At the beginning of the civil castle, the Ming God of War was a little panicked

Chapter 389
In terms of ingenuity, the ancients are no worse than modern people, what they lack is vision.

In the same way, the knowledge reserves of modern people are all based on the observations, summaries, and researches of predecessors, and rely on the efforts of generations to accumulate, pass on, and create a huge cognitive system.

The greatness of the pioneers lies in this. They groped in the dark, found a bright road, pointed out the direction for future generations, and guided more people to come in, go forward and accomplish great feats again and again.

Zhu Qizhen's level of professional knowledge is not high, and in later generations, he is just an ordinary man in science and engineering.

However, it is these most basic scientific theories that are enough to become a beacon for the technological development of the Ming Dynasty.

Tong Xuan seemed to have witnessed a miracle, and immediately rekindled hope, devoting himself to the research and development of electric power.

Although it is not clear why copper coils and magnets can create electricity when they are put together, it seems that they do not understand why thunder occurs before it rains, but as long as we know this phenomenon and grasp its operation rules, we can use it.

Just imagine, when the ancients discovered fire, did they know what a chemical reaction is?
However, it did not affect the use of fire by the ancients. They took the fire from the place where they found the sky fire, brought it back to the cave, used it to heat food, drove away wild animals, and regarded it as a gift from the gods.

This kind of fire caused by sky fire will eventually be extinguished, but the spirit of human exploration is far more than that. Suiren invented fire by drilling wood, and in this first spark, a brilliant civilization burst out.

Now, Zhu Qizhen personally pointed out the direction for the electric power research of the Academy of Sciences, and Bei Lin and Tong Xuan completed the rest.

Back to Qianqing Palace, it was already dark.

Empress Qian came out to welcome him, and reached out to help Zhu Qizhen remove his coat.

"Is the queen still asleep?"

Empress Qian smiled sweetly, and replied: "The Emperor's official duties are heavy, and I can't help much, so I have to do some things like serving tea and water. This is the freshly made bird's nest porridge."

As she spoke, she stretched out her slender hand and brought the bird's nest porridge in front of Zhu Qizhen.

"Well, it's very fragrant!"

Zhu Qizhen took it, smelled it, then picked up the spoon, and dried it with three or two strokes.

Empress Qian was a little dumbfounded, and asked tentatively, "Does the Emperor want...another bowl?"

In fact, she only cooked one bowl.

Originally, it’s not that I didn’t eat, I just wanted to eat a bowl of bird’s nest, but after two mouthfuls, I was gone...

"No need, I'm full!"

Zhu Qizhen waved his hand, this is a habit he developed after going to sea, because he doesn't know when the battle will start, he must eat fast, otherwise, he will be hungry when he fights halfway through the meal.

Now, whether he was eating or sleeping, he was clean and tidy. As soon as his head touched the pillow, there was a slight snoring sound.

Empress Qian sighed helplessly, pulled half of the quilt over her body, but couldn't fall asleep because of tossing and turning.

Over the years, the emperor's changes have surprised her endlessly. From the battle of the civil castle, all the youthfulness and childishness at the beginning have completely disappeared, as if she has suddenly become mature.

For five years, the Ming Dynasty has continued to expand its territory, and its technology has developed rapidly, all of which are inseparable from the emperor's credit.

but……

Empress Qian has been very distressed because... she has no children.

The prince Zhu Jianshen was born to the noble concubine Zhou, the second son Zhu Jianlin was born to the Chen concubine Wan, and the third son Zhu Jianshu was also born to the Zhou family. This queen entered the palace in the seventh year of Zhengtong, and has not been out of the palace for 12 years. It's unwillingness.

As the prince grew up day by day, the noble concubine Zhou could no longer sit still.

Secretly, the Zhou family began to contact some ministers, intending to seize the title of empress himself. If his younger brother Qing Yunhou hadn't committed suicide and got involved in the Shanxi merchants' enemy case, he might have launched an offensive long ago.

Empress Qian is a responsible person, she doesn't want to be an enemy of the Zhou family, and even thought that if she has nothing to do, it's okay to give up the title of queen to the Zhou family.

She is the prince's biological mother, no matter how close you are to the prince, you are still an outsider after all...

"Go to the water!"

"Come on people!"

"Fire out!"

Suddenly, there was a commotion outside.

Empress Qian didn't sleep at all, so she sat up all of a sudden, put on her clothes, and came to the door.

"What's going on outside?"

The little eunuch on duty replied: "Go back to the empress, there is water in the palace!"

"where?"

"The slaves don't know too well, looking at the direction...it seems to be the East Palace."

"East Palace..."

Empress Qian frowned slightly, thinking of the Zhou family and the prince just now, something happened in the East Palace.

