The fourth-generation flying Henanese in the port set sail. It still had a jet black hull, almost a pure iron armored hull, and it could block two cannons.
At the end of October, it was probably going to snow in Yingtianfu, so a few people had their winter clothes on board. Now the flying Henanese was Zhu Zhanzhen's personal battleship.
Going north, it became much colder all the way to Weihaiwei. They originally wanted to see Zhu Zhanji, but Zhu Zhanji had already arrived at Shuntian Mansion, so they did not stop and went straight to Tianjin Port and boarded the ship from the port.
Just got on the train.
The short-distance train from Tianjin to Shuntian Prefecture had just opened two months ago. Zhu Zhanchang asked craftsmen to build it. At present, only Guangzhou Prefecture has the technology to build trains and rails. In order to transport the train rails, a lot of merchant ships were used.
The Prince of Zhujiang County must be more powerful and chartered the entire train to Yingtian Mansion.
It started to snow on the road.
Looking at the heavy snowfall outside the window, Li Xiaozhu was thoughtful. Art students are always more sentimental. At this time, Zhu Zhanzhen said a timely sentence: "The scenery of the North is covered with thousands of miles of ice and thousands of miles of snow. Looking inside and outside the Great Wall, all that remains is the vast river;
Up and down, the torrential flow suddenly stopped. Silver snakes danced in the mountains, and wax figures rode in the wild." I won't recite the rest, just describe the scene.
Li Xiaozhu turned around in astonishment. Zhu Zhanzhen's poetic talents that appeared very occasionally and suddenly were always amazing and brilliant. It made people think that he had a group of poetry writers in private.
"What's wrong, are you homesick?"
Li Xiaozhu nodded: "A little bit, I miss my mother a little bit." But the girls who were sent out to get married like this basically have no chance to go back in this life.
At the Shuntianfu train station, the person who greeted Zhu Zhanyong and his party on the platform was his third brother Zhu Zhanyong.
Next to the third brother was a woman with a broad mind. After confirming her eyes, she was the person that the third brother liked. She was the concubine of Zhu Zhanyong, and her father was an official in the Household Department of Yingtian Prefecture.
Because of her outstanding talents and dignified personality, she was chosen to be Zhu Zhanyong's concubine because of these two great qualities.
Zhu Zhanyong has gained a lot of weight, has a broad heart and a fat body. His height of just over 1.7 meters is now quite different when standing in front of Zhu Zhanyong. Among the three brothers, he is the only one with the most similar body shape to his fat father, with a happy smile on his face.
"Third brother!" Zhu Zhanyong shouted as soon as he got off the train. Zhu Zhanyong almost didn't dare to recognize Zhu Zhanyong at first sight. Is this still the little boy who looked like a porcelain doll back then? He is now much taller than him.
Much taller.
"Fifth brother!"
"Third brother!"
The two brothers had a very close relationship. Zhu Zhanyong looked him up and down and said, "Oh, you are too tall. You are taller than my eldest brother and grandpa Huang. My mother has missed you these days."
I’ve been there many times, and after so many years, I don’t even think about coming back during the holidays.”
"I'm busy with things. My father celebrated his birthday before and didn't come back at the critical moment of the Cochin war. But taking Cochin is a congratulatory gift to my father." Zhu Zhanyi smiled heartily.
Zhu Zhanyong naturally knows how many great things his brother has done over the years, and every one of them is big news. You must be lying if you say you don't envy him.
"Third brother, you didn't even introduce me to third sister-in-law."
"Ahem, this is my wife, Mrs. Wang."
The third sister-in-law saluted respectfully: "I have met His Royal Highness the Prince of Zhujiang County."
"Third sister-in-law, please don't. You can't bear to salute me. Third brother and I have been accustomed to having little etiquette since we were young. Just call me fifth brother or zhanxi."
"Let's go back to the palace first. Father, mother, and eldest brother are all waiting."
Zhu Zhanyong and Zhu Zhanyong first got on the carriage and returned to the palace. Li Xiaozhu Zara needed to pack her luggage. The whole party packed two carriages, and the third sister-in-law stayed to help.
"Two sisters, let me help you." It can be seen that the third brother's wife is not blind because of some advantages, and she knows that she must first establish a good relationship with the sisters-in-law.
"Thank you, Sister-in-law." The two of them shouted affectionately.
inside the carriage
Zhu Zhanyong asked Zhu Zhanyong: "Zhanyong, I have some news that I need to tell you first."
From the look on his face, he knew it wasn't good news.
"Third brother, tell me."
"Grandpa Huang plans to conquer the desert again, and this time he plans to devote all the efforts of the whole country to completely include the desert into the territory of the Ming Dynasty."
Finally it came. When Zhu Di asked Zhu Zhanxun to go to Guangzhou and told him that any land he conquered would be his, he understood Zhu Di's ambition. To be the emperor through the ages and to be the emperor of the past, he wanted to conquer even bigger lands.
Territory, more importantly, no one dares to bully the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Di is now over sixty years old. If history remains unchanged, Zhu Di may only have two years left. He must have felt that he was getting old, so he wanted to conquer.
Zhu Di, who refuses to accept old age, could not even celebrate his 60th birthday two years ago. He stubbornly feels that he is still young.
"Third brother, are you saying this because your father thinks he shouldn't be beaten?"
