Chapter 7: The team returns to Beijing (Five)

"But what I don't understand is that since General Li is willing to surrender, why don't he go to General Zuo Liangyu to explain the reason, but instead come to see him. You must know that this dynasty stipulates that the harem cannot interfere in political affairs. Is General Li's actions decisive to the end?" Magu suddenly changed his mind.

Li Yao lowered her head and thought for a moment: "The folk girl is from the mountains and rivers. If she talks and hits the queen, please don't blame her."

"It's okay, I am from the same origin as you, General Li said so." Magu said with a smile.

"First, the Empress was born in our Miao family and also understood the suffering of our Miao family. It is not that the people's daughters do not trust General Zuo Liangyu. But if the Empress mediates from it, the tens of thousands of people under the woman might have a better way out. Second, the Empress is a famous talent among our Miao family and is now the imperial concubine. To be honest, we, the Miao family, will be your family, and although the Empress is favored now, in the future, as long as we Miao family support the Empress,

Even if the Empress loses favor in the palace in the future, she will be honored for a lifetime." After Li Yao said that, she stared at Ma Gu's face nervously, feeling worried. Her words were extremely presumptuous. Some words that could only be understood but not expressed in words were all revealed. A deeper meaning is that I, Li Yao, just surrendered to you, Concubine and the Ma family behind you, not to surrender to the court. Although it seems no different, it is extremely different in essence. In short, Li Yao wants to maintain this power in her hand.

Magu is extremely smart, how can he not hear Li Yao's thoughts? However, she is a smart woman. Although she does not care about politics, she can still understand her husband's thoughts, especially Zhuoba. Now, from a selfish perspective, Lefan often reveals some secrets about ethnic policies to Magu. Therefore, Magu is very clear about her husband's determination to dereliction of the throne and implement the idea of ​​changing the territory and returning to the land. Therefore, even if she has the thoughts mentioned by Li Yao, it may not be possible. Although her husband loves him very much, it is definitely a matter of principle and will not be easily shaken.

"I am confident that my heart can be held in my heart. As long as I don't do those stupid things, there is absolutely no problem with the honor of the world. General Li is grateful for the kindness of General Li." Magu didn't dare to reveal to others the idea of ​​the court's desire to "change the land and return to the current", and even his own father did not reveal it, let alone Li Yao, an outsider, responded coldly at the moment.

Li Yao was stunned on the spot. She didn't expect that her heartfelt words would be exchanged for someone's close cold response. Could it be that this talented woman in Miaojiang is just beautiful and can't she be so famous?

"Empress, the people's daughters have a sincere heart..." Li Yao tried her best to save them.

"General Li, I know your thoughts very well, but your thoughts are used in the wrong place." Magu also knew that Li Yao's surrender would bring destructive or even destructive blows to Wu Heimiao. She didn't want to push Li Yao back to Wu Heimiao's arms like this, let alone being attacked the old city now, and Li Yao's surrender would be a decisive link.

Li Yao hurriedly said, "The girl from the people is stupid, please give me some advice."

Magu's lips raised slightly, and a charming smile appeared and said, "Emperor."

Li Yao was stunned when she heard this and was in a dilemma. The court allowed a Ma Lao Gong to exist. The daughter of the other party had become the emperor's concubine and a family. What about him? What should he do if the court asked him to disband the nearly 10,000 people left under his command? Or continue to resist, but do he have the ability to resist?

Ten years, a full ten years, taking over the power of her father and pulling out such a team, has exhausted Li Yao's ten years of hard work and turned a lively and beautiful girl into a scheming and cold general now. There are still several more decades in her life. Whether her father's hope can succeed is even more confused.

"General Li, this is your only way out." Magu said a lot in Li Yao's heart. After seeing the sharpness of the firearm, Magu knew more clearly that it was difficult to withstand the sharpness of steel with his flesh and blood.

"Empress, the girl..." Li Yao wanted to speak but stopped.

It can be seen that Li Yao really wants to take off the heavy burden on her body, but her father's hope firmly trapped her like a shackle and could not break free.

"General Li, I was able to return to Xiangxi. Do you think this means?" Magu added another fire.

A surprising light burst out in Li Yao's eyes. Although the court's southern expedition was remote and the news was difficult to convey, Li Yao was one of the four great generals after all, and she still knew something about what happened outside. Many people, including Yin Ji, who was in charge of Wu Heimiao's intelligence agency, never thought about why Magu returned to Xiangxi at this time. Huguang was already under the control of the Northern Dynasties. Logically speaking, Magu could return to Xiangxi anytime and anywhere, and there was no need to worry about safety issues. But Magu suddenly said this, was it...

"Did the Empress come from Nanjing?" Li Yao asked in surprise.

"Um."

"So that..." A layer of fragrant sweat oozed from Li Yao's pink nose. She couldn't imagine it. Originally, two tigers could have fished in troubled waters, but now there is only one tiger left, and the ending is imaginable.

"General Li, this is an opportunity. I hope you can grasp it well." Magu smiled indifferently. The more he surrendered, the greater the benefits he gained, this is a very natural truth. If Li Yao doesn't understand this truth, she should not be the Suzaku God General.

After a while of silence, Li Yao finally got to know each other. He had to resist with nearly ten thousand brothers and tens of thousands of their families. He took a deep breath and said, "Li Yao is willing to surrender!"

