After Gao Ning left, Chen Xi stood there and did not return to the house immediately.

Yun Liu turned her head and entered the game, blushed and said guiltily: "Sir, it's a humble position, I heard something I shouldn't know."

Chen Xidao: "Do you understand the consequences of the Qing cause?"

"Um."

Yun Liu nodded, "When the woman came, Bei Zhi just felt familiar. When she saw it clearly, she realized that it was Gao Ning. At that time, she didn't know that she was the concubine Li, who was famous for her in the leopard room... She was also Bei Zhi's poor work, so she asked her to find out about the whereabouts of the adults, causing unnecessary trouble to the adults."

Chen Xi shook her head: "You don't need to blame yourself for her affairs. This woman's idea is very alternative. It is difficult for ordinary people to understand. No matter how much she is guarding, she will still make some troubles... Now that she takes this step, it may not be a bad thing."

Yun Liu was a little excited: "But, she wanted to harm the adults... she actually put forward such an unreliable idea, which was simply a bold act..."

Chen Xi looked at Yun Liu and asked, "Do you even know this?"

Yun Liu lowered her head and bit her cherry lips: "She wants to make the adults be Lu Buwei and be Zhu Ji himself. It is obvious that she wants to put the adults in a situation where they are doomed, and she has a sinister intention!"

Chen Xi did not look at the clouds and willows, but raised his head and looked up at the starry sky, and his whole body entered an ethereal state.

Because Chen Xi didn't speak, Yun Liu didn't dare to comment casually. After a long time, Chen Xi suddenly turned sideways and asked, "What if His Majesty really doesn't leave any descendants in the future and the throne falls into the hands of the royal family?"

Yun Liu shook his head: "Your Majesty is young and strong, how could such a thing happen? Even if there are women around him who are infertile, no women can give birth to a royal heir."

Chen Xi smiled bitterly, not forcing Yunliu to understand his thoughts.

According to the thinking of this era, people think that if there is no child between a husband and wife, it must be a problem with the woman, and they will not blame the man, but they do not know that many men in this world are infertile, and Zhu Houzhao is one of them.

Chen Xi thought to himself: "I don't know if Zhu Houzhao has no descendants, because of congenital deficiency or excessive indulgence and other acquired problems... But these are irrelevant. History is repeating now. At least Zhu Houzhao has been in contact with women for five or six years, but there is still no woman in the palace and leopard room to get pregnant, which is enough to illustrate the problem."

"If Gao Ning made such an irresponsible request, Zhu Houzhao's health was fine, I would never consider whether this suggestion was feasible. After all, as long as Zhu Houzhao has children, even if he unfortunately dies, I can do my best to cultivate his son and take over his unscrupulous father's class. But the problem is that it is difficult for this kid to have a descendant, and the throne is likely to be passed on from the side branches of Zhu's family..."

Yunliu suddenly said, "Sir, it's not too early, why don't you rest?"

Chen Xi was repeatedly weighing the pros and cons. After hearing this, he came back to his senses and shook his head and said, "Since Gao Ning can easily find this place, it means that this place has been exposed. Even if she dares not do anything to me, she may harass the people around me. The secret contact points you have in your hands may be found by her... This woman has many methods and now she is consciously cultivating power, which may threaten your safety."

Yun Liu looked firm: "I'm not afraid of humble duties, she comes to me if she has the courage."

Chen Xi said: "Do you think she can use legitimate means to deal with you? She is very vengeful. She hit a wall with me today and will definitely do something to prove her value. As for what she will do, I haven't figured it out yet. You can send Ma away first and find a place to settle it."

Yunliu asked, "That sir, you..."

"I need to be calm and calm, and I won't leave for the time being."

Chen Xi's tone was low and he was in a very bored mood.

Yunliu was a little worried: "Sir, you said that woman... was rejected by her. Will she go out to find another man, such as asking Qian Ning to find someone for her, or just let Qian Ning replace you..."

Chen Xi looked at Yun Liu: "It is normal for you to have this idea, but do you think she will do this? What she wants is not simply to have a child, but to have strong support from the court. Whoever is the father of the child will give her this kind of support and will never act rashly. But if she completely loses His Majesty's favor after a year or two, then it may not be."

Yunliu asked tentatively: "Can you give her..." He made a "cut" gesture when he said this.

"You are becoming more and more unruly in your work. No matter what, she is the woman of His Majesty. How can you be a minister? Well, you don't need to pay attention to this matter, just do what I have to hand over to you. In addition, don't leak the news, it's a matter of multiple lives, be careful."

Speaking of this, Chen Xi pondered for a moment, and added, "When it comes to the issue of Your Majesty's descendants, no one dares to easily cross the line, and even I can't... You don't know about this. Even Xier, don't reveal any rumors to her, do you understand?"

Then Yunliu bowed her head and took the order: "Abide by the order of humble duties."

Chen Xi waved his hand and signaled Yun Liu to move Ma Lian and a maid to another place.

