Chapter 347 My grandpa Huang asked me to bring you a message
Legas is very confident. He has more than 300,000 taels of cash. The reason why he wants to buy this red-haired nun is It is to maintain the equal status of the Ming Dynasty and Spain, or to maintain the qualifications of Spain and the Ming Dynasty as allies.
Spain is the only empire in the world where the sun never sets. The sun will never set on its territory. Such an achievement has never been achieved by the Ming Emperor. In Legaz’s view, he hopes that Spain and In Ming Dynasty's diplomatic activities, it would not decline while he was alive.
For such a red-haired nun to be sold in such a grand manner, it is indeed easy for the allies to be surprised. The Ming Dynasty naturally regarded the red-haired fan as the same as the Yi Di. This was a scene that Legas did not want to see.
In the context of the Ming Dynasty, it is good for Yi Di to look like a human being, and they are all monsters.
Legas did not ask the Ming Emperor because he knew that His Majesty would not approve it, because after the Ming Emperor sent Taixi’s letter of credence, he mentioned an issue, that is, the Sun City in Mexico. There are nearly a thousand Han people. These people are naturally active and passive. The Emperor of Ming Dynasty said that Ming Dynasty will pay close attention to the survival and life of these people.
So, Ligas came with the money and redeemed the people first, and we will talk about the rest later.
Zhu Yijun curiously looked at the nuns who were bought. Listening to the shouting of prices, with a little playfulness in his eyes, he whispered to Feng Bao: "The Ming court has a high moral disadvantage as a collective. , But when it comes to individuals, this disadvantage is reduced. You see, for the sake of money, the merchants of the Ming Dynasty can also find ways to bring back one or two of them to sell."
"Your Majesty Shengming" Feng Bao. No matter whether you understand or not, just flatter me first, there is no problem.
High moral disadvantage is the collective will, while low moral advantage is the inevitable result of pursuing profit. The Ming court did have high moral disadvantage, but when it specifically affected individuals, it did not have so much binding force.
"Where did this come from?" Zhu Yijun asked curiously. Ming merchants can really do anything.
"There is a free city on the west coast of the Atlantic Ocean. There are no taboos in the free city. The merchants who supply the goods buy them in Luzon and come in the form of goods on a red-haired sailing ship." Feng Bao explained the origin of this nun. The power of the church in Taixi was still very strong, but it was visibly weakening. The nuns were all captured and sold.
“Five thousand seven hundred taels!” The young man representing the wealthy family who migrated started to bid. The young master of the Yao family in Wuxing, Yao Guangqi, came from Wuxing, Zhejiang. He started his business in the Western Han Dynasty, flourished in the late Western Han Dynasty, and developed in the Three Kingdoms of the Eastern Han Dynasty. It reached its peak in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. It was the county commander of Wuxing, Zhejiang. The county commander was the county where the Yao family was located and was named Yaojun.
After Master Yao joined the battle, the value of the nuns themselves was no longer important, and it simply became a competition for wealth and luxury.
Wang Qian, a wealthy young man in the capital, frequently raises prices in order to prevent despicable foreigners from oppressing him. This involves the issue of the right to speak, and the wealthy immigrants also want to fight for this. It expresses that although we migrated here, we are definitely not easy to mess with, and Legaz is for the important matter of Spain's status in the eyes of the Ming Dynasty.
The three parties all had reasons to fight, and the bidding suddenly became very lively.
"Fifteen thousand four hundred taels!" Singer shouted loudly: "The bid on the 56th is 15,400 taels. Is there a higher price? 15,400 taels once."
"How much did this nun cost?" Zhu Yijun asked Feng Bao curiously. The transaction price was really a bit scary. Zhu Yijun knew the market very well. Before the capital's crackdown, ten taels of silver was enough to compete with the capital. This is the first time for a top-notch oiran to meet. The transaction price of Gao Liji just now was already very exaggerated, and this time it is even more outrageous.
Feng Bao also whispered twice to the little Huangmen next to him, bowed his head and said: "Three taels of silver."
"15,400 taels for the second time." The singer raised the small copper hammer. , prepare to ring on the small bell, which represents a deal.
