The people V met were all silent, Xie Hong fell quietly, and he also had the leisure to admire the palace.

From a distance, the Forbidden City is indeed resplendent and magnificent, but it is close, and if he looks closely, Xie Hong finds that many palaces are very old, and some of them are even dilapidated, far from being luxurious. He felt strange in his heart, and only after asking Liu Jin did he understand.

Originally from the Yongle period, Chengzu Zhu Di moved the capital to Yanjing, and it has been a hundred years now, but the palace is not much repaired, and the early stage is because the palace is still new, and there is no need. After waiting for the civil fort, Daming also fell into an eventful season, and it was too late to save expenses, where could he take care of repairing the palace, so it was what Xie Hong saw now.

The emperor's words are not easy, Xie Hong couldn't help but sigh, this old house has been lived in for almost a hundred years, and no one has proposed to repair it or anything. I don't know if it was because of this that Zhengde later moved to the famous leopard house?

"Gonggong Liu, is there a leopard room in the palace?" Thinking of this rather famous place, Xie Hong was very curious, so he asked again.

"Leopard room? What is that? Liu Jin looked dazed, thought about it, and suddenly realized: "What Lord Xie said is where is Xiyuan?" There were tigers and leopards and other beasts there, and they were originally paid tribute by some feudal countries, but later the feudal kingdoms came less, and it was slowly deserted, and I don't want adults to know. ”

Oh, and the leopard house is really a place to keep leopards, the Royal Zoo? Didn't later generations say that it was a nightclub? Xie Hong couldn't figure it out, so he simply shook his head and stopped thinking about it, how could he know what Liu Jin didn't know?

"Big brother, you are too majestic today." As soon as he entered the Qianqing Palace, Zhengde greeted him, his eyes were full of stars, and his mouth was full of praise.

"It's nothing." Xie Hong is telling the truth, jokes, the theme of today's court discussion is clocks, and he borrowed the identity of Zhengde, so if he can't gain the upper hand, it will really be over.

Zhengde didn't think about it so much, anyway, he felt that he had a big bad breath today, and he was really happy to look at the faces of the courtiers. When he saw Liu Jin behind him, he couldn't help but be stunned, and said strangely: "Hey, Lao Liu, what's wrong with your face?" ”

"There was a mosquito bite on the old slave's face just now, and the old slave hit him a little too hard by himself......" Liu Jin replied with low eyebrows.

"Mosquitoes at this time?"

Zhengde looked out of the door suspiciously, and then saw Xie Hong, who was smiling and silent, he seemed to understand something, and he didn't continue to dwell on this topic, but asked excitedly: "Big brother, have you received all the tribute?" ”

"No, here's the gift list." Xie Hong handed over the gift list casually. Out of the palace, the attitude of the two envoys changed even more completely than Liu Jin, and they almost got down and licked the soles of Xie Hong's shoes, how could things not go well.

"Oh, oh, that's a lot." Zhengde's face lit up, and he said to Gu Dayong: "Dayong, thanks to the eldest brother's blessing, now that the money is used, the Empress Dowager's Cining Palace should also be repaired, and I have been thinking about cleaning up the Xiyuan and then moving over, this is okay, and the other ......"

He wrenched his fingers and muttered, Gu Dayong was very happy to see the gift list, but listening to Zhengde's words, his face wrinkled again, with such a little money, where can he do so many things? Long live the affection, how much does the Lord think the tribute is?

Liu Jin gasped, he didn't listen to it in his heart, but he heard the two words Xiyuan clearly, these two words smashed on his head like a hammer, making his ears buzz.

Could it be a coincidence? But there are too many coincidences between these two people, and today this time is even more bizarre, Xie Hong just mentioned Xiyuan, and Long Live Lord also remembered that place, what a tacit understanding this is, it is simply a heart.

Liu Jin couldn't help but start to rejoice, although he lost face and suffered again, he at least escaped the catastrophe in front of him. It's a thought to be more than Xie Hong, and he can't guess the mind of the Long Live Lord, so it's better to squint first, anyway, except for Wang Yue, the courtiers' goals have turned to Xie Hong.

Looking at Zhengde's happy appearance, Xie Hong was a little surprised, except for the part of the tribute that was not worth the value, the total was less than 20,000 taels of silver, why was Zhengde happy to be like this?

"Father-in-law Gu, why is the emperor so happy? That's a little more silver. "Twenty thousand taels, Xie Hong is completely out of sight. Not to mention his current net worth, when he was in Xuanfu, he gave away 30,000 taels casually, but he just sold his favor to Zhang Zongbing, what is this now?

"Master Xie, don't you know, Long Live Lord is really tight, otherwise why are you so concerned about the affairs of Huangzhuang? Only the production of Huangzhuang can be used at will. Gu Fatzi explained with a sad face.

"But didn't you say last time that the emperor often rewarded ministers last year, and he also took money from the inner treasury?"

Xie Hong was even more surprised, the emperor would be poor, this matter was quite difficult to understand, but after the emperor was poor, he still slapped his swollen face and became fat, which was even more incredible. According to his observation, Zhengde doesn't seem to have such a good face, how could there be such an oolong incident? actually rewarded others to reward themselves poor!

"Oh, this matter, it was instructed by my father to be kind to the courtiers, saying that if I give it a peach, the ministers will repay it." It was Masatoku who answered the question, and his voice sounded a little low, I don't know if it was because he was sad when he thought of Koji, or because he was hurt by the courtiers' returns.

