The monkey finally finished making gestures. Seeing Kitamura Toda ignoring him, he began to miss the contact with Shen Ao. At least it didn't have to make such laborious gestures. The two of them could communicate verbally, and that feeling was wonderful.
"Your Excellency, the head of the mission, the reason why the monkey came back late was because of greed. It brought more iodized salt, there should be fifty bags, as much as ten kilograms." Kitamura Toda bowed his head respectfully. Said.
"Is that so?" Yamada Shinichi nodded first, then walked to the table, picked up the cloth bag carried by the monkey, and poured it out directly. Then he discovered that the number was indeed more than yesterday. There are ten extra bags.
"Youxi. You did a good job. Kitamura-kun, your performance will be reported to the king after you return home." Yamada Shinichi's face immediately showed a look of satisfaction.
After receiving the compliment, Kitamura Toda's eyes shone with excitement. He lowered his head and replied: "Thank you, Yamada-kun. Kitamura is willing to do anything for the king."
Everyone was happy. The spirit monkey was also rewarded with a bunch of grapes by the happy Kitamura Toda. It was said to be a bunch, but in fact most of them were eaten by Kitamura Toda, leaving only a few scattered ones. This also strengthened the spirit's determination. Monkey's determination to defect to Shen Ao.
Fifty bags of iodized salt were naturally given by Shen Ao to the monkey for business purposes. For Shen Ao, who never engaged in loss-making business, these iodized salts were just temporarily placed in the inn. The opportunity When the time comes, he will still take it back.
What happened one night was not spread out due to Shen Ao's deliberate suppression. Many people even knew that Shen Ao went to Warehouse No. 3 at night, but what he did there was no way for outsiders to know. Early the next morning, the man What should we do or what should we continue to do.
Shen Ao, on the other hand, had an idea in his mind after learning about Jiuluan Lian. He ordered Feng Xun to keep an eye on the inner courtyard and notify him in time if he found out that the eldest princess was coming.
At almost noon, the eldest princess arrived at Guochanglong accompanied by Zhu Yun and others. Although Shen Ao was in charge, nominally the eldest princess was the one in charge, and she also liked coming here, because when she came here she would be greeted by The outside world sends a signal that she can still be the home of Guochanglong, which will play a great role in improving her reputation and strengthening her influence.
As soon as the eldest princess arrived, Shen Ao also walked out of the workshop to the inner courtyard. When Zhu Yun reported that Duke Zhongguo had invited him to see him, the eldest princess was still a little puzzled. Normally, even if she arrived, the other party would not come if he was busy. Yes, she has long been used to this. In such a hurry today, something must have happened.
"please."
Shen Ao was quickly led by Zhu Yun to the eldest princess. He first said hello, and then the two of them sat looking at each other in the room in the inner courtyard. "Your Highness, the eldest princess, I heard that the Japanese envoys created a nine-link chain. Come to test the ministers, I wonder if this matter has been resolved?"
"Hey." Speaking of this, the eldest princess shook her head helplessly.
She has her own eye on matters in the court. She knew about the meeting the day before yesterday that morning. At first, she didn’t care about what new things a small island country could come up with. Faced with a large number of talented and intelligent officials, Courtiers, what can be done to stop them? Especially Wang Feng, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, directly boasted about Haikou, saying that he would definitely solve the Nine Links within three days.
After the eldest princess knew about it, she thought that three days was still a conservative estimate. Daqian probably delayed it intentionally to give Japan some face.
But it was not until this morning that she received a piece of news that surprised her. It had been more than two days, and the Nine Links had not been cracked yet. Not only that, some ministers had given up, and now the emperor is worried about this matter. .
Shen Ao was not an outsider, even the imperial brother valued him very much. Once asked, the eldest princess truthfully told the truth about what she had learned.
Shen Ao was not surprised to hear that it was not solved. He wanted to say that he would handle the matter. He could solve it, but it was originally something he had left over from his previous life. But he could not say that he could do it, at least not He took the initiative to ask for it. This was an opportunity for him, a good opportunity to make a request.
That is to say, Shen Ao could not take the initiative to ask for it, so Shen Ao could only find a way to lead it in another direction, "Elder Princess, the time is coming. Since the ministers in the court cannot solve it, why not mobilize the power of the people? In this world, Not all smart people are in the court."
"Folks?" Hearing Shen Ao's reminder, the eldest princess was stunned for a moment, and then her eyes filled with joy.
Seeing that the eldest princess did not refuse, Shen Ao said again: "That's right. It's just to borrow the power of the people. Think about it, if the eldest princess can find the person to unlock it among the people, it will be equivalent to helping the emperor solve a big problem. If this happens, wouldn't the emperor be very happy? The eldest princess will take the greatest credit."
