Chapter 494: Arriving at Laizhou

In truth, Zhu Youxiao had no idea how things would turn out, nor whether anyone would make a move against him.

Although later generations would spin all sorts of wild conspiracy theories about the Great Ming, no one truly knew how history had really unfolded.

This time he was traveling by ship to Jiangnan — he wondered whether he might end up in the water.

But some things had to be done. If he did not go this time, matters in Jiangnan would ultimately remain superficial; no matter who was sent, it would not make much difference.

Just like Wei Zhongxian destroying the Donglin Academy and arresting the Donglin Faction — the outcome would not change.

So at such a critical moment, Zhu Youxiao's journey was meant to settle everything in one stroke. If he won this time, the entire Great Ming would veer onto a different path.

He had to go this time, even if there was danger — Zhu Youxiao was determined to do it.

But Zhu Youxiao also believed that with his precautions in place, no one could do anything to him.

After walking a few steps forward, Zhu Youxiao saw Qi Yuangong standing at the doorway. The young man had matured considerably by now.

After Qi Jin passed away before the new year, Qi Yuanfu had taken over his father's position and continued to command the Imperial Guard Corps headquarters.

Qi Yuangong, meanwhile, had been guarding by Zhu Youxiao's side all along.

After several rounds of expansion, Zhu Youxiao's personal guard had reached three thousand men — this was also the confidence that allowed him to head south this time.

Even if he truly fell into the water, they could pull him back up.

"Your Majesty." Seeing Zhu Youxiao, Qi Yuangong hurriedly bowed in salute.

Qi Yuangong was no longer young either; his face was full of beard, yet he remained tall and sturdy.

Zhu Youxiao nodded to Qi Yuangong and said, "Your eldest son was born a couple of days ago?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Qi Yuangong quickly replied.

Hearing this, Zhu Youxiao casually took a jade pendant from his person and tossed it to Qi Yuangong, saying, "Take it back and let him play with it. He'll amount to something in the future."

Qi Yuangong was instantly overcome with emotion. He hurriedly reached out to catch the jade pendant and fell to his knees with a thud.

Over the years, the Emperor had shown the Qi family tremendous trust — whether toward his father or toward the brothers.

Now that his own son was born, the Emperor had given a reward, and a jade pendant taken from his very person at that — the significance was extraordinary!

This was the Emperor's favor! It was a bond of goodwill. When his son entered officialdom in the future, he would surely be regarded with high esteem.

Zhu Youxiao walked over, reached out and patted Qi Yuangong's shoulder, saying, "I know your abilities, and I understand that if I sent you to the battlefield, you would surely earn great military glory. Now that you stay by my side, it rather grinds away at your talents."

"Being able to guard Your Majesty's safety is this subject's fortune." Qi Yuangong said hurriedly.

"Enough, rise and speak." Zhu Youxiao patted his shoulder and said, "This trip south may well hold some danger. So bring all your men along — if anything happens, you'll have hands to lend. I have always remembered your contributions. Rest assured, I won't treat you unfairly. Do well."

"Yes, Your Majesty. This subject understands." Qi Yuangong quickly replied.

This was not Qi Yuangong speaking empty words — it was from the bottom of his heart. Setting aside future rewards, one could see from the present alone how highly the Emperor regarded their family. Such grace of recognition was enough for him to risk his life.

"Prepare well. We depart within the next couple of days." Zhu Youxiao patted Qi Yuangong's shoulder, then walked inside with his hands clasped behind his back.

Zhu Youxiao also needed to pack up. It was time to leave this place and embark on this journey.

The ninth day of the fourth month — auspicious for travel.

Today was a good day.

Zhu Youxiao was in an excellent mood.

Once everything was prepared, he could finally leave the capital for Nanjing.

A ship was docked at Tongzhou wharf, and Zhu Youxiao had already boarded.

Many ships guarded it front and back, with quite a few vessels carrying the attending ministers.

On both banks of the canal, two groups of men were also advancing without pause.

They had already fanned out, continuously scouting the surrounding situation while also probing ahead to see whether anyone on the shore harbored ill intentions.

Such a journey was quite costly, and in many cases the ministers would not agree to it. If the national treasury's money were used, it could easily empty the coffers.

It was precisely because Zhu Youxiao had money and used his own that the ministers did not oppose it so fiercely.

In truth, their opposition would have been useless anyway — Zhu Youxiao was dead set on going.

After the ship left Tongzhou, it traveled south all the way without stopping along the route.

Zhu Youxiao's first stop was Jining.

Last time he went to Shandong, Zhu Youxiao had disembarked at Jining. This time was the same — he would again go ashore at Jining.

When the local officials of Jining heard the news, they were terrified and rushed over to receive him. Compared to last time, they were even more anxious and fearful this time.

They knew very well what His Majesty had done in Shandong last time. Even if they hadn't understood at the time, by the time they reached Shandong, they understood it clearly enough.

If not for what His Majesty had done in Shandong back then, they would never have reached their current positions. This time, hearing that His Majesty was coming again, these men had not the slightest confidence in their hearts.

