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The warm spring waves flow out of the peach blossoms, and I hate people asking about the fishing boat crossing.
There were birds singing and dancing on Mochou Lake. After a spring breeze, two palace maids sent Xu Ruoshi back.
After having physical contact with such a lady from a noble family, Qin Mu couldn't just pretend that nothing had happened. He asked two palace maids to serve him at Xu's house, which was the most explicit indication of his feelings.
Of course, the eldest daughter of the Xu family was already the emperor's woman, and her virginity had been broken. The two palace maids' going to Xu's mansion to serve him also had a hidden meaning, which could not be told to outsiders.
After Qin Mu returned to the palace, he ordered Han Zanzhou to prepare the betrothal gifts and choose an auspicious day.
After the Xu family learned the outline of the incident, they were all delighted.
In particular, Xu Yongshun, after receiving the report from his family, hurried back home. He rode too fast on the way and almost hit someone. This kind of serious speeding behavior is strictly prohibited in Nanjing city.
In view of the fact that no serious consequences were caused, the soldiers of the Wucheng Bingmasi stopped Xu Yongshun and fined him five taels of silver as per the rules.
Without saying a word, Xu Yongshun generously threw down fifty strings of precious coins and said, "No need for change. Please have some tea, brothers." After saying this, he rode back home quickly in the astonished eyes of the soldiers.
The servants in front of Xu's mansion saw a horse galloping towards them, with the person on the horse lying on its back. Before they could see who it was, the horse neighed and raised its hooves, rushing into the mansion.
“Oh, who is it, how dare you trespass... oh, it’s... .” The servant was halfway through yelling, but when he saw that it was his master, he quickly stopped talking.
Xu Yongshun had no time to care about them. He ran out of breath to his sister's dressing room, and when he was halfway up the stairs, he quickly retreated.
His sister is now the emperor's woman, so even as her brother, he cannot barge into her boudoir without permission. Xu Yongshun comes from a powerful family, so he naturally knows these taboos.
He could hardly suppress his excitement. He shouted downstairs: "Sister, sister, how are you? Come out quickly, brother has something to ask you..."
What are you asking? Are you going to ask... Xu Ruoshi blushed instantly when she heard her brother yelling. She was a lady from a wealthy family, but she had physical contact with a man before the wedding ceremony. Although this man was the current emperor, it was still embarrassing.
"Brother. Don't ask anymore." In the dressing room, Xu Ruoshi answered coquettishly.
Xu Yongshun laughed and said, "Sister, this is a great happy event. Why should you be shy? Tell your brother quickly. Has His Majesty said when he will bring you to the palace?"
How could Xu Ruoshi answer such a question? Besides, Qin Mu did not specify when he would take her into the palace.
At this time, a palace maid came out, bowed to Xu Yongshun and said, "Master Xu, don't worry. His Majesty asked me to come and serve Miss Xu, and I believe the betrothal gifts will be sent to you soon."
"Okay, okay, thank you both ladies."
Xu Yongshun returned to the front hall. He immediately called all seven or eight housekeepers and ordered them, "Go and prepare the dowry for the eldest daughter immediately. Don't make it public yet, but make it grand. The more grand the better. Don't be afraid to spend money."
"Yes, sir."
The seven or eight managers were all beaming with joy. At Xu Yongshun's command, they immediately split up and took action. The Xu family, which was so big, suddenly became busy.
Although she can forget about becoming the queen, the dowry should be grand. After her sister enters the palace, her status will always be higher. If she can be made a noble concubine, it will be worth it even if she spends one million taels.
Xu Yongshun's father has passed away, and he is now the head of the family. It is not easy for him to support such a large family with only twenty heads.
His younger sister was beautiful, well-educated and well-mannered. Matchmakers often came to the Xu family's doorstep, including some powerful families in the new dynasty who came to propose marriage, but Xu Yongshun rejected them one by one, and offended many people for this.
He knew very well that a political marriage was the only way for the Xu family to rise again, and he had tried his best to send his sister to the palace. Today, he finally got his wish. Xu Yongshun was so happy that he read poetry and books, and he wished that the emperor would send a sedan chair to pick her up immediately.
Xu Ruoshi naturally knew what her brother was thinking. She was lying on the bed in her boudoir, playing with a dragon-shaped jade pendant in her hand. This was a gift from Qin Mu when they parted, as a token of love.
As she was a virgin, she looked a little lazy, with her long black hair spread out on the soft plum blossom pillow, and her beautiful face was charming and attractive.
What girl doesn't have love in her heart? Thinking of what happened on the pleasure boat, her body suddenly became hot for no reason and she couldn't help but pull the quilt to cover her burning face.
Although Qin Mu was an emperor, he was so gentle and considerate when he entered her. When she cried out in pain, he immediately stopped and comforted her in every way until she slowly got used to it.