"15,500 taels!" Ligas finally gritted his teeth and offered a better price. Although the increase was only one hundred taels, Ligas was still willing to pay the expensive ransom for Spain's sake.
Soon, Legas got his wish, because the one who raised the price was neither the wealthy man from the capital nor the wealthy man who moved to the wealthy family, but Legas, a barbarian. This could somewhat calm both parties.
A farce caused by face slowly came to an end.
Zhu Yijun asked slightly curiously: "How much did Wang Qian spend?"
"Not a cent of silver." Feng Bao said with emotion, this old boy really shouted The price was shouted loudly, and there was absolutely no transaction. In front of everyone, he made a big splash, and he really didn't get a penny out of it.
Wang Qian was very good at reading people's hearts. He deliberately set a high price in the auction and got out of the way in time at the position expected by the other party.
When the show was over, Yao Guangqi immediately understood that he had been tricked! And it was almost like humiliation, pressing him to the ground and rubbing him!
"Wang Qian! You are kidding me!" Yao Guangqi pointed at Wang Qian very angrily, with the intention of getting into a fight if they disagreed. It was really annoying. They promised to fight for wealth and luxury, but instead It was unbearable to be played with by Wang Qian like this.
Wang Qian looked up and saw that His Majesty was standing on the railing on the fifth floor, looking down curiously.
If His Majesty had not come to watch the excitement in person, Wang Qian would have let these wealthy immigrants know how powerful they are today. But His Majesty was in the building, so Wang Qian changed his approach and overpowered them.
"Am I kidding you? What you are saying is that you are not as rich as the young master and cannot buy what you want." Wang Qian said in a neither humble nor overbearing tone: "This time, Mr. Yao has won again. Congratulations to Mr. Yao, congratulations to Mr. Yao "Young Master."
"Congratulations to Young Master Yao, congratulations to Young Master Yao." The dudes who followed Wang Qian also took the opportunity to make noises. The words "Master Yao" sounded more and more like they were being taken advantage of.
The corners of Yao Guangqi's mouth kept twitching. He could only wave his hand and shout: "Let's go!"
Zhu Yijun watched the whole process of the conflict upstairs. In the sixth year of Wanli, At the beginning of the year, a government order was issued to move wealthy households to the capital. By the end of the sixth year of Wanli, the Zheshe households who had migrated to enrich the capital had arrived at the capital. The strong dragon could not suppress the local snakes. Wang Qian, the strong dragon, suppressed the wealthy households. Hit on the head.
“Did you think that my husband would buy something good just to watch the fun?” Wang Yaozhuo asked curiously.
Zhu Yijun said with a smile: "This Yanxing Tower belongs to our family. Can good things be let go? This is a painting, "Pictures of Luo Shen Fu". Gu Kaizhi's original painting has been lost. This painting The volume was copied during the Shaoxing period of the Southern Song Dynasty. "
Of course, all the good things were bought by Zhu Yijun in advance. This is a typical black box operation.
“What about the original?” Wang Yaozhuo didn’t understand the value of these calligraphy and paintings.
Zhu Yijun said with some emotion: "The disaster of Jingkang must have been ruined. The Jin people went south, captured the second emperor and returned north, but took away all the good things in Bianliang."
< br>With frequent wars, all the objects left behind by the waves have become valuable.
Zhu Yijun did not ask for a price, but left with large and small boxes, which immediately attracted Yao Guangqi's attention. He was so angry that he was tricked and bought a bunch of things at a high price. Before leaving, he witnessed a black box operation. It would be strange if Yao Guangqi wasn't furious.
But soon, he calmed down. He could never offend the person in front of him.
Because the person in front of him was extremely empty within three feet, and the eyes of the Tiqi who were guarding him were intimidating as they looked around. Yao Guangqi even had an illusion that once he stepped into If you get within three feet, you will definitely die.
"Don't move, don't move!" Yao Guangqi stopped the person behind him and said repeatedly: "Something is wrong, something is wrong."
