Ming Dynasty: Traveling through the harem, Zhu Yuanzhang was dumbfounded

Chapter 141 Hu Weiyong's Invitation
"Biao'er, what else did that bastard tell you about the Little Ice River, other than telling you that those Jurchen barbarians had to go south because of this?"

Old Zhu vaguely remembered that Yang Chen told them last time that the Little Glacier was a type of extreme weather climate.

This was one of the main reasons that led Nurhaci to march south in the late Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Biao recalled the details that Yang Chen had told him.

During the Little Ice Age, temperatures around the world dropped suddenly and drastically, and sometimes there were extreme disasters such as snowstorms.

“Brother Yang said that during the Little Ice Age, the first thing that can be felt is that the severe cold will arrive early, and it will not follow the order of the 24 solar terms.

All the rivers and streams are frozen, and the ice is thicker than in previous years.

Crops and livestock simply cannot survive in such an environment.

Even in the Central Plains, pouring boiling water upwards would instantly form icy mist, and the flowers, plants, and trees would all be covered in ice. Once a person was exposed in the wilderness, he would definitely not survive for half an hour.

The Little Ice Age is a disaster that means life and death to the Ming Dynasty!"

He recalled that Yang Chen had used a globe to explain to him on the spot what kind of disaster the Little Ice Age would bring.

That horrific time was recorded in later times.

For the people of the Ming Dynasty at that time, this was a punishment from heaven.

Zhu Yuanzhang could instantly imagine what troubles such a disaster would bring.

"Food is the people's will, that's what that bastard said. To be more precise, it was said by Sun Chuanting, a loyal general in the later generations of our Ming Dynasty.

The cold weather will inevitably lead to a decrease in food production, and without food, rebel armies will begin to multiply everywhere.

If you can’t kill them all, you can’t kill them all!

Fertilizer is the food of grain, but how can people survive by eating only food? The same applies to grain.

It is of no use if the weather is very cold and crops cannot be grown.”

Old Zhu was very worried. He knew very well that once such a disaster struck, no matter how strong the Ming Dynasty was, it would be useless.

Why would he want to resolve it in advance?
The reason is that Zhu Biao, as the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, has experienced all the glory that others want to experience.

He just wanted to give the rest to his son.

The prosperity of the Ming Dynasty must be continued by his eldest son, so that he will not leave the world with regrets.

If these problems are not resolved before he leaves, Old Zhu will die with regrets.

"Biao'er, this matter is very important, more important than anything else right now. Go back and tell Yang Chen to find a solution for us.

This problem must be solved.

Human power cannot resist the arrival of the Little Ice Age, so we cannot just sit back and watch. We must rack our brains to find ways to minimize the losses.”

"My son understands!"

Zhu Biao bowed in response and left the imperial study.

Sitting alone on a chair, Lao Zhu stared at a topographic map and fell into deep thought. He said in a deep voice:
"Winter is coming. I hope the Ming Dynasty can survive this."

early morning.

Amid the singing of birds and the pleasant maids outside, Yang Chen rubbed his still sleepy eyes.

I gradually woke up from my sleep in a daze.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Xiaochun beside the bed, wearing a gauze plain dress and smiling at him and serving him.

After a while in the Ming Dynasty, he had almost gotten used to being served.

I finally understand why some people say that capital is a transformation, and that transformation is the worst means.

Human nature is rarely put to the test.

Fortunately, Yang Chen believed that he had a strong character and no one could defeat his will for the time being.

After getting up, washing, Yang Chen went to the place where he usually had breakfast.

Xiaodong was reading to him a lot of information, most of which were about desert.

"Did the prince send anyone today to ask me where to go to teach others to learn writing?"

Yang Chen left the palace a few days ago, and he has been waiting for time.

When Lao Zhu sent someone to tell him to go to Ningming County, he would be able to show his skills and teach people 500 characters and basic mathematics.

I didn't expect that after several days, there is still no news.

Logically speaking, with his status, he could go directly to the palace and ask Zhu Biao in person why he kept delaying.

However, he thought it was unnecessary as they both had a good relationship. If he rashly did something irrational like this, it would only affect his image.

He is not a rough man.

So he could only wait and wait for news.

Xiaodong flipped through all the information in his hand.

Her pearly eyes blinked and her head shook.

"Master, the prince didn't look for you."

Yang Chen didn't feel anything as it was expected. He finished his last cup of tea and prepared to leave.

Although he didn't get any definite news, it didn't affect him from doing his own thing.

