Chongzhen Chat Group

Although it is an exaggeration, it can illustrate one point. The great country in the east is rising, and it is no longer the one we heard before. And that big country has a vast territory and countless wealth. It can be imagined that once it goes to sea, the number of fleets will definitely not be small. At least now that big Eastern country can no longer benefit from just sending some fleets to Britain.

Charles I thought, even more pessimistically, that at least several countries in Europe would have to unite to have the strength to compete with the Eastern powers.

Thinking of this, Charles I thought, maybe he could really send people to several other countries to have a look, at least to find out what their current attitude towards that big country in the east is?

While he was thinking about it, Wedel said over there: "Your Majesty, I am thinking that since Ming warships are already cruising on the Bay of Bengal, there are also the Straits of Malacca, and the Dutch on the other side of Batavia. What will happen to the East India Company? What will happen to the Spanish colony in Luzon? I think it is very likely to be wiped out by the Ming Dynasty. Why not send people to these two countries to have a look. If possible, we can unite to deal with the big countries in the east. , at least force Ming to agree to trade according to our terms!"

Upon hearing this, Charles I couldn't help but feel happy and said: "Yes, I have the same idea!"

After hearing this, Wedel thought that this was a similarity between the heroes, and quickly added: "Goa and the Lion Country are Portuguese colonies. They are very close to the Bay of Bengal and will definitely be threatened. Also, the Portuguese are in There are also colonies in the Far East, and they are probably taken away by the Ming Dynasty now. Otherwise, Portugal can also contact us, I think there is hope."

"Yes, a very good idea!" After hearing this, Charles I immediately agreed. Regardless of whether it would work or not, he would first send someone to ask, and he would not miss a piece of meat.

So, Wedel immediately sent an invitation and took the initiative to ask Ying to be the envoy.

In this way, a conspiracy against Ming Dynasty began to take shape.

The time soon came to the middle of the tenth year of Chongzhen. Emperor Chongzhen learned about the situation at the North American base from the chat group, and ordered Lu Xiangsheng, who was in charge of the Japanese country, to allocate part of his Liao Xian navy to take Japanese prisoners with him. , headed to North America to begin expanding that base.

On the Japanese side, five vassal kings have been divided, namely one on Kyushu Island, one on Shikoku Island, and three on Honshu Island. The northernmost vassal king includes Hokkaido. Of course, according to convention, several ports in the Japanese country were directly under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty and were not counted as the territory of the vassal state.

After so many vassal kings were enfeoffed, there are only a dozen or so vassal kings left in the Ming Dynasty. They looked a little panicked as they seemed to have no room. A letter of enfeoffment was sent to Emperor Chongzhen, expressing their eagerness for a better place.

Seeing this, Emperor Chongzhen took Goa as the next enfeoffment place. Of course, they are not asked to go immediately, but they are auctioned and the money is used as military supplies for the war.

It is too far and unrealistic for the Japanese army to call Bangladesh. Therefore, the prepared troops were transferred from Guangxi, Yunnan and other places. This combat mission was led by Min Hongxue, who was in the Tang Dynasty, and the naval general was naturally Liang Xiaozhen. The attack on the Lion Kingdom was prepared to be carried out by the navy, while the attack on Goa was the task of the army.

There is a consideration here, that is, once Goa is captured, it is likely to attract the attention of the Mughal Dynasty and trigger a chain reaction. Therefore, there must be enough troops on the Bangladesh side.

As a result, the troops of the vassal state also obeyed Emperor Chongzhen's order and were recruited and stationed. In addition, the troops assessed and trained by Qin Liangyu were also transferred from Guizhou and Sichuan.

Ming's battle front finally stretched.

Governor Zhu Xieyuan, who had been in Yunnan and Guangxi before, was transferred to the capital to join the cabinet.

The second assistant, Sun Chengzong, was old, so he retired and returned to his hometown in Gaoyang to take care of himself.

In the meantime, no one paid attention. One thing was quietly changing under the silent arrangement of Emperor Chongzhen. That is to say, among the senior officials of the Ming Dynasty, the number of officials from the south is increasing, while those from the north are decreasing, at least in the center.

On this day, Emperor Chongzhen left the palace incognito again, but instead of leaving the capital, he went to the Xu Mansion.

