As soon as his words fell, the Chongzheng Hall suddenly became very quiet. These Manchu princes looked at each other, and everyone's faces looked very solemn.

They all understood that if Lu Xiangsheng really had to be answered by a water master, then the Qing Dynasty would really be powerless. There is absolutely no possibility of snatching back that grain.

After a long while, Dai Shan whispered in an unconfident tone: "This is unlikely, if the Ming army's sailors appear on the river, Azig will definitely know, in this way, no matter how stupid he is, he will definitely be prepared, how can he be ambushed by the Ming army!" ”

Hearing this, it seemed reasonable, and many princes seemed to grasp the last straw, nodding their heads again and again.

"Yes, even if you are a fool, when you see the Ming army sailor appearing on the river, you will definitely be able to expect that the Ming army is coming!"

"How important is this batch of grain, Azig will not know? Knowing that there is an idea that the Ming army will fight for grain and grass, he will still go out of Zhenjiang Fort without asking for reinforcements in advance? ”

“……”

This time, these princes Baylor inadvertently questioned Huang Taiji's judgment again, if it was a change from before, Huang Taiji would definitely not tolerate his authority being offended, but at this time, he didn't see him lose his temper, just sat silently on the throne, bowing his head and not knowing what he was thinking.

After waiting for a while, the hall was quiet, and then he slowly raised his head, the whole person seemed to be a lot older, glanced at everyone in the hall, and said in a low voice but with absolute certainty: "After dealing with Lu Xiangsheng for so long, don't you know his way of using soldiers?" Will he not consider the retreat after the robbery? He makes good use of cavalry, doesn't he know that if he takes the land route, this batch of grain is very important to my Qing Dynasty, and he will definitely send cavalry to pursue it, and he can escape? Only by walking on the water, will I be powerless to pursue! The grain that Jin Puzhen was robbed by him in the past was not transported by the Ming State Sailor! I chose to start just out of Zhenjiang Fort because it is closest to the Yalu River! ”

Speaking of this, Huang Taiji seemed to be very tired, and after taking a few breaths, he said slowly: "Azig definitely didn't see the Ming Army Sailor appear at the meeting, the Ming Army Sailor only appeared after the start of the war, and I can be sure of this." Only in this way can Lu Xiangsheng be convinced that this battle can be won! “

"It can't be, right? Is it just an appointment for the two armies to meet? Wouldn't it be unreliable if something happened in the middle? "Some people questioned it.

Indeed, it is impossible for any war to be carried out exactly according to plan. Just like when the Ming State marched on the Fifth Route and tried to exterminate the Houjin, who was still the first Khan at the time, because of the inconsistent coordination of the Fifth Route Army, there was a deviation from the plan, which eventually led to the Fifth Route Ming Army being broken by the First Khan and scared back all the way.

However, this time the battle seems to be different, at least the Ming Navy Division actually doesn't care about the time, and has been waiting for the Ming army on the river to appear on the shore, and there is nothing to do. Thinking about it this way, most people acquiesced to Huang Taiji's analysis, and suddenly, many people's faces were very unsightly. They understand that nine times out of ten, that batch of grain is finished!

Recalling the big fight over this batch of grain just now, some people even fought like shrews in front of the emperor, and these Manchu princes in the Chongzheng Palace, Baylor, were very uncomfortable in their hearts!

In the end, the Shenyang side did not send reinforcements, because everyone basically agreed with Huang Taiji's analysis. In addition, there is a very important reason, if you send a cavalry army to Zhenjiang Fort, it will also consume a lot of food. And the Manchu Qing Dynasty, what is lacking is food!

After Hauge finished the court discussion, he seemed to be depressed and returned to his house, he couldn't hold back anymore, sneered non-stop, and named Dolgon the emperor's younger brother, now it's okay, this imperial brother is actually useless! The Qing Dynasty is still short of food, starving to death these stupid pigs!

After venting a lot, Haoge called Qian Fugui, withdrew from everyone, and commanded in a low voice: "Contact that side, I have made such a great contribution this time, should there be any reward?" ”

When Qian Fugui heard this, he knew that the Ming army must have robbed the grain, and he was very happy, but he didn't dare to show it, so he just nodded and entered the chat group, chatted with Emperor Chongzhen privately, and said Haoge's request.

