The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 454 Daphne's Breakfast
On the morning of the fifth day of the first lunar month in the second year of Wuding, the emperor of the Great Qi Dynasty left the imperial city of Dongdu and arrived in Zhaoyuan. In addition to all the imperial guards, the chief eunuch Dongfang Zhu of the Imperial Household Department, Li Sanguang, the vice minister of the Ministry of Works, Chen Xin, the magistrate of Wendeng County, and Lu Xiangsheng, the magistrate of Qiu County, all accompanied him for inspection.

Zhaoyuan is located in the northeast of Shandong Province, bordering Laizhou Bay of Bohai Sea to the northwest. The area is full of hills and gullies, and the arable land is extremely limited. It is a weak county under Dengzhou Prefecture (at that time, gold was not mined on a large scale, there were many mountains, and grain production was limited).

The Zhaoyuan County City, built during the Hongwu period, had a circumference of only two miles and a population of only 30,000. It was at the bottom of the list among all the prefectures and counties under the jurisdiction of Dengzhou Prefecture.

After Emperor Wu Ding ascended the throne, wars were frequent. To cope with the protracted conflict, the empire continued to increase its military strength. The mass production of firearms, armor, and swords led to a sharp increase in demand for iron ore. After the loss of the Korean iron mines, Zhaoyuan and Pingdu became important sources of iron ore for the Great Qi.

In addition, Zhaoyuan was also the main place of exile for prisoners from all over the country. In the past few months, thousands of criminals had been sent to the Zhaoyuan mines to become cheap miners. The local mine owners and tooth dealers were purged, and the original miners were also absorbed into the various units of the Guards.

The troops of the Great Qi were about to march out to aid the Liao. On the eve of the great war, the emperor chose Zhaoyuan as the first stop for his inspection, which showed how much he valued this small city.

"Your Majesty."

"Enter!"

Dongfang Zhu knocked gently on the carriage door, and after getting the emperor's permission, he cautiously poked half of his head in from outside. The eunuch was indifferent to the erotic scene in the carriage, and looked at Emperor Wu Ding with a flattering smile.

"It's only two miles to Wanghai Gate. The Zhaoyuan County Magistrate and his clerks have come out of the city to greet us. The garrison commander and the civil officials have also arrived."

Liu Zhaosun looked down at Daphne lying in his arms. The slender beauty was fiddling with her messy golden hair. She closed her lips tightly and looked at the tall and mighty Eastern Emperor in front of her with a smile. Maybe the car was going too fast and there were no shock absorbers installed, so she felt a little tired.

"Let them wait at Wanghai Gate first. I have something else to do."

"According to the order."

Dongfang Zhu agreed and was about to retract his head when he heard Emperor Wu Ding ask:
"I can't remember the name of the Zhaoyuan County Magistrate."

After pacifying Shandong, the chief officials of all prefectures and counties were replaced, a major reshuffle. Unfortunately, the number of civil officials was far from sufficient (they were also responsible for managing merchants and mines), so in the newly occupied areas, at least half of the chief officials were not from the Kaiyuan system, but were recommended and selected Jinshi.

In the early years of the Great Qi Dynasty, influenced by the land system and wartime economic policies, the selection and appointment of officials mainly depended on their background, while ability and conduct were secondary (but those with poor ability would be killed by the emperor in the first wave). Officials were mainly selected from Jinshi and Juren who came from poor families - of course, middle-class and wealthy families who voluntarily donated their property would also be accepted by the Great Qi Dynasty.

In short, Liu Zhaosun was not familiar with these officials, and could not even remember their names. These people were not from the emperor's direct line of descent, except for Chen Xin of Wendeng and Lu Xiangsheng of Qiu County.

After becoming the chief eunuch, Dongfang Zhu put a lot of effort into studying the officialdom in Shandong. He was a shrewd person and was particularly good at handling things. He knew the names and resumes of officials from all over the country by heart in case the emperor asked him any questions.
"Your Majesty, this man is Wen Shibao, also known by his courtesy name Jiazhi. He is from Nanchang, Jiangxi Province. He was a Jinshi in the 44th year of the Wanli reign, the same year as Magistrate Lu."

