"Qingluan, don't be rude." An old voice came.
A healthy and thin old man walked out from the side.
Yang Fan looked around and saw a kind-hearted old couple with a middle-aged beautiful woman. Next to the beautiful woman was the girl who spat on him and the maid.
That maid is a bit stupid by nature, and she can't speak without thinking, which is comparable to Mei Xiang.
"My little girl is neglectful and rude. Please don't mind me, sir." The beautiful middle-aged woman said to Yang Fanfu.
"It's okay, it's okay, I was a little rude." Yang Fan also bowed and apologized.
After all, in this day and age, it is indeed inappropriate to look at other girls with piercing eyes.
The beautiful woman was immediately shocked when she saw Yang Fansheng's majestic and murderous aura.
She knows that only people who often fight can have this kind of toughness in their bodies. This young man looks gentle and polite, but he looks more like a scholar. Why does he have such an evil spirit that comes from fighting in a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood?
"This young master must be from the north. From what I hear, his accent sounds like someone from the Beizhili area." The old man also said with his hands in hand.
Yang Fan looked carefully and saw that the old man had an official aura, as if he had been in officialdom for many years. Probably not a minor official.
However, after Yang Fan looked at it for a long time, he was indeed very surprised. Yang Fan basically knew all the senior officials in the imperial court. If he didn't know them, it only meant that he was too young.
"I am Yang Fan, a native of Zunhua County, Shuntian Prefecture, North Zhili." Yang Fan said with cupped hands.
As soon as Yang Fan finished speaking, several people across from him looked at Yang Fan in surprise.
The old man cupped his hands and said, "But in front of Uncle Dingyuan."
Yang Fan said with a smile: "I'm not talented, I'm the one below. I dare you to ask me what I call you."
The old man laughed and said: "Dingyuan Bo is famous far and wide. When I saw him today, he was indeed a hero. Hahaha, I am Zhang Wudian, this is my wife. This is my daughter-in-law Huo, and this girl is my granddaughter Zhang Fengyi , named Qingluan."
Only then did Yang Fan realize that his granddaughter's nickname was Qingluan. It is very possible that the nickname is Xiaoqing. What I did just now was indeed suspected of teasing others.
"Yang Fan was angry just now. Please forgive me, sir." Yang Fan quickly said with his hands in hand.
"Don't blame those who don't know. Don't worry about it, Uncle Dingyuan." Zhang Wudian said.
Yang Fan turned around and bowed deeply to Mrs. Huo, and said, "But Zhang Quan, Mr. Zhang's wife, Yang Fan is polite."
Zhang Wudian was the Minister of War in the Wanli Dynasty. His son was Zhang Quan, who was the Minister of War in the Taichang Dynasty. Zhang Quan committed suicide in 1621 when Liaoyang City was destroyed. He is a scholar-bureaucrat with great integrity.
Zhang Quan married Huo and gave birth to a son and a daughter. The eldest son was named Zhang Daojun (Jun) and the daughter was named Zhang Fengyi. Although Huo is a female, she is proficient in bow and horse, and is a female hero who can ride into battle.
Only then did Yang Fan realize that this girl was actually Zhang Daojun's sister.
Yang Fan and Zhang Daojun are colleagues, both from the Jinyiwei system. Zhang Daojun is in charge of all affairs, but Zhang Daojun is in charge of the affairs of the guard station. Jinyiwei has a large organization, with 17 offices for thousands of households below. Real secret service organizations are only part of it.
Zhang Daojun, son of Zhang Quan. After Quan's death, the imperial court appointed Daojun as the Jinyiwei commander.
Because he was the son of a loyal minister, he was taken seriously and was given command of the military affairs in Jiadu and responsible for the garrison.
He was friendly with the eunuch Yang Weiyuan and others, and was ordered by Wang Yongguang to attack Donglin's Qian Longxi, Cheng Jiming and others. Therefore, it is not tolerated by Donglin.
After Chongzhen came to power, he cleaned up the eunuchs. Considering that he was a loyal minister, he was not touched. But soon, he was demoted to Yanmen Pass for taking bribes. At this time, Zhang Daojun was still eating dirt at Yanmen Pass.
Let’s not mention Zhang Daojun, but Yang Fan of the Huo family respected her very much. This lady can be said to be a hero among contemporary women, similar to Qin Liangyu.
