Chapter 1007: Shock

The next day, after the morning court session ended, Zhou Shuren was stopped by a familiar eunuch. He followed the eunuch consciously and got used to the jealous looks of several university scholars behind him.

The eunuch is doing well now. He is well-dressed and has grown a lot taller. He lowered his voice and said, "The emperor is in a good mood today."

He heard the emperor's laughter this morning. Although he didn't know what good news it was, this news was enough.

Zhou Shuren had mixed feelings. At first, he just saw the other person as a child. Of course, he didn't have such deep ancient concepts in his mind, so he didn't treat the eunuch with a lecherous or contemptuous look. The eunuch would give him some news from time to time. "Thank you."

The eunuch grinned. He also led other adults through the streets, but no one said thank you to these low-ranking eunuchs. Eyes could not lie.

Inside the Zheng Palace, the Emperor was drinking hot tea, his brows were relaxed, and he was in a good mood indeed. "Shu Ren, come and sit down."

Zhou Shuren stood up with a somewhat stiff movement. He used to call her "my dear" all the time, but now when she called him by his name, he felt inexplicably uneasy.

Zhou Shuren was alert, but still sat down obediently.

Eunuch Liu had already handed over some hot tea. Zhou Shuren took it with both hands. He didn't find it cold at all. He drank two sips and stopped. "Your Majesty, is there anything you want to tell me?"

For the first time in all these years, the emperor felt so relieved. The Qi family had become obedient, the Feng family had fallen, and the Chen family had also gained a lot of power. The burden that had been weighing on his heart for many years had finally been lifted. "It's the end of the year now, and there's nothing important to do in the court. I haven't chatted with you for a long time, so let's chat today."

Zhou Shuren rolled his eyes in his heart, have you forgotten that you deliberately delayed the morning court these days because you were jealous of him?

Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "Indeed, I will be able to take a rest in a few days."

The emperor hummed and put down the teacup in his hand, "I heard that your second son is back?"

He was also particularly generous, giving away many gemstones of various colors, and he kept a lot of them for himself. He also brought back a lot of gold jewelry, which made him miss it very much.

Domestic merchants can indeed make a lot of money by going abroad to do business, but it is impossible to bring back so many high-quality gemstones at one time. No one is a fool who can be fooled into giving away gemstones.

Zhou Shuren sighed, and then looked distressed, "My kid likes to acquire businesses. My original intention was to go abroad to broaden his horizons, but he bought land and even had the guts to contract a mountain. Now he has been targeted by a group of local gangsters and has had several conflicts with the locals."

Zhou Shuren explained the matter to the Emperor in detail, unlike the simple explanation he gave to his wife. Going abroad is dangerous, and if you don't have enough force, you will really be massacred, so he had to make this clear to the Emperor.

The emperor listened very seriously, "Your second son is not good at studying, but he is smart like you, and he knows how to unite with the locals."

Zhou Shuren wanted to say that he was really not like him, but he had brought him up well. "This child is very courageous. I saw the knife wound yesterday and couldn't sleep all night."

He did toss and turn and couldn't sleep, but he was not worried. His son had already returned, so he would not worry about what had already happened. What he was thinking about was how to fill in the framework that his son had worked hard for so that he would not be reaped the fruits of his labor in the future.

The emperor asked again: "Did your second son bring back friends?"

"yes."

Afterwards, Zhou Shuren introduced his son's friend Ba Hu. Zhou Shuren did not hide the purpose of his visit, which was to conduct an inspection.

The emperor was silent. Among the Zhou family's sons, he only paid attention to Zhou Changlian. These days, he has also been paying attention to Zhou Changzhi because the provincial examination will be held next year and he wants to see what kind of results the most studious child of the Zhou family can achieve.

He hadn't expected that the two white-bodies whom he had never paid attention to were actually capable. He stroked his beard and thought that with Zhou Shuren as a father, there was nothing surprising about it.

Changyi did not go to Zhou's house today. He stayed at home and talked with his mother. As for the guests he brought back, they are still resting because it is too cold outside and they need a few days to adapt.

Zhulan fell silent as she listened to her son speaking several languages. "I heard from the Xu family that you have a great talent for languages. Now I believe it."

This is not high at all, it's simply a genius. Anyway, she suffered a lot when she first learned it.

Chang Yi is still very proud. "In fact, my son has found some rules. Once he finds them, he will be much more willing to learn."

Zhulan was extremely envious. It would be great if she had such a high talent for languages. "That would be amazing."

Changyi rarely saw his mother looking hurt, and the smile on his face deepened. Home was still the best place. Even if a nice house was built abroad, it was still not home.

Zhulan calmed down and said, "Now we are implementing the occupation permit for foreigners. Although some foreigners have left, there are still many. I heard that many people are learning foreign languages."

In the beginning, it was for the convenience of communication among merchants. Later, with daily interactions, some officials in contact with maritime trade would learn it, and some far-sighted ones would require their own children to learn it.

Because everyone knows that the Imperial Navy was not only built, but also invested a lot of money. This is to firmly develop maritime trade. The better it develops, the more countries it contacts, and diplomacy becomes very important, and language communication becomes very important.

Inside the palace, the emperor waited for Zhou Shuren to finish his words, "You mean, your son knows three foreign languages? If I remember correctly, he has only been away for a year."

Zhou Shuren said: "I dare not lie to the emperor. My son is very talented in languages. These three languages ​​are the most widely used."

The emperor was thinking. In the past few years, he had also met envoys from some countries. The language was really difficult. He had to guess the Chinese language of the other party with body language. The translators on his side were all officials from the Maritime Affairs Department. They were skilled, but few of them could speak several languages. This required talent.

Zhou Shuren saw that the emperor was silent in deep thought. Even if the emperor did not keep him today, he would find a way to let the prince know how great Chang Yi's language talent is.

When Chang Yi was studying with the Xu family, he knew that he had talent and learned very quickly, so he considered taking advantage of this aspect. Unexpectedly, Chang Yi gave him a big surprise. He thought that learning only one subject was very painful, and this kid learned several subjects in a short time. Although they were not too profound, they were enough for him to use.

Zhou Shuren's calculations were in full swing, and now he had even more to plan.

The emperor narrowed his eyes and said, "I have seen foreign envoys before, but our ministers have never been there."

Zhou Shuren thought for a moment and said, "I don't think there is a rush. It would be better to go on a diplomatic mission after the ship technology and gunpowder weapons are improved."

Military force is awe-inspiring. A big fist is the real force. No matter how much you talk, it is all nonsense and a waste of time. Once advanced ships and gunpowder weapons are unveiled, followed by the navy, the diplomatic mission will be more effective and will also shock some countries that are ready to make a move.