Great Imperial Merchant

In the spring of the 25th year of the Apocalypse, the Luoyu Canal, which had been excavated for 11 years, was finally completed, and the commercial roads and waterways from the south to the north were opened up, and the prosperity of Daliang has been achieved since then.

In May of the 25th year of the Apocalypse, Mu Chen ordered a southern tour to worship the sky and pray for the Luoyu Canal.

On the same day, the emperor ordered Prince Mu Yi to supervise the administration of the country, and Prince Kang Mu Jue to assist the government.

In the summer of the 25th year of Apocalypse, a group of 28 carriages slowly came out of Yongan Palace. The royal sails with black background and red letters on the carriages were solemn and solemn, demonstrating the supreme majesty of the royal family.

Prince Mu Yi, who had already tied his hair, led his younger brother Mu Wei to stand at the gate of the palace and watch the two fathers leave. Beside them, all civil and military officials bowed to the ground and sent the emperor and the king to tour the south.

This time, it is completely different from the southern tour 15 years ago.

At that time, Mu Chen and Shen Xijing would go south in a hurry. One was because the Saluo flood had endangered the lives of tens of thousands of people, and the other was because the palace was not safe. Mu Chen wanted to protect Shen Xijing and keep their eldest son. Go south with him.

The situation was rushed at that time, they were worried about floods along the way, and they were always on guard against other dangers. When they finally returned to the palace, they just took a quick walk in the south without seeing anything.

This time it was different.

Fifteen years later, they are already in their thirties, they are also the fathers of three children, and they are the supreme masters of this country.

Their southern tour this time is to witness the most correct decision they made back then.

This calm and spacious Luoyu Canal carries the longing for water of the people of Shangyu in the north, and also brings stability and prosperity to hundreds of thousands of people along the coast of Shaluo. After more than ten years of hard work, it finally brings a new prosperity to Daliang.

This time on the southern tour, Mu Chen and Shen Xijing will travel from north to south on a lucky boat.First arrive at Quzhou along the Mingchun River from Wanxi, then turn from Muze Lake to Shaluo River and return to Beijing along the Luoyu Canal.In the end, he went ashore from Wanxi and returned to Beijing by carriage.

Mu Chen and Shen Xijing also made a lot of considerations for deciding the itinerary of the southern tour in this way.

One is to visit Quzhou, the richest place in Daliang, and another is to enjoy the scenery along the Luoyu Canal and see the life of the people along the coast on the return journey.

Because they traveled by water all the way, and Mu Chen only brought the imperial guards on tour, so it was not considered mobilizing the crowd, and it was even a little low-key.

A total of five lucky boats have been prepared in Wanxi, three of them are dragon boats, and they have a majestic royal guard of honor, while the other two are just ordinary lucky boats, without any decorations, similar to many ordinary boats. The boat at home is no different.

This time, although the two of them did not bring their eldest son and second son, they brought their youngest son out.One is that he is still young, just the age for fun.Another one, he grew up in the palace since he was a child, so it's not as good as his two elder brothers who traveled with their father. Mu Chen always felt that this child was too simple-minded, and wanted him to learn more about the customs and customs of Daliang.

The world in the palace is too small, which traps all the children's imagination and curiosity.

Sure enough, on the boat, the seven-year-old rich kid couldn't control himself, and ran around like having fun.

Mu Chen usually loves him the most, fearing that he won't be used to being on the boat for the first time, so he wants to frown and ask the palace servants to be more careful, but Shen Xijing pats his hand with a smile: "Let him play, if it's really uncomfortable He will come back obediently on his own. Besides, he is already this old, who doesn't grow up through bumps and bumps, and you pamper him too much, that's why he has been like this."

If someone else said this, Mu Chen would definitely be dragged down and beaten up, but if it was Shen Xijing, it would be completely different.

Anyway, they are not in the palace at the moment, both of them have changed into ordinary clothes, Shen Xijing usually dislikes complicated clothes, and it is hot in summer, so he is only wearing a thin coat at the moment, leaning on the bed When it was time, a small piece of collarbone happened to be exposed.

Mu Chen looked back at him, and he couldn't make a mistake with just one glance.

This person, from when he was a teenager to now, has never felt bored.

What's more, even when their age has passed and their youth is no longer, he is still moved by him.

Seeing him staring at him in a daze, Shen Xijing couldn't help laughing and said, "What are you talking about, you've been watching it for decades."

Mu Chen shook his head and smiled, walked to the door and looked at his youngest son outside, then closed the door and locked it thoughtfully.

Shen Xijing immediately sat up straight and glared at him: "Your Majesty, in the blue sky...you are..."

At this time, the dragon boat they were on was anchoring, and the whole cabin was shaking slightly left and right, only to hear the third prince Mu Bin shouting excitedly in the corridor, and the little palace man following him was running fast behind him.

For a while, the sounds of boats, water, and children's laughter could be heard endlessly, but Mu Chen felt that he couldn't hear them.

Only Shen Xijing's phrase "blue sky and white sun" particularly touched his heart. Mu Chen was never a person who would wrong himself, and in his capacity, there was no need to wrong himself at all.

For two old men, he knew what he was going to say with just one look at Shen Xijing, let alone those things in the bedroom.Seeing him like this now, I couldn't help being moved, so I shrank back into the bed: "Be careful, my son will come back later."

