March 22nd is Grain Rain, the last solar term of this spring.
Under the clear blue sky, the green fields connect the endless mountains. It is the willows in the east wind that are lush and green, and the peach blossoms all over the mountain are uniquely red.
On the rammed earth road outside Dingjunfang, two old Taoist priests wearing silk scarves and white beards and hair were walking slowly.
The city guard sergeants guarding the door looked at each other, and one of them stepped forward to warn: "This is an important military area, and no one can get close to it."
The two old Taoist priests looked at each other, smiled, and stepped forward unhurriedly.
The person in charge has slightly dark skin, a short beard about a foot long under the chin, a straight aquiline nose on the thin lips, long and small eyes, and a high forehead covered with a scarf to cover his bald spot.
Awkward.
Behind him, another Taoist priest spoke first and said: "This little brother, please help me to make it easier and present this thing to the envoy." He handed over a mask.
Yes, this mask is the one Wei Cheng took out when he first went to Haojia Village. It is unique in this era.
And this person was none other than Zhang Zhongjing, who had disappeared for more than half a year!
···
"My request is very simple. Make these ships according to the drawings. I only give you four years."
At the North Health Clinic, Wei Cheng and Tao Qian are discussing cooperation matters.
At this time, Tian Feng was directing several stewards to paste drawings of large ships on the wooden wall.
There are five types of drawings in total, corresponding to five types of ships with different shapes. These five types of ships are, yes, they are the five types of ships used by Zheng He on his voyages to the West compiled by later generations of scholars based on historical documents.
The first type is called "treasure ship". The largest treasure ship is 44 feet 4 feet long, 18 feet wide, and has a carrying capacity of 800 tons.
This kind of ship could accommodate thousands of people at the same time. It was the largest ship in the world at that time. It was majestic and unmatched in size. Just the iron rudder required two to three hundred people to move it.
The second type is called "horse boat", which is 37 feet long and 15 feet wide; the third type is called "grain boat", which is 28 feet long and 12 feet wide; the fourth type is called "sitting boat", which is 24 feet long and 9 feet wide.
4 feet; the fifth type is called "warship", which is 18 feet long and 6 feet 8 feet wide.
Interested readers can check the detailed data online, so I won’t go into details here.
The reason why Wei Cheng came up with the drawings of these five kinds of ships was naturally for consideration in the second five-year plan.
After the end of the first five-year plan, his light industrial system will be basically formed, and then you can go outside and see how prosperous the Qin Dynasty, that is, the ancient Roman Empire was during this period.
There is also the Kushan Empire in Central Asia at its peak. Go and see if ancient Babylon still exists, see if the pyramids in Egypt are really made of gold, and see if the Ganges River in Asan Kingdom is a river.
inside.
Remember that the Mayan civilization was at its peak during this period, and you can also go and see if their extinction had anything to do with the Predator...
Tao Qian looked at the drawings posted on the wall and was stunned.
Putting aside everything else, in his opinion, the 'treasure ship' alone was not a giant that could be built by manpower.
Of course, while he was surprised by the size of the treasure ship, he was even more amazed by the rigorous design of these ships, especially the small sampan ship called the 'War Ship', which was simply a weapon in water warfare. It could be used not only at sea, but also on the river.
Rivers and lakes can make people feel as if they are walking on flat ground.
"Mr. Huang, Miss Huang, please come into the main hall and have a chat."
Wei Cheng suddenly sent a message to the side hall, causing Tao Qian's expression to change.
The side hall door is open.
Huang Chengyan and Huang Yueying, father and daughter, were seen walking out. They were holding a stack of data documents in their hands. They were both dressed in Confucian shirts.
"Brother Gongzu, long time no see."
Huang Chengyan bowed to Tao Qian with a smile, put the things in his hands on the table beside him, and then took his daughter Huang Yueying to bow to Wei Cheng to show respect.
When Tao Qian saw Huang Chengyan's move, he was stunned for a while, then he raised his hands and asked with surprise and joy: "Chengyan, why are you here?"
With that said, he turned back to look at Wei Cheng, who smiled and said: "Huang Lao is the vice president of our Heluo College. These five sea-going ships were designed and polished with the help of Huang Lao. So Huang
Lao Xiangzhu, is Tao Gong confident enough to build a big ship now?"
Tao Qian knew a little about Heluo Academy and envied Wei Cheng for being able to summon so many famous scholars to work for him. Hearing this, he glanced at Huang Chengyan with a smile on his face and said helplessly: "That's the case, Tao is willing
Give it a try.”
Wei Cheng was overjoyed when he heard this, "Okay, then we will make an agreement. Tomorrow Tao Gong will have people come to receive Xuanjia. From now on, there will be five thousand sets every month until the ship is completed. As for the weapons and arrows,
Then you need to conduct normal transactions, so there will be no problem."
When Tao Qian heard that Wei Cheng was so cheerful, he naturally had no objection. Five thousand sets of Xuanjia every month would be 60,000 in one year. After four years, he would have a full 240,000 Xuanjia army.
