The Heavens Begin with Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 95: When it comes to shady people, civil officials are the experts
Zhan Ershisi’s reward has not come yet.

As time goes by, the Jockey Club's ability to attract money becomes more and more terrifying.

Today, the Jockey Club makes a stable profit and tax of tens of thousands of taels every month, and this is paid into the national treasury. The silver transported to the inner treasury is carried in cartloads.

The reward originally prepared for Zhan Ershisi was no longer appropriate after a few days.

There was no need for anyone to remind him. When the emperor looked at the numbers in the account himself, he felt that such a reward was too unfair to the meritorious officials.

So the reward was delayed day by day. The longer it was delayed, the harder it was to decide, and the higher the level of the reward.

In other words, the emperor did not have a princess of the right age, otherwise he might have simply granted the marriage and turned the Zhan family into royal relatives.

What is giving the emperor the most headache now is what name to use to distribute the credit.

Things like the Jockey Club and taxation cannot be brought to the table, otherwise the civil officials will certainly shout about competing with the people for profits, selling official positions and titles, etc. There may also be those who seek fame and sell their integrity and try to do tricks like speaking out against the emperor.

Xia Shouzhong accepted the money from Mr. Zhan, and knowing that Mr. Zhan was favored by the emperor, he certainly didn't mind doing him a favor, so he secretly informed him.

After listening to this, Mr. Zhan had an idea in his mind. After secretly discussing with Xia Shouzhong, he decided to make new achievements.

This kind of meritorious service would be extremely difficult for others, but Mr. Zhan is a time traveler, and for him to come up with something that would benefit the country and the people, it would be a hundred times easier than for people in this world, if not easier.

When making honeycomb coal stoves and ovens, Master Zhan gathered a large number of blacksmiths and spent a lot of money to have them try to build a blast furnace for iron smelting.

A few years passed, and the furnace had been completed. The steel-refining technology was also steadily improving. However, due to his low status, he was worried that if he handed it over, not only would his credit be lost, but his life would also be in danger, so he kept it in his hands.

But now he is in the emperor's favor, and he has the help of Prince Zhongshun and the eunuch Xia Shouzhong in the six palaces. No one can take away his credit, and it is time to exchange it for benefits.

Mr. Zhan immediately had someone sort out the information, and then took it to Prince Zhongshun's mansion to ask for an audience.

Although he could also hand over the information directly to the current emperor through Xia Shouzhong, he is not a true lone minister. How could he bypass Prince Zhongshun and communicate directly with the emperor? That would be very offensive!

Anyway, Xia Shouzhong is eyeing the credit, and Prince Zhongshun can't take it all away. So what's the harm in giving him a share? It will make his family safer and prevent people from thinking that his Zhan family has ulterior motives.

"Hey, Master Zhan is here, please come in quickly, the prince was just talking about you!"

As soon as he saw Zhan Twenty-four, the palace's steward smiled like a flower.

It’s not just because Prince Zhongshun values ​​him, but also because several of his relatives work in key positions in the Jockey Club, you know!
"Haha...Thank you, butler. Please help me inform him that I have brought some goodies here and I plan to ask the prince to help present them to His Majesty."

After hearing this, the housekeeper couldn't help but feel happy again, thinking that there was another benefit to be gained. He smiled and led Zhan 24 into the living room, sat him down and served him tea, and then went to report the news.

A moment later, accompanied by a burst of laughter, Prince Zhongshun strode in, his eyes bright and looking at Zhan 24 with anticipation.

"What good things did Zhan Qing bring me?"

"How would it compare to a horse?"

Zhan Ershisi then smiled and said:

"The Jockey Club is just a small amount of money, not a weapon for the country."

"What I brought this time is a treasure that can truly strengthen the country. It is not comparable to what the Jockey Club can bring."

After hearing this, Prince Zhongshun was even more delighted and hurriedly asked what happened.

