Did the eldest daughter ascend the throne today?

Chapter 438 Hand over the list and kill the whole clan

Late at night, Ning Zhiwei looked at the math content handed in by Lin Jingshu, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and the multiplication table.

"Mr. Zhou, look, she also uses Arabic numerals."

Zhou Hongye read it carefully, with surprise in his eyes, "It is indeed simple and practical, easy to learn, and it has its own system. Our primary schools in various places can use this system."

Every county town in Yong State had a primary school, which enrolled children from poor families for free. They did not follow the imperial examination route, but learned literacy, embroidery, mahogany, carpentry, blacksmithing, etc.

Boys and girls aged seven to fifteen can learn.

In other words, this is to teach children from poor families so that they can have a skill and support their families with their own abilities.

After this group of people have learned, they can teach their brothers, sisters and relatives, and help everyone improve their lives.

Although the number of places is limited, this is a way for Ning Zhiwei to open up for the poor people.

This is also one of the assessment items for the county magistrate.

Ning Zhiwei nodded, "As long as you learn it and have a skill, at the very least you can be an accountant, and your family can survive."

This is what Zhou Hongye admires most: she cares about the world and does her best to change it.

He has a kind heart and ruthless methods, this is the king he is loyal to.

He looked down on people like Su Mingjin, who talked about morality all the time but did immoral things.

"Lin Jingshu has such ability, but she didn't benefit the people. She ended up like this. She ruined a good hand."

What does Lin Jingshu want? It is the love of men, the glory and power gained by relying on men.

She never thought about fighting for it on her own.

Both of them are extremely smart people. They tacitly agreed not to mention Lin Jingshu's background and only talked about what she took out.

Some things don't need to be made clear.

Ning Zhiwei said calmly, "It's just that her character and ability don't match. Bring her back to the capital safely, place her in the imperial manor, and assign someone to take care of her."

One sentence determined Lin Jingshu's future. Her life was guaranteed, she had food, drink and someone to take care of her, but she had no personal freedom.

This is already the best destination for Lin Jingshu. She herself may not think so, but who cares?

Zhou Hongye was not interested in this and changed the subject, "So, what about old man Duan?"

When the former prime minister was in power, he had a very good reputation and had a certain influence among the people and the government. If you want to deal with him, you must have a legitimate reason.

Ning Zhiwei hesitated for a moment and said, "Hand over the list and I will execute their entire clan."

He is the main culprit and his behavior is so evil that if he is not killed, there will be no way to deter the world.

Zhou Hongye added, "Then, let's make his evil deeds known to the world in advance, so that all the people know his true face."

Ning Zhiwei understood what he meant and nodded slightly, "As for those noble families who are traveling with us..."

At this moment, there was a noise outside, and a guard walked in quickly, "Your Majesty, the young master of the Wu family wants to see you, and said he is willing to offer his own shipyard and all the nautical charts."

Wu family? Ning Zhiwei looked at Zhou Hongye, who was stunned for a moment, "Is it the Wu family, a maritime merchant?"

"Yes."

Ning Zhiwei understood that the Wu family, a maritime merchant family, was very famous in the southeast region. They were a wealthy and powerful family that had been going out to sea to do business for generations.

It can be said that the Wu family is a powerful family that travels all over the world.

As for whether they were merchants or pirates, that's a matter of opinion.

Su Mingjin led his troops to the southeast, and the Wu family offered five million taels of silver to save the family.

Unexpectedly, there was a member of the Wu family among this group of people. How could such a person be missed during the day?

"Bring the people up."

After a while, a man in plain clothes came in and knelt down with a plop. "Wu Jinglian, the third son of the Wu family's eldest son, kowtows to the emperor. Long live the emperor."

He kowtowed three times and bowed nine times with a very respectful attitude.

Ning Zhiwei raised her hand and said, "Get up."

The moment she saw the man, Ning Zhiwei finally understood why she had missed him. This man had an ordinary appearance, ordinary clothes, and no accessories on his body. He looked like a servant of a noble family and had no sense of existence.

"Those three ships of Su Mingjin belong to your family?"

Wu Jinglian bowed respectfully and said, "Yes, he took the initiative to ask for it, and we had no choice but to offer it to him."

No matter how powerful the Wu family is, it is nothing compared to the army.

Ning Zhiwei's heart was slightly moved, "Your Wu family didn't offer a daughter?"

Wu Jinglian's expression froze. He couldn't figure out what she was thinking, so he said cautiously, "There's no one of the right age."

Ning Zhi smiled and said, "Tell me about the situation of your shipyard."

Wu Jinglian had met Su Mingjin before, and he felt that he was too greedy, acted in a high-profile manner, and had a sense of urgency to just do a job and leave.

However, looking at this empress, I have a completely different feeling.

Calm, indifferent, yet powerful.

"Your Majesty, my family's shipyard is located in Rongcheng. We can independently build two types of ships. One is a passenger ship: 28 zhang long and 9.5 zhang wide. The other is a warship: 17 zhang long and 6.6 chi wide." Note (1)

Ning Zhiwei was a little surprised. He knew a lot about this. "Can you build a treasure ship?"

Wu Jinglian shook his head slightly. "It has not been built yet, but I have 44 blueprints of treasure ships from the previous dynasty hidden in my home. I remember that the treasure ship was 18 meters long and 2 meters wide, with four floors, nine masts and twelve sails, and could accommodate thousands of people." Note ()

This is the biggest secret of the Wu family, a secret that is only passed down by word of mouth by the head of the family.

If it wasn't for the purpose of avoiding disaster, I would not have told him this secret.

Ning Zhiwei was very interested, "Where did the drawings come from?"

If it is said that Su Mingjin's sea chart was passed down from his ancestors, according to historical records, during the Jiang Dynasty, the government organized an voyage to the West.

But, where did the Wu family come from?

Wu Jinglian reported, "In the previous dynasty, Emperor Jiang Xian ordered the destruction of all navigation-related blueprints on the grounds that they were a waste of money and labor, and strictly prohibited the private collection of them by the people, and prohibited the private construction of sea vessels."

"At that time, my ancestor was an official in the Ministry of War. He secretly collected a copy and passed it down from generation to generation."

Ning Zhiwei raised her eyebrows, "I didn't expect that your Wu family and Su Mingjin have such a connection."

Wu Jinglian: ...This is not a good thing!

Ning Zhiwei looked him up and down, "Why did the Wu family choose to protect you? What are your strengths?"

Wu Jinglian took a deep breath, a proud look on his face, "I know monsoon navigation and star-pulling techniques."

Monsoon navigation is sailing with the power of sails. Ocean stargazing is to determine the position of the ship by observing the stars in the sky. Note (3)

Ning Zhiwei's eyes lit up. What a scarce talent.

She was building a navy and urgently needed such talents.

"what do you want?"

She thought that he must be asking for an imperial decree for the family, such as granting amnesty to the Wu family.

But unexpectedly, his request was far beyond her expectations.

He fell to his knees with a thud, "Your Majesty, I only ask..."