Chapter 1554: Tacit Understanding between the Emperor and His Subjects

Jiang Ping left the Marquis' Mansion and went to the Ministry of Revenue. After he came back, he had not been anywhere else except the Marquis' Mansion. He was afraid of being remembered, so when he arrived at the Ministry of Revenue, he asked the servant to do the work while he hid in the carriage and waited for his grandfather to come out.

Zhou Shuren came out very quickly. When his grandson got on the carriage, he didn't say anything, so he guessed, "Grandpa doesn't want you brothers to be in danger, but he supports you."

Although the grandson was fooled, it has to be admitted that what he did was very important. Take this news for example, it enabled the court to deploy in advance and reduce casualties, and indirectly saved many lives!

Jiang Ping's eyes turned red, "Grandpa, we will come back safely."

Zhou Shuren smiled and touched his grandson's head, "Grandpa is proud of you."

Jiang Ping's eyes widened, in the hearts of the younger generation, grandpa was like a god. He and Jiang An were twins, and they could not pursue a career in politics. Even though they grew up in wealth, they were the ones who liked to be noticed and recognized by their grandpa. Otherwise, they would not have played each other over and over again, just to draw attention. Wasn't it just for their grandpa to say that he and Jiang An were smart?

Zhou Shuren sat in the carriage and told about his lurking experiences. Ahem, where did the experience come from? It was all from TV dramas. He had forgotten too much of it. He could only tell about the ones that had left a deep impression on him. Jiang Ping knew about some of them, as they had undergone closed training when they went on missions. He didn't know about some of them. He just felt that it had broadened his horizons. It turned out that this was possible.

Jiang Ping's eyes sparkled until his grandfather stopped talking.

Zhou Shuren coughed and said, "Grandpa doesn't know much, you should figure it out on your own."

"That's enough. Thank you, Grandpa. If it weren't for us brothers, you wouldn't have thought about all this in your busy schedule. Grandpa, we won't let you down."

Zhou Shuren's heart skipped a beat. "Don't rush forward foolishly. Staying alive is more important than anything else. Grandpa doesn't like to hear about you sacrificing your lives for the country."

Jiang Ping said with a heavy nasal voice, "Well, we will be careful."

Zhou Shuren looked at Jiang Ping with a smile. The twins looked alike. Neither of them wanted to call the other "brother" and they just kept calling him by his name.

Zhou Shuren got off the carriage and watched it leave. Sigh, this was a child who grew up under his watch!

Jinyan took a step forward, "Master Hou, it's cold outside."

Zhou Shuren then withdrew his gaze and slowly walked into the government office, "The country is still not strong enough."

Jianyan was stunned. Isn't it powerful enough? He felt that the people were already living a happy life. He didn't dare to imagine that they would live like this.

After Jiang Ping left, Zhou Shuren and Zhulan were stunned for a while, and it took them several days to recover.

The academy happened to be closed, so Zhulan and Mingrui invited Lin Qing to go to the farm with them.

Zhulan and Linqing sat together. Linqing was a little reserved, so Zhulan took the initiative to talk, "Mingrui will take the exam for the scholar next year."

Lin Qing's fair cheeks flushed red. She knew that her grandmother and mother had said, "Well, Mingrui will definitely pass the exam."

"You have confidence in Mingrui."

Lin Qing was not shy this time. She raised her head and said firmly, "He is Mingrui, the grandson of the Zhou family. He will definitely not let everyone down."

Zhulan smiled, "Everyone has you too."

Lin Qing coaxed her ears, "I, I believe Mingrui."

Zhulan likes Lin Qing very much. Ran Wan is generous, Liu Jia is meticulous, and Lin Qing is more pure. This is related to the environment they grew up in. The Qi family was born in a large family. Ran Wan is the eldest daughter and has been taught to be generous since childhood. The Liu family lives cautiously, Liu Jia thinks too much, and the Lin family is a family with a long history. Lin Qing hears and sees the truth.

Zhulan held Lin Qing's hand. Mingrui was in the girl's eyes and heart. "You are very good."

Mingrui needs someone who is devoted to him wholeheartedly, and Lin Qing is a perfect match for Mingrui.

As they were talking, they arrived at the manor. Mingrui got off the carriage first, helped his grandmother down, and then reached out to help his fiancée. Lin Qing blushed and put her hand on him, "Thank you."

Mingrui, "We don't need to say thank you."

Lin Qing nodded lightly.

The maid behind him wanted to cover her face. She thought that it was fortunate that the girl married into the Zhou Marquis's mansion, and her aunt would not take a concubine in the future. If it was a different family, the girl would be bullied to death even though she was so devoted to him.

Zhulan went to see the children in class. Before she even walked into the classroom, she heard knocking sounds. She knew it was a carpentry class. The students in this classroom were selected to work in the shipyard in the future.

Mingrui accompanied his grandmother to visit each classroom and saw that the children were studying very seriously.

Mingrui and the others left the classroom and said, "Grandma, we have taken in some orphans recently. How about letting the doctor select some to learn medicine?"

"Why do you have such an idea?"

Mingrui said, "There is a doctor in the village. People from nearby villages know that they will come. They dare not go to Beijing to see a doctor, but they trust the doctor in the village. I want to select some children to learn medicine so that they can support themselves and also treat minor illnesses of the people."

Zhulan thought of the Royal Orphanage. Those were the children wanted by the Medical Department, and they would serve the rich and powerful. "Since you proposed it, go and make the arrangements."

Mingrui was surprised, "You gave it to your grandson?"

"Is it impossible?"

Mingrui said seriously, "Yes, Sun'er will take care of it."

Zhulan, "Grandma is waiting to see the results."

It is better to have privately-run orphanages as they are more down-to-earth and serve the people.

Lin Qing suddenly grabbed her fiancé's sleeve and said, "You are the best."

Mingrui was stunned, and then his eyes were filled with tenderness, "Yeah."

He seldom heard people say that he was the best. He had an older brother above him. Everyone in the capital knew about Young Master Zhou, not to mention his second brother. But no one said that Young Master Zhou was good. Most people said that he was just lucky and good-looking.

Zhulan has very sharp ears and her lips curled up, so, Lin Qing is really suitable for Mingrui.

In the palace, Zhou Shuren looked through the requests from various countries. Even though he was prepared, his face still darkened. "Oh, you are so bold to ask for such a high price."

Just opening its mouth means the grain output of an entire state, and it’s a major grain state!

The emperor was no longer angry. "Spend money to buy it or exchange it."

Zhou Shuren, "There is no food. I don't even know where to get food for the war!"

Your Majesty, "It is a difficult question whether to sell this grain or not. If we sell the grain, it will be as if our country has more grain than it can eat. The northeastern border will be even more unstable. If we don't sell it, it will be really urgent. It will be a headache even if we unite."

Zhou Shuren also knew that if he hadn't used intimidation, he would have gone even further. "What does the emperor mean?"

He didn't want to give any advice anyway.

The emperor pointed at the table and said, "We must exchange for supplies. We must not sell food. We can only exchange it. We must do it skillfully. We must exchange for what is scarce in our country, especially metals. We must expand the production of gunpowder weapons."

Zhou Shuren's heart moved, "There is still coal."

Why dig up the materials from your own territory? It would be better to keep the materials from your own territory and exchange them for foreign materials. You don’t need any manpower and you can still use coal. That’s great!

The emperor and Zhou Shuren looked at each other, and they smiled. With this calculation, they could get a lot in return.