Chapter 344 The Emperor is Seriously Ill, the Crown Prince Regent

A few days later, Qingxia came back from Liao'an Prefecture and brought news about the eldest daughter of the Zheng family.

Zheng Xiao's eldest daughter is named Zheng Xinnian. She is fifteen years old this year. She has a gentle personality and is the kind of lady from a well-off family who never leaves the house. She is also very pretty in appearance, and most importantly, she is unmarried.

After receiving this accurate information, Yang Zhengshan no longer hesitated and personally wrote a letter to Zheng Xiao.

Zheng Xiao had met Lin Zhan, who was Liu Zhe's student. Zheng Xiao had met Lin Zhan when he first came to the Yang family. When Liu Zhe left Liaodong, he also took Lin Zhan to visit him in Liao'an Prefecture.

However, these things happened four years ago, so after receiving Yang Zhengshan's letter, he asked to meet Lin Zhan.

It is understandable that a father-in-law would test his future son-in-law.

Naturally, Yang Zhengshan had no reason to refuse, so he asked Lin Zhan to go to Liao'an Prefecture.

After Lin Zhan arrived in Liao'an Prefecture, he was first tested by Zheng Xiao, and then arranged to meet with Zheng Xinnian.

Yang Zhengshan didn't know the specific circumstances of the meeting, but when Lin Zhan came back, Zheng Xiao had already agreed to the marriage.

The next step is to talk about marriage.

While the Yang and Zheng families were discussing marriage, in the Yangxin Palace in the imperial city of Kyoto.

It was just daybreak, and the dim light could not penetrate the doors and windows into the room. Instead, the flickering candlelight illuminated the room.

Emperor Chengping was lying on the bed, his face haggard and his breathing weak.

Eunuch Chen and a group of eunuchs were serving in front of the bed.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty~~" Eunuch Chen called softly.

Emperor Chengping opened his eyes with great effort, staring at Eunuch Chen in a daze. It took him a long time to come to his senses. "Issue an order. From today on, the Crown Prince will be the regent, and Prince Gong and Prince Cheng will come to the court to observe government affairs!"

"I understand. I will draft the decree right away!" replied Eunuch Chen.

"Eunuch Chen, the imperial physician is here!" a young eunuch outside the door said softly.

Eunuch Chen looked at Emperor Taiping who had fallen into a coma again, then slowly stood up, walked outside the door, nodded slightly to Sun Wanzhen, the director of the Imperial Hospital, and said, "Excuse me, Director!"

"I dare not!" Sun Wanzhen glanced at the bed in the dormitory and replied with a slight bow.

"I will go and pass on the imperial decree first. I will leave this to the envoy of the court!"

After saying this, Eunuch Chen slowly left the Yangxin Palace and walked towards the Taiji Palace. The closer he got to the Taiji Palace, the faster his steps became and the paler his expression became.

By the time he entered the Tai Chi Hall, his forehead was covered with sweat and his breathing became rapid.

At this time, all the civil and military officials in the court had gathered in the Taiji Hall, waiting for Emperor Chengping to come to court.

It was already past the time for court session, and all the civil and military officials in the court felt that something was not right, but they still waited patiently.

It was not until Eunuch Chen came with the imperial edict that the ministers learned that Emperor Taiping was ill and unable to attend court.

If Emperor Chengping was just sick and unable to attend court, the ministers would not care too much. However, in recent years, Emperor Chengping's health has been getting worse year by year. He would catch a cold or get a minor illness from time to time, and court would often be suspended. The ministers have become accustomed to it.

But now Emperor Chengping actually lets the crown prince act as regent. Does this mean that his health has reached the point of exhaustion?

"Eunuch Chen, can we see the emperor now?"

After Eunuch Chen finished delivering his order, the chief minister of the cabinet, Li Siyuan, stepped forward and asked.

Eunuch Chen glanced at the ministers and said in a hoarse voice, "The Imperial Hospital Director Sun is already treating your majesty. You ministers can wait in the Wenhua Palace now. If your majesty summons you, we will summon you to see him!"

