Chapter One Hundred and Eighty-Six: Coming and not being indecent
"It is really a blessing for Zhang Cheng to meet Mr. Tang and Mr. Li today. I have a craftsman camp in Yunzhou on the north road. I have gathered the capital and gathered hundreds of craftsmen from all over the town.
He is engaged in mining, smelting, and making firecrackers and artillery for our army. His skills are also exquisite. If you two adults are destined to travel to Xuan Town, you can also give some advice to make my craftsmen even more excellent.
"
Zhang Cheng still deceived Tang Ruowang with words, hoping that he could go to the North Road for his own use.
At this time, Lin Fangping opened the door and came in and said: "Commander Commander, the wine and food are ready, can we pass the dishes on?"
"Let's have a dinner!"
Zhang Cheng ordered, Lin Fangping took the order and went out to arrange the dishes. Here Zhang Cheng pointed at Lu Dachun and said to everyone: "I forgot to introduce you, this is Mr. Lu Dachun, he will work at Honglu Temple soon.
I hope you all will take good care of him from now on in Beijing."
Everyone was chatting again, and strong men came and went. They carried sealed large food plates, and delicacies were placed on the big table in the middle of the hall. Rice wine was still warming on the two charcoal stoves next to it.
.
"Come, everyone, take a seat."
Zhang Cheng stood up and walked to the big table in the hall. He strongly invited Tang Ruowang to sit next to him. Yu Shangyou, as his earliest friend, sat on the other side of Zhang Cheng. The rest of the people took their seats in order.
Lu Dachun, however, had not yet taken a seat. He still had the same kind smile that had remained unchanged for a century, and was busy greeting people in the hall.
Compared to everyone in the hall, he was the happiest. He was a low-ranking postmaster, but because he got to know General Zhang Cheng who guarded the North Road, he suddenly became a capital official, even though he was only from the ninth rank.
However, it also made him extremely happy and strengthened his loyalty to Zhang Cheng.
After three rounds of wine and five flavors of food, everyone at the banquet relaxed and toasted to each other and took advantage of the Lantern Festival to bless each other. But after all, they are all scholars, unlike Zhang Guangda and Chen Zheng, who are warriors.
Drinking wine, dancing and chatting like a group of demons.
Almost everyone at the banquet changed their identities and status after getting acquainted with Zhang Cheng. It can be said that Yu Shangyou, who was the first to be acquainted with him, was still a censor, but he was completely different.
Now that he was supported by Zhang Cheng, not only did his family life become much better, but he also had a wide circle of friends. He was very popular among the officials in the capital, and he had some acquaintances in various yamen.
Yuan Pengnian, Wang Diaoding, Ma Jiazhi, Liang Yuming and others were also promoted because of Zhang Cheng. They firmly believed in their hearts that as the power under Zhang Cheng's control became stronger and stronger, they might be able to influence the government in the future.
The situation is also unknown.
Tang Ruowang didn't drink much wine, he almost only tasted it briefly. When Zhang Cheng saw this, he asked softly: "Master Tang, you originally lived in your home country, but do you produce grapes to make wine?"
Tang Ruowang glanced at Zhang Cheng and said, "General, are you talking about brandy?"
"Brandy!"
Zhang Cheng was stunned for a moment, then remembered that brandy was synonymous with wine, and hurriedly said: "Our North Road also produces grapes, and I have some high-quality wine there. When Mr. Tang is lucky enough to come to the North Road, how about I invite you to taste it?"
Tang Ruowang readily agreed. For him, if a local official like Zhang Cheng could help, his missionary career would surely go smoothly.
Zhang Cheng added: "Zhang Cheng still has some things to do. He wants to trouble Mr. Tang, but I don't know if it is convenient?"
Tang Ruowang had the same expression on his face and said with a smile: "The general has something to say, but there is no harm in saying it. Tang Ruowang will do his best to do it."
