The rise of the prince

Chapter 243 Zhong Daoyu + Wrought Iron + General Trend
In the early morning, the morning fog began to dissipate, the market gradually became lively, and the nights became shorter and shorter. Cars and sedan chairs were parked outside Wumen.

Today is not the day of the great dynasty, the emperor is trying his best to govern, and the minor courts continue. What's more, such a big incident happened in the south recently, and the ministers dare not neglect. At dawn, they have hurriedly gathered at the Meridian Gate and entered the court on foot.

Only officials of the third grade and above can participate in the Xiaochao.

It is also because of this that Da Chaoyi is full of sense, but in fact there are different opinions and it is difficult to make a decision. On the contrary, Xiao Chao is the time to make decisions.

Many important matters were agreed upon by the small dynasty, and when the big court re-discussed, they just brought it up and went through a process.

Therefore, it seems to have become a law for small courts to talk about things and big courts to argue. Everyone has a bottom line in their hearts, but they don't say it out loud.

Zhong Daoyu came not too early or too late, got off the carriage, and entered the Meridian Gate, he happened to meet Zhao Guanghua on the way and walked with him.

In the past two days, he was a little worried and uneasy. The uneasiness was that Li Xingzhou visited his house once a few days ago, but he never went back after being turned away.
"The general should not worry too. I feel that the prince has not come again, so he probably retreated in spite of the difficulties and gave up this matter." Zhao Guanghua persuaded him as he walked, Zhong Daoyu was both a benefactor and a master to him.

Zhong Daoyu disagreed, and said with a blank expression: "I have seen all kinds of storms and waves all my life. I never thought that people would worry about a child in their later years, ha ha." He laughed at himself, and then continued to walk forward, from Meridian Gate to There is a long way to go in the palace, and it will take about half an hour.

"Does Guanghua understand dogs?" Zhong Daoyu asked suddenly.

Zhao Guanghua was stunned for a moment, not knowing why the general suddenly asked such a nonsensical question, he frowned and thought for a while, but he didn't dare to show his shame rashly, then shook his head and said: "There are watchdogs in the mansion, and they are all guarded by the concierge. , but if you say that your subordinates don’t understand it, they don’t know how to tame it either.”

Zhong Daoyu said as he walked: "When I was a child, I loved hunting dogs the most. Ordinary people are afraid of barking dogs. When they see a dog barking, they will most likely be afraid from the bottom of their hearts. But the old man knows that if a dog barks, it is very likely Bajiu is a guilty conscience. The louder the barking, the more guilty and afraid of people. Such a dog does not have to be afraid.

Those biting dogs are like hungry wolves, they never bark indiscriminately, they are afraid of barking, and the prey is alert, so it is difficult to strike, but once it moves, it will definitely kill the prey.

Do you get me?The old man was afraid that Li Xingzhou was the vicious dog that didn't bark. The quieter he was, the less he got angry, the less he did anything, the more uneasy the old man felt.A dog that does not bark will kill a man."

Zhong Daoyu seemed worried as he spoke, and his pace also slowed down.

Zhao Guanghua suddenly didn't know how to speak. The General had treated him with great kindness, so he naturally wanted to find some good words, but after seeing the scheming methods of the prince, he was indeed a little afraid, and he actually felt that provoking Li Xingzhou would not be a good thing. .

Zhao Guanghua said as he walked, "Actually, the general doesn't need it."

"You don't have to offend Li Xingzhou?"

Looking for Guanghua to nod: "The command of the first army is easy. The Shenwu Army has more than 2 people in five arms, and it is just to give up the first army. The subordinates feel that it may not have much impact."

Zhong Daoyu and the colleagues who occasionally passed by beside him cupped their hands, then turned their heads, sighed and said to Zhao Guanghua: "It's not that I don't want to part with an army, but I'm just afraid of hidden worries."

"Hidden worries?"

"With Li Xingzhou's ingenuity and means, it is like holding a soldier. If I am not careful, I will be a sinner through the ages." Zhong Daoyu said with a serious face.

