Work overtime

Before leaving, Li Beichen asked Han Ziqian to go alone for a while and secretly explained some things.

Han Ziqian handed Li Beichen a small package, which contained a telescope, Ecstasy, antidote, healing ointment, and six small round bottles. The purpose of each item was explained in detail, with no mention of the origin of the telescope.

Among them, the fat little round bottle was made by Han Ziqian to imitate the one that injured Li Beichen. It was filled with gunpowder, ecstasy, arsenic, and hundreds of embroidery needles soaked in poison. It was threaded through a copper tube. Long oil-soaked leads.

After the porcelain bottle explodes, it can not only injure the enemy, but also confuse and poison the enemy.

Jiang Yuebai's suicide note emphatically mentioned firearms. Han Ziqian and Jiang Yu thought of the power and convenience of firearms in the early morning and believed that this was an important clue. Han Ziqian ordered the young eunuchs of Taorui Palace to urgently make these simple batches of weapons. grenades.

The formula of gunpowder is based on the proportions of explosive alchemy furnaces in Master Han Ziqian's alchemy notes, and is extremely explosive.

They have tested two bottles without poison, and they are very powerful. However, the user needs to have good eyesight and quick hands to throw it at the enemy at close range, otherwise it is easy to injure and poison one's own people.

Li Beichen held the telescope and couldn't put it down, thinking that this artifact was a perfect match for Mrs. Xie's archery skills. The emergency grenade was an unexpected surprise. He thought of Jiang Yuebai unconsciously and felt warm in his heart.

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, firecrackers developed rapidly, and guns, cannons, and rockets were all formed. Larger firecrackers are used in chariots, which is good for defense; smaller ones are used on stands, stakes or handles, which are used for offense.

In the anti-Yuan struggle at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, various anti-Yuan uprisings used a large number of firearms and equipment in order to overthrow the rule of the Yuan Dynasty.

Taizu attached great importance to the role of artillery and other firearms. He used firecrackers to attack cities many times and hit important generals many times, with excellent results.

Li Beichen will bring with him the Shenji Battalion troops from the Gyeonggi Military Camp who are skilled in the use of firecrackers and artillery during this expedition. The Shenji Battalion was established after he ascended the throne last year. Currently, there are only [-] soldiers equipped and trained, but they are all elite troops.

Coupled with these small explosive firearms, the chances of winning will naturally be greater.

Li Beichen's depressed face relaxed, and he said happily, "Yunzhi, find some craftsmen and Taoist priests to study in secret, and make some firearms with highly toxic substances added, and send someone to deliver them quickly."

Yunzhi is Han Ziqian's character. Li Beichen seemed to have never called him by his given name, and always addressed him as Mr. Han. The relationship suddenly became much closer.

The imperial court has set up a military warfare bureau, an ordnance bureau, and a gunpowder bureau to supervise the manufacture of ammunition and firearms. However, due to the long-term bureaucratic mechanism, if you want to quickly make some practical new objects and send them to the front line, you may not necessarily have an advantage over a small handicraft workshop.

"I will do my best." Han Ziqian did not think otherwise and agreed respectfully.

After returning to the Qinzheng Hall, Li Beichen did not take a rest, but sorted out the recent memorials. Then he remembered that after giving Chen Ning two maids a few days ago, he had not seen Chen Ning for a long time. Thinking of the Jiang family, he couldn't help but feel worried.

The Dali Temple minister Huang Shao'an, the Ducha Yuan Zhou Shipeng, and the right prime ministers Murong Chi and Chen Ning were summoned to the palace overnight.

Murong Chi, Huang Shaoan, and Zhou Shipeng were summoned to the palace to deal with the imperial examination fraud case.

After Chen Ning entered the palace, he learned that he had contracted cold since he returned that day. He had been ill at home for the past few days and was taken care of by two palace maids. During the commotion, no one went to disturb the house.

From the spring period to the present day, with the emperor secretly fueling the situation, officials have gathered together to cause trouble for twelve times. Among them, people were specially sent to Dali Temple and the Metropolitan Procuratorate to accuse the original examiner in the spring period, the right prime minister at the time, Chen Ang, of engaging in malpractice for personal gain.

