Wife, you didn't really drug me, did you?

Chapter 488 Chen Jiusi: What does it mean that Zhu Chongba wants to worship me as his master? (Happy Dragon Boat Festival)
"Has the princess already gone to Jiujiang?"

Chen Jie muttered, then looked at Chen Xiaohu and said, "Huzi, prepare the welcoming team. Oh, is Xianning Prefecture ready to welcome us?"

After hearing what Chen Jie said, Chen Xiaohu said, "Don't worry, big brother, it has been done. Zhou Chu went to Xianning Prefecture overnight and has made all the preparations."

After hearing this, Chen Jie said, "Thank you for your hard work."

"Why is it so hard? Big brother's wedding is not just about you, but also about the entire Huangzhou Prefecture. After all, if Big brother can marry the princess, it will bring honor to the entire Huangzhou Prefecture."

After hearing Hu Zi's words, Huang Wan'er said, "Marrying the princess is giving face to the entire Huangzhou Prefecture, but marrying me is bringing shame to Huangzhou?"

Chen Xiaohu laughed when he heard this and said, "Sister-in-law Huang is so jealous of me? Then Huzi apologizes to sister-in-law."

Huang Wan'er was helpless against what Chen Xiaohu said. Although she was a little jealous and wanted to get angry, Xiaohu's words made her helpless.

Chen Jie looked back at Huang Wan'er, and Huang Wan'er immediately stood up and said, "I know, I know, I'm not jealous anymore. It's really domineering to marry a new love and forget about the old one."

Chen Jie was helpless after hearing this. Huang Wan'er just liked to act coquettishly in front of him. To put it bluntly, it was a manifestation of lack of self-confidence.

After all, Su Yunjin is his original wife, and they are a couple who have been through thick and thin together. No one can shake the foundation of their relationship.

As for Princess Zhao Ya, she was of noble birth and of noble descent. Marrying her was not only an emotional matter, but more importantly, it also had political and military benefits. Even his subordinates like Chen Xiaohu felt that it was a great honor for Chen Jiusi to marry Zhao Ya.

And what does Huang Wan'er have?
She and Chen Jie met because of physical pleasure, and their relationship was not as solid as that between Chen Jie and Su Yunjin. Moreover, she came from a very ordinary family. Although she was the daughter of a small wealthy family in Mianshui County, her family had always treated her as a tool to gain benefits and make money.

It can be said that she is not as virtuous as Su Yunjin, her family background is not as good as Zhao Ya, and she can be said to be very mediocre.

Moreover, she knows that entertaining men with her beauty is ultimately inferior, because her body will eventually age. How can she please her man when she is old and ugly?

At that time, there were countless little fairies lining up outside to snatch her man.

At that time, Su Yunjin had her virtue, her friendship with Chen Jiusi, and the support of her status as the original wife, so she could still be loved by her husband.

As for Zhao Ya, she has her status and influence to support her, so it is impossible for her husband to abandon her.

Only Huang Wan'er felt that she could be replaced at any time, because she was simply not comparable to the two of them.

It is precisely because of her inferiority complex that she now desperately wants to gain Chen Jiusi's approval.

It's just like a child. Some children have low self-esteem, so they will keep making trouble to attract other people's attention, just like Uzumaki Naruto in Naruto, who relies on smearing the Naruto Rock to get other people's attention.

The reason why Huang Wan'er made such a fuss was that she wanted to prove that her husband truly loved her and that she would not be replaced.

Including her crazy willingness to offer herself to him, using her body to give her pleasure again and again, to prove Chen Jie's love for her, or she was also trying her best to make Chen Jie feel her goodness.

What she could think of as her greatest strength was her unrivaled skills in bed.

Chen Jie could understand Huang Wan'er's inferiority complex, so he used his own method to try his best to make Huang Wan'er realize that he still loved her very much, and he was patient enough towards her little unreasonable behavior.

Chen Jie looked at Huang Wan'er's willfulness and said to Xiao Hu, "You go and get busy first."

Xiao Hu looked at Chen Jie and Huang Wan'er and immediately said, "Yes, I just remembered that we haven't arranged the security of Huangzhou Prefecture on the wedding day. I'll take my leave now!"

