Hundreds of households in Liaodong, covering the light with one hand

Chapter 168 On the eve of returning to Beijing
  Snapped!
  In the teahouse in the capital, the storyteller clapped his hands, saliva splashed everywhere, his eyes scanned everyone around, and his tone was long:

"In an instant, there were thunderstorms above the palace, sand and stones flying outside the palace, and the entire palace was filled with murderous aura and despair. When Taishi Liu saw the saint was about to leave, he immediately rose up from the ground and flew directly to the bronze crane used to protect the immortals in the hall. In ancient times, there was a Gonggong who hit Buzhou Mountain with his head, and during that time, Taishi Liu snatched a crane with his head and shed blood on the spot! In that scene, he really sacrificed his body to the country and filled the rivers with his blood."

There were people in the audience serving tea and drinking water, eating melon seeds all over the place, and there were also people who were listening to the cat in the corridor. The teahouse was crowded with people.

"Next time, the Duke returns to the capital to fight against the Grand Master, and then travels to southern Xinjiang completely defeated."

"To predict what will happen next, please listen to the explanation next time."

After the storyteller finished speaking, he took a step back and the audience bowed.

"What's going on here? Dog eunuch!"

"Don't stop, let's have another plate of melon seeds!"

"Good job, reward!"

"another one!"

There were applause, cheers, and curses from the audience, all wanting to hear another plate of melon seeds.

"This storyteller is so bold that even the imperial officials dared to make random arrangements." On the second floor of the teahouse, where there is a special seat for VIPs, two men who looked like scholars were sitting opposite each other drinking tea.

Nowadays, the competition between various forces in the imperial court has made people inside and outside the capital, whether they are officials or not, interested in talking about family and state affairs.

"I heard that Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou and others have submitted a confession to the emperor. They have also confessed to Wang Qi, Duke of Lang Kingdom. They will be released from prison in a few days." The man in the brocade robe held a handful of crispy peanuts in his hand. Licking each piece into his mouth, he made a crunching sound while speaking: "What the palace means is that the Donglin faction in the court has all been reprimanded. Most of them, including ministers, ministers, and censors, have gone to Nanjing to take up idle posts, and the rest have sent Go to Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong, Guangxi, Qiongzhou and other places."

"After this battle, there is no longer the name Donglin in the court. Why bother?" The companions nodded with deep sympathy: "Fortunately, we did not participate in the team that denounced Duke Lang. Otherwise, the list going south will definitely include you and me."

"There is one more thing," the man in brocade robes slightly moved his eyes, looked around, and then said softly: "It is rumored that the prince is also involved in this court struggle. His Majesty seems to be very dissatisfied with this and has already issued three orders. The decree is to allow King Xin to leave the capital and join the feudal clan within a month!"

"The mansion and the vassal territory in Huzhou haven't been built yet, right?" The companion exclaimed with confusion.

"So what? Let's leave the capital first! An idle prince is so bold as to participate in the struggle of the court, and he is also the opposite of the saint. If it were any other saint who were in power, he would be imprisoned for life. Your Majesty just asked him to step up. As for the vassal, we already care about the deep brotherhood!" The man in the brocade robe chuckled, picked up the tea cup, poured it into his mouth, and finally smacked it, as if savoring the lingering fragrance.

"After this battle, two generals, Han Xu and Liu Yijing, were lost. Tsk, tsk, tsk, do you think the Donglin faction will just admit defeat?"

The man in brocade robes glanced at his companion and chuckled: "As long as Wang Qi is in the capital for one day, don't think about turning over for three to five years!"

Snapped! ! !
  The storyteller is holding a wooden table in his hands.

"The book continues from the last chapter. The Duke of the country has immeasurable magical powers, but Taishi Liu is unable to mend the sky!" In an instant, the whole hall burst into applause and cheers.

The two officials at the VIP table also turned to look at it with interest: "It's quite interesting."

----

When the chaos in the capital gradually subsided, Wang Qi, who was far away in Jizhou Prefecture, was ready to wrap up and return to the capital.

In the reconstruction of Jizhou Prefecture after the war and the resettlement of refugees from Liaodong, Wang Qi and Xu Guangqi gradually put things on the right track.

Some of the more than 30,000 refugees from Liaodong stayed in Gyeonggi and worked for relief, setting aside a territory to specifically resettle people from Liaodong.

The other part went north and returned to Liaodong. After Hou Jin retreated, a large amount of land and uninhabited wasteland was left vacant in Liaodong, which was enough for the people of Liaodong to make a living. At the same time, the court also promulgated regulations to exempt Liaodong from taxes for three years north of Shanhaiguan. , including land, grain tax, commercial tax, head tax and some corvee.

At the same time, Shandong Governor Wang Huazhen also reported to the court that Denglai Mansion has opened trade channels with North Korea and Japan. In the future, Denglai and Liaonan will become the center of trade in Northeast Asia and will attract more people and businessmen. To promote the recovery of agriculture and commerce in Liaodong.

"It's time to go back to Beijing." Wang Qi had nothing to do today, so he and Xu Guangqi sat and drank two glasses of wine.

"In more than a month, Jizhou Mansion has gradually settled down, but the court has been turned upside down." Xu Guangqi stroked his gray beard: "Especially regarding the accusations made by Duke Lang, I feel that Yang Lian and others will not It's better to let it go. After all, Han Xu died in Jizhou Mansion, but Liu Yijing was actually killed in the main hall. Now there are rumors and rumors in the capital. If Lang Guogong returns to the capital, he should be careful. superior."

"Thank you, Mr. Xuanhu, for reminding me." Wang Qi nodded, changed the subject, and returned to firearms: "First of all, a few days ago, we mentioned the fire blunderbuss. With our craftsmanship, can it be improved on a large scale?"

"After returning to Beijing, I will mobilize craftsmen to improve the forging method and experiment again. After all, the molds created by the current cast iron process have too many impurities and are prone to cracks. In addition, the smoothness also requires a lot of manpower to be polished by hand. , it will take a while.”

In these days in Jizhou Prefecture, Wang Qi and Xu Guangqi have become both teachers and friends. Both of them are very interested in new firearms and agricultural improvements.

Xu Guangqi had knowledge, but no funds, and no one to support him. Everyone in the court was busy fighting with the party, collecting money, and marrying his concubine. Xu Guangqi's reform memorials were almost always forgotten in the corner. Emperor Tianqi asked After a few sentences, I heard that it may take several years or even decades to experiment and develop, and I immediately lost interest and had nothing to say.

The arrival of Wang Qi can provide him with manpower and financial help.

The trade between the seven Shanxi merchants and Horqin, and Wang Huazhen's contacts with Korea and Japan in Jiaodong, all brought Wang Qi a steady stream of money and profits. Wang Qi didn't need this money. What he wanted was bright. The industrial pearl will one day appear on the land of the Han people.

The two hit it off.

"We will set off back to Beijing tomorrow. By then, it will all depend on sir!" Wang Qi picked up the tea cup and said respectfully to Xu Guangqi.

"Don't worry, Duke Lang. I don't dare to boast about anything else. But I have done some research on metallurgy and agriculture. If you give me some time, we can also build a French cannon!"

(End of this chapter)