Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 169 Which wise ruler cannot withstand such a test?

But his father Xue You didn't understand what was going on either.

Xue You only knew that it was the scholar Mr. Wang who asked him to bring his daughter here, and as early as a year ago he had clearly asked him not to marry his daughter off, otherwise his whole family would have to bear heavy corvee labor.

Therefore, he had to keep his daughter until now without arranging a marriage, and also rejected many matchmakers who came to his door to make inquiries.

Juren Wang Ying was also surprised.

At this time, Jin Maoren pulled Wang Ying's robe and asked him to kneel down as well.

Wang Ying had no choice but to kneel down, and only asked Jin Maoren the reason afterwards.

Jin Maoren said: "It is to make her feel that she is extremely noble! This way, when she enters the palace in the future, she will stand out from the crowd!"

Jin Maoren said with a smile: "I hope your majesty can't get over this beauty!"

The ritualists did not really want Zhu Houcong to be innovative.

Even though they say they want to make their kings like Yao and Shun.

But they actually hoped that the emperor would not be so power-hungry and could delegate power to the scholar-officials.

Now they can no longer use etiquette and laws to restrain Zhu Houcong.

And the whole conspiracy was too risky.

After all, the current emperor's caution makes them afraid of this, and they are also afraid that doing so will backfire on them.

This forced them to do the same as Zhu Houcong and use open strategies as much as possible.

Therefore, they took advantage of Zhu Houcong's selection of concubines and used their control at the grassroots level to prevent the most beautiful women of marriageable age in the folk from getting married early, and strived to enable the emperor to marry a large number of beauties in the future so that he could forget about politics.

Zhu Houcong, who was about to be tested with beauties by the Rites Faction, also asked Yuan Zonggao about choosing concubines for him on this day.

"I have selected a few. They are all well-educated, gentle and generous, and their temperament and appearance are also top-notch."

"They originally did not want to send a female candidate, but after I explained the reason and moved them emotionally, they were willing to let the female candidate be the candidate, but did not discuss marriage."

"These are the portraits I asked the female painter to draw and the list. The list contains their family backgrounds."

Yuan Zonggao handed Zhu Houcong a booklet and a stack of portraits.

After Zhu Houcong unfolded the portrait, he couldn't help but look into it.

"They all know that although Your Majesty is young, he is mature, diligent in governing, and kind and benevolent, so they hope that their daughters can be selected and give birth to children for Your Majesty!"

Seeing this, Yuan Zonggao smiled and started talking.

Zhu Houcong smiled at Yuan Zonggao's words and said, "I understand what you mean, sir. You are just worried that I will be addicted to beauty in the future."

"But please rest assured, sir. I am not someone who cannot stand the test."

"There is no king in this world who is keen on innovation and cannot resist the temptation of beauty!"

"If there is, it can only be that his will to innovate is not strong enough, but I am not a weak person, because my ambition is to conquer all the lands! Far beyond the Han and Tang dynasties!"

Zhu Houcong knew that the literati after Chenghua of this era were already advocating the revival of Han and Tang culture, so he said so.

After hearing this, Yuan Zonggao couldn't help but bowed: "What a pity that I am old!"

Yuan Zonggao couldn't help coughing a few times as he spoke.

Zhu Houcong had Yuan Zonggao helped to sit down and had someone make him a cup of honey tea to moisten his lungs.

Yuan Zonggao thanked him and glanced at Zhu Houcong.

Thinking that the young emperor, whom he had grown up with, still respected him, Yuan Zonggao was deeply moved. However, he couldn't help but plan to resign and return home after the emperor's wedding.

Because he felt that his body was still unable to support him, and the current emperor was capable of dealing with many changes and was more experienced than he thought, he decided to return home to recuperate as soon as possible.

Although Zhu Houcong told Yuan Zonggao that he could not withstand the test of beauty.

But food and sex are human nature.

At this moment, his thoughts were still uncontrollably on the portraits he had just seen.

in……

There was one painting that was so gentle and charming that he could not forget it just by looking at the portrait.

There is also one painting, which may be because it was painted by an official of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and it has an elegant temperament and extraordinary heroic appearance.

That night.

Zhu Houcong had a beautiful dream because of his spring heart.

So, when he woke up in the morning, Wang Chunjing, a female official, couldn't help asking Zhu Houcong, "Where is it leaking again?" because he wanted to change his pants.

Zhu Houcong glanced at her.

Wang Chunjing understood and blushed slightly. She opened the wardrobe, took out clothes and placed them on the imperial bed. She then lowered the outer curtain and waited outside with a pursed mouth.

Not a moment later.

Zhu Houcong walked out.

