In the blink of an eye, it was the Mid-Autumn Festival of the sixth year of Xingqian. In the past year, although the earthquake in Tancheng has dealt a heavy blow to the economy of the north, and the imperial court has been burdened with tens of millions of taels of disaster relief pressure, and a large number of military supplies have been used for disaster relief, but in the sixth year of Xingqian, the plan of the westward expedition, which was once interrupted because of the earthquake, is still being stepped up, and all the plans are being implemented step by step.

It seems that no one has noticed that the Ming Dynasty, which has been silent for a long time, is preparing for war.

However, after the Mid-Autumn Festival, in the central capital, which had been calm and calm, a rumor suddenly came out, and I don't know who spread the news that the emperor will go west in the near future.

No doubt whatsoever!

Someone leaked!

Faced with this situation, Zhu Mingzhong almost immediately summoned the cabinet ministers, the military department, and the household department to ask how the secret was leaked, after all, there were very few people who knew about the plan of the western expedition, and at the same time ordered the military department to investigate thoroughly.

And the military department investigated for a long time, and finally found out the reason.

"Speaking of which, the reason why this rumor has spread in the past few days is entirely because someone calculated that the army did not retire normally today, so it is determined that the imperial court is preparing to march west?"

Even though he was used to seeing the world, Gu Yanwu still looked a little incredulous after knowing the news.

"Who can calculate through this news that the imperial court will use soldiers?"

Qian Lei also asked rhetorically.

"He is a student in Qinghe Academy, he usually likes to excerpt the news from the newspaper, he noticed that from last year to this year, the newspapers in various places have not published the news of the resettlement of the honorees, and this year some prefectures and counties have recruited more soldiers than last year, so he believes that the imperial court must be preparing to use troops in the northwest......

Get intelligence from detailed analysis!

Although Zhu Mingzhong had seen similar reports in later generations, he was still extremely surprised after learning the news, after all, this was in the Ming Dynasty in the 17th century. How can someone deduce the plan of the imperial court through some minutiae not be shocking.

"For the smooth progress of the Western Expedition, since last year, the official army has suspended its retirement, plus this year's conscription has increased by forty percent, if you have the heart, as long as you pay a little attention, you can find these anomalies, and it is understandable that he made such a judgment."

Anyone, as long as these circumstances are linked, can be used to prove that the imperial court is preparing for war, no veterans have retired for two years, and the conscription has increased by nearly half, plus last year's conscription, and now the army of the Ming Dynasty has exceeded 500,000, all of which shows that the imperial court is stepping up preparations, and maybe one day it will suddenly send troops to the northwest.

Now, this suddenly, but suddenly came out, everyone was naturally surprised, but this surprise only lasted for a few days.

According to Zhu Mingzhong's will, it is natural to control the student who analyzed the news of the use of soldiers in the imperial court, but according to Zhu Mingzhong's idea, if this person can have it, he must use his talent to recruit him into the main division of the army. Of course, I also have to ask for my opinion, in fact, there is no need to ask for it at all, and the student does not even have the ability to object.

On this afternoon, Wang Wenbai, a few years ago, Zhu Mingzhong personally designated Jun Zhengcheng, entered the study and said in a low voice:

"Your Majesty, according to Your Majesty's request, the minister has called him to join the military department, and after his training, he will serve in the military department."

Listening to Wang Wenbai's report, Zhu Mingzhong said with a smile.

"It won't be forced on him."

"Your Majesty, rumors have violated the laws of the imperial court, and he can avoid being prosecuted by joining the army."

All right!

is still threatening, but Zhu Mingzhong is very calm about this.

"Jun Zhengji is my eyes and ears, many times, you have to deduce accurate information from some details, this time, it is not so much a rumor, but it has also exposed a lot of problems, and we must take seriously the problems that have been exposed."

"Back to Your Majesty! The newspapers should know that it is illegal for them to publish these news in the newspapers this time, and according to the law, it is already illegal, and the court believes that the court should hand over the matter to the criminal envoy for litigation. ”

At this time, Ning Yunting, who was standing on the side, was shocked when she heard him say this, so she forgot the rules and said loudly.

"Your Majesty, this must not be done like this!"

Although Ning Yunting's interjection did not startle Zhu Mingzhong, the rule that female officials are not allowed to discuss the government still made Zhu Mingzhong's face sink and he shouted.

"Bold, is this where you speak? Get out! ”

Being reprimanded by His Majesty like this, Ning Yunting immediately realized her faux pas, so she hurriedly saluted.

"Ten thousand deaths, ten thousand deaths!"

Although she was very aggrieved in her heart, when she left, Ning Yunting still glanced at Her Majesty to remind Her Majesty not to make a mistake, and then retreated, and when she arrived at the gate of the palace, she heard Your Majesty say to Wang Wenbai.

