12 The Prince’s Mission

Style: Historical Author: Call the skyWords: 2738Update Time: 24/02/20 19:09:56
I heard Zhang Mingwei say seriously: "South of the Yangtze River, it is best to maintain taxes as usual. Therefore, after the prince arrives in Nanjing, he needs to supervise the collection of taxes and arrears, inspect agriculture, and ensure that he can provide as much money and food as possible for the Ming Dynasty, especially the north."

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen reminded him: "Sir, on the eighteenth day of the first lunar month of this year, I have issued a decree to waive the taxes owed by all parts of the country before the twelfth year of Chongzhen."

Hearing this, Zhang Mingwei was stunned for a moment. He really didn't know about this matter. But when he came back to his senses, he said nonchalantly: "It's okay, don't you still have these two years?"

Emperor Chongzhen nodded after hearing this, then looked at his son, who was only thirteen years old, and reminded him again with a little worry: "Sir, he is too young, is it child's play to entrust such an important matter to him?" a little."

Zhu Cixiang is enthusiastically preparing to meet the challenge. It is said that newborn calves are not afraid of tigers. For him at this time, the more important the task, the happier and excited he was. But he didn't expect that his father would be worried about his ability, and he immediately became a little unhappy. However, he did not dare to refute his father in person, even though his face turned red.

"Haha, your Majesty, don't worry, please listen to me!" Zhang Mingwei heard this and knew what Emperor Chongzhen was thinking, so he replied with a smile.

His words immediately surprised Zhu Cixiang again, and he stared at him expectantly.

To him, he is the prince and will be the emperor of Ming Dynasty in the future. If the Ming Dynasty died, he would still be a shitty emperor! Now, by a miracle, a savior has arrived from hundreds of years later. His father spared no effort to honor the virtuous corporal, and even his sister sacrificed her personal happiness and future for the Ming Dynasty. Seriously, he wanted to do something useful so badly.

After Emperor Chongzhen heard this, seeing that Zhang Mingwei was so confident, he stopped talking and just nodded and listened.

I heard Zhang Mingwei continue to say: "The prince is going to Nanjing. Please call Zhang Huangyan to accompany you. If I remember correctly, he is from Ningbo Prefecture, Zhejiang Province. He passed the national examination this year and was a loyal minister with both civil and military skills. In the original history, Jianlu After going south, he protected King Lu as the superintendent of the country, understood the overall situation, wholeheartedly resisted the rebels, and finally died for the country unyieldingly."

Without waiting for the prince to speak, he continued: "In addition, I remember that General Sun Yingyuan of the Yongwei Battalion died in March of the 15th year of Chongzhen because he was alone and without help. When the prince goes south, it is best to summon him to the prince's camp as soon as possible. He is surrounded by people who are loyal to him, both civil and military, and he is the right-hand man that the prince can rely on."

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen became anxious. It was already the first day of March, and the prince's journey south would not start tomorrow. If you go late and lose a loyal general, it will be a big loss.

In addition, Sun Yingyuan was as famous as Huang Degong, and he was the commander-in-chief of the Yongwei Battalion. Emperor Chongzhen knew him well. Therefore, after he heard Zhang Mingwei's words, he immediately shouted outside: "Come here!"

When a chamberlain heard the commotion, he rushed in. Needless to say, he must be Wang Chengen's man.

"Pass on my order, six hundred miles to rush, summon Sun Yingyuan, the commander-in-chief of the Yongwei Battalion, to Yingtian Mansion to wait for the order!" Emperor Chongzhen couldn't wait for a moment. Even if the palace door was unlocked before he could leave the palace after dawn, he would get down first. Got the will.

Of course the chamberlain agreed and then left the palace gate.

Zhang Mingwei waited until this time and then said to Zhu Cixiang: "In terms of money, in addition to calling for taxes, the prince also has to do a more important thing about raising money..."

When he heard this, even Emperor Chongzhen, who was listening beside him, couldn't help but stretch his neck slightly, as if this would ensure that he would not miss a word.

"Sir, please speak!" Zhu Cixiang responded quickly and respectfully.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Mingwei did not continue to speak to him. Instead, he turned to look at Emperor Chongzhen and said, "Didn't His Majesty ask me before whether those powerful artillery guns, as well as the planes and trains in the sky, as shown in the documentaries, can be built?"

Upon hearing these words, Emperor Chongzhen immediately thought of the "artifacts" he had seen, and suddenly he felt like crying. If something so powerful could be invented, not to mention bandits, but also Jianlu, etc., if there were ten times or a hundred times more, they would be able to be suppressed.

That power, tsk tsk, Emperor Chongzhen was very excited when he thought about it, and he nodded quickly and said: "But didn't Sir say that it can't be made at the current level?"