Zhao Guanghua's eyes widened: "The general said."

"Don't be afraid of [-], just in case." Zhong Daoyu quickened his pace: "This matter happened because of me, the emperor can't let the emperor worry about it alone, besides, the old man is half buried in the ground, he has nothing to worry about, but you. "

As he spoke, he suddenly stopped, squinted at Zhao Guanghua, and then seriously explained: "You are young and promising, and you still have a long way to go. In the future, don't involve me too much with the old man, and spend less time with the General's Mansion."

"How can this happen!" Zhao Guanghua was in a hurry, and was about to rush to speak, but Zhong Daoyu raised his hand to stop him first.

"Do you feel cowardly without fighting, feel humiliated and indignant?" Zhong Daoyu whispered while walking, "But you have to remember that good steel is used for blades, and elite soldiers are used for blades." Where it can be determined in one battle, the rest of the casualties are mostly sacrifices, so don't worry, there is no victory without sacrifice.

Up to now, kingship and imperial power are the blade. You are young and promising, and your future is limitless. You are an elite soldier among thousands of troops. I am only dying and can sacrifice at any time.

You have to remember, in the future, don't try to fight for the old man, fight with Li Xingzhou, put aside his ability, he is also the emperor's grandson, otherwise he will only harm himself, if you recognize me as a master or a benefactor, Just remember what the old man said. " Zhong Daoyu said and patted Zhao Guanghua on the shoulder emphatically, with a serious face.

Zhao Guanghua wanted to say something, but he couldn't come out after opening his mouth. In the end, he could only lower his head and nod his head heavily.

"Let's go, today's matter should be settled." Zhong Daoyu turned around freely after speaking, and walked towards the Changchun Hall with a long shadow.

Li Xingzhou was squatting by the iron pool, Shiyu was standing behind her, and the two were watching the iron ox and some blacksmiths making iron.

They melted the iron ore into a liquid state in a furnace, and then the fiery red molten iron flowed out from the mouth of the furnace, and when it touched the ground, blue smoke rose, and the orange-red molten iron flowed down an earthen groove into the pool below.

The heat wave is transpiring, and the fiery red molten iron is extremely aggressive, which makes people nervous and uneasy. The blacksmiths are also cautious for fear of touching it.

Shiyu took a few steps back in fear. Li Xingzhou knew that the current molten iron is doped with a lot of impurities, so the melting point is relatively low, only about [-] to [-] degrees Celsius.While the molten iron was still flowing, Tie Niu lifted a long willow branch that had just been cut down, and began to stir the molten iron in the pool.

As soon as the willow branch was put into the molten iron, there was a piercing sizzling sound, green smoke burst out, and Shiyu was frightened back a few steps. Li Xingzhou pulled her back amusedly, but in fact this thing is not that scary.

Willow branches are rich in water, very soft, and have good toughness. In ancient times, they were used to stir molten iron to achieve the purpose of decarburization.

As the iron bull stirred gently, the molten iron began to smoke, and at the same time, people around felt the heat wave was transpiring, making it difficult to breathe.

"Has the wicker been burned?" Shiyu asked him when he saw the molten iron smoking.

Li Xingzhou shook his head: "No, this is called decarbonization. The carbon in the iron ore begins to detach due to the sufficient heat from the stirring."

"What?" Shiyu was confused.

Li Xingzhou spread his hands: "You are too stupid to explain clearly." He stomped on him in a poetic tone. In fact, he just told the blacksmiths that they didn't understand what it meant. They didn't understand the periodic table of elements and didn't study chemical physics. , do so purely by experience.

Simply speaking, this process is to remove the carbon rich in molten iron. When the carbon is removed, the iron becomes more and more pure, and the melting point begins to rise. The current temperature gradually fails to reach the melting point, and it will gradually solidify until it cannot be stirred and cooled down. The last thing you get is wrought iron.

