"Your Highness, junior brother, this is the wheel firegun you want. My father bought it from a merchant from the Hongyi Kingdom."
After Wei Zaode left, Zhu Cihong's senior brother Zheng Sen went to Yongchun Garden and brought Zhu Cihong a flintlock gun produced in Europe, which was called a runner in the Ming Dynasty. This kind of firecracker has actually appeared for a long time, but due to immature technology, it has not been able to be mass-produced. For Prince Zhu's Ming Dynasty, the production capacity of matchlock guns was greatly insufficient, so there was no need to think about developing flintlock guns in one step.
"Oh, show it to me." Zhu Cixiang took the fire blunderbuss and asked Zheng Sen while playing with it, "When can your father come?"
"It's coming, it's coming." Zheng Sen said, "My father has been buying firecrackers for His Highness these days. When we collect 5,000, we will send them all together. In addition, in addition"
"What else?" Zhu Cihong asked.
Zheng Sen said: "I have a compatriot sister named Cha Gu. She is fourteen years old this year. My father wants to bring her to Nanjing so that Master Qiantose can see her."
"Tea Girl" Zhu Cixi smiled when he heard the name. Zheng Zhilong would really name his children. Zheng Chenggong called him "Damu" and his sister called "Tea Girl". They all had sex with plants.
Zheng Sen saw Zhu Cixiang's smile and said quickly: "Your Highness, junior brother, my sister is quite colorful, and she is knowledgeable and courteous. If she can serve junior brother,"
Zhu Cixiang smiled and nodded, "Okay, I have always valued the Zheng family in Anping, and I have long wanted to get married. Now that you intend to let your sister enter the palace, I naturally want it."
It is certainly a good thing to have another daughter-in-law, and she is the daughter of the richest man in the Ming Dynasty. In fact, Prince Zhu has been thinking about Zheng Zhilong’s daughter for a long time. When the richest man in the Ming Dynasty marries his daughter, he should give a dowry of one to two million, right?
If Lao Zheng didn't mention it himself, he would ask Zheng Sen to come forward to protect the media.
Seeing Zhu Cixiang happily agreeing, Zheng Sen's heart dropped. He knew that Zhu Cihong and Wu Sanmei had a good relationship, and he was worried that Prince Zhu would not accept his sister as an attendant.
Judging from the current attitude of Prince Zhu, it is obvious that he is a mature "politician in bed". Marriage in an imperial family was originally a political bargaining chip. The Ming Dynasty did not engage in political marriages for more than two hundred years, and specialized in marrying wives from small families. In fact, It's a waste of resources
And Zhu Cixiang doesn't have much capital now, so of course he won't refuse to marry Zheng, the richest man.
After talking about the marriage, Zhu Cixiang has almost finished playing with the flintlock gun that is made to look like a handicraft. It is a good gun, but it is not easy to imitate.
Prince Zhu has been rectifying the Tianjin craftsmen who came with the army these days. He also wants to select some with really good skills to form a small "royal blacksmithing workshop" and let Su Ziwen, Li Zubai and Li Shi select the people. I haven't received a reply yet. I guess I can't find many satisfactory people. If this "high-tech" workshop can be built, maybe they can try to build a few flintlock guns.
However, Jiangnan is now a weaving and porcelain center and cannot produce much good ironware. At this time, the center of China's iron production was in Foshan Town, Guangdong. Zhu Cixiang had already inquired about the situation of Foshan's iron industry. At this time, the Luoding area produced high-quality iron ore, and northern Guangdong was rich in limestone and timber, while Guangdong was developed The water transport can transport these things to Foshan for processing.
In addition, because Foshan is close to Macau, it has absorbed many Western technologies over the past hundred years, so that Foshan's iron industry ranks first in the world.
The iron smelting industry in Jiangnan has gradually declined due to competition from Foshan Iron Industry. Now it no longer has much competitiveness. It will take a lot of effort to revive it.
Speaking of this technology tree, it’s really not something you can climb just because you want to.
"Xiaobao," Zhu Cixiang handed the gun to Huang Xiaobao, "give it to Chen Shifang to keep, and then let him come over with Feng Sizhong."
"Here."
Watching Huang Xiaobao walk away with a firecracker. Zhu Cihong waved his hand again and dismissed all the young eunuchs serving in Yongchun Pavilion, leaving only Zheng Sen and himself.
"Senior brother, what's the arrangement?" Zhu Cixiang asked with a smile.
"Your Highness, everything has been arranged." Zheng Sen lowered his voice. "We will serve wine tonight at Baimen Pavilion. We have invited Hou Fangyu, Huang Zongxi, Luo Dagong, Mao Xiang, Zhang Huangyan, and the two women Li Yulin and Zhang Jingyi. The school secretary will also go."
"Who is Grand Duke Luo?" Zhu Cixiang asked. He knew Hou Fangyu, Huang Zongxi, and Maoxiang, but he had never heard of Duke Luo.
"He is our classmate," Zheng Sen said with a smile. "He is the teacher's favorite disciple. Mr. Songjiang Grand Duke, as he is called, is actually a fan of officials. I have already made an agreement with him, and he will speak for Qiantose Master when the time comes."
