Daming heir

Chapter 312
Earlier outside Zhengyangmen, Zhang Ergong was driven off the steam car by the emperor, and then he watched the emperor and grandson drive away.

The hundred officials behind led the imperial army out of the city to protect the emperor's safety, and Zhang Ergong naturally followed with others.

They are not afraid of the emperor's accident.

In the minds of Zhang Ergong and others, the emperor was in Yingtian City, as if he was in his own courtyard. There were tenants of the emperor's family inside and outside the city, and now this emperor is a rare person who treats the people well.

Who would be idle to kill such a good emperor.

They were worried that the steam car would run too far, and if something went wrong, they wouldn't be able to let the grandson repair the car without them.

Furthermore, if the car breaks down and injures the emperor, the steam engine is likely to be sealed up.

Then his own crane, Dahongpao, is probably about to fly away.

It was based on this idea that Zhang Ergong took a group of craftsmen who would be supervisors, and he had no sedan chairs or horses. He could only leave the city after an unsightly official from the Ministry of Industry came from the village on the side. Zhang Ergong and the others borrowed a few donkeys, and then they drove over together hanging behind them.

That's why.

When Zhu Yunxi was in the crowd, calling loudly for Zhang Ergong and the others to come forward to receive the reward, they had to go through many officials to send word, and finally it reached the ears of Zhang Ergong and others who were at the outermost part of the crowd. .

The many officials surrounding Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yunxi spread out according to the rank of the court.

There is no need to make any special distinctions, as long as you look at these officials in uniform with different colors and patches on the chest and back, you can see the political nature of the position.

Wearing big red robes embroidered with golden pheasants, peacocks, and wild geese are the officials of the Zhengyin Hall, the ministers of each department, and the ministers of the five temples.

Crane Dahongpao is a no.

Further down, there are white pheasants, egrets, and 鸂鶒 in green robes. These are middle-level officials of the imperial court.

There is a large group of green-robed orioles and quails with the largest number in the back.

Zhang Ergong, who was also a blowfly, heard the emperor and the grandson summoned, immediately raised his right hand and shouted: "The minister is here."

Then he looked at the other blowflies in front of him with a smile on his face, and squeezed out a bright smile on his face, showing his teeth that were not white.

The group of blowflies in the capital frowned slightly, but still folded their hands silently, making room for Zhang Ergong and other craftsmen.

To the range of the green robe officials.

Zhang Ergong saw that these people looked envious, or there was some dissatisfaction in their eyes.

This time, Zhang Ergong nodded and lowered his head, raised his arms and arched his hands together: "Masters."

After muttering, Zhang Ergong shook his fists.

After doing this, the green-robed officials standing in front of Zhang Ergong and other craftsmen backed away expressionlessly, and gave way to the big red-robed officials.

Zhang Ergong's psychological journey at the moment is very complicated.

From the outermost periphery of the hundred officials, through those green robes and green robes, the direct feeling brought by him is something he has never experienced before.

Even at the beginning, when I knelt on the ground and received the decree from the imperial court for myself as an eighth-rank craftsman.The surprise and incomprehension shown by the officials who will be in prison.

All of the above still cannot be compared with what happened today.

There is a change happening in my body.

But Zhang Ergong didn't understand what this change was.

I am just a craftsman who was supposed to be a craftsman all my life, and my son, grandson, and descendants are all destined to be craftsmen.

Becoming a craftsman is a matter of good luck, because there is smoke from one's own ancestral grave.

Zhang Ergong didn't understand the affairs and principles of these court officials.

Officials who are similar to him are indifferent to him, probably because His Majesty wants to reward him.

Those green-robed officials were dissatisfied and hostile towards him, probably because they wanted to get rewards.

Zhang Ergong thought so simply.

Moreover, he thought that the last human wall of big red robes before him would probably be more difficult than that of green robed officials.

Zhang Ergong led the craftsmen behind him, bowed his waist, arched his hands, no matter what he thought in his heart, his face was full of kindness.

"My lords."

As soon as Zhang Ergong opened his mouth, a fourth-rank official with a embroidered 鸂鹒 on his chest immediately greeted him with a smile.

"Carpenter Zhang, congratulations."

The smile on Zhang Ergong's face froze for a moment, and then showed a brighter smile: "My lord, you are welcome."

The smile on his face was in stark contrast to Zhang Ergong's doubts at the moment.

go down.

The congratulations in the ears of Zhang Ergong and the other craftsmen can be described as one after another.

"I congratulate Officer Zhang Jiang on his magnanimous career!"

