Chapter 40 The emperor suddenly asked the satisfaction of the passenger ship palace

When Emperor Chongzhen was very happy to talk about it and was very relaxed, he suddenly asked the two princes Zhang Xianzhong about the situation in the kiln, which can be described as extremely spicy. At this time, there was no preparation, and Emperor Chongzhen could see the clues from their first reaction.

However, Emperor Chongzhen still miscalculated. The two princes were not involved in such a thing as Yaogang at all, and they didn't know about Zhang Xianzhong's coming to Yaogang. Listening to Emperor Chongzhen's question, the two princes glanced at each other in surprise.

The acting king said: "Your Majesty, I haven't heard about Zhang Xianzhong's arrival in Yaogang!" Is this possible? ”

King Zhou also understood that the emperor was tempting them, "Your Majesty, you can't listen to other people's nonsense about this." I didn't hear that Zhang Xianzhong had arrived in Yaogang. ”

"Huh! I see that you are comfortable in the kiln, and you don't pay attention to anything, I will see Zhang Dongjia and ask him! Emperor Chongzhen said with a smile. Judging from the only reaction of the two, they really didn't know about it. However, the news sent by Li Gonggong said that it was suspected that Zhang Xianzhong was the one who lived in the Yaogang Hotel, and the news sent back from Sichuan said that the people of Sichuan had signs of rebellion against Zhang Xianzhong, and Zhang Xianzhong did not show up for a long time and did not know where to go. Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen's judgment that Zhang Xianzhong arrived at the kiln gang was undoubted. And it's not surprising that Li Zicheng can go to the kiln, why can't Zhang Xianzhong go to the kiln. With the current strength of Yaogang, it is a matter of time before Sichuan is recovered, and Zhang Xianzhong should be able to see it. This Zhang Xianzhong has always been good at surrendering, but he is capricious when he descends and then reverses, and then surrenders again. I don't know how Zhang Zhimu will deal with this demon.

What puzzled Emperor Chongzhen was that the Yaogang people could fight back and forth on the battlefield and have close contacts in private, which was really strange. Whether it is Li Zicheng or Zhang Xianzhong, how can they take risks alone and go to Yaogang without fear of Zhang Zhimu attacking them? It's just weird. Maybe Zhang Zhimu has disdained to use this means to deal with them, and also, with the strength of the kiln, they are not qualified opponents at all, and if Zhang Zhimu can surrender without a fight, why not?

Emperor Chongzhen suddenly thought about his heart in a daze, and the banquet suddenly became cold. After Emperor Chongzhen found out, he smiled and said, "Everyone Aiqing is happy!" He took up the wine again.

As soon as he got on the road the next day, Emperor Chongzhen's mood improved again, there was the Yellow River in front of him, and he could live on the boat sent by the kiln gang tonight.

The prince arranged the matter, greeted Emperor Chongzhen, rode his horse first, and went to the Yellow River to arrange it first.

When he was close to the Yellow River, the prince restrained his horse, turned back to the Imperial Forest Army and the brocade guards, and said, "Listen to me!" When you see the people in the kiln, everyone will give the rules, otherwise you will annoy those guys, and you will be covered in blood, and you will die in vain. ”

These Yaogang soldiers and Jinyi guards all nodded their heads along the way, they all knew that the Yaogang soldiers in front of them had beaten away Li Zicheng's million-strong army, annihilated tens of thousands of Mongol cavalry, and defeated the Manchu Iron Cavalry.

Shi Xiu, who was guarding this passenger ship, and the governor of the new river project sent by the imperial court, as well as Duan Jingzhong, saw that the prince had arrived and welcomed him off the boat. Shi Xiu first went over to salute the prince and asked, "Can the prince still know me?" ”

"Huh?" The prince really can't remember.

"We met in Zhangjiakou, and later we fought the Manchu soldiers together. At that time, I was a petty official, you may not have noticed, but I remember you! Shi Xiu said.

"Oops! It's an old man. When the prince heard that it was the old man who had fought together when he had made great achievements, he was very happy in his heart, "At that time, it was as if it was in front of me." You guys weren't that good at that time. But it's also a Manchu run around. Who are you now? ”

"I am now the commander of the Second Infantry Army, and this time I am here to assist our Mr. Duan Jingzhong in repairing the new channel of the Yellow River." Shi Xiu said.

