In the evening, Zhang Juzheng left work early and held a family dinner to see Zhao Hao off.

In fact, according to Zhang Xianggong's original intention, he wanted to invite Zhao Shouzheng to join him. After all, it was Zhao Zhuangyuan who was going to take office, not his son.

But who knows where Zhao Shouzheng is now?

He will leave the day after tomorrow. Whether he can return home in time is still a question...

Zhao Hao had no choice but to decline Mr. Zhang's invitation on behalf of his father, on the grounds that his father's hip injury had not healed and was not in good health.

Fortunately, the person Zhang Juzheng wanted to see was not Zhao Shouzheng, because Zhang Juzheng was used to keeping a distance from people he could not see through.

At present, Prime Minister Zhang always has a vague feeling about this new number one scholar. He says that Zhao Shouzheng is mature and steady, but he can beat up the young cabinet minister in the street.

People say that he is simple-minded, but looking at what he has done since he came to Beijing, every step he has taken is well-targeted, and he has gained such a great reputation and status without realizing it.

Is it really as Pang Shangpeng said, that this beast has a heavy sword but no edge, and is a traitor who appears loyal?

Therefore, it is better not to contact him for the time being. After he has been an official for a few years, you will naturally know his true character.

So Zhang Juzheng only invited Zhao Hao and Wang Wuyang to the banquet.

The reason for inviting the eldest senior brother is that he will replace Zhao Hao as the science teacher of the Zhang family.

Mr. Zhang respected his teacher and naturally offered a glass of wine to Wang Wuyang.

~~

After the family dinner, Wang Wuyang went to explain the test papers to the Jingxiu brothers, while Zhao Hao and Zhang Xianggong went into the study for the third time.

After serving tea, Zhang Juzheng stroked his long beard and asked softly, "Have you decided to go to Suzhou?"

"Yes. The official complaint from the magistrate of Wu County has been delivered to my home." Zhao Hao nodded. Of course, he also received it on behalf of the family.

"Wu County..." Zhang Juzheng hesitated for a moment, then slowly said, "Taihu Lake, weavers, and wealthy families. If your father can answer two of these three questions correctly, your answer sheet will be considered qualified."

"Junior will remember it." Zhao Hao nodded quickly and took note of the advice from Mr. Zhang.

"Ah." But then Mr. Zhang sighed: "In fact, it is not a safe choice for your father to go to Suzhou at this time."

"Why do you say that, sir?" Zhao Hao asked softly.

"There are some things that I cannot explain to you clearly. I believe that with your ability, you will understand it when you arrive in Suzhou." Zhang Juzheng pondered for a moment and said carefully:

"Bugu can only tell you that a storm is about to sweep across the entire southeast, and Suzhou, as the center of the southeast, will undoubtedly become the center of this great change."

"Scientifically speaking, the sky is clear at the center of the storm." Zhao Hao thought to himself, this young master is also a person who stirs up trouble, let the storm come even more violently.

"Oh, really?" Zhang Juzheng saw that Zhao Hao was full of confidence. He thought that this kid dared to bully even the young cabinet minister, so he must be someone who was eager to create chaos in the world.

As the saying goes, what is poison to others may be honey to me. Maybe the more chaotic the situation is, the happier this kid will be.

"Perhaps we can fight poison with poison." Zhang Xianggong shook his head and said no more.

~~

Under the illumination of the orange palace lanterns, Mr. Zhang's body was shining brightly.

Zhang Xianggong picked up the teacup, took a sip and said, "Also, I received a letter from General Qi this morning. He said that you want to contribute to the improvement of firearms for the Ming Dynasty?"

"I do have some ideas, but I have no place to put them into practice." Zhao Hao nodded.

"The Ming Dynasty has many problems with its military equipment, and you will definitely be able to use your skills here." Zhang Juzheng stated his plan.

