Taiping Fang. Anguo Mansion.

Although it has been three poles in the day, the owner of this Hou Mansion is still bedridden.

Since the Eastern Expedition to Dongying, Liu Sheng led the Shenji Battalion to victory neatly and neatly, and was awarded the title of Duke of Anguo, he has become much lazy.

Because he knows very well that his ascent has come to an end.

Before His Majesty decided to go west, many people thought that he would be the best choice for the Northern Route Army, but he never thought so.

If the war is unfavorable, he has a great responsibility, and if the war goes well, he has no reward.

He is not like Zhang Fu, Zhang Fu is still young and wants to lay a world for the family.

He is now sixty years old, and he wants to live a comfortable life in the capital for a few years.

Since His Royal Highness Taisun expanded his trade with Nanyang and Dongying, there are now countless pleasures in the capital.

After Zhu Youstew, the son of King Zhou, took over the Jiaofang Division, new plays were released every month, and they were all military dramas he liked.

More and more Xiyi opened restaurants in the capital, and he never got tired of eating all kinds of food.

Especially the many young beauties sold from the West and the East, that is his favorite.

Although most of the Xiyi women have some taste, they are plump, and the Dongying and North Korean women are docile and cute, small and exquisite, and each has its own beauty.

Life is so good, what else can he hope for?

Even if you have to struggle, it's time for the younger generation to fight hard. Now that he has handed over all the power of the house to his son Liu Pu, his main energy is to enjoy life in addition to training recruits.

However, his son Liu Pu wanted to inherit the title of Duke Anguo, and he wanted to go to sea all day long to make contributions.

Based on this alone, Liu Sheng felt that the current system of lordship descending from generation to generation was much stronger than hereditary replacement.

Those duke families, except for one Zhang Fu, are almost all gentlemen.

Xu Da, the original Duke of Wei, was a hero. But what about today's children and grandchildren? Except for Xu Jingyan, who is in the border army, he is still like him, including the current Dingguo Duke Xu Jingchang, who is not worth mentioning.

Liu Sheng inherited his father's title at the beginning, but he was just an earl, from earl to marquis, to duke, all of them were fought with a knife and a gun.

This generation-to-generation descent is a good way to motivate children and grandchildren to work hard.

As for whether the descendants can keep the title, he has never considered it, if the descendants do not succeed, not to mention the mountains of gold and silver, even a country can be defeated.

"Master, master, someone has come to the palace."

Liu Sheng opened his eyes and touched the Dongying maid who had woken up but didn't dare to move, before he asked outside the door, "Which chamberlain in the palace is it?" ”

"It's Young Eunuch Liu by Taisun's side."

"Is there a holy decree?"

"Just bring His Highness's message."

"Got it. Let the eldest young master entertain me first, and I will come later. ”

Dongying's maid wanted to come to dress Liu Sheng, but he pinched her little hand and said, "Master, I can still do it, you go and arrange for me to bring water to wash." ”

Dongying's maid went obediently, and Liu Sheng couldn't help but say with some wondering: "It's hard to rest today, what's the matter with Your Highness looking for me?" ”

When Liu Sheng came to the main hall of the mansion, Liu Wan was talking to Liu Pu and his sons about the beautiful scenery of Nanzhou in the main hall.

"Most of my Daming Haijiang is tidal flats, and there are very few beaches. But the east coast of Nanzhou is full of sandy beaches that stretch for hundreds of miles, as well as coconut groves. His Royal Highness likes to wear only dirty clothes with his concubine, swim in the sea, and lie on the beach to sleep when he is tired, not to mention how comfortable it is. However, in Nanzhou, you must pay special attention to poisonous snakes, the poisonous snakes there are amazingly poisonous, as long as you are bitten, the gods will not be able to save you. ”

Grandson Liu Jing is fifteen years old this year, and now he is studying in Yulin Weixue, which is the age of curiosity, and he can't help but ask: "Young Eunuch Liu, this year we have added a discipline to Yulin Weixue, which is dedicated to introducing the customs of Nanzhou and Xizhou. It is said that because of poverty, every household in Naxizhou does not even have a pot, and they eat with their hands, and they can only cook soup in a clay pot and roast meat to eat, but is it true? ”

"Of course it's true, the people there are really poor...... An Guogong is a good ......"

