Zhang Zhou's words made Queen Mother Zhou look unhappy.
Queen Zhang looked over with a bit of confusion. Apparently she didn't expect that Zhang Zhou would stand on the same ground as her.
Zhu Youtang used Zhang Zhou's words as an introduction, and he immediately felt confident and said: "Emperor's grandmother, the Lin family's girls are good at learning. You don't need to say anything. You shouldn't bother the emperor's grandmother with these common things." . My grandson brought the queen and the prince here today just to have a meal with you."
"Bingkuan, please stay too." Queen Mother Zhou suggested.
Zhang Zhou stood up and said, "I have other things to do, so I don't want to disturb you. Thank you to the Empress Dowager for your kindness. I will take my leave now."
Zhu Youtang gave Zhang Zhou a wink, probably to remind Zhang Zhou to just follow what he said before.
…
…
Zhang Zhou came out of Qingning Palace and did not leave the palace. Instead, he followed Xiao Jing to Qianqing Palace.
Zhu Youtang asked him to enter the palace this time with the intention of letting him see the Feng Shui of Qianqing Palace and Kunning Palace.
The emperor admired Taoism too much, and now he didn't want to leave things to outsiders, so he had to let Zhang Zhou come.
"Mr. Zhang, did you understand what the Empress Dowager said earlier?"
Xiao Jing accompanied Zhang Zhou, and he seemed to be asking questions on the way.
Zhang Zhou said: "Eunuch Xiao should understand better than me. The Empress Dowager wants your Majesty to have a concubine, right?"
Xiao Jing smiled and asked, "What do you think of the Lin family girl?"
Zhang Zhou thought to himself, I already told you that it might involve the old lady getting a concubine for her grandson, but you still dare to continue asking, you are very courageous.
"If Eunuch Xiao is asking His Majesty about the candidate for his concubine, I think she is not suitable." Zhang Zhou gave another very direct answer.
Xiao Jing was surprised and said: "Why?"
Obviously, when Xiao Jing thought about it, Lin Yi came from a famous family, was well-educated and good-looking, and was now even good at poetry. She should be the marriage partner that men dream of, so how could she not be suitable for entering the palace?
Zhang Zhou said: "Eunuch Xiao, are you curious yourself, or are you asking for someone else?"
"Ah? This...Mr. Zhang, please don't misunderstand. We just want to ask, and we will not leak it to anyone..."
Xiao Jing also had cold sweat on his head.
Previously, I had always felt that I was the one who was close to the emperor, and I felt that Zhang Zhou would prevent him from leaking the matter to the emperor or anyone in the palace.
Now he realized that Zhang Zhou might actually inform the emperor about some of the topics he discussed with Zhang Zhou.
Let him Xiao Jing can't eat and walk around.
That moment and this moment.
Zhang Zhou said: "Whether His Majesty wants to take a concubine or who he wants to take as a concubine has nothing to do with me, and I will not make any rash comments. Eunuch Xiao, don't worry too much!"
Does Zhang Zhou not know what kind of person Zhu Youtang likes?
Of course he knows.
Lin Yi, a ladylike lady with a bit of a bookish attitude, would not take advantage of Zhu Youtang's wishes.
In Zhang Zhou's opinion, Zhu Youtang's favorite type of Taoist nun should be a Taoist nun who knows "magic". She knows astronomy and geography. Especially when it comes to Taoism, she can talk about Taoist matters, hold fasting festivals, or go into seclusion. To practice, bring the emperor in and practice together, and then...
Make up your own mind.
Zhang Zhou knew not to tell anyone about this kind of thing.
He knew that achieving this condition was a bit nonsense, but it was the most effective method.
Anyway, no one is telling Zhu Youtang to get a concubine right now. Zhang Zhou feels that this is not the focus of his concentration at the moment. Zhu Youtang can't do it himself, so giving him ten Taoist nuns will be useless.
…
…
After lunch.
Zhu Youtang said goodbye to his wife and children and returned to the palace respectively. Zhu Youtang rushed to Qianqing Palace by himself.
When Zhu Youtang arrived, Zhang Zhou had been waiting in the Qianqing Palace for half an hour.
"Your Majesty." Zhang Zhou stood up.
Zhu Youtang said apologetically: "I'm neglecting you by not letting you eat in Qingning Palace today. But after all, we are sharing the same table with the emperor's grandmother. If it's just me, the queen, and the prince, I won't have so many concerns."
Zhang Zhouyi heard that, does it mean that I can still have dinner with your family in the future?
forget it!
I feel honored that you alone give me food.
"Your Majesty is serious," Zhang Zhou said, "I have already looked at the topography of Qianqing Palace and Kunning Palace, etc., made some arrangements, and handed it over to Eunuch Xiao."
Zhu Youtang asked: "Is it okay?"
Zhang Zhou said: "I don't see any problem."
"That's good." Zhu Youtang probably wanted to buy some peace of mind, "I've been feeling restless lately and thought something would happen. If you say it's okay, I can sleep peacefully."
Zhang Zhouxin said, my words can be reassuring to the emperor.
Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty, when I entered the palace earlier, I asked Eunuch Xiao to bring some things."
Zhu Youtang had previously asked Zhang Zhou to go with him to watch the Empress Dowager move to the palace, but he didn't look at the things Zhang Zhou had brought. Only then did he think about it and asked Xiao Jing to bring the things.
But it was steel smelted by Zhang Zhougang.
"What is this?" Zhu Youtang wanted to pick it up, but found it was very heavy.
Xiao Jing smiled and said: "Your Majesty, this is iron. It is actually made of steel. However, Mr. Zhang used a furnace to shape it in one go. It is said that some things were added to it to make the weapon very tough."
