Chapter 214: Promotion

Zhao Xing asked anxiously: "Are our people okay?"

Zhao Xing meant to ask whether the person he sent to help Shen Kuo was related to the death of Mrs. Zhang. Cheng Shuang replied: "It's not our business. Mrs. Zhang's mood fluctuates greatly. She has been getting angry recently and has always felt heartache. I asked the person who came to send the message in detail, saying that Mrs. Zhang had a quarrel with Mr. Mengxi a few days ago and then was bedridden. He was joking and making noise that day, but he didn't expect that he didn't breathe and fainted.

Mrs. Zhang was irritable, and the servants did not dare to come forward to rescue him easily. When the doctor came, Mrs. Zhang had passed away. Mrs. Shen immediately ran out of Mengxi Garden and committed suicide by jumping into the water. The brothers rescued him quickly. Now, Mrs. Mengxi is no longer in trouble, but Mrs. Zhang is still stuck in the bed."

Shen Kuo moved here, and there were no relatives and friends around him. Shen Kuo was confused. In addition, Zhang was known as fierce, so there was no one in the house to collect the corpse.

Zhao Xing is not convenient for this situation, because Mrs. Zhang once sued Zhao Xing for imprisonment of Shen Kuo. If Mrs. Zhang died, he would appear in Mengxi Garden. Afterwards, Shen Kuo would go back to the castle with him, so he would not be able to explain it in the future. Perhaps this matter would become an insult to his life.

Zhao Xing thought for a moment and said helplessly: "It seems that we can only inform Mr. Zhang of Suzhou. I hope he can come forward to help Mr. Mengxi finish this funeral."

Zhao Xing thought that Shen Kuo and Zhang Dun belonged to the new party camp. Zhang Dun came forward and even if he sent a housekeeper to help Shen Kuo, he would have done his best. Unexpectedly, Zhang Dun refused very simply.

The housekeeper sent out rushed back that night and replied to Zhang Dun's words: "Zhao Liren, I didn't expect you to beg me Zhang Laozi for a day. Although I know it's not easy for you to speak, I'm not good at giving you this face. Who is Shen Kuo? Wang Jinggong appreciates him, promotes him, and uses him. He is the one who finally takes the blame. If I come forward, I will be sorry to Wang Jinggong and your teacher."

What Zhang Dun said about sorry for Wang Jinggong was nonsense. What he was most afraid of was to cause trouble for Shen Kuo. Now he was in a state of trouble. The county magistrate in Suzhou turned a blind eye to his forced purchase of land, and was dismissed and demoted. The newly appointed officials were afraid that he would cause trouble again and kept a close eye on him. Shen Kuo was also a person who liked to make things out of nothing. Zhang Dun was afraid that after dating Shen Kuo, this guy would make things out of nothing, and that would be all done.

Hearing Zhang Dun's answer, Zhao Xing remained silent for a long time.

Shen Kuo, a great scientist, is a man with great mechanical talent, now he is in this situation. His wife is dead and there is not even a condolence on the door.

But who is this blame?

Zhao Xing knew that Su Dongpo would definitely not come forward, because although Su Shi was careless, he was a person with a distinct personality and could tolerate any love for someone. Once he hated someone, he would not even be willing to look at him directly.

Zhang Dun and Su Shi turned against each other. Su Dongpo rolled his eyes before seeing Zhang Dun. Zhang Dun's son went to his house as usual, treating him as his uncle and teacher. Su Shi did not hate Zhang Dun, but in this era, the only person he hated was Shen Kuo. Zhao Xing could clearly feel Su Shi's indifference to Shen Kuo, so it was impossible to let Su Shi come forward, not to mention that Su Shi was more afraid of criticism from others than him.

Zhao Xing walked around the house a few times, suddenly remembered someone, and slapped his forehead and said, "Hurry, go to the small church of the Israelites. Mr. Mengxi gets close to their high priests. They are professional, let the high priest come forward, hurry up."

Zhao Xing's request made the Jewish high priests embarrassed because they did not restrain the habits of other tribes. However, Zhao Xing spoke up and he was not able to refuse. After thinking for a while, he instead entrusted the Nestorian Archbishop of Hangzhou to come forward and rush to Mengxiyuan...

