"Little monk, what are you doing here?" Xiao Jinheng asked with a sullen face.
Why does this little village boy follow me everywhere? Like a little nuisance...
Xiao Jiekong pouted dismissively, "You, Xiao, this is Xi Tian's residence, not your home. I can go wherever I want. What business is it of yours? Hmph!"
Xiao Jinheng: "..."
This little monk is indeed sharp-tongued.
"If you say it like that, you're completely wrong!"
Xiao Jinheng curved his lips into a shallow smile, walked up to little Xi Tian, and naturally took her little hand. "We are going into the palace to see Father Emperor this time. That is my home, and I will only take Xi Tian with me..."
After speaking, Xiao Jinheng looked at little Jiekong meaningfully, "Little monk, the imperial palace is a royal forbidden area. Not just anyone can enter!"
Hearing this, little Xi Tian withdrew her hand and sighed, resting her forehead.
You two are starting again.
"Tch, what's so great about living in the palace?" Xiao Jiekong tilted his head up, his nostrils flared with disdain. "With my skills, wouldn't it be easy to sneak in?"
"Oh really?" Xiao Jinheng narrowed his eyes. "Then you can try. If you get caught by the imperial guards, don't you dare cry..."
"You, Xiao, don't push your luck too far!" Xiao Jiekong stomped his feet in anger, hands on his hips. "Xi Tian sister already promised to take me to the palace. What right do you have to say otherwise?"
Little Xi Tian: "???"
When did I promise you?
Hearing this, Xiao Jinheng puffed out his chest. "Just because I am the Crown Prince, isn't that enough?"
Xiao Jiekong: "..."
Hmph, every time you can't out-argue me, you bring up your Crown Prince status. That's all you're capable of.
"You two stop arguing!" Little Xi Tian said speechlessly and walked between them. "If you keep making noise, I won't go!"
Before, Sister Jiaojiao and Sister Xinling would argue. After Sister Xiao Jie arrived, she started arguing with Brother Erlong and Uncle Sun, and now Xiao Jiekong is arguing with that brat again...
Little Xi Tian felt very tired.
"Since Jiekong wants to go, then take him!" Little Xi Tian gave Xiao Jinheng a playful glare.
Xiao Jinheng twitched his lips and looked at Xiao Jiekong resentfully. "You can go, but you're not allowed to speak. You must behave yourself in the palace, and you must kneel and greet Father Emperor and Mother Empress..."
These are the most basic rules of the palace. If the little monk can't do it, he should just stay home.
Hearing this, Xiao Jiekong was very reluctant. He had never greeted his master like this since he was little. Why should he kneel and kowtow to Xiao's parents...
Seeing Jiekong wrinkle his little nose, Xiao Xi Tian stepped forward and tugged him. "The Emperor is the highest official in our country. No matter who sees him, they must kowtow and greet him. I'm no exception!"
When Xiao Jiekong heard this, he felt much better and nodded. "Alright then, I'll reluctantly agree!"
Xiao Jinheng: "..."
Where did you learn to be so thick-skinned?
After eating, Chu Jiangtun went to look after his shops.
He had now opened two more banks in the capital, making a fortune every day. Business was booming, but there were also many things to worry about...
The three little ones said goodbye to Steward Li and then went into the palace by carriage.
The Imperial Palace, inside the Hall of Diligent Governance.
Emperor Cheng was discussing important matters with a group of cabinet ministers and military advisors. When the argument became heated, Emperor Cheng slammed his jade pendant on the ground and berated his ministers...
"You've been delaying for so long, making all sorts of excuses, just to build a few ships. Two or three years have passed, and I haven't even seen a shadow of a ship. What else do you have to say?" Emperor Cheng's old face turned red with anger.
Minister of Works, Gu Baoquan, stepped forward and cupped his hands. "Your... Your Majesty, it's not that your humble servant is incompetent, but our country's shipbuilding industry started too late, and the shipbuilding technology is too weak. The specifications and construction difficulty of the naval warships you requested are too complex. Even the most skilled craftsmen from all over the country, I, I can't build them..."
Shipbuilding in the Great Liang Kingdom was managed by the Ministry of Works, which in turn had the Water Department, responsible for boats, water affairs, grain transport, and sea salt.
"That's because you are too incompetent!" Emperor Cheng glared at Gu Baoquan and then looked at the Vice Minister of Water Affairs, Tu Qingdong. "Lord Tu, what contributions have you made to the court in the past two years, besides asking me for money?"
"To build those few broken ships, I almost emptied the national treasury. But now, not only are the ships not built, you've squandered all the military pay. You, a corrupt and greedy official, still have the nerve to be the Vice Minister of Water Affairs. You're not even as good as a dog..."
Emperor Cheng cursed furiously, his anger making him tremble.
Tu Qingdong was flustered and in a panic. He knelt on the ground with a thud. "Your... Your Majesty, your humble servant has done his best. But this is the first time we are building such large ironclad warships. We have no blueprints, no experience, and no technical talent. How... How do you expect me to build them?"
Alas, he was too difficult.
In the end, Vice Minister Tu had served as an official for so many years and had truly never embezzled a single copper coin. The main reason was that his subordinates were too useless...
Prime Minister Yang stood by, his head lowered, trembling like a cicada in winter.
At this time, the Great Liang Kingdom was facing internal and external crises. Besides guarding against the Sui Zhi and barbarians in the northern frontier, the southern coast was also not peaceful...
Sea pirates were rampant, and fishermen were suffering. Therefore, the court urgently needed to form a navy to maintain order along the coast.
However, since the founding of the Great Liang Kingdom, its exploration of the ocean had been almost a blank slate. Apart from building small fishing boats or pleasure boats, they had never even seen what warships looked like, let alone built them in large quantities...
Emperor Cheng closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "Lord Tu, I will give you one more month. If you still cannot design the blueprints for the warships, you don't need to attend court anymore!"
In order to ensure his son could ascend the throne smoothly, Emperor Cheng had worked himself to the bone, day and night...
It would take decades for Liang to catch up to Yan's level.
He was truly afraid that he would not live to see that day.
Tu Qingdong wiped the sweat from his forehead and was about to beg for mercy when he suddenly saw Eunuch Zhao tiptoeing in and whispering a few words into Emperor Cheng's ear...
After hearing this, Emperor Cheng's dim eyes instantly brightened. "When... When did he return?"
This brat, he didn't even tell him in advance that he was returning to the palace.
The Empress would be so happy to see him...
Eunuch Zhao said with a smile, "He just arrived and is waiting outside the hall!"
Speaking of old Zhao, he had also gone through a lot. He had traveled a long way and suffered a lot. After returning to the palace, he had lost more than ten pounds.
Emperor Cheng flicked his sleeves and stopped arguing with the ministers, hurrying out of the Hall of Diligent Governance...