The reason why he left the palace incognito was not because he wanted to do something shameful, but because he didn't want to trouble Xu Guangqi. After all, he was recuperating from illness. If the emperor came, he would have to welcome him, and the entire Xu Mansion would have to be busy.

As soon as the concierge of the Xu Mansion saw the knocker, he showed his badge as Admiral of the East Factory and knew who the young man serving respectfully in the factory office was. In fact, he went to Fengtianmen Square to see it once, so he had an impression of the emperor's face. At this moment, he was frightened and wanted to kneel down to greet him.

When Wang Chengen saw it, he stopped him, and then asked him: "Where is Mr. Xu? Lead the way. Your Majesty, come and see him."

Upon hearing this, the concierge did not dare to disobey, and quickly and carefully led the way.

Emperor Chongzhen followed behind, walking leisurely and looking at Xu Mansion. At first glance, there is not much luxury, just ordinary. After passing two doors, we came to the backyard. There were no flat marbles here, but vegetable plots. This surprised Emperor Chongzhen a little.

I saw Xu Guangqi sitting on the steps of the courtyard lobby. Several servants were serving the vegetable patch, pointing at the vegetables from time to time and saying something. For a while, no one came over.

Emperor Chongzhen saw that there were various crops planted on this vegetable field, including some he recognized and others he didn't recognize.

Seeing that no one was in the yard, the porter quickly shouted from the air: "Sir, the Emperor is here to see you!"

Hearing this, everyone in the yard subconsciously looked over. At least Xu Guangqi was familiar with it. He saw Emperor Chongzhen, accompanied by Wang Chengen, looking at him with a smile.

He was very surprised and stood up quickly, wanting to greet him.

When Emperor Chongzhen saw him, he walked through the vegetable field and waved his hand: "I came out of the palace incognito. I just don't want to be too polite and affect Xu Qing's health."

After hearing this, Xu Guangqi couldn't help but feel very grateful, and quickly replied: "My Majesty, I have given you all kinds of care for me, and my health is fine!"

"That's good!" Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but smile after hearing this, "I happened to see you for something, and I was originally worried about your health!"

Hearing this, the servants around him didn't say anything, but they were thinking in their hearts: The master has retired and returned to his hometown due to illness. At such an old age, the emperor actually wants the master to work hard. This is a waste of time!

To be honest, when they thought about it, they all felt that the emperor had gone too far and used his master to death!

Xu Guangqi didn't have this idea, and quickly remembered that the emperor came into the lobby to speak.

However, Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand again and ordered Wang Chengen to bring a stool from inside, sit next to Xu Guangqi, and said in a chatty manner: "It's good for me to sit here. Let's see what Xu Qing is doing?"

After hearing this, Xu Guangqi smiled, waved to the servants to continue, and then he replied to Emperor Chongzhen: "Some veterans don't know much about the habits of these crops, and some want to breed and cross them to see if they can breed better ones." , is fiddling with it!"

Hearing his answer, which confirmed his thoughts, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but smile and said: "Xu Qing, you really can't stop!"

"Alas, my old minister's health is failing." When Xu Guangqi heard this, he sighed and replied, "Otherwise, we can always do more things."

Having said this, he was thinking about it, so he took the initiative to ask Emperor Chongzhen: "I wonder if your Majesty came to see me and asked me to do something? As long as I can do my best, I will do my best!"

Hearing this, several servants of the Xu family in the vegetable field couldn't help but look up at their master, with no happy expression on their faces.

Naturally, they knew that Xu Guangqi's body was just sitting next to him, saying it was fine, but if he really had to do the work himself, his body still couldn't bear it. These servants have been with Xu Guangqi for decades and are familiar with farming. Therefore, they have deep feelings for Xu Guangqi.

One of them is more courageous and is even thinking, if the emperor wants me to do something hard, what if I get tired and something happens? He made up his mind that even if the master agreed to serve the country wholeheartedly, he would still give him some advice.

Emperor Chongzhen naturally didn't know what these people in the vegetable field were thinking, and he didn't pay attention. He just looked at Xu Guangqi and said: "This year's examination is about to begin. Xu Qing should know that this time's examination is different from previous years." , it is the first time that the scientific and technological knowledge promoted by me has been used in the imperial examination, which is a very significant event in the field of science and technology."