Who would dare to look at him covetously at that time?
Of course, this was only one of the conditions. The biggest prerequisite for his promise to Wei Cheng to build sea-going ships was to allow Wei Cheng to send troops to help him drive away Cao's troops who were fleeing in Xuzhou.
Naturally, Tian Feng and others would work out the specific content of the covenant with Tao Qian. Wei Cheng only needed to grasp the general direction. Seeing that Tao Qian agreed to the shipbuilding matter, he was already looking forward to the grand scene of going to sea.
···
Wei Mansion.
Hao Zhao trotted to Dongyuan where Wei Cheng lived, but failed.
Knowing that Wei Cheng was at the guard station in the north of the city, Hao Zhao hurried to the guard station, not wanting to be met by his sister who was returning from shopping with Aning and Niu Niu.
Seeing her brother's hurried expression, Hao Niang asked with concern: "But what happened?"
Hao Zhao was about to speak when he lowered his head and saw An Ning with a cute look on his face, and said excitedly: "An Ning, do you know who is here?"
Aning's face was red, and he raised his fleshy little hand to scratch his head, "Who is it?"
Hao Zhao laughed, "You Aweng!"
Aning was stunned for a moment, and then shouted excitedly: "Ah Weng, it's Ah Weng who's back!"
Even Hao Niang was pleasantly surprised. Zhang Zhongjing had a life-saving grace for Haojia Village. If Zhang Zhongjing hadn’t cooked the Pulsatilla Soup, many people in Haojia Village would have died. Even Hao Zhao’s life was saved by Zhang Zhongjing.
Came back.
Hao Zhao looked at his sister and said with a smile: "Mr. is in Dingjunfang right now. He said he wanted to see the young master, so he asked me to inform him."
Hao Niang nodded and asked curiously: "Why did you get to Dingjunfang? Wouldn't it be better for you to come directly to the city?"
Hearing this, Hao Zhao shook his head and replied: "For some reason, my husband asked me not to be too public. He also brought an old Taoist priest with him. The identity of that person seems to be not simple. Brother Xu and the others all showed respect when they saw him."
Hao Niang glanced at An Ning thoughtfully, raised her eyes and said to her younger brother: "Since it is specifically ordered by the gentleman, then you should go to the guardhouse quickly. The young master is handling official business in the guardhouse. I think he will not be here for a while."
return."
Hao Zhao said ‘hmm’.
Seeing that he was leaving, Aning hurriedly stepped forward and hugged Hao Zhao's thigh, "I'm going too, and Aning is going to see Aweng." The little girl had tears in her eyes, and she must have missed Zhang Zhongjing very much.
Seeing this, Hao Zhao was a little embarrassed and could only look back at his sister.
Hao Niang pulled An Ning and comforted her: "Good boy An Ning, you have been playing around all day and your body smells like sweat. I will take you to bathe and change clothes first. After we wash and smell the fragrance, we will go to see Aweng. Let Aweng
Is it good to see a clean and beautiful Aning?"
"No, no, I'm going to see Aweng now, I'm going now..."
The little girl couldn't listen to the advice anymore. Since Zhang Zhongjing left, she had been thinking about it day and night. If she hadn't been accompanied by Niu Niu every day, she might have been depressed. In her heart, Zhang Zhongjing's position was irreplaceable.
Hao Niang and Hao Zhao were in trouble, and Wei Cheng outside the courtyard came in with Dian Wei.
"Is this girl acting coquettishly and making trouble with you again?" Wei Cheng said with a smile.
When Hao Zhao saw Wei Cheng, he hurriedly clasped his fists and saluted, saying: "Sir, Mr. Zhang is back!"
An Ning also ran over, hugged Wei Cheng's thigh, and cried: "Brother Wei, An Ning is going to see A Weng. An Ning misses A Weng."
Wei Cheng was startled for a moment, then said happily: "The teacher is back?"
Wei Cheng and Zhang Zhongjing are both teachers and friends. The word "teacher" somewhat means "recognizing one's ancestors and returning to the clan". When it comes to their understanding of traditional Chinese medicine, they can't say who is better than the other. They can only say that each has his or her own strengths.
.
Hao Zhao responded: "Yes, sir, I specifically asked me to inform the young master. He only said that the news of his coming to Hedong County should not be publicized, and asked the young master to keep it secret for him."
Wei Qing frowned slightly, remembering the conversation before Zhang Zhongjing left, and looked down at Aning, who was hugging him and humming, nodded and said: "That's fine, you go and settle down with the teacher first, I'll be there later.
.”
Hao Zhao cupped his fists and saluted, and left in a hurry.
Wei Cheng picked up An Ning, first comforted her, and then said to Hao Niang: "You have heard it too. If the teacher doesn't want to make it public, the people in the village should not inform it, so as not to cause more trouble."
Hao Niang was a sensible person. She nodded slightly and said with concern: "I wonder if sir has encountered any trouble."
Wei Cheng rubbed An Ning's head, smiled and comforted Hao Niang: "You don't have to worry about so much. If you really encounter trouble, I'm still here. I'm afraid there's no problem in this world that I can't solve."
