Chapter 247 Secret Message
The imperial envoy would first meet the emperor when he returned to the court. Zeng Ziqian, the governor who came back to the capital to report on affairs, waited in a side hall first.
Not long after Li Yu entered the imperial study, Zeng Ziqian heard a loud bang outside, followed by the emperor's angry voice: "Luo, this bastard! Why didn't he let me just grant him the position of Si Tu?"
The eunuchs waiting in the imperial study knelt on the ground, and the eunuchs outside the imperial study and in the side halls also lowered their heads and kept silent. When Zeng Ziqian heard that it was related to papermaking, his heart, which had been subconsciously raised because of the emperor's anger, fell back to its original state. He sat with his eyes down, and it was impossible to tell his expression.
Li Yu knelt down in the imperial study: "It is my incompetence."
The emperor sat back on the dragon throne, propped his forehead with his hand, closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. Then he said to Li Yu: "It has nothing to do with you. It's just that Luo's greed is insatiable."
He wanted the clan members to resume their positions in the previous dynasty as much as possible. Why didn't he suggest changing the surname of Da Qi back to Dagan?
Li Yu didn't dare to speak for a few breaths. After waiting for a while, he asked tentatively: "How about I go to Meishan again? Although the Luo and Dou families are relatives, they may not be a solid block."
The emperor rubbed his brows, but did not immediately agree. Instead, he asked, "Just now you said that Sanlang went to the capital with you?"
This "Sanlang" was a rather intimate name in private. Li Yu nodded and said, "Yes, Ziqian is waiting for your summons in the side hall."
The emperor nodded and said, "You have been traveling for a long time and you are tired. Let's discuss the trip to Meishan later. You should go back to your house and have a rest first. Let Sanlang come in."
Li Yu knew that the emperor did not want to talk about paper for the time being, so he responded, bowed and retreated. When he arrived at the side hall, he told Zeng Ziqian that the emperor had summoned him. He then gave a cautious look as if he was going to reply. After seeing Zeng Ziqian clasp his fists to thank him and go to the imperial study, he turned around and left the palace.
When Zeng Ziqian entered the imperial study, the eunuchs had already tidied it up. He went up and paid his respects. The emperor was in a bad mood, but when he saw Zeng Ziqian, he thought of the plow he had presented in Shezhou, and smiled a little: "Hurry up, Sanlang, why are you coming to the capital?"
Zeng Ziqian did not rush to stand up, and said, "I have something to report to His Majesty in person."
The emperor frowned slightly and glanced at the eunuch Cen beside him. Eunuch Cen bowed slightly and waved to the eunuchs sideways. The eunuchs in the imperial study then filed out. Even the outer area was cleared and Eunuch Cen was guarding outside personally.
"What does Sanlang want to say? Tell me."
Zeng Ziqian did not say anything, but took out a secret letter from his sleeve. To ensure that the matter would not be leaked, he wrote the secret letter in the morning when he lit the oil lamp before arriving at the last post station before going to Beijing. He never left the secret letter from the moment he left the post station and entered the palace.
At this time, he took a few steps forward and presented the secret memorial to the emperor with both hands. The emperor was puzzled by his cautiousness. He looked at Zeng Ziqian, took the memorial and unfolded it. He read a few lines at a glance, his pupils shrank, and then he was overjoyed. He didn't even bother to look at Zeng Ziqian again. He quickly read the whole secret memorial, and then looked at Zeng Ziqian with shining eyes: "Are you serious about what you said in the memorial?"
Zeng Ziqian smiled and said, "How dare I tease you?"
As he spoke, he took out a paper envelope carefully sealed with oil paper from his bosom and presented it to the emperor. This time, the emperor took it very quickly. He opened it, took out the paper inside, and unfolded it. He looked at the three drawings one by one, and laughed at the end: "Good! Good! Good!"
Three thumbs up in a row!
The eunuch Cen who was guarding outside twitched his ears and raised his eyes slightly. He wondered what Zeng Sanlang had reported to the emperor that could make the emperor, who had just been furious, so happy in an instant. However, after serving the emperor for several years, he knew his limits very well. He soon lowered his eyes again, like an old monk in meditation, not seeing anything blindly, pretending to be deaf.
In the imperial study, the emperor was still looking at the three drawings and several paper samples over and over again. According to Zeng Ziqian, the two sheets of paper with the papermaking flow chart and the principle written on them were the paper made by Sang. The other paper samples were made by Zeng Ziqian by shortening the soaking time according to Sang's instructions, by soaking the materials for three days, five days, and seven days respectively.
He was really in a good mood. He took out the secret letter he had just put down and read it again.
Zeng Ziqian admired Sang Luo for even offering the recipe for papermaking to the court, so he naturally praised her highly in the secret memorial, including how Sang discovered that the court was short of paper, how she found Fan to inquire about it, and how she finally made paper urgently, and how she risked her life to find Fan and ask him and his wife to secretly offer the papermaking technique to the court on her behalf. Even Sang Luo's answer to Fan's question about what reward she wanted after she presented the papermaking technique to the court was written in the secret memorial. The praise and admiration were evident in the words, and in the end he even said bluntly that it was a blessing for Da Qi, His Majesty, and the people to have such people.
