It is not a trivial matter for the emperor to personally lead the imperial army. All the civil and military officials in the court must follow the eunuchs in the inner palace. In addition, the guards must have at least 20,000 to 30,000 people. Without this, it will not be enough to reflect the royal majesty.
The little emperor Zhu Cilang could not object, and the complete set of royal ceremonial guards set out from Nanjing, headed north along the canal, and after arriving at Guide, he went to Kaifeng by land.
The officials and troops along the way must be properly protected, and Chen Qianfu and others were even more respectful and were very thorough in the hospitality. Their performance was all in the eyes of the little emperor, and Zhu Cilang was quite pleased.
"Great companion, everyone in the world says that the King of Liao has the intention of being unjust, and I think this may not be the case!"
Dai Ying smiled slightly: "Your Majesty, three of them become tigers. The old slave thinks that the King of Liao is still loyal to His Majesty. Moreover, in today's world, it is impossible for the King of Liao to recover. It's just a group of villains to instigate the Holy Listening. If these words were passed into the ears of the King of Liao, he would inevitably have doubts in his heart. Even loyal ministers could be forced to have strange intentions!"
Zhu Cilang nodded vigorously: "What the big companion said is that I am personally marching in this time to meet the Liao King. The loyal ministers of the court cannot be wronged. If, if the Liao King really has a strange intention, I just hope to lose less life!"
Dai Ying hurriedly knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, the King of Liao has great merits and great titles. The tree attracts wind. There are strong enemies in front of them and villains behind them. The difficulty of the situation is probably unimaginable. Your Majesty should believe in the King of Liao at this time, so that the king and ministers can get along with each other, otherwise the villain will take advantage of the loopholes!"
Zhu Cilang clenched his fists and nodded and said, "The big companion is right!"
At this time, the fleet had arrived in Xuzhou, with two thousand elite cavalrymen and all lined up at the dock to greet them.
The little emperor Zhu Cilang got off the warship. The play looked around and his eyes were filled with emotion.
"Great companion. When the King of Liao took me south, he arrived in Xuzhou first. At that time, the wharf was depressed and the north and south were cut off. There were beggars begging for food on the wharf. The first time I left the palace, I learned that the Zhu family's country was so decayed. I really felt ashamed of the people and my ancestors!"
Chen Qianfu, who accompanied the young emperor, said: "I will tell you. Xuzhou is a place where trade and trade are prosperous in the north and south. It was originally declining because of the constant wars of the bandits and the Tartars. Now after some governance, Xuzhou has restored its prosperity, which is very different from the past!"
Listening to Chen Qianfu's words, the little emperor was very surprised and hurriedly said, "Mr. Chen, what you said is true?"
"Of course it's true, Your Majesty is willing. It's time to have enough time, so you can visit it. If what I said is wrong, I'll be punished!"
The emperors of the Zhu family have always been enclosed in the palace. Unlike those Tartar emperors, who travel everywhere, they are obviously a waste of money and even put gold on their faces.
Although Zhu Cilang knew that it was not easy to be the emperor's personal command, he also wanted to see the true life of the people in the world.
Chen Qianfu and Dai Ying immediately ordered to prepare for security guards. Then they accompanied the little emperor to walk along the wide street.
The shops on both sides were lined up one after another, and the people entering and leaving were not only scholars, farmers, industrialists and commerce, but also many Western barbarians in strange clothes, which made the little emperor stunned.
"Mr. Chen, I heard that there are many Western barbarians in Shanghai, so why did you get to Xuzhou?"
"Your Majesty, I originally opened the sea and sold some silk porcelain, but my Tian Dynasty has rich products, and it's not just these. Henan has now built cotton and wool workshops, as well as exquisite furniture, iron, bronze, and Western barbarians all flocked to it. It is natural for them to go directly to the mainland to purchase!"
When he heard about the good things about the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Cilang was honored and felt very proud. The little emperor strided hard to the front of a store, where two Westerners were watching the goods.
The shopkeeper saw the little emperor and his party. Although he didn't know him, he knew he was a big shot and hurriedly wanted to kneel down. Zhu Cilang waved his hand generously and smiled: "You guys talk about you, just watch the fun!"
Chen Qianfu came to the shopkeeper's ear and muttered a few words. The shopkeeper nodded in a hurry, and sweat broke out from his forehead.
