There is a home in the depths of the white clouds

That's why Annan's envoy was very honest, and he didn't say a single word that shouldn't be said!

Because Wantong led troops into the sea, they never came back, and everyone had their own speculations. Even Concubine Wan Gui of Zhaode Palace paid attention to it.

As soon as he saw Emperor Xianzong, he asked, "Is there any news about Zhongming?"

Emperor Xianzong comforted her: "He is sure of going out to sea. It's okay to spend the whole winter on the island. I heard that the island is very warm."

"What's the use of being warm?" Concubine Wan Gui's eyes turned red: "I knew it before my eyes, and he would not listen to me as soon as he left. He would go to sea as soon as he said, and there was no news from him. He... he It's my life!"

Emperor Xianzong's scalp was numb: "Don't cry, Zhen'er, he didn't leave alone, he was accompanied by so many people. I heard that he took away a lot of firearms, which is amazing!"

"Awesome fart!" Wan Zhen'er took a sip: "Can it be more powerful than the sea? I heard from the ladies from the coast that when the wind blows, the waves are higher than the city wall! Ships sailing on the sea, anything is possible Happened, what's the use of bringing more people? Feed the fish?"

Emperor Xianzong was speechless when he was asked, and at the same time secretly hated those court ladies who came from the coast, why would he tell the imperial concubine these things if he had nothing to do?

In fact, he misunderstood, those court ladies had the same status as Wan Zhen'er in the early years, so they could chat together. Now, who dares to talk to Wan Zhen'er about things along the coast?Who doesn't know that Wan Zhen'er's younger brother, Lord Wantongwan, disappeared as soon as he took his people away.

Everyone in the palace was muttering in their hearts, but they didn't dare to say it in front of the imperial concubine.

"Although the sea is big, there are islands, and there are islands with fresh water." Emperor Xianzong said consolingly: "Besides, I have also checked. It is indeed not suitable to sail on the sea in winter. It will be dangerous. After the new year, The spring is warm and the flowers are blooming, and they come back smoothly."

"Hmph!" Wan Zhen'er was unhappy.

Emperor Xianzong tried to make her happy, ordering palace operas for her, and announcing jugglers to enter the palace to make her happy.

But Wan Zhen'er couldn't be happy, even at the family banquet on New Year's Eve, she didn't smile much, and the Queen Mother Zhou felt distressed when she saw her like that: "The ancestors of the Ming Dynasty will bless them, they are all the water of my Ming Dynasty. military."

"The concubine knows, thank you Queen Mother." Anyway, what the Queen Mother said was blatantly comforting her.

But mentioning the ancestors of Ming Dynasty is to show that the royal family is also worried about the navy.

Queen Wang also took good care of Concubine Wan Gui. Knowing that she was on fire, she was given a lot of things that made her angry, such as clear fire tea, hot soup, water, etc.

At the same time, Queen Wang also took good care of the Ji family. Who would let this one of the only two princes be raised now.

On the first day of the first lunar month, another concubine was born in the harem, and she was a... daughter.

The entire Ming Dynasty also felt that the emperor was really destined for daughters. There were more than a dozen daughters, right?And all of them were raised well, but one of the sons was raised to death.

Ugh!

In Shanghai County, on New Year's Eve, the sky was dazzled, illuminating the entire night sky. It's a pity that Wu Youwei's eyes were only worried, not happy.

Wantong and the others have lost news for more than two months, almost [-] days.

Even if it's Chinese New Year, he's not in the mood.

It's just that everyone is pointing at him to live, so he still insists on arranging various matters. There are many things in the New Year, especially Wu Youwei, who is a parent official.

Last year was a waste of time, but this year is different. Wu Youwei specially established Shanghai Comprehensive College.

The division of subjects is very clear. He wants to develop in an all-round way, but the Tao Wen Academy in Beijing can't do it, because the Tao Wen Academy is in Beijing, and those people send their children to school to take the imperial examination and test for fame.

The people there are also well-informed and have a strong heart for fame.

But here is different, here is the coast, a place waiting to be opened up!