"Young Master Yao! Jingtang is doing shopping locally, and you still have to pay Do you want to see first before buying? This breaks the rules, so of course you have to come forward and argue!" One person shouted in dissatisfaction.
"Shut up!" Yao Guangqi yelled. He kept his hands outstretched and waited for the other party to leave completely before he breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
Just now, when he was about to rush up and argue with the noble man, a Tiqi glanced at him and calmed him down. The look in his eyes was very cold, like looking at prey or a dead person.
"Save a life." Yao Guangqi patted his chest repeatedly and said with lingering fear: "I really encountered a ghost while walking."
Compared with Wang Qian's play, this scene The conflict without any conflict made Yao Guangqi's legs spin.
“Again?!” Yao Guangqi looked at the door and saw a strong man walking straight over. The closer he walked, the more uneasy Yao Guangqi became.
"My grandpa Huang asked me to bring you a message." Zhao Mengyou continued: "My grandpa Huang said that we don't like fighting for wealth and luxury. We don't need this kind of excitement in the future."
Zhao Mengyou said After that, he left without paying attention to Yao Guangqi's reaction. Zhao Mengyou came to inform, not to discuss with Yao Guangqi.
"Grandpa Huang, your name is Huang Ye? Is he the Penglai Huang family?" A loser asked curiously. The Penglai Huang family was a maritime merchant. After the Ming Dynasty opened the sea again, their main focus was to transport goods to the Japanese country. Silver enters the Ming Dynasty.
“Zhang Juzheng is so arrogant!” Another follower said indignantly.
"Even if Qi Shuai faces him, he will still give us Mr. Yao three respects. He, the Penglai Huang family, is nothing but a nouveau riche!"
"Shut up, shut up! You are not happy to see me suffer, do you want me to die?" Yao Guangqi waved his hands and walked outside with his head lowered. Yao Guangqi had already heard that it was Grandpa Huang, not Grandpa Huang.
This trip is not about the emperor, Yao Guangqi swallowed all the things he bought today alive!
Zhu Yijun left with a smile. This scare, this kind of competition for wealth and extravagance, can subside for a while, but it won't take long for this kind of momentum to rise again.
After Zhu Yijun returned to the palace, he went directly to the Wenhua Palace. There were still some memorials that needed to be approved. After Zhang Juzheng returned to the court, the Wenyuan Pavilion once again played its original role. Most of them At that time, Zhu Yijun just stamped the floating tickets directly. Zhang Juzheng, the executive deputy emperor, could handle it properly.
Zhu Yijun read every memorial and sometimes made a few comments himself. There were also times when his opinions were completely contrary to Zhang Juzheng's. Often at this time, Zhang Juzheng would choose to compromise.
"Your Majesty, the chief medical officer of Jiecu Hospital is here." Feng Bao reminded His Majesty in a low voice that Chen Shigong and Li Shizhen were already waiting outside the palace.
Zhu Yijun was stunned and asked doubtfully: "What's the matter?"
"The Queen Mother asked me to come here." Feng Bao's voice became smaller and smaller. It was obvious that Wang Yao had been married for several months. There was still no movement in Zhuo's stomach, and Queen Mother Li began to feel a little unable to sit still, so she asked the senior medical officers to diagnose her so that she could be prepared.
The son is older than his mother. Zhu Yijun has grown up and is now the emperor of the empire. Even if Queen Mother Li has ten thousand complaints to say, she can still make insinuations, instead of being called in front of her like she did when she was a child. Suddenly cursed.
"Come on, come on." Zhu Yijun spread his hands, shook his head and said, "Xuan."
The great medical officer came to the palace once a month to check the emperor regularly.
"It's strange. In the past ten months, His Majesty's body temperature has been below thirty-seven degrees, while others have been above thirty-seven degrees. It's strange." Li Shizhen frowned. After checking His Majesty's pulse with a frown, he looked confused.
Chen Shigong also said with a strange face: "Besides, His Majesty is a martial artist, so his blood should be richer." Is it possible that a creature like the emperor is physiologically different from ordinary people? According to the past experience of Jiujiu, when entering the gate of Jiujiu Yuan, all living beings are equal. The eyes of Li Shizhen and Chen Shigong flashed with a dark luster. What a good material for Jiujiu. How about his body temperature? Just lower than others?
