Li Zhen waved his hand, and he and Zuo Zongtang sat down separately.
After Zuo Zongtang sat down, he dusted the wrinkles on his body, sighed softly, and said helplessly: "King Zhennan left Beijing with the young emperor. In a short period of time, Yi took over all the officials in the court and controlled them. The imperial court, as well as Zaiyuan, Du Han, Duanhua and other important ministers in the court have all surrendered to Yi. We, the unworthy officials, can only follow the trend and surrender to Yi."
Speaking of this, Zuo Zongtang's eyes flashed with dissatisfaction, and he said: "Yi just took over Beijing, and he summoned me alone and told me to devote myself to national affairs, and I would definitely be promoted in the future. I didn't expect that I would be dismissed from my post in the blink of an eye. ."
Li Zhen listened and thought something must have happened later.
Just listen to Zuo Zongtang continue to say: "After Yi ascended the throne, everything went according to plan without any disturbance. Unfortunately, Du Han didn't know where he learned that I had a relationship with the King of Zhennan, and he targeted me everywhere. Du Han was an important minister in the court. He has connections with Duan Hua, Zai Yuan and others, so it would be easy to deal with me. Du Han found an excuse and dismissed me from my post as a doctor in the Ministry of War, and then made me a seventh-grade editor at the Hanlin Academy. , obviously you want to humiliate me."
Zuo Zongtang clenched his fists and said in a deep voice: "Under the atmosphere, I resigned and left Beijing. I thought that Yi personally summoned me at the beginning, but it was a pity that when Du Han took action, Yi was a coward."
Li Zhendao: "Brother Ji Gao, it's me who has implicated you."
Immediately, Li Zhen laughed loudly and said loudly: "Brother Ji Gao, I don't leave you here, I have my own place to stay. I don't know how to inlay gold with jade. He is blind."
Zuo Zongtang said with emotion: "The world is so big, but there is nowhere to live."
When Li Zhen heard this, he laughed loudly again.
Zuo Zongtang was quite depressed and said: "I have already been kicked out of Beijing, what's so funny." If it weren't for the good relationship between the two, Zuo Zongtang would definitely have left.
There's no way to rub salt into someone's wounds.
Li Zhen said: "Brother Ji Gao misunderstood. I laughed because Yi didn't know the pearl. He valued Du Han and wanted to rely on these old bones, but ignored the real jade. He was really blind."
When Zuo Zongtang heard this, his face showed embarrassment again.
Unexpectedly, he misunderstood Li Zhen.
Zuo Zongtang said modestly: "If I were a pearl, I would not be covered in dust. King Zhennan has given me too much praise."
Li Zhen said: "Brother Ji Gao still wants to serve Yi."
Zuo Zongtang said: "A good horse will never turn back. If you have already resigned, you will naturally not go back."
Li Zhen continued: "Yi is talented and has certain abilities. If it were a peaceful and prosperous time, Yi could be regarded as the master of the ZTE. But now the Manchu Qing Dynasty is troubled by internal and external troubles. There are official corruption inside, bandits and rebellions by the Nian army, and there are heroes outside. , France, Russia and other countries are eyeing her with covetous eyes and will not allow Yi to display his talents."
Zuo Zongtang nodded and said: "Your Majesty's words make sense."
Li Zhen added: "Currently, the country is divided. Yi can only be a tinker, repairing a few broken houses. The most important thing is that Yi is the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and he is leaning towards the Manchus. Everything he does is for the Manchus. Brother Ji Gao is a Han and represents the people of the Han family. There are already irreconcilable conflicts between the two parties. Brother Ji Gao will not be able to stay in Beijing for long."
Zuo Zongtang nodded, deeply convinced.
Almost all the people in the DPRK were Manchus, with very few Han people, and Han people could not hold high-ranking officials.
The two people had a discussion about the Manchu-Han issue. Soon, half an hour slipped through their fingertips. The more Li Zhen and Zuo Zongtang talked, the more they felt that the people in front of them had ideas and talents. Likewise, Yes, Zuo Zongtang also agreed with Li Zhen very much. In addition, the two of them knew each other and had a great conversation.
Li Zhen changed the topic and said straight to the point: "The South has decided that our army is in urgent need of talents like Brother Ji Gao. Now that Brother Ji Gao is here, please stay."
Zuo Zongtang was a man over forty years old. It was the time when he had the most experience and experience, which was the best time in life. Zuo Zongtang came from the north and took the initiative to meet Li Zhen, which showed that he wanted to become an official. After hearing what Li Zhen said, Zuo Zongtang was very happy. However, Zuo Zongtang was a stable person after all. There was no joyful look on his face. He stood up unhurriedly and bowed to Li Zhen. Said: "I have met the King of Zhennan in my humble position."
In one sentence, the attitude has been expressed.
Li Zhen stood up, stretched out his hands to support Zuo Zongtang, and said: "Brother Ji Gao, business matters between us are business affairs, and we are still friends in private. This is the case now and will still be the case in the future. It will never change. "
After hearing this, Zuo Zongtang felt warm in his heart.
No matter whether Li Zhen's words were credible or not, at least the person in front of him gave him a promise.
"Gu, Gu,."
An extremely uncoordinated sound suddenly sounded in the hall.
Li Zhen looked at Zuo Zongtang, because the sound came from Zuo Zongtang's position. Zuo Zongtang's face changed slightly, and he said: "I have been rushing all the way from the north. I haven't had lunch yet, and my stomach starts to drum."
