Chapter 37 Chapter 37 Limited Time Sale
When Celeng was going to the Yongding River to provide disaster relief, Emperor Qianlong asked his younger brother Aligun to take over and teach the princes riding and archery.
Aligun was only promoted to a second-class guard this year, and he rarely has the opportunity to see the emperor.
He had never expected the Emperor to choose him over his brothers to teach the two young masters. He happily wrote a memorial to express his gratitude.
Yonglian was also very happy when he learned that Master Wu had been replaced by Aligun.
Among the brothers of the Niuhuru family, Aligun had a record of military merits and never made any major mistakes. In history, after Mingrui died, Emperor Qianlong sent Aligun to Yunnan to deal with the aftermath.
During the fourth expedition to Burma, plague spread in the army and Aligun contracted the disease and died.
Thinking of this, Yonglian couldn't help but glance at Erdeng'e.
Erden'e noticed the Second Prince's gaze and looked at him in confusion.
He was practicing Buku with the eldest prince, while the second prince and Mingrui were watching and learning. The second prince's eyes suddenly turned cold.
Erdeng'e looked at the eldest prince who was already at a disadvantage, and vaguely understood that he had defeated the eldest prince twice in a row, and the second prince was feeling unfair for his brother.
The two princes usually had a very good relationship, so it was normal for the second prince to be reluctant to see the eldest prince lose. When the second prince and Mingrui played Buku, the eldest prince would often worry about his younger brother.
Otherwise, let the eldest prince take over this round.
At the moment when Erdeng'e was in hesitation, Yonghuang seized the opportunity and turned the situation around.
Yonglian couldn't help but cheer for his brother, "Big brother is awesome!"
Aligun also smiled and praised the prince, and Yonghuang showed a bit of pride on his little face. He finally won once.
Celeng was not well educated. Aligun was a little better than his elder brother and had a more cheerful personality than Celeng. When students made a fool of themselves, he would just laugh loudly.
The young eunuch next to him also reported it to Emperor Qianlong. Normally, Emperor Qianlong would have scolded Aligun a few times, but this year, Emperor Qianlong really couldn't take care of it.
The drought in Zhili had finally subsided, but in the autumn the Yongding River burst its banks and caused a major flood. In Shaanxi, officials and gentry, who were both on duty and paying taxes, also needed to be closely monitored.
Qianlong was so busy that he didn't even go to Changchun Palace for several days.
It was a rare day that I finished reading the memorials early and went to Changchun Palace to see the Queen and little Niulun, but I found that the mother and daughter were not in Changchun Palace. They said they had gone to Ningshou Palace.
The Ningshou Palace is now home to Emperor Kangxi's concubines. The Empress does not need to pay her respects there every day, and they rarely come and go on weekdays. So what did this mother and daughter do in the Ningshou Palace?
Qianlong thought about it and didn't go looking for anyone. He just asked the eunuch to pass on the message, "Just say I'm back."
After giving the order, Qianlong went to the study to write a few lines of poetry. He had been too busy recently and hadn't written any poetry for several days. He was so diligent in his work and loved the people, working day and night, so how could he not write a poem to record his work?
There was paper and pen on the desk, and the ink in the inkstone was not yet dry. The queen must have just used it today.
Qianlong casually flipped through the papers next to him and found some messy numbers and a half-drawn loom drawing on them.
Qianlong couldn't help laughing. He knew that the empress had been thinking about weaving recently, but it was rare for a Manchu noble lady like the empress to know how to do needlework. How could she have used a loom?
It would be better to let Chunpin and other Han women come up with a solution than to let her think about it.
In fact, the women in the harem don’t need to worry about this matter. There are already merchants leading fleets to the Western Ocean, and they may be able to bring back one of the most advanced looms in Europe next year.
If they prohibit export and don't allow us to bring it in, that's fine. There are people in the weaving bureau who are very familiar with the looms. They only need to take a look at them and they will know how to make it.
Because it was the first voyage to the West, Qianlong did not send a very large merchant caravan, but only allowed Pan Zhencheng to take four or five ships.