"Congratulations to Officer Zhang Jiang."

"Congratulations, congratulations!"

"Looking back, Officer Zhang Jiang needs to communicate more with the yamen of the headquarters."

"If Zhang Jiangguan needs it in the future, just tell the headquarters."

"My official congratulations."

"..."

Whispering in the ears, all kinds of things here make Zhang Ergong seem to be in another world, as if he is not in the same world as before.

There are too few Da Hong Pao.

So little that Zhang Ergong had no time to think about why there was such a big difference between before and after.

Before his eyes, it suddenly became clear.

With a squeezed and almost numb smile, Zhang Ergong slowly raised his head.

It was His Majesty's warm and benevolent smile, and His Majesty the Emperor's Grandson standing beside His Majesty, whose eyes twinkled as if he was happier than himself.

pat.

Zhang Ergong knelt down on the ground as usual.

"The minister will be the supervisor Zhang Ergong, and pay homage to His Majesty the Emperor and His Royal Highness the Emperor Taisun."

"Cao Min pays homage to His Majesty the Emperor, and His Royal Highness the Empress Dowager."

A group of craftsmen who followed Zhang Ergong also followed suit and knelt down on the ground.

"Okay, okay, get up." Zhu Yuanzhang's face was flushed, as long as he looked at the craftsmen and craftsmen with dark hands and stains in the nails, he felt extremely happy.

Zhang Ergong is extraordinarily polite, or rather humble and respectful.

"Thank you sir."

Then, he led the craftsmen to stand up, but the waist was still fully pressed.

Zhu Yuanzhang chuckled again and again: "We haven't rewarded you yet, how can we thank you? It's not too late to thank you when I reward you."

This was the emperor's joke, Zhang Ergong could tell the difference, he lowered his head and smiled innocently.

Zhu Yunxie also said with a relaxed expression on the side: "The research and development of the steam engine is all thanks to the hard work of Zhang Ergong and others. They stayed up all night and day and night. After countless failures, they just made it. Great, and made great contributions to the country."

"We have always been generous with rewards for actions that benefit the people and the country." Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile, setting the tone of the matter.

However, at this time.

During the incident, Wei Fan walked out from the crowd of officials.

"The ministers, officials and departments all gave Wei Fan in the matter, and there were remonstrances to play."

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard the sound, the corners of his eyes shrank slightly, and then he still looked at Wei Fan with a smile on his face.

The sixth department's officials are a huge group, not just three or two, and their powers are almost equal to those of the censors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

The officials of the official department, on the other hand, have the right to remonstrate with the official department.

Now everyone can see that His Majesty wants to give Zhang Ergong and others promotion and rewards.

Then Wei Fan, an official, is in the middle of the matter, so he is naturally qualified to speak out.

In addition to him, there are two or so Shizhong and four Shizhong in the Li Ke, who also have the qualifications to speak on this matter.

Wei Fan's cheeks were thin, his brows were sharp, and his eyes were like knives like swords.

Seeing that the emperor did not forbid him to speak.

Wei Fan then said in a deep voice: "The matter of the steam engine, I have accompanied Sheng Jia to observe it today. The power to lift tens of thousands of heavy objects, and the speed to transport tens of thousands of tons of goods are truly unprecedented. , I congratulate you."

The chief official said everything he said, and he didn't refute it in the beginning.

But the next moment.

Wei Fan's subject changed: "From today's point of view, the grandson seems to have made extraordinary achievements in this matter. Without His Highness's full support, this matter will never be successful, and there will be no such thing as the first craftsman official in Ming Dynasty.

The minister thought that when it comes to rewards, His Royal Highness Taisun should be the first to make the first contribution, and His Majesty can give a lot of rewards to show the greatness and justice of the holy grace.Zhang craftsman and the rest of the craftsmen, the imperial court should reward them generously, bestowing gold and silver on the fields and houses to inspire their aspirations.

The imperial court should also use the work of Zhang Jiangguan and others to spread the word to all officials and craftsmen, so that the achievements of Zhang Jiangguan and others should not be buried. "

After Wei Fan finished speaking, among the crowd, officials who had left the city and came here today came out one after another.

"The minister waits for a second opinion."

Zhang Ergong, who lowered his head, heard what this official Shangguan meant.

They don't want to be promoted, but only hope that His Majesty the Emperor will reward them with some fields, houses, gold and silver.

Zhang Ergong felt that what he understood was correct and correct.

Wei Fan and others are trying to stop the old man from promoting Zhang Ergong and the others.

Without thinking, Zhu Yunxi understood the demands of these people, and his eyes swept over these people indifferently.

