"If the Zheng clan fully supports him, can we make him the commander of Wancheng County?" Zheng Sheng continued to ask.

"Impossible! The Wancheng County Order is already the highest position of Shang Shulang's first-order foreign magistrate. Ren Ju frowned, "Zheng Ming's township quality is only four grades, and he can be a county magistrate at the age of thirty, for example, such as the county magistrate of Nanxiang and Danshui County, which is already a very good achievement." ”

"What if there is a noble person to help you?"

"Noble? It depends on what kind of noble person it is? Ren Ji glanced at Zheng Sheng strangely, "With the help of nobles like court officials or princes, it is not impossible for the first Shang Shulang to become the county commander of Wanxian County." ”

"It can be done!" Zheng Sheng sighed with emotion, sure enough, if you are willing to spend a lot of money, there is nothing in this world that cannot be done.

"Did the prince hear anything? But Young Master Zheng wants to be the county magistrate of Wancheng? It's just too hard. ”

"It's too difficult, but if you have the heart to do it, there's always a chance, isn't it?" Zheng Sheng said, "Now, Zheng Luo is still Bing Cao, right?" When will he be evaluated for promotion next year? ”

Ren Ji thought that Zheng Sheng probably really cared about this matter, so he explained to him in detail: "Every year, the transfer assessment of Shang Shulang's first order is carried out in October, and it has been completed this year. However, in the first month of the following year, the Ministry of Officials sent officials such as officials and officials to the prefectures and counties to verify the character and qualifications of the promoted officials again—this was also the last assessment before the promotion of officials. After passing this assessment, the official meeting of the Ministry of Officials will collect the number of vacancies in various places and the list of officials who should be promoted, give promotion suggestions, and submit them to the Ministry of Officials. After the final approval of Lord Shangshu, the announcement will be issued, and it will be about March by then. ”

Zheng Sheng listened carefully, and roughly understood the process: "In other words, whether Zheng Meng can achieve the Wancheng County Order is actually stuck on the head of the officials sent to Nanyang by the Ministry of Officials in January next year?" ”

Ren Ji shook his head, "You can't say that. As a matter of fact, the fact that the warden went to Beijing to verify the qualifications of the officials has gradually become a formality. Where can be the vacancy, it still depends on their hometown, qualifications, the identity of the teacher's relatives and friends, etc., the official department Lang comprehensive consideration, and finally handed over to the official department for confirmation before the trip. ”

"The current secretary of the ministry is Wang Rong, right?" Zheng Sheng thought about this person, this person didn't mention it, he didn't have an impression, but when it came to the name of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest, Zheng Sheng still knew it. This Wang Rong is one of the Seven Sages.

However, it is different from Ji Kang, Ruan Ji and others, who are really dissolute and ignore the world. Wang Rong is a generation of famous generals, and Wang Rong also participated in the Battle of Pingwu, and later became the official to the high position of the head of the organization department such as Shangshu of the Ministry of Officials.

"Yes, the current secretary of the ministry is Wang Rong and Wang Junchong." Ren Zhidao.

However, now Wang Rong has nothing to do with him. Because, Daddy Zheng's old boss Tang Bin is a general at the same level as Wang Rong, and Zheng Tan is not ranked in front of Wang Rong, let alone him.

Wang Rong won't pay attention to him, and of course he won't care about the official fortune of the subordinate son of his old comrade-in-arms, so if Zheng Miao wants to seek the Wancheng order, he can only take Sima Chang's path.

Zheng Sheng breathed a sigh of relief, at least, he could still have a good time this year, but in January next year, he will go to Nanyang and fight Zheng Miao!

Zheng Sheng continued to make his fireworks. Zheng Sheng and Liu Wei'er's work was nearing the end, and they had already made fireworks containing one to seventeen bowls of compound.

Liu Wei'er looked at the seventeen neatly arranged fireworks in front of her, and she was suddenly a little reluctant, "Shizi, do you really want to finish them all?" Seventeen, that's too many. ”

Most of these things are her hard work! Although in the back, the replicas of Sniffing Sheng No. 3 were all made by the family members under her command, but she was still reluctant.

"We're experimenting!" Zheng Sheng explained, "Now, what we have to do is to distinguish which specific fireworks will be set off from the first to the seventeenth. In the future, before we set off fireworks, we must always know what color it is. ”

Regarding Zheng Sheng's explanation, Liu Wei'er also agreed.

So, the burn amplification experiment began.

The fuse of the Sniff 3 was finally not that long, and this time it was an experiment conducted in the dark. However, out of interest in fireworks, Liu Wei'er temporarily forgot the fear of darkness, and she stood obediently a few feet away.

Zheng Sheng shouted at her: "Remember the color of each one!" This is the first one! ”

Liu Wen'er nodded.

Zheng Sheng lit the fire and ran back.

Liu Wen'er looked at the beautiful yellow flame in the night sky, although it was also overflowing and gorgeous, but Liu Wei'er always felt that this was not as beautiful as the red chrysanthemum she saw at the beginning.

The first one was yellow, and neither of them was surprised, because the first bowl was filled with table salt and sodium chloride, and Zheng Sheng used it as a reference to see the difference between other flame colors and it.

