Chapter 271 (The First Steps of Wool Production)
Qi Chengming slowly scanned the list of infrastructure systems.
In this way, these tasks are basically arranged.
In the six months leading up to his wedding, the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Rites will jointly oversee the repairs of Luoyang City (infrastructure task: Luoyang City's sewers). They will also be responsible for improving street sanitation and repairing main roads with cement (infrastructure task: Luoyang City sanitation). His uncle, the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan, will be in charge of the Prince Dun's and Prince Ning's residences (infrastructure task: repairing both residences)...
That leaves only one infrastructure task:
[Infrastructure task: Deploy seismic instruments.]
Isn't that simple?
Qi Chengming sent someone to invite Xiao Fangzi, Song Gu's apprentice.
From the moment they entered the palace, all those modern technological gadgets were secretly transported to one of the Eastern Six Palaces and hidden away. Qi Chengming named this palace the Drinking Ice Palace, and along with the Drinking Ice Guards, it was his private property. To the outside world, he only said it was his bedroom. After all, even if Emperor Hongren and the late emperor diligently lived and worked in the side hall of the Zichen Palace, they still had their own residences.
The main hall of Yinbing Palace was preserved, while the two side halls were used as studies and storerooms, with instructions given that outsiders were not allowed to enter without permission. In fact, large radars, drones, generators, seismographs, and other such equipment were all hidden inside, guarded and studied day and night by Xiao Fangzi.
"Your Majesty?" Xiao Fangzi, who had been summoned, was a little nervous. He was clumsy with words and taciturn, and simply lowered his head to await instructions.
"I intend for you to join the Ministry of Works and personally oversee my wedding." Qi Chengming said, glancing at him suggestively, then looked at Xiao Fangzi's bewildered expression. "Have you figured out the seismograph yet?"
Speaking of this, Xiao Fangzi's expression changed, from reserved to much more confident. She lowered her head and replied, "Your Majesty, rest assured, this servant has been studying the blueprints day and night and already knows how the tentacles of this divine creature extend out and how it is placed on the ground."
Qi Chengming nodded happily.
Xiao Fangzi is amazing! She's been studying so hard for so long, she'll be a great physicist someday. It's a waste for her to just stay here and watch his things.
Having made up his mind, Qi Chengming spoke more clearly: "Xiao Fangzi, go to the Ministry of Works. They will think you were sent by me to oversee the work, so they won't dare to be careless. But don't fixate on how they complete their various trivial tasks. Go to the Vice Minister of Works and, while they are repairing the underground canal, deploy multiple sets of seismograph sensors, centered on the palace. I will also give them a secret instruction on this matter."
A set of sensors has a detection range of about 200 miles. Qi Chengming, who had been pretending to be a god for so long, finally ascended the throne. He had no other needs for the time being, so he kept half of his points for future use. He then invested all the remaining points, along with the points he had accumulated from completing tasks recently, into the system store and bought nearly a hundred sets of sensors.
This is a challenging task, and also a long-term one.
Qi Chengming could only use the palace as the center and slowly expand outwards, eventually spreading the sensors throughout the country.
"This..." Xiao Fangzi's face suddenly turned blank and she hesitated.
He was about the same age as Qi Chengming, practically contemporaries. This young eunuch, previously unknown and secretly entrusted with important responsibilities, was now being thrust into the limelight. Xiao Fangzi was quite timid.
"Don't be afraid," Qi Chengming reassured him gently, then thought for a moment, "At that time, I will have the Luoyang Central Army guarding the city's defenses escort you all the way. You know the leader, Zhu Zi."
The current leader of the Luoyang Central Army is Zhou Zhu, one of Qi Chengming's trusted confidants. When they were in Liuzhou, he served as a guard in the Prince's mansion and was also an old acquaintance of Xiao Fangzi. It would be appropriate for him to make arrangements for both of them.
