Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1242 Getting to the bottom of things
Sun Hao's arrival today was opportune. Not only was Zhu Mincheng at the Prince's residence, but Li Dingguo was also there, along with Jian Hu and Cui Qi, officials under the Prince of Song in charge of construction and agriculture.

They were reporting to Zhu Mincheng at the Prince's Palace today, discussing some matters concerning the Song Kingdom, when they suddenly learned that Sun Hao had arrived. Zhu Mincheng was first taken aback, then overjoyed, and hurriedly led everyone out to greet him.

Others might not know who Sun Hao is, but Li Dingguo and his men, as the Song King's trusted subordinates, do. The Song King has been stationed here for more than two years, but the position of Chief Secretary of the Song King's Palace has remained vacant. This position is not vacant; someone has been appointed for a long time, but has not taken office due to special reasons. And this Chief Secretary is none other than Sun Hao, who has just arrived in Xinjing.

Although they had never met, they had long been familiar with Sun Hao. The reason for this, besides what Zhu Mincheng said, was that Li Dingguo and the others knew it themselves.

Especially Li Dingguo, who initially didn't know why he was suddenly transferred from the local area to work under Zhu Mincheng. Only later did he learn that it was Sun Hao who had specially recommended him, giving him the opportunity to showcase his talents. Li Dingguo was very grateful for this. Although this was the first time he had met Sun Hao, he had long wanted to thank him.

Moreover, although Sun Hao was relatively unknown, his father, Sun Chengzong, was a household name. Who in the Ming Dynasty didn't know the venerable Sun Chengzong? This veteran official of five reigns was not only accomplished in both civil and military affairs, but also a pillar of the Ming Dynasty. After the Battle of Sarhu, the situation in Liaodong was critical. Later, due to the power struggle between Xiong Tingbi and others in Liaodong, the entire area north of Shanhaiguan was occupied by the Jurchens, bringing the situation to an extremely dire straits.

At this critical moment, Sun Chengzong, in his capacity as Grand Secretary, volunteered to go to Liaodong to oversee the troops, stabilize the situation, and personally built a solid Ningjin defense line. He proceeded step by step, steadily and surely, gradually recovering lost territory and suppressing the once rampant Jurchens to the point of being unable to breathe.

If it weren't for the fact that someone in the court was jealous of Sun Chengzong and feared that his prestige in Liaodong was too high, and thus persuaded Wei Zhongxian to have the Tianqi Emperor recall his teacher from Liaodong, Liaodong might have been pacified long ago under Sun Chengzong's rule.

Unfortunately, the situation in Liaodong changed as soon as Sun Chengzong left. After the death of Emperor Tianqi and the ascension of Emperor Chongzhen, the latter believed Yuan Chonghuan's so-called five-year plan to pacify Liaodong, which led to the collapse of the situation in Liaodong and ruined Sun Chengzong's years of planning.

During the Jiyi Rebellion, Sun Chengzong, who had already retired to his hometown, was once again ordered to lead troops to repel the Jurchens and return to Liaodong. However, Emperor Chongzhen did not trust Sun Chengzong at all. Just when Sun Chengzong was about to take command of the Liaodong military again to serve the country, the suspicious Emperor Chongzhen used various means to suppress Sun Chengzong, which led to Sun Chengzong becoming completely disheartened and taking the initiative to resign and return to his hometown.

After the current emperor ascended the throne, Sun Chengzong, who had originally intended to no longer interfere in court affairs, was valued by the emperor and specially brought him from his hometown to the capital to be entrusted with important responsibilities. Since Sun Chengzong was already old at that time, and also did not want to continue to participate in state affairs, the emperor not only promoted Sun Chengzong, but also entrusted the crown prince and the Prince of Song to Sun Chengzong, making this old man their teacher.

Although Sun Chengzong has passed away, he is still considered by both scholars and ordinary people in the Ming Dynasty to be an unparalleled national hero. Moreover, Sun Chengzong not only served as the tutor of the Tianqi Emperor but also as the chief tutor of the Ming princes, holding a position of great prestige and high status. Who wouldn't feel respect for him when his name was mentioned?
As Sun Chengzong's youngest son and the senior brother of Prince Song Zhu Mincheng, no one would refuse to let Sun Hao serve as the chief secretary. Moreover, when they learned that Sun Hao could not come to the New World for the time being because of mourning, everyone couldn't help but feel moved by Sun Hao's filial piety. Thus, the position of chief secretary of the Prince Song's mansion remained vacant for more than two years until Sun Hao finally arrived today.

After everyone was seated, Zhu Mincheng first introduced the people to Sun Hao. Although Sun Hao, who was not in a position of authority, had not served by Zhu Mincheng's side for many years, he still had a good understanding of the officials under the Song Prince's Mansion. Among them, Li Dingguo was recommended by Sun Hao to Zhu Mincheng. As for Jian Hu and Cui Qi, although this was the first time they had met, Sun Hao already knew their names and had learned about them from the letters Zhu Mincheng had given him before.

Zhu Mincheng politely greeted everyone with clasped hands. Originally, Zhu Mincheng intended to let Sun Hao say a few words, but Sun Hao smiled and waved his hand to refuse.

Sun Hao said that although he was the chief secretary, he had just arrived and was not yet familiar with the situation in Xinjing. He had no right to speak without investigation, and it was inappropriate for him to comment at the moment. Since the prince and everyone else were discussing matters, he could listen in if it was convenient, and they could discuss other matters in a few days.

