Red Mansion Taoist

Chapter 330 Gifts
Li Qiang also became interested when he saw the Minister of Works come out. To be honest, today was the court meeting after the coronation ceremony, so even if there was anything, they would not submit a memorial until the next day.

Unless it is a particularly urgent government matter, it will not be brought up separately today.

Unlike those daily government affairs, which are the basis for the existence of court meetings.

"The Ministry of Works has prepared a gift for Your Majesty's enthronement. Please move outside the palace!" said the Minister of Works with a smile.

The words of the Minister of Works surprised the other ministers nearby.

Although everyone likes to flatter, it also depends on the occasion.

If a gift is presented at the enthronement ceremony and fails to surprise the emperor, even the Minister of Works will be in big trouble.

"In that case, all my ministers, please come and take a look!" Li Qiang said with a big laugh.

In fact, he already knew the reason. The Minister of Works sent such a big guy into the palace, although it was done through the emperor, but how could he not have gotten the news.

But he was really interested and wanted to see how far the Ministry of Industry had gone this time.

The ministers waited for Li Qiang to go first, and then they followed according to their official positions.

The Minister of Works was an exception. He was only half a step behind Li Qiang. He wanted to explain the gift to Li Qiang.

Thousands of officials outside saw the emperor and knelt down and shouted "Long live the emperor" three times.

"Everyone, please stand up and look at the gift from the Ministry of Works with me!" Li Qiang said after waving his hand.

Although his voice was not loud, every official in the square heard it clearly.

Under normal circumstances, there should be several eunuchs passing messages everywhere and repeating what the emperor said, but what Li Qiang said did not need to be repeated.

All the officials stood up, and Li Qiang walked among them with the high-ranking officials in the Golden Palace.

When we approached the outer edge of the square, we saw a strange four-wheeled machine parked there.

Li Qiang recognized it at a glance. This was the steam car he drew for those master craftsmen. However, there were some changes in appearance. The wooden carriage on the outside had been decorated with carved patterns, which had typical Daqian characteristics.

"Your Majesty, this item was made by four master craftsmen and 320 artisans from various trades over several months according to the drawing drawn by Your Majesty. We present this item to Your Majesty and wish Your Majesty a long life and a long and stable country." The Minister of Works introduced.

He bowed, his face full of pride.

In order to prepare for Li Qiang's coronation, the Ministry of Works and the craftsmen worked hard day and night.

"Start it up and let me see it!" Li Qiang nodded and ordered.

The Minister of Works immediately ran to the steam train and gave a few instructions to a young man on it.

The young man took out a long belt, wrapped it around the groove next to the flywheel several times, and then pulled the belt hard.

As he pulled, the belt turned the flywheel, and the flywheel started to rotate.

The steam engine on the steam car made a mechanical reciprocating friction sound, and the flywheel turned faster and faster.

Steam was discharged from the top of the steam car, and the young man released the brake lever, and the steam car started moving.

All the officials at the scene looked at this monster in shock. Yes, in the eyes of the officials, this was a monster.

The young man drove the steam car across the square.

"How fast is this steam train?" Li Qiang asked the Minister of Works.

"On flat ground, the maximum speed can reach two hundred miles per hour. With enough fuel and water, it can run continuously!" The Minister of Works bowed and replied.

Li Qiang calculated that two hundred miles per hour, converted into the measurement unit of his previous life, is a speed of fifty kilometers per hour.

This speed may not seem fast, but this was in ancient times.

The steam train moved around the square and then stopped again.

Li Qiang came forward, and the young man in the car quickly got out and knelt on the ground.

"Step aside and receive your reward!" Li Qiang said calmly.

"Your Majesty, I bow my head in thanks!" The young man kowtowed and expressed his gratitude. He stood up, lowered his head and stepped aside.

Li Qiang then stepped forward to take a closer look at the steam car. Officials of high enough status also stepped forward and stood behind Li Qiang, while the rest of the officials stood further back.

Li Qiang first looked at the four wheels and found that they were made of tanned cowhide. She didn't know what was filled in the middle, but they looked very tough.

He got on the steam train and knew how to drive it with just a quick look.

He had designed the steam car himself, and he put the clutch into drive and released the brake lever.

"Your Majesty, be careful. You are worth a ton of gold. You can't take any risks!" The Minister of Works was frightened when he saw Li Qiang's actions and reminded him loudly.

Li Qiang smiled. Not to mention that he designed the steam car, his understanding of steam cars was no worse than those craftsmen. Even if there was any danger, it would be impossible to hurt him with his strength.