After a busy day, Zhao Xing heard that the person who had restrained his body finally set off. He breathed a sigh of relief: This is better, and it will not involve us if we are not familiar with the Nestorians.

After calming down, Zhao Xing reached out to touch the pocket. There was the small note Cheng Shuang had originally handed him to him. He was always attracted by Shen Kuo's matter, and Zhao Xing actually forgot about this.

He took out the note and gently unfolded it. It was written on it. "In August Gengchen, the officials reported to Wanping and Yongqing locust plague; Jihai, the Japanese sent 28 people including Zheng Yuan, Zheng Xin and Seng Yingfan to pay tribute; Xinwei, the Liao lord stationed in Heilongjiang. The female directly sent envoys to pay tribute. Dingyou, the Northeast Road Army Command established a judge."

Zhao Xing was more interested in the last one. The Emperor of Liao was hunting in Heilongjiang. The Jurchens (virginseng) sent people to entertain the Emperor of Liao. However, the Emperor of Liao keenly discovered that the power of the Jurchens was gradually increasing. He established the "Northeast Road Military Command" nearby to monitor the Jurchens.

At this time, the hall was very quiet. No concubines who were usually surrounded by Zhao Xing were seen. They hid in the room from the beginning of dinner. Zhao Xing looked at the note, thought for a moment, waved his hand and ordered the servant to call Cheng Shuang, and asked: "Have you asked the people from the north in detail? What are their requirements?"

Cheng Shuang replied: "Zhao Fuyi, Linhai Army of Jinzhou, has been promoted and now he has ruled the entire Jinzhou. He sent someone to ask us to sell more grain. I heard that the harvest this summer is not very good. A large-scale locust plague occurred on Nanjing Road, and the grains were completely harvested. The people in Jinzhou are extremely short of food, so the order he handed over this year only required to buy food and grass."

Zhao Xing spread a large map on his desk. This was the Asian map he drew based on his memory and the subsequent caravans kept adding some details, making this map far more detailed than all the maps of his contemporaries.

Zhao Xing pointed to the Heilongjiang area, as if he was talking to himself, and as if he was asking Cheng Shuang for advice: "Zhao Fuyi is talking nonsense that locusts cannot fly over Yanshan. Now that the Liao Lord has arrived in Heilongjiang, the situation of the Jurchens is probably not hidden. You said, what will happen if I want to burn a fire here?"

Cheng Shuang walked to the table, looked at the map, and said in a tone of self-talk: "In recent years, the Jurchens have purchased no less than 100,000 weapons and countless bows and arrows from us. If they are said to be invincible in the Northeast, they may not be able to compare with the Khitan.

The Khitan can mobilize 200,000 troops at will. Once the Khitan takes over the Northeast, it will only become stronger and stronger, because the Liao Kingdom is famined everywhere, but the northeast is cold and the prey is abundant, so it is not very affected.

When the Khitan was founded, they were established by robbery. Now their ferociousness has been lost. They are just a skinny dog ​​that can breathe. Once they sharpen their blades in the Northeast, it may not be a blessing for me."

Zhao Xing agreed with Cheng Shuang's view. War is not only about competing for national strength, weapons, but also about the organizational ability of the officers. Although the Jurchens are strong now, they are just a group of intern bandits who have just gotten rid of the Sheep Whip. Although the Liao Kingdom is weak, it is not something that the Jurchens can afford.

Zhao Xing calculated on the map for a while and ordered: "So, we will have to postpone it for a few years before we can launch the 'Nirvana Plan'. No, relying solely on the spies of the Jurchens is not enough. Once the interests of the Jurchens are involved, those spies will probably mislead us... How is the situation of the Liao people's escape recently?"

Cheng Shuang pointed to the Shanhaiguan area in Yingzhou and said, "According to our rough statistics, about one million Liao people have crossed Yanshan and fled to Jinzhou in the past two years, and some people are still continuing to walk north. The ships returned from Jinzhou reported that the Jurchens had obtained many blacksmiths, and they have begun to make their own weapons."

