Since I knew that the prince was likely to come to Huguang, Chenxi had to make some responses. .

After checking the imperial court's reports over the past few months, Chen Xi learned about Liu Jin's garrison of the Southern Zhili, and it was understandable that the prince disappeared... Zhu Houzhao must have used some means to coerce Liu Jin to help him leave the palace. Liu Jin is the best person. In order to ensure that the prince reuses him after he ascended the throne, he took risks and committed such a tremendous crime!

Of course, there is no need to hold Liu Jin accountable at this time. After all, it is a fact that the prince left Beijing and came for Huguang. If the matter is exposed, Chen Xi himself will not be able to escape the relationship, so he can only find the prince first.

When the prince goes south, he will inevitably walk the canal to the Yangtze River. Someone must go to greet him, or simply block the naughty child on the way to Huguang and send him back to the capital.

He was worried that he would send someone to Chenxi. Even Yunliu and Xier, Chenxi was worried that Jinyiwei and Dongchang would find clues, and then let the emperor know the inside story.

In addition, Chen Xi was worried that others would not recognize Zhu Houzhao, the naughty child, and only Ma Jiu had contact with the prince.

Chen Xi called Ma Jiu and explained in detail that it did not cover up the disappearance of the prince. In his eyes, others might have problems, but Ma Jiu could trust him no matter what.

After hearing Chen Xi's situation introduction, Ma Jiu widened his eyes in surprise: "...Master, the prince... is coming to Huguang?"

"If it is expected, this should be the case. The prince is likely to move west along the river. As for whether to take a boat or a carriage, it is still unknown. I plan to ask you to take some people and go down the river. Be sure to find the whereabouts of the prince and protect him properly."

"You can act according to the actual situation at that time... If the prince insists on coming to Huguang, you can follow his wishes. When someone arrives at Wuchang Mansion, I will find a way to send him away. You may have to go back to the capital at that time!" Chen Xidao.

Ma Jiu bowed: "Don't worry, Master, the villain will definitely do the things properly!"

Chen Xi reminded: "You can't tell anyone about this matter, even writing letters to Sister Xiaoyu. This time you go east, the people you take cannot have any involvement with the government to prevent anyone from making trouble... It is best to leave Huguang and Jianggan, and you temporarily recruit a group of subordinates, supervise and train them well, and do the work properly!"

Ma Jiu felt that the burden on his shoulders was very heavy. The prince was the future emperor and carried the expectations of the world. As a result, the prince disappeared and came to Huguang. Chen Xi knew the prince and could complete the escort mission. He had to be said to be a difficult test. Ma Jiu asked nervously: "Master, are you no longer sending others?"

Chen Xi shook his head: "I'll be relieved if you go there. Just rest assured. Sister Xiaoyu is still in the capital now. If she arrives in Wuchang Mansion and you have not returned yet, I will tell you that you have gone out to do the job. She will understand! To avoid the long nights and dreams, you can go back and clean up and set off overnight tonight!"

Chen Xi did not dare to be careless. In order to avoid Ma Jiu missing Zhu Houzhao on the way eastward, he told him to focus on searching in inns and hotels along the river. The coastal cities with famous scenic spots and historical sites also needed to stop and search carefully. After all, Zhu Houzhao is active in character, and it is impossible not to go to the place to visit and increase his experience and knowledge.

Chen Xi sent Ma Jiu to find someone, but after thinking about it, there was indeed no suitable person to be appointed, so he had to give up.

...

...

Zhu Houzhao set out from the capital at the end of February. According to the time, he should arrive in Nanzhili by the end of March, and will arrive in Huguang and Jianggan areas in late April or early May.

It was already late April when Chen Xi received the news. He temporarily sent someone to greet him. The opportunity he missed was very great. Chen Xi also felt an invisible pressure that he was almost breathless and could only divert his attention by doing other things.

Among the people brought by Song Xiaocheng, in addition to hundreds of carriage brothers, there were also some craftsmen. Chen Xi had specially asked Song Xiaocheng to help recruit in Fuzhou Prefecture. Although there were not many craftsmen coming this time, only forty people, most of them were carpenters and blacksmiths, and a small number of masons, which just met Chen Xi's needs.