The steam train started moving and he drove it around in a circle.

When he stopped the steam train, the Minister of Works' expression looked a little better.

Li Qiang also identified the situation of the steam car: there were too few clutch gears, the sense of jerk was extremely obvious, the steering wheel required a lot of force to turn, there was a lot of noise, etc.

However, even with so many shortcomings, it cannot erase the fact that this is a car that can actually drive.

"The Ministry of Works will reward you. You will report those who have made contributions and they will be rewarded one by one according to their merits!" Li Qiang looked at the Minister of Works and said with a smile.

The Minister of Works was overjoyed and immediately knelt down to express his gratitude.

"Your Majesty, this is an auspicious sign and a sign of prosperity for Daqian!" The Minister of Rites congratulated loudly.

The other ministers echoed the sentiment, saying that what they saw today was beyond their imagination.

"Tian Zhongtang, what do you think this thing does?" Li Qiang asked Tian Daxueshi with a smile.

"This thing does not require animal power to pull it, and its speed is comparable to that of a fast horse. I just don't know how strong it is. If it is strong, it can be used for freight transportation. If it is weak, it can only replace a carriage!" Scholar Tian thought for a moment and replied.

After he finished speaking, he looked at Li Qiang. This steam car was designed by Li Qiang, so it was something he had conceived long ago.

Although the design and manufacture of the steam car used the silver from Datong Bank, the Ministry of Industry invested a lot of manpower. I believe Li Qiang would not just want to produce a useless thing.

"Haha, what Tanaka-do said is absolutely right. This thing can be used for freight transportation. It only needs to consume coal or wood, and it can work day and night!

However, in addition to transportation, I have thought of another use for this thing. If these wooden carriages are replaced with steel plates and new artillery is installed on them, they can be continuously fired while moving. The carriages can also carry a large amount of ammunition. This is a powerful weapon for Daqian!" Li Qiang said with a smile. The eyes of the military officers among the officials were shining. They knew the power of the new artillery.

The 120 new artillery pieces of the Beijing camp defeated the 100,000-strong Tatar and Oirat army outside Xuanfu Town with only five rounds of artillery fire, which shows how sharp the new artillery was.

With such a powerful attack weapon, combined with a defense made entirely of steel plates, what can stop this weapon?

The most important thing is that the speed of steam cars is extremely fast. As long as the military officers imagine the scene of dozens or hundreds of steel steam cars charging together, they dare not imagine who in the world can be their enemy.

Academician Tian and a group of civil servants were also shocked. Although Li Qiang had never launched a war against other countries, he was preparing for war with everything from new artillery to steam vehicles.

Scholar Tian looked around and saw the fanaticism in the eyes of most officials. He knew that no one could stop Li Qiang's actions.

He only hoped that even if Li Qiang started a war, it would not affect the people's livelihood in Daqian.

In history, emperors who were famous for their military achievements would have their countries greatly affected, and war always brings pain to a country.

When the Minister of Works heard Li Qiang's words, he took note of them in his heart and prepared to go back and tell the craftsmen to build another chariot like what Li Qiang mentioned.

After the court session, Li Qiang did not return to the East Palace. Instead, he walked towards the Daming Palace.

He moved into the Daming Palace today. The emperor gave up the Daming Palace yesterday and moved to the Changchun Palace.

The Daming Palace is more magnificent than the Eastern Palace, and their areas are incomparable.

His nine concubines all had their own palaces in the Daming Palace. Originally, according to the plan, after he became emperor, Lin Daiyu would move to the Kunning Palace, which was also the queen's bedroom.

However, Li Qiang did not agree. He asked Lin Daiyu to live with him in the bedroom of Daming Palace.

Of course, Kunning Palace still belongs to Lin Daiyu, but Lin Daiyu would not normally live there.

After moving into the Daming Palace, the guards there were replaced by 100% loyal warriors. All fifteen warriors and archers were transferred over to take turns guarding the Daming Palace day and night.

Li Qiang entered the main hall of the Daming Palace. All the places that had been converted into entertainment venues by the retired emperor had been demolished, making the main hall more solemn and dignified.

There were still only four eunuchs in the main hall. He didn't want to have too many eunuchs around him, so four eunuchs were enough.

Jin Dong changed into a eunuch robe, which was the highest-ranking eunuch robe in the palace.

After Li Qiang ascended the throne, Jin Dong also became the chief eunuch in the palace. This position was previously held by Xia Shouzhong.

