Chapter 427: Chapter 245 Painting Maps_2
Pei Dingyuan fell silent. After a moment, he lifted his gaze to Zhao Yao, his mouth curving into a bitter smile, "Young Master, hearing you say all this, I feel no waves in my heart. Am I too cold and heartless?"
"It’s normal, they are strangers to you. Besides, it’s been so long, it’s normal for you to feel nothing," Zhao Yao didn’t find any problem with Pei Dingyuan’s thinking, "I’m telling you this not to make you do anything but to let you know."
Pei Dingyuan understood what Zhao Yao meant. He hesitated before asking, "Young Master, Noble Consort Pei... where was she finally buried?"
"She wasn’t buried in the Imperial Mausoleum of the previous dynasty, but that’s not a bad thing. The Imperial Mausoleum of the previous dynasty was dug up by rebels, and it seems there’s nothing left," Zhao Yao said, "Noble Consort Pei’s tomb is buried with those eunuchs and palace maids from the palace, in that part of the Royal Mansion..."
Zhao Yao told Pei Dingyuan the detailed location of Noble Consort Pei’s tomb, "It may not be intact there, either."
"I want to go see it." Pei Dingyuan always remembered that the person in his dream must’ve wanted him to pay respects. He guessed it was for him to pay respects to Noble Consort Pei.
"Be careful when you go, don’t let anyone discover you," Zhao Yao advised, "After all, going there to pay respects would seem very strange and could arouse suspicion."
"Don’t worry, Young Master, I’ll be cautious." Pei Dingyuan thought, maybe paying respects to Noble Consort Pei would trigger some memories.
After talking to Pei Dingyuan about the Pei family matters, Zhao Yao chatted with Tong An.
A while ago, he discovered Tong An had a talent for drawing regional maps, so he encouraged Tong An to make good use of this talent.
Zhao Yao first asked Tong An to draw a detailed map of the capital city, every alley, every wine shop, every road, all to be drawn.
Tong An enjoyed mapmaking a lot, finding it much better than drawing people or landscapes. Now he walks around the city every day, noting down the streets and buildings he sees.
During this time, he has already drawn a detailed map of the West Market.
Although he always played in the West Market, he didn’t know how big it was. It was only after seeing Tong An’s map did he realize how large the West Market was, with so many streets, alleys, and bridges.
Liang Run and Pei Dingyuan were always amazed whenever they saw Tong An’s maps.
Seeing the map, Zhao Yao suddenly thought of something else. He asked Tong An, "Tong An, can you create a new map or improve an old one through other maps or local chronicles?"
Tong An was slightly taken aback by Zhao Yao’s question. He hesitated and said, "I’m not sure, I’ve never tried it."
"Then you can try it now." Zhao Yao was calculating something. The maps of Lingnan were very outdated, seemingly still from the previous dynasty. Back then, the Lingnan region wasn’t spared from chaos during the previous dynasty’s turmoil, and there were many uprisings. Later, after Imperial Grandfather established the Great Zhou, Lingnan was still in turmoil, even sending troops to suppress it.
Lingnan was even occupied by Annan Country during the previous dynasty. When the Great Zhou was newly established, Lingnan was still under Annan Country’s control.
Zhao Yao wanted a brand new map of Lingnan so he could manage it well in the future. He asked his second uncle if any of his people could draw maps, his second uncle said no.
"Yes, Young Master."
"In a few years, you will go to Lingnan, Tong An." Zhao Yao told Pei Dingyuan and others about his future plan to go to Lingnan. "Your first task after reaching Lingnan is to draw a map of Lingnan."
"Yes, Young Master." He decided that, before going to Lingnan, he must further hone his map-drawing skills.
Seeing Zhao Yao had more to say to Liang Run, Pei Dingyuan and Tong An wisely excused themselves.
After they left, Liang Run first reported the recent profits of their stores to Zhao Yao.
Presently, Liang Run has opened several stores in the capital city. The business of delivering vegetables continued and grew larger, now delivering to many officials’ households.
One store specialized in selling items from the Western Regions, another in selling cotton clothes and quilts, and another in selling soap, rouge, and cosmetics.
The business of these shops is very good, and branches have already been opened in other parts of the capital.
Soap became a craze in the capital several months ago.
The soap was a tribute from Liang Shuren, Zhao Yao’s maternal grandfather, to the emperor. The emperor liked it very much, and thereafter, the soap became famous.
Although the Liang family kept the soap formula a secret, some clever individuals managed to figure out how to make it. However, other people’s soap wasn’t as fine as the Liang family’s.
The soap made by the Liang family was of tribute quality, and no one dared to target the Liang family over this soap business.
Because of the soap, the Liang family’s business in Yangzhou grew larger, and Zhao Yao’s Gold Vault became increasingly abundant. However, Zhao Yao had many things to accomplish and needed to keep earning money.
Not to mention, just the future construction of Lingnan would require a lot of money.
In addition to the construction costs of Lingnan, assembling a fleet to journey the Western Ocean would also require a significant amount of money.
Since it was unclear when the maritime prohibition would be lifted, Zhao Yao wasn’t rushing to have his grandfather and uncle help build ships for them. Mostly, he felt the current ships were inadequate, especially in combat capabilities.
During the journey to the Western Ocean, many dangers would be encountered, especially pirates. Without sufficient combat capability, the crew would only perish in foreign lands.
The ships must be equipped with advanced weapons... Suddenly, a scene from Zhao Yao’s dream world history of Zheng He’s voyages to the Western Ocean appeared in his mind.
"Gunpowder!" Zhao Yao suddenly slammed the table forcefully, then stood up abruptly, "How could I have forgotten gunpowder!"