Then, he looked at Zhan Hui and the red-robed officials.

When the lips of Zhan Hui, the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, trembled slightly and were about to open.

Zhu Yunxi took a step forward: "It's useless to be alone, only knowledgeable people can use it well, or you can call yourself. However, the success of the steam machine..."

He paused for a moment, then turned and cupped his hands to face the old man.

"I believe that Your Majesty should confer promotions on Zhang Ergong and others, to encourage them, to show justice, and to demonstrate His Majesty's sageness in governing the country."

After finishing speaking, Zhu Yunxi cast his eyes sideways on Wei Fan and the others, and finally fixed his eyes on the faces of Zhan Hui, the officials of the imperial court.

He has already made it clear that he wants to get promotion and appointment for Zhang Ergong and others.

Zhan Hui's lips trembled slightly, and finally opened slightly, as if exhaling a long breath of foul air.

Afterwards, he and Ren Hengtai, Yu Xin, Ru Yu, Wang Jun and the others all bowed to each other unanimously: "The ministers seconded the proposal."

This sentence is what he just wanted to say.

It's just that the timing of saying it is different, and the meaning it represents is also different.

Saying this sentence before and after Taisun spoke has two meanings.

Zhan Hui sighed slightly in his heart.

It is becoming more and more difficult to be an official in the Ming Dynasty.

No matter how Zhan Hui and other court officials sighed in their hearts.

Zhu Yuanzhang naturally showed the kindness that the emperor should have when the grandson and the officials of the court clearly agreed.

I saw him wave his hand, his eyes sank, and he looked at Zhang Ergong and others.

"Here is Zhang Ergong, a craftsman and official of the Ming Dynasty, who led a large number of craftsmen to manufacture steam engines and made great contributions to the state. He was awarded the post of Cheng Shilang and took the post of master craftsman of the seventh rank. Official position. The imperial court also rewarded them with land and houses, and distributed gold and silver."

After Zhu Yuanzhang's reward was finished.

Zhang Ergong's legs were already trembling with excitement, and the craftsmen behind him even knelt on the ground.

And Zhang Ergong, who was so excited that he completely forgot what he should do at this time, was dragged by his fellow craftsmen behind him before he realized it, and knelt down on the ground with a plop.

"The ministers and others take the decree to thank you, long live my emperor's sage."

The voices of Zhang Ergong and the others were broken by the shouts, but they couldn't express the excitement and shock in their hearts.

He finally took another step closer to the crane Dahongpao.

I am no longer the eighth-rank petty official of the blowfly.

My Zhang Ergong is now a seventh-rank official who can wear Tsing Yi (not an actor) and embroider clothes!

What is Chi Chi?
Zhang Ergong's head was suddenly in a daze. He had heard Mr. Shu talk about the seventh-rank officer's supplement, but he only knew the pronunciation but didn't know what it was.

However, only Zhang Ergong and others were excited.

When the man from a craftsman background gradually calmed down, he noticed the silence of the 'colleagues' behind him.

Zhang Ergong finally got a little more courageous, and quietly poked his head to look behind.

Those big red robe bosses who were still congratulating themselves at first were all silent at this time, their faces were calm, and they didn't say a word.

seem.

Chaotang is not like the scene he has imagined countless times.

"Get up, if you kneel again, His Majesty will be returning to the palace."

Zhu Yunxi looked at these craftsmen who could only be regarded as lucky ministers in the hearts of Zhan Hui, a serious civil servant who came from the imperial examination, and spoke softly with a smile on his face.

After Zhang Ergong found out the reactions of the 'colleagues' behind him, he lost some of the original excitement in his heart, and led his fellow craftsmen and officials to stand up.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang had the intention of returning to the palace at this time, he still stayed behind and chatted with Zhang Ergong and others for a while.

Then he got on the Luanjia brought by Sun Gou'er, the head of the inner palace, and drove back to the palace.

A group of officials went over Zhang Ergong and others, and after bidding farewell to the emperor's grandson, they also followed the emperor back to the city.

In a blink of an eye, there were only steam locomotives burning boiling water on the official road.

There were also Zhu Yunxi, Zhang Ergong and others who were left wondering what to do next, as well as the officers and soldiers of the forbidden army who were in charge of guarding the Taisun and comforting them.

At this time, Zhang Ergong raised his head several times, and lowered his head again.

Nobody is a fool.

Even Zhang Ergong who has never read a book.

The attitudes and reactions of the court officials and those "colleagues" towards themselves and others seem to be the same as those neighbors in the village who have conflicts and grievances with each other.

