Zhang Xiaobao did as he said. He summoned his men and ordered them to stock up necessities from Gyeonggi Province, Guannei Province, Hedong Province, Shannan East Province, Shannan West Province, and Henan Province along Guannei Province and the Yellow River.
The Zhang Family's and Wang Family's shops in areas prone to winter were to slow down their shipments and not engage in any promotional activities. They were to be prepared to cooperate with the local authorities in case of a disaster.
Lu Zhou's fleet of gunships in Lingnan Province was to be deployed and semi-forced labor in the areas outside Great Tang. It was a paid labor migration. Lu Zhou planned the land and prepared to implement the railway project.
After putting aside the matter of harming private interests for public good, Zhang Xiaobao wanted to think about his sister's proposal to build a tunnel.
However, no one gave him the time to do so.
The people from the Ministry of Revenue arrived. This year's autumn harvest was mostly done, except for the areas where the second and third crops were planted. The taxes paid by the local authorities to the bank had to be verified.
Zhang Xiaobao had someone summon the inner court official in charge of this matter to check the account books with the people from the Ministry of Revenue. The general account books were already in place. Li Longji had seen them before. Now, they were making a detailed report.
In the end, one of the people sent by the Ministry of Revenue boldly asked if the money in the Great Tang Bank was interest-free and had never been lent out. Under Zhang Xiaobao's intense gaze, the person lowered his head and retreated.
Zhang Xiaobao could not explain to the other party. Since the money could not be withdrawn from the Great Tang Bank in the capital in one go, there was naturally a buffer period. Moreover, the money was interest-free. How could it not be involved in lending?
The lending of money was a form of gain. At the same time, it was a way to stop losses during the depreciation of the currency. This additional profit was not under the Ministry of Revenue's control. It was directly under Li Longji's responsibility.
How was Zhang Xiaobao supposed to explain this to the people from the Ministry of Revenue? Why did they have to ask this question when everyone already knew about it?
The people from the Ministry of Revenue went to check the detailed data with Zhang Xiaobao and the Wang Family. The people from the Ministry of Rites came and asked Zhang Xiaobao if he wanted to arrange some activities during the New Year, such as ice lanterns, fireworks, dragon dances, and so on.
In truth, the Ministry of Rites wanted to ask for money from the Ministry of Revenue, but the Ministry of Revenue declined on the grounds that the accounts were still being verified. The Ministry of Rites felt that it was a bit difficult to do this with their own money, so they asked Zhang Xiaobao for a plan.
"Let your thoughts run wild. Don't be stubborn." The person who came was also a student of Zhang Xiaobao's class. Zhang Xiaobao was not polite with his words. If you were polite with your students, they would be worried that you would alienate them.
"Yes, yes, then what should I do?" When the person saw that Zhang Xiaobao was drinking wine, he hurriedly helped Zhang Xiaobao fill up the glass that he had just drunk a third of and respectfully asked for advice.
Zhang Xiaobao took out another glass and gestured for the student to pour it himself. After the student poured a little, he raised the glass and said, "This year's harvest has been good.
Under the wholehearted education of your Ministry of Rites, the quality of life of the people has improved, the grades of the students have also improved, the soldiers have taken on a new look, and the merchants … "
"Forget it, I won't talk nonsense with you. Even if the Tang Empire is rich, if you don't start, the merchants and wealthy people will organize activities themselves. You just need to put up a notice in the Ministry of Rites and let the merchants in the capital contact you. Money will be available.
The specific expenses will be paid by the merchants, and they will also give the Ministry of Rites a sum of money to let you complete the activities. Take the money and ask Gao … my adoptive father, I mean ask him if he needs anything, not for you to bribe him.
If my adoptive father really wants to take bribes, it won't be your turn. His Majesty likes to hear honest words and is not afraid of hearing from you that the Tang Empire's etiquette is lacking. Of course, it's best if you don't say anything lacking during the New Year.
"Try your best to say something that makes people happy. If you really want to repeat this over and over again, the Ministry of Rites should be held accountable first. The New Year is to look forward to and celebrate last year's harvest, not to reflect on it.