When Hao Niang heard this, she smiled and was really not that worried anymore. She nodded and looked at Wei Cheng with tender eyes to comfort An Ning.
···
Dingjunfang.
Because the new army is about to march north to Shuofang, Xu Huang, Zhang Fei and others have basically been living in the square to handle official duties these days.
Even Xu Shu, Sima Yi, Cai Heng and others did not dare to neglect in the slightest, and studied and practiced with several seniors almost day and night.
However, due to the arrival of Zhang Zhongjing today, Dingjunfang seemed a lot quieter.
Everyone sat around a corner of the square, drinking wine, grilling meat, talking and laughing about their experiences.
Zhang Zhongjing has traveled north and south of the Yangtze River, and has also been to Shuofang and places further north. Some personal experiences cannot be matched by young people.
But compared with the old Taoist priest he brought, Zhang Zhongjing's eloquence was much worse.
"Speaking of the Hu people in the north, the old Taoist can only share so much. In fact, the Hu people are not terrible. At that time, the 70,000 Huns cavalry were beaten to the ground by the 3,000 light cavalry of the champion. The Shan Yu was more
He didn’t have any courage at all, so he immediately switched sides, haha.”
The champion the old Taoist said was none other than Wei Cheng’s ancestor, Huo Qubing, who was granted the title of Langjuxu.
The glory of the Wei family is not only due to the contributions of Wei Zifu and Wei Qing, but also to the contribution of Huo Qubing, the nephew of the Wei family.
Speaking of the champion Hou Huo Qubing, several of the Wei family's children immediately became excited. Although the deeds happened more than 300 years ago and there are related records in the family, hearing it mentioned by outsiders made them even more proud.
The old Taoist looked at several of the Wei family's disciples and said with a smile: "There should be another Wei family in Zhongshan, but I don't know if you are connected. If we really talk about it, both of you are descendants of General Wei Qing."
"I've never heard the elders in the family mention this." Wei Jue frowned and responded.
Hearing this, the old Taoist priest said teasingly: "It seems that the old Taoist is too talkative. This is the case in this aristocratic family. They basically stopped kissing each other after they entered the fifth service. If the Zhongshan Wei family knew about your current achievements, I'm afraid I would be jealous to death.
Hahaha."
Wei Jue and others looked at each other, "I don't know how to say this?"
The old Taoist priest picked up the wine glass on the side and drank it in one gulp. Then he spit out the wine and said with a smile: "It's a coincidence that the Wei family in Hedong is rich in beautiful men, and the Wei family in Zhongshan is full of beauties.
, at that time, two legitimate daughters entered the palace as concubines."
"It's just a pity that although the Zhongshan Wei family has been rich and prosperous for decades, it has declined because of Wang Mang. In less than ten years, it has gone from being a famous and powerful family to the point where no one cares about it now."
"But your Hedong Wei family is just the opposite. Although the process of transitioning from a martial arts family to an official family is difficult, the efforts of several generations are worth it after all. This generation has a Qilin, and the old Taoist admires it very much.
.”
After the old Taoist priest finished speaking, he poured himself another glass of wine and glanced at the square gate in the distance, a trace of expectation flashed in his long and small eyes.
Next to him, Zhengtou toasted with Zhang Zhongjing and asked, "Where have you been, sir, for more than half a year? Why don't you send anyone a letter or anything? The people in the village are very worried about you."
Zhang Zhongjing took a sip of the wine and slowly savored the taste. Hearing the words, he sighed softly and said: "I shouldn't have left without saying goodbye. If I had known that the young master would be able to achieve what he is today, I wouldn't have done so much.
It’s a pointless plan.”
Zhengtou picked up the jug, refilled the wine for him, and asked curiously: "Sir, what do you mean, are you encountering some trouble that can't be solved outside?"
Zhang Zhong nodded and looked at the old Taoist priest who was chatting happily with Wei Jue and others. He twisted his beard and replied: "It is indeed a bit troublesome. I originally thought I could deal with it alone, but now it seems that I can only ask for help from the young master. I just don't know.
Will it mess up your plans?"
Zhang Zhongjing was naturally referring to his journey to Shuofang in the north.
Seeing his hesitation, Chengtou hurriedly shook his head and said with a smile: "Sir, don't worry, Shuofang will only use new troops. The 20,000 city guards in the east of the river and the 5,000 Longshan troops are enough to deal with all difficulties in the world.
"
Zhang Zhongjing's wrinkled eyes flashed with light, and he said with a smile: "If so, then of course it is the best."
Zhengtou originally wanted to reveal some other secrets to give Zhang Zhongjing more confidence, but remembering Wei Cheng's trust in him, he finally did not mention the firearms, but signaled to Zhang Zhongjing to feel at ease.
At this moment, two rickshaws slowly stopped at the entrance of Dingjunfang.
Wei Cheng took An Ning's little hand and got out of the car. This scene happened to be seen by Zhang Zhongjing, who had been looking forward to it for a long time.