Upon hearing the name of a familiar person, Xiao Fangzi's expression softened, and she knelt down to agree, saying resolutely, "This servant will certainly not betray His Majesty's trust and will accomplish this important task."
"Get up quickly." Even as emperor, Qi Chengming disliked others kneeling excessively. Now that he sat with his ministers in court, he decided to go all the way and help them out. "Xiao Fangzi, what is your real name?"
"My surname is Zhao, and my given name... is it Guozi? I just don't know which character it is." Xiao Fangzi was also a maid who was purchased by the palace when she was young. Her memories before entering the palace were already blurry, so she wasn't very sure either. But when she heard His Majesty say this, a little bit of anticipation and excitement rose in her heart.
Qi Chengming thought for a moment and said, "From now on, you will be called Zhao Guofang. Now that you have an important position, you should address each other properly as a subject to a ruler. I will take the character 'Guo' from 'A loyal heart is fulfilled with lofty ambitions, and youth is not wasted on a hundred years of life.' I wish you a bright future and a virtuous legacy."
He wrote down the poem, circled the two characters "裹芳" (guǒ fāng), and handed it to Xiao Fangzi, who loved it dearly.
"Yes... Your Majesty, I am willing to die for you!!" Zhao Guofang's breathing became rapid, tears welled up in his eyes, and he resolutely changed his mind and agreed. His voice choked with emotion.
With His Majesty's golden words, as long as he remained loyal and meticulous in fulfilling his duties, no matter how many years it took... his name would represent more than just a lowly palace eunuch. This favor made Zhao Guofang feel that even in death, his efforts would be worthwhile. He would never betray His Majesty!
Qi Chengming watched him accept the order and leave, and a huge weight was finally lifted from his heart, making him feel completely relieved.
After reviewing the task panel, he used his wedding as an excuse to arrange everything. Over the next six months, all that's left is to wait for these infrastructure tasks to be completed.
When Zhao Guofang went to bid farewell to his master Song Gu and told him about his experiences, Song Gu was momentarily stunned, but quickly regained his composure and encouraged him:
"Okay, Guofang is a good name. From now on, you can go out and do your job without worry. I'll take care of the things in the warehouse."
So it's this time?
Xiao Fangzi was given a name by the new emperor.
...
The Ministry of Works' Construction and Maintenance Department has been extremely busy lately.
His Majesty demanded that the entire city of Luoyang be completely transformed before the wedding. While the cement formula he provided was effective, the project was extremely urgent, requiring everyone to work with their necks stretched tight and no longer daring to be lazy, drink excessively, or skimp on work as they had in the past. The wool processing method His Majesty had recently assigned to them was also placed under the jurisdiction of their newly established textile workshop. If it weren't for the many daughters of officials being recommended to take up positions and manage this area, they would truly be short-handed and overwhelmed.
Now that things have come to this, and given that these low-ranking female officials are mostly relatives and family members of Ministry of Works officials, essentially making them "insiders" of the Ministry of Works, after arriving at the textile workshop, these women worked tirelessly day and night to study wool processing methods, doing their jobs in an orderly manner. Even if some people in the Construction Department harbored resentment, they couldn't say anything now.
"Indeed, this batch of finished products will be ready soon. We'll show them to His Majesty so that others will know that it's not a joke for women to hold official positions."
This is Zhang Xian from the Research Department visiting them and encouraging them after checking on the progress.
As a fellow female official, Zhang Xian understood all too well the difficulties and discrimination one had to deal with in officialdom. She had endured a tough period when she was first appointed to a higher position. On the surface, the Emperor valued them highly, and others dared not challenge them, but secretly he subjected them to considerable hardship. Fortunately, Zhang Xian was quick-witted and gradually developed the ability to cope. Now, she couldn't help but worry about those who shared her plight.