The reason why the people next to them find it difficult to breathe is because a large amount of carbon-containing gases, such as carbon dioxide, are produced during decarbonization.

Wrought iron is low-carbon iron, but it does not mean pure, because what the iron cow does is to remove a large amount of carbon from the molten iron, but other impurities, such as sulfur and silicon, cannot be removed by the technology of this era, so the wrought iron The strength and toughness are far inferior to steel, not even as hard as pig iron, because its carbon content is too low and there are too many other impurities.

Moreover, this process is uncontrollable and irreversible, because there is no precise temperature control technology in this era.

Sure enough, with the stirring of the iron ox, the molten iron gradually became viscous, then turned black, and became gelatinous. Finally, it could no longer be stirred and solidified into a black solid.

The whole process took about half an hour. Shiyu was obviously seeing this scene for the first time. She was full of curiosity and focused on watching it. She asked puzzledly, "Didn't you say that iron cannot be made into steel because there are too many impurities in it?" So, why not melt and refine this thing again?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Tieniu and several blacksmiths laughed loudly: "Ma'am, this is not the same. After it cools down and forges to remove the dust on the surface, it will be wrought iron. Although wrought iron is soft, it can't be melted." , at most it can be refined to be softer."

Shiyu's face was slightly red, because everyone in the palace now called her Mrs. Li Xingzhou, that bastard didn't say anything, so she had no choice but to acquiesce
"But didn't you just smelt molten iron?"

"That was iron stone just now." Tieniu answered honestly. He was thin and young, and he didn't look like a blacksmith at all.

"But this wrought iron is made of iron and stone. It was just melted. Why can't it be melted now?"

"This..." Tieniu scratched his head, and didn't know how to answer for a moment. Looking back at the few blacksmiths behind him, they did the same. They knew that this was the case, but what was the reason? Who can tell, as long as it works.

Li Xingzhou said with a smile: "Okay, don't embarrass them, just ask me."

"I really think I know everything." Shiyu retorted.

"Because the purer the iron, the higher its melting point. To put it simply, there are all kinds of messy things in it when it is still iron and stone. At this time, the iron is impure and has a low melting point. The furnace temperature can melt it into water. After it becomes molten iron, there are some The messy things are removed, the iron is purer, and its melting point becomes higher, so the furnace temperature is not enough to boil it into water, and it solidifies." Li Xingzhou patiently explained to her.

"What's the melting point?"

"The melting point is the heat required to melt something into water, understand."

"That's right, that's what Shi Zi said!" Tieniu laughed and said hastily.

Shiyu gave him a blank look: "Hmph, don't be proud, you are a weirdo. There are some messy things in your mind, and you understand everything."

Several craftsmen were waiting to tap the iron to remove dust, and Li Xingzhou also stood up. The reason why he came here today was to try another thing, but the wrought iron imported from Jiangzhou was not decarburized enough, and he was afraid that it would not work well. It was good to be cautious this time, so he asked Tieniu to smelt wrought iron and supervised it himself.

"Steel can be made after a hundred times of refining, and steel can withstand fire." Li Xingzhou couldn't help feeling that the exploration of materials science has been difficult since ancient times and there is no shortcut, just like the saying "Steel can be made after a hundred times of refining". May see positive steel.

Li Xingzhou covered the glare of the sun with his hands, and looked to the north. Rows of houses and pavilions overlapped, blocking his view, and he couldn't see the palace from here, but presumably at this time, there must be a result.

It’s just a little ironic that what the emperor considers the most is not Tong Guan who shouts loyalty and patriotism every day, but the shameless old guy Zhong Daoyu who doesn’t talk about credibility, has no bottom line, he doesn’t know what to say. This beam is considered to be closed.

Li Xingzhou doesn't care about loyalty to the emperor and patriotism. He thinks about himself and the palace. Now that he thinks about it, the differences with Zhong Daoyu may be inevitable. At first, he and Zhong Daoyu only cooperated because of their common interests, but at a deeper level, the two But the concepts will eventually contradict each other, he is himself, Zhong Daoyu is the king, and the final breakup is reasonable.