"It's good to be an official fan." Zhu Cixi smiled, "Then why doesn't the teacher recommend him to be an official?"
"How can a recommended officer be as good as a non-commissioned officer who has passed the examination?"
"That's right." Zhu Cixiang suddenly looked at Zheng Sen, "Senior brother, Enke, you can also take the exam next spring and get a Jinshi."
Zheng Sen was overjoyed when he heard this, and just as he was about to thank him, an announcement sounded outside the door. It turned out that Chen Shifang, the admiral of the East Factory, and Feng Sizhong, the foreman and bodyguard, had arrived.
Zhu Cixiang smiled and said to Zheng Sen, who was about to salute: "I am one of you, no need to thank you. It's getting late. We should go incognito for a private visit."
The Qinhuai River in Nanjing is divided into three parts: the inner city, the west section, and the east section. The most prosperous part is of course the west section. Outside the Sanshan Gate, there are many shops and it is extremely prosperous. But in this bustling place, there are too many street fireworks, and it lacks a bit of elegance and fun. Therefore, the section of the Qinhuai River within the Sanshan Gate is the most popular among talented people and beauties.
A courtyard is built on the bank of the Qinhuai River not far from Sanshanmen Wengcheng. With three entrances and three exits, it is not large but extremely elegant.
This courtyard is backed by Qinhuai.
Not only can you enjoy the scenery of Qinhuai, but it also has a small pier, which allows boating guests to come and go quietly, which is quite ingenious.
In a small attic in the courtyard, Duke Luo, the Duke of Songjiang, was leaning against the railing, holding a folding fan, talking loudly with Huang Zongxi and two white-faced scholars.
"Have you heard that Sun Zhixie, the eunuch leader who defected to the Tatars, has arrived in Shandong and will be coming to Nanjing in a few days. He has now shaved his head, braided his hair, and is dressed like a Hulu. He is a Confucian disciple."
"Sun Zhixian, a remnant of the eunuchs, is no longer a Confucian disciple, otherwise why would he defect to the Tatars?"
"I heard that Beijing is expelling Han people these days. All the Han people in Beijing are being driven out to make room for the Tatars. The land within 300 miles around Beijing will be used to enclose the land if the Tatars take a fancy to it. All Han people must surrender as slaves and those who do not want to be slaves will be driven away immediately."
"Wouldn't it mean to drive away millions of people?"
"What's the expulsion? It's clear that the Han people in Beizhili are forced to die."
"Humph, this is not just the southward migration caused by abandoning Beijing, but it is also abandoning the land and people of our ancestors."
“Taichong”
Grand Duke Luo had been creating public opinion for a long time, but was retorted by Huang Zongxi. He didn't know what to say.
At this moment, Kou Baimen's voice suddenly came from downstairs.
"Bai Men has met Mr. Zheng, this is"
This "Baimen Pavilion" is the club that Zheng Sen bought for Zhu Cixiang. It was entrusted to Kou Baimen, a Qinhuai prostitute, to host such a club. Of course, it was for the convenience of dealing with the juniors from Donglin and Fushe.
The so-called Eight Beauties of Qinhuai are actually the social butterflies held up by these shameless literati. The juniors in Donglin and Fushe are obsessed with prostitutes like them.
And Zhu Cixiang does not intend to kill all the juniors of Donglin and Fushe immediately, but wants to lead them because only by becoming their leader can he slowly clean them out in the most effective way.
If we put them on the opposite side and suppress them brutally as soon as they come up, we are afraid that if they are not completely wiped out for a while, the Tatars will attack again, and if these shameless literati continue to act as a leader or something, Zhu Cixiang will be in big trouble.
So now he feels that if Qian Qianyi, Hou Xun, and Wei Zaode are to be the new Three Kings of Donglin, and he will be the leader of the next Donglin, then the Donglin Party will unite around the leadership group with Zhu Cixiang as the core.
"This is Zhu Yaofei from Beijing." Zheng Sen reported the "pseudonym" of Zhu Cihong.
"Master Zhu, please come in." Kou Baimen frowned slightly, without looking at Zhu Cixiang. He just made a sign of respecting guests, and then led the way.
And Zhu Cixiang had no interest in this Qinhuai prostitute, even though Kou Baimen looked at her with the aesthetic appreciation of later generations, she was also very beautiful. But her father is neither the richest man, nor a warlord, nor the Tatar regent, so Prince Zhu, who has the world in mind, will not accept her.
Zhu Cixiang looked back at Feng Sizhong who was following him. Feng Sizhong walked in immediately with his sword in hand and followed Kou Baimen upstairs. There were more than a dozen guards and Dongchang Jingjun outside the door, all of whom arrived on the same boat as Zhu Cihong. Under Chen Shifang's command, Baimen Pavilion was surrounded on all sides.
After Feng Sizhong, there was Zheng Sen, who also carried a sword and strode behind Feng Sizhong. Prince Zhu, who had changed into Confucian clothes, followed him up to the second floor while shaking his paper fan.
