Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 1028 Fate
Yao Chonggu was a little depressed and listless during this time.

When he first returned to China, he was full of excitement and was always waiting for the court's summons.He discovered a land overseas that was as vast as the Ming Dynasty, or even wider than the entire Ming Dynasty. He stayed in that land for a long time and even established a small base. This achievement was enough to make him famous in history. Famous forever!He was confident that with this great discovery, he could be reused by the court and achieve a greater cause. Even his relatives and friends who didn't know much about his original choice also looked at him with admiration, saying that this kid was not simple and was destined to succeed. of!

However, not long after returning to China, the news of Yang Menglong's assassination came. This terrible bad news made his heart cold.Yao Chonggu knew very well that in Daming, there were very few frontier officials like Yang Menglong who were radical in thinking, determined to forge ahead, and full of interest in expanding the territory, and there were even fewer important ministers who were interested in the overseas world!Once Yang Menglong falls, the whole world will be in chaos, and I don't know when the court will think of him and become interested in his great discoveries overseas!
Fortunately, although Yang Menglong was assassinated, Fang Yizhi gave the brave explorer great comfort. First, he arranged a report to report on him at length, so that the people in the entire Heluo and Huguang areas would know that there was such a man. My buddies conquered thousands of miles of seas and discovered a whole new world; then they invited the animals that Yao Chonggu brought back from Australia into Nanyang Zoo. The people in the family almost stepped on the threshold of his family, and everyone was full of interest in the new world he discovered, which at least made Yao Chonggu feel better.But then, when the Qing army entered the customs, half of the country was involved in the flames of war, people were devastated, thousands of miles of turmoil, Yao Chonggu was almost desperate!This momentum is about to change the dynasty!Daming is about to perish, who else has the mood to care about a new world hanging thousands of miles away!From the looks of it, Australia, which he found after suffering so much, is doomed to miss Daming!His mood became extremely bad, and he simply closed the door to thank the guests, and no one disappeared.

Fortunately, the situation soon improved. Yang Menglong, who was rumored to have been assassinated and died, returned to Nanyang with his seriously injured body. He led the Heluo army to the north and fought fiercely with the Qing army. Finally, the battle in Fengtai turned things around. 10,000+ Qing The ashes of the army were wiped out, Huang Taiji was beheaded, and the Great Ming Dynasty was saved!Yao Chonggu breathed a sigh of relief, he didn't want to wait any longer, and simply set off for the capital, hoping to meet the emperor.But this is not easy, the emperor has changed, and the world is in chaos, the court has too many things to deal with, Emperor Longwu can't wait to use it for two days, how can he have time to meet a small sea merchant!

Sigh, when will I be able to go directly to Tianting and dedicate this discovery to the emperor?Yao Chonggu was a little discouraged, why is it so difficult for me to start a career!
"My lord, my lord!" Yao Chonggu was drinking tea that day, when the housekeeper rushed over, startled him, frowned, and was about to curse, when the housekeeper spoke first: "Someone is here, come from the palace!" people!"

Yao Chonggu jumped up suddenly: "Someone is here? What are you here for?"

"Of course I'm here to invite Mr. Yao into the palace." Yao Chonggu was still in a daze when a young official strode in.Well, he is a young man with elegant and calm demeanor and a kind attitude, without the arrogance and arrogance of eunuchs, so he is comfortable to watch.The young man smiled at Yao Chonggu: "Mr. Yao, right? I heard that Mr. Yao discovered a fairyland overseas. The emperor is very interested in it. He specially invited him into the palace. He wants to hear about his experience of the fairyland. Not free?"

Yao Chonggu said repeatedly: "I'm free, I'm free, I'm so free! I'm going to take a bath and change clothes!"

The young official waved his hand and said, "No, just order casually, that's fine, the emperor doesn't have the patience to wait too long... Sir, please follow me into the palace!"

Yao Chonggu was a little apprehensive, followed this kind official into the carriage, and went straight to the Forbidden City.

Yao Da explorer originally thought that it would not be easy to meet the emperor, at least he would have to kneel outside the hall for a long time, and it would be his turn when the emperor finished handling everything, right?Unexpectedly, after arriving at the palace, the young official just let someone know, and then someone came out and brought Yao Chonggu in. The whole process was similar to visiting a good friend.Yao Chonggu was completely confused. When he entered the imperial study and saw the emperor and Yang Menglong sitting there with their legs crossed and drinking tea, with melon seeds all over the floor, he was even more confused. This... This style of painting is completely No!If it wasn't for the other party wearing a dragon robe, he would have turned around and left a long time ago - no such tricksters!
Yang Menglong greeted with a smile: "Old Yao, are you here?"

Yao Chonggu nodded stiffly, straightened his clothes, took a deep breath, took a step forward, and called, "Caomin..."

Zhu Yujian stretched out and kicked an empty chair opposite: "Sit here."

Yao Chonggu, who was about to perform the three-kneeling and nine-kowtow ceremony, suddenly froze there as if under a petrification spell, his knees trembled, he wanted to kneel but couldn't, shock, depression, helplessness... all kinds of expressions appeared on his face Scroll up and play, wonderful.After a while, he finally came back to his senses, took a deep breath, regained his composure, and bowed down with a flick of his sleeves: "Caomin Yao Chonggu..."

Zhu Yujian asked: "What kind of tea do you want to drink? Green tea or black tea? Would you like some salty and crispy melon seeds? Peanuts are also good."

