My father is Jiajing

Chapter 467: Success and Failure

A burst of thick black smoke suddenly gushed out from the steam locomotive, and after a while white smoke began to come out of the steam locomotive. After a while, Zhu Zaigui saw with his naked eyes that the steam locomotive, which looked like a monster's head, began to move slowly.

Although the speed was not very fast, it gradually increased as time went by. Judging from the speed, it should be faster than the donkey cart. If converted into the speed unit before Zhu Zaigui crossed over, the speed should be about 15 kilometers per hour.

For the Ming Dynasty at that moment, such a speed was undoubtedly a huge transformation from a green-skinned train to a high-speed train.

You have to know that with the transportation level of the Ming Dynasty at that time, according to a normal mule-horse carrying about 2,000 kilograms of goods, the distance that can be traveled in an hour is only about seven or eight kilometers, and this is only possible if the road is relatively flat.

Moreover, these mules and horses cannot pull goods continuously for a long time. They must rest for a while every hour or so to let them breathe slowly and be fed some water and fodder. So at the end of the day, it would be a blessing for a team of mules and horses to be able to travel a hundred miles.

But now this monster-like steam railcar can reach a speed of about 180 kilometers per hour. If it can maintain this speed, it can run kilometers in half a day, which is miles in mileage.

If it can keep running for twelve hours a day, that's 720 miles! It's miles faster than the -mile emergency war horse post! What a terrifying speed!

It can be said that such a speed is absolutely beyond imagination in the Ming Dynasty today.

However, Zhu Zaigui soon discovered the problem. This steam locomotive that was barely moving had no brakes and could only wait for the fuel to run out and stop naturally. This would be fine if it was on flat ground, but what if it was on an uphill or downhill section of the road, without brakes and a gearbox to control the speed? Who would dare to use it?

So after this experiment was over, Zhu Zaigui called Zhan Watt over. Zhu Zaigui first affirmed Zhan Watt's contribution, and then raised his questions.

Zhu Zaigui said: "This huge steam rail car is indeed extraordinary, but I also found some small problems. This car seems to have no brakes and no gearshift. I wonder what your plan is?"

When Zhan Watt and other technical leaders heard Zhu Zaigui's question, they all showed a serious expression. Zhan Watt said, "Your Highness, I and they have considered these issues, but there are still some technical problems that have not been broken through. We are still unable to create a device that can control speed and brakes."

"But now that this steam railway car is able to move, we will focus on solving the problems of speed change and braking, and strive to present this steam railway car perfectly to His Majesty as soon as possible."

Zhu Zaigui nodded with satisfaction. He was overjoyed that they could now make a moving steam locomotive. He would have to wait for some time for them to make the brakes and the steam locomotive gearbox, and he naturally had the patience to wait.

Zhu Zaigui said: "Just go ahead and do this. If you need any help or money, just ask Teng Xiang. I will grant all your requests. And I promise that as long as you can come up with a reliable brake device and a gear control device, I will reward you with a noble title, so that your generations can enjoy the glory of the Ming Dynasty! And let future generations remember your contribution today!"

"Even after thousands of years, there will still be people who will tell your stories and compare you to the legendary masters like Lu Ban."

When Zhu Zaigui was painting a rosy picture for Jan Watt and the others, he did not hesitate to say these extremely beautiful and exciting words.

At this moment, they were all extremely excited and imagined that the story would be passed down for thousands of years.

After seeing the steam railway car, Zhu Zaigui was in a very good mood. He asked Teng Xiang to reward Zhan Watt and his friends with 5,000 taels of silver, a house in the special district of the capital, and arranged special servants and carriages for them. It can be said that Zhu Zaigui was serious about his reward this time.

You have to know that even when the imperial court rewarded meritorious officials, it was never so generous.

Of course, the reason why the court was not generous was also very obvious. That is because in the court's view, fame was more important than profit. The fame that the court could reward was many times more valuable than the profit that could be easily obtained.

Therefore, when the imperial court rewarded its meritorious officials, most of the rewards were honorary positions and titles. Although these things seemed to have no real value in terms of money, they were a kind of social consensus and recognition.

With this recognition, as long as future generations do not make mistakes in principle, the family of the rewarded person can gain recognition from all walks of life for a long time, and thus obtain wealth and honor that will last for generations.

Therefore, compared with the benefits that Zhu Zaigui is currently receiving, the reputation of the imperial court is more attractive.

