In the hall, Duan Tianming was a little surprised when he saw the two people's lewd smiles.
It turns out that there is no age distinction when it comes to greed for money.
He didn't know what to say, he could only look at the expressions of the two of them and started laughing.
"Mr. Factory Master, what is the situation in the court today?" Xiao Chen asked softly.
"In the morning, all the officials unanimously asked the emperor to hold you responsible for killing Cangcheng without authorization. As for the emperor, he still pretended not to hear. I saw in the imperial study that a thick stack of memorials played by the officials was placed by the emperor.
It's on the table in the corner without even turning it over." Lin Shangli made a fist with his right hand and gently tapped his thigh.
"Concerning Eunuch Zheng's voyage to the sea, did the prince continue to raise objections today?" Xiao Chen leaned over the table and looked at Lin Shangli without any formality.
"Prince?" Lin Shangli laughed softly, "Although our Crown Prince looks simple and honest, he is very smart. If you raise an objection once, it will be fine if the emperor does not express his position. How can he pursue you so unflatteringly?
Fight. However, I heard from the emperor that the prince has no objections, but several ministers from the south of the Yangtze River in the court have put forward a lot of rhetoric on this matter."
"Humph." Xiao Chen sneered, "These Jiangnan ministers tried their best to prevent Eunuch Zheng from going to sea by wasting people and money. They just saw Eunuch Zheng's boatloads of tea, silk, and porcelain, and what they got back was a boatload of real gold.
Baiyin. Although Eunuch Zheng spends a lot of manpower and materials every time he goes to sea, it is not to make ends meet. By the way, it is to promote the prestige of the Ming Dynasty to the Western countries. This is the real purpose of the emperor's highly recommended fleet heading west."
"This group of ministers from the south of the Yangtze River are either inextricably linked to the giant merchant families in the south of the Yangtze River and the coastal areas, or they are from merchant families. Eunuch Zheng's trip to the West only blocked their way to make a fortune. Not so much.
They are thinking about the country and the court, rather they are thinking about their family interests."
Lin Shangli straightened his waist and his face became serious: "We can all take this into consideration, so why doesn't the emperor understand it? Therefore, the emperor never pays attention to the objections on this matter. This morning, it was announced that
On the 30th day of the first lunar month, the Ming Dynasty fleet officially assembled and began its sixth voyage to the Western Ocean."
"Alas." At this point, Lin Shangli sighed, "It's difficult for the emperor too. Although he holds the power of life and death over the entire Ming Dynasty, the entire Ming Dynasty cannot be managed by the emperor alone. The chief officers and adjutants of each department,
Everyone performs their duties and operates at the same time, so that the court and the local government can ensure production and progress in an orderly manner."
"The emperor would turn a blind eye to some things as long as they were not too excessive. Therefore, the emperor was dissatisfied with these ministers who strongly opposed the voyages to the West, but he did not punish them."
Xiao Chen rubbed his nose and said, "Master Factory Master, you want to say that it's time for our Dong Factory to take action?"
Lin Shangli smiled and nodded: "The Emperor said that along the coast of Jiangnan, there were not only many fishing boats carrying out fishing operations, but also many private merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty traveling back and forth. However, the commercial taxes in the Jiangnan area were not paid much. Three
In August, after the military parade, the emperor wanted Dongchang to arrange manpower to go to the coast of Jiangnan to investigate the matter."
"For the March military parade, the East Factory needs to enter the venue in advance, and arrange for all nearby forces to take precautions. Then we will go to Jiangnan. Our East Factory's tasks are becoming more and more heavy." Xiao Chen said with a smile.
"Which department in the entire imperial court dares to set up its own small treasury? We can't just think about the benefits and not contribute, right?" Lin Shangli laughed.
Xiao Chen and Duan Tianming, who were next to them, also started laughing mischievously.
As if he remembered something, Xiao Chen stopped laughing, sat upright, and looked at Lin Shangli with a serious face.
"Lord Factory Lord, this time when Yizhou returned, all the prisoners in the Liao Xianghe case were executed. Now, only Liao Xianghe himself is still in prison in the East Factory. The emperor has not given any instructions on this?"
"This may be because the emperor is in a good mood, so he really didn't give any instructions. He escaped by accident, and it's not certain that the emperor wants to keep him temporarily. After all, Liao Xianghe is in charge of the prison.
At that time, I also did a lot of things for the emperor." Lin Shangli said lightly, and the smile on his eyebrows disappeared.
At the beginning, in Beizhen Fusi, Liao Xianghe ruled the sky with one hand. All cases designated by the emperor were investigated cleanly and thoroughly. Those who deserved were jailed and those who deserved had their homes searched. His power was so great that compared to the current Dongchang, there were
Nothing less than that.
If he hadn't had bad intentions, he wouldn't have ended up like this.
But even so, Lin Shangli seemed to vaguely see his own fate from Liao Xianghe.
How glorious it is when you stand at the pinnacle of power, but how miserable it is once you fall from power.
In this day of walking on thin ice, you have to be careful every step you take.
As if he saw what Lin Shangli was thinking, Xiao Chen smiled faintly: "I feel that our emperor is still an enlightened monarch. As long as we focus on the court and do things for the people, the emperor will see it."
"Yes." Lin Shangli nodded, "The emperor's heart is filled with the whole world. As the department directly under the emperor, we should share the emperor's worries and clear away the darkness that the emperor cannot see one by one."
Xiao Chen stood up and clasped his hands in his fists: "Mr. Factory Master, if nothing happens today, I would like to visit the prison."
"You want to see if you can dig something out of Liao Xianghe's mouth?" Lin Shangli said slowly.
Shaking his head, Xiao Chen said: "The city is too deep for Liao Xianghe. The possibility of digging something out of his mouth is almost zero. Although he is an important criminal in Dongchang, his knowledge of the court is not
He is very knowledgeable. I want to have a chat with him and increase my knowledge."
"Wait a moment." Lin Shangli stood up with his hands on the armrests of the wooden chair, turned around, and walked towards the back hall.
Xiao Chen was stunned, what was the factory owner doing? Are you planning to go to the prison with him to meet Liao Xianghe?
Seeing that Xiao Chen was going to the prison, Duan Tianming also stood up, approached Xiao Chen obscenely, blinked his eyes a few times and said: "I haven't seen the prison captain Du Shaoqin for several days. I don't know what that boy has been busy with recently.
.I will go with you too.”
"Miss Du Shaoqin? I think you want to go to his place to eat barbecue. However, his big stove barbecue is really enjoyable. Moreover, the chicken soup cooked in his iron pot tastes very unique.
Go today and ask him what kind of seasonings are in it." Xiao Chen rolled his eyes at Duan Tianming, licked his lips involuntarily, his throat moved, and he swallowed the saliva in his mouth.
