Chapter 030 Gunpowder? Coal?
When he was brought up for trial again the next day, Su Qian took advantage of the brief time when the emperor's officials were away and attracted the attention of the officials from the aristocratic family by saying that he had something that could overthrow the rule of the Zong Zheng family. He then met with him secretly to discuss the matter in detail, and finally reached a cooperation agreement.
He first informed the noble family of Su Wan'er's identity, and said that as long as the noble family rescued him, he would hand over the list of the remaining parties with both hands.
Two days had passed since their first conversation, and the noble family had sent him medicine to ease his pain after the torture.
The only thing Su Qian can do now is to wait for the noble family to rescue him.
It would be great if the Zong Zheng family could really fall because of the secret I handed over.
*
In the Imperial Palace, inside Yin Jiaoyuan's study.
When Zong Zhengxiao heard the secret guards say that the noble family was investigating Su Wan'er's background, he realized that his plan had succeeded.
When the aristocratic families used Su Qian's bribery to attack the royal family, they wondered if they would end up being the ones stuck in the quagmire.
He has already laid a tight net, and once the noble families get in, they will be skinned alive if not killed.
Zong Zhengxiao said, "Go ahead, be careful and don't let them find out."
"Yes." The secret guard retreated upon hearing the order.
After he left, Zong Zhengxiao looked outside and asked, "Has the rain not stopped yet?"
Si Xi said, "Your Majesty, it is still drizzling."
The rain started falling after morning court and there is no sign of it stopping.
"What is he doing now?" Zong Zhengxiao asked.
The only person who could make Zong Zhengxi ask this question was Rong Yin.
Si Xi: "Your Majesty, the young master just woke up from his nap and is drinking the mung bean soup made by Lu'e."
"He seems to be living a comfortable life." Zong Zhengxiao raised the corners of his lips, stood up and walked out, and Si Xi followed closely.
When Zong Zheng Xiao arrived, Rong Yin was drinking soup from a bowl. After seeing him, Rong Yin immediately put down the bowl and threw herself into his arms.
Ever since Zong Zhengxiao appreciated Rong Yin's box of jewelry, Rong Yin has become more and more enthusiastic towards him.
Zong Zhengxiao held his waist, led him to sit down, and Rong Yinyin picked up the bowl of soup and brought it to Zong Zhengxiao's mouth.
“Want to share some with me?” Zong Zhengxiao looked at the half-full mung bean soup left in the bowl.
"Ah." Rong Yin pushed the bowl forward again and said in his heart: Lu'e's cooking skills are really good. This soup is icy and sweet and refreshing.
Seeing Rong Yin's attentiveness, Zong Zheng Xiao didn't care that Rong Yin had drunk the soup already. He lowered his head and took a sip from his hand.
"It's indeed good." Zong Zhengxiao praised.
Rong Yin: Of course not. If I say something is good, it will definitely not be bad.
Zong Zhengxiao smiled and rubbed his hair. This was the new hairstyle that Lu'e had done for Rong Yin today, and it was almost messed up.
Rong Yin wanted to lose his temper, but when he thought of the treasures Zong Zheng Xiao rewarded him, his anger instantly dissipated.
Sure enough, money can cure 99% of bad moods.
The bowl of mung bean soup, which was not much to begin with, was quickly finished by both of them in one gulp.
It was not the first time that the two of them ate from the same bowl, and they themselves did not care. Even though Si Xi, Lu E and other palace maids felt that it was inappropriate, they did not remind them.
In the afternoon, it was drizzling outside. Zong Zhengxiao was leaning on the couch reading a book, holding the cool mermaid in his arms. There was a fruit plate next to the mermaid, and he would feed him some fruit from time to time.
This is probably the legendary fairy day.
Zong Zhengxiao was reading a book on military strategy, and Rong Yin occasionally glanced at it. However, because it was written in traditional Chinese characters and classical Chinese, he only had a vague understanding of most of the text and could not fully grasp the specific meaning.
Rong Yin ate a pomegranate and thought casually: The original book did not describe the details of the war in detail, and I don’t know whether gunpowder was used in wars in this era?
What is "gunpowder"? Zong Zhengxiao pretended to continue reading, but he was actually concentrating on listening to Rong Yin's thoughts.
Rong Yin: If we had gunpowder, it would be a powerful weapon whether used for attacking cities or defending cities and borders.
Zong Zhengxiao sat up straighter.
Rong Yin's thoughts continued to diverge: Even if we are still in the era of cold weapons, the quality of weapons is also related to victory in the war. If coal has been mined and applied, it will be more convenient to smelt steel, and then we will have better weapons.
Zong Zhengxiao slowly tightened his grip on the book. For a moment, he almost wanted to ask Rong Yin what she was talking about. After all, the new dynasty had just been established and foreign enemies were eyeing them covetously. If they could have new weapons, they wouldn't have to worry so much.
However, Zong Zhengxiao rationally held back his words. His plan was already halfway done, and he believed that it would not be long before he would be able to speak openly with Rong Yin.
Rong Yin was happily eating fruit and daydreaming, unaware that she had already stepped into Zong Zheng Xiao's trap.
Everything went smoothly according to Zong Zhengxiao's arrangement. Within a few days, the noble family who confirmed Su Wan'er's identity decided to take her in as a pawn, hoping to use her to overthrow Zong Zhengxiao in the future.
In order to dig out more information from Su Qian, the head of the Cui family, who was also the chief academic officer of the Imperial College, took the initiative to slow down the attack.
They no longer pursued the issue of Su Qian accepting bribes from students, and they even worked with Su Qian to forge a false account book to prove that the bribes he received were not much.
Afterwards, Su Qian blurted out the names of several unimportant students, and the family said that the main culprit and accomplices had all been brought to justice, the case had been tried clearly, and they were ready to close the case.
If it were as they wished, Su Qian would not be able to escape imprisonment, but the time he would be in prison would be reduced by several years, and with the protection of the noble family, he would not have to worry about his life.
The officials on Zong Zhengxiao's side, under his instructions, used various excuses to obstruct the case and were determined not to let it be hastily closed.
The aristocratic families felt that closing the case early would be good news for the royal family, so was there some conspiracy behind their intervention?
Unexpectedly, the royal family asked them back, why were they in such a hurry to close the case now, since they had previously brought the matter to the court because Su Qian was a relative of Prince Ning and had been holding on to it? Could it be that there was something shameful that they didn't want them to find out?
The noble families felt guilty and naturally refused to admit it, so they could only allow the royal officials to continue the investigation.
At the same time, the attitude of the royal family also made the aristocratic families feel a little relieved. Su Qian must have been forced into a desperate situation by the royal family and turned to them, and it was not a conspiracy of the royal family.
Neither side would give in, and the only one who felt uncomfortable was Su Qian.
I thought if I handed over the secret, the noble families would do their best to help me, but I didn't expect them to be so useless. They dared not take any action after being threatened by the royal family.
Su Qian was so angry that he called the people from the noble family over and said, "Sir, we must close the case as soon as possible, otherwise it would be bad if the emperor's people found out something else."
The man in the official robe said nonchalantly, "You think we are not in a hurry? But if we push them too hard and let them find out about our deal with you, not only will we be in trouble, but you will also be in trouble."
Su Qian was anxious: "Then you have to give me an approximate time, right? Ten days? Half a month? Or how long?"
The man looked at him coldly: "Are you forcing me?"
Seeing his attitude, Su Qian's expression changed. He put away his already limited flattery and said with a dark face, "Sir, I am a timid person. If I wait too long, I can't guarantee that I won't say anything to others out of panic."