"... Ten workshops were established along the Xunsi River in the south of the city, namely woodworking houses, mills, brick and tile workshops, spinning mills, weaving factories, printing and dyeing factories, steel factories, blacksmith shops and gunpowder factories, etc. Among them, the woodworking houses are mainly responsible for building water trucks, turbines, spinning machines, etc. The mill can process wheat and rice through hydraulic-driven water turbines, while the brick and tile workshops are responsible for burning paper blue bricks, red bricks, tiles and helping the steel factory to build iron and steel blast furnaces, and spinning mills are Spinning machines produced by woodworking workshops, weaving factories use cotton yarn to weave cloth nearby, printing and dyeing factories color the cloth, steel mills use blast furnaces, charcoal and iron ore to refine steel, blacksmith shops use steel to cast swords, and at the same time create gun accessories, cast Fran machine cannons, and gunpowder factories produce gunpowder. All workshops are supervised by the Governor's Office, and the specific drawings involved in production are provided by the Governor's Office. As for the required raw materials, they are purchased from the market!"

Chen Xi called Song Xiaocheng and distributed it according to the expertise of the craftsmen. "Only forty people are obviously not enough. You go to various prefectures in Huguang to recruit blacksmiths, carpenters and various craftsmen. Anyone with unique skills will be given priority to hire them. You can even pay a salary in advance to settle the family. The first batch of 5,000 taels of silver is allocated!"

Song Xiaocheng was shocked when he heard this: "Sir, 5,000 taels of silver, how many people are you going to recruit?"

Chen Xidao: "According to the average salary of one person per year, 500 people should be recruited in advance. All craftsmen are classified into categories, and all five-level workers are assigned. Junior apprentices only receive basic five-level silver. Ordinary craftsmen are second-level workers, seven-level silver, skilled craftsmen are third-level workers, ten-level silver, and one-handed craftsmen are fourth-level workers, twelve taels of silver, and the top craftsmen are fifth-level workers. They have inventions, or have major breakthroughs and discoveries in some aspects. The salary is fifteen taels of silver, and there are additional rewards. These people are under the jurisdiction of the Governor's Office. You only care about recruitment, and the regular training and work are responsible by the Governor's Office!"

What Chenxi is now going to build is a complete industrial system, which can provide key technologies, but he only understands the basic principles, such as turbines, spinning machines and artillery, musket manufacturing, etc., which are implemented from paper to reality. Specialized craftsmen need to conduct experiments based on the drawings drawn by Chenxi, and first produce samples, and after repeated tests, and then mass production is carried out.

When he was in Tingzhou, Hui Niang and Zhou and others were busy making money. Chen Xi was powerless even if he wanted to promote the development of technology. At that time, Hui Niang and Zhou both lived with their fingers, and it was impossible for them to spend a lot of money to do such things that seemed to be useless in their opinion.

Later, Chen Xi served as a Hanlin official in the capital, but there was no conditions.

Later, when he became an official in Fujian and Guangdong, Chenxi had a stage to show off his skills, but at that time the court appointed him to suppress bandits and suppress Japanese troops. He did not stay in Fujian and Guangdong for a long time, and he had to fight with forces such as Folang Jimen, bandits and local governments, and lacked a stable environment.

Even so, Chen Xi promoted the construction of salt farms and the reform of the salt and tea franchise system, creating conditions for him to promote industrial innovation in Huguang and Jianggan.

After Chen Xi arrived at Wuchang Mansion, he was in a state of ignorance. In fact, he was not idle, but was sorting out the drawings and figuring out the principles of technology such as Jenny spinning machines, blast furnace steelmaking and modern water turbines.

Of course, he knew all the original theories, but after all, he studied liberal arts and was not proficient. At the same time, the math, physics and chemistry knowledge he came into contact with was completely different from the knowledge system in people's minds these days. In many cases, it can be said that he was talking about the same thing, which required him to train a group of talents from scratch.

If Chen Xi wants to change the Ming Dynasty alone, he must start with the simplest hydraulic equipment and mechanical equipment, and at least there are cases to follow these things.
Chapter completed!