"I understand. Please ask Minister Li to come over later. I have something to ask him."

After sending Dongfang Zhu away, Emperor Wuding fell into deep thought. This trip to Zhaoyuan was full of complicated affairs and the itinerary was very tight. In addition to inspecting factories, mines and salt fields, he also had to discipline the Portuguese missionary who talked nonsense, his high priest, and let the young man understand what to say and what not to say.

"Your Majesty, do you think there are any differences between European women and Chinese women?"

The female assassin of the Brotherhood snuggled in the emperor's arms, speaking stiff, clumsy, plastic Chinese.

She has recently been learning Yiyang Opera and Kunqu Opera from Chen Yuanyuan, and learning Henan Shangqiu dialect from Yang Qing'er. The mixture of these accents sounds weird.

The emperor toured various prefectures and counties, traveling thousands of miles and feeling exhausted from the long journey. Worried that the Empress West and the Royal Concubine would not be able to handle the journey, he did not allow Yang Qing'er and Chen Yuanyuan to accompany him.

The day before leaving, Daphne asked the Queen and the Royal Concubine to intercede with the Emperor, allowing her to go on tour with the Emperor and take care of his daily life. Yang Qing'er and Chen Yuanyuan knew that this Portuguese woman would not pose a threat to their status no matter what, so they readily agreed to Daphne's request.

Along the way, the European beauty was very proactive. She had blonde hair, blue eyes, and was graceful and charming.

Her beauty is full of girlish innocence.

Once, when Daphne leaned over to pour tea for the emperor, Liu Zhaosun clearly saw a strand of black sweat hair on the exposed nape of her neck beneath her high-pile hair, extending along the cervical vertebrae all the way to her spine. This primitive wildness, only found in European women, instantly ignited the emperor's wild desire...
Later generations of romance novelists used this tour as a theme, creating masterpieces such as "Princess Haizhu," "The Secret Visit of Emperor Wuding," "Iron Teeth and Bronze Teeth Oriental Blessings," and "All the Way East," which readers have enthusiastically discussed and added to their favorites. But this is a later story, which I will not discuss for now.

Liu Zhaosun said casually:

"Whether it's a Celestial or European woman, after sleeping with her, she is indescribably wonderful."

This means that no matter east, west, south, north or center, everything is the same after turning off the lights.

"Your Majesty, why do you have to wait until bedtime?"

The emperor then noticed his disheveled appearance. Just as he was about to straighten it, the female assassins of the Brotherhood lunged at him again, causing the carriage to jolt and sway. Amidst the dizzying sway, Emperor Wu Ding began to wonder if Daphne's intense desire to survive was related to the exile of his fellow countryman, Francisco.

The high priest was convicted for his words, which made the female assassin who left her hometown deeply feel the cruelty of the Eastern power struggle.

"Your Majesty, can you please forgive him?"

