marquis of jingan

Chapter 1055 The Magic Reform of Justice

After talking about the matter in the south, Zhou Yuanlang hesitated for a moment, and said, "Your Majesty, today I heard that the newly appointed governor of the capital city whipped the people on the street, and even trampled to death two vegetable farmers..."

"Many officials are talking about this today..."

"Look..."

The current situation in Yandu is somewhat complicated.

A few months after the new emperor ascended the throne, his position gradually stabilized, so he began to cultivate his cronies and placed them in various confidential government offices.

Most of the courtiers in the court kowtowed to King Qi in the past, and they were also worried that one day the new emperor would bring up the old matter again, so they were extraordinarily well-behaved. What official vacancies are given.

Try not to give the new emperor any excuse to fall out.

And here is the problem.

There was mutual distrust between the emperor and his ministers.

If it is a normal new emperor ascending the throne, although he has to control the key yamen in the court as soon as possible after succeeding to the throne, he usually chooses among the original officials in the court, that is, to win over a group and suppress a group at the same time. This group is the victors of the new dynasty's struggle, and will also become the new emperor's loyalists.

But now, the vast majority of people in the court had worshiped King Qi as emperor at the beginning, and there was a natural gap between the monarch and his ministers. Therefore, in the process of grabbing power, Zhao Kai did not choose from the original officials of the court. It is the old story of King Wei's mansion.

And...the group of people who "started a business" with him at the beginning.

For example, the Zhou family, the Tu family, and the most important Lang family.

In fact, in that coup, the one who benefited the most was Zhao Kai's mother clan, which was one of Zhu Lizhen's old clans, the Lang family.

In fact, after the new year was changed to the Yuan Dynasty, the Yandu court added two new prime ministers, and one of them was surnamed Lang.

Lang Cheng, cousin of Zhao Kai, Emperor Wu of Zhao.

Zhu Lizhen's old family, when they entered the customs, they all established their families with martial arts, and most of them are still generals. For example, the Lang family, many of them are distributed in various armies, and even take care of the imperial army for a long time.

As a result, there are no scholars in the Lang family.

Although Tong Jian and Ma Cheng of the former emperor's dynasty were also from Zhu Lizhen's old family, both of them were serious Jinshi scholars.

And the newly appointed prime minister...

It's hard to say.

It can only be said that he can read and read.

He was abruptly carried into the meeting hall by the new emperor.

The matter of Lang Cheng worshiping the prime minister is just a microcosm of Yandu's political situation.

Because of this mistake in the succession of the throne, almost all key yamen in Yandu now have low-quality personnel.

For example, the newly appointed Governor of Kyoto, named Lang Shiqi, should be regarded as the cousin of Emperor Zhaowu Zhao Kai, who has only been in office for seven or eight days.

The emperor raised his head, looked at Zhou Yuanlang, and frowned slightly: "Are many people talking about this?"

Zhou Yuanlang smiled wryly in his heart, and after slightly bowing his head, he said respectfully: "Back to the emperor, there are many people discussing this matter in court, after all, it is in broad daylight, and the influence..."

"Too bad."

The emperor rubbed his chin and thought about it for a moment, then said: "Then I will pass on the decree to bury the two vegetable farmers generously, and ask the Kyoto Prefecture to compensate them with some money. At the same time..."

The emperor said in a muffled voice: "I ordered Lang Shiqi to be fined for one year, demoted to one level, and put on hold in his original position."

Although Zhou Yuanlang now only has the official position of Zhongshu Sheren, because he has won the trust of the new emperor, what he does is actually a secretary's job, and he has a lot of say in the new dynasty.

But hearing the emperor's decision, he subconsciously frowned.

This punishment is too light, it can be said that it is not painful.

In Zhou Yuanlang's view, although Lang Shiqi's position as governor of the capital is difficult to shake, at least he should give a few symbolic slaps, and then kill the horse that trampled to death in public, and declare it to the outside world as a crazy horse hurting people, so that the matter can pass.

However, thinking that Zhu Li was always arrogant and didn't treat Han people as human beings, Zhou Yuanlang quickly lowered his head to hide his frown.

"emperor…"

"wise."

…………

Xuzhou Prefecture.

In an unremarkable farm outside Xuzhou City, Master Shen is in the backyard of this large farm.

At this time, his hands had turned silver-black, and there were also one or two streaks of inconspicuous black ash on his face.

However, his eyes were quite excited.

Because, in front of him, there was an inconspicuous black ball.

The black ball is hollow, about the size of an adult's fist, and it is in one piece, but there is a hole exposed.

At this time, the hollow black ball was already filled with gunpowder, and a reed was inserted through the hole.

