The rise of the prince

Chapter 239 Graphite Crucible + Tsukado Yu's Repentance

The spring breeze is expected to be chilly, and February is coming in a blink of an eye
It was a troubled February, and the court ministers and the emperor were in a state of desperation.The southern waterway was cut off, water transportation was blocked, the people were turbulent, and the whole country complained. The emperor had to hastily gather the army again and prepare to go south.

The crown prince was still on his way back to Beijing. Many literati in Beijing were already filled with righteous indignation and condemned them verbally. A few times, Li Xingzhou took two maids out for a stroll, ranging from literati and poets to aunts selling vegetables and beggars on the roadside. Goulan restaurants, teahouses and restaurants are scolding the prince everywhere, which is miserable enough.

But Li Xingzhou knew that the emperor would definitely protect the crown prince.

In the prince's generation, Li Yu was a playboy with nothing to do.King Lin died of the plague, another personal guard who was valued was killed by the emperor for being suspected of treason, the most talented King Xiao died in the disaster of war, and now only the crown prince, Li Yu and the naturally disabled prince Li Yu are left. Li Tan had also been sent out of Beijing a long time ago. He settled down on Jingnan Road, far away from the political center. Apart from the prince, Jingchao Jiangshan Foundation had no suitable heirs.

Protecting the prince is equal to protecting the foundation of the country. The emperor understands this truth, so he will do whatever it takes.

However, the affairs in the palace are at most lively, let alone intervene, Li Xingzhou can't intervene even with his mouth.

There are many things waiting for him in the palace. The scale of the grenade production workshop in the back mountain is constantly expanding. Now it can produce about [-] grenades every month, but he handed over [-] grenades to the Ministry of War. He is so courageous. After all, he knows the details. Only him and Yan Shen were the only ones who knew about it, and no one knew about it.
After all, a grenade is a one-time thing, and the damage is unstable, so firing a musket is the kingly way.

It's a pity that so far, the palace has only produced sixteen quick-fire guns. This is because the second hydraulic drive system was completed, and the work department was changed to a two-hundred-jin water-drop forging hammer.

Although it is incomparable with a hydraulic forging hammer, it still saves a lot of man-hours, because the water drop forging hammer is not as powerful as manpower, not to mention that it can work 24 hours a day!

Li Xingzhou asked three craftsmen to forge the barrel with the water drop forging hammer 24 hours a day, which greatly accelerated the speed. After all, the barrel is the most time-consuming, labor-intensive and demanding part of the whole gun.

Because of the help of the pulley block and the experience accumulated before, the third hydraulic forging workshop is also under construction, and there is a fourth and a fifth.

Once all are completed, the speed will be greatly accelerated. Li Xingzhou's biggest expectation is to be able to produce [-] rods a year. If he has a steam engine, he can produce [-] rods a year, but unfortunately it is not realistic.

In the past few days, Li Xingzhou has asked Shiyu to host, and has been negotiating with a large shipyard in the suburbs, intending to acquire the entire shipyard.

Due to the defeat at Anxiakou and the cut off of the southern waterway, the shipyard's business could no longer continue, but the asking price was still high, at 3 taels.

Shiyu and Qiu'er are negotiating fiercely with each other in the past two days. This is the biggest deal in the palace, so everyone in the palace attaches great importance to it, and Yan Kun also took the time to come to help out. After all, he is an old Jianghu, and he understands many things better. Yan Shen was dropped from the back mountain by Li Ye and was responsible for the security of the negotiating team.

There are hundreds of workers in this shipyard, and it is the largest one in Kyoto on the outskirts of Yuanmendu.

The Wei family is in charge of it. The most promising chief of the Wei family is the chief envoy of the city ship, so he is familiar with many big merchants who travel by water. Taking this opportunity, and the Wei family has always had shipbuilding skills, they Slowly grow bigger.

Having been in business for decades, I never expected to encounter such a crisis now. Now that no one in the Wei family is an official in the court, it is all supported by the business of the shipyard.

