Chapter 73 Return to the Court
On the 20th day of the first lunar month, Zhao Xiao led the army back to Shangjing.
A short separation is better than a new marriage. This time they had been apart for more than three months, and when they met for the first time, both of them had tears in their eyes.
Unable to reveal their feelings in front of all the ministers, the two could only communicate with their eyes.
Zhao Xiao reported everything that had happened in those days. There was a great victory in Shuzhou, Yang Yuanhao had been executed, and some of the remaining subordinates surrendered, while others were beheaded.
As soon as he died, Yang Yuanji also surrendered voluntarily, and those old ministers who had ulterior motives completely stopped.
Zhao Xiao then recounted what happened at the Dongzhou Salt Field. After executing the two responsible persons, Zhao Xiao searched their residences and found a large amount of gold, silver and jewelry.
Zheng Jia, in particular, embezzled more than one million taels of silver in just one year, not to mention the other valuables he collected. This shows that the salt trade was very profitable.
When the ministers heard that such a big thing had happened in Dongzhou, they all had different expressions.
Some people are angry about what happened to the people. Thousands of lives were taken and killed without any authorization. These people are really too cruel!
Some people were also afraid of Zhao Xiao's ruthlessness. Although Gong Yangqing made the mistake first, he was the head of a state after all. Zhao Xiao didn't even inform the emperor, and directly executed Gong Yangqing's family first and then reported to the emperor. It was really lawless! If this continues, who will be the master of the court?
On that day, a censor reported the incident to him, but the two of them had no time to read the memorials. After the court session, they returned to the palace and Zhao Xiao pulled Song Yuzhu over and couldn't wait to get close to her.
These past few months, Zhao Xiao was almost going crazy with greed, and he would kiss the person next to him deeply, as if he wanted to swallow him alive.
Song Yuzhu pushed his chest and said, "Stop, stop making trouble, I have something serious to say..."
Zhao Xiao rubbed his forehead and said in a hoarse voice: "Let's talk later. I can't wait any longer." Then he ripped open his clothes, revealing his muscular upper body.
Song Yuzhu was a little confused by his kiss and could only indulge him in his mischief.
By the time the two of them calmed down, it was already dark outside. Zhao Xiao touched his empty stomach and said, "Your Majesty, I'm hungry."
Song Yuzhu gritted her teeth and kicked him, accidentally pulling the wound on her back. He gasped in pain. How could he not feel hungry after exercising like that?
Zhao Xiao grinned and played with a lock of Song Yuzhu's hair. "By the way, you said you wanted to tell me something. What is it?"
Song Yuzhu decided to confess the system to Zhao Xiao. He had thought about it for a long time. Zhao Xiao was the person he trusted the most, and as a partner, he shouldn't hide it from him. And when the rewards of the technology tree came out in the future, he would have no way to explain it to him.
The only thing that worried him was that he didn't know whether Zhao Xiao would believe him after hearing it.
"Ah Xiao, if I say that I am not from this world... would you believe me?"
Zhao Xiao turned sideways, propped up his chin and looked at him, his eyes full of confusion: "What do you mean you are not from this world?"
Song Yuzhu suddenly remembered a picture book she had read before and asked, "Have you heard of the story of Bai Chen Meng Yuan?"
Zhao Xiao nodded: "I've heard of it."
According to legend, there was a man named Bai Chen. One day he had a dream. He dreamed that he flew over a faraway place, lived there for decades, died there, and then came back, as if it was just a dream.
Song Yuzhu said: "I am similar to him. I came here from a very far place."
Zhao Xiao was a smart man, he understood immediately, thought for a moment and said: "When I first met you, I felt that you were extraordinary. You were so young, yet you dared to use a knife to cut open the flesh to remove the arrow. Even the old doctors who have been practicing medicine for many years dare not do it."
"That's what I do in my other world."
"Butcher?"
Song Yuzhu burst out laughing: "No, no, no, we are called surgeons. This is just a drop in the bucket. In our world, cutting open the abdomen is a common operation. Over there, they can even open up a person's skull for surgery."
