"Oh? Tell me."
The emperor's face was relaxed, and his leisurely mood was evident. Although his shoulders were gradually growing, he could still cross his legs.
Facing this political assessment, Zhu Cunqu was cautious and did not dare to look directly into his father's eyes. He could only lower his head slightly and said:
"When a big event happens, the most intuitive thing is to see who benefits the most."
"Direct benefit, or fisherman's profit."
"The tax robberies this time have involved the cabinet from Anhui. It seems that the chief minister has made a lot of profits, but several people in the cabinet are also suspected of taking advantage of others. It's hard to say."
"But in the final analysis, Anhui is already corrupt, full of corruption, and people's livelihood is difficult."
"It's quite knowledgeable!"
Zhu Yixi nodded and said casually: "There is a saying that when you find a cockroach in the living room, the cockroaches have already crawled in every corner of the room."
"Let's just say that in this case of robbery, official corruption is serious, so from small to large, in this prosperous era, not only Anhui, but other provinces have already seen a resurgence..."
"Moreover, corruption is not something that can be settled in one fell swoop. It needs to be done year after year, month after month. Once something is neglected, it will be a big disaster."
"Since the Jiajing period in the former Ming Dynasty, the administration of officials has been turbid and corrupt officials have been prevalent, so that exploitation has become increasingly popular. Excessive levies and miscellaneous taxes are twice as much as the regular taxes, and the people are suffering."
The prince naturally nodded: "Yan Song and other treacherous ministers are in power, and even the first assistant Xu Jie is in danger. The family property is tens of thousands of hectares, and half of the Huating is about to be destroyed."
"Hmph, you've got to the point." Zhu Yixi sneered: "Ability is greedy, and a weak official is also greedy. No official is greedy."
"How do you think Hai Rui is famous for his integrity? He just follows the laws of the Ming Dynasty, and he has emerged from the mire."
"Just like Bao Zheng in the Song Dynasty, he also relied on his colleagues in the officialdom to support him."
Speaking of this, Zhu Yixi was filled with emotion: "It is said that during the Hongwu period, there were countless upright officials like Hai Rui, but now they have become a rarity."
"Father." The prince hesitated for a long time and finally said: "But according to the people, honest officials don't need money but can't do things, while corrupt officials need both money and can do things..."
"What the fuck--"
Zhu Yixi immediately started scolding him. He stood up and said, "Hai Rui opened the door to handle cases. I don't know how many cases he has tried. Isn't this a job?"
"Besides, being a local official is nothing more than education and taxation. If the staff advises, follows the rules, does not harm the people, and appoints subordinate officials, it is already better than 99% of officials."
"If there is such a ridiculous thing in the future, please don't talk nonsense."
"I know my guilt." Zhu Cunqu nodded in agreement.
The father and son discussed the important affairs of the country, and then talked about Arctic City and the Heilongjiang General's Mansion.
Zhu Cunqu is quite familiar with this: "It snows in Heilongjiang for half the year, but there are a lot of furs, timber, and marine goods. These are its main taxes..."
"As for the gold mines in North America, we have dispatched them to mine them. I expect it will bring a lot of harvest."
"That's good." Zhu Yixi said slightly relaxedly: "Nowadays, there is a lot of money in the imperial treasury, but the public expenditure is insufficient. If we can make more gold coins, we can spread those silver coins."
Although the biggest impression of the West Coast of the United States is Hollywood and Los Angeles, thanks to the famous TV series Bruce Lee Legend, San Francisco has been slightly heard of.
There must be a reason why the Chinese choose names like this.
There must be a lot of gold mines in it.
The world's three major gold-producing areas are Siberia, North America, and South Africa.
All he had within reach were two.
If mining is really carried out on a large scale, then we can expect gold and silver to return to normal.
The Spaniards were also cunning, and most of the gold they shipped to Europe was silver.
Every year through sea trade, the import of silver continues to grow, but gold is rare.
"Go back and have a rest." Zhu Yixi said casually: "I'll give you two months' leave and spend more time with your concubines. Without three or five emperors and grandchildren, I won't even care about you."
"yes!"
The power was taken away, as it should be, and Zhu Cunqu was not surprised.
It was thanks to the emperor's indulgence that he was able to cultivate private ministers openly and honestly in Heilongjiang.
Putting it back and forth, preparing to put him, the prince who has been out in the field for more than a month, under his nose for observation, this is the emperor's mental skill.
After all, if the kite is flown high, the string will break easily.
In the Summer Resort, the prince also has a palace, which is no less than the East Palace in the Forbidden City.