"Send some more people to help put out the fire. We must ensure the safety of the prince!"

"Yes!"

The little eunuch outside agreed and hurried away.

"what happened?"

Empress Qian's attention was all outside, when a voice suddenly came from her ear, she was startled in shock, and when she looked back, she saw Zhu Qizhen standing behind her in pajamas.

"Your Majesty, why are you up?"

Zhu Qizhen pushed open the door, looked at the fire in the southeast direction, and said, "How can I not hear such a big commotion outside, is the East Palace flooded?"

Empress Qian nodded and said: "I heard that it is in the direction of the East Palace, and this concubine got up just after hearing the movement."

Zhu Qizhen nodded, but still worried, so he sat down at the table.

Seeing this, Empress Qian hurriedly stepped forward to pour a cup of tea, and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry, the fire is not big and should be extinguished soon."

The Forbidden City was built in the Yongle Dynasty and used a large number of wooden structures. If you are not careful when using fire, some accidents will inevitably occur.

However, in order to prevent fires, there are large water tanks at intervals in the entire Forbidden City, which are filled with clean water on weekdays, which can be regarded as the earliest fire-fighting equipment.

With these safeguards, even if a fire breaks out, it can be extinguished as quickly as possible.

About half an hour later, Wynn ran over in a hurry.

"The servants kowtow to the emperor, kowtow to the empress!"

"Get up and talk!"

Zhu Qizhen waved his hands and asked, "What's going on?"

Huai En's face was a little pale, and he said: "The East Palace is full of water, and the slaves have led people to put out the fire, but, His Royal Highness..."

Zhu Qizhen's expression became ugly, and he asked, "What's the matter, tell me quickly!"

"His Royal Highness fainted and has been sent to the Imperial Hospital..."

Wynn buried his head low, not daring to breathe.

Zhu Qizhen stood up and asked again: "Is the fire huge? Why did it take so long to put it out?"

"It's not too big, just, just..."

"If you hesitate like this again, be careful that I will send you to Fengyang Shouling!"

Zhu Qizhen is also really anxious, if you have something to say, hurry up, does it mean that it didn't happen if you didn't say it?
Wynn didn't dare to hide anymore, so he had to tell the whole story: "It's His Royal Highness... Your Highness is studying... gunpowder!"

"what?"

Zhu Qizhen turned pale with shock, Zhu Jianshen was only six years old, what kind of gunpowder did he study?
Wynn said with an innocent expression: "His Royal Highness likes to listen to the classes of the Academy of Sciences on weekdays, and is especially interested in gunpowder. I don't know where to get a lot of saltpeter and sulfur, and burn charcoal in the East Palace. As a result, as a result ...I can't control it well..."

Zhu Qizhen looked surprised, making gunpowder in the East Palace, is he preparing to rebel?
You're only six years old, what's the rush?
"Immediately investigate, how did the saltpeter and sulfur get in? Also, was the crown prince refining gunpowder for fun, or was someone instigated, and find out together!"

"Yes, servant girl, let's go!"

Wynn bowed and stepped back, closing the door behind him.

Zhu Qizhen picked up the teacup on the table and drank it down, angrily said: "This little brat, I'm not at home, he's going to betray me!"

"The emperor must not be excited..."

Empress Qian hurriedly comforted her and said: "The prince has been enlightened since he was three years old, and the concubine said something that should not be said. The prince was not interested at all when those great Confucians taught, talked about the principles of Confucius and Mencius, and the concept of governing the country. Until last year, when the Academy of Sciences began to teach, the prince seemed to have opened his eyes. Ordinary, he listens to the lectures very seriously on weekdays, and he can do it himself, so he has developed this habit."

Zhu Qizhen was a little dumbfounded. It is a good thing for a six-year-old child to learn some scientific knowledge, but what is it to secretly prepare gunpowder by himself?

If there is no fire today, and the gunpowder is successfully configured, is the next step to assemble the bomb?

Looking at this trend, God is helping the fire today, otherwise, one day there will be a sudden thunderstorm on the ground, blowing up the Forbidden City, and I won’t be able to cry...

Early the next morning, Zhu Qizhen opened the door, and saw a group of people kneeling in front of Qianqing Palace.

There is Zhu Jianshen's biological mother, the noble concubine Zhou, and Wynn, Beilin...

Zhu Qizhen was a little confused, and asked, "What are you going to do?"

Zhou's weeping pear blossoms brought rain, and said: "I came to confess my crime, and I hope the emperor will think that Shen'er is ignorant, so don't punish him. If there is anything...let me take it..."

Wynn then said: "What happened yesterday was due to the dereliction of duty of the servant girl, I implore the emperor to punish me!"

Zhu Qizhen looked at Beilin and asked, "What's your situation?"

