Father can be an enemy to the country

By the time everything got back on track, it was already the end of winter.

Zhongshu Sheng seized the time and held a ceremony to confer the title of King of Zhou, King Zhu Zhu of Wu, on the title of King of Zhou, and the title of King of Chu, Zhu Zhenhai.

After the ceremony, it was the twelfth lunar month. In this month when tired birds returned to their nests and travelers returned to their hometowns, His Royal Highness, the only parent of the Ming Dynasty, left Nanjing by boat. There are still many things in Suzhou that have not yet been concluded. Lao Liu is also preparing to personally welcome the return of the second municipal fleet going to Nanyang.

The journey is always fast, and three days later, His Highness and his entourage arrived in Suzhou.

This time, Lao Liu received the most solemn welcome.

From the pier to the carriage house, the road is paved with loess and pure water is sprinkled on the street. Li Heng, the prefect of Suzhou, and two county magistrates led all the gentry in the city to wait at the dock before dawn. The pier was decorated with red and colorful decorations everywhere, and a band played "Yinfeng Diao" to welcome the saint.

When Zhu Zhen, the sixth son of Emperor Hongwu, the right-hand man of His Highness the Crown Prince, the guardian of the Ming Dynasty's maritime territory, the guardian of Su Songchang's town of Hangjiahu, the King of Chu and the King of the Sea, Zhu Zhen, appeared on the deck, Li Heng led a group of citizens, officials and gentry to kneel down. , in unison welcomed His Highness back to his loyal city of Suzhou.

If they were previously submissive to Lao Liu, it was probably due to force. But after personally experiencing the speed of light recovery in Suzhou, and learning that His Highness had wiped out the Fang and Chen pirates, and subdued the Bei Japanese navy, they had completely surrendered.

What's more, His Highness was granted the title of King of the Sea, taking charge of all affairs in the Ming Dynasty's maritime territories. What's even more terrible is that his palace will be built in Suzhou to guard Jiangnan for generations. After hearing the news, the wealthy officials and gentry in Suzhou were completely numb, knowing that they would never escape the clutches of Lao Liu.

Since I can't escape, of course I have to assume the most humble posture, so that His Highness can be a little more relaxed...

His Royal Highness the King of Chu slowly walked down the gangway and looked around. He saw everyone prostrate on the ground and no one dared to raise their head.

"Let's all be flat." His voice was loud and full of energy. His feet were on his own territory, and his whole body felt different.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Li Heng quickly led the crowd to thank him and stood up.

"Your Highness's palace has been cleaned up. Please go back to the palace and take a rest." Li Heng personally raised the curtain for His Highness.

"Yeah." Zhu Zhen nodded, got in the car and sat down.

The guard of honor set off slowly, and a long procession surrounded Wang Jia as he entered Suzhou City, and the city was even more lively. Under the colorful buildings one after another, Suzhou citizens crowded shoulder to shoulder, and the incense tables were placed close to each other.

They shouted "His Royal Highness is a Thousand Years Old" and knelt down in front of the incense table to worship His Highness the King of Chu. The crowds of people in the alley, as if they were welcoming immortals and Buddhas, made Lao Liu's scalp numb.

~~

"It's too much, it's too much..." As soon as he returned to Canglang Pavilion, he scolded Li Heng: "Is it necessary to be so exaggerated?"

"I'm sorry, Your Highness. The people under my command made good arrangements at the dock," Li Heng yelled at Qu, "but after entering the city, it was all done spontaneously by the people. It's not like you don't know how diverse the people of Suzhou are. Who can force them to grovel and greet the powerful?”

"Spontaneously?" Lao Liu didn't believe it.

"That's natural." Li Heng said with a smile: "When His Highness came to Suzhou at the beginning of the year, the people were unable to uncover the pot and were about to rebel. It was all thanks to His Highness's wonderful hand to bring youth back to life. Now the city of Suzhou is prosperous, and the people have jobs to do, and the wages are two or three times what they were before. Times, life is much better than before.”

