Secret ports, huge ships, large amounts of gold and silver, long-term use...

These words kept flashing in Emperor Jing's mind.

"It seems that the fourth brother has been planning for a long time. Maybe he has been thinking about going to sea for a long time."

"The news that Fang Zhengyi is investigating salt merchants in Haiyuan City and that the fourth brother is rebelling has spread among the people, right?" asked Emperor Jing.

In fact, when meeting with cabinet ministers in the warm room that day, the prince had captured the fake King of Wu and was ready to get to know him better.

It is normal for the news to spread privately.

Guo Tianyang nodded and said, "There are quite a few discussions in private."

"Well... the fact that I am in good health must be kept secret from below. I will rest in the imperial study for the next few days, just as if I have not recovered from my serious illness."

"You spread the news of the secret report...don't go through the palace."

Although Guo Tianyang was confused, he still nodded and said, "Your Majesty, shall I go and make arrangements now?"

"Well, all of you go now. Remember to be careful! Don't let the news leak out. And those two people in Taoyuan County, keep their mouths shut."

Guo Tianyang took Doctor Hu away from the imperial study.

Li Yuanzhao did not leave, but stood there hesitantly.

Emperor Jing couldn't help but smile when he saw this: "If you want to stay, then stay. I won't be attending court these days. Just rest here. You can still review the memorials. I'll accompany you."

Li Yuanzhao hesitated and asked, "Father, why did you let people pass on Lao Fang's news in secret, and not let people know that you were fine?"

"What do you think?" Emperor Jing asked, "Don't be impatient, think about it slowly."

Li Yuanzhao sat back in front of Emperor Jing and said thoughtfully, "I don't know."

"......"

Emperor Jing looked at him deeply, feeling powerless in his heart.

This beast really can't speak human language. How can a normal person have a mouth?

"I know all the properties of the princes in Beijing. The fourth prince fled overseas. He has a large amount of gold and silver, colluded with salt merchants, and was able to build huge ships thousands of miles away from the capital. If all this was done by him alone, do you think I would not know?"

Li Yuanzhao suddenly realized: "Ah! I understand, so there must be someone inside the court helping him. Lao Fang is a hidden danger. If he is allowed to return to Beijing, he might be killed! If the emperor is in good health, he will definitely protect Lao Fang. He has the opportunity to take advantage of the fact that the emperor cannot preside over the government!"

"But I don't understand how he can stop Lao Fang from returning to Beijing?"

Emperor Jing was very pleased, it seemed that his son was quite smart.

"It's very simple. First, we will frame him with a crime and then secretly send someone to kill him. With the death of a criminal, the impact of this incident can be minimized."

"Then why doesn't Father just investigate directly? You can just search openly, why make it so complicated?"

Emperor Jing patiently explained: "When I am in this position, I cannot relax at all and must tread carefully."

"The emperor and the scholars and officials share the world, and I have killed enough people before. Now the world is peaceful, and there is no evidence, so I have to rely on speculation. Rough methods will cause dissatisfaction among many nobles. Being simple and rough is easy, but in the long run, I am afraid that no one will work sincerely for me and tell me the truth."

Li Yuanzhao shook his head and sighed: "Why should I be afraid of them? At worst, I can just elect new officials."

Emperor Jing suddenly smiled, his smile somewhat helpless: "If everything in the world could be that simple, then I would have nothing to worry about."

"Why?" Li Yuanzhao was very puzzled.

"Even the scholars and officials claim to be doing good for the people. Is it wrong for the scholars and officials to be good to the people? Is it fake?"

“Haha, so when you look at a person, look at what he does, not what he says.”

"Eliminate the old noble families, re-elect officials, and new noble families will be born. Look at the families behind the officials in the court. Half of them rose from the common people. At the beginning, they were always united in purpose, but over time, they would become divided over the slightest conflict of interest."

"The nobles are inexorable. Don't waste too much energy on something that you can't accomplish."

Li Yuanzhao was speechless and lowered his head in thought.

"Okay, bring the memorial here and continue reading it. After a few days, when the news spreads among the people, we will wait and see what happens."

........

"Brother, please do some work. My waist is almost broken."

"My waist has been broken for a long time. Keep going! I will give you something delicious to eat tonight."

"Brother, my waist really hurts."

Fang Zhengyi was wearing a green shirt and a small hat, holding a piece of grass in his mouth, lying beside the flower bed.

Not far away, Lai Gou'er was sweeping the floor with a big broom and a bitter look on his face, and there were three or two servants with him.

Listening to Lai Gou'er's constant complaints, Fang Zheng got angry: "You have back pain at such a young age?! Why don't you exercise quickly? No one else is complaining, why are you the only one complaining!"

"Brother Fang! Lai Fu has done all your work these past two days. He must be tired. How about I help you for a day?" said a servant next to Lai Gou'er.

Fang Zheng curled his lips and said, "Okay, you can do it. Don't cry if you're tired. Find someone else to take over."

The little servant smiled and said, "Don't worry, Brother Fang, I will definitely do it beautifully for you. Will you tell me a story tonight?"

Fang Zheng looked up at the sky, muttering to himself.

Where did Zhou Tie and his gang of bastards go? Why haven't they come yet?

Ever since he followed Chu Youyi to the Chu family, he was assigned to the west courtyard, the second lady's yard, as a yard worker.

The second wife is also a person who cannot sit still. She spends the day outside hanging out with other noble ladies, so she is not often seen.

The second young lady didn't pay any attention to me after she came back. After all, she was just a servant. Who would care? It's not like we were filming a movie.

Fortunately, I didn’t meet that Dong Fu.

I heard that the guy stretched his leg and had a high fever and was recuperating at home. No one in the yard knew me, so I managed to get in.

He worked very hard with a group of servants, and there was always someone to help him with the work every day.

The food is not so good, but it’s better than begging. At least I have a place to live and I don’t have to worry about making money.

"What story do you want to hear?" Fang Zheng asked.

The little servant said excitedly, "Brother, I still want to hear the story of Ip Man tearing apart Batman with his bare hands last time."

"Didn't we talk about Ip Man fighting Spider-Man last time? We haven't finished yet!"

"You remembered it wrong, it was the Flash..."

Several servants started discussing the matter.

Her face was flushed and she was so excited!

Fang Zheng became impatient when he heard this: "I won't talk about this today! I'm taking my brother to dinner tonight, you guys go to bed first."

"Tsk~~" The servants scattered...

.......

I'll post two chapters first. It's a bit difficult to code. You can read the third chapter tomorrow.