Erotic paintings were extremely popular in the Ming Dynasty. Even talented men like Tang Bohu painted a lot of them. The rich and powerful families and noble ladies always kept some in their private rooms. Xu Ruoshi was already seventeen years old, so she was not completely ignorant of the affairs between men and women.
But as a woman without any experience, it was really hard for her to imagine the feeling of floating on the clouds. She couldn't help but sing sweetly at that time. Gu Hanyan and the others on the lower deck of the pleasure boat must have heard it. Thinking of this, Xu Ruoshi's face felt like it was on fire.
In the palace, Qin Mu asked Han Zanzhou to perform the betrothal ceremony, and then asked Li Shi to go to Longjiang Shipyard to inquire about it. After hearing Xu Ruoshi mentioning that Longjiang Shipyard was developing a new ship with a hollow bow on the pleasure boat, he vaguely remembered something;
After returning to the palace, I thought carefully. Isn't it the clipper sailboat with a hollow bow design that pushed sailing to the extreme in later generations? The bow waterline of this sailboat is concave, and the long and sharp curved scissor-shaped bow column is suitable for racing. It can cut through the waves (cut the waves) on the sea to reduce wave resistance, so it is called a clipper.
The biggest feature of this type of ship is its speed. It has increased the speed of sailboats to the extreme. It is said that the maximum speed can reach 14 nautical miles per hour, and it only takes 13 days to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
If converted into miles, that would be 52 miles per hour!
Macau is about 600 nautical miles away from Manila. At this speed, it only takes two days to travel from the Pearl River Estuary to Manila.
What is the concept
Let me put it this way, it takes nearly ten days for current ships to sail from the Pearl River Estuary to the Yangtze River Estuary. If the scissor-rigged sailboat is successfully developed, it will only take two days to travel from Macau to Manila. Will people still feel that Luzon is far away then
Qin Mu did not expect that the R&D department established in Longjiang Shipyard would produce such fruitful results in just two years.
This is different from the steam engine, for which he drew a blueprint and explained the principles, and then the craftsmen built it according to the blueprint.
If the scissor-type sailboat was really designed this time, it would be entirely the result of the craftsmen's own research. In the words of later generations, it would be something with complete intellectual property rights.
The more Qin Mu thought about it, the more excited he became. He was almost as excited as Xu Yongshun, reading poetry and books.
This once again proves that the wisdom of the Chinese people is immeasurable, but in the past these things were regarded as gimmicks and were not taken seriously.
Qin Mu believes that as long as it is given suitable soil, the flower of science and technology on the land of China will surely bear abundant fruits.
It seemed that the heavens wanted to give Qin Mu more joy. Li Shi had not yet returned from Longjiang Shipyard to understand the situation, and Han Zanzhou stood up again with joy and reported: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty! Good news came from Sichuan. We found it. We found the asphalt mine that Your Majesty mentioned."
"really?"
"Your Majesty, how dare I lie to you? Even if I have ten thousand heads..."
"Okay, okay, tell me quickly, where did you find it and how much is in stock?"
Han Zanzhou smiled like a chrysanthemum and replied, "Your Majesty, it was found in the Longmen Mountain area of Sichuan. The locals discovered this black stuff a long time ago, but they didn't know what it was used for. When our people were asking around in Guangyuan, they heard the locals mention it, and that's how they found it. The news they sent back said that the reserves are huge, but we don't know how much there is."
"Okay, okay. Old Han, did you get the samples back?"
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I have brought back 20 to 30 kilograms."
"Bring it in quickly so I can have a look."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Han Zanzhou waved his hand toward the outside of the hall, and two young eunuchs came in carrying half a sack of things. Qin Mu went forward to take a look and saw that the black and shiny lumps in the sack were nothing but asphalt.
This is a great treasure. Qin Mu has already drawn up a blueprint for road construction. In order to strengthen his rule over the southwest, he intends to first build a road from Changsha to Kunming and another from Changsha to Qinzhou.
In particular, the road from Changsha to Guiyang via Kunming, once completed, will be of historic significance for the central government to strengthen its rule over the southwestern provinces, and will certainly play a very significant role in promoting the transformation of the aboriginal system in the southwest.
This is a very important national strategy. Qin Mu decided to invest all the Jurchen men in the construction of this road. If they are not enough, he will look for more from the South Pacific islands and Japan. Even if he has to pave the road with bones, Qin Mu will not hesitate.
Because this road is related to the Qin Dynasty's major strategy of advancing into the Indochina Peninsula, ruling the Indochina Peninsula, and expanding its territory across the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean.
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ps: Monthly tickets have become scarce these two days, and my ranking has suddenly dropped to after 50th place. I feel helpless. Even when I was sick, I didn't dare to stop updating. I have tried my best. Brothers, please give me some support. Monthly tickets are requested!
.(To be continued..)
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