Chapter 219: The Border Town That Shocked the People of Chang'an
If they knew that the emperor had fallen in love with the fake prince dressed as a man, it would definitely provide a lot of scripts for movies, TV shows and novels.
Gu Changxiao suggested that she should get more hot air balloons into the sky, so as to give the locals in Chang'an a little shock. Let them see the true face of the old border city and desolate place that they opposed becoming the capital.
Gu Changxiao meant to do it when the capital was moved, but Jin Sui received news that people from the Ministry of Works had arrived in Yanzhou and would be at the border town the day after tomorrow, so she immediately asked people to prepare and sent the hot air balloon into the sky that same day.
First, shock the people in the Ministry of Industry. It would be best if we could shock them to the point where they would be obedient without having to be sent to military training.
The result was very satisfying. The hot air balloon was the first thing that amazed me. The various large machines on the construction site were the second. And then I saw the residential house painted by Jin Sui.
The official from the Ministry of Works shook his head: "The house is too dark, the yard is too small, there is no sunlight during the day, and the candlelight is dim at night."
Another person said: "This window is too wide, it's easy for wind to come in."
Then Jin Sui took them to visit Ji's mansion, which she had renovated after Grandpa Ling left, just to serve as a model for the officials from the Ministry of Works and Yan Shiyi.
"This, this is colored glass? You actually use such a large piece of colored glass to seal the window?"
Jin Sui raised his eyebrows: "This is glass, and the craftsmanship is not as good as that of colored glaze. Haven't you heard about it in Chang'an? The glass products in our border town are sold all over the northern border."
"Glass is already a common item in the border town, and can be used to cover the windows of the palace."
From now on, there will never be a situation where you can poke a hole in the window paper by just dipping your finger in saliva.
The officials were a little embarrassed: "To be honest, there were few reports of border towns from Chang'an before."
They did not tell the truth. Actually, some news had been passed on, but they were all processed by the Prince Yu Party and were all untrue news.
For example, the people were hungry and cold, people were freezing to death and starving to death every year, horse thieves were rampant, mountain bandits were everywhere, and the tyrant king was unjust...
But they knew all this information was false since they entered the border town.
Here Jinsui took them into another room and asked someone to draw the thick curtains, and the room became dark in an instant.
Before the officials could panic, Jin Sui pressed the switch on the wall. There were two "click" sounds, and first a blue flame appeared in the glass lamp, followed by two more. The flame turned red and shone extremely brightly.
It's brighter than candlelight or lamp oil.
The officials didn't recognize what kind of lamp it was at first, and they all walked closer to observe it with curiosity. Jin Sui pulled up the curtains and pointed at the pipes on the wall:
"This is a gas lamp. You can install pipes and lamps in the room like this and turn them on and off at any time. You can also use a lantern to light it and walk around. By the way, the street lamps on the roadsides of our border town use this.
When the palace is built, pipes can be reserved and all gas lamps can be used. No matter what kind of house it is, it can be brightly lit. "
The officials were stunned again: "Is this also something unique to the border town?"
Jin Sui nodded: "That's right! There's not even any in Yanzhou City. I reserved it specifically for building the imperial palace."
"But, but the gas will run out one day! And why does this lamp feel unsafe?"
"We will discuss these issues later. Now I will take you to see the building materials."
What's so good about building materials? Of course, to build a palace, you need sticky rice water, bricks and good wood. There must be not much raw materials in the border town, so you need to transfer materials from other places, so you have to discuss it with them in advance!
As a result, Jinsui brought them into a cement workshop and took them to see houses built with cement. Along the way, they saw the Lidawuxian City, which was completely different from Chang'an. The officials could only be amazed.
I dare not underestimate it! Who said that the border town is a desolate frontier and is not suitable to be the capital?
"With cement, construction will be fast. His Majesty said that the palace can be built slowly. As long as a few halls are built first, the capital can be moved."
"Now, do you still find it difficult?"
The old officials were all frowning. They had never seen gas lamps, glass windows or cement before. Using them in the construction of the imperial palace was unprecedented. They were worried!
But the younger officials were eager to try. From the moment they entered the border town and saw the hot air balloons flying in the sky, the four-wheeled vehicles running on the ground, and the large cargo ships heading straight to the East China Sea, they understood that the new capital was completely different from Chang'an.
If they refuse new things, refuse to learn and progress, they will be eliminated sooner or later, because there are many outstanding craftsmen in the border town, waiting to replace them!
When the officials from the Ministry of Industry came, Gu Changxiao gave them an order, that is, they should obey Miss Ling's orders. Miss Ling is the future queen!
Therefore, although the officials were dissatisfied, they did not dare to show it, and just discussed it with Jinsui as much as possible.