"If General Li has any requests, please tell me that I can ask you for your report in front of the emperor." Magu has a good impression of Li Yao, so in addition to the principle, he is still willing to help this beautiful ice and snow general.

Li Yao smiled sadly and said, "Empress, the people's daughters are grateful for their kindness. I just hope that the court can properly place the nearly 10,000 people who are good at fighting and their families under my command."

"Of course, the court will not treat them unfairly, but General Li is still single now. If there is a man he likes, I can help." Magu tentatively said.

Li Yao smiled bitterly. She was famous for being cold and charming. In the early years, there were many men who pursued her, but later she was scared away by her cold face. In addition, Wu Heimiao had some idea of ​​what happened recently, and she became interested in her. If Yin Ji had not interfered with her, she would have lost her virginity and no man would have dared to like her. She had never found a person she liked, so her lifelong affairs were delayed to this day.

"The queen's heart is appreciated by the people's heart. When Xiangxi calms down, the people's daughters will become monks and will no longer be concerned about common things." Li Yao said a little discouraged.

Magu said intimately, "What a pity", but now is not the time to bring in the palace, so he didn't say much, just a few words of encouragement, and then made a sign. When the next attack on the city, Li Yao ordered people to open the city gate, cooperate inside and outside, and annihilate Wu Heimiao.

Three days later, the old city was broken, Wu Heimiao died in the chaos of the army. Among the four great generals, the Qinglong divine general Jian Ping was captured, the White Tiger divine general Fan Li and Yin Ji disappeared, the Xuanwu divine general Qi Bing was killed, and only one Zhuque divine general Li Yao was left intact, and announced that he would surrender to the court, accept the reorganization of the court, and temporarily take the rank of general.

The old city returned to Ma Laogong's hands and raised the city to celebrate. Magu then moved to the old city's home. Soon after, Miaojiang in western Hunan quickly pacified under Zuo Liangyu's iron blood and Huang Zongxi's Huairou policy. Zuo Liangyu even pushed the army to Tongren, Guizhou, and was ready to attack She Chongming and other rebels.

On the other hand, Nanjing has basically returned to peace. Shanghai Port started construction under a joint venture between Yangzhou salt merchants and Zhejiang silk cloth merchants. The entire project will be completed in five years. In five years, Shanghai will become the largest port in Asia and the world.

At the same time, the court revised the new salt and tea laws, abolished the previous unreasonable policies and regulations, re-calculated the salt quota, and re-divided the salt farms across the country while ensuring the profits of salt merchants, then publicly bid, and formulated the salt sales guide price, which was issued once a year. The salt sales price in various places shall not exceed 30% of the court's guide price, which violated the cancellation of the qualifications of salt merchants and was not allowed to be obtained within five years. At the same time, it was severely cracked down on smuggling salt, but the punishment was reduced and the head was not cut off at all times.

After the revised salt and tea law was introduced, the people caused a sensation in the court. The people benefited the most, followed by the court, and then by the salt merchants. This was basically a win-win result. The people could afford salt because the government set a guiding price. Whether the government or the salt merchants exceeded the gain, they would be fined. The court's salt tax came up, and the income from the salt tax in the court doubled. The happiest thing was the Ministry of Revenue. Although the salt merchants lost some benefits, they did not have to worry about being arrested for selling private salt in the future. Moreover, they each had their own sales territory, so they did not have to worry about vicious competition, and the money they earned was stable.

The hot summer has finally passed, and the cool breeze is coming quietly. The founding Duke Chang Yanlin has successfully recovered Guangzhou and served as the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. As for the Dutch envoy Debaoer, he returned in shame. After accepting Zheng's power in Taiwan, Zhu Yinglong issued an edict to set up an office in Taiwan. The first prefect was Chen Yonghua, who was temporarily in peace with the Spanish in Taipei and the Dutch in Tainan.

During this period, the first armed merchant ship of the Ming Dynasty arrived in Edo, Japan. First of all, glassware and glass mirrors caused a huge sensation in Japan. A piece of glass lens as big as a palm was bought in Japan for as much as 100 taels of silver, which also attracted the attention of Dutch merchants in Japan. The mysterious Eastern countries could also create something that made European ladies crazy. This surprised them so much. They asked to contact the merchant fleet, demanding to buy glass lenses and buy them to Europe.

There were also a large number of Buddhist scriptures, Confucian classics and Taoist classics on the ship, which were all sold out by Japanese daimyos. The crew stayed in Edo, Japan for a month. The sake wine in the tavern in Edo Castle was almost ignored, and the geisha performance was no longer watched. The singing and dancing performances were filled every night, and the high-purity liquor was almost emptied. Even the sailors on the ship hid themselves and left them for themselves to drink on the ship to buy them. They also attracted the Japanese Emperor and admired the culture of the Celestial Empire. Many people watched the performance in tears. Most of them immigrated by Chinese people. They benefited from millions of taels at one time and made a fortune. The news reached the ears of the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue Sun Shenxing, and almost made an excitement to the old minister who was devoted to the finances of the court.

On the ninth day of the ninth month, after paying homage to the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, Zhu Yinglong announced that he would return to the court. The next national focus was on construction and economic recovery that had been confronted with continuous natural disasters.
Chapter completed!