At this time, the guard came to report again, saying that He Zhen, the senior official in Shandong Province, came to see His Highness.
"What's true?" Lao Liu glanced at Lin Zhongmo and asked knowingly.
Lin Zhongmo quickly introduced this person. His position as the head of Guangdong Province was very different from what Dao Tong said. He laughed at himself and said: "Don't mention Xiaguan, the chief envoy, who was involved in provincial affairs like Wang Xiang." , he is really not as good at talking as the 'King of Guangdong'."
"Are you so stupid?" Lao Liu smiled and said, "Then we really need to meet him."
"You really should meet him. This person is the key to His Majesty's surrender to Guangdong." Lin Zhongmo said softly: "If His Majesty has this idea..."
"Hahaha, Lao Lin said, I just like to go straight and don't make twists and turns." Lao Liu couldn't help laughing and said: "That's right, they are all here, so I just want to clean up the ghosts and monsters in Guangdong. I have traveled three thousand miles in vain."
"Understood." Lin Zhongmo said respectfully: "But is it convenient for Your Highness to meet guests?"
"What's the inconvenience? I'll lie down like this when the emperor comes, let alone a local emperor." Lao Liu said carelessly, he was not afraid of making a fool of himself.
What's more, this is not making a fool of himself. Although his butt is blurry, it shows his face, okay! He can't wait for everyone in the world to see his butt.
Lin Zhongmo took the initiative and said: "Then, please step aside."
"No need, you are a provincial official, he is a subject under your rule, why not accompany him to receive him?" Lao Liu shook his head and said: "Besides, what can you gain from dealing with such an old fox for the first time? It's just a mutual exchange. Just test it out and weigh in on the other person."
"Your Highness is so understanding." Lin Zhongmo couldn't help but admire.
"It's just that I've been dealing with the old fox since I was a child. It's not worth boasting about." Lao Liu smiled and shook his head.
~~
When He Zhen was brought into the room by the guards, he first smelled a strong smell of medicine, and then saw three men sitting, one lying down, and one lying down.
This scene made him stunned for a moment, and then he saluted with clasped fists at the only person he didn't recognize: "Your Excellency, He Zhen, pays homage to His Highness."
"Haha, Lao He, I have admired his famous name for a long time and heard it like thunder. Today I finally met him!" Lao Liu lay on the couch and looked at He Zhen. He was tall, fair-skinned, handsome and well-maintained. If it weren't for the gray sideburns, he would look very good. It's hard to tell that he is over sixty years old.
It makes people feel very peaceful and soft, with light clouds and gentle breeze.
"Your Highness is serious," He Zhen returned the greeting with a smile: "I have admired Your Highness for a long time, and the name is like thunder in my ears."
"Then we are all in for a treat today." Lao Liu also clasped his fists at him and said, "It's just that I was slightly injured, which makes me laugh."
"Your Highness, what are you saying? How kind and righteous is the prince to do this in order to save an official?" He Zhengan exclaimed: "It will become a good story and be passed down through the ages."
"Hahaha, if you say that, I feel much happier." Lao Liu happily sat down.
After He Zhen thanked Lin Zhongmo, he saluted and said hello to Lin Zhongmo. Then he sat down under him and asked Brother Zongzi: "How are your parents hurt?"
"Thanks to His Highness's magic medicine, this life should be saved." Daotong said sternly: "I owe His Highness two lives."
"Save people to the end, just count them as one." Lao Liu said generously.
Hearing He Zhen's expression, he could tell after just a few words that His Highness was very similar to the Emperor, both of whom did not play by the rules. This kind of person was the hardest to deal with.
"A dignified official of the imperial court, who had a name from my father, was actually tortured like this in Guangzhou City and almost beheaded." At this time, I heard Lao Liu change the topic and said in a stern tone: "
This shows that there is a big problem in Guangdong and it must be rectified!"
"Yes..." He Zhen nodded hurriedly, a sharp alarm sounding in his heart.
Everyone knows what this is going on, that is, Marquis Yongjia wants to kill the magistrate of Dao County, and at most he will drag Xu Jitai with him. At least on the surface, it basically has nothing to do with other people.
However, His Highness the King of Chu expanded the problem to the whole of Guangdong as soon as he came up. Moreover, he told himself, an official who was appointed to the official position, that it was obvious that the drunkard's intention was not with the wine, but with his group of people.
"They told me before coming here that when we arrive in Guangzhou, we must first pay a visit to Qi Lao He's wharf. I have the same plan, but it's just not convenient for me to go out for the time being." Lao Liu smiled again: "But it's the same when you come.
Can you give me some pointers as to what exactly are the problems in Guangdong?"
"Your Highness, don't believe those who spread rumors. I am already this old and have been an official for ten years. Even if everyone is polite and polite on the surface, no one will take my words at heart. They all call me an old fool behind my back." He Zhen smiled bitterly.
He waved his hands and said:
"It's not a lie. Tigers don't bite people when they are old, and the same goes for people when they get old."
"I believe Mr. He, and I will definitely disdain telling lies." Lao Liu nodded and said: "Because I am the same - let's tell the truth, the reason why Daozhi County caused the disaster of death is because he has mastered
Marquis Yongjia’s subordinates are selling arms...which is evidence of the crime of muskets and cannons.”
As he spoke, he looked at He Zhen with a smile and said: "This means that if there is no buying and selling, there will be no killing. And if there is buying, there will be selling. So who bought these arms and what are they going to be used for? We must find out."
"Yes." He Zhen nodded and said with a serious expression: "I didn't expect the nature of the matter to be so bad. We really need to get to the bottom of it."
"Who do you think it could be, Mr. He?" Zhu Zhen asked quietly.
"In my humble opinion, if you just buy firecrackers, it's hard to identify the suspects, but there are only three types of people who can buy cannons." He Zhen said in a deep voice: "One is the cave barbarians, who buy them back to guard the village.
The second is a rich man who bought it and put it in a watchtower to protect the clan. The third..."
He hesitated for a moment and then said: "They are those who went to sea and bought them back and put them on the boat for self-defense."
"Self-defense? Against whom?" Lao Liu asked.
"They should be pirates," He Zhen said softly. Lao Liu didn't ask about the cave barbarians or local tycoons, he only asked about the sea, which was enough to explain his real goal.
"Apart from pirates?" Lao Liu asked again.
"Maybe... the navy is trying to fight against the imperial court." He Zhen did not evade and answered frankly.
"Okay, Mr. He really told me everything he knew!" Lao Liu said with approval: "It seems that I have really asked the right person."
As he spoke, he asked in a deep voice: "Do these people who go to sea have anything to do with the local tycoons?"
"Of course there is." He Zhen did not hide it and said truthfully: "Your Highness should have seen along the way that Guangdong has many mountains and little land, but the population is very dense. It is impossible to feed so many people just by farming, and Guangdong has already developed
Having been a port for thousands of years, there is a tradition of going to Southeast Asia to seek a living.”
"So all families and clans have children who go to sea to make a living. The rich are shipowners and do business, and the poor are sailors and work as coolies. Even the Han family is no exception." He sighed and said more frankly:
"I have heard about His Highness's feat of reopening the Maritime Department and sending the Maritime Fleet to take the initiative to go overseas for trade. It is really a blessing to the Ming Dynasty and a blessing to China. I have also heard that the Prime Minister's Maritime Affairs Office has sent letters to the Guangdong government several times, asking them to ban private overseas trade.
Trade is another disaster for the people of Guangdong."
