Chapter 622 Bow
This is Chen Shi’s first time to Xin’an Lane.
There are many vendors at the entrance of the alley, and the steam is coming out, making people feel like it is a busy market.
The residences of the rich and powerful require elegance and quietness. Who would live in a downtown area?
Li Xi whispered, "It is said that someone tried to expel these vendors, but was stopped by Long Wei Bo."
"Why?" Chen Shi felt strange.
"It's said that it's not easy for ordinary people to make a living, but who would be willing to set up a stall in the wind and sun if they can?" Li Xi spotted a few beggars. "Those beggars look different from those in other places."
Beggars from other places would have avoided the palace people long ago, but the beggars from Xin'an Lane looked at them unscrupulously while scratching their lice.
It's just like……
"Looks like a Jinyiwei." Chen Shi blurted out.
Li Xi whispered, "The Royal Guards are on the other side."
There were two men squatting on the right, wearing cloth clothes on the outside, but they could not cover the robes of the Jinyiwei underneath.
"Lu Bing's men are so unscrupulous? No, they did it on purpose!" Chen Shi felt that if he were Lu Bing, he would be able to give these two spies a good beating.
Revealing his identity clearly, is he a spy?
This is just pretense!
Li Xi coughed dryly and squatted over. "Why did you two reveal your identity as Jinyiwei to others? This is not what we have seen in other places."
The two Jinyiwei had already spotted Chen Shi and the others. One of them lazily said, "From the Eastern Depot? No, the smell on you is not right."
"The East Factory and we have an old friendship!" Li Xi's words were true. The Armory was a key confidentiality agency, and the East Factory would come to inspect it from time to time.
The Jinyiwei man glanced at him and said, "Go back and ask Rui Jingxian, if his men are in disguise and disappear in Xin'an Lane every now and then, do you still dare to come?"
Li Xi was startled, "You guys did this... on purpose?"
"It's not intentional. The two of us have already become dried bones in a dry well!" Another Jinyiwei man leaned against the wall, basking in the sun comfortably, "Look, how good it is now."
Li Xi went back and whispered, "Many secret agents of the Jinyiwei have disappeared here, and they are scared."
"So they openly revealed their identities." Chen Shi couldn't help but be surprised, "The Jinyiwei who terrified all the officials actually became lapdogs in Xin'an Lane?"
At this time, a foreigner with a high nose and deep eyes dismounted at the entrance of the alley, and a Jinyiwei shouted, "Xiaobo is back?"
The foreigner led the horse and said seriously, "Please call me Advisor Bol."
"This is..." Chen Shi felt that his eyes had been opened today.
"This is Chang Wei's slave!" A voice came from behind them. The two turned around and saw it was Sun Bu Tong.
"Eunuch Chen, are you here to scout?" Sun Bu Tong said with a smile, but his words were not polite.
"I don't dare." Chen Shi realized that he had been standing for a long time and his buttocks were getting more and more painful. "We are here to ask to see Chief Wilbur."
"Then why don't you go in?" Sun Bu Tong asked.
Chen Shi laughed dryly and said, "I'm just about to go in."
The alley is not quiet, and the houses on both sides are bustling with noise and bustle.
Outside the gate of the Bo's mansion, the foreigner was talking to the doorman.
"Most of those Portuguese are liars. I'll have to talk to my uncle later. Don't let the Ming Dynasty be deceived by them."
"What country is this person from?" Chen Shi was stunned when he heard the foreigner's righteous words.
"The Portuguese, that is, the Portuguese." Sun Bu Tong said to Boer: "Xiao Bo, are there any women over there?"
Paul looked back, "No."
"What a pity." Sun Bu Tong sighed.
"Why?" Bol asked, "Also, please call me Advisor Bol."
"Okay, Xiaobo." Sun Bu Tong said, "How interesting it would be if the master had a blonde maid by his side?"
"Yes!" The consultant's eyes lit up. "That's a good idea. I'll keep an eye on it."