Zhang Ergong felt that his head was a little unclear about these things, so he opened his mouth: "Your Highness..."

"Zhang Ergong." Zhu Yunxi called his name softly, and stared at Zhang Ergong standing in front of him: "Everyone has their own interpretation and opinion on how to be an official. The words of the ancients are not worth talking about. What happens today will be the same in the future." "How to be an official, I can't teach you alone, how to do things, I think you are clear. Do what you should do, and don't think about things other than these things."

Zhang Ergong raised his head blankly.

Zhu Yunxi sighed softly, and added: "Remember, Gu said before, there is Gu to support you in everything."

Zhang Ergong didn't know why, but his eyes suddenly became blurred.

Puff.

Without any buffer, his knees hit hard on the hard official road.

"What Your Highness said, I will keep it in my heart, and I will die forever."

Zhu Yunxi nodded, looked at the newly promoted craftsmen and officials behind Zhang Ergong who were even more at a loss because of this change, with a warm face: "The same is true for you, Gu."

After finishing speaking, Zhu Yunxi waved to the forbidden soldiers not far away.

After he got back on his horse, he reined in the reins and looked down at Zhang Ergong: "Take the steam locomotive and return to the prison. I have already told you how to improve the steam engine in the future. If you are good at doing things, Daming should be extremely fair."

Zhang Ergong couldn't see clearly anymore.

He didn't know why he felt a pain in his heart, and he didn't know why he was so moved.

Pulling his colleagues, he waved his hand to wipe his face, then he knelt on the ground and turned around, facing the back of leaving with Taisun, bowed long.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

……

"The fifteen cuju matches in the martial arts hall have ended."

"Over the handicap, I made a total of 42 taels."

"By the way, this amount is net profit after excluding the tax money that was released and sent to the household department."

"Now it's all placed in your Taisun's mansion that has been built. What are your plans? It's up to you to say a word."

The small study room of the Eastern Palace.

Zhu Gaochi was holding a thick account book, and Zhu Yunxi, who was holding a big red book page to write and draw, summarized the results of the Cuju competition in the lecture hall.

Putting down the detailed process of his own wedding ceremony on August 42th, Zhu Yunxi looked at Xiaopang: "It's already very good, but in Yingtianfu, [-] Cuju matches can earn [-] taels of income, don't be dissatisfied. "

Zhu Gaochi curled his lips, dragged the chair behind him, and sat down.

"Ying Tianfu has been catching private orders recently, and is very dissatisfied with this market. It's just that Tian Mai and the others have done a good job. Ying Tianfu still can't guess which clan bought it."

Thinking that after he had been lied to for several Cuju matches, he realized that the banker behind the handicap turned out to be Zhu Yunxie, and Zhu Gaochi felt aggrieved.

Zhu Yunxi smiled slightly: "Let's send the handicap to the inner treasury later. The household department should keep an eye on it. You can't stop paying taxes just because you become the property of the inner treasury."

Zhu Gaochi nodded. In the hands of the inner treasury, even if this matter has nothing to do with Zhu Yunxi, the grandson of the emperor, the money went into the inner coffers, and those who lost their homes and property could not say anything. The household department took the tax money. The six ministries of the imperial court will probably not object to this matter.

Then he changed his subject and said, "Then this sum of money will also be sent to the internal coffers?"

Zhu Yunxi nodded: "It was originally on a whim, taking advantage of the opportunity to polish the martial arts students in the martial arts hall, to make up for the internal expenses of my big wedding."

Zhu Gaochi nodded, and then smiled: "Actually, during the fifth game, Manager Sun sent someone to handicap."

Zhu Yunxi glanced at Xiaopang and avoided the topic: "The sweet potatoes are about to ripen, this year apart from the big wedding, this is the most important thing."

"I heard that the growth is very good, and I think there will be a good harvest."

Zhu Gaochi responded casually.

No one can intervene in the affairs of Shanglin Yuanjian now. I am just the son of the clan prince, so there is no need to pay attention to these things that I have not asked myself to take care of.

Instead, he changed the subject and said, "How should we prepare for the Cuju match in the future? Or should we proceed according to the plan you made before?"

Zhu Yunxi nodded and was about to speak.

Yu Tian, ​​his personal eunuch, had already arrived in the small study with a lot of yelling.

The little eunuch Yu Tian didn't know that Yan Shizi was also in the small study.

Immediately lowered his head: "Slaves see His Highness, see Prince Yan."

Zhu Yunxi smiled: "What's going on, you're so anxious."

(End of this chapter)