"The common people understand in their hearts. They know who made them live a good life. It was not Xiaguan, the prefect of Suzhou, nor the big families, but His Highness the King of Chu!" He continued with admiration:

"Many people have memorial tablets of His Highness in their homes. It is no exaggeration to say that His Highness has given birth to Buddha in thousands of families in Suzhou City. This time I heard that His Highness has been sealed in Suzhou. Who knows how happy they will be?"

"Okay..." Zhu Zhen finally let him go and sighed: "It seems that when I return to Suzhou in the future, I have to enter the city quietly, and there is no need to beat the gong."

"Isn't this the first time His Highness has returned home after changing his seal? People will just get used to it from now on." Li Heng said with an apologetic smile.

"Yes." Zhu Zhen nodded and said to Li Heng: "I have three things to do when I return to Suzhou this time. One is to choose a location for the palace. Please help me pay attention to it."

"According to the order." Li Heng responded hurriedly and respectfully, and then asked: "Does your Highness have any request?"

"In the palace, the front and back palaces, the size and width are strictly in accordance with regulations. What kind of tricks can it have?" Zhu Zhen thought about it and said: "But you have to make the garden bigger for me. I have a lot of pets to keep. .”

"Understood." Li Heng said with a smile: "Suzhou gardens are unique, and they are perfect for raising pets."

"You watch it first, and then report it after you have found it." Zhu Zhen nodded, and then ordered: "The second thing is to see if the food stamps are still functioning normally."

"Normal, normal, of course normal." Li Heng couldn't help but smile bitterly: "I didn't expect that the food stamps launched by His Highness in an emergency would be so effective, even a little too good..."

"How do you say it?" Zhu Zhen frowned slightly.

"The people of Suzhou now not only recognize food stamps, but also give priority to copper coins and food stamps, let alone treasure notes." Li Heng hesitated and said:

"Because almost all merchants and stores give discounts to those who use food stamps... Of course this is a good thing for promoting food stamps, but the problem is that after they accept the food stamps, they never spend it again. So, a It’s a strange situation where we keep printing and they keep collecting.”

"I understand what you mean. You are saying that food stamps are in high demand now because big households need to accumulate food stamps to increase their points." Zhu Zhen said with a smile:

"You're worried that once the one-year period is up and they don't need the points anymore, a massive amount of food stamps will come out, triggering a run. Right?"

"Your Highness is wise." Li Heng nodded hurriedly and said with a grimace: "It will expire in three months. We have already released 30 million stone of food stamps. Even if we don't release any more, we The less than one million stones of grain in the reserve warehouse is far from enough to pay for it."

He didn't even dare to mention it now. It was agreed in black and white, signed and signed, that the grain for the Dyeing and Weaving Bureau was borrowed from the reserve warehouse, and Qiuli would have to pay it back.

Because at the beginning, it was said that only 200,000 dan of food stamps would be issued, but now it is a full 150 times more! Once there is a thunderstorm, none of them can run away. What's the point of worrying about the 'mere' 200,000 stone?

"Hahaha, just put your heart back in your stomach," Zhu Zhen laughed nonchalantly and said, "I have my own rules and will never cause a run!"

"Since His Highness has a clever plan, I can rest assured." He had already said that, what else could Li Heng say? He had no choice but to force a smile and not mention this, and said: "May I ask Your Highness, what is the third thing for? How about a big evaluation of merit at the expense of crime?"

"That's right." Zhu Zhen nodded and said: "In the past nine months, they have performed well, and they have made great contributions to the king. I have to give them some rewards."

Lao Liu was telling the truth. After losing the first battle, he was able to quickly reorganize the fleet and defeat the pirates with thunderous momentum. This was inseparable from the generosity of the big players... Of course, they were in exchange for points and improving their rankings.

No matter what, their contributions are real. Now that we have won, we have to give them some sweetness.