allonlinenovel Chapter 1265 Wasn't it you who discovered zinc?
Chapter 1265 Wasn't it you who discovered zinc?
Shen Zheng deliberately chose a chair away from the instruments of torture to sit down, but she could still smell a faint stench of blood.
The servant discreetly observed her expression, noticing her slightly furrowed brow. After serving her tea, he immediately said, "Please have a seat, Lord Shen. I will take those things away immediately..."
As if afraid that Shen Zheng might misunderstand, he continued to explain, "These things are not usually kept in the hall, but it just so happens that there was a case today that the magistrate just finished hearing, so..."
Before he could finish speaking, a series of footsteps came from outside the hall.
Shen Zheng and the yamen runners all thought it was Fang Qizheng who had arrived, but when they turned around and saw him, they were all stunned.
Who is this Fang Qizheng?
"This humble servant greets Your Excellency!" The constable quickly put down the torture instruments he had just picked up and bowed respectfully.
Shen Zheng also stood up: "What brings you here?"
Yu Shizhang, backlit, strode into the hall: "Give me back why I'm here! You came to a place like this without saying a word, how can I not worry about you?"
The constable was startled by what he heard, his eyes showing signs of injury.
"This kind of"...place?
Which place?
Was their Salt and Iron Bureau some kind of shady place?
Just then, the Earl of Yongning's gaze fell on the ground beside him: "What are these?"
The constable was taken aback, and subconsciously lowered his head to answer, "Reporting to Your Excellency, these are... these are instruments of torture."
"Of course I know it's a torture instrument!" Yu Shizhang strode over, bent down, picked up a blood-stained cane, and asked, "Does your Salt and Iron Bureau just use the main hall as a torture chamber? Take it away immediately!"
The constable, as if waking from a dream, quickly squatted down and picked up a chain: "I'll take it! Sir, please have a seat with Lord Shen, the magistrate will be here shortly..."
Under Yu Shizhang's watchful gaze, the yamen runners summoned two companions. The three of them made three trips before finally collecting all the instruments of torture from the hall.
"Are you feeling unwell?" Yu Shizhang asked Shen Zheng after sitting down.
Shen Zheng smiled and took a sip of tea: "Actually, it's not bad, it's just that the smell of those things... isn't very pleasant."
The stench emanating from the torture instruments stained with human flesh and blood was complex and difficult for her to describe.
“That’s the smell people give off when they’re in fear and despair.” Yu Shizhang picked up the teapot to pour himself some tea and said with his head down, “Salt and iron are major sources of revenue for the imperial court. If the Salt and Iron Bureau doesn’t use ruthless methods, there will always be people who are not afraid of death who will take the risk.”
Shen Zheng nodded slightly to show her understanding.
Since ancient times, the salt and iron industries have been notorious for corruption. Emperors of several dynasties even turned a blind eye to corrupt officials in the salt and iron industries, simply because of the saying, "If the water is too clear, there will be no fish."
Behind the scenes, the corruption in the salt and iron industry was not only driven by corrupt officials, but also by tens of thousands of ordinary people struggling to make a living.
People need salt, but official salt is expensive after being marked up at each level, so they can only buy privately made salt to eat.
Private salt was cheap, but it evaded the imperial court's taxes. Without salt tax, the imperial court's treasury was very empty.
With the national treasury empty, the only solution was to increase taxation.
With increased taxes, government-supplied salt became even more expensive, making it even less desirable for ordinary people to buy.
This cycle repeated itself, and the knot that tightly bound the people, the imperial court, and the private salt merchants tightened more and more, eventually becoming an unsolvable predicament.
Thinking of this, Shen Zheng's brows furrowed, and she murmured, "A single hair can affect the whole situation..."
Yu Shizhang immediately understood the meaning behind her words and turned to look at her: "You came to see Fang Qizheng because of the official salt?"
The waters here are very deep; you can't just dive in headfirst.
"Huh?" Shen Zheng snapped out of her reverie and shook her head. "No, it was around noon when I suddenly remembered something rather strange that I had stumbled upon in the capital..."
"What is it?" Four words gradually appeared on Yu Shizhang's face—just as I expected.
“When calamine and charcoal are mixed, they can be condensed into a kind of, uh…” After a pause, Shen Zheng brought out an excuse she had already prepared: “A kind of heterogeneous metal that is not one of the ‘five metals’.”
"Oh—" Yu Shizhang deliberately dragged out the last syllable: "What's your name?"
When people are uncomfortable, they tend to make a lot of small, unsettling movements.
Shen Zheng rubbed her nose and touched the seam of the table: "Hmm... I think the character 'zinc' is quite good. Like copper, iron, and lead, it has the metal radical."
“Oh—” Yu Shizhang’s voice rose even higher at the end: “It does sound quite good, so let’s call it ‘Zinc’.”
Shen Zheng immediately stopped her little fidgeting and chuckled, "You really did choose a good name."
Yu Shizhang: "?"
"What do you mean?" He pointed to himself: "What do you mean I named him?"
Shen Zheng looked completely bewildered: "Didn't you say that you discovered that mixing calamine and charcoal could condense a heterogeneous gold called 'zinc'?"
"it's me?"
"It's you."
"Is that really me?"
"It really is you."
"It seems...it really is me?"
"now it's right."
“Okay, let me think about it some more. What are the specific uses of zinc?” Yu Shizhang stroked his chin.
Shen Zheng deftly took out a stack of rough paper from her bosom: "This humble official's humble opinion, please accept it with a smile."
Yu Shizhang took the draft paper, and while reading it, asked, "What would you have done if I hadn't found it?"
Shen Zheng also stroked her chin: "It'll take a bit more talking, anyway... we have to get our hands on it."
Yu Shizhang continued flipping through the draft paper and asked, "What happens after we get our hands on it?"
Speaking of this, Shen Zheng got really excited: "You also discovered that when zinc and vinegar are mixed, a strange odor is produced. This odor seems to be lighter than air. If you put it in a light object, it can rise straight to the sky! You even want to show it to me in a few days!"
Upon hearing this, Yu Shizhang's eyes widened: "You discovered it too?"
Shen Zheng nodded: "Do you want to find out?"
"I don't really want to."
Suddenly, Yu Shizhang's expression turned serious: "Shen Zheng, this is a great achievement that will greatly benefit your future promotion. If you can take it on, then take it on yourself. As for the rest... I will help you."
He practically said, "I can cover up all your unusual traits."
Shen Zheng paused for a moment, then shook her head: "You know, I don't need this little bit of credit. Too many things have happened in the manor recently. If I take on this matter as well, I'll be even more overwhelmed in the future... So even if you don't come, I will tell Lord Fang that you helped me discover zinc when we went to the capital."
Yu Shizhang remained silent for a moment: "But I feel unworthy of this."
Isn't this behavior tantamount to stealing the credit of younger generations?
He doesn't want to be that kind of bad old man.
Shen Zheng didn't think that way at all: "Think about it, how much have you helped me since last year? This is just a small gift, you should accept it without any guilt!"
As she spoke, she raised her hand and tapped her head, launching into her own uniquely low-EQ speech: "Do you know how much stuff is in here? Tsk, it's indescribable. Anyway... it's just zinc, so don't make that face, it makes you look even older."