As he spoke, Xiaohu turned around and left. After watching Xiaohu leave, Huang Wan'er looked at Chen Jie and saw that Chen Jie's brows were slightly frowned.

She suddenly panicked, wondering if she had made her husband angry, but she didn't want to make him angry.

Thinking of this, she approached Chen Jie cautiously and said, "Husband, are you angry with me?"

After hearing this, Chen Jie looked at Huang Wan'er, reached out his hand and stroked her head, combed her messy hair and said, "My husband is not angry, he just feels sorry for you."

"Heart, feel sorry for me?"

Huang Wan'er looked at Chen Jie in surprise. Chen Jie said, "Yes, my husband knows that the reason you want to make trouble is that you feel inferior and want to get more attention from me, right?"

Huang Wan'er was silent.

Chen Jie looked at her and said, "You are not this kind of Wan'er. In my mind, Huang Wan'er is a warm, generous, and energetic beauty. Is it your husband who did something wrong that made you become a resentful woman?"

"I!"

Huang Wan'er was about to speak after hearing this but fell silent again.

At this time, Chen Jie said, "Do you think your husband is a playboy? He is still philandering after having you and Yunjin?"

After hearing this, Huang Wan'er was silent for a long time, and then she said, "I, I'm just afraid that you don't want me anymore. I don't know why I'm like this. I, I'm really afraid of losing your husband!"

Chen Jie looked at Huang Wan'er's pitiful appearance with tears in her eyes and said, "You have so little confidence in your husband, how could your husband not want you!"

"Tell me, is your husband the kind of person who forgets his old love when he finds a new one? Or is it that your husband doesn't give you enough!"

Chen Jie looked at Huang Wan'er and asked, his hands also becoming restless.

Huang Wan'er saw this and slapped Chen Jie away, saying, "Husband, please save some of your energy for the bride. I don't want the bride to say that I squeezed you dry and left nothing for her!"

Chen Jie looked at Huang Wan'er and smiled, "Is this the Huang Wan'er I know?"

"The heroine who was once attacked by swords and axes but was not afraid."

Huang Wan'er looked at Chen Jie and said, "I am not afraid of being attacked by swords and axes. I am afraid of death now. I am afraid that I will not see you or our daughter after I die."

Chen Jie smiled after hearing this and said, "This is a good thing, it means you have someone to worry about. Okay, Wan'er, we will be very busy next time, you can't mess around anymore, do you hear me?"

Huang Wan'er said: "Who, who is messing around? I, I can help a lot."

Chen Jie said: "Haha, I knew that our Wan'er is the most knowledgeable. Okay, I'll get busy."

"You are busy, who needs your company?"

Huang Wan'er rolled her eyes at Chen Jie, and then said, "Du Juan, the two chefs we selected yesterday are not enough. Send someone to find two Jiangnan chefs. The princess is from Jiangnan and can't get used to our Hubei cuisine. She has come all the way here, and if the food is not good, it will be a disgrace to our Chen Mansion. Do you understand?"

"I understand, ma'am."

"Well, go quickly and find a few more. I will try the dishes myself and let the princess taste the delicacies of our Huangzhou Prefecture!"

Seeing Huang Wan'er's energetic appearance, Chen Jie was a little surprised. He didn't expect that our Mrs. Huang was really full of energy.

Thinking of this, Chen Jie went out to get busy again. This time, many friends and relatives would surely come from all over the world, so he couldn't treat them badly!
……

Just when Chen Jie was busy, a convoy drove in from Haozhou, Anhui Province, heading towards Huangzhou Prefecture.

The caravan was not large, with only two trucks of goods, a dozen servants, and a horse-drawn carriage, in which there seemed to be a woman sitting.

At this time, in the center of the convoy, there was a man who looked a bit like a farmer, and he was full of rural atmosphere, but it was his eyes, which always had a captivating gaze like a tiger or leopard when he looked at people.

But he hides it very deeply and doesn't reveal it easily.

At this time, the convoy continued to move forward. After a while, a voice came from the carriage: "Zhongba, have we reached the border of Huangzhou Prefecture?"

