Zhu Hao did not expect that even Yang Shen would realize that there might be a war in the northwest.
But why does Yang Tinghe still insist on changing the commander before the battle? Is it that party struggle is more important than border stability? Or in Yang Tinghe's view, Zang Feng is just a coward who has no skills and still protects his colleagues. He really thinks of Chen Jiuchou's ability
Much better than Zang Feng?
These are not what Zhu Hao cares about.
Zhu Si's birthday was coming soon, and the Imperial Academy was also preparing to celebrate it. Zhu Hao had nothing to do with the drafting of the joint memorial. In the end, he only needed to sign it.
When Zhu Hao was notified and went to sign as a routine matter, Liu Chun called Zhu Hao to his office.
"Jingdao, I heard that when you went to meet with the foreign envoys, you said some threatening words?"
Liu Chun asked as soon as he came up.
Zhu Hao thought to himself, did the news spread so fast? At that time, the Ming Dynasty didn't even have a ceremonial official. Who spread the news?
Yang Yongxiu?
Liu Cundao: "The Fanbang envoys believed that Ming officials had spoken rudely to them. When they contacted people from the Ministry of Rites, they protested, and the news spread immediately... It seems that someone wants to use this to suppress your prestige."
Only then did Zhu Hao realize that it was not Yang Shen who was causing trouble, but the North Korean envoys.
This was probably caused by the so-called national pride. I was threatened in person by officials from the higher state of China. I felt so angry that I went to the Ministry of Rites of the Ming Dynasty to protest.
It is also possible that they felt that Zhu Hao was young and it was too disrespectful for the Ming Dynasty to find such a young man to meet them. This was just a way to kill the so-called number one scholar of the Ming Dynasty, so that the Ming court would not only lose face but also spread the name of North Korea.
National prestige.
Zhu Hao sighed: "Those who are not from my race must have different minds. These guys really have no good intentions... In fact, my original intention was to remind them that the party struggle in North Korea is fierce, and their political opponents will definitely send people to Ming Dynasty to wait for an opportunity to kill them.
If this provokes the relationship between Ming Dynasty and North Korea, it will be very dangerous for them to stay in the capital. It is better to go back early after finishing their work to avoid unexpected events."
"Then you shouldn't have said it like that... Although I don't know what you said at that time, since it caused people to misunderstand, you have to bear the responsibility. This matter can be big or small, from the perspective of the people of Ming Dynasty
, you are right, but from the perspective of diplomatic relations, what you do...is detrimental to the face of the Ming Dynasty."
Liu Chun lectured with a straight face, seemingly strict, but actually he had good intentions.
Zhu Hao accepted the instruction humbly, cupped his hands and said, "Yes."
Liu Chun's tone became softer: "I don't blame you. After all, you have just entered the court and have little experience. If Yang Yongxiu asks you to do something in the future, you don't have to listen to him. He is a Hanlin editor just like you, so why listen to a common man?
Sent by someone of higher rank? He usually looks for others to do things that he can't handle himself. Don't think he has any good intentions."
Zhu Hao wanted to laugh when he heard this.
After all, Liu Chun had been hanging out in the Hanlin Academy for decades. He could tell at a glance that Yang Shen had ulterior motives and reminded Zhu Hao not to get too close to Yang Shen. He had been in a high position for a long time and he had already seen that Yang Tinghe and the emperor were at odds with each other.
No matter how powerful a Shofu University Scholar is, he will still have to retreat in the future.
If you form a party with Yang Tinghe and fight against the emperor, what good consequences will there be?
"I'll remember it."
Zhu Hao appreciates Liu Chun more and more.
Although Liu Chun is also an old scholar and is known for his stubbornness, he is at least sincere and the key points are really good for him.
The entry of such a person into the cabinet may be the best way to suppress Yang Tinghe. Zhu Hao felt that he should help Liu Chun no matter what.
…
…
Originally, the North Korean envoy went to the Ming Dynasty Ministry of Rites to protest a few words. It was just a small-scale matter and nothing serious. Zhu Hao didn't take it to heart at all.
Unexpectedly, in the next few days, especially the days after Zhu Si's Longevity Festival, the government and the public were everywhere talking about Zhu Hao's threat to the foreign envoys. From the perspective of nationalism, or judging from the rumors in the Ming Dynasty, the people took it seriously.
Zhu Hao regarded him as a hero and said that he did not disgrace Ming Dynasty.
However, among the officials, Zhu Hao was regarded as a fool without emotional intelligence. They believed that Zhu Hao, who succeeded as a young man, had no ability to govern and was not worthy of staying in the Hanlin Academy, which would bring shame to the Ming Dynasty.
When Zhu Hao returned, even Tang Yin mentioned this matter.
"... Even the junior officials in the Ministry of Industry are talking about your intimidation of the North Korean envoys. Jingdao, I just can't understand why you are so smart and have trouble with people from small vassal countries? You can't really be arrogant.
Do you think you can do anything?"
Tang Yin finally had the opportunity to act like a real teacher and correct his students' mistakes.
Zhu Hao smiled and said: "I just sensed that one of them was about to die, and I wanted to remind him to be careful. How could he be so glass-hearted and go to complain? I really don't know what to say."
Tang Yin said: "Glass heart?"
Obviously, Tang Yin didn't understand this term.
"It means poor psychological quality... It's okay, let them talk, it just creates the impression of me as a newborn calf who doesn't understand current affairs, and makes others hate me. Then I can be more stable in the capital, right?"