Zhu Youtang said: "Then why don't you show me the formed weapon?"
After asking this question and looking at the awkward smile on Xiao Jing's face, Zhu Youtang immediately understood.
He had no defense against Zhang Zhou, but if Zhang Zhou didn't bring cast iron, but brought a knife directly... Then Zhang Zhou would have been captured by the palace guards long ago, and it would be easy to throw him into the imperial edict, and it would be too easy to move his head. It's not impossible.
"Bingkuan, have you found any new method of making iron?" Zhu Youtang asked with a smile.
Zhang Zhou cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, this is exactly what it is. If you use a furnace to make iron, the yield will be higher. If it is used to cast swords, spear thrusts, and arrow points, the effect will be even better."
Zhu Youtang said: "Then you can start making a batch and ask the people in the Qingli Department of the Ministry of War's Arsenal to cooperate with you."
Xiao Jing reminded: "Your Majesty, this servant also asked Mr. Zhang about this. He said that if you want to refine steel in a furnace, it is difficult to do it with the charcoal and pebbles currently on the market. You have to... refine it with coal. Just one kind of charcoal."
Large-scale steel smelting naturally requires coke.
As long as the furnace temperature can be added up, an ordinary furnace can be used, and some ironware can even be refurbished.
The problem is that although coal has been used to make iron since the Song Dynasty, the utilization rate of coal was still not high until the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty.
It lies in the difficulty of mining.
Just like what is burned in the palace, it is all red charcoal, which is a type of charcoal. When coal is burned, it is more likely to produce carbon monoxide due to incomplete combustion, and inferior coal produces a lot of poisonous gas.
Zhu Youtang frowned and said, "Bingkuan, what do you want?"
Zhang Zhou said: "I heard that coal mines have always been mined in Xishan and other places. I want to open a coal mine in Xishan as well."
"I'm afraid it's inappropriate."
Zhu Youtang hesitated.
Coal mining in Xishan has always been done by some nobles, and the imperial court was not involved.
The Ming Dynasty has always been very cautious about mining mineral resources, and even the emperor did not dare to violate the principle easily... Otherwise, there would not have been a situation like the Wanli mining tax collection and being dissed by the officials all the way.
Xiao Jing smiled and said: "Your Majesty, Mr. Zhang has also thought about this. He said not to mine in the direction close to the imperial mausoleum, and to avoid existing coal mines and try to be in deep mountains and old forests as much as possible. In addition, mining should not be done in the direction of the imperial mausoleum." In the name of the imperial court, at most I want Dongchang to pay a little attention."
When Zhu Youtang heard that it did not need to be done in the name of the court, he felt that he would not encounter much resistance.
otherwise……
The gossips of those officials in the court can drown him.
Zhu Youtang nodded and said: "Tell Xiao Jing how much manpower and material resources are needed."
Zhang Zhou cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, I can come to you for all the manpower and material resources. I don't need anything from the court, I only need your Majesty's support. I will not keep any coal produced, but will use it for the court."
"How can this be done?" When Zhu Youtang heard this, didn't this put Bingkuan, whom I trust, at a disadvantage?
Xiao Jing said: "Your Majesty, there have always been people who opened coal mines in Xishan. They are basically the princes and nobles in the capital. With Mr. Zhang's understanding of Feng Shui, I believe he can find the veins of minerals quickly, but I'm afraid..."
Zhu Youtang thought for a while, nodded and said, "Are you afraid that others will cause trouble if they see the coal mine's high output?"
"Yeah." Xiao Jing nodded, "Yes."
Zhu Youtang smiled and said: "I didn't expect that Bingkuan's ability could be used in this area. If you are dedicated to the court, how could I not agree? But I will try my best not to come forward. What happens? , Dongchang and Jinyiwei will make arrangements for you. If you produce good quality coal, I will let the court purchase it. The position of Admiral Yizhou Shanchang has not been decided yet, right?"
Xiao Jing replied: "Yes, this position has been vacant since Lin Feng, the right minister of the Ministry of Industry, took office."
Zhu Youtang said: "Then according to the previous proposal of the court, Chen Wan, the censor of Youqiandu, will be transferred to the right minister of the Ministry of Industry and the admiral of Yizhou Shanchang. Bingkuan, if there is something inconvenient, You can tell Chen Wan directly that this person is very knowledgeable and reliable in his work."
Zhang Zhou's original intention was to raise the issue of opening a coal mine, but he didn't expect that the emperor would directly arrange for an admiral, Yizhou Shanchang, to cooperate with him... Although this was just a normal appointment and dismissal of officials by the imperial court, Zhang Zhou did not expect that the emperor would take it so seriously.
Zhang Zhou cupped his hands and said, "I will do my best."
"Okay, do you have anything else to do?" Zhu Youtang was afraid that this arrangement was not enough.
Zhang Zhou said: "I also want to dispatch some craftsmen from all over the capital to cooperate with the iron-making work."
Zhu Youtang nodded.
Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty, I would also like to ask some craftsmen to leave their craftsmen's households. This is not to change the rules and regulations, but to use this as an encouragement. Whoever can make contributions to technical difficulties can change their households and continue to work in the future." For the use of the imperial court, there is no need to use corvée service. I do all this without selfish motives."
Integrated work is changed to contract work.
Zhu Youtang smiled and said: "It's okay even if you have selfish motives. In fact, I also know that the imperial court has always been a bit harsh on craftsmen. If they can really help you, it's okay if you sell favors to them. I don't care about this either. I will let Dongchang handle it as appropriate."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Zhang Zhou felt that he wanted to start the industrial Ming Dynasty even before he passed the Jinshi examination.
(End of chapter)