Are you serious?
Chen Shi felt that this Earl's Mansion opened his eyes.
It was neither luxurious nor high-end, but the topic was so high-end that he was unable to continue.
While waiting for the report, Li Xi whispered, "Using a foreign woman as a maid will lead to impeachment by the censor, right? After all, she is a royal relative!"
"It is rumored in the palace that Changwei Bo has no children. Your Majesty has wanted to reward him with women many times, but Changwei Bo declined. As long as he is willing to take in a few more women, let alone foreign women, even if they are fairies, Your Majesty will only stroke his beard with satisfaction."
Chen Shi thought of the saying, the emperor is not anxious, but the eunuchs are.
Jiang Qingzhi is here.
The two of them quickly stood up and saluted.
"Meet Long Wilbur."
Jiang Qingzhi sat down, and seeing that the two were uneasy, he pressed his hand and said, "Sit down."
Chen Shi sat on one side of his buttocks, and under the pressure of the solid wood chair, the place where he was tortured felt excruciating pain.
But he soon forgot the pain.
"We are here..."
Chen Shi glanced at Jiang Qingzhi.
"Ben Bo is very busy, so there is no need to say those empty words."
Jiang Qingzhi acted in a businesslike manner, and Chen Shi's heart trembled, and he forgot all the prepared remarks.
How to do?
Bow down?
You have to bow your head.
But there are also rules for bowing your head. Chen Shi is the eunuch in charge of the military department, a powerful figure. If he bows his head too much, will he be looked down upon?
Moreover, the Arms Bureau and the Mohist Workshop are in a competitive relationship. The eunuch in charge of the Arms Bureau bows to the owner of the Mohist Workshop. This is fucking...
It doesn’t make sense!
"Captain Wilbur, the firearms made by my Armory Bureau this time have some flaws..."
Chen Shi still maintained an equal attitude. Xu Wei beside him sneered, "It has always been said in the court that if the Arms Bureau is second, no one dares to claim to be first. The Ministry of Works lost in the competition with the Arms Bureau and withdrew from the firearms manufacturing. In recent years, the Arms Bureau has been in charge of firearms manufacturing and is quite proud of it. Eunuch Chen, do you think that my Mohist School should also bow down?"
"No, no, no!" Chen Shi didn't dare to let Jiang Qingzhi bow his head. He laughed dryly and said, "After all, it's all for the Ming Dynasty and for His Majesty."
"I've seen your attitude many times." Xu Wei picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea. "Du He was like this at the beginning. He would rather lose the battle than surrender. He would rather lose all his property than bow to you. Originally, you wanted to beat the fallen dog and make Xianzhang Marquis Mansion a joke in the capital so that those who come after him would learn from him. But I didn't expect Du He to have a good wife who decisively brought him to surrender. Otherwise, how could Xianzhang Marquis Mansion exist at this moment? Not to mention Xianzhang Marquis who stood out among the military merits!"
These words were so sharp that Chen Shi's face changed drastically.
If you, Chen Shi, are unwilling to bow your head, then go back to where you came from and don't waste my uncle's time.
However, it’s time for us to settle the score for this fight with the Mohists in the Armory Bureau!
The Huben Zuowei had already clearly informed the Armory Bureau that they wanted to return the goods. This was just the beginning. As for the subsequent losses, even if Chen Shi took out all the private money he had saved over the years, he would not be able to fill the hole.
So who will fill it?
Inner court?
Huang Jin would only sneer upon hearing the news, and might even help Jiang Qingzhi by showing Chen Shi in eighteen different ways and letting Jiang Qingzhi bully him as he pleases.
By the way, you can also get a favor.
Xu Wei meant that Jiang Qingzhi would not show mercy. If Chen Shi did it on the first day, he would definitely do it on the fifteenth. Just when Chen Shi was in a state of panic, Jiang Qingzhi could kill him with a slap.
This is a dead end!
Chen Shi's face turned pale.