"Bang!" There was a loud noise, and the iron plate in the distance groaned crisply. Li Xingzhou put down the gun in his hand, and then blew the smoke proudly, but he was almost choked to death. .

He was supposed to be on duty in Kaiyuan Mansion today, but he skipped work, because He Zhao has been busy dredging the capital's waterways these days, which is a major event, so busy that he has no time to take care of him.

Poems drinking tea elegantly on the side gave him a white look: "It's not big or small."

"How was the talk today?" Li Xingzhou asked while reloading the ammunition. The feeling of shooting a gun is addictive.

Shiyu shook his head: "The Wei family still refuses to let go, insisting on 3 taels, and even one tael less will not work."

Qiu'er was also very worried. After all, she designed the ship, so of course she was worried.

Her new boat adopts isolated cabins, pedaling water wheel drive and many other novel concepts. These things are advanced concepts that only existed in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The displacement is not comparable to any ship in this era, but if there is no shipbuilding factory, everything can not be realized, it is just a fantasy.

And she is relatively quiet and introverted, negotiating is not something she is good at.

On the contrary, Yan Kun said with a smile: "My lord, I think it's better to procrastinate. The Wei family is also struggling desperately. If they don't have business, they won't be able to continue. Sooner or later, they will compromise."

Shiyu disagreed, she stood up, glanced at Yan Kun, then looked at Li Xingzhou who was loading gunpowder, seemed angry at his negligence, and walked over to take his gunpowder pot: "But they have been in business for so many years, there will be some Let’s save up, how long will it be enough for them? If ten days and half a month is fine, what if it’s a year or two?”

On the other side, Qiu'er also nodded quickly in agreement: "Sister Shiyu is right." In this matter, she and Shiyu are on the same front.

Li Xingzhou snatched back his gunpowder pot from the bully Shiyu, and then thought for a while: "What you said is also reasonable, but 3 taels is not a small amount. You have to learn to be diligent and thrifty to manage your family."

"You" was at a loss for words, and quickly avoided his teasing gaze, then pinched the corner of his clothes and snorted with a sullen face: "Hmph, I will talk about it again, but if they don't let go, you can talk about it yourself !"

"Yes, yes, if they don't let go, I will personally go out and beat their Wei family all over the place." Li Xingzhou swung the gun in his hand and said.

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Shiyu put her hands on her hips and frowned beautifully.

"I'm a hooligan, who am I afraid of?" Li Xingzhou said indifferently, aiming his gun at the iron plate more than ten meters away.

As a result, the barrel of the gun was suddenly pressed down by her, and Shiyu said anxiously, dissatisfied: "How could you do such a thing! Can't you cherish your reputation? Do you know how bad your reputation is outside!"

"Bad people are good at doing things." Li Xingzhou explained.

"Ke Ke didn't do this like you did. You are trying to discredit yourself for no reason! Do you know how outsiders will misunderstand you and arrange you?" Shiyu said excitedly.

Li Xingzhou looked at the angry woman in surprise, and then asked, "Then you misunderstood?"

"Of course I won't, but."

"Are you considered an outsider?" Li Xingzhou teased her with a smile.

Shiyu was stunned for a moment, couldn't hold it anymore, stomped on him viciously, and then turned his head quickly: "Anyway, we can't do such nonsense!"

Li Xingzhou nodded: "Yes, yes, I listen to you. I'm not stupid. If it doesn't work, I will find a professional to do it. After all, they are more professional."

Shiyu didn't listen to his explanation, and dragged Qiu'er away in a hurry.

Li Xingzhou fired another shot, and the green smoke billowed up. The shot missed and hit the wall behind, sending debris flying
He thought for a while and said to Yan Kun: "Uncle Kun, how are the two newly opened restaurants?"

"Everything is good. Although it's not as good as Tingyulou, the business is booming. You can earn 700 taels a month. General Niang is still the big money maker. Except for the restaurants in Wangfu, you can't buy such good things in other places in central Beijing. " Yan Kun said proudly.