"Oh, they're all military commanders. The old people at that time are all officials now, right? Wang Gonggong was a little emotional.

"Yes, those who are not dead are not seriously injured, and now they are all officers." Shi Xiu replied.

"Yes! It's better to be alive. "Wang Gonggong knew that the veterans of the kiln gang at that time must have died a lot over the years.

The two of them only cared about talking, and put aside the governor of the river and Duan Jingzhong sent by the imperial court. Duan Jingzhong and the river governor were a little dissatisfied. But the governor of the river didn't dare to mess with the prince, and Duan Jingzhong didn't dare to mess with Shi Xiu.

Duan Jingzhong still couldn't help it and coughed. At this time, Shi Xiu knew that he was rude, and quickly turned around and introduced: "This is our Mr. Duan, the head of the new river channel, and this is the governor of the river sent by the imperial court." ”

Although the prince didn't care much about the two of them, he knew that they were important ministers sent by both sides, so he gave them a salute.

Shi Xiu said, "Princess, get on the boat." I'll get all my men out at once, and I'll leave the ship safe to you. ”

"Oops! I said, General Shi, you can't all leave. You're not here, we can't fiddle with such guys. What kind of ship is this? It's like a building. "The prince is afraid that he will not be able to fiddle with this ship.

Duan Jingzhong came over and said, "Don't worry, the driver and crew of the ship will stay." The service staff, we have already finished training the people in the palace you sent, and they can use the general equipment on the ship. Besides, we're not far away, just call us if there's something. We just took the guards down. ”

"Oh! That's good, that's good! "The prince is relieved now.

Shi Xiu's soldiers disembarked from one direction, and the Imperial Forest Army and Jinyi Guards brought by the prince disembarked from the other direction. Both sides acted silently without disturbing each other. In fact, this speaks for itself. In the past, the Imperial Forest Army and the Jinyi Guard were all superior, and the ordinary officers and soldiers let them go. However, the battle-hardened kiln soldiers didn't take them seriously at all, and because of the discipline, the kiln soldiers ignored them and silently got off the boat and left.

The kiln soldiers who came to the shore boarded the car and the power car, and drove away with a boom of smoke and dust. The soldiers here were also equipped with cars and power cars, and the prince was surprised and asked Shi Xiu, "When will you be equipped with cars?" ”

"Hey! This is not to take care of us to build a new river, considering that we go too far every day, we are given priority to be equipped with a company. Shi Xiu said.

The governor of the river beside him also smiled and said, "Hehe! I also borrowed it, and for the convenience of the inspection, the kiln gang people also equipped me with a car. ”

"Oops! Are you better than the emperor? The first person in our Ming Dynasty who can get into a car may be your Governor-General? The prince asked a little sourly.

"Oops! This is all specially arranged by the kiln gang people for the sake of our project. The Governor of the River, who had touched a gray nose, hastened to explain.

"We're withdrawing, and we're not far away." Shi Xiu relieved the siege of the governor of the river, "We have two gunboats and five speedboats on the river to guard. You are in charge of the boat, and we are in charge of the water. What do you think? ”

"Okay!" The prince said, "You have thought very carefully. ”

It wasn't until the middle of the night that Emperor Chongzhen, who was walking hotly, and his brigade rushed to the bank of the Yellow River. On the dragon chariot, Emperor Chongzhen felt some cool breeze blowing in the direction of the Yellow River, and also saw the historical wharf and other buildings built on the embankment of the Yellow River. This section of the road is very well repaired, Emperor Chongzhen's dragon chariot can go all the way to the Yellow River embankment, from the embankment to the pier through a trestle bridge, the prince commanded the dragon chariot directly rushed to dock on the dock on the deck of the passenger ship. Empress Zhou and Princess Changping's steel-reed carriage also rushed to the deck of the passenger ship. Emperor Chongzhen kept watching Long Yuan stop on the deck, and at this time he was really amazed by the passenger ship in front of him. It's a completely watery building, and I didn't expect a passenger ship to be so magnificent. No wonder that Zhang Zhimu said that he would use this passenger ship as a temporary palace.