In addition to tea, porcelain, and silk that Westerners liked, merchant ships also carried some herbs such as Panax notoginseng, chrysanthemum, and Coptis chinensis.
When Qianlong was a child, he heard from Emperor Kangxi that Western doctors only practiced bloodletting and inducing vomiting. There was a king of England named Charles II who was killed by a quack doctor. Not only did he bleed him, but he also made him drink juice squeezed from human heads.
When Qianlong was a child, he treated it as a horror story. No wonder the population was small since Western doctors were so ridiculous.
Qianlong intended to show them the power of Chinese herbal medicine. This was the mind of a benevolent ruler. He would sell medicines that cured diseases and saved lives, and would not make money with something harmful like opium.
If this matter could be publicized, he would have written a poem immediately to despise those foreigners.
Emperor Qianlong was feeling very proud of himself when he heard the voice of little Niu Lun from outside, "Father, Father, we are back."
Qianlong stood up slowly. The empress and Niu Lun had already walked into the study and saluted him.
"Why did you go to Ningshou Palace?" Qianlong saw that both mother and daughter had smiles on their faces, as if there was some happy news.
The Queen said, "I wanted to draw the loom diagram from memory, but there were some details I didn't understand, so I went to ask Concubine Mi for advice."
Concubine Mi's family had run a textile workshop, so it was right for the Queen to choose her.
But Qianlong did not understand why the empress was so concerned about this matter. "...Do you still want the Imperial Household Department to build a loom to weave cloth in the palace?"
The Queen said, "I have never woven before, and I want to experience what life is like for an ordinary woman weaving."
Qianlong snorted, "I'm so busy all day that I'm dizzy and you're so free."
Upon hearing this, little Niulun immediately stepped forward to massage Khan Ama's shoulders.
The Queen also said, "I have had someone stew some lily, lotus seeds, and bird's nest. I'll have someone bring it over right away."
If the empress had said she wanted to improve the loom, Qianlong might not have been pleased. How could the empress possibly gain anything when so many weavers hadn't figured it out? But the empress simply said she wanted to pass the time and experience life. Qianlong didn't say anything, only admonishing her, "Don't delay palace affairs, and don't let Niu Lun have fun. Be careful."
The queen agreed.
Less than half a month later, when Yonghuang and Yonglian returned to Changchun Palace to pay their respects, they discovered that there was an extra loom in the palace.
The two children had never seen this thing before, so they walked around curiously to examine it carefully.
Why did Mother think of weaving? Yonglian frowned. Was this also a way to show frugality?
Niu Lun took out the cotton cloth woven by her mother and showed it to her two brothers. It was the first time for the little girl to observe the production process of cotton cloth.
It turns out that it takes so much effort to make a very ordinary piece of cloth.
Yonglian actually didn't quite understand how to modify the loom. He only remembered that looms in later generations were made of iron, while modern looms were made of wood.
He asked his mother, "Why must the loom be made of wood? Wouldn't it be stronger and more durable if it were made of cast iron?"
Qianlong was also there. After hearing what Yonglian said, he said, "Cast iron should also be able to be manufactured. Tomorrow I will order the Imperial Household Department to build an iron loom and place it in Changchun Palace."
The Queen said hurriedly, "No need, an ordinary one will suffice for me."
This is exactly why Qianlong ordered the Imperial Household Department to redo the work. How could the empress use an ordinary loom? "How can an ordinary loom reflect your status? The style of the loom cannot be changed, but the material can be distinguished from ordinary looms."
Queen: “…”
Yonglian: “…”
Okay, no matter what the reason is, Khan Ama allowed us to try, maybe there will be new discoveries.
But those people in the Imperial Household Department are going bald again.
Yonglian said, "Khan Ama, please don't tell Haiwang that it was my idea."
"Why?" Qianlong didn't understand.
Yonglian rubbed his fingers together and said, "I always give them difficult problems."
Upon hearing this, Qianlong was immediately displeased. "What do you mean by posing a problem? It is the duty of the Imperial Household Department to produce artifacts according to the master's requirements! How dare Haiwang complain?"