"Spend the money that should be spent. As for the rest of the money, you have worked hard for a year. Cultivate yourself, manage the family, and govern the country. Use the extra money to help the Qi family. Let me say this first, get things done. Don't purposely leave more money for the Qi family. Just do enough. Next spring, you will also need money to work."
Hearing Zhang Xiaobao's words, the person from the Ministry of Rites was moved. Teacher Zhang was really good. Everything he said was true.
Thus, after seeing his teacher finish the wine in his glass in one gulp, the person from the Ministry of Rites realized that he had poured too little wine for himself. He quickly refilled his glass and finished it as well.
"Teacher, don't worry. We definitely won't be greedy. Teacher, please continue with your work. This student will take his leave."
He also retreated step by step.
Zhang Xiaobao looked at the other person's empty glass and felt his heart ache. That wine was his. Were good grapes so easy to make? It depended on how the grapes grew.
"If I had known this would happen, I would have prepared some yellow wine and drank as much as I wanted. To think that I still came empty-handed. The Ministry of Rites shouldn't just focus on spiritual civilization. They should focus on material civilization as well."
Zhang Xiaobao grumbled. He poured himself another glass of wine and took small sips.
Things seemed to have happened at the same time. Zhang Xiaobao had been thinking about the cave for less than 15 minutes when the person from the Ministry of Personnel came.
He told Zhang Xiaobao that it was the end of the year and the evaluation was about to begin. He wanted to know if the evaluation standards this year should be higher than the previous ones.
Zhang Xiaobao resisted the urge to smash his glass and chased the person from the Ministry of Personnel away. He told him to go back and tell the Head of the Ministry of Personnel, the head of the Secretariat, and the Emperor.
"All of them have nothing better to do. I'm not the same as the Head of the Secretariat. Why are all of you asking me? How can I be in charge of so many things? "
Zhang Xiaobao muttered to himself gloomily.
The soldier standing guard outside stood straight and tried his best to show Zhang Xiaobao that he was more powerful than the Prime Minister.
With a 'hua' sound, the wooden board was pulled open from the other side, revealing Wang Juan who was rubbing her hands. She said to Zhang Xiaobao, "It's cold. Get someone to send a batch of hand stoves to the examinees. Next year, the imperial examinations will start in spring. Get someone to put up the heater first. Otherwise, the stove will have too much dust and it will be difficult to endure many nights."
"Okay, I'll arrange it right away. I think the Ministry of War will be here soon. You deal with it. If I interfere, Xiao Yuan will find trouble with me." Zhang Xiaobao said that he would arrange it right away. There was no need for him to specifically instruct someone else. Someone immediately went to do it.
He was afraid that the Ministry of War would ask if the army was going to celebrate the Chinese New Year, so he first informed Wang Juan. Xiao Yuan was Yuan Qianyao, the current Prime Minister.
"Why would the Ministry of War come? Even though I'm teaching the generals, they won't come to curry favor with me like scholars. I'm guessing that the people from the Six Ministries … How many ministries are here now? Three ministries, more or less all of them are Yuan Qianyao's intentions.
He might be waiting for you to finish the examinations and promote you to the Head of the Secretariat, making you a deputy minister or something. In the future, when he's more relaxed, he'll push everything to you. Okay. "
Wang Juan made an 'okay' gesture with her hand.
"He's not afraid that I'll seize his power?"
"You've already seized his power. You're a provincial commander. Why don't you stay in the Bohai Commander-In-Chief's Office and run around everywhere? How else do you want to seize power?"
Wang Juan said with a smile.
Zhang Xiaobao was silent for a moment, then shook his head. "I can't enter the capital to be the deputy minister. Otherwise, what will happen to my father? Let's discuss again. Father? "
Just as he finished speaking, Zhang Xiaobao called out 'father' again. His father really came and just showed himself.
Zhang Xiaobao quickly stood up and went forward. He asked his father, "Father, your Ministry of Works is fine? I'm just taking an examination. There's no need for you to come personally. "
Zhang Zhong was followed by two officials from the Ministry of Revenue and a group of people from the Seedling Protection Team. They were all working together to check if there was any danger.
