Chapter 390 Another Merit
The emperor trusts them and may not have any wild thoughts, but what about the other officials in the court, the other generals in the army, and those idle nobles and relatives who harbor ill intentions towards them?
Jiang Yuan didn't want to get involved in such a suspicion, so he didn't tell the emperor about it. But saying nothing and doing nothing are two different things. As a subject of the Great Wei, he naturally wanted the best for the Great Wei.
So when he noticed that someone was reacting strangely, Jiang Yuan deliberately caused a little mischief.
The Imperial Arsenal was one of the places the emperor always paid close attention to. The vast majority of people in it were the emperor's staunch confidants, and some of them were even people from the secret network planted by the former emperor.
Jiang Yuan only needed to make those people's flaws a little more obvious, and whether they were the emperor's confidants or the retired emperor's moles, they would naturally pay more attention to them.
He briefly recounted what he had done, and then added with a shrewd expression, "I told His Majesty everything you told me, but in the Ordnance Bureau, I only told him the first part."
The first part is certainly important, but he's already at the Ordnance Bureau and has begun to speak, so he can't just abruptly stop and back down.
It's one thing for him to be secretly called mentally ill, but it's absolutely unacceptable to alert the traitors, make them cower, or even frame other innocent people.
After hearing his explanation of the subsequent actions, Xie Wanniang finally felt relieved.
It doesn't really matter if you don't report directly to the emperor, because most of the officials and master craftsmen in the Imperial Arsenal are the emperor's confidants.
Regardless of how many traitors are among these people, the vast majority of the remaining people will be able to catch them as quickly as possible once they realize something is wrong.
She patted Jiang Yuan's arm, "I reckon the Ordnance Supervision Bureau will have a motive soon."
The couple didn't continue the topic, but they both tacitly kept an eye on the anti-traitor operation at the Ordnance Bureau.
As they expected, things were not peaceful at the Ordnance Bureau for the next ten days or so.
After the Director of the Ordnance Bureau finished purging the traitors, he personally went to report the situation to the Emperor and apologize. Only then did the Emperor realize that Jiang Yuan had only mentioned a small part of Xie Wanniang's ideas for improving firearms that day, instead of spilling everything out like beans from a bamboo tube.
Clearly, he had already sensed that something was wrong.
The emperor did not blame Jiang Yuan for choosing to stand idly by. Because of firearms, the Military Equipment Bureau was a place that he and his father had always forbidden others from interfering in. After Jiang Yuan aroused suspicion among some people, including the head of the bureau, about those traitors, he took the initiative to avoid suspicion for the time being. In the emperor's eyes, this was a sensible and tactful act.
He didn't say much, but simply instructed the anxious Director of the Arsenal, "After leaving the palace, go to the Central Military Command and find Jiang Yuan."
Although Jiang Yuan had previously explained all of Xie Wanniang's ingenious ideas to him in detail, as the emperor, he did not want to go on and on, recounting the whole story himself.
The Director of the Arsenal, who had expected to be punished, secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the Emperor had no intention of punishing him.
At the same time, he was also very puzzled as to why the emperor had specifically ordered him to go find Jiang Yuan.
With a mix of relief and doubt in his heart, the Director of the Arsenal walked out of the palace gate and headed straight for the Central Military Command.
After hearing his explanation of his purpose, Jiang Yuan knew that he had already completed the internal cleanup of the Ordnance Bureau. Therefore, he stopped revealing parts of Xie Wanniang's ingenious ideas and told her everything in detail.
Of course, since he didn't have the blueprints with him, even though the supervisor of the Armory was extremely curious, Jiang Yuan could only show him the sketches of the new firearms that were so attractive to him the next day.
The head of the Ordnance Bureau, whose appetite had been whetted, couldn't sleep that night because he couldn't see the blueprints immediately as he had hoped.
So, the next day, when Jiang Yuan took some time to deliver the blueprints to the head of the Ordnance Bureau, the first thing he noticed was the two very obvious bruises under the other man's eyes.
Jiang Yuan: ...
He said he couldn't understand it, but he was willing to respect the obsession of the Director of the Ordnance Bureau.
Just like when he came in, Jiang Yuan still had to pass through many guards and undergo multiple checks when he left.