Zhan Ershisi placed the drawings and other items on the table, unfolded them and explained in detail:

"The pictures above show blast furnaces for iron and open-hearth furnaces for steel, which can produce tens of thousands of pounds of iron and thousands of pounds of fine steel every day."

"With sufficient steel, farmers' sickles and plowshares can be upgraded, and farming efficiency will increase several times. Even reclaiming wasteland will be much easier."

"If the soldiers in the army have enough steel swords and iron armor, they will be well-equipped. Even if there are more bandit troubles, they will not be able to shake the foundation of the court."

"There are even more requirements for steel for the guns and cannons. With sufficient guns and cannons, we won't have to be afraid of the barbarians outside the Great Wall."

In fact, there was no need for Zhan Ershi to say anything. Although Prince Zhongshun was a bit domineering, he was not a fool. As soon as he saw Zhan Ershi's expression, he knew that this thing was a good thing.

However, he was not familiar with the steel production data. He could not tell what was good about it and how good it was, so he simply asked directly:

"How does it compare to the Foundry of the Ministry of Industry?"

"Of course it is far better!" Zhan Ershisi answered firmly.

"The furnace temperature of the foundry is not high enough to turn steel into liquid steel. Often, it needs to be forged manually, which is very inefficient. In addition, it is difficult to control the carbon content. The sulfur content is high, and the quality is also worrying."

"My new furnace uses coal coke to directly turn ore into molten steel with extremely low sulfur content, and produces both iron and steel quickly and at high quality."

"Okay!" Prince Zhongshun slapped his thigh and believed Zhan Ershisi's words without asking any further questions. "Come here, prepare the car. I want to go to the palace to see the emperor."

Zhan 24 said hurriedly:
"I have already built a furnace. It is now in one of my manors outside the city, not in the winemaking workshop. Your Majesty, do you want to go and see the real thing?"

Prince Zhongshun waved his hand and said with great joy:
"No need!"

"This king trusts you!"

"Ever since the establishment of the Jockey Club, I have known that you are a man of great talent and a cautious person."

"Since you dare to take this thing out and want to report it to the court, you must have carefully verified it many times, and you are not afraid of being guilty of deceiving the emperor."

"You should return to your residence for now and wait for news. If His Majesty sends someone to investigate, someone will go to your residence to inform you."

Zhan Ershisi watched Prince Zhongshun get on the car and head towards the palace, while he returned home first to wait for follow-up news.

Less than an hour later, Qiu Shi'an, the eunuch in charge of the Prime Minister and the Imperial Court, arrived with his men.

When Zhan Ershisi came out, he saw Qiu Shian approaching him with a smile on his face and shaking his hand, being very polite.

"I've heard for a long time that Mr. Zhan is a man of many talents. He can not only make money through business, but also invent new things. His reputation is well-deserved!"

"I am so glad to see you today. You are indeed so graceful. I really regret that we met too late."

When Mr. Zhan saw his attitude, he knew that he was one of his own, so he took the opportunity of shaking hands to stuff a few banknotes into his hand, which really made Qiu Shian's smile more sincere.

After the two of them exchanged a few polite words, Qiu Shian explained his purpose.

"The Emperor asked me to come and see if the stove is really that good."

Zhan Ershisi waved his hand and said:
"Whatever I say now is all empty talk. Let's go to the farm outside the city and see for ourselves. This will also allow the eunuch to tell His Majesty clearly when he returns to the palace."

The two men mounted their horses together, rode out of the city at full speed, and arrived at the secluded farm of the Zhan family, where they saw the large chimney emitting black smoke.

Mr. Zhan’s skills are not up to standard, and this furnace is not environmentally friendly at all. Fortunately, there are green mountains and clear waters everywhere these days, so it is not rare at all, and Qiu Shian doesn’t care.

The two men arrived at the furnace, and Master Zhan gave an order to start the furnace. Qiu Shian then saw the blacksmiths pouring baskets of ore into the furnace, and then the flames began to rise. Soon, a pot of red-hot molten iron was released from the furnace mouth and was guided into the mold, where it solidified into iron ingots in the blink of an eye.

