Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 228: Complaining in front of the Emperor?
Wang Jie, the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, was a man of integrity and strong character. When he was released as a second-class Jinshi to serve as a county magistrate, he dared to confront the prefect. However, the prefect happened to be involved in corruption, and a group of Maitreya believers suddenly appeared in the territory. The co-magistrate and the assistant prefect were so scared that they fled in panic, but he, the county magistrate, was hidden by the people who loved him. Later, he gathered a group of death-defying men to go deep into the tiger's den and directly behead the leader of the cult, which created a strange story.
After that, he had many years of experience as a local official, and had served successively as a prefect, a prefect, an inspector, and a provincial governor. He was able to farm, spin, repair roads , build bridges, clear ditches, and understand boats... There were many jobs that people relied on for their livelihood, and even if he was not good at doing them, he at least knew a thing or two. Whenever the emperor was holding the plow and farming, as long as he was in Beijing, he would be the one who accompanied him.
So, when he, a third-rank official who, in Zhang Shou's words, was particularly down-to-earth, walked into the weaving and dyeing workshop and into the room where the new spinning machines were located, and saw several spinners busy at work, he immediately widened his eyes, pointed at the spinning machines and asked in a stern voice: "What's the matter with this spinning machine? Where did it come from? Who came up with it? Who made it?"
Zhu Ying was born as the daughter of a duke. She only knew that beautiful clothes were made from all kinds of silks and satins, but it was her first time to visit a weaving and dyeing workshop.
In fact, she had long felt that it must be Zhang Shou's idea for Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu to buy the weaving and dyeing workshop. However, her grandmother and mother did not allow her to come and watch the fun. Her grandmother even warned her earnestly that men should have some harmless little secrets and women should never pry into them. Therefore, she, who was very curious, could only forcibly restrain the urge to join in the fun.
However, after entering the house, Miss Zhu, who was curious about everything, felt an indescribable smell in the air, and all kinds of dust seemed to be floating in the air. After sneezing several times, she had to retreat to the door. But even so, when she found that Wang Jie's tone was unexpectedly harsh, she immediately stepped forward to block the way.
"Why are you so fierce, Wang Dayin? What's wrong with these spinning machines? There are many spinning machines in the world, aren't they all used for spinning yarn?"
Wang Jie glanced at Zhu Ying with a mixture of laughter and tears, but his tone immediately softened: "Miss Zhu, is this your first time seeing a spinning machine?"
"So what?" Zhu Ying was a little confused, but her tone was even more fierce than Wang Jie's just now. "Although this is the first time I have seen a spinning machine, these spinners are all hardworking and honest people. This weaving and dyeing workshop is as normal as it can be. There is nothing to be surprised about. Zhang Wu, Zhang Lu, don't you agree?"
As she spoke, she deliberately turned her head to ask Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu, but she found that their eyes were wandering. At this moment, Miss Zhu, who was never stupid but just too lazy to use her brain, suddenly felt a pang in her heart, and then she immediately got angry: "Hey, Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu, you are not doing something shameful without telling Ah Shou, are you? Did you cheat these spinners?"
Although there were a large group of outsiders, and the two noble owners were accompanying them, the spinners behind the looms were so busy that they had no time to look up. But Zhu Ying's roar was even louder than Wang Jie's angry questioning just now. One of the spinners was distracted and heard it. His hand suddenly shook and he almost made a mistake.
He hurriedly stopped what he was doing and said loudly, "Both employers are good people. They let us work here and paid us double wages. We all stayed here voluntarily and were not forced in the slightest! We feel blessed to be able to use such a fast and good spinning machine. We wish we could stay here forever!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Jie looked at Zhu Ying, whose face was slightly red, and said calmly, "When did I say that the brothers Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu committed crimes? Miss Zhu, it is precisely because you have never seen a spinning machine that you misunderstood what I said. You should know that most of the spinning machines in use today are said to be the technology that Huang Daopo brought back from Hainan in the past, and most of them use three spindles."
"But count how many spindles there are on these spinning machines?"
If it was another spoiled daughter, she would definitely explode immediately after hearing what Wang Jie said. However, although Zhu Ying was also spoiled and willful, she was never stubborn about things she didn't understand. After asking Zhang Shou what ingots were, she actually counted them seriously.