Then he hid his smile and said in a low voice: "However, sir, recently many restaurants have started to imitate our dishes. I have seen many cooks come to our restaurant to eat food every now and then. It is obvious that they have bad intentions and want to steal from them."

Li Xingzhou was surprised: "Can you still tell who is the cook?"

"Hey, there's no need to look at it! Order two or three dishes, and eat like a cat with your eyes closed. You can eat for three or two hours. What else can you be if you are not a cook who came to steal a lesson." Yan Kun said while Putting on the appearance of squinting and tasting, it is really a three-point air.

"Hahahaha, don't worry about it, it will happen sooner or later." Li Xingzhou was amused by him.

Yan Kun went on to say: "Also, some guys in the store recently told me that someone quietly approached them after closing, and said that as long as they could give out the unique recipe of General Niang, they would give them [-] pennies. Ask them who they are. , They also said they don’t know. I’m afraid that things will become big, and some people can’t help but take money, so I let them keep it secret and dare not make it public.”

Li Xingzhou nodded after hearing this. These are actually expected. After all, there must be many people who are jealous of the huge profits made by the general.

He thought for a while and said to Yan Kun: "Uncle Kun, you don't need to keep this matter a secret, it doesn't matter if you just tell the buddy, and you don't need to warn or anything, just say it as a joke."

"How can this be done, my lord! If they really take the money, it will be a disaster!" Yan Kun looked excited.

Li Xingzhou shook his head while loading the bullet: "It's okay, this is not a taboo thing, some things are better to talk about, and it can stabilize people's hearts." After speaking, he suddenly raised his hand and shot.

boom!Hit the bullseye.

Seeing what he said, Yan Kun didn't dare to disobey, just nodded and retreated.

Looking at the pierced iron plate in the distance, Li Xingzhou couldn't help but smile. It seems that the marksmanship has recovered. There is always someone who can master any skill. Shooting used to be one of Li Xingzhou's strengths. Those top snipers are incomparable.

A Canadian sniper killed the enemy commander at a distance of more than 500 meters.More than 500 meters, the bullet starts to slow down after ejecting from the chamber, and it takes 8 to 10 seconds to fly from the muzzle to the target. With the influence of wind, gravity and other effects, it is hard to imagine how he did it, but someone can do it.

As for the question Yan Kun said, he was somewhat psychologically prepared, but Yan Kun was always too taboo and too feudal.Psychological research shows that it is difficult to keep a mystified secret, and an open and enlightened environment can actually increase people's loyalty and let the guys know that it is no big deal.

Besides, this is something that will be discovered sooner or later. What Wangfu needs to do is not to prevent others from making progress, but to keep innovating and maintain a leading edge.

Thinking about it, Li Xingzhou fired another shot.

boom!And hit.

The target is the best iron plate of this era. He specially asked Tien Niu to forge it for himself, and it will still be easily pierced in front of a sudden-fire gun.
Just at this time, a family member walked around the flower bed and hurried towards him: "My lord, Zhu Rong is here!"

Li Xingzhou put down his gun, and was immediately overjoyed. He probably understood what Zhu Ronglai was doing: "Let him in!"

After a while, Zhu Rong came in with a red face, and shouted loudly: "My lord, tell my lord, those crucibles have been cast!"

Without further ado, he put away his gun, changed his coat and a pair of shoes, and followed Zhu Rong to the back mountain.

To the south of the back mountain, the soil here is loess and clay. Five earthen kilns stand here, billowing with smoke and dust.

These earthen kilns were all made by the Zhu family. He and the Zhu family were in an employment relationship and had to pay commissions every month. The entire Zhu family worked for him, including firing jade bottles made of general brew, exquisite porcelain bottles for perfume, And there’s this one—a graphite crucible!
Looking at the fifty black cauldrons neatly arranged, Li Xingzhou was so excited that he almost dropped his jaw from laughter.