Xie Hong was also speechless, not knowing whether to sigh at Zhengde's kindness, or to reprimand the ministers for their inch-in-progress, step by step.

"By the way, big brother, how did you know that the pocket watch was broken? Obviously, you haven't seen that thing before, and I haven't seen you approaching those two envoys in the Taihe Palace. Zhengde is also a natural optimist, so he quickly adjusted his mood and asked Xie Hong again.

Today, everyone in the Taihe Hall has this doubt in their hearts, but the situation changed very quickly at that time, and no one bothered to think about it, let alone ask questions, so it was not until this time that Zhengde was the first to ask. Hearing Zhengde's question, several eunuchs also pricked up their ears, just as Zhengde asked, this matter is indeed very strange.

"That......" Xie Hong was still sighing, and he didn't think it was a big deal, so he replied very casually: "I heard it." ”

"Huh!?" Everyone was dumbfounded, this answer was too unexpected.

Surprised by the surprise of several people, Xie Hong also turned his attention back, and couldn't help but laugh when he saw their appearance, so he explained in detail: "The clock runs by the power of machinery, so it will make a 'click' light sound, if it is intact, then the sound should be completely in accordance with the law, if it is damaged, the sound will be interrupted." ”

"In addition, from the outside, the pocket watch is also very old, that thing is a very delicate thing, with the current ironmaking technology, it is difficult to have a long life."

Hearing such an answer, several eunuchs looked at each other, more puzzled than before they heard it.

I actually heard it, this ear power and observation power are too amazing, and what is even more amazing is Xie Hong's craftsmanship. Clocks and watches are things that others have never heard of, but they seem to be commonplace in the mouth of this adult, and the principles and advantages and disadvantages are all casually said. I don't know how he has such insight and means at his age, and there are really people in the world who know it.

"I see!" Zhengde doesn't have so many ideas, as long as he satisfies his curiosity, he's happy, anyway, the eldest brother is already amazing, and there's nothing strange about any more magical places.

Xie Hong's words evoked another matter in Zhengde's heart, and he sighed regretfully: "That pendulum clock is also very fun, give it back to the stick, it's a pity." ”

"It's not a pity." Xie Hong shook his head and said, "If there is nothing in return, the courtiers will definitely still make noise, and the envoys will not give up, if they simply ask for financial assistance...... Uh, that's borrowing food or something, wouldn't that be bad? It would be better to send them away with a pendulum clock. ”

"That's just as well." Zhengde thought for a while, and then nodded, if the envoys really borrowed food and money, the courtiers would definitely make trouble again, so it was better to send them on the spot. Although the reason is clear, he still remembers the pendulum clock: "I still find the pendulum clock very interesting." ”

Is this coquettish? Listening to Zhengde chattering there, Xie Hong couldn't help but laugh. Like the children of later generations, if they want something, they are embarrassed to ask for it directly, so they talk to themselves, or stand in front of the counter of that thing and do not leave, in short, they want their parents to understand what they mean and take the initiative to buy it for them.

In the past, Zhengde was unceremoniously and directly begging, but today eighty percent is because he has just received the money, so he will be embarrassed to speak. Xie Hong smiled slightly and said, "It's easy to say, I'll send one to you in a few days, soon." ”

"Really?" Zhengde's eyes lit up, it didn't matter what the time was, but in his opinion, that mechanism was very interesting.

"Of course, I have a helper now." Xie Hong said very angrily: "Look, this time the efficiency is very high, right?" It only took five days to make a pendulum clock! They're all new now, and when they're proficient, they'll be able to make the same thing in less than three days. In the future, if there are more helpers, the proficiency will be higher, and it will not be a problem to do three a day. ”

The impact on Zhengde should be imperceptible, Xie Hong as long as he has the opportunity, he will mention things about industry, seeing that Zhengde's eyes are getting brighter and brighter, Xie Hong added a fire, and said: "This is a pure manual situation, if it is a machine tool or something developed in the future, then how much it will be......"

"Oh, oh? Oh! Zhengde nodded vigorously, a little suspicious at first, and finally his face was full of longing.

"And ......" Xie Hong smiled slyly and said: "The envoys didn't take advantage of it, and the pendulum clock given to them in return could not be sold in the Ming Dynasty. But the Wa Kingdom is not a good place, and they have to ask for more blessings, haha. ”

"Hmm!" The people present were all smart people, and they all understood when they heard Xie Hong's words. The organ on the pendulum clock can be regarded as a miniature holy decree, there are not many rules and regulations in the Ming Dynasty, and it is not like the braids of later generations to engage in literary prisons, but the holy decree is still to be avoided, even if ordinary people have more money, who dares to buy the holy decree?

As for the Wa Kingdom, hehe, Xie Hong knows it, and other people also understand: The Wa people have always bullied the soft and feared the hard, and they used silver to deal with the Ming Dynasty, and that was because the Ming Dynasty was strong; But the Koreans are very weak, and when dealing with them, they naturally use knives.

The stick opened his mouth in the Ming lion, because of the connivance of the ministers, but did he get to the Wa country! Xie Hong sneered, hehe, I'm afraid I have to choose between disembowelment and rope again.

It's not so easy to knock on Daming's bamboo pole, it's okay if my brother isn't there, but since I'm here, how can I let these bastards who came to blackmail get out of the way?

(To be continued)