The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 35 The smoke rises

Wanli actually won a battle against the civil officials!
Zhang Siwei also wanted to use Qingliu to seize control of the Jinyiwei.

Who would have known that he didn't care and just kept the memorial impeaching Duke Cheng without approving it. He seemed helpless, but in fact it was all an act.

He had already thought of a countermeasure. He wanted to use this incident to strike back and have a good fight with the civil servants.

Chengzu's red book and iron scroll was just an inducement. He knew that Zhang Siwei would not take it seriously, so this gave him a reason to get angry.

He first used an on-the-spot examination to make the top martial arts champion Yang Junqing and others look ridiculous, and also let the Qingliu see the true face of Zhang Siwei and his gang.

Then, he used a strategy of divide and conquer to disintegrate the ranks of the clean-style civil servants from within.

Finally, he used the imperial cane again and beat more than ten censors under Zhang Siwei, and beat them all to death!

This is how you deal with civil servants. Kill them when you get the chance, and make them dare not say a word.

Now the world was finally peaceful, and no one dared to bite Duke Chengguo Zhu Yingzhen anymore.

He also returned to the summer resort and began to think about glassmaking.

Glass seems to be difficult to produce these days.

actually not.

He had read in a book a long time ago that the materials used to fire glass and porcelain glaze are actually similar.

Porcelain glaze is the transparent and smooth film on the surface of porcelain, and its material is actually similar to glass.

This thing became popular during the Tang and Song dynasties. The Tang Dynasty's Sancai (three-colored glaze) and the Song and Yuan Dynasties' blue and white porcelain were both very mature porcelain glaze techniques.

The porcelain of the Ming Dynasty reached its peak, but in history, the Ming Dynasty was unaware of its treasure.

To put it bluntly, this is a matter of awareness. If you don’t realize it, it may take a hundred years for it to develop. If you realize it, then it will be quite simple.

After making some inquiries, he sent an urgent message to Nanzhili over 800 miles to invite Zhou Danquan, the most famous potter in Jiangnan.

A pottery maker is a craftsman who makes ceramics. In those days, ceramics and porcelain were inseparable. Anyone who could make pottery could also make porcelain. They were collectively called pottery makers.

Zhou Danquan is amazing. According to rumors, the Tang Sancai and blue and white porcelain he made are so authentic that they are exactly the same as those from the Tang and Song dynasties.

The people respectfully called him "Duke Zhou", and wealthy people even spent hundreds or thousands of taels to buy the porcelain he made.

Of course, this Duke Zhou was nothing in front of Wanli.

Among the four classes of people, scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, the status of craftsmen in those days was extremely low, only slightly better than the lowest-level merchants.

However, if the craftsman climbs up the ladder, it will be a different story.

For example, Li Wei, Marquis of Wuqing, and Wang Wei, Earl of Yongnian, were both born into artisan families, but their daughters became the empress dowager and queen respectively, so their status naturally rose.

Zhou Danquan was different. No matter how famous he was, he was just a craftsman. He could not wear clothes made of silk and satin, and could only wear coarse linen clothes.

After receiving the news, this guy rushed from South Zhili to North Zhili half a month later.

Even so, it was because the emperor's father-in-law Zhang Zhen knew that Wanli was anxious to see him, so he asked the grain transport troops to make things easier for him and brought him here from Nanzhili by grain boat. If he had gone by land, he would probably not have been able to arrive in a month.

At about 4 p.m. that afternoon, the sun was setting and the water on both sides of the Chaobai River was shining and blue smoke was rising.

After Zhou Danquan got off the boat at the pier south of the Summer Resort, he was stunned by this amazing sight.

What is this place?
Why build so many water wheels?

Also, why are there so many chimneys next to the waterwheel?

He really didn't know where this place was.

Because after he got on the canal boat, he rushed all the way north, day and night. He didn't even know which important person was looking for him. The magistrate just told him to get on the road quickly and didn't say anything else.

He was just in a daze when Yongnianbo Wang Wei came to greet him at the dock. He bowed and said warmly, "Mr. Zhou, I have long heard of your great name. It is a pleasure to meet you."

You are wearing a dragon robe, why are you so polite to me?

It seems that apart from dukes and nobles, only high-ranking officials in the Embroidered Uniform Guard can wear dragon robes. Who is this person?

