The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

When Zhou Chu and the others arrived at the Nanjing train station platform, it was Wang Heng's first time seeing a train. He had previously participated in the construction of railways to supplement his family's income, but at that time, Wang Heng had no idea what the railway tracks were for.

At this moment, Wang Heng stared in disbelief at the steel monster before him. He couldn't understand how such a steel-cast object, which was incredibly heavy and had no horses pulling it, could run.

"What are you standing there for? Get in the car, don't keep the adults waiting."

Seeing Wang Heng's dumbfounded expression, Shen Lian offered a reminder.

Upon hearing this, Wang Heng hurriedly boarded the train.

"Ziyu, let me introduce you. This is Shen Chunfu, this is Zhang Dazhu, and this is Qi Huaiyuan."

Zhou Chu had already sat down when he saw Wang Heng walk in and introduce Shen Lian, Qi Liang, and the others to him.

"I have met you sirs."

Wang Heng was flattered and surprised.

He knew Qi Liang, who was standing in front of him. Wang Zhi had introduced him to Qi Liang. He was the eldest son of Princess Renhe, a man of noble status. He was stationed in Japan with his cousin and held a very important position in the military.

As for Shen Lian and Zhang Dazhu, Wang Heng didn't need to look at anything else; just looking at their physiques, he dared not look them in the eye, fearing that they might beat him up if they didn't like him.

"No need for formalities. Honghai and I are very close friends. We have been guarding Japan together for many years. If you need anything in the capital, you can come to me."

Qi Liang was familiar with the situation.

"Thank you, sir."

Wang Heng bowed and said.

"No need for such formalities, please sit down. Huaiyuan and Lin Bingzhen, the second son of Princess Deqing, are both on duty in Japan with Wang Honghai. However, Lin Bingzhen and Huaiyuan take turns on duty. If Huaiyuan is not in the capital, you can go to Princess Deqing's residence to find Lin Bingzhen. Of course, you can also come directly to me, or find Chunfu and Dazhu."

Zhou Chu smiled.

"This humble subject understands, thank you, sir."

After saying this, Wang Heng sat down.

The train wasn't fast, but the carriages were luxuriously decorated, the seats were relatively soft, and there were beds to rest on, so even after sitting for three or four days, none of them felt tired.

After arriving at the train station in Beijing, the group got off the train, and Zhou Chu looked at Wang Heng and Shen Lian.

"Chunfu, take Ziyu to the Northern Garrison Command to complete the formalities."

"Yes, my lord."

Shen Lian and Wang Heng said respectfully.

Zhou Chu took a horse from the official waiting at the train station, mounted it, and headed straight for the palace. Now that he was back in the capital, his first priority was naturally to report to the emperor.

"Hengqi, how was your trip to Shexian?"

Emperor Jiajing was very pleased to see Zhou Chu.

"Your Majesty, I took it upon myself to bring Wang Zhi's cousin back to the capital and plan to arrange a job for him in the Northern Garrison. Wang Zhi is very sentimental. When he and his father left for distant lands, it was his uncle's family that raised the travel expenses for them."

Zhou Chu said.

"This matter has been handled very well. Let's arrange a position as a squad leader for Wang Zhi's cousin first. If he doesn't make any mistakes and performs well after some time, we'll promote him directly to centurion."

Jiajing thought for a moment and then said.

"Your Majesty is wise."

Zhou Chu said.

"When I passed through Southern Zhili and then went to Huizhou Prefecture, I found that the entire Southern Zhili was well-governed under Lord Wang's rule, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment."

Zhou Chu continued.

“Wang Yangming is indeed a great talent. I am considering whether to recall him to the capital or let him remain in Southern Zhili.”

Upon hearing this, Jiajing hesitated for a moment.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chu remained silent. Appointing and dismissing officials was the emperor's prerogative, and Zhou Chu naturally wanted to say as little as possible in such matters.

"When Wang Yangming goes to the capital to report on his duties, I will ask him personally whether he wants to go to the capital or stay in Southern Zhili."