Zhu Yijun was a little frightened by Li Shizhen's eyes. This Li Shizhen seemed to be brewing an incredible plan. The more Zhu Yijun thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. When he thought about Li Shizhen's words, it was not difficult to imagine Li Shizhen's incredible plan. , they want to cut the emperor into pieces as research material!
It is simply anti-Tiangang!
"It's not surprising. I live in a good living environment and have people taking care of my daily life. Whether it's the Wenhua Palace or the Xiyuan, I can't even see a mosquito. That's probably it." Zhu Yijun used his shallow knowledge , trying to explain this phenomenon.
"I have recently tinkered with some good things. The two great medical officers took them with them when they left." Zhu Yijun motioned to Zhang Hong and brought two sandalwood boxes, which contained toys he had made. , there is a microscope in the box. In order to facilitate its use at night, Zhu Yijun also specially built a condenser, which can focus the light of the candle on the specimen for easy observation at night.
Zhu Yijun simply introduced how to use this thing. The two senior medical officers held the microscope and left with full interest. As for Queen Mother Li's explanation, it was naturally reported as usual. Your Majesty, with great spirit, Being healthy and not having children is just His Majesty's choice.
"Huh!" Zhu Yijun shook his head repeatedly as he watched the two great medical officers discussing with gusto. These two great medical scientists, who were famous in the world, were marching forward with Ming medicine.
Criticisms of the Jiegeyuan have never been in the minority. The Jiegeyuan is considered to be ironclad proof that Zhang Juzheng has overstepped the imperial power. Such a cruel policy has been implemented for six years, but there is no reason why Zhang Juzheng still has no intention of banning it.
Until now, the court officials of the Ming Dynasty, and even the court officials, believe that it was Zhang Juzheng who moved to Mulixin. In the opinion of almost everyone, the existence of Jiegeyuan is the line drawn by Zhang Juzheng , the Ming Dynasty’s dogfights in court cannot cross that line.
Wang Jinglong, Chen Hong and others were the first batch of people to be chopped into pieces in Jiegeyuan. The line drawn by Zhang Juzheng was that dog fighting could not threaten the emperor's personal safety. Very few people could. I guessed that this Jiecuyuan was ordered by the Ming Emperor.
Zhang Juzheng wrote a memorial in a memorial to impeach the Jiegeyuan. Now that His Majesty is in his prime, the Jiegeyuan has accomplished its intimidation effect and should be banned.
Zhu Yijun insisted that the Jiefuan Yuan should continue. The original purpose of the Jiefuan Yuan was indeed to intimidate, but now the long-term goal of the Jiefuan Yuan is: to spread Qi in all directions. Holy virtues; from the heavens to the ends of the earth, we can all bathe in the great medical ointment; the people are blessed with longevity and health, and the harmony is summoned from the sky.
This was the imperial edict that Zhu Yijun gave to the chief medical officer of Jiecu Hospital, and it was also the basis for Jiecu Hospital to still exist. The Jiecu Hospital in Ming Dynasty had achieved enough results, and medicine in Ming Dynasty was making rapid progress.
In In this matter, Zhang Juzheng once again chose to compromise and agreed with His Majesty's decision.
On New Year's Eve, Zhu Yijun still met the officials in Xiyuan. The Ming Dynasty's New Year's greetings were in the evening of New Year's Eve. He stayed up until midnight. After getting up on New Year's Day, he went to the Ancestral Temple to offer sacrifices. Ancestor.
Zhu Yijun first met with the emperor's uncle Zhu Zaiyu, who was the head of the clan, and then met with Qi Jiguang, who was ranked above the nobles. Although Qi Jiguang was only the Marquis of Qian'an, he led the elite of the Beijing camp. He was ranked above all the nobles, and then he met with Zhang Juzheng, who was the head of the hundred officials. There is no doubt that his Yicheng Earl was only a lord of rank, not a world king.