The prince who helped Emperor Chongzhen to get off the dragon chariot said: "Your Majesty, when you enter the cabin, you will be cool immediately." You can also enjoy the surrounding scenery from the cabin window! ”

As soon as he stepped on the deck, Emperor Chongzhen said, "Oops! When you get to this hot and dry air, it's gone, it's better on the water, and the Yellow River is under your feet in front of you, it's really good! ”

"Your Majesty, there is air conditioning in the cabin, so it will be more comfortable for you to go in!" The prince said flatteringly.

"Oh! Is it? ”

"Yes! If you don't go in, Your Majesty, the Queen Mother and Her Royal Highness the Princess won't dare to enter! The prince bowed and said.

"Lead the way, I see what kind of passenger ship Zhang Dongjia arranged for me?" Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand and said.

The prince led the emperor to the top cabin.

As soon as Emperor Chongzhen entered the cabin, the cold wind inside blew in his face, and he was refreshed, and said repeatedly: "Okay!" Hey! This cold wind is so good! ”

"Your Majesty, do you want to have some cold soda from Yaogang?" The prince asked.

"Good! Chilled goodies, get me some. "Emperor Chongzhen is very happy, although he doesn't know what soda is, but he heard that it is cold, and he thinks it must be a good thing.

"Your Majesty, do you use orange flavor, hawthorn flavor, and lemon flavor?" The prince asked.

Emperor Chongzhen didn't know what to use for a while, "Oh, are you going to come!" ”

"Okay, Your Majesty!" The prince agreed, and "bang" opened the lids of all the flavors of soda bottles. It was held on a tray and placed in front of Emperor Chongzhen, and then poured a glass of each flavor of soda. Smelling the sweet taste, Emperor Chongzhen picked up a cup and drank it. As soon as I finished a drink, a burp came up. Emperor Chongzhen suddenly felt that all the heat along the way had been cleared, and he couldn't help but say: "This soda is so good, he picked up another cup and drank it in one go." ”

Emperor Chongzhen, who was refreshed, did not forget the queen mother and Princess Changping, and said to the princess: "Don't forget, send the soda to the queen mother and Changping!" ”

The prince smiled and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty!" The room of the Queen Mother and Princess Changping is next door to you, not far away. They have all these soda in the refrigerator in their room! ”

Not only was the emperor satisfied with the ship as a temporary palace, but Empress Zhou and Princess Changping were also satisfied with the ship. They had never seen anything else before, whether it was electric lights or water pumps, air-conditioners, refrigerators, and telephones that could make phone calls to other cabins. The record player in the room can also play all kinds of beautiful music songs, and even the dining room can play background music.

This kind of background music uses a lot of evenly distributed small speakers, each of which emits a very small sound, and when you are in it, you can't hear the direction of the music, and you feel that the music is permeating the whole space, and the sound can be heard very clearly, and it does not affect people talking to each other.

Emperor Chongzhen, Empress Zhou, and Princess Changping enjoyed the technology that only existed hundreds of years later, of course, it was very comfortable.

At dinner, Emperor Chongzhen invited the governor of the river and Duan Jingzhong from Yaogang to come over, plus the two princes, and they dined together in the restaurant. Tonight, Wang Gonggong specially invited the chef from Yaogang to make Yellow River catfish soup, steamed Yellow River carp and other dishes.

Emperor Chongzhen also felt that today's dishes were very different, and King Zhou introduced: "Your Majesty, the Yellow River catfish soup and the practice of steaming the Yellow River carp were handed down by the Zhang Dong family of Yaogang himself. The method is special, and the taste is really different! ”

"I said, although the method of this fish is not very delicate, the taste is extraordinarily delicious. I didn't expect Zhang Dongjia to still be a gourmet? "Emperor Chongzhen is very happy to eat.

Dai Wang said: "Once I went to Zhang Dong's house as a guest, Zhang Dongjia also personally went to the kitchen to cook these two dishes. Today's approach is exactly the same as Zhang's approach. ”

When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he laughed and asked, "Could it be that this Zhang Dongjia really cooks by himself?" "At that time, scholars were still far away cooks.

