New Shun 1730

Back at the mansion, Yuyan smelled alcohol early, and hurriedly asked someone to go to the kitchen to get some sobering soup, and helped the drunk Liu Yu into the house.

"Madam just sent someone to say that since you went to the Qiguogong's mansion to drink, you don't need to go to her tonight. Just ask you to rest early, don't be greedy for the cold, and cover yourself with a quilt at night."

"She also reminded you that since you ate crabs, you must not eat persimmons. Madam said that you should not go out to drink in the next few days, and cultivate yourself better. You will go to Wude Palace to study in a few days, and you can go there to accompany her tomorrow."

Yuyan conveyed these concerns from her mother while helping Liu Yu take off his clothes full of alcohol.

It was true that he drank a lot at Tian Ping's place, and Liu Yu also forgot whether he said more things that he shouldn't say to Tian Ping at the table.

At this time, he couldn't remember clearly, but he was in a very good mood.

At least it can be seen that Emperor Taixing of the Dashun Dynasty seems to be a pioneering person, not so muddleheaded that he is at a loss in the upcoming great changes that have not happened in three thousand years.

He did not take the ban on religion too seriously.

As the saying goes, even without the butcher, we can still eat pork.

The Jesuits are determined to preach, and the Roman Catholic Church is still biting on the issue of etiquette. If they don't ban religion, it will be a ghost.

Banning religion does not mean that the communication with the West will be cut off. Not to mention that the Thirty Years' War has ended, a large number of Protestant countries only want to do business and are not very interested in preaching. Even in Catholicism, there is still a filial son, France.

That is a Catholic country that can catch the Pope and play with him, and it is difficult to cut off communication with China. There were several academicians of the French Academy of Sciences among the missionaries sent by France before. They said they were preaching, but in fact they were more about grabbing the position of the Jesuits.

In my memory, the closed Qing Dynasty in the previous life also continued to communicate with France. Emperor Jiaqing even sent a gift to Napoleon, the first French dictator, a bed full of ivory miniature carvings of birthday scepters from the Prince of Fenyang's mansion.

This gift was hijacked by a British warship on the way, and when it was returned to France, it was already "Your Majesty will arrive in your loyal Paris today". And this ivory miniature carving was also given to the ruling wife Josephine. Fenyang Prince Guo Ziyi had many children and grandchildren, and he couldn't even remember the names of his children and grandchildren when celebrating his birthday, which was a good first prize, but when this gift was really delivered to Napoleon, it seemed quite embarrassing - let alone many children and grandchildren and a bed full of scepters, Josephine... couldn't even give birth to half a child.

From this, it can be seen. Banning religion does not mean cutting off exchanges with the West.

The key is how to communicate?

Japan next door also banned religion, but Dutch studies have always existed. During the Black Ship Incident, the country was closed for three hundred years, but it was still able to catch a lot of warriors who knew Dutch to serve as translators.

Liu Yu had no good feelings towards Catholicism, although he had to admit that missionaries represented by Matteo Ricci did start the trend of learning from the East and spreading to the West. The half volume of "Elements of Geometry" alone was enough to support the name of "Lizi".

But now the Jesuits are already corrupt and have the tendency of cultural aggression, so it's better to ban them.

I just don't know how to continue to communicate with the West after the Dashun ban? And to what extent can we communicate?

This probably depends not only on the emperor, but also on the pressure exerted by the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River in the court. It is unknown how far the stress response caused by the Fujian Church Incident will go.

Liu Yu is a weak person at this time, and it is useless to say anything about these things. He can only find ways to climb up.

Fortunately, today in the Duke of Qi's Mansion, after a few days, I should be able to win the emperor's heart after writing "A Brief Study of Western Countries".

In addition, my family background is enough, and I am also a big man among the group of dandies in the Wude Palace, so there is still a chance.

When drinking with Tian Ping, Liu Yu thought of a way.

This method can not only make you famous, but also be known to the whole city after it is used; it can also test the bottom line of the Dashun Dynasty and its ability to accept new things, and it is also convenient for you to plan your own future.

It is true that the king chooses his ministers, and the ministers also choose their kings.

If Dashun dares not even accept new things, it is obvious that it is corrupt.

Then I might as well sweep up some of the family's money, give up the status of the Duke's Mansion, and go to Nanyang to do something.

In order to become famous, and to make it known to the whole city, and it must be a new thing, Liu Yu thought of the hot air balloon.

As long as that thing flies, it is guaranteed that the whole city will know and the palace will be shaken.

There is nothing more romantic than flying to the sky, and there is nothing more cunning than flying to the sky. This thing is enough to test the reaction of the court.

The worst result is nothing more than cunning, spying on the forbidden palace, being beaten, and not dying despite the merits of his ancestors, which is nothing more than cheating his father.

If he wins, it proves that Dashun can at least accept new things, the emperor is open-minded, and he can become famous quickly.

If he loses, Dashun is corrupt and cannot accept new things, the emperor is a bastard, and at worst he will run away from home and do something in Southeast Asia.

As for his parents? They have only called them for one day, so they don’t have so much emotion.

Thinking of this, he called Yuyan, who was serving beside him, and said, "Now the doors are not locked yet. Go ask those women something."

"What?"

"Go ask the prices of silk and satin in the capital?"

Yuyan is a big girl. She grew up in the mansion since she was a child and has no relatives. She asks others to buy silk and satin and has never left the mansion. But there are still some servants in the mansion who know the prices.

She didn't know what this was for, and felt it was strange, but she didn't ask much. She went to the place where she stayed with a lantern and came back in less than two quarters of an hour.