Simple and low-luxury, it reveals a casual feeling of summer escape.
Perhaps this is the original intention of the summer resort.
Many concubines don't have to abide by strict rules. They can take baths, play mahjong, play chess, fly kites, etc. as they please.
The proof is that the most important morning and dusk inspection for the queen has also been simplified to once every three days.
The emperor slept in late every day, slept with his quilt, and engaged in prostitution during the day. There were countless such things.
"Where is the Crown Princess?"
When he returned to the palace, his son was nowhere to be seen, so Zhu Cunqu asked hurriedly.
"The Crown Princess went to the harem to pay her respects to the Queen, and the Emperor's grandson was also taken away..."
The female official explained softly: "Prince Zhu Cheng, please see me——"
Zhu Cunqu frowned.
This Zhu Cheng is Zhu Mou's son. Although they both belong to the same clan, the Zhu Mou family downplays their influence and does not include the character generation in their names.
This is also the choice of the clan members who serve as officials in the court.
The status of the clan can sometimes become an obstacle.
The same is true. When the number of words is not enough, the number of people who follow the word generation plummets. Only the princes and princes have such honor, while the lieutenants and generals basically do it casually.
"Let him in!"
Zhu Cheng's fair visit caught him off guard, but he still had to meet him after all, he was the son of the chief minister after all.
Zhu Cheng was only eighteen years old, two years younger than Zhu Cunqu. He walked smartly, was cheerful, smiled often, and had many friends among nobles.
"Your Highness, when I heard that you were returning home from training in a distant place, we, the nobles, wanted to help you and wash away your dust..."
"No need." Zhu Cunqu said casually, his face calm.
Seeing this, Zhu Cheng couldn't see any movement on his face and could only leave knowingly.
"Humph!" Zhu Cunqu felt a little disgusted with Zhu Mou in his heart.
After returning home, Zhu Mou calmly read a book, not showing any trace of the panic and confusion of the previous days.
The air is calm and relaxed, and the agarwood is lingering, but it reveals a bit of elegance, which is completely different from his usual demeanor.
"Father!" After Zhu Cheng came back, he could only describe the situation in detail.
"If the prince doesn't agree, he won't agree." Zhu Mou didn't seem to care: "Go down and remember not to cause trouble. In the capital, even the chief assistant cannot make the decision."
"Get down!"
After he left, Zhu Mou's heart sank, and his eyes were full of regret.
Now that things have happened, the prince doesn't even want to see him. It seems that the emperor has not given up his plan to replace the chief minister.
"Is it true that I can only sit for another half a year and become the first assistant for one year?"
Zhu Mou thought of the ten or five years that Zhao Shu and Yan Chongxin had spent together, and he felt particularly envious.
…
At this time, in the experimental area of Yuquan Mountain, the emperor was invited here again.
A lot of train renovations have been completed, and it was only four months since the last one.
The problem of coal combustion efficiency was solved.
Or rather, it is an inducement. For the craftsmen, it is also their pursuit to have a wife and a shadow.
A carpenter named Tian Chuyi effectively solved the problem of steam engine efficiency and increased it several times.
One thousand pounds of coal can travel thirty miles, and the time required has been reduced to half an hour.
In this regard, Zhu Yixi did not hesitate and directly made him a baron, and then rewarded him with a hundred gold yuan, which was an extremely heavy reward.
However, its load capacity remains unchanged. It can only carry eight carriages and 600 people, which is about 80,000 kilograms. Any more will be dangerous.
The car crashed and people died.
At this time, a craftsman suddenly raised his hand and put forward his own suggestion: "The common people think that a locomotive can only carry one steam engine, so why not add another locomotive?"
"With two cars at the front and one at the end, wouldn't it be able to carry sixteen carriages and hold a thousand people at a time?"
"this is a good idea."
Zhu Yixi patted her head, why couldn't she think of such a simple thing? Damn it.
"Ten gold coins will be rewarded."
The emperor waved his hand and received a hundred silver coins, which was extremely heroic.
The craftsmen were overjoyed. Various strategies were presented to them in an instant, but one of them poured cold water on them:
"Your Majesty, although the more locomotives there are, the more carriages they carry, the rails cannot hold them and are very easy to be crushed, and they are also prone to derailment and overturning."
Zhu Yixi looked at him.
This is a standard craftsman image.
Wearing short brown clothes, slightly dark skin, thick eyebrows, big eyes, thick arms, and thick lips, he looks very honest.
Being in his thirties, he stood out among the middle-aged and old craftsmen.