Zhu Youxiao could not be bothered with them. Over the years he had investigated them more than once or twice, and basically there were no major problems.

And this time Zhu Youxiao was not coming for them — this trip was mainly to go to Qingdao.

Of course, in this era there was no Qingdao yet — there was only Laizhou. Beside it there was also a Dengzhou.

In the original timeline, the court had established the Denglai Governor here. Denglai Governor Yuan Keli had once drilled the naval forces here, making Denglai a key garrison stronghold.

And the location of Qingdao was, in fact, a fortress of Laizhou.

During the Yuan dynasty, to facilitate maritime transport of grain tribute, the only sea canal in China was dug — the Jiaolai Canal running through the Shandong Peninsula.

When Zhu Youxiao chose to build a navy, his first pick was this place.

First, this was the north of the Great Ming. Building the navy here could guard the Bohai Bay. Whether going north or south, it could reach out in all directions — especially within reach of Joseon and Japan.

The Great Ming's situation was very complicated now; long-distance ocean voyages were basically impossible. Without sea charts and without oceangoing capability, they could only circle about in coastal waters. So whether Joseon or Japan, both were places the Great Ming needed to take. Thus this circle required a powerful navy to hold it.

Zhu Youxiao had naturally chosen this place, and this time he wanted to go see it.

Over the past few years, Zhu Youxiao had poured no small amount of money into it. Now that the time had come, it would be hard to accept not going to take a look. Who knew where they had spent his money, and what state the ships were in now? He wondered whether they could be taken out to fight yet.

And equipping them with cannons in the future was also a problem. Now that he had picric acid bombs and new-style cannons, Zhu Youxiao naturally did not want to mount those old-fashioned red-coat cannons on his ships.

Bronze cannons were heavy, had limited range, and were slow to fire — too useless. If they were swapped for breech-loading cannons firing metal shells, that would certainly be different.

The only problem was whether the current wooden ships could withstand the recoil of heavy cannons — that still needed careful study. But that did not stop Zhu Youxiao from going to look. Besides, if he needed to stir up trouble in the south this time, they might well come in handy.

So after staying in Jining for a day, Zhu Youxiao set out with his entourage the next day, heading straight for Laizhou.

This time, naturally, they did not travel by water, but instead switched to the overland route.

Zhu Youxiao sat in the carriage, with guardsmen flanking him on both sides.

The whole procession made its way to Laizhou in grand style.

Traveling along the main road, Zhu Youxiao would occasionally lift the carriage curtain to look outside.

Gazing out, he could see vast stretches of farmland, with many common folk busy at work in the fields, and some children running about on the field paths flying paper kites. However, when they caught sight of Zhu Youxiao's carriage procession, they all stopped what they were doing and hid far away, not daring to come anywhere near.

It was clear to see that they were still quite fearful.

Zhu Youxiao was in a good mood, after all, scenes of spring plowing like this were not something he often got to see. Moreover, the green in the fields perhaps signified that there would be a good harvest to come.

This also brought another matter to Zhu Youxiao's mind—that of black wheat, which perhaps should be put on the agenda as soon as possible.

The cold resistance of the Great Ming's wheat was far too poor. When he got back, he would have to send someone to Russia to acquire some black wheat with strong cold resistance.

Apart from that, there was also corn with a relatively short growing period—normally it could be harvested in just over four months. Otherwise, life would not be easy in the days ahead.

Natural disasters, man-made calamities, sudden drops in temperature—thinking about it really gave him a headache. This was also the reason why Zhu Youxiao was going to Jiangnan.

He wanted to take advantage of this brief period of peace to get all these matters settled, rather than waiting until after the disasters struck, when he would find himself bound hand and foot.

The journey was uneventful, and on that day Zhu Youxiao arrived at Laizhou.

Because the war had not unfolded as it did in the original history, the situation in Liaodong had not descended into chaos, and there was no need to establish a Governor at Dengzhou and Laizhou. So the one who came to welcome Zhu Youxiao was the Prefect of Laizhou.

He was a civil official in his fifties, and it was plain to see that by this point, he had basically reached the end of the road.

At his age, wanting to rise another step was essentially no longer possible. Moreover, having not been promoted by this age basically meant he had no one backing him at court.

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Sun Chengzong.

This man had been arranged by Sun Chengzong, and his name was apparently Chen Qicheng. He was said to be someone on Sun Chengzong's line, with a certain degree of military ability. As for the specifics, Zhu Youxiao was not very clear on that.

At this moment, Chen Qicheng was extremely nervous, performing the role of cringing deference and trembling fear to the fullest, terrified that His Majesty might have him killed. When he met Zhu Youxiao, he was so cautious it was almost comical, even to the point of trembling with fright.

Zhu Youxiao cast a faint glance at Sun Chengzong, who was accompanying him at his side, his eyes conveying a questioning look.

The meaning was quite obvious—this is the one you recommended? Is this a sign of a guilty conscience? Has he done something to betray me, to betray the state? Are you sure there's no problem?