"Where is Duoduo planning to go?" Chongzhen looked at the map, very puzzled.
Before Duoduo entered the pass, he guessed that Duoduo had two directions of attack.
One is near the capital.
The reason is simple. Merchants are prosperous and goods are plentiful near the capital. The main purpose of the Jiannu entering the pass is to plunder goods, and plundering near the capital is the most appropriate.
The second direction is Shanhaiguan.
The importance of Shanhaiguan to Jiannu is self-evident. They can enter the Central Plains when they advance and defend Liaodong when they retreat. As long as they take Shanhaiguan, they don't have to go through Mongolia and can enter the pass at any time.
Unexpectedly... Duoduo actually went all the way south.
"Where did Li Xianzhong last find trace of Dorgon?" Chongzhen looked at Wang Chengen.
"Your Majesty, it was Xin'an Town (now the area of Xin'an Town in Bazhou), more than 100 miles west of Zhigu. After losing track of Dorgon in Xin'an Town, Lieutenant General Li never found any trace of Dorgon again."
Chongzhen nodded. It seemed that Dorgon had agreed on a place with Duoduo in advance, and Duoduo entered the pass this time to find him.
etc...
If Duoduo continues to go south, he will soon reach Shandong!
Damingfu is next to Shandong!
Huang Degong is fighting fiercely with Li Zicheng in Damingfu!
Duoduo won’t join in the fun, right?
"Send a fast horse to deliver a secret letter to Huang Degong, telling him that the Jiannu are heading towards Shandong, and asking him to be careful. Pay special attention to the grain transport route to prevent it from being intercepted by Duoduo."
"If it really doesn't work..." Chongzhen hesitated for a long time, and said helplessly: "If it really doesn't work, we can give up Daming Mansion and preserve our strength!"
If the price of rescuing Li Xianzhong, King Zhao and King Zhou was the annihilation of Huang Degong's entire army, then he would rather let Li Xianzhong and King Zhao and King Zhou die for their country.
There was no way, Huang Degong was too important to him.
Apart from Wu Sangui and Liu Wenyao, the only Ming soldier left in the north was Huang Degong.
If Huang Degong were gone, even the capital would be in danger.
"I will arrange it right away."
Not long after Wang Chengen left, the eunuch outside the palace brought a message from the Ministry of Works: "Your Majesty, Minister of Works Fan Jingwen and Deputy Minister of Works Jiao Xu have been ordered to see you."
"Let them in."
After receiving the imperial edict, Fan Jingwen and Jiao Xu walked into the palace gate cautiously.
"Your Highness Fan Jingwen."
"I am Jiao Xu."
"Your Majesty." The two of them bowed at the same time.
"Please stand up."
Chongzhen sat on the dragon throne with a calm expression.
It gives people a feeling that it is not affected at all by Xue Lian and the Jiannu's entry into the Pass.
Fan Jingwen glanced at Chongzhen secretly and said to Jiao Xu in a soft voice: "Don't say anything you shouldn't say, or you'll be punished by His Majesty."
Jiao Xu shook his dark head and chuckled, not taking it seriously.
Chongzhen asked someone to hand a book on the table to Fan Jingwen and asked, "Minister Fan, do you know the origin of this book?"
Fan Jingwen respectfully took the book from the eunuch and began to read it carefully.
Jiao Xu, who was standing behind Fan Jingwen, glanced at the book cover and shouted, "I know! I know!"
Fan Jingwen gave a helpless bitter smile and bowed to Chongzhen: "Jiao Xu is a rough man, please forgive me, Your Majesty."
"It's okay. Now that you know, just tell me."
"Hehe, I obey your order." Jiao Xu took the book from Fan Jingwen and began to explain it seriously.
"Newly Made Various Instruments, written by Wang Zheng in the seventh year of the Tianqi reign. This book was often printed together with the Illustrated Record of Strange Instruments from the Far West, and was first engraved in Yangzhou in the seventh year of the Tianqi reign."
"Have you met Wang Zheng?" Chongzhen asked excitedly.
"Your Majesty, not only have I met him, but he has also taught me a lot of knowledge. In the fourth year of my reign, Kong Youde led his troops to rebel in Wuqiao. Wang Zheng, who was then the military supervisor of Liaohai, and Sun Yuanhua, the secretary of the Ministry of War, were captured by the rebels. In February of the following year, Kong Youde released Sun Yuanhua and Wang Zheng. On the way back to Beijing, I met him and we became good friends since then."
Fan Jingwen stood in front of Jiao Xu and shook his head constantly, trying to get him to say less.
Can we talk about the Wuqiao mutiny casually?
Not only did Chongzhen not care, but he valued Jiao Xu even more.
Who is Wang Zheng?
In later generations, there was a saying that there was Xu in the South and Wang in the North.
Southern Xu refers to Xu Guangqi, and Northern Wang refers to Wang Zheng.
Although he was not as famous as Xu Guangqi, his contributions were not small, especially in the field of machinery. Before he became an official, he had developed hydraulic, wind and load-bearing machinery.
Later, he compiled "Illustrated Description of Strange Instruments from the Far West" with missionaries. This book was the first compiled work on Western mechanics in China.
"Since you are Wang Zheng's good friend, you must be very familiar with this book?" Chongzhen asked.
"almost!"
"There is a sentence in the book that says fire ships sail by themselves, fire thunder explodes by themselves, wind wheels turn, and windmills travel far. Do you know which page this sentence is written on?" Chongzhen asked again.
Jiao Xu closed his eyes and thought for a few breaths, then opened his eyes and turned to the section on Erlajiya's illustrations of various instruments, pointed to a line of words and said, "Your Majesty, I found it. It's here."
Chongzhen nodded and said, "What on earth is this fire ship?"
Fan Jingwen had not read this book. He looked at the words "fireboat gone" in a daze.
Go by yourself means to be able to go by yourself without any human power.
"How can a wooden boat encounter fire? If it encounters fire, it will catch fire. How can it move on its own?"
Although Jiao Xu had never seen the real thing, he asked Wang Zheng about the relevant principle, "Your Majesty, please allow me to give you an example. The fire in this sentence does not mean burning the boat, but using fire to burn water. The white gas produced by boiling water pushes the specially shaped oars, so that the boat can move by itself."
As Chongzhen sat on the dragon throne, his hatred for the Jiannu increased a little more.
Historically, there was already a prototype of the steam engine in the late Ming Dynasty, but it was not taken seriously.
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