The palace is not unfamiliar to Jiang Jin. After all, he was an important and old minister of the Ming Dynasty. However, because he was not a minister of military affairs, he was summoned to the palace alone. This time he entered the palace, he originally thought that Zhu Yicheng was discussing something with the ministers of military affairs and then called him. But who would have thought that when he saw the place, he was the only one in the entire side hall.

After entering the hall, he stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Zhu Yicheng, saying that he had seen the emperor. Zhu Yicheng, who was sitting with a pen and writing and painting, looked up at him when he heard the sound, and then asked him to sit first. After Jiang Jin thanked him and sat down, Zhu Yicheng did not immediately say anything, but continued to write and draw.

After waiting for about a cigarette, Zhu Yicheng put down the paper and pen in his hand, then picked up the tea and took a sip of it, and looked at Jiang Jin.

"I heard that my dear a while ago is unwell. How are you doing now?"

"The emperor is very grateful to me for caring for me. I was just a little cold before, but now I am very happy." Jiang Jin hurriedly raised his body and replied.

"Season changes, you need to pay attention to your health. You are an important minister in the court. I don't want you ministers to be surprised by overwork. If that happens, I will be very unfair to write about me in the future." Zhu Yicheng said a cold joke with a smile, and looked at Jiang Jin at the same time.

Jiang Jin couldn't help but sweat oozed out of his forehead. He hurriedly said, "I am a minister, a minister, even if I devote myself to the emperor, it is his duty as a minister. The emperor works hard to govern, and is a rare wise ruler from ancient times to the present. How can historical books comment like this? I am really frightened."

"Hahaha, what you said is a little reasonable." Zhu Yicheng suddenly laughed, then shook his head and said, "As for the wise monarchs from ancient times to the present, there is no need to say that the emperor does not think he is a wise monarch? And the ministers are not all so flattering? Whether he is really a wise monarch, it depends on the comments of future generations. You and I are all people of the current dynasty. The so-called "conversation between ancient times and present" is exactly the case."

Jiang Jin was really hard to answer this sentence, so he could only say "The Emperor's Holy Spirit" and then sat back.

Zhu Yicheng didn't say much about this when he saw that he was like this. In fact, he understood Jiang Jin very well and recognized his ability. Otherwise, he would not have always placed Jiang Jin as the Minister of Works.

Among the six departments of the court, the most expensive one is the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Personnel has the greatest power. As for the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War was originally ranked second, but now because Zhu Yicheng changed the military system, the rights of the Ministry of War were greatly reduced, and some of the rights were returned to the Governor's Office of the Five Army or were partially circulated by the General Staff.

As for the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Justice, they have always been at the bottom of the six ministries. However, with the development of the Ming Dynasty, especially the emphasis on commerce and technology, the status of the Ministry of Works has been greatly improved.

Now, the Ministry of Works is second only to the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel in terms of status, and is almost ranked third with the Ministry of Revenue. However, if we really want to be in terms of staffing and actual rights, the Ministry of Works has become a veritable second, and there is no other department except the Ministry of Personnel.

As the Minister of Works, it is easy to imagine how much power and energy Jiang Jin has in his hands. This is also the confidence that he always feels that he is the best choice for the minister of military affairs. Unfortunately, Zhu Yicheng has seen through all this long ago. For some considerations, he has not been able to join the military affairs until now.

Zhu Yicheng didn't care about Jiang Jin's true thoughts. He took a sip of tea and put down the teacup to ask him directly about the railway. As the Minister of Works, Jiang Jin certainly knew what a railway was. After all, the first railway in the Ming Dynasty, which was used to connect the mines and steel mills, was built by Jiang Jin himself.

Now, it has been almost six years in a blink of an eye. The railway has gradually extended from the initial short dozen miles to nearly a hundred miles. At the same time, it has branch lines, leading to the dock and other supporting factories respectively.

This railway has provided extremely huge industrial assistance to the Ming Dynasty. It is precisely because of its emergence and existence that the Ming Dynasty's steel industry has developed rapidly. At the same time, the increase in steel output has promoted the progress of the Ming Dynasty's military industry.

Immediately, Jiang Jin told Zhu Yicheng about the current situation of the railway. While telling it, Jiang Jin couldn't help but rack his brains to think about it. Could it be that Zhu Yicheng called himself to do this railway today? The emergence of the railway is not a new thing, and Zhu Yicheng decided on this matter at the beginning, why did he ask again today? Is there any mystery?

Suddenly, Jiang Jin suddenly remembered something. He heard that Zhu Yicheng went to the research institute a few days ago. Could it be that there was any new invention in the research institute?

Although Jiang Jin is the Minister of the Ministry of Works, theoretically speaking, the Institute belongs to the Ministry of Works, in fact, since the predecessor of the Institute, that is, the Institute was established, this institution has not much to do with the Ministry of Works. You should know that whether it is the Institute of Origin or the Institute of Later Research, the word "Royal" is still hanging in front of it. This is just like the difference between the Royal Bank and other banks. This is an institution belonging to the Royal Family. As for the scientific researchers in it, including the Director Huang Luzhuang, their official positions are only held in the Ministry of Works and are not under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Works.

However, no matter what, the Ministry of Works is nominally the superior of the Institute. In addition, many scientific research results of the Institute need to be transformed and used in actual products, which also require the cooperation and support of the Ministry of Works. In this case, the Institute often regularly issues some notifications to the Ministry of Works. These notifications are not very detailed, but just a brief one. This is also a way for two institutions to inform each other regularly.

It is not too secret that Zhu Yicheng left the palace and went to the research institute. Even if he didn't know in advance, Jiang Jin would learn the news later. In addition, the research institute sent a notice to the Ministry of Industry a few days ago, informing the Ministry of Industry that they would conduct an experiment on the steam engine in the near future. Jiang Jin knew about the new steam engine. This is a new item that the institute has just developed and has been put into production. This thing can replace manpower and animal power for transportation and operation. Now the factories under the Ministry of Industry have begun mass production and have received good evaluation in a series of applications.

"Can the Emperor asks about the reason for the railway because of the steam engine experiment a few days ago?" Jiang Jin couldn't help guessing. Although he guessed the truth, he didn't understand why the steam engine and the railway were related to the railway because of his thinking? But if you think carefully, the railway serves mines and steel mills. Perhaps the real reason for Zhu Yicheng's question was not related to the railway, but to ask about the mining and steel refining of mines? If this is the case, it will be suitable.
Chapter completed!