Bellin bowed her head and said: "I am wrong, I should not teach His Royal Highness how to make gunpowder..."

Zhu Qizhen was so angry that he wanted to laugh, and asked, "How is the prince?"

Wynn said: "The imperial doctor has seen it, and said that it is mainly due to fright. After a period of recuperation, he will be fine. He is still recuperating in the imperial hospital."

"Wait for him to come back, see if I don't deal with him!"

Zhu Qizhen shook his head helplessly, then changed the subject and asked, "Have you found out what happened last night?"

Wynn replied: "It has been found out that the saltpeter and sulfur were brought into the palace by the maid Wan."

At this time, a court lady kowtowed and said: "Your servant knows your mistake, my servant knows your mistake!"

Her voice trembled a little, because she knew very well that after such a big thing happened, she might not be able to save her life.

Mrs. Zhou said: "If the emperor wants to blame you, you can blame this concubine. Wan is originally my concubine's servant girl. I was worried that the crown prince would not be used to being in the East Palace, so I transferred Wan over."

Zhu Qizhen was not interested in these, but looked at the trembling Wan Shi, and asked, "Where did you get the saltpeter and sulfur?"

Wan said tremblingly, "I bought... I bought it..."

Zhu Qizhen asked again: "Where did you buy it?"

These things are resources for combat readiness, and their circulation is strictly controlled among the people.

It is difficult for ordinary people to get it, unless there are some special channels.

Wan didn't dare to hide anymore, and said: "My servant has two younger brothers, they bought them with their help. They only said that they were from the black market, and this servant doesn't know where the black market is..."

Zhu Qizhen thought for a while and said, "Wynn, go and investigate immediately!"

Wynn quickly replied, "Yes!"

"Wait a minute... Your Majesty!"

Wan Shi panicked, and hurriedly said: "The emperor is merciful, the two younger brothers of this servant don't know anything, they just bought those things under the entrustment of this servant, and the fault in it... this servant is willing to bear it alone!"

Zhu Qizhen looked at her, and said with a half-smile, "Can you afford it?"

Wan Shi didn't know what to do, so he kowtowed and begged for mercy.

Seeing her expression, Zhu Qizhen was a little surprised.

Not to mention that she is willing to bear all the consequences for her younger brother, and her elder sister is like a mother. This feeling and sense of mission are understandable. It is surprising that she did not mention the prince from the beginning to the end.

If this matter is traced to the root, the prince is the culprit.

Wan Shi was just running errands and went to buy some things outside the palace.

Of course, these things are contraband, and she has to bear the charge.

Now she never mentions the prince, and she takes all the responsibility for the crime.

Wan's face was pale, and he said cowardly: "The crown prince was frightened, and the servants can't bear the responsibility for this crime. I wish, I wish... I will apologize with death..."

Zhu Qizhen secretly said in his heart that this person is still loyal, so he asked Wynn to find out what her two younger brothers were doing. If it wasn't a heinous crime, he would target Wan Shi, and it would be okay to spare them...

and many more!

Zhu Qizhen seemed to think of something, and his face became serious again.

He looked carefully at Wan Shi in front of him, but the other party lowered his head so tightly that he couldn't see his face clearly.

This person is...

Zhu Qizhen suddenly remembered that this person's name is... Wan Zhen'er!

She was originally a maidservant next to the Empress Dowager Sun, but once she was spotted by the Zhou family, she begged for it and brought it with her.

Because Wan Zhen'er was well-behaved and clever, she won the Zhou family's appreciation, especially for taking care of the young prince. No one could coax her to cry, but as soon as Wan Zhen'er appeared, she stopped crying immediately.

When the crown prince moved to the East Palace, the Zhou family sent Wan Zhen'er there as well, just to take care of the crown prince's daily necessities.

Zhu Qizhen had seen this person before, but he didn't take it seriously.

History has been rewritten, Zhu Jianshen's status as the prince is as stable as an old dog, and he no longer needs to depend on a woman who is 20 years older than him.

Without this experience, everything that follows will naturally not happen.

However, at this moment, he still felt negligent.

Wan Zhen'er is still by the prince's side, and the relationship is still very close.

Zhu Qizhen pondered in his heart, treating this woman...be more cautious!
"Wynn, go and check the black market, mainly unannounced visits, don't startle the snake."

"Yes!"

Wynn resigned, Wan Zhen'er looked very anxious, and was begging for mercy, but saw the emperor beckoning to her.

"I have something to ask you, come in and tell me!"

Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, what would the emperor want to ask a maid alone?

Zhou didn't understand, Beilin didn't understand, Wan Zhen'er didn't understand...

Zhu Qizhen saw that everyone was stunned, so he ordered: "Wan Zhen'er stay here, everyone else should leave!"

(End of this chapter)