Royal study room.

Emperor Qingde drank tea and looked at the several ministers in front of him. These were all officials from the Ministry of Works. Today, the one who came to the morning court with the Minister of Works was Huang Zhong, the right minister of the Ministry of Works.

Huang Zhong is already sixty-six years old this year, and he will probably stay in the position of Right Minister in this life. He has never retired. Firstly, this man is a technical management talent, and he can provide technical support for many matters of the Ministry of Industry; secondly, he is the emperor.

Not accurate either.

Allowing the old minister to go further would block the way of others, and he would not be able to work for long at this age, but when he was allowed to retire, the emperor had not yet seen a successor. Huang Zhong was obsessed with various technologies and craftsmanship, so-called

He is the one who is talking about studying things to achieve knowledge.

At this moment, Old Huang Zhong was excitedly pointing to Chu Qing's "Blast Furnace Structural Diagram" and gushing to the Minister of Works: "Sir, look here again. Our shaft furnaces are generally thick from top to bottom, but this blast furnace has

That's the section in the hearth of the furnace, and below..." He even gestured and gestured, and didn't even notice the spitting stars splashing on his gray beard.

Several technical backbones from the Ministry of Industry also listened attentively and nodded from time to time to show that they understood. The emperor drank tea slowly and waited for the end of their discussion. The emperor did not understand these things, so he did not need to understand them. Professional matters were left to professionals.

This is what the emperor should do.

When everyone's discussion died down, the emperor asked: "How?"

"Your Majesty, I think this drawing is very reasonable and should be much better than our current shaft furnace. May I ask, Your Majesty, who designed this drawing? Can I be allowed to pay a visit to him?" Without waiting for the answer from the Minister of Works, the old minister

Huang Zhong couldn't wait to answer the call.

This old man had such a temper. He didn't mean to disrespect his superiors, but he was too thirsty for knowledge. The Minister of Industry also knew about his temper and didn't mind.

Emperor Qingde did not mention the contribution of the drawings before, nor did he mention it at the court meeting. Now he just brought it to let professionals evaluate the feasibility. When he heard Huang Zhong's question, he smiled. It seemed that

This blast furnace is a good thing.

"Huang Aiqing, I can understand your urgent mood, but this person is not in the capital..." Only then did the emperor tell the origin of the drawing. Everyone clicked their tongues after hearing this.

"Zheng Aiqing, since you all think it is feasible, then hurry up and build a blast furnace according to the diagram and see the effect. How about three days?" The emperor was actually more anxious.

"Your Majesty, three days are not enough." Zheng Chunqiu, Minister of Industry, said, "According to what is written on the drawing, what No. 2 and No. 3 bricks are needed to make the furnace. We don't know what No. 2 and No. 3 bricks are.

"

"Huh?" The emperor said "Huh".

Zheng Chunqiu quickly leaned over and handed over his hands: "This drawing has all the structures, dimensions and raw materials marked, but it does not indicate the proportion of materials used for this brick, so..."

"Then just mix these materials directly and make a mud furnace like how we usually build a shaft furnace. It should be OK." Huang Zhong suggested, "The kaolin mentioned above is the Guanyin clay we commonly use, but it has a different name.

That's it. The proportions are pretty much the same, so we can estimate them. In this case, three days is enough." Huang Zhong was impatient to build the blast furnace, and was prepared to build it even if conditions were not created.

"Hmm." The emperor said "Hmm" again. The sound was rising just now, but now it was falling. The Minister of Industry breathed a sigh of relief.

After dismissing these people from the labor department, Emperor Qingde raised the corners of his mouth, picked up the tea, and said to himself: These people, they can't come up with ideas without some pressure, and only with pressure can they be motivated!

The cup of tea was brought to his mouth, but before he could drink it, the eunuch's report came from outside the imperial study room: "Your Majesty, Mr. Hu, the commander of the Secret Reconnaissance Department, wants to see you!"

"Let him in!" He quickly took a sip of tea. Hu Hengqiu came here whenever he had something to do recently. He always wanted to get some funds from the emperor. He did it six times this month. He often wrote for more than half an hour at a time, disturbing the emperor.

Opportunity for tea.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, let me show you something nice!" Hu Hengqiu came in holding a long box.

"Hey? Hu Aiqing has become more elegant too? Is this a guqin?" the emperor guessed, looking at the long box.

"No way! Your Majesty, you think too highly of me. How can I know that?" Hu Hengqiu said with a smile. In fact, Hu Hengqiu is really a talent and plays the piano well. However, after the establishment of the Secret Intelligence Department, he no longer needs to use the piano to express his feelings.

He expresses his feeling of not being able to appreciate his talent. He likes this job now.

"Look, look." Hu Hengqiu excitedly opened the lid and showed it to the emperor, as if he were presenting a treasure, "This is the newly made sword of the Secret Investigation Department, Xiuchun Dao. How do you like it, Your Majesty?"

The emperor picked up the Xiuchun knife and gently rubbed the blade with his fingertips. The knife was one hundred and ten centimeters long, with a blade about seventy centimeters long, a handle less than thirty centimeters long, two fingers wide at the blade, and half a centimeter thick.

