Zhao Hao was so concerned about the Kaiping Coal and Steel Consortium that he stayed in Tangshan for the next few months. Together with Wang and Wang and a group of senior executives of Xishan Group, they conducted repeated field surveys in the scorching summer, striving to make the highest level of overall planning.

In this era, this was a huge project. Twenty Zhangjian steam engines alone were needed. In addition to pumping water from the mine, they also provided a steady supply of power for the forging workshop, rolling mill, and blower. There were more than a hundred workshops, warehouses, and workshops. Not counting the mining area, the factory area alone covered more than two hundred acres!

In addition, he worked overtime with the 01 Institute to improve the process and procedures of Wang Yingxuan's steelmaking method. The process of converter steelmaking sounds simple, but the key is to control the process - the materials and equipment must be very surprising, only in this way can the standard steel composition be obtained.

There are also the most important safety production regulations. This is dealing with molten iron and molten steel at nearly 2,000 degrees. If you are not careful, people may die!

These all require careful study, repeated discussion, and continuous testing until they are foolproof.

Being involved in such a huge and exciting cause, one doesn't even feel the time flying by.

Before he knew it, it was Mid-Autumn Festival, and Zhao Hao temporarily pulled away and rushed back to the capital. In addition to family reunion, there was something more important: Xiao Zhuzi's due date had arrived.

What a coincidence, Zhang Xiaojing gave birth on August 15th.

What Mr. Zhang said was true. Mother and child are safe.

Zhao Hao very obediently asked his father-in-law to give his sixth child a name. No matter what the rules were, the most important thing was to make his father-in-law happy.

Zhang Juzheng happily named the child "Zhao Shiyou".

'Bless' refers to the blessing of heaven and god.

Since becoming Prime Minister Turtle, Zhang Xianggong has become more and more superstitious...

But the effect of the Divine Turtle is really good, anyone who uses it will know it.

After the Turtle Welcoming Ceremony, all the voices criticizing the reform and opposing Zhang Juzheng were silenced.

And state affairs seemed to be going very smoothly.

This year, the weather was favorable and there were no major disasters. As the autumn harvest was completed in various places, the fifth year of Wanli was another good year with a bumper harvest.

In the fifth year of the performance evaluation system, incompetent officials and lazy governance have basically disappeared, and the long-standing bad habits in the officialdom have been completely reversed.

Under the command of Zhang Xianggong, the central and local governments were able to carry out various reforms smoothly. First, after the ten prefectures of Yingtian, Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Fujian provinces also tried out the "One Whip" law, with remarkable results. After the monetization of taxes and labor service in these provinces alone, the court has earned tens of millions of taels of silver every year!

Before the Single Whip Reform, Taicang's annual revenue was only four or five million taels.

The common people were also freed from heavy taxes and labor service, and had more time to grow cotton and raise silkworms, and to work and earn money, and their lives became significantly better.

This is obviously beneficial to industry and commerce, as can be seen from the sharp increase in industrial and commercial tax revenue year after year.

In the sixth year of Longqing, the amount of tax silver collected from industry and commerce in Taicang was one million taels. This was thanks to the three major groups actively paying taxes. You know, in the first year of Longqing, the amount of tax silver collected from industry and commerce was only a pitiful 100,000 taels...

Since the Wanli New Deal, the annual tax revenue from industry and commerce has doubled year after year, reaching 4 million taels last year, and this year it is estimated to be able to break 5 million taels, becoming an important source of fiscal revenue for the court.

It is truly convenient for both officials and the people!

Of course, the only ones who were unhappy were the big and small landlords, because according to the Single Whip Law, the more land one owned, the heavier the tax silver one had to bear...

But it doesn’t matter, what will make them even more unhappy is yet to come.

Mr. Zhang has already made intensive arrangements. Once the autumn harvest is over, starting from October, all provinces, prefectures and counties will begin to measure the land!

After all the lands that the landlords had concealed and registered under their names were found out and all the land in the country was re-registered, he would implement the "One Whip Law" throughout the country! Completely solve the century-old problem of the central government's financial shortage, the heavy burden on the people, and the landlords taking all the benefits but not giving a penny!

When Mr. Zhang thought about the great feat he was going to accomplish and how he was going to continue the Ming Dynasty's foundation for hundreds of years, his mood was as clear as the autumn sky, with no clouds in the sky!

~~

In addition, Zhang Juzheng himself also had many happy events. In addition to his most beloved daughter giving birth to a grandson, his son also won the second place in the imperial examination, achieving the achievement of "both father and son are Jinshi"!

His father Zhang Wenming had been seriously ill in the first half of the year, and Mr. Zhang had planned to take leave to go back to his hometown to visit him, but he encountered important events such as the crowning ceremony of Prince Lu and the engagement of Emperor Wanli, and the Empress Dowager could not leave him alone for a moment. She sent eunuchs to Jingzhou on behalf of the country to comfort the old man and gave him many gifts.

This made it even more difficult for Zhang Juzheng to ask for leave. He could only send Gu and his sons home to take care of the sick, while he stayed in Beijing to be the backbone of Li Caifeng and her son. He would take leave and return home after the emperor's wedding in February next year.

Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Gu wrote to say that thanks to the amazing medical treatment of Jiangnan Hospital, the old man had recovered. His father Zhang Wenming also wrote to persuade him that "one who shoulders a great responsibility should not be counted for merit, and one who receives a great favor should not be rewarded in a normal way". He said that he had recovered and could travel around again, and that he should not worry about him anymore, and should not ask for leave, "which would only distract him from serving the country".

