Chapter 95: Chief Shi Wan

After talking clearly with the two younger generals, Zhu Yuhuan felt much more relaxed. On his way back, he organized another hunting trip and allowed some officers and soldiers in the army to participate, giving them a chance to show their talents.

As for the brother and sister, they were handed over to Zhu Yuhuan's personal guards for protection, and Wan Zhen'er was also asked to go with them.

Zhu Yuhuan had a limited number of places in front of the emperor, and seeing that she was tall, he asked Wan Zhen'er to pick a few more people to practice martial arts with the eunuchs of the Imperial Stables. Things like shooting arrows were just small tricks.

It would be a shame not to make use of such good physical qualities.

Wan Zhen'er had a good understanding. Although she started learning a little late, she was diligent and hardworking. Over time, Wan Zhen'er made great progress and also learned some martial arts. The eunuchs in the Imperial Stables called her "Wan Shichang", which means the chief attendant.

"By the way, how are the preparations going at the Imperial Manor?"

Upon hearing Zhu Yuhuan's words, Song Cuilian immediately responded, "Everything has been prepared. According to His Majesty's instructions, the steward of Fengrun has also gone to Changping Royal Manor to help. You can see it when you stop by Changping Royal Manor on the way back."

"Okay." Zhu Yuhuan stretched lazily in the tent and said, "Have someone bring your horse over, and let's go for a walk."

"yes."

Since they were already inside the Great Wall and would be able to return to the capital soon, Zhu Yuhuan had already changed out of his armor and put on a long vest made of autumn-scented cloth, revealing his aqua blue sleeves.

Song Cuilian rode her horse slightly behind Zhu Yuhuan, and the guards immediately followed behind them.

"In this case, Your Majesty doesn't have to bother hiding this anymore."

Zhu Yuhuan smiled upon hearing this, looked into the distance and said, "Yes... I really feel relieved."

In fact, it was not that Zhu Yuhuan intended to hide it before. One reason was that the market was too small and rashly reducing the use of manpower could easily cause social instability. Another reason was that the steam engine at that time still had the possibility of exploding and being scrapped.

But now the maritime trade routes are much more stable, and the border trade in Yunnan is becoming more prosperous. In addition, with the expansion and enrichment of the personnel of Wunong Temple in recent years, the smelting technology has improved, the steam engine has become more and more stable, the possibility of scrapping has decreased, and the service life has increased. Taking it out at this time is also a huge achievement for Wunong Temple, and it can make those officials who allocated silver and money to Wunong Temple shut up about Zhu Yuhuan.

In this way, Zhu Yuhuan could also put the steam engine with more stable performance into production with confidence.

Each imperial farm was the best experimental base, especially in the field of textiles. The superiority of the steam engine was visible to the naked eye, and its application prospects in the north were also very broad. For example, there were mining areas in Shunde and other places, which were also large-scale production areas for iron smelting and steelmaking. Steam engines could be more useful there, and were helpful in making armor and firearms. Zhu Yuhuan no longer "hid" it.

“I don’t know when this thing can be applied to ships.”

Song Cuilian recalled that the officials and craftsmen of Wunong Temple had built a small boat, equipped with a slightly smaller steam engine, and that it had been running vigorously on the Nanhai Lake. She said, "It should be soon, but it might be difficult to build a ship as big as the treasure ship. I wonder how many experiments will be needed to make such a large piece of steel..."

Zhu Yuhuan couldn't help but laugh when he heard that she could understand the strange words he said.

Song Cuilian was completely unaware and simply continued, "The small boats that accompanied Envoy Zhang on his voyage south last year were pretty good, and the boats that patrolled the Songjiang area earlier were also quite good."

Last year, Zhang Zhong once again took officials from the Nanyang School and prisoners in the escort cell out to sea to participate in the transformation and reclamation of the Jinghai Xuanwei Office.

According to Zhu Yuhuan, no matter which land they wanted to go to, the journey was relatively long, and large ships might not have an advantage. Nowadays, trade routes were not dominated by treasure ships. The tall and mighty treasure ships were now equipped with special muskets, and the moisture-proof methods developed by Wunong Temple were mainly used to lead the fleet to patrol the sea and attack.

The main experimental subject is naturally Japan.

After maritime trade stabilized, the Ming Dynasty continued to interact with Japan, with tribute trade still using Ming treasure notes. After all, Zhu Yuhuan didn't think much of the two broken swords sent by Japan. Small places don't have many good things, and the swords were decently made. But Zhu Yuhuan couldn't handle so many gifts, so he sent someone to see if they should be melted down and disposed of elsewhere.

