From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

Chapter 823

July 12, sunny, morning glow filled the sky.

The world seemed to be dyed red, and the three battleships slowly approached the shore in this red ocean.

The Portuguese, who had been on the ship for a long time, finally stepped on the solid land. They breathed in the fresh air and cheered.

McPherson did not rush to get off the ship, but looked at the large and small islands of Hezhou and couldn't help sighing.

"What a great place, the islands are scattered and scattered, but they have a primary and secondary order. The big ships can hide directly when they come in. It's really suitable for us to hide here."

Pedro said: "Governor, how long do we need to stay here?"

McPherson said: "There is no time limit, it may be just a few months, or it may be many years, everything depends on the interests."

"Knight, you are very young and can't see the essence of many things. I have told you many times that we come here to make money, and other things have nothing to do with us."

"Now the island pirates have controlled the eastern coast of Dajin, and the goods of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces are exported by them. This is a lot of money."

"We only need to stay here and help the island pirates occupy more Dajin territory, so that we can have a steady stream of wealth."

"As for Zhou Yuan, ha, he is probably still on his way to Nanyang at this moment."

Pedro said: "Why does Zhou Yuan want to go to Nanyang?"

McPherson was almost speechless, but he was glad that at least someone talked to him.

"Knight, there are sixty or seventy Chaozhou merchant ships full of goods in Nanyang. Even if they have completely developed the market there and even if there are countless people to support them, it will take time to load and unload the goods."

"They will bring back piles of gold and silver. If you were Zhou Yuan, would you be worried?"

Pedro shook his head and said, "No, money is not important, honor is important."

Damn it, why did God create such a stupid person!

McPherson took a deep breath and said, "Dajin needs this money to build ships, guns and artillery to maintain military expenses. Chaozhou merchants also need this money to survive, and many people are also looking forward to it."

"This is very important to Zhou Yuan, so he must ensure that it is foolproof."

"We fled south, and he must think that we followed the Chaozhou merchant fleet to Nanyang, so he followed. This is normal logic."

"What he doesn't know is that we didn't go to Nanyang at all, but quietly came to this Hezhou and cooperated with the island pirates. It also made money, but the risk was much smaller."

"Zhou Yuan is not a businessman, he can't understand these."

Pedro thought for a while, then said: "Governor, I don't think we should cooperate with the island pirates. They are despicable and too shameless, which is not in line with the spirit of chivalry."

McPherson opened his mouth and held back his temper.

He was just thinking, why would I work with such a fool, his wisdom is not even half of Ms. Avina's.

Thinking of this, he was furious again. Ms. Avina, I should have taken you down earlier.

…

"Invite me to dinner?"

Zhou Yuan was a little confused. At midnight last night, Ye Mian finally arrived in Ningbo Prefecture, and everything was unveiled.

The troops from various places entered the designated positions and began to march and encircle. The people from the Inner Court and the Jinyiwei also continued to gather. Perhaps some places have already started to take action.

At this time, the major Zhejiang business families are still thinking about paying homage to the mountain and inviting me to dinner.

This is really new. Do they have no intelligence personnel at all?

As if seeing his doubts, Zhuang Xuansu said: "Since the day I arrived in Zhejiang, the Inner Court has cut off the intelligence network of the major families, and the key personnel have been controlled by us. It is normal that they can't react. After all, they have been lawless here for too long."

"To be honest, if it weren't for your high status, amazing resume, and heavy troops, they wouldn't even give you face."

"Today, I received the news and invited you to dinner. I guess they think you are here to make money."

Zhou Yuan thought for a while before saying: "How are you prepared?"

Zhuang Xuansu said: "The Inner Court has been keeping an eye on the major families. Ye Mian's Tiqi will arrive in the afternoon. Li He's army has set off and is expected to arrive in the afternoon."

Zhou Yuan stood up and smiled: "Okay, okay, in that case, then accompany them for a meal and see what they can use to bribe me."

It took half a minute to persuade the greedy Xiaoying to stop, and Zhou Yuan and the Virgin Sister went to the appointment.

Arriving at the best restaurant in Ningbo, it was decorated with colorful silk hanging everywhere. More than a dozen people were waiting at the door, looking anxious.

Seeing Zhou Yuan get off the carriage, they all gathered around and knelt down.

"Your Highness!"

"Your Highness, you have honored me by coming to eat with you. IIt's such an honor to wait for you!"

"Please come in!"

Zhou Yuan smiled and said nothing, but took the hand of the Virgin Sister and walked in slowly.

The table was full of dishes, all delicacies from the mountains and the sea, and six jars of old wine. It was very old and the fragrance could not be suppressed.

Zhou Yuan took the seat, and Li Yu'an sat in front of him. After carefully examining the dishes, he smiled and said, "No problem."

"I'm just hungry."

Zhou Yuan directly pulled off a chicken leg and started eating.

As the leading family of Zhejiang businessmen, the Cui family is a well-deserved aristocratic family, and now there are still a few children of the Cui family who have made achievements and served as officials in various places.

It is precisely because of this inheritance of hundreds and thousands of years that the Cui family can reach such an influential level today.

The head of the Cui family saw Zhou Yuan eating happily, and he was relieved for a while, and smiled and said, "Your Majesty is a hero in the hearts of the people of Dajin! From guarding Lin'an Prefecture to traveling thousands of miles to serve the king, from recovering the Central Plains to bombarding the enemy chieftain, every battle is epic and moving!"

"Last year's Yangzhou salt inspection was even more beautiful. Those salt merchants are nouveau riche and bumpkins. They make money by relying on the policies of the Jin Dynasty, but they don't think about serving the country. Instead, they are causing trouble for the people. They really deserve to be killed!"

"Prince, our families have been passed down for hundreds of years. We absolutely put the country first. You need money to lead troops to fight. We can..."

Zhou Yuan suddenly raised his head, picked up the leftover chicken bones in his hand, and stabbed him in the chest with all his internal strength.

More than a dozen times in a row, the other party's chest bleeds, blood spews out of his mouth, his eyes widen, and he almost dies.

The sudden scene scared the others so much that they sweated all over. They were horrified for a while and wanted to run away.

Zhou Yuan took out a handkerchief and wiped his hands while saying, "Let's eat, so much nonsense."

He looked at everyone and smiled, "Eat. "

Everyone was trembling with fear, and after hearing this, they immediately began to eat with big mouthfuls.

Zhou Yuan glared and said, "Ah, you really eat!"

He took out the flintlock in his arms and shot him in the head!

"Prince, spare my life!"

The heads of the surrounding families could no longer bear it, and quickly fled for their lives.

Zhou Yuan grinned, changed to a sub-gun, and shot another head.

"Spare my life? Hey! Don't even think about running away!"

He pulled out the knife from his waist and killed the heads of the families directly.

From today on, the ground will be washed with blood, and there will be no tolerance.