Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

The palace had already received the news that Fang Zheng had gathered people to enter the palace for an audience.

It was already past the time for the daily court session to end, but it hadn't been dismissed yet, and everyone was waiting in the hall.

Waiting for Zheng Hui to enter the hall for an audience.

The ministers all looked joyful.

After all, the imperial court had spent a lot of money exploring the West for as long as... three years, and the scale of the fleet was unprecedented in the history of Da Jing.

I wonder what kind of surprise they will bring to the court!

The ancient West that Fang Zheng mentioned is full of splendor, not inferior to Da Jing at all, I wonder what the situation is now?

Emperor Jing had already ordered people to serve tea and snacks to the ministers, waiting for Fang Zheng's return.

The ministers ate their tea and snacks and discussed enthusiastically.

After all, everyone has curiosity!

When Fang Zheng rushed into the hall, followed by a sweating little eunuch who seemed to want to stop him, everyone stopped and focused their attention on him.

Fang Zheng looked at Emperor Jing and said loudly: "Your Majesty, Zheng Hui is waiting outside the hall for an audience!"

Emperor Jing was overjoyed, and his eyes burst with radiance: "Summon Zheng Qing to the audience!"

.......

From the day Fang Zheng arrived at the port, Zheng Hui was allowed to return to Beijing in advance to wait and prepare to enter the palace.

Zheng Hui also returned to his home in the capital as soon as possible, until he entered the palace for an audience today.

After more than three years of drifting overseas, he already felt strange to the street scene of the capital.

The dressing styles of the people have changed, and many people on the street are excitedly talking about the latest news.

Now that he arrived in the imperial city, Zheng Hui found the familiar feeling he had in the beginning.

The changes in the folk are too fast, and only the palace seems to have not changed much.

It's just... he has been away for more than three years, and he has seen too many things in these three years. The originally majestic and spectacular palace seems to be much smaller than he remembered.

The world is so big that he only saw its true appearance after going to sea.

Zheng Hui stood outside the hall with an unspeakable feeling in his heart, and Lai Gou'er next to him looked unusually nervous.

He tugged Zheng Hui's sleeve and said: "Brother Zheng, what should I say when I see the Emperor later?"

Zheng Hui said: "You are already a member of the navy, just call yourself 'this humble official'. Just follow me to salute when you go in, and you don't need to say anything else. Just answer whatever the Emperor asks you."

Lai Gou'er swallowed and nodded.

To be honest, he hasn't been timid for so long at sea, but now he's actually timid to see the Emperor.

While the two were waiting, Guo Tianyang trotted out from the hall.

A trace of admiration flashed in his eyes when he saw Zheng Hui.

He still had some impression of this man. When he was selected into the navy, he entered the palace twice. At that time, he saw that he was extremely strong and could be described as heroic.

But now he has changed. Although he is still strong, his face is already full of vicissitudes. He looks ten years older in three years.

It can be seen that the harsh environment has eroded people.

"General Zheng, you've had a hard journey. Your Majesty invites you to enter the hall for an audience... Who is this next to you?" Guo Tianyang asked, looking at Lai Gou'er.

Zheng Hui said: "Thank you, Eunuch Guo. He is my deputy. I have to rely on him to record many things along the way, so I want His Majesty to ask all the questions, and it would be better to bring him along. I wonder if Eunuch Guo can..."

Before he finished speaking, Guo Tianyang waved his hand and said: "Let's go in together, His Majesty can't wait."

"Thank you, Eunuch." Zheng Hui thanked him and led Lai Gou'er into the hall.

When Zheng Hui's figure appeared in the hall, the hall became completely silent.

Only the sound of Zheng Hui's footsteps stepping on the golden bricks could be heard, and everyone's eyes followed Zheng Hui's footsteps slowly.

Emperor Jing's body couldn't help but lean forward slightly.

It wasn't until Zheng Hui walked to the front that he stopped and saluted: "Your subject Zheng Hui pays homage to Your Majesty, long live my Emperor!"

"This humble official Lai Gou'er pays homage to Your Majesty."

Lai Gou'er bent down, his eyes secretly observing his surroundings.

But at this moment, no one paid attention to him, all the attention was on Zheng Hui.

Emperor Jing raised his hand and said: "Rise, take a seat!"

The two sat down, and Emperor Jing pondered: "Zheng Qing, it's been three years, you have worked hard these three years."

The ministers nodded.

The hardship was indeed hard, and it was written all over their faces.

Zheng Hui said: "It's just three years. There are soldiers guarding the border for my Da Jing for a longer time. My contribution is nothing. Everything is thanks to His Majesty's good fortune that the fleet can return smoothly."

Emperor Jing shook his head and sighed: "Three years, how many three years are there in life. Taking a boat to sea is a life of nine deaths. How can guarding the border be compared?"

"On the vast ocean, the wind and rain are unpredictable. I have already heard Fang Qing tell you, you don't have to be humble."

Zheng Hui's eyes were vaguely filled with tears, but his tone was still calm: "These are all the duties that your subject should fulfill. I will die without regret if I can get His Majesty's golden praise today!"

Emperor Jing smiled and said: "Truly a loyal minister of the country! Who is the one next to you..."

"This is the deputy who went to sea with your subject, named Lai Gou'er. He has made many contributions along the way, and he is also proficient in Western languages, which has solved a lot of trouble for your subject." Zheng Hui explained, "Your subject wants to present the sea map today, and it would be best if he explains it, so I took the liberty of bringing him to the hall, and I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

"It's okay, it's okay, he is also a pillar of the country! Then present the sea map first."

Zheng Hui nodded solemnly, took out the long box he carried with him, and opened it.

Guo Tianyang was just about to go down to receive it when he heard Emperor Jing say: "You two come up and tell me in person."

This is unprecedented trust!

Zheng Hui was moved in his heart, and pulled Lai Gou'er to walk to the imperial desk and took out the map to unfold it.

This is a newly made map, enlarged and redrawn according to the original parchment map, and a lot of information has been added to it.

When the scroll was unfolded, it happened to cover the entire imperial desk.

Above are the information of the Western countries, starting from the coastline of Da Jing and extending westward, from familiar to unfamiliar.

Emperor Jing's finger followed the coastline, passing through new countries he had never heard of.

Finally, it stopped at Fei Ka, and behind it was a large area marked with unknown areas.

"Three years, I think the distance of the coastline doesn't seem to take three years, why did it take so long?"

Zheng Hui hinted at Lai Gou'er.

Lai Gou'er immediately explained in a low voice: "Your Majesty, our Da Jing's ships depart from Jiangling Port to the west. Each country along the way must stop temporarily to establish diplomatic relations. Our Da Jing's ships are far superior to ordinary small countries. When they see our Da Jing's strong national power, they often put on a grand display and greet us in person. While our ships are replenishing supplies, we also need to start trading with them."

"Please look here." Lai Gou'er pointed to a place on the map, "This country is called Ghana, rich in minerals and developed in commerce, but from the peddlers to the princes and nobles, they have never seen the products of our Da Jing. When we showed them silk, porcelain and other things, they all scrambled to buy them, and often the same weight of silk can be exchanged for the same weight of gold."

.....