My father is Jiajing

Emperor Jiajing stretched his body for a while and felt a little tired. Finally, he leaned back on the backrest where he was meditating, while holding two shiny purple jade walnuts in his hands.

At this time, Huang Jin also brought a new wooden foot basin, came to the front of Emperor Jiajing, and prepared to wash Emperor Jiajing's feet.

"It's time to wash your feet, Emperor."

Emperor Jiajing nodded lightly and enjoyed Huang Jin's service.

Huang Jin carefully helped Emperor Jiajing take off his shoes and socks, then gently tested the water temperature with his hand before placing Emperor Jiajing's bare feet in the basin.

When it was first put in, Emperor Jiajing was obviously a little uncomfortable, but he still persisted.

While Huang Jin was earnestly helping Emperor Jiajing wash his feet with water, he couldn't help shedding tears.

When Emperor Jiajing heard Huang Jin's movements, he also laughed.

Emperor Jiajing said with a smile: "Why are you crying? It's just a few sores. I am going through a tribulation. Once this tribulation is over, I will be able to become an immortal."

Huang Jin held back and hummed, "I am sorry that your servant has shallow eyes and made the emperor laugh."

Emperor Jiajing laughed again and said, "Well, I was afraid that you would worry, so I asked you to find Li Shizhen to prescribe a prescription for me, didn't I?"

"Look how obedient I am now. I am practicing Taoism while soaking my feet obediently. This back and forth not only improved my Taoism a lot, but also helped my body recover faster."

Although Emperor Jiajing said this, in the past two years, as he gradually grew older, his energy became less and less than before.

His heart was beating fast and he was seriously reflecting on whether his cultivation was correct.

But he is the emperor!

Some mistakes cannot be admitted. Even if he already has the answer in his heart, he has to bite the bullet and go all the way.

Otherwise, wouldn't the prestige he had painstakingly accumulated over decades have vanished along with the mistakes he admitted?
Therefore, even though he is ill now, Emperor Jiajing still has to bite the bullet and continue to practice Taoism.

Besides, what if it succeeds?
After soaking his feet in 30-year-old Huadiao tea, Emperor Jiajing felt much more comfortable.

He continued to lean on the backrest, looking at Huang Jin who was still tidying up the foot basin and water.

Emperor Jiajing asked curiously, "Why did you pack up all this wine?"

Huang Jin pretended and replied, "The emperor's body is an immortal body. The servants below heard that this is the wine that the emperor had brewed, and they all wanted to have a sip to get a taste of the emperor's immortal spirit."

"Looking at the servants below who are so eager, I can't refuse their wishes and stop them from enjoying the bliss of the Emperor's immortal aura."

"So, I will repack the old Huadiao that you, my Lord, have soaked, and give it to the servants below as a reward."

When Emperor Jiajing heard this, a smug smile appeared on his face.

In his opinion, the fact that these servants were so obsessed with this matter showed that his cultivation and teachings over the years had been deeply rooted in people's hearts, and people outside had already believed that he was a god.

But when he thought that the wine was used to soak the poisonous sores on his feet, Emperor Jiajing felt a little reluctant.

Emperor Jiajing said, "If these servants want to get some of my aura, you can find some other things I have used to reward them. Forget about this wine, it's poisonous."

Huang Jin listened to what Emperor Jiajing said, but he did not stop his actions. He continued to reply: "Your Majesty is kind and benevolent. I will remember this."

After saying this, Emperor Jiajing took another look at the water leak next to him.

Then he asked, "San'er said that Shunyi Industrial Park is building a new clock that can display time more accurately. How is their work going?"

Huang Jin said: "I have heard about this, it seems to be well built. I heard that they are planning to build a tall clock tower in Shunyi Industrial Park and install the new clock there."

"It is said that after this new clock is installed, it will ring a bell every half an hour to remind you of the time, and no one needs to ring the bell. I don't know if it's true or not."

Emperor Jiajing laughed and said, "It sounds good. But what if it's at night? In the middle of the night, when everyone is asleep, it's still ringing non-stop. How can anyone sleep?"

Huang Jin smiled again and said, "I also heard that this new clock can control the time of the bell. At night, except for the bell at midnight, it doesn't have to ring at other times."

