Steel Dynasty - Chapter 13

[Chapter 13 Aftermath]

“This is just the old slave’s guess.”

Qian Dafu looked hesitant, but he had much better information about Chang’an than Xiao Ming.

Lu Fei’s expression was stern, “Your Highness, these three princes may be targeting you, but what happened this time is a combination of internal and external cooperation.”

“How to deal with this?” Xiao Ming was puzzled.

“Your Highness, the general has always been very strict in running the army. It is impossible for the people entering and leaving the city gate to carry bows, arrows and swords into the city, unless they are hidden in the goods.”

Xiao Ming frowned deeply and looked in the direction of the Wang family compound. The wealthy families in Qingzhou are all drinking and having fun, and all the large goods come from them. Who among them is cooperating with the third prince inside and outside?

After pondering for a while, Xiao Ming said: “The assassin is dead. There is no evidence that he is dead. These are all our guesses, but it is true that someone wants to kill me.”

“Your Highness, such a heinous crime has never happened in Qingzhou. If His Highness goes out in the future, he must be accompanied by guards to protect him. “Qian Dafu has always been the most concerned about Xiao Ming’s safety.

Xiao Ming nodded. This incident gave him a wake-up call – the world is still very dangerous.

The discussion could not come to a conclusion for a while, so Xiao Ming asked Lu Fei to secretly keep an eye on the movements of several wealthy families in the city, and at the same time strengthen the protection of the palace.

The news of King Qi’s assassination spread in Qingzhou that night.

This was the news that Xiao Ming deliberately asked Lu Fei to release, in order to alert others and see if there would be any abnormality in the city.

“Dad, King Qi was assassinated. Who do you think did it?”

The dim candlelight flickered. In the pavilion in the garden of the Wang family residence, Wang Shijie and his father sat opposite each other. The family banquet was over, and there was still a faint smell of alcohol in the courtyard. , he was a little tipsy.

Wang Chengchou smoothed his long beard, closed his eyes and seemed to be thinking about something. He said: “Looking at Captain Lu’s actions, I seem to suspect that the wealthy families in the city and outsiders colluded to murder King Qi.” “

How do you think about this ?

Out?” Wang Shijie asked confused.

Wang Chengchou snorted coldly, “I usually ask you to read more poems and books, but you never listen. Now you are ignorant and incompetent. The assassination of King Qi is such an obscure thing, but this Lu Fei is publicizing it with great fanfare. Isn’t this just a warning?”

Wang Shijie shrank his head in fright, “No wonder, but who is it? If King Qi dies, it will be bad for us.”

“King Qi is stupid and doesn’t know how to manage the fiefdom. This is a good thing for us, I believe The other three families just want to take advantage of King Qi just like us, and they will not murder King Qi,” Wang Chengchou said thoughtfully.

The assassination of King Qi also puzzled him. When the news came, he immediately canceled the family dinner and sent people out to inquire about the news.

After a pause, Wang Chengchou said: “Early tomorrow morning, bring a gift and go visit King Qi. It will also show the closeness between our Wang family and King Qi.”

Wang Shijie nodded and remembered something and said: “By the way, Dad. , you asked me to go to the Equipment Department, and I went too. At that time, King Qi seemed to be teaching the craftsmen what to make. This is what the coal cakes and iron are used for. “

“Well, you and I both know what King Qi is capable of .

What’s the matter? I sent you because I was worried about whether the barbarians were about to invade, so the Equipment Department wanted to build weapons. If not, you should stop staring at him and just win over him on weekdays.” Wang Chengchou looked like he was strategizing.

At the same time, the Wei family, Qin family, and Sun family in Qingzhou also talked about it.

The next day, all four families sent their children to visit Prince Qi’s Mansion.

“Brother Wang, Brother Wei, Brother Sun, Brother Qin, why are you so polite?” Xiao Ming was woken up by Qian Dafu early in the morning.

When he woke up, he realized that it was the local wealthy family who came to visit him.

Needless to say, gifts of all sizes, Wang Shijie, Wei Qing, Sun Dong, and Qin Mu, who are known as the four pests of Qingzhou, are all in place.

These four people were all dressed as scholars, wearing blue, red, black, and green gowns respectively.

Wang Shijie was pale and sickly, Wei Qing was strong and dark, Sun Dong was fair and fat, and Qin Mu was tall and thin.

When the four of them stood together, they looked like a ridge on one side and a peak on the other side, with different heights and distances.

“Your Highness!” Similarly, when they saw Xiao Ming, the four of them showed a mean smile.

In Dayu, ordinary people cannot afford to read, but the children of wealthy families must be famous. All four of them have read, and it can be said that they are all scholars.

Because there are not many scholars in Qingzhou, the four call themselves the Four Great Talents in Qingzhou, but in the eyes of the people, they are just four pests.

“Dafu, please sit down.”

Hearing this, Qian Dafu, who was busy receiving gifts, remembered that the four young masters were still standing and immediately asked someone to bring chairs.

“Your Highness, I heard that Your Highness was assassinated yesterday. I was worried and didn’t sleep all night. I came to visit Your Highness early this morning.” Wang Shijie looked worried, as if his own father was seriously ill.

“Brother Wang, this is so fake. I am most worried about this. Not only did I not sleep all night, I also asked my servants to prepare a wooden stake and kill it a thousand times as an assassin to relieve my hatred.”

Wei Qing has always said He claims to be both civil and military, and has developed a body of muscles.

“Brother Wei is too superficial. Your Highness, this time my father asked my younger brother to send a century-old mountain ginseng to replenish your body.” The fat on Sun Dong’s face trembled, and he was very sincere.

At this time, Qin Mu showed a look of disdain. He gently shook the paper fan and said, “Your Highness, they are all too vulgar. I thought about it all night last night. In order to relieve Your Highness’s worries, I came up with an excellent place to go.”

“No. Is it You Mihe?” the three of them said in disdain.

I have to say that the relationship between Xiao Ming and the four scumbags was quite good in the past, so the four of them laughed and cursed in front of him without any scruples.

Although Xiao Ming now prioritizes eradicating the harm of the wealthy clan, he has to pretend to be the same as before.

Whether it is modern or ancient times, the exchanges between interests are actually very simple. Basically, they are brothers above the wine table, and they use knives below the wine table.

On the surface, everyone should still be in harmony.

However, what Qin Mu said about Mihe made Xiao Ming’s heart move.

The Qingzhou where he is now is the later Qingzhou City, and the location is not much different.

Qingzhou is a semi-mountainous and semi-plain terrain, located at the northern foot of Yimeng Mountain, and has the largest mineral reserves of limestone and iron ore.

In the south of Qingzhou City, a river passes through the city, which is the Mi River in Qin Mu’s mouth.

Before the advent of the steam engine, water power could be said to be the most important natural force among the people. In addition to the Mi River, Qingzhou also had the Yang River and Xiaoqing River in the north. These three rivers eventually flowed into the Bohai Bay.

Now he teaches craftsmen how to make lathes, but he does not mean that steam engines can be made immediately.

These lathes are only for the convenience of manufacturing various accessories. It will take some time for craftsmen to hone themselves before they can manufacture steam engines.

After all, the development of steam engines was also based on mature craftsmen.

But before that, he could give these craftsmen some opportunities to practice, that is, to make some traditional tools. In terms of the technological level of the late Tang and early Song Dynasties, they were equivalent to the practical instruments of the Ming Dynasty.

And many of these things are related to water.

Xiao Ming has always wanted to go up to these three rivers to have a look. At this time, he said: “Brother Qin’s suggestion is good, let’s go to Mihe.”

(End of Chapter)