The court meeting continued, and the Ministry of War submitted a memorial.
After Zhu Qizhen saw it, the smile on his face gradually disappeared.
This memorial was sent by Yu Qian from the Chengdu Mansion. It mainly talks about the difficulties faced by King Ning in sending the vassal to Uzbekistan according to the order.
Although the two sides cooperated for a while through the railway project and each achieved what they wanted, the conflict broke out when King Ning asked to lead troops to garrison.
King Ning did not back down this time. Since the matter could not be resolved peacefully, he had no choice but to fight.
However, in the battle at Uzang, the Ming army did not have an advantage.
Although the combat effectiveness of the Ming army was absolutely crushing, the terrain of Uzang was too special.
No matter which direction we attack from, the biggest problem is not the quality of the troops, nor the weapons and equipment, nor the logistics, but the hypoxic environment at high altitudes.
The air on the plateau is thin, and unless it is a native Uzbek, it would take a long time for anyone else to take a few steps, let alone fight.
Chanhua Wang Sangdu relied on the terrain to organize defense lines one after another, stretching the front extremely long to block the Ming army's offensive.
King Ning commanded the army to fight several waves. Once the two sides fought, the Ming army was victorious, but it was difficult to continue to penetrate deeper.
On the one hand, there are difficulties in plateau operations, and on the other hand, logistical supplies cannot keep up.
Therefore, when the Ming army attacked, Wuszang retreated, and when the Ming army left, they ran out again.
If the Ming army stayed on the plateau for a long time, Wuszang would look for opportunities to make sneak attacks, and would do so unexpectedly in the middle of the night, making it difficult for people to guard against them.
Over time, Prince Ning had a headache, but there was nothing he could do.
Regarding this situation, Yu Qian had no good solution, so he had to ask for a memorial, hoping that the court would send more troops to capture Uzang in one fell swoop.
Zhu Qizhen said angrily: "It's so unreasonable for a small Uzang to lose so much money and food and still not be able to capture it!"
When the ministers saw that the emperor was angry, they all calmed down.
Cao Nai looked around, all with their heads lowered, and then stood up and said: "I think...since Uzang is stubbornly resisting, in order to show the power of God, he should send more troops, mobilize money and food, and raise an army to fight against it!"
Zhu Qizhen thought for a long time and said: "The Qing family is right. It is time to raise troops to fight against it. The Cabinet, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Household Affairs should come up with a charter!"
Cao Nai saluted and said, "Yes!"
At the end of the morning court, all officials returned to their respective offices.
Zhu Qizhen had something on his mind and returned to Qianqing Palace with a dark face.
The Ming Dynasty is no longer what it used to be. It is only a matter of time before Wu Zang is destroyed. However, Prince Ning is a loser who is better at making money than anyone else. Why is he so timid in fighting?
He even wanted to withdraw King Ning's vassal territory and send him overseas.
For Uzang...
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"
Wynn ran in in a panic, forgetting to knock on the door.
Zhu Qizhen frowned and said, "Why are you so panicked?"
"Heaven, heaven..."
Wynn's face was pale and he pointed outside. His lips were trembling and he couldn't speak.
"What's going on in heaven?"
"There...is, there is a person in the sky!"
"What did you say?"
Zhu Qizhen couldn't help but look outside, but saw nothing.
Wynn swallowed and plucked up the courage to say, "Yes, there is... someone..."
Zhu Qizhen put on his clothes, came outside the palace, and asked, "Where is it?"
"In the……"
Wynn stumbled out and pointed upward, but there was only one cloud.
"This slave really saw someone just now..."
As Wynn explained, he looked confidently. Suddenly, his eyes opened wide and he was stunned.
Zhu Qizhen followed his gaze and saw that there was indeed someone!
To be precise, that's not a person, it's a...balloon?
"What a fool!"
In shock, a sentence of Chinese quintessence couldn't help but blurted out.
The balloon was floating in the sky with the wind, swaying and flying towards the east.
You can vaguely see it, and there seems to be someone up there!
What the hell is this?
Could it be a new invention tinkered with by the Academy of Sciences?
However, I never heard Beilin mention it...
"Quick, chase!"
Zhu Qizhen is anxious, we can't let him run away!
Wynn ran after him for a few steps, then patted his forehead and said, "My slave, go prepare your horse!"
The palace door opened, and Zhu Qizhen ran out on horseback, staring at the balloon in the sky and chasing it all the way.
Wynn was not good at riding horses. He couldn't keep up before leaving the palace, so he had to shout loudly: "Your Majesty, please slow down, wait for me!"
However, Zhu Qizhen was so anxious that he disappeared in a flash.
In desperation, Huai'en turned his horse around and went to Beizhen Fusi.
"Commander Yuan... hurry, hurry!"