When Liu Wan saw Liu Sheng coming in, he hurriedly stood up and said hello, and of course his children and grandchildren saluted respectfully.

Liu Sheng waved his hand and said with a smile: "You don't have to be polite, Young Eunuch Liu, is Your Highness okay?" ”

Liu Wanchang smiled and said: "Your Highness is naturally good, our family is here to congratulate An Guogong......

Liu Shengleng paused, replied and asked, "Where does the joy come from?" ”

Liu Wan said with a smile: "The Marquis of Wu'an will lead the Northern Route Army to the west, and this errand in Beiming Mountain naturally has to find another proper person." An Guogong has worked hard and made great achievements, and His Royal Highness intends to subsidize An Guogong one or two. ”

But to Liu Wan's surprise, Liu Sheng didn't show much joy, but frowned and thought about it. After a moment, he asked, "Is this matter decided?" ”

Liu Wan shook his head and said, "Our family is ordered by His Highness to pass on the message, which is to summon An Guogong to interrogate. ”

"Thank you Young Eunuch Liu for informing me, but I can't take this errand!"

Before Liu Pu could speak, Liu Jing couldn't help but shout: "Grandfather ......"

"Shut up!" With a loud shout, Liu Sheng didn't look at his grandson's face, and said with a smile: "Pu'er, arrange for a car, Young Eunuch Liu, please ......"

Liu Wan didn't understand what Liu Sheng meant for a while, and asked with some confusion: "An Guogong, why is this?" ”

Liu Sheng said with a smile: "Contemptible people are not talented, but they are favored by His Highness, and now they are extremely human ministers. In the Eastern Expedition, the contemptible people received a large number of rewards for their military exploits, and they couldn't spend them in a few lifetimes. This Beiming Mountain, I won't fight for this credit. ”

Liu Sheng knew that Liu Wan was the confidant of Zhu Zhanji's confidants, so he confessed his thoughts.

The inner servants around His Royal Highness, the closest to him is naturally Li Liang, but Li Liang has no background, he is because he has served his grandson since he was a child, so His Royal Highness treats him differently.

In addition to Li Liang, His Royal Highness's favorite ones are Jin Kuo, Sun Lin, and Liu Wan, and these three are all masters and apprentices.

In contrast, no matter how favored Li Liang is, his weight is not as heavy as these three people.

Liu Sheng knew very well that the reason why His Royal Highness regarded Li Liang as his closest chamberlain was also for balance. Otherwise, the affairs of the inner court will be controlled by the three masters and apprentices, and there will be problems.

Therefore, we can know how huge the power is with Jin Kuo, the big eunuch, plus Sun Lin, who is in charge of the Intelligence Department, and Liu Wan, who serves him closely.

Although Liu Sheng also thinks that he is close to His Highness, he is a foreign minister, and it is impossible for him to stay by His Highness's side every day like these three people.

Even if he is An Guogong, he will not take it in front of him, and he still has to explain it.

Liu Wan understood as soon as he heard it, this Liu Sheng is now a very good minister, and he is not short of silver, so now he is not only afraid of high merit, but also afraid of becoming the target of the public.

It is obvious that he is on duty in Beimingshan to make money, but whoever replaces Zheng Heng will arouse the jealousy of other nobles.

The Liu family has taken too much advantage now, and they can't take advantage of it all.

The two came all the way to the palace, and at this time, the noon dynasty was nearing the end. To Liu Wan's surprise, there was Ji Gang waiting outside the Jinshen Palace.

Ji Gang came back from Dongying this time, and there was no news in advance. Liu Wan is in charge of the internal and external contacts around Zhu Zhanji, and he just learned about it.

For Ji Gang, he is not as hateful as the ministers, and he is not prejudiced. Even, because Ji Gang is a loyal vicious dog of the royal family, he still likes people like Ji Gang.

Seeing Liu Sheng, Ji Gang didn't dare to take it, so he first bowed down and hugged his fists and said, "Ji Gang has seen An Guogong." ”

Liu Sheng said with a smile: "Xiao Ji, I haven't thanked you yet, the two Dongying maids you sent are very well-behaved." ”

Ji Gang said with a smile: "Dongying men are all dwarf mules, women, small and exquisite, have a special feeling, An Guogong likes it." Liu Shaojian, I found a few silversmiths from Suzhou, and now I have just developed a batch of gold ware, and I also asked Liu Shaojian to help me appreciate whether it can meet the preferences of the people of the Ming Dynasty. I'm far away in Dongying now, and what kind of style the people of Daming like, it's really a layer apart. ”

As he spoke, a string of brushed gold bracelets fell into Liu Wan's hands from Ji Gang's hands, Liu Wan pretended to appreciate it, said a few good words, and the bracelet fell into his sleeve pocket.