Zhu Zhanyong nodded. Zhu Gaochi is an eternal dove. He does not advocate any external expansion war, but Zhu Di feels that the time has come. In recent years, domestic productivity has increased significantly, and total tax revenue has more than tripled, especially in Guangzhou.
It has increased eight times. Now the country is rich and the people are strong, and there are strong ships and cannons. If we don't move now, when will we move again?
Zhu Zhanzhen must have agreed with Zhu Di's approach in his heart. After all, the Tatars in the north have bullied us for many years since the Han Dynasty. Now that I am stronger, I will definitely fight back.
"Fifth brother, my father hopes that you can persuade Grandpa Huang. After all, Grandpa Huang has not been in good health in recent years. According to his temper, he must be the leader of the expedition."
"I understand. I will definitely advise my father."
"ah?"
"Grandpa Huang, Grandpa Huang." Zhu Zhancheng quickly changed his words.
When the two entered the palace, the emperor and the prince were discussing matters, and Zhu Zhanzhen went to pay his respects to his mother first.
Seeing Zhu Zhanxun come in, the Crown Princess calmed down, while Hu Shanggong beside her had eyes full of affection.
The handsome young man walked in. Any palace maid who walked past Zhu Zhanchen would look at him sideways.
"My dearest son, I send my regards to my mother."
"Humph, I knew I would come back." The Crown Princess's face was full of displeasure.
"My son, I realize my mistake. I won't bring back a rare item for my mother."
"Stop interrupting, can this be solved with rare objects? You kid doesn't know how to care about your parents at all."
Zhu Zhanchen sighed and said: "Mother, I don't want to. I go out to visit the vassal clan. I cannot return to the palace without an imperial edict. If I come back, I will violate the etiquette."
"When did you become polite?"
"When my son grows up, he will naturally not be the same as before."
"I have become more eloquent. Come on, bring out the rare objects and let me take a look."
How could the Crown Princess be really angry? Besides, her son was so tall and handsome, and it was too late for her to feel proud as a mother.
"Don't worry, mother, we still have to wait. I followed the third brother back first, and let Xiaozhu and Zara take the luggage with them. They will arrive in a while."
After waiting for a while, Li Xiaozhu and Zara arrived. The two of them bowed to the Crown Princess first. The Crown Princess smiled and asked the two of them to come in front of her. She held their hands and talked about family matters. It was a beautiful scene of the harmonious relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
.
Zhu Zhanzhen took the eunuchs down to the courtyard to tinker with the things he had brought.
"Zhan Zhen said what do you call something?"
Hu Shanggong replied: "His Highness said it was called a hot air balloon. His Highness said it can fly."
"Zhan Zhen is such a fantastic idea. Is it true that people can fly?"
"Crown Princess, let me go to the courtyard to help Your Highness."
"Go ahead."
Hu Shanggong walked out slowly and came to Zhu Zhanzhen. The two looked at each other and smiled. Hu Shanggong only had one question in his mind now. Does he still remember his oath?
Zhu Zhanzhen said nothing and was busy assembling the hot air balloon.
The hot air balloon completed its test flight a year ago, and Zhu Zhanzhen specifically allowed Tao Ka to get drunk that day.
This kind of flying can be regarded as flying. Of course, there is still a huge distance between the real flight and the aircraft. Zhu Zhanzhen has given Taoka the direction of developing aircraft in the future. It depends on how far Taoka can achieve it.
The cloth used in the hot air balloon is specially produced, with a keel, silk skin, and a basket for standing people.
Since the founding of Nanhai University, Zhu Zhanzhen has spent huge amounts of money on the extraction and application of coal mines and oil, and now there is coal gas.
Coal gas also exists in natural gas. It can be manufactured now in research, but the cost is high. Moreover, gas tanks have not yet been manufactured, and storage and transportation are inconvenient. A small part of the gas brought this time is only used for rapid ignition.
When the flames ignited, the balloon of the hot air balloon slowly rose up, and the basket with the person sitting on it was tied with a thick hemp rope to prevent it from flying up at will.
After preparing everything, Zhu Zhanzhen said: "Mom, come out and take a look."
The Crown Princess walked into the courtyard with the support of her two prospective daughters-in-law, and looked at the strange big balloon that she had never seen before, with a look of confusion on her face.
"Zhan Zhen, is this the hot air balloon you're talking about?"
"Yes, mother, it is based on the principle of the Kongming Lantern. As long as the rope is loosened, it can fly into the sky."
"Is it true?" The princess didn't believe it.
"Come on, mother, let me give you a try."
"No, no, no." The princess shook her head and refused.
"Mom, don't worry. We have tried it several times. Zara and Lee Hyo-joo have also sat on it. It is absolutely safe."
The princess looked at the two of them, and they both nodded.
But the Crown Princess still said cautiously: "Just try it yourself, I'll just watch and it will be fine."
"Mother, this is your birthday gift."
"No, it's okay. My mother is getting older, so I can just take care of her."
Zhu Zhanzhen smiled slightly and looked at Hu Shanggong: "Hu Shanggong, why don't you try it for my mother?"
"I?"
The Crown Princess replied: "Yes, Shanwei, you can try it for me."
Hu Shanwei couldn't refuse, and she didn't understand what Zhu Zhanyi meant. Zhu Zhanyi stretched out his hand and took her into the basket of the hot air balloon.