Then we see the molten iron being introduced into the open-hearth furnace to remove carbon and sulfur, and what finally flows out is molten steel, which is still solidified into ingots and placed aside.

The beauty of industry is completely incomprehensible to those who have not seen it.

But once you have seen it once, you will never forget the shock.

Qiu Shian and those young eunuchs were shocked immediately!

They had been to the Ministry of Industry before and had seen how iron and steel were smelted there. There were naked men in the room, stirring things up with sticks, and one could fall and die if they were not careful.

Even if you make raw iron, you still have to hammer and hit it, and the whole room will be filled with the clanging sound, which is extremely harsh.

But here there is no need for those complicated procedures. It is straightforward and neat, and the difference is obvious at first glance.

Zhan Ershisi smiled and said to them:

"If a mold is added here, it can be directly cast in one piece without forging."

"But we dare not forge iron tools here carelessly, lest it bring disaster, so they are all steel ingots and iron ingots."

Qiu Shian took a deep breath, and when he looked at Zhan 24 again, his eyes changed.

In the past, he only regarded Mr. Zhan as a businessman who was lucky and good at making money. All the flattery before was just some polite words. But now, he truly believed that this Mr. Zhan was really a talented person.

Qiu Shian bowed to Master Zhan and said with great emotion:

"Mr. Zhan's wonderful method is definitely far superior to that of the Ministry of Works. It would be a pity if he didn't become an official in the Ministry of Works!"

"I will return to the palace and report this matter to the emperor. I will definitely not let Mr. Zhan's contribution be wiped out."

After saying this, Qiu Shian mounted his horses and rode back with his men, entering the palace directly and explaining the situation in detail.

The emperor was surprised but still found it hard to believe it, so he immediately asked someone to copy the drawings and give them to Qi Yun, the Minister of Works, to verify the technical authenticity.

Although Shangshu Qi was in charge of the Ministry of Works, he was a genuine Jinshi and a position of integrity. How could he understand the technology? So he hurriedly summoned the craftsmen to ask them.

The drawings are detailed and have clear numbers. The old craftsmen have been working as ironworkers for their entire lives and have accumulated a lot of experience. They are just missing that one crucial thing, which will be easily understood once you understand it.

However, it is difficult to be sure about the output written on the drawing. After all, technology is technology. Who knows whether it can produce so much if you don’t try?
Minister Qi thought about it and wanted to take the credit for it, but he didn't know where the emperor got the drawings. He was worried that he would end up losing more than he gained, so he secretly asked his connections in the palace to find out. Then he found out that this was done by Zhan Niansi, who set up the Jockey Club.

As soon as he heard the name Zhan Niansi, Minister Qi frowned.

Originally, after the current emperor ascended the throne, because most of the meritorious military officials obeyed the orders of the Supreme Emperor, he relied more on the power of the civil officials. It cannot be said that they were obedient, but there was a sense of great peace and prosperity in the world where the emperor ruled without any effort.

But since this man named Zhan set up the Jockey Club, the situation has changed.

Now that the emperor has money in his inner treasury, he is no longer content with what he has. He begins to try to pay for things out of his own pocket that the civil officials have clearly opposed.

This is not good!

As for the emperor, it is best for him and his subjects to get along well with each other and discuss everything together. How can he do things recklessly?
Isn't this a serious violation of national laws?

If the monarch always acts like this, where is the dignity of the court?
Where is the order among officials?

And it all started with this guy named Zhan!

"A flatterer!"

After sighing, Minister Qi paced around the room, thinking about how to deal with this guy who only knew how to use all kinds of tricks, so that the emperor would distance himself from this villain and get closer to them, the wise ministers.

Or, could we say that this technology was researched by the Ministry of Industry for a long time and was stolen by this guy named Zhan?

After thinking about it carefully for a while, Minister Qi gave up this idea. Now he only saw the blueprint, but he didn't know if there were any tricks that were not clearly written on the blueprint. If he confronted them in class, his own useless craftsman might be embarrassed.

