Zhu Youtang first gained a wave of hearts among the ministers.
There are still many superstitious people among ministers.
If they all felt that praying for rain was useless, they wouldn't have followed. But once they came, the effect was immediate. It hadn't rained for more than two months, but it rained as soon as it came... Could this be a coincidence?
Even the usually upright admonishers and officials looked at Zhu Youtang differently, and they all seemed to want to get the "air of the emperor".
"Everyone, the rain has finally come down. Please go back to the palace."
Some rational ministers, such as top civil servants such as Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, and Tu Jian, although they usually like to talk about natural disasters and visions, they do not believe that this rain is caused by prayers.
But they couldn't figure out what was going on.
It was still raining now, and the ministers couldn't help but want to take the carriage back to the city. After all, the performance should end.
…
…
Luan Jia and his party were walking on the way back to the city.
According to the advance plan, Luan Jia entered the city from the Zhengnan Gate and Zhengyang Gate, and went directly to Daming Gate without stopping on the street.
Streets have been closed along the way, and ordinary people are not allowed to approach Luan Jia.
But before they could reach Zhengyang Gate, Mou Bin, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, rode over and informed Dai Yi of the news. Dai Yi then informed Zhu Youtang and his son who were sitting in the palace: "Your Majesty, my subjects heard that today When His Majesty and the Prince went out of the city to pray for rain, they were all lined up on the street in the south of the capital, waiting to pay homage to the Emperor's grace. Along the way, many people knelt and thanked, praising the kindness of Your Majesty and the Prince."
"Yeah?"
Zhu Youtang smiled and nodded.
The purpose was achieved.
"Where is Bingkuan?" At the critical moment, Zhu Youtang thought of Zhang Zhou again.
Dai Yi said: "It seems...he went out of the city to test the artillery."
"It's a pity that he is not with me, otherwise I should have let him come with me..." When Zhu Youtang said this, he noticed something was wrong in the way his son looked at him, so he stopped talking.
This son.
Although he was young, he was very capable. Zhu Youtang wanted to be both a wise king and a strict father, so he could only pretend to be in front of his son.
"Don't go through Zhengyang Gate. Enter the city through Chongwen Gate. People along the way don't have to block you too far. I also want to be closer to my people."
Zhu Youtang also had a sudden idea.
Since the subjects want to worship, then don’t worship in the air. I and the prince will appear in front of them in person. Even if I don’t show up, I will let them know that I am of the same mind as them.
To win people's hearts...
The play must be done well.
"yes."
Dai Yi quickly went to ask Mou Bin to arrange it.
…
…
North of the city.
The cannon shooting continued, but this time the cannon was not fired at a distance, but at the sky.
"Mr. Zhang, it's raining. If we don't go back, what are we still doing here?"
Xiao Jing, wearing a bamboo hat and raincoat, looked at Zhang Zhou who was busy preparing to set off the cannon, and walked over to ask.
Zhang Zhou said: "If Eunuch Xiao has something to do, go back first. I have some things to do here. Okay, just face here and let it go."
After Zhang Zhou finished speaking, he left quickly.
Xiao Jing also knew that the cannon might be in danger of exploding, so he hurriedly ran with it.
When he arrived not far away, he stood in front of Zhang Zhou again, curiously looking at Jia Laoshui and Sun Shangqi who were tinkering with the barrel.
"boom!"
A shot was fired.
Because of the rain, his vision was blurry. Xiao Jing squinted for a long time and couldn't tell what the energy was.
"Sir, are you finished?"
Xiao Jing looked confused.
"Yeah." Zhang Zhou looked up.
Under the umbrella held by his grandson, Zhang Mao also stepped out of the carriage and came over and asked: "What's the point of firing cannons in the air? Is it to scare God?"
Scaring God?
Xiao Jing smiled bitterly upon hearing this.
Not to mention Zhang Mao, there was no one around who understood Zhang Zhou's intentions.
Just as he was talking, the rain came heavily again.
Xiao Jing's bamboo hat and raincoat were obviously not enough. He shrank his head and wanted to run towards the carriage. Guo Ang quickly took an umbrella from his subordinate and put it on Xiao Jing.
Xiao Jing said: "I don't have a good eye."
Guo Ang quickly moved his umbrella to Zhang Zhou.
Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "Okay, let's change places."
"This...is it over? Yes, it's raining heavily, we should go back to the city!" Xiao Jing naturally didn't understand the intention without anyone explaining it to him.
Zhang Zhou said: "Change to another place and fire another cannon. Cover the sub-cannon with a raincloth to keep it out of the rain. Let's go!"
…
…
After walking nearly two miles and approaching the northeast corner of the city, Zhang Zhou stopped again to tinker with cannons.
The rain had become very light at this time.
After Zhang Zhou had people set up the artillery, he followed the same old routine again.
This time Xiao Jing didn't even go up to check the situation.
