One of the passers-by

It was night, Princess Pingyang and Xue Yan left the gate of the palace with a hand card bestowed by Emperor Yong'an.At that time, the moon was in the middle of the sky, everything was silent, and the entire city of Chang'an had already fallen into the night of curfew.The carriage of Duke Wei's Mansion was driving slowly on the quiet main street. It had just rained lightly, and the ground was wet.A gust of night wind blew by, and people became cold.

Xue Yan rubbed his hands in the carriage, smiled and said to Princess Pingyang: "I see that this year's weather seems to be colder than last year's. Could it be another frost disaster?"

Princess Pingyang also sighed after hearing the words: "Natural disasters and man-made disasters are always inevitable. Fortunately, Your Majesty is wise, even if the sky is not sympathetic to people, the people will not be miserable."

While speaking, he arrived at Duke Wei's mansion. Duke Wei Xue Ji was feeding tigers in the back garden. Hearing that Xue Yan's mother and son had returned, he immediately put down the fresh meat in his hands, cleaned his hands, and returned to the room with a smile, "Your Majesty recruits Yan." What are you doing, asking Yan'er to enter the palace at such a late hour."

The eldest princess of Pingyang revealed all the gossip in Lizheng Palace just now, and finally pointed to Xue Yan and smiled: "Yan'er didn't want to go to the Imperial College to study, and found a job for himself, but His Majesty didn't fall for it. He actually called Yan'er to die This heart."

When Wei Guogong heard this, he also smiled.But looking at Xue Yan who doesn't like reading very much, he couldn't help sighing: "Yan'er has been displaced for so many years, and has experienced the warmth and coldness of the world. No wonder he doesn't like reading. It's all our fault."

When Princess Pingyang heard this, she couldn't help but sighed again.Seeing this, Xue Yan hurriedly changed the topic by making jokes.Everyone chatted for a while before going back to their rooms to rest.

Although Emperor Yong'an once asked Xue Yan to study in the Guozijian, he never stipulated when Xue Yan should enter the Guozijian to study.Since there was no fixed date, Xue Yan was happy to procrastinate for a day, so in the next few days, seeing that Wei Guogong and his wife had never mentioned this matter, Xue Yan also pretended not to know, tinkering with saws and various planes at home, He enthusiastically built the master chair and rocking chair.

As the prop master of later generations, Xue Yan's hands-on ability is not bad.What's more, Xue Yan is deeply influenced by family tradition, and he is a person who strives for excellence.Therefore, this investment in a grand master's chair and rocking chair is believed to have been made by Xue Yan himself.

Firstly, parts such as brains, armrests, goose necks, gang sticks, etc. are punched out in sequence, and then these parts that are not very round are polished according to the needs to make them look round but not round, elliptical but not elliptical, smooth as fat, easy-going and pleasant. Curved, finally carved and hollowed out, inlaid with jewels, painted and waxed...

As for the rocking chair, it is made of bamboo and rattan, and the position of the neck is carefully highlighted with an arc. When people lie on it, the rocking chair rocks slowly under the sun, which seems to be comfortable and leisurely.

Xue Yan's craftsmanship made the artisans of the Duke of Wei's mansion feel very itchy, and they all rushed over with shy faces.Xue Yan also never cherished himself, and told what he knew and gained one by one, and by the way asked the craftsmen at home to build a set of dragon chairs for imperial cases that he promised to give to His Majesty.

I don't know how many days of negligence, but news came from the Shangqing temple, only saying that the elixir entrusted by Xue Shizi a few days ago has been completed.

Xue Yan was overjoyed when he heard the words, and hurriedly ordered his servants to prepare all the chariots and horses, and took a group of servants to Mount Zhongnan.After meeting Xue Yan, Master Piao Miao, the master of the Shangqing Temple, proudly expressed his skills.

Xue Yan exchanged a few words with Master Misty, and was accepted into a closed courtyard behind the alchemy room.The real man with a long beard smiled and said: "Soldiers are also murder weapons. Although the poor Taoist is not a man of the world, he also knows the secrets of the court and should not be seen by others. Therefore, when he ordered his disciples to refine the elixir, he used this The place is strictly guarded, so as not to let people pry into the behavior and not know."

