investigate how much Taifu Zhou spent on building this new garden, and then find out how much money the Zhou family is losing now... As the emperor, I cannot allow my ministers to be wronged..."
Zhang Kui couldn't help but flatter him after hearing this:
"Your Majesty is kind. If the Taifu knows that Your Majesty thinks of him so much, he will definitely shed tears of gratitude!"
Faced with such flattery, Su Mingzhe simply accepted it calmly.
Back in the backyard, Su Mingzhe was preparing to invite several concubines to sleep with him.
Juan came to report, and Queen Mother Cui Yingying asked to see him.
Not long after, Cui Yingying, dressed in plain clothes, walked in with lotus steps:
"His Majesty!"
"Why haven't you rested yet, my beloved concubine?"
As soon as Cui Yingying walked in, Su Mingzhe's eyes lit up when he saw her makeup.
Cui Yingying has lived in the palace for a long time and has taken good care of herself. Although she is already in her mid-teens, her round face, soft facial features, delicate skin, and refined temperament are no different from those of a beautiful young woman in her twenties.
Even Empress Wan is slightly inferior to Cui Yingying in terms of appearance.
In addition to her extraordinary complexion and good looks, Cui Yingying's dress is also getting younger and younger.
Now she is wearing a thin and see-through azurite long skirt with waist.
Through the thin gauze skirt, Su Mingzhe could clearly see Cui Yingying's snow-white skin.
The looming haziness greatly increased Su Mingzhe's interest.
"His Majesty……"
Cui Yingying came here in a bit of a hurry. After washing and bathing, she casually asked the palace maid to find a palace dress for herself and put it on without paying attention to the style. When she saw the man about to rush towards her, she quickly pushed her away. Live with men: