In the imperial palace in the capital, Emperor Hongzhi was reviewing a mountain of memorials. As the emperor of this huge empire, his daily life was actually very boring. He was busy with paperwork and had little time to go out and relax.
However, he was a very responsible emperor and had to take care of everything big and small. However, he did not have the body of his ancestor, Comrade Zhu Yuanzhang. He was only in his thirties, and his whole person looked extremely old.
His hair is gray, his eyes are dim, and his face is tired...
"Xiao Jing, come here and read for me."
Emperor Hongzhi took off his glasses, rubbed his tired eyes, closed his eyes and said.
Since getting these glasses, his myopia has improved a lot, and his eyes are not as tired as before, but reading memorials every day still makes his eyes very tired.
"Your Majesty, you have been busy for more than an hour. How about we go out to the capital for a walk?"
Xiao Jing looked at the tired Emperor Hongzhi. He had to say that he was a good emperor and a diligent emperor. Sometimes he, the eunuch who followed him, couldn't stand it anymore.
All the civil and military ministers in the dynasty were in high spirits and in good health, but the Emperor of Ming Dynasty was the only one who watched helplessly as Emperor Hongzhi aged day by day.
"Go for a walk?"
"It's okay, I haven't been out and about for a long time."
When Emperor Hongzhi heard this, he thought about it and nodded. Since the famine occurred in the three northern provinces, he has rarely gone out.
"Where is the prince?"
Emperor Hongzhi habitually wanted to take the prince with him for a walk. This was the only entertainment activity between the father and son. Every time he went out for a walk, he would habitually take Zhu Houzhao with him, and Zhu Houzhao also liked it very much.
Walking around the capital.
"His Royal Highness the Prince heard that he went to see where a cement road was being built, which is the cement road from Tianjin to the capital."
Xiao Jing quickly replied that as Emperor Hongzhi's 'secretary', he must always keep abreast of the situation of the people Emperor Hongzhi cares about, because Emperor Hongzhi may ask questions at any time.
"Isn't this cement road built by Liu Jin?"
When Emperor Hongzhi heard this, he immediately became interested.
"Your Majesty, this is indeed the cement road invented by Liu Jin. Li Dongyang, Zhou Jing, and Zhang Mao also mentioned it in their memorials earlier, calling this cement an artifact of the country that can make the Ming Dynasty permanent."
Xiao Jing thought for a while and replied quickly.
"Let's go and have a look."
When Emperor Hongzhi heard this, he couldn't sit still and quickly got up and walked outside.
…
To the east of the capital, on the official road only one kilometer away from the capital, a huge construction team finally built this cement road to the capital.
The construction of this cement road went very smoothly. Tens of thousands of disaster victims started working on the construction of this cement road at the same time. The speed was beyond imagination. In less than ten days, this cement road was about to be built in the capital.
The novelty of cement roads also attracted the attention of young and old men throughout the capital in the first place. Especially as millions of catties of sea fish are transported into the capital from Tianjin every day, everyone has long known that Tianjin leads to the capital.
The official road has long since changed and turned into a spacious road built with cement.
Therefore, on both sides of the official road from the capital to Tianjin, there were huge crowds of people, all of whom came from the capital to watch the excitement. Zhu Houzhao's figure was among them, surrounded by more than ten guards, followed by Liu Jin, a loser.
"Haha, the construction has finally reached the capital. From now on, it will be much more convenient to go to Tianjin. I heard from Old Liu that this whaling ship has been built and we must go to the sea to hunt whales in the future."
Zhu Houzhao came to the brand-new official road and stamped hard on the hard cement road with his feet. He still couldn't forget to go to the sea to hunt whales.
When Liu Jin behind him heard this, he was immediately frightened. If Zhu Houzhao went out to sea to hunt whales, he would not be able to survive. How long has it been since he returned to the capital? It was not easy to divert this little master's attention to other things.
place, I didn’t expect that I was still thinking about whaling.
"Well, Old Liu had the foresight to build this concrete road so wide that I can then transport the whales I caught to the capital and present them to my father."
Zhu Houzhao was gesticulating on the spacious cement road and seemed to be calculating the size. He was very satisfied with this two-way six-lane cement road, which was wide enough.
"Sir, let's go back. Otherwise, if the master finds out, I will definitely get slapped."
Liu Jin had a sad face. When he came forward, their names also changed. There is no doubt that this master deserves to be Emperor Hongzhi.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure you're fine when I go back."
Zhu Houzhao didn't take it seriously and continued to jump on the spacious cement road.
"It's really hard, just like being paved with a whole stone. This cement is really of great use. If we build this cement road on the grassland in the future, and then build a castle based on the cement road, we can easily cover the grassland.
Eat it away."