Yuan Bin hurried over and asked, "Eunuch Huai, what's wrong?"
"Your Majesty is chasing the man in the sky, hurry up and protect...protect him!"
"What?"
Yuan Bin looked puzzled, wondering where did this person come from in the sky?
"Look over there!"
Wynn stretched out his hand and pointed, and then Yuan Bin discovered that there was really something in the sky.
"You just said...where is the emperor?"
"The emperor chased after him on horseback. Our... our riding skills are not good, so we couldn't catch up. Hurry... hurry up and protect him!"
When Yuan Bin heard this, he immediately became nervous and personally led a few capable captains to chase after him on horseback.
The sound of horse hooves sounded on the street, and the people fled for cover. People from the Five Cities Military and Horse Department were patrolling. They saw someone riding a horse and wanted to intercept it, but they heard someone on the horse shouting: "The Jin Yiwei is doing something, and there are other people waiting, so quickly get out of the way!"
"
At this time, the people from the Wucheng Army and Horses Division not only stood aside, but when they saw whose stall was close to the road, they even helped move it in.
Yuan Bin stared closely at the balloon in the sky and galloped all the way to Chaoyang Gate.
"I am the commander of the Jinyi Guards. Who among you is in charge?"
Immediately, a commander-in-chief came forward and saluted: "The last general, Bai Laoqi, has met the commander!"
Yuan Bin reined in the horse's head and asked, "Did someone just ride out of the city?"
"Sir, there is indeed a fast horse. If I didn't see it clearly..."
"drive!"
Yuan Bin didn't even listen to what he said, flicked the reins and walked away.
Bai Laoqi waved his hand to fan the dust in front of him, and said dissatisfied: "What happened today, one by one..."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Boss, look..."
A school captain at the gate of the city suddenly noticed something in the sky and looked very shocked.
Bai Laoqi was also stunned and murmured: "It's weird, it's weird, what happened today..."
Yuan Bin ran for several miles out of the city and finally caught up with Zhu Qizhen.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"
Zhu Qizhen turned around and saw Yuan Bin, so he asked, "Why are you here?"
Yuan Bin caught up and said, "I will come to protect you!"
"Hurry up and chase!"
Zhu Qizhen pulled the reins, and the horse neighed and continued to run forward.
"Your Majesty, look!"
Yuan Bin chased after him and realized something was wrong, so he quickly stopped.
Zhu Qizhen also reined in the horse's head and observed carefully that the balloon in the sky seemed to be affected by the wind and began to turn back.
"Chase!"
The monarch and his ministers also turned their horses and chased after him.
The balloons in the sky were fluttering and began to be seen by more and more people.
The people were talking a lot, and some of them were timid. They thought it was a god coming to the world, so they knelt down and kowtowed.
At Chaoyang Gate, Bai Laoqi looked at the balloon that had gone and returned, wondering: "What the hell is this, and why did it come back?"
"Drive, drive!"
As the rapid sound of horse hoofbeats came, Bai Laoqi reacted suddenly and shouted: "Get out of the way!"
Several fast horses galloped past, raising dust along the way.
Bai Laoqi patted his clothes and said to himself: "What are you doing..."
Eight bearers carried a luxurious sedan chair and swayed down the street.
Sitting in the sedan chair was Xiao Weizhen, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy. It was almost dusk and he had just returned home from work. He was taking a nap with his eyes closed on the way.
"master!"
Xiao Weizhen opened his eyes and asked, "What's wrong?"
"There is something..."
"what?"
Xiao Weizhen was a little surprised. He was about to open the curtain to take a look when he felt his body sink and the sedan seemed to be thrown directly to the ground.
This time he was thrown so hard that he couldn't help but curse: "You bitches..."
boom!
The sedan was hit by something and immediately scattered in all directions.
Xiao Weizhen was also knocked out, and he was so shaken by the fall that stars appeared in front of his eyes.
The surrounding crowd immediately rushed to watch the excitement, only to hear the rapid sound of horse hooves behind them, and someone shouted: "Get out of the way, get out of the way, the Jin Yiwei is handling the case!"
Hearing the words "Jinyiwei", the onlookers consciously moved out of the way.
Zhu Qizhen reined in the horse's head and stopped at the scene.
All I saw was a sedan on the ground. No, it should be said that it was originally a sedan, but now it was broken into pieces of wooden boards.
Among these fragments, it seems that some other parts can be found, including cowhide and rattan. It looks like a huge hot air balloon, with cowhide as the top and rattan as the bottom.
Two people were lying on the ground, life or death unknown.
Zhu Qizhen stepped forward and took a look. One of them was Xiao Weizhen from the Hanlin Academy.
The other one seemed familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere.
"Who... Oops!"
