Overlord's Road to Ancient Emperors

In the afternoon, Guo Fu came to ask King Shun for instructions, and asked what to do with the group of rioters caught on Shelter Island.The man has already been escorted back to South Vietnam, so he can't be locked up all the time, and he has to be given food and drink.

Li Xu suddenly remembered this, hesitated for a moment and said: "Choose a few clever people to go south with Xiao Liu, and ask them if they would like to open up wasteland in the northwest. There are many hills there, and I want to plant tea gardens." , it happens that there is a shortage of people, if you don't want to stay, we will send them to build roads first, and let them go back when the situation in Lingnan stabilizes."

Guo Fu thought about it, the business was not bad, and he only needed to give some food to work with these people, so he left happily.

Ye Changqing was drunk all night, and when he woke up, he heard that the prince gave him a lot of supplements. He pinched his thin arms and sighed: "It's just a little thinner. Don't the prince think that I'm not in good health?" ?”

He ate something casually and went to the palace. When he entered the door, he learned that the prince was in a meeting with the adults of the county guard's mansion, so he went to find Yan Chen. He had a good relationship with Yan Chen, and he healed his injury before.

Two years later, this half-sized boy has also grown up, and when he raised his face, he also looked like his great-grandfather. Seeing this, Ye Changqing couldn't help laughing and said: "I haven't seen you for a while, our little genius doctor has grown taller again."

When Yan Chen saw him coming, there was no extra expression on his face, he pointed to the seat and asked him to sit down, "Put out your hand, let me see how your body is."

Ye Changqing put his arms up, smiled and joked: "I said you are not happy at all, you keep a straight face all day, like a little old man, be careful that no girl will marry you in the future."

Yan Chen patted his wrist lightly, and said: "You are in your twenties, are you married?"

Ye Changqing couldn't stop laughing, and heard Yan Chen say: "I am young, and the patients don't want to believe me when they see me like this, so they can only calm themselves down."

Ye Changqing knew that it was not easy for him, so he stayed alone in South Vietnam, and he only wanted to inherit the Yan family's medicine. There were few people who could teach him, so he had to explore by himself.

"Don't say anything, relax, I'll take your pulse first."

Ye Changqing saw that he was frowning with a not-so-optimistic look, and his heart skipped a beat, "Why do you all think that my body is weak, that I won't live for a few more days?"

Yan Chen took the pulse for him, checked his body carefully, took a pen and paper and began to write the prescription: "Deputy General Ye's body is not weak, but it is not as healthy as before. Working all year round is consuming life. It’s okay to be young, but when you get old, you’ll be hurt all over.”

"Everyone of our generals is like this, and there is nothing we can do about it."

"I'll write you a prescription for recuperating your body. It's a secret recipe handed down in your family. Vice General Ye must drink a dose every day. Drink it for half a year and then take a look."

Ye Changqing knew that he was doing it for his own good, so he stuffed the prescription into his pocket, "Thank you, Doctor Xiaoyan, and tell the prince if you have time, lest you really treat me as a patient."

Yan Chen looked up at him and said, "My lord is concerned about you."

"I know, so this is also to reassure the prince, but this medicine...it's too troublesome to drink every day, and it's inevitable that you won't be able to take care of it if you go out."

Yan Chen took out a porcelain bottle from his medicine box and handed it to him, "This is the health-preserving pill that the lord told me to make before. It is specially reserved for you if you are sick or not."

"Oh? Everyone has it?"

"I have done a lot for the prince to reward everyone."

Ye Changqing accepted it with peace of mind, and complained in his heart: The prince is such a shrewd person, if you give this kind of thing to your subordinates, don't you want everyone to work harder to make money for him?

He laughed selfishly, Yan Chen took another look at him, thinking that only when he laughed could he still find a little shadow of his former handsomeness.

While Li Xu sent someone to help Liu Shu pack his luggage, he also looked for his entourage. In addition to picking a few people who knew the situation in Lingnan, he had to consider many things.

When Ye Changqing came over, Li Xu was writing the list. Four servants were selected from the palace to serve as his servants, and 100 people from the Kou family army had to be selected as guards. In addition, he had to ask Zhong Shuiqing to select two people who knew about farming. Go over and see what is suitable for planting over there.

"My lord, my subordinates should escort Little Eunuch Liu. Didn't you also say that you want Qin Zuxin to go there, why don't we all act together this time." Ye Changqing recommended himself.