The ministers looked at each other, and no one spoke for a while. Eunuch Chen didn't say much either. He walked out of the Taiji Hall with the imperial edict. Next, he had to convey the edict to the Crown Prince, Prince Gong, and Prince Cheng.

Inside the palace, Liu Yuanfu looked at Eunuch Chen's departing back, lost in thought.

Ningguo Duke Zhou Mao also took a glance.

The ministers began to talk again. Some were worried, some had ulterior motives, and some were silently observing everything around them.

Guan Wenshuo, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, nudged Liu Yuanfu and asked in a low voice, "Old sir, is His Majesty seriously ill?"

Liu Yuanfu glanced at him and said calmly, "Be careful with your words!"

Although the Left and Right Censors-in-Chief of the Metropolitan Censorate were of the same rank, the left was always the superior in the various ministries of the Darong government. For example, the Metropolitan Censorate was headed by the Left Censor-in-Chief, while the Right Censor-in-Chief was usually a governor-general or provincial governor.

Liu Yuanfu was a special case in the Censorate. He had been sent out to serve as governor before, but was later dismissed and returned to his hometown. Then Emperor Chengping reinstated him as the Right Censor-in-Chief, but he did not dare to send him out again. The reason was very simple: this old man was too good at causing trouble.

Emperor Chengping originally thought that if he let him stay in the Censorate, he would be more obedient, but he didn't expect that this little old man would actually confront him in the court.

Emperor Chengping was so angry that he exiled him to Chongshan Town, now Yinghe Fort.

Later, something happened in the Censorate, and the incumbent Left Censor-in-Chief was dismissed from office by Emperor Chengping. The Censorate needed someone to take the lead, so Emperor Chengping reinstated Liu Yuanfu.

After Liu Yuanfu returned to Beijing, his temper was not as strong as before, probably because he was old.

Therefore, Emperor Chengping had become more favorable to him in recent years. However, in view of his previous offense, Emperor Chengping would certainly not promote him again, so he remained in the position of Right Censor-in-Chief.

Although Guan Wenshuo was above Liu Yuanfu in the Censorate, he was actually less than fifty years old and could be considered Liu Yuanfu's junior. Therefore, Guan Wenshuo respected Liu Yuanfu's opinions on many matters.

Hearing Liu Yuanfu's reminder, Guan Wenshuo quickly straightened his posture and kept silent.

The cabinet ministers standing in the front row were all silent, as if they were all asleep.

About an hour later, the Crown Prince, Prince Cheng and Prince Gong arrived together.

The Crown Prince entered the hall with a solemn and worried look on his face. Prince Cheng and Prince Gong also had worried looks on their faces, but everyone understood that these people must have a lot on their minds.

In fact, in the past few years, Emperor Chengping has always let the crown prince and the two princes observe government affairs. Although they have not been allowed to intervene in specific government affairs, they have been cultivating their understanding and handling of political affairs. When the three arrived, the morning court proceeded as usual, but everyone's mind was not on government affairs, so the court meeting was quickly dispersed.

After the morning court session, the news that Emperor Chengping was seriously ill and in a coma spread throughout Kyoto. For a time, all kinds of news and rumors were spreading in Kyoto.

Soon after, the news spread out of Kyoto and spread to all parts of Daiei.

In an ordinary house in the southern part of Kyoto.

Wu Zheng also received the news that Emperor Chengping was seriously ill. He looked solemn and asked his subordinates in front of him: "Is the news confirmed?"

"It has been confirmed, the news is true!"

Wu Zheng took a deep breath and said, "Send this message back immediately. The master must need this news!"

"Then I'll go back in person?"

The subordinate standing in front of him was also from the Tianqing Sword Sect and was considered his junior fellow apprentice. They had been staying in Kyoto over the years to collect various information. Although most of the information was useless to Yang Zhengshan, Yang Zhengshan still let him stay in Kyoto.

Not only that, Yang Zhengshan also increased his investment in them. He has sent more than 200 people to Kyoto and invested tens of thousands of taels of silver.

