In the sound of firecrackers, the spring breeze sends warmth into Tusu.

When the sound of crackling firecrackers came from all directions, the first year of Yuanfu had become the first year of the past year, and the first day of the second year of Yuanfu had come.

According to tradition, the first firecrackers of the new year must come from the Yeonfu Palace in the deep wall of the High Court. The so-called firecrackers have long been not throwing bamboo into the fire to burn, making a crackling sound. Rather, real gunpowder, firecrackers and fireworks!

With sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter as the main components, gunpowder that can be detonated has long appeared in the Song Dynasty - it is not the military gunpowder with a large amount of grease and grease recorded in the "Wujing General Essentials" that is very complex, and that gunpowder is actually a kind of incendiary bomb filling, which is not lit at all when added to firecrackers and fireworks.

The gunpowder filled in the firecrackers and fireworks set off by the Song people can not only be ignited at one point, but also have firecrackers similar to the "two-kick" in later generations, that is, firecrackers that can be fired in mid-air before exploding. Filled in these firecrackers is undoubtedly black powder of "one nitrate, two sulfur and three charcoal", although it is not granulated black powder, but it is enough to be used to launch projectiles.

Therefore, the idea of inventing black powder to save the country in the Song Dynasty was completely redundant, because the Song people originally had this thing, but they didn't have guns that could shoot projectiles - making guns and cannons could be much more difficult than making gunpowder!

As for the grenades that can ignite the explosion, the difficulty of casting the shell is not small, and the grenadiers who throw grenades are not easy to train - if you can really train thousands of grenadiers, what kind of grenades can be thrown, and you can directly cut people with a strange knife.

Therefore, the kind of "burning gunpowder" recorded in the "General Essentials of the Wujing" was still a relatively practical weapon in the Song Dynasty, and its role in land warfare was probably not great, but it was still very useful in water warfare (naval warfare). As long as there is a catapult device that can be installed on a ship, and can throw incendiary bombs hundreds of meters away, it can have an overwhelming advantage on the water......

When Wu Haogu thought of gunpowder, incendiary bombs and future naval construction, he was walking on the royal street with the sound of firecrackers and the crowd of people with Ma Zhi, Ji Yi, and a middle-aged man named Zhang Yi.

Ma Zhi found Wu Haogu after the end of the Wu family's New Year's Eve Flowing Water Banquet, and he also brought a little special good news to Wu Haogu: Ximen Qing will come to Kaifeng Mansion in February, and then go to Liao with Ma Zhi.

It is said that he wanted to hitchhike with the mission and carry a batch of gold to Liao to purchase crude drugs.

And isn't walking with Ma Zhi just walking with Wu Haogu?

It seems that Wu Dalang and Ximen Qing ...... It's Ximen Qing's fate that hasn't ended yet!

And Ji Yi came directly from Zhangdun Mansion. also brought a Zhang family member in his forties, who looked a little dry and looked like a little old man with a goatee. According to Ji Yi, this Gong and Zhang Dian are the same generation, both are the children of the Pucheng Zhang family, the name Yi, the word Ziyi, the official worships the provincial capital, and undertakes the affairs of the Lang.

The full name of the official is Shangshu's left servant and the servant of the door, a very long official name, which means the prime minister.

Among them, the Shangshu Zuo Servant Shot comes from Shangshu Province, one of the three provinces, and the supreme governor of Shangshu Province should be Shang Shuling, but in the Song Dynasty, this official position is fictitious, and Shangshu Zuo Servant is the largest official in Shangshu Province.

The subordinate servant is from the three provinces, the theoretical governor of the subordinate province is the servant, rarely appointed, and the Shangshu order is empty, and the subordinate servant is the largest official in the subordinate province.

In other words, Zhang Dian was theoretically the highest governor of the three provinces, Shangshu and Menxia provinces. And the official of the second minister who has been vacant is the right servant of Shangshu and the servant of Zhongshu Xingzhongshu. Literally, he is the second governor of Shangshu Province and the governor of Zhongshu Province.

However, the official system of the Song Dynasty was relatively chaotic, and the officials of Shangshu Left Servant, Shangshu Right Servant, Menxia Shilang, and Zhongshu Shilang were not actually responsible for the three provinces of Shangshu, Menxia, and Zhongshu, but were really in charge of the three provinces by the separately appointed "Judge Shangshu Province", "Judge Menxia Province" and "Judge Zhongshu Province".

Therefore, the power of the prime minister of the Song Dynasty, who really abides by the system and does not form parties for personal gain, is very small, and he can't even control the three provinces that should nominally belong to his own officials. And if you don't have any power, you can only be a good official who can't do anything......

However, Zhang Dian is a traitor who wants to do big things, so he naturally wants to seize power. There are three ways to seize power: one is to be alone to avoid constraints, the second is to form a party to seize the government's program, and the third is to appoint henchmen to hold the key positions.

And this Zhang Yi, who appeared with Ji Yi, served as the capital of Menxia Province, and he was a confidential official in Menxia Province. It is equivalent to a confidential secretary, a very small official, but he is in a very important position, which is the henchman used by Zhang Duan to master the secret.

Menxia Province is responsible for reviewing the edict of Wang Yan, and the power of the prime minister of the Song Dynasty to refute the holy decree is achieved through Menxia Province!