At this time, Emperor Chongzhen already knew that Lu Xiangsheng's army of grain robbery was already on his way back safely, and now he saw that Haoge had come to ask for credit, but he didn't ignore it. After all, the information provided by Hauge is indeed not something that Qian Fugui can get. To this end, he dealt with Hauge so that Haug could continue to provide information.

After exiting the chat group, Emperor Chongzhen happily thought that there was another batch of grain on the Liaodong side, so that the logistical pressure on his own expedition to Liaodong this year would be much less. And Huang Taiji, I guess I'm about to die, right? It's better to be really sad to death, anyway, before the autumn harvest, the blockade of the Manchu grain import will definitely not be relaxed.

After thinking about the happy things for a while, Emperor Chongzhen shifted his attention and began to think about the things that made him more worried.

The steam engine has been boasted of in Haikou, but the mass-produced steam engine has not been finalized. Today's steam engines are all handmade. Of course, it is not impossible to build a steam engine by hand, but to realize the industrialization of the Ming Dynasty, mass production is a must. The reason why industrialization is industrialization is because products can be operated on the assembly line, which greatly improves production efficiency, which is the fundamental reason for the real leap of human society.

Today's Emperor Chongzhen, dissatisfied with the steam engine, mainly focuses on two points. One point is that the steam engine is too large, the size of a small room, otherwise, the kinetic energy generated is too small. But such a large steam engine is really inconvenient to apply! At least in the impression of Emperor Chongzhen, it is impossible for a steam engine with practical purposes to be so large.

The second point is that the current steam engine, the efficiency of converting thermal energy into kinetic energy is too low. In other words, today's steam engine is a steel monster that eats coal, and it eats a lot of food. In terms of economic cost, it is really not cost-effective! In Emperor Chongzhen's cognition, this should be the reason why there is no rubber seal.

He thought about it for a while, but he still didn't have a clue, so he decided to go to the War Bureau, and stay with the craftsmen over there for a while, to see if he could find any good solutions!

Unexpectedly, before he left, the attendants outside the palace entered the palace to announce that Liu Chengzhi, the eunuch of the Palm Seal of the War Bureau, had asked for an audience.

When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he couldn't help but feel moved in his heart, should he let them study, and really researched something, right?

Thinking so, he immediately ordered Liu Chengzhi to meet him.

Before the ceremony was finished, Emperor Chongzhen looked at Liu Chengzhi below with a hint of expectation and asked, "Is there good news?" “

"Back to Your Majesty's words, there is one thing, the slave maid thinks that it is possible to improve the steam engine, but the slave maid is only shallow and unsure, so she has to follow Your Majesty's will and come to tell Your Majesty." Although Liu Chengzhi said this, the smile on his face showed that he was probably modest.

Emperor Chongzhen was very happy to see it, and hurriedly asked, "Very good, give me the details of the way!" ”

When Liu Chengzhi heard this, he hurriedly replied: "Your Majesty, today there is a carpenter who heard the slave and maid discussing the matter of the steam engine with others, and privately said to other craftsmen that their carpenters saw wood, and there are people pulling and pushing both ends of the saw, so it saves a lot of effort. When the slave heard this, she felt that it made sense, and she came to explain it to Your Majesty! ”

Anyway, he saw that the emperor cared so much about the steam engine, although he was a eunuch with the palm seal of the War Bureau, he was also active in the front line of steam engine manufacturing, and his understanding of the steam engine could be said to be no less than that of those craftsmen. Therefore, after hearing the carpenter's words, he had already determined that it was indeed possible to contact the construction and distance of the steam engine.

The reason why Liu Chengzhi didn't dare to say that he came up with this matter was because Emperor Chongzhen often went to the military bureau to stay with the craftsmen, and in order to encourage the craftsmen, he also strictly ordered the officials not to be greedy for the merits of their subordinates, otherwise once it is verified, they will be severely punished. Liu Chengzhi is not sure that he can cover the sky with one hand in the war bureau, the risk is too great, it is better to tell the truth.

