Chapter 228 Inspection of the East China Sea Base
"Then let's move the wedding reception earlier. The Queen and I will ride in the same carriage, so it won't delay the sacrifice." Gu Changxiao whispered to Sui Sui again, "I will lead the Black Feather Army to welcome the bride, and then let the Tuntian Army send her off, okay?"
Jinsui laughed, how did it become a military marriage?
"Okay, my students will be the flower girls." As they talked, the two looked forward to the wedding even more.
After the wedding location was determined, Jinsui no longer went to the palace before the wedding. Instead, she stayed in the academy every day, where several officials from the Ministry of Rites discussed the details of the wedding.
One of Jinsui’s main tasks is to try on the auspicious clothes.
The wedding dress was really heavy, with eight layers inside and eight layers outside. It weighed ten pounds on the head and five pounds on the waist. Jinsui felt like she was turning into an iron clothes rack. She could only stand stiffly, and her jewelry would fall off if she turned her head or bent her waist.
"Can you wear less jewelry? My neck will break if I walk all the way to the palace and perform sacrifices like this."
The nanny from the Ministry of Rites hurriedly said, "Young lady, please work hard. Let's try it out first. These are left by our ancestors. We can't change them at will. It's unlucky."
If it were in Chang'an, the nanny from the Ministry of Rites would not be so polite and gentle! How could a queen complain about the weight of her jewelry?
Of course, no queen dared to say that she wanted to make the wedding dress lighter. Everyone who came from Chang'an knew that Miss Ling was different.
Jin Sui didn't intend to make things difficult for his subordinates. The officials in the Ministry of Rites all looked worried. Gu Changxiao often had new ideas, which even Jin Sui found annoying.
How could an emperor be so concerned about all kinds of trivial matters when getting married? He even asked about what kind of incense to burn in the wedding room and the degree of burning of the earthenware dragon.
When other emperors got married, they just had to choose a person and not worry about anything else, they just had to follow the procedures of the Ministry of Rites.
The emperor has many things to do, so our future queen should do less and not cause trouble for the officials. The dress cannot be changed, so Jin Sui wears the same one every day and walks for half an hour to practice, saying that the queen needs to stand for half an hour for sacrifice.
The wedding was not far away, and men and women could not meet before the wedding. This was a rule that existed in both royal and commoner families.
In the weddings of emperors throughout the dynasties, there were very few like Gu Changxiao and Jin Sui. Many of them only saw each other's appearance on the wedding night. When the emperor was young, the empress dowager would take a look before the marriage.
But Gu Changxiao went to the academy every now and then, for many reasons: political matters such as the refugee camps or land reform, military matters such as building warships or gunpowder, agricultural matters such as expanding the planting area with new crops and grains, commercial matters such as trade with the northern border and the new sea routes as the court was preparing to open up to maritime commerce, and also wedding matters.
Not only the emperor, but also hundreds of officials came to the academy to find Jinsui. Although his majesty had returned and resumed attending court, some of the previous matters were handled by Miss Ling, and they still needed Miss Ling's advice.
The officials of the Ministry of Rites tried to stop her at first, saying that the Queen was learning the rules of etiquette and was not suitable to meet guests. Later, they couldn't stop her, they couldn't stop her at all! Jin Sui was also annoyed. Learning the rules has always been the most annoying, especially the rules of the palace, but you can't abolish them.
Either don't marry into the royal family, or if you decide to marry, you have to learn the etiquette related to the royal majesty.
That day, Gu Changxiao came to see her on horseback: "Sui Sui, do you have time? Let's go to the East China Sea."
Jin Sui pointed to the ten-jin phoenix crown on his head and said, "No time, I'm playing with it."
Gu Changxiao laughed: "Let's go quickly and come back to play with it again."
Mammy took off the Phoenix Coronet, and instantly her mind relaxed and her neck could turn. Jin Sui changed into thick leather clothes for going out, and asked curiously, "What are you going to do in the East Sea? Did something happen?"
When I arrived at the academy, I found that Yan Jiu was also here. It was his first time to come to the academy, and Chen Yunniang was introducing the academy's plan to him.
Jin Sui just realized that Yan Jiu had returned from Chang'an, and they had not met yet!
He smiled and greeted, "Hello, Master Yan."
Yan Jiu felt his heart tremble, "Master Yan, Miss Ling will no longer call me 'Jiulang' from now on."
Looking at her bright smiling face, Yan Jiu lowered his eyes, hiding his heartache, and bowed: "Miss Ling."
Jin Sui asked hurriedly, "Are you going to the East China Sea too? It looks like something big is going to happen."
Yan Jiu said softly: "Miss Ling, don't worry, nothing has happened. It's just that His Majesty wants to plan the construction of the seaport, and this important task is entrusted to the Yan family."
Gu Changxiao stepped forward and helped Jinsui onto the horse. He didn’t like seeing Yan Jiu and Suisui chatting happily, so he continued:
"After the spring, both the East China Sea Base and Mingzhou Port will rebuild their seaports and officially open to maritime trade."