The emperor's eyebrows, eyes, lips and cheeks relaxed when he saw this. He wanted to praise her a little, but he had to consider Zeng Ziqian's suggestion in the secret memorial that Sang must be well protected and the matter must not be leaked. He firmly suppressed his thoughts and just laughed out loud, saying, "Okay, I approve your memorial."
What is meant by accurate is that Sang Luo naturally hopes that the price of paper can be lower than before so that ordinary people can also afford paper.
Zeng Ziqian thanked the emperor and stepped forward to ask for the secret memorial to be given to him. He said, "I am sorry for your rudeness," then turned around and lifted the lampshade on the imperial desk. He directly set fire to the secret memorial that the emperor had read twice, burning it until not a single word was left. Then he threw the remaining paper in his hand into the copper basin.
He asked for the drawings in the emperor's hand, borrowed the writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone from the imperial study, knelt down beside a table below, and copied the three drawings drawn by Sang Luo.
The emperor stood by the side the whole time. After all three pieces of paper were copied down, Zeng Ziqian asked the emperor to take a look. After comparing the two and finding nothing wrong, he burned the three drawings drawn by Sang Luo completely, leaving no trace at all.
The emperor held the recipes in his hands as if they were treasures. After making sure that the ink and brush had dried, he locked the papermaking recipe in a secret compartment, leaving only the water mill blueprint. He smiled and said to Zeng Ziqian, "Your grandfather has come to the capital. Li Yu told you everything, right?"
Zeng Ziqian smiled and nodded, saying, "Yes, I will leave the palace soon and go home to visit my grandfather."
The emperor smiled and waved his hand: "You followed me in the military for several years, and then took over Shezhou. It's rare for you to return home. I won't delay your reunion. Go home first and come to the morning court tomorrow. You have contributed a lot by offering the water mill, and I will reward you tomorrow."
Zeng Ziqian took his leave and walked out. The young eunuchs were all looking at him secretly. Eunuch Cen had a young apprentice who asked in a low voice why the emperor was in a good mood all of a sudden. Eunuch Cen looked at him, said a few words, and turned back to go into the imperial study to serve.
Eunuch Cen was a perceptive man. Seeing that the emperor was in a good mood, he dared to speak more. While replacing a cup of hot tea for the emperor, he said with a smile, "It has to be Master Zeng. Your Majesty, you smile more. You don't know that this time you asked me to follow Master Li all the way south. As far as I can see, Shezhou recovered the fastest. You didn't see it with your own eyes. If you saw it with your own eyes, you would be in a much better mood."
This sentence aroused the emperor's interest, "Oh? Tell me about it."
Being able to serve the emperor and even be assigned by the emperor to go out with the imperial envoy to see the situation outside, she was naturally good at speaking and told the emperor vividly what she had seen and heard along the way and the comparisons between various parties. The emperor was really stunned to hear that the living order of the people in Shezhou had almost returned to normal, they were reclaiming wasteland and planting crops, and there were cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, and even pigs in the village.
"How?"
I regretted letting Zeng Sanlang leave the palace.
Eunuch Cen smiled and told the story of Concubine Fan, and the emperor praised Zeng Sanlang for having a virtuous wife.
Eunuch Cen changed the subject and said with a smile, "It's not all due to the wife of Governor Zeng that the people of Shezhou live so well. This time I am following Lord Li to Daxing Manor. Your Majesty, can you guess how old Sang was when he made the curved plow?"
The emperor frowned. He was very curious about Sang Luo. When he heard that Fan was talking about Sang Luo, he glanced at Eunuch Cen and thought seriously, "She knows so much about farming. Logically, she should be at least 40 or 50 years old. But since you asked me to guess, I guess she is not. She can't be a young lady or an old woman over 70 years old, right?"
Eunuch Cen smiled and praised His Majesty for his wisdom, "You are right. I think she is less than 20 years old. Lord Li was stunned at that time."
"Less than twenty?" The emperor looked up in surprise.
"That's right. She is only about 18 or 19 years old. I didn't expect her to know so much about farming. Not only that, this lady Sang has a very good reputation in Shezhou, even better than the wife of Governor Zeng."
He told the story about Sang in Shezhou, saying, "The local villagers call this Sang Niang the Bodhisattva of Children. During the years she was trapped in the mountains, she taught the villagers to make magical tofu with a kind of leaves that were readily available. She also taught the villagers to identify yam and planted it in large quantities. She also detoxified a kind of poisonous wild taro in the local area and made it into food that could be eaten and filled the stomach. She saved countless lives."
He also vividly described how capable the young and strong men of Daxing Village were, how they protected the safety of the mountain people, and how they brought people out of the mountains after knowing the court's policies. The emperor listened with great interest.