Besides, after Emperor Chongzhen heard Liu Chengzhi say this, he thought about it slightly in his mind and was overjoyed. He has also been focusing on the manufacture of steam engines, and his understanding of steam engines is also clear in his mind.

In the past, the main reason why the steam engine was so big was that if the steam engine was small, the low thermal energy conversion efficiency would lead to a lack of kinetic energy, and there was really no way to make the steam engine bigger. But now, after setting up two cylinders and pushing each other, the kinetic energy will definitely be greatly increased under the same heat energy. In this way, the steam engine must be able to reduce the volume by a lot. That is, one of the difficulties of the previous steam engine was solved.

Emperor Chongzhen was so excited that he immediately set up a military battle, and according to this idea, he improved the design of the steam engine, and then immediately asked Liu Chengzhi to transfer skilled craftsmen and immediately began to build it.

The results of the test really proved that Emperor Chongzhen's idea was correct. The new steam engine is indeed much better than the previous one. This made Emperor Chongzhen feel that it might be possible to use this as the prototype to carry out mass production of steam engines.

In addition to being happy, he was in the War Bureau, gathering all the personnel, including all kinds of craftsmen, and rewarding Liu Chengzhi was inevitable. What many people didn't expect was that they heard Emperor Chongzhen on the steps and asked with a smile: "Who is the carpenter Sun Erniu?" ”

"Grass people Sun Erniu, long live knock, long live long live!" A sturdy young man in his twenties stood up in front of everyone and knelt down in front of Emperor Chongzhen and replied loudly.

Kneeling there, he was very excited, and he knew that something good must be there.

Emperor Chongzhen looked at him and nodded in his heart, only if he is a young man, he will have a lot less scruples, and if he has any thoughts in his heart, he will blurt out.

After Sun Erniu finished the salute, to everyone's amazement, Emperor Chongzhen actually stepped down the steps and personally stepped forward to help Sun Erniu, and said with a smile: "Yes, hurry up!" ”

Sun Erniu thought about having this courtesy, you know, this is today! His arms were held by the emperor, and his hands were shaking a little under the excitement. Of course, when he said it afterwards, he didn't admit it.

Looking at Sun Erniu, who had already stood up, Emperor Chongzhen was in front of him, and said with a smile: "Your idea is very good, not only that, but you can also say what you think in your heart, and finally make the improvement of the steam engine successful." I admire young people like you. Dare to think and dare to say, not limited to status, not bad, not bad! ”

After he said a few good things in a row, he suddenly said in a solemn tone: "Carpenter Sun Erniu takes the order!" ”

Sun Erniu was excited, and when he suddenly heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and immediately knelt down again.

"Merit will be rewarded, I have decided to give you one percent of the profits from the sale of steam engines in the next ten years, and enjoy the courtesy of a master." When Emperor Chongzhen said this, he added, "I hope that your skills can be improved, go further, and reach the standard of a master, so I will be happy to give you the title of master, understand?" “

What he said was that Sun Erniu is not a "master" at present, but he has the treatment of a master, and his skills have improved, and he will only have the title of master after he reaches the master standard. But even so, it means that his status has been improved to the point of hatred, and it can be said that he has ascended to the sky in one step. What's more, he can also get a share of the profits from the sale of the steam engine in ten years, what a fortune!

Sun Erniu has gained fame and fortune because of an association and a word. This made him so excited that he couldn't get it back, so he could only kowtow again and again, shouting long live.

And those people in the courtyard, not only the officials of the War Bureau, but also all kinds of craftsmen, are very red-eyed, and many people are scolding in their hearts, you are a grandson and a cow, I don't know what kind of shit luck you have taken, but with a casual word, you have improved the steam engine, and you have been so courteous and rewarded by the emperor, and the ancestral tomb is smoking, right?

After Emperor Chongzhen finished appreciating Sun Erniu, he looked at the steam engine on display, and then turned around and looked at the people in the courtyard again.

Since ancient times, the Han people have never lacked intelligent people, and I hope that these craftsmen who are counted in the world can use their minds and improve more things in their future work.

Thinking so, Emperor Chongzhen prepared to drive back to the palace.

But who knows, at this moment, I suddenly heard a person in the courtyard crowd suddenly shouting: "Your Majesty, this steam engine, the grass people have an idea!" ”