Zhang Zhou entered the palace again.
This time he entered the palace in a relaxed mood. He followed Xiao Jing and looked at the magnificence of the surrounding palaces. He was also thinking in his heart. It was a pity that he could not completely grasp the times. Otherwise, how exciting would it be to be an emperor?
There are three thousand beauties in the harem, and all the people are in submission... But going to court every day is a bit tiring.
But compared to having the grandeur of having the world, this hard work is worth it.
Just as he was thinking about it, several people came over from the opposite side. A man in his sixties who looked like a very dignified old scholar followed a eunuch out of the palace.
I didn't even meet him, I just looked at each other from a distance.
The other party looked at him with a look that seemed very resentful.
"Eunuch Xiao, who is that?" Zhang Zhou saw that the man was walking away and couldn't help but quicken his pace to follow Xiao Jing and asked.
Xiao Jing said, "Didn't Mr. Zhang enter Yong Temple when he was offering wine in the Imperial Academy's forest? I've never seen him?"
"hehe."
Zhang Zhou was not embarrassed to say that he had suffered a defeat last time. He thought that Lin Han was indeed a high-minded person. Maybe a Taoist like him would not be in the eyes of the first old principal of the dynasty.
But who is nobler than whom? Zhang Zhouxin said that in my previous life, I was also engaged in the education industry. Maybe I was too depressed. In this life, I want to live a free life.
The life of this old man Lin must be very depressing, otherwise why would he have so many concubines at home?
…
…
Qianqing Palace.
Zhang Zhou saw Zhu Youtang, and Zhu Youtang received him with a smile.
The fire at Qingning Palace two days ago seems to be a thing of the past.
After Zhang Zhou sat down, Zhu Youtang asked with concern: "I heard that you live in a new house, are you still comfortable?"
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. It's quite good. The yard is spacious, but there are a little few people in the yard..."
"you……"
Zhu Youtang was about to give instructions to Dai Yi next to him when he suddenly realized that Zhang Zhou would always ask him for something in disguise, and every time he would be possessed and couldn't help but give it to him.
This time he also learned to be smart.
Zhu Youtang glanced at Zhang Zhou and said, "Bingkuan, there are few people in your yard. You have to rely on your own ability to enrich your yard. Don't always think about asking for it from me."
Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty is wronged. How could I have such thoughts? It's just that I suddenly lived in a big house and saw the empty yard, and I felt something. Your Majesty clearly rewards and punishes, and I feel grateful in my heart. This is pride. Not asking for reward."
"Haha, I'm pretty good at talking." Zhu Youtang smiled.
Zhu Youtang would probably feel more relaxed after talking to Zhang Zhou like this. The way he got along with those ministers in the past was too tiring.
"By the way, Your Majesty, I have used these two days to make a sketch of the reconstruction of Qingning Palace and submitted it to Eunuch Xiao," Zhang Zhou said.
Zhu Youtang nodded.
A wave of hands.
Xiao Jing displayed a sketch drawn by Zhang Zhou, as well as some rough materials and numbers of slaves to be used.
The details of the drawings made the emperor dazzled after reading them.
"This is……"
"Back to Your Majesty, this is a sketch drawn by me. It was drawn with charcoal. There are some unclear things. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
Of course Zhang Zhou would not draw architectural drawings in the usual way of this era. Although he was not an engineering professor, he could still draw basic three-dimensional geometric figures.
"The specific reference is a sketch of Qingning Palace and surrounding palaces that Eunuch Xiao gave me before. I have made some modifications appropriately. There will be no major changes in the location of the foundation or anything like that."
After reading it, Zhu Youtang said sincerely: "Although I can't quite understand it, I think you are sincere, which is good. What are these lines?"
Zhu Youtang pointed to something that didn't seem to be in the palace.
Because Zhang Zhou was not with the emperor, he didn't know what the emperor was talking about.
Zhu Youtang waved and said, "Stop sitting and come over and show me."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Zhang Zhou didn't hesitate and walked directly to the emperor's desk and looked at the drawings from the opposite direction.
Several eunuchs nearby were a little frightened. The way Zhang Jieyuan got along with the emperor became more and more intimate, and they became more and more like a family, but they felt a little sour in their hearts.
Zhang Zhou said: "Oh, what your Majesty is talking about was added by me. It's called heating. The principle is to connect copper pipes in series and intersperse them everywhere in the palace. Water is poured into them, and one end is connected to the boiler. By boiling water, you can keep warm without using an open fire in the palace, and you don't have to go to the underground fire chamber, which is safe and does not affect the dragon vein feng shui."
What Zhang Zhou said was the simplest principle of home heating. It was the simplest thing to ordinary people in later generations, but to Zhu Youtang, it was like hearing a book from heaven.
"Is this really feasible?" Zhu Youtang looked puzzled.
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "It is feasible. I originally planned to use iron pipes, but unfortunately iron pipes are easy to rust. Copper pipes do not have this trouble, but the cost will be slightly higher."
"Yes." Zhu Youtang carefully looked at Zhang Zhou's notes under the drawings and agreed with Zhang Zhou's statement, "The budget is one thousand taels, and the price is indeed not low. What is the overall cost?"
It is not up to Zhang Zhou to answer this question.
Xiao Jing replied: "Your Majesty, according to the drawings drawn by Zhang Jieyuan, someone from the Ministry of Industry has probably calculated the cost. Basically...it needs 120,000 taels."
"Twenty-two thousand taels...yeah."
Zhu Youtang nodded thoughtfully, probably this number was a bit unacceptable to him.
