The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 43: Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty
The great victory of Gubeikou.

The young emperor ignored the danger and personally led the Beijing Camp, the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Imperial Guards to guard Gubeikou, and the Tuman army was defeated.

When the news reached the capital, the whole city was in an uproar.

The people of the capital were beating drums and gongs and celebrating loudly. Both inside and outside the city, it was as lively and festive as the New Year.

They have been living in fear these days, fearing that the Gengxu Incident would happen again.

Many people saw the smoke signals at Gubeikou. If the northern barbarians invaded the capital, it would be a catastrophe for them. Countless people would be torn apart from their wives and children, and their families would be destroyed.

Fortunately, the current young emperor is wise and brave, and he personally led the army to repel the Tuman.

They are really happy.

The northern barbarians and the southern Japanese have been ravaging the Ming Dynasty for decades. People in both the north and the south of the Ming Dynasty are in panic and cannot live a peaceful life.

Now they finally see hope of ending it all.

The young emperor was different from Jiajing and Longqing. He dared to face the northern invaders and the southern Japanese pirates head-on, and he was able to defeat them.

The Ming Dynasty finally had a wise and brave ruler. There was hope that the northern barbarians and southern Japanese would be defeated, and they would enjoy peace.

This should of course be celebrated with great fanfare.

Zhang Juzheng's old party in the court were also excited and in high spirits. They did not follow the wrong person.

However, Zhang Siwei and his party were as sad as if they had lost their parents, and their faces were gloomy.

The little emperor's actions were completely beyond their expectations.

They wanted to use Tumen Khan's army to scare the young emperor, but who knew that the young emperor would lead the Beijing Camp, Jinyiwei and the Imperial Guards to Gubeikou like a madman and drive Tumen Khan away.

This is not the result they want.

If the young emperor was not frightened by Tumen Khan, how could they use the border troops under their control to coerce the young emperor to obey them?

If their plan had gone according to plan, when the young emperor heard that Tumen Khan's army had reached Gubeikou, he would have been so frightened that he would have hurriedly led the Beijing Camp, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Imperial Guards back to the capital, trembling in fear.

Then, Gubeikou was short of troops and was easily captured by Tumen Khan. Tumen Khan's troops were at the gates of the city, and the young emperor had to beg them to mobilize border troops to come to his aid.

By then, the little emperor would have to agree to whatever demands they made. If he did not agree, there would be no army to support the king, and the siege of the capital would not be lifted.

In that situation, how long can the little emperor last?
No matter how rebellious or stubborn the little emperor is, he won't be able to last long.

Because most of the Ministry of Revenue's grain reserves were in the Taicang warehouse in Nanzhili, the grain reserves in the capital could not last long, and the food consumption of millions of people in the capital was too terrifying.

Unexpectedly, the little emperor did not follow their plan at all.

This guy actually led his troops directly to Gubeikou and drove away Tumen Khan!
Who could have thought that this kid was so bold?
Now they are somewhat exposed. What if this guy comes back with his army to hold them accountable? Will he directly instigate the border troops to rebel?
The little emperor's actions once again surprised them.

This guy didn't even lead his troops back to Beijing.

He rushed back to the Mountain Resort with the Embroidered Uniform Guards and the Imperial Guards, and then hid there again and refused to come out.

What does this mean?
Wanli was busy. He had to find ways to make money and also build muskets and cannons for the Beijing camp.

It's almost autumn now, and the Chaobai River will be frozen in winter.

His time is running out.

Early in the morning, around 1 a.m., when it was just getting light, he came to the courtyard where Zhou Danquan was experimenting with glass production.

At this time, the Summer Resort was already filled with cool breezes, and autumn had arrived early.

However, the courtyard where Zhou Danquan was located was scorching hot, just like midsummer.

