Steam Daming: Stop calling me to supervise the country

Chapter 6 Prince's task is to save money

In the Yellow Tile Palace, the tables and chairs stained with vermilion lacquer wood are covered with golden silk cloth. In front of the hall are some memorials and Nanshan Chunhong, the favorite tea of ​​the prince.

That black tea was produced in Wuyi Mountain, and it was picked in the early spring in the south of the mountain. It smelled elegant, and the prince liked it very much.

Standing in front of Zheng He, there is also an elegant middle-aged man with a little white beard and white hair, but he is full of book spirit and spirit.

"His Royal Highness, why did you call me two?"

At the same time summoning Zheng He and himself, Yang Shiqi felt that it might be a big deal.

Zhu Gaochi's face was full of smiles, and once the fat man smiled kindly, it made people feel blessed.

"Come on, bring something up."

The two eunuchs took out the things. It was the kettle and bamboo stick wheels that Zhu Zhanchang demonstrated before. The eunuchs fiddled with it for a while before making what Zhu Zhanchang did before, and then set the fire to boil the water.

"His Royal Highness, what is this?" Zheng He asked curiously. He didn't expect that the prince called the two of them here to see this strange thing.

"This thing, Zhan Shi told me it's called a steam engine."

Yang Shiqi and Zheng He looked at each other, both surprised: "Your Highness?"

"You two look at this thing first."

As the lid of the water-opening pot was lifted, this time the lid was quite powerful, and luckily, it made three up and down movements, which caused the wheel to turn nearly a circle before it stopped.

Zheng He was already surprised.

"This!! Your Highness!!"

It was rare to see this adventurer so surprised, and he didn't even say the whole thing. He obviously understood the function of this thing better than Yang Shiqi, the civil servant who was still a monk who was still two feet tall.

Yang Shiqi didn't find its purpose, and said speechlessly, "Your Highness, what is the function of this kettle?"

Zhu Gaochi explained proudly: "My eldest fifth said that the lid of the kettle was pushed open when the water was being boiled, and he thought that if the lid could be restrained from moving up and down, he could use this device to drive the wheels to turn. The pole he calls it a connecting rod, this kid has a wonderful idea, I just wanted to find you two to have a look."

Yang Shiqi still didn't quite understand its value, but Zheng He calmed down his mood: "Your Highness, can you invite Fifth Young Master to my mansion, there are many skilled craftsmen who build ships in the mansion, if you bring it to the palace for an audience, there will be many Inconvenient, condescend to the Fifth Highness to go to my mansion."

Zhu Gaochi smiled and was extremely happy: "What? Do you think the device he made is useful?"

Zheng He just glanced at it, and had the prototype of this thing in his mind: "His Royal Highness, if it really succeeds, there will be no need for horses to run a car, and no need to wait for the wind to run a boat."

"Your words are exactly the same as Zhan's words." Zhu Gaochi's smile is even better, who doesn't want his son to be outstanding.

Seeing that Zheng He was in a hurry, Zhu Gaochi waved his hand: "Don't worry, let that boy hang out for two days, this boy is most likely to slap his nose on his face, holding him too high makes him feel proud, I'm afraid he won't be able to change it in the future, five After the day, I will order him to go to your house, you first find some skilled craftsmen, and you will bring this thing back to the house."

"Your Highness is wise."

Everything is thoughtful for his son, which is admirable as a father.

After talking about the steam engine, Zhu Gaochi sat back in his seat: "There is one more thing to discuss with the two of you."

The smiling face just now became serious, obviously there was something serious to talk about.

"The palace city in Peiping is under construction, and the current progress of moving the capital is still good. It's just that His Majesty wants to go to the Western Ocean and conquer Mobei, and the treasury may not be able to support it." Zhu Gaochi said and shook his head.

Zheng He didn't say a word, but Yang Shiqi couldn't help but say: "Your Highness, in February last year, your majesty led an army from Peiping to conquer Mobei in person, and defeated the Oirat army. The idea of ​​the Northern Expedition."

"In the battle in the 12th year of Yongle, although Wala was defeated terribly, our army suffered heavy losses. It has only been more than a year since the battle of Hulanhu lost temperature, and Fang has spies from Liaodong on the frontier. If you are prepared to violate the frontier, you should be prepared day and night, and you should not neglect it."

Yang Shiqi was stunned: "Walaxian has accumulated strength and wants to invade my Daming border? This group of Mobei barbarians really don't remember to fight. If they don't exterminate their dead clan, they always want to invade my border."

Zhu Gaochi nodded: "Your Majesty has already made a decree to order Zhou, Jin, Qin and other vassal kings to choose [-] infantry and cavalry guards each, and go to Zhending for training this winter, requiring the guards of Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Datong, and Liaodong next year. In the spring, I went to Zhending and Texas to practice together."

"Your Majesty, this is to..."

"As early as this winter, later in the coming year, we should have to go to the expedition in person. If Tara does not violate the border, you can still sweep it on a small scale. If Tara dares to violate the border, according to the temper of the father and the emperor, the expedition is inevitable."

The four characters of the imperial expedition mean that he, the prince who oversees the country, needs to get a lot of money to supply his father with supplies in the rear. All were excellent, and Zhu Di dared to rest assured of the Northern Expedition.

"His Royal Highness, it has only been over a year since the end of the war. Although the treasury is not empty, it will not be able to support His Majesty's personal expedition. The taxation in Jiangnan has already made the people miserable because of the last expedition. Absolutely not."

"But you should also know His Majesty's temperament. If Wataru commits an attack and doesn't fight back, I'm afraid he will be furious."

Yang Shiqi hurriedly knelt down and said, "His Royal Highness, for the sake of the common people of the world, please cut down various expenses from now on, so as to avoid the unpreparedness of war."

Zheng He, listening to the words of these two people, understood that today, this is not just to let him see Zhu Zhanchang's little invention, but to let him stop the project of going to the West first and spend the funds. let it out.

"Zheng Qing, what can you do?" Zhu Gaochi asked.

Zheng He saluted neither humbly nor arrogantly: "His Royal Highness said that Zheng He is not good at finances, everything is subject to the orders of His Majesty and His Royal Highness, and you should do your best."

Zhu Gaochi was a little unhappy, but he didn't show it: "After the two of you return to the mansion, think about some ways to share your worries for the lonely."

"I am frightened."

After the two retreated, Zhu Gaochi sighed again: "Dad really wants to come out one step at a time. Next year, we will go to the Northern Expedition and go to the Western Ocean. How can the treasury hold up?"

As the crown prince, this guy is envied by everyone. His second and third younger brothers are very jealous, but not everyone can do this. There are a lot of things every day, especially one who likes to go on expeditions. Dad, in a word, he has to make money and save money for his father, and his father is reluctant to replace him.

At this time, he was very much looking forward to the realization of his son's whimsical steam engine.

"If I can drive without horses and boats, I might save two or three tenths of my money."

How could Zhu Gaochi know that he still thinks conservatively.

(End of this chapter)