All Heavens and Worlds Modified History System

Chapter 35: Drifting~~~
The Ming Dynasty also had a Spring Festival Gala, but it was not held on New Year’s Eve, but on the Lantern Festival.

On this evening, a grand lantern party will be held in the palace, with countless lanterns lit up, illuminating the entire palace.

As the saying goes, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the time for lantern shows. There are many beautifully shaped lanterns in the palace, which look like old turtles from a distance, and are called the Aoshan Lantern Festival.

On that night, people in the capital could come to the Meridian Gate to watch the lanterns and watch the firecrackers in the palace for free.

The fireworks technology of the Ming Dynasty was already very mature. Not only were there many varieties, but the light and shadow effects were also excellent.

"This is a rack of fireworks." Chen Ran, holding a candied haws in his hand, pointed to the wooden rack that was about ten feet high not far away with a smile on his face. "After it is lit, the fireworks will continue to be colorful and very beautiful."

As soon as he finished speaking, the fire was lit over there, and then fireworks of various colors crackled and shot up into the sky.

Endless fireworks burst out like thousands of flowers, shooting stars, and bright bullets burst out.

Like a dragon leaping, like a phoenix startled and soaring.

The roar spread throughout the heaven and earth, like thunder and lightning, and the ceiling was full of colors.

Such a dazzling sight of fireworks is so beautiful that people can’t take their eyes off it and their hearts are excited.

"It's so beautiful." Qiu Niang raised her head, her eyes moving with waves. "I have never seen such a beautiful scenery."

A suppressed laugh came from behind.

The voice was very familiar. Qiu Niang turned around and gave Xue Qing a grin.

Xue Qing, who was holding the candy man in her hand, hurriedly looked away.

It's not that I'm afraid, but I'm worried that I won't be able to help but expose the lady.

In the past, during the Lantern Festival, the one who liked to set off firecrackers the most was the young lady. She had set off all kinds of fireworks in the mansion.

Now she says she has never seen it before. The lady has really changed.

Chen Ran had no idea of ​​the little girl's little thoughts. He actually thought that the young lady of the Duke's Mansion had never even seen fireworks.

He immediately showed off his limited knowledge of fireworks and firecrackers and commented on the beautiful scenery around him.

"This is called the Golden Cup and Silver Stage. Look at the golden and white fireworks echoing each other."

"Wow, look at this thing that's flying up into the sky. It's called White Peony. Doesn't it look like a peony flower after it explodes?"

"You should have seen this before, fireworks and silver flowers."

"Look over there, dozens of rounds are fired at once, that's called a wasp leaving its nest. In fact, there are similar things in the military."

While they were talking and laughing, suddenly a firework mouse came spinning and spewing flames and flew towards them close to the ground. Frightened Qiu Niang so much that she screamed and hid in Chen Ran's arms.

'This smell is really nice. There was no perfume in the Ming Dynasty, right? Oh, is it a sachet or body fragrance?'

Chen Ran, holding the beauty in his arms, subconsciously tightened his arms, lowered his head to look at her cloud-like hair, and took a deep breath.

It was visible to the naked eye that the entire area from the ear tip to the ear lobe was red.

"Nothing." Chen Ran came to his senses and quickly let go of the girl.

This is not a girl in the box who can get her socks kicked up for a few hundred bucks, this is a real lady from a noble family.

Being able to leave the servants and the nanny behind in the chaos, take off the veil and wear only a face scarf to watch the Aoshan Lantern Festival by herself was already a huge pressure.

His eyes dropped down and met the girl who was looking at him.

Their eyes met, and for a moment silence was more powerful than words.

As for Xue Qing, who was still licking the candy man on the side, she had long been ignored.

After a long while, when a deafening noise was heard not far away, the two of them looked away.

Chen Ran subconsciously handed over the candied haws in his hand. "Would you like some?"