Jin Sui was overjoyed: "That's great! If maritime trade prospers, the navy will also prosper." The time for starting a good life is approaching.
She suggested: "What about Minzhou Port?"
Gu Changxiao shook his head: "Minzhou Port will not be opened for the time being. I plan to open the southern seaport in three years. When the navy is not strong, opening the seaport will harm the local area."
Jin Sui nodded and said, "Indeed, without a strong navy to escort them, the coastal cities in the south will only attract exploitation by pirates and local tyrants.
But we must guard the southern islands well, send heavy troops to guard them, and install gunpowder catapults on the ships, so as not to give pirates the opportunity to harass the people along the coast."
Lifting the maritime ban was a big event. The nobles and merchants saw the extremely high profits overseas, while the common people saw more job opportunities and went to the city to find short-term jobs for a few months during the slack season.
Fishermen saw the opportunity to go out to sea and earn more money, but the imperial court had to consider the safety of coastal cities, the problem of pirates in maritime trade, and so on.
Jin Sui said before that Gu Changxiao would need more money in the future, which was what he meant. The navy was built almost from scratch, including the official warships. So at the beginning we could only open a small number of ports and control the ships going out to sea.
When the imperial court's warships are powerful enough to roam the four seas, the coastal ports can be opened and all historical problems, including daily life, can be solved.
The road to the East China Sea Base is also easy to walk. In addition to an official post station, there is also a large inn built by the Yan family. Because this area has land rented by the Yan family to grow cacti and harvest cochineal and other herbs.
This is Twelve Niang's property, but Yan Jiu and Yan Shiyi attach great importance to their sister's business, even though Yan Jiu does not care about the profits of Yanzhizhai at all, and even though Twelve Niang will not come back for the time being after marrying in Chang'an.
The two elder brothers did not think of transferring the backbone of Yanzhizhai, but instead sent more capable managers to manage Yanzhizhai for Twelve Niang. It was also to make money for Jin Suigui, because Yanzhizhai was particularly popular in Northern Xinjiang, and Jin Sui took 40% of Yanzhizhai's profits.
To her shame, she hadn't given Yanzhizhai a new recipe for a long time. As for the profits, she gave them directly to Liuyun in Northern Xinjiang as funding. Liuyun was responsible for rescuing the Han slaves in Northern Xinjiang and taking care of the caravans going to Northern Xinjiang.
When a place has an inn and a workshop, there will soon be a market, and then it will gradually develop into a small town.
Gu Changxiao didn't show it on his face, but he would ask Jin Sui from time to time: "Last time, there was no one on the road to the base. Why are there so many people now?"
Jinsui pointed at the wheat fields and said, "Some refugees came here to open up wasteland. The tomatoes and fruits grown on the sandy land here are very fragrant. The Tuntianying camp also came here to open up wasteland. Further ahead are the base's workshops and salt fields. It's prospering as more people come in."
Gu Changxiao was amazed: "It's only been a short time, and I almost don't recognize the road anymore. Sui Sui is really amazing. If Border Town is handed over to you, it will become the richest city in the world within a few years."
Jin Sui said hurriedly, "Don't praise me. This is all Cheng Yu's credit. He said that the maritime ban would be lifted sooner or later, and the East China Sea base must be developed earlier. He also arranged workshops for some in-demand overseas products here."
"Look, what they are going to build over there is a silk transit warehouse, where silk shipped from Shuzhong and Jiangnan will be transferred to the sea.
Over there is a textile workshop. They buy cotton and sheep and rabbit hair from northern Xinjiang, weave them into cloth here, and sell them overseas for huge profits.
The paper mills over there dug another reservoir. Papermaking causes serious water pollution, so sewage is not allowed to enter rivers and streams. They specially dug new ponds and diverted channels to drain sewage. Our paper doesn’t have to go too far, and Korea and Japan are willing to buy it at a high price.”
At this point, Jin Sui thought of something interesting and asked Gu Chang Xiao with a smile: "Do you know what other goods of ours Korea and Japan like?"
Seeing her smile like a little fox, Gu Changxiao was moved and asked with a smile: "Could it be Liuli?"
Jin Sui praised: "Your Majesty is very smart!"
Gu Changxiao bowed and said, "Okay, okay, it's the teacher who taught me well."
The two looked at each other and laughed. The people following them also laughed. Although they couldn't hear what His Majesty and the future queen were saying, seeing them laughing so happily was worth it even if they had to endure the cold all the way.
Only Yan Jiu glanced at Jin Sui's back from time to time, and the night when the two of them discussed the Thirty-Six Stratagems by candlelight emerged in his mind, and they made an agreement to discuss it again by candlelight on another day. Unfortunately, this agreement would never be fulfilled.
"The Koreans really like colored glass, much more than the people in the northern border. The Japanese are almost the same. Sigh, do you think that if we go to fight the Japanese in the future, will we be able to bring back a shipload of colored glass from their treasury?"
