It was quite interesting to hear that Scholar Wang claimed to be able to transmute metals.
"Which 'gold' is Wang Qing proficient in?" The Zhao Emperor chuckled drily, momentarily confused, wondering if the man was deliberately being profound and hinting at something else. "Is it the 'gold' of golden weapons or the 'gold' of the Jin army? If it's the former, do you have new weapons to present? If it's the latter, do you have a strategy to deal with the Jin people? Either way, you must speak up, and We will reward you handsomely."
Scholar Wang seemed rather bewildered by the Emperor's words.
At that moment, Vice Minister Wang Shuzhan of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, perhaps feeling that the Emperor was a bit confused, took the initiative to step forward and explain, "Your Majesty, I, Wang Shuzhan, Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, humbly report that I have personally witnessed Scholar Wang use a unique method to transmute cinnabar into gold, and it is indeed genuine gold… And I believe that during the Jingkang Incident, the Jin people were greedy and tyrannical, taking all the gold and silver from Tokyo and abandoning copper coins. Now, not only Nanyang but also various places across the country are lacking gold and silver. Scholar Wang's ability is precisely what is needed. If it can be promoted, it will be enough to benefit the whole country."
The Zhao Emperor was silent for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, but ultimately refrained from uttering any scolding words.
However, on the other side, several councilors and important officials reacted in their own ways… Lü Haowen looked embarrassed and lost color; Yuwen Xuzhong covered his face and turned away; Xu Jingheng almost flew into a rage, but after glancing at Lü Haowen and Wang Shuzhan, two colleagues with whom he usually associated closely, he forcibly suppressed his anger. Wang Boyan, on the other hand, remained composed, enjoying the spectacle of a blunder made by the Eastern Secretariat, especially with the Emperor returning triumphant today, and the Privy Council having done nothing wrong. He was happy to watch the fun.
Zhang Jun, the Central Administrator, whose status was considered half a councilor, also reacted quickly, immediately turning to stare at Li Guang and Hu Yin, two Supervising Secretaries of the Palace, evidently wanting them to understand the situation and not cause trouble. If they wanted to impeach, they should wait until they returned.
In other words, everyone with any sense, starting with the Zhao Emperor, had realized what was going on.
But in this kind of situation, those who understood truly understood, and those who believed truly believed. While the Zhao Emperor and several councilors were rendered speechless by this performance, Scholar Wang, under the urging and encouragement of Vice Minister Wang Shuzhan, reluctantly began his public demonstration.
Watching a pile of bottles, jars, and a stove being carried up, and then Scholar Wang actually started roasting cinnabar in a sealed furnace to extract mercury… The Zhao Emperor snapped back to his senses, wanting to kill someone, but knowing that given the level of technology at this time, the old man and Wang Shuzhan did not deserve to die, and perhaps were not even guilty. He wanted to kick over someone's alchemy equipment, but he had to consider that mercury vapor was highly toxic. More importantly, this ceremony had been prepared by Lü Haowen with good intentions, and civil and military officials, as well as specially selected talents from Jingxi and Lianghuai, were curiously watching. He had to give some face to the innocent Councilor Lü and to the Song Dynasty, which had little dignity left!
To put it bluntly, it was hard to even provide a science lesson at this point.
Realizing this, the Zhao Emperor could only have Feng Yi move the delivered chair back a bit, and then have everyone except Wang Shuzhan and Scholar Wang move even further away.
The sun was slowly setting in the west, and the Zhao Emperor had already guessed the man's method from his steps – to burn mercury out of cinnabar, and then use some sleight of hand to secretly put in something containing gold ore, or simply ready-made gold foil, dissolve the gold with mercury, and finally evaporate the mercury by distillation, naturally producing gold.
One counterintuitive thing here was that almost everyone at this time found it difficult to understand that gold, which represented the greatest stability, could be dissolved by a liquid like mercury, which could be directly evaporated… And in traditional Eastern feudal times, apart from alchemists pursuing immortality, not to mention simultaneously coming into contact with liquid mercury and gold, mercury itself was generally only made by these people mysteriously, and it was generally used for mysterious purposes such as burials.
In fact, watching Scholar Wang pour clean mercury into a clean white porcelain basin, and then put it in a special pottery with strange conduits for distillation, and finally take out the mercury and gold separately, several councilors were all shaken! As for Feng Yi, Yang Yizhong, and others beside them, no matter how clever, intelligent, or worldly they were, they became incompetent in this matter… These eunuchs and generals were simply dazed, their eyes glued to the gold and equipment.
At the same time, the Zhao Emperor felt that he had encountered the most insulting thing to his intelligence in his life. Even when he was just starting college and an aunt holding a child asked him for ten yuan at the train station, it wasn't as ridiculous as this… But for the sake of the overall situation, he couldn't expose it!
Because during the process of Scholar Wang's smelting, the Emperor had already discussed the final outcome of this matter with Councilor Xu Jingheng, who secretly passed him a note through Lü Haowen.
