Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 848: Asking for Your Help
Seeing the emperor staring at him intently, and Chu Kuan and Hua Qi looking at him expectantly, Zhang Shou couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. It was strange to ask him to discuss such a matter - it was definitely not because he had unlocked the secret box of Emperor Taizu, but because of his suspected "overseas education" background.
Because the emperor and smart people like Ge Yong believed that his teachers must be famous scholars who had traveled overseas. Fortunately, no one asked him to find these teachers, otherwise he would really cry. Fortunately, there was Emperor Taizu as a role model, and fortunately he didn't make too many things, and many of them were achieved by the collective efforts of craftsmen, otherwise he would probably be dissected.
So, after thinking calmly for a while, he spoke again: "Are the people claiming to be the Chinese delegation still in Shanhaiwei, or have they been escorted all the way to the capital? Is the big ship still anchored at sea? Where are the other people on the ship?"
"The people have been escorted to the capital. Shanhaiwei was in turmoil for a while because of this incident. The deputy general who stayed behind even tried to figure out the intention of the superiors and planned to kill people and destroy the ship to cover up all traces. Fortunately, they gave up the idea in the end because the ship owner said that they were afraid that the sea route was too long and that there was a fleet of eight large ships coming. They had lost contact with the main team and didn't know where the main team was."
"The Shanhai Guards originally wanted to send people to the ship that is now at sea, but they are not naval forces and many of them are seasick, so they can only temporarily requisition fishermen's houses on the shore to monitor nearby. At the same time, they reported to the capital. The Zhenhai Camp and Dinghai Camp in Tianjin also received the corresponding emergency. The emperor has just summoned the three ministers of the cabinet and will send a ship immediately."
Chu Kuan said this, but in his heart he felt that the so-called lost story was not credible. The emperor also had a face full of sarcasm. Hua Qi did not comment. On the contrary, Zhang Shou's face seemed to be thoughtful. He asked, "Did Dr. Zhang think of something?"
"It's not that I have thought of anything. I just feel that Qinhuangdao, east of Shanhaiwei, has never had a dock or port built in our dynasty. Even if the ship claiming to be an envoy got separated from the main fleet at sea and drifted here, how could it be so skilled in anchoring there, and also be able to figure out the depth of the mud on the shore and land on the shore at a suitable distance?"
"That area is close to Shanhaiwei. Even desperate smugglers wouldn't take that sea route, right?"
The emperor and Chu Kuanhuaqi certainly understood his implication. If someone in their country really forged the Haidong Continental ship, why would they choose Qinhuangdao, which is adjacent to Shanhaiwei, to dock? This is simply deliberately putting their lives in the hands of others.
In comparison, although there are many patrol camps in the southeast, they are not so strict after all, so there are many small boats used for smuggling among the people.
If they landed in those small places and then claimed to be the Chinese envoys to make a big fuss, it would probably cause a much bigger commotion than in Qinhuangdao. Most Ming people would not consider Qinhuangdao as a port to go out to sea, let alone understand the geographical and hydrological conditions there. Therefore, the emperor could not help but have a very disturbing idea.
Could it be that he is really a descendant of Taizu?
The Ancient and Modern Collection also contains Taizong's handwritten notes. Emperor Taizong once said that he had heard Emperor Taizu mention many strange place names since he was a child, such as Yingchuan Pingdingshan and Runan Zhumadian. The sea area of Qinhuangdao next to Shanhaiwei is never frozen all year round, and Emperor Taizong also wrote it down, noting that he heard it from his father.
While everyone was thinking about it, the third and fourth princes also entered the main hall of the Qianqing Palace one after another. There was no doubt that it was not the third prince who ran in first, but the fourth prince. The naughty boy's face was still flushed with excitement. Obviously, he was in a very happy mood to be led by Ah Liu to run rampant in the palace again.
Especially since Ah Liu could actually carry both of them at the same time, he felt like he was going to fall down several times and screamed in fear, but now that he has come to his senses, he still feels very happy.
So, before the naughty kid could even stand still, he started yelling, "Father, what's the matter that requires you to look for the teacher and us so urgently? Even Sixth Brother, who is so powerful, is almost exhausted!"
Well, if he said a few nice words, he might have a chance to fly over the eaves and walls with Ah Liu on his back in the future. It was a pity that he was in the palace just now, so he didn't get to witness such a unique skill again...
