Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 302
Hong Chengchou was still a little stunned, he didn't know who Zhang Gelao was in his Qing Dynasty.

He knew that Wu Sangui, the king of Pingxi, had fled from Henan and returned to Beijing in October. However, because both the regent Dorgon and the assistant regent Dorgon needed the support of the Liaodong Han gentry, they did not use this to deprive him of his kingship. Noble, but only half a month's salary.

Hong Chengchou didn't want to be negligent, after all, Wu Sangui was also the prince of the Qing Dynasty, so he hurriedly ordered people to invite Pingxi King Wu Sangui and some old Zhang Ge.

Zhang Gelao is Zhang Shenyan, because he was recruited into the cabinet by Zhu Youjian last year as a scholar of Dongge University, so his current name is still Gelao.

Zhang Shenyan took the opportunity to escape when he failed to go south with Duoduo to defeat Ming, and happened to meet Wu Sangui in Henan, and became Wu Sangui's current staff.

Therefore, when Wu Sangui entered Hong Chengchou's mansion and introduced Zhang Shenyan to Hong Chengchou, Hong Chengchou suddenly understood why he was called Zhang Gelao.

Now Hong Chengchou is most concerned about the matter of defeating Ming, and even his enthusiasm for destroying Daming is no less than that of Dorgon.

Therefore, the current Hong Chengchou is very concerned about the affairs of the Ming Dynasty in the south, and Zhang Shenyan was a well-known official of the Ming court in Nanjing.

"Please sit down, Elder Ge. I never thought that Elder Ge would join me in the Qing Dynasty. If His Majesty the Qing Emperor and the Regent knew about it, I would be very happy. With the help of Elder Ge's reputation, why worry about me in the future?" The great cause of Qing Dynasty will fail!"

Hong Chengchou could guess that Pingxi King Wu Sangui invited Zhang Shenyan to see him, and it must be for him to help recommend Zhang Shenyan.

Hong Chengchou was very happy about recommending officials of the Ming court. After all, the Ming and Qing Dynasties are now competing for the hearts of the world, and the regent Dorgon is very willing to recommend more Han officials from the Han officials below.

Zhang Shenyan really wanted to use Hong Chengchou to help him ask the regent Dorgon for an official, so he said with a smile: "You don't have to call Xiaomin Pavilion old, Da Sima, Xiaomin has decided to have nothing to do with Baoming, and intends to vote for him." I am the Lord of Qingming, and I hope that you will help me, Da Sima."

"It's easy to say, you and I and King Pingxi, we have already been listed on the Guanghua Daily's traitor list in the Nanjing Ming Court, and have been cast into white iron kneeling statues in Nanjing, Hangzhou and other places. What is this? It is a great shame to you and me, if you don't destroy the Ming court and destroy the white iron kneeling statue, you and I will lose face!"

As Hong Chengchou spoke, he slapped the table excitedly. Now when he saw Zhang Shenyan, he indeed remembered that Zhu Youjian made a list of traitors, and when he thought of the head of Geng Zhongming who had appeared in his mansion, he became even more indignant.

Zhang Shenyan also resented Zhu Youjian for humiliating them like this at this time: "Great Sima calm down, the Ming court is really hateful, but this declining dynasty will die overnight, only my Qing Dynasty can shine with the sun and the moon, illuminating the past and the present!"

Wu Sangui, king of Pingxi, was silent on the sidelines. In his heart, he hated Chongzhen Zhu Youjian for kidnapping Chen Yuanyuan and even killed dozens of members of his Wu family, but he also hated Hong Chengchou and Zhang Shenyan in his heart. Here, many scholars keep boasting about the Qing Dynasty and belittling the Ming Dynasty, which they used to be loyal to. They even scolded the Ming Dynasty as worthless and felt a little ashamed of these civil servants in their hearts.

……

At the same time that the Qing court began to restore the northern economy and prepare for another southern expedition to the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Xianzhong in Sichuan at this time also began to prepare for the southward conquest of Yunnan and Guizhou.

Last year was mainly a battle between the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty. After Zhang Xianzhong and Chongzhen became emperor in Chengdu, Sichuan in November 17, they have been fighting hard. Taking advantage of the wealth of Tianfu, they have expanded their army to hundreds of thousands. Now it is the entire world. A force that cannot be ignored.

Because of this, Zhang Xianzhong has also begun to prepare to take away the territory of Yunnan and Guizhou from Daming.

"Father, my son thinks that it is inappropriate to start a conflict with the Ming Dynasty at this time. Today, the world is a three-legged confrontation. Zhu Ming occupies the south of the Yangtze River, the Manchu Qing occupies the north, and our Daxi occupies Sichuan. They will suddenly attack me in Sichuan and take away my foundation in Daxi, so I hope that my father will think twice about going south to Yunnan and Guizhou."

However, Li Dingguo put forward his own different opinions to Zhang Xianzhong at a court meeting.

"Father, Ercheng thinks that the second younger brother is too worried. Now that Zhu Ming and Man Qing have just gone through two wars, and both sides have lost a lot. It is the time when both sides are hurting and our fisherman is gaining. Not at this time. Conquer Daming and seize the land of Yunnan and Guizhou. When Zhu Ming recovers, we will have no chance. The Yunnan-Guizhou area, especially Yunnan, is now under the governance of the Mu family. Taking advantage of this opportunity to occupy Yunnan and Guizhou will further strengthen our Daxi, and then we will be able to confront the Ming and Qing Dynasties and then unify the world!"

At this time, Zhang Xianzhong's adoptive son Kewang also stood up at this time.

Hearing this, Zhang Xianzhong did not listen to Li Dingguo's opinion, but continued to decide to use military exploits to attack the Yunnan-Guizhou region to strengthen the power of his Daxi regime. Moreover, in Zhang Xianzhong's view, the Sichuan he occupied was surrounded by high mountains. It was difficult for Qingdu to attack, so he naturally didn't have to worry too much about anyone who would dare to attack him easily.

……

Zhu Youjian was holding a blueprint, and Song Yingxing and Tang Ruowang were watching the craftsmen burn the first steam engine experiment site in Ming Dynasty. The huge boiler and huge steam engine equipment had already been installed by the craftsmen.

The entire steam engine, from the boiler to the intake valve, as well as the control wheel and the water pump, is connected with the bearings processed by the latest wooden machine tool of Daming, and the cylinder of the steam engine also uses the latest mold technology of Daming, and the mold is cast with molten iron. Instead of multi-layer steel plate welding, it is hoped to achieve better air tightness and increase steam power efficiency.

The workers have already started to burn the coal and kept adding more coal. The fire is getting bigger and bigger, and the water in the boiler is boiling violently. The water in the river was continuously pumped out, and the trickle began to enter the farmland along the pre-completed ditches.

Zhu Youjian couldn't help laughing happily. Daming had his first steam engine. This technological revolution was more than 100 years ahead of the original European history.

However, Song Yingxing and Xiyang Pantang Ruowang also did not understand what is the use of His Majesty personally supervising the construction of such a machine. Using so much coal to burn, and then driving the water pump to pump out such a small amount of water, the price is a bit high. There is no water truck at all. low cost.

And it costs countless good steel and iron, and some parts even need to be filed bit by bit by skilled craftsmen with files.

However, only Zhu Youjian knows what kind of revolution this seemingly huge machine that provides a lot of power will set off. Although it is still in the experimental stage and has no application value, it has already marked that Ming Dynasty is moving more toward mechanization. One step closer.

(End of this chapter)