Chapter Fifty-Four: Family Banquet

  "Your Majesty, I am familiar with the flintlock rifle. I saw the Franks use it in Macau. It is far more advanced than our Great Ming's bird guns, whether in terms of firing speed or range." Xu Guangqi did not expect that Emperor Tianqi also understood firearms, which would make his future endeavors much easier.

  "Xu Ai Qing, after the establishment of the firearms factory, you will manufacture this flintlock gun for me. Not only should you learn from the Franks, but also improve upon it and strive to produce an even better gun." The Tianqi Emperor knew that at present, the Ming army was weak, and wanting to defeat the Eight Banners with swords and spears alone was like a fool's dream. But if they could build a modern army in the true sense of the word, then that would be a different story altogether.

  "I obey your orders." Although the Tianqi Emperor seemed to be interfering a bit too much, Xu Guangqi could understand the anxiety in his heart. He himself had no choice but to comply. After a brief moment of contemplation, he continued: "Your Majesty, manufacturing firearms requires many things, most of which are prohibited by the imperial court from being sold to civilians. If Your Majesty wants to manufacture them quietly, how will you obtain these things?"

  "This world will never be short of daredevils, Your Excellency may not know that in the southeast, there are countless people who privately mine and transport salt and iron. The imperial court's annual revenue from salt and iron is far less than theirs. They sell a lot of their salt and iron to the grasslands, these people have big guts indeed! Just buying some would be enough." At this time, Emperor Tianqi's tone was very casual, and these things were also known by many people, perhaps everyone in the world was hiding it from the emperor alone!

  As expected, when they heard the Tianqi Emperor say this, Lu Siguang and Wei Chao's faces changed color, and they exchanged a glance, seeing the shock in each other's eyes. Only then did they realize that the Tianqi Emperor in front of them indeed knew everything, and their fear of him increased by several degrees.

  "Wei Gonggong, this matter is left to you to handle! I think with the East Factory's ability, such a thing should be no problem, and it will definitely be done secretly." The Tianqi Emperor cast his gaze on Wei Chao behind him, and such a private affair was obviously most suitable for him to handle.

  "I've taken note of it, if Your Majesty says there's no problem then naturally there's no problem." The Wei court really has such a way, in the southeast there are many eunuchs guarding towns, and over the past few days they have all received silver from these people as a show of respect. For this newly appointed Eastern Depot Commandery Eunuch, it is only natural that these external eunuchs would try to curry favor with him, and getting their hands on these things wouldn't be difficult at all.

  "From now on, you must listen to Mr. Xu's orders and get him whatever he wants, even if it's a person. As for the things I asked you to buy, I will give you the money, but this money is from my private treasury. What do you think of the price?" The Tianqi Emperor looked at Wei Chao with an even more meaningful gaze, knowing exactly what had been going on during his reign as emperor. Perhaps he hadn't even thought about hiding it from the Tianqi Emperor; perhaps this was just the unspoken rule of the Ming dynasty all along!

  "Your Majesty, rest assured that I wouldn't dare let you spend a single penny. This silver will naturally be paid by someone else." In Wei Chao's view, wasn't it an easy matter to swindle some money out of those wealthy and powerful local tyrants?

  "This is not necessary, you just need to lower the price a bit. Also, it's best if they don't do business with outsiders anymore, let them buy all those things. Now Tianqi Emperor can only block this line through such methods, otherwise these people will smuggle iron, copper, salt, and grain into the hands of Houjin, and things will get more and more troublesome. Such things have happened in history, and the strength of the Qing dynasty is not unrelated to this."

  A gentle breeze blew, the bright moon shone brightly, and the Forbidden City of the Great Ming Dynasty was already shining with lights and bustling with people at this time. The Tianqi Emperor, who had been tired for a day, returned to the palace but couldn't rest, because there was a family banquet to be held in the imperial palace.

  The Tianqi Emperor, who was summoned to the Cining Palace, was unwilling in his heart, but now there is no other way. For this nominal mother, the Tianqi Emperor must have enough respect. In fact, thinking back, he had already been very excessive, and the Empress Dowager, who was the Consort Shao of the Taichang Emperor, was still quite tolerant of the Tianqi Emperor at this time. However, since she was appointed as the Empress Dowager, not to mention the daily three visits to pay respects, the Tianqi Emperor rarely came over.

  For this family banquet, Emperor Tianqi should have been well-prepared, but after discussing firearms with Xu Guangqi in the imperial villa all day, he felt extremely tired. However, he had to muster up his energy and came to Cining Palace, where he saw Empress Dowager Zhang sitting there. Emperor Tianqi respectfully paid his respects and said: "Your son pays his respects to Mother Empress, this period of time your son has neglected Mother Empress, I hope Mother Empress will forgive me."

  "The emperor is saying what, the empress dowager is delighted that you are a diligent and people-loving emperor, how can she blame you!" Zhaofei still had a good impression of Tianqi Emperor. If it weren't for this child's filial piety, she probably wouldn't know where to go now, let alone have the position of Empress Dowager! Moreover, she only has one daughter, and having such a son is naturally also raised as her own flesh-and-blood son.

  "Hurry, come to the Empress Dowager's side." The Tianqi Emperor naturally heard the concern of Consort Zhao for himself, and at this time he also felt that his lonely heart seemed to have been comforted a little, and his tired body also seemed to have relaxed a bit.

  Without saying a word, Emperor Tianqi quietly made his way to Empress Shao's side and listened as she chattered on about past events, feeling a warmth in his heart. At this moment, it seemed that Emperor Tianqi had gradually let go of everything from the past; he was truly just Emperor Tianqi.

  While accompanying Empress Zhao and chatting with her, the wine and dishes had already been served. After drinking a little wine, Emperor Tianqi forgot everything.

  Looking at the sleeping Tianqi Emperor, Empress Zhao's heart ached, and she gently stroked his hair, saying slowly: "It seems that this emperor has worked very hard, how did he become so exhausted?" As she spoke, she saw Chen Hong, who had accompanied the Tianqi Emperor, and asked: "What did you do with the emperor today? How did he become so tired?"

  When the Empress Dowager asked, Chen Hong was slightly stunned and didn't dare to tell the truth. The Tianqi Emperor attached such importance to that matter, if the news leaked from himself, he would probably lose his head. He couldn't help but smile bitterly and say: "I don't dare deceive Your Majesty, His Majesty has said before that no matter what happens, slaves are not allowed to speak, so slaves."

  Chen Hong's words were not finished, but Zhaofei had already understood, and nodded lightly: "I understand, if the monarch is not strict, he will lose his ministers, and if the minister is not strict, he will lose himself. The emperor did nothing wrong, and you did nothing wrong either. You may go! The emperor will stay here tonight."

  Today is the first chapter, seeking collection and recommendation!