I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 476 Hot Air Balloon over Nanyuan
Not far away, deep in the lake, five small boats were quietly hidden in the withered reeds.

There were about sixty or seventy people squatting on the boat, wearing tight clothes with black short-sleeved jackets on the outside, holding knives and guns, each of them looked very tough, with fierce looks on their faces.

The two people in the lead were lying on the bow of the front ship, biting reed roots in their mouths, and looking up at the bowl-sized balloon in the sky.

A man in his twenties asked curiously, "Brother Qiu, what is this?"

"A flying ball!"

Qiu Ge replied.

He was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with a scar on his face that extended to the corner of his left eye, causing his left eye to droop downward, making his appearance look even more ferocious.

He raised his head and continued to look at the balloon, feeling slightly uneasy, "San Dezi, have you contacted the host family?"

San Dezi is the man in his twenties. He is very handsome, but his face is a little dark, otherwise people would believe that he is the young master of some wealthy family.

He glanced at Brother Qiu, and looking at that face, he felt a little scared.

It is said that Qiu Ge used to be a frontier soldier. He killed someone for some reason and fled to various places. It is unknown when he was recruited by Zhu Linhu, the Prince of Shou'an in Jingfan, Qizhou.

Zhu Linhu is a core member of the Zongshe Party. For this operation, the Zongshe Party provided money and manpower, so Brother Qiu was sent.

Sandezi himself was a fugitive slave.

However, the Ming Dynasty did not allow the buying and selling of slaves, so he was sold to a human trafficker by his biological parents when he was seven or eight years old. The human trafficker took him to a wealthy family in Changzhou, and according to the rules, he worshipped the male head of the family as his father and the female head as his mother.

Who would have thought that when I was fourteen or fifteen years old, my father was lusting after my body, and even my middle-aged mother was lusting after my body. It was really disgusting.

Sandezi simply took some of his master's money and wandered around the world.

He learned some real skills from the two strange men, and then by chance he was recruited by Zhu Heluo, the Prince of Yanning County of Lu Fan in Yanzhou. But after entering the Prince of Yanning's mansion, there were still people who coveted his body.

What a world!

San Dezi replied, "We have made contact. We are the left team, you are the captain and I am the deputy. We will follow your orders later."

Brother Qiu nodded.

San Dezi continued to look at the balloon and couldn't help asking, "Brother Qiu, how did this thing float up?"

Qiu Ge's face was also a little dark. After holding it in for a while, his face became even darker. He replied in a buzzing voice, "I blew it up."

Someone behind pulled Sandezi's trouser leg.

He turned around and saw a team member looking at him with a flattering smile.

"what's up?"

"Brothers, what are we doing here? Hunting ducks?"

Before San Dezi could reply, another member of the team said, "The princes and royal family members like to play these games. Under the guise of hunting, we hunt the prey while they hide aside to drink and bring prostitutes with them, having fun, sitting on the ground and having fun. They are quite unrestrained and free."

A team member nearby immediately asked, "This brother has a lot of experience."

"No problem, no problem. We've changed four or five households, all trying to make a living."

"Brother, can you elaborate on what you just said about sitting on the ground and looking up at the sky?"

Hearing the topic go off track, Sandezi frowned and shouted, "What are you doing? Come to the teahouse to chat? We are doing business. If you delay, not only will you not get any reward money, but you will also have to eat. Is this the least you can do?"

The team members on the boat were silent.

Sandezi turned around and looked at Brother Qiu.

As the confidants of the master and the leaders of this team, they have some idea of ​​what they are doing in Nanyuan.

Such a big thing might lead to the extermination of all nine clans!

Just give this little money!
Sandezi and Qiuge, who were full of thoughts, couldn't help but look up at the balloon rising high.

"Brother Qiu, I always feel that this ball is like an eye, staring at us all the time."

"What nonsense! It's so big and we are so small. It's in the light and we are in the dark. We can see it, but how can it see us?
Yes, it does look like an eyeball, but it is just a blind eyeball."

