Ding Keze asked curiously: "Why does the governor think that what is the most precious thing? It is even more precious than gold and silver?"

Zhou Xian looked at him and smiled and said, "A lot, but the most precious thing is talent. Just like you and Brother Ning Yu, I won't exchange it if I give me a million taels of silver."

Ding Keze's face changed slightly, and he held his fists and bowed, "The Supervisor praised it."

Li Dingguo's face was calm and he had no expression.

Zhou Xian waved his hand and continued, "The capital city is where the talented people in the world gather. There is the Imperial Hospital, the Imperial Heavenly Prison, the Ministry of Works, the Gunpowder Bureau, the Hanlin Academy, and the Imperial Horse Prison. Everything we can think of will be corresponding talents there. In addition to 20% of the treasures, I also want these people, and I want as much as I want."

Li Dingguo said disdainfully: "The Gunpowder Bureau and the Imperial Hospital are also useful. Isn't the Imperial Heavenly Prison the group of people who look up at the stars and make calendars every day. What's the use of you to raise waste like them? Especially in this chaotic world, you will spend money on raising them. And the more you use them, the less you use them elsewhere. Things are prioritized. You want to do too much, but the money in your hands is limited. It's not wise to do this."

Zhou Xian smiled, without explanation, and continued, "During the time when I was guarding the capital, I carefully checked the treasury of the Ministry of Revenue and the collections in the imperial palace, and found many treasures. Among them were the original artwork of Zheng He's voyage to the West, more than 400 copies of the Jiajing copy of the Yongle Grand Certificate, and countless pharmacopoeia, medical books, and military strategies. I transported some of the Ministry of Revenue, and temporarily kept them in my residence in the capital, but it has not been transported out because of the martial law in the capital. And the inner courtyard of the palace is still kept in the palace. I want these things, and I can't do all the treasures transported by Li Zicheng."

Ding Keze frowned and said, "Mr. Governor, there are many of these things!"

Zhou Xian nodded, "There are millions of volumes! Not all of us have to transport them out, but we just transport some fine and practical ones. Didn't Song Yingsheng just arrived in Jinan? He knew these things best, and asked him to go with Chen Mingxia. What to transport them is up to him. This time, Li Zicheng was lent to transport flintlock spears, sent four hundred elite soldiers, and brought two hundred taels of horse-drawn carriages. How much could be transported out?

As he said that, he turned to Ding Keze and said, "Brother Ding Er, the situation in the capital is likely to undergo drastic changes in a short period of time. Your people secretly protect the safety of Chen Mingxia and Song Yingsheng. If there is any change in the capital, escort them back to Lu territory as soon as possible."

Gu Junen walked out of the courtyard and followed Li Nian. When he saw Gu Yanwu, he hurried forward and clasped his fists and said, "Brother Zhongqing, why are you here?"

Gu Yanwu smiled and clasped his fists and replied, "Mr. Gu, today the second batch of soldiers of our army will go out to sea to expedition to Liaodong. The commander asked me to invite you to the camp to review together."

As he said that, he waved his hand and a carriage stepped forward. "Mr. Gu, please!"

The carriage was moving slowly, and the speed was not fast. The light of the rising sun shot into the car through the curtains, making people's eyes a little dizzy.

Gu Junen was a little uneasy, but he saw that Gu Yanwu had no intention of talking to him and it was difficult to ask questions.

When they arrived at the place, everyone got off the car. Gu Junen and Li Nian walked into the camp under the guidance of Gu Yanwu, and then arrived at their own seats under the guidance of the soldiers. It was a high platform built with horizontal wood.

Gu Junen looked at the sides and saw many Shandong civil and military officials wearing government offices or generals. He only knew Wan Ji, Gu Yanwu and other few people.

He looked down at the stage again and saw eight thousand elite squadrons standing solemnly. Not far from them, nearly 10,000 soldiers were sitting on the ground. They were divided into three sides, and although they were not in line, they were not chaotic.

The entire camp was silent, with only the occasional neighing of horses. The cold wind blew the flags and flew. From a distance, I felt a sense of evil spirit soaring into the sky.

Li Nian lowered his voice and said, "Mr. Gu, the soldiers in front of the formation who set up the formation are not inferior to the old eighth camp of the King of Chuang!"

Before Gu Junen answered, he only heard two slight smiles, and one of them walked to the two and said, "General Li is really aware. Let me tell you the truth. There were 8,000 soldiers, 5,000 infantrymen and 3,000 cavalrymen in the previous stage. More than 80,000 infantrymen were old soldiers in the army who had fought with the Tartars on the battlefield in Liaodong, and the remaining 20% ​​had participated in the rebellion of extermination of Liu Zeqing. Except for some of the three thousand cavalrymen who returned from Liaodong like them, the rest were survivors who fought countless times with General Li Dingguo. So, it is not wrong to say that they are no worse than the old Eighth Camp of the King of Chuang."

Gu Junen looked up at the man standing in front of him. He was about forty years old and was wearing a white robe. It was Chen Mingxia. Gu Junen smiled faintly, stood up and bowed, "It turned out to be Chen's envoy, long time no see."

Chen Mingxia nodded with a smile, "I have always wanted to visit Mr. Gu, but there are so many things happening recently, I hope you can forgive me."

As he said that, he sat next to Gu Junen and said, "I have received the order from the governor. I will set off tomorrow morning and go to the capital to pay homage to the King of Chuang again. Does Mr. Gu have any words or letters to me to pass them to the King of Chuang on your behalf?"

Gu Junen frowned slightly, "This time?"

Chen Mingxia nodded and sighed softly, "The Manchu Captains are in great power, and they have seized most of Shaanxi and Shanxi. Which situation is not good for the Chuangjun? The general sent me to the capital, first to find out how the Chuangjun will act next. Second? I also want to ask whether our army can provide some help to the Chuangjun within its capacity."

Gu Junen looked at Chen Mingxia, not believing what he said. He was silent for a while and said, "I do have some things to report to King Chuang, but there is no need to bother Chen's envoy. Let Li Nian return to the capital with you and report to King Chuang directly."

Chen Mingxia smiled and knew that Gu Junen had some concerns, so he said, "It's good that this is the case. I'll send someone to pick up General Xiao Li tomorrow morning. By the way, today all the civil and military ministers from all levels in Shandong are here. Mr. Gu should have many people who don't know! Do you need me to recommend it for you?"

Gu Junen was stunned for a moment, and said with hesitation in his tone: "Is that OK?"

Chen Mingxia nodded with a smile, "Of course, now you and my second army are allies, so it's always good to gain more understanding."

Chen Mingxia led Gu Junen along the edge of the high platform and introduced the people here to him. There were officials at all levels, military generals at all levels, and local gentry and merchants in Jinan.

Most of them passed by just one or two sentences. Only when they met some people, Chen Mingxia stopped to communicate with him. The atmosphere along the way was relaxed, which showed how widespread Chen Mingxia made friends.
Chapter completed!