Zhang Cheng said with a smile: "I would like to ask Mr. Tang to recommend some talents for me to go to Xuanfu North Road, where I am guarding, to serve as instructors, and to teach the smart children selected by me the Western language and
Knowledge,
After these children reach adulthood, select a few of them and go to your country with Master Tang's friends to have a look. As the saying goes, it is disrespectful to come and not reciprocate. I am really looking forward to what kind of country can cultivate Master Tang.
Talents like this come here.”
Tang Ruowang was shocked when he heard this. Since he came to the Ming Dynasty from the west, although he has met many people, including many great scholars of the time and even high-ranking officials, no one has asked him to help teach children, let alone send someone to go there.
Go west.
She was not only surprised by Zhang Cheng's courage, but also responded quickly: "General Zhang is really courageous. It's just that we are thousands of miles apart. It can take a year, or even more, to go back and forth. It's not easy!"
"Ha ha!"
Zhang Cheng said with a smile: "What's the matter? No matter how far or how difficult it is, Mr. Tang is here. Isn't it true that Mr. Tang is not afraid of the long and dangerous journey, so why can't I just wait?"
I think back then, the Mongolian cavalry conquered all directions and even reached the banks of the Danube and Lanyin Rivers, and even reached the banks of the Nile. It was the first great collision between Eastern and Western civilizations, but unfortunately the situation was a little cruel.
Nowadays, Mr. Tang and others came from the west to the east, and what they are doing should be regarded as the second great collision between Eastern and Western civilizations. However, this time it is much more civilized, but the collision of civilizations can also be called exchanges.
Therefore, it is not just the Westerners who come from the East. The Easterners should also be brave enough to go to the West. They should take the initiative to contact them instead of passively accepting them. I think the country that can raise Mr. Tang must also be a place of civilization."
Tang Ruowang was very excited when he listened to Zhang Cheng's talk. He actually held Zhang Cheng's hand and said: "The general is really brave. If he can do this, he will definitely be the first person to communicate between the East and the West. What he will produce will be
The impact will definitely exceed the efforts of Tang Ruowang and dozens of others."
After he calmed down a bit, he continued: "Tang Ruowang and others came from the West to the East because of their teaching career, but the exchange of civilizations is also one of its contents. If the general has such an idea, I will work hard to promote it."
Zhang Cheng picked up the wine glass and said, "In this case, Zhang will thank Mr. Tang first."
After the two of them drank, Zhang Cheng continued: "I would also like to ask Mr. Tang to recommend some Xiyi people to Zhang Cheng. They will not only teach the children the Xiyi language, but also be proficient in machinery to help me transform and build mining, smelting, and casting."
Guns and artillery matters.
I have long heard that there is Macao in the south of the Yangtze River, where there are relatively many barbarians, as well as Dutch, Flemish, English, Spanish, etc. It is difficult for us Chinese to tell them apart.
However, the people of the West are mostly skilled in machinery, especially firearms. Their ships are strong so they can travel thousands of miles, and their cannons are powerful so they are not afraid of sea monsters. This is exactly what we need to communicate between the East and the West. Only by being familiar with each other can we have a deep friendship. What does Mr. Tang think?
"
"What General Zhang said is absolutely true. Tang Ruowang will definitely try his best to promote this matter. If he has a little free time in the future, he will definitely visit Xuanfu!" Tang Ruowang also responded happily.
Seeing that Tang Ruowang wholeheartedly agreed, Zhang Cheng was also satisfied.
Previously, he asked Yu Shangyou to try to invite this foreign master to get together. This was the intention. First, he wanted to establish contact with him. It would be best to find one or two foreigners who were good at machinery through Tang Ruowang to help him in his craftsman camp.
The second is to take this opportunity to try to cultivate a group of young talents who understand foreign languages within ten or twenty years, and send them to travel to Western countries to learn from their relatively advanced science and technology for their own use!
I think back then, Peter the Great just went to the West and built a powerful Tsarist Empire. But now, my timing seems to be more advantageous than him!