Yonglian: "...But making these things that no one has ever seen before is more difficult than making ordinary objects. It also requires more money for them to make mistakes."
Qianlong: "Speaking of this makes me angry. They asked them to build a two-wheeled cart, which cost so much wood. And before you said you would let the eunuchs ride on two-wheeled carts, I think considering the cost and manufacturing speed, it's probably difficult."
This is indeed a problem. There is no factory assembly line production now, and many parts are polished by hand.
Yonglian suggested, "Since the cost is high, let's sell this two-wheeled vehicle at a higher price. First, we can make money and cover the cost and manpower before we mass-produce it."
Yonghuang, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but say, "Brother, you're so smart!"
Niu Lun didn't quite understand what he was saying, but he praised his brother with bright eyes, "Second brother is so smart! Make money from the rich first!"
"What's so great about you? You're just thinking about making money all day long." Qianlong pinched his son's soft cheek. "You're so obsessed with money at such a young age?"
Yonglian's cheek was pinched, and he spoke vaguely, "This year, Khan Ama allocated a lot of disaster relief money. My son feels sad when he hears it. We must find a way to make up for it as soon as possible."
Although Qianlong said "you don't have to worry about it", he felt a little touched in his heart.
When the children were asleep at night, he couldn't help but sigh to the queen, "Yonglian looks heartless, but he's actually very sensible. Seeing that I was worried about disaster relief, he wanted to share my worries."
Queen: ...
Yes, yes, yes, of course she was happy that the emperor thought so.
"Not only does Yonglian want to share your worries, Yonghuang is also worried that you're tired. And the Empress Dowager is afraid that you'll hurt your body by staying up late to read memorials."
Qianlong laughed and said, "I have promised the Empress Dowager several times that I will not stay up late to review memorials, but she just doesn't believe me. She probably thinks I am the same as Khan Ama."
Little did he know that he was more efficient than Khan Ama, wrote faster, and never talked nonsense with ministers in memorials.
After receiving the new task, the craftsmen of the Imperial Household Department almost fainted collectively.
In the past, the Imperial Household Department rarely needed to manufacture iron products, and many craftsmen were not good at it.
When I was making two-wheeled and three-wheeled vehicles before, I had to ask the people in the Military Academy for advice from time to time. After all, they forged weapons on a daily basis and were more familiar with cast iron.
Now they are asked to use iron to make looms. Everyone knows that the looms in the palace are just decorations.
It would be great if the decorations were made of wood. If not, why not carve some patterns on them?
They would rather carve than forge iron.
Unfortunately, the emperor's order was difficult to obey, and the people in the Imperial Household Department could only complain in their hearts.
But soon there was good news. Qianlong successfully learned to ride a two-wheeled vehicle and invited several ministers from the Grand Council to watch him ride around the square outside the Qianqing Gate.
After praising the two-wheeled cart, the adults also praised the wisdom of the late emperor and the filial piety of the second prince.
Qianlong was so pleased with the praise that he rewarded the Imperial Household Department with twenty taels of silver for each of the craftsmen involved in making the two-wheeled vehicle.
Twenty taels of silver is really a lot. The annual salary of the Minister in Charge of the Imperial Household Department is only one hundred and fifty-five taels.
Qianlong also specifically praised the general manager Hai Wang.
Hai Wang was in charge of the Imperial Household Department and was also one of the Grand Councilors. He would definitely publicize the advantages of this two-wheeled vehicle.
Hong Zhou, Yun Lu and Yun Xi made an appointment to go to the palace to see the two-wheeled carts.
This time, Qianlong refused to let them ride, making himself look like a juggler.
He asked Li Yu to ride it in a circle to show it to the other clan members.
Of course, Li Yu could not use the imperial two-wheeled carriage, so he rode the one that he had previously tried out at the Imperial Household Department.
"This bike is great! It would be so cool to ride it in the garden and feel the cool breeze." Hong Zhou said.
Yunlu also said: "Yes, this car is very light."