After hearing this, Zhang Mingwei smiled slightly and said: "It can't be made yet. But one of the prerequisites for these things to be made is that there is the most basic thing, which is glass, that is, transparent colored glaze. Only with this can we open the door to chemistry. A branch of scientific and technical knowledge.”

Having said this, he smiled slightly and said to Emperor Chongzhen: "As far as I know, glass products at this time should still be very expensive and very popular with the rich. Therefore, the prince went south to bake this glass , firstly, you can make money, and secondly, it can also lay the foundation for the dissemination of scientific and technological knowledge.”

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen was certainly happy. There are some transparent glass of that kind in the palace as tribute from foreign countries. Although he didn't know the specific price, he had no problem knowing that this thing was valuable.

At this time, listening to what Zhang Mingwei said, it seemed that he knew how to make this thing. To be honest, Emperor Chongzhen immediately showed a look of great expectation.

Sure enough, I heard Zhang Mingwei continue to say: "I probably know how to make transparent glass! The prince can go to Jingdezhen and use the skilled craftsmen who make porcelain there to try to make transparent glass. This transparent glass will not only help me to make clear The follow-up chemistry lesson will provide the necessary basic utensils and will be one of the important sources of money for the Ming Dynasty in the future. The prince must be attentive."

I reiterated again and again that Zhu Cixiang must pay attention to it.

For Zhang Mingwei, as a time-travel author who was a "professional householder in the late Ming Dynasty", how could he not understand the glass making method. It can even be said that the glass making method is a bad thing in later time travel novels. If you don't know the general method of making it, you will be in trouble.

In fact, it is precisely this that makes it even more obvious that the more bad street stuff is, the more helpful it will be to the late Ming Dynasty.

Glass was already available at this time, but it came from the European and American countries and was still a very valuable thing.

Sure enough, he heard that Zhang Mingwei knew how to do it. Before Zhu Cixi could react, Emperor Chongzhen had already held Zhang Mingwei's hand in surprise and said excitedly: "Sir, you are a great talent! You are a great talent!"

Of course he knew that if he mastered the glass making method, it would be equivalent to mastering a mountain of gold and silver. For him who was very short of money, this was an unimaginable surprise. It's really not worth giving him a daughter!

With just such a contribution, Zhang Mingwei became incredibly important in Emperor Chongzhen's heart!

At the same time, Emperor Chongzhen finally understood. Zhang Mingwei previously proposed that taxes north of the Yangtze River should be kept at the local level. Another very important reason is that there is a glass-making method that can be relied upon to solve the problem of reduced taxes in the north.

Zhang Mingwei pulled out his hand without leaving a trace, and then said with a smile: "Actually, these are the basic knowledge of science and technology. If Westerners study science and technology knowledge first, wouldn't they be able to produce glass long ago?"

The meaning of the words once again emphasizes the importance of scientific and technological knowledge through comparison.

Of course Emperor Chongzhen heard it. Needless to say, his emphasis on science and technology knowledge went to a higher level.

However, before he could express his position, Zhang Mingwei turned to Zhu Cihong, opened another topic and continued to explain: "After the prince arrives in Nanjing, he can call Zheng Zhilong's son Zheng...Fusong to accompany him and make him his confidant."

"But that Zheng Chenggong?" Zhu Cixiang asked immediately after hearing this.

Zheng Chenggong's deeds are very prominent in the history of Nanming, so it must be mentioned in the documentary.

"That's him!" Zhang Mingwei listened and nodded: "Zheng Zhilong is old and cunning, and his twilight has already appeared. As the Ming Dynasty is currently in internal and external difficulties, he will never help in times of trouble. But his son is different. He is passionate about serving the country. , so the prince must accept his heart and use it for the Ming Dynasty. But for now, he can purchase grain from Nanyang, and I believe Zheng Zhilong can still do this for the sake of his son's future."

Zheng Zhilong finally betrayed the Ming Dynasty and surrendered to Jianlu. Of course, he was on Emperor Chongzhen's blacklist. But when he heard what Zhang Mingwei said, he felt it made sense, and immediately told his son: "Remember what you said!"

"Father, my sons and ministers have all remembered it!" Zhu Cixiang was a little impatient with Emperor Chongzhen's repeated reminders. He always felt that he was treating him like a three-year-old child, so he immediately responded loudly.

Zhang Mingwei, who was watching, could see what he was thinking, but did not point it out. He continued: "There is another very important thing, which is to promote sweet potato cultivation in the south. This high-yielding crop should have been popular in Fujian by now. .”

Having said this, he turned to look at Emperor Chongzhen and said: "Xu Guangqi once went to some sweet potato shop and recommended sweet potatoes, also known as sweet potatoes, to the court. But for some reason, it seems that the court did not adopt it?"