Chapter 171 Genius Xu Fan? Yan Song fell in love with Xu Jie's son?
Inside Yuxi Palace.
Jiajing sat upright on the throne.
At the lower seat, Prince Yu and Prince Jing sat.
Yan Song, the chief minister of the cabinet, was still sitting by the stove, with his head lowered, leaning against the fire quietly.
The Cabinet and the Imperial Household Department were separated into two rows.
However, at this moment, everyone's attention was focused on the tall middle-aged man in the middle of the hall, wearing a crimson official robe, with thick eyebrows and big eyes.
To be precise, it was a wooden box in his hand, as long as his forearm.
This person is none other than Xu Jie's son, Xu Fan, the current Minister of Works.
"Hmph," Yan Shifan sneered at Xu Fan, who was standing in the middle of the hall, looking nervous and uneasy. He said in a voice that only Gao Gong beside him could hear:
"The son is not like his father, Xu Luqing."
Xu Fan, also known by his courtesy name Luqing!
Hearing Yan Shifan's voice, Gao Gong, who was standing next to him, glared at him fiercely, snorted coldly, and whispered sarcastically:
"Is the young master talking about himself?"
"Master Yan is such a smart man. He talks about national policies in the court and can make suggestions for the court in the blink of an eye. I wonder how much the young master has learned from him?"
"How did the conflict between the three religions come about so perfectly? How much effort did Elder Yan put in, and how much did the young Elder put in? I'm sure the young Elder knows it very well. Why should we laugh at one another when we are only fifty steps ahead?"
Gao Gong's words were also a subtle criticism that Yan Shifan was also a son who was unlike his father and was not much better than Xu Fan.
"Gao Suqing!" After being mocked by Gao Gong, Yan Shifan's eyes suddenly turned cold, and he glared at Gao Gong as if he wanted to eat him alive.
Gao Gong's words hit his sore spot.
Although Yan Shifan said that the strategy of the dispute between the three religions was planned by himself and his father, he knew in his heart that he would use Buddhism and Taoism to drag down Confucianism and make the matter worse.
In the end, Hai Rui stepped in to quell the rebellion, thereby uprooting the entire Kong family. This was indeed his father's strategy.
And he was indeed not as good as his father Yan Song in terms of national policy, especially as everyone began to practice Taoism and the prosperous Ming Dynasty arrived. Everyone was competing and the upright people were no longer hiding their shortcomings. He felt more and more that his life in this cabinet was very difficult.
After all, if he was asked to stir up internal strife in the court, or to plot a conspiracy and frame someone, it would be easy for him to do it.
But if he were allowed to participate in the implementation of national policies and do things from the perspective of a superior, not to mention Xu Jie, even Hu Zongxian, whom he had always looked down upon, would be far ahead of him.
Gao Gong's words "a man who takes fifty steps laughs at his father when he takes a hundred steps" means that he is not like his father, which is really cruel.
Seeing Yan Shifan feeling humiliated and uncomfortable, Gao Gong snorted and snorted, put his hands in his sleeve pockets, and no longer looked at Yan Shifan's murderous eyes.
Well, he is happy if he can make Yan Shifan unhappy!
"Xu Fan," Jiajing said, rubbing his fingers on the armrest of the throne comfortably, "I heard from your father that you have made fruitful achievements in studying the Records of Immortal Works and Natural History?"
Hearing this, everyone looked at Xu Fan curiously.
Previously, the emperor bestowed the book "Records of the Immortal Craftsmen" on the Xu family, and they all saw it.
When the emperor bestowed the "Records of Immortal Craftsmanship" that day, he clearly stated that the book recorded some of the mechanical techniques and craftsmanship of the "immortal world".
It can be said that the entire cabinet has embarked on the path of cultivating immortals, and they all know the existence of the "immortal world".
As long as it is related to the fairy world, there is nothing that cannot be ignored.
The Xu family obtained the "Records of Immortal Craftsmanship" and it is very likely that they will specialize in developing mechanical and craftsmanship techniques for the imperial court in the future.
Now, they also want to see what Xu Fan has researched, and why he was specially recruited by the emperor to the Yuxi Palace to discuss politics.
Although Yan Shifan looked down on Xu Jie's son, he coveted the "Records of the Immortal Works and Natural History" bestowed by the emperor.
My father had said before that we should find a way to get Xu Jie to open the "Museum of Immortal Crafts" to the outside world, at least the Yan family should own it, and he deeply agreed with this.
Mechanical technology and craftsmanship are all technologies from the "immortal world". If it was not related to the future development of the Immortal Dynasty, why would the emperor specifically give this "immortal book" to the Xu family?
In the future, all of them will develop into a huge immortal cultivation family with permanent roots in the Immortal Dynasty.
If a family can master a technology that is indispensable to the Immortal Dynasty alone, it will undoubtedly provide an additional layer of protection for the family's development.
"Your Majesty, I have been studying the 'Immortal Book' for a year and have discovered three kinds of immortal artifacts. I have compiled them into blueprints and they will be put into use as soon as Your Majesty gives the order!"
When talking about his research, Xu Fan's face showed excitement, and he respectfully raised the wooden box in his hand while speaking.
Seeing this, Lv Fang opened the wooden box, took out a bundle of scrolls, and then turned around and handed them to Jiajing. Jiajing waved his sleeves, picked up the scroll and opened it, and then he scanned it with his spiritual sense, and then he saw that the scroll was engraved with dense patterns, parts, and some gears.