Zhang Zhou said: "I have thought of a way to reduce expenses, but I don't know whether to talk about it or not."
"Tell me." Zhu Youtang expressed interest.
Zhang Zhou talked eloquently: "I have calculated that if the original purchase price of the Ministry of Works is used, even if the laborers do not spend money, the rations still need to be guaranteed, and it is difficult to save money. I think, if we use bidding, let the city Those who can provide materials can make their own quotations and then choose the ones with lower prices and higher quality. Effective competition can then be formed and costs will be significantly reduced."
To build palaces in the Ming Dynasty, the materials needed to be purchased by the court, while manpower deployment has always been the criticized "Beijing camp occupation".
That is to say, soldiers from the military camp in the capital were used to build buildings and gardens for the royal family. In addition to providing basic rations, they basically used free labor. Although the issue of occupation had been discouraged by Yanguan, Ming Xiaozong wanted to save money and cultivate Taoism. , palaces, etc., they naturally occupy them and refuse to let them go.
Being a soldier in the Beijing camp is not a good thing.
Daily training can’t guarantee that. Working as a craftsman every day to repair houses... Who can stand it?
"Bidding?"
Zhu Youtang found these terms very fresh.
Xiao Jing had heard Zhang Zhou mention it before, and he said: "Your Majesty, what Zhang Jieyuan means is to find more suppliers to create competition and reduce costs."
"I see." Zhu Youtang nodded, as if saving money was important to him, "But in this case, can the material be guaranteed? And Bingkuan, didn't you mention before that the selected materials must comply with the secret of heaven? "
Zhang Zhoudao: "The secrets I mentioned are more about the length and texture of wood and stone. They must be denser and harder, and must withstand thunder and fire to the greatest extent. Wood with a pine texture is easy to age and is more susceptible to water and fire." Insect erosion will also have detailed requirements on the length and width of the material.”
"oh?"
Zhu Youtang was confused again.
Dai Yi asked from the side: "Does that mean it has nothing to do with God or something?"
Zhang Zhou said: "Wood and stone are only distinguished by their origin and texture. It would be far-fetched to really rely on heaven's secret."
Zhu Youtang smiled and said: "Bingkuan, even if you insist on getting involved, they won't be able to tell the difference. You are still quite honest. From what they reported before, even I thought that these materials need to be consecrated or found. My family is setting up an altar to ward off evil spirits."
"How come?" Zhang Zhou smiled.
If you don't leave this money-making business to me, I might scare you with ghostly things.
Anyway, now you have no doubts about me.
I'm a good tricker when it comes to deceiving people.
Zhu Youtang said: "Then I approve this matter, but there is one requirement. It must not be shoddy. I want to build a palace that can last for hundreds of years."
"Yes." Zhang Zhou held his hands.
Zhu Youtang motioned for Zhang Zhou to sit down again. He put together Zhang Zhou's drawings and said as if talking about home affairs: "Bingkuan, it's not that I have to be stingy. In fact, in the past two years, the court's expenses have been a bit high. After autumn, the Northwest fought several battles in Helan Mountain. Although they were victorious, the cost was huge."
This means that in the eleventh year of Hongzhi, Wang Yue led his troops to the Helan Mountains, won a great victory against the Tatars, and made Turpan return to the Ming Dynasty.
The so-called great victory is nothing more than "forty-two beheadings, two hundred and forty-one horses and camels, and thousands of cattle, sheep, and weapons captured."
Even so, this can be regarded as the greatest military achievement during the Xiaozong period.
Zhang Zhou said: "I have something to ask, but it's hard for me to say it..."
Zhu Youtang said: "Didn't I tell you everything? In my place, if you have something to say, just say it directly and don't beat around the bush."
"Yes." Zhang Zhou said, "I estimate that there should be quite a few people who have submitted petitions to impeach Wang Zhongcheng in the past two days."
Zhu Youtang was startled.
Then he looked at Xiao Jing first, and Xiao Jing quickly denied it and said, "My servant has never mentioned anything to Zhang Jieyuan."
Zhu Youtang said helplessly: "Bingkuan, you have sharp eyes and can understand many things. Wang Yue is like this. He likes to make friends with his ministers. The former emperor was accused of making friends with Wang Zhi. It is not right to use him again this time. Because he has corrected this problem, but because his talents are indeed outstanding. Even if he had had contact with Li Guang, I will not hold him accountable."
Zhang Zhou nodded.
Historically, Zhu Youtang did not hold Wang Yue responsible for giving gifts to Li Guang or even secretly communicating with Li Guang. However, because so many people in the court were involved in the impeachment, Wang Yue's people were frightened in the northwest, and then they became angry for a while... He passed away in sorrow and anger in December of that year.
The cause of death was chest paralysis, that is, heart disease.
Zhang Zhou said: "I have done some calculations and feel that if Wang Zhongcheng continues to stay in the northwest, he may not be able to survive the coming year, so I ask that he be recalled to the capital."
"What? You mean... he will die in the northwest?" Zhu Youtang was startled.
This time, even Dai Yi and others felt that Zhang Zhou was a bit out of proportion and actually taught the emperor how to do things?
This is a major matter involving the military and political affairs of the northwest. What is your status that allows you to comment casually? If Wang Yue is transferred and military affairs in the northwest undergo sudden changes, can you afford this responsibility?
Zhang Zhou said: "Not only that, I also asked your majesty to give him a life-saving medicine so that he can use it when the disease attacks. If your majesty feels that I am being abrupt, then just pretend that I didn't say anything."