"Men, bestow ten bolts of silk and ten shi of grain upon Scholar Wang as a reward. Also, take these instruments, along with this gold and this… what?" The Zhao Emperor forcibly swallowed the word "mercury", pointing to the bottle of liquid and looking at Wang Shuzhan.
"Spiritual liquid," the highly knowledgeable Vice Minister Wang quickly provided some popular science to the Emperor.
"Oh, spiritual liquid," Zhao Jiu suddenly realized, and finally said the word again in a stern voice. "Take these instruments, gold, and spiritual liquid, and sink them all into the Baihe River! We would rather see the country perish than use such false things to deceive the people!"
Those around him were momentarily caught off guard.
Xu Jingheng quickly stepped forward, responding solemnly, "Your Majesty's actions truly show the magnanimity of a ruler!"
"Councilor Xu," the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices was temporarily panicked and confused, seemingly not feigning ignorance. "This is genuine gold!"
"Who is the gold for?" Xu Jingheng turned to face him coldly. "To pay soldiers or to reward ministers? I do not know if this gold is real or fake, but regardless of whether it is real or fake, as long as Your Majesty accepts these instruments today, will the people of the world still trust the gold that Your Majesty gives in the future?"
Wang Shuzhan was speechless.
"As for this Scholar Wang, accept the reward and return to your hometown to live," Zhao Jiu continued to order with a straight face, leaving no room for the ministers to interject.
"Yang Yizhong, what are you doing?!" Wang Boyan, knowing that the Emperor was still trying to protect Lü Haowen, also immediately put on a solemn expression, pointing at Yang Yizhong, who was still at a loss, and repeatedly reprimanding him. "As the commander of the Imperial Guards, didn't you hear the Emperor's decree?!"
Yang Yizhong hurriedly responded and stepped forward to throw away those things.
"Smash those jars first before throwing them away," the Emperor sighed softly from behind. "As for Vice Minister Wang, since you recommended this person, you should escort Scholar Wang back home properly!"
Yang Zhengfu and the Vice Minister Wang were both helpless. The former quickly grabbed a hammer from the guards and smashed those items in front of the Emperor and the officials, while the latter could only drag the distressed Scholar Wang, his forehead covered in sweat, to bow and thank the Emperor.
And for some reason, the officials around them and the talented scholars from Jingxi and Lianghuai who had come to watch all breathed a sigh of relief at this scene.
Thus, the farce came and went quickly. The Zhao Emperor sighed and forced himself to cheer up and comfort the officials and the talented scholars from Jingxi and Lianghuai whom he had met for the first time, promising to hold a public palace examination in a few days before mounting his horse and returning to the city.
However, after entering the city and returning to the palace, the officials dispersed, but the Zhao Emperor was inevitably busy again. First, he sent the Junior Academician Lin to convey an edict to comfort Lü Haowen, and then he had the eunuchs distribute the yellow plum wine sent from the southeast to the councilors, close officials, generals of the central army, as well as Han Shizhong and Li Yanxian, with whom he had recently communicated.
This was not all. After these people left, Grand Commander Lan Gui came to report again.
Only then did the Zhao Emperor learn that Nanyang had been quite lively these days. Not only had those who came to take the examination arrived, but also all sorts of other people had gathered in Nanyang recently because of its stability, food, money, and troops… As Grand Commander, Lan Gui naturally had to report on some of the people and events that had a major impact on the palace and the city of Nanyang.
For the Zhao Emperor, some of these were purely absurd, while others were difficult to ignore.
"Several grandsons of Su Shi have come?" The Zhao Emperor was temporarily stunned. "To request the restoration of their grandfather's reputation?"
"Yes," Lan Gui said carefully.
The Zhao Emperor frowned slightly… Su Shi had been labeled as a Yuan You Party member by Cai Jing, and of course, his name had to be cleared, but this was definitely someone deliberately creating momentum at this time, because this matter was one of the notes he had left for Lü Haowen and others before he left.
Of course, just as the person deliberately creating momentum thought, the Zhao Emperor had no reason not to clear his name, even if it was only for the sake of the name Su Shi. The Great Scholar Su was a divine figure, not just a mere Song… But he didn't know who was in such a hurry?
"We understand," the Zhao Emperor said casually. "Anything else?"
"Recently, Layman Yi'an and her husband, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites Zhao Mingcheng, have been having a private divorce, and some people say that this is because of the Emperor's meanness," Lan Gui continued to report in a low voice, cautiously.
"Meanness is meanness," The Zhao Emperor, after marching for half a day and then messing around in the west of the city for a while, was quite tired. At this time, hearing such news didn't matter to him at all. "Isn't it just borrowing a few lines of poetry from Layman Yi'an? It makes it seem like We deliberately ridiculed Zhao Mingcheng… After this matter is over, remember to reward Layman Yi'an in Our name to express Our gratitude."
Lan Gui hesitated, but ultimately said nothing more.