"But Bu Gu has considered it and decided that with your status, it is not appropriate for you to serve in the Ministry of Industry. How about this? Bu Gu asks the Ministry of Industry's Leibutang to send a letter to the Nanjing Ministry of Industry, saying that you will represent the Cabinet and supervise the work of the Nanjing Arsenal."

"This... is a bit of an overreaction, isn't it?" Zhang Juzheng's method avoided the cumbersome official procedures and gave him a high degree of freedom, which was of course what Zhao Hao wanted.

However, the Nanjing Arsenal has two thousand craftsmen who supply weapons and equipment to the entire Jinling garrison and various prefectures in Southern Zhili. How heavy is the responsibility?

I just want to find eight or ten gunsmiths like Gao the blacksmith to help me with my research.

I don't want to take on the entire Nanjing Arsenal on my shoulders.

"It's just making a mountain out of a molehill." But Zhang Xianggong waved his hand and said decisively:

"Ever since Bu Gu took charge of the military, he has been disgusted with the low production levels of the Armament Bureau and the Arms Bureau!"

"Last time, when Bu Gu was inspecting, he asked them to fire continuously, but the seventh shot blew up! They tried seven bird guns in a row, and half of them had the same problem. This is the one they carefully selected and showed to Bu Gu!" Zhang Juzheng said in great sorrow:

"You can imagine what those bird guns that Bu Gu has not seen look like."

Zhao Hao thought to himself, I was smart. I only let Marshal Qi fire one shot.

"What's even more ridiculous is that after firing the first shot, you have to wait ten breaths before you can fire the second shot. The maximum range is no more than 150 steps. In ten breaths, the Tartar cavalry has already been right in front of us!"

I only heard Zhang Xianggong say angrily:

"Every time we produce a bird gun, we need to spend 20 kilograms of iron and 170 kilograms of charcoal, and the labor and materials cost more than three taels of silver. But we can only fire one shot on the battlefield, and nine out of ten shots miss the target! How can this be called fighting? This is just throwing the court's money around! In my opinion, it would be better to cancel the fire gun and restore the bow and crossbow!"

Zhang Juzheng was so angry that he slammed the table and his beard exploded.

"Sir, calm down. It takes three years to train an archer, but only one month to train a musketeer, so it's still worth it."

Although Zhao Hao advised Zhang Juzheng in this way, he actually gave a thumbs up to his idol in his heart.

During the long early stages of the development of muskets, they were not as lethal as skilled archers.

But the problem is that with the low training level of the Ming Dynasty army, it is impossible to train as many sharpshooters as the Tatars.

That's the guy they eat with, how can he be compared to him?

Therefore, the simple and easy-to-use musket is most suitable for the Ming army.

What is Zhang Juzheng's knowledge? He naturally knows this. After complaining, he still has to face reality.

He looked at Zhao Hao with sharp eyes and said:

"Bugu believes that science can help the Armament Bureau greatly improve these problems. With the talents of you and your disciples, you will definitely be able to develop faster and better firearms!"

He smiled faintly and said, "Besides, I just asked you to supervise, not to put the Military Equipment Bureau under your charge. Just like the provincial inspectors, they are all young people doing this, so you don't have to worry about anyone complaining."

With just a few words, Mr. Zhang settled the matter, leaving no room for Zhao Hao to shirk his responsibility.

This made Mr. Zhao feel as if the two idols were teaming up to plot against him.

But now that it had come to this, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "I'll do my best."

"Haha, rest assured, my friend. Bu Gu won't let you work in vain." Seeing that Zhao Hao finally fell into his trap, Zhang Juzheng waved his hand happily and said, "Let your father be at ease as an official in Suzhou. Bu Gu will take care of the affairs in Beijing for him."

Zhao Hao was overjoyed when he heard this. His main purpose in coming to Zhang Juzheng today was not to find a craftsman to make guns, but to deal with the situation after Gao Gong returned!

With what Idol Zhang said, I don’t have to worry about Gao Huzi anymore…right?

ps. Resumed update of the first chapter. Recently everyone complained that 12 o'clock is unfriendly, so let's change it back to 8 o'clock in the future.