The planning drawings were drawn, the sand table was built, the construction materials were transported in, the cement and brick and tile workshops were on standby, a group of skilled craftsmen arrived, and combined with the unique tools of the border town, half a month later, the confidence of the officials of the Ministry of Works returned.
The construction of the imperial palace has officially begun, and Jinsui's academy has lagged behind again. However, two branches have been built, and Jinsui is ready to recruit students first. The academy is just like the imperial palace, it can be built slowly!
The emperors of Daxia had not yet developed the later Qing emperors' hobby of building gardens; all of their palaces were primarily practical and not overly fancy.
Especially the imperial palace of the new capital, which was planned in a majestic and grand manner. It did not have any glittering splendor and was not like a pearl palace, but it had the majesty and nobility of imperial power.
Jinsui thought that Gu Changxiao would wait until the imperial palace was half built before moving the capital, but in July he wrote to say that he would move there before the New Year.
He first worked in the old palace. He wanted to take the founding emperor of Daxia as an example. At that time, the capital was built, and the country was poor and short of things. The first few palaces that were built were very cold, and the concubines had to live in them crowdedly.
It took more than three years to build it into the appearance of an imperial palace. In comparison, the current situation is already good enough!
Jin Sui advised him: "Don't be so anxious. Moving is a big deal. Take your time."
If we take too big a step, many people will be left behind, and too many powerful people and nobles will be left in Chang'an, who will cause trouble and it will be very troublesome to suppress the rebellion back and forth.
Gu Changxiao also said that he would grant a marriage to Han Xing and Shi Er Niang, and then leave them to guard Chang'an. Han Xing would not be transferred back for at least three years. Anyone who dared to cause trouble would be executed first and reported later by Han Xing.
This is a lot of power! Han Xing is really awesome. He gives people the feeling of a gentle and Confucian general, but he is more powerful than anyone else when he picks up a knife to chop people.
Jin Sui told Yan Shiyi the news, but he didn't expect the turtle to say, "What? The guy named Han is barely worthy of my sister!"
Jin Sui elbowed him directly: "My Han Xing has the looks, the title, the figure, and the money, so how can he not be worthy of your sister?"
Yan Shiyi suddenly whispered, "You said I'm going to Chang'an now, can the emperor grant me a marriage as well?"
Jin Sui was speechless: "Your brother won't let you go! What, are you attracted to that girl in Chang'an?"
"No, it's just that my brother said that I should get married, but it's too troublesome to find a wife, so I just let the emperor choose one. A marriage granted by the emperor is safe."
Jin Sui felt that she would never be able to catch up with Yan Shiyi's train of thought, so she deliberately said, "Why don't you just learn from the noble lady and throw the ball to find a husband!"
Yan Shiyi actually said seriously: "That's not possible! How can girls squeeze together to grab the hydrangea? Playing polo is fine!"
Jinsui really wanted to say that it was okay to squeeze together to grab the hydrangea, but it would be so disappointing to find out in the end that the prize was you.
In August, another group of officials arrived at the border town ahead of schedule, and Cheng Yu and Li Heng also came back together.
Cheng Yu's face was solemn. He was a civil official and could not be granted a title, but he was promoted to the third rank and became a close minister to the emperor, with heavy responsibilities on his shoulders.
Although Li Heng did not get promoted, the value of his position as the governor of Yanzhou is now completely different from before.
He also brought his family over. He had always wanted to return to Chang'an, even if he had to retire. But now he wanted to work for another 20 years!
I didn't expect that after being a fence-sitter for so many years, Boss Ji cut off my beard in anger, and since then I have been standing firmly on the fence and got such a huge benefit.
Although it is not as good as following the emperor, it is almost the same. In the future, as long as he does not commit suicide, he can work safely until he grows old.
Think about those colleagues who had higher official positions than him but firmly stood on the side of Prince Yu, all of whom died in Caishikou.
The first thing Li Heng did when he came to the border town was to make his eldest grandson kowtow to Jinsui. He made Jinsui kowtow for no apparent reason. It's shortening my lifespan!
Li Heng didn't say it out loud, and he felt that if he said thank you Miss Ling for shaving his beard, it would be too strange and he would be laughed at.
So he asked his grandson to kowtow for him, and from then on he was a staunch supporter of the "Queen's Party".
Jinsui took the five-year-old Li Yu's hand and said that since the other party had kowtowed to him, he could barely be considered an elder and had to give him a gift.
I asked him with a smile: "You are new to Border Town, what do you want? Sister Ling is the boss, I will give you whatever you want."
The little boy pointed at the hot air balloon in the sky and said excitedly, "I want to fly up there!"
Li Heng's family was shocked and said that the child was talking nonsense, so they dared not fly.
But the little guy insisted, grabbing Jinsui's sleeve and saying that he really wanted to fly, he saw that there was someone up there.
