() After all the people who were qualified to participate in the meeting gathered together, Huang Taiji came to attack Shanhaiguan with expectations and dreams. Now that everything was shattered, he felt very tired and asked with a hint of helplessness: "What should we do next?
Whether to fight or withdraw, if anyone has any good ideas, please speak up and listen."
No one spoke, and everyone had their heads lowered. In the past two days, I had witnessed the majesty of Shanhaiguan. The Ming army stationed there calmly abided by the law. How could they defeat it without any internal reaction?
The leaders of Jianlu had changed their arrogance before coming, but they couldn't say retreat from their own mouths anyway.
Huang Taiji waited for a while, but when no one answered, he called his name: "Brother, what do you think we should do next?"
Daishan looked at Huang Taiji and said: "Everything is decided by the Khan." Taiji pushed back again.
Huang Taiji looked at Amin and Mang Gurtai again, looking at their expressions, as if it had nothing to do with them, completely forgetting that before the war, they were the ones who were the most vicious instigating troops.
When it is beneficial, he will jump out and show off, and when it is not beneficial, he will be a turtle. That's fine. Usually, he often unites against himself and even drags himself back. What happened today would have been like this if they hadn't instigated it behind the scenes.
He casually sent troops to Shanhaiguan. Huang Taiji felt secretly angry and dealt with them when he returned.
After Huang Taiji thought about it, he had to draw his own conclusion: "Shanhaiguan is a hard bone and a turtle shell. Now that we have no sharp weapon to break the bones and the turtle shell, it will be useless to fight again."
Mang Gurtai secretly laughed in his heart, returning the sharp weapon to a bird.
"I know that there are still several county towns belonging to Yongping Prefecture nearby. The army will turn to knock down these county towns to avoid returning empty-handed and to allow the Dajin warriors to relax." Huang Taiji decided to let go and let his subordinates relax.
The people will grab it again to restore their morale.
"I wonder which counties the Great Khan wants to attack. Can they be defeated?" Amin suddenly asked in a nonchalant manner.
When Huang Taiji heard this, he stared at Amin for a while, and then said: "The warriors of Dajin are invincible. Could it be that they can't even defeat a small county town? Are you cowardly?"
"Where, where, I'm just asking." After Amin finished speaking, he shrank his head and looked down at his finger.
"After lunch, the army moved into Funing, and each flag quickly prepared." After Huang Taiji finished speaking, he flicked his sleeves and returned to the back tent.
Not to mention Jianlu's frustration, Zhong Jinwei and Xu Guangqi came to the Forbidden City excitedly and saw that a row of cement houses outside the Meridian Gate had been built and the insides were being painted with lime.
While waiting for the summons from Emperor Chongzhen, they visited the first cement building in the Ming Dynasty.
Wu Shengda, who was in charge of this matter, saw Zhong Jinwei and Xu Guangqi and hurried over to pay them a visit.
These days, he has seen more senior officials up and down than in all the previous times combined.
At the beginning, he was a little restrained. When the visiting officials asked him, he would only answer one question. After more visits, he made a summary by himself and told the visiting officials one by one the details and advantages of the cement house, like this
The advantage is that you can give a comprehensive introduction and express yourself.
In front of Zhong Jinwei, there is no need to introduce it. After a brief visit, Zhong Jinwei felt that it felt a bit like the later generations. It would be better if it was equipped with glass, and the current colored glaze would be just fine, but the light would be a little darker.
After a while, the chamberlain came over to deliver an imperial edict to see him.
Zhong Jinwei and Xu Guangqi stopped visiting and went to Wenhua Palace to see Emperor Chongzhen.
Emperor Chongzhen had been discussing matters with Wen Tiren for a long time. Zhong Jinwei and others came over and immediately stopped the discussion. Of course, chickens that can lay golden eggs must be given priority.
Xu Guangqi presented the memorial, and Emperor Chongzhen read it carefully.
Although he did not understand the new kiln, he could still see from the detailed description in the memorial the improvements of this new kiln and how much output it would eventually produce.
Emperor Chongzhen liked seeing such a memorial very much and nodded repeatedly. After reading it, he immediately wrote a batch of pens and made it accurate.
Then, Emperor Chongzhen said to Xu Guangqi: "Xu Qing, this matter needs to be handled immediately to produce cement as soon as possible. I will allocate you 20,000 taels of silver first. If you don't have enough, come and ask me for it."
Zhong Jinwei first heard that it was only 20,000 taels, so he immediately converted it into RMB in later generations and multiplied it by 600, and found that it was quite a lot. He didn't say anything anymore. He used it first and then talked about it. Anyway, there were free labor outside the city.
Xu Guangqi thanked Emperor Chongzhen and then expressed that he would go back and arrange a new venue.