All kinds of Ming Dynasty products were very popular in Japan, so naturally some Japanese people had bad intentions and built their own ships to cross the sea to harass the coastal people of Ming Dynasty, especially in Songjiang and other places.

This was something Zhu Yuhuan had anticipated long ago, and he immediately dispatched officials from the Nanyang Academy to organize a counterattack. Japan became the first experimental subject of ship-mounted muskets. After that, the Japanese threat was greatly alleviated, which shows that the effect of the muskets was still very good.

"There's no need to rush. The boats we have now are enough for now. We just have to wait for the people from Wunong Temple to arrive slowly."

"Your Majesty is absolutely right."

As the two were talking, a palace attendant beside Zhu Shuyuan came running over, panting, "Your Majesty, the two princes were playing polo just now, saying they wanted to show the elders their achievements in horseback riding and archery. Unexpectedly, the Second Prince almost fell. Fortunately, Chief Attendant Wan rescued him in time, and he is safe. Someone has been sent for a military doctor to see him."

Zhu Yuhuan raised his eyebrows slightly and asked, "How can you fall off your horse while playing polo?"

The palace attendant whispered, "The two young princes were so engrossed in the competition that the eldest prince's club hit the second prince's horse's leg..."

Zhu Yuhuan understood that this was indeed an accident. She raised her hand to her forehead and said, "They are still childish. You two little ones always do things without thinking." She caught a glimpse of Song Cuilian covering her lips, probably laughing. She cleared her throat before ordering, "Send someone to have Chief Attendant Wan take a look. I'll be there in a moment."

"yes."

Zhu Yuhuan waited for a moment, and sure enough, he saw Zhu Shuyuan and Zhu Jianshen coming over eagerly. This time, neither of them rode their horses, but just walked over slowly with small steps. Behind them were Xu Yun, Yu Qian and others. The former was sweating profusely, and the latter had a serious expression. They probably talked about the two children a lot along the way.

Zhu Yuhuan then dismounted, rubbed their heads, and said, "It seems everything is fine. How is Zhen'er?"

"Your Majesty, Chief Attendant Wan has a broken arm. The Imperial Physician told him to take care of it slowly. I'm afraid it will affect his service to the Emperor."

Zhu Shuyuan bowed politely and said, "Mother, Yuan'er knows his fault and has already apologized to my brother and Sister Wan. I will never be violent again."

Zhu Jianshen quickly said, "Polo is a sport, and accidents are inevitable. Please don't blame my sister. I've asked the imperial physician to take good care of Sister Wan. I also humbly ask your permission to give the tonic you gave me to Sister Wan for her recovery."

There were still a few pieces of dry grass stuck on Zhu Jianshen's folded-brimmed hat. The dust on his face had been wiped clean, but there were still two scratches, which seemed to be from rolling on the ground twice.

Zhu Yuhuan lifted Zhu Jianshen's arm and examined it. Seeing that he was able to stretch it freely, he said, "I don't think there's anything wrong. Let's go back and take another look. As for Zhen'er, take good care of her for the next few days. She doesn't need to be on duty. Let the doctor take good care of her."

"yes."

Zhu Yuhuan looked at Yu Qian and Xu Yun standing by and said with a smile, "Okay, it's just kids playing around. Nothing's wrong!"

Xu Yun's face was almost filled with the word "resentment" as he said, "Your Majesty, this is the heir to the throne..."

"I was like this when I was little, why are you two so nervous?" Zhu Yuhuan saw that they didn't believe him and continued, "How about I send them to live with you, and then you'll know what 'get used to it' means!"

It is said that even dogs dislike children of seven or eight years old. Although these two children are already thirteen or fourteen years old, they are obviously still in the naughty stage, but one is lively and naughty, and the other is gentle and naughty.

They all look like little adults, so it’s not really that worry-free.

Xu Yun quickly said, "Your Majesty, please excuse me for waiting for you." The implication was that he didn't want it either.

Looking at Yu Qian beside him, he also coughed lightly and said, "The royal heir is indeed precious. Your Majesty, why do you say such things..."

Zhu Yuhuan pretended not to hear, put his arms around the two children, patted their shoulders, and said, "When we return to the palace, go and apologize to Sister Wan. Got it?"

The brother and sister said in unison, "Got it."

Zhu Jianshen didn't know what he was thinking, but Zhu Shuyuan didn't forget to stick close to Zhu Yuhuan and whispered, "Mother, can you please not tell my mother? Otherwise, she will chase me again, but she won't be able to catch up. It's a waste of energy. It's better not to chase."

Zhu Yuhuan couldn't help but sneer, pinching her nose and saying, "Your mother is mad at you! She's in better health now!"