The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 212

Zhu Youtang first gained a wave of support from the minister.

There are still many superstitious people among the ministers.

If they all felt that praying for rain was useless, they would not have followed, but they would see immediate results when they came. There was no rain for more than two months, and it fell as soon as they came... Could this be a coincidence?
Even the upright admonishers and officials looked at Zhu Youtang differently, as if they all wanted to be "spirited by the emperor".

"Everyone, the rain has finally come down, let's go back to the palace."

Some rational ministers, such as Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, Tu Yu and other top civil servants, although they usually like to talk about natural disasters and visions, they don't believe that the rain was prayed for.

But they couldn't figure out what was going on.

Now that the rain was still falling, all the ministers couldn't help but want to go back to the city in a carriage. After all, the performance should end.

……

……

Luanjia and his party were walking back to the city.

According to the plan in advance, Luanjia entered the city from Zhengyangmen, the south gate, and went directly to Damingmen, without stopping on the street.

Streets have been closed along the way, and ordinary people cannot approach Luanjia.

But before Zhengyang Gate was reached, Mou Bin, the commander of Jinyiwei, rode over to inform Dai Yi of the news, and Dai Yi informed Zhu Youtang and his son who were sitting in the Luanyu: "Your Majesty, the subjects heard that today Your Majesty and the Crown Prince went out of the city to pray for rain, and they were already lined up on the streets to the south of the capital, waiting to pay their respects to the emperor, and many people along the way were kneeling and thanking you, praising your Majesty and the Crown Prince for their kindness."

"is it?"

Zhu Youtang smiled and nodded.

Purpose achieved.

"Where's Bingkuan?" At the critical moment, Zhu Youtang thought of Zhang Zhou again.

Dai Yi said: "It seems that... I went out of the city to test the cannon."

"It's a pity that he is not by my side, otherwise he should be with me..." Zhu Youtang said this, and found that there was something wrong with the way his son looked at him, so he stopped talking.

this son.

Although he is young, he is a villain and a villain. Zhu Youtang wants to be a wise king and a strict father, so he can only pretend in front of his son.

"Don't go through Zhengyangmen, enter the city through Chongwenmen, the people along the way don't have to stop you too far, I also want to get closer to the people."

Zhu Youtang also had a whim.

Since the subjects want to worship, then don't worship in the air, I will bring the prince to appear in front of them in person, even if I don't show up, let them know that I and them are of one heart.

To buy people's hearts...

The play must be done well.

"Yes."

Dai Yi hurriedly asked Mou Bin to make arrangements.

……

……

North of the city.

The shooting is still going on, but this time it is not firing at the distance, but at the sky.

"Mr. Zhang, it's raining. If we don't go back, what are we still doing here?"

Xiao Jing, dressed in a bamboo hat and coir raincoat, looked at Zhang Zhou who was busy preparing to set off the cannon, and walked over to urge him to ask.

Zhang Zhoudao: "Eunuch Xiao, if you have something to do, go back first, I have something to do here. Okay, just face here, let it go."

After Zhang Zhou finished speaking, he left in a hurry.

Xiao Jing also knew that the cannon might be in danger of exploding, so he hurriedly ran along with it.

Not far away, he stood in front of Zhang Zhou again, curiously looking at Jia Laoshui and Sun Shangqi who were tinkering with the barrel.

"boom!"

One shot was fired.

Because of the rain, his vision was blurred, Xiao Jing squinted his eyes for a long time but couldn't see what was going on.

"Sir, is it over?"

Xiao Jing looked confused.

"Hmm." Zhang Zhou looked up.

Under the umbrella held by his grandson, Zhang Mao also got out of the carriage and asked, "What's the point of firing cannons in the air? Is it to frighten the heavens?"

To scare God?

Xiao Jing smiled wryly upon hearing this.

Not to mention Zhang Mao, there was no one around who understood Zhang Zhou's intentions.

Just as I was talking, the rain "wow" came again.

The bamboo hat and coir raincoat on Xiao Jing's body were obviously not enough, he shrank his head and wanted to run towards the carriage, Guo Ang quickly took an umbrella from his subordinates, and put it on for Xiao Jing.

Xiao Jing said: "I don't have sharp eyesight."

Guo Ang quickly moved the umbrella to Zhang Zhou.

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "Okay, let's change the place."

"This... is it over? That's right, it's raining heavily, we should go back to the city!" Without anyone explaining to him, Xiao Jing naturally didn't understand the intention.

Zhang Zhoudao: "Change the place and fire another cannon. Cover the cannons with a raincloth and keep out of the rain. Let's go!"

……

……

After walking for nearly two miles, near the northeast corner of the city, Zhang Zhou stopped again to fiddle with the shooting.

It was raining very little at this time.

