Xingji City, House of the Minister of Household Affairs.
"The waves are in waves, the waves are in waves, and the waves are in waves. Today I am happy, riding a donkey and walking around the streets..."
Qian Liang happily entered the house humming a ditty, and the beads in his hand rattled loudly.
As always, only Mrs. Shangshu was doing embroidery in the huge main hall.
Tsk tsk.
"Looking at your appearance, you may have entered the wrong house." She teased her husband before asking, "Did something good happen to the Yamen again?"
well.
"It's nothing." Qian Liang pretended to sigh, stroking his gray beard, "It's just that Lao Cai of the Criminal Department submitted his resignation today."
"After all, we have been officials in the same court for more than ten years. Although we have occasional frictions, seeing his appearance today, my husband can't help but feel a bit sad."
cut!
Mrs. Shangshu curled her lips.
It's not like she hasn't seen this bad old man yelling at other ministers at home in private.
Cai Lu.
Mrs. Shangshu muttered the name.
For this Minister of Justice, she was a woman who never left home, but she didn't really know much about her.
However, she remembered that the man in her family scolded Cai Lu the most fiercely, after Emperor Changxing established the crown prince.
The Ministry of Criminal Justice at that time blocked the entire traffic arteries in Hanoi County in the name of investigating robbers and detaining criminals.
In the end, Qian Liang was so angry that his nose was crooked. Not only did he criticize Huai in the court, but he even almost rushed to the Yamen of the Ministry of Justice to find someone to fight with.
"Is it approved by the superiors?" Mrs. Shangshu pointed to the roof vaguely.
"Probably." Qian Liang nodded vaguely.
Although Cai Lu clearly sided with the prince and did a lot of bad things for the prince, he was not as bottomless as Luo Ken from the Ministry of Industry.
If Jinlinwei cannot find much evidence, he should be given a relatively dignified exit.
"The Six Ministries have lost the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Punishment, so wouldn't the imperial court be in chaos now?" Mrs. Shangshu said.
"What a mess," Qian Liang said disdainfully, "You really have long hair but short knowledge. Is the imperial system that has been established for hundreds of years a fake? Not to mention that there are only two ministers missing. Even if there are six of us plus the grand master, do you believe it? Don’t you believe that the government can still operate normally?”
snort.
Mrs. Shangshu said nothing, but stood up with a tigerish face.
Qian Liang took a few steps back and said hurriedly: "Madam, there is no need to prepare meals for my husband today. I will be a guest at Zuo Dailang's house from the Ministry of Works later."
Mrs. Shangshu's heart moved.
She understands Qin Ming, the left minister of the Ministry of Industry.
When the Qian family had a daughter who had just grown up, Mrs. Shangshu was planning to choose a son-in-law in Xingji City.
Although the Shangshu Mansion does not have an inheritable title, it is still one of the top wealthy families in the imperial capital. If the Qian family wants to find a well-matched match for their daughter, it is actually not difficult.
Anyway, Xingji City is very big, with tens of thousands of men of the right age.
In particular, some people have strong family backgrounds and are proficient in business. It can be said that they are just around the corner to get promoted and get ahead.
However, Mrs. Shangshu fell in love with Qin Ming.
His position in the Ministry of Industry at that time was not high, and he was only responsible for designing and manufacturing various new equipment. For example, the crane that Ren Ning took out was finally handed over to him.
As for the rest, Qin Ming didn't care.
Generally speaking, every empire regards such technical talents as treasures.
But it is also because they are too focused on technology and often neglect other things. In the end, being able to sit in the left-hand position of the Ministry of Industry is almost the ceiling of their career.
However, it was this down-to-earth style that made Mrs. Shangshu feel that this man was stable and worthy of her daughter's trust for life.
Unfortunately, fate is not as good as fate. Before Qin Ming could come to propose marriage, Wei Junqian secretly abducted Miss Qian.
————
The Ministry of Industry is waiting for Lang Mansion.
The butler's face was full of guilt, "Qian Shangshu, you know my lord. A suspension bridge is going to be built in Qingshi County. He is calculating some key data and can't let go of his work for the time being."