Mu Chen walked over to hold his feet without socks, and sat down beside him: "No, your supervisor knows that I have closed the door."

"..." Shen Xijing was speechless, so he pushed him on the bed and tore off his coat.

Although Jiang Xingshui had seen this a lot, they were not young anymore. In broad daylight, they had just boarded the boat and were going on a southern tour, and then... doing this kind of thing again, I still feel a little embarrassed.

But Mu Chen is a man of action, he didn't give him any time to hesitate, and took him into another splendid world in just a moment.

Therefore, Tianqi's 25-year southern tour kicked off in a rickety and shimmering environment.

The dragon boat they were on was very big, more than twice the size of a normal lucky boat. Once the anchor was lifted and the boat was sailed, the boat was as smooth as walking on flat ground when the weather was calm.

After Xiao Fugui got used to the life on the boat, he started his own treasure hunting journey.

Because the two fathers often locked themselves in the house, Xiao Fugui dragged Xiao Shao, the little palace attendant who was close to him, to run across the boat with him. The palace lady was only twelve or thirteen years old, not much older than the prince.

Although he entered the palace and was disciplined by his elder brothers for a long time, he was still a child in private.He has a simple mind and can play with Mu Bin. Shen Xijing pointed him to Mu Bin after seeing the child's behavior, and let him serve the third prince all the time.

Xiao Shao is young and honest, but he also keeps the rules of the palace in mind. Whenever the Third Highness does anything wrong, he can always be caught and told Liuyun, the steward, so the poor Third Highness always plays tricks. They were all caught by Shen Xijing, always bemoaning his bad luck, but never doubting the servants around him.

As a prince, it's really rare for him to be like this.Shen Xijing and Mu Chen also lamented that the third son is a simple-minded person. If he was born in an ordinary wealthy family, he would have a good temper, but they are not ordinary people after all.

When they came out this time, they also wanted their son to learn more and see more, so that his mind will stabilize in the future.They don't expect him to be proficient in all aspects of poetry, books and etiquette, nor do they expect him to be smart and capable to assist his brother in the future, they just want him to be an idle prince, happy and harmonious for a lifetime.But the premise is that he can't be so stupid as to be cheated and betrayed by the people around him without knowing it.

In the afternoon of this day, the emperor and Jun Wu took a rest, and after washing up, they remembered their son, so they asked Jiang Xingshui to ask.

Jiang Xingshui replied: "The Third Highness led people to watch in the cabin below, the little one didn't stop him, and let Liu Yun follow."

Shen Xijing nodded and waved him out.

"That kid, I've been very curious about this boat recently. Most likely it's because I saw how the boatmen sailed." Shen Xijing helped Mu Chen tie his hair, and when he got up, he sat down on the same seat again, waiting for him to tie his hair. .

At this year, they are also 35-[-] years old. Although the country is peaceful and peaceful, Mu Chen works hard every day and has sporadic hair early.Shen Xijing didn't worry as much as he did, but he also had to take care of things inside and outside the palace. He had less gray hair than him, but there were traces to follow.

Mu Chen helped him to smooth out his hair, and when he saw a white hair, he couldn't help sighing: "Xi Jing, if you were let out of the palace back then, maybe it wouldn't be so hard."

Shen Xijing was taken aback for a moment, he didn't look up, he just looked at the expression of the person behind him through the bronze mirror.

Speaking of hard work, Mu Chen is actually the hardest one.

He has been on the throne for 25 years, adding up to more than 9000 days and nights.In these years, apart from his own Longevity Day, children's and Shen Xijing's birthdays, and Shen Xijing's bedtime illness, he never stopped going to court without a reason.

Before the crown prince tied his hair this year, he and Shen Xijing were the ones who approved all the state affairs and all the memorials in Zhu.Although there are six ministries co-assisting with the left and right ministers, and there is also Prince Kang assisting the government, but the girder is too big, and there are too many things that happen every day. This huge country is governed by a dozen of them.

Now that the prince has tied his hair, he is indeed alert and eager to learn. He and Shen Xijing have been leading him and Shen Xijing to deal with political affairs early on. Now that they are old, they have relaxed a bit and are no longer so tired.

"Achen, what are you talking about?" Shen Xijing said after a moment of silence.

Mu Chen sighed, fixed his hair with a wooden hairpin, and then took the hair crown: "Everyone wants to sit on the dragon chair, but why is the dragon chair so easy to sit on? All these years, you are pregnant with a child and still want to sit with me." It’s hard for you to go to court early.”

Hearing him talking about this, Shen Xijing smiled and shook his head: "You, how old are you, and now you are talking about this again. If I left the palace back then, I would not know how to make a living in the future, and maybe I would spend my whole life doing nothing. I don’t have enough clothing or warmth, no place to live, and no family to support me, let alone a lover who is with me every day, and a cute and sensible child. Now I am the emperor under the beam and above the tens of thousands. Except for you, anyone else When people see me, they will kneel down and call me king. When we are worshiped by others, we should try our best to give the people the best life. Ah Chen, I feel happy and satisfied to be able to do these things for the people.”

After he finished speaking, he paused: "Achen, thank you for giving me such an opportunity, so that what I learned when I was young is not in vain."