Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 362: Engineering Department Intern

I went up to the door and knocked on it several times, but there was still no movement from inside.

Just when Zhu Shenzhu was wondering whether Xu Xiancheng was not at home, the gate of the courtyard opposite creaked open.

"Are you... here to look for Lord Xu?" An old man poked his head out and looked at Zhu Shenzhui and the others, then asked.

"My dear father-in-law, Lord Xu Xiancheng is not at home?" Zhu Shenzhui asked with a bow.

"I dare not call you father-in-law. My surname is Sun, so you can just call me Old Man Sun. May I ask how many of you are Lord Xu...?" Old Man Sun hurriedly bowed in return.

"We came from Shanxi and were entrusted by Mr. Xu's family to visit Mr. Xu in the capital. We also brought a letter from home. I wonder when Mr. Xu can return home?" Zhu Shenzhui said politely.

Old Man Sun then showed a look of realization. He said, "Lord Xu went to the government office early this morning. These days, Lord Xu goes out early and comes back late every day. Sometimes he doesn't come back for two or three days. If you want to see Lord Xu, you have to come back later. But it's still uncertain whether Lord Xu can come back today. It depends on luck."

Zhu Shenzhui realized that he had come at an inopportune time. It seemed that Xu Xiancheng was not at home. But according to what he knew, Xu Xiancheng was currently working in the Ministry of Works. Was the Ministry of Works so busy? Xu Xiancheng was just observing government affairs. There was no need for him to be so busy, right?
Looking at the sun, it's still early and it's not a good idea to continue waiting, not to mention when Xu Xiancheng will come back.

After thinking for a while, Zhu Shenzhui bowed to Old Man Sun and thanked him, then asked Old Man Sun if he could help him.

Old Man Sun smiled and said that it was of course no problem to help, and asked if he wanted him to deliver a message to Xu Xiancheng on behalf of Zhu Shenzhui. Zhu Shenzhui nodded and said that was exactly the case. He told Old Man Sun to tell them that Xu Xiancheng had been there when he came back, and asked Xu Xiancheng to find time to come and see him. He also left his address with Old Man Sun and took the initiative to give him half a dollar.

Old man Sun waved his hands repeatedly, refusing to take the money. He smiled and said that it was just a small matter of delivering a message, and there was no need to be so polite. Xu Xiancheng lived opposite his house, and the two families were neighbors. There was no need to be so polite for such a small thing. Besides, Xu Xiancheng was a newly-appointed Jinshi, which was the incarnation of Wenquxing. It was a blessing to be a neighbor of an ordinary citizen like him in several lifetimes. He was already blessed by Xu Xiancheng's literary spirit. How could he accept his money for such a small matter?
After some arguing, seeing that Old Man Sun really refused to take the money, Zhu Shenzhui had no choice but to give up. He thanked Old Man Sun once again and left.

After leaving the alley, Zhu Shencui led his men towards his residence in the capital. Although it was Zhu Shencui's first time to the capital, he had already settled in a house in the capital. This house was bought in the name of Hengtong Trading Company and had been vacant all the time. Someone would clean and maintain it regularly on weekdays.

Compared with the small courtyard where Xu Xiancheng lived, this house is much better, and its location is also quite good.

The house was a two-courtyard building with all kinds of furniture and daily necessities. After arriving and taking a look around, Zhu Shenzui was quite satisfied with the place and moved in with his people.

After a long journey, he felt a little tired after settling down. He washed up and changed his clothes. Zhu Shenzhui's men had also packed up, so he waved his hand and asked them to go down and rest.

On that day, Xu Xianben did not come to visit. Zhu Shenzhu, who had already learned about the situation from Old Man Sun, was not in a hurry. After all, the person had already come, and a day earlier or later would not matter.

After a night's rest, Zhu Shenzhui left one person to guard the door the next day and took another person to tour the capital. He walked without a clear purpose and just wandered around the capital like ordinary people, going wherever he went. He went to several places that day and saw the prosperity of the capital. He also saw the Forbidden City from afar. At noon, he found a restaurant to have lunch. After lunch, he found a teahouse and listened to a play in the teahouse. He also listened with relish to the conversations of the people at the next table, from which he also learned some rumors about the capital.