"Why don't you sit down and have a cup of tea first? As soon as my master is finished, I will ask him to come and see you."
"It doesn't matter," Qian Liang waved his hand indifferently.
"The suspension bridge in Qingshi County is related to the export of iron ore. Everyone in the court is paying attention to it, and nothing can be done carelessly. I don't have anything urgent to do today. The housekeeper asked your family not to be anxious and to take your time. , calculate it carefully.”
"Thank you, sir!" The old housekeeper breathed a sigh of relief.
As a result, Qian Liang drank tea until he went to the toilet twice in a row, but the door to the study was still closed tightly.
"Master Shangshu has been waiting for a long time," the housekeeper fidgeted, "Why don't I just go and call my master out."
"There's no rush." Qian Liang looked at the sky outside and calmed down. "Master Qin may have reached a critical point right now. It would be bad if he was disturbed. I will wait a little longer."
As soon as he finished speaking, news came from the study that Qin Ming had finished his calculations and would come through the main hall after washing.
hehe.
The old housekeeper rubbed his hands and smiled.
"Master Shangshu, my master is usually a bit slovenly, and he has stayed up several nights in a row these days to calculate those data, so the smell on his body is a bit heavy..."
"It's not in the way, it's not in the way." Qian Liang waved his hands repeatedly, "This little thing doesn't matter. It is precisely because the empire has talents like Mr. Qin that it is our country's fortune and the world's fortune."
"It seems that I disturbed Mr. Qin because of my rash visit. It's my turn to apologize."
Not long after, Qin Ming, who was looking fresh and fresh and with puffy eyes, finally entered the main hall.
"I have met Lord Shangshu." He bent down and bowed deeply, apologetically on his face, "I have no intention of being negligent, Lord, but I just forgot the time for a moment, so please be generous."
"It doesn't matter." Qian Liang looked at the man who was supposed to be his son-in-law and couldn't help but have mixed feelings. "Master Qin has a heavy burden on his shoulders and a lot of work in his hands. I shouldn't bother you, but here is share……"
As he spoke, he took out the map of the world's canals planned by Wei Junqian himself and handed it over.
Qian Liang explained: "The empire has a vast territory, and the traffic of people and cargo in each county is intensive and huge. It is really difficult to rely on post road transportation alone. Therefore, the imperial court feels that it is necessary to open up new canals and reconnect the traffic between counties."
Qin Ming nodded in agreement.
He himself works in the Ministry of Industry and has been designing bridges in various places, so he has a deep understanding of this.
"What Lord Shangshu said is that to a certain extent, water routes are indeed more convenient and reliable than land routes."
After saying that, Qin Ming lowered his head and let out a quick sigh.
"Hey, there are three canals in total from Beihai to Jinghu Lake, Xinglan Grand Canal to Mist County, and finally to Laigu County..."
call.
He gasped.
"Master Shangshu, these three projects are not small, and the funds and number of people required are probably not small. As for the Ministry of Household Affairs..."
Ha ha.
Qian Liang laughed, "I understand what Mr. Qin said. But this is just a plan. The Ministry of Industry and the waiter will investigate the specific situation. As for the construction period, it is calculated in hundreds or even hundreds of years, so there is no need to worry about the imperial finances. question."
A century or even hundreds of years of engineering?
Qin Ming's heart was pounding and he quickly looked at the drawing carefully again.
Soon he let out a long sigh.
"Master Shangshu, if these three canals can be successfully dug, in the future, all major water systems in the entire empire, except for Dingxi County, will be almost integrated into one. By then, transportation and communication among the counties will not be a problem."
"In my humble opinion, this is probably a feat that will go down in history and benefit the ages."
"That's right." Qian Liang smiled and nodded.
It's just that Qin Ming only specializes in engineering after all. On the planning map in front of him, he only saw more convenient transportation in each county in the future, but he has not yet seen the impact on the entire empire.
"If the empire has made up its mind to open up the canal, then the officials must conduct serious research and start work as soon as possible."
"Very good." Qian Liang nodded with satisfaction, "Well done, Mr. Qin will definitely be remembered in the annals of history."
(End of chapter)
