You have truly caused me great suffering!

As the weather gradually turned cooler, the imperial concubines remained at the Summer Palace.

Chen Shao specially sent people to escort them back to the palace.

In a few months, we'll be going to soak in hot springs, but these people are so addicted to staying in Zhongshan that they don't want to come down at all.

Chen Shao yawned, as he was about to summon the Goryeo king and his ministers. This time, Chen Shao was giving them a very high-level audience.

After all, this is the most valuable item, but also the one with the lowest cost.

Chen Shao didn't know whether other vassal states cared or not, but Goryeo certainly did.

The autumn weather was dry. Chen Shao scratched his forehead and asked, "What time is it?"

Chen Chong quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, it's just past 9 AM."

"Let's go and see the King of Goryeo."

Inside the Chui Gong Hall, the members of the Goryeo delegation arrived at the capital city before dawn.

The etiquette for meeting the emperor was taught by the Honglu Temple of the Ministry of Rites, and because there were many people, a special rehearsal was held.

The King and officials of Goryeo were not angry, because they themselves were the most steadfast defenders of the traditional rites and customs.

Jun Rongzhi had also taken his place early. Such an occasion was rather formal, and etiquette could not be disregarded.

Finally, a palace attendant came to announce the imperial decree, loudly proclaiming, "His Majesty has arrived!"

Everyone straightened up, tense with excitement. The prestige of the founding emperor of the Great Jing Dynasty had reached a new peak.

No one in the entire world can threaten him.

The last emperor of the Central Plains to be this powerful was Li Shimin, the Heavenly Khan.

Even Li Shimin's power and prestige were not as great as his, after all, the territory conquered by Chen Shao far surpassed that of the Tang Dynasty.

Even at its most prosperous moment, the Tang Dynasty could not compare to the Jing Dynasty.

Yelü Dashi, who once defeated Tong Guan at the Baigou River and completely destroyed the Song Dynasty by force to reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, has now defeated the Seljuk Empire in the west and established a powerful Western Liao.

Meanwhile, the Western Liao had already submitted a memorial to the Great Jing, acknowledging their submission.

He was genuinely afraid of those people in the Northwest. He petitioned the emperor to launch a western expedition. Yelü Dashi maintained the rule of the Western Liao Empire by establishing trade routes between the East and West.

He knew better than anyone how much war potential the Northwest, the birthplace of the Great Jing dynasty, possessed.

The current strategic focus of the Great Jing Dynasty is entirely in the desert and Japan. Chen Shao needs to deal with the northern front first and solidify the channels for gold and silver to enter the country before he can do anything else.

If there are too many fronts, the central government will not be able to manage them all, and it will inevitably have to delegate a lot of power.

At that time, the territory of the Great Jing was vast, and the places to be attacked would inevitably be extremely distant lands. At that time, the generals would be holding heavy troops abroad, which would always be a hidden danger.

When the imperial carriage arrived, Chen Shao sat on the dragon throne and began to loudly read out the list of tribute from Goryeo.

Because the gifts were sent to inquire after the emperor's well-being in light of the disaster, the list of gifts consisted mostly of rare and precious herbs such as ginseng and deer antler.

The long list of gifts was read for nearly fifteen minutes, and Chen Shao was already feeling dizzy from listening to it. The eunuch, however, showed no signs of being thirsty and continued to read it out in a serious and orderly manner.

When the reading was finally finished, Chen Shao smiled and said, "Which one is the King of Goryeo?"

"Your subject Wang Kai greets Your Majesty."

"Without courtesy, I will give you a seat."

Someone brought over a chair, and Wang Kai sat down properly.

The main hall of the Chuigong Hall was very large, half of which was used for small court assemblies. Sitting on the dragon throne, Chen Shao could not see it very clearly, only that he was wearing a purple robe and a gold belt.

"Your journey across the ocean has greatly pleased me. You must stay longer and return home satisfied."

Wang Kai had imagined the image of the Great Jing Emperor many times. Despite Jin Fushi's constant descriptions to him, he was surprised to find that this founding emperor, who came from a military background, was so kind and gentle, and that he was really too young.

"The small and remote Goryeo kingdom is located in the east of the sea. Since Jizi was enfeoffed, it has always followed the Chinese calendar. Now, we have heard of the great earthquake in Qinzhou. Your Majesty is worried, and the whole of Goryeo is concerned. Therefore, despite the wind and waves, we have come to see Your Majesty." Wang Kai finished speaking in one breath. For some reason, he felt a little guilty speaking while sitting down today.

"You are all very kind."

Life in Goryeo is actually not difficult now; in fact, it's exceptionally good.

Back then, maintaining such a large army required cultivating crops on barren land and exploiting people at every level to sustain rule.

Thieves roamed the countryside, and the people suffered greatly, making it only slightly better than Japan.

But now there's no need to maintain an army.
This alone saved them an immeasurable amount of money, allowing them to grow mulberry trees, raise horses, make paper, and undertake gold and silver smelting.