At first, it was just to let the incident ferment. Now that Chen Ang has been convicted of the serious crime of treason, of course it is time to strike while the iron is hot and thoroughly investigate the case of imperial examination favoritism and fraud against him as the examiner. The next day it was clear that the Minister of Rites, who was in charge of Chunwei, and Gu Yangqing, a fellow countryman promoted by Chen Ang, were dismissed from their posts and sent to prison for interrogation. Qin Liangyu, the right minister of the Ministry of household affairs, was promoted to minister of the Ministry of household affairs.

In addition to a thorough investigation of Chen Ang's remnants, the main focus of the imperial examination fraud case is to re-mark the examination papers and release the results in a timely manner.

Although Ye Zhuqing was eventually found not guilty and acquitted, since the early momentum has been created and re-marking has been arranged, a convincing result will be needed in the near future to give an explanation to the public.

Examination grading has always been a closed grading process. Recently, it coincided with a national mourning. Starting yesterday, officials, in accordance with etiquette, were required to attend the palace for seven consecutive days to express their condolences to the Queen Mother. Therefore, centralized marking can only be postponed sequentially.

The last time Murong Chi was summoned to discuss the matter with Zhou Shipeng and Chang Yian, both censors of the Supervisory Council, it was decided that well-known scholars from famous academies in Jiangsu and Zhejiang should be included as reviewers. Murong Chi had already requested Prime Minister Chen and Prime Minister Meng that day to select six reviewers from the private sector and twelve reviewers from the Hanlin Academy.

Among the six reviewers, one each from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Shandong. It was agreed that the Ministry of Rites would bear their travel expenses and their accommodation would be arranged in a single-family courtyard in the Hanlin Academy. The Hanlin Academy would bear their expenses after coming to Beijing. overhead.

Learning is valuable than anything else. This is no joke. If you want to shine in your family, preserve your family wealth, and improve your social status, the only way out is to enter officialdom through the imperial examination.

The six reviewers now account for one-third of the total reviewers.

These reviewers are all new to the capital and are not familiar with the place. Although they are all noble scholars and celebrities, human nature determines that when they first arrive in a strange place, they are lonely and cold, longing to be cared for, treated with courtesy, and eager for the warmth and admiration of a young and beautiful woman.

And they suddenly gained the supremacy, the right to decide the fate of others. Human nature determines that it is difficult for them to walk at night in fine clothes. In their bones, they are eager to be recognized, to be sought after by mainstream society, and to take the opportunity to gain fame, wealth or social reputation.

As long as you are a man or woman who eats and drinks, it is difficult to escape this kind of human nature. The so-called elegant literati who live in the mountains and rivers are often not like this in their nature, but they are self-comforting that they cannot be reused.

And this kind of human nature can easily be exploited by those who want to engage in personal gain and fraud. It can even be said that everyone gets what they need.

The purpose of this re-marking is to achieve fairness and fairness in the imperial examination selection. If the independence and objectivity of these six reviewers cannot be guaranteed, then it will run counter to the original intention. Li Beichen thought of the vacant Tianxiang Building.

Tianxiang Building has five floors. The top floor is not open to the public and has several separate rooms. It seems to be the place where the restaurant owner entertained special guests.

The fourth floor of Tianxiang Building is divided into many single rooms due to its functional design, and the beds in the single rooms are all ready-made. The third floor can be used as a bedroom as long as beds, furniture and other daily necessities are moved in.

There were originally many large round tables on the first floor, which could be used for marking papers. As for the second floor, they can arrange it freely at that time.

After thinking about it, Li Beichen believed that this was an excellent place for closed marking.

"This grading must be kept confidential and fair. Murong Qing, please discuss with the Ministry of War and arrange for special personnel to escort these six celebrities to Beijing. After arriving in Beijing, they will be arranged to live in Tianxiang Tower, with food and accommodation included. You are not allowed to go out until the marking is completed. After the marking begins, the other twelve Hanlin bachelors in Beijing will also live and eat in Tianxiang Building, and they will not be allowed to leave."