Zhu Houzhao touched his chin, already planning the future in his mind.
Even though he looks careless and careless, he actually has his own opinions on matters of right and wrong. He admires Huo Qubing and Wei Qing. He has always thought about being able to be a wolf in the future since he was a child, and he has been studying for this.
Now that I see this cement, I am thinking about encroaching on the grassland in the future.
Zhu Houzhao was studying the cement road with great interest. On the other side, Emperor Hongzhi finally came to the construction site after changing into ordinary people's clothes.
“It’s very lively~”
Emperor Hongzhi looked at the sea of people in front of him, and then looked at the construction team of tens of thousands of people on the official road. The whole scene was very lively and busy, but everything was in good order.
The construction team of tens of thousands of people has a very clear division of labor. The four-wheeled carriages responsible for transporting cement, sand and gravel formed a long queue on the official road. The road-leveling team in front continued to expand on the basis of the original official road. The water on both sides of the road
The trench was dug neatly and cement was used to build it.
The cement road that has been built further away is very spacious, with a green belt in the middle dividing it on both sides. All carriages and people walking on the road keep to the right, like two rolling torrents heading into the distance.
"Is this cement road easy to use?"
"It must be very useful. I went to Tianjin through this concrete road two days ago. It is very smooth. It is not bumpy when riding a horse-drawn carriage. It only takes half a day to reach Tianjin."
"Blow it?"
"It's more than a hundred miles from Beijing to Tianjin. How can we get to Tianjin in half a day?"
"If you don't believe me, you can try it yourself. How could I lie to you?"
While Emperor Hongzhi was watching the lively scene, he was also listening to the people around him constantly discussing this new cement road.
“Can we get to Tianjin in half a day?”
Emperor Hongzhi was slightly moved. It only took half a day to cover a hundred kilometers. He knew very well what this meant.
"If this official system can be established throughout the Ming Dynasty, the two capitals and the thirteen provinces, it will be very convenient for the army to mobilize food and grass. It will only take a few days to transport food from the south to the capital."
Emperor Hongzhi thought silently in his heart, and then walked towards the cement road that had been repaired.
Soon, he came to the cement road that had been repaired and opened to traffic. Like countless people who set foot on the cement road for the first time, he couldn't help but stamp on the hard cement road with his feet.
"It's really as hard as stone."
Emperor Hongzhi immediately smiled on his face. Looking at the flat concrete road again, the smile on his face became even bigger.
"It is truly the sacred weapon of the country~"
Xiao Jing, who was following Emperor Hongzhi, looked in all directions, as if he was looking for something. Soon he not only discovered Zhu Houzhao, but also Liu Jian, Xie Qian, and Li Dongyang, the three elders, so he hurriedly
He went to Emperor Hongzhi's side and reminded him gently.
"They're here too?"
Emperor Hongzhi smiled, and then asked Xiao Jing to call these people over.
Soon, Zhu Houzhao, Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, and Xie Qian hurried to Emperor Hongzhi's side and wanted to salute, but Emperor Hongzhi waved his hands, indicating that there was no need to be polite.
"What do you think?"
Emperor Hongzhi looked at the cement road that snaked to the end of his sight and asked with a smile.
"This is the sacred weapon of the country. With this cement, our Ming Dynasty will have no more foreign troubles."
Liu Jian couldn't help but sigh and said.
"Your Majesty is holy, the auspiciousness comes from heaven, and we can look forward to a prosperous Ming Dynasty."
Xie Qian also gave a very high evaluation and rated the cement as auspicious.
"Haha, I have already said that this object is a divine weapon, you must believe it now."
Li Dongyang stroked his mustache proudly. When he returned to the capital, he had already told Emperor Hongzhi and others about the cement, comparing the cement to an artifact. Liu Jian and Xie Qian still didn't believe it at first.
, expressed doubts, but now I fully believe it.
As for Zhu Houzhao on the side, he pouted and seemed unhappy. He finally went out to play once, but he was caught by Emperor Hongzhi unexpectedly. He originally thought about whether he could sneak to Tianjin and then think of a solution.
Sneak into the whaling ship and go out to sea to hunt whales.
Now this plan had to be aborted. With Emperor Hongzhi by his side, he would never want to go to Tianjin, let alone go to Tianjin to hunt whales. Emperor Hongzhi would never allow it.
"What do you think?"
Emperor Hongzhi naturally noticed Zhu Houzhao's expression and asked with a smile.
Since Zhu Houzhao came back from Tianjin, he felt that Zhu Houzhao had grown up a lot, and he would ask Zhu Houzhao about many things to see what his thoughts were.
"Although cement is good, since ancient times, only a thief will commit a thousand days, so there is no reason to prevent a thief in a thousand days."