"People are like iron, and food is like steel. If you don't eat even one meal, you will feel hungry." Li Zhen took Zuo Zongtang's hand and said with a smile, "Let's go to the dining room and talk while eating."
The two of them walked towards the living room.
At the same time, Li Zhen also ordered the cook at home to prepare meals. The two sat down in the living room, drank tea and ate some pastries to fill their stomachs, chatting while waiting for the food to be served in the kitchen. However, the two chatted for ten minutes. For five minutes, there was no movement in the kitchen. Li Zhen suddenly became anxious and shouted: "Here comes someone."
The attendant walked in and stood respectfully beside Li Zhen.
Li Zhen asked: "What's going on? The food hasn't been served yet." Fifteen minutes were enough to make one or two side dishes and steam the rice. However, the food and rice haven't been served yet. Zuo Zongtang's stomach growled from time to time, and Li Zhen became impatient with waiting.
The attendant explained: "Your Majesty, the fire is catching fire because the fire is damp."
Li Zhen raised his eyebrows and asked, "Are there no matches?"
"Matches." The attendant blinked and was confused by the noun that came out of Li Zhen's mouth. He asked cautiously: "Your Majesty, I have never heard of matches. What is this?"
Zuo Zongtang said again: "Your Majesty, what are matches?"
Seeing that neither of them knew anything, Li Zhen asked again: "You really don't know about matches."
"really do not know."
When the two heard this, they shook their heads.
Li Zhen put his hand on his forehead and said, "Did I remember wrongly? There are no matches yet."
In Li Zhen's knowledge, there should be matches now.
In fact, at this time, China did not have the name match, and there were no foreign matches. Historically, during the Southern and Northern Dynasties in China, some people had already dipped sulfur on small wooden sticks, and with the help of fire or fire knives and flints, they could be made very quickly. Conveniently turning "yin fire" into "yang fire", this is the most primitive match in Chinese history.
However, this is not universal and not popular.
During the Southern Song Dynasty, vendors selling matches began to appear on the streets of Hangzhou.
At that time, some traders chipped pine wood into small pieces as thin as paper, covered one end of it with sulfur, and then sold it. However, it was not called "match", but called "fazhu" or "cui'er". It is an early match that has been formed, but it has not attracted people's attention and attention because it cannot be popularized and it is not very convenient and practical.
In the end, China's ignition method still dominated the ordinary ignition method.
The situation in Europe is different.
After a series of brewing and the prototype of the first match, the Englishman J. Walker invented the first match in 1826. In 1831, the Frenchman C. Soria mixed yellow phosphorus into the head instead of antimony trisulfide. Yellow phosphorus matches are made, which are easy to use, but are too sensitive to fire and can easily cause fires. In addition, during the manufacturing and use process, yellow phosphorus is highly toxic and seriously endangers people's health.
Therefore, such matches have not been developed.
In 1855, the Swede J.E. Lundström created a new type of match. A mixture of potassium chlorate and sulfur was adhered to the match stem, and non-toxic red phosphorus was applied to the side of the match box. Just remove the match tip. Just scratch the phosphorus layer and it will immediately ignite. This is because Lundström separates the strong oxidizer and the strong reducing agent, which enhances the safety in production and use. It is called a safety match, which makes matches proud. Promoted widely.
Li Zhen himself has used matches and is very familiar with them.
There were no matches at the moment, which made him feel extremely inconvenient. Zuo Zongtang heard Li Zhen's words, felt strange, and asked: "Your Majesty, what on earth are matches?"
Li Zhen said: "Matches are used to ignite fires. They are equivalent to fire sticks and flints. They are easy to carry and easy to ignite."
"How is it made?" Zuo Zongtang asked.
"Tap, step,,."
There was a sound of footsteps, and two attendants came over. One of the attendants was carrying rice, and the other was carrying hot dishes. After they put down the meals, they explained why they had not been able to prepare the meals in time. For this reason, he turned around and left the hall. Li Zhen asked the soldiers who called him to step back and signaled Zuo Zongtang to eat before starting to discuss things.
Zuo Zongtang was already hungry. He ate three large bowls of rice before burping.
Li Zhen ate some food from time to time and ate with Zuo Zongtang.
Zuo Zongtang put down his bowl and chopsticks and said, "Let the prince laugh."
Li Zhen laughed and said: "Brother Ji Gao, you are so humble. You have never seen me eat when I am hungry. I eat at least twice as fast as you."
After that, Li Zhen took Zuo Zongtang to the study.
After the two sat down, Zuo Zongtang asked again: "Your Majesty, what is the match mentioned earlier?"
Zuo Zongtang has not let go of this matter yet.
Li Zhen laughed and said: "Brother Ji Gao, don't worry, I will definitely open your eyes. Next, I will get out the matches. This thing is necessary, but before that, let's talk about business first, about Ji Gao." Regarding Brother Gao’s arrangement, I will tell you my thoughts and the two of us will discuss it. This is the top priority."
Zuo Zongtang said: "It's fine as long as the prince has decided. There is no need to ask my opinion."
Li Zhen shook his head slightly and said: "Since it is good steel, of course it must be used on the blade, and it must be used to its full potential. Brother Ji Gao is talented, so I will let Brother Ji Gao show his talents."
Zuo Zongtang was even more moved when he heard this.