In a distant building, the core members of the Zongshe Party, Prince Shou'an Zhu Linhu and Prince Yanning Zhu Heluo, hurried into a house and reported to the three giants of the Zongshe Party who were in charge of the command there: Prince Baoding Zhu Yuntan of Shen, Prince Longde Zhu Jingrong of Qin, and Zhu Shenjing of Jin.

"Three brothers, everything is ready."

"Six hundred assassins are lying in ambush everywhere, surrounding the area, waiting for my brother's order to move immediately."

"The man in Xiyuan is still obsessed with that flying balloon. He is just a gimmicky guy, not a righteous man! How can such a man be a ruler?"

"Haha, brothers, you know what, if it weren't for his curiosity and tricks, how could we have seized such a good opportunity."

"Brothers, we have all inquired about him. He has 20 to 30 military students in plain clothes, as well as 20 to 30 weak scholars and craftsmen.

We have a sure win!"

"Brothers, I have asked around, and everything in the city is normal. The Beijing Garrison, the Imperial Guards, and the Five Cities Patrol Office were all unaware of what was happening. Haha, they only realized it after we had accomplished our great deed."

Several key members reported to the Big Three proudly.

Hearing this exciting good news, not only the three giants were excited, but the backbones of the Zongshe Party sitting around were also extremely excited, as if they saw the near future when everyone would succeed and be rewarded by the emperor in the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Jingrong was the calmest. He glanced at everyone and said loudly, "This is a critical moment. We must not be careless. If we are careless, all our efforts will be wasted and we will be doomed!"

After hearing his words, everyone quieted down and turned to look at him. Seeing everyone obeying his orders, Zhu Jingrong couldn't help but feel proud. He continued, "It's just the last step. Fellow clan members, we must keep calm. Now everyone return to their posts, do their duties, and wait for orders!"

"Okay!" More than twenty core members of the Zongshe Party responded in unison and left one after another.

Zhu Yuntan turned around and asked, "Second brother, what should we do next?"

They cut off chicken heads and burned yellow paper to become sworn brothers, so they called each other that.

Zhu Jingrong replied: "Brother, let's follow the plan. You continue to command and coordinate the overall situation. The third brother and I will meet that person under the pretext of a chance encounter to paralyze and restrain him.

When the time comes, you can start the rebellion immediately, and we can also cooperate with you from inside and outside!"

"Okay! I'll leave this important matter to you two brothers!"

The three men looked generous, as if they were filled with righteousness. After saying goodbye to each other, Zhu Yuntan looked at the backs of Zhu Jingrong and Zhu Shenjing with a flickering eye. After the two men went away, he waved his hand and called his confidants.

"Is the ship and luggage ready?"

"Your Highness, everything is ready. Two sets of civilian clothes, which I bought specially at the clothing store. Once Your Highness puts them on, I guarantee that no one will be able to recognize you."

"Have you figured out the way out of Beijing?"

"Your Highness, I have figured it out. We will be able to leave the capital without anyone noticing."

Zhu Yuntan shook his head and said, "As the Art of War says, you must first be invincible before you can win. Let them do whatever they want first, and we will act according to the situation."

"Your Highness is very wise!" the confidant flattered him hurriedly.

Zhu Yuntan chuckled complacently.

Zhu Jingrong and Zhu Shenjing got on the boat. They looked around and saw that there were no outsiders on the boat, so they started talking in low voices.

"Third brother, are you ready?"

"Don't worry, second brother. We are ready. When this is accomplished, it will be the day when eldest brother ascends to heaven. The credit will naturally go to second brother."

Zhu Jingrong smiled lightly: "The second best is you, the third brother. We brothers will share the wealth and honor!"

"Thank you, second brother! We have made preparations for both scenarios. If this fails, eldest brother is the mastermind and we were just deceived and coerced.

I heard he even had a way to escape.”

