Red Mansion Taoist

Chapter 238 Master Craftsman
In the Taihang Mountains, more than sixty miles outside the capital, there is an area with a relatively special geographical location. It is surrounded by mountains, has only a narrow entrance and exit channel, and is a flat valley inside.

Bandits built a stronghold in this valley and gathered more than a hundred people.

However, in this valley at this time, there were no bandits inside. A thousand sergeants from the Beijing camp came over, led by many powerful generals, and easily captured the mountain stronghold.

Then the Jiahou Mansion spent money to buy this valley.

At this moment, Jia Qiang is in the main hall of the original cottage in the valley. Although these bandits are not strong enough, the cottage is still well built.

"Two great craftsmen, you will live here from now on. If you have any requests, you can ask the steward here. In addition, I will take care of your family members. If there are any young students among them, I will also provide them with education!" Jia Qiang Said to the two master craftsmen.

In addition to the two master craftsmen, there are fourteen ordinary craftsmen in the hall.

The two master craftsmen were Master Jiang and Master Jing, including fourteen ordinary craftsmen, all of whom Jia Qiang requested from the Ministry of War.

He requested these craftsmen from the Ministry of War in the name of the nine provinces' capital inspection offices.

Based on his relationship with Bao Shangshu of the Ministry of War, and with all the procedures in place, except for the embarrassment of requiring two master craftsmen at once, everything else went smoothly.

"This is a cannonball that can explode!" After seeing the design drawing, Master Jiang recognized what it was and said in surprise.

Jia Qiang felt helpless after hearing what he said.

Don't underestimate this opportunity. The vast majority of craftsmen will never be able to break away from their status as craftsmen throughout their lives, let alone be able to enter school and take the scientific examination.

"Master Marquis, as long as you have your instructions, I must go all out to repay Master Hou's great kindness!" Master Jiang bowed and said.

He took out the design drawings he had drawn these days, which were exactly the design drawings of the explosive bomb.

Otherwise, why would they be brought to such an extremely remote place far away from the capital, not just to keep it secret.

Although Bao Shangshu was in trouble, he still opened the door for Jia Qiang.

Daqian, or perhaps this era, has suppressed the status of craftsmen too low.

"I've long been used to it. Every time I make military equipment, I can't leave. It's enough if you promise to take care of my family!" Master Jing and Master Jiang looked at each other and exchanged a look before saying.

"That's good. I've arranged cooks in the valley to prepare every meal for you. There are also five hundred sergeants guarding here. Your task is to make the design I drew and test it for the best effect. !" Jia Qiang nodded.

"Exactly!" Jia Qiang said with a smile.

They knew that as a craftsman, they could not go to school. Jia Qiang agreed to let their family go to school, which meant that their family had a chance to escape from the craftsman's household.

The two master craftsmen were brought to this hidden valley and were in a bad mood. However, after hearing that Jia Qiang said that they would let their families go to school, they immediately put on smiles.

Jia Qiang gave them hope and unlimited possibilities for their family's future.

They would not think that Jia Qiang was just lying to them. It was very easy to do these things as Jia Qiang, and there was no need to deceive them.

The craftsmen here are all craftsmen who make firearms from the Ministry of War.

In fact, when they came here, they knew that they, the craftsmen, could not leave.

Even a great craftsman has a lowly status, and it is passed down from generation to generation, and his children and grandchildren cannot escape from the lowly status.

The status of Daqian craftsmen is not high, it can even be said to be extremely low.

"I told you something in advance. After you come in, you won't be able to leave for a short time!" Jia Qiang did not immediately state her request, but continued.

"When I was making artillery shells, I had this idea, but after reporting it, it was rejected because it was easy to explode. I didn't expect that Mr. Hou had already designed an explosive artillery shell!" Jiang Dajiang sighed.

Such a low status cannot stimulate the creative spirit of craftsmen at all. Even if a craftsman comes up with novel ideas, he will not be able to even conduct experiments due to various reasons, let alone realize the ideas.

"Two master craftsmen, look at this design drawing, is there any hope of success?" Jia Qiang saw that the two master craftsmen had spent some time looking at the design drawing, and he asked a little eagerly.

This is a major matter related to the power of artillery. Once explosive bombs can be produced, the strength of the artillery army can be greatly improved.

"It can be achieved, but it will take some time to experiment. We need a lot of materials!" Jiang Dajiang and Jing Dajiang exchanged a few words in a low voice, and then turned to Jia Qiang and replied affirmatively.

"Give me a list of materials and give them to the steward here. They will be delivered to you soon!" Jia Qiang said with satisfaction.