With a significant increase in income, and now that they have money, they can buy as much grain as they want from Dajing.

This comfort is like a poison; everyone knows that it slowly leads to dependence, and Goryeo will completely become an appendage of Daegeung.

But no one can stop.

Because this is something that benefits almost all social classes, if you stop, let alone whether you have the ability to fight against Da Jing.

The vested interest groups in Korea will not allow you to do that.

The resistance is unimaginably great.

Although Chen Shao was unaware of the purpose of the Goryeo king and his ministers' trip, it did not stop him from speaking eloquently.

Chen Shao was quite pleased with the visit of Goryeo to the capital.

This is a highly significant achievement, as the rulers of Goryeo have never personally come to pay tribute since the Shang and Zhou dynasties.

Goryeo was never a small country. Its territory may not have been large, but it followed the legal system of the Central Plains, which destined it to have strong organizational, mobilization and cohesion capabilities.

Historically, the Jin dynasty swept across the Liao and Song dynasties, and was very pleased when Goryeo took the initiative to submit to them.

Wanyan Wuqimai said smugly, "If we don't use the power of arms or the lure of gifts, those who come naturally will surely come. Isn't that a good thing?"

And he casually bestowed Baozhou upon them.

After that, the border was defined by the Yalu River, and Baoding and Dingzhou never returned.

When the Great Jing had just recovered Liaodong, Wang Kai also sent someone to request that Baozhou and Dingzhou be granted to Goryeo, but Chen Shao rejected the request outright.

Today, these two places are bustling hubs for trade between the two sides.

Now the King of Goryeo has come directly to the capital of Daegeung, which is an absolute sign of submission.

Chen Shao was never a mean person; if you treated him with respect, he would look up to you in return.

He chatted enthusiastically with Wang Kai and occasionally exchanged a few words with Jin Fushi.

He instructed them to go to the Imperial Academy and meet with the scholars of Goryeo.

These words made Wang Kai and the others feel somewhat embarrassed.

They had actually met with the Goryeo scholars when they landed, but to their surprise, their reaction was very cold. In the eyes of these scholars from humble backgrounds, Goryeo's aristocratic monopoly system was like the Nine-Rank System in the Central Plains, and should have been eliminated long ago.

At this point in time, still blocking the upward mobility of those at the bottom is utterly backward.

Goryeo should learn from Daejeong, change all its bad habits, and implement true Chinese etiquette.

To change the subject, Wang Kai spoke of the prosperity of Nanjing, praising Chen Shao as a great emperor who brought unprecedented prosperity to the capital.

As noon approached, Chen Shao ordered: "Today, a banquet will be held in the Chuigong Hall."
-
After the concubines of Zhongshan returned to the capital, Chen Shao naturally went to Zhong Lingxi's Kunning Palace on his first night.

This was his instinct as emperor to consciously maintain the existing order.

Some foolish emperors like to do things differently, but little do they know that their power and status are maintained by the rule of law and etiquette.

If things really got to the point where everyone disregarded rules like during the Five Dynasties period, being an emperor wouldn't be so easy.

Those soldiers are sharpening their knives at your door every day.

Zhong Lingxi was wearing a light green shirt today, her long hair was tied back with a silk handkerchief, and her delicate features were bright and beautiful, making her look quite heroic.

"Huanhuan truly lives up to her reputation as a daughter of a military family."

Having just returned to the capital, Zhong Lingxi smiled broadly and appeared quite pleased with herself, having already played a game of Cuju (ancient Chinese football) with her concubines.

After changing her clothes, she sat cross-legged on the brocade couch and said, "Could we go to Tangshan earlier this year? If you are busy with official duties, we can go first."

Chen Shao frowned and laughed, "That's ridiculous! I think you've gone completely mad."

Zhong Lingxi ignored him and stretched out her body on the brocade couch, which amazed Chen Shao.

Isn't this yoga?

"Where did you learn that?"

"This?" Zhong Lingxi bent down, reaching for her toes with her fingers, clearly struggling to move. "This was brought back by a fleet that sailed to Southeast Asia. They said it could relieve fatigue."

Chen Shao already knew that the fleet that went down to Southeast Asia had indeed reached India.

However, Chen Shao had little interest in that area until ships could only be powered by steam.

The road is too far.

A palace maid served him fragrant tea, and Chen Shao took a small sip before his thoughts turned to the fleet.

The second voyage to Southeast Asia was already in full swing of preparations, but Xiao Ting was not involved at all.

She took the opportunity to go to Zhongshan halfway through the trip and stayed there without coming down. This time, she even went back to the palace with Zhong Lingxi.

Chen Shao felt a little uneasy. He had always thought that she was afraid of him and that's why she was so scared that she gave up her career.

In Chen Shao's mind, her contributions were truly significant. Chen Shao even considered making her a concubine, but considering the pressure he would face, he decided against it.

