Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 234 The Royal Family is Pregnant

Seeing that it was getting late and Zheng Guohui looked a little tired, he headed back to the palace.

Ganquan Palace was originally not very big. The palace-style buildings in front and back were separated by a small square in the middle, and there were corridors on both sides, so you could see to the end at a glance.

Seeing the movements of the king and the palace guards, a maid quickly went to report to the queen, and the queen hurriedly came out with a group of palace concubines. This was the case every day.

It is of course impossible to travel such a short distance by carriage.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu, surrounded by a group of palace guards, walked straight along the square to the main hall of Ganquan Palace at the back. The guards leading the way quickly dispersed to both sides, stood at attention and turned around after running to their positions.

They drew their swords, held them upright before their chests, the tips pointing upwards, performed the salute, and shouted in unison, "We respectfully welcome the King!"

The queen, along with her concubines and maids, knelt and bowed in greeting, saying, "Your Majesty, may your Majesty be blessed with good health."

"No gift!"

King Zheng Guohui of Chu extended his hand to support the queen, and when she stood up, he took her hand and walked towards the palace, saying as they walked;
"I've told the Queen many times that it's just a few steps. There's no need to greet her every time. It's too troublesome."

"Your Majesty, courtesy cannot be abandoned."

"I know the Queen won't listen even if I tell her. By the way, I have arranged for Li Jingji, the General Manager of the Western Office, to dispose of the assets on hand and return to Manila to report on his work before the end of the year. The remaining silver will be used to purchase goods and then returned for sale. The proceeds will be deposited into a special account of the Royal Nanyang Bank for the Queen to manage." King Chu Zheng Guohui explained.

The two of them came to the side hall and sat down. The palace servants served them tea, fruits and snacks, so there was no need to mention it further.

The queen frowned delicately and asked, "I understand, but where should I invest such a large sum of money?"

"It can be docks, factories, mines, or banks. We can invest wherever the Queen likes." King Zheng Guohui of Chu said casually.

The queen nodded and replied, "Well, if there's nothing better to do with it, let's invest it in the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. I think it's safe to invest in a bank."

"The queen is absolutely right. This is the safest option." Zheng Guohui's compliment came from the heart. The queen was indeed from the famous Li family in northern Anhui, and she had her own unique insights.

The royal family participated in many projects, such as the Royal Nanyang Bank, in which the Chu royal family held a 70% stake and the government held a 30% stake.

In the Great Chu Colonization Bank, the royal family held 35% of the shares, the government held 49% of the shares, the family of Prime Minister Li Hezhang held 50% of the shares, and more than 20 other military and political dignitaries divided the remaining 11% of the shares.

In the Agricultural Bank of Chu, the government held 49% of the shares, the royal family held 32% of the shares, and the rest was divided up among the families of high-ranking officials.

The same is roughly true for the Industrial and Commercial Bank of Chu, which is currently under preparation, with the royal family holding between 3% and 4% of the shares.

The most important bank in the Chu State was the Royal Nanyang Bank, which inherited the core immigration credit business of the Nanyang Money House. Its annual profit amounted to tens of millions and it was the main source of income for the royal family and the government.

Why did the Chu royal family need so much money?

This is because the Chu State's land and sea forces were both maintained by the royal family. They were not government armies, but the private armies of the Chu King's royal family.

The military expenditure for just one year, calculated based on the total force of 4.9 after the expansion (note: including the army and navy), was more than 330 million silver dollars.

The Chu royal family also maintained a fleet of immigrant sailing ships that traveled back and forth to the mainland, totaling 137 large sailing ships with a displacement of more than 500 tons, and a total of more than 8720 captains and sailors, which was another huge expense every year.

These sailing cargo ships belong to the Royal South Seas Shipping Company, in which the royal family holds 89% of the shares and the government holds 11%. The government's shares are still the dividends allocated by the royal family.

Therefore, in the Chu army, loyalty must first be to His Majesty, second to the Chu State, and third to the Chinese nation. This is a practice formed by the characteristics of the royal private army.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu was sitting in the side hall chatting with the queen. He picked up a piece of thousand-layer osmanthus oil cake and handed it to the queen sitting next to him.

The queen said "Thank you, Your Majesty" and stretched out her delicate hand to take it. Just as she took a bite, she suddenly felt a strong sense of discomfort.

She quickly spat out the pastry and covered her mouth with her hands and began to retch.

This surprised King Zheng Guohui of Chu who was sitting on the side. His expression suddenly turned cold. He looked at the pastry that was spit out on the ground. Just as a bad thought emerged in his mind, it was interrupted by a scream.

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid you are pregnant?" The palace maid standing behind serving was very experienced and immediately thought of something.
Seeing this, Qiao Yue, who was standing behind her and waiting on her, recalled her own morning sickness when she first became pregnant, and she also said, "Your Majesty, when I was pregnant, I also had a period of time where I couldn't stand the smell of anything and vomited everything I ate. It really looks like them!"

King Zheng Guohui of Chu's worry turned into joy, and he immediately ordered, "Quickly call the imperial physician to examine the queen's pulse. What exactly did she say?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The palace maid who received the order immediately ran out with light steps, with an irrepressible joy on her face.

This is a big happy event in the palace. Who wouldn’t be happy from top to bottom?

After taking two sips of hot tea, she rinsed her mouth and spit it out into the golden basin. After taking a few sips of the newly brewed tea, the queen's nausea was relieved.

She raised her head and looked at King Zheng Guohui of Chu with her beautiful big eyes filled with tears, and called out "Your Majesty". Her expression was full of anticipation, but also mixed with uneasiness.