"Immortal Elder is thoughtful, Xue Yan can't match." Hearing this, Xue Yan thought of keeping secrets just now.But he can't blame him for that, after all, in the era he lived in, all wars were high-tech wars, and this kind of old gunpowder could only be seen in movies and TV dramas.

The crowd exchanged a few more words of greeting, and Master Mio waved his hands, and the disciples immediately presented several sticks of gunpowder wrapped in leather paper with a lead wire exposed.Master Misty took out one from the tray and handed it to Xue Yan, and said with a smile: "After many studies and tests by my disciples, I wrapped the elixir powder in leather paper and ignited it with a live wire. The explosion effect is the most powerful. A big hole more than one foot deep was blown up on the flat ground. I don’t know if this thing agrees with Xue Shizi’s request.”

Xue Yan stretched out his hand to take the sticks of gunpowder and medicine from the hands of Master Piaomiao, and said with a smile: "As the saying goes, seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times, can you tell me to take a look at it?"

"Of course." Reverend Misty bowed to Fuchen, and immediately a little Taoist priest in Taoist robe stepped forward to take the tray containing gunpowder.Take out a gunpowder stick from the tray, light it with an open flame, and throw it away vigorously.After hearing a loud bang, dust and smoke rose everywhere.After the gunpowder smoke cleared, everyone fanned their hands in front of them, but they saw a big hole more than ten feet wide on the ground of the loess rammed ten feet away.

Xue Yan looked at the quite complacent Reverend Misty, and nodded in satisfaction.First of all, I would like to praise the disciples of Shangqing Temple.In the end, he said casually: "However, Yan'er had a wrong idea. If the gunpowder can be mixed with iron flakes, crushed stones and lime powder, the power of the explosion must be even greater."

Reverend Misty thought for a while following Xue Yan's tone, and felt horrified.He opened his mouth and said: "If this is the case, I'm afraid the iron pieces and gravel will hurt people more. It's really out of harmony."

Xue Yan smiled, and said, "Just now, Immortal Elder Said that a soldier is a weapon. Since it is a weapon of a soldier, of course the more it hurts, the better? As long as it doesn't hurt yourself."

Later, I popularized the concept of the stability of fire and medicine with Daoist Misty and several Taoists who researched and tested fire and medicine.After a dry mouth, he took the remaining gunpowder sticks back to Duke Wei's mansion.

Wei Guogong Xue Ji and Princess Pingyang were both from the army, so they were naturally delighted to see such sharp weapons.However, concerned about the reaction of Emperor Yong'an and the courtiers, the couple still suppressed their desire to take the test immediately, and handed over the signboard for an audience to enter the Xiande Hall.

Emperor Yong'an has always been diligent in governing, not to mention Wei Guogong Xue Ji has always been a figure who does not go to the Three Treasures Hall for nothing.Therefore, after receiving the interview note from the Duke of Wei's mansion, and learning that the gunpowder incident mentioned a few days ago had taken shape, Emperor Yong'an immediately summoned him.

At the same time, by the way, Fang Xuanyi, the order of Zhongshu, Xu Hui, the Minister of the Ministry of household affairs, and Wei Zhen, the Minister of the right of the Shangshu, were summoned into the palace.

Afterwards, there were naturally another trial, except for blowing up a few flat areas in the palace and the palaces of a few timid and inexperienced concubines, there is no need to elaborate on the rest.

However, seeing the prince and King Wei's expressions of high interest and endless interest reminded Xue Yan of another use of fire and medicine——fireworks and firecrackers.

If one could open a shop selling fireworks and firecrackers in the city of Chang'an, the profits would not be underestimated every New Year's festival.

But these are things for later, and there is no time to take care of them now.

Let’s say that Emperor Yong’an’s interest in gunpowder was also unstoppable after seeing the sharpness and sharpness of gunpowder, and what Xue Yan said that mixing iron flakes, gravel, and lime powder into gunpowder would be even more lethal on the battlefield. tidy.