Xiao Weizhen stood up unsteadily, looking around blankly, recalling what had just happened.
Zhu Qizhen curled his lips. This old scholar was in really good health. He survived being struck by lightning. Today was a sudden disaster. As a result, he once again proved with his actions what it means to be strong and strong.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty?"
Xiao Weizhen thought he was dazzled, so he rubbed his eyes. When he looked again, he saw that it was indeed the emperor, so he quickly knelt down and saluted.
Zhu Qizhen asked: "Is the Qing family injured?"
Xiao Weizhen touched his head, then his body, and said: "No, not injured..."
He just didn't know what happened just now.
Why was he suddenly knocked out and even the sedan was smashed?
Why is there someone on the ground?
Yuan Bin winked at the captain behind him, and someone immediately came forward, squatted on the ground, felt the other person's breath and heartbeat, and then nodded.
"Ahem..."
The man suddenly opened his eyes and started coughing.
After a while, he looked around and then fixed his eyes on Zhu Qizhen.
"Student Mei Chun, long live my emperor!"
It's Mei Chun!
Zhu Qizhen suddenly remembered that this man was the son of Mei Yongzhen, the commander of the Xiaoling Guard. When he left Nanjing, he ordered him to copy ancient books.
"Why are you here? Also, what was that thing you were sitting on just now?"
Mei Chuncle smiled and said, "The Kongming Lantern was made by the students themselves."
"Is this thing a Kongming Lantern?"
"Exactly!"
Mei Chun's face was filled with the joy of success and said: "A student was copying books in Nanjing and copied the "Wanbi Shu Chapter" of "Huainanzi". There is such a passage in it, 'Take the chicken, remove its juice, and burn moxa fire.
When the eggs were caught, the strong wind caused them to fly.' At that time, I couldn't understand why the eggs could fly."
"Stop talking!"
Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and said: "Come back to the palace with me and let me check your injuries first. You survived after falling so high. It's really a fate!"
Mei Chun saluted and said: "Students obey the order!"
Yuan Bin commandeered a carriage from nearby and asked Zhu Qizhen and Mei Chun to get on the carriage. He rode the horse himself and escorted them all the way back to the palace.
Xiao Weizhen looked at the cars and horses going away and couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
who I am?
Where is this?
what happened?
On the carriage, Mei Chun couldn't help but tell her story.
He made this Kongming Lantern in order to catch the Spring Examination!
Mei Chun was originally a member of the Yingtian Mansion and was eligible to participate in this year's Spring Festival.
Just because I missed the exam time because of copying books, I suddenly thought, since the Kongming Lantern can fly, why can't I fly there?
Although he knew that this thing was flying very high and could fall to death at any time, he still did it when his head felt hot.
The Kongming Lantern is one of the important inventions in ancient China. According to ancient records, it appeared as early as the Qin and Han Dynasties.
What he just said, "Moxa fire makes chickens fly" means that putting burning moxa fire into egg shells will make the egg shells fly.
There are rumors among the people that the Kongming Lantern was invented by Zhuge Liang.
When the Shu army was besieged by Sima Yi in Pingyang, and the whole army was helpless, Zhuge Liang came up with a clever plan. He made countless lanterns out of white paper, and then used the upward force of the smoke to drive the lanterns into the air, and each small lantern rose up.
When the soldiers in the camp saw it, they shouted: "Mr. Kong Ming is breaking out of the encirclement sitting on a sky lantern!"
After hearing this, Sima Yi believed it and led his troops to chase in the direction of the sky lantern. Only then did the Shu army escape from danger.
Therefore, later generations called this kind of lantern "Kongming Lantern".
Perhaps it was because Zhuge Liang had read the records in "Huainanzi" that he was able to have an idea at a critical moment and invent the Kongming Lantern to help him escape from danger.
When Mei Chun saw this, she thought: Why can egg shells fly?
The ancients did not learn the modern thermal principles. The heated gas expands and is discharged downward, pushing the object upward.
However, this does not affect the advent of the Kongming Lantern.
So, Mei Chun followed the pattern of folk-made Kongming lanterns and made one big enough to carry people to heaven.
He had measured the wind direction and speed before and believed that he could land in Beijing after taking off from Nanjing.
When he really flew into the sky, he realized that things were not that simple.
Because he cannot control the height and direction of flight!
In this way, the huge manned Kongming Lantern floated in the clouds with the air currents for several days.
This is a great attempt and a near-death adventure.
Fortunately, he had prepared food and water in advance so that he would not starve to death or die of thirst.
That's it, until the lamp oil burned out, and finally... landed.
What's amazing is that this huge Kongming Lantern really floated into Beijing!
Fortunately, Xiao Weizhen's sedan helped him withstand the impact of landing. Otherwise, he would not have survived...