Looking at the half-eaten candied haws left in front of her, Qiu Niang reached out to take it, lifted her face towel and took a light bite.

In the space between Sumeru, the noisy sound from the other side had already reached his side.

Surrounded by the crowd was a wooden animal cart, about ten feet high and shaped like an elephant.

The wheels were rolling, and huge clouds of fireworks were spewing out of their mouths and noses. The smoke and flames covered the sky and the moon was not bright.

The people around were in a trance, cheering and shouting, running around.

As expected, in order to avoid the crowd, Qiu Niang threw herself into Chen Ran's arms again.

This time it was much more natural, and she even took the initiative to wrap her arms around his strong waist.

If your waist is healthy, everything will be good.

There were so many people in the crowd that Chen Ran had to protect the girl in his arms and retreat step by step, finally retreating into an alley.

Under the flickering fireworks, Qiu Niang's face towel was taken off, and the scorching breath hit her face.
When Xue Qing came anxiously after being reminded by Chen Ran's personal soldiers, she saw that her young lady's pretty face was so red that it seemed as if blood was dripping out. She half turned around and put on the face veil again.

Chen Ran stood at the entrance of the alley, looking at the cheerful crowd in front of him.

"This is the Ming Dynasty that I should save!"

After the New Year, government offices across the court began to resume work.

Chen Ran also started moving towards Dongjiang Town.

First, Zhu Laitong led 3,000 elite soldiers and horses to Tianjin as an advance team, and then took a boat to the sea to Lushun.

Liu Youfu then arranged for the female camp, civilians, craftsmen and various supplies to set off in batches to Tianjin Wei and go out to sea.

He did not choose to go to various islands, but directly set up his headquarters in Lushun.

He was not afraid at all because the Jiannu had attacked Lushun several times in the past.

On this day, Chen Ran sent off another batch of personnel and supplies outside the city.

When he returned to the city government, Cao Huachun's godson Cao Deming had been waiting for a long time.

"Sir."

This man was actually quite sturdy and strong, and didn't look like a eunuch at all. But when he spoke, the flattery and smile he had cultivated in the palace made it difficult for people to feel bad. "The food and military supplies allocated by the court to Dongjiang Town have been finalized."

"Sit down." He extended his hand to indicate that he was sitting down, and Chen Ran immediately asked, "How many are there?"

"The number of troops set for the various departments of Dongjiang Town is 42,000 and the number of horses is 14,000. After the emperor discussed with several ministers, he decided to make up for the arrears of wages for the past two years."

"The total is 621,891 ounces of silver. 374,700 dan of grain. 36,416 pieces of cloth. Salt."

Cao Deming has a good memory and remembers the amounts of various materials exactly.

"It's okay." Chen Ran relaxed his brows. Having something is better than nothing.

At this moment, two lines of subtitles floated before his eyes.

'The changes have been made, and the rewards are now being distributed.'

'Note: The salary is 600 taels of silver and 1,044 shi of grain.'

"Such a familiar number." Chen Ran raised his eyebrows slightly. "Eunuch Cao, when the quota was determined, did Elder Wen speak for me?"

"Your Excellency is indeed a famous general, with a keen eye for detail." Cao Demeng gave him a thumbs up. "Lord Wen, like Lord Zhou and Lord Xu, is fighting hard for our Dongjiang Town."

Got it, I got a bootlicker.

Compared with Chen Ran's current needs, Wen Tiren's annual income from money and salary was naturally a drop in the bucket.

However, what is important is not the annual salary, but the fact that this person holds the position of cabinet elder and is good at guessing the emperor's thoughts, and will be an important help.

Chen Ran just smiled when Cao Demeng lowered his voice and gave him a critical blow, "Sir, when you get these money and grain, you have to give them a 30% discount."

"What do you mean?" Chen Ran, who was sitting on the chair, narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at him, "Who dares to rob me?"

"Sir." Cao Demeng was not afraid at all, and explained carefully, "This is the rule. Before leaving the capital, you must float 30%."