"But sir, Prime Minister Hu sent an invitation yesterday evening, saying that he wanted to invite you to be his guest."

"Invitation?"

Yang Chen was slightly curious and reached out to take the red invitation with words painted on it in gold.

Just from the workmanship you can tell it's worth a fortune.

"Is Hu Weiyong finally unable to hold back? Or is he really just going to marry a concubine and invite me along?"

The invitation has been opened, and the content is very simple. It roughly means that in a few days it will be an auspicious day, and Hu Weiyong will marry a concubine, and he invites guests to come for a banquet and drinks.

After taking a look at the invitation card he placed on the table, Yang Chen raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a barely perceptible smile and said:

"Go back and tell him I'll go find him."

"Yes~"

After dealing with the invitation issue, Yang Chen went to Saudi Arabia to observe.

With the understanding of Tao Chengdao and Wen Huabiao and the help of several skilled masters, the prototype of the double-barreled shotgun has been completely completed.

Originally he wanted to make a spring so that the shell could be ejected automatically.

But later he discovered that without external plug-ins, it was impossible to manufacture springs with a durability of more than one year with the current productivity of the Ming Dynasty.

Even when using a fusion of multiple metals, the spring's durability can only last for a month.

Then it will break due to metal fatigue.

It is impossible to maintain guns at any time and anywhere. Once double-barreled shotguns are configured, tens of thousands of weapons can be used at the same time.

Each weapon is standard and it is easy to replace, but it can easily affect combat.

He didn't want Ming soldiers to have to check whether there were any problems before using double-barreled shotguns in the future.

Fortunately, a double-barreled shotgun does not necessarily require automatic shell ejection technology. The reason he wanted to do that was just to see what Daming's technical capabilities were.

Facts have proved that Daming's level is still not bad. On the bright side, at least they can make a spring and it can be used for a month.

"Oh! It would be nice to have a machine tool, even a very common one!"

The world's first machine tool was a gun barrel boring machine produced in the 18th century.

This thing is powered by a steam engine and can perform some simple multi-hole finishing. However, Yang Chen guessed that before this machine tool came out, someone must have developed a simpler machine tool.

Otherwise, technology would never have been able to evolve from manual labor to steam machine tools in such a short time.

He planned to wait until the place was relocated and then use the river to develop a simple machine tool powered by water.

By then, if the stamping technology can be solved, there is hope to see 'electricity'!
“The progress is slow, but the wisdom of the working people is infinite, and we have to find a way to find more talents.

In addition to people, you also need money.

I will know in a few days whether Hu Weiyong came to my house to give me money or not."

Putting this matter behind him, Yang Chen went about his own business.

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye it was the day for him to attend Hu Weiyong's wedding banquet.

Strangely enough, he thought Zhu Biao would look for him in the next few days, but he didn't expect that the other party had no news at all.

But he was not in a hurry. Anyway, he was not the one who wanted to observe, so Yang Chen just did his own thing.

"Xiaochun, I'm just going to a party, why do you have to prepare so many things for me?

I'm afraid it will cost a lot of money, right? "

Yang Chen stood beside the carriage at the door, looking at the things Xiaochun had prepared for him, and couldn't help but say something.

"Master, Prime Minister Hu is the first prime minister of the court after all. No matter how much you dislike him, you can't attend his wedding banquet empty-handed, right?
Now the master is also a powerful official in the court. If you come to him empty-handed and get seen by others, they will definitely say bad things about the master behind his back.

From now on, I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold my head up when I go out with my sisters.

Besides, didn’t the master say before that you have to make a nest when fishing?
How can you catch fish if you don't make a nest?"

Xiaochun has been with Yang Chen for some time, but she still doesn't know Yang Chen's true identity. However, she understands that her master is very capable.

The only thing is that he is a little ignorant when it comes to dealing with people.

Hu Weiyong was known to everyone in the Ming Dynasty, including women and children.

His ability and influence can almost be said to be second only to Zhu Yuanzhang, and many people admire this prime minister very much.

Xiaochun knew that her master was going to attend a wedding banquet, so she took the initiative to prepare some simple gifts.

"You're the one who has so many clever ideas, okay, okay, in that case, we'll listen to you."

After thinking about it carefully, Yang Chen found that what Xiaochun said made sense.

When fishing, one needs to make a nest. It would be inappropriate to go to meet someone empty-handed.

In this way, Yang Chen took a carriage to Hu Weiyong's mansion.

Along the way he could see that the people were living quite well.