The black ball was placed in the middle of the courtyard. Master Shen personally held the torch, carefully lit the reeds that ignited the fire, and then retreated quickly.

As the reeds are ignited, the fire is quickly passed into the black ball filled with gunpowder.

"boom!"

A violent explosion resounded throughout the yard.

The iron balls were scattered in all directions.

Master Shen rushed up quickly, and then said loudly: "Pick up all the pieces, hurry up!"

There were dozens of people following him, and they immediately began to search around. After looking for a cup of tea, they finally gathered the fragments together, and the seamless iron ball was blown into six pieces.

Shen Yi looked at the fragments in front of him, and frowned: "The iron wall is too thick, and it's made of a mold, so it won't break when blown up."

He said to a middle-aged man who was also covered in black and looked in his early 30s: "If you send it to the battlefield like this, it won't do much damage."

This middle-aged man's surname is Chang, and he is the master of Shen Yi's gunpowder workshop.

He came from the firearms supervisor of the Bingzhang Bureau, and later followed Shen Yi to the Huai'an Army. He was basically responsible for the artillery and gunpowder of the Huai'an Army.

Chang Ping carefully looked at these fragments, thought for a while, and said, "Master Shen, if we ignite the fire on the ground, the explosive force will naturally be smaller. If it is fired from the gun barrel, it will be hit by the gunpowder in the barrel, and it will almost explode." enough."

Chang Ping said very seriously: "If the iron wall is thinner, I'm afraid it won't be able to withstand the explosion of the gunpowder in the barrel, and it will explode directly."

Shen Yi also thought about it seriously, and then said: "Well, bring a few cannons, let's shoot with real cannons, and then see the results."

Chang Ping nodded: "Just right, two or three new-style cannons have been made. At this time tomorrow, Mr. Shen, come back and let's use the new cannons to test this new shell."

Master Shen has been in the gunpowder workshop for almost a whole day now.

He wiped the gunpowder dust on his face with his sleeve, then took another black ball, played with it in his hand for a while, and said in a low voice, "If shells of this specification are feasible later, when you fill them with gunpowder, You can add some iron pieces and pottery pieces into it.”

After Chang Ping heard Shen Yi's words, the muscles on his face twitched uncontrollably, and his eyelids twitched.

This young Jinshi gentleman... looks gentle and refined, but...

The heart is so cruel!

Mr. Shen rubbed his chin and thought about it for a while, and then said: "In a few days, a batch of... um... chili powder will be delivered. Then it will be mixed with gunpowder in proportion and filled into the cannonballs."

At this time, peppers have not been introduced on a large scale, and even Shen Yi has not seen where they are planted.

However, after Xu Fu's fleet was able to go to sea, Shen Yi immediately asked him to bring back pepper seeds, and it has been several years now.

The cultivation of chili peppers has also been done on a small scale.

At this time, although it is still very expensive, it is not a problem to get some chili powder as a weapon.

With chili powder, the usefulness of the flower bomb will be greatly increased immediately, because after it is filled with chili powder, it is more than just a killing skill.

It will be a control skill!

After discussing the filling of the shells, Shen Yi communicated with Chang Ping about the idea of ​​the fuse. After all, using reeds is a bit too primitive.

It's better to get the serious gunpowder fuse out.

If you don't have that craft for the time being, dipping hemp rope in tung oil can also be considered.

After roughly talking about the production process, Master Shen was playing with a black ball, and said to Chang Ping with a smile: "Tomorrow, I will test the cannon, and if I go one step further than the old cannon, I will reward you with an extra tael of silver."

Chang Ping looked at Shen Yi: "Master Shen, is it only for the younger one, or..."

Shen Yi smiled and said: "All the craftsmen who participated have a share."

Chang Ping was overjoyed when he heard the words, and was about to speak when Shen Yi continued: "Master Chang, the five hundred firearms and gunpowder craftsmen sent by the imperial court are estimated to arrive in a few days."

Master Shen looked serious.

"After the test of the cannon and the cannonball in the past few days, you, the firearms workshop, should rush out the new cannon and this new type of cannonball for me as soon as possible."

"The sooner the better."

Chang Ping patted his chest, and a large piece of gunpowder ash was released, which made Master Shen almost unable to open his eyes, and had to take two steps back.

Master Chang has a very loud voice.

"Master Shen, don't worry, your lord has treated our brothers in the gunpowder workshop very well these past few years. Now your lord needs us. Brothers don't eat or sleep, and you must do well what your lord has told you!"

"It doesn't matter if you don't eat or sleep."

Master Shen waved his hand and fanned away the gunpowder ash, then looked up at the sky, made a silent calculation in his heart, and then said with a smile.

"Within two or three months, the number that can be driven out is enough for a big battle..."

"That's it."