Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1198 Epilogue : Xie Yan, Xie Yan, You Have Fallen

It was already noon and the sun was shining on people's buttocks, but the person in the bed was still sleeping soundly.

The man was seventeen and the woman was twenty-four, both of them were vigorous and energetic, and it was truly a scene of pure love.

After two rounds of intense fighting last night, he had planned to go to bed after taking a bath. But the princess deliberately teased him, and Xie Yan couldn't help himself and had a third round.

Young people, you are in good health.

It was almost noon when Zhu Tangxi woke up slowly. Apart from some pain there, he felt refreshed. Years of depression were swept away.

She turned sideways to watch her lover sleeping, and she started laughing. She didn't know why she laughed, but she was very happy, and she stretched out her fingers to play with her lover's earlobe.

The earlobe is so fleshy and it looks so cute when it is being pulled.

Suddenly, Zhu Tangxi moved his head over and gently bit the earlobe with his teeth.

She had no other thoughts, she just felt like biting it, as if she had regained her carefree girlhood.

I bit him once, but he didn't wake up.

Zhu Tangxi was like a child playing a prank. She stared at her lover for a while, then suddenly bit his earlobe with even greater force.

Oops, there are tooth marks.

Xie Yan was awakened by the pain, and when he opened his eyes he saw the princess' beautiful face so close to him.

"Are you hungry?" Zhu Tangxi asked.

I’m from Meituan.

Xie Yan held her in his arms: "A little bit."

Zhu Tangxi suddenly became serious again: "Don't do this again in the future. You must take care of yourself."

"Sister, I've read an ancient book before, and there are many interesting games in it." Xie Yan whispered in her ear, telling her about various unique skills.

Zhu Tangxi's ears were itchy from the hot air, and the more he listened, the more ashamed he felt. He quickly interrupted, "What kind of bad book are you reading? How can it be... so dirty!"

Xie Yan said, "I bought it at a used bookstall and burned it right after I finished reading it, fearing my parents would find out. Good sister, how about we try it next time?"

Zhu Tangxi not only felt itchy in her ears, but also felt itchy in her heart when she thought of those moves. She covered her lover's mouth in shame and annoyance, "Don't say that anymore."

"Oh, I'll listen to my sister." Xie Yan pretended to be depressed.

He had gradually understood the princess's temper, and was becoming more and more adept at playing the game of love.

Sure enough, Zhu Tangxi heard his disappointed tone and felt a little reluctant: "Do you like that?"

Xie Yan was still playing the role of a little puppy: "Those are bad things. My sister doesn't like them, and neither do I. I'm just... just a little curious."

Zhu Tangxi was actually very curious, and wanted to make the little puppy happy, so he stammered, "Then...then let's try it next time?"

"Sister is so nice." The little puppy looked proud.

After a while of being bored, Zhu Tangxi said, "Liu Lang, we are already like this, shouldn't we consider getting married?"

Xie Yan asked: "What is the process for the princess' wedding?"

Zhu Tangxi said: "First, we need to inform the Zongzheng Temple, and then they will check the man's identity to see if his ancestors or he himself has committed any crime. If the verification is correct, they will send officials to act as matchmakers and check the birth dates of both parties. The rest is similar to a folk marriage."

"Then I'll send a telegram to my parents," said Xie Yan.

Zhu Tangxi was a little nervous: "They won't object, right?"

Xie Yan asked with a smile: "What do they have to object to?"

"Liu Lang is so young and outstanding, but I have been married..." Zhu Tangxi's words revealed a sense of inferiority.

"Silly sister." Xie Yan turned over and pressed her down, expressing his feelings with actions.

Zhu Tangxi begged for mercy in fear: "I really can't take it anymore. It still hurts. Hurry up and get up and eat."

The two of them whispered to each other for a while before getting dressed and washing up.

The maids quickly brought towels, hot water, toothbrushes and tooth powder. They not only helped the princess to wash and dress up, but also served Xie Yan as if he were the male owner.

Xie Yan had become increasingly decadent. He no longer refused like he used to, but rather enjoyed being served.

Open your mouth and food will come; stretch out your hand and clothes will come.

Xie Yan, ah Xie Yan, you can’t do this anymore... Oh, it feels so good!

The maids who served him were also very happy, even shy, and occasionally touched his body on purpose.

Their intentions were very obvious, and the abacus beads were about to hit Xie Yan's face.

Xie Yan began to worry about his health, and at the same time he realized that being an emperor was a high-risk job.

Zhu Tangxi's makeup today was different. Although she was still extremely beautiful, she was less dignified and majestic. She was dressed like a homely lady, which made her look gentle and charming.

While eating, Zhu Tangxi asked: "When are we going to choose a site for the factory?"

Xie Yan said, "I'll go shopping in the next two days." Zhu Tangxi said, "Once we've found a piece of land, we'll go and talk about it together."

"Okay." Xie Yan said with a smile.

The grinding step is critical when preparing cement, but current cement factories all grind cement manually.

In another time and space, the ball mill was invented in the late Qing Dynasty, and the roller press appeared after the reform and opening up.

Xie Yan didn't plan to go through with it for the time being and decided to just use traditional manual grinding to get by.

When I have time and money in the future, I will bring in a mechanical expert to jointly research and invent a grinding machine that can be used to prepare cement, as well as various mines and fire ceramics.

In the afternoon, Xie Yan said goodbye and left, and Zhu Tangxi was reluctant to let him go.

She personally sent Xie Yan to the street, arranged for a carriage to take Xie Yan to the telegraph office, and then she drove straight to the palace.

After a period of waiting, he was soon received by the Queen Mother.

