I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 76 Start investigation

It was not until Zhu Houxuan received a letter from Yu Chunlai sent by express horse from the capital that he understood what had happened in the capital.
After knowing the truth, he was really devastated. What was going on?

Giving a gift is so tortuous. Although the final result is good, and one gift has the effect of ten gifts, the process is still too dangerous!

Thanks to Yu Chunlai! If he hadn't played a role at the critical moment, who knows how things would have turned out.

But what made him speechless was that his blood actually became the key to forging Damascus. Yu Chunlai was really good at talking! Why didn't he see it before?
Although this makes the iron weapons produced by the Prince of Jing's Mansion more famous and adds a layer of mystery, if he wants to increase the production of Damascus swords, he must first consider his own health.

However, at present, Damascus weapons can only be sold as luxury goods, and it is not good to have too high a production volume.

Zhu Houxuan looked at the letters sent by various nobles on the table. They were all seeking to purchase Damascus swords. The deposits written in them added up to more than 300,000 or 400,000 taels of silver. The most important thing was that these were only deposits, not the full amount.

Don't look down on these 300,000 or 400,000 taels of silver. This was not the time when a large amount of silver flowed into the Ming Dynasty. At that time, the annual income of the national treasury Taicang was only about 1 or 2 million taels of silver. At that time, most of the taxes in the Ming Dynasty were still in-kind taxes. Silver was not even the legal currency of the Ming Dynasty. The reason why silver circulated in the market was that silver, as a precious metal, naturally had monetary properties. This would not change until the reform of Zhang Juzheng during the Wanli Dynasty.

The luxury goods business is still easy to do, and it's so easy to make money from these wealthy families! Zhu Houxuan thought secretly.

However, he didn't plan to sell it too expensively. The maximum price would not exceed 50,000 taels of silver, otherwise there would be too few people who could afford it.

In fact, in Zhu Houxuan's eyes, the behavior of these nobles was a new version of buying the box and returning the pearl. He did spend more than 100,000 taels of silver to forge the Damascus sword for Emperor Zhengde, but the most important thing in this process was to advance the technology of open-hearth steelmaking. Open-hearth steelmaking was the pearl, and those Damascus swords were the exquisite boxes containing the pearls.

The cost of forging a sword that is inferior to the one presented to Zhu Houzhao can now be reduced to less than one thousand taels of silver by the Jingwang Mansion, because this is just like upgrading equipment in a game, the higher the upgrade, the higher the failure rate, and the cost will increase exponentially.

Moreover, the team's skills have already been developed, and this cost can be lowered as the team's skills improve.

But now Zhu Houxun is still not planning to ship the products too quickly. Hunger marketing works in any era.

The three-person investigation team finally arrived in Qizhou. Huguang Governor Qin Jin and Qizhou Prefect Yu Zhong had been waiting there for a long time.

The group got off the boat at Qizhou Wharf, and Qin Jin and Yu Zhong hurried to greet them.

After a round of greetings, Zhang Yong asked directly, "You have also received His Majesty's order. Are all the things ready?"

"Don't worry, Eunuch Zhang. Here are the things." He handed over a pile of land deeds and maps.

"Okay! I will mention this to your majesty when I return to the capital."

"Thank you, Eunuch Zhang!"

Then the group set up their ceremonial procession and headed towards the city.

At this time, a figure rushed out from the crowd and rushed directly towards the ceremonial guard, shouting: "I am Shi Lu, the left chief of the Jingwang Palace. I have been waiting for you angels for a long time!"

The soldiers in the team quickly stopped him and controlled him, but Shi Lu continued to shout.

Shi Lu's cry soon alarmed Zhang Yong and his group.

Qin Jin asked in confusion, "Shi Lu? The Jing Palace reported to the Provincial Administration Office two months ago that Zuo Changshi Shi Lu was missing. I didn't expect that he is here?"

Zhang Yong sneered and said, "It's good that he came. I don't have to go look for him! Let him come over."

After Shi Lu left the Jing Palace two months ago, he quietly hid in Qizhou City. He thought that the Jing Palace would search for him everywhere, but there was no movement at all. This made him more and more courageous, and finally he lived directly next to the dock, staring at the passing ships all day long, and today he finally waited for it.

Shilu was brought over quickly, a triumphant smile on his face.

The dragon robe on Zhang Yong made him feel very safe.

"Dear angels, please follow me quickly. I know the evidence of the treacherous king's rebellion. Please follow me quickly, otherwise the treacherous king will destroy the evidence," Shi Lu said anxiously.

Qin Jin and Yu Zhong didn't know that Shi Lu had reported the King of Jing for treason, and they looked at Shi Lu in horror.

Shi Lu thought he had already won the game, but he discovered a discordant figure in the team.

"Yu Chunlai, how come you, old dog, are in the team of angels and are even wearing a Qilin costume? How dare a sixth-rank eunuch like you wear this kind of bestowed costume? This is an act of usurpation. It shows how domineering the King of Jing is in his daily life. I ask the angels to investigate in detail." Shi Lu said arrogantly, grabbing Yu Chunlai's pigtail.

Everyone present exchanged glances quietly, and Qin Jin even frowned. This Shi Lu's tone and expression were different from those of a normal person!

"We are here because of Shi Lu's memorial. Take him with you! Have someone keep him under strict watch!" Zhang Yong ordered.

Several soldiers immediately restrained Shi Lu, but Shi Lu still had no clear understanding of his situation.

The group walked straight to the Prince of Jing's Mansion, and the Prince of Jing's Mansion had also received the news in advance and opened the middle gate to welcome the angels.

The leader was Zhan Bin, while Zhu Houxuan was waiting in Chengyun Hall.

After some pleasantries, Zhan Bin said with a wry smile, "Thank you angels for helping us find Shi Changshi. He has been missing for more than two months."

"We'll talk about him later. Please take me to meet His Royal Highness the King of Jing."

All the important figures in the Prince of Jing’s Mansion are in Chengyun Hall.

Concubine Liu was a little restless. She was very nervous about the sudden arrival of someone from the capital.

As soon as Zhang Yong entered Chengyun Hall, he held high the imperial edict of Emperor Zhengde, and everyone in the hall knelt down to listen to the order. Only then did everyone in Prince Jing's mansion know that Shi Lu had actually reported Prince Jing.

Zhu Houxuan, who learned the news in advance, remained very calm, but Concubine Liu was not so calm. She was frightened to the point of almost fainting.

Zhu Houxuan was also quietly observing the reactions of other people in the Prince of Jing's Mansion. This was a good opportunity. A friend in need is a friend indeed. He hoped to use this opportunity to uncover all the disharmonious factors in the Prince of Jing's Mansion.

Zhang Yong and his group were also secretly observing Zhu Houxuan.

At this time, after nearly a year of scientific nutrition intake and exercise, Zhu Houxuan had grown taller. Zhu Houxuan himself estimated that he was now more than 1.8 meters tall, with a well-proportioned figure and a strong body.

Coupled with his handsome appearance and calm temperament, anyone who sees him would call him a good boy!

Zhang Yong's eyes were filled with surprise - the Prince of Jing did not disappoint him, and the Emperor would definitely like such a Prince of Jing.

"Your Highness, please forgive me. The law is here and Zhang Yong has to obey it!"

(End of this chapter)