Zhao Xing then pointed his hand at Jinzhou and gestured, "How many more people can we accommodate?"

Cheng Shuang grinned: "The teacher knows it. At present, 50,000 people live in Danluo Island. The grain production of that island is not high. It relies on fishing and peddling to make a living. It can no longer accommodate too many people. Going further, the Great Ryukyu is too far away, and the Little Ryukyu is full of smoke and chaos. The local people are very fierce, so it is difficult for those who go there to gain a foothold.

In short, we can no longer accept too many people, we can only watch the Jurchens obtain this batch of Dingkou."

Cheng Shuang has two other places, one is the Mizhou base run by Zhao Xing, and the other is the Japanese base. However, the situation in these two places is special. Shandong has overdeveloped, and the land pressure is very high, so it can no longer accommodate too many foreign populations. The recent situation in Japan is very strange. The Japanese emperor seems to be ready to attack the Kanto Warrior Order. Under this depressing tranquility, undercurrents are surging, and Zhao Xing dares not take special actions to test other people's bottom lines.

"Population, the pressure of this population is really hard to overcome." Zhao Xing gestured on the map with his fingers. He couldn't find a piece of land to accommodate the surging fugitives in the Liao Kingdom: "It's more than one million at a time. It's strange that the Jurchens eat so many people in one bite. More than one million people, how much food should they eat every year."

"The news came from the relatives of Xiao Feng's family that the Jurchens did not eat all the millions of people. They only took in skilled craftsmen, while the rest rushed to the wilderness and let them die on their own."

Zhao Xing slapped his forehead and said, "Then let Xiao Feng's tribe members come forward to collect the victims of Luo disaster. We provide tools and organize them to reclaim land and farm, with the condition that they can communicate with us."

Cheng Shuang shook her head gently: "Teacher, this may not work. A group of people reclaimed land by themselves and planted crops. The Jurchens will collect taxes from them and dispatch officials to manage them. I am afraid that when we really want to use these people, these people will report to the Jurchens."

Cheng Shuang's words are truth. In history, all Han people who fled into the Northeast eventually regarded themselves as Jurchens. They even thought that they were the orthodox Central Plains, while the Southern Song Dynasty established by the Han people was the Southern Barbarians. Zhao Xing stared at the map for a moment and suddenly realized. He clapped his hands and smiled: "Ah, I am too persistent, why should I be so eager? We still have ten years to prepare. Think slowly, think about it for ten years, but I don't believe that I can't think of a solution."

Speaking of this, the chattering of women sounded in the corridor, and Cheng Shuang hurriedly bowed: "Teacher, if there is nothing else, I will say goodbye first. What do you think about the Jinzhou matter?"

Zhao Xing grinned: "He asked for food and promised him, but he could set the price of food very high, the better. He said that we were in the Song Dynasty and could not transport grain. The grain and grass had to be purchased from Jiaozhi. Well, each stone grain was sold to him at a price of twenty times the usual price. I don't believe how much he would buy!"

Cheng Shuang bowed and said, and at the gate, Cheng Azhu passed by him. Cheng Shuang bowed and greeted her: "My wife, I haven't slept yet so late. I have something to do, so I'll leave first."

Cheng Azhu held the jumping baby with her hands, and her face was full of joy. She nodded in a pleasant way. Both sides crossed her. But after entering the room, before Cheng Azhu could speak, Chen Yiyi was already jumping and shouting: "Brother Xing, I have it, I have it, well, the doctor said that Azhu also has it."

This was good news. Zhao Xing hurriedly pressed Chen Yiyi's shoulder and shouted: "Don't jump, don't jump, be steady, you're almost a mother-in-law, don't jump around."

After saying that, he picked up his son Xiaobao and teased the chubby face happily: "Child, your mother and the wife of Zhi want to give you a younger brother and sister."

Cheng Azhu touched her stomach and said happily: "It's best to be a daughter. I already have Baoer. I will add another daughter, that's all."

Chen Yiyi shouted: "What I want is my son. Well, it's better to have a few more. One of them will let him go back to Dayue, just look at my fiefdom."

Liao Xiaoxiao pouted and rubbed her stomach hard in annoyance, while Kasli blinked frequently and gave Zhao Xing a look that no one could understand.