It would be terrible if I were charged with deceiving the emperor!
The most important thing for an official has always been stability, safety first!

When it comes to harming people, civil officials are better at it. Before long, Minister Qi came up with a way.

He stood up and went to the palace to see the emperor. After seeing the emperor, he bowed and congratulated him:
"Congratulations, Your Majesty. I have gathered all the workers to study it carefully. The technology on the blueprint should be real. Although the final output will definitely not be as much as indicated on the blueprint, it will not be a problem to increase the steel production in the court by 10% or 20% each year."

"I wonder which master craftsman in the court created this military weapon?"

When the emperor heard this, his brows furrowed secretly.

After he looked at the drawings, he had great expectations for this kind of technology. When the eunuchs who were sent to see the actual product came back and added fuel to the fire, his expectations were even higher. But now, after hearing what Minister Qi said, the output did not increase several times, but only increased by 10% or 20%. The gap suddenly became bigger.

"Lord Qi, this blast furnace and other items were donated by a businessman. They have already been built and exist." "I have sent people to check it out. The production data is much higher than today's technology by more than 10% or 20%!"

After hearing what the emperor said, Minister Qi suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. He cursed Zhan Niansi for being cunning in his heart, and secretly felt lucky that he had not embezzled the credit. He immediately argued:
"Your Majesty, you may not know that if there is a slight deviation in the craftsmanship, the results will be very different."

"For those small-scale experiments, we selected the best craftsmen, the best materials, the best coal, the best ore..."

"That was made specifically for His Majesty to see, so of course the production volume will be much higher."

“But if it is promoted nationwide and applied on a large scale, and eventually reaches half the capacity of refined furnaces, that would be very remarkable!”

The emperor was immediately frightened, and his original expectations immediately dropped. Minister Qi observed his expression and immediately suggested:
"Your Majesty, since this merchant is proficient in iron smelting and has made great contributions by presenting the blueprint, Your Majesty may wish to reward him generously and give him a high position in the Ministry of Works, where he will be in charge of foundry matters."

The current emperor originally thought that Zhan Niansi was quite talented and planned to have him serve as an official in the court, but he was not from an imperial examination background, so there was a lot of resistance, and he didn't know how to get the civil servants to agree.

Unexpectedly, before he could even open his mouth, Minister Qi took the initiative to ask for people, and the biggest problem was solved.

The emperor was immediately delighted and said with a smile:
"The position of Suozheng is too low, so I'd better be the chief first. What do you think, Lord Qi?"

Minister Qi's original intention was to bring Zhan Niansi under his own command for training, and he didn't care about the rank of his official position. He immediately smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Your Majesty is so kind, I think that merchant will definitely do his best for you."

When the emperor and his ministers agreed, they asked someone to draft an edict and submit it to the cabinet for signature.

Xia Shouzhong and others accepted the silver from Zhan Ershisi. If someone was secretly making trouble, they would definitely come out to help speak up. However, since Minister Qi not only did not seem to be doing any harm but also provided an opportunity, everyone was happy to see it happen and would not say anything.

Soon, the imperial edict was issued, and Xia Shouzhong came personally with the edict, wanting to do a favor.

When the Zhan family heard the news, they hurriedly set up the incense table to welcome the imperial edict.

Xia Shouzhong stood in the middle, announced the order loudly, and then smiled and said to Zhan Ershisi:
"Master Zhan, please accept the order!"

Most of the people in front of the hall were the concubines and servants of the Zhan family. They had no idea what the imperial edict meant when they heard every word of it. But they understood the last sentence "head of the Ministry of Works". Knowing that their masters were going to be officials, they immediately became excited and looked at Master Zhan who was in the middle. They saw that their master had a frown on his face and refused to accept the edict.

"Hmm? Master Zhan..."

Xia Shouzhong was also puzzled. Did he not understand the imperial edict or what?

Why this expression?

He had no choice but to translate it.

