79 Chapter 79

◎Letter◎

"Sir, there is a letter from the south."

In the afternoon, as soon as the man who had just returned from work stepped into the house, a servant came to report.

"It's probably that kid Ying Xing. Please hand over the letter." Pinching his furrowed brows, Master Zhao, with a tired face, unfolded the letter and directly skipped the useless greetings of a hundred words at the beginning and only read the main text at the end.

In the letter, Jiang Jingyun briefly explained the current situation of Fu County and a series of measures he had implemented since taking office in response to the actual situation in the county. Zhao Xueshi nodded in praise: "Even if you are trapped in shallow water, talented people can still thrive."

"But..." As he continued to read on, Zhao Xueshi couldn't help but frown, "It seems that there are still many obstacles in the way."

Jiang Jingyun did not try to brag. At the end of the letter, he honestly explained his current predicament and his request for help from the teacher. His tone was so sincere, as if he was standing in front of Master Zhao, begging him for help.

Master Zhao held the letter in his hand, with a half-smile on his face: "You are getting more and more shameless, you are even using me as an excuse."

Having said that, the servant did not see any dissatisfaction on his master's face. Instead, he detected a hint of indulgence and pleasure in his tone.

Sure enough, I heard the boss ask, "Where are the things you brought back with the letter? Bring them up so I can see them."

The servant took the order and left.

Three days later, in the Qianqing Palace.

The old emperor raised the memorial in his hand and complained unhappily: "The memorials submitted every day are all the same. Is it possible that there are not one or two new things happening in my vast empire?"

Today, it happened that Master Zhao was on duty in the palace.

Seeing the emperor say this, he continued, "There is nothing new. As for new things, I do have one. I wonder if Your Majesty is interested in seeing it?"

"Oh, what is it?" the emperor asked with interest. He was exhausted from reviewing memorials, so he just wanted to take a break.

"This thing is called 'cement'. It can be shaped when it comes into contact with water. After drying, it will harden into a solid body and become indestructible. It can be used to build houses, bridges, roads, etc." Zhao Xueshi introduced, "It was specially sent to me by my students after they found it in Fu County."

"It's him again," the old emperor said meaningfully when he heard it was Jiang Jingyun. "He was sent to such a remote place. It's hard for him to still miss you as his teacher. He traveled a long way to bring a little thing to you."

The sour meaning was obvious.

Scholar Zhao seemed to be unaware of this, and said calmly, "The matter should have been reported to the emperor by Fu County. Perhaps you were too busy with official duties and have not seen it yet."

After saying this, he looked up at the pile of memorials on the desk. The meaning was obvious.

"Ahem," the old emperor covered his lips and coughed softly, "Turn over the memorial for me and see what it says."

After finally pulling out the memorial from Fu County from the bottom, the old emperor unfolded it and took a look.

Sure enough, Jiang Jingyun's recent work, including the reclamation of terraced fields, fish farming in rice fields, and cement mining, were all clearly stated in the memorial, and a schematic diagram was thoughtfully attached.

The emperor stared at the two pictures for a long time. After a while, he couldn't help but complain: "You are a student. Your calligraphy is not good. How can your painting skills be so bad?"

The picture is crooked and has no aesthetic appeal, but at least the content is not missed and one can vaguely make out the meaning of the painting.

"His skills are not as good as others, and I don't know how to find a painter to replace him." The emperor shook his head and handed the paper to Master Zhao.

"That child is very sincere. Maybe he thinks that painting with his own hands can better demonstrate his sincerity." Master Zhao defended Jiang Jingyun, but when he saw the content of the painting clearly, he couldn't help laughing.

What’s the difference between this painter and a child?

He hurriedly assured the emperor, "I will send a letter to Fu County when I return, and I will urge him to practice calligraphy and painting well."

"Forget it, let him be." The old emperor waved his hand nonchalantly, "Fortunately, he is a man who can get things done, and it doesn't matter if he doesn't have those fancy superficial skills."

After all, the court is not short of this kind of people, and he is tired of seeing them every day.

The old emperor asked, "He mentioned at the end that along with the memorial, there were also some local objects. Let me see what's new."

"Yes." Scholar Zhao bowed and responded, then turned to signal the attendant beside him. Within a moment, someone presented the things to the emperor.

In addition to the cement just mentioned, there is also a wooden box next to it.

When he unfolded it, he saw a small bundle of rice ears inside. The rice grains were full and golden, and their weight bent the rice stalks.

Scholar Zhao came forward to take a closer look, and then said in amazement: "Your Majesty, these ears of rice seem to be from the same plant, and each ear has hundreds of grains."

"Really?" The emperor's voice rose unconsciously when he heard this.

Although the summer harvest situation was mentioned in the memorials, there were countless people who exaggerated the contents of the memorials. The old emperor never took them seriously and would secretly discount the reported figures in his mind.

Unexpectedly, there are people whose reports are completely genuine.

The emperor was very excited as he stroked the rice ears in his hand. He praised repeatedly: "God bless me, Dali. Wonderful! Wonderful!"

"It is only thanks to Your Majesty's great talent and hard work that our dynasty can have this prosperity." Scholar Zhao was very tactful and immediately knelt down to flatter.

"Well," the emperor stroked his beard with satisfaction, but he was not so arrogant as to take all the credit for himself. He held Jiang Jingyun's memorial and said, "It should be the method of raising fish in rice fields mentioned in it. Inform the Ministry of Revenue and have someone study this method carefully and spread it as soon as possible."

