Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 7
"Reporting to the emperor, this river is called Bailang River. It used to have a lot of water, and the fields on both sides of the river were easy to irrigate, and the grain production was much more than it is now. It's just that the water volume has been getting smaller and smaller in recent years. , the fields can’t count on it! The farmers in the village don’t know what to do, alas!”

Liu Chao said with emotion while introducing, and Zhu Youjian smiled slightly at the last sigh.

"Liu Chao, how many years have you managed this village?"

Zhu Youjian asked.

"My lord, the slaves have been assigned to this Zhuangzi for five years, because they pay much more food to the palace every year than other Zhuangzis, so Eunuch Cao appreciates and promotes the slaves to serve as imperial horse supervisors!"

"You've done a good job. You've done a good job. I can't treat you badly."

Zhu Youjian said in a warm voice.

He is very clear in his heart that everyone in the world longs to be praised by others, especially when the subordinates do well, the proper encouragement from the boss will make them work harder.

"Slaves can't be praised by the emperor, they only want to serve the emperor's family wholeheartedly!"

Sure enough, Liu Chao, who was praised by the emperor, smiled from the bottom of his heart, and also showed generosity in his reply.

"I plan to treat this village as a test field. Corn and sweet potatoes are the first step. After that, I will build a workshop to manufacture some important items. No one should know about this! In the future, your responsibility will be very heavy. This is for you. My test for you depends on whether you can stand it or not! If you do well, you will be honored as a father-in-law in the palace in the future! If you have failed me, you can guess the consequences !"

Chongzhen looked into the distance with his hands behind his back, and said in a flat tone.

Liu Chao's thoughts turned, the most important items, as well as corn and sweet potatoes, as for the experimental field, he didn't understand, but he also roughly understood that this is the Holy Majesty who wants to reuse him!If you do it well, then you won't be this little Fengyu in the future!
The emperor said it all, others will call him father-in-law!Those who can be called eunuchs in the palace are all eunuchs like Cao Eunuch and Wang Eunuch!

These thoughts in his mind took only an instant, and Liu Chao immediately knelt down on the ground and kowtowed: "Don't worry, my lord, even if I give up my life, I won't miss the things assigned by my lord! If you don't do well, don't worry about it." If the emperor disposes of it, the servants will find a place to kill themselves!"

"Get up, it's better to listen to his words than to watch his actions. I'll see how you act in the future."

Zhu Youjian didn't look at him, but looked up with his hands behind his back. At the end of the field was a lush mountain range, towering and continuous.

"Which mountain is in the distance?"

Zhu Youjian asked.

"My lord, the mountain in the distance is called Miaofeng Mountain, and there is a village at the foot of the mountain called Mentougou. Coal is produced in the ditch. In the past, the local villagers dug up carbon and sold it in the capital every winter, so the village was relatively prosperous. But a few days ago In [-], I heard that the charcoal in the ditch was locked up by a certain relative, and the charcoal was dug and sold by myself, and others were not allowed to dig the charcoal, which also caused constant complaints from the local villagers.

Zhu Youjian's face became gloomy, and he turned his head to tell Luo Yangxing: "Go back and find out who did it! Compete with the people for profit, and even cause death, who gave him the courage!"

Luo Yangxing hastily agreed, recruited a guard in brocade clothes, gave a few instructions in a low voice, and the guard turned around and left quickly.After a while, a rush of hoofbeats went from near to far.

Zhu Youjian was extremely satisfied with Luo Yangxing's efficiency and attitude. He glanced at him approvingly and said, "It's rare to come out, stay here tonight, and drive back to the palace tomorrow morning!"

Wang Chengen was in a hurry when he heard the words, and quickly persuaded him: "My lord, it's not yet noon, and it's not too late to return to the palace after lunch. Not only is it unsafe to stay here overnight, but the old ministers will also cause trouble if they find out!"

"Don't worry about your safety, and the ministers don't need to worry about it! The court elders know that I avoid seeing courtiers in the Hall of Martial Arts, not to mention that Wen Tiren is not a person with no winks! If he doesn't speak, who else would make fun of himself? I have to think about it carefully here, and then come up with a strategy and let Liu Chao implement it! There is no need to persuade my companion, I have made up my mind, let's arrange it!"

Zhu Youjian replied with a smile.

His predecessor, Emperor Chongzhen, had never been out of the palace except for sacrifices, and now he suddenly had to spend the night outside the palace unexpectedly, which made Wang Chengen feel very uncomfortable.

"I can't stay in the palace all the time, ignorant of the affairs outside the palace and the sufferings of the people! I want to be a down-to-earth emperor, not a puppet who only fights with civil servants!"

Luo Yangxing and the others did not dare to accept the emperor's words, so they could only bow their heads and say yes, because these words had already involved the court, and the identities of the three of them could not be mixed up.

It was noon when we returned to Zhuangtou's house in the village. Wang Chengen and Liu Chao hurried to prepare lunch, while Zhu Youjian and Luo Yangxing drank tea and waited in the house.

After a while, Wang Chengen and Liu Chao came to the house with food, Liu Chao smiled and said to Zhu Zhenqing: "Your Majesty, the food in the countryside is poor, you should take it easy!"

Zhu Youjian said with a smile: "Diet is a small way. Today the world is not peaceful. Compared with those people who died of hunger, it is a blessing to be able to eat enough! I usually cancel meals in the palace, and the extravagant enjoyment is not what I want. want!"

Luo Yangxing and the others bowed in unison and said respectfully: "The Holy One is really a famous emperor through the ages, and the servants (servants) are all respectful!"