"I am just in a hurry to find your teacher. As for you two, you are just here to listen." His son knew it himself, so the emperor issued a ban the next moment, "From now on, you shut up and don't say a word. If you say a word, I will go and copy ten pages of the book. I will never break my promise."
The Fourth Prince finally felt as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over his head. He was extremely depressed and sad. The Third Prince came in a step later and saw his Fourth Brother's expression. He couldn't help laughing for a moment and then asked in a soft voice, "Father, did something unexpected happen?"
Chu Kuan was about to say it again, but the emperor shook his hand and said, "Wait a minute, let's talk about it together when Liang Jiucheng comes."
The fourth prince curled his lips and was about to say that Eunuch Liang couldn't be so fast, but he remembered that he was under a gag order, so he could only stand there in extreme boredom. After waiting for only a moment, he heard the voice of Eunuch Liang coming from outside: "Your Majesty, Liang Jiucheng has been ordered to see you."
Hearing his father coming in, the fourth prince turned around in shock and saw that the actually not very young eunuch Liang came in calmly from outside, not alone, but dragging the reluctant Ah Liu. It was not until this moment that he suddenly realized that he was definitely not a weak eunuch buried in the pile of old papers in the ancient and modern collection library, but must be proficient in martial arts.
This time , he completely forgot the emperor's previous ban, pointed at the other party and shouted angrily: "Eunuch Liang, you are cheating! Just now I saw that Sixth Brother was working so hard on his back, and you didn't help him if you had the time!"
Liang Jiucheng didn't expect that the Fourth Prince would ask about this. He immediately laughed. After letting Ah Liu go, he said cheerfully, "Master Xiao Liu is so capable that he can easily take care of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince. What's more, it was the Emperor's order. Why should I interfere? Besides, wasn't the Fourth Prince very happy before? If I carried you on my back, you would definitely complain!"
The fourth prince was speechless, and then he heard his father's indifferent voice: "Ten pages, put it in the account."
This actually violated the ban. The Fourth Prince's scalp went numb immediately and he quickly covered his mouth.
However, when the emperor asked Chu Kuan to tell the whole story again, he unconsciously lowered his hand covering his mouth, and at the end he couldn't help but yelled: "Someone must be deliberately confusing us, father, don't be fooled!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the emperor raised two fingers to him, which was to say that he had to copy twenty pages of the book. Under normal circumstances, he would have stopped talking, but at this moment, he still mustered up the courage to say: "Father said before that if Emperor Taizu really founded a country overseas, he would come back with dignity, but this time it is not honorable!"
"I don't believe that all these things could be so coincidental! Moreover, Eunuch Chu and his men should have questioned these guys about my elder brother and second brother. How could they just treat these guys of unknown origin as envoys?"
This time, the emperor finally did not raise a third finger to refute the indignant Fourth Prince. He was silent for a while, and finally said lightly: "Because some of the so-called envoys came all the way here by carriage, and some were escorted by people sent by the Mountain and Sea Guards. They came here at full speed, and they have to travel at least six hours a day, so they should arrive in the capital in the next two days."
"There are many diplomatic missions stationed in the Huitong North and South Halls now. It's probably not appropriate to use it to receive these guys who are not sure whether they can be considered envoys. After all, their identities are questionable. If I remember correctly, the public school seems to be suspended before the New Year? Can it be vacated to accommodate these people first? Then, Zhang Qing, you take Silang out to meet this group of so-called Chinese envoys."
Seeing the Fourth Prince jumping up in joy, while the Third Prince beside him hesitated to speak, the Emperor smiled and said, "I know you want to go, Sanlang, but you are the Crown Prince, and it would be too much of an honor for them to show up now. Let's wait and see, if you can really confirm that there is a Chinese country on the other side of the sea, it won't be too late for you to show up!"
The Third Prince did not believe in the so-called Chinese envoys that suddenly appeared, so rather than wanting to come forward, he wanted to personally expose the true colors of these guys. However, since the emperor had said so, he could only nod and agree, and then looked at Zhang Shou with hope.
Knowing that he would not be able to escape from such a difficult matter, Zhang Shou could only sigh helplessly and said, "In this case, I have no choice but to do it. Alas, the New Year is coming to an end, and I had originally planned to steal some leisure time to enjoy my life. In addition, the lady in the mansion is ill, and I also wanted to accompany Yingying to show my filial piety. Now all my plans have gone to waste."