".The Privy Council is directly in charge of the Fifth Chamber of the Shenwu Army. Defense mobilization and daily training are all in charge of the Privy Council. The Ministry of War is responsible for the payment of new troops and the recruitment of new recruits." Zhong Daoyu read in detail while holding the memorial.

This was written by Li Xingzhou for him, saying that it was to clarify responsibility and avoid the effect of responsibility dispersion.

The emperor listened to the details and nodded slightly, and all the ministers who were named also bowed their hands and obeyed.

Just as Li Xingzhou expected, Zhong Daoyu remembered the story of the two brothers he told himself. The younger brother who was seen by only one family survived, while the elder brother who was witnessed by everyone died tragically without help. The same is true for state affairs.

It's not that the ministers don't want to share the country's worries and relieve the monarch's difficulties, but when there are too many people, everyone waits and sees, thinking that if I don't do it, others will do it. If he doesn't do it, why should I do it?
Only by clarifying the specific responsibilities of each individual can the problem be solved.

Thinking about it, Zhong Daoyu turned his head to the Ministry of Industry and said: "Of course, the Ministry of Industry's help is indispensable. I ask Mr. Mao to be responsible for the preparation of the new army's armor and armor, and to check for gaps and make up for the omissions." It belongs to the Ministry of Industry.

Mao Luan, who was responsible for the Ministry of Industry, quickly handed over his hands: "Of course, the general will give orders, this is the responsibility of our Ministry of Industry."

Zhong Daoyu also cupped his hands, heaving a sigh of relief, no one objected in the three yamen, all the Privy Council approved, the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of War have agreed, as long as His Majesty approves, the reform of the Imperial Army has been completed.
The ministers also had a tacit understanding. Today's court meeting, the emperor must want to settle the matter of the general's reform, so no one said anything else.

The emperor who was sitting above nodded, then stood up with Fu'an's support, and looked around the crowd with his hands behind his back: "As soon as Anxia was defeated, I knew that the army reform was imminent. This was determined by the wise and wise ancestors of this dynasty, and the younger generations have always followed it, which is also beneficial to the stability of the country and the stability of the country.

However, this law also has disadvantages. If the generals do not know each other well, the morale of the army will be slackened, and there will be no fighting spirit. "

The emperor said and walked down slowly: "But after all, it is the rules of the ancestors. Even if it needs to be changed, how can we know that the new rules will definitely beat the old ones, so I decided to try it out in the fifth chamber of the Shenwu Army for a while. Whether it succeeds or not, should we continue?" Implement it, and make a conclusion after seeing the effect.”

When the emperor said this, naturally no one would object unwisely.

Zhong Daoyu's heart was surging, his breathing became heavier, he thought about it day and night, and the thing that he had been planning and persuading for an unknown amount of time finally came to fruition!
Quickly knelt down and said: "Your Majesty is wise!"

Seeing this, the ministers all knelt in agreement: "Your Majesty is wise!"

"Your Majesty is wise."

"."

There was a sound in the side hall.

The emperor looked at everyone without losing his composure, and then slowly returned to the top to sit down, and then said: "Everyone get up, it is a new policy, there must be a proposal to make it up, you just talk about it, take the good, and take the bad." Abandon, don't worry about it."

After the emperor said this, there was a moment of silence below, and no one made a sound at first.

At this time, Yu Chengan, the political advisor, was the first to stand up: "Your Majesty, I have something to say."

"But it doesn't matter."

"Yes!" Yu Chengan held the jade wat in his hand and bowed: "Military reform can certainly cure some stubborn diseases in the army, but it also has disadvantages. The general family dominates, and the training and dispatch of the forbidden army are controlled by the head of the Privy Council, which is not conducive to security. To stabilize the country, the old minister proposed to send the emperor's cronies to supervise the army."

Zhong Daoyu frowned. He reformed the military system so that the imperial army would not be restrained. If the emperor personally sent the overseer according to Yu Chengan's wishes, wouldn't it be a change of medicine? What's the use of the military reform?

