Chapter 215
215
Various places have received notices to build cement plants and pave roads. Cheng Yeran sent the more outstanding workers from the local cement plants to help build cement plants in various places.
The formula for making cement cannot be sent out at will, so he trained a group of factory managers, taught them the secret recipe, and asked them to go to various factories to make cement.
The workers in the cement factory are all strong laborers from the poorer families in the local area. This job is dirty and tiring, and rich people are unwilling to work in the cement factory.
Cheng Yeran had previously planned to carry out a province-wide literacy campaign and set up literacy classes for all the major factories to teach them how to read and write. However, many workers were already busy all day and were too tired to move. They simply did not want to waste their precious rest time studying after get off work or at night.
They were also afraid that Cheng Yeran would force them to learn to read and write, so they would hide and avoid studying when class started.
But Cheng Yeran wouldn't blame them. They were already very tired, and studying was very tiring. Most people didn't have the energy.
But there are still a group of people who go to learn. Although they don’t know a lot of words, they can read official documents and write basic commonly used characters.
Cheng Yeran wanted to promote them to be factory managers, not only because they could read, but he also believed that they could learn to write while working, which meant that they were energetic, had a long-term vision, and had perseverance beyond ordinary people.
But they were far from enough to meet the needs of cement plants across the country, so the imperial court sent a group of people to Cheng Yeran for training. The two groups of people together were just enough to meet the needs of all cement plants, and Cheng Yeran trained them all.
The cement factory was state-owned and the factory director was an official of the imperial court. Although those who became factory directors had to leave their hometowns, they were happy to do so.
Not only were they happy, but their family members were even happier. They felt that smoke was coming out of their ancestral graves, and they ran to Cheng Yeran's temple to burn incense at night. Those who entered the factory with them were even more envious and jealous. They should have learned a few words earlier.
Cheng Yeran knew that he had a temple of his own on a mountain outside the city. When the temple was just built, he took Shen Yuntang and Cheng Zhao to see the fun.
This feeling is very magical, and most people don’t have the opportunity to burn incense in their own temple.
After Cheng Zhao entered the temple, he saw the statues of his father and grandfather, and next to it was his own statue. Even though he was usually aloof, he couldn't help but open his mouth in amazement.
Although Cheng Yeran explained to Cheng Zhao what time travel was, Cheng Zhao still felt that the world Cheng Yeran came from was the heaven. Especially after seeing the plane, he became more certain of this idea. How could a mortal fly in the sky?
He also felt that his father was a mortal and he was half-god. He did not know magic, but his learning and reaction abilities were much better than those of other children of the same age. This was not him bragging about himself, but a conclusion drawn from his past experiences.
He always got the first place in every school exam and his scores were far ahead of others.
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Before, when he was in the capital, studying with the princes, his grades were better than those two princes. Even if he was not good at studying, he was more flexible than other children in playing games and had leadership skills. So when he played with other children, the other children were willing to listen to him and regarded him as the boss. The previous prince was no exception.
…
Cheng Yeran was about to leave. He looked at the large crowd of people going to his temple to burn incense. He thought to himself that his own people were right here, but instead of coming to see him, a living person, they went to burn incense. What was in their mind?
He was drinking tea in a teahouse before, and overheard some people discussing whether he was a god. A young man asked an uncle, "How can you be so sure that Mr. Cheng is a god who has descended to earth? He hasn't shown any miracles."
The uncle and the people who were drinking tea came over to refute the young man, first giving the examples of white sugar, glass, bright dyes, fertilizers that could increase grain yields, and vaccination against smallpox.
"Even if he wasn't a god before, he risked his life to test the medicine and saved so many people during this plague. This achievement can make him a god."
"If it weren't for the gods, how could they have dealt with so many corrupt officials and made the people in the city and several villages rich?"
"My family built a new house last year. If it weren't for Master Cheng, I would have to go out and beg for food."