But unfortunately, the current Zhu Zaigui could not bestow fame on the court, he could only give benefits.

Therefore, in order to make the Janwatts more motivated and more energetic, Zhu Zaigui was ruthless when rewarding them with high rewards.

If this money were divided among them, it would be enough for them to spend for decades.

After leaving the steam workshop, Teng Xiang accompanied Zhu Zaigui to the Shen Yao Palace to visit Lei Dezi, who had been crippled by a nitroglycerin bomb.

Although Lei Dezi is disabled now, his progress in nitroglycerin bombs is commendable. He actually developed a stabilizer that can stabilize nitroglycerin. Now with the addition of this stabilizer, bombs made with nitroglycerin will not be so easy to explode and can be made into explosive packs to be carried during marches.

Zhu Zaigui also spoke highly of Lei Dezi, a disabled but determined scientific researcher, and on behalf of Emperor Jiajing, he granted Lei Dezi the grace of ennobling his sons and nephews as hereditary centurions of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

When Zhu Zaigui took out the imperial edict, Lei Dezi was so excited that tears welled up in his eyes. Although he was a monk, he still had a family. It was such a great honor to be able to earn a hereditary position for his family.

Teng Xiang, who was standing by, was bewildered when he saw Zhu Zaigui take out the imperial edict. He couldn't help but think again about the fact that Zhu Zaigui was confined to his room by Emperor Jiajing. Could it be that all this was fake?

So what is the Emperor going to do?
Thinking of this, Teng Xiang's heart suddenly became excited, as if he had discovered something incredible!
But it’s a pity that such an exciting thing cannot be shared with anyone. I can only be happy and excited by myself. It really makes me feel regretful that I can’t show off my joy.

At the same time, Teng Xiang also felt in his heart that it was no wonder that Prince Yu would come to Xishan. The various workshops and the Divine Medicine Palace in Xishan were now restricted areas, with very little movement of people. Naturally, no one would leak Zhu Zaigui's itinerary here.

After visiting Lei Dezi, Zhu Zaigui also went to visit Nordizi. Nordizi’s current research direction was different from Lei Dezi’s.

Nordzi studied the medicinal properties of nitroglycerin. The Jisujiuxin Pills he developed have become a great medicine in the Ming Dynasty. Many dignitaries with heart problems now carry a small bottle of Jisujiuxin Pills in their pockets for emergency use. It can be said that because of Jisujiuxin Pills, Nordzi was also said to be a Taoist master. It was believed that his alchemy skills had reached the level of celestial beings. For this reason, Emperor Jiajing specially summoned him twice to discuss Nordzi's alchemy method.

In order to make his elixir more powerful, Emperor Jiajing even asked the alchemist he kept in the Xiyuan Palace to try adding nitroglycerin when making the elixir.

But the final result is naturally predictable. Several of Emperor Jiajing's personal alchemists were killed in the explosion, causing Emperor Jiajing to not eat any heavy metal elixir for more than a month, which seriously hindered Emperor Jiajing's practice progress.

So after the explosion, Emperor Jiajing no longer used Nordzi's alchemy method, but continued to study his own alchemy skills, studying how to use the method in Baopuzi's Golden Elixir chapter to use mercury to make Taoist golden elixir!
It can be said that the current Emperor Jiajing has gone down a dead end. He has no choice but to continue using the original method to continue refining those Taoist elixirs that may help him break through his cultivation and ascend to become an immortal.

However, Zhu Zaigui was very clear that if Emperor Jiajing continued to take the elixir made with mercury as the main ingredient without restraint, regardless of whether he could successfully become an immortal, he would definitely die early.

But at the same time, Zhu Zaigui had to admire the physical fitness of Emperor Jiajing. He had been eating elixirs for so many years, but he had not yet died. The detoxification ability of this body was really extraordinary!

If he had taken good care of his health, he might have lived to be old. But unfortunately, Emperor Jiajing was almost crazy about becoming an immortal, so he naturally could not give up his belief.

Therefore, some destinies cannot be changed. Even though Zhu Zaigui, this small butterfly, has fanned out a huge historical storm within the timeline of the Ming Dynasty, he cannot change the course of some history.

Just when Zhu Zaigui was visiting Xishan and inspecting the Xishan workshop and the Shen Yao Palace, Zhang Juzheng and others responded quickly.