Zhao Xiao was stunned with shock. You have to know that in this era, colds can be fatal, and craniotomy is something he dare not even think about.
"How old are you in that world?"
"Thirty-four."
Zhao Xiao had an expression that said, "As expected." No wonder he always felt that Yuzhu was much more mature than ordinary people.
"Well, then, have you married and had children?"
"No."
Zhao Xiao became happy. Although he wouldn't mind if Song Yuzhu got married, he was naturally happier when he heard that he only had one person.
But his expression changed immediately, "Will you go back?!"
Song Yuzhu shook her head: "I won't go back, and I can't go back." She once had a chance to go back, but she gave it up.
Zhao Xiao hugged him tightly and said, "I don't care where you come from, as long as you don't leave me."
Song Yuzhu was strangled to the point of being unable to breathe. She pushed the large dog away and said, "Aren't you curious about how I know the secret of the Dongzhou Salt Field?"
Zhao Xiao said: "I'm curious, but I won't ask if you don't tell me."
"In fact, not only do I come from another world, I also have a system in my head."
"What is a system?"
Song Yuzhu shook his head: "We haven't heard of this thing either, but its function is very powerful. I can borrow it to check every place in Daqi. The secret of Dongzhou Salt Field was discovered by me by accident."
“So amazing!”
Song Yuzhu nodded: "This function has just been developed recently. Before, we could only check the weather and terrain of various places."
"Have you seen me these days?"
"Of course I saw it. You went to the saltworks alone that night to check it out. I was so worried."
Zhao Xiao's eyes showed excitement: "What else did you see?"
"I saw you had six steamed buns and two bowls of porridge for breakfast."
Zhao Xiao couldn't help but exclaimed: "Isn't this the Clairvoyance? It's amazing!"
Song Yuzhu asked worriedly, "Do you mind?"
"Mind what?"
“I am different from ordinary people.”
Zhao Xiao said: "My Yuzhu is naturally different. After all, how many people in the world can sit on the throne!"
Song Yuzhu's old face turned red, and she felt a little embarrassed by his praise.
"By the way, Xu Bing's wedding is coming soon. The date chosen by the Imperial Observatory is February 16th." Although the time is a bit tight, both of them are willing to do it. After all, they are old and no one wants to waste time.
I forgot to mention that the Imperial Observatory is now under the management of Chang Ming Daochang. He is very good at this aspect and can be regarded as a paid feudal superstition.
Zhao Xiao was surprised and asked, "Old Xu is getting married? Whose daughter is he marrying?"
"The daughter of Wang Ke, the former imperial censor, is about the same age as Xu Bing. It would be a good match."
Zhao Xiao rubbed his hands and said, "I have to go and drink a few glasses of wedding wine on the wedding day!"
*
In early February, the special examination was also put on the agenda. This time the special examination was held in Shangjing, and the students who participated were all candidates who had passed the imperial examination in autumn last year.
The Enke exam was a big event, and people all over the country took it very seriously. If a local candidate passed the exam and became a Jinshi, it would be a great achievement for the local officials. If they passed the exam and ranked in the top three, they would definitely be rated as top-notch in the next year's exam!
However, this spring examination was different from previous ones. In addition to the subjects of classics, policy essays, and governance, two more subjects, mathematics and craftsmanship, were added.
Those who take the last two exams can register directly and will be admitted based on preferential treatment.
Since ancient times, the public has been mocking and attacking scientific research, because the ancients thought it was a gimmick, a waste of time and money, and did not understand the importance of scientific development to social development.
However, after Song Yuzhu ascended the throne, all his actions revealed a signal - he was focusing on industry.
Ancient emperors either focused on culture or military affairs or on agriculture or commerce. This was the first emperor who focused on industry.
In the past, the Ministry of Works was ranked last among the six ministries. Any official transferred to the Ministry of Works would either be promoted or demoted. No one was willing to go there even if the chance of gaining a half-level position was higher.