As expected of a veteran court official who has been up and down for many years, after seeing the power of fire and medicine, the first thing that Emperor Yong'an and his ministers thought of was to observe the martial law to keep the secrets of the court, and they must not be attacked by barbarians. Xiaoxiao steals.

His idea coincides with that of Misty Real Man.

Therefore, the first will of Emperor Yong'an after seeing the power of fire and medicine was to order the Imperial Forest Army to guard Shangqing Temple.Of course, Master Piaomiao of Shangqing Guan and several Taoist priests contributed medicine, and should be rewarded.

Emperor Yong'an thought of the fact that the real person Piaomiao entered the palace to persuade him to seek longevity. In addition to rewarding a large number of gold, silver and cloth, he still praised the real person Piaomiao for making alchemy and seeking medicine. In addition to the idle work of immortality, one should continue to engage in inventions and creations, and the more accessories of elixirs such as gunpowder, the better.

As the saying goes, meritorious deeds must be rewarded, and demerits must be punished. This is the act of a wise king.Therefore, after rewarding Shangqingguan and Misty Immortal, Emperor Yong'an and his ministers began to discuss how to properly use gunpowder to defeat the enemy on the battlefield.

Da Chu has established the country for more than ten years, and the biggest enemy of the frontier is the Turks.The Turkic clan has strong soldiers and strong horses. They have fought against the Central Plains many times before, and the Central Plains were at a disadvantage.When Da Chu established the country, the Turkic Khan even took advantage of the vacancy. In order to develop steadily, the two emperors of Da Chu had to bear the burden of humiliation and profit from it with a lot of money.Nowadays, the imperial treasury is empty. In addition to the natural and man-made disasters in the past few years, it is also an important reason to spend a lot of money to bribe the Turks every year.

However, Emperor Yong'an is very talented, so he must not be a person who has lived under others for a long time.Although he paid a lot of money to the Turks, he never forgot the honor and disgrace of the Han family.Therefore, mobilizing troops and horses, and even sending spies to go deep into the Turks to inquire about the enemy's situation, all in order to kill this enemy in one fell swoop one day.

Now with the fire, medicine and sharp weapons offered by Shangqing Temple, the princes and ministers of Da Chu have more confidence in this battle.

Not to mention how strong and fierce the princes and ministers in the Xiande Hall are, but to say that in the Lizheng Hall, Empress Wei looked at the rocking chairs and Taishi chairs presented by the Duke of Wei's Mansion with a little novelty, and even lay down on the rocking chairs under the service of the palace servants. , Sit on the Taishi chair for a while.

The crown prince and King Wei stood aside with a smile, and said, "Cousin Yan is used to these tricks. The new tricks he comes up with are always refreshing."

While talking, I heard the rumor from the little Huangmen outside that Princess Pingyang and the prince of Duke Wei's mansion asked to see her.Empress Wei got up from the recliner with a smile, and said, "Come in, please."

For a while, Pingyang and Xue Yan entered the palace.Seeing the chairs and rocking chairs placed in the main hall, Ping Yang said with a smile: "Even though it's April, it's always cold and not hotter than last year. The queen usually sits and sleeps, and she has to sleep on this rocking chair." A brocade mattress will do."

The prince didn't wait for Empress Wei to speak, and couldn't help asking: "I heard that Cousin Yan made a bed according to the size of me and Qingniao, did you bring it into the palace?"

Hearing this, Pingyang couldn't help but smiled and said: "Not only His Royal Highness and King Wei, but also His Majesty and Supreme Emperor. It's just that it takes a lot of energy to make these things, and the craftsmen have to carve them carefully. It’s good to enter the palace. It’s just that the empress is pregnant with Liujia, and it’s too hard to sit and lie down every day, so I dedicate the rocking chair and grand master’s chair that I made first to the empress..."

When Princess Pingyang said this, she said with a bit of a sour taste: "You know, the rocking chair and the Taishi chair are Yan'er's craftsmanship, which even I and Wei Guogong don't have."