"Haha, leave a way out!" Zhu Jingrong sneered, "A chicken feather's way out!"

The hot air balloon launch test was very successful. Zhu Yijun enthusiastically said to the members of the Imperial Astronomical Observatory's astronomical balloon team: "This is a great feat!
Since ancient times, we have always dreamed of flying freely like birds. In the Former Qin Dynasty, Lu Ban made a kite to carry people into the sky. In the Chenghua period of this dynasty, Wanhu made a flying bird rocket to the Guanghan Palace and sacrificed his life.

Many wise and ambitious people have fought for the dream of flying, and now you have actually risen to 516 meters in the air!
This is an unprecedented, world-shattering feat. From now on, the people of the Ming Dynasty will not only conquer the sea, mountains, grasslands, snowy areas, and deserts, but also the sky.

The great Ming Dynasty will be as glorious as the sun and the moon, and it will also begin with you!"

After hearing the Crown Prince's inspiring and encouraging words, everyone's eyes were filled with tears.

Some of these people were humble craftsmen, and some were scholars who loved "the study of the science of things" but were denounced by the world as not doing their jobs properly. They were despised and reviled in the past, but today they received enthusiastic praise from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and felt that all the contempt and criticism they had suffered before had disappeared and were not worth mentioning.

It's worth it. All the effort and hard work are worth it.

For these "heretics" in today's mainstream society, gaining recognition is the most gratifying thing.

"Alright, I've asked someone to prepare some wine and food. Let's celebrate this unprecedented feat with this big ball and a nice drink in this beautiful Nanyuan, under the bright and sunny sky!"

"Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

Everyone shouted in unison.

The balloon floated in the air for half an hour, then came down, replenished its supplies, and was carefully checked. Then, three new people were replaced and the test was continued.

Li Xuan, Chen Chengcheng and Chen Chengde wanted to go up and have a look, but were stopped.

This kind of experiment is not a joke. If you fail, you may become a scientific pioneer or a martyr.

They had no choice but to help out below, looking up from time to time, talking and imagining how beautiful the scenery above was.

Zhu Yijun and Zhu Youfu sat in a makeshift pavilion, drinking hot tea and chatting together.

"I have given many opportunities to the clansmen of the various vassal states. Recruiting officials is only one of them. They can also enter a training institute for free without taking an exam, learn a skill, and support their families. Why are they so focused on recruiting officials?"

The training institutes of the six ministries and temples were upgraded to colleges, but the "privately-run" training institutes held by major trading companies and factories still existed. They were merged according to subjects and regions under the coordination of the Shaofujian, Taifu Temple, Taipu Temple and Taichang Temple.

In principle, they followed the trading companies and factories. For example, in Beijing and Shanghai, where there were many trading companies, banks, and insurance agencies, there were many business, accounting, and mathematics training institutes.

There are many smelting and mining training institutes in Luanzhou and Taiyuan, where there are relatively many steel smelting, coal and iron mines.

There are textile institutes in Shanghai, Suzhou and Nanjing, and shipbuilding and navigation institutes in Shanghai, Dagu, Ningbo and Guangzhou. According to statistics from the Taichang Temple, there are now nine colleges in the Ming Dynasty, six in the capital, two in Nanjing and one in Shanghai.

There are forty-three training schools located in Beijing, Luanzhou, Taiyuan, Dagu, Nanjing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Quanzhou, Guangzhou and Wuchang.

Zhu Yijun continued: "The court has allocated a large sum of money to these training schools to expand the recruitment of clan members from various vassal states. The original plan was to have 43 training schools and recruit 21,000 clan members.

If clan members sign up enthusiastically, the court can add seven more training schools and recruit another 3,500 people.

The result! The first batch of applicants was only 1,100 people. After the civil servant recruitment examination, many clan members failed, so more people turned to apply for the training institute, but only 4,270 people.

I gave them a chance, but they didn't cherish it!"

(End of this chapter)