This time, he used the name of the nine provinces' metropolitan inspection offices to get two master craftsmen. He would not let go of such talents.

It will not be easy to have such an opportunity in the future. Although the status of the master craftsman is not high, Da Qian still attaches great importance to the master craftsman because the number of master craftsmen is very small.

If Daqian hadn't paid too much attention to the manufacture of artillery, he wouldn't have been able to get people from the Ministry of War.

Most of Daqian's artillery was imported from the West. The artillery produced by Daqian itself was too bulky and belonged to an older style. This was related to the lack of innovative spirit of the craftsmen.

Western artillery has been changing towards lightweight and portability, but Daqian's artillery is still difficult to move after being placed.

But this does not mean that the craftsmen of Daqian are not good. The craftsmanship of Daqian craftsmen is still very strong.

Jia Qiang has already thought about it. When the research on explosive bombs is completed, in addition to producing explosive bombs, he will also issue new research tasks here.

And he gave this valley a name, 'Artillery Corps Ordnance Department'.

He is not worried about being discovered here. With his status in the military, setting up a secret production base is not a big deal. If he didn't want to make the things he planned to research and produce exposed, he wouldn't need to make it so complicated.

The defense of the 'Artillery Ordnance Department' is even more powerful. There are currently 500 sergeants guarding it, including a dozen warriors.

That's not all, he has already sent an order, and the artillery army's base will also be set up here in the future.

The location of the Artillery Corps Ordnance Department is excellent. The experimental artillery here is very hidden, but it can also support the capital at any time when necessary.

After settling the 'Artillery Corps Ordnance Department', there are still some buildings to be built here. He doesn't need to worry about these, five hundred sergeants and craftsmen can complete them.

He borrowed the speed of Jia Gong's divine war horse and returned to the city in a short while.

When he entered Rongning Street, he looked to the other side of the street and faintly saw a figure disappearing.

"Lame Taoist!" Jia Qiang murmured the man's name.

The lame Taoist has the ability to conceal his aura, but at a certain distance, even if the lame Taoist can conceal his aura, he cannot escape Jia Qiang's perception. Of course, the lame Taoist also sensed Jia Qiang's aura, which is why it disappeared so quickly.

Jia Qiang was just curious, how could the lame Taoist appear here, and why did he come?

Jia Rui died of illness long before Jia Qiang returned to Beijing. Strangely enough, without the 'Feng Yue Bao Jian', Jia Rui still could not escape the ending of death from illness.

It's just that Jia Qiang was not in the capital at that time, and I don't know if the lame Taoist took action to save Jia Rui at that time.

Jia Qiang took a deep look at the direction where the lame Taoist disappeared. He knew that even if his combat power had increased a lot, he would not be able to chase down the lame Taoist.

The lame Taoist's mobility was beyond his ability to track.

Jia Qiang didn't know that the lame Taoist came this time because he discovered that Jia Baoyu's fate had changed, so he came to check.

Now that Rongguo Mansion has a virtuous concubine, Rongguo Mansion has been greatly affected by Da Qian's luck, making the lame Taoist unable to enter the mansion unless invited, otherwise it will be counterattacked by Da Qian's luck in Rong Guo Mansion.

So the lame Taoist waited outside Rongguo Mansion, hoping to wait until Jia Baoyu went out to check on Jia Baoyu's condition.

Today is the time calculated by the lame Taoist. He came outside Rongguo Mansion and saw Jia Baoyu from a distance.

This was incredible, and he found that the aura of the reincarnation of Shenying's attendant on Jia Baoyu's body reached straight to the sky. Any practitioner who paid close attention could discover Jia Baoyu's specialness.

No wonder Jia Baoyu's fate has changed. Jia Baoyu cannot hide the aura of reincarnation of Shenying's Attendant, which means that the 'Psychic Baoyu' is not in his body. Without the 'Psychic Baoyu', Jia Baoyu cannot be affected by the 'Psychic Baoyu'. Asylum, the trajectory of fate is naturally different.

If the 'Psychic Baoyu' was there, even if Jia Baoyu had done something wrong, he would not have become notorious in the capital.

Just when the lame Taoist was about to investigate the 'Psychic Treasure', Jia Qiang's breath scared him away.

When leaving, he sensed the 'Psychic Baoyu', which was on Jia Qiang's side.

In fact, the 'psychic gem' is on Jia Gong's body, but Jia Gong is following Jia Qiang, and the lame Taoist is afraid of Jia Qiang, so he can only perceive it roughly, which is not so accurate.