"It seems that the recent drop in temperature has caused many people to leave the Imperial City and move to the mountains and forests outside."

The bustling streets did not make Yang Chen lose himself in such empty fantasies.

He knew very well that in winter, people without money would not be able to survive in the city.

If they wanted to survive, they had to walk into the mountains and forests several miles away, risking being eaten by beasts to chop wood and sell it in the city.

Originally, Yang Chen also believed that the natural resources in ancient times were all barren land.

He had seen photos of the Qing Dynasty. In many of the same places, there was no weeds growing and the land was barren for thousands of miles under the rule of the Qing Dynasty.

Therefore, some people arbitrarily believe that the ancient environment was not as good as imagined.

But in reality, what Yang Chen saw were crisscrossing rivers, dense water networks, green trees clustered around the village, and green mountains sloping outside the city.

It is true that there are not many trees within three miles of the city.

Five miles away from the city, there are wild mountains everywhere, and there are many wild animals.

There are tiger beasts in almost every mountain, otherwise how could the Ming Dynasty appear in the Water Margin, where Wu Song encounters a man-eating beast on Jingyang Ridge.

The Ministry of Resources is rich, but it cannot breed such a beast.

"Master, we have arrived at Prime Minister Hu's residence."

The coachman driving the carriage reminded Yang Chen who was in a daze in the carriage.

Upon hearing this, Yang Chen immediately responded:
"it is good."

Then he jumped directly from the carriage.

Originally he wanted to ride a horse, after all, the shaking of the carriage was really a headache.

Fortunately, he had solved the problem of the shaking of the carriage by pretending to have a suspension system between the wheels and the carriage.

Hanging this thing is not as difficult as you think.

A complete suspension system is formed by elastic elements, shock absorbers, guide mechanisms and other components.

Except for the spring of the elastic element, which Yang Chen could make, he could only replace the rest with other items.

Finally, we successfully made a set of suitable suspension with a service life of only one month to prevent the carriage from being so bumpy.

He also modified the wheel by replacing the rigid wheel with bamboo strips that became slightly elastic after being baked.

This way, the carriage will not be so bumpy during its ride, which not only hurts your buttocks but also makes you prone to motion sickness.

Outside Hu Weiyong's residence, many people were already queuing up to present gifts.

There was a middle-aged man sitting on a chair, holding a brush in his hand, listening to someone shouting beside him, and then he ranked all the comers' surnames and gifts in a booklet.

Yang Chen was just about to walk over to join in the fun when suddenly a force came from his shoulder and took him away.

He was still wondering who was so bold as to kidnap him in this place.

When he looked carefully, he found that the person coming was actually an acquaintance.

Muying!

"No! Father-in-law, what are you doing? Why do you have to do this out of the blue? Do you know that scaring people can kill them?"

After breaking free from Mu Ying's grasp, Yang Chen looked at him with some resentment and said a few words.

He felt helpless when it came to Mu Ying. This guy came to him almost every day to ask when he could marry his daughter.

According to the original plan, Yang Chen should have had a duel with Mu Lingxi a long time ago.

But Yang Chen kept delaying, and Mu Ying was also aware of his tactics, so she tried her best to prevent her daughter from causing trouble for him.

Yang Chen was quite surprised that he would meet the other person here.

Mu Ying was dressed simply today, just like a rich man, without wearing any military armor.

He looked confused, frowned, looked at Yang Chen and asked:

"No? Son-in-law, didn't you tell me before that Hu Weiyong is a guy that should not be approached?

Why did you come to his wedding banquet today? What if the emperor suspected you of something?
Please don't tell me that you want to surrender to Hu Weiyong, and don't let that fool you! "

Mu Ying became very worried when he thought about Yang Chen and Hu Weiyong playing together.

His daughter is going to marry him. When Hu Weiyong is dealt with, Yang Chen will be affected as well. Wouldn't that put his woman in danger as well?

"Oh, father-in-law! What are you thinking about!"

Yang Chen rolled his eyes, indicating that he didn't understand why the other party would have such an idea.

"Hu Weiyong has sent people to inquire about me several times before. This time I just took the opportunity of the wedding banquet to contact him and see what is going on today.

I guess he must want to test me and see why His Majesty and the Crown Prince always give me opportunities and not him.

Father-in-law, you know that I will be leaving soon. I can't leave empty-handed, right?
If you go to another place, you have to start from scratch, which is too difficult. Now someone is offering money to you, I would be a fool not to accept it. "

(End of this chapter)