Ming: I am fake, walking on thin ice

Chapter 210: The Demon Queen's Collapse

Quanzhou Port.

Since the Ming Dynasty opened up the sea, Quanzhou Port has gradually returned to its former bustle.

On the blue sea, ships are coming and going, some are setting sail for a long voyage, some are returning with full loads, with masts standing in rows and sails dotted everywhere.

Quanzhou Port has a unique and excellent harbor with deep water, calm waves and excellent shelter from the wind. The port facilities are complete, and the docks are strong and spacious, which can accommodate multiple large merchant ships at the same time. Warehouses, warehouses and other buildings are scattered in an orderly manner, providing great convenience for the storage and loading and unloading of goods. Workers are busy moving goods, unloading treasures from merchant ships, and loading new goods on board, ready to be shipped to all parts of the world.

Many of the port's hardware facilities were handed down from the pre-Yuan Dynasty. At that time, Quanzhou was known as the "largest port in the East" and had trade relations with nearly 100 countries and regions in the world. It was an important international trade port at the time.

The fleet of the Portuguese Francisco docked. He came here to bring back 500,000 pieces of silk. At the beginning of the year, he had finalized this deal with the court's weaving bureau.

Francisco was received by the new Fujian governor Li Bing and the eunuch Wang Yao from the weaving bureau. Li Bing was transferred from the imperial court to the local area by Zhu Qizhen. The reason why he chose Fujian was that after the opening of the sea, Fujian would be at the forefront and would undergo earth-shaking changes, and a capable person was needed.

Wang Yao represented the palace and was chosen by Concubine Xian. In terms of official position, he was definitely not as good as Li Bing, but behind him was Concubine Xian, the emperor. Li Bing had to be polite to him.

"Master Li." Francisco bowed to Li Bing and said, "It's great that you are the head of Fujian. Please take care of me in the future."

At present, the Maritime Customs Office was still under the local management, so Francisco was of course polite to Li Bing, the governor. Li Bing and Wang Yao took Francisco to a restaurant and entertained him warmly.

This time, the delivery of 500,000 pieces of silk brought the Ming Dynasty 5 million taels of silver. It was a big deal. The court was also waiting for the money, and Li Bing and Wang Yao had been busy for several months because of this.

Fortunately, everything went well!
"By the way, please ask Lord Li to make arrangements. I will bring a group of people to the capital this time." Francisco said, "Last time, your emperor asked me to bring people to Daming to be teachers. I brought a group of people with me, and some books on arts."

Li Bing turned his head and glanced at the Westerners at another table, then nodded: "Okay, I'll arrange it."

He will also be submitting a memorial to the emperor recently, asking for permission to expand Quanzhou City. In his opinion, Quanzhou will develop rapidly in the next few years.

The next day.

Li Bing asked the Commandery to send someone to escort Francisco and his party to the capital. He also wrote a memorial to explain the current situation.

Francisco also brought a piece of news that recently a large number of Portuguese and Dutch fleets had arrived in the waters of Southeast Asia, and the Portuguese were targeting Macau Island.

Although Macau Island is just a remote island, it is also the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Li Bing suggested in his memorial that Zhang Lun, the anti-Japanese general in the southeast, should pay attention to the Portuguese.

……

Taizhou Prefecture.

Zhang Lun and Shen Manqing were drinking in the backyard. They hadn't seen each other for a long time. Zhang Lun had just entered the city today. After three cups of wine, Shen Manqing asked anxiously about the current situation of the Japanese pirates.

"Where are the pirates?" Zhang Lun waved his hand. "There are some now, but they are just small groups of ronin, not a concern. Let me tell you, the Ning family is very domineering in Japan now, and the Japanese daimyo have to give her face. As long as she restrains them, large groups of pirates will not come. Who dares? In the words of His Majesty, she is the Pirate King."

Shen Manqing smiled and nodded, because he had been stationed in Taizhou for nearly a year and had not encountered Japanese pirates. Without the Japanese threat, the people along the coast could finally live and work in peace, and now that the sea was open, the people had more ways to live.

"Are you coming to Taizhou for something?" Shen Manqing asked.

Zhang Lun put down his wine glass and said in a deep voice: "Come and mobilize the troops!"