Wang Chunjing was accustomed to this, so he drew the curtains normally, then bent down to make the bed and tidied up.

Zhu Houcong inadvertently caught a glimpse of her back, and felt that she had become more plump and graceful after entering the palace.

for a while.

Zhu Houcong could not help but turn his head, took a deep breath, and thought:
"You have to stay calm. Everything has to wait until after the wedding. Even after the wedding, you have to be restrained. You can't be like in your previous life because you will be investigated for this! You should cultivate other hobbies, such as stargazing."

The thought of this.

Zhu Houcong came outside and said to the eunuch Mai Fu: "Call the people from the Imperial Observatory!"

So, when Zhu Houcong was having breakfast, Hua Xiang, the director of the Imperial Observatory, came before the emperor.

The breakfast in the Ming Dynasty court was extremely rich.

According to the "Miscellaneous Rituals of Daily Life in China and Foreign Countries", the rice dishes for the palace breakfast included steamed fragrant rice, steamed glutinous rice, steamed millet, coix seed porridge, and sorghum rice porridge. The noodles included leavened noodles, hot noodles, oil tea noodles, and sprinkled noodles. There were also steamed buns with venison, mutton, seafood, wild radish, and wild pheasant meat.

The one used by Zhu Houcong was relatively simple.

That morning, he had just a bowl of barley porridge and two mutton buns for breakfast.

After finishing breakfast, Zhu Houcong asked Hua Xiang: "How do you usually observe the stars?"

Hua Xiang replied: "Use the armillary sphere."

"How do you see it with the armillary sphere?"

Zhu Houcong asked again.

Hua Xiang replied: "I mainly use the peephole inside the armillary sphere, and occasionally I use a telescope."

"telescope?"

"When did you make this mirror?"

Zhu Houcong was greatly surprised when he heard this. He did not even bother to take the tea from Wang Chunjing's hand and rinse his mouth. He just stood up and walked out of the central hall and came to him.

"Your Majesty, it was not invented by us, but has existed since the end of the Tang Dynasty."

Hua Xiang replied.

Zhu Houcong was even more curious: "Really?"

"Your Majesty, the Records of Strange Things recorded that when Huang Chao captured the south of the capital, Wang Shi of the Tang Dynasty had a mirror with six noses that always produced clouds and smoke. When he shone it, he could see everything in the three directions. Wang shone it towards the capital, and the enemy's armor and weapons were right in front of him."

Hua Xiang replied.

Zhu Houcong hurriedly ordered Mai Fu, "Go and get this book." Mai Fu nodded in agreement.

That night.

Zhu Houcong even came to the Imperial Observatory specially.

When he saw the armillary sphere and celestial globe on the planetarium of the Imperial Astronomical Observatory, he was attracted by these two instruments that exuded a mechanical and metallic feel.

Zhu Houcong asked Hua Xiang to teach him how to observe the stars with a peephole.

Hua Xiang taught him.

After Zhu Houcong took a look, he couldn't help but secretly praised himself: "This is the toy that the emperor should have!"

Subsequently.

Zhu Houcong asked Hua Xiang to show him the telescope.

He really didn't expect that there were telescopes in ancient China after the end of the Tang Dynasty.

This is naturally related to his limited knowledge, and also to the fact that the invention of scientific instruments was not mainstream in ancient China and was therefore not taken seriously.

After all, even the water-powered astronomical observatory invented by Su Song and others that was based on the principles of mechanical clocks and integrated stargazing, timekeeping and celestial body demonstration, the large water-powered spinning wheel for multi-person weaving, and the ocean-going ship technology were lost, let alone other skills.

“It’s not looking far enough, and that should be improved.”

After trying the telescope, Zhu Houcong asked again: "Do you have any other powerful instruments in the Imperial Observatory?"

Mai Fu was a little surprised after listening to this, because he didn't expect that his own emperor would be so curious about this.

Hua Xiang was equally surprised.

When the emperor suddenly summoned him, the Imperial Observatory, alone, he was greatly surprised. He did not expect that the emperor was so curious about astronomy.

Now the emperor asked if there were any powerful instruments, so he naturally had to find a way to satisfy the emperor.

So Hua Xiang replied: "I have imitated the water-powered armillary sphere from the Tang Dynasty and I would like to present it to Your Majesty."

Zhu Houcong asked Hua Xiang to take him there.

Hua Xiang took Zhu Houcong to his duty room in the Imperial Observatory and showed him his water-powered armillary sphere.

Zhu Houcong discovered that this water-powered armillary sphere was driven by water, and the key was that it was driven by gears, just like an astronomical clock.

Zhu Houcong then asked: "Why didn't this armillary sphere replace the one in front of us?"