"Let's put aside the matter of litigation for the time being! Rong Zhen thought about it. ”

His Majesty's answer made Ning Yunting breathe a sigh of relief, and after a while, it was not until Wang Wenbai left that she returned to the room again at Zhu Mingzhong's request.

"Your Majesty, Fang Caichen lost his words, thank Your Majesty for your kindness, and the minister is guilty."

"Well, get up, be careful in the future."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, the minister has written it down."

"Well, tell me, why can't this be done?"

"Your Majesty, the minister thinks that what is reported in those newspapers is only the news of the imperial court, and the veterans have not been retired, this is the disappearance of the local government without the resettlement of the honorees, and as for the amount of conscription, it is also the figure disclosed by the local government, and the newspaper is just reporting the news of the government in the past, and that's all, if the lawsuit is filed, it will naturally cause controversy, and the minister is worried that the government will use this excuse to seize the newspaper, or restrict the newspaper in every way, so how can Your Majesty know the people's situation from the newspaper in the future, and not be deceived by the officials?"

Ning Yunting's directness made Zhu Mingzhong nod in his heart, for thousands of years, it seems that he is subordinate to the king, but in fact, for thousands of years, the confrontation between the power of the minister and the monarch has never stopped, although in front of the imperial power, the power of the minister seems to be vulnerable, but in fact, except for the era of the Manchu Qing Dynasty that has been tamed into a slave, in the Han dynasty, the seemingly supreme monarchy is always restricted by the minister, as for the "deception and concealment" It is a common thing, how does the emperor know the information of the outside world?

Each emperor had their own choice, through the lords, relatives and eunuchs were the choice of the emperors of the Central Plains Dynasty, and the Manchu Qing Dynasty was through servants such as the Cao family, who did everything in detail and reported everything.

In Zhu Mingzhong's place, in addition to the Military Division, the Investigation Department and other institutions, the newspaper is also the most direct channel for Zhu Mingzhong to learn about the people, after all, in this era, there is no Internet.

"Well, well, I got it."

Nodding slightly, Zhu Mingzhong said.

"But that's not a reason for you to interject, do you? In front of the officials, you can only be ...... Vase! Decoration! ”

"Obey the order!"

Although these words seem uncomfortable, this is a principle that must be observed as a female official, just like in the past, internal officials and eunuchs could not directly interfere in front of the emperor and hundreds of officials in the face of the government, although they have always done this, but in front of the hundred officials, they will still remain silent, and do not give the hundred officials the excuse of "eunuchs interfering in politics", although this is a fact.

"Alright, bring today's paper."

After Ning Yunting withdrew, Zhu Mingzhong took the newspaper and flipped through it. In order to be able to accurately grasp the dynamics of the people, in addition to various reports, newspapers are the most important channel, of course, now that he has cultivated, even if he sees the news that makes him angry, he will pretend not to see it, and he will not even let people investigate privately, after all, there are more things in this country that he needs to deal with, as for what grievances or what grievances, it is really not the responsibility of the emperor.

What the emperor needs is to master everything, so that everything is under his control, and will not deviate from the track in his heart, so that the country can develop steadily, this is the responsibility of the emperor.

Looking through one newspaper after another, suddenly a small piece of news made Zhu Mingzhong unfold the newspaper, staring at the newspaper that was about the size of tofu, and countless thoughts were tumbling in his heart.

"This ......"

At least for a few seconds, Zhu Mingzhong didn't speak, his expression even became more and more excited, and in addition to being excited, he even watched the news again.

This is an inconspicuous news, and it will even be ignored by many people, but for Zhu Mingzhong from the 21st century, he knows the meaning of this news - the industrial revolution!

The steam engine was put into practice!

The news was very simple, just mentioning that the Beixing yarn mill in Tianjin switched to a steam engine instead of hydropower.

Such news, if it were not for the fact that it was the first factory to adopt a steam engine, would probably not have made it to the newspapers. Although the steam engine has been invented for several years, over the past few years, technicians have been improving the steam engine to make it more reliable, or at least not explosive.

But many explosions directly affected people's confidence in the steam engine, and even how many times, Zhu Mingzhong wanted to go into battle by himself, participate in research, and then solve the problem of the steam engine through his own knowledge. However, he did not want to pull out the seedlings to help it grow, he hoped that the technicians of this era would personally perfect the steam engine, and finally let it naturally enter the practical field.

Now, after waiting for several years, with the factory applying the steam engine to spinning, Zhu Mingzhong believes that this industrial revolution has taken place inexorably in this country, it is capital that is promoting the development of technology, and when capital blows the horn, its power is irresistible!

Imagining the roaring steam engine in the future, Zhu Mingzhong, who was so excited, even turned around and wrote a few small words on the screen.

"On the seventh day of September in the sixth year of Xingqian, steam engine"