Back to the Beginning of Ming to do Charity

Chapter 180: Spring Mechanism

Xie San, who had never entered the palace, was very excited. Their Xie family was only a small family in the capital. Now, only his second brother became a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination in the family, and had become a county magistrate. In the capital, their family did not have much influence, even his eldest brother had yet to marry.

After all, their family was unwilling to marry ordinary common people, no matter what they had to choose from an aristocratic family.

However, the aristocratic families were more willing to marry a family of similar status to their own, which created an awkward situation wfor the Xie family who was neither high nor low. There were only two generations in the family, and there was no third generation.

Although his brother also had a few servant girls, it was not good to have children before marrying a wife.

Especially now that there was a marriage law, if a man had an illegitimate child after marriage, the wife could sue and ask for a divorce.

So now his brother didn't even dare to touch the maids he took into his bedroom in the early days, and he had practically become a monk.

Xie San was neither the eldest son nor the second son, so he did not plan to get married. This way he did not have to bear the responsibilities, and he did not have to be a monk before marriage.

At this time, there was no contraceptive method, and the best contraceptive method was separate rooms for men and women.

But as Xie San didn't want to get married, he didn't have these troubles. He could play all he wanted with his female confidantes and lovers. If children were born and his lovers were willing to raise them, he had no opinion. If they weren't willing, he could also take them back home.

The only problem was when he just put forward this idea, it was his lovers who were the first to retreat rather than his family.

After all, it was not difficult to marry someone now, and it was also not difficult to marry a better family. If that was the case, why follow Xie San without a name as a hidden lover who would not see the light of day?

Xie San wasn't angry either, he felt that it all had to be about fate, and he couldn't force others to be with him.

Lin Yuan also found that the social atmosphere was much more open now. After the turbulent times, he did not set up the "adultery crime", and the "seven crimes of a woman" were also abolished. There was no such thing as spouse abandonment, only divorce.

Originally, he thought that in terms of social development, after stabilization, the people's requirements for female chastity would become higher again.

In troubled times, the people didn't pay attention to chastity, and nothing mattered other than survival.

But probably because of the influence of recruiting son-in-laws and so on, the people didn't place as much importance on chastity as Lin Yuan imagined.

Of course, aristocratic families and big influential families still cared about these things, but the atmosphere among the common people was completely different.

This had led to many daughters from aristocratic families starting to fight for their own rights.

Although they now have the right to have blind dates, able to choose their future husband within a range.

This kind of social atmosphere could not be stipulated by law, Lin Yuan could only let them go with the flow.

The people's thinking had changed from: "A woman must have a pure body before marriage, and a woman who loses her chastity is to be cast aside."

To: "It's best if she is pure before marriage, but it doesn't matter if she is not."

More and more women went out to work, and the whole society was full of vitality. The idea that so long as you work hard, you could live a good life had been engraved in everyone's mind.

However, there were still many impoverished areas in the empire, and Lin Yuan also knew that in his lifetime, these impoverished areas might only go from extreme poverty to ordinary poverty, and he could only hope that his successor could continue his will.

Guo'er already had good news.

She was Lin Yuan's little sister, and one of her children would inherit the throne.

These children would receive the same education in the palace, and they would be sent by Lin Yuan to the various ministries and departments to learn and gain experience when they become adults.

In the end, who would be the successor would be decided based on their final grades and the support rate of officials in the court.

It was the first time Lin Yuan was an emperor and his first time in choosing a successor.

Within the scope of the supremacy of imperial power, he must decide his successor not according to his own preferences.

After starting this lead, Lin Yuan could only guarantee that his own successor would not be an idiot.

If there was a successor who would be controlled by the officials because of this method, it was not something he could control.

Anyway, in a dynasty, there was always a time when its fortunes would be exhausted.

Long live, long live. This was just a beautiful and arrogant wish.

At that time who knew how many years he would have been dead, so it had nothing to do with him anymore.

Xie San was led to Lin Yuan, still holding his hegemonic device in his arms. After seeing Lin Yuan, he hurriedly knelt down to greet him.

Officials only needed to salute when they saw the emperor, no need to kneel if there was no major event, but those without official status still needed to kneel when they saw the emperor, especially Xie San who was not even a scholar.

Er Liang took the hegemonic device from Xie San.

Lin Yuan first asked Xie San to rise and gave him a seat, then he began to examine the hegemonic device.

To tell the truth, this thing was actually not very similar to the trebuchet any longer, but it was not like a modern pistol, it was more like a wooden box. There was a groove at the back to put the small wooden balls, and you have to be careful about the angle, so that the small wooden balls would not fall out again.

There was also a small hole in the front from which the wooden balls were ejected.

It should be a spring mechanism.

Lin Yuan wanted to take it apart and have a look at this wooden box.

"Your Majesty, take it apart from here." Xie San hurriedly went to demonstrate and took apart the wooden box.

Sure enough, there were indeed springs inside.

Lin Yuan picked up the spring and asked, "You made this?"