"The Emperor has granted you an official position for your meritorious service, the head of the Ministry of Works, a sixth-rank official, specializing in foundry matters."

"You accept the order!"

Who would have thought that after he said that, Zhan Ershisi would be even less willing to accept his order.

"Your Majesty's grace is so great that I am deeply grateful."

"However, Zhan is just a businessman, not familiar with practical affairs, and is not qualified to be an official. Please tell His Majesty to accept this decree."

"Hmm?" Xia Shouzhong's eyes almost popped out, and he quickly interrupted, "Master Zhan, don't be modest. This official decree does not require this."

"Don't misunderstand, sir. Zhan is not being pretentious on purpose. I really don't want to be an official."

Zhan Ershisi stood up and stuffed a handful of banknotes over, then whispered:
"Eunuch, I only need an identity, not a specific position. Otherwise, there will be affairs to be arranged in the court. If I do more, I will make more mistakes. I don't know what will happen in the future!"

"If I really have to be an official, I would rather be a civil servant!"

"I'm not from an imperial examination background, so the upper limit for civil servants is very low!"

"What do I rely on to get ahead?"

"Is it an official performance evaluation?"

"No, it's His Majesty who values ​​you!"

"So if I want to be an official, I will only be an official for your Majesty, not for the imperial court. Do you understand?"

"So please help me think of a way to dismiss this position of the head of the Ministry of Works and replace it with a military officer!"

"It doesn't matter if it's a garrison, or any army or command, it's all fine!"

"If that doesn't work, you can join the Jinyi Tiqi and become a deputy official or a pacification envoy!"

"I will work under you, sir. Please take good care of me."

Xia Shouzhong suddenly realized what was going on. He smiled and pointed at Zhan Ershisi, then scolded:

"You sly fellow, you are obviously dissatisfied with your low position and slow promotion. Do you think I don't understand?"

Zhan Ershisi smiled and stuffed another handful of silver bills over. Anyway, these silver bills were all contributed by Lin Daiyu, so it would be a waste if they were not used. Even the step of money laundering could be saved.

Who dares to check the origin of the silver note in Xia Shouzhong's arms?

"Zhan is very self-aware. He is really not cut out to be an official. If he really enters the officialdom, he will be framed sooner or later. When the time comes, his family will be confiscated and his clan will be exterminated. Wouldn't that be a big loss?"

"It's so good now. I can hold on to His Majesty's thighs tightly and make some achievements. His Majesty will reward me. Even if I make any mistakes, there are eunuchs to help me turn things around. It's better than being ordered around like a dog by those big turbans."

"Ha ha……"

After hearing what Zhan Ershi said, Xia Shouzhong immediately smiled and praised:

"You are absolutely right!"

"We should be loyal to His Majesty. As long as we are loyal, we will naturally be rich and prosperous. We can't learn from those civil servants."

"We are counting on you!"

Xia Shouzhong put away the imperial edict, thought for a moment and said:

"In that case, I will go back to the palace and explain things to His Majesty. I will only talk about loyalty, nothing else."

"But it's hard to shirk this job at the Ministry of Industry. Minister Qi still needs your help in guiding him on how to rebuild the blast furnace!"

Xia Shouzhong immediately told Zhan 24 the previous situation in detail. After listening to it, Zhan 24 sneered with a gloomy face.

"Haha, I'm afraid Minister Qi has bad intentions!"

"My father-in-law was not familiar with this iron smelting business, so he was deceived by him!"

"The steel output of this new furnace is not at all what he said."

"Talking about the best craftsmen and the best ore is a joke!"

"I am just a businessman. How can I have good craftsmen or good ore? The best ones are in the hands of the Ministry of Industry!"

"He is clearly deliberately talking nonsense in front of Your Majesty to deceive Your Majesty, trying to belittle our technology and reduce the guilt of his Ministry of Works for doing nothing."

"After the new furnace was built, he controlled the output and just said that our technology was not that good. Naturally, my contribution was much smaller."