Li Xu has some concerns, "Qin Zuxin is considered a dark chess player of the palace, and if he walks with the palace openly, his identity will not be easy to use in the future."

"The subordinates feel that the prince is worrying too much. On the surface, Qin Zuxin is the son of a craftsman who is highly valued by the prince. Isn't he always using the excuse of the palace to do things? He only said that he was traveling with the convoy of the palace this time. This is just the protection of the palace, as for the subordinates, put on a beard, so no one will recognize it."

"Then what is your identity?"

"I heard that General Kou once acted as Master Qin's bodyguard, why don't the subordinates play the role as well."

Li Xu jokingly said: "Master Qin is really rich, not to mention changing bodyguards every day, he is all first-class generals."

"Then let him set a high price for his subordinates. Recently, my subordinates have found that they are a little shy." Ye Changqing shook his sleeves, expressing that he has a breeze in his sleeves, "I moved into my new house yesterday, and found that there are too few decorations inside. It seems that the house is shabby and needs money to furnish it urgently."

Li Xu calculated Ye Changqing's salary, and felt a little sorry for him. The salary of a lieutenant general of the Navy is definitely not as good as that of the captain of the Yubayashi Army. Besides, he also spends a lot of money outside. Li Xu asked him to pay the bills himself. With Ye Changqing's character, he will not report too much.

"Then the king will give you a bonus. As for the decoration of the house, I will let Xiao Liu help you decorate it later. He is good at this."

"Little Eunuch Liu's subordinates are extremely satisfied, but they are a bit overqualified."

"It's okay, you escorted him all the way back and forth, he should repay you." After the matter was settled, Li Xu sent someone to inform that the departure was imminent, and everyone must know what their mission was this time. When they arrived in Lingnan, You have to be educated about what to do and what not to do, otherwise the failure of the mission will be small and the safety of life will be great.

Liu Shu always said that he couldn't do without the prince, but he was never cowardly when he really took the lead. He changed into a purple-red costume, wore a jade crown, and rode on horseback like a young master from a rich family.

But in the next second, he pouted and said to Li Xu aggrievedly: "My lord, do you want to think about it again, what if the servant messes things up?"

Li Xu hung him a bag on the horse's back, which was full of food, "Be confident, you grew up with this king, you have never seen anything before, the bag is full of your favorite food, early Go back early, and when you come back, the king will give you a grand welcome banquet."

A scholar died for his confidant, Liu Shu probably felt this way, he was a little eunuch, he was supposed to be named like a grass mustard, he lived his life in a lowly way, but he never expected to meet a master like Shun Wang, who never despised him and looked up to him in everything With a glance at him, it seemed that in his eyes, he was an outstanding and irreplaceable talent, how could people not be moved?

Putting a hand on Li Xu's shoulder, someone behind him approached and whispered in his ear: "Your little one is gone, are you reluctant?"

Li Xu turned his head to avoid the warm breath, raised his hand to touch his earlobe, stared at the person and said, "Where is there so much sour vinegar, enough is enough."

Kou Xiao said aggrievedly: "Look, you are so kind to your sweetheart, you even make small biscuits and jerky with your own hands, and you either yell at me or scold me, hey, I suspect that I have accidentally become a second wife."

Li Xu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Do you still eat less small biscuits and jerky? Why don't you feel like a second wife when you eat it?"

"After all, the first room is a eunuch. My second room has important uses. It's okay for you to spoil your concubine and destroy your wife."

"The more you talk, the more outrageous it is." Li Xu walked back to the palace with him, and said after entering the study: "There is something that the general needs to do."

Seeing that he was so serious, Kou Xiao also became serious, "Your Highness, it doesn't matter."

"That iron mine, it's time to bring it back."

Kou Xiao raised his brows, and his face showed a little joy, "It's time to start. Although you arranged people to trade with the other party, there are still a lot of iron ore flowing out of South Vietnam."

"Before, it was because of the wrong timing, but recently I received a report that there were differences among the tribes on the mountain. Some people wanted to move down the mountain. If possible, this king would like to exchange land with them for mines."

"What if they open their mouths like a lion? What's more, you also said that there is a disagreement, and they may not be able to reach an agreement."

"That's why the generals are needed to fuel the flames. If we really can't communicate, we can only use force to solve it."

Kou Xiao understands that it is necessary to pay attention to the etiquette first, and he is very familiar with this way, "I promise to complete the task."