Zhong Jinwei stopped him quickly, then turned to Emperor Chongzhen and said: "Your Majesty, there are many things going on right now that require Master Xu to take the lead in organizing and supervising. He is busy late every day now, and I am worried about his health."
As soon as Zhong Jinwei said this, Emperor Chongzhen quickly said to Xu Guangqi: "Xu Qing, many plans have just begun, including cement, glass, steel. There are also national education courses. Master Zhong said that they must be re-edited. As for mathematics, I
I plan to leave it to you to compile courses for all levels, but you can’t just make trouble while you’re sick.”
When Xu Guangqi heard that there were so many interesting things waiting for him to do, he quickly expressed his stance to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, I am in good health. I am willing to devote myself to your Majesty until my death."
Zhong Jinwei heard that Xu Guangqi still wanted to die, so he interjected: "It doesn't matter if you die, who will do this work?" After saying that, he turned to Emperor Chongzhen and said: "Your Majesty, I suggest that we must not let him die.
already."
In the Wenhua Hall, there were all acquaintances of Zhong Jinwei, and they all laughed when they saw what he said was funny. Emperor Chongzhen said to Zhong Jinwei: "Master Zhong, what suggestions do you have?"
"Your Majesty, I suggest that his body should be checked regularly by the imperial doctor. Oh, the health of other important people should also be checked. For example, Wen Ge Lao, who is getting older, should also be monitored and checked."
"Well, what Master Zhong said is right. I will ask the imperial doctor to draft a memorial and arrange for all my important ministers to have regular physical examinations." Emperor Chongzhen thought this was a good idea. In this way, he could not only show kindness but also
It is a good idea to keep track of the minister's physical condition.
Wen Tiren and Xu Guangqi couldn't help but feel grateful when they saw that Emperor Chongzhen had followed Zhong Jinwei's advice, cared about his own health, and checked himself regularly.
In fact, they don't lack the money to have doctors check their health, but most people would think about doctors when they are healthy. Now that the emperor wants to do this for them regularly, of course they are grateful.
"Your Majesty, thank Heaven for your grace." Wen Tiren and Xu Guangqi knelt down to salute, making it very grand.
When Emperor Chongzhen saw this, he quickly stood up and held up his hands: "Both of you are my dear ministers, and you must be cared for. It is also necessary to care about your health. Thank you so much for Master Zhong's reminder."
After the two old guys stood up, they looked at Zhong Jinwei who was watching the fun, and their favorability towards him increased a lot.
"Your Majesty, I have another suggestion." Zhong Jinwei saw that they had finished their polite remarks and said to Emperor Chongzhen.
"Oh, Master Zhong, if you have any other suggestions, just say them." Emperor Chongzhen encouraged Zhong Jinwei while sitting back on the throne.
"Actually, it's not a suggestion, I just want to recommend two people." Zhong Jinwei felt that the wording was inappropriate, so he corrected it first.
Emperor Chongzhen was very interested in the person recommended by Zhong Jinwei. He nodded and asked Zhong Jinwei to continue.
"A man named Song Yingxing, a native of Jiangxi, should be a civil servant now. I heard in my hometown that this man has a wide range of knowledge, covering everything from food to clothing, farm tools, porcelain firing, vehicles, boats, bows, crossbows, and artillery. Therefore, I thought,
This person can be Mr. Xu’s assistant, supervising and coordinating various craftsmen.”
After Zhong Jinwei finished speaking, he turned his head and looked at Xu Guangqi. Xu Guangqi was also looking towards him, expressing his gratitude to him with his eyes.
Xu Guangqi felt a little sorry. In order to reduce his burden, Zhongxing Bo recommended Song Yingxing and even arranged it to say that he had heard of this person in his hometown and overseas. This was a bit too much. If he really had such a reputation, he would definitely be famous in the Ming Dynasty.
Although I have never heard of it myself, I don’t know if the emperor would blame him for using exaggerated words after hearing Bo Zhongxing’s words.
Emperor Chongzhen and Wen Tiren understood the meaning of Zhong Jinwei's words, that is, this Song Yingxing would be famous in later generations.
Emperor Chongzhen nodded and said to Wen Tiren: "Since Master Zhong has heard of him in his hometown, Mr. Wen Ge will find this person for Xu Qing and use him if he is suitable."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Wen Tiren replied.
When Xu Guangqi heard this, he felt relieved. Emperor Chongzhen didn't study Zhong Xingbo's words carefully, maybe because he didn't care, but the chief minister had no doubts about it, which was a bit strange.
Zhong Jinwei saw that Song Yingxing's matter was settled, so he continued: "Your Majesty, I also recommend someone, and this person has nothing to do with Mr. Xu."