When Empress Wei heard the words, she quickly thanked her.Then I heard Princess Pingyang continue to say: "...I think so, now we can't say anything because of the Queen's body. When the craftsmen present the newly made furniture of various colors, the Queen Mother will have to use this rocking chair Just give me back the grand master's chair."

Empress Wei looked at Princess Pingyang's reluctance to part with her, and when she was moved, she had no choice but to accept it with a smile.

Xue Yan looked at a grand master's chair and a rocking chair standing alone in the Lizheng Hall, which were quite different from the short furniture around him, and couldn't help but said: "It's still too compact. Otherwise, it would be better to make a matching box, cage, table and cabinet together." can match some."

Empress Wei stroked her belly which seemed to be blown up, and said with a smile, "This is already very good. Just now I went up and lay down, and it feels better."

Everyone chatted and laughed a few more words, Princess Pingyang said: "Now it's the end of April, looking at the situation, the empress is going to give birth soon, right?"

Empress Wei rubbed her lower abdomen and said in a small voice, "It's been two months. The imperial doctor who came to examine the Ping'an Pulse from the Imperial Medical Office said that it was either late May or early June."

Princess Pingyang smiled and said: "The past two months have been sunny and sunny, and they are all good days. It can be seen that this little prince was born to enjoy happiness."

This is quite true, the prince and grandson are naturally extremely honorable.

Empress Wei was very upset when she heard what Princess Pingyang said.

The words of the people were very tacit, and they were quite happy for a while.Until the bear boy Wei Wang asked which pot he would not open and which pot to lift: "I heard from my father that cousin Yan went to the Imperial College to study, how do you feel?"

Xue Yan's face darkened, and he glanced at Empress Wei with some scruples, and said vaguely: "Recently, some household chores have been delayed. But King Wei, how is your study these days?"

Just like Xue Yan, the bear boy Wei Wang also doesn't like reading.Hearing about Xue Yan's culture, King Wei put a bitter face on his face and said, "It's okay, it's okay."

The two brothers looked at each other with a feeling of sympathy for each other.

Princess Pingyang and Empress Wei also looked at each other and smiled, and before they could open their mouths to tease, they heard a burst of laughter coming from outside.But it turned out that Emperor Yong'an had finished his imperial court meeting and was taking Wei Wuji and his son Wei Wuji and Wei Guogong Xue Ji into the Lizheng Hall for lunch.

Xue Ji, Duke of the State of Wei, had just discussed court affairs with his ministers and workers in the Xiande Palace. Wei Ziqi was originally the commander of the Imperial Forest Army and was responsible for guarding the palace city. It is not surprising that the two of them came with Emperor Yong'an.

Only Zhen Guo Gong Wei Wuji, since he resigned from the position of You Pushe years ago, has been living at home and has not been in the palace for a long time.

Seeing her elder brother entering the palace at this time, Empress Wei was also a little surprised.After paying homage to Emperor Yong'an, he hurriedly greeted him, "Why is brother coming to the palace at this hour?"

Emperor Yong'an didn't wait for Wei Wuji to speak, and explained directly: "I asked Wuji to enter the palace. Just now Duke Wei and Pingyang offered fire and medicine. I and all the ministers thought that this matter was related to the stability of the country, so we must ask for one." Trustworthy people handle it. But in order to keep the news from being revealed, so as not to hear the wind from the Turkic side, it is best not to deal with the matter with officials from the court. So I thought of Wuji. In terms of loyalty, I am the most trustworthy , In terms of ability, Wuji is not bad, and I and all the ministers and workers are at ease if he is asked to take charge of this matter."

And most importantly, Wei Guogong Xue Ji recommended Wei Wuji to take charge of this matter.The fire and medicine were presented by Xue Yan, and Xue Ji, Duke of the State of Wei, was also Minister of the Ministry of War. Emperor Yong'an would never ignore his proposal.What's more, this proposal won the heart of Emperor Yong'an.

Empress Wei is virtuous and gentle by nature, and she dislikes foreign relatives interfering in politics the least.So when Emperor Yong'an wanted to designate Wei Wuji as a right servant, Empress Wei disagreed.Now Emperor Yong'an wants Wei Wuji to take charge of fire and medicine, but Empress Wei is still reluctant.