Cheng Yeran felt a little melancholy as he listened to them expressing their gratitude.
Let the people live and work in peace and contentment, this is what the officials should do and what the court should do. However, because of the existence of that beast Lord Lin, they compare themselves to be gods.
Before he left, he arranged everything in the city. The official who replaced him was a local county magistrate, who was a little fan of Cheng Yeran. He actively cooperated with everything Cheng Yeran did before and his abilities were also outstanding. Cheng Yeran recommended him to the emperor, and the emperor agreed.
Only if someone he trusts stays here as the prefect, everything he has done in the past few years will not be in vain. If he replaces him with an official transferred from other places, after he leaves, the factories, farms and schools may return to their previous state, with workers' wages reduced, landlords oppressing farmers, and women and boys having no job opportunities, let alone the chance to go to school.
In addition to arranging a new prefect, he also planned to return to Beijing with his master and Du Fengchen. These two people were his good helpers. Du Fengchen also trained a group of good constables. After he left, the place could operate normally.
Du Fengchen also wanted to go to the capital to try his luck, because he had a frail body since childhood and was controlled by his family, who didn't ask him to do anything. This aroused his fighting spirit and made him want to go further and achieve higher results.
The master took the initiative to ask Cheng Yeran to go to the capital with him. Before that, Cheng Yeran was worried that he was middle-aged and his family was here, so he would be reluctant to leave his hometown. He also wanted the new prefect to take care of the master, or give him a high pension so that he could go back and live his retirement life.
But the lawyer looked like a robot on weekdays, with no opinions of his own. He silently did everything Cheng Yeran told him to do perfectly. But he also had ambitions. He said that his great-grandfather passed the imperial examination at the age of fifty and died after two years in office in a small county. His great-grandfather's ambition was to be an official in the capital. Although he was not going to be an official in the capital this time, his children could receive a better education in the capital, and who knows, they might be able to fulfill his great-grandfather's last wish in the future.
Shen Yuntang also went to the school to select a group of outstanding employees, and selected a new factory director and some factory leaders. He had previously taught the design classes personally, and now he selected two of the outstanding employees to be teachers. The rest would go to the factory if they were willing, and would go to Beijing with him if they were willing.
He thought that most of these people were women and boys, and would not be as free as men. If they wanted to leave their hometown and go to the capital, their families would definitely not agree.
However, there were many girls and boys who wanted to go to the capital with him, and many of them were asked by their families.
Some parents think that the workers in the cement factory can become officials. They heard that women in the capital can also become officials. Given Mr. Cheng’s character, maybe their daughters will also be able to become officials in the future.
Some parents also believe that after following Mr. Shen to the capital, they can ask Mr. Shen to help find a good family and marry well.
Another part of them thought that they could earn more by going to the capital, and could send more money home in the future. Maybe the boys in their family would study well and go to the capital to take the imperial examinations, so they could take care of each other.
There were also some people who wanted to follow Mr. Shen to the capital and tried their best to persuade their families.
This small group of people are students who are studying design with Shen Yuntang. They also want to have their own careers like Mr. Shen. Shen Yuntang has also planned their future career prospects. They think that if they stay in their hometown, most of them will marry into a family of equal status and become the mistress, and then they will never be able to go out to work again. It is better for them to go to Beijing to start their own careers.
The families of this small group of people also doted on them, and after their constant persuasion, they agreed.
In the end, more than fifty people followed Shen Yuntang back to Beijing. After he returned to Beijing, he planned to build another factory. This group of people were the main employees of the factory.
After he left, dyes, fabrics, and design drawings could also be transported from the capital to the factory here. With cement roads being paved all over the country, and with the express delivery company run by Shao Hui's family, transportation would be very convenient.
…
Cheng Zhao was going back to the capital. He was excited but reluctant to leave because his four younger brothers would definitely leave with him, but his third brother was reluctant to leave his family.
Cheng Zhao asked him whether he wanted to bring his family with him or stay. Even if he stayed, he would still be his younger brother in the future.