Zhu Mincheng smiled and nodded upon hearing this, and the others also had a very good impression of Sun Hao. It seemed that this Chief Secretary was not only the son of Lord Sun, but also had a rather good character, and was not the kind of person who was all talk and no action. From this attitude, it could be seen that he was a person who got things done, so there shouldn't be any problems with cooperation in the future. If Sun Hao were the kind of arrogant and boastful playboy who relied on his family background, everyone would have worried that this Chief Secretary might arbitrarily interfere in government affairs and affect the current good situation. Since Sun Hao had said so, Zhu Mincheng signaled everyone to continue the previous discussion. Then, everyone continued discussing the topic they had only half-discussed earlier. Sun Hao sat there listening attentively without interrupting. The conversation lasted for nearly an hour. After all the matters were discussed, Zhu Mincheng made arrangements one by one. Then, he clasped his hands together and said with a smile that the important matters had been discussed. Next, it was time to welcome the Chief Secretary. He was very happy to see Sun Hao today, and since everyone was here, he, as the Prince of Song, would host a banquet at the Prince's Mansion to celebrate Sun Hao's arrival.

Everyone laughed in agreement, and Sun Hao couldn't help but smile as well. Despite Zhu Mincheng being the Prince of Song and now a vassal king of the Song Kingdom, he remained as easygoing as ever after more than two years. Sun Hao didn't hesitate and nodded with a smile. Thus, a banquet was held at the Prince of Song's residence that day, where Zhu Mincheng hosted a welcome dinner for Sun Hao. Everyone enjoyed the meal immensely, and Sun Hao, in his joy, drank a few extra cups, eventually ending the evening slightly tipsy.

Although Sun Hao was not in the New World before, the thoughtful Zhu Mincheng had already built a mansion for him in advance when the new capital was being constructed. His mansion was located to the left of the Prince's Mansion, separated from it by only a wall.

Although the mansion had never had an owner, it was fully equipped with all the necessary facilities, including servants. That night, Zhu Mincheng arranged for Sun Hao to stay in his mansion. Having drunk a little too much, Sun Hao fell asleep quickly after lying down on the bed. When he woke up again, it was already broad daylight the next day.

In the following days, Sun Hao gradually familiarized himself with the affairs of Xinjing. Although he officially took over as the Chief Secretary of the Prince of Song on the second day and began to sit in the government office in Xinjing, Sun Hao still did not interfere in any political affairs, including military arrangements.

Every day, Sun Hao spent his time either reviewing various documents and materials in the government office, talking and exchanging ideas with officials at all levels, or wandering around the new capital city with a few people, or inspecting various places outside the city. In less than a month, Sun Hao had toured almost all of the present-day Song Kingdom, inspecting not only the commerce, agriculture, and industry inside and outside the city, but also personally visiting the gold mines and talking with the gold prospectors.

Furthermore, Sun Hao even made direct contact with several local indigenous tribes. Although Zhu Mincheng had previously ordered Li Dingguo to lead troops to eliminate these tribes who dared to attack him due to their joint attack on Xinjing, delivering a ruthless blow, Zhu Mincheng did not continue to use his army to sweep through all the tribes surrounding the Song state. Instead, he used this incident to demonstrate his military strength and then sent envoys to contact other tribes, using this method to win them over.

After Xinjing (New Capital) became incredibly wealthy following the discovery of gold mines, its influx of immigrants and its growing prosperity led some tribes to gradually gravitate towards it. They viewed Xinjing as a formidable force, powerful yet not unreasonable. The previous military actions were a direct result of other tribes attacking Xinjing first, and Xinjing's retaliatory measures were perfectly normal. Since these tribes had shown goodwill, why not seek cooperation? Moreover, these people possessed considerable resources needed by the local tribes and were willing to exchange these resources for their own goods or purchase them. Furthermore, and more importantly, these people differed in appearance from the Westerners of Europe. Upon closer inspection, these self-proclaimed Ming Dynasty people were almost indistinguishable from the native inhabitants. They also claimed that their ancestors had also come from the distant Ming Dynasty, meaning they were all essentially one family, though many past events had been forgotten due to the passage of time.

More than half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and Sun Hao gradually got used to life in Xinjing.

It must be said that Xinjing is indeed a wonderful place. The climate is pleasant, and the port faces inland to a sizable plain with abundant rivers and fertile land, making it ideal for farming. Further inland lie several mountain ranges running from north to south, stretching for thousands of miles. The Song Dynasty has sent people to explore the area, but due to current limitations, they can only survey the section near Xinjing; they don't yet have the capability to explore further out.

Moreover, even within the mountainous region, there are numerous valleys suitable for cultivation and habitation, where some local indigenous people already reside. With increasing contact between Xinjing and the indigenous people, many indigenous tribes have gradually become accustomed to Xinjing's presence and frequently travel there to trade goods. Through contact and trade with the indigenous people, Xinjing has acquired many resources and crops that were previously unavailable in the Ming Dynasty, which is extremely beneficial for developing Xinjing's agriculture and ensuring supply.

On this day, Sun Hao returned from outside the city, but instead of going back to the yamen as usual, or going directly to his own residence, he went to the Song Prince's Mansion to see Zhu Mincheng.

Upon learning that Sun Hao was requesting an audience, Zhu Mincheng immediately had someone invite Sun Hao in. Tea was prepared in the back hall, and when Sun Hao arrived, she quickly invited him to sit down and personally brewed him a cup of tea.

(End of this chapter)