Xie San hurriedly said, "Caomin doesn't dare to take credit alone. This was made by caomin and a blacksmith named Li Liu."

Then he started to expound incessantly, saying how much time they spent, how many methods they tried, and how many materials they spent to make this seemingly inconspicuous little thing.

There was light in his eyes when he spoke, and it was clear he was proud of this little thing.

Lin Yuan looked at him with encouragement in his eyes, and Xie San felt like he was on cloud nine. Xie San said so much, but Lin Yuan didn't find him annoying at all, and kept listening quietly.

Although this wooden box was useless, the invention of the spring alone was enough for Lin Yuan to cherish him in his palm.

"Can you still create it?" Lin Yuan asked, "Create more."

Xie San was confident: "As long as you do it once, you will definitely be able to do it a second time."

Lin Yuan: "Good, Zhen will give you money to build a spring factory, and you will be in charge of the factory in the future."

Then Lin Yuan said, "And this hegemonic device."

Lin Yuan drew the shape of a pistol on a piece of paper: "What do you think of this shape?"

Xie San said quickly: "That's a good shape! It's easy to hold! It's just..too small."

His hegemonic device was as long as an adult man's fingertips to his wrist, so that he could stuff so many mechanisms inside.

Lin Yuan added: "Use iron, or something else that you think is easier to use, stronger than wood, and make the mechanisms smaller."

Xie San bit his lip. He knew the difficulty, but he finally got a chance to be used by the emperor. He wouldn't give up no matter what, so he knelt down and said, "Caomin has received the decree!"

Soon, Xie San took office and became the director of the spring factory. Although it was not an official position, it was an industry of the imperial court, and his status became the highest in the family. After all, his brother took up an official post in another province while he was the director of the factory in the imperial city, and even went to the palace to meet the emperor face to face. Moreover, he would be going to the palace to report his duties every month.

But Xie San didn't have time to be happy, because he still had to experiment with the blacksmith on how to turn His Majesty's ideas into reality.

The blacksmith Li Liu also benefited, becoming the deputy director of the spring factory.

"What His Majesty said, it sounds similar to a fire gun." The blacksmith's words woke Xie San.

Xie San startled: "Such a small fire gun?"

The blacksmith nodded: "But it can be achieved."

The blacksmith looked into Xie San's eyes, and both of them saw ambition in each other's eyes.

"But we don't know how.." Xie San thought of this and sighed.

Blacksmith: "Let's go to the Firearms Bureau to borrow someone?"

Xie San thought about it and felt that this method would work, so he sent Lin Yuan a memorial and asked for a technician from the Firearms Bureau.

The three of them began to experiment without sleep or food. It took half a year and countless materials were wasted, but they still couldn't get it out.

On the contrary, the spring factory was doing quite well, the failure rate of the artisans was getting lower and lower, and springs have also begun to be used in many things, appearing in the people's daily life.

However, when Xie San became successful, those who were the most shocked were not the outsiders, but the Xie family, especially Father Xie. He could not imagine how the useless son in his eyes, the son who would be dependent on himself when he was alive and dependent on his elder brother after his death, would make such achievements.

Since Xie San became the director of the factory, the Xie family's value on the marriage market improved instantly.

Several of his daughters had people asking for their hand in marriage by families that they never dared to think about before, and their sons also had daughters from aristocratic families who were willing to marry as well.

When he went out to socialize, people's attitude toward him had become who knew how much better. His wife also began to have a high position among the wives of various families, and was no longer an observer like before.

Xie San's status in the Xie family was becoming higher and higher.

In the past, even the servants thought that Xie San was a waste, that he just managed to pick a good family to be born in.

Once in power, Xie San's female confidantes and lovers came back.

Every one of them said that they didn't want an official name, they were willing to share with other sisters, and they were willing to spend their days with Xie San.

This time Xie San was not willing.

The female confidantes questioned him: "Do you have someone you love? We are willing to share you with her."

The female confidantes also admitted that they left Xie San because Xie San was neither capable nor willing to marry them.

Now they chose to come back because Xie San was a capable person, and they felt admiration for him for the first time.

Xie San had a headache, but he could only tell the truth: "His Majesty has given me a task, and I will do what His Majesty has entrusted to me well before I get married."

The female confidantes didn't believe it, thinking that he was just looking for an excuse to prevaricate them.

"Xie San! Don't go too far! Then according to your words, those scholars who didn't pass the imperial palace examinations won't get married?"

Xie San told the truth, but no one believed him.

His father and mother didn't believe it, and his father told him with great excitement that there were several young ladies who were willing to marry him, all of them from big affluent families, the kind they couldn't reach before.

Xie San repeated what he said to his female confidantes again.

This time he was really beaten by his father, and his mother didn't stop him for once either.

Everyone thought that what he said was a lie, there was a reason he didn't want to get married, and the reason was definitely not what he said.

Xie San wanted to cry but had no tears, until he lied and said that he wanted to play around for a few more years, only then did his female confidantes and his family not ask any further questions.

Xie San felt that if one day he was full of lies, it was definitely because he was forced by them.