"Oh, by the way, this lady Sang's husband and brother-in-law have been admitted to the provincial school. When I went to Daxing Manor that day, I saw that the two brothers were wearing the uniforms of the provincial school students of our Daqi."
The emperor understood. No wonder Sang was thinking about making paper.
He narrowed his eyes, and the corners of his lips rose unconsciously. Sang was only in her twenties, and there was a scholar in the family. This was really the best news. It made the Emperor of the Great Qi excited even more than the newly-obtained papermaking recipe.
He tapped his fingertips on the imperial desk. Born a commoner, his foundation is probably not that good. If he wants to enter the capital, it will probably take three years, right? Tsk, the emperor thought that Sang was both a plowman and a papermaker, and he felt that three years was too slow.
However, he also knew that the first two batches of students who came to the capital would have the hardest time making a name for themselves and would be most likely to be targeted by the aristocratic families. So, three years would be enough. Fortunately, Sang was kind-hearted, concerned about people's livelihood, and trusted Zeng Sanlang and his wife enough, so the curved plow, paper, and water mill were not delayed in being sent to the court.
When the emperor thought of this, his eyes smiled again and he was in a very good mood.
Luo and Dou, if they want to drag it out, then go ahead. He is happy to watch the show. Just thinking about how the old man from the Luo family would react when he finds out that the imperial court has set up its own paper mill, all the frustration he has been suffering for a while suddenly disappears.
happy!
…
On the next morning, Zeng Ziqian, the governor of Shezhou, presented a water mill and was rewarded by the emperor. Although it was only money and not generous, his wife Fan's deeds in Shezhou were greatly praised by the emperor in the court, and she was even given the title of a third-rank lady.
A third-rank lady!
Not to mention that the Great Qi Dynasty has just been unified, and most officials have not yet taken the time to ask for imperial decrees for their wives and mothers at home. Even if there are those who do ask for titles, it will take time to get them approved. Just talk about the third rank, how many third rank officials are there in the court now?
Old Master Zeng was only a third-rank official when he served as the chief academic officer of the Imperial College, and Zeng Ziqian was just below the fourth rank. However, Fan was granted the title of a third-rank lady, which was a higher rank than even that of the old lady of the Zeng family.
From today onwards, I'm afraid that countless female relatives in the harems of high-ranking officials of the Great Qi Dynasty will follow Fan's example. The officials, holding the imperial tablets, are watching the emperor with their eyes and noses, and everyone is impressed. Who would not praise the emperor for this brilliant move?
Those with a weak foundation feel sorry for their family property while also having to think about how to do things well. Those with a strong foundation don't care so much, as they all know that they won't get any good luck by following Fan. But as women from aristocratic families, they cannot lose to others in this regard. Aristocratic families are not short of these things, so they can just consider it as raising money and grain for the emperor. They have done a lot in recent years, but in the past, the things went into the hands of the emperor, but now they are given directly to the people, and their family can also maintain their reputation, which is not a loss.
The ones that really attracted the attention of the various aristocratic families were the Zeng and Fan families, especially the Fan family, who had well-educated daughters. Whenever a young man in the family wanted to get married, they would consider the Fan family's daughters first.
…
Zeng Ziqian's return to the capital, his presentation of the water mill and the reward given to the Fan family attracted all the attention of the former dynasty, even Grandpa Zeng did not think of anything else.
It was more than two months later that the court established a paper mill. No one knew where the papermaking recipe came from. For a while, the emperor asked the eunuchs in the palace to look through a lot of books in the palace. Some people suspected that the papermaking recipe might have been found there.
Of course, these are just speculations. The aristocratic families who have some ulterior motives about the imperial examinations feel a little regretful, but it is just a regret. Although the emperor is gentle, a kind person cannot command an army. Even if he was really gentle, he could not have destroyed dozens of heroes and established the Great Qi.
When the emperor touched their interests, they could choose not to support him, or they could pretend to obey but actually disobey him. But when most of the aristocratic families still supported the emperor, no one dared to be stupid enough to be the first to stand out and challenge the imperial power. After all, they were all the vested interests of the new dynasty and were not in the same situation as the Luo and Dou families.
In fact, the only ones who were dumbfounded were probably the Luo and Dou families who had always mastered the papermaking technique and used it to negotiate with the emperor. But who cares?
Among all the civil and military officials in the court, the only one who truly guessed that the papermaking recipe might be related to Zeng Sanlang was Li Yu, because the emperor never mentioned his trip to Meizhou again after that, which was too coincidental in terms of timing.
Li Yu laughed, what a Zeng Ziqian!
However, he had to praise from the bottom of his heart that this was a well-done job. Apart from the frustration he and the emperor had suffered from the Luo and Dou families, the emperor's schools and imperial examinations could continue to be carried out, and the profits from papermaking could even add a little to the national treasury. Li Yu felt a little relieved.
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