Chapter 236 Emperor Showa's suspicion and his love for the strong

"So, Madam, you have already made up your mind. Then let's do as Madam wishes."

Yun Qiao hummed, then said, "I heard from Persian merchants that our Great Zhou tea is very popular overseas. I thought of contacting the Second Master. There is a tea plantation over there, so we could use the tea."

The tea grown at the ancestral home is also the Chen family's property.

If trade can be opened with Persia, not only will prices be raised, but sales will also increase.

Yun Qiao analyzed her ideas in detail with Chen Jingyan.

Chen Jingyan listened clearly and carefully.

He originally wanted to ask Yun Qiao why she suddenly knew so much.

However, Yun Qiao could hear his thoughts, and before Chen Jingyan asked, she had already thought of how to answer.

Why do you know so much?

She said that she came up with this plan after hearing what Miss Su Mo said and after she went to Yicheng for an investigation.

"Of course, I can't be sure that this is the right path to take. We can only move forward tentatively. If the path is right, we can implement it in other places. If it's not, we can stop the loss in time."

Chen Jingyan nodded.

Yun Qiao did not want this credit. Both Chen Jingyan and Emperor Showa were suspicious by nature.

If you think about it carefully, they are the ones standing at the top of the pyramid in this world. It is impossible for them to sit in this position and have power without any means.

Yun Qiao has a fatal flaw: she is soft-hearted.

She couldn't kill other people for her own benefit.

This limits her upper limit.

Like Su Mo, she is not a bad person by nature, she just wants to prove herself in this world. If she took a wrong step, that step was falling in love with Chen Jingyan. Of course, Yun Qiao is the one loved by Chen Jingyan, so she can do whatever she wants, but Su Mo is the one who is not loved by Chen Jingyan. He is nice to Su Mo just to use her to achieve his own goals.

Su Mo's intelligence and talents, which seemed very impressive in the eyes of outsiders, became weapons against her in front of Chen Jingyan.

It may not be good.

Yun Qiao was also afraid that she would appear too smart and that she would want to leave Chen Jingyan in the future.

When Chen Jingyan got tired of her, she naturally wanted to leave.

But by that time, will Chen Jingyan let her go?

Won't.

Even if he didn't love her, even if he hated her, Chen Jingyan would not let her go as long as she still had some value.

Just like Su Mo now, even though she couldn't make a gunpowder cannon barrel, she was still imprisoned in the other courtyard.

If you want to go out, I'm afraid you can't.

Previously, when Yun Qiao came into contact with Su Mo, she reminded everyone that she needed to.

Su Mo didn't listen and ended up like this, and Yun Qiao didn't care anymore.

After Yun Qiao finished speaking to Chen Jingyan, Chen Jingyan quickly arranged for people to find the three big businessmen in Yicheng, Mobei, to discuss with them and start business exchanges between Mobei and Persia.

At the same time, Chen Jingyan also arranged for someone to find Wang Dechang and asked him to ask Emperor Showa for the goods in Kyoto as soon as possible.

Kyoto, inside the Imperial Palace.

Emperor Showa was dressed formally and sat on the dragon throne. Standing in front of him were the Grand Secretary Lin Cheng, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue Bao Lei, and the Supervisor of the Ministry of Works Li Yan.

"Wang Dechang's letter from Mobei states that the trade reforms promoted by Mobei King Chen Jingyan, if successful, will add 300,000 taels of silver to the national treasury. This is a rough estimate based solely on Mobei."

"Master Lin, what do you think we should do?"

Lin Cheng was an old minister who had served the previous emperor. However, he immediately expressed his attitude when Emperor Showa ascended the throne, and even sent his thirteen-year-old daughter into the palace to be the emperor's concubine.

Lin Cheng was a Grand Secretary of the Great Zhou Dynasty. He had many students in the court, and Emperor Showa also valued him very much.

He also doted on Lin Cheng's daughter, Concubine Lin. To put it bluntly, he doted on Concubine Lin so that Lin Cheng would do things for him.

Lin Cheng bowed with both hands and stepped forward, saying, "In reply to the emperor, what the King of Mobei has done is unprecedented. He claims he can fill the national treasury with 300,000 taels of silver, but what will he do if he can't achieve that goal?"

"The King of Mobei is the emperor's cousin. The emperor is kind and will not blame him out of consideration for their feelings. But we are preparing so many supplies to send to Mobei. What if..."

Lin Cheng's words were all speculation and there was no evidence.

He even suspected that the King of Mobei was deliberately trying to obtain resources from Kyoto under the pretext of so-called economic reforms in order to expand the Mobei fiefdom.

