Traveling through the emperor, overthrowing the empress dowager at the beginning

Ye Chen now sees clearly that the aristocratic families are really trying every possible way to build up their power.

"Cai Chong, how many pirates have your Cai family recruited?"

"Your Majesty, there are about eight thousand men."

"What about the ships these pirates use? How big are they? How many soldiers can they carry?"

Ye Chen asked.

"Your Majesty, the boats used by those pirates vary in size and weight capacity."

"What are the most commonly used and largest ships like? Tell me honestly."

"The most common ships were fighting ships, which were only about ten feet long and ten feet high and could accommodate a dozen people. The largest ships were about thirty feet long and two feet high and could accommodate sixty people."

"Ok?"

Ye Chen was so angry that he laughed.

These are not pirates at all.

This is clearly a navy!

Dayu's shipbuilding industry was naturally not as good as that of later generations. He even had few large ships that could go out to sea.

A three-meter-long boat was already the limit of shipbuilding in Dayu's area.

"Cai Chong, you are a descendant of the Cai family's side branch. As a member of the Cai family, and now the governor of Jiangxia in Jingzhou, who are you loyal to, the Cai family or me?"

Ye Chen let out a long breath, then said to Cai Chong.

At this time, Ye Chen's tone became gentle.

Hearing this, Cai Chong was slightly stunned, but he could hear that Ye Chen's tone had become softer.

He carefully raised his head, looked at Ye Chen's face, and then bowed and said: "Your Majesty, although I am a descendant of the Cai family, I have been well-read in the books of sages since I was young, and I understand the principles of heaven, earth, monarch, parents and teachers."

"Of course I am loyal to Your Majesty and to Dayu!"

Hearing this, Ye Chen smiled slightly. He would not completely believe what Cai Chong said.

No matter how much you read, most people will still choose home over country.

As long as the country survives, those children from aristocratic families are willing to go through fire and water for the benefit of their family.

This is the experience Ye Chen gained after dealing with many children from aristocratic families.

However, Cai Chong's situation is indeed somewhat special. As a descendant of the Cai family's side branch, he has been able to sit on the position of Jiangxia prefect through his own efforts over the years.

Unlike the direct descendants of the Cai family, they can rise to the top without any effort.

However, such descendants of side branches do not have the same loyalty to the entire family as the direct descendants.

Therefore, it is possible to win over Ye Chen.

"Lord Cai, you are indeed a loyal minister. I have made it clear that I need you to investigate the situation of the soldiers maintained by the aristocratic families in Jiangdong."

Ye Chen said in a gentle tone: "As long as you complete my task, I will definitely entrust you with important tasks in the future.

Also, I will give you some paper and arrange for a few imperial guards to accompany you back to Jingzhou. Later, I want to do the paper business in Jingzhou, and you will be the middleman."

Upon hearing this, Cai Chong's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Your Majesty, I will definitely complete the task, but how should I expand the paper business in Jingzhou?"

"It's all up to you to decide. You can implement it in Jiangxia first."

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes.

To win over these children from aristocratic families, his method has always been to use benefits.

As a middleman in the paper business, the benefits are naturally huge.

Cai Chong is not a fool, so he can naturally guess the benefits involved.

He was then a little surprised, as he didn't expect that Ye Chen was the one who led the paper business.

This also made his loyalty to the emperor more firm.

He didn't even care that Ye Chen might have sent imperial guards around him to monitor him.

"Your Majesty, rest assured. I will do my utmost to expand this paper business. I will definitely expand it throughout Jingzhou!"

Cai Chong quickly bowed and said loudly.

"Well, go ahead. I'll have the Imperial Guards tell you the details."

Ye Chen nodded slightly, his tone still gentle.

"I thank you for your kindness!"

Cai Chong bowed heavily to the ground, then stood up and left.

After Cai Chong left, Ye Chen said calmly, "Qiu'er, did you hear everything?"

"Ah."

Shen Qiu stood up, but frowned slightly.

At this time, she was wearing a snow-white brocade dress, revealing a cool and detached temperament, but she was extremely beautiful.

"Your Majesty, is it appropriate to hand over such a large papermaking business to a child of an aristocratic family?"

Papermaking is a highly profitable business, and Shen Qiu really couldn't understand Ye Chen's operation.

"Oh, Qiu'er, if I hadn't said this, how would I have had the chance to place my people next to Cai Chong? Don't worry, I let Cai Chong be the middleman, but I didn't say I would just leave it alone."

"If he shows any signs of disloyalty, or fails to complete my mission, or tries to embezzle money through papermaking, I will make him understand the consequences of betraying me."

Ye Chen's tone was very confident.

And then he said to Shen Qiu in a gentle tone: "But Qiu'er, the people you send to monitor Cai Chong, you must carefully select them. They must be absolutely loyal and have outstanding abilities!"

"promise!"

Shen Qiu clasped his fists.

After hearing Ye Chen's words, she no longer had any doubts in her heart.