This time, it was the emperor who touched his nose in embarrassment. You know, the lady was also his aunt, and although he had sent the third and fourth princes to visit her, he had intended to go with them, but both sons were ruthlessly driven back, from Zhu Jing to Zhu Tingfang, and then to Zhu Er and Zhu Ying, all of them were driven away to do their own things, so he decided not to go and ask for a scolding.
After all, the Queen Mother used to treat him harshly and arbitrarily, while the Lady Dowager preferred to present facts and reason with sincerity, but her words often made his forehead sweat, so he didn't want to accept her advice easily.
Now he sent someone's grandson-in-law out to do such a thankless job during the first New Year's Day after his marriage. Although the lady would never complain when she saw him, the way he handled the matter alone was enough to make people criticize him!
Thinking of this, the emperor changed the subject with a straight face and said, "But the records all say that Emperor Taizu died of old age. Now these people have come to the capital. Once their identities are verified, the three university scholars mean that the excuse is that when Emperor Taizu abdicated and sailed away, he left some people behind, domesticated... well, educated the natives overseas, and then founded the country. Because he missed China, he founded the country for China."
"Wait..." Although he knew it was inappropriate, Zhang Shou couldn't help but interrupt. Denying the existence of Taizu's descendants was the only unquestionable choice for the Ming emperors and ministers who regarded themselves as the orthodox Celestial Empire. The fact that the three university scholars could think of the word "education" was definitely a sign of their quick wit.
He was even more curious about another question: "Your Majesty, is this the first time that the three Grand Secretaries learned that Emperor Taizu disappeared while he was overseas, or have you always just believed that the records in the Veritable Records were true?"
This time, it was Hua Qi who answered on behalf of the emperor.
He raised his eyebrows nonchalantly, then laughed and said, "Emperor Taizong only issued a gag order and then did a large-scale cover-up, so he couldn't hide the news at all, and those who should know it already knew it. When it came to Emperor Ruizong and the Emperor, they told many people about this because they admired Emperor Taizu. You must have heard Yingying say it, right?"
Seeing that Zhang Shou smiled as a tacit agreement, while the third and fourth princes widened their eyes, Hua Qi said slowly: "Because the emperor believes that the more people know, the more clues there may be about Emperor Taizu. Now it seems that maybe it was because too many people knew that someone took advantage of this and took advantage of the situation." In the final analysis, it was the emperor's fault!
Although this was truly despised by a minister, the people present at this time were all considered by the emperor as his own people—sons, confidants, and...half-son-in-law, so the emperor just glared at Hua Qi angrily, and then said unhappily: "So Kong, Wu, and Zhang, the three of them already knew about it."
After receiving such an answer, Zhang Shou knew that he didn't need to worry about this, but he had to ask for a clear answer to another question: "Then I want to know, if it is proven in the future that they are really descendants of Taizu, and the so-called Huaguo in Haidong Continent does exist, and they have no bad intentions, will the emperor reveal the past and admit that they are descendants of Taizu?"
Seeing Chu Kuan about to speak, the emperor suddenly sat down and patted his armrest, then said with finality: "Admit it, why not? As long as they regard Ming as their suzerain, then countries like Goryeo, Myanmar, and Annan can become vassals of Ming, so why can't China? I am very magnanimous, but the premise is that the affairs of Dalang and Erlang have nothing to do with them!"
Since the emperor had made his bottom line clear, Zhang Shou nodded readily and said, "In that case, I understand. Next time I meet the envoys, I will do my best to deal with them and convey the emperor's intentions in a timely manner. But..."
He suddenly changed his mind and said frankly: "This is a serious matter. Zhang Chen, Lu Sanlang, and Zhu Er all have their own things to do. Let's transfer Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu to help. After the New Year, one of them will marry a princess and the other will marry a princess. Since they are royal sons-in-law, if those people are really from the country founded by the descendants of Taizu, it would be a good idea for them to go."
Seeing the emperor readily agree, he glanced at the pitiful Fourth Prince and said with a smile, "Also, I would like to ask for mercy on the books that the Fourth Prince has to copy today . After all, he is also dedicated to speaking up for his ancestors and has a pure and kind heart."
Without even looking at the overjoyed Fourth Prince, he said with a smile, "Fourth Prince, why don't you hide your identity as a prince and follow me as my student? This way, it will probably be easier to see the clues. Logically speaking, someone from overseas should not know about me, a nobody who just came to Beijing last year, let alone who my students are."