"Oh, by the way, I heard from Master Yan that Japanese pirates were plundering along the coast of Minzhou. When our navy is established, we must go to Minzhou to garrison there. I heard that sacrifices are popular there, so we must guide them as well."
Gu Changxiao nodded: "The road from land to Minzhou is difficult to travel, and the imperial court's control over Minzhou is not as strong as that of the Central Plains. If we can control Minzhou from the sea, we can also educate the people and eliminate bad habits."
"There are many epidemics in Minzhou. I plan to use the Queen's name to organize a medical team in the future to go deep into remote cities such as Minzhou and Dianzhou to spread medicine and educate the people. Do you think it's okay?"
Gu Changxiao nodded repeatedly: "The queen has the power to appoint female officials, but the female officials of the queens of all generations only manage the harem.
Suisui can definitely give female officials more power. For example, the medical team you mentioned, if it is led by a female official, the Black Feather Battalion will be there to escort the team.
Female officials receive salaries and official positions, but they only receive them from the queen, not from the court. Even the civil and military officials have no right to object."
Jin Sui's eyes lit up. Yes, if my team of female officials grows, I will have my own team that will not be involved in politics or the military and will only benefit the people. There will be no reason for the officials to object.
This way, I can do more! In addition to the medical system, there are also education, post offices, banks, and chambers of commerce. I can do everything.
Is this what a mother of a country should do? What's the point of always fighting for power in the harem? She said excitedly: "First of all, thank you, Your Majesty! However, my female officials are all very useful. Your Majesty, please don't let me take care of the trivial matters of the harem. If that happens, I would rather go back to the academy and live there for the rest of my life."
Gu Changxiao laughed: "Did I not make it clear? Is Sui Sui so tactful when asking for a promise? Then I will tell Sui Sui again, I, Jun Yanqing, only love Sui Sui in this life.
There will always be only Sui Sui in my harem. "
Jin Sui raised his hand: "High five as an oath."
Gu Changxiao immediately high-fived her three times. Jin Sui smiled and said, "It's a deal then. Your Majesty, don't worry. I won't change my mind."
Gu Changxiao's eyes narrowed instantly, he glanced at Yan Jiu sideways, and thought of King Bater who imprisoned Sui Sui in the palace of the gods.
I will not give Sui Sui a chance to change his mind, and I will not give you any chance! Still far from the East China Sea, County Magistrate Liu brought people to greet us. It was our Captain Liu. Now the East China Sea base is the size of three counties, and Captain Liu was promoted to County Magistrate Liu.
Although these two official positions belong to different systems, no one can object to His Majesty's special decree.
County Magistrate Liu felt sorry and said, "We should wait until His Majesty comes to harvest the winter cabbages."
The harvest of cabbage has shocked the people from Chang'an several times. County Magistrate Liu wants to shock Gu Changxiao as well. Jin Sui laughed: "Your Majesty already knows that cabbage is highly productive, so there is no need to see it in person."
County Magistrate Liu smiled naively. He was promoted this year, but he looked much older. The current base is much more difficult to manage than the previous Tuntianying. Our County Magistrate Liu manages it during the day and has to study by lamplight at night.
Instead of teaching a child to read like an enlightened child, he should learn to draw maps, build water conservancy projects, etc. Otherwise, he will not be able to keep up with the development!
This situation applies to all the old officials in the border town, even the former Captain Huang, now General Huang, who used to be proud of receiving the telescope as a reward from Boss Ling, but now has no mood to show off to the people of Chang'an.
When the officials from Chang'an came, he also felt a sense of crisis and regretted not studying the Thirty-Six Stratagems carefully before. Now, neither Boss Ling nor Lord Cheng could come to the military camp to teach, so he could only study on his own.
In order to avoid being outdone by the officials in Chang'an and bringing shame to His Majesty. After all, in the eyes of the officials in Chang'an, the old generals of the Black Feather Camp were all trusted by His Majesty.
This time when Gu Changxiao came to the base, in addition to checking out the harbor with Yan Jiu, he also went to see the gunpowder workshop.
Just like before, Jinsui refused to let him enter the workshop: "A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall, let alone your Majesty. I am not saying that the workshop is unsafe, but there are hidden dangers. We cannot gamble."
Seeing that Gu Changxiao still wanted to go in, she said coldly: "Don't say anything like Tianyou. What if there are spies from Prince Yu's party? How about this, if you insist on going in, I will go with you. At worst, we will be bombed together."
Gu Changxiao gave in now: "I won't go in, Sui Sui, don't be angry."
"I'm not angry! There are risks when you lead troops into battle, but that's different from this. Can you give me some more time? Once the gunpowder base's security system is complete, I will definitely let you in for a tour."
Even if you can't enter, you can still watch the catapult test throwing gunpowder. It has been performed several times for the officials in Chang'an. After each performance, the officials became much more obedient.
This time the exercise was for His Majesty, and the head of the Yan family was also present, so General Huang was very excited.
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