Jiajing did not hesitate for long. He knew very well that for ordinary officials, the choice would definitely be to go to the capital. Only by going to the capital could they advance further. Staying in Southern Zhili would mean the end of their careers as governors. Although governors were powerful regional officials with considerable authority, it was still inferior to entering the cabinet.

However, Jiajing knew Wang Yangming quite well. He was well aware that Wang Yangming might prefer to govern a region and benefit the people of that province.

Most importantly, whether it was Southern Zhili or Jiangnan Province, Jiajing needed a trustworthy person to serve as governor. Now that Yan Song had already entered the capital, although Jiajing trusted the governor of Jiangnan Province, he did not treat him like he had treated Yan Song and Wang Yangming. Instead, he simply took back the military power of Jiangnan Province. Only in this way could the direct rule of the imperial power over the local areas be guaranteed.

Southern Zhili was somewhat special, more like a small imperial court. Compared to Jiangnan Province, it clearly held more weight in Jiajing's heart, so Jiajing also hoped that Wang Yangming would continue to serve in Southern Zhili.

With Wang Yangming in charge of both military and political affairs in Southern Zhili, Jiajing did not need to worry about the problems in Southern Zhili for a short period of time. Only after Wang Yangming left office would Jiajing consider taking back the military power in Southern Zhili.

"By the way, weighing instruments, these are the seeds you mentioned. The fleet that went to Frankish territory a few days ago searched for them according to my instructions. Please check if they are correct."

As Jiajing spoke, he took out seeds of several crops from somewhere, including potatoes, corn, and sweet potatoes, as well as seeds of some other oddly shaped crops.

Zhou Chu remembered that Columbus discovered the New World more than 30 years ago, so Zhou Chu concluded that these crops already existed in Europe today.

"Oh, right, and this too, it was an unexpected bonus."

As Jiajing spoke, he took out a huge sheepskin nautical chart, which showed the location of the Americas. This was a land bestowed by God, especially the region where Argentina was located in Zhou Chu's previous life. The people could live a life of ease, and the cattle did not need to be fed. They could just be slaughtered and eaten when they grew up.

Zhou Chu had told Jiajing that the land in the Frankish region was very different from that of the Ming Dynasty, and that there might be crops that the Ming Dynasty did not have, or even more productive crops. He suggested that the fleet could search for them and bring them back to try planting.

As for the Americas, Zhou Chu didn't mention it at all because he couldn't explain it. He didn't expect these people to be so efficient, even managing to get the weekly nautical charts.

Zhou Chu looked at the nautical chart in front of him, completely captivated.

"Your Majesty, this land is a gift from Heaven to our Great Ming. Our Great Ming should prepare a fleet as soon as possible, go to this land, and completely conquer it."

Looking at the Americas on the map, Zhou Chu couldn't help but say something.

"That's exactly what I was thinking. This nautical chart is very detailed. This land looks very fertile and should rightfully belong to my Great Ming. Giving it to those barbarians in the West would be a complete waste of their talent."

Jiajing said with some deep sorrow.

"I plan to assemble a fleet to scout out this place first. Of course, we need to bring enough firearms, as we will definitely clash with those red-haired devils when we arrive. Hengqi, the ironclad warship you mentioned needs to be manufactured as soon as possible."

Jiajing looked at Zhou Chu with a face full of eagerness.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, I will urge Ruxian and others to speed up the research and development. As long as the steam engine is successfully iterated, the ironclad warship will be launched soon. I will ask them to produce a design drawing of the ironclad warship. Your Majesty can first have the people of Baoyuan Bureau manufacture the hull according to the drawing."

Zhou Chu said.

Ruxian was Hai Rui's courtesy name. Although Hai Rui and the others were only fourteen or fifteen years old, they were already serving in the Southern Garrison. Zhou Chu, as their teacher, gave them all courtesy names.

"Good, as long as we have the blueprints, I will immediately order the Baoyuan Bureau to begin construction."

The Jiajing Emperor was full of ambition.