Taizhou was the place where the Ming navy was trained, so he was naturally going to recruit the navy. Shen Manqing stood up excitedly: "Are we going to fight against Japan?"

Zhang Lun was speechless. "No! Your Majesty is going to use troops against Mobei next year. How can he fight on two fronts? It was the Ning family who sent us intelligence that a group of Portuguese are targeting Macau again. The Ming Dynasty has a vast territory, but not an inch of it is redundant. How can we let those Westerners get their hands on it? I will dispatch the navy to Macau."

"Is it to deter or to start a fight?" Shen Manqing asked with a frown.

"If they dare to come and provoke us, we will fight!" Zhang Lun snorted coldly, "I have already submitted a memorial to His Majesty."

Shen Manqing raised his glass: "That's it! We have to beat them until they are afraid, then they will behave themselves."

Zhang Lun laughed out loud: "How come you, a scholar, are more belligerent than us?"

"I finally understand." Shen Manqing took a sip of wine and said, "Just like those Japanese pirates, they bully the good and fear the evil. The Ning family is powerful, and they occupied their place, but they still acted like dogs."

Zhang Lun smiled and nodded, taking a sip. "Those Portuguese are arrogant and domineering. We should teach them a lesson. They are thousands of miles away, yet they come to our territory to cause trouble."

"Our navy is powerful enough to not fear anyone now, right?" Shen Manqing was full of pride.

"Now we can fight whoever we want. Relying on those broken ships of Portugal? Just wait for the news and blow them up." Zhang Lun said arrogantly.

Both of them said they were excited and drank several cups.

Shen Manqing's face flushed, and after a moment's hesitation, he asked, "My colleagues in the capital sent me a letter about your family, saying that the Duke of Ying and His Majesty seem to have some conflicts? What does the old Duke want to do?"

Zhang Lun sighed, a complex expression flashed in his eyes, and said, "I don't know either! Lady Xianfei, it was my sister who wrote to me, telling me not to worry about anything and just focus on my work."

"Of course you have to do your job well!" Shen Manqing suddenly got excited, "Old Zhang, you have the potential to be a famous general, and you happened to meet a wise emperor. Your future achievements will definitely surpass your grandfather."

There was a hint in his words, and Zhang Lun understood it, but he was indeed worried about his grandfather.

……

Beijing.

Zhu Qizhen summoned Francisco and his party. He was very happy because this time, Francisco brought a lot of talents from Western universities.

There must be a brave man under the heavy reward!

Last time, Zhu Qizhen told him that as long as Western teachers came to teach in the Ming Dynasty, they would be given generous treatment. He gave him a list of treatment, and the annual salary was three times that of Western universities.

Zhu Qizhen was so eager because he did not want the Ming Dynasty to fall behind in science and technology, because there were already universities in the West during this period. Their universities originated in the Middle Ages and together with ancient Greek and Roman culture formed the foundation of Western culture. During this period, universities, as institutions of higher education, had achieved important results in cultural inheritance, knowledge dissemination and academic research.

The University of Paris, Oxford University, and Cambridge University all already existed, and the gentlemen brought by Francesco included teachers from these universities. On the one hand, they were attracted by the salary, and on the other hand, they were also interested in the East.

The fields involved by these gentlemen included astronomy, physics, medicine, etc. Zhu Qizhen learned that at that time, the West was most enthusiastic about astronomy and physics.

Zhu Qizhen tried hard to recall the Western history he had read in his previous life. During this period, the West was still mainly based on theology. Copernicus, who proposed the heliocentric theory, had not yet been born. He would have been born in another twenty years. After Copernicus, a large number of scholars in various fields emerged in the West.

Kepler, Galileo, etc., astronomy, mathematics, physics, medicine and other fields have flourished. The Ming Dynasty cannot miss this opportunity, and it must have its own university, not just the Imperial College.

Zhu Qizhen once thought, why don't I do it myself, I have read all kinds of theories and theorems in my previous life. Later he thought that he only knew formulas and had no research ability. He needed talents in this area, and if he could inspire them, maybe various discoveries would be made in the Ming Dynasty.

After seeing Francisco and others off, Zhu Qizhen began to read the memorials.

The memorials submitted by Li Bing, the governor of Fujian, and Zhang Lun, the chief general in the anti-Japanese war, both mentioned the same problem. As the Ming Dynasty opened up the sea, more merchant caravans came from overseas, and troubles followed.