"Provincial Commander Zhang is here. There's no need to be nervous." Zhang Zhong lifted Weiwei's arm and said.
The people from the Seedling Protection Team behind them widened the surveillance area to give Zhang Zhong more space. They put their guns against their bodies and locked the safety, lowering their guard a little.
Wang Juan also came over and stood side by side with Zhang Xiaobao. She also asked, "Father, do you have other matters?"
She was used to other forms of address and called Zhang Xiaobao the same as her father.
"Deputy Provincial Commander Wang is right. I'm here for something." Zhang Zhong put aside his family the moment he opened his mouth. Fortunately, he didn't give official greetings to his son and daughter-in-law.
Zhang Xiaobao saw that his father was acting in a businesslike manner and glared at the guards. Why didn't they send someone to inform him in advance?
"Father, if you have something to do, you can send someone to inform me. When I'm done with the examination, I'll look for you. Why did you come here personally?" Zhang Xiaobao went forward and pulled his father to his seat. Wang Juan supported him on the other side.
Zhang Zhong followed along and didn't say anything.
When they reached their seats, Zhang Xiaobao gave Wang Juan a look. Wang Juan accompanied him for the time being. He turned around and walked to the empty space behind where they had eaten earlier.
Wang Juan poured tea and waited for Zhang Zhong to sit down. She pulled a chair and sat on the lower right side. She asked, "Father, you haven't had dinner yet, right?"
"Mm! I'm here because … "
"Father! I went back to complain to Gong-grandfather, "Wang Juan said unhappily. Gong-grandfather was Zhang Zhong's father and Zhang Xiaobao's grandfather.
Zhang Zhong heard this and could only sigh helplessly. "There are outsiders here. There are so many examinees and officials watching the examination. Besides, I'm here to talk about the Ministry of Revenue. It's not good to talk in private."
"Then did you eat?" Wang Juan didn't know what to do with her father-in-law. Of course, she had to admit that this kind of official was the most respectable.
Zhang Zhong saw that his daughter-in-law was unhappy and hurriedly said, "No, it wasn't just dinner. I didn't have time to eat lunch. I only forced myself to eat a piece of cake. Now, I don't feel hungry."
"That's because you're too hungry. Don't drink the tea. Let's drink the wine. Xiaobao has prepared the wine. Xiaobao will bring the food over in a while." Wang Juan quickly removed the tea and replaced it with wine.
No matter how one looked at it, this was the behavior of a good daughter-in-law.
This wasn't something she learned after coming over with Xiao Bao. She had been taught this in the past. True upper class society had to know the rules.
Zhang Zhong held the wine while looking at his son's song. He glanced over it and nodded. "Mm! It's more than what I wrote back then. "
The others were speechless. What kind of evaluation was more words? The imperial examination didn't seem to have anything to do with who wrote more or less words faster.
The two examinees next door were once again in awe. The person who had just arrived was the current Minister of Works, the top scholar of the Jinshi examination more than a decade ago.
The two examinees, who had endured psychological shocks time and time again, really began to perform beyond their usual standards. The main reason was that Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan didn't avoid them from talking to other officials. Things that involved specific national policies in the officialdom were very helpful to them.
Perhaps just a sentence could let them discover another door that was wide open.
Hence, they were extremely grateful to Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan.
Zhang Zhong didn't know that the examinees nearby were willing to listen to Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan talk because they could find inspiration from it. After all, the policy questions were asking them what they wanted to do.
Zhang Zhong was still worried about disturbing the other examinees, so he deliberately lowered his voice and said to his daughter-in-law, "Cuckoo, the oil extraction was successful. According to what you and Xiao Bao said, we extracted the oil according to the temperature during heating. Everything was produced."
"Great." Wang Juan was very happy. The oil extraction was successful. That was an earth-shattering change. There was no need to say what it meant.
Of course, the so-called advanced technology now was technology that she and Xiao Bao didn't use back then. They didn't even use the traditional extraction method. It was too wasteful.
Zhang Zhong nodded first, then waved his hand and sighed. "It's good, but there's a kind of gas inside. It's not easy to control and release it. It leaked out and then met with an open flame. In the end …"
"It exploded?" Wang Juan stood up. Her face instantly turned pale, and her hands started to tremble uncontrollably.
