Chapter 027 Basic Development
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The world-breaking invention of cement came out. According to the simple production process of two grinding and one burning in high school physics, Chen Cao successfully produced cement using the most primitive method, and then used cement and masonry as the structure to build Nanjing Youwei's barracks.
Everything developed in an orderly manner according to Chen Cao's expectations.
After the business was done, Chen Cao sat on the terrace drinking and eating. A plate of food on the table aroused his great enthusiasm. Zhao Xin also sat next to him and ate and drank with Xu Kaixian. Seeing Chen Cao pick up the plate, he said: "My lord, is this Don’t like this taro?”
"Taro?" Chen Cao picked up the potatoes of his time and looked at Zhao Xin: "You call this taro?"
"Sir, there are two kinds of taro, one is the small one you are holding in your hand now, and the other is the big one." Xu Kaixian interjected: "Many foreign envoys from the borders of Nanjing paid tribute, and Manlajia The envoys came with these things. The Ministry of Rites looked down on these things and did not want to lose the face of the court, so they sold these things to various grocery stores in the city, and each grocery store had to amortize them. ..”
oh...
Chen Cao nodded, knowing something in his mind: "Then what is a big taro?"
Xu Kaixian frowned and said: "I took a bite of that thing once. The raw one was a little crispy, the big one was a little sweet, but when cooked it was very sweet and sticky to the teeth. I didn't like it, so I threw it away."
Chen Cao understood that the so-called big taro by Xu Kaixian was sweet potato, which was called 'red potato' in the south in later generations: "Stop eating, take me to the grocery store in the city. I want to buy it, and I will buy this so-called big and small taro..."
Zhao Xin looked aggrieved: "Sir, three taels of silver per table is a high-end meal in Nanjing. We are not even half full after the food is served. This..."
"I'll come back later and pack some for myself..." Chen Cao couldn't bear his temper and took Xu Kaixian out of Qinhuai Tower to do business.
There are many grocery stores in Nanjing, and they all do business with each other. Chen Cao took his people to visit more than a dozen stores, but none were found. Some of them directly stated that they were sold out. Chen Cao was unwilling to give up, so he went to Beicheng and found the largest grocery store. , just as he was about to enter, he saw the waiter throwing the sack out of the store.
"Hey, sir, I want to buy some daily necessities. Our store is Jinling's flagship store. We have everything you want. We also have sugar from Annan, but it's expensive." The second brother greeted Chen Cao skillfully.
Chen Cao opened the sack thrown by the waiter, and what he saw was the potatoes he was longing for, but most of the potatoes in the bag had sprouted: "Brother, second brother, why did you throw away all these things?"
The waiter looked at the sack with a look of disgust: "Your Majesty, you don't know, this is the tribute goods from Manlajia. These things are not valuable. I heard that they regard this as their staple food. It's just not easy to grow, and those people don't have it." Tell me how to plant it." He looked at Chen Cao mysteriously and said, "The adults in the Ministry of Rites felt that they were at a disadvantage, so they asked us big shops like Jinling to share the share. Do you think this is..."
"Little San'er..." A coquettish voice sounded, and Xiao Er immediately shut up and did not dare to speak any more, and quickly stepped aside.
Chen Cao heard the sound and left, only to see a young woman walking up to Chen Cao. She bowed to Chen Cao first, then turned to look at the waiter and cursed: "You are a killer, just do business." Business, I asked you to throw something away. Why are you talking nonsense? You don’t want this month’s money?”
The waiter kept complaining, and Chen Cao said: "Don't be angry, boss lady. This waiter is telling the truth. It's really outrageous for the common people to share the losses of the imperial court equally, but I believe this is not what the emperor meant. It should be the Nanjing Ministry of Rites dirty behavior."
The landlady nodded after hearing this, but her years of experience made her very wary. If she dared to say bad things about the Ministry of Rites in Jinling, she was either a dignitary from the capital or a distinguished person from Jinling. She did not dare to agree at the moment, so she smiled: "Master, please ask the store to make it. If you want any supplies, just ask and they will be picked up for you. They will be kept and delivered to your house."
Chen Cao didn't waste any time, pointed at the sack and said, "Do you still have this thing?"
The landlady was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said: "As the young master said, this thing is worthless. The slave family is worried about how to sell it... What, what do you want the young master to do with this thing?"