Li Beichen paused and thought about it again, "During the marking period, no one in Tianxiang Building is allowed to leave. They can only enter or leave. The third and fourth floors are used as accommodation, and the marking is reviewed on the first floor. What do you think?"

Such a closed grading was indeed a clever idea, and everyone praised it, "The emperor is wise."

Huang Shao'an: "Your Majesty, if you want to have a closed grading for the best effect, this matter must be kept absolutely confidential before grading."

"It makes sense," Li Beichen glanced at the three of them and said calmly, "However, I believe in everyone here."

Li Beichen noticed that Chen Ning seemed to be thinking about something, and the corners of his mouth twitched very slightly. He must have something to say, so he took the initiative to ask: "Chen Qing, do you have something to say?"

Chen Ning raised his eyebrows and said quickly, "Your Majesty, I have an idea, but it's not mature yet."

"please say."

Li Beichen murmured in his heart, when did Chen Ning become such a mother-in-law. In the past, I would boldly say whatever I wanted to say, even if it might offend me.

"The people who come to Beijing are all well-known academicians from all over the country. They are funded by the imperial court and come all the way to the capital. It is not easy. If after the marking is completed, these celebrities can publicly lecture on their academic thoughts in Tianxiang Tower. , wouldn’t it not only demonstrate the emperor’s etiquette, virtuousness and ability, but also allow everyone to see the grace of celebrities and be imbued with their true knowledge and insights?”

After Chen Ning finished speaking, Huang Shaoan couldn't help but praise, "Wonderful!"

Among these six people, there was a scholar whom he admired very much. Now I have the opportunity to listen to his speech live, isn't it a great thing?

Huang Shaoan hurriedly bowed and saluted to invite the emperor, "I have disobeyed the emperor, and I beg the emperor to forgive me. I think Master Chen's plan is a clever one. Since Tianxiang Tower is no longer used as a wine shop, it may be used as a school on weekdays. It can be used by Hanlin scholars can give academic speeches, and ministries can also send people to preach policies here. For example, Dali Temple and the Ministry of Punishment can explain the "Da Ming Law" to the people here."

Li Beichen nodded with a smile and looked at Murong Chi, "What do Murong Qing think?"

Murong Chi replied respectfully, "I agree with you. This is a wonderful strategy. It just coincides with the national mourning, so we should not rush it. We should plan it slowly and put stability first. If it is used as a marking place and Jixia Academy, Tianxiang Tower I’m afraid this name is a bit inappropriate.”

Li Beichen looked at the three ministers with satisfaction. They were the backbone of the force he was cultivating. At present, the three of them are highly complementary to each other, and they all have a promising future.

In the past, Murong Chi was despised by Li Beichen for his maturity and prudent tact. In this turbulent time, being appointed as the acting prime minister in times of crisis became a ballast and a positive help. Chen Ning, on the other hand, has a flamboyant personality, quick thinking, and frequent clever ideas. Huang Shaoan is logical, principled, strong in execution, and good at uniting people.

"Okay, let's put stability first. I'll leave it to Murong Qing at this time. Do you have a good name in mind?"

"This building is of great significance, related to the official career of students all over the world and the prosperity of theory. I ask the emperor to give it a name." Murong Chi saluted respectfully.

Chen Ning and Huang Shaoan immediately seconded the proposal.

Li Beichen thought for a moment and said, "Then it's called Juxian Palace. What do you think?"

Naturally, it was unanimously praised.

Li Beichen was in a happy mood, but there was not much expression on his face, "You two leave first, Tianxiang, you stay."

When Chen Qing was mentioned tonight, everyone felt a sense of trance. They used to call the original Right Prime Minister Chen Ang this way. Calling Chen Qing at this time, it seems that Chen Ang is still here, his ghost lingering.

Therefore, we simply called Chen Ning Tianxiang.

After Murong Chi and Huang Shaoan left, Li Beichen looked directly into Chen Ning's eyes and asked, "Tianxiang, is there a family connection between you and Chen Ang?"

Chen Ning had long expected that the emperor would ask this question sooner or later, so he quickly knelt down and said, "Back to the emperor, yes."