Goose Three Kingdoms

Chapter 587 History Compilation Progress
Shanglinyuan is a manor near Duling in the southeast.

One morning, Zong Yu and his friends were clearing the snow in the park.

The suddenly closed door was pushed open slowly by seven or eight armored soldiers.

When everyone was at a loss as to what to do, they saw Pan Jun, who had been transferred to the school, dismounting in front of the gate, and outside the gate, the road was filled with armored soldiers sweeping the snow.

Guanzhong was already the hinterland, and the heavy armor was sealed up. The soldiers on duty and patrolling in various places were only issued leather armor or sleeveless double-crotch armor to reduce the weight of their duty.

The old heavy armor, including the fine ones, had been transferred to the field army's special arsenal for storage; the heavy armor left in various places was mostly hastily repaired before the battle, and now it was gradually dismantled, the inferior armor plates were eliminated, and light armor was re-woven.

The three centurions guarding the manor are of this nature. Only one in ten heavy armors remain in their internal arsenals, and they now use light armor during training, drills, and duty.

Almost as soon as Pan Jun arrived, the more powerful Black Bear arrived with dozens of riders.

In the manor's library, Wang Xiu presented the newly copied manuscript.

He had an ample supply of paper, but even so, the draft in front of Black Bear looked like two layers of red bricks.

The fonts of books printed in later generations are smaller and denser, and if thinner paper is used, more text can be carried.

This is a transcribed draft. Hei Xiong estimates that the total number of words is not as much as a complete version of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

He picked up the catalog and looked through it. He saw seventy-six volumes, including the Emperor's Lineage, Imperial Concubines, Officials, Celebrities, Counties and Kingdoms, Localities, Various Hu People, Barbarians, Western Regions, Five Elements, Food and Goods, Gods and Immortals, Knights-Errant, Evil Ministers, Bandits, Famous Women, Filial Sons, and Anecdotes.

"Is there a duplicate?"

"There are two copies. One is stored in the library and is constantly verified and revised. The other is stored in the basement."

Wang Can still had a thin face and no flesh on his cheeks, and said calmly: "The manuscript your Majesty has read is not as new as the one in the pavilion."

Black Bear followed the catalog and pulled out nine volumes of local chronicles. He flipped through them at random and said, "Local chronicles are written separately. They analyze and identify the local tyrants and record their tyrannical and violent deeds."

Wang Can agreed with a smile. He didn't need paper or pen to take notes. His super memory played a key role in the draft being completed so quickly.

Black Bear flipped through the various strategies on the Hu, Manyi, and Western Regions, and said, "It's not detailed enough. There are officials who have been convicted among the slaves in various places. I will give you a handwritten order later. Send someone to pick out some of the convicted officials who are proficient in border affairs and have them come here for consultation. They can also do some cleaning and copying work. They will cherish this job opportunity."

"As for the chapters on Shanyue and Nanman, you can go to Chang'an University and consult with scholars from Jiaozhou and Nanzhong. You are still a little short of manpower here. I will not send troops next year, so you can increase the manpower. But as before, you are allowed to come in but not go out. Letters sent out need to be checked."

Black Bear flipped through the book of evil ministers again and couldn't help but smile: "It's still a little inadequate. The chaotic times have not yet subsided, so we can search carefully. In addition, the royal family is divided into two volumes. We can record the wise kings and princes, and don't miss the royal family's chaotic and immoral deeds. Divide it into two volumes."

Finally, he picked up the imperial genealogy and carefully read the records of Emperors Huan and Ling, saying, "Emperor Huan's suppression of the Qiang rebellion should be emphasized. Emperor Ling's implementation of the Party Ban was arbitrary, but it should also be noted that many of the party banners and their disciples and children became evil officials after the ban was lifted."

Putting the draft back in his hand, Black Bear looked at Wang Can and said, "I won't bother about the details, but the big picture cannot be neglected. Since you are concentrating on compiling history, you should look at things from the national level. Everything has both positive and negative sides. The reason why I don't like Confucianism is that it only cares about its own beauty and doesn't talk about its own shortcomings."

The smile on Wang Can's face disappeared: "Yes, I will strive for fairness."

"Don't worry about the opinions of people of your time. If this book of the Later Han Dynasty is well-edited, it will guide the opinions of future generations. If you are under a lot of pressure, you can omit the name of the compiler when the book is completed."

"Your Majesty, you worry too much. I still have some responsibilities."

Wang Can asked, "After your Majesty has read it carefully, when will you let Mr. Cai study it?"