But the third brother shook his head and refused. He wanted to go to the capital with Cheng Zhao. Although he was adopted as a son by Cheng Yeran, he always remembered that he was a servant bought by the Cheng family. The previous family had nothing to do with him anymore, and he had to be loyal to the Cheng family all his life.
Cheng Yeran trained the factory managers and sent them to various parts of the country. The cement plants were built very quickly, but the road construction was slower.
But the emperor said that he could return to Beijing as soon as the cement factory was built.
Even the emperor was anxious and urged him to go back quickly, saying that he would send someone to inspect the construction of the cement factory and the cement road, so he didn't need to go in person.
The emperor was afraid that Cheng Yeran might have an accident or get sick on the way since he had to go to so many places, so he quickly called him back to the capital.
The situation in the capital has undergone tremendous changes compared to before Cheng Yeran left. Many important officials have been dismissed by the emperor, or their properties have been confiscated and they have been exiled, and some new people have been promoted.
The newly promoted officials were all talents selected by the lazy man himself after he traveled through time. He suppressed and replaced all the talents selected by the previous emperor.
Even Yang Shiming and Cheng Yeran’s teacher retired and returned home.
Yang Shiming was highly valued by the emperor. After all, Yang Shiming was married to Yuanbao. The emperor regarded Yuanbao as his cousin, and naturally regarded Yang Shiming as his own relative as well.
And the prince's father was also highly valued by the emperor.
The emperor also intended to suppress Shao Hui and promote Ye Gou. The emperor did not know Ye Gou's background and thought that Ye Gou was also a cousin of their family. The lazy man had many relatives in the village, and he was not familiar with all of them.
He would rather use his own relatives, but Ye Gou could not speak and was blind in one eye. Many court officials opposed him replacing Shao Hui. Ye Gou was also unwilling to replace Shao Hui. Ye Gou regarded Shao Hui as his teacher and respected him very much.
The emperor could only put the matter aside for the time being, but only temporarily. He would still find ways to weaken Shao Hui's power in the future.
However, the person the emperor wanted to use the most was Cheng Yeran. In addition, Cheng Yeran had dealt with the plague and had the whole country vaccinated against cowpox, thus avoiding smallpox. With such a great achievement, when Cheng Yeran came back, he would appoint him as prime minister, and no one would object.
Before Cheng Yeran returned to Beijing, the emperor was already excited about this decision. With his original body as prime minister, he brought honor to the Cheng family.
When Cheng Zhao left the big courtyard in the provincial capital, he stood at the door in melancholy for a long time. He wanted to ride his pony back. He was already an eleven-year-old boy and no longer the child he used to be. But his parents disagreed and asked him to go back in a carriage.
He finally looked at the front door of his home for a while. Although he had not lived here as long as he had in the capital, he had no memory of the first two or three years after he was born, so he was more attached to his home here.
He hated the emperor a little bit. He had made them move away from the capital with just one sentence. He left his familiar home and separated from his friends and relatives. He finally had a home and good friends here. Every time he had a holiday, he would go out riding with his friends.
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They were supposed to go out for fun, but now the emperor has asked them to go back...
Besides him not wanting to go back, there were also people who didn't want them to go back.
The person who didn't want him to go back was Lord Yi, the acting prime minister.
After the previous prime minister stepped down, the emperor appointed Lord Yi as acting prime minister. He thought that His Majesty was training him so that when the time was right, he would become the official prime minister.
However, he has not become a real prime minister for many years, and the emperor wants to call Cheng Yeran back. Judging from the emperor's attitude, I'm afraid that position will be given to Cheng Yeran.
He felt that it was unfair, so he called officials from his own camp to discuss the matter, and they must get rid of Cheng Yeran before the emperor announced him as prime minister.