Liu Wan looked at the inner supervisor on duty and asked, "Who is Your Highness receiving?" ”

The little eunuch bowed down and said, "The northern parallel has been struck by lightning, and the main hall has been destroyed. Xiao Yi, the director of the Ministry of Works, returned to Beijing to confess. ”

Liu Wanqi said: "Isn't there a lightning rod?" Why was it struck by lightning again? ”

The little eunuch didn't know at this moment, and Liu Wan didn't expect him to answer, so he hugged his fists to the two and said, "Wait a minute, you two, I'll go in first to restore my life." ”

In the side hall of the Jinshen Palace, Zhu Di arranged a reception hall here according to the living room arranged by Zhu Zhanji in the Xingqing Palace.

Among them is a bright yellow single sofa that is nearly two meters high, although it is a single sofa, but there is no problem to sit two people, and you can even lie on it to sleep.

In front of this sofa there is a huge tea table, nearly two meters wide and three meters long. In front, there are two rows of single sofas that are more than half smaller, and between each sofa, there is a mahogany coffee table, and the sofa is also red.

This kind of reception hall in the form of a living room is much more comfortable than Fengtian Hall and Wuying Hall. So on weekdays, instead of meeting foreign ministers, Zhu Di generally likes to handle official business here.

The thirteen ministers who took care of their lives did not accompany Zhu Zhanji to handle official business in every noon dynasty, and in the early dynasty, they would determine the target of today's meeting. The ministers who have nothing to do with these matters will not act as staff officers to give advice to Zhu Zhanji, and there are only eight ministers who serve today.

After Liu Wan came in, he walked along the wall to the inside of the hall for Zhu Zhanji to see.

At this time, Xiao Yi, the director of the Ministry of Works, was kneeling in the middle of the hall, waiting for Zhu Zhanji's departure.

Zhu Zhanji is not like an ordinary emperor, who thinks that a lightning strike is the anger of the heavens, and this matter is a natural disaster and has nothing to do with the clerks.

However, this Xiao Yi is responsible for the installation of lightning rods in the house, and when he installed the lightning rods, he did not strictly follow the procedures and did not connect the bottom line, which is responsible.

So after finding out the facts, according to the law of Daming, this Xiao Yi will be fined and imprisoned.

However, Zhu Zhanji gave him a chance to atone for his crimes, let him return to Beiping in vain, reinstall the lightning rods in the house, and then work for three years to install lightning rods on high-rise buildings all over the country.

It's not that Zhu Zhanji is kind-hearted, but that there are too few scientific and technological talents today, and it is just a waste to put such a scientific and technological talent in prison, so it is better to let him play a role.

Xiao Yi was grateful, apologized and left, and Liu Wan stepped forward to inform that Ji Gang and Liu Sheng were waiting outside. By the way, he also directly said Liu Sheng's opinion.

Liu Sheng is a smart man, otherwise, he would not have been the most favored among the Hou Ye during the Yongle period. The musketeers and artillery of the Ming Dynasty are all controlled by him, which Zhang Fu can't compare.

Zhu Zhanji can also understand his worries. He didn't want to go himself, and Zhu Zhanji wouldn't be reluctant, because there were more people who wanted to go.

"Let An Guogong come in first, Ji Gang will see you later, and tell the imperial chef to stay in Shi to see the uncle for lunch today."

Outside the main hall, Ji Gang had no opinion on Zhu Zhanji meeting Liu Sheng first, and he felt even more honored to hear that Zhu Zhanji wanted to keep him for dinner.

Liu Sheng entered the main hall and bowed, and Zhu Zhanji waved his hand to sit down. "Now that the army is marching westward, can An Guogong have a good plan?"

Liu Sheng sat on the sofa and clenched his fists and said: "The old minister is now at a critical juncture in the development of the Shenwei cannon, and he is bent on creating a more powerful cannon for His Highness." ”

Because of the increase in furnace temperature, the molten steel melts much more than in the past, and the impurities in the steel are much less. Nowadays, the number of copper cannons in the Ming Dynasty is getting smaller and smaller, and there are more and more small steel cannons.

