Chapter 96: The Great Curtain Truly Rises

Zhu Youxiao hadn't expected Wei Zhongxian to drag Yang Lian into this here as well — clearly, he too had come prepared.

With just one matter, Wei Zhongxian had ensnared everyone in it. Though the charges against each differed, in fact, the substance was but one: to utterly topple the Donglin Faction.

Zhu Youxiao was pleased to see this. Wasn't this exactly what he himself wanted to do?

Nodding lightly, Zhu Youxiao looked at Wei Zhongxian and asked directly, "So what do you plan to do now?"

"Your Majesty, this servant plans to make arrests." Wei Zhongxian didn't beat around the bush and stated his thoughts outright.

In his view, at this point in time, it was indeed the moment to make his move.

He had spent so long laying the groundwork; now was the best time, and there was no need to drag things out any further.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youxiao pondered for a moment before speaking: "Who do you want to arrest?"

Wei Zhongxian bowed his head and said with resolute finality, "There are several people this servant intends to arrest."

Several?

Zhu Youxiao was taken aback.

Since he said he would arrest several, that meant Wei Zhongxian was about to strike — and strike comprehensively.

It seemed the pressure he had put on him was considerable, but that was just as well; it truly was time to act.

Nodding lightly, Zhu Youxiao asked with a smile, "Who do you plan to arrest?"

"Your Majesty, this servant plans to arrest former Liaodong Governor Yuan Yingtai, former Guangning Governor Wang Huazhen, Censorate Left Chief Censor Zou Yuanbiao, and Censorate Left Assistant Chief Censor Yang Lian."

"These men are implicated in the crucial parts of this case. Whether it's the Liaodong military pay embezzlement case or the case of colluding internally and externally to frame Xiong Tingbi, these men are key figures. To get to the bottom of both cases, we must start with them."

Having said all this, Wei Zhongxian cautiously lowered his head and waited quietly for Zhu Youxiao's judgment.

This was a major operation; without His Majesty's approval and support, it certainly wouldn't work. As long as His Majesty agreed, he could handle the rest himself.

Zhu Youxiao pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Approved."

Though Zhu Youxiao had said only two words, those two words carried the weight of a mountain, deciding the fate of countless people and crushing them beneath it.

Wei Zhongxian was overjoyed at once; those two words drifted into his heart, seeming to brand him with a medal of power.

The time to display his might had finally come!

Those people who impeached and cursed him day in and day out — this time he would surely show them what he was capable of!

"This servant will see to it at once." Wei Zhongxian kowtowed heavily against the floor, then rose and quickly bowed his way out.

Watching Wei Zhongxian's rapidly disappearing figure, Zhu Youxiao smiled softly.

With matters having reached this point, the great curtain had truly been raised.

Turning to look at Chen Hong, Zhu Youxiao instructed, "Tell the Embroidered Uniform Guard to step things up. The matter needs to be set in motion as soon as possible. Getting things done takes time, but first build up the momentum."

Chen Hong naturally knew what His Majesty meant.

In truth, His Majesty simply wanted him to spread the word.

And this wasn't his first time spreading news; though he couldn't claim to do it with effortless ease, he certainly had ample experience by now.

Chen Hong bowed and said, "Rest assured, Your Majesty. This servant will see to it at once."

After everything had been arranged, Zhu Youxiao stretched his limbs.

He planned to go take a look at the Hundred Crafts Institute — that was where his future lay. Though for now, only the framework had just been set up, and there wasn't much worth seeing yet.

Still, Zhu Youxiao liked to wander over there whenever he had the chance, for no other reason than that looking at the Hundred Crafts Institute under construction put him in an especially good mood.

Progress at the Hundred Crafts Institute was somewhat slow, but Zhu Youxiao didn't push them, because these things simply required time.

However, the person in charge of the Hundred Crafts Institute was something he could arrange himself.

Though Xu Guangqi was the most suitable candidate, placing Xu Guangqi at the Hundred Crafts Institute would be using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but sigh — if only there were more talents like Xu Guangqi!

But such talents were rare and hard to come by; they could be cultivated slowly in the future.

Yet as for someone suitable to lead the Hundred Crafts Institute right now, Zhu Youxiao had actually long since decided — that person was Bi Maokang, the former Shuntian Prefect, whom he had already summoned to remain in the capital pending appointment.

This man was quite famous in history, though he still fell somewhat short of Xu Guangqi.

But anyone familiar with late-Ming history would certainly know Bi Maokang.

Bi Maokang had held no few official posts, but his most renowned achievement lay in the field of firearms.

Bi Maokang, courtesy name Menghou, sobriquet Dongjiao, from Shanglu in She County, was a weapons expert.

At twenty he was already skilled in classical prose, adept at landscape painting, and followed Wang Wei's brush style of the Fuchun manner — one could say Bi Maokang was a scholar of literary elegance.

He became a jinshi in the twenty-sixth year of Wanli, was appointed Secretariat Drafter, and was subsequently promoted through Censor of the Guangxi Circuit, Right Assistant Chief Censor, Shaanxi Regional Inspector, and Shandong Salt Censor.

From the trajectory of his official career, one could see that his first post was Secretariat Drafter, which showed his outstanding literary talent.

Later he served continuously as a remonstrating official; by all rights he should have been a master of rhetoric, but in fact that wasn't the case.

When drought struck Shaanxi, he set up porridge kitchens far and wide and opened the granaries generously, allowing displaced refugees to gradually return to their livelihoods, saving approximately 15,000 lives.

In the forty-second year, he established the Lishan Academy, the largest academy in Jinan at the time.

He was an official who could get real things done, yet he was also influenced by the prevailing fashion and enjoyed giving lectures.

Zhu Youxiao was pleased to see such conduct from Bi Maokang.

Because in Zhu Youxiao's view, with a bit of cultivation, Bi Maokang could achieve great things in the engineering sciences, and could write these things into books to be passed down.

In technology, China had always relied on an oral tradition of accumulated experience, paying little attention to written treatises.

Even when attention was paid, it was by a very small minority. This couldn't go on — theory was absolutely necessary.

Only when theory was broadened could practice proceed, so the man Zhu Youxiao sought was this Bi Maokang.

In the original course of history, Bi Maokang wrote an Illustrated Treatise on Military Equipment.

In the Illustrated Treatise on Military Equipment, Bi Maokang mentioned a self-igniting firearm — the flintlock, which held a pivotal place in the history of firearms development.

Its modification and completion were roughly contemporaneous with Europe's, yet in China it was never promptly popularized; it was only during the Kangxi era of the early Qing that it was used as the Emperor's personal hunting gun.

This time, Zhu Youxiao naturally wouldn't let such a thing happen. He intended to give Bi Maokang an important role, letting him contribute to the development of Great Ming firearms.

With the flintlock as a foundation, they could develop more firearms upward — such as revolving guns, rifled guns, and breech-loading guns.

At the same time, they could also work on artillery, and the Napoleon gun was an excellent choice.

In short, every firearm Zhu Youxiao wanted had to be built. Though the undertaking would be protracted, though it would require enormous sums of money, Zhu Youxiao knew this was the future of the Great Ming!

To that end, no cost was too great — it all had to be done!