Yao Chonggu froze there again, half kneeling instead of kneeling, his face flushed, almost like constipation.He has been beaten to pieces, is this the emperor?Is that the emperor on the opposite side?Why did he have the illusion of entering a restaurant!He struggled and said: "Your Majesty, this... this is not polite!"

Yang Menglong came over, pressed him hard into the chair, and said in his mouth: "Where did you come up with so much nonsense? It's not a formal occasion, so much etiquette, kneeling and kneeling every now and then, softening your bones." Just order whatever you want, you can ask for whatever tea you want, and ask the maid to bring it in, you don’t have to be polite to him at all!”

Yao Chonggu fainted immediately!
Zhu Yujian asked someone to pour a cup of tea for Yao Chonggu, and Yao Chonggu knew it when he smelled it, it was definitely the kind of high-end goods on the street that could be bought for a few taels with a hundred copper coins, this emperor is really picky!After tasting the tea and food again, the image of the emperor in his heart as aloof, sacred and inviolable suddenly shattered: melon seeds are common goods worth ten cents a catty, and pine nuts are probably bought by some unlucky eunuch who went out of the palace and fried them casually As soon as they were served, some of them were burnt; the walnut cakes were very rough, and the dim sum cookers were probably at the apprentice level, and their skills were very rough... Such a table of things is probably not worth three hundred yuan!Damn, what about the fine clothes and jade food that was agreed upon?Is this the life of an emperor?Why do you feel that life is worse than Chongzhen?
Looking at the tea and snacks in front of him, Yao Chonggu's expression became more and more weird: "The emperor usually...just eat this?"

Zhu Yujian said as a matter of course: "That's right."

Yao Chonggu said: "This... this is a little too crude."

Zhu Yujian waved his hand nonchalantly: "What is this? Sometimes I deal with state affairs late at night, and I cook noodles by myself when I'm hungry. It's enough to fill my stomach. How can I be so particular about it?"

Yao Chonggu couldn't help being moved: "The emperor is really..."

Yang Menglong interrupted: "It's too picky, isn't it?"

Yao Chonggu: "..."

Yang Menglong pointed at Zhu Yujian, and said dissatisfiedly: "The first thing our emperor did after he ascended the throne was to sell the mountain of precious ingredients in the imperial dining room and sell them for money to repair the canal. The imperial chef was swept away, leaving only twenty or thirty of the youngest ones there to support and take care of the royal family's three meals a day. The euphemistic name is: frugality! The direct result is that the food in the palace has become worse than pig food. I don’t know how many people are crowded to participate in the state banquet, now? Everyone can’t hide!”

Zhu Yujian said: "I think the meals provided by the Imperial Dining Room are pretty good..."

Yang Menglong rolled his eyes straightly: "Do you want people to see what is in your imperial dining room? Flour, rice, pickles, kimchi, noodle cakes, bacon, salted eggs... Let the manager of the imperial dining room go out to buy some fresh food every morning. The vegetables and meat are back, and it’s over! Is it plausible? Just say it if I’m afraid I’ll lose my meal, is it worth putting on such a poor look?”

Zhu Yujian snorted: "Isn't it because of you gangsters and thieves? You guys, every year, how much money the emperor gives to the emperor are choked to death, and the treasury is tightly covered. I only have so little money a year. Of course, you have to save money, otherwise if you accidentally overspend, you will starve to death!"

Yao Chonggu felt that it was necessary to interrupt the conversation between this strange couple, otherwise he might be killed as soon as he left the palace because he knew too many secrets.He cheered up, cupped his hands and asked: "I don't know what is the important thing for the emperor to call the grassroots people to Beijing?"

Zhu Yujian put down the melon seeds in his hand, and said in a brisk tone, "It's nothing serious, I just heard from Champion that you went out to explore the sea last year and found a continent overseas, right?"

Yao Chonggu immediately regained his spirits and said, "Exactly!"

Zhu Yujian asked: "How is the situation on that continent? Tell me about it."

Yao Chonggu quickly recalled what he had seen and heard in the Australian mainland, organized his vocabulary, and eloquently talked about it. As he narrated, the magnificent scenery of the Australian mainland unfolded like a scroll in front of the ruler of Ming Dynasty: the ancient wasteland The upper desert spreads wantonly, eucalyptus towers stand between the sky and the earth, koalas hide in the trees and curiously look at the people passing by under the trees; The kangaroos are bouncing forward, looking for the most delicious tender grass... All these are so novel and unheard of, which makes him fascinated leisurely.

"The iron ore in that continent is especially rich. The ore is of excellent quality, not much related to pig iron. After heating and forging, a sharp sword can be made without any effort." Yao Chonggu said, "The natives are ignorant , still living the life of slash-and-burn farming, it is a pity that there is a large amount of high-quality iron ore in the sky but they don’t know how to use it. ...The grassroots believe that the iron ore and dung in the Australian mainland are priceless treasures, if they can be used, future generations will benefit infinitely, and they are thousands of times stronger than gold and silver mines!"

Zhu Yujian didn't eat right now, tapped the table with his fingers, and asked, "In your opinion, is it possible to immigrate there?"

The answer is in the affirmative: "Yes! The natives have lived on that continent for thousands of years, and they have not died out. On the contrary, they have grown stronger. With the diligence and wisdom of our Ming people, it is easy to gain a foothold there!"

Zhu Yujian nodded in satisfaction: "Very good! Later, you sort out the information and hand it in. I plan to throw 50 prisoners there for a try. If it can survive, I will throw another [-] prisoners there!"

(End of this chapter)