Zhu Youjian waved his hand and said: "There is no need to say compliments. I am diligent and thrifty. I only hope that I can rejuvenate the Ming Dynasty and save the people from the fire and water. Only in this way can I be worthy of my ancestors!"

The food was served on the table, with eight dishes and eight bowls. Although it was not delicious, it was considered rich.

Zhu Youjian ordered: "Leave four dishes, I and Luo are good enough, and let the guards enjoy the rest."

Wang Chengen hesitated and said: "My lord, there is not much food in the first place, and it would be too shabby to give it to others!"

Zhu Youjian urged: "Just do as I tell you! You are always by my side, don't you know that I don't like to waste money?"

Wang Chengen had no choice but to take away the rest of the meals with Liu Chao, leaving only four dishes on the table.

Zhu Youjian greeted Luo Yangxing to sit down, picked up the rice and started eating, Wang Chengen and Liu Chao stood aside to serve.

The ancients paid attention to eating without talking, and there was no talking during the banquet. After a while, Zhu Youjian had a bowl of rice, and the dishes on the table did not move much.Luo Yangxing was extremely restrained in front of the emperor, and he only ate a bowl of rice, as for the dishes on the table, he didn't dare to pick them up.

Zhu Youjian didn't care about him, he put down the empty bowl and stood up and said, "I'm full, let's go for a walk to digest the food. Wang Chengen, you two sit down and eat, you don't have to follow, I'm in the courtyard."

Luo Yangxing didn't expect the emperor to eat so fast, he hurriedly put down his rice bowl and said, "I'm full too, follow your majesty."

Wang Chengen and Liu Chaowai wanted to follow, Zhu Youjian gave them both a look, and they had no choice but to stay in the room.

The two monarchs and ministers came to the courtyard one after the other, and the guards were taking turns to eat. When they saw the emperor coming out, the eaters quickly put down their rice bowls and raised their weapons to prepare for the guards.

Zhu Youjian warmly ordered: "You wait and eat, I'm walking around in the courtyard, don't be nervous!"

Only then did the guards relax, and those who hadn't finished eating continued to pick up their rice bowls and eat quickly.

Zhu Youjian walked a few steps, suddenly remembered something, turned around and asked Luo Yangxing who was behind him: "Luo Qing, did Jinyi Wei Tiqi use firecrackers?"

Luo Yangxing hurriedly replied: "Returning to the Lord, Jinyi Tiqi is a generation with high martial arts skills. They usually use knives, guns, bows and crossbows as weapons, and rarely use firecrackers. Because the firecrackers grew up, they are cumbersome and powerful. Officials and schools are unwilling to use it."

Zhu Youjian frowned when he heard this.

He, who is familiar with the historical process, of course knows that it is the general trend for firearms to replace cold weapons.

But the quality of firearms in the Ming Dynasty is really not flattering: there is no standardized process for firecrackers, and the calibers vary in size; the same problem exists in the gunpowder, and the gunpowder is not pure black powder, which leads to the short range of the firecrackers and the low lethality. , and because of the shoddy craftsmanship of the craftsmen, the firecracker is very easy to explode.

In Daming, the craftsmen who made firearms had no status at all. When they had no food and clothing and were starving, who would put their heart into producing them?
In fact, there is no shortage of excellent craftsmen in Ming Dynasty. The key is to formulate a strict system with clear rewards and punishments to fully mobilize the enthusiasm of craftsmen and stimulate their creativity.

Under the supervision of a good system, firearms will definitely shine in actual combat, and they will no longer be like a tasteless existence that soldiers discard as shoes.

Mao Yuanyi!This name suddenly appeared in Zhu Youjian's mind like lightning.

This is a firearms expert at the end of the Ming Dynasty. He was capable of writing and martial arts. He was called "a general who got off his horse and became a scholar and got on his horse."

By the way, there is also Bi Maokang, a master of firearms, who is a famous figure in later generations. If Mao Yuanyi is an expert in firearms, then Bi Maokang is a master of firearms.

I vaguely remember that he successfully developed the flintlock in history, which was an epoch-making invention.

The current firecrackers are subject to weather factors. Once it is rainy, snowy and windy, it is basically unusable, which seriously affects the combat effectiveness of soldiers.

It's just that the old man should be quite old. Chongzhen returned to his hometown with the title of Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing five years ago. I don't know if his body can bear the heavy burden he entrusted to him?

Thinking of this, he immediately ordered: "Luo Qing, you immediately arrange for people to investigate the two people!"

After Zhu Youjian said his name, he continued: "I will take my handbook and escort the two of them to the capital immediately after finding them! Bi Maokang is old, and the local government will arrange for people to take care of them!"

Luo Yangxing bowed to accept the order.

He had heard about Bi Maokang, after all, he was a high-ranking official.

He had never heard of this Mao Yuanyi, but he could see that His Majesty attached great importance to it, and he had to arrange capable people to go there, so that His Majesty could not pick out any faults.

He beckoned a Jinyi guard to come, and gave a few instructions in a low voice. After the guard took the order, he quickly turned around and left the courtyard gate, mounted his horse and headed straight for the capital.

While talking, Wang Chengen and Liu Chao came out of the house after dinner and came to Zhu Youjian's side. Wang Chengen bowed and said, "My lord, do you want to take a rest now?"

Zhu Youjian said with a smile: "I'm not seventy or eighty, so I don't need to rest. You two come with me. I have something to tell you. Liu Chao, go get your pen and ink. Luo Qing, go find a place to put the relatives I said in the military. Wu Haosheng thinks about it, and come up with a strategy for me."

After all, Zhu Youjian turned around and went back to the house first.

(End of this chapter)