"You can take it if you are told. Where did all the nonsense come from?" Xu Kaixian scolded him immediately.
Zhao Xin and Xu Kaixian next to them both had murderous auras on them. The proprietress was alert and quickly apologized, then led the people in personally. From time to time, several handymen would come out carrying sacks.
"Young Master, look, the small ones are all here, and there are also big ones inside. These things can be stored well, but they will sprout when spring comes. Everyone knows that sprouted things are not edible..." The proprietress smiled flatteringly. road.
The landlady had a beautiful smile, even better than Liu Hui'er. Chen Cao was such a young woman, and he couldn't help but ask: "Dare you ask me the name of the landlady?"
The landlady was stunned for a moment, then saluted politely: "Ms. Shen from the Nu family is the owner of Shen Ji's grocery store."
"Boss Shen, you're polite." Chen Cao clasped his fists: "I want all these things, big and small. You tell me the price."
"Hey, where are they..." Mrs. Shen covered her mouth and said with a smile: "I only got twenty taels for all these things. If they are broken, I will give you ten taels. There are two big cars. I can get some capital back." I also made a lot of money..."
"Xin Zhao, give Boss Shen thirty taels of silver..."
"Thank you, sir, thank you, sir..."
Chen Cao couldn't help but grabbed Shen's hand and said seriously: "Boss Shen, we will definitely have a chance to meet again in the future."
Shen's face turned red and she lowered her head in embarrassment.
Chen Cao left with the goods happily. In addition to meeting the beauties, the most important thing was the harvest of potatoes and sweet potatoes.
Chen Cao walked in the front, while Zhao Xin and Xu Kaixian walked behind with the goods. Zhao Xin looked at Xu Kaixian and said: "Old Xu, you can go back with the adults with the goods while I call my brother to go to Shenji Grocery Store. "
Xu Kaixian grabbed Xin Zhao's hand and said: "What, you want to take advantage of others? Didn't you see that I am interested in that woman?"
Xin Zhao scolded: "You idiot, because of this, I'm going to ask the adults to find out what's going on."
"It's yours, go ahead..."
Chen Cao came from a poor family in the countryside at that time, and he was very good at planting these things. When he returned to Zhuangzi, he gathered more than a dozen families of servants, taught them how to plant these two species, and asked them to free up at least ten acres of land. In the trial planting, the fields belong to Chen Cao, and he can plant whatever he wants.
In the early evening, Zhao Xin hurried into Chenjiazhuang and saw Chen Cao in the front hall: "Sir, my subordinates have heard about it."
"What's the matter?" Chen Cao was chewing on a leg of lamb that was only sprinkled with pepper powder and salt: "It's a little fishy, do you want to eat it?"
"This subordinate doesn't want to eat," Xin Zhao waved his hand: "Your Excellency, I have found out about the Shen family's subordinate you met at noon."
Seeing Xin Zhao's flattering smile, Chen Cao smiled and said: "You are a killer. If I were the emperor one day, you would be a typical sycophant..."
"Ah?" Zhao Xin was surprised by the first half of the sentence and stopped him: "Sir, please don't talk nonsense. It could lead to death..."
"What?" Chen Cao lowered his head and looked at Zhao Xin quietly and mysteriously: "I am your confidant, and I ask you, if I intend to rebel and become emperor in the future, do you want to be the next 'Wei Guogong'?"
Seeing Chen Cao's determination in his eyes, Zhao Xin took a deep breath and knelt down: "I will be loyal to you with my life..."
"Get up..." Chen Cao stretched out his hand to help him, and then scolded: "Wei Zhongxian's old dog is uneducated. It has made me a joke in the official circles of the capital. Now it has become a big joke in the official circles of Nanjing. They say that I cling to Wei Zhongxian and am his first sycophant. These bastards, wait three years after the Apocalypse, do you think these grandsons still dare to say these things?"
"Why do you have to wait three years after the Apocalypse?" Xin Zhao asked curiously.
"At that time, I was already leading the troops in Liaodong to block one side..." Chen Cao still said to himself, then looked at Zhao Xin and said, "What did you find out?"