The next day, Zhao Xing's first thing he did when he woke up was to enter the small Israelite village. He became busy and worked for three consecutive days. It was not until Cheng Shuang arrived that he woke him from the joy of work.

"Teacher, Mr. Mengxi is here. He came with Elder Nestorian Nestled. He asked to see you," said Cheng Shuang. Zhao Xing looked around him, pondered for a moment, and said, "Bring him here."

When Shen Kuo came in, he looked around. He had never seen many machines here before. Judging from the situation, this little village seemed to be a workshop, with countless such rooms connected in a row, and there were thick sounds of machines in the next room, which were not stopped for a while.

Zhao Xing bowed to Shen Kuo: "Mr. Mengxi, has Mrs. Zun been buried?"

After not seeing Shen Kuo for half a year, he looked even thinner. He did not answer Zhao Xing's question. He looked at Zhao Xing's room and asked with his eyes straight: "I have never seen this little Zhuangzi, is he yours?"

Zhao Xing nodded: "The farm on the other side of the river is actually composed of four farms. The farm that is the first to be created by the people of Leye people was built. Later, I built a rest garden next to me. I originally planned to hide in the courtyard with my concubine to hide in the yard. Later, when the farm that is the farm that is the farm that is the garden in the garden, the farm became a garden in the garden.

Later, the Nestorians came, and they built their own farm outside the village of the Cileye people, and lived in the west. I built this farm on the east side of the Cileye people's farm. This is my bird farm, and a group of Kunlun slaves helped me raise ostrich here."

Shen Kuo pointed to the machines around Zhao Xing and asked again: "What is this?"

Zhao Xing patted the table where he was working and replied: "This is a bench drilling machine, next to it is a long-axle lathe, there is a wheel saw, there is a grinder, and there is...

This farm is too big, so I built some factories to place these carpenters. These machinery were collected by Yici Leye people for me, and they also used these things to do their work. This is also my craftsman workshop, Yici Leye people are helping me make some small items here."

Shen Kuo walked around the machines one by one, muttering while looking at them. After finishing all the machines, he returned to Zhao Xing and bowed and said, "Leave people, thank you for helping me restrain my wife. I just want to ask you, is there still a shortage of people in your school?"

Zhao Xing bowed ninety degrees and said, "I'm waiting for the empty position."

Shen Kuo pointed to the machinery here again and said, "Can I be satisfied with these? I see these things come to life. Cut a lever, and it will probably take half a day to finish it."

Zhao Xing replied: "Why do you have to do it yourself by Mr. Mengxi? As long as you draw the drawings and hand them over to the craftsmen, they will naturally make it for you. If you control this thing, they will be more proficient."

Shen Kuo shook his head: "You don't know that the ruler in each craftsman's hand is different. If you give them an object, ten craftsmen make ten shapes, and they must be adjusted by themselves."

Zhao Xing has been closely following Shen Kuo's research progress for a long time. He didn't know that Shen Kuo had encountered a problem, but Zhang was there, so he didn't dare to show up. Now that Zhang is gone, he has no scruples: "Mr. Mengxi, I can't guarantee anything else, but all the craftsmen here must use the same ruler, because I have steel rulers here, which are made through stamping. Ten thousand rulers are guaranteed to be one precision."

Shen Kuo turned his eyes to the things on Zhao Xing's table. He picked up a half-foot-wide bag and looked at it carefully. It seemed that it was the skin of a scale animal, made into a belt shape, with a layer of base liner densely sewn on the edge of the belt. I don't know what leather the base liner is made of, it is very thin and light and soft. Zhao Xing was just piercing holes in the scales. Look at it, he seemed to be making a belt that can be tight.

"What kind of skin is this?" Shen Kuo asked.

Zhao Xing's answer scared him: "Dragon skin. This is the dragon skin of Bagan Zhupo Long (Thai crocodile)."

Shen Kuo was stunned for a moment and recalled: "Is it the kind of pig woman dragon that Zhou Chu killed Jiao?"