"Mr. Hank, this is the best cotton cloth, soft and skin-friendly. The richer the Ming Dynasty, the more I like to use cotton cloth, which is comfortable and not ostentatious than silk, and has a unique taste."
"You're right, but we can't accept the price!" Hank said in weird Chinese, and the little emperor couldn't help laughing.
"A piece of cloth costs up to eight taels of silver, I don't want to have a little more. We have to travel a long way across the ocean."
The two of them agreed to have ten taels of silver, but when the little emperor and the others came, Hank realized that this was a big shot. According to the habits of the people of the Celestial Empire, they would not argue and lose face, so he did not hesitate to kill the price.
The shopkeeper was really like this, frowned and smiled for a while, "Hank, you are lucky, be prepared to pick up the goods at the dock!"
The young man took Hank away, and the little emperor smiled at the shopkeeper, "How much piece of cloth have you bought this time and how much money can you earn?"
"The little one dared not lie. This time I bought three thousand horses, and each horse earned five taels of silver, and a total of 15,000 taels of money!"
When the little emperor heard this, he was shocked. Although he had no idea about silver, many prefectures and counties in the Ming Dynasty could not pay a tax of 10,000 taels of silver a year. It was surprising that one business could make so much money!
"Mr. Chen, is there such a big profit in doing business with the Yi people?"
"That's natural. Your Majesty's cotton cloth from the Heavenly Dynasty is only three or five taels of silver in the mainland. If you sell it to the Western barbarians, you can buy about ten taels. You can sell it a million pieces a year, plus other silk porcelain. A tax rate of one tenth, tens of millions of taxes per year, and most of the military expenditure depends on overseas trade!"
The little emperor frowned and couldn't help but say, "Mr. Chen, I remember that my father had thought about increasing the commercial tax, but a minister wrote a letter saying that the sea was unpredictable and that seven or eight out of ten would be lost on the sea. If taxes were still collected, it would be too exploited and sucking bones and marrow. It also said that the maritime merchants were all desperate people, and they were robbed and collected their taxes, which was to bribe them!"
Chen Qianfu smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, although the sea risks are high, it is already amazing to lose three or five of a hundred ships. If it were seven or eight, wouldn't the merchants have died long ago! Such a bully talk is not reliable. The Liao King disagreed with the public, expanded trade, collected commercial taxes, and spent all the huge sums of money on training the army."
Zhu Cilang of course knew what the implication was. These businessmen relied on bribing officials and enjoyed huge profits at sea. Gu Zhenhua imposed commercial taxes, which was equivalent to cutting off their losses and blocking their wealth. It was like killing their parents and being criticized, so it was no surprise!
After Zhu Cixuan walked around, he saw the signs of prosperity everywhere. The wealth of merchants had reached an amazing level. A group of fat cats were completely unforgivable if they didn't cut their flesh from them!
Gradually, Zhu Cilang seemed to understand Gu Zhenhua better and what everyone knew, but if he wanted to continue, several generations of emperors of the Zhu family could do it, but Gu Zhenhua could do it. It was unimaginable how much pressure he was under.
"It's not easy for King Liao!" The little emperor sighed like this.
After staying in Xuzhou for two days, the welcoming team sent from Henan had arrived in Xuzhou. Lu Yong, who was in charge of the welcoming this time, happened to be protecting the little emperor to go south at the beginning, which was considered a hot topic.
"Thank you for your hard work in Lu Qing!"
"Thank you for your care. The King of Liao has prepared a car for His Majesty. Please get on!"
As he said that, a strange-shaped four-wheeled carriage was driven to the little emperor. As soon as the carriage appeared, it was dazzling and dazzling.
The frame roof decorated with rich gold is inlaid with rich gems. The windows made of pure glass on both sides are spotless and can easily enjoy the scenery outside the car.
This carriage is not only decorated with luxurious decoration, but also very spacious, and Zhu Cilang couldn't help but illuminate his eyes!
"This, this is a bit over!"
Lu Yong smiled and said, "Your Majesty, this is all the wishes of the King of Liao, and the secret of driving is not outside. You will know it when you get in the car!"
"Oh!" the little emperor smiled and said, "I want to give it a try!"
Zhu Ciyang asked Dai Ying to accompany him and got on the carriage. The coachman gently waved his whip and the carriage ran quickly. The little emperor didn't feel anything at first, but as he walked, he widened his eyes.
"How come Da Pang, why is it so stable, it's not bumpy at all, it's like it's not moving."
Chapter completed!