Zhao Xin reacted and said: "My subordinate changed his clothes and took his brother to the Shen family. Shen was so frightened when we Jin Yiwei came to the door. After her own words and the testimony of the waiter from the surrounding shop,
Preliminary results: This woman's name is Shen Zhuangling. She is thirty-three years old. Her native place is Kunming Prefecture, Yunnan Province. She came to Nanzhili alone. She has more than a dozen servants, all of whom have registered in Yingtian Prefecture. She currently operates the largest grocery store in Beicheng. of a family. "
"Kunming..." Chen Cao said something himself: "Jinling City is a mixed bag of dragons and snakes, full of high-ranking officials and dignitaries. Anyone who can open such a large shop in the inner city and still be safe must have big connections behind him... "
Xin Zhao also nodded and said, "Sir, is there any secret behind her?"
Chen Cao shook his head: "Kunming Mansion? By the way, the Duke of Guizhou Mansion is in Kunming."
"yes..."
Chen Cao seemed to understand something: "Does Uncle Hou, the foreign minister who is stationed abroad, have a residence in Beijing?"
Zhao Xin nodded: "The Duke of Guizhou's residence is in the east inner city, two streets away from the Duke of Wei's residence..."
Chen Cao understood now, but in order to seek confirmation, he still ordered: "You arrange for someone to call all her nursing staff to the Qianhu Office to ask if she is from the military."
"My subordinate understands."
...
"My lord is really amazing..." A middle-aged man in the workshop was reporting to Chen Cao: "The cement piles made by your lord were tested by the kids yesterday. They are extremely hard and there are no traces of erosion after being soaked in water. .”
Chen Cao nodded, and then asked: "What is your name?"
The man replied: "Young Li Maocai."
"Li Maocai, from now on, I will appoint you to be promoted to the ninth rank of Nanjing Youwei Cement Workshop. From now on, you will be in charge of this workshop. You must do your best."
Li Maocai was a lowly craftsman. His biggest boast in his life was his participation in the renovation of Xiaoling Ming Palace. After he was expelled, he returned to his hometown to work for the government. He had a good fortune in this life, but he was captured by Zhao Xin by accident. After marrying Chen Cao, he had money and became an official. He knelt down and saluted, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, sir."
"From now on, we will vigorously recruit people. Your monthly salary will be three taels of silver, those with solid skills will be one tael of silver, and the monthly salary of newly recruited apprentices will be five taels of silver. You must create a Nanjing Right Guard for me within three months. If you are short of money, come to my barracks and ask for it from me." Just as he was about to leave, Chen Caoyou said: "Don't take advantage of workers' monthly wages out of greed. Don't forget that I am from Jin Yiwei, and I hate corrupt subordinates the most. People who care about money.”
Li Maocai clasped his fists in fear: "Young man will definitely live up to your trust."
After Chen Cao and Li Xiang got married, Li Xiang's Juxianju naturally became Chen Cao's property. Zhou Decai was also very satisfied that he could become Chen Cao's subordinate. At least following this literary master would not starve to death, and Chen Cao Don't worry too much about whether there will be dividends, because everything about Li Xiang now belongs to him.
"My husband is really a great talent," Li Xiang watched Chen Cao dictate in the Juxian Residence. She was in charge of writing the second "Liao Zhai Zhi Yi" and was full of praise: "No wonder my husband can charm so many girls. This writing style is... Bai Mengsheng is not as good as my husband."
Speaking of Bai Mengsheng, Chen Cao thought of Magnolia again, and then said: "Whether my husband will be successful in the future will all depend on these novels. You can write with confidence. There are three books in A Chinese Ghost Story. The first one will be a big seller, and this one will be a big hit." Parts 2 and 3 are still fine. By the way. After printing, prepare ten copies for me. I’ll give them away.”
Naturally, the ones sent were the emperor in Beijing and all the friends of the Duke of Nanjing.
"Sir," Zhao Xin walked into the living room and said, "Sir, the people from Jiangxi are back, Song Yingxing has been arrested, and they are making a big fuss in Qianhu Residence right now."
Chen Cao: "..."
When Chen Cao arrived at the Qianhu Office, Song Yingxing was making a big fuss. He was a stupid young man who was not afraid of the Jin Yiwei. Instead, he thought that if he was framed and killed by the Jin Yiwei, he could gain a good reputation in history, so he went all out to smash the tables and chairs in the lobby.
"If I were allowed to go out, I would have to report it to the Master of Academic Affairs and let him make a good review. Is it okay for the Jin Yiwei to act recklessly? If I had cheated in the imperial examination, I would have been caught long ago. It will be your Jin Yiwei's turn to talk about the matter the next year. ?" Song Yingxing cursed as he sat on the chair out of breath.