When he got home, he told Xie Wanniang in private, "There are more and more people guarding outside the Ordnance Bureau, and the management inside is becoming more and more strict."
Xie Wanniang wasn't surprised at all. "You learn from your mistakes. The Ordnance Bureau can't afford to have another incident like this in the short term."
Let alone the Director of the Arsenal, who was directly responsible, even His Majesty the Emperor, the top figure of the Great Wei, would certainly not accept that a foreign country would steal the manufacturing methods of their Great Wei's advanced weapons.
The Emperor and the Director of the Arsenal took care of the follow-up matters, so Xie Wanniang and Jiang Yuan did not pay any further attention.
Jiang Yuan continued to attend court and perform his duties as usual, while Xie Wanniang had people try to make various rubber products and began to write an action plan for promoting rubber, cement, springs and steam engines, which she intended to present to the emperor.
In her early years, she created basic textbooks specifically for promoting subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology. With the strong support of the retired emperor and the emperor, these textbooks have gradually entered the Imperial Academy, academies, prefectural schools, state schools, and county schools of the Great Wei Dynasty.
Although in terms of status, they are currently far less valued than the Confucian classics, which have held a prestigious position for hundreds of years, Xie Wanniang believes that as long as the benefits are visible, these disciplines will definitely be able to develop and grow little by little.
What she is doing now is to make the emperor and his court officials see the importance of that knowledge and its vital role in the path of "revitalizing the country through science and technology".
Without neglecting other matters, Xie Wanniang and her team worked for almost two months before finally completing all the preparations she wanted to present to the emperor.
The emperor never expected that Xie Wanniang could bring surprises and assistance to the country beyond fields such as medicine, weaponry, agriculture, and printing.
He first carefully examined the thick stack of proposals that Xie Wanniang had sent over, and then, filled with excitement and surprise, he summoned some officials and craftsmen from the Ministry of Works to have them carefully study the samples that Xie Wanniang had sent to the palace.
The Minister of Works had long heard of Xie Wanniang, after all, firearms were not something that only the guys in the Ordnance Bureau were interested in.
Not to mention that Xie Wanniang became a princess of a different surname step by step through her own abilities, which is something that not every woman can do.
After reviewing the plans and samples with his subordinates, the usually composed Minister of Works suddenly became even more excited than the emperor.
What others didn't know was that at that moment, the little devil in the Minister of Works' mind was laughing wildly with his hands on his hips, shouting, "Fortune's wheel keeps turning, this year it's my turn."
This opportunity to benefit from someone else's good fortune and gain merit has finally come to him!
"Oh, by the way, Your Majesty, do you still remember the ideas about utilizing water and wind power that Princess Huian presented earlier?"
The Minister of Works suddenly recalled that a long time ago, the Emperor Emeritus seemed to have mentioned to his court officials that Xie Wanniang had presented a plan for utilizing water and wind power to the Emperor.
At that time, the retired emperor wanted to arrange for people to put it into practice and study it, but most of the court officials who heard Xie Wanniang's memorial felt that her idea was really bizarre and absurd.
There were many opponents, and the court had many more important matters that required sufficient manpower, so the retired emperor chose to temporarily shelve the idea.
Originally, the Minister of Works was one of the court officials who were skeptical of that idea. However, he was not one to criticize others' ideas without having tested them in practice, so he was a silent minority at the time.
Looking back now, the Minister of Works was somewhat glad that he hadn't been so arrogant and made a scene back then, otherwise he would have truly embarrassed himself today.
The emperor was naturally impressed by Xie Wanniang's seemingly outlandish ideas on utilizing wind and water power, since if Xie Wanniang's ideas could be realized, the Great Wei would be completely transformed.
Moreover, he was one of the very few people who truly trusted Xie Wanniang. Judging from Xie Wanniang's past behavior, the emperor, who was still the crown prince at the time, felt that even if she used the word "concept" to summarize the content of this memorial, that "concept" must have great practical value.
Just like her "concepts" about firearms, haven't they all been thoroughly tested and applied now?
On this point, he and the retired emperor actually shared the same attitude; they were both eager to try.
