Therefore, after repeated consideration, Longqing was unwilling to let his son worship Zhao Hao as his teacher. He just wanted him to get closer to Zhao Hao, to be influenced by him, to broaden his horizons, and to know that the world is not exactly as the scholars said.

At least for a few years, that's what he planned. As for the future, we'll talk about it later...

So Longqing instructed Zhao Hao to go to the palace more often with Li Chengen and his sister during his stay in Beijing, play with the prince more often, and talk to him more about science, and then changed the subject.

“Tell me, what happened in Jiangnan? Why is it so chaotic?” Emperor Longqing sat cross-legged on the couch, his face finally showing some of the majesty that an emperor should have.

But it was true that the previous governor was severely injured by the fire. As soon as the current governor came to power, he killed the former prime minister, raided the home of Xu Ge Lao, and arrested all his family members. Even the young prime minister became a wanted criminal on the run.

In the past few months, the court was in an uproar, and the impeachment documents that the emperor had kept in his hands had piled up like a mountain. If Hai Rui continued to act so recklessly, Longqing would not be able to withstand the pressure.

Zhao Hao once made a secret memorial with a silver seal to discuss this matter specifically, but the memorial was limited in length and many issues were not mentioned. It would be better to ask in person.

Zhao Hao had expected that Longqing would question the matter, so he told the emperor what he had seen and heard. Of course, he would not mention a word about the good things he had done in there. After all, doing good things without leaving a name was Mr. Zhao's usual style.

Longqing knew that Zhao Hao had a grudge against the Xu family, so he must have spoken in a biased way and would secretly trip him up. But he would never have thought that Zhao Hao, at such a young age, had only been in Jiangnan for less than a year, and would become the leader of the anti-Xu alliance. He thought he was just playing a supporting role and pretending to be powerful.

So I believed about 80% of what Zhao Hao said.

After listening to Zhao Hao's story, Long Qing's first reaction was disbelief. He opened his mouth wide and said, "Xu, Lord Xu is famous for his integrity. He has been in the capital for 20 to 30 years and I have never seen him wear a new robe. How can his family be so greedy?"

"I don't know." Young Master Zhao shook his head and stated without making any judgment: "I heard that Duke Hai has already reported the accounts to the cabinet. Your Majesty should be able to see them soon."

"Well, it's better not to read it." Longqing shook his head and said uninterestedly, "Back then, it was Lord Xu who investigated the corruption of Yan Song and his son. He also ordered people to publish a book called "Tianshui Bingshanlu" and circulate it throughout the country. Should we also compile a book for the Xu family to let the world know that those who fight corruption are more corrupt than corrupt officials? What good will this do for the court?"

Zhao Hao nodded in agreement, but he didn't think much of it. What's wrong with beating up a few big tigers? If you don't beat up the common people, they won't know about it. Isn't this just trying to cover up one's mistake?

However, he knew his position, and even the position of his eyes and ears was imposed by the emperor. It was not his turn to comment on these major state affairs.

In fact, Longqing was just expressing his feelings to him, and he had no intention of discussing it in depth. He took a sip of tea and turned the topic to sea transportation, asking him carefully whether there were any risks in sea transportation, what was the maximum volume, and what was the cost?

Zhao Hao came for this matter, and naturally he boasted about the superiority of sea transportation. He told Emperor Longqing that there were ocean currents that remained unchanged year after year, allowing ships to travel back and forth between Tianjin and Shanghai effortlessly. Moreover, in this rush, only sand ships that navigable on the Yangtze River were temporarily used. If special sea-going ships were built, the transportation capacity would be greatly increased. It would be no problem to transport as much as you want, it would just be a matter of building bigger and more sea-going ships.

As for the risks, as long as you avoid the summer typhoon season, no matter how strong the wind and waves are in other seasons, the ship will not capsize. As long as you set up a safe harbor on the route, it is not much more dangerous than sailing on an inland river.

Finally, there is the cost. The loss plus the freight cost only needs 20% at most. And this has already taken into account the loss of the ship and the loss of the cargo.

However, Zhao Hao emphasized that this is the level that Jiangnan Group can achieve, and it does not mean that the imperial court can also do it.

Longqing naturally understood what he meant. He was disappointed for a long time before he sighed and said, "It takes at least three stones to transport one stone of rice. The imperial court has been cheating the people for many years."

"Yes, Your Majesty, the burden on the people of Jiangnan and Huguang is too heavy, but the blood and sweat they paid with tears and tears cannot reach the national treasury." Zhao Hao also said solemnly: "As a result, the court is penniless and has to bear the blame for nothing. The people can't bear the burden and flee. Everyone from top to bottom is suffering."

There was another half sentence he didn't say, but Longqing naturally understood it - all the money benefited the corrupt officials in the middle.

"..." Long Qing didn't want to continue this topic. The more he talked about things that he was powerless to do, the more powerless he felt.

Seeing Longqing's reaction, Zhao Hao sighed secretly, and realized that it was impossible to bypass all the officials and cut the Gordian knot.

Although he already knew that this was thinking about Taozi...

~~

After having dinner with the emperor in the palace, Ning An took the children back to Shiwangfu Street.

On the way, she told Zhao Hao that her royal brother would issue a special decree, ordering her to represent the palace and take full charge of the transportation of rice from Jiangnan to Beijing.

Zhao Hao's expression brightened when he heard this. Although he would stop purchasing as soon as the grain transport was restored or the grain supply to the capital was normal, creating something from nothing was the biggest victory. When sea transport became normalized, many of the opposition's excuses would be broken.

