Chapter 960: I have something to say to you, my Lord.

Zhou Shuren touched his face, "Sir, why are you looking at me like this? Have I become younger?"

Li Zhao pulled Zhou Shuren's sleeve and said, "Come, come closer, let's have a good talk."

Zhou Shuren, "...No, I have to go back to the Ministry of Revenue to prepare the silver."

Why does Lord Li like to do things so much, especially tearing off his official uniform!

Li Zhao didn't let go, and said in a low voice: "The last dynasty was incompetent and had always blocked the coastline. Let alone the navy, we didn't even have any ships. We don't have any experience in naval warfare."

Zhou Shuren was speechless, "Sir, you don't need to tell me, I know it all."

The previous dynasty was a historical turn and deviated from history. The founding emperor was very powerful and developed maritime trade. Unfortunately, it was only the founding emperor who was powerful, and then it went downhill all the time. Not to mention the navy, even the army became a mess. Only those controlled by some aristocratic families could be considered combat-effective, the others were just a joke.

Li Zhao continued, "We have a pretty good relationship, but I can't have my birthday at all."

Zhou Shuren felt very happy when he heard this. He finally didn't feel any pain anymore.

Li Zhao continued, "In my eyes, you are a very capable person. Look at what you just reminded me of. You see, my birthday won't be celebrated, and I don't want expensive gifts. What do you know? Just say a few more words."

Zhou Shuren thought, I know a lot, his history is amazing, pirates, colonization, but I can't talk about it. It's normal to remind him just now. If you find a problem, remind him a few times. If he really says too much, the emperor will be jealous of him. He doesn't want the emperor to die and take him with him to the underworld. People should not know everything, especially in front of the emperor. "My lord, you think too much. What can I know? I know a little about maritime trade after I became the governor of Jinzhou. I was just confused just now. I am cautious by nature. That's it."

Li Zhao stared at Zhou Shuren. No, this feeling was wrong. The Zhou Shuren he knew was definitely not simple. Then he thought that what Zhou Shuren said was right. Zhou Shuren was indeed cautious by nature. It was normal for him to be suspicious. He was confused. He sighed and said, "Your words reminded me. I originally thought that pirates were nothing, but now I need to be cautious. Once we fail, the coastline will not be peaceful, and the merchant ships going out to sea will not be guaranteed."

Zhou Shuren thought to himself that he reminded him because he knew that. His son hasn't come back yet. If the situation continues to be unrest, it will not only affect maritime trade, but also the people living on the coast. China's coastline is too vast.

There is no war in the inland area now, and the two major foreign races have been frightened. The next ten years will be all about the coastline. Fortunately, the emperor decided to build ships and train the navy last year, otherwise, haha!

Zhou Shuren stroked his beard. The emperor must have taken this into consideration, so it was still the emperor who prepared for the future. Anyway, he didn't think much about it at the time.

Seeing that Zhou Shuren had nothing to say, Li Zhao loosened his sleeves and said, "Although I won't be celebrating my birthday, I still have to accept the gifts. Lord Zhou, you and I have known each other for more than a year. It's up to you to arrange the first birthday gift."

Zhou Shuren, "...I have something to say to you, Your Excellency, but I don't know how to tell you."

Li Zhao, "Hmm?"

Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "I'd better not say anything."

Because it is an insult!

Li Zhao snorted, "You have received many rewards, the only calligraphy and painting given by the emperor, I am very greedy."

As he said this, he patted Zhou Shuren on the shoulder. He was really greedy. Although he was a military general, he was also a voracious reader of poetry. During the war, he took the opportunity to collect a lot of things, but when he went north, he was very greedy for things south of the Yangtze River, so he really didn't collect many good things.

Zhou Shuren coughed. Li Zhao was really rude to him. Bah, who had a good relationship with Li Zhao? It was obvious that Li Zhao was just relying on his higher official position and the power he held to bully him and wait for him to get promoted!

As the two were about to leave the palace, the eunuch caught up with them and said, "Master Li, the emperor is calling for you."

Zhou Shuren laughed in his heart. He knew that people must keep their mouths shut. He would control his mouth even more in the future.

Zhou Shuren returned to the Ministry of Revenue and met with the Minister of the Court. "The Emperor has ordered that silver be prepared for the Ministry of War."

Xiao Qing's expression lost its leisurely look. "The Emperor wants to use pirates to train the navy!"

Zhou Shuren hummed, "Being a pirate is not easy. It will cost a lot of money."

Xiao Qing's eyes grew more serious. "Your Majesty didn't tell me the exact number?"

Zhou Shuren shook his head, "No, the Ministry of War will send us the number after doing the statistics."

This is the advantage of his small changes, he won’t ask for tens of thousands of taels right away!

Xiao Qing sighed, "It's already troublesome, and now there's one more thing to worry about."

In the palace, in the Zheng Hall, the emperor waited for Li Zhao to leave, took the new map of the Haihan Line and examined it carefully, saying quietly: "The map is still incomplete. It would be better if there were maps of all countries."

Even if we had sent people to follow the merchants out to sea to draw the map, it would still take a while to complete the map.

The emperor looked at himself in the mirror and touched his face. If he were younger and had served in the navy for a few more years, the nearby island countries would have benefited greatly. Now he is powerless.

The emperor handed the map to the prince, "You will be required to complete it in the future."

The prince was excited. He took the map and touched it. After the excitement, he calmed down. It was a dream for the newly established navy to dominate the world. It was uncertain whether they could win this time. Thinking of this, Zhou Shuren was really cautious. If he didn't remind him, it would be easy to underestimate the enemy.

At the Zhou family, Zhulan chatted with the eldest daughter and watched her granddaughter carefully wipe the books.

My granddaughter has changed a lot after being in the capital for half a year. When she first arrived in the capital, she still felt a little restrained even in the Zhou Mansion.

Jiang Miao used to have some bookish temperament, and it was even more obvious now. The other girls in the family, Yu Shuang and Yu Lu, were more interested in calligraphy, painting, musical instruments, etc., and were not very keen on reading. But Jiang Miao was different. She really liked reading, and when she arrived in the capital and had a teacher to teach her, the little girl became even more devoted to reading.

On the contrary, he has no talent for playing musical instruments, and the music he plays is very chaotic. However, he is good at calligraphy and painting, and also good at handicrafts.

The little girl has been good-looking since she was young. She has not grown out of shape even when she grew up. She has also become better at dressing herself up. The little girl is very likable.

But now Jiang Miao is unhappy.

It rained last night and stopped only when it was dawn. There was water everywhere on the ground, and Jiang Miao's book fell to the ground and got dirty.

Zhulan looked at her granddaughter with tears in her eyes. She felt really sorry for her. "Grandma will buy you a new one."

Jiang Miao shook his head, "No need, grandma, I will rewrite the blurred parts of this book."

Zhulan was amused, "You just bought a book, you haven't read it yet, how can you write it?"

In the past, when her grandchildren lived in her hometown, she would send New Year gifts back and also bring some New Year money for the children. However, the money was kept by her daughter-in-law, and her grandchildren could not get any.

After arriving in Beijing this year, she gave the children some New Year's money. Su Xuan herself was also generous and all the children in the family received gold or silver peanuts.

(End of this chapter)