After Zhang Zhou asked people to set up the artillery, it was the old routine again.

This time Xiao Jing didn't go up to check the situation.

When the artillery went up to the sky, this time Xiao Jing could see a little more clearly.

"Mr. Zhang, what is that white thing? Why did it hit the sky?"

Just as I was talking, "Wow" was another torrential rain.

The artificial rain enhancement is to use an introduction to bring geometric multiple effects.

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "Okay, let's change to another place."

Xiao Jingren was a little confused.

Zhang Lun, who came down with him, was more upright, and asked Zhang Mao, "Grandfather, is Mr. Zhang urging the rain?"

Xiao Jingben had already followed for a few steps, but stopped when he heard the words, and slapped his forehead.

"Look at our family's brain. I didn't even think about it. I was awakened by this young master of the Zhang family. Mr. Zhang, is that right?"

Now everyone around looked at him with weird eyes.

Zhang Maodao: "Bingkuan, the old man said earlier that you were frightening the heavens, but you are really..."

Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "The British are joking, but they just want to increase some rainwater through some methods, and the effect may not be great, so let's just add some. Shall we continue in another place?"

"Go, go."

This time Zhang Mao was also interested and followed him in person, not even taking care of holding an umbrella.

It seems that he also feels very honored to be able to come out to play on the city wall with Zhang Zhou.

Just thinking of slipping the city wall...

Zhang Zhoudao: "If we switch to the city gate building for the next cannon, will the effect be better? But this cannon...I'm afraid it won't be able to lift it up. Isn't it against the rules?"

Zhang Mao patted his chest and said: "Look at what you said, Bingkuan, this is a good thing that benefits the country and the people. There is an old man here, and Eunuch Xiao. Why not? Come and help!"

Zhang Mao hurriedly called his guards over to work together.

……

……

It rained intermittently for an hour.

To the back, the rain basically stopped.

It only rains wherever Zhang Zhou goes, but the effect of this artificial rainfall increase is not so significant.

Zhang Zhou knew that some technologies should go back and improve more.

After Xiao Jing finished Zhang Zhou's work, he hurried back to the palace in a carriage. On the way back to the palace, he learned that the emperor had specially walked on a street where people watched the ceremony on the way back to the palace. Make the emperor the king of destiny.

Xiao Jingzhi was full of complacency, and when he was about to arrive at the Qianqing Palace, he was afraid that his body would not be wet enough, so he twisted the water on his sleeves towards the neckline.

"Eunuch Xiao, what is this for?" Yang Peng, who was following behind, asked.

Xiao Jing rolled his eyes at him: "Our house is hot, why don't you want to cool off?"

After speaking, he went straight into the Qianqing Palace.

At this time, Zhu Youtang was sitting in front of the desk, put on dry clothes, and even dried his hair with a stove, and sitting beside him was Zhu Houzhao, who was warming himself by the fire.

"Your Majesty, after the maidservant accompanied Mr. Zhang back to the mansion, he returned to the palace to return to his command." Xiao Jingdui had a happy expression on his face, "The maidservant accompanied Mr. Zhang out of the city. I have seen the power of the mother-child cannon, and no grass can grow two miles away. I have also seen it. How he increases the rain... is amazing."

Zhu Youtang smiled and said: "When Bingkuan said he would add twelve cannons to Liaodong, I knew he was prepared. Last time it was the mighty gunpowder. Di Yi must have taken precautions this time. To use cannons, just There is no need to lure them into ambush. It seems that Ningyuan's city gate does not need to be known."

Xiao Jing heard that the emperor was joking about the fortress of the Daming border, so he knew how good the emperor was now.

Zhu Houzhao stretched out his hand to warm the fire, and said, "Father, is the cannon really good? My son thinks that it is better to use the mighty sky gunpowder. It can even blow up the gate tower, and it will be fine to blow up the grassland in the future."

After Zhu Houzhao learned about the power of nitroglycerin, at a young age, he has longed for countless times in the future to lead troops to level the grasslands, thinking about how to make contributions with the gunpowder invented by Zhang Zhou.

The plan in my heart, after sorting it out, can write a paper on yellow gunpowder tactics.

As a result, within a few days, I told him that the powerful gunpowder is a thing of the past, and now we are no longer limited to ambush on the spot, but instead use remote delivery? !

The boy's dream doesn't need you to guard it?

Improve it if you say it is improved... Don't care about other people's feelings?
Zhu Youtang said: "Let the matter of marching be left to the imperial censor and the commander-in-chief. At your age, you should learn all the contents of the classics and history collections. You must learn from history!"

"Father, you must have studied well at the beginning, right? Not now... I understand what Father means, so I must study hard."

Zhu Houzhao also has good eyesight.

