dognovel Chapter 96 1. This official must not be fully awake yet!
Chapter 96 1. This official must not be fully awake yet!
After pondering it over and over, Yang Shaofeng, the magistrate, suddenly remembered a famous saying from the experts on the Tuba forum.
It's not like it can't be used.
Did the Ming Dynasty have any heavy vehicles?
No.
Without heavy vehicles, the requirements for road paving are not very high. As long as it meets the three requirements of being smooth, not becoming muddy when it rains, and being convenient for people to dry their grain, the road is qualified.
Yang Shaofeng thought about it carefully, then suddenly rushed out of the study and told someone to call Ye Bowu: "Brother Bowu, have someone get fifty catties of limestone and fifty catties of clay. Also, have someone go to Ding Erlu and call Wang Laowai over for me. And clean up that small lime kiln in the east of the city for me, we'll need it later."
When Wang Laowai arrived at the county government office, the yamen runners had also brought over the limestone and clay. Magistrate Yang then began to issue orders: "Divide the limestone and clay into two portions. One portion should have one jin of clay mixed with three jin of limestone, and the other portion should have three jin of clay mixed with one jin of limestone."
"Then crush the two portions separately and put them back in their respective containers. Under no circumstances should they be mixed together."
Magistrate Yang's idea was to use clay and limestone to make the simplest cement. As for whether to use one pound of clay with three pounds of limestone or three pounds of clay with one pound of limestone, Magistrate Yang said he had long forgotten and could only experiment more.
While the constables were weighing the limestone and clay, Yang Shaofeng said to Wang Laowai, "Didn't you say you've fired lime kilns before? Find a few reliable people to put both of these things into the lime kiln and fire them at the highest possible temperature. Make sure they're fired for at least six hours. Then open the kiln, let them cool, and once they're completely cooled, have someone call me. Got it?"
Old Wang immediately bowed and agreed: "Don't worry, sir, I will definitely handle the task properly and there won't be the slightest mistake."
After agreeing, Wang Laowai looked troubled and tentatively said, "Sir, to raise the temperature in the kiln, we need more than just several kinds of wood. The other woods are easy to find, but the most crucial one is the old pine wood..."
Yang Shaofeng asked, "What happened to the old pine tree?"
Wang Laowai said, "Your Excellency, this old pine wood cannot be gathered in a short time. At the earliest, it will be ready before dark tomorrow. I am afraid of delaying Your Excellency's business."
Yang Shaofeng was immediately relieved: "As long as we can gather the money, just tell Brother Limpy Fifth how much it costs and let him come to me to get the money."
After Wang Laowai took his leave, Yang Shaofeng pondered for a while and instructed Bo Wu: "Temporarily stop the burning of soil on the road construction side, and send half of those prisoners to Heshan to quarry stones. At least before Wang Laowai and the others finish firing the kiln and letting it cool, the prisoners should quarry out a cartload of stones."
Yang Shaofeng gestured with his hand to indicate the size of a walnut: "All the stones we collected were sent to the road construction site, where they were broken into pieces of this size and laid under the roadbed they had dug."
Just as Limpy Five agreed, a yamen runner rushed over from outside the gate and bowed to Magistrate Yang, saying, "Your Excellency, the Second Prince and the Third Prince have arrived, accompanied by two princesses and the Chang brothers!"
Yang Shaofeng was slightly taken aback and asked, "Who? The Second Prince and the Third Prince?"
The Second Prince, isn't that the Prince of Qin, Zhu Shuang, who was fond of grand construction projects in the future, didn't care about human lives, and was eventually poisoned to death by three old women?
Then there's the Third Prince Zhu Gang, who wasn't a good guy either. He once whipped the cook who prepared his meals and even considered rebelling. In the end, he died young from illness.
And the Chang brothers, those two don't seem to be any good either?
As for the two princesses, Yang Shaofeng had no recollection of them. After all, Zhu Yuanzhang was most famous for his "wife, children, and warm bed" philosophy. Among his many daughters, only Princess Anqing became famous because her husband Ouyang Lun was killed, and Princess Baoqing's mother volunteered to be buried alive with him, which Zhu Yuanzhang refused because Princess Baoqing refused. His other daughters did not receive much attention in history.
What Yang Shaofeng couldn't understand was why Zhu Shuang and Zhu Gang, instead of staying comfortably in the Forbidden City of Yingtian Prefecture, had inexplicably come to Ningyang County.
What roles did Emperor Zhu Chongba and Crown Prince Zhu Biao play in this?