He hadn't spoken yet, but Wang Yue, who was on the left of him, spoke first.

"Your Majesty Yu's words are wrong. The purpose of the military reform is to make the imperial army unfettered. Generals can make their own decisions in battle. If there is an overseer, there will be little difference between reforming and not reforming." Wang Yue said, and all the courtiers fell silent.

Zhong Daoyu was slightly surprised, he never thought that Wang Yue would actually speak for him.

Now that Wang Yue has spoken, even if Yu Chengan is the Deputy Prime Minister, he can only bow his hands and stop talking.

After thinking about this, Wang Yue continued, "However, I think that although Master Yu's plan is wrong, what he said is also true. It is really not appropriate for the Privy Council to control the maintenance and training of the Imperial Army. "

Zhong Daoyu frowned, what's going on, who exactly does Wang Yue want to help?

Seeing what Wang Yue said, Yu Chengan, who had just been refuted just now, raised his head.

"What proposal does the king have?" asked the emperor sitting high above.

Holding the jade wat in his hand, Wang Yue bowed to him and said: "In my opinion, you can have royal heirs of your majesty's confidantes in the army, but they are not supervisors but leaders. First, the prince must not interfere with the command, and will not restrain the forbidden army. Second, the forbidden army There are royal people among them, which can also make the ministers and His Majesty feel at ease."

As soon as Wang Yue finished speaking, the ministers nodded and began to discuss.

"OK."

"As expected of Wang Xiang, I really can't wait."

"The best of both worlds!"

"."

All the ministers were talking about it, and the emperor nodded, and it was obvious that he liked the proposal, "Then, according to my love, who can be the envoy of the Tian family and lead the forbidden army!"

When the emperor asked, everyone subconsciously looked at the prime minister Wang Yue standing in the front, after all, he was the one who proposed this matter.

Zhong Daoyu's pupils narrowed sharply, and his heart trembled. Could it be that a frightening thought flashed through his mind.

"Your Majesty, I think it must be the prince."

Wang Yue's words broke Zhong Daoyu's guess and let him breathe a sigh of relief, he was wrong
Yu Chengan hurriedly stood up at this time: "The minister also seconded the proposal. The crown prince is in the East Palace. It is justifiable for him to lead the army, and he can be used to supervise the army. It is perfect."

After listening to the case, the emperor said: "No! Let alone the prince is still on his way back to Beijing, is the Anxia incident not enough? The prince leads the army, so he wants to ruin the new army!" It can be seen that the emperor is still serious about the southern affairs. Very mindful.

Yu Chengan persuaded again: "The crown prince was just negligent for a while, no one can do anything wrong without being a sage, please Your Majesty"

"I said no!" The emperor interrupted Yu Chengan mercilessly: "This matter must be brought up again. After the crown prince returns to Beijing, he will be confined to the East Palace. The imperial edict has been issued, so there is no reason to go back on it!"

"Yes" Yu Chengan hurriedly backed away. Ever since he was reprimanded by the emperor for reporting on Li Xingzhou's private purchase of iron stones last time, now every time he sees the emperor, he feels that he has no idea. I can't figure out where their negligence is and why the emperor has such a attitude.

"Except for the crown prince, think about it again, who among the descendants of my Tian family can take on the heavy responsibility." The emperor waved his hand.

All of a sudden, the ministers talked a lot and began to discuss.

After not discussing for a long time, Wang Yue suddenly took half a step forward. Seeing him stepping forward, the ministers quickly quieted down and listened.

"Your Majesty, I recommend the emperor's grandson, Prince Xiao's son, Lieutenant Zhaowu, official of the Kaiyuan Mansion, and Li Xingzhou, the young supervisor of the Military Weapons Supervision." Wang Yue cupped his hands.