The examinees in charge of this high-end technology project were all talented people. Not only were their handiwork skills excellent, but they were also smart and flexible. They were also willing to learn. They and their families had been heavily protected.
How could Wang Juan not be afraid? He was the academician in her and Xiao Bao's heart.
"Don't be afraid." Zhang Zhong saw his daughter-in-law's reaction and quickly comforted her. "It didn't explode. No one died. One person's left face and the other's right leg were injured. Less than 15 minutes after the incident, the doctors in the nearby medical school started to treat them. They said that the injured left eye would be affected.
When I went over, I heard the person in charge say that there was a loud bang. A ball of fire rose into the air and then turned into smoke.
According to your and Xiao Bao's instructions, we carried out a small experiment and hid very far away. But we didn't expect that the gas would also spray far away. They were accidentally splashed on their bodies. I went to take a look. The wounds were quite scary. They were black and wrinkled. "
Wang Juan sighed and sat back weakly. She rubbed her face with her hands and said sadly, "It must be LPG gas. What's wrong with it? Is the device not working, or the temperature can't be lowered? Is the extraction speed too fast? During the cooling process, the unit cooling area is too small and the time is not enough?
It started to release LPG gas. It must be asphalt that was splashed. Sigh! That thing fell on the body when the temperature was high … How lucky.
Open flame? Where did the open flame come from? Didn't I tell them to be careful? Don't mention the open flame. That thing there, a flash of static electricity is enough to explode.
Could it be that the pile of things spontaneously combusted? Someone nearby started a fire? Lightning in the sky? Fireflies? Fireflies are the cold source. "
Zhang Zhong listened to his daughter-in-law talking to herself and was speechless. He really couldn't figure it out. Were the 'gods' really omnipotent? His daughter-in-law was right. The person in charge also had the same idea. It was just that the possibility was not as high as what his daughter-in-law said.
"In the autumn, the experimental site was in a valley. There was a small pool next to it. The person in charge estimated that there was a fire in a hill more than four miles away. The fire flew over and happened to hit something in the crack of the collection tank that couldn't withstand the pressure. Then …"
Zhang Zhong gave an assessment of the possibility of a disaster.
Wang Juan was stunned after hearing it. If the pressure tank cracked but didn't explode directly, then what was the reason? The gas was cooled and frozen during the liquefaction process?
From a few miles away, something that could burn and was burning or at the ignition point flew over. When it reached the experimental equipment, it ignited the LPG gas.
The probability was too small. Of course, according to Murphy's Law, the more one was afraid of something happening, no matter how small the probability was, it would always happen, or it would definitely happen.
Wang Juan knew that the injured person didn't feel good, but there was nothing she could do. She thought that the medical doctor had already taken measures.
If she had to find a trace of comfort in the accident, it could only be attributed to the fact that no one died.
"What's wrong? What's wrong? Honey, what's wrong with your face? "At this time, Zhang Xiaobao came back with a big tray.
They were together every day, and even all the time. Zhang Xiaobao knew his wife too well, so the moment he saw Wang Juan, he knew that something was wrong with her.
Wang Juan took a deep breath, stood up, and took the tray from Zhang Xiaobao. She put it in front of Zhang Zhong and said to Zhang Xiaobao, "He's injured. One of his eyes might not be able to keep it. It happened when he was extracting oil from different temperature layers.
According to the analysis, there was a crack in the LPG pressure collection tank, and there was a mountain fire a few miles away. Burning things came directly, or things with a hidden ignition point limit flew over. The leaked gas was directly ignited in the air, and then the things on the ground were blown onto people. "
"Ah? Did the flammable gas explode? No one died? An academician of the Academy of Science, and only one of the eyes of a technician is gone? What about other aspects? "
Zhang Xiaobao also became nervous. People who had never enjoyed the benefits of science and technology would never know the importance of scientific talents. It was not an exaggeration to say that a real top talent could fight against a million soldiers. Being alive was a kind of deterrence.
