The emperor is very stingy

Chapter 60: The Emperor is very stingy

As soon as the hour of Mao arrived, the east gate opened on time. Hearing the noise, the court officials began to check their clothes, smoothed out any visible wrinkles, and walked into the imperial city with their chests held high and in their best condition.

Chu Huaibei followed the crowd in, and the others stood in the Hongwu Hall according to their seats. Chu Huaibei's abrupt figure became conspicuous.

Chu Huaibei moved his feet and leaned to the right. He was more conspicuous than where he was yesterday, and his back felt inexplicably hot.

After waiting for a cup of tea, Eunuch Quan appeared beside the dragon throne and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Your Majesty has arrived."

"Your Majesty, we respectfully welcome you. May your Majesty be blessed with good health." All the court officials bowed and Chu Huaibei followed suit.

"My dear ministers, please stand up. Do you have anything to report?" The emperor thought that since they had agreed yesterday to test the kerosene-throwing vehicle today, no one should have anything to report today.

Next second.

"I have a memorial to submit. I have heard that the eldest prince had large quantities of fine wine delivered to his residence daily while he was confined to his chambers. This is outrageous! A prince's crimes are the same as those committed by commoners. Your Majesty has magnanimously spared the eldest prince physical suffering, yet he is ungrateful and has engaged in such extravagant and licentious behavior, bringing discredit upon Your Majesty. I suggest increasing the eldest prince's sentence!"

Censor Su's passionate words echoed in the Hongwu Hall.

"Good fellow," Chu Huaibei exclaimed. "Good fellow! This Censor Su, who criticized her yesterday and the Crown Prince today, is truly eye-opening. Fortunately, he criticized her first yesterday. If he had criticized the Crown Prince first, there's no guarantee that the Emperor would have any opinion of her."

How come as soon as you came to court, the censors started shouting and making a fuss about severely punishing the eldest prince? Chu Huaibei couldn't explain it even if he had ten thousand mouths.

The emperor looked at the righteous Su Yushi below him, clenched and released the ring on his thumb, repeating this four or five times before speaking: "What Su Aiqing said, I will send someone to verify today. If it is true, I will definitely give the eldest prince a stern warning."

"My dear ministers, do you have anything else to say? If not, please follow me to the martial arts arena." After saying this, the emperor got off the throne and walked out, not wanting anyone to respond. However, probably no one except Su Yushi would respond...

The court officials followed the emperor's steps and marched towards the martial arts arena. Chu Huaibei looked around and found that except for the eldest prince who was in confinement, the second prince and the third prince were nowhere to be seen.

When they arrived at the martial arts arena, the first thing that caught their eyes was the main stand placed on the east side. Inevitably, some bold court officials would frequently glance at the Minister of Works, until Minister Zhou frowned and those who were stealing glances stopped.

After the emperor took his seat in the stands, Chu Huaibei asked for permission to install the remaining parts. The emperor waved his hand, signaling her to proceed quickly while he waited to inspect the results.

Chu Huaibei took the order and walked towards the main frame carrying the remaining parts. He took out the tools in his arms as he walked and started to install them next to the main frame.

This place was a bit far from the stands, so the court officials couldn't see clearly how the King of Zhenbei installed it. However, when Minister Zhou asked Chu Huaibei for permission, he also requested that the emperor let him go with him to learn how to install and use the kerosene trolley.

Knowing that the person standing next to him was Minister Zhou, Chu Huaibei ignored him and continued to install the parts. The Minister of Works was definitely not a fool. He would know how to do this after just one look at it. There was no need to waste his breath on it.

After the installation was completed, Chu Huaibei asked the eunuch who was accompanying him to place the target at the westernmost end of the martial arts field and fetch a basin of water. The eunuch received the order and quickly made preparations.

Chu Huaibei originally wanted to light kerosene, but after thinking about it, he decided not to. The kerosene would inevitably spill during the throwing process, which would not be good to scare the emperor or the court officials. It is better to have less trouble than more. It is none of her business what kind of test the emperor wants the Ministry of Works to do later.

The young eunuch was very clever. Although Chu Huaibei hadn't told him to bring an empty basin, he took the initiative to bring it over. Chu Huaibei nodded at the young eunuch and praised him, "Clever."

The young eunuch was praised, and with his usual respectful expression, he replied, "I don't deserve your praise, Your Highness. This is what I should do."

Chu Huaibei had already crouched down and started fiddling with the kerosene can, opening the lid and pouring out the kerosene inside. The first time she saw kerosene, Chu Huaibei was shocked. Wow, she was actually seeing oil in ancient times! However, seeing that everyone else seemed unconcerned, after asking around, she learned that there was a valley in the northern border where this black kerosene flowed freely. The people knew about it, but it was of little use. While it burned, it produced thick smoke and a pungent smell, making it unusable as fuel.

Chu Huaibei didn't know the process of oil refining, and even if he did, it would probably be difficult to implement, so he didn't bother with it. He chose the simplest and most effective method to use it, making a kerosene delivery vehicle. It was economical and affordable, and the kerosene tanks were made of iron and could be recycled after the war. She was so resourceful, hehe.

Pour kerosene into an empty basin, then fill it with water, place the iron can in the projection position, adjust the crosshairs, and press the expander towards the target.

Everyone saw a black can being thrown high up, then falling down, landing less than a foot away from the target, with liquid flowing on the ground.

This catapult was incredibly accurate. They knew that hurling a stone was entirely a matter of luck, and hitting someone was simply due to the dense crowds of people in the city. This catapult could, however, accurately drop a small iron can near the target from such a distance, which was quite remarkable.

After the vote, Chu Huaibei picked up the basin of kerosene and walked back to the emperor's stand.