Duan Jingzhong said: "We Mr. Zhang do things, that is, no matter what others say or think, they are all reckless. When I'm happy, I cook by myself, I go to sing, and I never care what others say. ”

"Huh! Didn't I learn from your Zhang Dongjia today and drink at the same table with everyone? Emperor Chongzhen said with a smile. At that time, the courtiers were not allowed, and it was impossible to drink at the same table with the emperor.

King Zhou smiled and said, "Your Majesty, the table we use today is also the most fashionable over there in the kiln." You see, in the middle is a glass turntable that can be rotated. In this way, the dishes can be eaten by everyone in turns. ”

"Yes! You kiln workers can just come up with something new that people can't think of. "Emperor Chongzhen is indeed very happy to eat and drink today. Before drinking too much, Emperor Chongzhen asked the governor of the river: "When will your new river be opened?" ”

"Your Majesty! Our schedule is full, to ensure that it can be opened at the end of June, and now we are catching up with the deadline step by step. The Governor of the River replied.

"It seems that I really came a few days earlier," Emperor Chongzhen said to King Zhou, "I think this ship is very good, and we will live here." Tomorrow I will have time to take a look at the embankment, and if I have time, I will go to Kaifeng to have a look! ”

"Good!" King Zhou said, "We're all ready over there." Welcome to the Holy Driver at any time! ”

Although it is not yet the flood season, it has rained several times upstream, and the water of the Yellow River is already rising, and the river is flowing fast. When the wind was not in the right direction, the wooden sailboats were docked on the shore, because they were completely dragged up the river by slender men, and could not withstand the turbulent water. Only the steam tugboats of the kiln gang with a string of barges come and go on the river. After dinner, although it was already dark. Emperor Chongzhen and Princess Zhou were not sleepy, they were on the top deck, holding on to the railing, looking at the Yellow River for a while, there was a tugboat panting and roaring, with dazzling lights, shuttling up and down.

Princess Changping asked Emperor Chongzhen: "Father! These coming-and-going lights are called barges, I just heard about them, and they are all from the kiln. You see that a tugboat can carry such a long string of barges, and the goods transported can be worth a lot of silver, right? ”

"Yes! How many ships have we seen coming and going in a while? Emperor Chongzhen said with some sighs, "Their kiln people lend two or three million taels of silver to the court every year, how much silver do they have to earn a year?" Let's just talk about our passenger ship, which is all made of silver. ”

"Father! When you see Zhang Dongjia in Yaogang, tell him that you can install air conditioning in our harem, right? Princess Changping said, "They said that this air conditioner can send cold air in summer and hot air in winter." ”

Empress Zhou said, "Daughter! Don't bother your father about this. Your father has to say something big when he sees Zhang Dongjia! ”

"It's okay," Emperor Chongzhen said, "big things to say, small things to say." No matter what this time, we must ask Zhang Dongjia to install electric lights and air conditioning in our harem. ”

"Huh!" Queen Zhou said, "I think the air conditioner is secondary, if only the electric lights could be installed, it would be great!" The cabin was lit with electric lights, and there was no smell of smoke, and it was as bright as daytime. Even during the day, the room was not so bright. If there were electric lights, it would be much easier for us sisters and our children to study. ”

A few people were talking happily, and the princess came over and asked: "Your Majesty, the queen's mother, Princess Changping, the movie is ready, if you are okay, go to the restaurant to watch the movie!" ”

"Great!" Princess Changping was overjoyed when she heard this, "What is the movie I want to watch?" ”

"Oops! Let's change our clothes and go again! After Queen Zhou finished speaking, she took Princess Changping to change her clothes.