This guy had actually built a whole circle of sheds in the yard, set up several furnaces, and constructed several kilns. The main house where the waterwheel was located and the left and right wing rooms were also filled with countless strange tools and materials. There was no telling how many craftsmen were busy in the yard. In the dim light, he couldn't even find this guy.

Fortunately, his dragon robe was quite eye-catching, so the craftsmen who saw him hurriedly bowed and saluted. Zhou Danquan also quickly came forward and bowed, saying, "I, your humble servant, pay my respects to His Majesty."

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "Duke Zhou, how is the glass going?"

How do you say this?

Zhou Danquan thought for a moment, then simply raised his hand and said, "Your Majesty, please follow me. I've made many samples, but I don't know which one is the glass you're talking about."

Wanli followed Zhou Danquan into the wing on the left and took a look. Wow, the wall opposite the door was covered with shelves that looked like bookshelves, and the shelves were full of palm-sized discs.

How many samples did this guy make?
Zhou Danquan walked quickly to the shelf, picked up a transparent disc from the middle, and handed it to him with both hands, saying respectfully, "Your Majesty, I think this is the most similar to the glass you described. Is it true?"

Wanli took the disc and looked at the dawn outside carefully, and he was stunned.

This is glass, colorless and transparent glass, and both surfaces are extremely flat and smooth, and the edges are also extremely round, not cutting at all.

He was quite surprised and asked, "This is glass! How did you make it?"

Is this glass?
Zhou Danquan explained excitedly, "Your Majesty, this is made by melting a glaze into a ball, placing it into a steel mold, and then heating it in a kiln to melt it."

It turns out that they used a fine mold, no wonder it is so round and smooth.

Wanli nodded slightly, then walked to the shelf with interest to take a closer look.

The shelf is filled with palm-sized discs, which are almost identical in size and shape, except that some are light blue, some are white, some are colorless and transparent, some are very smooth on one side and a little rough on the other, and some are smooth on both sides.

He put the colorless, transparent glass disc back to its original place, picked up the others and took a closer look. He couldn't help but exclaim in surprise: "These are all made of glass. How did you make so many different kinds?"

what?
Are these all glass?

Zhou Danquan was stunned for a moment before explaining in detail, "Your Majesty, there's actually more than one formula for clear glaze. I've tried every formula, as well as the molds. I've tried clay, refined iron, and refined steel. I've also tried many different firing methods, and the results are all different."

Oh, I see.

There are also advantages to having a wide variety of products. The wider the variety, the wider the pricing range, and people of all spending abilities can be attracted.

However, this palm-sized material can only be used to make a mirror, not window glass, and it is not thick enough to be used as a telescope lens.

Wanli thought about it and simply pulled Zhou Danquan aside to have a detailed chat. He explained to him in detail the various uses of glass and the general methods of making mirrors and telescopes.

When Zhou Danquan heard this, his face was filled with excitement and he was ready to try it.

At this moment, Li Xuancheng at the door suddenly walked in with an imperial edict.

When Wanli took the imperial edict and looked at it, he couldn't help but snorted in anger.

This imperial edict was the one that promoted Dong Yiyuan to be the general of Jizhou Town. The cabinet rejected it, and a memorial was also included in it.

The memorial was written by Zhang Siwei, and its content was very simple, which was to request that Master Miaofeng be named the Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty.

What this guy meant was, if you confer the title of Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty on Master Miaofeng, I will issue an imperial decree to promote Dong Yiyuan to the position of General of Jizhou Town.

He had no choice. The Ministry of Personnel was controlled by Zhang Siwei. If he wanted Dong Yiyuan to become the general of Jizhou Town with full legitimacy, he had to go through the cabinet.

Zhang Siwei actually used this matter to block him and asked him to appoint Master Miaofeng as the Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty.

There must be something wrong with this Master Miaofeng.

He thought for a moment, then decisively said, "Uncle, send a fast horse to pass on my order. Have Luo Sigong thoroughly investigate this Master Miaofeng."

(End of this chapter)