Lord Yi couldn't help but complain a few words: "Why did Cheng Yeran become the prime minister as soon as he came back? He collaborated with the second prince in the past. How could he be the prime minister for such a serious crime? Even if he didn't collaborate with the enemy, he is still young. I am about the same age as his father. According to seniority, Your Majesty should let me be the prime minister."
Xu Jiabao had backstabbed Cheng Yeran before, and although it was the emperor who asked him to do it, he felt that Cheng Yeran must hate him as well.
When Cheng Yeran had just left Beijing, he learned that the emperor still valued Cheng Yeran and might let Cheng Yeran return to Beijing after a while. He was scared and quickly looked for a backer.
He then became a disciple of Lord Yi and often helped with advice. He was quite smart and was valued and promoted by Lord Yi, and his career was pretty good.
But in his heart he was not convinced by Lord Yi. He felt that Lord Yi just had more seniority but no real skills.
Just now, after Xu Jiabao heard what Lord Yi said, he thought to himself, Lord Cheng cured the plague, made newspapers, flattered the emperor in the newspapers every day, sent glass and white sugar to the emperor during the New Year and other festivals, and recently built a cement road. Cheng Yeran can make new things wherever he goes, and he is loved by the people and recognized and admired by scholars. What have you done? He has no political achievements, and he is just getting older.
But Xu Jiabao now has Lord Yi as his backer, and he cannot let his backer fall, so he can only find a way to help overthrow Cheng Yeran.
"I have a plan," Xu Jiabao stepped forward and whispered in Lord Yi's ear, "We can start with the people around him, this way or that way..."
He muttered a long string of things, and Lord Yi clapped his hands repeatedly, "You still have a lot of ideas, go and do it, let's kill Cheng Yeran as soon as he returns to the capital."
Cheng Yeran returned to Beijing with his family. When they arrived at the door of their home, Shen Yuntang felt a sense of belonging to the house, as if he had returned to his hometown.
He didn't dare to imagine what kind of emotions he would feel if he returned to his real hometown. Would he cry out loud on the spot?
Cheng Zhao pushed open the door and walked in first. When he was a child, he thought this house was very big, but now it seems so small.
Before he left the capital, he had been living in the same courtyard with his parents. He entered his own small room and said, "How can my room be so small that I can't even turn around."
Shen Yuntang followed him in and heard him say, "It's not as exaggerated as you say. When your father and I lived in the countryside, our houses were not as big as yours."
Shen Yuntang stood next to Cheng Zhao. Cheng Zhao was only eleven years old, but he was already 1.6 meters tall. Shen Yuntang was about 1.7 meters tall. "In two years, you will be taller than me. I'm afraid you will be taller than your father. I will ask someone to clean up a yard for you and you can move in. This room will be temporarily for your little sister."
Ah Zhu could also walk on her own, but she was still unsteady. She stood beside Cheng Yeran all the time, raising her little hand to hold Cheng Yeran's index finger, and looking at the strange yard with a pair of ignorant eyes.
"This is our future home," Cheng Yeran looked down at her, "Do you like it here?"
Ah Zhu always had tears in her eyes and looked very timid. She did not answer Cheng Yeran's words, but saw several maids looking at her, and she cried and shouted, "Daddy."
Cheng Yeran quickly picked up Ah Zhu and covered her eyes. She couldn't see other people and was no longer afraid.
Although this child is very well-behaved, he cannot live without people, without him and Shen Yuntang, and cannot be taken care of by maids and old women. After coming to Beijing, he doesn't know if he will be even busier in the future. What should he do with this little guy?
It turns out that you can’t have a second child when your career is on the rise because you don’t have enough energy.
However, in a few years, Cheng Yeran is afraid that he will reach middle age and will not have the energy to take care of children, so it is better to raise a child at this time.
The family put their luggage away and prepared to have a quick dinner and then rest.
His Majesty has not yet said when he will return to work. It is estimated that he can rest for ten days or half a month. Shen Yuntang plans to go and check out Jinyulou, the magazine and other industries in Beijing tomorrow.