After Yunliu left the flower hall, Chen Xi sat down, leaned on the back of the chair, and sighed long, "The woman Gao Ning completely disturbed my heart... Do you really have to go to that point and kill her before you can finish it?"

...

...

Chen Xi fabricated the identity of a noble child for Zhu Houzhao, and agreed not to let him drink and have fun before the exam. How could Zhu Houzhao stay idle? He bypassed Chen Xi and went out of the leopard room to have banquets with Su Tong and Zheng Qian many times. Su Tong and Zheng Qian did not avoid these times, and regarded their dates with Zhu Houzhao as a political investment. He felt that being able to be friends with Zhu Houzhao, the powerful man, would be very beneficial to Chen Xi who promised that he would do it to the officials.

As the end of the first lunar month begins, the court is still in a state of chaos.

This year's rest period broke the longest record of the holiday after the founding of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty's central center was temporarily suspended. On the surface, it seemed calm, but in fact it was undercurrent... Xie Qian was determined to keep the rebels sent by Chen Xi in Shandong and did not allow Hu Lian to lead his troops back to Beijing.

At the same time, Xie Qian deliberately impeached Chen Xi in order to make him "temporarily" leave the court and fundamentally avoid the possible battle of conquering the grasslands that may occur after the beginning of spring.

Chen Xi claimed to be at home to recuperate. No one knew what kind of disease it was, and no one in the government would care about it. Only Li Yu visited Chen Xi's mansion on the morning of the 23rd day of the first lunar month, and did not leave for lunch. He stayed for less than half an hour before leaving.

As for others, they were afraid that Xie Qian would be blamed for visiting Chen Xi. One and two pretended to be ostrich, and even the Ministry of War did not come to Chen's mansion, but they were caused by Chen Xi's voluntary orders not to come.

Chen Xi would ask about the affairs of the Ministry of War. The only difference is that the office location was changed from the Ministry of War to his mansion. In addition, he transferred Hu Lian back to the capital to Zhu Houzhao and then passed it directly. Although Xie Qian proposed to reject Shen Xi's request on another memorial, he did useless efforts. When he learned the truth, he was furious and even wanted to come forward to redeem it, it was too late.

Half of the second half passed, and there were only more than ten days before the examination. The entire capital was shrouded in a strong academic atmosphere, with poetry and book clubs held everywhere.

Chen Xi was still having fun at home, spending time with his wife and children every day, and did not even visit Hui Niang and Ma Lian and other women. Only Yun Liu occasionally went to the mansion to report the matter in men's clothing. Before and after the Lantern Festival, the good news came from Yin Wen, and the little girl followed him and got pregnant for a short time.

Yin Wen and Chen Xi were long, but more often than not, she was just a little girl who didn't like talking, silly and didn't make any grudges with anyone. Even Lin Dai was embarrassed to be rude to this innocent little sister. After marrying into the Shen family, Chen Xi gave Yin Wen enough care. With his repeated pampering, Yin Wen finally became pregnant with Chen Xi's child, and the Shen family suddenly became lively.

Xie Yuner, Xie Hengnu and Lin Dai gave birth to children one after another, and they were all working hard for the Shen family to spread their roots. However, in the eyes of outsiders, although Chen Xi has children, the male child is still a little thin. Therefore, the Shen family has high hopes for Yin Wen this time, and Yin Wencai has shown good luck. With Xie Yuner, Chen Xi and his wives and concubines have prepared a series of fetal care, fetal care and delivery plans for Yin Wen. The Chen Mansion is mobilized. Even Lu Xier, who doesn't usually come out, is very concerned about this.

Chen Xi didn't care much about the matter in the inner courtyard and left everything to Xie Yuner. He accepted it with a calm attitude no matter what the family looked like. At least it seemed ordinary to him that Yin Wen was pregnant. After all, including the outer room, he already had two children and two daughters. He was young and strong, had wives and concubines, and there were women in the outer room. It was really unreasonable to say that if he didn't have any children.

Chen Xi did not have much demand for reproduction. Although he did not want to be a saint, he would not buy some concubines to make up for the numbers. Although this is very common among the powerful. In this era, women have a low social status, and it is difficult for ordinary people to support their children after giving birth to many children. It is very common to sell children, especially those who sell daughters, and many of them are used as reproductive machines.

In this kind of social context, Chen Xi has done quite well. He talks about feelings to the women around him, and it is a different matter whether it is profound or not.

On the 25th day of the first lunar month, Chen Xi just got up and received a message from Hu Lian that he would return to Beijing in mid-February. It would be a specific day to see whether he needed to calm down some places of horses on the way back to Beijing from Shandong... Even if the larger rebels have been quelled, the small bandits have never disappeared.

Chen Xi calculated that even if there was a change in the local area, Hu Lian should have led his troops back to the capital before the end of February. In this way, the troops could set out in mid-March and head to the northwest border, and launch an attack on the Tatars in late April...