Chen Cao walked into the lobby. Seeing that this elegant middle-aged man in his thirties actually had such abilities, he clapped his hands and said, "Mr. Song, please don't be angry. I am Chen Cao. In response to your teacher Bi Maokang's advice, Please, let you come to Jinling to help him with his affairs."
Song Yingxing looked confused, and then said: "That's nonsense. The charge you came to Jiangxi to arrest me for is imperial examination fraud. What does it have to do with my teacher?"
Chen Cao knew that these scholars accepted death and said: "Master Bi has arrived at Longjiang Ferry now and will arrive at the gate of Nanjing tonight. If you don't believe me, you can come with me to meet him halfway..."
"Okay," Song Yingxing stood up and patted the edge of his robe: "Let's go see what you eagle dogs can do."
Bi Maokang submitted his resignation the day after Chen Cao left Beijing, and found Zhang Wenda. With Zhang Wenda's power as Minister of Civil Affairs, he easily transferred him to Nanjing and served as Nanjing's right guard Zhengba as a civil servant. Except for a few friends of Bi Maokang and his brother who was serving as minister, everyone in the court was eyeing the vacancy of Shuntian Prime Minister after Bi Maokang left. Although this Prime Minister was not good Of course, he is also a high-ranking official of the fourth rank who can also visit the Holy See. This is a real shortage that many unsatisfied officials are jealous of.
Chen Cao ordered Liao Yaowen to pick them up, and they did meet Bi Maokang's four carriages halfway there. It seems that Bi Maokang had brought his family to Nanjing with him.
Song Yingxing was very excited when he saw Bi Maokang's face. After Bi Maokang's explanation, Song Yingxing immediately expressed his willingness to serve as an official in Nanjing Youwei and serve as the ninth grade officer of the firearms factory.
"Sir Chen, I have something I want to ask your lord, and I would like to ask you to help me clear my doubts." After arriving at Nanjing Youwei's camp, in the tent of the temporary workshop, Bi Maokang looked at Chen Cao seriously and said.
Chen Cao ordered Xu Kaixian to stay outside and not allow anyone to disturb him. There were only himself and Bi Maokang in the tent, so he whispered: "The situation in Liaodong continues to deteriorate, and the court is unable to deal with it. I am a man of lofty ideals, and I cannot bear to destroy the foundation established by Emperor Taizu." In the hands of people of our generation, so working hard to build this firearms factory will be of great use."
"Why do the princes of the DPRK tolerate you, my lord, holding the post of commander and running a firearms factory in the name of a guard station?" Bi Maokang then asked.
Chen Cao said mysteriously: "Li Maohui, the young minister of Taipu Temple, is my father-in-law, and Zhang Wenda, the Minister of Civil Affairs, is my uncle. What's more, I gave Wei Zhongxian one hundred thousand taels of silver and promised to donate my house to His Majesty every month." Novel written.”
"No wonder..." Bi Maokang sighed and looked at Chen Cao jokingly: "Your Excellency, you are not in vain for your reputation as a sycophant..."
Chen Cao: "..."
Six days later, the capital reported that Liaoyang had fallen. Yuan Yingtai, the manager of Liaodong, committed suicide and died for his country. All the land east, north and south from the Liaohe River to Gaizhouwei was lost. The Liaodong armies retreated to Gaizhou and Haizhouwei.
Three days later, the court decided to appoint Sun Chengzong as the governor of Liaodong and went to Guangning to guard it.
Two more days...
"Sir, I'm back..."
When Zhao Xin found Chen Cao, Chen Cao was in the firearms factory telling Bi Maokang about the flintlock gun and showing him the drawings. Song Yingxing knew how to water hammer, and the forging of the barrel was done by Song Yingxing, while he was talking to Bi Maokang about the principles of the gun. .
"Who's back?" Chen Cao looked up, his face a little dark, because he had just seen the fine parts of the forged flintlock gun from Hebi Maokang in the workshop.
"General Song Qi is back."
"Song Che?" Chen Cao was surprised and said, "Take me there quickly."
Song Che did not enter the city, but waited at the official road station outside Zhengyang Gate. When Chen Cao saw Song Che again, the young man who was only one year older than him actually had a beard, and his face was obviously darker.