As a result, before it got dark, someone came from the palace and asked them to go to the palace for a banquet in the evening.
Ah Zhu didn't want to go and wanted to stay at home. Shen Yuntang was worried about her being alone at home, so he called Liu Ya over and asked her to accompany the little guy for a while.
Although Ah Zhu was somewhat resistant, her resistance was not as strong as that towards strangers. She just played by herself in silence and did not talk to Liu Ya.
Liu Ya rubbed her little head and said, "If you weren't good-looking, I wouldn't want to be so cold-hearted."
Ah Zhu drew a small flower for him, and Liu Ya was immediately happy. He felt that Ah Zhu was not unwilling to pay attention to him, but was just afraid to pay attention to him, and she liked him very much in her heart.
This made Liu Ya feel very accomplished, and she planned to take the flower to find Yuan Bao to show off to him.
…
The last time Shen Yuntang entered the palace was when the emperor suspected that Cheng Yeran was infertile, so he asked the two of them to enter the palace and let the imperial physician take their pulses. It turned out that he was pregnant.
This was his second time entering the palace. He had never attended a palace banquet, but he had been in the capital for so many years and knew what clothes to wear.
He also dressed up Cheng Zhao and Cheng Yeran to cover up their fatigue, and entered the palace together.
I originally thought that other ministers or princes would attend today's palace banquet, but it turned out that there were only the emperor, princes and concubines, which made it more like a family banquet.
Cheng Yeran felt that as a minister, he was out of place at such a family dinner. Shen Yuntang also sat there quietly eating, trying not to show his head so as not to attract the attention of the Emperor and Empress.
Cheng Yeran noticed that the queen had been replaced. It was said that she was replaced by the fourth prince's mother. There were also two imperial concubines sitting next to her. The two imperial concubines did not look like locals, but had an exotic look.
There were also many beautiful women with exotic looks performing singing and dancing at the banquet. The emperor looked much weaker than before. Cheng Yeran boldly guessed that he had indulged himself too much.
Although he has not been in the capital in recent years, he has heard about what the emperor has done in recent years. Every year, he selects a large number of beauties from neighboring countries to be by his side.
Later, it developed to include not only neighboring countries, but also two selections of beauties every year.
The previous emperors said that there were three thousand beauties in the harem, but it was just an exaggeration. The actual number of beauties in the harem might be a dozen or more, and there might be several hundred more. However, their current emperor does have more than three thousand concubines in the harem.
Cheng Yeran felt that something was wrong. Why did the emperor look like
Whispering Wind
He is heading towards becoming a tyrant.
In the past, the Empress Dowager always looked after the Emperor, why doesn’t she do that now?
While he was thinking, the emperor waved to Cheng Zhao and asked him to sit next to him.
Cheng Zhao stood up and walked to the emperor, wanting to salute, but the emperor stopped him and pulled him to sit on a chair beside him.
The emperor looked at Cheng Zhao. This face was about 70% similar to Cheng Yeran, and the remaining 20% was a bit like Shen Yuntang.
The emperor was very pleased with his appearance. He asked him about his life and studies in recent years and tested him with a few questions. When he heard that he answered fluently, he nodded with satisfaction and took off the jade pendant from his body and gave it to him as a reward.
Although he just picked it up casually, Cheng Zhao could tell that the jade pendant was priceless.
The emperor beckoned the fourth prince to come over, "Do you still remember your brother Cheng Zhao?"
The Fourth Prince looked at Cheng Zhao and nodded, "Of course I remember."
Cheng Zhao felt that the Fourth Prince was looking at him, but he did not show any fear and looked back. He felt that the Fourth Prince was different from before.
The difference is not just in appearance, but also in temperament. The way he looks is not the same as before.
In the past, the Fourth Prince and the Fifth Prince always surrounded him and called him brother, but now the Fourth Prince felt more distant from him and looked down at him, which made Cheng Zhao feel a little disappointed.