Each part is carefully carved and marked with some notes, accurate to the millimeter.
Of course, the scroll also said that according to the records of "Xiangong Museum", some parts are even smaller, but for immortal cultivators, they can understand everything with a single sweep of their spiritual consciousness.
Firstly, Xu Fan was not a cultivator in the foundation-building stage, and secondly, he wanted the things above to be put to use in the Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, for many parts he could only imitate the shapes, enlarge very small parts, and then repeatedly deduce and calculate until the enlarged parts could stand up to scrutiny.
The drawings submitted by Xu Fan included a total of three items.
The first item is called "Earth Treasure Wheel". Its shape is a bit like a waterwheel, but the difference is that a waterwheel has a base support, while this thing does not. In addition, the entire core is inlaid with gears and a sharp iron pickaxe, and in the middle is a core hub specially inlaid with spiritual objects.
There are several formations inside the "Treasure Wheel". After the spiritual objects are embedded in it, the formations will convert spiritual energy into spiritual power, push the gears, and thus make the "Treasure Wheel of the Earth" move.
The sharp iron pickaxes on the 'Earth Treasure Wheel' are like the feet of a centipede. They can drill deeply into the ground and achieve the effect of splitting mountains and rocks.
This item was developed by Xu Fan and is a tool specifically used by the Ming Dynasty to repair roads, dig canals, or open up spiritual land.
The second item is called "Fire Crossbow", which has similar functions and effects to the Ming Dynasty's Fire Gun, but is much smaller in size.
Its body size is only as long as a forearm, and it uses arrows that are about ten inches long and as thick as an index finger. The arrow head is filled with gunpowder, and when it hits the target after being fired, it is extremely powerful, and the range can reach up to two miles!
"Fire crossbow..." Looking at the design drawings of the fire crossbow, Jiajing nodded secretly. Its power and range are stronger than some pistols in later generations, but the manufacturing process requirements are much lower.
With this thing, the Ming Dynasty's military strength will skyrocket in a short period of time.
Not only that, the fire crossbow can also be upgraded. According to the "Xiangong Museum", this is just an ordinary fire crossbow. If it is refined with some materials from the world of immortal cultivation in the future, its power will be even stronger.
However, nowadays the Ming Dynasty can only use this ordinary fire crossbow.
The third item is called "Xianzhou", which is a giant ship that is completely powered by spiritual objects. It is more than twice as large as the largest chartered ship in the Ming Dynasty, but its speed is even faster.
These three items can be put into use after the Ming Dynasty enters the Immortal Dynasty and the spiritual resources become abundant, but now they can be manufactured according to the drawings.
However, whether it is the 'Treasure Wheel of the Earth', the 'Fire Crossbow' or the 'Spirit Boat', they are all different from the original records in the 'Records of Immortal Craftsmen'. Xu Fan disassembled and simplified the original objects.
In other words, it is specially designed for use by the present Ming Dynasty. For example, the 'Treasure Wheel of the Earth' was originally designed as a spirit gathering array, supplemented by other arrays, to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to drive it.
But the Ming Dynasty had no spiritual energy, so it could only transform it into spiritual objects as a driving force.
It has to be said that Xu Fan is indeed talented as a craftsman. With only the Qi training level at the first level, he was able to come up with something after a year of studying on his own. His work as the Minister of Works was not in vain!
"Not bad," Jiajing said with a slightly relaxed expression as he handed the scroll to Lu Fang, saying, "Look at this, Xu Fan got this Ming weapon from the 'Records of Immortal Craftsmen'..."
Soon, the hall fell into a brief silence, and people began to pass the letter around.
After a while, when everyone had finished watching, Yan Song raised his eyelids, turned around slightly and glanced at Xu Fan, whose face was full of excitement and looked like an honest man. He had an idea in his mind and had already made up his mind.
"Tell me, how should we use these three things Xu Qing has researched?" Jiajing looked at everyone and said.
"Your Majesty," Yan Song spoke first, "I think that Minister Xu is a natural talent, as he was able to study three weapons that are useful to the country and the people from the 'Records of Immortal Craftsmen' in just one year. However..."
When everyone heard Yan Song speak, especially Xu Jie and others, they were all startled. They knew that Yan Song's words must be bad.
Sure enough, with Yan Song's word "but", Xu Jie's eyes narrowed slightly.
This concerns his son, there is no way he could ignore it!
If Yan Song had any intention, he would refute it immediately.
Hearing Yan Song speak, Jiajing looked at Xu Jie who was staring at Yan Song nervously, then looked at Yan Song who seemed to have made some plans. A hint of understanding flashed in his eyes, and he waited quietly for Yan Song's next words.
"These three things will also require a lot of manpower and resources, and not everyone has the talent of Minister Xu..."
"Therefore, I think that if these three items are to be put into use, they should first be used for teaching, so that more people can understand the principles behind them."
"It just so happens that Yan Shifan's reform is about to begin, and a new Imperial College will be established. Why not let Minister Xu work in the Imperial College and specialize in teaching craftsmen and geniuses? This can also be regarded as discovering talents for the future development of the Ming Dynasty!"
Yan Song has set his eyes on Lord Xu’s son!
At this moment, everyone in Qingliu was startled and subconsciously looked at Xu Jie.
"..."
(End of this chapter)