Although these words sounded righteous, Zhang Juzheng understood his father's thoughts very clearly and knew that he was afraid that he would go back and settle the score with him.

Because although Mr. Zhang was strict with himself, he could not control his father. In recent years, Zhang Wenming relied on his power to act arrogantly and domineeringly in the village, and he did countless immoral things.

Although local officials were too busy trying to curry favor with his father, they had to let the real boss know after they cleaned up his father's ass. Otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste of dirty hands? So Zhang Juzheng was not completely ignorant of what his father did in his hometown.

But what can you do if you know it? In this society of ethics, how dare a son scold his father? Isn't that the opposite of the moral order? Besides, his father has to listen to him. How can a father listen to his son?

It makes absolutely no sense!

A certain Minister Zhao, whose name also contains the word "正", sneezed three times in a row...

Zhang Juzheng was not completely passive. He had tried several times to bring his parents to the capital to take care of them. However, Zhang Wenming refused to come. What a joke! He was the local emperor in Jingzhou. If he went to the capital, he would have to look after his son. Only a fool would go.

By the same token, the old man doesn't want him to go back. In short, we should not meet. You are loyal to the emperor and serve the country wholeheartedly, and I am devoted to bullying men and women wholeheartedly. It is the best thing for both of us to be well.

~~

But no matter what, his father had survived the hurdle of seventy-three and entered the age of seventy-four. He should be able to enjoy a few more years of happiness, so Zhang Juzheng was still very happy.

With so many happy things, of course one should enjoy life to the fullest. So he married two stunning Hu girls sent by Xiao Qi, one of whom was eloquent and the other walked gracefully, making Zhang Xianggong feel a lot younger.

Today is the final day of the 6th Chui Wan Championship of the 'Luzon Tobacco Cup', and Mr. Zhang is also happy to participate.

It was late autumn, the sky was high and the air was crisp. The Xiangshan Mountains in the distance were covered with colorful trees, but the golf course was still covered with green grass. Mr. Zhang was wearing sneakers with fine iron nails, the hem of his white robe was tied around his waist, he was wearing a big black hat, holding a pipe in his mouth, and swinging the club in a very chic way!

A group of ministers and officials gathered around him, watching closely, afraid to miss any of Zhang Xianggong's moves. Their necks also moved in unison to follow the arc of the red ball, and as soon as it landed on the grass, they all rushed to cheer.

"Good shot, what a stroke of genius!" The Duke of England cheered loudly.

"Sir, your ball skills are amazing!" Minister of Personnel Zhang Han also applauded.

"Haha, what great luck! With the return of Mr. Zhang, our friends are finally going to turn defeat into victory!" The Minister of Works Guo Chaobin stroked his beard with joy.

The competition system of Chuiwan competition is different every spring and autumn.

The Spring Invitational Tournament is played individually, while the Autumn Tournament is divided into groups. Each group of four people is called a "team". Three people can play in each game, and one person is on the bench.

This is the organizer's way of taking care of the officials in the court who are busy with official duties. They can participate when they are free, and can be substituted when they are not free, so as to ensure that they will stay in the competition and will not give up halfway.

For example, Mr. Zhang, who has won the championship for five consecutive years, only came to play once at the opening ceremony this time, and made a second appearance at the closing ceremony this year.

But the fact that he can come and then be given the championship and huge bonus is the greatest significance. Otherwise, is Zhao Liben really trying to promote the sport of Chui Wan by organizing the competition with great effort?

Mr. Zhang was slightly intoxicated by the flattery of the crowd. Just as he was about to say a few polite words, he heard a burst of hurried horse hooves.

"Who dares to ride a horse in the Imperial Garden?" Everyone frowned and looked over. They saw that the person riding the horse was You Qi. They couldn't help but change their words:

"Oh, Mr. Chu Bin must have something urgent."

"You have to ride slower, what if you fall?"

"This riding skill is really cool..."

"Chu Bin" is the nickname You Qi gave himself. It is said that not everyone can have a nickname.

Generally speaking, only when a successful Jinshi was sent out to be a county magistrate would he give himself a nickname and marry a concubine. So if you gave yourself a nickname without reaching the required rank, you would be ridiculed.

You Qi was just a servant of Zhang Juzheng, so his rank was not high enough. But he was a seventh-rank official in front of the prime minister, and his rank was much higher than that of a seventh-rank county magistrate, so it was natural for him to give himself a title.

You Qi ignored the flattery, dismounted from his horse and ran straight towards Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Juzheng saw that he looked flustered and obviously confused, and his heart skipped a beat.

"Master, there is an urgent matter..." You Qi looked around, and everyone immediately moved away tactfully.

"What's the matter?" Zhang Juzheng asked with a grim face.

"Something terrible has happened. The old man has passed away..." You Qi whispered in his ear.

"Ah, what nonsense are you talking about?!" Zhang Juzheng was furious. "Don't talk nonsense, you dog slave! The letter I received a few days ago was fine!"

"I would not dare to say anything nonsense about this matter even if I am stupid." You Qi said anxiously, "It is a letter from Jingzhou sent by carrier pigeon. It will arrive the day after tomorrow in an expedited manner, eight hundred miles away. The third young master is also on his way to report the death..."

"Ah..." Zhang Juzheng's eyes went dark and he fainted. Fortunately, You Qi was prepared and quickly hugged him, so Zhang Xianggong didn't fall to the ground.