But the other party was a prince, so there was nothing wrong in looking at him that way. It was just that he felt it was a pity that he had lost a close friend.
Cheng Zhao asked, "Where is the Fifth Prince? Why didn't he come today?"
When he mentioned the fifth prince, the emperor thought for a while, as if he had forgotten that there was such a child. He already had many children now, so he didn't care if one or two were missing.
At that time, the emperor gave the fifth prince to the queen to raise. After the queen fell from power, the emperor pushed the fifth prince to the new queen to raise. The new queen had a feud with the fifth prince's biological mother, so how could she raise him well?
The emperor hadn't seen the fifth prince for a long time. After thinking for a long time, he wanted to ask someone to summon the fifth prince, but the fourth prince was the first to speak: "The queen mother was seriously ill a few days ago. He prayed for the queen mother in the royal temple. He will pray for three years before coming back."
The emperor praised the fifth prince for his filial piety and never mentioned him again.
When Cheng Zhao heard this, he felt a little disappointed. He had been looking forward to seeing his old playmates, but one of them had changed and distanced himself from him, and the other one had not been seen for three years. It was such a pity.
A eunuch came over with a tray and told the emperor that it was time to take the pill.
Cheng Yeran didn't expect that the emperor would also start eating "magic pills"? No wonder his complexion looks so bad, he must have been poisoned.
When the emperor saw Cheng Yeran looking at him, he smiled and explained the two kinds of elixirs. One was for when the emperor was feeling low in spirits, and after taking it he would feel refreshed. The other was for when the emperor couldn't sleep, and after taking it he would be able to fall asleep soundly.
Cheng Yeran frowned after hearing this. If he couldn't sleep, he could ask the imperial physician to prescribe calming tea, but the emperor said that calming tea was useless.
The emperor also asked Cheng Yeran with a smile: "I heard that people say you are a god who has descended to earth. I wonder if you can make elixirs?"
Cheng Yeran twitched his lips in embarrassment. How could he know how? He was not a doctor. If he were a doctor, he could buy some medicine from the future and bring it back to treat the emperor.
He was really afraid that the emperor would get sick from taking too many elixirs. The Fourth Prince was still young. If the Fourth Prince ascended the throne, the court would be unstable. His own children were still young, and he didn't want to lead a wandering life with his wife and children.
He advised the emperor not to take elixirs and talked about the harmful effects of elixirs. However, the emperor looked gloomy after hearing his advice and said that he was just like those old-fashioned people in the court. "Unless you can make elixirs, don't say such things again."
The emperor immediately changed the subject after saying this, "This year's imperial examination is about to begin, and I would like to appoint you as the chief examiner."
Cheng Yeran didn't expect that the emperor would give him such an important task, but being the chief examiner also has many advantages. The chief examiner is regarded as the teacher of the candidates, which will make it easier to attract a new batch of students in the future.
Although he had already won over a group of people with his personal charm, who would complain about having too few people in his own camp?
Cheng Yeran hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "I will definitely live up to your majesty's expectations."
"Xingxing will continue to study in the palace in the future, and will be treated the same as the princes." After the emperor took the elixir, his mind felt a little dizzy. "That's it for today. I'm tired too."
The emperor rewarded Cheng Yeran with many things, and even gave some rewards to his little daughter Azhu, saying that he should bring Azhu into the palace next time to have some fun together.
Before leaving, the emperor wanted to reward Cheng Yeran with a few dancers, but seeing Cheng Yeran's unhappy face, he smiled and waved his hands, "Forget it, I know that you only have your husband in your heart, so I won't embarrass you. Prepare well for the examiner's job. After this exam is over, I will promote you to be the prime minister."
When Cheng Yeran heard this, he was shocked. He knew that he would be promoted, but he didn't expect that he would be promoted to such a high position. He was only a fifth-rank official before leaving Beijing, and became prime minister as soon as he came back. He was afraid that it would cause dissatisfaction among others.
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