Wang Kegong and Wu Zhen left.
The provincial government office was rattling. Either the tea bowl was broken, the table fell over, or the bench fell down.
Lu Zongyi stood in the corner holding a tea bowl and didn't say anything. Just eat it if you want to eat it. It's not like you haven't eaten it before. As for getting so angry...
Chen Tai and Gao Hui decided to write a letter of impeachment. This time they not only wanted to impeach Gu Zhengchen, but also the Prince Consort and the Marquis of Jinghai.
Naval Office.
Wu Zhen was out of breath. After taking the decoction, he said to Wang Kegong: "It won't be long before our names are placed on the table of the canopy palace."
Wang Kegong laughed and said disapprovingly: "If the men from Quanzhou County hadn't allowed us to talk about the decree, why would we have been in such trouble? Chen Tai and Gao Hui didn't even think about how the two of us could run and speak for Gu Zhengchen. It’s good for them and they don’t even know it.”
Wu Zhen scratched his beard and leaned back in his chair: "What should I say? Tell them that Gu Zhengchen is solely responsible for all matters in Fujian Province? Now Gu Zhengchen is busy with ports, sea opening, banks, people's resettlement and other matters, and he has no energy to take responsibility. Regarding the whole province. Although other people can do things like opening the sea, they can never do it better than Gu Zhengchen, so let him stay in Quanzhou Mansion with peace of mind."
Wang Kegong sighed: "The last time I returned to Jinling, I talked to His Majesty about Gu County Man. His Majesty asked us to do as he ordered, and even allowed Gu County Man to mobilize the provincial troops. This shows that Your Majesty has deep trust in him, even for me. This prince-in-law is incomparable."
Wu Zhen patted the table and said with a smile: "This is so sad to hear."
Wang Kegong shook his head and said softly: "Marquis Jinghai didn't know something. Your Majesty did not treat the Gu County man as an outsider. The Queen held a family banquet to accompany her. The only people who attended were the Crown Prince, Commander Mu and the Gu County man."
Wu Zhen suppressed his smile and asked, "Is there such a thing?"
Wang Kegong nodded solemnly: "Although I don't know what the queen said, Marquis Jinghai should know what the family banquet means. The queen and your majesty did not treat him as an outsider at all, but as a nephew. Perhaps this is because your majesty does not value him. Reason for doubt."
Wu Zhen was silent.
The emperor's trust in military generals was limited. Even for people like Xu Da, Li Wenzhong, and Feng Sheng, the emperor was not sure that they had been commanding the army at the border. He recalled Jinling from time to time and arranged for other generals to replace them.
But for Gu Zhengchen, the emperor's trust was unprecedented.
In addition to the reason why the emperor, empress and prince were close to Gu Zhengchen, this is probably also related to the fact that Gu Zhengchen knew how to advance and retreat, knew the right measures, and was extremely intelligent. Even though he had not been in the officialdom for a long time, he brought many There are many influences, and from the current point of view, the influences he has brought are all in the direction of improvement, whether it is firearms, or physical training, whether it is Jurong industry, or the design of treasure banknotes, whether it is opening up the sea, or This eliminates trade tariffs.
The corner of Wu Zhen's mouth moved, and he stood up and said: "His Majesty has spoken and there is a will. As long as the Gu County man does not do anything to harm the court, we will do our best to help him. If the provincial government office and the local government violate it and refuse to implement it, then Let’s take action once.”
Wang Kegong stood up and handed over his hands: "That's right. Marquis Jinghai is not feeling well. Please take care of yourself for a while. Mr. Gu County can keep his composure and doesn't rush to open the sea. He has a lot of plans to do. We have time." Waiting for the imperial decree."
Wu Zhen nodded and asked someone to give Wang Kegong a gift.
After Wang Kegong left, Wu Zhen sat behind the desk, took out a document, and looked at the idea of "setting up four coastal offices" proposed by Gu Zhengchen. He also copied a copy of this document to the Governor's Office, but he didn't know that the imperial court Will you agree?
At present, the imperial court's focus is not on the coast, but on the Yuan Dynasty. It is estimated that it does not have the power to transfer it to Quanzhou Prefecture. However, the imperial court could still establish the four coastal stations without deploying troops. It only needed permission to recruit more than 3,000 troops, plus those eliminated by the Quanzhou Guards, which was enough.
Put down the documents and unfold the map of Fujian Province.
Wu Zhen's eyes moved down from Fuzhou to Quanzhou Prefecture, and he reached out and focused on Quanzhou Port.
Gu Zhengchen removed his finger from the map and said to Zhang He, Chen Qing, Mao Ding and others: "Among the four coastal institutes, Chongwu Institute and Shihu Institute are indispensable in defending Quanzhou Port and Jinjiang City. Here. As an important place, sergeants must be stationed.”
Zhang He looked at the map and agreed with Gu Zhengchen's analysis.
Judging from the map, Jinjiang and Quanzhou Port are compared to a bull's head. The bull's head points to the sea to the east, and the horns are indeed the two locations of Chongwu Institute and Shihu Institute. Controlling this place is equivalent to controlling the entire water surface of Quanzhou Port and blocking the sea channels in and out of Quanzhou Port and Jinjiang City.
Gu Zhengchen said seriously: "Although it will take some time for the court documents to be sent back, preparations need to be started first. The Chongwu Institute and Shihu Institute will be built first."
Chen Qing frowned and said to Gu Zhengchen: "If the imperial court does not approve the establishment of the four coastal offices, wouldn't the advance preparations be in vain?"
