The young man put the box he was holding on the table, cupped his hands and said, "Ma Zhou has seen the Lord Protector!"
"This is your appointment document, seal, and ribbon..."
"Also, this is just a courtesy of Xianguan. Xianguan comes from a poor background. Please don't dislike it, Lord Protector!"
Wei Zheng introduced to Su Chen: "King Ma Bin, the servant of Huangmen! I admire the Duke Protector very much..."
"Servant of Huangmen?"
"Ma Zhou?"
Su Chen glanced at the young man in surprise. He would also be a famous figure in the future!
"Wei Gong, since you are the servant of Huangmen, why didn't you tell me earlier!"
"He was holding a box and standing behind you. I thought he was your servant! I just let him stand like that for a long time!"
Su Chen stood up and said to Ma Zhou: "I'm so sorry for the neglect. Please sit down, please sit down!"
Ma Zhou hurriedly said: "I don't dare!"
Ma Zhou has just entered the court not long ago, and his status as Huangmen's Minister was promoted by Li Er in an unusual way. He doesn't dare to show off in front of Su Chen!
"I begged Duke Zheng to bring me to see the Lord Protector. It was Ma Zhou who took the liberty. Please forgive me, Lord Protector!"
Su Chen smiled and said: "My place is not a dragon's pond and a tiger's den. You can come whenever you want. Why do you need to find a prince to lead the way?"
"What do you want from me?"
Ma Zhou said embarrassedly: "I am very curious about the steam locomotive made by the Protector. I was not in the capital that time a year ago..."
Su Chen was stunned. Ma Zhou was quite curious.
"I want to see that one. It's at the head of the village. The people in the village were quite curious a few days ago, but no one cares about it these days."
"It's getting late, let's have lunch with Mr. Wei first and then go!"
Seeing that Wei Zheng was sitting there with no intention of getting up and saying goodbye, he probably planned to have a meal here before returning to Chang'an.
…
Wei Zheng was not polite. After eating and drinking at Su Chen's place, he wiped his lips and returned to Chang'an.
After Su Chen rested for a while, he took Ma Zhou to visit the experimental steam locomotive.
The thing had stalled, so Su Chen asked the craftsman to add water and coal to restart it.
Su Chen discovered that Ma Zhou was really curious about steam locomotives. He carefully watched every step of the craftsman, asked questions from time to time, and finally chased him for a lap.
"Thank you Lord Protector, Ma Zhou is too intrusive!"
Seeing that Su Chen had been accompanying him personally, Ma Zhou was a little flattered.
"Nothing, I just happened to take advantage of the warm weather to go out for a walk."
Su Chen smiled and said: "Actually, this is just a test model used to demonstrate the principle of the steam engine. It is of no use!"
"When a real industrial steam engine is built, that will be a good thing!"
Ma Zhou was very smart and immediately understood the meaning of Su Chen's words:
"The Lord Protector is saying that this machine can not only make the train that the Lord Protector mentioned, but it can also be used for other purposes?"
Su Chen laughed: "Of course, the steam engine is a source of power and has many uses!"
"But in the early stage, we should get the train out first, and other uses will be developed later."
Ma Zhou looked yearning on his face: "When the Lord Protector's train is finished, I will definitely go and visit it. When the time comes, I ask the Lord Protector not to dislike it!"
Su Chen said curiously: "Most of the ministers in the court are opposed to my building the railway, but you are looking forward to the train!"
Ma Zhou made no secret of his disdain: "A group of arrogant and stupid things. Our Tang Dynasty has such a large territory. We rely on horse-drawn carriages to transport supplies. If we carry a stone of grain from Guanzhong to Mobei, it would be great if we can still have a bucket of food left."
"Now we finally have a chance to improve. Even if there is only a 10% chance, it is still worth a try. What's more, it was proposed by you, Lord Protector, and the success rate is at least nine levels. How can we give up?"
"Those people in the court are only worried about the power and interests in their hands, and do not care about the future national destiny of the Tang Dynasty. It is a shame for Ma Zhou to associate with them!"
Su Chen nodded: "These guys have indeed gone too far. Last year, they colluded with foreign enemies to create a locust plague in our country, the Tang Dynasty. Their behavior is really inferior to that of animals!"
Ma Zhou frowned and said, "Last year's locust plague was really man-made?"
Su Chen was stunned: "Most people in the court know about this. You are the Huangmen's Minister, how could you not know?"
Although Huangmen's minister is not a big official, he directly runs errands for the emperor and is a close official of the emperor.
Ma Zhou smiled sheepishly: "I was only promoted by His Majesty this year, less than ten days ago."
Su Chen nodded, so that's it.
"Prince Bin, since you are so curious about steam engines and are looking forward to trains, would you like to go to Guanzhou with me and see with your own eyes how trains are made?"
Su Chen invited Ma Zhou.
Ma Zhou's eyes lit up, but he shook his head:
"Thank you Lord Protector for your help. Although Ma Zhou is curious about this thing, he is just curious and doesn't know how to make it. I'm afraid it will be of little use to Lord Protector."
"Moreover, Ma Zhou has just been promoted by His Majesty to the position of Huangmen Minister. If he resigns, he will be unworthy of Your Majesty's kindness!"
Su Chen shook his head: "I don't intend to let you do the work of a craftsman."
"The development of trains is a systematic and large-scale project. It is not the work of a few craftsmen. The procedures involved are complex and involve many people, and they also require careful management."
"The construction of railways requires the deployment of manpower and materials, which is even more complicated, and involves many departments and agencies."
"And after the railway starts operating, a very strict management system is needed to ensure its normal operation."
"All of this requires a variety of talents, but Datang does not have such a talent reserve."
"To be honest, I am very short of people right now. If you are willing, I will personally go to His Majesty to tell you."
Su Chenxin said that it is too difficult to meet a civil servant who is interested in steam engines and trains, and he must not let it go.
Not to mention that Ma Zhou in history was a prime minister-level figure!
Ma Zhou was a little moved: "Is it just His Majesty?"
Su Chen clapped his hands: "As long as you are willing, you don't need to mention it to His Majesty, I will just go to him to ask for someone!"
Ma Zhou cupped his hands and said, "I am willing to obey the orders of the Lord Protector."
Su Chen happily patted his shoulder: "That's good. You can watch as long as you want here today. With these craftsmen following you, they will have nothing to do these two days anyway."
"I still have some things to explain to the craftsmen heading to Guanzhou, so I won't accompany you."
Su Chen and Ma Zhou said goodbye and went to the workshop,
The first batch of craftsmen and equipment have been prepared and will leave for Guanzhou early tomorrow morning.
These people need to re-build the workshop in Guanzhou and prepare all kinds of materials before Su Chen arrives in Guanzhou. When Su Chen arrives, they will immediately start manufacturing the locomotive.
"Master, Wang Jun, Zhao Liu'er and others still haven't come to report today!"
When the steward saw Su Chen coming, he immediately reported to him.
Su Chen frowned, he was about to set off on his journey, but there were still craftsmen who hadn't come to report?
The craftsmen in the workshop are recruited from all over the country, and most of them have settled their families in Sujiazhuang.