After hearing this, Zhu Chongba said, "Yes, sister, we have just entered Huanggang Prefecture, which is under the jurisdiction of Huangzhou Prefecture."

"But sister, how did you know we had entered the territory of Huangzhou Prefecture?"

After hearing this, Ma Xiuying said, "This car is not bumpy anymore."

Zhu Chongba was stunned. He looked at the ground and was surprised to find that the road he was walking on had obviously been leveled. It was indeed unlike the roads in Anhui, which were bumpy and uncomfortable to walk on.

At this time, Ma Xiuying took a look at the road under her feet and said, "This road should have been repaired. Look how flat it is. There is also a layer of fine sand on it. This way, even if it rains, the road will not be too muddy and difficult to walk on."

Zhu Chongba looked at the road and said, "Yes, this road is much easier to walk on, and it is also convenient for military deployment. I didn't expect to see this just after entering Huangzhou Prefecture. This Chen Jiusi is really something!"

After hearing what Zhu Yuanzhang said, Tang He said, "What's the big deal? This road is easy to travel. It's not only easy for our army, but also for the enemy, isn't it?"

"And how much money will it cost to build this road? The money is enough to buy a new batch of equipment for the soldiers!"

Zhu Chongba thought about it and said, "That's right. This is a double-edged sword. It's not only convenient for myself, but also for others."

However, Ma Xiuying in the carriage said, "That's not the case. In addition to the military, this road will be more convenient for ordinary people and merchants. The transportation cost for merchants is very high, especially by land. The goods in many places are good, but difficult to transport, so they are difficult to sell. If the road can be repaired, the lives of ordinary people will definitely be improved."

At this time, Li Shanchang, who was following in the convoy and dressed like an accountant, said, "Madam, what you said is absolutely right. Repairing this road will definitely be of great benefit to the local finances. This is a strategy to enrich the people and revitalize the country!"

Zhu Chongba heard this and said, "That makes sense. After listening to what you said, I now have an idea. By the way, sir, please write it down for me. After we go back, we must also study the strategy of road construction."

After hearing what Zhu Chongba said, Li Shanchang immediately said, "Yes."

"But sir, building this road will require a lot of money. Where will the money come from? We don't have much money."

After hearing this, Zhu Chongba frowned again and said, "Yes, without money, it's hard for a good wife to cook delicious meals."

Ma Xiuying coughed and said, "A good cook cannot cook without rice. Besides, we have nothing to fear if we have no money. We have just entered Huangzhou Prefecture. Let's continue to move forward and see how people in Huangzhou Prefecture make money. Why don't we learn from them?"

After hearing this, Zhu Chongba grinned and said, "Hehe, that makes sense. Then let's learn from Chen Jiusi."

Upon hearing this, Li Shanchang said, "Your Excellency is so humble and modest, you are truly a hero."

The group was walking here, and not long after they went, they suddenly saw a checkpoint in front of them.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly, because he had seen this kind of checkpoints in other places. They were all exorbitant taxes set up by local officials for the purpose of exploiting merchants and pedestrians passing by. If you didn't pay, you wouldn't be allowed to pass.

Zhu Chongba said: "Haha, I thought Chen Jiusi's Huangzhou Prefecture was different from other places, but now it seems that they are just birds of a feather."

After hearing this, Tang He behind him said, "It is estimated that Chen Jiusi got the money for building the road by exploiting the merchants and pedestrians." After hearing what the two said, Ma Xiuying said, "We haven't come forward yet, and we don't know the whole situation. We can't make a judgment casually. Let's go forward and take a look first."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang did not quite agree with what Ma Xiuying said. After all, he knew the situation of these checkpoints very well.

At this time, Zhu Chongba and his companions arrived at the checkpoint, and then saw several soldiers in clean clothes coming out of the checkpoint. They came up to them, clasped their fists and said, "Please stop for a moment and be inspected."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the soldiers at the checkpoint and gave Tang a look.

Tang He immediately took out a silver ingot of one tael from his pocket and handed it over, saying, "Officials, there are only some common fur goods on the car. Please be flexible."

