From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

Chapter 844

It was already dusk.

Zhou Yuan was sweating profusely. He hurriedly walked out of the courtyard and came to the main hall outside the courtyard. He picked up a cup of cold tea and drank a few sips before he slowly calmed down.

Seeing this scene, Li Yu'an couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh. She walked slowly to Zhou Yuan and chuckled, "Let me guess what happened. Is there a girl named Dai Si who made you sweat?"

Zhou Yuan raised his head and glared, "How do you know everything?"

Li Yu'an sat next to him and smiled, "Do you have any misunderstandings about Dai Si? A child from a single-parent family, a girl who has been wandering around with her mother since childhood, can she be simple?"

"Kolodiya is a noble lady, but Dai Si is not."

Zhou Yuan sighed and said, "She disguised herself so well. She blushed when she spoke before, like a shy little girl, but what she said just now really shocked me."

Li Yu'an said, "Do you feel it's hot now? It seems that Dai Si is more difficult to deal with than her mother, right?"

Zhou Yuan smiled bitterly and said, "It's not a matter of whether it's difficult to deal with, but... she has her own ideas, she dares to give everything, which means... she wants more than Kolodiya."

"But I didn't give her a chance to speak. "

"When she drugged me, I ran away because I knew if I continued, she would make demands."

Li Yu'an gently pinched Zhou Yuan's shoulder and said, "You, don't always think that you are the only smart person in the world. You know how difficult it has been along the way. You should be more cautious with Dai Si."

Speaking of this, she paused slightly and squinted her eyes and said, "Guess who Dai Si has the best relationship with?"

Zhou Yuan asked in confusion : "What do you mean?"

Li Yu'an said: "Sister Ningyue, Luo Ruanzhi and Miss Qu Ling, they have been here with Dai Si for so long, who has the best relationship with Dai Si?"

"You must think of Ningyue, because Ruanzhi is too introverted, Qu Ling is always out doing things, and Ningyue is very gentle and knows how to care for people."

Zhou Yuan said: "Isn't it?"

Li Yu'an chuckled and said: "I asked the housekeeper here, and the one who is closest to Dai Si is Qu Ling."

Zhou Yuan was slightly surprised.

Li Yu'an said: "Although Ningyue is good, she can only care for people. Qu Ling is different. She wants to do business and will do maritime trade in the future. Dai Si knows very well who can really help her."

"This girl, her future achievements may be far higher than Kolodiya."

Zhou Yuan fell into deep thought.

Li Yu'an smiled and said, "I won't waste your time. I didn't come to you to tell you this, but... that ugly man is here to see you and has been waiting for you in the study for a while."

Zhou Yuan was stunned for a moment before he remembered that the Virgin Sister was talking about Guan Lu.

Alas, Guan Lu is still a little handsome, although his face is a little round, but you can't always call him that.

There is no doubt that Xiaoying spread this name.

Zhou Yuan shook his head and entered the study, and saw Guan Lu shivering and chewing on a steamed bun, looking like a starving ghost reincarnated.

When he saw Zhou Yuan, he stood up quickly, wiped his mouth, and said, "Sir, the Battle of Hengzhou was a moving story!"

Zhou Yuan glanced at him and said, "What's the matter? You're so hungry that you're eating steamed buns. Haven't you eaten?"

Guan Lu said, "I haven't eaten all day. I've been to several places these two days and I really don't have time to go to a restaurant. These two steamed buns were brought to me by the kitchen just now."

Compared to three years ago, Guan Lu has lost a lot of weight and looks completely weathered, but his spirit is better than before.

In Zhou Yuan's view, Guan Lu is a true wise man and executor. For a long time, he has faced very difficult tasks and extremely harsh tests, but he can always persevere in the darkness and complete what he should do.

There is no praise, no reward, no respect from the people, but for the so-called ideal, he has burned almost everything he has.

So to a large extent, Guan Lu and Zhou Yuan are not like master and servant, but more like... comrades.

"News has come from Dongfan Island. It's really rare."

Guan Lu continued to chew on the steamed bun, and then said: "It's still a pigeon. This is the second pigeon. There may be no more channels to send news in the future."

He handed over the small piece of letter paper. It was wrinkled and stained. I don't know what ink it was written in, but it was a little smudged.

It can be seen that the second sister was in a very difficult situation on Dongfan Island.

The content of the letter was very simple: "On July 22, the islanders revolted, and countless people were killed and injured. The Dutch accelerated the construction of the fortress city."

This short sentence, I don't know how much thought and risk it took to reach ZhouYuan's hand.

Information also jumped out: On July 22, the islanders on Dongfan Island revolted, and the Dutch took brutal measures to suppress it, and began to build fortresses for the subsequent war.

In this, the second sister wanted to express a lot of things.

The uprising showed that the Dutch exploited the compatriots on Dongfan Island outrageously, and the people there could no longer bear it.

The construction of fortresses showed that the Dutch had no confidence in the outcome of this war and planned to fight a protracted struggle.

"Very miserable. Based on previous intelligence, we can basically know the Dutch policy on Dongfan Island."

Guan Lu memorized this information and said in a deep voice: "In terms of taxation, it is enough to crush the people."

"Priests and officials are fine. They only need to pay head tax, but ordinary people, such as the citizens of Fort Zeelandia, need to bear head tax, bird and fish tax, customs duty, real estate transaction tax, brick tax, lime tax, and various license taxes, which are too numerous to count."

"And these are just direct taxes. There are also various indirect taxes. People basically have to work non-stop to pay... Everything must be handed over to barely survive. "

"In the final analysis, we have become resources like cattle and sheep, helping the Dutch, or we will die."

After finishing his meal, he wiped his mouth, drank a sip of tea, and then he breathed a sigh of relief, saying: "In fact, the resistance of Dongfan Island has never stopped in the past 30 years, but the Dutch are cruel and have never succeeded."

"These foreign barbarians spread their sects and beliefs on the island, forcing everyone to believe in them, and deliberately provoked conflicts between tribes and races, forcing everyone to have no choice but to fight. Be their pigs and dogs at ease."

"Sir, we want to take over Dongfan Island, it is only the first step. How to govern Dongfan Island is the key to their fate."

Zhou Yuan nodded and said: "We are neighbors, we are of the same origin, we should govern Dongfan Island the same way as we govern the mainland."

Guan Lu said: "The Dutch have been teaching for more than 30 years, and many people have really believed in it, especially some young people born in the last 30 years."

Zhou Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly and said in a deep voice: "Then I hope they can understand a little bit. We don't mind helping them with our heart and getting them on the right track. Road."

"But if there are those who are stubborn...the blood will tell them that God is fake."

Guan Lu said: "Have you thought of a solution, sir? Does Shenque need special cooperation?"

Zhou Yuan smiled and said: "You just reminded me, um, Chu Feifan's injury should be healed, go and call him to Fuzhou Prefecture."

Guan Lu asked in confusion: "He? What use can he be?"

"He is good at swimming."

Zhou Yuan said seriously: "I want him to swim to Dongfan Island and help me contact Ye Qingying."

Guan Lu took a breath of cold air. Swimming from Xiangzhou to Haojing is very close. But swimming from Fuzhou Prefecture to Dongfan Island...I'm afraid it will cost his life.

"His injury has indeed healed, and he is in Fuzhou Prefecture."

"He was afraid of swimming in Haojing again, so he came here..."

Zhou Yuan's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help saying: "Brother Feifan really understands me too well, call him quickly!"