Rebirth of the Ming Dynasty: Sixth Generation of Glory, I don't want it

"That makes sense. It's feasible."

Zhu Gaochi nodded, and when he picked up his pen to write it down, he happened to see the number of candidates selected in this year's special examination that he was looking at.

Yang Shiqi submitted a memorial saying that too many people were recruited this time.

There are more than a hundred Jinshi who have no place to stay, are unemployed in Beijing, and have huge expenses. They asked if they could return to their hometowns and wait.

"How about letting these young people with nowhere to go help with disaster relief?"

Zhu Gaochi felt that he had found a place for these people.

“How many exactly?”

Zhang Xin asked.

"My father said that this is a special exam, and we will admit the majority. Also, it is not easy to study, and we don't need to worry too much about those who have a few grammatical errors in their writings but do not harm the main idea. Plain and simple works can also be admitted, but those whose writing style is not frivolous are not welcome. In addition, this is the first time that the volumes are divided into north and south, and in the end 472 people were admitted, and now there are 187 people stranded in the capital."

"Almost two hundred? I'm afraid I can't carry it..."

Isn't it that Zhang Xin looks down on these scholars who have studied hard for ten years and have only a partial understanding of the sufferings of the people?

Most of them are physically weak, and every time there is an examination, there are always some who come out sideways.

Those who walked out were not much better off.

Repairing rivers, controlling floods and providing disaster relief are all hard work.

Local authorities also hate having such people sent there. Most of them are incompetent and cannot be used properly. When they meet those who really think they are big shots, they will flatter and serve them.

"I'm not asking them to take care of disaster relief. They can't do that. I'm asking them to deal with the matter of buying food from the various state governments. It's a good opportunity to train them in advance. Besides, they haven't even become officials yet, so they don't dare to be greedy for money."

Zhu Gaochi grinned evilly.

"That's fine. Give some to the Royal Commercial Bureau, too."

Zhang Xin thought Zhu Gaochi’s idea was good and also put forward his own demands.

Whether it is the Royal Treasure Shop or the Royal Sugar Candy Shop, there is only one.

But the daily amount is a bit scary.

The demand for the Qilin windows at the Treasure House was in short supply. The Qilin workshop expanded again and again, and recruited batch after batch of apprentices, but it was still not enough.

In Baotangfang, the most basic white sugar is in short supply, and the sugar-making workshop is working day and night.

It would be fine if it was just normal orders, but even the workshop has a research department.

New products emerge in an endless stream, and Zhang Xin always takes a look at them before putting them up for sale.

At the end of last year, she was overwhelmed with the work, along with her two sisters-in-law, and the occasional help from Wei and Guo.

At the beginning of this year, Zhu Gaochi set up a Royal Commerce Bureau to help her take care of these matters.

Many of the female officials in the palace were assigned by Zhang Xin to the Commerce Bureau, where they were responsible for purchasing raw materials, negotiating prices, and signing contracts.

But being a woman does have its shortcomings.

Especially now that it involves maritime trade.

We can't let them hang out at places like the dock where all kinds of people gather every day.

People on the sea are not afraid of death and are not very particular. They drift on the sea for a year or so, and after getting off the boat, they don't care about food or drink.

It turned out that some women who were doing laundry at the dock were even raped.

In this regard, men have an advantage.

"Okay, let's create a new position called Business Traveler. When you have decided how many you want, let me know."

Zhu Gaochi had no objection.

After all, when men and women work together, the work becomes less tiring.

Just like in this palace, there are palace maids and eunuchs.

It is difficult for a class of only girls to last long. Zhang Xin has already thought of this, so there is no need for him to remind her.

"Well, about five or six. I'll give you the exact number tomorrow."

Zhang Xin had just finished speaking when Wu Shanggong's voice came in from outside:

"Grand Prince, Grand Princess, someone from the Imperial Observatory is here to deliver something."

"So fast?"

Zhang Xin was very surprised.

"Of course I need something fast if my wife wants it!"

Zhu Gaochi was proud.

"Let them in."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Several young eunuchs quickly carried something half a person's height covered with red cloth into the study. Zhu Gaochi waved his hand and asked them to place it on the large desk in the middle of the study used by the little ones.

Qian'er stepped forward and lifted the red cloth. As soon as the things in the red cloth touched the sunlight coming in through the window of the study, they immediately reflected thousands of rays of light.

"Hey! And you want to make a glass cover?"

"Yes, Your Highness. Our Lords call this a crystal self-strike clock."

The people from the Imperial Observatory could hardly hide their pride.

"Good! Let's forget about it next time. Use solid wood. If you really want to be extravagant, use nanmu. This glass cover is a bit too much."

Zhang Xin wanted to cover her face.

It turns out that the people in the Imperial Observatory liked such exaggerated shapes. No wonder the first edition of the crystal clepsydra was smashed by the late emperor.

"Indeed. The dial is made of linden. It's hard to see clearly after the outer layer is applied."

Zhu Gaochi knocked on the outer shell of the crystal self-striking clock and took a closer look.

At the top is a round dial with two pointers that appear to be motionless.

Below are two crystal dolls, each holding a copper stick.

"Your Highness, this clock will strike at the exact time. The short hand on top is the hour hand, and the long hand is the quarter hand. As long as it is wound up, the clock will run on its own and strike at the exact time. If it is not the exact time, just look at the direction of the hour hand and quarter hand. For example, it is the 15th hour at 5 p.m."

Someone from the Imperial Observatory explained on the side.

“Does it have to be this big?”

Zhang Xin thought it might be bigger, but she never thought it would be this big now.

There were only a few pieces of the crystal clepsydra fragments that I picked up when I was cleaning the warehouse.

"It's not their fault. My son reminded me. When selling things, bigger ones are more valuable."

Zhu Gaochi replied.

"Silly or not, big things have their own value, and small things have their own value!"

Zhang Xin really wanted to pinch that fat guy Zhu Gaochi.

This is clearly a lack of knowledge.

Because the capital was going to be moved, Zhang Xin wanted to tidy up and pack up several warehouses in the palace in advance when he was not so busy.

Then a bag of crystal fragments was found in the emperor's grandfather's warehouse.

After looking through the records, I found that this was a crystal clepsydra made by the Imperial Observatory specifically for my grandfather in the early years of the Hongwu period.

It took six months to make a small, exquisite and beautiful piece of work. It contains two little puppets holding small drums.

The difference from an ordinary clepsydra is that this crystal clepsydra can tell time automatically, and the fixed little puppet will automatically hit the small drum it is holding, making a sound to remind the time.

However, the Sitianjian's flattery backfired.

My great grandfather only said - stop working on all kinds of affairs and focus on this, this is what is called doing useless things but may do harm.

The Imperial Observatory spent six months to produce something, but the Emperor's grandfather said it was meaningless and a waste of time.

It was like a bucket of cold water poured over my heart.