And Empress Ma, she was willing to let Zhu the Second and Third Princes leave her side.
As Yang Shaofeng pondered this haphazardly, he strode towards the entrance of the county government office, where he saw a group of people already waiting.
As soon as Yang Shaofeng appeared inside the county government gate, the two leading knights dismounted and came to greet him.
One of them cupped his hands in a fist salute to Yang Shaofeng and said loudly, "May I ask if you are Magistrate Yang in person? I am Chang Mao, and I greet you."
The other man also bowed and greeted Magistrate Yang: "I am Chang Sheng, greetings."
Magistrate Yang was completely dumbfounded.
No, you two are calling yourselves Fang Bian? Chang Mao and Chang Sheng? You mean the two brothers Chang Mao and Chang Sheng, who are rumored to be extremely spoiled and rotten in various online novels, and who are described as rotten to the core?
My goodness! These two brothers don't look like spoiled brats at all!
He is clearly a scion of a distinguished family who knows a lot about etiquette and is willing to show courtesy to others!
While inwardly criticizing the unreliability of online novels, Yang Shaofeng returned the greeting to the Chang brothers, Chang Mao and Chang Sheng, with a bow: "I am Yang Shaofeng, greetings to the two gentlemen."
Chang Mao immediately returned the greeting to Yang Shaofeng with even greater politeness, saying, "I dare not accept the title of 'Young Master Yang.' My father praised Magistrate Yang highly in his letter and advised my brother and me to learn more from him. If Magistrate Yang does not mind, we may address each other as brothers."
Before Yang Shaofeng could answer, Chang Mao gestured towards a carriage in the caravan and said to Yang Shaofeng, "Brother Yang, the Second Prince, the Third Prince, Princess Jin, and Princess Yu are in the carriage. Please come with me to pay your respects."
This guy is even forcing himself to become brothers?
While inwardly complaining, Yang Shaofeng followed the Chang brothers, Chang Mao and Chang Sheng, to the carriage and bowed, saying, "Your subject, Yang Shaofeng, the magistrate of Ningyang County, pays respects to His Highness the Second Prince, His Highness the Third Prince, and Princess Jin and Princess Yu."
A young eunuch lifted the curtain of the carriage, and Zhu Shuang stepped out first. He walked up step by step on a stool, and then put on a grown-up air, saying loudly, "Magistrate Yang, you may dispense with the formalities."
After the third brother Zhu Gang, along with Jin'er and Yu'er, got off the carriage one by one, Zhu Shuang, the second brother Zhu who had just acted like a little adult, immediately changed his demeanor and bowed to Yang Shaofeng, saying, "Your younger brother Zhu Shuang greets Magistrate Yang."
The third brother, Zhu Gang, followed closely behind: "Your younger brother, Zhu Gang, greets Magistrate Yang."
Jin'er and Yu'er glanced at Yang Shaofeng discreetly, then curtsied slightly and said, "We are Jin'er and Yu'er, and we greet Magistrate Yang."
Yang Shaofeng, the county magistrate, was completely stunned!
No, can anyone tell me what the hell is going on here?!
First, the notorious playboy became polite, and then two princes who were not good people in history books also became so polite.
This guy must be a fake!
And then there were the two princesses who looked almost identical. One of them glanced at him briefly and then quickly lowered her head. Her shy and timid appearance reminded Magistrate Yang of that poem.
"The most tender thing is that lowered head, like a water lily shyly trembling in the cool breeze."
The other girl, after glancing at him, didn't immediately look down but instead appeared full of curiosity, which immediately reminded Magistrate Yang of the clever and mischievous Huang Rong from Zha Mouyong's novels.
No, Old Zhu actually has two such beautiful daughters?
Why are there no historical records of these two princesses?
Damn it, why is everything so weird today?
Just as Yang Shaofeng, the magistrate, was completely bewildered, Chang Mao said with a smile, "Brother Yang, this isn't the place to talk, so why don't you..."
Yang Shaofeng immediately came to his senses, quickly apologized, and led the two Chang brothers, the two Zhu brothers, and the two princesses towards the county government office.
Upon arriving at the main hall of the rear office, Zhu Lao Er (Zhu Shuang) stretched and complained to Yang Shaofeng, "Brother Yang, is there anything good to eat here? This journey has truly exhausted me."
Yang Shaofeng looked at Zhu Shuang with a completely bewildered expression, and began to question his own existence.
No, are all the Zhu family members this outgoing and familiar with each other?
And what's with this "Brother Yang" greeting?
I must still be asleep!