There is no need to make more preparations, because the Kou family's army has been on alert to guard against the rebellion in the south of the Five Ridges before going north, and the supplies are sufficient, and they can pull out an army to set off at any time, but Kou Xiao is reluctant to part with Li Xu, which delays it by two days. sky.

When Kou Xiao left, the palace suddenly lost two talkative people, and it immediately became deserted. Li Xu took the time to accompany the little princess to the sea for two days, caught a few sea fish, touched some shell crabs, and taught the little princess Build a sandcastle and let her have fun.

When he came ashore, he met a fishing boat going out to fish for pearls, and saw a group of thin women get off the boat, wearing close-fitting underwear, walking past Li Xu with a pale complexion.

Li Xu went out this time in disguise, so no one on the pier recognized him. Seeing a woman fainted after taking a few steps, Li Xu also stopped.

Lao Qi was used to such women, so he whispered, "My lord, they are pearl girls who went to the sea to pick pearls."

Li Xu once hired women to pick tea leaves, and even made up a story. Later, I heard that there was a similar type of work in South Vietnam, that is, workers who dig pearls. They must be virgins from innocent families. Searching for shells in the water is a high-risk industry, and every time a woman goes into the sea, it is very likely that she will not be able to make it.

When Li Xu saw a steward stepping down from the boat, he directed several long-term workers to carry the boxes. When he saw the woman who had fainted on the ground, he asked someone to carry her back, and said loudly, "Tell her family not to send her here next time. I fainted a few times along the way, and we are not philanthropists."

Li Xu asked the seventh child: "How do they identify pearls? They can't just look for them, right? And why do they have to use women? Men have more lung capacity and better water quality."

Lao Qi told the truth: "Generally, there are pearl-digging girls who have gone to sea and know how to distinguish mussels. Of course, whether they can dig out pearls depends on luck. They practiced swimming since childhood, usually until the age of 13. When I started going into the sea, the longest one was able to do it for five years. Almost no one could endure it for such a long time. They either died in the sea or were exhausted, fell ill, and soaked in the water for a long time. The fertility of pearl divers is extremely poor. , it was difficult to find a husband's family, so a large number of pearl-diversing women became nuns. You know that there is a Luoxia nunnery outside our city, and it was once called a pearl nunnery.

As for why such a woman must be able to pick pearls, it is rumored that pearls are formed by the breath of the Dragon King of the Sea, and mussels have the effect of nourishing yin, so they are regarded as treasures born for women. If men pick them, they will destroy them. The aura of the pearl makes the pearl dull, and the virgin woman picks it more shiny. "

"Ha, people will believe this kind of story if you make it up." Li Xu laughed mockingly: "Then the next time you go back to pick tea leaves and exchange them for boy boys, they will say to the public that boy boys are full of yang energy, and the tea leaves picked are more effective for health, or You tell them that this Sea Dragon King is very southerly and doesn't like women, let's see if they are willing to change to men to go to the sea to pick pearls."

Of course, Li Xu was joking. After returning home, he asked someone to ask, "Which is the largest pearl dealer in South Vietnam today?"

"Going back to the prince, it's the Xie family, and the Xie family's in-laws, the Feng family."

"Go and invite the patriarchs of these two families, and say that the king invites them to drink tea." After Li Xu ordered, he entered the study, and he had to organize his thoughts.

Since the industry of pearl-digging women exists, it is impossible to suddenly disappear. In South Vietnam, patriarchy is extremely serious. Many families give birth to girls and are not even willing to raise them. However, the industry of pearl-digging women at least provides women with a chance to make money, although their results may not be good. , but all walks of life are suffering, and it is not easy for people to live.

For the time being, Li Xu has no intention of changing this status quo, everything cannot be accomplished overnight, but since pearls are so precious, they should be worth more, otherwise how can they be worthy of such a difficult way of picking.

There are a lot of pearls in the palace, a whole bead curtain, and there are more pearls in the inventory, but Li Xu knows that South Vietnam is not actually a place rich in pearls, but the south. If things go well, they can cooperate with Lingnan to do pearl business.

But thinking that these pearls were salvaged from the sea one by one by underage girls, Li Xu suddenly felt that pearls were not beautiful anymore.

Liu Shu was not around, so he brought Wu Jin back to replace him as his housekeeper. This young boy has been practicing with Ji Hanyu for more than half a year, and his work has become more and more secure.

"You go and replace all the bead curtains in the mansion with gauze curtains later, I don't see pearls these days."

Although Wu Jin was at a loss, he did not ask the reason, and complied politely.