Having said this, he looked at Xu Guangqi's expression and saw that he was very concerned, so he continued: "This examination will definitely be recorded in the annals of history and remembered by future generations. I thought, Xu Qing He is the first person in Ming Dynasty science and technology knowledge. It would be a pity if Xu Qing missed such a grand event. Please see if this is okay. You will serve as the examiner for this exam, but for specific matters, Xu Qing does not need to Don't worry, I will arrange someone else. You just need to show off, preside over the examination, and leave your name in the history books. How about it?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Guangqi couldn't help but be stunned. He felt that the emperor came to him because there must be something important. The emperor came to visit him personally, so he must do it no matter what, as long as he still has the strength to do it.

But he really didn't expect that the emperor would actually ask him to be an honorary examiner, just to give him such an opportunity to leave his name in history. To be honest, this kind of opportunity is what he desires most as a civil servant.

Thinking this way, he suddenly became excited, knowing that this was the emperor's intention. He quickly wanted to stand up, but was held down by the emperor's hand, so he had to reply: "Your Majesty, the examiner for this examination must have A lot of people are thinking. Is it inappropriate for an old minister to occupy such an important official position without doing anything?"

He can be sure that for such an opportunity, the chief minister will rush to do it. After all, in the history books, there will definitely be a record in the history books for a new school of science and technology to enter the imperial examination.

The servants in the vegetable field also did not expect that the emperor came to the house incognito, but only invited their master to do such a job that only received benefits and did not require much effort. He was obviously taking care of their master, and they were suddenly surprised.

Generally speaking, with this body, it is no longer possible for the master to work for the court. In order to win over the ministers and let them do things better, the emperor should obviously leave such good things to his trusted ministers. !

Thinking of this, they couldn't help but feel extremely grateful to the emperor, knowing that the emperor was thinking about their master and gave them his kindness.

Besides, after hearing Xu Guangqi’s answer, Emperor Chongzhen shook his head and said with a smile: “You have spent a lot of effort to promote the scientific and cultural knowledge of the Ming Dynasty. The agricultural things you are giving guidance on now can actually be classified as scientific and cultural knowledge. Among them. After so much hard work, I think it is appropriate for you to be the examiner of this first joint examination."

At this point, he stopped smiling and said with great solemnity and seriousness: "I will keep all your contributions in mind. I was originally worried about your health, but now it seems that being an honorary examiner is still a good idea. There is no problem. This honor should be earned by you, no matter what others think, it is useless!"

Hearing the categorical meaning of the emperor's words, Xu Guangqi was very moved and had no choice but to comply. He was very excited and said with some emotion: "I wish I could be decades younger and continue to be a pioneer in the promotion of scientific and technological knowledge!"

Emperor Chongzhen understood his mood, comforted him a few words, and then said to Xu Guangqi: "Xu Qing should rest in peace and recuperate, and the future will be prosperous. I will have a decree later, and Xu Qing will be mentally prepared."

After finishing speaking, he stood up, not wanting to disturb Xu Guangqi's rest anymore.

When Xu Guangqi saw that the emperor was leaving, he got up to see him off. Emperor Chongzhen refused, and he refused to do so. He just said: "Old ministers also need to move around frequently. Just exercise and walk to the door."

Just like that, Xu Guangqi just sent Emperor Chongzhen out of the house in person.

Watching them leave the backyard, the servants in the vegetable field looked at each other, and finally said with emotion: "The emperor has nothing to say, but he is so kind to our master!"

"But that's not the case. The Emperor has always been like this. I've known it for a long time!"

"..."

Emperor Chongzhen did not stay outside the palace this time. He left the palace specifically for Xu Guangqi's affairs. After that, I started to worry about this first general examination with scientific and technical knowledge as the exam content.

The ministers were also a little surprised that the emperor ordered Xu Guangqi to serve as the examiner for this session. But when you think about it, it makes sense. After all, Xu Guangqi's scientific and cultural knowledge is well-known.

With everyone's expectations, the first joint examination ended, the list was announced, and then the palace examination was held.

When Emperor Chongzhen got the list, he was a little surprised because he saw a name that he was familiar with.