Zheng Guohui nodded amiably and said, "Don't worry, Queen. The imperial physician will be here soon and we'll know everything by then. It's almost time."

"Hmph, it's all your Majesty's fault." The queen, in a rare moment of coquettish anger, rolled her eyes at him. Counting from the first month of the year before last, she had been married into the Zheng family for three years, actually seventeen months.

Especially in recent months, the Queen has been eager to give birth to a child for His Majesty the King of Chu to continue the bloodline.

This thought was hidden in her heart, and it was inevitable that it would be expressed when things did not go her way repeatedly, and the maids and concubines around her often scolded her.

Invisibly, the palace was shrouded in pressure.

Even King Zheng Guohui of Chu noticed this. He has basically not favored his beloved concubine recently and usually rests in the queen's bedroom. It can be said that he has worked very hard.

Upon hearing the good news, Zheng Guohui's mood became cheerful. He comforted the queen with gentle words, and a feeling of anticipation emerged in his heart.

Not long after
The imperial physician Tao Molin, with a white beard, came hurriedly, but he did not do any fancy tricks like "diagnosing pulse with a hanging thread". This was not popular in the State of Chu, and it was not advocated that men and women should not touch each other.

The queen stretched out her tender wrist, and the imperial physician Tao Molin took her pulse directly.

After a brief pause, the imperial physician Tao Molin withdrew his hands, clasped his fists, and said with a smile on his face;
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty! The Queen is pregnant! The Chu Kingdom will have another baby boy."

"Wow, that's great!"

In just a moment, all the palace concubines and maids cheered in unison, their expressions extremely happy, and the atmosphere of joy was spread on everyone's face.

Zheng Guohui was delighted when he heard this. He waved his hand and ordered, "Rewards, generous rewards. Give the old gentleman 200 silver dollars, and give 10 silver dollars to everyone in the palace, including the imperial guards."

"We thank your Majesty for his grace."

"Congratulations, Queen, and Your Majesty."

One time
The palace ladies who came to thank him for the reward came happily to receive the gifts and express their gratitude. The palace guards who heard the news saluted and said "thank you for the reward". The imperial physician Tao Molin clasped his hands together and bowed deeply to the ground.

The State of Chu officially abolished the kneeling ceremony. There was no need to kneel in any occasion, including when meeting the king. A bow was sufficient.

When the good news spread, there was cheering in the Royal Guards garrison on the Ganquan Palace side, and everyone was in high spirits.

The queen's pregnancy meant that the State of Chu had a successor and the bloodline inheritance was in order. This was a big event for the entire kingdom and would inevitably cause a sensation.

Soon the King of Chu issued an order for the whole country to have a three-day holiday to celebrate.

It was a lively scene now. Many people in cities and towns took to the streets with drums and gongs, performed lion and dragon dances, walked on stilts, and rode on flower boats, expressing their inner joy in various ways.

All the court officials came to Ganquan Palace to pay their congratulations. After receiving them all, King Zheng Guohui of Chu generously rewarded them with thousands of pieces of cloth and brocade. Naturally, everyone was delighted.

After a few days of excitement, it gradually died down.

Foreign envoys who received the news also came to congratulate him, and King Zheng Guohui of Chu met with them one by one, so he naturally put the matter aside.

It happened that the representative of the Ryukyu Kingdom, the purple-scarf official Xiang Dehong, also came to join in the fun and asked to see His Majesty the King of Chu.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu got a headache when he heard this man's name, so he directly sent him to Prime Minister Li Hezhang to deal with him, and did not even meet him.

Royal Government Building in Intramuros, Manila

In the Prime Minister's Office

Xiang Dehong threw himself before Prime Minister Li Hezhang, crying with tears streaming down his face, "Prime Minister, for the sake of our bloodline and brotherhood, please send troops to help our troubled Ryukyu Kingdom. Only one regiment will be enough. With the full support of the Great Chu Kingdom, why worry about the rampant Japanese pirates?"

Oh my god!
Even with Prime Minister Li Hezhang's good temper, he was still overwhelmed by Xiang Dehong and couldn't help but swear.

Xiang Dehong's sincere desire to serve the country is truly worthy of praise and admiration.

The key point is that you worshipped the wrong temple gate. It’s not like that!

Li Hezhang's earlier conversation with him had clearly shown the Chu State's position that it was impossible for it to intervene in the territorial dispute between the Ryukyu Kingdom and the Fuso Kingdom, or to annex them.

The real person we should look for is the Shenzhou court. That is the father and the grandfather. As for whether the Shenzhou court will intervene?

That was not something the Chu State could intervene in, but Xiang Dehong was unyielding and always lived in his own world, constantly begging for help. The whole country dared not forget it.

Isn’t this ridiculous?
King Zheng Guohui of Chu repeatedly explained that the Great Chu was established not long ago, its foundation was not stable, and its national strength was still weak. In recent years, it has mainly adopted a low profile and kept a low profile. It has not expressed its position, interfered, or intervened in the surrounding Nanyang affairs, and has focused on strengthening the foundation of the kingdom.

As the chief minister of the cabinet, how could Li Hezhang risk his promising career to win the favor of the Ryukyu Kingdom, which "the whole country dares not forget"?
I'm really scratching my head over this hot potato.

Prince Abdullah Said of the Sultanate of Selangor was better off. Seeing that the State of Chu was really unwilling to intervene, he could only go back in disappointment.

However, the Ryukyu Kingdom left behind this troublesome monster, causing the government to have opinions about the Ryukyu Kingdom and dislike them very much. This was definitely forcing someone to do something difficult!

(End of this chapter)