Moreover, the people here don't necessarily have to study for fame, they prefer to learn a craft from others.

This is in line with Wu Youwei's wishes.

So on the first day of the new year, he went to the wharf to worship the Goddess of the Sea. On the wharf was the Wusong Tower and the Mazu Temple.

The cement carved Mazu has all kinds of colors on it, including gold powder and silver powder.

After Wu Youwei worshiped Mazu, he went to Shanghai Comprehensive Academy, where he worshiped the sages of the past dynasties.

What he enshrines here is not only Confucius, but also Mozi, Sun Tzu, Lu Ban, etc. It is almost a hundred flowers blooming and a hundred schools of thought contending.

Looking at the sages of the past dynasties, what Wu Youwei thought in his heart was: When there is a chance, put Darwin and everything in it, that will be called the combination of Chinese and Western.

In the ninth year of Chenghua, at the end of the first month of spring, a great sacrifice to heaven and earth was held in the southern suburbs.

Renzi, Wang Yue defeated Jia Silan in Mantianling.

Sure enough, those people invaded the border during the twelfth lunar month, not to mention that they failed to reap any benefits, and were beaten to death by the Ming army at the border. Because of the cold weather, they also lost a lot after returning.

But Sutan Ali of Turfan broke Hamiwei and took it as his own.

This matter made people melancholy, Hamiwei was a little far away from Daming, and Daming's army was a little out of reach.

However, Daming was in the Chinese New Year, so it was not possible to send troops at this time, and although Hamiwei was said to be Daming's guardhouse, it was relatively independent. As a guardhouse, it paid tribute every year, which explained the problem.

The Spring Festival in Shanghai County is more and more lively every year, but although this year is also lively, it has cast a shadow on everyone's hearts because the navy has not returned.

After February 1, preparations for spring plowing began, and the construction of Shanghai County was still in full swing. Zhang Shen recruited another [-] sailors here and organized them to train.

Wu Youwei also built a weaving factory, a meat factory, a salted fish factory, etc., and vigorously developed it.

The canning factory is under construction, mainly because the sealing conditions are not very good at this time. One-fifth of the cans produced in the experiment last year were broken, but the remaining four-fifths were good!

It's just that through the sealed jar, no one knows whether it is good or bad.

Wu Youwei thought for a long time before he realized that there must be glass first!

So a memorial and a secret letter were sent to Emperor Xianzong.

To Zhang Shen, fast.

In the past two years, he also knew that Zhang Shen's connection with Jingli had never been broken, and he didn't know what he had said to Emperor Xianzong.

Then Emperor Xianzong wrote back to him.

It was the first time for Wu Youwei to have such a high-ranking pen pal. When he opened it, the first thing in it was about Wantong!

If the navy is gone, you can regroup, but if Vantone is gone, you can't!

His sister gave me a face all day long.

Wu Youwei understood that the emperor did not take the lead in Zhaode Palace.

So I ordered Wu Youwei to send a letter to his eldest sister as soon as Wantong came back, so as to ease my situation.

Of course, he also told Zhang Shen that the two would monitor each other and wait for Wantong's return.

The second thing is that the glass factory can be opened, but if the south is opened, the north will also be opened.

I know that you are selling things in the south, and you have given subsidies to the navy, and the people in the two camps have not lost a penny, I know it well.

Wu Youwei smacked his mouth, it's good that the emperor knows about it.

The third thing is to let him also take a look at the nearby Qingpu County, which seems to be very poor.

Of course, compared with the former Shanghai County, it was very rich, but compared with the current Shanghai County, it is very poor.

The fourth thing is to let him take care of the arsenal. After all, for safety reasons, the arsenal was established in Beicheng District, Shanghai County.

Before Wantong came back, Wu Youwei would have to worry about it.

Now that Emperor Xianzong knew the benefits of powerful firearms, he naturally attached importance to the arsenal. He also told Wu Youwei in a letter that the Ministry of Industry in the capital had started to build an arsenal on the mountain in the western suburbs.