Zhang Juzheng and his men began to attack Wang Bengu's character in a strategic and orderly manner. For a time, rumors were spreading in the capital. People were discussing Wang Bengu's character everywhere and whether he was a hypocritical hypocrite.

Faced with this sudden slander, Wang Bengu was also stunned.

When Prince Yu was confined to his room for reflection by the Emperor, Wang Bengu was already at a loss as to what to do.

Unexpectedly, there are now reports of discussions about his character both inside and outside the court. Some of the words are harsh, and they directly say that Wang Bengu's previous reputation for being upright was just an act he put on in order to get promoted.

Some people even bluntly said that Wang Bengu was actually a person who only sought fame and integrity, and he had no talent at all for being an official and governing the country. All he wanted was to take advantage of the current morality and people's hearts to gain a good reputation for himself in public opinion, and then achieve his ulterior motives.

When these claims began to spread, Wang Bengu excitedly argued that what he did was just and he had no regrets.

But after he uttered these words of rebuttal, he attracted even more sharp criticism. Some iron-headed people even accused Wang Bengu in a sarcastic tone of being an accomplice of the Yan Party, saying that he seemed to be very loyal but was actually a great traitor and a hypocrite!
Even Emperor Jiajing, who was hiding in the Western Garden to practice Taoism, was like an enthusiastic spectator about these rumors. He asked Chen Hong to summarize all the rumors outside and Wang Bengu's rebuttals to show them to him every day.

Whenever he saw something exciting, Emperor Jiajing would laugh happily, as if he was happy to see such undignified infighting among his ministers.

After a day of eating melons, Emperor Jiajing looked at Chen Hong and asked, "Who came up with this idea?"

Chen Hong replied, "Reporting to the Emperor, according to my investigation, it seems that Zhang Juzheng and Xu Jie came up with this idea. They found several imperial censors to attack Wang Bengu at the same time, accusing him of his ability and character, saying that Wang Bengu was a man who was seeking fame and reputation and had no talent at all. They also secretly mocked Wang Bengu for not having any literary character and being a lackey who relied on Elder Yan and Elder Xiao."

Emperor Jiajing laughed and said, "Zhang Juzheng is really capable. He can actually come up with such an idea. He is quite capable. It's a pity that this method is a bit despicable and cannot be put on the table. If he wants to achieve great success, he needs to hone his skills more."

But unfortunately, this was just the wishful thinking of Emperor Jiajing. Although Emperor Jiajing was extremely intelligent, to put it bluntly, he was still an emperor who lived and raised in the deep palace. As for the intrigues in the officialdom, he only watched the superficial excitement and did not truly experience the cruel competition among those officials.

Although Zhang Juzheng's method was not glorious, it was practical.

And in the original historical timeline, Zhang Juzheng was such a person.

Although it is true that he had great talent in governing the country, his ambition to get to the top was also recognized by history. In the original historical timeline, he used such despicable means to drive Gao Gong, an important minister entrusted by Emperor Longqing, out of the capital, and then became the powerful prime minister in the first ten years of the Wanli Dynasty.

He paid a heavy price for this. He was liquidated by Emperor Wanli and the political enemies he had offended during his ten years as prime minister, which led to the destruction of his political legacy.

It can be said that Zhang Juzheng was successful because of his scheming, and also failed because of his scheming.

If he had been more patient and not so anxious to overthrow Gao Gong, and waited until Gao Gong retired, and then continued to serve as Prime Minister and carried out the same reforms as Gao Gong, perhaps he could have lived a few more years, had fewer political enemies, and achieved more victories in reform.

But unfortunately, whether it was Gao Gong or Zhang Juzheng, they had all experienced the cruel struggle of the Jiajing Dynasty, which was like raising a Gu, and they had already developed a set of "life-and-death" struggle forms in their hearts.

Therefore, it is too much to expect Zhang Juzheng to have many upright means of struggle.

After all, there were political struggles for more than 20 years, from the killing of Xia Yan in the 28th year of Jiajing to the expulsion of Gao Gong in the 6th year of Longqing.

Whether it was Yan Song, Xu Jie, Li Chunfang, Gao Gong and others, when they fought, they were extremely cruel and there was no morality at all.

The reason for this was the connivance and acquiescence of Emperor Jiajing, which led to an endless state of party struggles in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.

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Asking for monthly ticket

(End of this chapter)