Last time Xiao Ting went to Southeast Asia, she planned many things herself. This time, she had the experience from last time, which saved her a lot of trouble.

Both the common people and officials were very satisfied with this trip to Southeast Asia because Chen Shao was different from Zhu Laosi; he was not greedy for the money he earned, so the enthusiasm of the whole nation was very high.

Many merchants wanted to travel south with the fleet, and the imperial court did not prohibit them.

Therefore, the initial estimate during preparation was around a hundred ships, but the actual number might double when the ships actually headed south.

The rare and exotic treasures brought back from the Southeast Asia were incredibly profitable. This business, even centuries later, could support Zhu Di's six campaigns against the Mongols, the conquest of Jiaozhi in the south, and the compilation of the Yongle Encyclopedia.
Moreover, each voyage to Southeast Asia allowed those small countries in the south to feel the power of the Great Jing, and a large number of merchants would settle down and live there.

At this moment, a noblewoman in fine clothes entered, surrounded by palace maids, and plopped down on Chen Shao's lap.

Zhe Ningxiang, nestled in his arms, rained kisses on Chen Shao's face, while the surrounding palace maids covered their mouths and stifled their laughter.

Chen Shao was somewhat helpless; it was only she who wasn't afraid of the Empress at all.

These two have relied on each other for many years, bickering and arguing, and it's hard to say whether their relationship is good or bad.

Chen Shao felt her clinging to him and thought it wasn't quite right. It didn't matter what she did in her own palace, but this was the Kunning Palace.

He reached out and pinched Zhe Ningxiang's waist, and she stood up with a grin, grabbed Chen Shao's cup, and drank.

“I received a letter from my family saying that things are thriving in Xiaoliuqiu and they have already started building a shipyard. However, they are short of craftsmen and hope that you can send some to them.”

Chen Shao nodded. "I understand."

It's understandable that the Zhe family would seek craftsmen through Consort Zhe, since the craftsmen had already reached a certain rank, and their current level wasn't high enough to recruit top-notch shipwrights.

It was the easiest way to let Chen Shao manage things. He was very understanding of the need for some special privileges during the initial stage.

After all, he had built the Western Xia dynasty step by step and knew the hardships involved. If he hadn't bribed the people around Tong Guan, many things would have been extremely difficult to accomplish.

The situation regarding Taiwan Island is slow due to its location separated by the sea and its incomplete development. He himself sometimes estimates their progress based on the memorials submitted by the Zhe family.

The Zhe family certainly has talented people; generation after generation, they have all been outstanding figures of their time.

Their family is quite something.

Zhe Keqiu gradually moved from the islands around Penghu to the main island, and then, through trade, bestowing ironware, salt, and cloth, lured some ethnic groups to submit to him.

These originally disadvantaged groups are eager for new forces to enter the fray.

Soon, with the help of the Zhe family, they began to rise to power, carving out stable territories for the Zhe family, allowing them to build cities and ports along the coast.

There is a large Jing navy here, as well as barbarian soldiers. Those tribes that actively gravitate towards the Jing people are called "civilized barbarians".

The Zhe family is not wrong in their overall thinking; Taiwan can soon be converted from a local chieftainship to a centrally administered one.

Conquering this place is not difficult, but building a city on the plains at the foot of the mountain is still quite costly.

The country is indeed wealthy now, but the manpower may not be sufficient. The Construction Bureau only has so many people. They want to build castles in Ryukyu, Hakudo, Ise Province, Tsukushi Province, and Iwami Province.
In fact, Chen Shao preferred to let the Zhe family handle it themselves. He believed that the Zhe family had the ability and was not worried that they would become arrogant and domineering on the island.

Both the Chenghai and Nanhai navies of Dajing can reach Xiaoliuqiu (Taiwan).

Since the Zhe family only asked for shipwrights, Chen Shao decided to let them try it themselves, and if it didn't work out, he would send people to build the city.

Zhe Ningxiang was unaware that Chen Shao was thinking about Taiwan. She only felt that she had accomplished something again by speaking up, which showed how much the young man liked her. She couldn't help but purse her lips.

The incident with the mirror last time made her happy for several months.

She stood to the side with her arms outstretched, and the palace maids rushed forward to help her remove her outer robe. Zhong Lingxi could tell at a glance that she was going to stay here tonight.

She had originally wanted Chen Shao to hold her and look at her poems for the month together. Ever since she became familiar with Li Qingzhao, Huanhuan often invited her to her side, where they would sleep side by side and study poetry.

She was initially a little shy, but now she's bursting with confidence and has been wanting to watch it with Chen Shao for a long time.

But it definitely wouldn't work if Lady Zhe were there, because she couldn't read a single character, but she was quite a laughingstock.

Thinking of this, Zhong Lingxi glared at her, but Zhe Shi didn't care.

Chen Shao seemed to sense the electric current in their eyes, thinking to himself that tonight would be another fierce battle. (End of Chapter)