I was the emperor in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 92
Li Tian came here for Tiangongyuan today. He inspected Wang Gong's factory on a whim. After seeing the preparation process of gunpowder, he also entered the gunpowder storehouse. He had no reason to hang around anymore, so he left Wang Gong's factory with Yang Rong.

Liang Xu sent Li Tian and Li Tian out of the factory for [-] steps all the way, Li Tian waved Liang Xu back, looked at Yang Rong in a blink of an eye and said:
"Zirong, do you think Liang Xu secretly resold gunpowder from Wang Gong's factory?"

"The subordinates brought out by Manager Zheng should still know how to measure." Yang Rong didn't care about Li Tian's groundless speculation about Liang Xu, and responded casually.

Walking on the wide road paved with bluestone bricks, the more Li Tian looked at it, the more he liked it. It would be great if all the streets in Daming were paved with these things.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, it is better for Your Majesty not to assign Wang Gong Factory to the Ministry of War."

Li Tianzheng fantasized happily about the cement roads extending in all directions in the future, but when Yang Rong suddenly mentioned Wang Gong's factory, he withdrew his mind, raised his eyebrows and said:

"Why?"

Yang Rong didn't say it in Wang Gong's factory before because he was afraid that Liang Duoduo would think about it. Now there are only two monarchs and ministers, and there is nothing to hide. He immediately said in a deep voice:

"Your Majesty, have you ever thought about the impact of assigning Wang Gong Factory to the Ministry of War?"

As soon as Li Tian heard it, he knew what Yang Rong was worried about. He walked a little slower and said in a slow voice:

"Zirong, are you worried that the court will misunderstand that I want to prepare for war?"

"Your Majesty is right." Yang Rong nodded solemnly:

This minister is worried about this matter. In the past month, ministers above the third rank have been transferred very frequently. If His Majesty assigns Wang Gong Factory to the Ministry of War at this juncture, is it too sensitive? "

As soon as his footsteps stopped, Li Tian narrowed his eyes slightly, rubbed his chin and began to think.

It has to be said that Yang Rong's worries are very reasonable. The first and second leaders of the Metropolitan Procuratorate have all been driven back to their hometowns by him, and the ministers of the Ministry of Punishment and Rites have just been transferred. It is inevitable for the courtiers and officials to move Wang Gong's factory at this juncture. things.

After weighing the pros and cons, Li Tian made up his mind:
"Zirong, you are right. I have taken this matter for granted, so let's wait. When the Tiangong Institute is on the right track, it will not be too late to move Wang Gong's factory."

Persuading the emperor has never been an easy task. Seeing that the emperor agreed to his words so quickly, Yang Rong was surprised and happy, and hurriedly bowed and said:
"Your Majesty Shengming."

The two walked all the way back to the construction site of the Tiangong Institute. Seeing that Zhou Zhen was still busy, Li Tian nodded secretly. Yang Shiqi was right, there are still some good officials in Daming who are dedicated to their duties.

Instructing Wang Fu to call Zhou Zhen over, Li Tian smiled and poured a bowl of tea himself:
"Zhou Shilang is exhausted, drink some water and rest."

The emperor personally poured tea and handed water, Zhou Zhen was flattered, he quickly took the tea bowl and bowed:

"Your Majesty has broken my humble minister."

Li Tian had just learned about Zhou Zhen's path to becoming an official from Yang Rong, and he liked Zhou Zhen even more, who was born in a craftsman family.

A craftsman can go all the way from juren to the position of third-rank servant, and there are ups and downs in it without thinking about it.

Signaling Zhou Zhen not to be cautious and just drink tea, Li Tian smiled and said slowly:
"Zirong told me earlier that you are a capable general in Wuzhong, and I want to entrust you with a big task, would you like it?"

"The emperor's salary is for the emperor to share the worries, and the humble ministers are willing to serve your majesty."

After wiping off the water droplets on his beard, Zhou Zhen clapped his hands in response with his heart skipping wildly.