When she finished counting, she would turn around and look at Wang Jie and ask, "There are eighteen spindles in total... Could it be that the more spindles there are, the more yarn can be spun?"
"That should be the case." Wang Jie nodded slightly, but then he asked Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu, "This spinning machine with eighteen spindles can produce six times as much yarn as the previous three-spindle spinning machine?"
Just as Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu were about to answer, Zhang Shou's voice came from outside the door: "That can't be completely calculated. With so many extra spindles, the spinners were not skilled enough at first, so they couldn't reach six times the speed. But practice makes perfect, and maybe we can really reach six times the speed in the future."
Wang Jie turned around and saw Zhang Shou carrying a box into the room. He then handed the box to Zhu Ying who was standing beside him. He could not help but stare at her with sharp eyes and suddenly asked directly, "Dr. Zhang, was this spinning machine your idea?"
"I guess so." Zhang Shou's answer was a little vague.
"Then do you know that if this new type of textile machine is popularized, it can be said to benefit countless people? And you hide it, so that only a small group of people can benefit from it. Don't you think it is too narrow-minded?"
I know that this extremely strong Shuntian prefect is a selfless person who hates egoism! That's why I think that it is really a loss to make inventions in this era when there is no patent right at all, let alone patent protection, because it is difficult to achieve a monopoly, and if you are not careful, you may not even get the first pot of gold.
Zhang Shou sighed inwardly. Seeing that several spinners had stopped their work and were watching the dispute with different expressions, he said with a half-smile, "Does Wang Dayin think that this spinning machine should be promoted all over the world so that all spinners can experience the joy of increased production and income?"
"Of course!" Wang Jie's answer was sonorous and powerful. Seeing Zhang Shou smiling but not saying anything, his face suddenly darkened, and he said word by word, "Men farming and women weaving are important to the country, just as important as fighting. We cannot forget the overall interests of the country and the people because of our own selfishness. I need to report this matter to the emperor immediately. Doctor Zhang, goodbye."
Seeing Wang Jie turned and left after he finished speaking, Zhu Ying glared at his back with an angry look on her face, so Zhang Shou pulled him aside.
"Yingying, hurry up and chase him. If Wang Dayin enters the palace, you chase him. No matter what method you use, just go with him to see the emperor. Whatever he talks about when he sees the emperor, you also say that you are reporting it on my behalf. As long as you see the emperor, you don't have to care what he says, and you don't have to argue with him. Just find an opportunity and hand over my box to the emperor, and you'll be done!"
"Okay! Don't worry!" Zhu Ying agreed firmly, then turned around and went out to chase after him.
Although she also felt that this new spinning machine was a very good thing, and that it might help many spinners save more effort and make more money after being promoted, it was something made by Zhang Shou. Why did Wang Jie want to take away the results with just a few empty words!
People say that rich young men like them are unreasonable, but she thinks Wang Jie is even more unreasonable!
Seeing Wang Jie and Zhu Ying leave one after the other, Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu looked at each other for a while, then hurriedly told the spinners to hurry up and get to work. After following Zhang Shou out of the house, Zhang Lu wiped the sweat from his forehead with lingering fear: "Fortunately, young master, you were decisive and let Lu Sanlang come forward to complete the deal first, otherwise it would have been terrible if it had fallen into the hands of the iron-faced Wang Dayin."
Zhang Wu couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "I didn't expect Wang Dayin to be such a stubborn person. I thought he had a good relationship with you, young master. Even if he found that this new spinning machine is indeed efficient, at most he would realize why the second prince wanted to spy on this weaving and dyeing factory, and he would definitely not do anything too much for himself. I didn't expect that he would actually ask to make this new spinning machine public... Why?"
Zhang Shou laughed. Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu's ideas represent the developers and vested interests, while Wang Jie's ideas represent the general public. This conflict has not been resolved until later generations. The most typical example is those extremely expensive but patented drugs and high-end equipment. This conflict of interests that cannot be balanced in later generations is even more unsolvable today.
Therefore, when it comes to textile machines, he only planned to make the first pot of gold and then stop after making a profit from a scam.