What's frustrating is that even though they are the most powerful father and son in the world, they can't do whatever they want in everything.
On the contrary, the higher their position, the more they have to weigh and make choices in certain matters.
Whether it was to stabilize the court or because they simply couldn't spare enough suitable personnel, they ultimately chose to temporarily abandon their idea of utilizing Xie Wanniang's wind and water power.
The emperor had no idea that, besides himself and the retired emperor, there were others in the court who were also thinking about the ideas that Xie Wanniang had once proposed.
He looked at the Minister of Works, "Why did you suddenly bring this up, my dear minister?"
The Minister of Works was somewhat embarrassed, after all, although he hadn't explicitly opposed it, he had indeed held a disapproving attitude. He said, "After reading these things, I suddenly felt that what Princess Huian said back then might be able to move from the paper to reality."
The emperor was pleased with the Minister of Works' frankness and curiosity. He said, "Then you can make a copy later and take it back to study at your leisure."
After a pause, the emperor added, "Of course, for now, we should focus on what we have at hand."
The Minister of Works nodded repeatedly, "Your Majesty, I understand. Rest assured, I will arrange the relevant personnel as quickly as possible."
The emperor's favorite ministers were those like the Minister of Works, who were capable of shouldering great responsibilities. Especially after comparing them with some seasoned officials, he generously promised the Minister of Works, "Whatever you lack, just ask Minister Li. If Minister Li can't provide it, come to me for coordination."
Minister Li is the Minister of Revenue, in charge of the purse strings of the Great Wei. Although he is always stingy when it comes to spending money, which has often angered the officials who ask him for money, he is not the kind of person who is incompetent or a despicable fellow who is only concerned with his own interests.
As long as the Minister of Works has a legitimate reason for asking for money, he will certainly not delay or refuse, thus preventing the Minister of Works from advancing the task.
Of course, he would never give you exactly what you asked for; he would withhold any amount he could, and he would never give you even a single extra penny.
The emperor was very satisfied with him, while the officials who needed to ask him for money were the opposite. They all found him too shrewd and annoying, and would often slam their fists on the table and curse him as a "stingy old man" behind his back.
Having received the emperor's approval, the Minister of Works consulted with him on some important details before taking his leave with mixed feelings of joy and heaviness.
He was happy because the Ministry of Works would have a lot to do next, but he was also worried because he needed to negotiate with the notoriously stingy Ministry of Revenue for funding.
The Minister of Works felt an uncontrollable headache whenever he thought about the countless rejections and reductions he would face in the future.
There's no other reason than that I've developed a psychological trauma from being mistreated by that stingy old man in the past.
Soon, the Ministry of Works became busier than ever before because of Xie Wanniang. When the nobles and high-ranking officials in the court noticed this, they immediately began to find out the situation by various means.
Neither the emperor nor the Ministry of Works made any attempt to conceal the matter, so it was easy for everyone to find out the whole story.
Even during their inquiries, the emperor, knowing that Xie Wanniang was already a princess and there was no higher title to bestow, directly granted Xie Wanniang's daughter, An'an, the title of county princess.
His first reaction was to reward Linlin, but then he thought that Linlin, being a boy, could make his own achievements, while An'an, being a girl, could only improve her status through such means. Moreover, Xie Wanniang and Jiang Yuan were not the kind of parents who favored boys over girls. If he rewarded An'an, they would be even happier.
Indeed, Xie Wanniang and Jiang Yuan were both very happy that the emperor had bestowed honors upon An'an.
Unlike Linlin, who loves reading and can at least pursue the path of the imperial examinations, An'an has only shown a little interest in martial arts and doing business so far.
She learned other things as well, but only to an average level.
It falls into the category of being neither very bad nor very good.
Xie Wanniang and Jiang Yuan didn't know what she would be interested in for a long time in the future, or whether she would always be like she is now, only having a three-tenths interest in everything.
Fortunately, this did not affect their peaceful and happy life, so Xie Wanniang and Jiang Yuan were not too worried.
Whether or not they, as parents, have the ability to provide their children with a comfortable life is another matter.
Now that the emperor has bestowed upon An'an the title of County Princess, Xie Wan'niang and Jiang Yuan are even less worried.
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