Of course, Zhu Zhanji knew the history of the development of artillery, and said: "An Guogong is an expert in firearms, and he has an idea, but I don't know if it can be realized. ”

"Your Highness, please command."

"In order to be more powerful and fight farther, today's artillery has always emphasized more gunpowder and increased caliber. However, Lone thought that it would be better to lengthen the barrel, and in addition, to make the shells into a pointed and elongated type, and even to study the connection of gunpowder to the warhead. ”

"Gunpowder and warheads?"

Not all of the Ming shells are round, and now there are chain shells and flowering shells, but the technology is still relatively low-level.

However, Zhu Zhanji's statement of linking gunpowder and warhead together is still very novel, and this technical scheme has never been done before.

Zhu Zhanji had already prepared, asked Li Liang to take the drawings he had drawn before, and beckoned Liu Sheng to come to the desk in front of him.

"After the flintlock pistol was developed, he thought of using the flintlock pistol to fire an integrated bullet, but the firing pin was easy to do, but the gunpowder was a problem. Moreover, the bullet of the musket is small, so it is not easy to make, but the bullet of the gun is large, so it is easier to study. Come and see ......."

The drawings drawn by Zhu Zhanji are the basic structure of artillery shells in later generations, taking the most conventional barreled artillery shells as an example, the front end is the hood, then the fuse, then the projectile, and the back is the cartridge, and the last part of the cartridge is the primer.

Of course, today's technology can't reach this level, the hood and fuse part are now difficult to achieve, and the current technical level of the Ming Dynasty can only make qualified projectiles, cartridges, and even primers, and the current technology can't reach it.

But the future artillery, the direction of the development of shells, with this drawing, Daming does not have to take any detours, and can go all out to develop it.

The difficulty of the primer is not attainable in chemical technology, and it is difficult to ignite the gunpowder in the cartridge by striking the primer.

The earliest primer was made of copper bowls, mercury thunderate and other materials, and Zhu Zhanji only knew the name and how to make it, and he didn't know anything.

He also didn't have the heart to focus on that, which was not his advantage at all. His strength lies in knowing where to go and being able to guide.

If he is really allowed to study, he may not be able to compare to an ordinary Taoist priest.

Liu Sheng is a first-class firearms expert in the Ming Dynasty, seeing this drawing, after Zhu Zhanji's introduction, he quickly understood, and said with some excitement: "Your Highness is really a talent...... Only by sealing the gunpowder can it explode with greater power. Lengthening the barrel allows the warhead to fly farther. Moreover, the damage of this fixed ammunition to the gun chamber is also much smaller, so you don't have to clean the gun chamber every time you shoot it, and it can be fired faster! ”

The power of such shells is difficult to say now, because it has not been made and has not been tested.

However, it is not necessary to charge the fixed ammunition with gunpowder first, and then load the shells with straw paper and fine brown plugs. Each shot must be reloaded with a brush made of bristles.

Increasing the length of the barrel and making a cartridge out of copper can increase the power of gunpowder, which can be seen at a glance by Liu Sheng, a firearms expert.

Daming now has a spring, and it is not a problem to use the explosive power of the spring to make a firing pin.

The key issue is still the primer.

So Zhu Zhanji raised this question and asked Liu Sheng to arrange personnel to conduct research on the primer.

Now muskets are fired using flint to ignite the fuse, which ignites the gunpowder in the chamber and fires the bullet.

And although there are already experimental single projectiles, the range is limited, and at present, it is basically loaded with five projectiles each time to increase the lethality.

Five projectiles are the best results obtained after countless trials, not only with the longest range, but also with the strongest lethality. The projectile is loaded more, which affects the shooting power.

Liu Sheng took over the task happily and promised that he would be able to develop a qualified primer as soon as possible.

However, Zhu Zhanji is not as optimistic as he is, because chemical research is different from physics, and the laws of physics can still be observed, sorted, and deduced.

However, chemical research is a refinement of a discipline, microscopic and in-depth research, and there is no shortcut.

Too often, breakthroughs in chemistry are fraught with chance rather than inevitability.