Yunxi was about the same age as Qianlong, and the two were very close. He asked with a smile, "I wonder if I, your servant, will be lucky enough to enjoy the pleasure of riding a two-wheeled vehicle?"
Qianlong smiled and said, "Of course. Such a good means of transportation should be promoted. However, this car is not easy to build."
"Of course. I heard from Haiwang that they changed more than a dozen materials for the two wheels." Hong Zhou said with a smile.
"I wonder how much a car like this would cost? I'm willing to pay ten times the price," Yunlu said.
He inherited the title of Iron-Hat Prince and received double salary as a prince, so he was well off.
Qianlong laughed heartily, "Sixteenth Uncle, you are being so formal. We are all family, how can I ask for your money?"
He immediately made the decision to give one to each of the three people present.
Not long after, Prince Lu Yunlu, Prince Zhen Yunmi, Prince Heng Hongchao, and Prince Yi Hongxiao all saw the two-wheeled carriage.
There was no other choice, so Yunlu and Hongzhou rode their bikes to visit every household.
Why is Yunxi not there? It’s not because he doesn’t like to show off, but because he still hasn’t learned to ride a bike.
Yunmi is young and a prince, he has plenty of money and wanders around all day long, so this car is perfect for him.
He immediately went to the palace to see Qianlong and expressed his desire for one as well.
This time, Qianlong didn't offer any reward. He looked at his uncle with a half-smile, "How's your schoolwork going, uncle? Have you finished reading the Zizhi Tongjian?"
Yun Mi: “…”
Yunmi entered the palace excitedly, but was tested on his homework by his nephew and left the palace in disgrace.
Just when he was desperately wanting a two-wheeled vehicle, a shop opened on Qianmen Street that sold these two-wheeled vehicles, but only sold three a month.
"What? A month? Not a day?"
Yun Mi thought he had heard wrongly.
The steward who was helping him get the information said, "Your Highness, it is indeed three cars a month."
The shop was called "Xin Ji", and Yunmi knew it was a royal business as soon as he heard it.
He couldn't care less. There were only three cars a month, so he had to grab them quickly.
The steward hesitated, "That two-wheeled cart is very expensive, four hundred and ninety taels of silver each."
"It's not expensive, not expensive. Brother Twenty-One spends a thousand taels on a painting, and this car is less than half the price. Go quickly! If you go too late, you'll have to wait until next month."
Who would have thought that Prince Zhen's Mansion was really one step too late.
The only three two-wheeled carts have been bought by Prince Lu, Prince Heng and Prince Yi.
Yun Mi: “!!!”
Forget about the twelfth brother, he doesn't fight with his elder brother, but what's wrong with those two brats Hong Zhao and Hong Xiaona? Don't they know how to give in to her, the youngest uncle?
Yun Mi ran to settle the score with his two nephews angrily, and spent two hundred taels more to buy the two-wheeled cart from Hong Xiao.
Xinji closed after opening for half a day.
Jin Ding, who was in charge of Xinji, returned to the palace to report. Because he happened to be a Jin family and was the younger brother of Concubine Jia, Emperor Qianlong sent him to be in charge of Xinji. People who didn't know the situation thought he was the boss.
Jin Ding was a little worried. "It's a shame that this shop is closed on weekdays. Why not sell something else?"
Qianlong thought about it and decided to sell something that was not commonly seen outside.
He turned his head and glanced at the glass window of the West Warm Room. It would be great if he could sell glass products. This thing looks like crystal when made into cups.
Unfortunately, most of the glass windows nowadays are shipped from Guangzhou.
Qianlong first asked Jinding to sell some glass cups, agate bowls and the like in Xinji.
At the same time, Qianlong wrote a letter asking officials in Guangdong to think of a way to get back some glass-making methods.
Officials in Guangdong are now busy tracking down opium traffickers. They originally thought that there would not be many of them, but who would have thought that pulling out the radish would bring out the dirt? In Guangdong province alone, more than a dozen opium traffickers and as many as a hundred opium users were arrested.
Fortunately, these hundred people were concentrated in the homes of three or four wealthy businessmen, and they were all their wives, concubines, and children.