Either a son inherits his father's legacy, or he is a master and a disciple.
"Oh, that makes sense, but I don't know how to solve it?"
Zhu Yixi smiled and motioned for him to continue.
"The common people really can't do anything about the rails, but they have some ideas about changing the wheels."
As he spoke, he said that the contact surface between the wheel and the rail should be changed from parallel to oblique and concave.
That is, low on the outside and deep on the inside.
"In this way, the train will not derail easily when turning and will run more smoothly."
"The common people have experimented with it many times and it is safer."
Hearing this, Zhu Yixi was quite happy: "Okay, you have put your thoughts into it. As long as the suggestion can improve the train, I will adopt it."
"Since you have this understanding of wheels, how can you not reward me?"
So, another ten gold coins.
This time, it was like cold water pouring into a frying pan, which completely aroused the interest of this group of people.
Zhu Yixi was happy to see this, but in the end, he still expressed his thoughts: "If this train wants to run faster, it doesn't necessarily have to find a way on the steam engine."
"Look at the boxy front compartment of this car. Is it windier when it's running?"
"It's better to set it into a cone shape, just like a funnel, so the wind will flow to both sides, which will save more effort when running."
Facing the emperor's suggestion, this group of craftsmen who had no contact with physics and only knew about it but didn't know why it happened also nodded.
He patted his chest and said he wanted to test it out.
Zhu Yixi was very pleased with this: "Yes, everything must be tested. If you go a few more times, you can see the results. Only practice can produce true knowledge. Empty talk will only harm the country."
"As for trains, you can think carefully about the wheels, rails, pillows, carriages, steam engines, and even how to control its brakes to make it as comfortable and stable as possible, easy to operate, and better able to transport people and materials."
"I will not be stingy with rewards."
After saying this, Zhu Yixi was taken to another realm.
A huge behemoth came into view.
It is one foot high, two feet long, and about ten feet wide. A huge chimney is extremely eye-catching.
There are four wheels, the two at the front are smaller and the two at the back are huge. They seem to be made of iron, making them look particularly ferocious and terrifying.
"Your Majesty, this is the Iron Bull."
The craftsman introduced with a smile on his face: "Listening to your request, we moved the steam engine to the carriage and made this iron ox. It eats firewood and coal. When it runs, it makes a whirring sound, just like a human walking. But it’s powerful.”
As he said that, he walked behind Tieniu, where there were iron rake nets hanging, with a row of more than ten, thirteen or four, and a length of two feet.
Because I was afraid of stones, I used pig iron, which is heavy and stable.
"Is this Iron Bull?"
Zhu Yixi looked left and right, and the more she felt that this was a tractor, but it was powered by steam, not an internal combustion engine.
If we talk about steam, he also knows that boiling water is relatively simple, but the internal combustion engine is based on the first industry and is even more difficult.
However, although it is not as good as an internal combustion engine, a steam engine can also be used!
So what if it’s bulky and inefficient?
Much stronger than human power.
"Drive it and try it!"
Zhu Yixi took dozens of steps away and then ordered.
Immediately, this behemoth began to start up, clanging extremely loudly, and a thick stream of white smoke floated out of the chimney.
The guards looked shocked. They felt something was wrong today. What the hell is this? Is it an evil spirit?
They swarmed in front of the emperor, preparing to use their bodies to block the attack of this behemoth.
Zhu Yixi didn't take it seriously and actually smelled it with her nose. Although the smell was not right, it was an industrial product.
Soon, the iron bull started moving at a walking pace, like an old cow, slowly.
Behind it, a huge iron rake net easily turned over the land. Many grass roots and stones were dug out, and more than a dozen long ditches rose up.
Zhu Yixi came to the ground where he plowed. The ditch was about a foot deep. He removed all the weeds on the surface, plowed it again, and sprinkled some fertilizer on it, and it became cultivated land.
After a while, about half an acre of land, one hundred meters long and three meters wide, was reclaimed.
What an exaggerated number.
If manpower is needed, a family of five can clear the wasteland in half a month.
Even if the construction corps had oxen and plows, it would take a day to get arable land, which was still shallow plowing, less than half a foot deep.
"good--"
At this moment, Zhu Yixi immediately felt happier than getting a train.
What a huge role such a behemoth plays in reclaiming virgin forests!
There are two reasons why the land reclamation in the Northeast was untenable in the past dynasties and was only occupied in the Ming Dynasty.
Cotton-padded clothes account for the most part, but the huge primitive forests in the Northeast are also an important obstacle.
And with this Tieniu, the development of Northeast China can be put on the agenda.