"Your Majesty, I have taken the initiative to empty the kerosene from the canister and replace it with water to avoid disturbing you all. For the next test, simply light the kerosene and place it where you want it to be launched."

The emperor gave Eunuch Quan a look, and Eunuch Quan quickly walked towards the Prince of Zhenbei, took the basin from his hand, and showed it to the emperor for inspection.

The emperor recognized it at a glance. He hadn't expected the King of Zhenbei to exploit such a useless item. Once the kerosene spread, it was difficult to extinguish. Whether poured on the enemy or on siege vehicles, it would quickly catch fire. Even if it fell to the ground, it would burn for a long time. At least the enemy would not actively step on the burning ground, indirectly slowing down the enemy's attack.

The emperor's mood began to become complicated again, with surprise, relief, fear, disappointment, and regret for not being able to make up for his shortcomings. The Chu family had a good foundation and produced talented people from generation to generation. Why didn't he get this good thing?

The emperor's thoughts raced, and he was brought back to his senses when he heard the courtiers' chatter behind him grow louder. "Your Excellency, your ingenuity and accomplishment are well deserved, and you deserve a reward. Furthermore, you have triumphed over the Mongols, and both are to be rewarded. I hereby appoint you Marshal of the Nation, and grant you a thousand taels of silver, one hundred bolts of silk and satin each, a barren mountain in the northern border, and fifty acres of fertile farmland."

"I thank Your Majesty for your great grace. May Your Majesty be blessed with eternal peace."

Chu Huaibei knelt on one knee, a modest smile on her face, revealing her satisfaction with the reward. Inwardly, she raged furiously: "What a rotten old man! He gave her an honorary position with no real power, and even stingyly gave her only a thousand taels of silver. Not to mention the cloth; the cloth she received was definitely not top-quality. He only gave her fifty acres of fertile land—he's incredibly stingy. And the most outrageous thing is, he gave her a barren mountain! A barren mountain! Do you even need a reward for that? There are plenty of them in the North Territory; her palace has every kind of barren mountain it could want!"

Wait! A barren mountain! Hahahaha, I really have to thank the emperor very much. I was originally worried that the iron mine incident would be exposed. Is this considered a pillow sent to me when I'm sleepy? I'll go to the Ministry of Works later to have that mountain designated as the palace's property!

"My dear, please go to the Ministry of Works after the court session and give guidance to the construction officers. Also, you should return to the Northern Territory tomorrow. The Northern Territory still needs your protection."

The emperor didn't want to see Prince Zhenbei for the time being, so he quickly sent someone home.

"I obey your order." Chu Huaibei didn't want to stay in Fengjing either. She was busy. It was just right that they were tired of each other. She would feel free to return to the northern border.

"My dear ministers, do you have anything else to report? If not, please adjourn the court."

"Your Majesty, we respectfully bid you farewell."

The court officials were very tactful and bowed to see His Majesty off without even giving Censor Su time to speak.

"Please, King Zhenbei, accompany me to the Ministry of Works to give some advice to my incompetent subordinates." After the emperor left, Minister Zhou turned around and gave Chu Huaibei a half-salute.

"You are too polite, Minister Zhou. It is my duty. Please come in."

Chu Huaibei followed Shangshu Zhou into the Ministry of Works. Behind the door, a clerk was peeking in. When he saw someone from afar, he rushed in.

Zhou Zhili knew what was going on as soon as he saw it, and he was not angry. It was just unfortunate that the King of Zhenbei laughed at him.

"My lords, hurry up and wake up. Minister Zhou has already returned to the yamen." The clerk woke up the people who were lying all over the place one by one.

"Ah? Oh, everyone wake up!" Everyone was in a panic. Just as they had tidied themselves up, they saw their own Shangshu striding into the workshop. They sighed in their hearts, but fortunately they were quick and agile.

"This is the Prince of Zhenbei. His Majesty has personally ordered the Prince to guide you in solving any problems encountered in the weapon forging process. If you have any questions, you can ask the Prince directly now."

"I don't deserve it. I can't even give you advice. If you have any questions, you can discuss them with me." Chu Huaibei was very modest. This Minister Zhou was really flattering her...

"Your Highness, I will not be polite. I have a question that has been bothering me for a long time. Your Highness, please move over here..."

Once someone took the lead, the others who followed were no longer restrained. For a moment, the atmosphere in the workshop became lively. Zhou Zhili stood quietly aside, listening to the crowd gathered around the King of Zhenbei to inquire about the production of the key parts on the drawings. The King of Zhenbei also explained it clearly and every time he explained someone's doubts, he would attract everyone's admiration as they suddenly understood.

He is a talent, what a pity...

After Chu Huaibei finished explaining all the issues, he walked up to Minister Zhou, bowed to him and said, "Minister Zhou, please help me register the barren mountain that His Majesty has bestowed upon me."

Zhou Zhili returned the greeting with a bow. "Your Highness, you are very polite. Have you decided which seat you would like? Please come this way. Someone please ask Minister Jiang to go to the Yuhengsi to handle the formalities for Your Highness."

"Minister Zhou, there's no need to be so polite. Just let the doctor from the Yuhengsi handle it for me. I don't have any ideas about barren mountains, but since Your Majesty has given me the gift, I'll just mark the largest one on the map."

Seeing that Minister Zhou was starting to praise her again, Chu Huaibei quickly clarified the matter while many people were around. She was not so arrogant as to ask the second-in-command of the Ministry of Works to handle such a small matter for her.

As for wanting the largest one, the court officials already knew that His Majesty had given him a stingy victory reward, and he wanted the largest one. The new King of Zhenbei was young and full of energy, which was normal. Keeping silent would only make people more wary.