When the artillery shot up to the sky, Xiao Jing could see it more clearly this time.
"Mr. Zhang, what is that white thing? Why do you want it to hit the sky?"
Just as he was talking, there was another burst of rain.
Artificial rainfall enhancement is a matter of using an introduction to bring about geometric multiple effects.
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "Okay, let's change the place."
Xiao Jingren was a little confused.
Zhang Lun, who came down with him, was more upright and asked Zhang Mao: "Grandpa, is Mr. Zhang urging the rain?"
Xiao Jingben had already followed a few steps, stopped when he heard the words, and patted his forehead.
"Look at our brains, we didn't even think about it, but we were awakened by this young master of the Zhang family, Mr. Zhang, is that right?"
Now everyone around looked at him with strange eyes.
Zhang Mao said: "Bingkuan, I said before that you were trying to scare God, but you really are..."
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "The British man was joking, but he just wanted to increase some rain through some methods. The effect may not be very great, so let's just add more. Shall we continue in another place?"
"Go, go."
This time Zhang Mao was also interested and followed him in person, not even bothering to hold an umbrella.
It seemed that he felt honored to be able to follow Zhang Zhou out to play on the city wall.
I was thinking of climbing the city wall...
Zhang Zhou said: "If we fire the next shot from the city gate building, will the effect be better? But this artillery... I'm afraid it can't be lifted up. Isn't it against the rules?"
Zhang Mao patted his chest and said, "Look at what you said, Bingkuan. This is a good thing that benefits the country and the people. I'm here and there's Eunuch Xiao, so why not? Come and help!"
Zhang Mao hurriedly called his guards over to work together.
…
…
It rained intermittently for an hour.
By the time we got there, the rain had basically stopped.
It would only rain wherever Zhang Zhou went, but the effect of artificial rainfall enhancement was not that significant.
Zhang Zhou knew that some technologies should still be improved upon.
After Xiao Jing finished Zhang Zhou's affairs, he hurriedly took a carriage back to the palace. On the way back to the palace, he learned that the emperor had specially walked through the streets where people were watching the ceremony on his way back to the palace. He knew that today's public opinion was created well, and the people were all Treat the emperor as the king of destiny.
Xiao Jingzhi was so proud that when he was about to arrive at Qianqing Palace, he was afraid that he would not be wet enough, so he specially twisted the water on his sleeves towards his collar.
"Eunuch Xiao, what are you doing?" Yang Peng, who was following behind, asked.
Xiao Jing rolled his eyes at him: "It's hot in our house, do you want to cool down?"
After saying that, he went straight into Qianqing Palace.
At this time, Zhu Youtang was sitting at the desk, put on dry clothes, and even used a stove to dry his hair. Next to him sat Zhu Houzhao, who was warming himself by the fire.
"Your Majesty, after my servant accompanied Mr. Zhang back to the palace, he returned to the palace to resume his duties." Xiao Jing said with a happy face, "My servant accompanied Mr. Zhang out of the city. I saw the power of the cannon, and not a single blade of grass grew within two miles. I also saw that How he increased the rain… was miraculous.”
Zhu Youtang smiled and said: "When Bingkuan said that he would add twelve cannons to Liaodong, I knew that he was prepared. Last time it was Mighty Heavenly Gunpowder. Di Yi must have taken precautions this time. If he uses cannons, he will be ready." There is no need to lure them into an ambush. It seems that the gates of Ningyuan do not need to be exposed."
Xiao Jing heard that the emperor was joking about the fortress at the border of Ming Dynasty, and he knew how good the emperor was now.
Zhu Houzhao stretched out his hand to warm himself over the fire and said, "Father, are cannons really good? I think it's better to use mighty gunpowder. It can blow up even the city gate towers. In the future, it can even flatten the grasslands."
After Zhu Houzhao learned about the power of nitroglycerin, at a young age, he had dreamed of leading troops to conquer the grassland countless times recently, thinking about how to use the gunpowder invented by Zhang Zhou to make great achievements.
The plan in my mind can be compiled into a paper discussing yellow powder tactics.
As a result, within a few days, I told him that the powerful gunpowder was a thing of the past. Now we are no longer limited to ambush in place and have switched to remote delivery? !
Don't you guys need to guard the boy's dream?
Just improve when you say you want to improve...don't you care about other people's feelings?
Zhu Youtang said: "Leave the marching matters to the censor of the capital and the general military officer. At your age, you must learn all the contents of the classics and history. You must learn from history!"
"Father, you must have studied very well back then, right? Not now... I understand what my father means and must study hard."
Zhu Houzhao also has a keen eye.
Seeing that my father's mood may turn into a storm at any time, it is better to identify the differences and argue early.
"Oh." Zhu Youtang sighed, "It's a pity that Bingkuan didn't go with me today. He didn't see the devout people's awe of the sky and their gratitude for my kindness... You said he increased the rain, What's going on?"