Then there was a lengthy audience. Zhu Yijun was about to wave his hand and let all officials of the fifth rank and below enter the palace to greet the New Year. Ma Ziqiang, the Minister of Rites, and Wan Shihe, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, became anxious upon hearing this and ran away. When Zhu Yijun went to the emperor and made a lot of noise, about what ancestral laws should not be violated, about the official order of high and low, and the order of seniority and inferiority, Zhu Yijun was tired of hearing it, so he had to let the Ministry of Rites do it.
Ma Ziqiang and Wan Shihe did not deliberately create complicated etiquette to make His Majesty impatient. Meeting the Emperor during the New Year may be the only few opportunities for all officials in the capital to meet His Majesty in their lifetime. If the Emperor is lazy, Some, like Emperor Jiajing and Emperor Longqing, could not go to the palace examination, there were no court meetings, and all the officials in the world did not even have a chance to see the emperor.
The lengthy etiquette was finally over, and Zhu Yijun began to keep vigil. He said it was a vigil on New Year's Eve, but in fact it was to study agricultural books. The trial planting of rubber in Luzon has been successful on a small scale. Now the types of plantations in Luzon have changed from simple The emergence of rice, and now sugar cane, palm, and rubber plantations has given Ming Dynasty a closer connection with Wanli Seawall.
Daming needs food, and these places can provide enough agricultural products, and Daming only needs to take advantage of commodities to continuously absorb these resources into Daming.
Zhu Yijun was very interested in the planting of rubber trees. He planted one in Beiya. For this tree, Zhu Yijun even built a warm pavilion and served delicious food and drinks, but it still died.
“Thousands of miles of seawall, what a great place.” Zhu Yijun closed the agricultural book and reaffirmed the absolute correctness of his policy of opening up the sea. Affected by the Little Ice Age, the Ming Dynasty expanded northward and westward. , there are many difficulties, and the military strategic significance of the newly opened land is far greater than the significance of people's livelihood management.
In the newly opened land, the land was fertile, the rainfall was abundant, and the local natives were powerless to resist. Zhu Yijun appointed Deng Zilong of Luzon as the commander of Pandu, and used force to collect the payment. The results were extremely significant, and he won the victory. After returning, Daming will be able to hold on and operate well.
This is not Deng Zilong selling melons and boasting about himself. Deng Zilong is telling the truth. Compared with the barbaric plundering of the West, the Ming Dynasty's persistence in farming far surpassed that of the West.
Zhu Yijun is very concerned about the maritime affairs in the Southeast and inquires about everything personally.
On the first day of the first lunar month of the seventh year of Wanli, Emperor Ming came to the Ancestral Temple again. The small yellow gate carried several things and sent them into the Ancestral Temple.
“We didn’t do much this year, except to move the Zheshe households from Nanya to the capital. There are five to six of them in the local area, and they look like the boss in heaven and the second in earth. After they moved to Beijing, They are all as good as quails, with their tails between their legs." Zhu Yijun took out the first congratulatory form for the sacrifice, which was an annual work summary.
Zhu Yijun took out the second congratulatory form, threw it into the brazier, and murmured to himself: "There is also the test of contradiction theory and arithmetic. It is indeed difficult to implement it, but I still bite it. If you don't want to be a supervisor or an official, you won't be able to pass the practical part. Although people who have passed the theory of contradiction and arithmetic may be bad people, they are still officials and can do things. "
"In order to keep his title as an official, in order to change the merits on his chest, Xunli will try his best to make progress."
Zhu Yijun took out the third congratulation form and threw it away After entering the brazier, he said with emotion: "This year's important matter of clearing my father-in-law and returning the land has entered the deep water. The next part is all hard work. Fortunately, my husband is still in the court to help me with my work. I want to see who dares to come out and make mischief. This will bring about the restoration of the land and the great cause of the country. They will not be allowed to care about their own personal interests."
Zhu Yijun took out the fourth congratulatory form and said with a smile: " Qi Shuai is still very powerful. Tuman and Anda Khan joined forces and were beaten by Qi Shuai and Vice General Ma. Although I don’t know the soldiers, I can understand the battle report. The Ming Dynasty’s battle line finally defeated the Northern and Eastern Lu. The barbarians were completely isolated."
