In the Wenyuan Pavilion of the Forbidden City in Nanjing, Hou Xuanyan talked to the three great masters and told them all about the story of Yangzhou.

Even though they had known about this, the three great masters were still so angry that they could not help but get involved in the enemy. They had not provided firearms and food yet, so they were simply unsuccessful.

The salt merchants in Lianghuai were originally one family, and many of them were all good at the family. No wonder the merchants in Yangzhou were able to contact the Qing soldiers in Huai'an Prefecture.

Hou Xuan was so happy that he suddenly asked: "Fujian's mountains are barren and have never been a place with high yields of grain and rice. Zheng Zhilong raised many soldiers, where did his food come from?"

Zhang Huangyan coughed lightly, his face turned slightly red, and he said angrily: "Duke, I have heard of the matter in Fujian, and it should not be the food we eat."

No wonder Hou Xuanyan was suspicious. His territory was full of fish and rice. When it came to Yangzhou, he looked like a thief who stole his own food.

"What is his big-headed soldier eating?"

Zhang Huangyan was a relatively pragmatic official. He studied the situation in various places in his early years and said casually: "During the Wanli period, there was a severe drought in central Fujian, and the grains were poor and hunger were everywhere. Chen Zhenlong, a businessman from Changle County, Fujian, was engaged in business in Luzon. When he was doing business in Luzon, he found that there was a crop in the local area, which was sweet and delicious, and could be eaten. So he bought the seeds and brought them back to Fuzhou, and he tried planting them on the edge of the city. Unexpectedly, this species was not afraid of drought, and could also be cultivated in the mountains, which was suitable for the barren land of Fujian. At that time, the governor of Fujian, Jin Xuezeng, was very happy and planted widely throughout Fujian Province, named Sweet Potato.

Fujian was dependent on this foreign crop to survive the drought, so although the land in Fujian is barren, I know that there is no shortage of food today."

Hou Xuanyan was stunned when he heard this. It turned out that Zheng Zhilong had so many soldiers, but he relied on sweet potatoes.

Seeing that Hou Xuanyan was in high spirits, Ma Shiying hurriedly said, "There are also famines everywhere in Sichuan, so we can introduce this sweet potato to protect the people of Sichuan and Sichuan."

Chen Mingyu also nodded and said, "No, this is a good idea."

The land in Huguang and Jiangnan is a natural rice field, and there is no need to promote these alien species at all. Hou Xuanyan pondered for a moment and said, "This matter is easy to say, but it takes some effort to do it. I think it takes a mature and steadfast minister to take charge of the overall situation before it can be done well."

Since this thing is already everywhere in Fujian, it is not impossible to get melon seeds. The difficulty is to get people to agree to cultivate this new crop in a place where monsters and monsters are mixed. What is required is superb skills and reputation.

Zhang Huangyan was eager to try it out, but Hou Xuanyan could not let the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet do these things personally. After thinking about it, he felt that Gu Yanwu, who was stranded in Yuezhou, was more suitable. There was no war in Xiangyang, and no one from all walks of life was willing to take the lead and were waiting for opportunities while watching. Gu Yanwu had been in the Wuchang area of ​​Yuezhou for a long time and did nothing and trained his troops every day. It would be better to go to Sichuan to do something practical.

Hou Xuanyan made up his mind and said, "Sichuan Governor Yang Zhan and Yunwen Yunwu once operated Jiazhou. They were the only rich and healthy prefecture in Sichuan and Sichuan. I will appoint Gu Yanwu as the reliance envoy, and this matter will be completed."

Zhang Huangyan was a little disappointed, but Gu Yanwu had a good relationship with him. He had worked together for a while in the battle of Jingxiang. He was still very satisfied with this appointment. The other two Grand Secretarys were only Hou Xuan who played the lead.

Seeing that no one objected, Hou Xuanyan said, "Since everyone has no objections, I will ask His Highness for instructions."

Everyone knows that Hou Xuanyan has to ask the queen for everything, and the queen has never rejected it. Although it has almost become a form, this move has won the favor of some ministers.

After walking out of Wenyuan Pavilion, Hou Xuanyan was about to get on the carriage and return to the government. A little eunuch hid in the corner and ran over to greet him: "The Duke of the State will stay."

Hou Xuanyan stopped and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Eunuch Wang asked the Duke to see you at the Wenhua Palace in front."

Hou Xuanyan said suspiciously: "What's wrong with Eunuch Wang? Could it be that something happened in the palace recently?"

The little eunuch smiled and said, "Everything is fine in the palace. I think it's because Eunuch Wang misses the Duke."

Hou Xuanyan turned around and said to Hu Bawan: "Since that's the case, let's go to Wenhua Palace for a walk."

In front of Wenhua Palace, Wang Xiangnian rubbed his hands and paced back and forth. Seeing Hou Xuanyan coming, he quickly walked up to meet him.

"Duke, you are here."

Hou Xuanyan hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing happened, but our family is always worried. You said, it would be fine if the Empress gave birth to a prince, but what if she was a princess, what should we do?" Wang Xiangnian said while wiping the sweat on her forehead. It was obvious that he was really anxious for Emperor Longwu Zhu Youjian.

Hou Xuanyan was not sure. At that time, it was just a delaying strategy. If he didn't do that, there would be self-reliable vassals everywhere in the south. Now that Chen Fei is about to give birth, he will be born in less than three months. Wang Xiang was in the palace for a long time. Seeing Chen Fei's belly getting bigger day by day, he was both eager and anxious. It would be fine if he gave birth to a prince, everyone would be happy. If it was a princess, then the royal families in the south would be ready to move again.

When Zheng Zhilong fought to Zhaoqing, he stopped moving forward and allowed Zhu Youlang to continue to be his emperor in Guangdong and Guangxi. Once Chen Fei gave birth to a princess, he would most likely use this as a reason to support Zhu Youlang or welcome King Lu.

Hou Xuanyan blinked in an instant and saw Wang Xiangnian looking at him with hope. Obviously, this old eunuch is no different from the two empresses, both of whom have no opinions. It seems that he has to come to fight alone at that time. Hou Xuanyan nodded and said, "What's the point? We can help a queen."

This matter obviously exceeded Wang Xiangnian's understanding. How could a woman ascend the throne to the emperor? He asked blankly: "That's OK?"

Hou Xuanyan thought much deeper than him. It doesn’t matter if the queen is not a queen, but if he has the ability to wipe out the opponents of half of the country.

If things come to the worst, you must be prepared and send troops to annihilate Zheng Zhilong at any time. Of course, you must also be prepared to take advantage of the chaos to attack and fight on both sides.

Thinking of this, Hou Xuanyan was immediately full of passion. A real man should not be powerless for a day. As long as his troops are strong, what can't be done in the world? There are still three months left. At that time, the world will be in a turbulent world. Who is the corner of this troubled world?
Chapter completed!