"Yes." Mr. Zhao bowed and responded.

After giving the orders, the emperor's eyes fell on the gray sack and he asked, "Is this cement?" He simply reached into the bag and grabbed a handful. It was a gray powder, somewhat like flour mixed with wheat bran.

Thinking of this, his hand unconsciously wanted to put it in his mouth, but Zhao Xueshi, who was quick-witted and quick-handed, stopped him: "Your Majesty, you can't do that."

Scholar Zhao explained: "I heard that this thing is made from a special kind of local stone. It can replace the commonly used glutinous rice mortar. It does not dissolve in water or melt in fire. It is very effective."

After saying this, he raised his hand to signal the attendants outside to bring in the things that had been prepared long ago. They were cement blocks that had been hastily made two days ago according to the method written in Jiang Jingyun's letter.

Scholar Zhao pointed at the pier and said, "This is made by mixing cement and sand in a certain proportion. Add an appropriate amount of water and stir evenly, then pour it into a mold and let it dry to form."

The cement block looked like a whole piece, and felt cold to the touch, just like stone, with a slightly rough surface. The emperor was amazed and asked, "How many days does it take from pouring to forming?"

"I made this two days ago," Zhao Xueshi replied. "Depending on the climate and the size of the pattern, it will take several hours to several days to solidify. It will then need to be covered with straw mats and watered for seven to ten days to strengthen its shape."

"In other words, this is not considered complete reinforcement?" The emperor instantly grasped the key.

Mr. Zhao nodded.

"That's it," the emperor understood, and then called the guards waiting outside the door, "Use the knife in your hand and try to chop it with all your strength."

The guard took the order, drew his sword, and chopped the stone pillar hard.

With a clang, metal and stone collided.

The blade of the long knife was bent, but the stone pillar was not damaged at all.

"What a good thing," the emperor thought, stroking his stubbled chin, "If we use it at the frontier..."

The Xiongnu and Turks were mostly cavalrymen. They invaded our borders as if they were in an empty land, burning, killing, looting, and harming people and animals everywhere. However, when the soldiers came after them, they turned around and ran away into the vast grasslands, disappearing without a trace.

After two or three times of this, the people could no longer bear the annoyance and moved away from the border one after another.

If we could use cement to make caltrops or chevaux de frise, or go one step further and build a tall, solid and continuous long wall directly at the border...

"Hiss..." The emperor took a deep breath, and with a surge of emotion, he grabbed Master Zhao's hand and asked, "My dear, does the letter say how much this thing costs? Can it be mass-produced?"

"It was not mentioned," Zhao Xueshi shook his head and continued under the emperor's slightly disappointed gaze, "but Jingyun once asked me about maritime trade and large ships."

"I guess that the output should be huge, so I thought about it." As for the cost, Master Zhao did not say it clearly.

One must always leave some room for everything, so that one's students do not spend too much time and effort on planning, only to end up working for someone else in vain.

"Sea transportation?" The emperor couldn't help but frown when he heard the word.

Although the border is in chaos, the Japanese pirates along the coast should not be underestimated.

Moreover, in the early days of the founding of the country, the people along the coast assisted local pirates in rebellion. The imperial court fought against them several times but was defeated every time. Finally, it launched a full-scale fire attack and destroyed the enemy ships, winning a narrow victory.

From then on, the emperor hated coastal activities. After the country was pacified, he directly issued a maritime ban order that "no ship is allowed to go to sea", and the ban has been in place to this day.

Now that he heard someone mention it again, the emperor couldn't help but feel unhappy, and the thoughts that had just arisen in his mind also faded a little, "Let's discuss this matter later."

Having said that, if it were someone else, they might just step down and not bring up this topic again.

But who is Mr. Zhao? The most stubborn person in the dynasty.

He took two steps forward, knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, it is better to open up than to block. Instead of avoiding again and again, it is better to take the initiative to attack."

Looking at the person kneeling below, the emperor nonchalantly turned his thumb ring with a half-smile on his face: "For a student, you dare to say anything. Aren't you afraid that I will chop off your head?"

"I hope Your Majesty will understand that I am not a person who would ignore the overall situation for my own selfish interests." Scholar Zhao bowed his head calmly and defended himself calmly, "I just think that Dali is a great country, how could it be afraid of such a villain?"

The emperor looked at him coldly and said, "Then tell me, the pirates come and go erratically, and the coast is difficult to defend. How should we attack them?"

Scholar Zhao had already made up his mind about this. When asked, he spoke slowly and eloquently: "I think, first, we can use cement to build a coastal defense line to prevent pirate invasion; second, we can make good use of the people. The people along the coast are skilled in water and can be used as outposts to obtain the pirates' movements in time, and they can be trained to become soldiers with a little training; third, merchants value profit, the court can unite with the merchants to resist foreign enemies together."

"Hmm..." The emperor thought for a moment before nodding slightly, "This method is acceptable, but this matter is of great importance..."

Before he finished speaking, Zhao Xueshi understood what he meant and continued, "Why not try it out in one place first? If it works, we can implement it along the entire coast. What do you think, Your Majesty?"

The emperor nodded, "What about the location? Where should we choose?"

"This matter originated in Fu County, why not try it out there first?" Scholar Zhao suggested at the right time.

The emperor narrowed his eyes and looked at the minister in front of him, who was thinking about something. After a while, he snorted coldly, "Approved."