"Did it float~~~"

The sound coming from the throat was a little chilly.

After a moment, Cao Demeng could not bear it any longer. "My Lord, from the palace to the court, the royal family and nobles, everyone has to be taken care of. This rule cannot be violated, otherwise everyone will be offended."

Chen Ran's eyes were bloodshot, he squeezed his fingers hard, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "I know."

"Sir." Cao Demeng could only sigh upon seeing this, and then continued to bow and said, "When you get to the local area, you will still have to float away 30%."

"Hey~~~ You laughed because I was mad." Chen Ran really laughed, because he was mad.

The money has been in arrears for many years, and it is rare to pay it out. Before it leaves the capital, it is first discounted by 30%, and then circulated to the local authorities before being reduced to 30%.

The remaining money will be taken by the army, and generals at all levels will have to get their hands on it.

No wonder the Ming army was so poorly equipped, hungry, and had little training.

Under such circumstances, the Ming army was still able to obey the imperial court's orders and rush to the front line to fight.

Apart from anything else, at least he was able to fire a shot and shoot three arrows in the battle, which was already worthy of Emperor Zhu Ming.

"Did you drift away? I drifted you all away!"

"Kill you all~~~"

Ever since Cao Deming came, Chen Ran has had a stern face, as if everyone owed him tens of thousands of taels of silver.

Even Xueqing, the maid who came to deliver a letter, was so frightened that she didn't dare to stay any longer.

The imperial court had already decided that February 27th, the third year of Chongzhen, would be the day to worship the God of Agriculture and perform farming ceremonies.

In other words, spring ploughing is about to begin.

Although it is cold in the north and the holiday can be postponed for some time, Chen Ran can't wait any longer.

This capital city made him feel very depressed. There was always a kind of violent emotion surging in his mind, wanting to kill everyone and be the last one to die.

Fortunately, the British prince finally set a wedding date.

As luck would have it, it was also scheduled for February 27th, which was the most auspicious day in the next two months.

They proposed before the New Year and got married after the New Year.

At this speed, rumors will naturally spread.

There are even rumors that the young lady of the Duke of England's mansion is already pregnant, and that's why she can't wait to get married.

The servants of the Duke of England's mansion caught a few people who spread rumors, dragged them to the downtown area and beat them to a pulp. Then all the rumors disappeared without a trace.

Since the wedding date was set, Liu Youfu started writing invitations with his desk.

"That's all?" Chen Ran saw that there were only a few dozen invitations, pressed his shoulder and turned back to the table, "Too few."

"Sir, they are all families that are on good terms with our family, and there are also the nobles in the capital, and we are of the same blood. As for the others, we have no friendship with them."

"Please come over and have a drink together, and we'll become friends." Putting the brush into Liu Youfu's hand, Chen Ran personally helped him grind the ink. "In this capital, anyone who is well-known and has assets that can be called wealthy will be invited."

"Your Excellency doesn't know." Liu Youfu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "If we don't have any friendship, they won't come even if we send them an invitation."

"It doesn't matter if you don't come, as long as the money is paid."

"Write! Deliver to every wealthy household in the capital!"

Liu Youfu had no hope for this, but he had to write invitations overnight and arrange for people to deliver them to the wealthy homes in the city one by one.

Since Emperor Chengzu moved the capital, the capital has been the most prosperous place in the Ming Dynasty with the most wealthy people.

Hundreds and thousands of invitations were sent out, and they spread throughout the capital city almost instantly.

Everyone is laughing at Chen Ran for overestimating his own abilities. Why should others give you this face?

But in the following days, every wealthy family in the city actually sent him money as a gift!

PS: Thank you to book friend 20211213142023883 for the 1500-point reward support. I am very grateful. Thank you!
Thanks to the book friend Qiong Zhu for the 800-point reward support, I am very grateful, thank you!
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(End of this chapter)