When Emperor Jiajing heard this, he laughed again.

Emperor Jiajing said: "These craftsmen are really interesting. I have never seen them so capable before. But under San'er's reward system, each of them has become capable and can even make such interesting things. Not bad, not bad."

Huang Jin also laughed and said, "Yes, yes, the Shunyi Industrial Park can make such a magical clock, thanks to Prince Yu. If Prince Yu hadn't given them the opportunity and benefits, these people would probably still be doing odd jobs in Liulichang. How could they have the skills they have now?"

Talking about this, Emperor Jiajing remembered something else.

"I also heard that last year, a few craftsmen used cowhide for decades to sew a big balloon, and then it floated into the sky. In the end, several people broke their arms and legs because of it. Is this true?"

Huang Jin replied, "That's true. I heard that those who sewed the balloons with cowhide were not craftsmen, but students from the Institute of Engineering. They came up with this idea after listening to what Prince Yu said when he opened the class at the Institute of Engineering."

"In the end, they actually succeeded in their attempt. Now the Ministry of War regards this big cowhide balloon as a treasure, and they think about how to use it in war every day."

Emperor Jiajing laughed and said, "Not bad, not bad. What did San'er say at that time? It actually made these little guys from the Academy of Engineering build such an incredible big balloon."

Huang Jin said: "Prince Yu asked a question at that time, does Qi have weight? As soon as this question was raised, both the gentlemen in the Institute of Engineering and the young students selected from all over the country fell into deep thought."

"Then when no one knew how to answer this question, the prince gave the example of the Kongming lantern, asking them to study the principle of this question based on the fact that the Kongming lantern can fly. Maybe they will find the answer."

"So, after that, many professors and students from the School of Engineering have been studying the principles of Kongming lanterns, and finally they came to the conclusion that Qi has weight."

"But if you want to tell the weight of Qi, you must first use fire to roast the 'raw' Qi into 'cooked' Qi. Then the cooked Qi will become lighter and accumulate inside the lantern's lampshade, supporting the lantern to fly into the sky."

"So these students used the theory of birth and maturity that they had explored to verify the weight of air, and thus created a large balloon made of dozens of cowhides, and used the Kongming lantern method to release it into the air."

"As a result, some people didn't take safety measures and fell from the plane. Fortunately, it wasn't flying high, otherwise they would have been smashed into pieces."

After hearing what Huang Jin said, Emperor Jiajing laughed happily again.

"San'er is still good at asking questions. These little guys are really ignorant of the immensity of the world. It's really interesting that they succeeded." "When the big ship from Longjiang arrives in Tianjin in a few days, I will also ask them to make a few big cowhide balloons like this and write words on them. I want everyone at that time to see that this is the power of my Ming Dynasty!"

Huang Jin immediately took note of this matter and passed the news to Zhu Zaigui in the afternoon.

Zhu Zaigui, who was in the Wenhua Hall, also looked excited after receiving the message from Huang Jin.

It seems that releasing balloons at celebrations is not a way of showing off that is unique to people hundreds of years later.

If the ancients had the conditions, they would not miss such an opportunity.

Zhu Zaigui glanced at Meng Chong beside him and ordered, "Go and find Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng."

Meng Chong replied yes, and then went to find Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng.

Now Li Chunfang is still holding the position of Minister of Works part-time. Although he does not have to hold the position concurrently, Zhu Zaigui does not want to replace him.

Moreover, the current School of Engineering was established under the leadership of Li Chunfang. He can be said to be the soul of this new school.

If Li Chunfang's part-time position as Minister of Works had been removed early and replaced by someone whom Zhu Zaigui could not control in real time, some things would have become difficult to handle.

Therefore, under the current circumstances, it is better to let Li Chunfang, who is a cabinet minister, concurrently serve as the Minister of Works and lead the construction and establishment of the Academy of Engineering, so as to reflect the court's attitude of attaching importance to craftsmen and technology.

As for why Zhang Juzheng was called along, it was because he was transferred to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of War at the beginning of this year, in charge of the manufacturing and research and development of weapons in the Ministry of War.

Therefore Zhu Zaigui called him over.