Today, the officials of the Ministry of Industry are very proud and walk with confidence.
Especially the newly established scientific research department, it has become a hot commodity in the capital. Everyone knows that Chen Lun is favored by the emperor. He is summoned to the palace for private questioning four or five days every ten days.
Some old ministers could not stand this and turned their attention to Xu Bing, hoping to use Xu Bing's words to persuade the emperor.
Don't always waste your time on strange and wicked ideas. If you continue like this, the people will follow suit and the country will no longer be a country, and the dynasty will no longer be a dynasty!
Xu Bing smiled after hearing this: "Your Majesty can do whatever he wants, and the other matters are up to the ministers."
"Besides, if you can't even do this, you might as well go back to farming. Why bother being an official?"
Everyone then realized that it was useless to look for him, as Prime Minister Xu was in cahoots with the Emperor!
*
Shen Lun has already started building his train. He plans to build a small one for experiments first, and then put a large one into use after the experiment is successful.
After all, money doesn't come from the wind. Although the emperor attaches great importance to scientific research now, he might suddenly change his mind one day. It is better to save as much as possible.
Unfortunately, they ran into trouble right from the start. A large amount of iron was needed to make trains and rails. The iron in circulation among the people was not enough. When they went to the Ministry of War to request for transfer, the newly appointed Minister of War refused to transfer due to insufficient inventory.
These days, Shen Lun was so anxious that his mouth was covered with blisters. He could ask the emperor for help, but if he had to rely on others for everything, what was the point of being a minister? He might as well go back to raising pigs!
People who do scientific research probably have perseverance and determination. If they don't give it to him once, they will ask for it every day. They just don't believe that an iron rod can't be ground into a needle!
Just today, after the morning court session, he ran to the Ministry of War to ask for iron.
The newly appointed Minister of War was called An Changrui, who was a master at smoothing things over. He could speak nicely without offending anyone. He treated Shen Lun to good tea, but he refused to give in to Tie.
Are you kidding? He asked for 100,000 shi of pig iron. There are only 300,000 shi of pig iron in the Ministry of War. He was given one third of it to make that damn train. Did he get kicked in the head by a donkey?
These weapons are the lifeblood of the army. Once a war breaks out and weapons are not supplied, he himself will lose his head!
As soon as Minister An came back from the toilet, he saw Shen Lun sitting in the living room waiting for him. He grimaced in disgust. How could someone be so annoying? He came every day and even he would be annoyed!
But he couldn't tear his face off and chase him away, after all, Shen Lun was in favor at the moment.
An Changrui cleared his throat and walked in.
Chen Lun quickly stood up and bowed: "This subordinate greets Lord An."
"Master Shen, please sit down."
Chen Lun sat down with his hands in his pockets, his face showing an expression of deep hatred and resentment that never changed. He said the same thing: "I came here today to beg you to approve the pig iron for us."
The corner of An Changrui's mouth twitched. He had been serving in the same court with this stubborn bastard for eight lifetimes, and he had rejected him so many times. Couldn't he just take it to heart?
"Sir Shen, it's not that I don't approve it for you. You know, we don't have much pig iron in stock, and the current situation is still unstable. If I give it all to you, what if a war breaks out?"
Chen Lun stammered, "If one... one hundred thousand stones is too much, fifty thousand will also be fine."
"Is it really possible? Otherwise, why don't you think of another way?"
Shen Lun shook his head: "There is too much iron used to build trains, and there is not enough iron in circulation among the people."
Minister An spread his hands and said, "Then there is nothing I can do."
"Sorry to trouble you." Shen Lun stood up and was about to leave.
An Changrui asked curiously, "Master Shen, what is the purpose of your fire-powered vehicle? Why do you need so much pig iron?"
Speaking of trains, Chen Lun seemed like a different person. He sat down in high spirits, picked up the teacup and drank a sip of water, preparing to give a long speech.
An Changrui wanted to slap himself in the face. You are so rude! You are so rude!
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
