But Li Dan didn't care at all, and just one sentence made Yan Siqi speechless.

"If His Majesty wanted to kill us, would he have summoned us to the capital, sullying his holy name and tainting his golden hands?"

The old guy is smarter than a monkey. I have been thinking about this truth for a long time. It was only after my good brother Yang Tiansheng’s persuasion and explanation that I understood it.

Old ginger is still spicy!

Yan Siqi couldn't help but admire him. He saw through the truth at a glance and resolutely went to Beijing without delay. No wonder he became a giant on the sea. This was no fluke.

But we also have an advantage, we are young. How long can you, an old guy, jump around?

Yan Siqi consoled himself, and along the way, he had put away a lot of his hostility. There was no point in arguing now, he would talk about it after he saw the emperor.

Looking at the city of Beijing, Li Dan was also very excited. This was a situation he had never imagined in his dreams!

I’m getting old. What I want to go back to most is my hometown, where maybe a few relatives are still alive, and maybe I can see my childhood playmates…

His eyes were a little moist, Li Dan shrank back into the car and quietly wiped the corners of his eyes.

But this little action was seen by Yan Siqi. He didn't feel comfortable criticizing him in public, but curled his lips and thought to himself: Hey, he's even crying. What a loser.

Wu Zheng, the envoy sent to Japan, was also very emotional when he saw the capital again.

As the son of a Tongzhou merchant, who would have thought that he would become an envoy of the country, sailing through the waves to Japan thousands of miles away?

Moreover, he was already an official, which was considered a great honor for the Wu family. This mission had also gone smoothly, and he would surely receive the emperor's praise, and a promotion to the next level was very possible!

When everyone entered the capital, Yan Siqi's eyes were not enough. He looked around, and everything was new and interesting.

The same was true for Li Dan. It was his first time seeing the capital city, which was far superior to his hometown of Quanzhou.

"You two will rest at the inn for the time being." Wu Zheng took them to the inn and settled them in. Then he bowed and said goodbye. "I will let you know when I can see you again after I hand over my duties. Or I can take you to visit the capital and let you experience its charm."

"Please do as you please, Lord Wu." Li Dan and Yan Siqi bowed in return, saw Wu Zheng off, and waited obediently at the inn.

………………

Palace of Heavenly Purity.

After reading the memorial from Fujian Governor Nan Juyi, Zhu Youjiao let out a long sigh.

The garrison in Penghu had already been completed. In order to demonstrate his ability, Nan Juyi also ordered the garrison to build houses, cultivate land, and develop fisheries on the island as a means of long-term stability.

With Penghu as a springboard (45 kilometers east of Taiwan), reaching Dongfan was no longer too difficult. According to the secret order, Nan Juyi had completed the task of landing and garrisoning troops on the island.

After the "Longqing Opening", although Dongfan had increasingly close exchanges with the mainland, it was still a barren land.

At that time, there were nearly a hundred ships coming to Dongfan every year for trade and fishing.

In "Keelung" (northern Taiwan), there are also many mainlanders living here, but most of them are fishermen and business travelers who are temporarily staying here, and there are almost no permanent residents.

According to what was written on the title page, the officers and soldiers landed at "Beigang" (a common name for the western coast of Taiwan), demarcated a boundary with the local indigenous people, and no conflict occurred.

Although two boats sank when they landed, they were close to the shore and most of the people who fell into the water were rescued. After landing, the officers and soldiers had already started to build houses and reclaim wasteland.

Overall, Zhu Youxiao's arrangements were implemented smoothly.

But this is just the beginning. It will take about half a year for the farming to produce a harvest. During this period, the food and supplies will have to be supplied by Fujian, and the logistical pressure is not small.

No matter how much you spend now or what price you pay, it will be priceless in the future.

Zhu Youxiao wrote a memorial to Nan Juyi, urging him to first continue exploring the waterway and familiarize himself with wind direction patterns; second, to build large ships, both to ensure the safety of future immigration to Taiwan.

Secondly, Zhu Youxiao also told Nan Juyi that he could hire sea merchants to carry out transportation in the future. After all, sea merchants have larger ships and more experience in sailing on the high seas.

As for funding, Nan Juyi still had several tens of thousands of taels of silver left, and with the money intercepted by the Xiamen Customs, they should be able to get through this year.

After reviewing Nan Juyi's memorial, Zhu Youxiao took the memorial from Hu Yingtai, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, and began to review it quickly.

Hu Yingtai reported: The cannons ordered from the Macau artillery factory have been shipped to Chongming according to Zhu Youxiao's order; the shipyard and artillery factory have already started operations and hired Portuguese technicians. The required expenses should be withheld from the customs taxes.

In addition to approving the request, Zhu Youxiao also ordered Hu Yingtai to send people to develop Qiongzhou Prefecture or relocate people from Fujian, Guangxi, Guangdong and other places.

Zhu Youxiao was not completely sure that the Ming Dynasty had already shown signs of a "Malthusian trap".

At least, Taiwan and Hainan have not yet been fully developed, and can still support a population of at least a million. After the Jiannu are defeated, the black soil and the Great Northern Wilderness will be able to support tens of millions more.

Therefore, the potential is still there, but it just needs to be further explored.

After reviewing the memorial, Zhu Youxiao rubbed his slightly sore eyes, stood up and stretched his arms and legs in the hall.

Zhang Yuer also finished practicing calligraphy. Seeing that the cat was sleeping, she went to serve tea and water, and tidied up the exercise books on the table.

Zhu Youxiao strolled casually to the large globe in the corner of the hall, reached out and fiddled with it, looking at this miniature world.

"Your Majesty—" Zhang Yuer came over, her face full of curiosity.

Hmm! Zhu Youxiao raised his eyebrows and pointed his finger to stop the spinning globe.

"That—" Zhang Yu'er pointed at the globe, blinked her eyes, and asked curiously, "Your Majesty, are you saying that we all live on this big ball?"

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said with a smile, "The place we live in is tens or even millions of times bigger than this. This is just a smaller model."

Zhang Yuer unconsciously flicked her fingers in the air twice and continued, "The Emperor also said that the ball is rotating. Because it rotates, there are day and night, spring, summer, autumn and winter."

"That's right!" Zhu Youxiao pulled out the globe and said, "This is called rotation. It also revolves around the sun!"

Zhang Yu'er's expression became even more bewildered, her long eyelashes fluttering as she stared at the spinning globe. After a long pause, she said, "Your Majesty, what if we all turn headfirst into the ground while it's spinning? Won't we all fall off?"

"Hmm, oh," the girl rolled her eyes, as if imagining the scene of a person living upside down, or the horror of falling out of a big ball, and muttered, "Where will it fall? I can't figure it out."

Zhu Youxiao laughed heartily. This question was not easy to explain clearly. What was rotation and revolution, what was universal gravitation? Even Newton hadn't figured it out yet!

Zhang Yuer looked at the laughing emperor and felt that she was too stupid, or she was thinking too much.

Zhu Youxiao was just about to say a few words to get rid of the curious girl when a palace maid came in to report that Wu Zheng, who was on a diplomatic mission to Japan, had reported to the Ministry of Rites and was waiting to be summoned.

You're back, and you came back pretty quickly. It seems that everything went smoothly.

"As for the problem of the big head rushing down and falling, I will explain it to you in detail when I have time." Zhu Youxiao smiled and stretched out his hand to pinch Zhang Yuer's face, and ordered the palace people to summon Wu Zheng.

…………