One of them used to sell Western glass products.
Local officials immediately interrogated the businessman and all his employees, and surprisingly, they made a discovery.
This businessman once thought of making his own transparent glass and passing it off as Western glass to sell in mainland China. He secretly asked his colleagues to research it, and they actually figured out a trick, but it wasn't transparent enough.
Before they had time to conduct further research, the merchants discovered that opium was more profitable and put the glassmaking business aside.
The officials in Guangdong thought this idea was correct, so they ordered the police to escort several of the servants to Beijing.
It was Yonglian who came up with the idea of Xinji selling three cars every month, but he had to go to the Shangshufang to study every day and never had the chance to see what Xinji was like.
According to Jin Ding, the cups and plates that Xin Ji usually sells are also very popular. Many royal family members and nobles have asked their stewards to come to the store to place orders. Some people even wanted to order two-wheeled vehicles in advance, but were rejected by Jin Ding.
Xinji is about to start selling two-wheeled vehicles for the second month.
Yonglian really wanted to go to Xinji to watch the fun, so he ran to the Yangxin Palace to ask Khan Ama for help.
"Khan Ama, please take us to have a look. This idea was proposed by my son, and I want to know how it works." Yonglian tugged at his Khan Ama's arm and said eagerly, "I will definitely make up for the lessons I've missed."
Qianlong glanced at him and said, "You can hear the results from Jin Ding's report. Why bother going to see it in person?"
Yonglian: "I want to see how lively it is. Last year, my fifth uncle took my eldest brother to stroll around Qianmen Street, but my son didn't go." The little guy said with a pout.
Qianlong was also curious about who would buy the three cars in the second month, but he didn't want to take the brat with him.
Seeing that Khan Ama refused to give in, Yonglian sighed, grabbed a piece of shaqima from the plate next to him, and gnawed on it angrily.
"Master Agui said that thanks to Khan Ama's grace, the people of the capital are prosperous and happy, and there is peace and prosperity. But my son has no chance to see it, so I can only ask Mingrui and Erden'e to help me see it."
Qianlong: "...Alright, alright, I'll take you there!"
This guy talks nicely, but he just wants to watch the fun.
Yonglian cheered! Then he was choked by Shaqima.
Qianlong: “…”
While Qianlong scolded his son for being fussy and unstable, he patted his son with heartache.
When Yonglian coughed out the snack crumbs, a tooth fell out.
This is the third tooth he has lost this year.
When Yonghuang's teeth were changing, he was too embarrassed to speak. Yonglian didn't care at all and just kept talking and laughing.
Qianlong sometimes mocked his son, and Yonglian would open his eyes wide in surprise, "Wow, so Khan Ama never had his teeth changed?"
Yonglian's teeth were taken away by the nanny. After he rinsed his mouth, Qianlong ordered someone to bring him a bowl of bird's nest.
Yonglian thought that it was Khan Ama who wanted to eat it, but Khan Ama really liked eating bird's nest.
Who would have thought that this time Khan Ama actually let him eat it, "Eating this is good for your health."
Yonglian: "My son is in good health." He didn't want to eat.
Qianlong thought that he only looked good, but in fact he couldn't even beat Mingrui, who was a lot thinner than him, so he was very weak.
"Be obedient, and eat when I tell you to." Qianlong said.
Yonglian had no choice but to eat the snow pear stewed with bird's nest in front of him.
"My son drinks milk tea and eats eggs every day. He has enough nutrition. He doesn't need to eat these." After eating, Yonglian tactfully said to Khan Ama: "Let's leave the bird's nest for the elders."
Modern children are not used to using bird's nest as a tonic. Drinking milk, eating eggs and normal meals are enough.
Although people in the palace rarely drank pure milk and it was often boiled into milk tea, Yonglian thought it was about the same.
The Queen was so distressed about the child eating bird's nest that she even left it for the elders. Qianlong suspected that the Queen had instilled too many concepts of thriftiness and filial piety in the child.