Zhao Xing began to clean up the things on the table. He folded the things into a ball, and while cleaning them up, he introduced to Shen Kuo: "This is African lion skin, this is African giraffe skin, this is zebra skin. And this pig-woo dragon skin, are all gifts given to me by a vassal merchant named Sodi not long ago.

It was so good for the gentleman to learn that my wife and concubines were pregnant at the same time, and it was almost winter. I drew a few patterns and made a few different cloaks for my wife and concubines, as well as this belt, which can be loose or tight, and can be covered by falling on my shoulders."

Shen Kuo pointed to the pile of animal skins and asked with a stiff expression: "You made all these by yourself?"

Zhao Xing grabbed Shen Kuo and walked outside. A little black girl ran over and stuffed Zhao Xing a package. Zhao Xing threw his back hand on his shoulder and replied as he walked: "How can I do it? I just drew the appearance, those Yi Ci Leye people helped me. However, some of the drawings were not detailed and I needed to give me some advice. Mr. Mengxi, are you still living in your original room?"

Shen Kuo nodded and asked tentatively: "Cuisan, is Cuihua still there?" These two people are the Japanese girls who were originally serving Shen Kuo. Zhao Xing quickly replied: "These two are still here, and they are tidying up their room every day. Don't worry, sir, they are still in your room."

Shen Kuo did not answer, and he walked into his house without saying a word.

Zhao Xing returned to his room and found that the room was full of people. Chen Yiyi seemed to have spread the news of her pregnancy to everyone, and the room was full of officials who came to congratulate him.

Zhao Xing's cloak was warmly welcomed, and several women pulled the cloak and gestured on their bodies, especially the deer skin and zebra skin. The unique patterns made them ask non-stop.

Zhao Xing took the time to sneak out of the place where women gathered. He stuffed the package he handed to the chef and ordered: "This is ostrich meat. Compared to the beef, make some black pepper and roast it fresh..." After explaining, he put a few dragon-skin belts on his shoulders and went to find the men of the women.

The men gathered on the rooftop, holding tea cups and drinking tea. Liao Xiaoxiao greeted him from both sides. When he saw Zhao Xing coming, he hurriedly flashed over and rubbed Zhao Xing's face gently, and then directed the servant to bring a cup of hot tea to Zhao Xing. Kasli was there to direct Hu Ji to play soft Arab court music. When he saw Zhao Xing coming in, he shook a charming look.

When Su Shi saw the belt on Zhao Xing's shoulder, he was also curious: "Li Ren, what kind of scales are this? Look, the bone spurs are so high that they must have been extremely vicious during their lifetime."

Zhao Xing replied: "The teacher is right. This is Zhu Po Long's skin, this belt for the teacher. It is the belt made of the middle bone armor on Zhu Po Long's back."

Su Shi didn't answer: "Dragon skin, it should be something that insects and ants can avoid, but the belt is too wide, and I don't have that thick waist."

Zhao Xing left the widest belt, threw the remaining dozen belts on the table, and said, "Here, the rest of the belts are of different widths, so the teacher will choose."

Su Shi picked up one and looked around. The Israelites' craftsmanship was very exquisite. The belt head was made with a purple gold buckle, which was made into a crocodile mouth. Two sharp teeth were stretched out from his mouth, just buckled into the holes made on the belt. The holes were punched more than a row, just loose or tight.

"Wouldn't it be even more gorgeous if there is another gem or pearl on this purple gold buckle tab?" Gao Qiu also picked up a belt to check. The scale-shaped pattern was stamped on the purple gold buckle tab, but no gems were inlaid, which made Gao Qiu feel a little deficient.

The others present also showed the same expression. Zhao Xing despised Gao Qiu: "Cut, the button is made of purple gold, and with pearls inlaid, can you still wear it normally? What are you thinking? This is a belt, usually tied to the waist, with dragon energy to protect you, and you can turn bad luck into good luck, but if it is too eye-catching, wouldn't it cause disaster?"

This statement was agreed by Su Shi. He stood up, untied the belt covered with white jade, surrounded the crocodile belt, patted his stomach with satisfaction, and asked, "What do you think?"

Mao Pang gave a thumbs up: "Yinglang, Shenjun!"
To be continued...