The Portuguese and the Dutch, instead of doing business properly, are plotting to seize the land of the Ming Dynasty. This is absolutely intolerable, Zhu Qizhen replied after reading the memorial.

Tell Zhang Lun to take the initiative to fight a battle and win a great victory! After the battle, we must make those foreigners behave themselves and follow the rules of the Ming Dynasty.

My rules are rules!

The Ming Dynasty has this strength. This is on the coast of the Ming Dynasty. Do they think they can occupy our place with just dozens of ships and cannons?

"How can we give the land left by our ancestors to others?"

He told Zhang Lun in the letter that he should do it boldly. After writing it, he immediately ordered it to be sent out as soon as possible.

……

After a few days of continuous haze, the sun finally came out.

Shuangxi drove the carriage out of the palace, and of course the queen mother was sitting in the carriage. The late autumn sun set over the capital, but the wind was howling and it was still very cold.

The Queen Mother lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked at the people on the street, her eyes slightly frowned. The carriage passed through the street and headed towards the north of the city. Shuangxi's driving skills were very skillful, and the carriage was very stable.

Suddenly, the Queen Mother called out for a stop.

Shuangxi was puzzled, but he still parked the carriage steadily on the side of the road. The Queen Mother got out of the carriage, stood on it, and turned her head to look behind her. At this time, all the carriages or horses coming and going on the driveway were fast-moving carriages or horses.

"Your Majesty, what are you looking at?" Shuangxi asked.

The queen mother looked unhappy. After glancing around, she said, "We are not going to the north of the city today. Let's go to the Fahai Zen Temple to burn incense."

"But..." Shuangxi was puzzled.

"I always feel uneasy, as if someone is watching us." The Queen Mother whispered, "I haven't felt this way for a long time. I will do nothing today. I will just burn incense and pray, and then return to the palace."

Shuangxi nodded: "Yes!"

She drove the carriage again and headed for Fahai Temple. It was normal for the Queen Mother to go to Fahai Temple, because she often went to this temple to burn incense and pray.

The temple's abbot personally received the Queen Mother and led her to burn incense and pray for blessings. The Queen Mother chanted scriptures in front of the Buddha statue. She was so familiar with the scriptures that some monks in the temple were not as good as her.

After finishing everything, the Queen Mother rested in the backyard as usual, and then returned to the palace.

……

Chizhou, Yunnan.

After Zhu Qiyu was forced to become a vassal, he came to this remote place. When he first arrived, he was of course angry, but he did not dare to act recklessly because he was under the surveillance of the Jinyiwei.

He lived honestly for two years, and the Jinyiwei finally relaxed their surveillance on him. Because he was no longer useful as a prince and was almost forgotten by the court. Although he was the emperor's younger brother, he could be said to be the most miserable prince. Where is Chizhou? It's a poor and remote place. This is the same as being exiled to Lingnan in the past.

Of course, he was a prince after all, so he had no worries about food. Although the palace was a little run-down and the number of servants was a little small, the court still gave him a salary.

Zhu Qiyu no longer had ambitions. He would leave the palace after breakfast and go to the theater in Chizhou City to watch a play, or drink tea in a teahouse and listen to storytelling. Before, the Jinyiwei would follow him, but after two years, the Jinyiwei no longer followed him. As long as he did not run around outside the city, it was fine.

That day, he was listening to a storyteller in a teahouse. The storyteller was talking about the Southeast Anti-Japanese War, how brave General Zhang Lun was, and how magical the Mandarin Duck Formation created by His Majesty the Emperor was.

Zhu Qiyu was full of disdain and spat out a mouthful of melon seed shells. At this time, a middle-aged man sat opposite him. Zhu Qiyu was startled and thought it was a Jinyiwei secret guard.

"I'm from Dunhuang in the northwest." The middle-aged man whispered.

When Zhu Qiyu heard this, he pretended not to understand and waved his hand: "Get out of here!"

The middle-aged man smiled faintly: "Your Highness, are you just giving in? His Majesty said that as long as you are willing to go north, you still have a chance. His Majesty also said that brothers working together can break iron!"