In the inner palace, only Dai Quan's official position could be compared with Jin Dong's. The emperor no longer cared about power, and in fact, Dai Quan's power was lower than Jin Dong's.

As the chief eunuch, Jin Dong could not possibly be in charge of the cleaning work in the main hall of Daming Palace.

It was very difficult for the remaining three eunuchs to clean such a large palace, but they had no complaints.

If they were unwilling, every eunuch in the entire palace would be willing to replace them, as this was the position closest to the emperor.

"I didn't expect to live here!" Li Qiang sighed and shook his head.

He still remembered how nervous he felt when he first entered the Daming Palace.

Although he often went to the Daming Palace afterwards, he never thought that he would become the owner of the Daming Palace.

Think about Emperor Jingwen. He was the emperor for so many years, but he could only live in the Eastern Palace. Until he was imprisoned in the cold palace, he was never able to become the owner of the real palace of Emperor Daqian.

"Wu Zicang congratulates His Majesty!" Jin Dong then led Wu Zicang into the hall, and Wu Zicang stepped forward and knelt down.

"Stand up!" Li Qiang waved his hand and said.

Wu Zicang stood up and waited for Li Qiang's instructions with his hands behind his back.

"The two artillery guards of the Beijing Camp are currently training. They will be set up as two artillery guards, each equipped with 200 new artillery pieces. Besides, after the steam chariots are manufactured, one guard will need to be separated as a chariot guard. The importance of the Beijing Camp is self-evident. You cannot be promoted for the time being!" Li Qiang said with a smile.

"Your Majesty, I do not want to be promoted. I just want to lead the Beijing camp to protect Your Majesty!" Wu Zicang replied loudly.

"I don't need protection. You will be the sharpest sword in my hand, used to deal with foreign enemies!" Li Qiang shook his head and said.

Wu Zicang looked excited. This was the first time he heard Li Qiang talk about military affairs.

Which general doesn't want to go to war? Having such a powerful weapon in hand is also an opportunity to expand the territory of Daqian.

"The training of the two artillery armies of the Beijing Camp cannot stop. Every step of the artillery firing must be faster. Without making any mistakes, the interval time between artillery firings must be reduced as much as possible!" Li Qiang instructed again.

"I will practice hard when I get back!" Wu Zicang promised loudly.

"It's time to let Zang Feiyu come back. I need a trustworthy person to be selected from all over Daqian who has passed the near-death test!" Li Qiang continued.

This was an idea he had long ago. As long as one passed the near-death test, it would mean that this person had the talent to practice the general's body-building techniques.

No matter how poor his talent is, once his loyalty is bound by the 'Mirror of Love and Lust' and combined with the effect of 'Healing [Advanced]', he will at least be a third-rank warrior.

In the past, Li Qiang was looking for such people in the Daqian army. After he became emperor, he had greater power and could select such people from all over Daqian.

His future plans are extremely large and require a lot of strong generals, so he has to start reserving talents now.

In the army, Wu Zicang and Zang Feiyu were both high-ranking officials whom he bound through the 'Mirror of Wind and Moon' and by using the precious souls of the flower masters.

Although there are now many 100% loyal generals who have been promoted to military officer positions, they are still far from the positions of Wu Zicang and Zang Feiyu.

Even if Li Qiang was the emperor, he could not forcibly award high-ranking military officer positions to others without sufficient merit.

The reason why Daqian was able to last for more than a hundred years was because it had a system for the development of officials, and Li Qiang did not want to break this system.

Therefore, Wu Zicang and Zang Feiyu became particularly important. Although Li Qiang was the emperor and basically no officials would betray Li Qiang, he still trusted his own people to handle some particularly important matters.

Wu Zicang was very happy when he heard that Zang Feiyu was going to be transferred back, as he was his old partner.

"You go and convey the order to have him come back to serve as the Minister of the Imperial Guard!" Li Qiang gestured to Jin Dong and said to Wu Zicang.

Jin Dong handed Wu Zicang an imperial edict that had been prepared long ago, and Wu Zicang took it with both hands.

Wu Zicang was happy for his old partner. The Minister of the Imperial Guard was a first-rank military officer and the head of the imperial palace guards.

Of course, the Minister of the Imperial Guard is just a title, and his power is far less than that of the Jiedushi of the Beijing Camp.

Li Qiang used the title of Minister of the Imperial Guard to make it easier for Zang Feiyu to do his job.

Only a first-rank military officer can use this as an excuse to select people who have passed the near-death test in Daqian to serve Li Qiang.

(End of this chapter)