Lin Cheng's suspicion naturally affected Emperor Showa's judgment.

He didn't say anything, but looked at the other two ministers.

Supervised by the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works.

"Lord Bao, Lord Li, what do you mean?"

Bao Lei was Lin Cheng's student, so he naturally agreed with Master Lin's opinion.

"I think what Scholar Lin said is correct. The King of Mobei has always had considerable ambitions. Now that Princess Huayang and the three children of the Marquis' Mansion are all in Mobei, it's not impossible for him to have second thoughts. However, Mobei is now covered in yellow sand, making development extremely difficult. Therefore, the King of Mobei plans to use other excuses to demand things from Kyoto."

Li Yan frowned.

Then he said, "Your Majesty, I beg to differ. Before entering the palace, I made a special trip to the Marquis's Mansion and had a long chat with the Second Master, Gu Heng."

"As for Mobei, none of our Kyoto officials have ever been there, so we absolutely cannot directly deny the King of Mobei's plan to change the situation there. I did hear Gu Heng mention a few things. Regarding the economic reforms in Mobei, it was Princess Huayang and a girl named Su Mo who worked together. Princess Huayang is a princess of the Great Zhou Dynasty. How could she possibly murder someone from her own clan?"

"I have also heard that Princess Huayang and the Empress have a very good relationship. The Empress and the Emperor are husband and wife, and the Empress's closeness to Princess Huayang shows that Princess Huayang still prioritizes the royal family."

"Moreover, Princess Huayang's trip to Mobei this time also appeased the hearts of the Mobei army."

The Mobei Army was previously a relatively loose army without military regulations. It was only after Chen Jingyan arrived that it was trained and developed into a regular army.

Emperor Showa felt that what Li Yan said was right.

"Lord Li is really thoughtful, even going to the Marquis' Mansion."

Lin Cheng and Bao Lei were obviously dissatisfied with Li Yan's words and suggestions.

Emperor Showa did not ask any more questions and let them all go.

He got up and went to the Queen Mother's palace.

The tone of his voice was full of tentative questions about Empress Dowager Chen.

Empress Dowager Chen had Buddhist beads wrapped around her wrist, twisting them intermittently.

"I don't know what the emperor means, but I can guarantee that Sanlang has no intention of rebelling against you. Your Majesty, what you should do now is not to focus on Sanlang's Mobei army. He can train a regular army in Mobei, which shows that he has the ability. You can use his abilities, but don't weaken them. I heard that the Tartars are invading again in the northeast."

The emperor said indifferently: "The Northeast is my fiefdom, the military power is in my hands, Wang Yu is my old subordinate, I trust him."

Empress Dowager Chen said nothing more.

"I'm just worried. Chen Jingyan wants to transport a large amount of cloth, ceramics, and tea from Kyoto. What exactly does he want to do?"

Emperor Showa was worried that Chen Jingyan would use these things to exchange for money and use it in his army.

There are three major areas on the border of Kyoto, namely the Northeast Army, which was the original fiefdom of Emperor Showa.

The northwest border was where Chen Jingyan was stationed in the past, and those in charge of the northwest were all his former subordinates.

Now Chen Jingyan has gone to Mobei.

Mobei is the poorest of the three places and its army is the weakest. Emperor Showa wanted to send Chen Jingyan to Mobei to invisibly weaken his influence in the army. Unexpectedly, arriving in such a barren environment actually stimulated his fighting spirit.

Princess Huayang also participated in it.

The late emperor had few sisters, and the older ones had all passed away, leaving only the youngest one, Princess Huayang.

Emperor Showa still cared about his family, and he was also well-known for his filial piety. He would go to the Empress Dowager's palace once a day, more frequently than he would go to the Queen's palace.

Everyone in the court praised Emperor Showa as the most filial.

Of course, this was the only thing Emperor Showa could offer.

His military strategy is not as good as Chen Jingyan's, and he is not half as good at using people in the court as the late emperor. If he can no longer excel, the civil and military officials in the court will have no reason to praise him.

Emperor Showa also valued his reputation as a filial son.

He definitely didn't dare to touch Princess Huayang.

Princess Huayang is his aunt after all.

The reason he said these words to Empress Dowager Chen was simply to hear what his mother thought.

Queen Mother Chen said that now is the time when there is a lack of capable soldiers. Although the Great Zhou is stronger than other countries, it is not much stronger. Otherwise, the small countries around it would not dare to invade so frequently.

"Your Majesty, the eldest and second princes are not young anymore. It's time for them to gain some experience."

Emperor Showa also wanted his two sons to go out and gain some experience.

