Zhao Hanzhang looked at the time and went straight back to Zhao's house.
As expected, Fu Tinghan arrived first, and the family was waiting for her in the dining room.
Wang was talking happily when he saw her and said angrily: "You are so busy, you don't even have time to go home for a meal."
Feeling strange and distressed, I asked, "Can we have some tea in the morning?"
Seeing Zhao Hanzhang shaking his head, he immediately turned around and told Qing Gu to call the kitchen to serve food.
Zhao Hanzhang then sat next to Fu Tinghan and asked him, "How long have you been here?"
Fu Tinghan: "I just arrived not long ago."
"He has been waiting for you for half an hour," Mrs. Wang asked: "Can your yamen still have a rest? You just got married and it's the Chinese New Year, so you are so busy?"
Zhao Hanzhang: "I won't be busy after this new year."
"You say this every time. Just think about it, how many years has it been since our family spent the New Year together?"
Zhao Hanzhang: "We can definitely spend this year together."
Zhao Hanzhang invited her and said: "This year we are celebrating the New Year in the palace. There are a lot of people and it is very lively. Don't I like the excitement? It will be fun then."
Mrs. Wang was a little nervous, "Do I want to enter the palace too?"
"Come in, don't worry, just sit next to Erlang, close to me. We will take care of you, and no one in the palace dares to bully you."
Zhao Erlang patted his chest and promised, "I will definitely protect my mother-in-law."
Only then did Zhao Hanzhang remember to ask, "Erlang, when you were searching the palace before, did you see something... like a big hollow copper ball?"
Zhao Erlang shook his head directly, "My brother-in-law asked me just now. I have never seen a big copper ball."
Zhao Hanzhang regretted it and turned to Fu Tinghan: "It's okay. I'll go back and look for it in the court to see if there is an artificial armillary sphere. I will build one for you then."
"But the observatory is damaged. I took a look around today and found that the location of the observatory is the best. I will ask the Ministry of Industry to look at the quotation for reconstruction. If the national treasury can squeeze out the money, we will build it for you next year.
stand up."
Wang was puzzled, "Why build a star observatory?"
Zhao Hanzhang: "Look at the stars."
Wang hesitated, "Isn't this bad? Doesn't it mean that the national treasury is tight now? Just build an observatory just to watch the stars?"
Zhao Hanzhang explained: "Stargazing is to predict the weather. This year's drought in Youzhou and Jizhou was actually predicted by the Imperial Heavenly Supervisor of the DPRK. Unfortunately, the imperial court did not have strong control over the local areas and failed to prepare for disasters in time. Even though
The imperial court has notified all states to prepare for disaster prevention, but each place acted independently. Not only was the drought unstoppable, but it also later triggered a major locust plague."
"After the fall of Yuncheng, the officials of the imperial court disappeared from ten to eight, and the officials of Qin Tianjian..." Zhao Hanzhang said sadly: "None of them came back."
She was really sad. These are all technical talents, and it takes a long time and material resources to train one.
"In order to prevent natural disasters, the Qintian Prison must be rebuilt. Now that I have a big talent, even if it is just for the weather, the observatory must be built." Not to mention the almanac.
To write a good almanac, a star observatory is also a must.
Only then did Wang understand. She thought for a while and said, "How about I give you some?"
Seeing them worrying about money every day, Wang is not selfless enough to serve the country, but she cannot bear the embarrassment of her children.
Zhao Hanzhang refused and said with a smile: "Auntie, keep your money. If Erlang and I are short of money in the future, we will definitely come to you for help, but the affairs of the treasury should be left to the officials in the court."
With the little money Wang has, even if it empties his family's fortune, he won't be able to build even half a star observatory.
After dinner, Mrs. Wang held Zhao Hanzhang and talked for a while, telling them to go back to Fu's house to have dinner with Princess Hongnong and Fu Xuan in the evening, and then let them leave.
Zhao Erlang had nothing to do in the past two days. Most of the officials in the county government had gone to bed. As soon as he had some time to relax, he felt sleepy after eating. He was lying on the bed and dozing off. Suddenly he jumped up, put on his clothes and went to bed.
Run outside.
Lu Hu was startled and quickly caught up, "Erlang, Erlang, what's wrong with you?"
Zhao Erlang ran away, "I seem to know where the big copper ball is?"
Zhao Erlang mounted his horse and ran, quickly reaching Bei Gongchun's residence in the capital.
Although Beigong Chunren was not in Luoyang, he left some people at home, a dozen disabled soldiers, and he let them cultivate his fields and live in his house.
These disabled veterans not only farmed, but also dug up their flowerbeds to grow vegetables and wheat. They directly diverted water to open several paddy fields nearby.
There is no need to pay taxes on anything in this garden, so they can survive on these alone. Plus the fields outside the city, they still have a little surplus after two years.
This year, because Zhao Hanzhang encouraged marriage, they pooled together a sum of money to marry wives for the two youngest ones. One of them was missing an arm and the other was missing a leg.
Originally it was difficult to call her a wife.
But they were wounded soldiers who had retired. Zhao Hanzhang had ordered that wounded soldiers retire from service. They would be exempted from labor and taxes, and would be able to benefit their families. Therefore, although they were handicapped, they could still find wives, especially widows, who were very popular.
They also like widows, especially those who have given birth to children.
Zhao Erlang ran to Bei Gongchun's house and started knocking on the door. A veteran limped over and opened the door, which was only opened a crack. His originally fierce look was startled when he saw Zhao Erlang, and then the flesh on his face
He squeezed away and showed an ugly smile. There were scars on his face.
But Zhao Erlang didn't mind. He felt the kindness of the veteran, so he lay on the crack he opened and looked inside, "Brother, did General Huang pull a big copper knot into his house?"
The veteran opened the door and asked, "What are you doing with the big copper lump, little general?"
"It should have come from the palace. My sister is of use. I vaguely remember that General Huang came to Luoyang later and led troops with me to sneak into the palace to look for things. He seemed to have found a big copper lump."
The veteran thought for a while, then let Zhao Erlang in, and then led him limping toward the yard, "Yes, there is, but I can't give it to you easily without the general's warrant."
He led Zhao Erlang to the back and pushed open a warehouse door. There were a lot of sundries piled inside. In one corner was a copper body that was nearly as high as a house. It was so deflated that it almost turned into a ball.
I don't know what hit it, and there are damages on all sides, but it can still be roughly seen as a circle.
Zhao Erlang said excitedly: "Yes, yes, that's it, that's it. I remember that General Huang secretly transported things out of the palace, but I still saw him. I thought he was moving sculptures."
The veteran smiled and said: "This is copper, it is precious."
Zhao Erlang said sternly: "My sister wants to do something big with it. Tell General Huang and I will come and take it away tomorrow."
The veteran immediately waved his hand and refused, "That's not possible. It requires the consent of our general. If the young general can wait, wait for me to write to the general."