Li Xi looked a little uneasy.
A contest of this level was not something a small fry like him could get involved in. He stole a glance at Jiang Qingzhi and saw the young nobleman take out a cigarette and pause on the table. The maid beside him lit it for him very familiarly.
After taking a puff of medicinal cigarette, Jiang Qingzhi said calmly: "I'm very busy."
This is the second time he said I was busy.
There are only three things to do!
Li Xi shuddered. He always thought Jiang Qingzhi looked kind, but at this moment he felt that this young noble was a ferocious tiger that could devour him and Chen Shi at any time.
Li Xi suddenly thought of Xu Wei's previous words.
——Du He has a good wife!
Yes.
Rumor has it that Du He wanted to hold out at the time, but was forced by his wife to come to Xin'an Lane to confess his crime and surrender. This is how he became Xianzhang Hou, who is envied and hated by other military heroes today.
Du He followed Jiang Qingzhi southward, and performed brilliantly in the battle that night, and was praised by His Majesty for his courage and perseverance.
That's courage!
If it can be regarded as a posthumous title, damn!
Not only will it bring honor to the family, but it will also benefit future generations.
And who brought all this?
Li Xi looked at Jiang Qingzhi boldly and boldly...with a passionate gaze.
He thought of a way to break the impasse.
"Eunuch Chen!"
Chen Shi, who was struggling with his conscience in his mind, was startled by the shout.
"What's the matter?" Chen Shi asked subconsciously.
Li Xi said, "The musket was made by Lord Bo. Our Arms Bureau got this job just because we were in charge of manufacturing firearms. Since the musket was made by Lord Bo, it's up to him to decide who he wants to make it for. We shouldn't hold a grudge against him!"
Which side are you on?
Besides, can you blame me?
Chen Shi was furious, but Li Xi seemed oblivious. "We thought that the mechanical skills of the Arms Bureau were unrivaled in the world, but we forgot that the Mohist School was the ancestor of mechanical skills. Master Bo is a great master of the Mohist School, and our tricks are nothing but childish tricks in his eyes. When Lu Ban is playing with an axe in front of him, the Master is writing articles in front of him. Eunuch Chen, we... are wrong!"
Chen Shi shuddered and thought, is Li Xi crazy?
"The firearms made by the Mohist family are all top-grade. This is their duty. We shouldn't blame you, right?" Li Xi said, "If that's the case, then why are we here today?"
Li Xi walked to the middle and said, "If this continues, the Armory will certainly lose the job of making flintlock rifles. Not to mention losing this job, according to our guess, the Lord must have many sophisticated firearms... What else will our Armory have after this?"
Boom!
These words were like thunder, which made Chen Shi sober up immediately.
Yes!
At the beginning, Jiang Qingzhi first came up with an improved version of gunpowder, which benefited the Arms Bureau a lot. At that time, Chen Shi thought that Jiang Qingzhi's skills were limited. Who would have thought that he would now throw out a flintlock rifle...
This was a subversive firearm that could change the Ming army. It can be said that all the firearms in the Armory combined had less influence on the Ming army than the flintlock rifle.
Losing the job of making flintlock rifles was a disaster for the Armory and Chen Shi.
Judging from Jiang Qingzhi's character, God knows how many new and novel firearms this Mohist leader has in his mind.
If he could come up with one or two more things, the Armory Bureau would be closed down.
And he, Chen Shi, will inevitably become a sinner.
In the palace, the best fate for a criminal was to wash clothes.
But Chen Shi has had enemies over the years. Would those enemies just sit there and watch him do the laundry?
Killing you is the best way!
In an instant, Chen Shi's eyes changed when he looked at Li Xi.
Go from anger to gratitude.
Chen Shi took a deep breath, stood up and walked to the middle, facing Jiang Qingzhi.
Kneel down!
He opened his mouth and said:
"I know I was wrong, please punish me, sir!"
Just like Du He back then, Chen Shi lowered his head.
(End of this chapter)