After all, hot air balloons nowadays are not just the Ministry of Industry’s business, but also involve the Ministry of War.

The Ministry of War now regards the manufacture and function development of this hot air balloon as a major matter.

Therefore, if Emperor Jiajing wanted to show off by releasing balloons over Tianjin, he had to coordinate with the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War.

Otherwise, the balloon might not be able to be inflated.

Soon Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng came to the Wenhua Hall together.

After the two entered the palace, they immediately bowed to Zhu Zaigui and said, "Your Highness, we pay our respects to the Regent."

Zhu Zaigui looked at Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng, raised his hand and smiled, saying, "No need to be so polite."

Then Zhu Zaigui asked the eunuchs serving in the store to help Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng move chairs over and sit down.

After Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng thanked Zhu Zaigui for the seat, they sat down below Zhu Zaigui.

Zhu Zaigui said: "I just received the order from His Majesty."

As soon as Zhu Zaigui said this, Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng hurriedly stood up, thinking that Zhu Zaigui was going to announce a new decree on behalf of Emperor Jiajing.

Zhu Zaigui couldn't help but smile again when he saw this, and waved his hand, saying, "This decree is for me, not for you. I asked you to come here to implement His Majesty's will."

After hearing this, Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng couldn't help but look at each other.

Li Chunfang said: "Please give me your instructions, Your Majesty."

Zhu Zaigui said: "Your Majesty knows that the big ship will arrive in Tianjin in a few days. Your Majesty believes that this huge ship is not just an ordinary huge treasure ship, but a manifestation of the future national strength of our Ming Dynasty."

"Therefore, Your Majesty thought of getting a few hot air balloons, writing a few words on them, and then floating them near the dock where the big ship is docked, to further demonstrate the atmosphere of our Ming Dynasty."

"So, I came to you to talk about this matter. You can coordinate the actual situation of Tianjin Wei Wharf and see if you can get a few hot air balloons up."

"And you should also think about what words would be best to write on these floating hot air balloons? Once you have thought of it, please remember to submit a memorial, and then I will present it to His Majesty for His Majesty to review and approve."

When Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng heard that it was this, they couldn't help but look at each other.

Li Chunfang asked again, "Your Majesty, do you mean that Your Majesty will personally attend the grand event of the arrival of the large ship at Tianjin Wei Wharf?"

Zhu Zaigui pondered for a moment, "I am not sure about this, but judging from the meaning of this decree, the probability that His Majesty will attend in person is still very high."

"So, this event must be held with great fanfare and splendor. It would be best to inform the Honglu Temple and ask them to arrange for the envoys in the Ming Dynasty to attend as well, so that they can also see the might of the Celestial Empire!"

Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng immediately bowed and said, "We will definitely follow your Majesty's wishes and get this done."

Zhu Zaiqi hummed, then looked at Li Chunfang and said, "How is the Ministry of Industry doing recently?"

Li Chunfang knew what Zhu Zaigui was asking about.

Li Chunfang replied: "According to the prince's intention, the Ministry of Industry has set up a special Transportation Department to work with the Ministry of Revenue to manage the application and construction of hardened toll roads, as well as the tax payment issues on toll roads."

"Now, apart from northern Zhili, the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions have the most applications, and toll roads from the center of Nanjing to Suzhou, Wuxi and Hangzhou have been approved and are under construction."

"At the same time, the Northern Construction Bank is also reviewing the loan application for the Jiubian Hardened Road to Hetao. In order to solve the subsequent repayment problem, the cabinet also held several meetings with the Ming Federal Reserve, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Northern Construction Bank."

When Zhu Zaigui heard this, he also understood that the situation in the Jiubian to Hetao area was different from that in Northern Zhili and Southern Zhili.

The road from Jiubian to the Hetao region is too long, and it is difficult to make a profit by relying solely on caravan transportation. However, such an important road has to be built, so in order to build this road, it is necessary to coordinate several government offices and make a detailed plan.

Otherwise, if the construction really starts but the money and people are not in place, it would be really laughable.

Therefore, if we want to build this key road, it is not something that can be done on a whim.

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Ask for monthly ticket~~~(End of this chapter)