Of course, this is just an ideal state. If there is insufficient military funding preparations or other situations occur in the middle, the war may not start until mid-to-late May, and it may take until the end of the war to truly end the year, or even to rise to the new year.

However, Chen Xi knew very well how much the bitter and cold weather on the plateau would have on the Ming soldiers, so he had to make a quick decision and strive to end all wars by October. Even if he could not annihilate the main force of Dayan's army, he would have to stop the war before winter and retreat to the gate of the Association and wait for another battle next year to completely quell the grassland.

...

...

In the first month of the year, weapons workshops in the capital still open the furnace day and night to cast weapons. One piece of weapons was made in the shortest time. After strict inspection, they were shipped and transferred to the northwest front line.

These weapons are mostly cold weapons, which are also conventional weapons used in the Ming Dynasty when they went to war with the Tatars, such as spears, swords, shields, armor, etc. These are things that craftsmen are familiar with. There is a fixed amount of production every day, and all the funds are allocated by the court.

The silver collected by Chenxi is basically used in the research and development and casting of firearms, and all the materials are transported from Huguang.

After Chen Xi left the position of governor of Huguang, the industrial park in Wuchang Prefecture was not abandoned and its production capacity gradually expanded. At the same time, local coal mines, iron ore and copper mine mining were on track. In the past few years, a steady stream of iron and copper materials have been provided, which are now just for use on the blade.

After Tang Yin arrived in the capital, he mainly helped Chenxi manage the firearm workshop.

Tang Yin had the experience of managing Qiongya Salt Farm for Chenxi. This time he went to the capital, he found that many craftsmen in the workshop were old men who followed Chenxi north from Fujian and Guangdong. They had dealt with each other before, so Tang Yin put aside the reserve of a literati and was willing to be a chief manager.

With the support of the Ministry of Industry, Chen Xi's firearm development was extremely smooth. It initially imitated the artillery and musket developed by the Rulang machine cannon, and has been updated and replaced. The flintlock rifle officially replaced the mesh rope rifle and became the standard equipment of some Ming army.

"...Mr. Shen, many of the drawings you draw are difficult to achieve now, but some of the large-scale productions are still difficult to achieve complete consistency... There are more or less deviations..."

On the afternoon of the 26th day of the first lunar month, the master of the weapons workshop brought several apprentices to Chen Mansion to ask Chenxi for difficult problems in the manufacturing of firearms.

Chen Xi is not from a science and engineering department. Even if he understands the basic principles of firearms, it is difficult to restore the manufacturing process. Many things need to be explored by craftsmen. It is a great success to make a flintlock rifle. However, Chen Xi is not satisfied with this and is dedicated to developing weapons with greater lethality, including changing the smooth bore to borehole and manufacturing standard bullets. These are very slow in the absence of advanced milling machines, planers, grinders, and drilling machines.

Chen Xi just proposed a theory. When the craftsmen heard it, they were confused. In the end, Shen Xi could only make a demonstration to make gun barrels, butt stocks and other objects.

The new musket developed by Chen Xi has completed the reinforcement of the barrel, and the possibility of a blow-off is greatly reduced. The launch speed has also been launched in about a few dozen seconds, and now it can be completed within ten seconds. Everything can be completed by a single person. If it is a three-row row of musketeers, the launch speed can be increased to about four seconds per round.

The length of the gun is increasing, the shooting distance is increasing, and the safety is greatly enhanced, but the manufacturing process is gradually simplified. Every ten craftsmen work together to carry out flow operations, and fifteen flintlock rifles can be produced within ten days. As the process is simplified, more labor without foundations enters this industry. Some places that do not require high-precision technology can be completed by these people, and the production efficiency can be greatly improved.

"... The launching medicine can be loaded in a copper shell, and then loaded at the fastest speed to launch. Ordinary gunpowder must not work. It must develop gunpowder with greater power and wider uses. Even if it cannot reach this point now, it is necessary to seize the time to develop it. Only in this way can the front load ammunition be turned into a rear load, speed up the launch speed, and even create weapons for continuous shooting... For example, by supplying ammunition with a rotor, it can form dense firepower..."

Chen Xi thought of the structure of the original machine gun he saw in the museum before, similar to a revolver, and used a rotor to complete the bullet filling, which was simply a weapon for killing people. However, this requires higher manufacturing technology, which makes Chen Xi very troubled.

Since he was injured at the end of the year, Chen Xi has been constantly drawing some new drawings to improve some old processes.

But this is not an easy task.

Chen Xi thought to himself: "I know the direction of the times, understand the evolution of guns, or do I have such difficulty in walking. The transformation of guns in history has no experience as predecessors. I have explored it myself and went through hundreds of years... If I had known that I would travel through time, why would I have to learn those difficult ancient poems and moral articles? Wouldn't it be better to learn more knowledge of science and engineering?"

But after thinking about it, he dispelled the idea, "If you only study science and engineering, you may not be the top scorer in the exam, and you will not have the achievements you have today... You will naturally not be qualified to dominate all this without the right to speak."

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Chapter completed!