As soon as these words came out, a soldier said, "Sir, please don't do this. We don't want to collect money. Just let us check it."

The soldier refused directly. Zhu Yuanzhang did not feel any good after reading it. Instead, he frowned even more. It seemed that he thought one tael of silver was too little. This was really a cruel exploitation.

At this time, Zhu Chongba said: "Then let the officials investigate."

As they spoke, the officers and soldiers immediately got into the carriage to check the cargo. A soldier came to the front of the carriage and said, "Excuse me, we want to take a look at the carriage too."

Zhu Chongba frowned slightly, but Ma Xiuying in the carriage opened the carriage curtain and said, "It's just the two of us in the carriage~"

The soldier took a look and said, "Okay, is there any problem with the cargo?"

"no problem."

"Pass!"

The soldier immediately let Zhu Chongba pass, which surprised Zhu Chongba and he asked, "Are you setting up a checkpoint here just to inspect the goods?"

The soldier heard this and said, "That's right."

"It's time for the shopkeeper to leave."

Zhu Yuanzhang was about to continue asking questions when Ma Xiuying in the car spoke up and directly changed Zhu Yuanzhang's name to the shopkeeper. Zhu Yuanzhang took his men away and watched the soldiers check the next pair of people very carefully, but they did not ask for any money.

Zhu Chongba said: "These soldiers are interesting, they don't even covet money?"

Tang He said: "Is there any soldier in this world who doesn't covet money?"

Ma Xiuying said: "Their military discipline is very strict and they are obviously well-trained."

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang had a deeper understanding of the soldiers under Chen Jie.

Thinking like this, just as Zhu Yuanzhang and his men left, one of the soldiers immediately said, "That man just now looks a bit like the Zhu Yuanzhang we were sent to by the higher-ups. Let's report him."

After hearing this, the soldier said, "It should be, report it!"

Soon, the soldiers at these checkpoints reported immediately. These checkpoints had two tasks in total. The first was to catch the illegal smuggling of contraband, and the second was to confirm the information of people entering Huangzhou Prefecture.

If there are people who need attention during the investigation, please report it immediately and someone will be responsible for keeping an eye on them.

The soldiers at the checkpoints immediately reported the incident, and Zhu Yuanzhang said to Tang He, "We must also train the soldiers at the checkpoints when we return. If any of them dare to be corrupt, we will kill them."

Tang He said: "Well, I understand."

Zhu Chongba said at this time: "This Chen Jiusi really has some skills. I thought he was just strong in martial arts!"

Thinking of this, the team moved forward immediately.

Then they arrived at a town in Huanggang Prefecture. When they arrived at the town, they found that the prosperity here was no less than that of Haozhou Prefecture.

There are all kinds of things for sale in this small town.

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang and his companions found an inn, where they stayed and had a meal.

Zhu Chongba, Ma Xiuying, Tang He, and Li Shanchang sat at a table and ordered four bowls of noodles and some side dishes.

After a while, the food and drinks were served.

Zhu Chongba took a bite and said, "It's delicious. The cooking skills of the store owner are good."

The shop owner laughed and said, "Haha, our ancestors all made noodles, so naturally our noodles taste better."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled without saying anything when he heard this, and then he started eating the noodles in big mouthfuls. Soon he actually picked out a shrimp from the noodles.

Seeing the shrimps, Zhu Chongba was stunned for a moment and said, "These shrimps are so big, where are the river shrimps from?"

After hearing this, the shopkeeper said, "This is not river shrimp, but sea shrimp. We in Huangzhou Prefecture have special ships that go to the seaside to buy seafood. This kind of shrimp is dried on the seaside. It's really delicious when you bring it back. It's very fresh!"

Zhu Chongba's face changed when he heard this and he asked, "Shrimp?"

Others might only care about the food itself when they heard about the shrimp, but Zhu Yuanzhang was different. He heard about Huangzhou Prefecture's shipping and naval warfare capabilities.

You have to know that it is very difficult to travel along the Yangtze River into the estuary. If you are not careful, the ship may be destroyed and people may die. Therefore, the quality requirements of the ship are very high, after all, it is sea transportation.