"Yes, yes." The eldest princess, who had always wanted to prove her ability and solve the problem for the emperor, stood up immediately after hearing this. "Mr. Zhongguo, I still have something to do, so let's call it a day."
The eldest princess left, anxious and furious.
Shen Ao didn't mean to stop him. Although there were many smart people among the people, it was very difficult or even impossible to solve the Nine Links in just half a day. That was the time to take action on his own. Well, He was already thinking about how to make demands and conditions.
The eldest princess still has some influence among the people. With her help, some so-called talented people in Daliang City were quickly summoned. Zhuyun also took her warrant to the Hanlin Academy and took away the original copy of the Nine Links. The ministers had no objection. It was what they expected if someone was willing to take the blame. This matter was so loud that it quickly became known to everyone.
In the post house, Yamada Shinichi, the head of the envoy, also heard the news and couldn't help laughing. In his opinion, it was clear that Emperor Daqian had no choice and those ministers were also incompetent, so he turned to the wise men of the people. , want to find another shortcut. It’s just that it took the Japanese country three full years to find countless smart people to solve the Nine Links. How can it be solved by some so-called folk talents in half a day?
This was clearly a sign of seeking medical attention in a hurry. Yamada Shinichi sneered at this.
The matter quickly spread to the palace. After Yan Fu learned the news, he immediately reported the matter to Emperor Qianwen.
"The power of the people? Hey, I, the imperial sister, am really confused. If this happens, won't it be known to everyone? If I lose, won't I be laughed at?" Emperor Qianwen heard this. After speaking, not only was he unhappy, but he also shook his head angrily.
If the embarrassing thing only happens in the court, it can be reduced to a major incident. But if everyone knows about it, they can't cover it up.
He was a little angry that the eldest princess did not discuss such a big matter with him. Although the intention was good, it was easy to do bad things. Emperor Qianwen thought about calling the eldest princess to reprimand him. After all, if this matter was not stopped, , I don’t know what other mistakes will happen in the future.
Just when Emperor Qianwen was still thinking about what to say when he called the eldest princess, so that she would know the wrongness of the matter and not resent him. Yan Fu, who was standing beside him, said, "Your Majesty, I have inquired about this. The idea was not the first one that came to mind by the eldest princess, but was inspired by others."
"Huh? What's going on?" Emperor Qianwen was so smart that he quickly heard the abnormality in these words. He also became interested in the person who gave the imperial sister advice, "Tell me, who gave the advice to the emperor?" What was the eldest princess’s idea?”
"Uh...it's Duke Zhongguo." Yan Fu hesitated for a moment and then reported what he had learned.
"It's him?" Emperor Qianwen's face showed an expression of surprise at first, then he was puzzled, and then he seemed to have figured it out and laughed. "Yeah, why did I forget about him? Maybe he has thought of it. Here’s a solution. Hahaha, in this case, Yan Fu, go there yourself and see what he means.”
"No." Yan Fu had already expected such a result. So he did not leave immediately after agreeing, but asked tentatively, "Your Majesty, if Duke Zhongguo makes some demands, what will I do?"
Emperor Qianwen did not answer immediately, but after hesitating for a while, he said: "Let's reason with him first. His identity is hereditary. This is due to the emperor's great favor. If he can't convince him, he will propose If his request is not too excessive, just satisfy him as much as possible."
Yan Fu figured out what Emperor Qianwen meant and followed the order. During the period of the country's prosperity, when the eunuch chief eunuch suddenly appeared here with a group of eunuchs and several golden armor guards guarding the palace, there was a stir. Array of commotion.
The second shopkeeper Fan Bai came out to greet Yan Fu with an anxious expression. When he saw Yan Fu, he knelt down on the ground with a plop, "Little Guochanglong second shopkeeper Fan Bai pays his respects to Eunuch Yan."
Who doesn't know that although Yan Fu is just a eunuch general, he can often represent Emperor Qianwen. It is also said that his hidden power is far greater than that of the eldest princess, so it is no wonder that Fan Bai behaves like this.
"No need to be polite, let's go to the inner courtyard to talk." Looking at Guochang Longwai, so many people were looking at him, Yan Fu certainly knew that this was not the place to talk.
"No, please, Eunuch Yan." Fan Bai stood up, bent over and trotted ahead to lead the way.
In the inner courtyard, as soon as Yan Fu took his seat at the head of the table, Fan Bai knelt down again, "If I ask, Eunuch Yan, I want to find Her Royal Highness the Eldest Princess, but Her Royal Highness the Eldest Princess is not here right now. If necessary, I will send you right now." Find someone."
"No need, my father-in-law is here to see Duke Zhongguo on orders. He should be here."