Zhu Hao continued to smile playfully.
Tang Yin shook his head: "I usually see you as mature and sophisticated, but now I see you are still a child. You really... won't grow up."
…
…
Zhu Hao is not worried about this matter spreading to the outside world.
As Zhu Hao said to Tang Yin, it really didn't have much influence on him.
Others envied and despised him because he was the young champion, and intentionally distanced themselves. In addition, they were jealous that Zhu Hao and Yang Shen were close. The new emperor also wanted to promote Zhu Hao and Yang Shen to the rank of lecturer at the Hanlin Academy...
If it’s not aimed at you, who is it targeted at?
However, it is mediocre not to be envied by others. Since Zhu Hao has long been mentally prepared to reach the pinnacle of power, what is there to be afraid of being slandered?
And...the most important thing is.
Zhu Hao knew from history that North Korean envoys such as Shen Jizong might be assassinated by opposition forces in their country. Now that the news has spread, the assassins are likely to take action in advance. Then Shen Jizong... is tantamount to paying for his own indignation. Originally,
He still has one more month to live, but now he probably only has a few more days to live.
Where is the assassin?
In all likelihood, he is lurking next to Shen Jizong.
When the New Emperor's Longevity Festival passed, Zhu Si received many gifts, and Zhu Hao also gave a gift, which was a large model component.
The train model has tracks laid underneath and is very well made. However, Zhu Hao has not developed the battery and cannot run automatically. Although it is not difficult to make electrolyte and other things, Zhu Hao has not even finished the research on the steam locomotive yet.
Batteries are meaningless. What batteries need to support is power generation...the topic is a bit far off topic.
The train model can run on the circular track by pushing it with your hands. The track is surrounded by simulated scenery, including mountains, water and bridges. You can go around in a circle...
Zhu Siwu was so confused that he directly asked people to move the model to the palace, and he was so mesmerized by the play.
When Zhu Si came out of the palace and saw Zhu Hao again, he asked directly: "I want to know, is this something that only exists in the sky? If it can really cross mountains and rivers, does it mean... that in the future, you can transport as much stuff as you want?"
This is exactly Zhu Hao's purpose.
Attract Zhu Si's attention.
Zhu Hao's plan was to build a railway in Daming and use trains to transport coal, ore and food supplies from various places.
It is very difficult to improve a steam engine. After all, the structure is extremely delicate. However, the steam engines used in trains and ships are technically easier to implement. After all, they are large in size and the structure is still the same. With Zhu Hao's steel smelting and casting technology, it is necessary to create a qualified steam engine.
Steam locomotives are not difficult.
The steam engine was only used for weaving, which was obviously too wasteful. The next step was to find more practical uses, that is, trains and ships.
Steam cars are unrealistic...
Because a small steam engine has little power and without a track, the wheel friction is too great. Even if it can be replaced with rubber tires, it will be difficult to drive the vehicle over the mountains.
But trains with tracks have much less friction, and the large steam engines equipped with them are more powerful than car engines... You know, more than half a century after the invention of the internal combustion engine, most trains in the world are still coal-burning steam locomotives.
, which shows how practical the steam engine train is.
"This thing can be found, but with the current technology, we must choose a suitable route. It should not be too many mountains and ridges, and there will be some trouble in building bridges. One road is about five hundred miles, and it takes about one hundred
It’s about ten thousand taels of silver. This is probably a conservative estimate.”
After Zhu Hao's words fell, Zhu Si's eyes widened and he kept urging: "Zhu Hao, you mean you can make this thing with one million taels of silver? Then hurry up and make it."
For Zhu Si, this thing is so fun. According to his idea, with so many carriages in a train, it must be able to pull a lot of things faster than before. How practical is it?
And one million taels...in Zhu Si's opinion, it was not an astronomical figure.
Zhu Hao shook his head: "Technically, we haven't fully realized it yet, and the most important thing is that we have to use this thing called a train on the edge. If we just transport supplies from Xishan and Yongping Prefecture to the capital, we won't have to
Using such advanced things.”
"Then...where is the best place to use it?"
Zhu Si is very persistent. Now that he has seen the interesting model, he wants to turn the model into reality.
Zhu Hao said: "Use it in Shanxi! The area around Datong Prefecture is where coal mines are produced. We can transport the coal from Datong Prefecture to the capital, and transport money and grain from the capital to the northwest. Originally, there is no water transportation in the northwest, and the transportation cost is very high.
, if a train is used..."
"Wonderful!"
Zhu Si slapped his thigh and admired Zhu Hao so much, "Then let's build it quickly."
Zhu Hao shook his head and said: "The straight-line distance from Datong to the capital is more than 600 miles. If some changes are made when selecting the route, the length of the train track may be more than 700 miles, and bridges will be built in the middle to flatten some valleys. The cost may be
The increase to 1.2 million taels to 1.5 million taels has to be established when the imperial court recruits a large number of civilians. I am afraid that Mr. Yang Ge and the civil servants will not agree to such a cost."
"That's true."
Zhu Si felt a little wilted.
More than one million taels of silver is only the railway construction part of the budget, not counting vehicles and daily maintenance costs. It is obviously difficult for Zhu Hao to raise this money by himself. He can only rely on the court's allocation, but now Yang Tinghe is the head of the court, how could this happen?
He easily agreed to spend more than one million taels of silver to build a railway that no one had ever seen before?