Ning An warmly invited Zhao Hao to live in the Princess's residence, and the young princess was also shy and expectant. Only Li Chengen looked nervous, obviously not wanting to invite a wolf into the house.

Fortunately, there were a lot of people waiting for him at home, so Master Zhao declined his godmother's invitation, changed to his own carriage at the gate of the Princess's Mansion, and returned to his new house in Zhaojia Hutong.

The last time he came to Beijing, he lived in his elder brother's house in Chunsong Hutong. He couldn't always occupy the magpie's nest. Besides, his guards had doubled and he had many more attendants. And once he came to Beijing, his disciples would definitely move in with him. It would be too crowded for him to live in his elder brother's house.

So he informed his eldest brother a year ago and looked for a spacious house so that the old man and himself could live there when they came to Beijing, and Zhao Xian would have a place to settle down after getting married.

After the New Year, Zhao Xian wrote back to say that he had found a house, which was located in Zhaojia Hutong, south of Chunsong Hutong, across the street.

At first, Mr. Zhao thought that his elder brother was quite particular and even had to include his family name when looking for a house.

Later, I learned from Fatty Tang's letter that it was my eldest brother who bought all five courtyard houses in the alley and connected them into a mansion. So there was only his family in the alley, so what else could we call it if not Zhaojia Hutong?

Zhaojia Hutong was not far from Shiwangfu Street, and the carriage arrived there in a short while.

Gao Wu opened the curtain, and Zhao Hao jumped off the car. He looked at the five gates in the alley, all of which had lanterns with the words "Zhao's House" hung on them. Outside the middle gate, there was a large screen wall and a horse-mounting stone, which was truly a place of wealth and luxury.

He couldn't help but smile, and said to Zhao Xian who came to greet him: "Brother, this is really a good idea!"

"Brother, you are joking. I am good at spending money, so I have to rely on your ability to make money." After a year of experience in Beijing, Zhao Xian has become mature and cheerful. He quickly stepped forward and gave Zhao Hao a bear hug.

When Zhao Hao and Zhao Xian separated, they heard a voice calling out with deep affection: "Sir, you're finally here. I missed Fatty Tang so much."

Before he could react, Tang Youde, who had gained weight again, hugged him. Fatty Tang hugged him and cried. His hard days were finally over. If he didn't make a debut, he would be completely reduced to an 18th-tier minor role.

"Let me go first, or I'll send you to Java..." Zhao Hao struggled hard, not knowing where Fatty Tang got so much enthusiasm for him.

He finally broke free from Fatty Tang's clutches, and saw Wang Wuyang rushing towards him with tears on his face.

"Keep social distance!" Master Zhao kicked his eldest disciple back.

"I haven't listened to Master's teachings for 310 days. I'm like a fish out of water. I can't survive." Wang Wuyang didn't care. He wiped his tears with a look of admiration and said, "As soon as I saw Master, I felt like a fish in water and came back to life!"

Wang Dingjue, Yu Shenxing, and Wang Xijue, who were following behind him, all felt a chill. They hadn't heard their senior brother flattering them for a long time, so it was inevitable that they felt a little uncomfortable.

After the disciples respectfully saluted Zhao Hao, Sun Dawu and Guo Da also hurriedly kowtowed to the master. After the greetings were finally over, Master Zhao, surrounded by the crowd, entered the Zhao Mansion through the middle door.

The house was brightly lit. Facing the entrance was a brick screen wall, with seven rooms in the south and a hanging flower gate in the north. Entering the second courtyard from the hanging flower gate, there were three main rooms with side rooms and east and west wing rooms. There were also screen doors on the walls on both sides, leading to the east and west courtyards.

Zhao Xian told Zhao Hao that there were many big houses in the capital, but they were all occupied by the rich and powerful. You couldn't buy them immediately if you had money, you had to wait... You had to wait until some noble family suddenly went bankrupt, or some minister retired and returned home, before you had a chance to get one.

Zhao Hao was anxious to move in, so he had to settle for the next best thing: he bought a few adjacent courtyard houses, connected them up, and lived there as a makeshift residence. When they returned to Jiangnan, they would tear them down and rebuild a large house.

The five courtyard houses Zhao Xian bought had two in the middle with five courtyards and dozens of rooms. The other three were slightly smaller, one with four courtyards and two with three courtyards. They had enough space, but the styles were not uniform, and there were no gardens or lotus ponds, so they had to be demolished and rebuilt.

Of course, how to build it will depend on Zhao Hao and the old man.

"Haha, I don't mind. Grandpa won't come to Beijing often. As long as big brother likes it, that's fine." Zhao Hao smiled and patted Zhao Xian's shoulder and said, "The groom will get married next month, so let's wait and hear the new sister-in-law's opinion."

"..." Zhao Xian's face turned red, and he quickly said, "How can that be possible? The decision must be made by the man."

Zhao Hao was stunned, and then he saw that his uncle was standing at the entrance of the main hall. Zhao Shouye went to Beijing with his father to arrange his son's marriage.

Realizing that my eldest brother was traumatized by my eldest uncle's marriage, I was afraid that I might go too far.

But his sister-in-law had not seen what she was like, so he did not have to teach her to be a good husband.

Zhao Hao greeted his uncle with a smile, then went in and kowtowed to his grandfather.

ps. Second update, please give me your monthly vote!