"Shi Xiu..."
"Yew Chung..."
When the two met, they hugged each other vigorously. If it were a woman, at least one of them would cry, but now they are laughing, holding hands and talking.
In the lobby of Chen Cao's mansion, Song Che was chatting with his sister Song Yin. Song Yin, who was crying, looked extremely beautiful, but in front of Song Che, Chen Cao did not dare to show it: "Okay, tonight we will Let the two of you have a drink and go to Qinhuai Tower."
In the box, Chen Cao, Song Che and five of Chen Cao's confidants were sitting.
"I once seriously appealed to Mr. Yuan and asked the surrendered Mongolians and Jurchens, as well as the surrendered Ming soldiers and soldiers, to set up a separate camp in Liaoyang. In the end, they didn't listen. Only General Li Shaokuan thought what I said was relevant. Reason; General Li Shen found me on the night the city was broken and asked me to help defend the North City with him. At that time, due to the fall of Shenyang, I had been promoted to the surrender army guerrillas. As a result, the South City was opened by Mongolian refugees and Jurchen internal forces that night. Many generals died in the guerrilla fighting, and the city Broken, Mr. Yuan would rather die than leave, and finally hanged himself on the urn tower in the east city."
"How many slaves are there?" Chen Cao asked.
"About 30,000, and there are nearly 50,000 rebels." Song Che said: "The enemy's offensive is fierce. If it weren't for the strong fighting power of the Shizhu chieftain soldiers and the Qi family army, who covered the retreat of the large army, I'm afraid I wouldn't even be able to come back. "
"Chief Shizhu? Qi Jiajun?" Chen Cao frowned: "Is Qin Liangyu the chieftain Shizhu? Is the Qi Jiajun still in charge of it?"
Song Che drank a glass of wine and sighed: "The white pole soldiers of Shizhu are Qin Liangyu, but not the Qi Jiajun. The Qi Jiajun's guerrilla is called Cao Wenzhao. This man is always the first to rush in every time he fights Jiannu. Finally, One of them rushed out and fought extremely bravely."
Zhao Xin interjected: "Qi Shaobao's troops stayed in Liaodong during Wanli's time. The Mongols that Qi's army fought in Liaodong fled."
Song Che nodded: "Cao Wenzhao is from Shanxi. He served in the army in Liaodong and happened to join the Qi family army. However, this battle is basically over. They tried their best to cover our evacuation. They are true men."
Chen Cao nodded mentally, and then asked: "Shi Xiu, can you get Cao Wenzhao to come to my Nanjing right guard?"
Song Che shook his head without thinking: "That's impossible. He is now a guerrilla general. Many commanders of the Liaodong Frontier Army died in this battle. He should be promoted. If you hadn't asked Jin Yiwei to inform me to come back, I wouldn't have come back. of."
It turned out that Chen Cao had an evil plan brewing in his heart, so he smiled and said: "Okay, let's not talk about this matter. I want you to come back because now I am also the commander of Nanjing Right Guard, and I will be the commander of Nanjing Right Guard in the future." Liaodong is recruiting troops, but now Zhao Xin and I don’t dare to transfer from the Zhenfu Division, so I will let you take over the position of Commander-in-Chief."
Song Che was moved for a moment, then clasped his fists: "The final general will definitely live up to your orders."
Chen Cao grabbed Song Che's fist: "You and I will be the ones who will do big things in the future. The few people here are my confidants and can be trusted, so you don't have to be so polite to me." Then he said: "I There are new training methods and tactics. When all the soldiers are found, you and Qi Xianzong will train these soldiers together."
Xin Zhao handed over his hand: "Sir, the recruitment you ordered has been completed. Two thousand five hundred people have been selected from the refugees. I heard that there is money and food. This group of people is very active. They are all seventeen to twenty-five years old. Young and strong."
Chen Cao nodded and said: "You have done a good job. I will reward you well in the future. By the way, when Qi Xianzong comes back from recruiting troops, all of them will be stationed in the Youwei camp." He looked at Song Che and said, "You will go back to the city to live in these days. , the right guard will be all firearms troops in the future, and as soon as the soldiers arrive, you have to stay in the camp, you can insist."
Song Che said with a smile: "Compared with Liaodong, Nanjing is paradise here and hell over there."
"Hahaha..."