After years of operation, Wu Zheng and others are no longer able to obtain only superficial information as they did at the beginning. Now they can collect some more confidential information, especially any movement in the court, which they can almost grasp at the first time.

"No, you can't go back. Something big might happen next. We have to stay in Kyoto and keep an eye on it!"

Wu Zheng said in a deep voice: "Please arrange two people to pass the message back."

……

Tenglongwei.

The first batch of monocular telescopes were handed over to the navy. On the Dafu ship, Yu Tonghai and Xue Ping looked at the surrounding warships and merchant ships with monocular telescopes.

“Can you see so far?”

"You can see it clearly from a thousand feet away!"

Xue Ping said in surprise.

Yu Tonghai was also shocked. "With this telescope, we can not only anticipate the enemy's moves, but also let the warships in the rear follow the flagship's orders!"

"This is definitely a powerful weapon for naval warfare!"

He thought much more deeply than Xue Ping. Xue Ping was only amazed at the function of the telescope, but he thought of its usefulness in naval battles.

Over the past three years, the Tenglongwei Navy has become increasingly elite. Now, the Tenglongwei Navy is fully staffed, and the 5,600 soldiers are all elite who dare to fight to the death.

In fact, they have experienced many battles in the past three years. With so many merchant ships of Tenglongwei going out to sea now, it is impossible for the navy to be perfect and ensure that every merchant ship will not encounter pirates.

Almost two years ago, merchant ships sailing out from Tenglongwei were frequently hijacked by pirates. In response, the Tenglongwei navy launched successive attacks and wiped out more than a dozen pirate groups.

Up to now, the Tenglongwei Navy has made a great reputation in the Darongliao Sea and the East China Sea, and few pirates dare to provoke the Tenglongwei Navy.

Of course, this is also because there are fewer pirates in the Dayong Liaohai and East China Sea areas. If they were placed in the southeastern waters, the Tenglong Guards might not be able to stop the attacks of those pirates.

After all, there are too many pirates in the southeastern waters, and many of them are very powerful.

But no matter what, the current Tenglongwei Navy is already considered an elite navy.

"How many did you send, sir?" Yu Tonghai asked the followers behind him.

"Twenty-eight in total!" said the attendant.

Yu Tonghai frowned, "Not enough, too little. Such good things must be equipped with more. Eagle ships and mother-and-child ships can be equipped without them, but other warships must be equipped with them, and each ship must be equipped with at least four!"

According to his idea, Tenglongwei must be equipped with at least a hundred telescopes so that the functions of the telescopes can be maximized.

"Well, I just heard from my colleagues in the workshop that this one costs thirty taels of silver! And only three can be made every day at most!" said the attendant with some embarrassment.

Yu Tonghai's dissatisfied expression froze, "Thirty taels of silver for one?"

"Yes! That's what the people in the workshop said!" the follower said affirmatively.

Yu Tonghai fell silent.

Today's Tenglongwei Navy is very well-equipped. It has all the necessary weapons and equipment, and its warships are maintained every year. In order to ensure the combat effectiveness of the warships, Yang Zhengshan even built a shipyard for the navy specifically for maintaining warships.

At present, Tenglongwei's shipyard can manufacture some small warships, such as eagle ships and mother-and-daughter ships, but it can only repair medium and large warships, but cannot manufacture medium and large warships.

But even so, Yang Zhengshan invested a lot of money.

The Tenglong Guards are now very wealthy, but facing the two gold-devouring behemoths, the Navy and the Five Military Camps, Yang Zhengshan has to spend frugally.

Thirty taels of silver per stick, one hundred sticks would be three thousand taels of silver.

Three thousand taels may not seem like a lot, but it is definitely not a small amount.

Yu Tonghai was silent for a while before he said, "We still have a lot of budget this year, let's order 100 first!"

He still felt that the money had to be spent because the telescope was too important to the navy.

"Here!"

The attendant responded and left the Dafu ship, preparing to go to the Wei Si Yamen.

(End of this chapter)