Seeing that Dad's mood is likely to turn from sunny to stormy at any time, it's better to recognize the interest early and don't argue.

"Oh." Zhu Youtang sighed, "It's a pity that Bingkuan didn't go with me today, I didn't see the reverence of the pious people for the sky, and I didn't see their gratitude for my kindness... You said he increased the rain, What's going on?"

Zhu Youtang indulged himself for a while, and then thought that he hadn't asked all about what Zhang Zhou had done.

Xiao Jing hurriedly told about Zhang Zhou's artificial rainfall enhancement.

Zhu Youtang was surprised: "You mean, wherever he fires the cannon, the rain will increase there?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, Mr. Zhang also said that if it can be improved in the future, it may really have the effect of praying for rain and getting rain, but unfortunately it can only be done like this now. There is a certain effect."

"It's... quite miraculous."

Zhu Youtang also felt incredible.

Dai Yi hurried forward and said, "Your Majesty, do you think we should find someone to cooperate with Mr. Zhang and let him improve this way of begging for rain?"

Zhu Youtang rolled his eyes at him: "If Bingkuan needed help, would he not talk to me? There is no need to urge him, after all, not every place needs to ask for rain, and many times you can't ask for it... Sigh! Today The people are really sincere..."

While talking, Zhu Youtang's heart fluttered.

When returning to the city, when Luanjia passed by the spacious East Chang'an Avenue, the people along the way paid homage to him... Zhu Youtang had never felt such treatment, which made him feel emotional.

"Who dares to say that I am not the Son of Man?" Zhu Youtang suddenly said at the end.

Several eunuchs immediately looked at the prince, and there were some words that the prince should not hear.

The emperor was probably too high-ranking to say this in front of his son?

Those of us old people in the palace, of course know that in the last years of Chenghua, concubine Wan Gui and other palace officials deliberately provoked rumors that your majesty was not the former emperor's own. The minister has always regarded you as a wise king, how could someone mention this?

It seems that Your Majesty really cares.

Zhu Houzhao said with a smile: "Father, if you are not the real son, who is?"

Just check, you are not, am I?

Dai Yi boasted: "Your Majesty, you really showed the power of the dragon today."

"Yeah." Zhu Youtang nodded, and then looked at the few people present with stern eyes, probably threatening, if anyone dares to reveal today's "fraud" thing, let's see how I deal with him.

The eunuchs bowed their heads tactfully.

"Prince, your performance today is not bad. You don't need to study today and tomorrow. But you can't mess around, let alone go out of the palace. Recently, Bingkuan has to prepare for the imperial examination, which is three days away...don't bother him. "

"Oh."

Zhu Hou responded.

"Okay, you all go back first. I want to go to see the queen with the crown prince. Regarding matters such as Zhu Pi, I can't be in charge. I will deal with it myself later."

After Zhu Youtang finished his orders, Dang even took his son to brag with his wife.

……

……

"Did you hear that?"

The four eunuchs who were in charge of ceremonies here returned to the office of the in charge of ceremonies, and before they could sit down, Chen Kuan said something.

Dai Yi said: "Speak carefully! Our family understands what you mean, and you should understand too. It seems that this Mr. Zhang is still very considerate of His Majesty."

Knowing what the emperor cares about, Zhang Zhou will feed the emperor.

Emperor, you are not very concerned about whether you are orthodox, and there are folk rumors that you are not the right man?
Then arrange a ceremony for you to pray for rain, so that you can pretend to be aggressive in front of the people all over the world.

Xiao Jing smiled and said: "It seems that this matter needs to be mentioned a few more words with the historian, and even a special book should be written."

"You still need to say it?"

Dai Yi gave Xiao Jing a white look.

Dai Yi was also a little dissatisfied with Xiao Jing's recent getting close to Zhang Zhou and getting in the limelight.

In terms of ability, Xiao Jing is actually above Dai Yi, the more brilliant Xiao Jing is, the more he cares about Dai Yi.

Historically, Dai Yi disappeared during the reign of Hongzhi, while Xiao Jing continued throughout the three dynasties of Hongzhi, Zhengde, and Jiajing. In order to calm people's hearts, Xiao Jing's ability is not covered.

Xiao Jing sighed: "The imperial examination is coming soon, if Mr. Zhang wins the first prize again, it will be fine."

Dai Yi said with a smile: "It depends on whether he can be in the top ten, and the examiner pushes him to His Majesty. How can His Majesty not recognize his handwriting?"

Several people looked at each other and smiled.

I'm also thinking about it.

Is this cheating?
The emperor did not tell Zhang Zhou the palace examination questions in advance, so he really selected Zhang Zhou as the number one scholar, but he pretended to be confused in front of the examiner.

(End of this chapter)