"No hurry, wait until I finish reading and annotating, and you guys make some edits here, then I'll let her read it."

Black Bear stood up and went to the charcoal brazier to warm himself. "I was disappointed by Lu Cui's behavior during this expedition to You and Ji. I have already dismissed several people as a warning to Cai Xue. Without learning the character of Mr. Cai, these unqualified people will only ruin the future of Cai Xue."

Wang Can was surprised. He was not informed of the situation here, so he asked, "What did Lu Cui do to deserve such anger from His Majesty?"

"It's nothing. Since I started leading the army, he is the first famous general to kill an entire battalion of my soldiers."

Black Bear couldn't help but smile and briefly described Lu Cui's behavior. Wang Can was also stunned, and instinctively felt that Lu Cui had just gone a little too far, but his reasons were justified.

Ordinary officers and soldiers are still okay, but as for the rebel backbones such as the surrendered military officers and squad leaders... If Lu Cui is not killed, they will have no future at all, and keeping them will also be a hidden danger.

Even ordinary officials can be replenished and replaced at any time.

Ke Lu Cui is very rare. He is one of the few disciples of Cai Yong who are still alive and has unique symbolism.

Wang Can did not express any opinion. Lu Cui was dead, but he was not imprisoned. There was no need to argue over a worthless dead person.

Later, the two of them had dinner together.

Wang Can mainly talked about some interesting stories about the predecessors that he discovered during the process of compiling history, and Hei Xiong also described the general course of this campaign.

After listening to this, Wang Can calmed down and said, "Your Majesty has conquered all the barbarians, and your achievements are greater than those of Emperor Wu. Your merits and virtues to the Chinese people are immeasurable. In my opinion, you should be promoted to a higher position."

Seeing that Black Bear was silent, Wang Can said, "This battle was fought around Zhuolu, and Your Majesty rebuilt and worshipped the Yellow Emperor. Although this battle was dangerous, it was a complete victory, which shows that the Yellow Emperor favored us. Han is the virtue of fire, and the Hu people are mostly the virtue of water. Since Your Majesty came to power, you have always defeated the Hu people, which shows that you are truly a king with the virtue of earth."

"Sir, you are joking again. My name is Black Bear, and my feet are eight waters. How can I be the Lord of Earth Virtue?"

"In my opinion, the emperor's name means that he has a foothold in all directions. Since ancient times, the emperor's name is the most in line with the ruler's wishes."

Wang Can smiled as he spoke: "We all know that your majesty used this taboo name to overthrow the old Yanhan Dynasty, eliminate the old diseases, and establish a new dynasty. Remove the eight dots, and your majesty's upper taboo name is the shape of wearing a helmet; and this lower taboo name is the shape of wearing armor."

"Sir, you are right. It seems that the work of compiling history is still leisurely."

Black Bear took a sip from the wine glass, exhaled a long breath and restrained his smile: "I'll have to trouble you to take care of the history. I can kill the visible thieves. And in the future, I will have to rely on you to kill the invisible thieves."

"I dare not disappoint your Majesty's trust."

Wang Can also restrained his smile. He was just making fun of the black bear's name.

Even if Hei Xiong's surname was really Zi and his family name was Hei, how could his parents or teachers give him such a name?

This is a fake name at first glance. The more outstanding his achievements are now, the more it proves that Black Bear has an extraordinary origin.

Before leaving, Black Bear ordered the soldiers accompanying him to install the pig iron boiler they brought here.

The chimney is made of wrought iron sheets by hot forging. Although it is heavy, the cast iron boiler assembled from various parts can keep the heat of the fuel indoors as much as possible.

I'm really worried that dozens of these guys will be killed by carbon monoxide from the charcoal stove.

It is too expensive to burn fireplaces for heating in winter. Fire walls can conduct heat to increase the heating range, but the efficiency is not as high as imagined. The heat of charcoal braziers and fire pits is limited, and doors and windows must be opened to maintain air circulation.

Don't expect a group of people who are constantly exposed to carbon monoxide and feel dizzy and headache all the time to work efficiently throughout the winter.

In fact, their charcoal braziers were only used to boil water. When they worked indoors, they would wear cloaks and sit on the kang to write.

Whenever you use a charcoal fire pit, you have to exhaust the smoke, so it is normal for the efficiency to be low.

He had noticed this before. The core office areas of the new shogunate all used large floor-heated kangs for heating.

There are also fewer charcoal braziers and fire pits in the room. There are either fireplaces, stoves, or small cast iron stoves.

The current pig iron production is enough to allocate a portion of it to the manufacture of daily necessities.

(End of this chapter)