"I've asked. Lu silk from Shanxi costs 1 liang 8 qian per piece; tussah blue satin from Liaodong costs 1 liang 7 qian. The remaining Hangzhou satin, Japanese satin, Shu brocade, etc. are all frighteningly expensive. What are you going to do, Master?"

"Play."

He answered casually, not knowing which of the Lu silk and blue satin is suitable?

"Take some money tomorrow and ask someone to go out over there and buy me a piece. I'll take a look."

"Yes."

Liu Yu usually doesn't touch money and has no interest in money. The money in the house is all taken care of by Yuyan.

She didn't know what Liu Yu was going to do either. She thought Liu Yu's words of playing were just a joke, so she agreed.

She counted with her fingers. A hot air balloon with a diameter of 40 meters, if unfolded, has a surface area of ​​5,000 square meters.

Simple formula.

Frightening data.

The specifications of a piece of silk are 40 feet long and 18 feet wide, and the area of ​​a piece of silk is only 8 square meters.

Five thousand square meters of silk cloth, a little calculation will tell you that this plan will require at least six hundred rolls of silk.

In addition, a certain amount of alum is needed to soak some silk for fire prevention.

Add to that the grease and oil used for burning, which is another sum of money.

Even if it is the cheapest Lu silk and blue satin, it is estimated to cost one thousand taels?

He doesn't have much income on weekdays. He goes to school in Wude Palace, and the court gives him some rice, but it is not enough for him to go out for a meal on weekdays. His family gives him five taels of silver a month, and his food and clothing are all in the mansion, and his pens, ink, paper, inkstone, carriages, horses, guns and ammunition are all from the family's public account.

His mother loves this youngest son and occasionally gives him some money, so the money is enough for daily expenses, but the problem is that if he really takes out one thousand eight hundred taels of silver at once, it seems not enough.

Seeing Liu Yu twiddling his fingers and mumbling the amount of money, Yuyan asked, "Does the Third Master need money?"

"Yeah. How much cash is in the house?"

"Sixty-three taels." Yuyan counted them all, and then said, "The Third Master is usually generous to others, and some maids borrowed money to gamble, so the maids still have seventy or eighty taels in their hands."

Sixty or seventy plus seventy or eighty, one hundred and fifty taels?

"Why is it so little?"

"I'm talking about it. The Third Master spends money lavishly on weekdays. When joking, others grab a handful of money to reward, but the Third Master rewards silver. The Third Master doesn't have any income, but he has some monthly allowance silver every month, and Wude Palace gives him some more every month, but it's not much. The Third Master likes to buy some Western things on weekdays, so how can he keep silver between his fingers?"

After thinking about it, it was true. He was usually nice to the maids and used to spending money lavishly. Although the things he used were all high-quality goods, there was no way to turn them into cash.

Isn't this a bit different from the one thousand taels I need?

"Third Master, if you really need money... you can borrow some from the Madam. But if you want to borrow money, it's best to mention it in front of the Grandmother and the Second Grandmother. Otherwise, tell the Madam quietly. The Madam loves you, but I'm afraid that there are ears on the other side of the wall, and people will gossip about it."

The Grandmother and the Second Grandmother in the language are Liu Yu's two sisters-in-law.

In the previous life, they were just an ordinary family, but at least they knew the family affairs of the brothers and sisters-in-law.

Yuyan meant that if you want to borrow money, don't borrow it secretly, and say it in front of the two sisters-in-law, so as to avoid gossip.

The younger son secretly embezzled his mother's money. If the eldest and second sisters-in-law knew about it, they would definitely make a fuss. This is a simple truth.

Thinking that he had to "stay up early and wake up late" every day, and the two sisters-in-law had to serve their mother for dinner, and his mother had a lot of private money and dowry in addition to the money from the public account, it seemed that the money was also easy to solve.

Damn, the Duke and the Young Master were so happy, at least they didn't have to worry about money. Although the money in his family was earned from the sweat and blood of the farmers in the manor, or from the blood and blood of loan sharks, and he didn't know how many people were forced to death, it was really refreshing to have money to spend.

He hummed, and his mood was very good. When he was in a good mood, he sang two lines of the "Chaoyanggou" tune.

"Mr. Joseph, sit down, let's talk about your heart. I know that you married Maria after you got married. She got pregnant before you got married, and I know you are worried. Who is the father of the child? You can't sleep every night..."

When he sang in high spirits, he stretched out his hand and slapped Yuyan's roundness standing by the bed.

After the crisp sound, Yuyan trembled all over, but she didn't dare to scream, for fear that the girls outside would hear it.

"Go to sleep!"

Liu Yu was satisfied, rubbed his fingers, and fell asleep.

Only Yuyan, with a flushed face, was left standing by the bed, at a loss.

My heart was beating wildly. I held a gauze handkerchief in my hand to wipe my sweat. My hand was a little pale. I bit my lips, as if I was recalling the crisp sound just now. My body couldn't help but tremble.

I just thought that when the Third Master came back from drinking this morning, something was wrong. He looked at me strangely. He would never be like this before.

I had been looking forward to it. I had secured the position of the maid in the room early, which was also a support for the future.

I had heard many things that made the older women blush. It's not that I didn't understand, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

Today was an opportunity. It seemed that the Third Master was in a good mood and drank a lot of wine.

But it was not the right time for me these few days. I was afraid that after these few days, there would be no chance again...

I felt ashamed and anxious, and it was like a little bug crawling from the place where I was slapped just now.

The scarf in her hand was twirled around for an unknown number of times. Finally, she gently put down the sand tent, stepped out, and stared blankly at the candlelight outside.