"Are you so happy, isn't it just a few black water tanks?" Zhu Rong scratched his head and said.

Li Xingzhou didn't explain. He touched the warm and smooth surface of the crucible with his hands. These dark crucibles have just come out of the kiln, and the residual heat has not dissipated. However, before humans entered the electrical age, the only way to mass produce real steel There are some ugly big guys!

The candlelight was dim, and Zhong Daoyu's bony fingers trembled a little. He held up the imperial decree written by the ink pen, and stared blankly at the light for a long time.

Since receiving the imperial decree, he has read it more than a dozen times, and every time he reads it, his sense of reality will become stronger. Only now, he is completely sure that this has really happened!

He persisted for a long time, but there were many difficulties and obstacles, and the thing that made no progress turned out to be successful!
The imperial decree was clearly written, just as Li Xingzhou expected at the beginning, although the emperor agreed, but not completely, he only ordered to allow the fifth chamber of the Shenwu Army to try it out, and [-] forbidden troops in the fifth chamber were enough.

But how did he do it? Now that he thinks about it, he still has a chill down his spine. People like Tong Guan, the ministers of the Privy Council who were renounced before, must not know how they were calculated in the end.

This kind of person is too dangerous, even though he is a junior, Zhong Daoyu subconsciously wants to stay away from him, but he made a deal with him.

he's starting to hesitate now
The Shenwu Army is quite special. Because it has been stationed in Kyoto for a long time, the Shenwu Army has five compartments with a strength of nearly [-] troops, while the other Lingjie Army and Wulie Army have only two compartments with a strength of about [-] troops. They are stationed outside in rotation for a long time.

This means that each army of the Shenwu Army is almost full, and there are more than 2000 people in one army, which is not a small number. If more than 2000 forbidden troops are handed over to a grandson of the emperor, if something happens in the future, he will be a sinner through the ages!

If it was an ordinary person, he would have regretted it when the matter was accomplished. He is a privy envoy, a general, even if he regretted it, what would a grandson of the emperor do to him?
But Li Xingzhou's method made him feel scruples.

"Oh, what should I do?" Zhong Daoyu frowned, and put down the imperial decree in his hand, the surrounding lights were flickering, and the light and shadow were shaking.

On the other side is another letter from Li Xingzhou, which is for him to submit to the emperor to clarify the division of labor in the military restructuring, so as to avoid any "responsibility dispersion effect".

There is also the half-written memorial, which he personally wrote for Li Xingzhou to ask for the commander of the army.

Zhong Daoyu closed his eyes, clasped his hands tightly, and did not speak, the study was so quiet that there was no sound, only the candle flame was beating
After a long time, he slowly opened his eyes, then put away the imperial decree, shook his head and laughed at himself: "What worries do people who are half buried in the ground have, and why should unworthy descendants seek blessings and avoid disasters for them? As a minister, just do your best. I am always Your Majesty." servants of the

As he spoke, he picked up the half-written memorial, burned it clean with a candle, and muttered to himself: "Li Xingzhou, alas!"

He has no choice, the emperor may agree, after all, one of the military reforms is that the Privy Council directly controls the Imperial Army.

In the five-compartment capital of the Shenwu Army on trial, as a privy envoy, he has the right to call himself an officer. As agreed in advance, Li Xingzhou has the status of a civil and military officer. It is reasonable for him to go up and take charge of an army. Your Majesty will most likely not be opposed to.

But Li Xingzhou is the emperor's grandson!

The whole army consists of 500 people, and it is still a forbidden army with complete armor. Even if the crown prince is in Beijing, it is not something that can make the emperor feel at ease. If something happens, how will he explain to the ancestors?
Thinking of this Zhong Daoyu is also helpless, he broke the contract, but there is nothing he can do.

Since ancient times, loyalty and righteousness have been difficult to balance. Without Li Xingzhou, this matter would not have been possible, but as a minister, he could not let Li Xingzhou continue to get involved in the imperial army!

(End of this chapter)