When the thieves from Guanzhong swarmed into Shanxi, Huo led his soldiers and generals to defend Zhangjiabao in Qinshui County and defeated the thieves many times. Let Li Zicheng's 100,000 people return home defeated.
The Zhang family is a powerful landowning family in southern Shanxi. It owns a large amount of land and a strong castle, and its servants are numerous and elite.
Huo said: "Uncle Dingyuan is a hero of the world. I am a widow and cannot accept such great gifts."
Zhang Wudian laughed loudly and said, "It's fate that we meet today. Why don't I invite Uncle Dingyuan to Pingchun Tower to talk about it."
Yang Fan cupped his hands and said, "That's why I wish to hear it."
Zhang Wudian laughed, very happy, and walked into the Pingchun Restaurant by the lake with Yang Fan.
In the late Ming Dynasty, many scientist-type officials appeared. There are many people such as mathematician Xu Guangqi, surveying and mapping scientist Zhang Wudian, water conservancy expert Yuan Yingtai, scientific scientist Song Yingxing, artillery expert Sun Yuanhua and many others.
Arriving on the second floor of Pingchun Building, a private room was opened. The female students sat at one table, and Yang Fan and Zhang Wudian sat at the same table.
"When I came here, I encountered two large white sailboats on the Qiantang River. Their shapes were beautiful and their speed was unprecedented in my life. I don't know if they were Uncle Dingyuan's boats." Zhang Wudian was drinking wine while chatting with Yang Fan Small talk.
Yang Fan smiled. This is a common problem among scientific and technological officials. When they see something high-tech, they immediately become interested.
"Yes, it's my ship. When I came to Jiangnan this time, the ship had just been launched and needed a long-distance test. I came to test the ship's long-distance performance. After a few days, I will return to the capital after overhauling the machinery and equipment. ”
Zhang Wudian is now without an official and enjoying a comfortable retirement life. Usually just do things you like. At this time, when he saw Yang Fan's boat, he felt itchy and said: "Looking at the appearance of this boat, it feels very fast. How long did it take Uncle Dingyuan to travel from Tianjin to Nanjing."
Yang Fan said: "This season is when the northeast wind is strong, and the wind is favorable when it comes, and it will arrive in one day and one night.
"What, so fast." Zhang Wudian gasped.
He could tell from its appearance that the ship was very fast, but he never expected it to be so fast.
"It's not possible to go back. If you have to make a zigzag against the wind, it will probably take three days at the earliest." Yang Fan said.
"The waterway from Dagukou to Hangzhou is three thousand miles, and it only takes three days to go back against the wind. This, this is amazing."
"Normally it won't work with sails. If my boat is powered by a steam engine, it will be much faster."
"I have also heard that a workshop for making steam engines has been established in Beijing. It has started selling products, mainly Newcomen steam engines for pumping water. My family also has some land in Qinshui County, Shanxi. In the past two years, There was a drought and serious crop failure. There were hungry people everywhere in Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces."
"If we can dig wells and pump water for irrigation, we can at least achieve the harvest of a normal year. This steam engine is a good thing. I wanted to buy a few to try it out, but I heard that the orders have been scheduled for next year. It's a pity that I haven't seen it yet. This steam engine." He kept shaking his head as he spoke, feeling very regretful.
Zhang Fengyi stuck out her tongue at Mr. Huo and said, "Mother, what do you think? I'll just say that those two boats belong to Uncle Dingyuan. When I shoot arrows, you can see clearly from a hundred feet away. The eyesight is the best.”
The old lady touched her head lovingly and said, "Xiao Qing'er, you are right, we all blamed you wrongly."
Yang Fanxin said, your family's land is not small. Zhangjiabao's name is heard in the capital. If you invest in a steam engine to pump water and turn dry land into irrigated land, although the steam engine is not cheap, it is indeed cost-effective in the long run.
"If Mr. Zhang is interested, you can visit the ship. There is a reciprocating steam engine on the ship that is better than the Newcomen steam engine. Unfortunately, I have something to do and I have to go to Suzhou Fucheng, so I can't compensate Mr. Zhang."
Zhang Wudian has always been very interested in steam engines, and he immediately said in surprise: "Uncle Dingyuan, you can go by yourself, you don't need to accompany me, just arrange for someone to come."
Zhang Fengyi kept her ears open and eavesdropped. She was also curious when she saw the two huge sailboats. She heard that her grandfather was going to visit. I immediately made up my mind to go and have a look.
Not anymore today.