"Then every once in a while, he would increase the production and just say that the Ministry of Industry had improved the furnace technology, and all the credit would naturally be his!"

Xia Shouzhong was also a veteran in the officialdom. He just didn't know much about iron smelting before, so he was fooled by Minister Qi. Now, after being awakened by Zhan Ershisi, he suddenly came to his senses and immediately flew into a rage.

"Okay!"

"None of these sour scholars are good people!"

"I thought he had changed his nature this time and was so easy to talk to, but it turns out he was up to no good here!"

"If you hadn't reminded us, we might have been tricked by him!"

"No, we can't just let him go like this, we have to teach him a lesson!"

Zhan Ershisi saw that he was angry, so he smiled and said:
"In this world, what is true cannot be false, and what is false cannot be true."

"Since we know that Minister Qi has bad intentions, we can just set a trap for him to fall into."

"It's up to him to decide what to do with his own Ministry of Works. However, since you are in charge of the Imperial Guards, I'm sure you can get all the solid evidence. When the time comes, you can present it to Your Majesty and charge him with deceiving the emperor. He will definitely be punished."

After hearing this, Xia Shouzhong's anger turned into joy and he burst into laughter.

"Not bad, not bad. If that's the case, we would rather he be a little more evil-minded!"

"But I'm afraid this would be unfair to you. I can only reward you based on this little achievement."

Zhan Ershisi bowed towards the palace from a distance and said:
"Your Majesty is wise and wise. Who knows if my grievances today will not be the foundation for my future success?"

After hearing Zhan Ershi's blatant flattery, Xia Shouzhong didn't know what to say and could only point at him and laugh.

The two then discussed some details, and then Xia Shouzhong politely declined Zhan Ershi's invitation to the banquet and returned to the palace with the imperial edict.

After arriving at the palace, Xia Shouzhong first returned the imperial edict and told the cabinet that Zhan Niansi was unwilling to be an official and refused to accept the edict. He did not mention any details and went back to the palace.

Generally speaking, this imperial edict is not allowed to be disobeyed, but the specific circumstances also depend on the individual circumstances.

There have been cases in the past where people were offered official titles but were unwilling to take the position. However, most of them were upright officials or literary giants. Refusing to accept the imperial edict was considered a good story in the literary world.

However, a mere businessman dared to disobey the imperial edict and was unwilling to be an official, which made the cabinet very unhappy.

Not everyone is qualified to refuse the order!

Not all official positions are good jobs. Many assignments require going to remote and poor areas, which are very hard and difficult. If everyone is picky and dares to disobey the imperial edict and refuse the assignment, then won't there be no one to take office in the remote areas?
If this is the case, where is the dignity of the court?

Of course, there are also some people who can go to the Ministry of Personnel and make some arrangements to change their jobs before the imperial edict comes down, but it is just a matter of money and connections.

But once the imperial edict comes down, it cannot be changed.

In other words, if one wants to take back the imperial edict and change the assignment, the level involved is too high.

Generally speaking, people who have this ability are often not sent to remote areas, but have already been selected for various lucrative positions.

The cabinet immediately called Minister Qi, who had "recommended" Zhan Niansi, and asked him the reason.

Since they were all on the same side, Minister Qi gave a subtle hint, and all the ministers immediately understood that Zhan Niansi was not Minister Qi's man, but Prince Zhongshun's man, and belonged to the party of treacherous ministers.

What else is there to say?

Get him!

No one likes to have their kindness rejected, let alone the emperor who always keeps his word and doesn't like anyone daring to reject him.

After a brief discussion, everyone immediately asked Minister Qi to go to the palace to file a complaint, and to punish Zhan Niansi for disobeying the imperial order. If possible, it would be even better to get the Jockey Club under the supervision of the court.

As soon as Minister Qi reported it, he was summoned. He then bowed to everyone and went into the palace with full confidence.

While on the way, Minister Qi had already made up his mind, ready to overthrow Zhan Niansi completely in one fell swoop.

(End of this chapter)