"There's another person whose leg is injured. It's a small injury. When the weather is hot, the burned leg will be uncomfortable. It can be relieved with a cold compress." Wang Juan was not worried about the other person.
Zhang Xiaobao nodded slowly, "The development of science is actually the accumulation of accidents. Dad, you came here because of this? Why didn't anyone tell me and Cuckoo? "
"The two of you had an exam, and I suppressed it. I didn't come here because of the accident. If there's an accident, it's because I didn't eat. I came to tell you that the diesel engine was done. When the accident happened, we had just successfully passed the diesel engine. The diesel engine was inside the … oh, it's called the internal combustion experiment.
First, it was used to test the power generation. Everyone was afraid of the explosion, so you don't have to worry about casualties.
I came to tell you that the Ministry of Works is running out of money, and the Ministry of Revenue is not letting go of the money. I don't dare to continue to take money from the family because people are saying that our family wants to use technology to threaten the emperor.
Do you know how much the diesel engine cost? You and Cuckoo mentioned it. They designed, built, scrapped, re-designed, re-built, and scrapped. The waste parts were piled up like a mountain.
The person in charge of the diesel engine project told me that the entire diesel engine, the countless parts inside, what's the pressure resistance inside, what's it called …? "
"The cylinder?" Wang Juan guessed. "That's right.
It's more difficult than making guns. The steel used to make guns and cannons will be useless once it's used. There's one less copper pad inside, and that won't do. There's a curved iron rod inside, and that won't do. The quality of the balls in the bearing is weak. Once it's rotated, then … No, what's the bearing inside? Oh, it's called the cylinder's inner cover, and that won't do.
If there's too little lubricating oil, it'll break when it's ground. If there's too much lubricating oil, it'll block the thing called the nozzle. The spring elasticity has to be about the same. There's also the small steel balls, and they have to be round to a certain extent.
Ever since you guys proposed the diesel engine and gasoline engine when you were thinking about the steam engine, we didn't even dare to think about the gasoline engine. Just one diesel engine alone cost four million strings of cash. How much did we earn in a year in the past?
I'm afraid that people will say that we can't get money again. There's no other way. If you and Cuckoo didn't propose this project, I would have stopped them long ago. We really can't afford to spend the money. "
Zhang Zhong, who hadn't eaten for two meals, drank wine while eating the barbecue made by his son. He ate mutton skewers, bean rolls with coriander and scallions, garlic and eggplant, oysters with oyster sauce, and so on.
His mouth didn't rest. He complained to his son without delaying his eating and drinking.
Zhang Xiaobao, who was his son, listened to his father speak. He quickly peeled two cloves of garlic and put them in front of his father. He said carefully, "Dad, eat slowly. There's no hurry. There's a turtle pot in a while."
The so-called turtle pot was turtle soup. The turtle blood was released, and the liquor was mixed with Desert Cistanche, acanthopanax, and so on. Zhang Xiaobao had to ask his father if he was going home tonight before he could consider whether to serve it to his father. Otherwise, if he finished it and didn't go home, his body would be too hot, and it would be harmful to his body.
"Mmm!" Zhang Zhong enjoyed his son's cooking. "Why is the mutton a little tough?"
"You can even taste that?" Zhang Xiaobao was surprised. "It was just released not long before dinner with Xiaoyuan and Xiaobei. It was released less than two hours ago, so it can't be tough. Eh? Dad, what you're eating is wild boar meat. I made it for Xiaobei and the others to play with, not mutton. "
"Oh! No wonder. Let's not talk about mutton or pork first. What about the money? "Zhang Zhong took a closer look. It really didn't look like mutton. He stared and continued to ask about the matter just now.
"Spend it. What else can we do? How much is four million strings of cash? "Zhang Xiaobao asked Wang Juan in lip language.
Wang Juan thought about it and also said in lip language, "According to the grain calculation of our time, one copper coin is about 80 cents. Four million strings of cash is equivalent to four billion yuan, and then it's equivalent to 3.2 billion yuan. 3.2 billion yuan for a diesel engine experiment with the worst technology. Isn't that a little expensive?"
"It's not expensive. We did the first one. Yes, it's not expensive," Zhang Xiaobao said affirmatively.
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