The textile workshop was perpetually filled with a sweltering heat, making everyone's faces flushed, and the air was thick with the unpleasant smell of mutton fat. Large basins, soaked and dried, sat in the open space. Female workers would occasionally walk by, scooping out the washed wool from the basins and collecting it – this was what was known as "clean wool." Nearby, palace servants sat, skillfully beating the clean wool with sticks, the resounding thumping sounds making the wool fluffy.
In another corner of the courtyard, a group of embroiderers borrowed from the embroidery workshop were teaching young palace maids in a warm and friendly manner.
"Look, this is a bundle of clean wool." The embroiderer used a spindle to spin the wool a few times, turning it into a bundle, her hands moving nimbly. "Make several bundles, and then combine them into a single thread... It's similar to our needlework; you need to know how to split thread as well as how to combine it..."
The young palace maids watched intently, and the best among them had already started imitating them, with piles of neatly arranged balls of yarn next to them.
Everywhere was a scene of prosperity and flourishing. Some girls were skillfully experimenting with dyeing different colors onto yarn, just like dyeing clothes. Some palace maids were diligently practicing, following the instructions provided by His Majesty, figuring out how to weave the yarn into suitable garments and other styles…
After hearing Zhang Xian's encouraging words, most of them didn't even look up, but their faces showed anticipation.
The girl who led Zhang Xian there was the head of the textile workshop, the daughter of a minor official in the Ministry of Works, who had recently been given a small official position. A sweet dimple appeared on her face when she smiled; she seemed to have been pampered at home, yet she wasn't spoiled at all these days. She took Zhang Xian's hand and told her:
“My father said that these woolen products will be traded with the Westerners and the Qiang people in the future, so we must race against time. If we finish them early and make a great contribution, the officials of the Ministry of Works will recommend us for commendation.”
She knew the specific details were of great importance and dared not reveal them casually.
His Majesty intends to trade with those small countries. If the deal goes through, he will buy large quantities of their wool. Once there is a stable trade, the war should be put on hold for a few years, right? The Vice Minister said that she should keep a close eye on the workshops and make sure that all kinds of wool products are completed and reported by the end of May.
At the time, she asked, still puzzled, "Why?"
"In summer, the water and grass are abundant, and those Westerners rely on raising cattle, sheep, and horses for a living. By summer, their young livestock will be fattened up. We need to make trade before then, so that they raise more lambs and fewer horses!" That's what the Minister of Works told her at the time, and the last paragraph lingered in her ears for a long time.
"Think about it, they can raise horses into warhorses. But sheep are animals that eat wherever they go, even chewing up the grass roots, and it takes a long time for the land to recover... If we raise too much of one, we'll have to raise less of the other. We should do more yarn business; this is a way to weaken them from outside the war! This strategy is an old one, but Your Majesty's idea is truly brilliant..."
...So these women could so directly decide whether a battle should be fought or whether the country was safe or not?
From that day on, she worked even harder.
A dream was born in the girl's heart.
Those foreign tribes who used to harass the border raised many white sheep and traded honestly with Dingguo. Both sides made a lot of money, and there were no more major wars...
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Author's note: I've been having cubital tunnel syndrome in both hands lately, so I've had to switch to voice typing, which made me laugh out loud.
For example:
one
I said: [Song Gu's apprentice, Xiao Fangzi]
Voice input method: [Songgood's apprentice Xiaofangzi]
I:?
two
Me: [Go to the Ministry of Works and personally oversee my wedding.]
Voice input method: [blah blah blah... personally overseeing my second marriage]
I:? ? ?
three
Me: [No need to be afraid]
Voice input method: [Just afraid]
I:###
Is this thing deliberately trying to mess with me?!
Four
Me: [Xiao Fangzi lowered her head and replied]
Voice input method: 【小芳子垂手硬道】
I:! ! ! ! !
He couldn't hold back any longer and rebelled against the Emperor! Where are you going to be so stubborn? You're not allowed!! To do such a blasphemy in front of the Emperor!!
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