"I shouldn't say the word 'why', nor should you say it." Zhang Shou smiled at the two brothers who were filled with righteous indignation, and said meaningfully, "The eldest prince should say this."
cough--
At this moment, Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu both choked. Zhang Wu, who was more honest, coughed violently. After he finally stopped, he saw that Zhang Lu was already smiling. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Young Master is right. Even if Wang Dayin really reported this to the emperor, the one who would suffer the most would be the eldest prince." He felt deeply sorry for the eldest prince!
"But, thinking about it, it's still a bit unfair. It's clearly a chance for the young master to show his skills, but he can only give up." After gloating, Zhang Lu still felt it was a pity. You know, his purpose is to hold on to this golden thigh next to him. Zhang Shou eats meat and they drink soup. The bigger and richer the piece of meat Zhang Shou gets, the more delicious the soup they can drink.
This was completely different from when they were Zhang Chen's followers. Zhang Chen could bring them shelter, but Zhang Shou brought them a very bright future! And they had already seen and experienced this future!
"What do you mean by showing off your skills? This is just a small test run." Zhang Shou shrugged and said nonchalantly, "Besides, even though Wang Dayin must be scolding us in his heart for putting personal interests above public interests, being narrow-minded and not caring about the poor, he will soon think that we are doing things uprightly and with high moral integrity!"
When Zhang Shou said this, he naturally didn't know that Wang Jie was furious at the moment - because Zhu Ying rode her horse beside his carriage openly, as if she was determined to stay with him. When he entered the palace, Zhu Ying followed behind him. When he arrived at the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Ying also followed closely by his side. Even when he asked to see the emperor, Miss Zhu refused to leave!
Even Liu Feng, the manager of the Qianqing Palace, was surprised to see this scene. Especially when Wang Jie said he had important matters to attend to the emperor, Zhu Ying stepped in front of him. He secretly complained, but still had to smile at the young lady and said, "Miss, Wang Dayin is here to see the emperor for important matters..."
"Am I meeting the emperor for fun?" Zhu Ying snorted unhappily, then glanced at Wang Jie and said provocatively, "Whatever Wang Dayin is meeting the emperor for, I'm meeting the emperor for the same reason! Quick, report it for me!"
Seeing Wang Jie's angry face, Liu Feng couldn't help but feel deep sympathy for him. If it were someone else, he would certainly ignore it, but facing Zhu Ying's dominance, he had to go to report with a bitter face and leave the choice to the emperor. After entering the East Warm Pavilion, when he told the unheard-of scene outside, the emperor pondered for a moment with interest, and finally laughed.
"Yingying may be a bit naughty, but she is not ignorant of the big picture. Since she insists on seeing me with Wang Jie, she must have her own purpose. Well, let's go together and see me."
Liu Feng was dumbfounded. Summoning the prefect of Shuntian and the daughter of Duke Zhao to the emperor at the same time? Is this appropriate? However, facing the emperor's unquestionable eyes, he did not dare to hesitate, and immediately agreed and walked out quickly. Sure enough, when he arrived outside the palace and spoke out this incredible imperial decree, he saw Wang Jie's face was about to turn black charcoal.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."
"Your Majesty."
They were both meeting the emperor, but compared to Wang Jie's meticulousness, Zhu Ying seemed casual and unfocused. The emperor, however, was relaxed and smiling at this interesting scene, as if he did not feel any disharmony at all. He nodded slightly in a friendly manner and said, "Please take a seat." Then, Wang Jie sat upright, while Zhu Ying held the box in one hand and supported her cheek with the other.
"What's the matter, Lord Wang?"
Not wanting the emperor to ask him first, Wang Jie took a deep breath, suppressed his dissatisfaction, and told him with a serious face what he saw and heard when he went to Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu's weaving and dyeing workshop today.
Seeing that the emperor was listening very seriously, he said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, agriculture is the foundation of the country, and men farming and women weaving is the foundation passed down from ancient times. Now that we have such an efficient spinning machine, how can we not promote it, but let it be controlled by private hands?"
The emperor listened calmly, and suddenly looked at Zhu Ying, who had a mocking expression on her face: "Yingying, what do you want to see me for?"
"I'm here to deliver his memorial on behalf of A Shou!" Zhu Ying stood up holding the box and said with a smile, "A Shou said this box can go directly to the emperor, but I was afraid it would be unsafe for others to deliver it, so I brought it here myself!"
