Hou Jingting laughed and said, "Brother Shen still likes to tease me."

Shen Lang asked, "Brother Hou, what brings you here?"

"I am acting on divine mandate to travel to the countries of the South China Sea."

"Oh?" Shen Lang asked in confusion, "What are you doing in the South China Sea, Inspector?"

"Brother Shen, I have no desire to speak with you unless you invite me for a drink."

Shen Lang laughed loudly, "Perfect timing, Xiao Shuai is here, let's all go for a drink together."

Xiao Yi said, "That's excellent."

The three rode their horses northward, escorted by the navy.

Upon arriving at Xiao Yi's residence, which was located on Hong Kong Island.

It was September, but Hong Kong Island was still hot and humid.

Fortunately, the trees in the backyard are lush, and it's quite cool under their shade.

“Come, Brother Hou, you are new to Guangzhou and do not know how terrible the dampness and poison are here. Drink a few sips of our unique tea first, which can dispel the dampness and poison.”

Hou Jingting took a sip, and the herbal tea turned out to be bitter and astringent.

"This tea?"

"Just drink it." Xiao Yi took a cup and drank it all in one gulp.

"Brother Chen, weren't you at the carriage? Why are you back?"

"I was also acting on God's will."

"What's the situation at Chorani?"

“With Commander Li guarding the area, there’s naturally no problem. All the merchant ships in the South China Sea will dock at Zhulian. It’s even busier there than Hong Kong Port now.” After saying that, Shen Lang’s eyes shone brightly. “His Majesty wants to advance eastward, so he summoned me back.”

"Eastward advance?" Hou Jingting was slightly taken aback. "Could it be that we intend to..."

"That's right, His Majesty wants to send someone to Japan."

"His Majesty is truly enthusiastic about overseas territories," Hou Jingting remarked.

"This time, I'm afraid I'll need to prepare quite a few ships, since Your Majesty intends to establish a Protectorate there."

"To establish a Protectorate in Fusang?" Hou Jingting asked. "Brother Shen, how long does it take to travel by boat from Hangzhou to Fusang?"

"About two months."

"Why has His Majesty suddenly decided to establish a Protectorate in Fusang?"

"Because modern medicine in the Song Dynasty has made groundbreaking progress, penicillin is now being produced in large quantities."

This means that many diseases that previously left patients with no choice but to wait for death can now be treated.

Especially viral infections during sea voyages, and viral infections in different regions.

Hou Jingting said, "What exactly is this penicillin? I've been hearing about it since the eleventh year of the Jingkang era. It's been described as miraculous, as if it were a divine medicine descended to earth."

"It was indeed like a miraculous medicine, saving many lives."

Hou Jingting couldn't help but sigh, "It must be His Majesty's wisdom that moved Heaven, allowing our Great Song Dynasty to obtain this medicine."

"Brother Hou, you are mistaken. His Majesty is the least believer in Heaven and highly praises people. Everything is determined by people. That little girl from the Qian family is a meritorious official of the Song Dynasty and has the reputation of being a female Hua Tuo."

After a moment of reflection, the group began to drink.

Shen Lang asked, "Brother Hou, why did you suddenly go to inspect the South China Sea? Could something have happened there?"

Hou Jingting smiled wryly. Wherever their Inspectorate personnel were seen, it was certain that someone had committed a crime.

"King Xu is suspected of rebellion, so I will go to Xu first on this trip."

"King Xu is so audacious!"

"So far, it's still just Qin Hui's opinion, and we don't know if it's true or not."

"Qin Hui?" Shen Lang pondered for a moment. "What's Qin Hui like in the South China Sea?"

"His Majesty is very satisfied with him."

Xiao Yi, however, disagreed: "Qin Hui is a two-faced scoundrel!"

"But it is true that a lot of paper money entered the countries in the South China Sea, and I heard that Qin Hui used money to reward childbirth in the South China Sea."

Xiao Yi scoffed, "To actually use money to encourage people to have more children is utterly insane! Why do we need children? It's for inheritance, for the enduring spirit! Qin Hui has simply defiled the traditional virtues of our Great Song Dynasty!"

Shen Lang shook his head and said, "No, Qin Hui's policies were indeed correct. In addition, penicillin is now being mass-produced, which will greatly reduce the infant mortality rate. His policies have an immediate effect on population growth."

"Didn't Your Majesty say in your 'Economic Treatise' that population is both a consumer force and a productive force, and if used properly, it will bring countless benefits to the nation?"

Shen Lang continued, "How did Qin Hui carry out these instructions?"

"Naturally, we rely on selling fruits and goods to the Song Dynasty to increase our income, and then extract a portion of that income."

Shen Lang sighed and said, "No wonder the King of Xu rebelled. Qin Hui is trying to squeeze the vassal states to death."

Shen Lang fell into deep thought. He had been thinking about what policies to use to govern Japan after he went there.

First of all, there must be very, very few Han Chinese there.

They would inevitably have to immigrate there, but the Song Dynasty was now the wealthiest country in the world, and the people were at peace and prosperous. Who would want to leave their homeland and go to such a far place?

The fact that the Han Chinese population cannot grow rapidly is a very dangerous thing.

Shen Lang already had two plans in mind.

His proposal was more incisive and even more unacceptable than Qin Hui's.

He planned to have the emperor hand over all the criminal prisoners to him, and then send them to Japan to help him reclaim wasteland.

Furthermore, he also planned to use Qin Hui's tactic: reward those who give birth to more children!

Shen Lang said, "Brother Hou, Qin Hui is indeed no good person. You must be careful on your journey."

"Don't worry, I won't confront him directly this time."

The group started chatting again.

That evening, Hou Jingting led his men to the harbor, preparing to board the ship and depart.

He saw three large cargo ships docked in the port, with huge banners on them that read: "Royal Pharmacy of the Great Song Dynasty".

I asked and found out that it contained penicillin!

Moreover, their destination was the countries of the South China Sea, with the first stop being the Xu Kingdom.

Just as Shen Lang said, but I didn't expect that penicillin could be produced in batches so quickly.

Now Qin Hui truly has divine assistance in the South China Sea.

After sailing at sea for about half a month, Hou Jingting arrived at the major port of Xu State, north of the South China Sea countries.

Upon hearing that the Censorate had arrived, Qin Hui rushed over to prepare to greet the special envoy.

"Brother Hou, it's been more than two years since we last met. I hope you've been well."

"You're too kind, Prime Minister Qin. Let's talk as we walk."

The two rode their horses, surrounded by the navy, and headed towards Qin Hui's residence.

The roads here are narrow, and even though it's the capital, it's still quite rudimentary.

However, the expressions of ordinary people on the street seemed completely different.

There was less of that excessive sense of despair, and people were walking a little faster.

These phenomena, as described in the emperor's "Economic Treatise," are among the signs of a region's impending prosperity.

"His Majesty is already aware of the matter concerning Prince Xu, but since he is a member of the imperial family, out of consideration for past relationships, His Majesty sent me here."

What are Your Majesty's instructions?

No.

"What does Brother Hou want to investigate?"

"That's easy. Let's go to the palace now to find the new king."

"A new emperor?"

"The Fifth Prince, Zhao Hong."

"His Majesty has not bestowed any title upon us; we cannot address him so casually!"

The two headed towards the palace.