, weighing three and a half kilograms, it is neither heavy nor light in the hand and is very handy.

The emperor was also a tall man, so he couldn't help but stand up and hold the knife to his waist. This move made Hu Hengqiu's heart twitch, and he regretted showing the knife to the emperor.

The emperor flicked the blade with his fingertips again, and the pleasant metallic sound had a lingering aftertaste. It was really good steel! The gilt pattern on the blade was smooth and elegant. The handle was wrapped with a suede rope, which was very tight.

"Yes, a good knife!" The emperor couldn't help but praise, "I accept it!"

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty, this sword, this sword is..." Hu Hengqiu was so anxious that he stuttered.

"Huh? What?" The emperor raised an eyebrow and looked at the commander, showing a "How dare you have an opinion" expression.

"Your Majesty, this sword is not... no, this sword is just a sample. I want to distribute it to the Secret Investigation Department. I requested your order." Hu Hengqiu said: "If the Emperor likes it too, you can customize a domineering one.

style."

"Oh?" The emperor looked up at Hu Hengqiu.

"It's like this, Your Majesty, one of my subordinates, Xiaoqi, has invented a technique for making iron, which can produce such a good knife. However, the blast furnace she used for making iron is not stable enough. But she said that the finished product she made can reach

The quality of steelmaking."

"Why, this Xiaoqi also has a blast furnace?" the emperor asked.

"Also?" Hu Hengqiu was puzzled, "Who still has it?"

The emperor was also a little confused: "The memorial sent quickly by Jizhou Zhizhou said that there was a capable person under his rule who designed a blast furnace that can produce molten iron in a short time."

"Your Majesty, is it Chu Qing?" Hu Hengqiu remembered. The letter mentioned Jizhou Xiaoqi Chu Qing. He was attracted by Xiu Chun Dao and did not pay attention to the content behind it.

With that said, Hu Hengqiu presented the envelope in his sleeve to the emperor.

The emperor carefully reviewed it. This was an official letter from the Jizhou Council and a confidential submission from Chu Qing. The official letter reported in detail Chu Qing's duties in the Secret Investigation Department, as well as all Chu Qing's actions since he officially became Xiaoqi.

The role played by the "Baolu Group" of Chu Qing Dynasty in being used as an intelligence transfer station between Jizhou and Donglun Kingdom is also described in detail.

Chu Qing didn't know that he had done so much work for the Secret Investigation Department. In fact, Zhang Mingyu brought people from other counties to buy bricks several times. Chu Qing also had suspicions, but did not go into details. Zhang Mingyu brought Chu Qing with him every time he reported work.

share. Attributing the role of the intelligence station to Chu Qing.

The official letter also mentioned that two junior officials from the Yu Department had approached Chu Qing, but they did not disclose how to deal with it. It seemed that nothing could be done. Finally, the secret report between Xiuchundao and Chu Qing was reported.

It was sent to her after Li Jin, the doctor of the Yu Department, looked for her.

Chu Qing's letter is simple and clear: "... I believe that things that are beneficial to the country and the people should not be judged by money... Although the blast furnace has not been tested many times and it is unknown whether there are hidden dangers, it can still be used every twelve

Every hour comes out of a furnace of molten iron... Please check... Embroidered clothes rise in the sky in the spring, and colorful clothes move towards the courtyard. Therefore, the official named it 'Xiu Chun Dao'... The pattern can change color according to the grade... There is a small mark at the end of the pattern

Circle, with the word 'secret' inside...".

The handwriting is neat and neat, unlike the soft and graceful handwriting of ordinary women. Instead, it has a sense of strength that penetrates the back of the paper. The handwriting is unique and does not look like that written with an ordinary brush.

"The poem is good, and the writing is also good." The emperor commented.

"This Chu Qing...is a woman?" the emperor asked again.

"Yes," Hu Hengqiu replied.

"Why do I think this name sounds familiar?" The emperor hesitated.

"Your Majesty, the last time the Donglun people pretended to be bandits and were caught by a group of villagers, it was Chu Qing who led it. She was also the one who found out that the group was Donglun's ore prospectors. What a coincidence in the end.

She was also the one who found the mineral spot." Hu Hengqiuhui reported.

"Well," the emperor slapped the table, startling Hu Hengqiu.

"This is a model of a woman! She can not only resist the enemy, but also lead the people to get rich. She has fantastic ideas and is not public about it." The emperor praised: "I want a reward!" After saying that, he looked at Hu Hengqiu.

Hu Hengqiu is depressed. Your Majesty, you can reward me if you want. Look at what I am doing. I came here to apply for funds from you to make a embroidered spring knife. Do you still expect me to give the reward to Chu Qing?

"Your Majesty, she is just a small flag. She is just an ordinary village woman on the outside. Just think of it as you wish. Don't make her too eye-catching." Hu Hengqiu suggested seriously. The implication is that you are paying for it, but I am not. Although Chu

Qing is from our Secret Investigation Department, but you have to pay your salary.

"Yeah, that's right." The emperor fully understood the meaning of this stingy commander. He didn't originally want Hu Hengqiu to pay for it, he was just looking for an excuse to pay less for himself.

－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
Chapter completed!