Emperor Yong'an watched Empress Wei's expression, and before Empress Wei could speak, he pretended to be nonchalant and said, "Speaking of which, I didn't expect Wuji this time. Who told this guy to live in seclusion after the big banquet?" , Young Master Xiang has entered the palace. Duke Wei has a better memory than me, he knows people with his eyes, and recommends talents."

Wei Guogong Xue Ji and Princess Pingyang heard this and knew that they had become a shield in Emperor Yong'an's mouth, so they smiled.Wei Guogong Xue Ji was happy to sell Emperor Yong'an's favor, so he smiled slightly: "The sage has a saying that he does not avoid his relatives when he is a virtuous person, and my ministers also imitate the words and deeds of the sage. Your Majesty still knows people and does well, and he is as good as admonishment."

Empress Wei heard Wei Guogong's words, so she had no choice but to swallow the remonstrance in her mouth, and said to Zhen Guogong with a smile: "It is recommended by Wei Guogong and His Majesty's consent. Be loyal to your duties and must not disappoint His Majesty."

Lord Zhen Guo glanced at Emperor Yong'an indiscriminately, and cupped his hands.

The crown prince and King Wei knelt beside Empress Wei, supported Empress Wei on the one hand, and looked at Empress Wei's precarious figure, who was a little unsteady on the side, and said, "The Duke of Wei's mansion offered a gift this morning." The grand master's chair and a rocking chair, my mother just sat on it and felt very comfortable. I beg my father to allow my mother to lie down on the rocking chair and talk."

Before he could say a word, the prince had already been reprimanded by Empress Wei angrily.On the contrary, Emperor Yong'an waved his hand disapprovingly, and said, "Now that you are pregnant with Liujia, you are no better than others. What's more, all the people here are from your own family. Why do you have to be so scruples about the etiquette of the officials? Isn't it heresy?"

As Emperor Yong'an said, he beckoned to the eunuchs who were serving in the Lizheng Hall to bring the crowd, he pulled up the grand master's chair and rocking chair in the apse, sat down in person, and said with a smile, "It's really comfortable."

Seeing Emperor Yong'an's reaction, the crown prince immediately said: "Aunt Pingyang said that it's cold now, it's better to spread some brocade mattresses on top, it's soft and warm, it's the most comfortable."

Emperor Yong'an heard the words, and ordered the palace servants to bring brocade mattresses to spread, and said to Empress Wei with a smile: "Since it is Yan'er and Pingyang's wish, you should obey it. Such a good thing, put it in a corner and grow it." What is Ash doing?"

Empress Wei sat on her knees for a while, already feeling sour.However, I am worried about the etiquette in the palace, and I don't want to celebrate the birthday too much.Hearing Emperor Yong'an's words, he could only explain with a smile, "...too rude."

Emperor Yong'an disagreed.Insisting on telling Empress Wei to go up and lie down, she turned around and said with a smile to Xue Yan: "I do remember that Yan'er said before that I would also build a table and chairs for me, so that I don't have to work too hard when reviewing memorials... But with coming?"

"Since it is dedicated to His Majesty's imperial case dragon chair, it must be carefully crafted. Even if it is not worthy of His Majesty's dragon prestige, it should not be too thin. Let the courtiers laugh at our Duke of Wei for being stingy, right? "Xue Yan explained with a smile, and said: "... at the latest next month, I can present it to Your Majesty."

Emperor Yong'an nodded with great interest. After seeing the rocking chair and grand master's chair that Xue Yan gave to Empress Wei, he also had some expectations for his own set of dragon chairs for imperial cases.

The crown prince and King Wei were still thinking about their little bed.I heard that Emperor Yong'an has a set of dragon chairs for imperial cases, but it will not be brought into the palace until next month.King Wei Qingniao rolled his eyes and said, "There are so many idlers in the Shang Palace Bureau. I don't see what they do when they are idle on weekdays. If there are not enough craftsmen in Duke Wei's mansion, why not ask them to help. It’s also good for us to enjoy the benefits of tables, chairs and beds earlier.”