The eldest prince is calm but lacks courage and decisiveness, while the second prince is courageous but lacks wisdom. Neither of them is the candidate for crown prince that he wants.

Emperor Showa was also very worried.

Before entering Kyoto, he also had children born to concubines and aunts in his fiefdom in the northeast, but they all seemed to be mediocre in talent.

Besides, the choice of the crown prince will naturally come from the queen.

After leaving the Empress Dowager's palace and walking towards the Ganzhou Palace, Emperor Showa asked the eunuch Lai Fu beside him.

Lai Fu bowed and said, "I dare not guess what Your Majesty means, but I think what Scholar Lin said should be correct."

"Master Lin, Chen Jingyan has offended him before, so naturally he won't say anything in support of Master Lin. I think what Li Yan said is right. After all, Wang Dechang is my man, so if he can write to me and say this, I think he can't be wrong."

"Also, Princess Huayang."

"Go to the Marquis' Mansion and invite Gu Heng into the palace. I have something to ask him..."

***

Since the beginning of autumn, Yun Qiao rarely went out. The damn Mobei weather was extremely dry in autumn. Even with the well water mixed with space water, she was like a rose that was about to dry up in the desert, wilted and without any spirit.

Seeing her condition, Chen Jingyan thought she was pregnant.

Then I was happy for a few days.

Later, when he saw Yunqiao get her period with his own eyes, he felt lost.

Yun Qiao breathed a sigh of relief.

To be honest, she felt that three children were enough and she definitely didn't want to have another one.

Chen Jingyan seemed to sense Yun Qiao's thoughts. When he was going to bed at night, he said a few words to Yun Qiao from his heart in the room.

It’s nothing more than what my grandmother said when she was alive, that she hoped she could have more children.

"My Lord, you can't just give birth to a child. Besides, you're busy right now, so where would you find the time?"

"If I am pregnant, I will give birth to the baby naturally. Don't worry about it."

Chen Jingyan hummed, tightened his grip on Yun Qiao, and whispered, "You're my only child. You should give birth to more children to repay me."

Yun Qiao smiled but said nothing.

She found a new topic and diverted the subject away from having children.

"My Lord, how is Miss Su Mosu now? She is still talented and can't always be controlled."

After all, they are fellow time travelers, so Yun Qiao still hopes that she can live a better life.

Chen Jingyan asked her, "Why do you care about Su Mo?"

"There's a rumor out there that Su Mo is the Marquis's concubine. I suspect it's true, so naturally I can't help but be concerned."

Chen Jingyan pinched Yun Qiao's chubby face.

"They're all rumors. You actually believe them."

"Once she writes down everything she knows, we'll have someone get rid of her. This woman absolutely cannot fall into Manguo's hands. Instead of worrying about her all the time, it's better to get rid of her directly."

This is the only way to give people peace of mind.

Yun Qiao's heart skipped a beat.

If, she were placed on Su Mo's body, if she were Su Mo...

Yun Qiao suddenly felt that the person next to her was so scary.

"Why are your hands so cold? Winter comes early in Mobei, and you're so afraid of the cold. What should I do?"

While he cruelly said he wanted to kill Su Mo, he also cared for her gently and considerately.

Yun Qiao suddenly didn't know whether Chen Jingyan was a good person or a bad person?

Because winter was approaching, Chen Jingyan was worried about the shortage of food and fodder in the military camp, so he was busy with this matter. Sometimes he could not return to the Yicheng Palace for half a month.

Yun Qiao was idle in the palace, but she was thinking about Su Mo.

She still went to the other courtyard.

When Yun Qiao arrived, there were two tall and strong military officers guarding outside the gate of the villa.

Yicheng is neither small nor big, but many people know about this Princess of Mobei.

"I want to go in and see Miss Su Mo. I heard that Miss Su Mo has a close relationship with the prince. I want to see what kind of woman she is. She seduced the prince so much that he didn't return to the palace for ten days or half a month."

"In reply to the princess, the prince has instructed that no one is allowed to enter..."

"What? My identity as the Princess of Mobei doesn't work, but maybe my token as Princess Huayang will work? Get out of my way."

The guard hesitated, but still stood up and opened the door.

Yun Qiao walked inside with her maid Qiu Chan.

Su Mo saw Yun Qiao coming and immediately got up from the bed. "Why are you here? I know, you came to laugh at me. I advise you not to believe everything that man says. In his heart, power and status are the most important."

Yun Qiao said briefly, "I know."

"I never longed for love from him."

"Miss Su, you are so smart and know so much, why did you fall in love with him?"