Zhu Youtang was intoxicated with himself for a moment, and then thought that he hadn't asked everything about what Zhang Zhou had done.
Xiao Jing quickly told Zhang Zhou about artificial rain enhancement in various places.
Zhu Youtang said in surprise: "You mean, where he fires the cannons, the rain will increase?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, Mr. Zhang also said that if it can be improved in the future, it may really have the effect of praying for rain and getting rain, but unfortunately it can only be like this now, but it is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It only rains after some long droughts." , it has a certain effect.”
"This... is quite magical."
Zhu Youtang also found it incredible.
Dai Yi quickly stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, do you think we should find someone to cooperate with Mr. Zhang and let him improve this method of praying for rain with cannons?"
Zhu Youtang rolled his eyes at him: "If Bingkuan wants some help, won't he talk to me? There's no need to urge him. After all, not every place needs to ask for rain. Many times, you can't even ask for rain... Alas! Today! The people are really sincere..."
As he spoke, Zhu Youtang's heart began to wander.
When returning to the city, when Luan Jia passed by the wide East Chang'an Street, the people along the way paid homage... Zhu Youtang had never felt such treatment before, which made his heart surge.
"Who dares to say that I am not the right one?" Zhu Youtang said suddenly at the end.
Several eunuchs immediately looked in the direction of the prince, saying some words that the prince should not hear.
The emperor was probably too high-minded to say this in front of his son?
Of course, we old people in the palace know that in the last years of Chenghua, Concubine Wan Gui and other palace officials deliberately stirred up rumors that Your Majesty was not the late emperor’s biological son. Concubine Wan Gui even had plans to depose you in conjunction with internal officials. However, times have changed. The minister has always regarded you as a wise king, why would anyone mention this?
It seems that Your Majesty really cares.
Zhu Houzhao smiled and said: "Father, if you are not the real one, who is?"
Just check and say, you are not, am I?
Dai Yi boasted: "Your Majesty, you really demonstrated the might of the dragon today."
"Yes." Zhu Youtang nodded, and then looked at the people present with stern eyes, probably threatening, if anyone dares to leak out that today is a "falsehood", let's see how I deal with him.
Several eunuchs lowered their heads in a sensible manner.
"Prince, your performance today is acceptable. You don't need to study today and tomorrow. But you are not allowed to mess around, let alone go out of the palace. Recently, Bingkuan has to prepare for the palace exam. It is said that the exam will be in three days... Don't disturb him. "
"oh."
Zhu Hou responded.
"Okay, please step back first. I have to go with the prince to see the queen. If I can't decide on Zhu Pi and other matters, I will deal with them myself later."
After Zhu Youtang finished his instructions, he immediately took his son to brag with his wife.
…
…
"Did you hear that?"
The four eunuchs here, the Supervisor of Ceremonies, returned to the Supervisor of Ceremonies' duty room. Before they could sit down, Chen Kuan said.
Dai Yi said: "Be careful! Our family understands what you mean, and you should understand too. It seems that Mr. Zhang still cares about His Majesty."
Knowing what the emperor cared about, Zhang Zhou would feed the emperor whatever he wanted.
Emperor, aren't you very concerned about whether you are orthodox? There are still rumors among the people that you are not the right one?
Then I will arrange a rain praying ceremony for you and let you show off in front of the people all over the world.
Xiao Jing smiled and said: "It seems that this matter needs to be mentioned to the historian a few more times, or even written in a big book."
"You still need to tell me?"
Dai Yi rolled his eyes at Xiao Jing.
Dai Yi was also a little dissatisfied with Xiao Jing's recent closeness with Zhang Zhou and the limelight.
In terms of ability, Xiao Jing is actually better than Dai Yi. The more outstanding Xiao Jing is, the more Dai Yi will care about him.
Historically, Dai Yi disappeared during the Hongzhi period, but Xiao Jing continued throughout the three dynasties of Hongzhi, Zhengde, and Jiajing. He was also a minister of Emperor Hongzhi's Tuogu. After Jiajing ascended the throne, he was promoted to the Chief of Ceremonies to assist the eunuch Zhang Zuo. Xiao Jing's ability to calm people's hearts is beyond question.
Xiao Jing sighed: "The palace examination is coming soon. It would be great if Mr. Zhang wins the top prize again."
Dai Yi smiled and said: "It depends on whether he can be among the top ten and be pushed to His Majesty by the examiner. How could His Majesty not recognize his handwriting?"
Several people looked at each other and smiled.
They are all thinking about it too.
Is this cheating?
It was considered a good thing that the emperor didn't tell Zhang Zhou the questions of the palace examination in advance, so he actually selected Zhang Zhou as the number one scholar, but he just pretended to be confused in front of the examiner.
(End of chapter)