Gu Zhengchen shook his head: "Not to mention whether the court will agree or not, even if the court currently has no troops to move south, we still need to make advance preparations. For Quanzhou Prefecture, if we don't control this place, we will always face pirates. Threat, if these four schools are not opened this year, they will still need to be opened in three to five years, or even ten years."
Zhang He supported Gu Zhengchen: "These locations are strategic locations and indispensable places along the coast. The court cannot leave them vacant forever. In my opinion, after the autumn harvest, it might as well build these two buildings first. If the court does not Agreeing, in the name of separate garrison of Quanzhou Guards, we will arrange sergeants to garrison first."
Mao Ding had no objection, since he didn’t need to work by himself anyway.
It is not easy to establish Chongwu Institute and Shihu Institute. These two places are mountainous and it is inconvenient for people to come in, let alone transport a lot of supplies there. Considering that it is a coastal area and it is a city defense, we cannot just build a brick wall, we can only build a stone wall, and this requires digging mountains and cutting stones, and the amount of work is not small.
After thinking for a while, Gu Zhengchen decided to make cement.
Among the mineral resources in Quanzhou Prefecture, only iron is a little more abundant in metallic minerals, and there are very few other minerals. However, non-metallic minerals, such as clay for cement, limestone for cement, granite for construction, kaolin, quartz sand, coal, etc., are still relatively abundant.
Cement is obtained by calcining, solidifying, and crushing lime mixed with sand and clay. There is no shortage of sand and clay, and lime has been around for a long time. During the Jurong case, the Guo family used limestone to make old copper coins. The imperial court also purchased limestone when building the Jinling city wall.
There are many limestone mines in Hui'an County and Anxi County.
There are resources and coking coal. All you need to do is burn it, crush it, and grind it. Of course, temperature control needs to be explored by experienced craftsmen. You can find it directly from the craftsmen who fire ceramics. They have a stronger sense of temperature than anyone else. With cement, the amount of work required to cut mountains and cut rocks will be greatly reduced. There is no need for square stone strips, only small stones will suffice.
A city can be built by using crushed stone as aggregate and directly turning it into concrete. It does not need to be too thick, as cracks cannot be controlled if it is too thick. Just build three layers inside and outside, and then fill the middle. Masaomi doesn't believe that a pirate can cut through a concrete city with a knife.
With the solution in hand, Gu Zhengchen felt much more relaxed. He arranged for people to survey and select the site first, cut down trees where necessary, and create steps where needed.
On the night of April 15th, the bright moon was in the sky.
Gu Zhengchen sat in the courtyard of the magistrate's house and looked at the night sky with a bit of sadness in his eyes.
Zhang Xiwan took a small stool to Gu Zhengchen's side, sat down, and said softly: "Since last night, my husband has been staring at the night sky for half the night, but do you miss your mother?"
Gu Zhengchen shook his head, raised his hand to take Zhang Xiwan into his arms, and said softly: "It's not that I miss my mother, but that I'm waiting for a star to fall."
Zhang Xiwan looked up at the clear night sky and asked puzzledly: "The bright moon hangs high, how can any star compete with it?"
Gu Zhengchen sighed: "I heard someone from Qintian Prison say that when the minister leaves, there will be meteors falling."
Zhang Xiwan was about to retort, but when she thought of Gu Zhengchen's depressed mood, she couldn't help but feel nervous: "My husband means that there may be a meteor falling. Where will the meteor fall?"
Gu Zhengchen looked at Zhang Xiwan and said softly: "We gave him a ride. At this time, he may have to complete the last journey."
Zhang Xiwan raised her hand to cover her mouth, feeling a little frightened: "How can your husband say such a sincere thing..."
Gu Zhengchen looked up at the night sky.
So what about Liu Ji and Liu Bowen? He was already terminally ill and there was no cure. He was already determined to die and would not survive unless he died.
It was not Liu Ji who forced himself to survive and lost his last dignity.
According to historical records, Liu Ji died on April 16, which is tomorrow, but it is unclear whether there will be deviations or how many days he lived longer or shorter.
Qingtian County, Wuyang Village.
Liu Ji lay on the bed and tilted his head, looking at the moonlight falling from the window, feeling a sense of sadness in his heart.
The eldest son Liu Lian and the second son Liu Jing accompanied him on both sides, secretly feeling sad.
Liu Ji spoke, his voice a little weak: "Lian'er, go to the study and get the "Public Liver and Exposed Gallbladder Sutra".
Liu Lian agreed, went to the study to look for it, and returned soon after, handing the "Paste of the Liver and the Gallbladder Sutra" to Liu Ji: "Father, are you looking for this book?"
Liu Ji nodded slightly, raised his hand, and weakly tapped the book twice: "After my death, I will send this book together with the obituary to the court and give it to Your Majesty. In the future, people from the Liu family should not explore the secrets of astronomy, let alone Learn the techniques of dividing dragons and acupuncture points. These are the knowledge of the emperor, so let them belong to the emperor's family."
Liu Lian burst into tears.
Liu Ji closed his eyes, rested for a while, and said to his two sons: "After I die, Your Majesty will definitely ask you my last words. Oh, when a person is about to die, his words are also good. Then let me, Liu Ji, Before you die, please give me one more message, for the sake of the Ming Dynasty and the common people. I, Liu Ji, would like to persuade people to cultivate virtue and save punishment, pray for eternal life from heaven, and be lenient and fierce in government... As for all important places in the world, it is better to envoy and Jinling situation contact..."