"Yellow. See, the flame color of sodium is yellow. You must remember it! Don't mess around! Zheng Sheng reminded her again.

Liu Wen'er continued to nod, "I know." "It's so long-winded!

Zheng Sheng ran back again, and after a while, he ran back again.

Another yellow firework burst into the air!

"Uh, yellow again." Zheng Sheng thought about it, there is indeed a lot of sodium in seawater, but seventeen different kinds of substances can't all be sodium, right?

Zheng Sheng continued to set off the fireworks.

The third, yellow.

Fourth, yellow.

The fifth, finally not yellow. It is the intermediate color of red and yellow, orange-yellow.

Zheng Sheng smiled awkwardly at Liu Wei'er: "Sniff, write it down, the fifth number is orange." "You don't have to memorize anything else.

The sixth, again a new color, this time a faint purple.

Liu Wei'er looked at the fireworks in the sky, "Purple! It's so beautiful! ”

The seventh, eighth, ninth, and three yellows in a row.

Zheng Sheng ran over and over, although it was only a short switchback run of a few meters, but his head was still sweating.

"Shizi, why don't I go and order it? Do you take a break? Liu Wei'er was really bored, so she wanted to light fireworks.

"No, it's too dangerous." Zheng Sheng continued to work hard to place, run, see, and return.

The tenth, a new color appeared. Red, pure red!

"Red! It's the red of the day! Exactly the same. Liu Wei'er said in a pleasant tone.

Zheng Sheng was also very happy, he was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. Fortunately, it is not a particularly failure, red, the most mainstream and gorgeous color in this firework, still appears!

Seventeen were quickly fired.

The night was dark, and the two were talking on the way back.

"Shizi. I wrote it down: five, thirteen, fourteen, seventeen, orange. Six, eleven, and sixteen are purple. Ten is red. Everything else is yellow. ”

That is, there are ten types of yellow, four types of orange, two types of purple, and one type of red. And from the first to the seventeenth, the further you go, the fewer you go. "When Zheng Sheng first loaded the bowl, it was packed according to the number of materials, which pile was more, and which one was loaded first.

For example, Zheng Sheng left a full bowl of sodium chloride in the first bowl as a control, and the tenth bowl with a red flame color was more than half a bowl, about two-thirds of the bowl. And by the seventeenth, it was only half a bowl, not even a quarter.

Zheng Sheng estimated it, and felt that the purple and orange ones must be enough, but the red ones were not enough, and the more than half a bowl was enough to fill a dozen or so spheres at most, that is, more than a dozen fireworks, which was red, the most festive color of the year, and a dozen would be finished in a while.

Red wasn't enough, so I had to use other colors to make it up. Yellow, purple, orange, and the green of copper that Zheng Sheng didn't prepare this time, five colors, are almost enough. Moreover, by mixing two colors together, the color is even more beautiful. Zheng Sheng thought of the mixed-color fireworks that he had seen in later generations, and this could also be tried.

"Shizi, what we made is still not as beautiful as that day!" Liu Wei'er said suddenly.

"Not as pretty as it was that day?" Zheng Sheng came back to his senses and thought about the fireworks that day, "No, I think it's good, it's all beautiful!" ”

"No, it's still a problem with the inner cylinder. I don't think the spheres are round enough when wrapping them in paper. Liu Wen'er expressed her opinion, in fact, in order to do a good job of the inner cylinder sphere, Liu Wu'er spent a lot of thought, but she pursued perfection, and now she still feels not good enough.

"It's already good." Zheng Sheng felt that he had done well enough, tonight's fireworks, Zheng Sheng felt that they were very similar to the fireworks he had seen in later generations, and it was really good to be able to do it to this extent with the current means.

Liu Wei'er lowered her head and was silent, Zheng Sheng was helpless, why didn't he know that this little girl was still a perfectionist?

Back at the manor, Mrs. Wang was still waiting for him to come back. Zheng Sheng went out this time to report to her.

Mrs. Wang didn't seem interested in what Zheng Sheng had done when she saw him come back. But Zheng Sheng didn't notice Liu Wei'er behind him at all, and nodded softly to Mrs. Wang.

Mrs. Wang talked about another thing: "Today is the 23rd day of the lunar month, and it is only six or seven days away from the first day. The past two days have finally warmed up, let's go to Qingzhuling tomorrow! ”

Zheng Sheng nodded, of course he agreed.

Moreover, Mrs. Wang chose just the right time, which happened to be the time to set off after he finished studying the fireworks - he returned to Qingzhuling, and I am afraid that there is little time to spend on fireworks.

There was nothing to say all night, and in the morning of the next day, all the people in the manor were busy and busy, although Mrs. Wang had already had the idea of going to Qingzhuling to spend the first day, and the housekeeper Wang Zhong had expected it, but when it came to the end, it was still a rush.

Because Mrs. Wang is going to travel, and she may stay in Qingzhuling for a while, she has prepared a lot of things.

Eventually, after noon, a convoy of five or six wagons, twenty or thirty men, set out from the estate.