Zhu Qiyu smiled coldly: "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Your Majesty has now taken control of the western part of the Guanzhong area," the middle-aged man said. "The time is right. He can make a call and the whole world will respond. Your Highness, don't you want to return to the capital? Do you want to stay in this hellhole and live your whole life in misery?"

Zhu Qiyu remained calm and clapped his hands: "I am a useless person. It is good enough that I can save my life."

The middle-aged man shook his head and said, "You are the emperor's biological brother. If His Majesty and you announce it to the world together, then the people of the world will know who is real and who is fake. Your Highness, there is already a vassal king of the Zhu family preparing to go north. Don't miss the opportunity."

Zhu Qiyu picked up the teacup and took a big gulp, then stood up and walked away.

The middle-aged man was stunned!

Zhu Qiyu cursed in his heart: "Do you think you can make me go with you like this? And you want all the princes with the surname Zhu to go north? Are you kidding me?"

……

Xi'an, Qin Palace.

Although Qin Wang Zhu Zhi lived a luxurious life, he always kept a low profile. The Qin Wang line has been keeping a low profile since the second generation, because the second generation Qin Wang saw the methods of his fourth uncle and just wanted to be a stable prince.

Zhu Zhi was drinking tea in his house that day, and the housekeeper said that an old friend was visiting. Zhu Zhi did not think much about it and asked the housekeeper to bring the person in. When he looked, he saw that it was a strange middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man's words frightened him.

"I'm from Dunhuang, and your majesty has an order!"

Zhu Zhi wanted to chase him away, but he was worried that the man would shout and cause trouble. So he took him to the study, and the middle-aged man explained his purpose and invited the King of Qin to go to the northwest.

Of course he refused!
The middle-aged man explained the righteousness of the matter and asked him if he was willing to let the Zhu family fall into the hands of an outsider? Would he be worthy of his ancestors?

Zhu Zhi had no choice but to calm the other party down and said he would consider it. He also told the other party that this was Xi'an, where Liu Dingzhi, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, was, and Xi'an was full of Jinyiwei. The matter was of great importance, so he must be careful.

After sending the middle-aged man away, Zhu Zhi sat on the chair, his face horrified and frightened. He didn't know what to do. Go to Dunhuang? That would be a life-or-death situation. Don't go? If His Majesty takes back the throne, he will become a disgrace to the Zhu family.

He also understood the intention of the emperor of Dunhuang, and made all the princes of the Zhu family anxious. In addition, with the jade seal in his hand, he announced to the world that the emperor in the capital was a fake.

In this way, people all over the world will believe in him!

This is a good idea, but can the vassal king of the Zhu family go?
……

Night falls in the capital.

It was already early winter, and the wind was howling. However, Kunning Palace was indeed as warm as spring. The Demon Queen leaned in the arms of the Pseudo-Emperor, raised her beautiful and charming face, her eyes full of coquettishness and deep affection, and said in a tone that was extremely lazy but could touch the softest part of people's hearts, with a slight complaint: "Why didn't you come two days ago? Have you forgotten your promise to me again?"

Her jade-white fingers gently grasped his collar, as if she wanted to give him a little punishment, but she couldn't bear it. In the end, she could only helplessly stare at him with resentment in her beautiful eyes.

At this moment, she was like a resentful woman in the deep palace. She slightly opened her red lips, bit her lower lip with her pearly teeth, and said quietly: "In this lonely palace, I can only rely on you, but you only come to perfunctorily deal with me from time to time, making me wonder if you are tired of me."

I haven't really gotten it yet, so why am I tired of it? Isn't the game between us getting more exciting? When we meet, we act like lovers, but behind each other's back we think about how to kill each other?

The fake emperor complained in his heart, but his face remained calm. He slapped her with his big hand, causing her to frown in pain. Then he snorted domineeringly and attacked first: "I am the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. How can I indulge in love affairs all day long? Moreover, with your identity... If I accompany you day and night, aren't you afraid of being found out?"

"Yes, perhaps our fate was a calamity." The Demon Queen's beautiful eyes moved, and a layer of mist appeared in her black and white, extremely gentle eyes. She stared at him affectionately and resentfully.

"Alas, recently I have been thinking about what we should do to have a future." After the false emperor finished speaking, he slapped the demon queen again, causing the fair skin to turn lightly red.