Queen Mother Ye looked at the princess carefully and smiled meaningfully: "You look radiant today. What great joy has happened to you?"

Zhu Tangxi lowered her head shyly: "Please ask the Queen Mother to grant me marriage."

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

Empress Dowager Ye looked as if she had suddenly realized something: "So that's how it is. Do his parents know about this?"

Zhu Tangxi said: "I have already sent a telegram."

Empress Dowager Ye said, "Since his father is an official, his family background is clean and there is no need to investigate. I will let the Zongzheng Temple know and they will choose an auspicious day for you as soon as possible. It would be better if you don't get married while pregnant."

"Don't make fun of me!" Zhu Tangxi said angrily.

"Okay, okay, no more jokes," Empress Dowager Ye smiled even more brightly, "Your young master is really capable. In the past two months, with the help of his balance, the academic community has produced many results. The academic journal in June was so full of papers that a special issue was published."

Zhu Tangxi was proud of this and said proudly: "I have read the June issue of the Chemical Journal. One-third of the main issues cited his molecular paper, and more than 90% of the special issues cited his molecular paper."

Queen Mother Ye said, "The old president sent someone to ask for an audience for this purpose. He said that he wanted to change the bachelor's degree awarding system. From now on, the bachelor's degree will be divided into arts and science. The Bachelor of Arts will be further divided into literature, history and art, and the Bachelor of Science will be further divided into academic and technical. If this is not changed, I don't know how your young master will be promoted."

Among the Bachelor of Arts, the literature and history category includes classics, history, epigraphy, archaeology, etc., and the art category includes calligraphy, painting, sculpture, music, rhetoric, etc.

The study of social thoughts and economics actually falls into the category of Confucian classics!
Throughout Chinese history, Confucianism has undergone several major changes, each of which was a self-reform of Confucianism brought about by dramatic social changes.

The Confucian classics must conform to the new political and economic structure, otherwise the Confucian scholars will not be able to justify themselves.

With the development of industry and commerce in Ming society, the citizen class rose rapidly, the small peasant economy was impacted, and capitalists and gentry were both integrated and opposed. The world map was gradually explored, and new scientific achievements continued to emerge...

All these things have triggered a variety of new ideas, with some people even clamoring to re-annotate the Four Books and Six Classics.

A group of scholars speak for the capitalists.

A group of scholars spoke up for small businessmen and workshop owners.

A group of scholars spoke for the traditional gentry and peasants.

A group of scholars spoke up for the general public.

For example, the Luo School of the Cheng brothers is being revived, and the idea of ​​"preserving the principles of heaven and eliminating human desires" has been brought up again and combined with current scientific development.

Eating, wearing clothes, getting married and having children are the laws of nature, while having fine clothes and delicious food and having many wives and concubines are human desires. This is just the basic explanation of "preserve the laws of nature and eliminate human desires."

A more profound explanation is that the law of nature is the objective law of all societies and things. Human desires should be governed by reason, and external things should not be allowed to override one's own will. The meaning of life should not be limited to enjoyment, but should be expanded to a wider time and space.

What are they targeting with this statement?
Targeting the powerful and wealthy who are arrogant, extravagant, spend money like water, have countless wives and concubines, and have groups of slaves.

Targeting the unscrupulous exploitation of farmers and workers, targeting factories that pollute the sky and rivers, and targeting the growing gap between the rich and the poor.

There are many scholars who believe in this school of thought. They advocate keeping oneself clean first through the order of "cultivating oneself, managing the family, governing the country and pacifying the world". They do not engage in corruption, do not take concubines, do not wear fancy clothes, do not live in luxury houses, do not oppress the weak, and also require their families to do the same.

Many of the reformists in the current dynasty believe in this, and they do a good job in self-cultivation, family management, and governance.

But after taking power, there seem to be some subtle changes!

They continue to insist on not engaging in corruption, but through industrial and commercial reforms, they allow their relatives to "reasonably and legally" seek more benefits.

"Your cement factory must strictly abide by the law," Empress Dowager Ye reminded. "The recent industrial and commercial reform requires chimney tax and factory land tax, but the factory owners are not cooperating and have bribed the inspection officials to try to get away with it. In the jurisdiction of the Eastern and Western Capitals alone, six factories and mines have been severely punished, and more than 20 officials have been impeached by the inspectors. There was also an inspector who was impeached for accepting money from the factory owners."

Zhu Tangxi asked: "Has the reform encountered resistance?"

Empress Dowager Ye said: "Inspecting the chimneys and land area of ​​factories and mines is not like surveying all the land in the world. The court is not afraid of chaos. Inspecting the land may cause chaos and peasants to revolt, but who dares to rebel among the factory owners? A suspension of business for rectification will scare them into begging for mercy."

Zhu Tangxi said: "Xie Liulang is a gentleman. He even paid out of his own pocket to buy masks for Li's cement workers to protect against dust. If Xie Liulang runs the cement factory, he will definitely abide by the law and will not let anyone catch him."

Queen Mother Ye teased, "A gentleman can't wait for the wedding?"

Zhu Tangxi blushed, and she protected the little puppy and said, "I wanted to give it to you myself."

Empress Dowager Ye was overjoyed: "I know you are brave, but there is no need to show off such things."

Zhu Tangxi wanted to show off: "The new cement made by Liu Lang was named Qin Cement. It is not the name of a business, nor the name of a product, but the name of this kind of cement. From now on, no matter which factory or business, they will produce and sell Qin Cement. Everyone in the world will know that it is a gift from Liu Lang to me!"

Queen Mother Ye was silent for a while, and then she sighed: "Which woman can stand such coaxing methods? No wonder you are so bewitched."

(End of this chapter)