"Your Majesty, although this armillary sphere is powered by water, it is not as accurate as the one Guo Shoujing made after separating the armillary sphere from the celestial sphere."

"The truly accurate one is the water-powered astronomical observatory built by Su Song during the Song Dynasty, but this minister cannot build one at the moment. I can only build one from the Tang Dynasty."

Hua Xiang replied with a surge of emotion.

He had a feeling that the emperor was really interested in this aspect.

Zhu Houcong asked: "Water-powered astronomical observatory?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I have the manuscript album that he sent."

Hua Xiang replied.

Zhu Houcong asked Hua Xiang to give it to him.

After Zhu Houcong saw it, he was instantly attracted by the various gears and transmission devices on the album. His lustful desires had long been diluted, and he couldn't help but reach out and touch the image: "It's really spectacular!"

"What is your current promotion?"

Zhu Houcong asked Hua Xiang.

Generally, after the director of the Imperial Observatory has reached a certain level of seniority, he will be promoted to the rank of Shaoqing or even Vice Minister of various temples. If he is favored by the emperor, he may even be promoted to Shangshu.

After hearing this, Hua Xiang said excitedly: "Your Majesty, I am now the Junior Secretary of the Guanglu Temple!"

He knew that the emperor was going to promote him, so he was very excited.

After hearing this, Zhu Houcong instructed Mai Fu, "Inform the cabinet that the director of the Imperial Observatory, Hua Xiang, has made great contributions and has been very diligent in his work as a supervisor, so he should be promoted to the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"

Hua Xiang hurriedly knelt down and bowed deeply to the ground.

Zhu Houcong asked him to stand up and said, "I have asked you to be the right assistant minister of the processing department, and I also want you to gather the craftsmen to build the water-powered astronomical observatory. Even if it cannot be built for the time being, you can first use this principle to build a timekeeping device. This timekeeping device should be as small as possible, mainly with mechanical gears and mechanical transmission. It can be called a mechanical clock for the time being, and the accuracy should be as high as possible!"

"If it succeeds, I will reward you generously."

Zhu Houcong said.

Hua Xiang hurriedly bowed and said yes, looking excited.

Because the sky was really good that night, with stars everywhere, as bright as fireflies, Zhu Houcong continued to look at the stars with the armillary sphere.

Han Ang, the deputy director of the Imperial Observatory, saw this scene and came to the Grand Secretary Jiang Mian on his way home that night and told Jiang Mian what happened today: "Your Majesty has been observing the stars for a long time at the Imperial Observatory tonight."

Jiang Mian frowned and thought, "So, Your Majesty likes to look at the stars?"

"I don't know either, but His Majesty was obviously very pleased at the Imperial Observatory today."

Han Ang replied.

Jiang Mian said: "You go back first and continue to watch to see if His Majesty really likes to watch the stars, or is it just a whim!"

"Yes!"

Officials in the outer court have always been concerned about Zhu Houcong's preferences.

Now that Zhu Houcong came to the Imperial Observatory, since the people in the Imperial Observatory were technical bureaucrats of that era, not all of them had been replaced, it was easy for the ritual-protecting people to spread this situation.

of course.

In fact, Zhu Houcong didn't mind letting people think that he was interested in astronomy and geography.

Let’s talk.

Although the bureaucrats all over the world are still trying hard to understand and influence Zhu Houcong, and even trying their best to select concubines for him so that he will have more stunning beauties in the future so that he will forget about politics, they still have to face the ongoing reforms.

For the officials and gentry in Nanzhi who were being surveyed.

Even though they had rationally told themselves not to fight the imperial court, they should restrain themselves because the imperial court had a large number of soldiers here.

But every day, they watched their hidden fields being surveyed one acre at a time and had to pay back taxes one after another, and their hearts became increasingly emotionally unbearable.

"Master, our three thousand acres of land in the Jing family have been surveyed!"

"Master, our two thousand acres of land in the Jiang family has also been surveyed!"

"Master, news came from Jiangning that our 5,000 acres of land in the Ying family was recently surveyed!"

……

After meeting Jin Maoren, Wang Ying was very annoyed because she heard her servant come to report every now and then that her family's hidden land had been surveyed and tax had to be paid. She threw the porcelain on the table to the ground on the spot:
"It's not over yet!"

The servants below were all silent and dared not report it again.

Coincidentally.

Jin Maoren also came to Wang's house again at this time. Seeing Wang Ying's scene, he couldn't help but ask: "What happened?"

"I just can't stand it for a moment!"

"Why didn't Heaven take away Zhu Xizhou, Guo Xun and other treacherous officials?"

Wang Ying said angrily.

(End of this chapter)