After Lan Gui left, Feng Yi came up again: "Your Majesty, Ma Xingzu, the younger Ma among the most outstanding painters in the Tokyo palace, has found his way to Nanyang. His father, the older Ma Ma Ben, died during the Jingkang Incident, and Your Majesty has a rule in the palace that no one is allowed to be added without permission…"
"If he was originally a palace member, then you can take care of it," The Zhao Emperor heard a bunch of Mas, but he probably understood that a court painter had come, and he didn't care even more.
"Several imperial physicians have also rushed here upon hearing the news," Feng Yi continued softly. "This humble servant, who is in charge of the Pharmacy, has taken the liberty of keeping them."
The Zhao Emperor suddenly became serious. "Are there any of them who burn cinnabar? We will tell you clearly, whoever dares to smear cinnabar on Our broken house, every single one of them will be sent to Jiaozhou!"
"Yes…" Feng Yi hurriedly replied, and then quickly explained. "Your Majesty, rest assured, the physicians who came are all specialist masters and there are no absurd people like today. For example, Peng Shi, who specializes in pediatrics; and Wang Jixian, who specializes in andrology and gynecology…"
The Zhao Emperor nodded slowly, but then felt that something was wrong: "If that's the case, then these two should be sent to Yangzhou, right?"
Feng Yi bowed his head and said nothing.
The Zhao Emperor only paused for a moment before suddenly waking up, and then looked around the palace, pointing at one of them and sneering: "We said we wanted someone who could follow us in military attire, so you privately found one?"
Hearing this, Lan Gui and Yang Yizhong, Feng Yi, and the person being pointed at by the Emperor, who was the 'armored soldier' who had brought the wine and followed them all the way here, knelt down together.
Confused, Liu Yan could only follow suit and kneel down.
"Your Majesty," Feng Yi opened his mouth to explain as soon as he knelt down. "It is not that this humble servant and others dared to presume upon Your Majesty's intentions. After the last time, this humble servant communicated with several old subordinates in Yangzhou and mentioned this matter. This matter naturally reached the Empress Dowager and Lady Pan, and the Empress Dowager and Lady Pan summoned the palace servants to inquire if there were any former members of the Prince Kang's mansion who were able to wear armor and ride horses and were willing to serve Your Majesty here… That's why Lady Wu took the initiative to volunteer and only arrived in Nanyang a couple of days ago."
The Zhao Emperor was slightly startled: "This Lady Wu is an old member of the Prince's mansion?"
"Yes!"
"Appointed by the Empress Dowager?"
"Yes." Feng Yi raised his head to face him, explaining in detail. "Your Majesty doesn't remember after falling into the well… This Lady Wu came from the Wu family of pearls in Tokyo. She had been studying since she was a child. Three years ago, when she was fourteen years old, she entered the Prince's mansion as a maid because of her intelligence and wealth. During the Jingkang chaos, the Empress Dowager summoned the remaining people in the mansion to her side, so Lady Wu has always been by her side, and Your Majesty also used this reason to grant her the title of County Lady after ascending the throne, giving Lady Wu a formal status… However, it is also because of this that there has been no one to serve Your Majesty on this journey since Lady Pan left Shunchang Prefecture."
The Zhao Emperor was stunned for a long time, but he realized that he had no reason to refuse this person anymore… Moreover, why should he refuse this time?
Not only that, the armored woman raised her head and peeked at the Zhao Emperor, their eyes met, and she was indeed about seventeen or eighteen years old, the most beautiful time for a woman. And since she was selected into the Prince's mansion at the age of fourteen, she was naturally fair-skinned and beautiful, with a good appearance. If there was anything to pick on, it was probably that she had been born into a wealthy family since she was a child, and her nutrition was estimated to be very good. Her skeleton had also grown larger in the past two years, which was a bit inconsistent with the aesthetics of scholars and doctors in this era. However, this was not a problem for Zhao Jiu. In his eyes, the fact that the other party was wearing iron armor did not affect her movements at all, but rather gave her a unique charm in her posture… In fact, if it weren't for this, the Zhao Emperor wouldn't have recognized this 'How can I tell if I'm male or female?' main character at a glance by the Baihe River in the east of the city.
Realizing this, the Zhao Emperor looked around again and found that in addition to a few eunuchs, it seemed that even Yang Yizhong had a concubine who had been rewarded to him. In addition, he was indeed tired, so he yawned and reluctantly ordered Feng Yi:
"Since that's the case, let this be the last time!"
After saying that, he no longer mentioned the problems of gynecology and pediatrics, but instead got up and went to the back of the palace.
Lady Wu naturally quickly followed with her sword.
Seeing this situation, everyone in the palace got up together. Lan Gui and Liu Yan were thoughtful, Feng Yi smiled silently, only Yang Yizhong was expressionless, without the eight-sided exquisite state that he usually had in private.
ps: Sorry… Yesterday was mainly because my mother went downstairs to the supermarket and made up for my thirtieth birthday… I spent too much time feeling sentimental, which delayed my writing.
Good night everyone.