Zhong Daoyu's heart skipped a beat, as expected
Many ministers asked you to look at me, and I looked at you, but they didn't react for a while, Li Xingzhou?
The emperor's face was expressionless, and his face looked bad: "Oh, tell me why, is it because Xingzhou is your grandson-in-law?"

When the emperor asked, the atmosphere suddenly became serious, all the officials dared not take a breath, Wang Yue who was at the front opened his mouth, and he just nodded and admitted: "That's right, because the son-in-law of Prince Xiao is the son-in-law of my grandson."

Many ministers were so shocked that their jaws almost dropped to the floor. Didn't the prime minister clearly tell the emperor that he was favoritism!
As a result, the emperor's originally ugly face melted away, and he also laughed: "Hehe, good Wang Yue, you dare to say that you are selfish!"

"Your Majesty is guilty, please pretend that you didn't hear."

The emperor waved his hand: "Forget it, Xingzhou is really good. Although he is young, he is very talented, and he is really proficient in military affairs. Just the fact that he showed me that thing last time can explain a thing or two. If he can take on this task, all the ministers still have No other proposals."

Meng Zhiye, the official of the Ministry of Rites and Judgment over there, just wanted to say something, but He Zhao, Yin He Zhao of the Kaiyuan Mansion who was standing in front of him, took a step forward, held the jade wat and said: "I recommend the emperor's grandson, the son of Prince Xiao, the captain of Zhaowu, and the Kaiyuan Mansion Li Xingzhou, the general official and the young supervisor of the Military Weapons Supervisor."

Most of the ministers were shocked again, and looked at He Zhao dumbfounded. Didn't He Zhao still visit Li Xingzhou in front of the emperor last year? Why did he change his face now!But He Zhao is the governor of Kaiyuan Mansion no matter what, no one dares to despise him from a first-rank official.

Even the emperor was stunned: "The king recommended it because of selfishness, why are you?"

"Your Majesty, during my tenure in Kaiyuan Mansion, your son has outstanding ability. He has made great decisions and has the demeanor of a man who has achieved great things. He has done a lot for my Kaiyuan Mansion Yamen. I value his talent." He Zhaogong said respectfully, neither humble nor overbearing, he said It is also true that although Li Xingzhou is annoying, he did solve many things for him.

Seeing that people like He Zhao said so, the emperor nodded and thought about it seriously.

"It's better for people inside the bureau to decide this matter." Zhong Daoyu interrupted, he gradually realized that something was wrong, he said that this matter should be spoken by the people involved, which means that He Zhao and Wang Yue are both outsiders and should not intervene.

At this moment, before the emperor made a comment, Mao Luan, the judge of the Ministry of Industry, stepped forward: "I think what the general said is reasonable. As the head of the Ministry of Industry, I participated in the reform of the imperial army, and boldly recommended the emperor to the emperor. Sun, Prince Xiao's son, Lieutenant of Zhaowu, official of Kaiyuan Mansion, and Li Xingzhou, the young supervisor of the Military Weapons Supervision."

Now the court was completely silent, and many foreign ministers looked confused and nervously speculated in their hearts, what was going on with the atmosphere and the direction of the wind!

Before the emperor could speak, a chubby figure standing in the front row looked around for a while, and then followed him. It was actually Tang Zhou, the envoy of the Department of Household Department, who said, "I also recommend the emperor's grandson, the son of Prince Xiao, and the captain of Zhaowu. , general official of the Kaiyuan Mansion, and Li Xingzhou, the young supervisor of the Military Weapons Supervisor."

"Old minister, cough cough cough The old minister recommends the emperor's grandson, Prince Xiao's son, Zhaowu captain, Kaiyuan government official, and Li Xingzhou, the young supervisor of the military inspector." Sentenced to Tokyo Imperial College Chen Yu.

"Ah, I also feel that this matter must belong to the son!" Wu De Si Wu De envoy Ji Chunsheng clasped his hands and said directly.

All of a sudden, many ministers suddenly realized in a daze that the small court was filled with some kind of strange and irresistible trend.
Chaotang started talking in a low voice.
(End of this chapter)