Being a tour guide for historical celebrities, the motherland is amazed again

Chapter 181 It’s a pity that I didn’t see Liu Rushi in person
"Who is it?" Su Jiahe quickly leaned over to look.

A young servant walked up to Wang Mang's carriage and asked respectfully, "Excuse me, is this the car of Mr. Wang from Juqi Pavilion?"

"Ah, looking for me." Wang Mang got out of the car quickly.

"Yes, my wife has visited Juqi Pavilion many times before. Today, she heard that your store is closing down, so she came to give Mr. Wang a gift." said the servant.

"You're too polite. No need for that." Wang Mang waved his hand and declined.

"Boss Wang, my wife has asked you to accept it." After saying that, the servant stuffed an envelope into Wang Mang's hand.

Wang Mang took a look into the envelope and found a stack of silver bills.

"This..." Wang Mang was stunned, unable to understand who would come to give him money.

"My wife said that Boss Wang is doing things that benefit the country and the people. These silver coins will be used as aid to you." After the servant said this, he turned around and left.

"Wait," Wang Mang stopped the servant, "Can I ask who your master is, so I can come and thank him later."

"Madam said you're welcome."

The moment the other party's carriage turned around and left, Wang Mang vaguely saw a handsome profile through the window.

After getting on the car, Wang Mang counted the silver notes in the envelope and found that there were a total of three thousand taels.

"Brother Wang, who sent this? Why is it so generous?" Su Jiahe was very surprised.

"I don't know. Maybe they want to do a good deed without leaving their name. But that carriage looks familiar to me. I think I've seen it before."

"Brother Wang, I remember now," Song Yingxing said suddenly, "that was Lord Qian's carriage. He visited us several times."

"Which Lord Qian?" Su Jiahe was still confused.

"It's the Minister of Rites, Qian Qianyi, Lord Qian."

"Oh, it's him. I've heard of him. His wife, isn't she Liu Rushi, one of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai? Could it be that Liu Rushi came to deliver the money in person?" Su Jiahe looked surprised.

"It turns out to be Liu Rushi. She is such a chivalrous woman that she even pays out of her own pocket to support our scientific and technological innovation." Wang Mang said with admiration.

"All of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai should be beauties, but it's a pity that I just passed by them and didn't get to see them with my own eyes." Su Jiahe felt a little regretful.

"A girl from Qinhuai actually has such a broad mind. It's true that there have always been chivalrous women emerging from the world since ancient times." Feng Menglong sighed as he leaned aside.

After two days of travel, they finally arrived at a temporary factory in the suburbs. Su Jiahe took out various raw materials for making firearms from his storage ring and piled them in the factory.

"Jiahe, your ring is truly a magical artifact. Otherwise, it would be difficult to conceal our presence with so much gunpowder."

A few days later, it was the first month of the lunar year, but people had no intention of celebrating the New Year. They were all busy making firearms, and more and more people joined in.

"Our place is so remote and unknown, how did they find us?" Song Yingxing asked curiously.

"Don't worry, Mr. Song, these people were recruited by Mr. Feng. Mr. Feng is quite famous in the Jiangnan area, and many people are willing to follow him." Wang Mang said.

"Brother Wang, you're such a good judge of character. Mr. Feng is truly charismatic." Su Jiahe discovered that while Wang Mang might seem unreliable at ordinary times, he was always methodical when it came to major tasks. No wonder he became emperor after traveling through time without any preparation for the first time.

As March approached, the weather gradually became warmer and the firearms were almost finished.

"Let's rush to Yangzhou now."

Wang Mang led everyone to pack up and was about to set off when the team was suddenly surrounded by a group of soldiers.

"Brother Wang, have we been exposed?" Su Jiahe had never seen such a scene before, and his legs went weak with fear.

"It's okay, I'll ask them what they want."

Wang Mang could travel back to the modern era at any time, but things had come to this point, and he couldn't abandon Song Yingxing, Feng Menglong, and all the others who followed him. If the attackers were truly hostile, Wang Mang was even prepared for a fierce battle. After all, he had witnessed the grand scale of the Battle of Kunyang; a few mere soldiers were nothing to fear.

"Commanders, what can I do for you?" Wang Mang calmly got out of the car and walked forward.

"Who are you?" asked the leading officer.

"My name is Wang Mang."

"Wang Mang? Are you the boss of Yingtian Juqi Pavilion?"

"It's me." Wang Mang handed over his business card.

Unexpectedly, after the officers and soldiers confirmed Wang Mang's identity, they became a little more respectful.

"Boss Wang, we are here to see you on the orders of the Minister of War, Lord Shi."

"Why do you want to see me, Lord Shi?" Wang Mang didn't expect that the Ministry of War would come to him.

"Master Shi said that Boss Wang's Juqi Pavilion has produced a batch of new utensils, and he wants to see them. Boss Wang, please come with me to see Master Shi." The officer's tone was polite, but he did not tolerate refusal.

Wang Mang knew in his heart that what the Ministry of War wanted was most likely the newly manufactured batch of firearms.

"Excuse me, where is Lord Shi now?"

"Master Shi is heading to Yangzhou." said the officer.

"It's just right. We are going to Yangzhou too. Let's go together." After Wang Mang said this, he calmly returned to the car.

"Brother Wang, who is the Lord Shi they just mentioned? Can we trust this person?" Su Jiahe was still in shock.

"It's Shi Kefa, you know."

Su Jiahe thought for a while, nodded and said, "I seem to have heard of this name, but I don't know much about this person."

"Shi Kefa was a famous general who fought against the Qing Dynasty in the late Ming Dynasty. After the fall of the South, he refused to surrender and sacrificed his life for his country..." Wang Mang told Su Jiahe this history in detail.

"So, Shi Kefa is still a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty."

"Well, his character is impeccable, but unfortunately his abilities are limited and his luck is bad." Wang Mang said, "I guess we will be recruited."

On March 15th, Wang Mang and his entourage met Shi Kefa in Yangzhou City.

"Are you Wang Mang, the boss of Juqi Pavilion?" Shi Kefa sat on the chair and looked Wang Mang up and down.

"It's me." Wang Mang answered calmly.

"Boss Wang, you are so bold that you actually made firearms privately in Yingtian Prefecture." Shi Kefa's tone did not reveal his joy or anger, but revealed a sense of majesty.

"I admit my guilt. The firearms were all made by me. It has nothing to do with others." Song Yingxing trembled all over and knelt down quickly.

Su Jiahe wanted to help Song Yingxing up, but her palms were sweating and she stood there at a loss.

Wang Mang's heart skipped a beat. He had never expected that the situation had been calm for several months, but it had already been discovered.

"Master Shi, we develop firearms in order to..."

"I know. I asked you to come here to fight the Qing army," Shi Kefa interrupted Wang Mang. "However, no matter the reason, illegally manufacturing firearms is a serious crime. Do you know who saved you? It was the Minister of Rites, Lord Qian."

Hearing the three words "Master Qian", Su Jiahe was stunned.

In Su Jiahe's impression, after Nanjing was captured by the Qing army, Qian Qianyi rejected Liu Rushi's proposal to die for his country for the ridiculous reason that "the water was too cold" and quickly surrendered to the Qing court. No one expected that he would do such a thing.