He noticed that the sickly queen seemed to enjoy his strong attitude, so he became even more unscrupulous. The queen cried softly, biting her lower lip tightly, and her voice was a little tearful: "You only know how to bully me."

"I love you. Unlike you, you bite people at every turn. Look at the wound on my shoulder." The fake emperor pointed to his shoulder and motioned for her to look.

“Then... I’ll help you again~” The Demon Queen had a dazed look in her eyes. She slightly raised her elegant neck like a white swan. Her black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, swaying gently as she twisted her body, exuding endless charm.

The false emperor looked at the cold moon outside the window and took a deep breath.

At this moment, enjoy the silky smoothness.

……

Half an hour later.

The Demon Queen was already bathing in the back hall. She sat in the bathtub with her eyes drooping as tears fell.

"I am the Empress Dowager of the Ming Dynasty. Why do you treat me like this?"

"But I seem to be getting more and more addicted, what should I do?"

She leaned against the wall of the bathtub, tears falling from the corners of her eyes, dripping into the bathtub drop by drop. The gauze curtains around her moved with the wind, bringing bursts of coldness.

After a while, she came back to her senses, wiped her tears, stood up, and put on a loose robe. Now, she didn't hide anything in front of the false emperor.

The false emperor sat in front of the dining table, waiting for the demon queen to eat. Shuangxi brought the last bowl of soup up, and the rich aroma made the false emperor hungry instantly.

It’s time to make up for it.

The false emperor was holding a bowl when he saw the demon queen coming out of the inner hall. Her jet-black hair was like a waterfall, flowing smoothly behind her. Her elegant and mature face was flushed with shyness. Her eyes were shy, and a hint of charm gently flowed in the corners of her eyes, like mist, adding a bit of mystery and softness to her. Although the robe was loose, it could not hide her graceful figure, full of classical charm, which was pleasing to the eye.

The snow-white and slender legs swaying in front of the eyes are so beautiful that one can't take their eyes off them. She is gentle and beautiful, with outstanding temperament. Every subtle movement exudes a heart-moving charm, especially the temperament that radiates from the inside out, which is even more fascinating.

"Let's eat." The Demon Queen came to him and patted him on the back. "You watch it every day, aren't you tired of it?"

The fake emperor opened his mouth and said: "I can't see enough in my lifetime."

The demon queen glared and said, "You only know how to coax people, but you are not sincere."

The two of them now completely ignored Shuangxi, and Shuangxi was also well-behaved, standing aside as if he heard nothing.

"It's almost the end of the year, why are you still so busy?" asked the Queen after sitting down.

"Yes, the Ming Dynasty is different now. In addition to domestic affairs, there are also foreign affairs." The pseudo-emperor spread his hands, "Some small countries in the southeast want to pay tribute at this time. They are very enthusiastic, and I can't refuse them."

The Demon Queen frowned slightly and said thoughtfully, "I am also worried about what rewards to give to those princes who came to the capital. It's a headache. How about this, let them not come this year to save everyone trouble."

"Okay, okay." The fake emperor nodded repeatedly, "You have to issue an imperial decree. If I issue an imperial decree, it will seem that I don't care about family affection."

He was also unwilling to have hypocritical family ties with those princes every year. It would be best if he didn't come, as it would also save him some expenses.

The Demon Queen glared at him with a smile on her face: "Okay, I will be the bad guy, okay?"

The fake emperor opened his mouth and said, "If I have more time, I can spend more time with you. During the New Year, we can stay in the courtyard for a few more days if we have time."

Shuangxi on the side interrupted: "Can you bring your servant with you this time? I can cook for you."

"Okay!" the fake emperor agreed.

Shuangxi knows everything anyway, so there is no need to avoid her.

The Demon Queen smiled and said, "I'm looking forward to those few days."

Shuangxi became interested, blinking her beautiful big eyes and asked: "I can go and prepare in advance and decorate the courtyard to make it festive."

The fake emperor glared angrily: "It's not like we're getting married."

The Demon Queen suddenly raised her beautiful eyes and stared at him, her expression full of affection: "How about we get married?"

False Emperor: “???”

Playing such a big game?

……

Ps: I wish you all a happy National Day. You all say I am too slow. I will speed up this month! ! Shamelessly begging for monthly tickets. I will give you a few at the beginning of the month. Without monthly tickets, the display will not look good.

(End of this chapter)