Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 159: Minister Zeng, are you well again?

Now, in the entire Ministry of Works, apart from the clerks and servants who hold no power, there is only one Jinshi, Xia Yan, who is observing the government.

On this day, because he knew that Emperor Zhu Houzhao would come to the Ordnance Bureau the next day, he also went to the Ordnance Bureau in advance to see if there was anything that needed attention, so as to avoid any mistakes and anger the emperor.

Xia Yan himself had studied science for two years at the Imperial University of Peking and had a better understanding of weapons manufacturing than before. When he came to the Ordnance Bureau, he also wanted to learn more about the current status of weapons manufacturing in the Ming Dynasty.

However, because all the officials of the Ministry of Works were arrested and taken to the East Factory, he, as an intern observing scholar, had no job assigned to him by his superiors. Therefore, after watching for a long time, he felt a little bored. He wondered whether he should let the craftsmen try to make some granular gunpowder as His Majesty mentioned. However, the Ministry of Works had not had time to hire craftsmen yet. Therefore, he decided to try to make granular gunpowder himself by using the experimental operation skills he learned at the Imperial University of Peking to filter the saltpeter and purify the sulfur.

Since Guangjiku was the place where gunpowder raw materials such as saltpeter and sulfur were stored, Xia Yan came to Guangjiku to get some gunpowder raw materials. However, just after he registered and entered Guangjiku, he found that what was stored in Guangjiku's warehouse was not sulfur and saltpeter, but finished gunpowder!

As the first science graduate of Imperial University, Xia Yan was naturally familiar with the differences between sulfur saltpeter and finished gunpowder, and also knew the precautions to be taken when storing gunpowder.

Therefore, at this time, he could not help but be suspicious, thinking that Guangjiku was relatively close to the imperial city, so it only stored sulfur and saltpeter, while gunpowder was generally stored in Wanggongchang, which was far away from the imperial city. So why would Guangjiku store so much gunpowder now? !
Xia Yan was just about to find a clerk to ask, but at this moment, a clerk came up and asked, "Xia Guanzheng, it's getting dark, if you want to take it, do it quickly. I have to close the storehouse door early tonight. After all, His Majesty is coming tomorrow. I dare not light a fire tonight, so as not to cause an accident and cause His Majesty to blame!"

"Yes! His Majesty will come tomorrow! Once the Guangjiku is set on fire..."

As the chief minister of the cabinet in history, Xia Yan was naturally not a stupid person. He quickly guessed the possible conspiracy hidden in it. Therefore, he pretended to be calm and left Guangjiku. However, his heart was in turmoil. He thought that a large amount of gunpowder appeared in Guangjiku, and it was pressed very flat. There was even a barrel of kerosene next to the gunpowder. What was going on?
The more Xia Yan thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. He suddenly thought of going home and riding a horse to the palace to see Zhu Houzhao. But suddenly he remembered that his status did not allow him to directly break into the palace, so he had to turn back and sit down in front of the Ordnance Bureau, ready to wait until dawn for Zhu Houzhao to appear.

At this time, the clerk on duty closed the door of the armory. Seeing that Xia Yan was still not leaving, he asked Xia Yan: "Xia Guanzheng, aren't you going home?"

"Wait a minute, do you think our land is really a round sphere, and it is still called the Earth? The Earth revolves around the sun, not the sun revolves around the Earth?" Xia Yan pretended to be stupid and asked some irrelevant questions.

The clerk laughed and said, "Xia Guanzheng, how can the earth be a round sphere? If so, why don't we fall off? The earth revolves around the sun, so if that's the case, why don't we feel it rotating?" At the same time, he thought that although Xia Yan was a Jinshi, he was obviously a nerd. No wonder he came to the Ministry of Works to observe government affairs.

……

"Your Majesty! I am in so much pain! I beg Your Majesty to have mercy on me and allow me to go back and rest! I am in so much pain, ah! ah! ah!"

The Minister of Works Zeng Jian was sweating profusely and looked extremely weak. He kept pressing his right abdomen and begged Zhu Houzhao bitterly.

"My dear minister, please bear with it. You are the only one in the Ministry of Works now. You are also an old minister. I cannot do without your guidance when I inspect the Ordnance Bureau." Zhu Houzhao then ordered the people carrying the sedan chair, "Lift it steadily. Don't knock the old minister!"

Minister of Works Zeng Jian didn't know whether Zhu Houzhao suspected something and deliberately framed him or for some other reason, but he knew that if he really followed Zhu Houzhao to the Armory Bureau, he would definitely be killed in the explosion, and he didn't even have time to ask the assassins he arranged to evacuate from the Armory Bureau. Zeng Jian was really scared now. When he saw the newly erected plaque gate of the Armory Bureau in front of him, he seemed to see the gates of hell. He was afraid that he would be buried with Zhu Houzhao, so he shouted directly: "Your Majesty! I really can't stand it anymore. I beg Your Majesty to let me go back, ah! This old minister really begs you!"

The more Zeng Jian acted like he didn't want to go to the Ordnance Bureau, the more Zhu Houzhao suspected Zeng Jian of some conspiracy in the Ordnance Bureau. He was not afraid of assassination because he had a lot of guards around him, but he couldn't figure out what conspiracy the Minister of Works Zeng Jian had, so he simply kept Zeng Jian tied to him. He wanted to see if Zeng Jian dared to die with him.

Of course, Zhu Houzhao himself was not planning to join the Ordnance Bureau. Unless he was extremely stupid, he would not be willing to do so. However, he had to force Zeng Jian to tell him about the possible conspiracy in the Ordnance Bureau.

"My dear, please be patient. This stone stranguria is painful, but it will not endanger your life. According to medical books, it is usually the most painful the first time, and it will not be so painful after the stones are expelled. Are you feeling less pain now than before?" Zhu Houzhao asked.

Zeng Jian didn't dare to refute, he just nodded and said: "It is indeed as your majesty said, it is not as painful as the first time, but it is still unbearable. I still ask your majesty to let me go back."

"We'll be there soon, why go back?"

As Zhu Houzhao was speaking, he saw Xia Yan lying by the gate of the Ordnance Bureau, and he whipped himself with the horse whip: "No sleeping!"

Zhu Houzhao hurriedly ordered someone to call Xia Yan over and asked, "Xia Yan, what's wrong with you? Why are you sitting at the gate of the Ordnance Bureau and beating yourself? I asked you to be an observer to learn, not to be a gatekeeper!"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me! I, I actually have something to tell you!" Xia Yan said, then looked around and signaled Zhu Houzhao to let everyone else step aside.

Seeing Xia Yan's solemn expression, Zhu Houzhao ordered, "Carry the old minister in first and tell them that the emperor has arrived. I will go in soon!"

When the Minister of Works Zeng Jian heard what Zhu Houzhao said, he was afraid that after he entered the Guangji Warehouse of the Ordnance Bureau, someone would shout that the emperor had arrived, causing the assassins he had planted to ignite the gunpowder and blow him up first. So he jumped down from the sedan chair out of shock:
"Your Majesty! Don't shout! I beg you! Why don't you go to the Armory? It's going to snow heavily today. Please return to the palace, Your Majesty!"

"Minister Zeng, are you well again? Or have you been lying to me all along?"

Zhu Houzhao asked a question and then shouted loudly.

Thanks to my friend BUCK for the 200 starting coins reward. Thank you to my friend Chaoxuexuechi for the 100 starting coins reward.

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(End of this chapter)