The 'Psychic Jewel' has a hidden effect on other immortals and cannot be detected.

However, the lame Taoist and the leprous monk came into the world with the 'Psychic Jade', and they have the means to explore the 'Psychic Jade'.

Jia Qiang shook her head, and he took Jia Gong into the house.

In the Daming Palace of the Imperial City, the Supreme Emperor's condition was very strange. His cough worsened every day, but he somehow got better and allowed himself to recover.

The imperial physician in the palace was standing by. After many days of inspection, he could not find the reason.

The Emperor's condition has not improved. Although it is not serious, it has greatly affected the minds of many people in the palace.

The Supreme Emperor is like the setting sun yesterday, while Emperor Jingwen is at the peak of the sun. The eunuchs in the palace are divided into three groups. One group is the Emperor's people, one group is the people of Emperor Jingwen, and the other group does not make a choice, or is not qualified to choose. .

But the Supreme Emperor was in poor health, and the delay took too long. Many eunuchs lost hope in the Supreme Emperor's condition, and they naturally wanted to seek refuge with their new master.

The Emperor's condition would indeed become more and more serious according to normal conditions.

But Jia Qiang left a 'healing technique [advanced]' on the Supreme Emperor's body. The effect was to barely maintain the Supreme Emperor's condition and prevent it from getting worse.

Without Jia Qiang's intervention, the Supreme Emperor would become weaker and weaker as his condition worsened, and he would have relied entirely on medicine to sustain his life. This situation would have dragged on for a year or two.

The current condition of the Supreme Emperor is hard to tell. Although it has been delayed for a long time, the healing energy is restored from time to time, and the condition will not worsen, allowing the Supreme Emperor to have enough energy to enjoy life.

The young eunuch He Ye served carefully. The eunuchs who could serve the Supreme Emperor in the main hall of Daming Palace were all carefully selected, but people's hearts cannot judge.

Who would have thought that the young eunuch He Ye's heart would have changed long ago.

He was greedy for power, and the Emperor could not give him power.

The Supreme Emperor is too old, and the important positions of the eunuchs around him are all occupied by old people, and the young eunuchs will not be given a chance. The Supreme Emperor now only wants to maintain the same.

Therefore, if the young eunuch He Ye wants to make progress, he needs to work hard on his own.

But even if he went to Emperor Jingwen, he didn't have any merits, and he would still be just a little eunuch, not even as good as his current status.

He was always waiting for the opportunity, like a poisonous snake.

While serving the Emperor every day, he was also observing every move of the Emperor, trying to discover some secrets from the Emperor's actions.

In the past two days, he had been eyeing a cabinet, which was not far from the Supreme Emperor's favorite place to sit.

The young eunuch He Ye accidentally saw the Supreme Emperor opening the cabinet and taking out a scroll.

It's just that when the Supreme Emperor looked at the scroll, he separated everyone in the hall except Dai Quan. The young eunuch He Ye once saw the Supreme Emperor taking out the scroll through the window because he was a little slow to exit the main hall.

He guessed that there must be some secret in the scroll, and perhaps the scroll was his entry into the world.

Of course, he also knew very well that without a good opportunity, even if he stole the scroll and handed it to Emperor Jingwen, he would not be able to escape the hands of the Supreme Emperor.

The Supreme Emperor still has supreme power in the palace and in Daqian.

It's a pity that the Supreme Emperor never left the Daming Palace, so the young eunuch He Ye never found a chance.

Otherwise, he could have stolen the scroll and given it to Emperor Jingwen. After Emperor Jingwen had seen the scroll, he could have returned it without disturbing the Supreme Emperor.

"Dai Quan, how's it going when the imperial doctor went to Cining Palace?" The emperor felt very comfortable now, and his illness was relieved a little. He regained his energy and asked Dai Quan.

The relationship between the Supreme Emperor and the Queen Mother was not harmonious. Except for some necessary matters, the Queen Mother would appear with the Supreme Emperor. At other times, one of them would be in Daming Palace and the other in Cining Palace.

The reason for this is still the impact of Prince Yohitada's accident that year.

But this does not mean that the Emperor does not care about the Queen Mother. After learning that the Queen Mother was ill, he has been paying attention to her.

"The Queen Mother's body is weak. I heard from the imperial doctor that if the Queen Mother's heart had not been filled with anger, her condition would have worsened immediately!" Dai Quan did not dare to hide it and replied softly.

"She is waiting for the child's marriage!" The Supreme Emperor said bitterly, shaking his head.

(End of this chapter)