It was not until the evening that Zhu Shenzhui returned to his residence. Not long after he got home and before he had dinner, Xu Xiancheng finally arrived.

"Brother-in-law! Why is it you?" Xu Xiancheng was extremely surprised to see Zhu Shencui. He thought it was just a fellow villager sending him a letter, but he didn't expect Zhu Shencui to appear in the capital.

As soon as he said this, Xu Xiancheng quickly shut up again, looking around nervously. You know, Zhu Shenzhui is a member of the imperial clan, and the court rules say that members of the imperial clan cannot leave their place unless summoned. It was fine when he was in Shanxi, but the emperor was far away, and Zhu Shenzhui had the help of Zhou Anmin and Wang Rong. If he sneaked out of Pingyang or even went to the grassland with a fake identity, no one would know as long as he covered it up well. But this is the capital, not Pingyang. If someone knew Zhu Shenzhui's true identity, it would be a big deal.

"It doesn't matter. The people who come with me all live here. As long as you don't shout on the streets, no one will know who I am." Zhu Shenzhui said half seriously and half jokingly.

Xu Xiancheng finally reacted and smiled awkwardly, then asked Zhu Shenzhui if his journey was smooth, if his family was okay, and how his sister and two nephews were.
He replied to Xu Xiancheng's words one by one, and took out the letter from Xu Jingqiu to Xu Xiancheng from his arms. After reading the letter, Xu Xiancheng felt emotional. It had been two years since he broke up with his sister and brother-in-law last time. Time passed so quickly. He was still a teenager back then, but now he has passed the imperial examination and become an official appointed by the court.

Looking at Xu Xiancheng, he saw that he was wearing a green official uniform with a egret pattern on it, which was a sixth-rank official uniform. He immediately asked Xu Xiancheng whether he had been granted an official position.

Xu Xiancheng smiled and told Zhu Shenzhu that his official position had not been officially granted yet, and wearing this official uniform now only confirmed his rank. As a newly-appointed Jinshi, the 67th in the second class, Xu Xiancheng had a rank of the sixth rank, but his official position would not be granted until the end of the observation period, which would be after the New Year, in February next year.

The two hadn't seen each other for a long time. When they met again, they talked a few words and returned to the warm feeling when Xu Xiancheng lived in Pingyang. After chatting for a while, Zhu Shenzhui asked Xu Xiancheng if he was observing government affairs in the Ministry of Works. Yesterday, he went to see Xu Xiancheng, and the old man Sun across from him said that he was very busy at the government office, and sometimes he didn't come back for two or three days. Could it be that the Ministry of Works had so many things to do? How could a newly-minted Jinshi observing government affairs be so busy?

"Ah, this is hard to explain in just a few words. There are indeed a lot of things to do in the Ministry of Works right now, so it is natural to be busy." Xu Xiancheng told Zhu Shenzhui that the work of the Ministry of Works was very heavy now, mainly because several major events were all put together. In addition, the eunuch party and the Donglin party in the court were fighting fiercely, and the Ministry of Works was very short of staff. He, a newly-minted Jinshi who was observing politics, was assigned the task as soon as he reported to the Ministry of Works. He has been so busy these days that he has no time to rest.

"Those things?" Zhu Shenzhui asked curiously. The Ministry of Works did not have a strong presence among the six ministries, and its ranking was relatively low. Generally speaking, the Ministry of Works, as the name implies, was responsible for construction and engineering, such as building water conservancy projects, city walls, civil engineering, mining, and even military industry.

To put it bluntly, the Ministry of Works, one of the Six Ministries, is equal to the sum of the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the military industry department of later generations. Compared with the Ministry of Revenue in charge of money and grain, the Ministry of Personnel in charge of personnel, the Ministry of War mainly responsible for military affairs, the Ministry of Justice in charge of criminal law, and the Ministry of Rites in charge of sacrifices and diplomacy, the Ministry of Works is often ranked last among the Six Ministries and is also a department that is usually responsible for actual work.