"I...I pardon him."

~~~~~
The Minister of Works looked embarrassed.

He stood beside the emperor's carriage and waited for a full half hour, until the carriage stopped rocking and quieted down. Then Eunuch Dongfang came over and said,
"Master Li, please."

The emperor's robe looked a little disheveled. The red-haired woman beside him had a charming face. Li Sanguang didn't dare to look at her any longer. The emperor coughed twice and said something to make conversation:

"Minister Li, I heard that Zhaoyuan only has three city gates, and there is no West Gate. You are knowledgeable and experienced, could you tell me what is going on?"

There are only three city gates in Zhaoyuan County, namely, Guanquan Gate in the east, Tongxian Gate in the south and Wanghai Gate in the north.

Li Sanguang had traveled extensively with Xu Xiake in the past few years and was well versed in the local customs and techniques of various places. He was also familiar with the art of Feng Shui and replied immediately.

"Your Majesty, Zhaoyuan actually had four gates. In the 21st year of the Jiajing reign, another gate was opened in the southeast direction, named Yunlu Gate, to facilitate the entry and exit of the people."

"Oh?" Daphne reached out to pull at the dragon robe, but the emperor pushed her away, signaling her not to make trouble.

"According to the county dragon, it turns left, and Dui Geng enters the head. Geomancers believe that the vein is urgent and carries evil, so it is necessary to ward off evil. Therefore, when the city was first built, there was no west gate."

In Feng Shui, "dragon" refers to mountain ranges. The saying "County dragon turns left, Dui Geng enters the head" probably means that the mountain range coming from the west is too steep and directly faces the city.

"If the west gate is opened, the exit from the city will face the mountain, which is a taboo in feng shui. Therefore, Zhaoyuan has not had a west gate since its founding."

Liu Zhaosun has been studying Feng Shui and Yi Li recently. After hearing what Li Sanguang said, he immediately became interested.

Li Sanguang continued to explain:

Although the west gate wasn't open, the area was still affected by the conflicting evil spirits, as the saying goes, "The people are unruly and difficult to control." In the 35th year of the Wanli reign, County Magistrate Tian Jiuqiu ordered the sheer cliffs west of the city to be eroded, water was stored, and trees were planted to soften the hardness. From then on, lawsuits in the county decreased, and the literary style gradually flourished, producing a group of scholars with imperial examinations. People of the time praised him, saying, "Breaking through Tiger Mountain has educated the people and brought in many scholars with imperial examinations."

Emperor Wu Ding clapped his hands and laughed: "Interesting, interesting, but this Feng Shui technique can resolve conflicts, but it cannot save the people."

The north wind was blowing fiercely as the convoy slowly passed through the dilapidated post road. The scenery on both sides of the road did not show the approach of spring at all. The fields along the way had cracks as thick as fingers, and only the farmlands near the Dagu River still had some green crops.

In Shandong Province, only Wendeng County fell under the Kaiyuan sphere of influence, and thus was developed earlier, with farming practices strictly based on the Liaodong garrison standards. Water conservancy projects, land reclamation, and fertilization have kept agriculture from neglect. However, in other counties, water conservancy had long been neglected. Last year, floods, droughts, locust plagues, and plague, coupled with continuous warfare, meant that while the land wasn't completely barren, many counties were already experiencing famine, pushing them to the brink of collapse.

~~~~~
The magistrate of Zhaoyuan knelt in front of the carriage. Liu Zhaosun stared at the fat man with a big belly, curious about why he could grow so fat in a year of great disaster.

"Thanks to the Emperor's favor, there are now over 3,000 iron and gold miners in Zhaoyuan County. The mines never stop working, and the workers work overtime day and night, producing more iron ore every day..."

"Don't worry, County Magistrate Wen. This year, more people will be sent to help you open the mine."

County Magistrate Wen brought over a thick stack of accounts, and Liu Zhaosun glanced through a few pages. The accounts were densely written with the specific daily mining figures of each mine.

The emperor handed the accounts to Li Sanguang for careful review. As previously mentioned, Li Sanguang inherited Xu Xiake's true skills in finding gold veins and determining their location, making him a natural expert in mine exploration, copper extraction, and iron smelting. After losing his arm, Li Sanguang deeply grasped Xu Xiake's teachings and diligently studied the art of geomancy and feng shui, becoming a master who could easily rob tombs with just a Luoyang shovel.

Li Sanguang was quite experienced in the water washing method and the fire blasting method (Note 1). He took over the account book and began to calculate the surplus ore in each mine based on the output, and to judge whether the mine officials had any problems such as corruption and deception.

The emperor looked at the sweaty County Magistrate Wen and suddenly said:

"Is Francisco dead?"

Note: 1. Burning ore with burning wood, then pouring cold water over it, causes the ore to expand and contract, cracking and shattering. The ore is then ground into powder and sifted through a bowl with water. This was the primary method used by ancient people to mine gold.

(End of this chapter)