Although he was born in a craftsman's family, he has been immersed in officialdom for more than ten years, and he is no longer the stonemason who knew nothing ten years ago.

His intuition told him that what the emperor wanted to explain must have a lot to do with the Tiangong Institute, and it might also have something to do with the recent tension in the cabinet.

The construction site was noisy, so this was naturally not a place to talk. Seeing a temporary pavilion not far away, Li Tian then led Yang Rong and the two of them to walk quickly towards the pavilion.

When the two were seated, Li Tian gave Wang Fu a wink, and Wang Fu understood, and hurriedly stood outside the pavilion.

"Zhou Zhen, I'm asking you, do you know why I set up the Tiangong Academy and the Tiangong Bureau?"

Zhou Zhen's head was full of excitement at the moment, thinking wildly in his heart whether the historian would record today's meeting in the pavilion in the history books. Hearing the question, he hurriedly stood up and saluted:
"Your Majesty's newly established yamen, Wu Shangshu, once told this minister, and this minister probably knows His Majesty's intention."

As soon as Zhou Zhen said this, Yang Rong's eyes shrank immediately, he cupped his hands at Li Tian, ​​then turned to look at Zhou Zhen and said solemnly:

"What did Wu Shangshu tell you?"

Zhou Zhen was taken aback by Yang Ge's serious look, but Zhou Zhen was not panicked either. Old Shangshu Wu had indeed told him about the emperor's grand vision for the Ministry of Industry.

"The next official dares to ask Mr. Ge whether it has something to do with Chidao who has not broken down for several years?"

Hearing the word Chidao, Li Tian nodded, motioned Yang Rong to turn around and sit down, and turned to look at Zhou Zhendao:

"It seems that Wu Zhong really regards you as a confidant, and even told you about the secret conversation with me. That's good, but it saves me a lot of talking."

Speaking of which, Li Tian took out a note from his arms and handed it to Zhou Zhendao:

"What is written on it is the important matter that I want to tell you to do, please take a good look."

It stands to reason that Zhou Zhen should plead guilty, after all, knowing that the secret conversation between the emperor and his ministers is a first-class crime, but Zhou Zhen has been overwhelmed by the excitement.

Recalling Wu Shangshu's impassioned words that day, Zhou Zhen swallowed a big mouthful of saliva, took the note respectfully, and stared at it with wide eyes.

There were only a few words on the note, but Zhou Zhen couldn't understand it, scratched his head and said:
"Your Majesty, is this a prescription?"

prescription?

Yang Rong frowned in doubt, and didn't shy away from it. He directly reached out and took the note and glanced at it, only to see words such as limestone, iron slag, gypsum, and high clay written on the note.

As the saying goes, a literati is half a doctor. Although Yang Rong doesn't know medical skills, he has read some books on medicine and knows that gypsum and limestone are half medicines, but what the hell are slag and clay?

Unable to understand for a long time, Yang Rong also raised his head and looked at Li Tian suspiciously.

Of course, what Li Tian wrote was not a prescription, but a brief formula of cement. It wasn't that Li Tian didn't want to write in detail, but that he didn't know the detailed formula of cement at all.

Looking at the question marks on the faces of the two of them, Li Tian didn't know where to start, coughed twice and looked at Zhou Zhen:

"Of course, this is not a prescription. You just need to find these materials, mix them together, calcinate them, pour water and stir them, and wait for them to dry. When they become as hard as iron, you can come and report to me."

Zhou Zhen thought that the emperor was not at ease with him, and he didn't want to tell the whole story, so he suppressed the trouble in his heart and didn't ask any more questions, he clasped his hands and replied:

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will definitely handle this matter well."

Li Tian knew that without an exact formula, he would have to experiment for a long time. He didn't want to put pressure on Zhou Zhen, so he put on a smiling face and said:

"Although this matter is important, you don't need to worry. I will send the craftsmen in the palace to cooperate with you. I wish you a helping hand."

(End of this chapter)