Zhou Danquan carefully replied, "I don't deserve it, I don't deserve it, sir?"

Yongnianbo Wang Wei still said enthusiastically, "I am Wang Wei, the former deputy envoy of the Wensi Academy of the Ministry of Industry."

It turned out to be the father-in-law of the emperor, the biological father of the queen! At this moment, this man was the most famous among the craftsmen, and everyone in the craftsmen household knew him.

Zhou Danquan quickly knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "This humble servant pays homage to the Father-in-law."

Yongnianbo Wang Wei quickly stepped forward to help him and said, "Duke Zhou, there's no need for such grand ceremony. I'm just a craftsman, and I'm just taking advantage of my daughter's kindness."

Zhou Danquan got up from the ground and said cautiously, "Why did the father-in-law recruit me here?"

Yongnianbo Wang Wei shook his head repeatedly and said, "It's not me who's looking for you, it's His Majesty who's looking for you."

Long live the Lord!
Zhou Danquan was confused again.

Why does the current emperor want to see him?
In a daze, he followed Yongnianbo Wang Wei onto the carriage and came to a huge water room.

When Yongnian Earl Wang Wei led him into the bathroom, he was confused again.

There is a large table of people in the middle of the water room, all wearing dragon robes.

No, there is another one wearing a dragon robe.

He quickly knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Your Highness, I pay my respects to you."

This man is a bit like Yongnianbo Wang Wei. Not only are they both in their forties, they also look quite capable. You can tell at first glance that he is a very capable craftsman.

Wanli stood up and said with a faint smile: "Duke Zhou, no need to be so polite. Come, let's eat together."

what?
Zhou Danquan was completely dumbfounded when he heard this.

His Majesty actually asked him to sit down and eat together?
In those days, hierarchy was no joke. Craftsmen were not even qualified to sit down and eat with scholars, let alone eat in the same room.

Can he sit down and have dinner with His Majesty?

Seeing him kneeling there in a daze, Yongnian Earl Wang Wei simply helped him up, pulled him to Wanli's side, and pushed him onto his seat.

Seeing this, Wanli smiled and raised his glass, saying, "Duke Zhou, you have worked hard on your journey. I offer you a toast."

Are you still toasting me?
Zhou Danquan quickly jumped up from his seat, holding the wine glass in both hands, and bowed, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

After saying that, he drank the wine in the glass.

The status of craftsmen these days is really too low. This craftsman is the best among them, a rare existence, yet he is still so reserved.

Wanli raised his hand and pulled him to sit down, then said solemnly: "Duke Zhou, I heard that you are an expert in firing porcelain."

You still call me Duke of Zhou?

My name is not Zhou Gong!

Zhou Danquan quickly said modestly, "Your Majesty, I only know a few skills passed down from my ancestors, which is nothing."

Your skills are amazing.

Wanli simply pointed at the wine glass in his hand and said, "You should know how to make the glaze on this, right?"

Zhou Danquan picked up the wine glass and looked at it, then said with a look of concentration, "Your Majesty, the gold and silver patterns on it are actually painted with gold and silver powder."

I didn't tell you about the pattern.

Wanli pointed to the pattern and said, "I'm talking about this layer of transparent porcelain glaze."

Uh, you're talking about this?
Zhou Danquan said rather embarrassedly, "Your Majesty, this is called clear glaze, the most common and simplest type of porcelain glaze."

Is this still the simplest?

Wanli said excitedly, "Do you know the materials and firing methods for clear glaze?"

Zhou Danquan nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, this is really simple, and the materials are very cheap. Just grind feldspar, quartz, limestone, and kaolin into powder, mix them evenly, apply them on the surface of the porcelain, and then put it in the kiln to burn for an hour or two. That's it."

Is it that simple?
Wanli was about to ask more questions when Qi Jiguang suddenly walked in quickly, clasped his hands and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, the smoke of war is rising, and the northern barbarians are invading our borders."

what?
Upon hearing this, Wanli was shocked and asked, "Where are they? How many northern barbarians are there?"

Qi Jiguang said solemnly, "There are smoke rising from the direction of Gubeikou. At least tens of thousands of northern barbarians are invading.

Your Majesty, these northern barbarians may be coming for you. I dare to ask Your Majesty to return to the capital immediately. I will lead the soldiers of the Beijing camp to defend Gubeikou to the death and cover your retreat."

(End of this chapter)