"There are quite a few things to say." Xu Xiancheng said, "The situation in Liaodong is a bit tense right now. Previously, Lord Sun, the governor of Ji-Liao, implemented a strategy of defending as an offense in Liaodong and adopted a tactic of steadily blocking Liaodong. The Houjin and Jiannu in Liaodong are having a hard time."

"Even before Lord Sun left office, the Liaodong Jiannu had already shown signs of decline. If we continue to sit back and watch our Great Ming continue like this, they will either die of starvation or of being trapped to death."

"In order to break the impasse, the old slave Nurhaci has shown signs of starting a war again in Liaodong. Not long ago, news came from Liaodong that the Later Jin Jiannu have been gathering their forces. I am afraid that it will not be long before the war in Liaodong will break out again. Once the war starts, although our Ming Dynasty has strong city walls and powerful artillery, it is still necessary to prepare all materials. Let's not talk about food and grass for now. Just a large amount of military equipment including gunpowder, etc., these are all the work of the Ministry of Works. These days, they are preparing and transporting for the Liaodong war."

"Apart from the Liaodong incident, the local areas are not peaceful either. This year, various places have suffered heavy losses. Although the court exempted local taxes and grain and mobilized grain for disaster relief, local water conservancy and other issues also fell on the Ministry of Works. These days, the Ministry of Works has sent many people to various places to build various projects to alleviate the local disaster situation, which has also lost some manpower."

"In addition, since last year, His Majesty has ordered the construction of the three main halls, and this project is also in the charge of the Ministry of Works. In theory, the Ministry of Works can just follow the previous rules, but our Majesty is not an ordinary person. His Majesty personally took care of the construction of the three main halls from planning to implementation. From material selection to engineering planning and implementation, His Majesty is very careful. As a result, the Ministry of Works is under great pressure and is extremely busy."

After listening to Xu Xiancheng's explanation, Zhu Shenzui finally understood why the Ministry of Works was so busy. No wonder Xu Xiancheng, a newly-minted Jinshi who was observing politics, was so busy after joining the Ministry of Works that he even had no time to go home.

Of these matters, the first two were major ones. Whether it was the Liaodong war situation or local disaster relief, including water conservancy construction, they were all the responsibilities of the Ministry of Works, so they naturally had to be taken seriously. As for Emperor Tianqi's construction of the three main halls, it was also no small matter. The three main halls had not been built for nearly 30 years since the Wanli period. As time went by, the three main halls had fallen into disrepair for many years. If they were not repaired, it would be a disaster if the halls collapsed one day.

These are the three main halls of the Forbidden City, representing not only the emperor's face, but also the majesty of the empire. It was reasonable for Emperor Tianqi to build the three main halls at this time. But the problem was that Emperor Tianqi was not an ordinary person. He was proficient in carpentry and had a strong talent for construction. While he required the construction of the three main halls, he also personally designed and planned them, and personally served as the supervisor.

From the selection of materials and the determination of the specific construction plan to the planning of funds and the allocation of manpower, Emperor Tianqi can be said to have taken care of everything. This made the Ministry of Works difficult. With the emperor personally watching over it, the Ministry of Works could only bite the bullet and do as the emperor required. Moreover, Emperor Tianqi had extremely high requirements, and he wanted to achieve the best results with the least amount of money, which made the Ministry of Works even more miserable. At this time, a newly-minted scholar like Xu Xiancheng came to the Ministry of Works to observe politics. The bigwigs in the Ministry of Works were eager to let Xu Xiancheng, a newcomer, take over. As a result, Xu Xiancheng joined the project responsible for the construction of the three main halls before he even had time to get comfortable. He went back and forth to several construction sites every day, was responsible for the construction site, and coordinated various affairs, and was very busy.

(End of this chapter)