The Huangzhou Prefecture was actually able to organize caravans to transport seafood from the seaside to the inland for sale, which shows its shipping capabilities. If it were to engage in a naval battle with Chen Jiusi, it would be very difficult.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang slowed down the pace at which he ate his noodles and a solemn expression appeared on his face. It was true that the extraordinary nature of Huangzhou Prefecture could be seen from the inconspicuous details.

At this time, Ma Xiuying looked at the dishes on the table and said, "Look, this day lily should be from Shuzhong, this bacon should be from Hunan, and this..."

Ma Xiuying pointed at the food on the table. Many of them were not local. This might not seem too surprising in later generations, but it was different when it was in front of her.

You have to know that transportation was very underdeveloped in that era, and it was not easy to gather food from all over the world on one table.

Don’t underestimate this table of delicious food and drinks. You must know that in this era, there is always a saying that should not be underestimated, that is, food is the first necessity of the people, even in later generations there are vegetable basket plans.

This table of food can reflect a lot of things.

For example, the gathering of food from all over the world on this table illustrates one thing, that is, the business and shipping of Huangzhou Prefecture are very developed.

The result is that delicious food and drinks from all over the world are gathered on the table of a small restaurant in Huangzhou Prefecture.

You have to know that a small restaurant can get such good goods, which means that the entire Huangzhou Prefecture has all kinds of food like this from all over the world.

At least it can be supplied to the level of a small restaurant.

Thinking of this, Ma Xiuying and Li Shanchang couldn't help but sigh that Huangzhou Prefecture was really more terrifying than they had imagined.

Thinking of this, Zhu Chongba said, "Tang He."

"Big brother."

Zhu Chongba said: "Write this down. When we return, we must find a way to develop warships. Otherwise, we will never be able to compete with Chen Jiusi in the southern waters in the future."

Tang He said: "Yes, eldest brother, I will discuss it with second brother when I get back."

Zhu Chongba nodded slightly.

At this time, Zhu Chongba nodded, his eyes full of solemnity and said: "This Huangzhou Prefecture is really more and more frightening the more you look at it, and the more you look at it, the more frightening it is."

After hearing this, Ma Xiuying said, "Chongba, don't be so stressed. It's actually a good thing that we came to Huangzhou Prefecture this time. At least we can see the gap between us and Huangzhou Prefecture. You should take Chen Jiusi as your teacher and learn from his ability to govern."

"Even if we learn 80% of it, our Haozhou will definitely undergo earth-shaking changes."

After hearing this, Zhu Chongba frowned and asked, "I will be his disciple, Chen Jiusi?"

Ma Xiuying said: "It's not shameful to learn from the strong!"

Zhu Chongba said: "Let's see, I can do the same as Chen Jiusi."

Zhu Chongba said stubbornly that after all, a man should have dignity.

Ma Xiuying looked at her man and did not push him too much. She knew that if her man really saw the advantages of others, he would definitely learn from them.

"Well, it should be Zhu Chongba from Haozhou. Immediately pass the news back to the city and inform the city lord. In addition, Zhu Chongba seems to be learning some of our Huangzhou Prefecture's policies! Will this be detrimental to our Huangzhou Prefecture? Quickly inform the city lord!"

The capital of Huangzhou Prefecture, Chen Prefecture.

At this time, Chen Xiaohu rushed into Chen Jie's study. Chen Jie looked at him in surprise and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Brother, we just received a report from our spies that Zhu Chongba sneaked into our Huangzhou Prefecture."

"sneak into?"

Chen Jie was stunned when he heard this, then laughed and said, "Why did Zhu Chongba sneak in with my invitation?"

Chen Xiaohu said: "According to the spy's report, he is asking around about our local administrative methods. It seems that he is preparing to learn the administrative methods of our Huangzhou Prefecture!"

"follow me?"

Chen Jie was stunned for a moment, then the corners of his mouth curled up.

Chen Xiaohu said anxiously, "That won't do. What if he learns all our administrative methods? Should I order the local authorities to mess around a bit and let them confuse Zhu Yuanzhang?"

Chen Jie heard this and said, "No, let him learn. Let him learn freely!"

(End of this chapter)