Qianlong patted his son's head and said gently, "Madam, Khan Ama and your mother both have bird's nests to eat. This is yours. You study hard all day, so you should eat something good."
Yonglian: "Then my son, could you please not work so hard?"
Qianlong: “…No!”
Yonglian: “…”
He just knew it!
Qianlong drove away the increasingly talkative boy and ordered people to prepare for leaving the palace the next day.
Since we are taking Yonglian out of the palace, let’s take Yonghuang with us and let the two brothers see how popular that two-wheeled carriage is.
When Yonghuang learned that he could leave the palace the next day, he was so happy that he ran to the next yard to find his brother.
"Last time, my fifth uncle took me to buy some dim sum at Qianmen Street. The dim sum there was so delicious. I'll buy some for you tomorrow."
"Wow! You are so nice, brother." Yonglian smiled and put his arm around his brother's shoulders.
Yonghuang chuckled. He and his brother received the same share, but he received it for a few more years, so he saved some money.
Moreover, his younger brother was a generous master who often rewarded his servants. Yonghuang knew that he did not have much money.
Yonghuang wanted to invite not only his younger brother but also Khan Ama. Khan Ama certainly had never tasted the donkey rolls from that restaurant.
"I heard that the tricycles have been manufactured. Will Xinji also sell tricycles in the future?" Yonghuang asked.
Yonglian said, "Of course we have to sell them, and tricycles will sell better than two-wheeled ones."
"Why?" Yonghuang was puzzled. He had never seen a tricycle before.
"Because the back of the tricycle can not only carry goods, but also people."
"So, a tricycle can replace a horse-drawn carriage?"
Yonglian thought for a moment and said, "Most of the roads in the north are dirt roads, so I'm afraid it won't work. But on the cobblestone roads in the south, a tricycle might be able to replace a horse-drawn carriage."
"That's perfect. There are many rich people in Jiangnan." Yonghuang said with a smile.
Yonglian glanced at his elder brother. His elder brother was now also being led to think about making money. Not bad.
The two children were whispering to each other, and only when the young eunuch outside reminded Yonghuang that it was time to go to bed did he return to his own courtyard.
Qianlong agreed to let the two children go to Xinji, but he did not agree to let them skip a day of school.
As usual, he got up early in the morning and went to the Shangshufang, where he studied the Four Books for an hour. He waited until Emperor Qianlong finished his morning court session before sending someone to pick up his two sons.
Mingrui and Erdeng'e both knew that the emperor was going to take the two young masters to Xinji to watch the fun, and they also wanted to go.
The two children didn't dare to go alone, so Mingrui took his friends home to find his uncle.
Fu Heng, who had already changed his clothes and was ready to go out, said: "What? The emperor wants to go, then I won't go."
The emperor must not think that he likes to join in the fun.
He glanced at the two excited teenagers and said, "Don't go either. Haven't you both seen a two-wheeled vehicle?"
"We don't want to see two-wheeled vehicles, we want to see two-wheeled vehicles for sale." Mingrui said.
Fu Heng smiled and said, "I know who the three cars will be sold to today."
Erdeng'e opened his eyes wide and asked, "How did you know if we don't prohibit reservations?"
"I guess the three cars today were sold to Prince Yi's Mansion, Prince Guo's Mansion, and Prince Ning's Mansion."
"Prince Guo has a foot disease, so does he still need a two-wheeled cart?" Xiao Mingrui expressed his doubt.
"He doesn't need one. He needs one to support royal business." Fu Heng let the two children into the house. "Prince Yi Hongxiao doesn't like to go out on weekdays and doesn't need this two-wheeled cart, but didn't he buy it last time?"
The two children thought about it and realized that it was true. Prince Yi was very weak and always rode in a sedan chair when he went out. He also bought a car, but later gave it to his uncle.
Xiao Mingrui pouted. It sounded like they were ranked by rank, which would be boring.
Not only Fuheng made such a guess, but Qianlong also estimated that the three cars today would be sold to these three companies.
However, they all guessed wrong, and someone was sent from Prince Li's Mansion in Zhengjiazhuang.
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