By the way, the three provinces of Shangshu, Zhongshu and Menxia in the Song Dynasty were respectively responsible for the execution, drafting and deliberation of the edict Wang Yan, that is, the Zhongshu drafted the purpose, the Menxia deliberated, and the Shangshu was executed.

And all the edicts that enter the Menxia Province for deliberation must go through the eyes of this Zhang Dadu!

So how much confidant this character has for Zhang Dan, you can imagine it. And the reason why he is just an eight-grade undertaker is probably missing a Jinshi fame...... This is where Zhang Dun abides by the rules, although he holds great power, he will never seek unruly benefits for his own people. Therefore, he is a traitor who is on the road.

After the four of them worshiped each other for the New Year, Ji Yi proposed to go to Pan Lou with a visit, so they traveled together, just after the child, the four of them walked to the intersection of Yu Street and Pan Lou Street, Ji Yi stopped at this time, raised his hand and pointed to the colorful Pan Lou.

"Mr. Ziyi, Brother Chongdao, Brother Lianghei, how about we go up to Panlou to watch the scenery together?"

Panlou viewing is the traditional program of the Yuan Day of Kaifeng Mansion, because the Pan Lou is located at the intersection of the Royal Street and the Pan Lou Street, built relatively tall, and the line of sight is excellent, just used to watch the various performances and parades held on the Royal Street on the day of the Yuan Day.

On the first day, sitting in the Pan Building, eating and drinking, listening to small songs, and watching the performances and parades downstairs is also considered an elegant thing. However, the seats on Pan Upstairs that can be used for viewing the scenery are not easy to book, and ordinary people don't have to think about it. Even the average rich man is not enough to book a private room on the side of Pan Lou on the royal street in the first day.

However, Ji Yi always has a way, Wu Haogu and the others arrived at the gate of Pan Lou, and they saw Pan Xingye, the second manager of Pan Lou, greeted him with a smile on his face.

This Pan Lou is actually the property of the Pan family, but it is not run by the children of the Pan family - when the Pan House opened, doing business was still a very low-level thing. Therefore, it is Pan Mei's fake son and the descendants of this fake son who run Pan Lou, and the Pan family is just sitting on the dividends.

And this Pan Xingye is the descendant of Pan Mei's fake son, who has been working in Pan Lou since he was sixteen years old, and has climbed step by step from the guy who ran the hall to the second steward of the current - this is the third person in Pan Lou, and then the chief steward and shopkeeper.

"Daguan Ji, Daguan Zhang is also here!" This Pan Xingye is a middle-aged man in his thirties, because he has been working in Panlou, a place full of delicious food, so he is a little fat, but he is fat and good-looking, he first sang to Ji Yi and Zhang Yi, and then when he saw Wu Haogu, his face became a little strange.

"Oh, Chongdao is also here......" Pan Xingye arched his hand at Wu Hao Gu, and then leaned closer and whispered, "The seventh place is between the seven characters." ”

Between the seven dignitaries? What do you mean? Could it be the private room set by Ji Yi?

Wu Haogu didn't understand it for a while, but Pan Xingye had already made a gesture of surprise and invited Ji Yi, Zhang Yi and Ma Zhi to Pan Tower. However, it is not the second floor where the Dizi Zhuma is located, but the second floor where the Tianzi Zhuma is located, a private room located at the intersection of Panlou Street and Yujie, which is excellent.

There are already four stunning women waiting in the private room, all of them are seventeen or eighteen years old, and they are all stuffed with snow, the bridge of the nose is high, and the eyes are slightly sunken.

When the four women saw Ji Yi, they immediately greeted her, and they opened their mouths in a soft and glutinous Wu language: "I've seen a big official." ”

Ji Yi turned around and smiled at Wu Haogu, Zhang Yi and Ma Zhi: "They are all domestic tricks that I brought from Pingjiang, and they have all been trained by Mo Niangzi, one of you can pick one and bring it back, it can be regarded as a little bit of Ji's heart." ”

Is this the legendary "sending girl"? Wu Haogu thought to himself: Is there a green hat plot in this Ji Yi?

In fact, it was common for the officialdom of the Song Dynasty to give each other housekeepers and even concubines......

Zhang Yi was the first to arch his hand and replied with a smile: "Then thank you!" ”

Wu Haogu was a little hesitant, beauty, and it was a mixed-race beauty, of course he liked it!

But what will Pan Qiaolian think? She hasn't married yet, Wu Haogu accepted a female apprentice, and now she has to accept a housekeeper......

Just as he was hesitating, he suddenly saw Ji Yi's eyes-Ji Yi glared at Wu Haogu, looking a little anxious.

Only then did Wu Haogu react: Ji Yi was inserting eyeliner next to Ma Zhi! If he refused, Ma Zhi would have a reason to resign.

He also arched his hand at the moment: "Then it is better to be respectful than to obey fate." ”

Ji Yi smiled, looked at Ma Zhi again, and then pointed to the most beautiful of the four mixed-race girls, "Brother Liang, this is Ying'er, the proud disciple of Mo Niangzi, can you see it?" ”

Ma Zhi smiled, his eyes seemed to light up, and he immediately arched his hand and smiled: "The big official is really polite, thank you below." ”

"Da Lang, who do you choose?" Ji Yi asked Wu Haogu with a smile again.

Can you really pick one? It's not like pretending to pick one and return it later, right?

Wu Haogu's heart suddenly rippled. Since he crossed over, he is still a child!