Emperor Chongzhen pointed to a few small boats with searchlights passing on the river and asked, "Are those boats from Yaogang?" ”

"Yes! Emperor. "The Kiln Gang has sent two gunboats and five speedboats to patrol the river, and no boat is allowed to come near our passenger boats." ”

"Oh! Are gunboats and speedboats powerful? Emperor Chongzhen asked again, "Why didn't their steel-hulled warship come?" ”

"Gunboats and speedboats are already powerful! , ordinary wooden warships can't deal with them, and you can see it, they are agile and fast. Deal with the wooden boats on the Yellow River rich. "I heard the captain on the gunboat say that their steel-hulled warships are concentrated at the base in front of Zhenjiang. I guess what they did? ”

"Hmm!" Emperor Chongzhen nodded and asked, "Who do you think they will deal with next?" Is it Zuo Liangyu? ”

"This, I can't say this," Wang Gonggong said, "I don't think the people of Yaogang will spend so much effort to deal with Zuo Liangyu." Is it because they are not at ease with Li Zicheng and want to do something to them? ”

"Nonsense!" Emperor Chongzhen said, "Li Zicheng and their current food is all from the kiln, and more than 500 officers have gone to the kiln gang for training, and their families will soon be sent to the kiln gang." Zhang Zhimu is crazy and wants to do something to them? ”

"Then they can't do anything to our Shandong side, right?" The prince asked casually.

"Stupid!" Emperor Chongzhen said, "How could the Zhang Dong family do something to us. Is it necessary to do this? ”

Emperor Chongzhen's mind flashed about Zheng Zhilong, but he felt that Zheng Zhilong was too far away, and across Li Zicheng, the people of Yaogang still couldn't take care of Zheng Zhilong. But he didn't want to think about it, he guessed the action of the kiln gang correctly that time?

Hearing that the emperor was going to take a look at the embankment, Shi Xiu transferred all the cars to Emperor Chongzhen. Pulling Emperor Chongzhen and his entourage on the rammed new dam of the Yellow River, they watched while walking. Emperor Chongzhen and Empress Zhou, Princess Changping, and scholars in the car, the two princes were happy. The car has good shock absorption and sofa seats, and the scenery is very beautiful when running on the flat new dam. But the guards and brocade guards who were escorting them were guilty of sucking up the dust kicked up by the cars on their horses. Every time you park in a place, when the emperor wants to take a good look, there are a group of reporters from the kiln to take pictures of everyone. At first, the emperor was not used to it, but after Duan Jingzhong's careful introduction, Emperor Chongzhen was happy. In the future, he took the initiative to ask everyone to take pictures of him everywhere. Queen Zhou and Princess Changping were also embarrassed at first, but later they also took pictures.

After visiting the dam, return to the boat, take a shower, have lunch, and take a short rest. Emperor Chongzhen asked the prince: "This river is so turbulent, is it dangerous for us to cross the river by boat?" ”

"Your Majesty, of course it is dangerous to cross the river by ferry boat when the river is so urgent, but there is no danger for our boat to cross the river!" The prince replied with a smile.

"Hey!" Emperor Chongzhen slapped his forehead, knowing that he had asked a stupid question, and he forgot that he was living in a big boat, which could be driven directly across the Yellow River.

There were a lot of people who wanted to cross the river together, and the passenger boats were crowded. Emperor Chongzhen also stood on the bow of the boat to see how the passenger ship crossed the turbulent Yellow River. Before the passenger ship anchors, the propeller starts, the power is balanced against the river water and then the anchor is lifted, the passenger ship smoothly crosses the Yellow River against the water and leans on the Kaifeng wharf, and after the anchor is stopped, the trestle is built on the boat. Everyone was amazed at how amazing the ship was.

What made Princess Changping happiest was that Princess Anping, who was the king of Zhou Zhou at the dock, came to pick them up. Princess Changping and Princess Anping are of similar age, and Princess Changping is slightly older than Anping. They don't know each other very well, but they've seen each other and know each other. met the emperor and the queen, and the two princesses talked hand in hand on the dock to attract everyone's attention. is all of an outstanding age, and with such an identity, it is impossible not to attract people's attention. After the two sisters got in the car, Princess Anping brought a camera to Princess Changping, and taught Princess Changping how to use the camera in the car. When Princess Anping said that she would give the camera to Princess Changping, Princess Changping hurriedly said, "Oops! Sister, this can't be done, I know this thing is too valuable! ”

Princess Anping said, "Oops! Sister, I can't spend my monthly salary, so it's a trivial matter to give you a camera. ”

"What? Can you earn a wage? Princess Changping was shocked when she heard that Princess Anping could earn her own salary.

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Mt. Fuji erupted, Japan was earthquaked. --Progress of "Memories of the Southern Song Dynasty".