Beijing cannot be compared with Shanghai County, and it is impossible to open up a large area in the prosperous capital to build an arsenal. That is unrealistic, because the arsenal not only needs to produce thermal weapons, but also has certain dangers.

The fifth thing is to let Wu Youwei do things freely, with him as the emperor as a backer, there are no taboos.

This point made Wu Youwei a little puzzled, and said to Zhang Shen who personally delivered the letter: "Isn't I free enough?"

He felt that he was already being extravagant in this day and age.

Zhang Shen said with a smile: "Wu Shidu, you are really naive. You are a Shanghai county earning a lot of money, and you are exempt from taxes. The people above want to come to you to get some oil, and they don't even have an excuse. How can you?" Willing? How many officials from the two rivers have happened to the emperor in the past two years? You have protected the world of Shanghai County and showed you your skills, and you have also given the emperor a face. You have won twice a year, let alone the ministers in the court Even the generals give you a thumbs up, saying you are this!"

He also gave a thumbs up.

"Plus, you are here to attract investment, which is not a bad word!" Zhang Shen's smile grew wider: "A lot of people are jealous! Why has there been no governor in Songjiang Mansion? The emperor is afraid that you will be suppressed. Therefore, our family guesses that the position of Fu Yin is reserved for you!"

Wu Youwei was said to be dizzy, why did Emperor Xianzong love him so much?

"Moreover, there is no Bing Jing Charcoal Respect in Songjiang Mansion in the whole world, and there are no gifts for three festivals and two birthdays... There are no congratulatory gifts." Zhang Shen held back, but he didn't hold back: "Last year you gave two black and white pearls It’s quite brilliant; this year’s New Year’s Eve is a statue of Laojun, Avalokitesvara, and a pair of red coral trees carved from top-quality suet jade. It also includes a gift from you on behalf of Master Wan. To be honest, things are very expensive, but the quantity. ..rare.

"Shanghai County is so big, there is no such thing as a treasure!" Wu Youwei curled his lips: "Didn't I also pay a tribute of a hundred sharp Japanese knives?"

"The Japanese sword is worth nothing since the great victory along the coast." Zhang Shen also imitated Wu Youwei and curled his lips: "It turns out that a Japanese sword is cheap for hundreds of taels of silver, but now? You can buy one here for ten taels of silver. , buy ten and get one free!”

Wu Youwei was amused by him: "Is it such a big discount?"

"You didn't do it!" Zhang Shen said: "What kind of discount and big promotion? After passing this village, there is no such store. There are promotions everywhere. Many businessmen came to Shanghai County. Make money!"

Land prices in Shanghai County have been rising frequently, and his house in the outer city has only laid a foundation, and many people have come to the county government to inquire about the purchase conditions.

This time, Wu Youwei opened his mouth and directly increased the price by ten times, and he didn't plan to pay in installments, all in cash!

No banknotes!

"Why don't you want bank notes?" Zhang Shen was very puzzled.

"Then you have to exchange it yourself, you need cash, and it will be easy to divide the money at that time." Wu Youwei said: "If the quality is not good, we will reject it.

Money these days is not like later generations, because it is made of metal, the content of precious metals in it is open to question.

One penny and nine pennies is one standard, and three and seven pennies is another standard.

Ninety-nine percent of pure silver can only be the silver in the official treasury, or the silver issued by the imperial household.

But after a few hands, you don't know how much you get.

So Wu Youwei has very high requirements for money, and all he wants are high-purity ones, and he doesn't accept any low-purity ones.

To a large extent, it has put an end to some people's empty-handed business, and he doesn't know it yet.

Zhang Shen sighed inwardly, Tan Hualang really didn't save face at all.

In the Qingming Festival in March, the south of the Yangtze River is misty and rainy. Many people begin to worship their ancestors. After the ancestor worship, they will go to the fields to plant rice seedlings.

Wu Youwei was an official here, and he didn't bring any spiritual tablets with him. He just put three pillars of incense and sprinkled three cups of rice wine towards his hometown in the north that day, as a memorial to his ancestors.

What he is more worried about is Wantong. It's already March and there is no news...