Zhu Zhanji pondered and said, "I'll give you two microscopes, and you let those Taoist priests and chemical experts who study gunpowder conduct research." In addition, you can also call the Ministry of Dyers and Taoist priests of the Chemical Research Institute. ”

"Yes!"

"However, you can't neglect the training of recruits because of this, when the recruitment of recruits is completed on the side of Chengguo Gong, I will leave the training to you."

"Obey the order!"

Zhu Zhanji didn't mention to him the arrangement to go to Beimingshan again, and it was smart for him not to go, but there were still many people who wanted to go, such as Xue Lu, who looked stupid on the outside, but was actually slippery.

Xue Lu followed him to the West, there was no merit and hard work, and let him go to Beimingshan for a few years to make a fortune, which could be regarded as comforting him.

After Liu Sheng left, Zhu Zhanji turned to the ministers behind him and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is all here today, and you all return to each ministry to handle official business!" ”

Xie Jin still didn't understand a little, and asked, "Your Highness, didn't you say that you would send An Guogong to Beiming Mountain?" Why didn't you mention it? ”

Zhu Zhanji said with a smile: "Liu Wan said just now, An Guogong was afraid that he would become the target of the public, so he pushed this fat difference, so he didn't mention it." Lonely wants to send Xue Lu, Marquis of Yangwu, to Beiming Mountain, but Xue Lu is not as powerful as Liu Sheng, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to suppress the Tatar and Warat tribes. Master Yang, I want to send you to Beiping to garrison and preside over logistics for Xue Lu, would you like to go? ”

Although the oil and water stationed in Beiping is not as large as that of Beimingshan and Kaiping's former guards, it is also a fat gap because it controls the south-to-north grain diversion.

Yang Rong is a capable person, so let him always be a staff officer, which is a bit overkill.

Zhu Di needs him to be a staff officer, but he sees the general trend more clearly than anyone else, so he prefers to let Yang Rong preside over the party.

Of course, Yang Rong knows the benefits of sitting in Beiping, although it is not necessarily a good errand to go from the first assistant of the cabinet to the admiral, but for a minister like Yang Rong who wants to do something practical, he would rather sit on one side than be idle in the capital.

He stood up and bowed, "I am willing to go!" ”

Zhu Zhanji nodded and said: "However, Fang Bin and Jin Aiqing, the secretary of the Ministry of War, will go to the northwest, and they will not be able to make an order for the Ministry of War to come back, and you will wait for half a month to set off." ”

"Obey."

Fang Bin and Jin Youzi went to Jiayuguan to replace Huang Fu and came back, which was decided when Zhu Di was there.

On the one hand, Huang Fu's father and son are both in the army, one is the Southern Route Army and the other is the Northern Route Army, which has too much influence. On the one hand, he also wants Huang Fu, who has been wandering outside the capital, to enjoy happiness in the capital for a few years.

Before Huang Yuan left, he expressed his concern about his father's health to Zhu Zhanji, and Zhu Zhanji also promised to transfer Huang Fu back.

Moreover, having Huang Fu, a capable and respected minister who was at odds with other ministers, controlled the military department, which made Zhu Zhanji feel more at ease than Fang Bin.

Let everyone leave first, and Zhu Zhanji will stay behind. There were no outsiders, so Zhu Zhanji said: "Master Xie, you have an upright personality, and you need to be reminded more in the future." I respect you as a teacher, and I will not blame you for your disobedience. However, when there are many people, you still have to change your unobstructed habit! ”

Xie Jin was also a little ashamed, and laughed at himself: "I'm afraid that I can't change it in this life, and from now on, I must remember His Highness's words." ”

sent Xie Jin away, and Zhu Zhanji called Ji Gang in.

As soon as Ji Gang entered the side hall, he immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times. "Chen Jigang has seen His Highness!"

"Ji Aiqing doesn't have to be polite, as long as he can help Gu guard the Iwami Silver Mine and supervise Dongying, he can make Gu happy more than how many courtesies he does. Get up quickly and talk to Gu about Dongying's situation in the past few years. ”

Of course, Zhu Zhanji would not be unaware of the situation in Dongying, whether it was the internal supervisor, the consulting department, or the Jinyi Guard, there were countless secret agents in various parts of Dongying.

But some things, the angle is different, the view is different, Ji Gang, an upper-class person who has been semi-integrated into Dongying society, is naturally more broad-minded than those spies in Daming and those Japanese traitors in Dongying.