Finally, Li Heng made the decision and allowed him to fly once, but not too high. A guard from the Li family and a soldier from the Black Feather Battalion accompanied the little guy to fly, and although he only flew a few dozen meters high, he was still very excited.
After coming down, he patted his chest and said, "Grandfather, I don't want to study to become a top scholar. I want to be a flying soldier!"
Li Heng didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The border town was not a place where children could concentrate on studying. On the way into the city, not to mention his grandson, even his youngest son and daughter were so attracted that they couldn't sit still.
He thought about when he was in Chang'an, those officials and dignitaries asked him in every possible way what the real situation in the border town was.
He started out telling the truth. Apart from being a little colder than Chang'an in winter, the housing, roads, food, commerce, water transport, fields and so on were not much different from Chang'an, though not comparable.
Especially after the opening of trade in the northern border, commerce has become extremely developed. Chang'an has not seen foreign merchants for many years, but they can often be seen in border towns.
As a result, no one believed his truth and thought that he was ordered by His Majesty to lobby.
Li Heng was getting irritated. Whenever someone asked him about it, he would just shake his head and say, "You will know when you see it in person after we move the capital to Chang'an. The border town changes every day. I have been away for so long, so it must have changed a lot."
He deliberately did not return to Yanzhou City first, but accompanied the newly arrived officials to the border town just to see their expressions.
That reaction made Li Heng's anger disappear, and he felt refreshed! This is how it feels. You are the country bumpkins coming to the city.
The dignitaries and nobles who were unwilling to come would guard the increasingly corrupt and declining Chang'an! Border Town belongs to those who are energetic and full of expectations for the future.
Those old-fashioned and pedantic people who can only find faults should stay in Chang'an to guard the imperial mausoleum! After Cheng Yu came back, Jin Sui felt much more relaxed. After the city was built, she would leave everything to Cheng Yu. The first batch of students admitted by the college were female students. Chen Yunniang was in charge and mainly taught textile, embroidery and medical care.
The teachers are the girls and wives from our Tuntian Camp’s families. They have been studying with Chen Yunniang for so long and are fully capable of the role.
Especially for the new profession of medical care, Jinsui wrote the textbook himself, and several military doctors took turns to teach the class.
Jinsui would occasionally attend a class, and every time she went, even military doctors and medical apprentices would come to listen. Everyone knew that studying medicine was hard, but after becoming successful, both the income and status were higher than those in other professions.
However, the medical and nursing admissions are the most stringent. As long as you pass the assessment, not only will the tuition be waived, but you will also receive accommodation and meals, as well as two sets of school uniforms a year.
Any parent with a long-term vision would let their daughter take the medical exam first, and then learn to be a textile worker if she fails.
Only parents who think about short-term benefits and want their daughters to work and earn money as soon as possible would let their daughters learn weaving or embroidery without thinking.
Jinsui originally only wanted to recruit female students in the border town first, but as soon as Yan Shiyi promoted it in Yanzhou, hundreds of suitable women in Yanzhou also came to sign up.
Fortunately, Yan Shiyi sent a group of embroiderers from the Yan family to serve as teachers, so that he could accept so many students.
While the college was still under construction, classes were already in normal operation. Only the sign on the gate had not been hung yet. Jinsui prepared to wait for Gu Changxiao to come and unveil the sign.
In this way, our technical college can be regarded as recognized by the imperial court. Even if it is looked down upon by the Imperial College and the like, they will not dare to ridicule it.
In the blink of an eye, it was September, the time for autumn harvest. Jinsui gave a day off to all the officials who had arrived at the border town, including officials from Yanzhou.
Cheng Yu took them to see the harvest in the experimental fields. It was only after this time that the officials finally recognized that the border town could become the capital.
Because they harvest sweet potatoes, potatoes, peanuts, tomatoes and wheat with improved seeds.
The officials kept their mouths open that day and kept picking their ears with their little fingers, thinking they had heard wrongly.
The yield of potatoes per acre is as high as 2,500 kilograms! The yield of sweet potatoes per acre is as high as 2,000 kilograms! The yield of tomatoes is even more praised as 3,000 kilograms. Although the yield of peanuts is small, it is only more than 300 kilograms.
However, peanuts have a very high oil yield, are rich in nutrients, have a good taste, and are suitable as both a vegetable and a grain.
Just like the last time I took Yan Shiyi to see the harvest, if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would have thought that the people in Border Town were bragging!
Even the most productive wheat in Chang'an is not as good as that in the border town, because there is fertilizer here, the wheat grains are large, not prone to disease, and the yield is high.
Until later the officials became numb. You looked at me, I looked at you. There were so many kinds of crops with an output of over a thousand per mu in the border town!
Prince Yu's defeat was not unjust! He knew nothing about Border Town.
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