"The merger of the eastern barbarians in Liaodong and the northern barbarians was the root of the demise of the Northern Song Dynasty."
The Jingkang shame in the Northern Song Dynasty was also a typical merging of the Eastern Yi and the Northern Barbarians, but at that time the Jin and the Khitan people merged. This complete blockage completely shattered this possibility.
This is the best thing for Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Yijun took out the fifth congratulatory form, threw it into the brazier, and just sighed without saying much.
In the fifth congratulatory form, it was written that Zhu Yijun's wedding was completed, but the queen and concubines' stomachs had not moved yet. Just such a small thing, they had to inform their ancestors!
As for why he chose this matter, Zhu Yijun had asked the chief medical officers to inform Queen Mother Li, but Queen Mother Li still wanted to have her grandson, and her attitude was very determined.
Zhu Yijun finished his work report and left the Ancestral Temple.
Zhu Yirui looked at the emperor eagerly and said, "Brother, do you still want to go to Peking University Camp today? Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, why don't you take a day off?"
"You don't want to Go?" Zhu Yijun frowned and his tone became a bit colder.
Zhu Yijun waved his hands quickly and said: "Go, go, go! Don't you think that I am extremely tired from having to deal with so many things, so I said this, let's go together."
Zhu Yijun thought about it After a moment, he said with a smile: "Forget it, don't go, let's go by ourselves."
"Is there really no need to go?" Zhu Yili's expression changed from surprise to shock, then to doubts, and finally he asked the emperor's brother full of doubts about what he meant.
"As I have said sincerely, I will take a rest during the Chinese New Year and there is no need to accompany you." Zhu Yijun said and got into the car.
"Thank you, brother emperor!" Zhu Yiyi jumped three feet high, excused himself with a word of thanks, and left happily.
Zhu Yijun could only shake his head slightly when he saw Zhu Yijun jumping three times. After talking to Zhang Juzheng about Zhu Yijun’s education issues, Zhu Yijun also looked away. As Zhang Juzheng said, Zhu Yijun is a towering tree. The tree was protecting Zhu Yili from the wind and rain, but Zhu Yili could not feel the coldness or urgency.
If jade is not polished, it will become useless.
While Zhu Yijun’s car was driving slowly towards Beidaying, a fire broke out violently in the Yongding Woolen Factory.
When Zhu Yijun returned to the capital from Beida Camp, Wang Chonggu was already waiting in front of the Xiyuan Gate, waiting for His Majesty's announcement.
"A disgraced person doesn't just have to wash his face. How is the situation? Are there any dead? How many have died? How are the losses?" Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Chonggu's slightly embarrassed look and motioned to Zhang Hong to give Wang Chonggu a hand. Face towel.
Of course Wang Chonggu doesn't know how to wash his face. His face is gray and unkempt, so His Majesty can directly see his hard work.
"The situation is not bad. Two warehouses were burned down, no one was killed, and 600 pieces of woolen wool were lost." Wang Chonggu reported the key information to His Majesty quickly.
Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Chonggu and said in a very calm tone: "No one died?"
"No." Wang Chonggu was categorical. When the fire started, Wang Chonggu was in the official factory and happened to meet him. The fire was quickly destroyed. extinguished.
Death cannot be concealed. Because of abnormal death, his social relationship will not be completely broken due to death. As long as the Tiqi people inquire a little carefully, they can know that there is less to conceal the truth. Report, the answer is completely different.
If someone really died, Wang Chonggu would definitely say that the fire scene was still being cleaned up.
Wang Chonggu could not bear the price of deceiving the emperor.
"Deliberately setting a fire?" Zhu Yijun hesitated and asked.
Wang Chonggu said with certainty: "This is done deliberately, Your Majesty, I led the construction of the tripod, and the entire palace was built with my own eyes. Even if you can set fire, you can only burn a little, or even the third part." Neither room can be burned!”
“These two warehouses are on fire. I think someone must have set the fire deliberately.”
Fire prevention master Wang Chonggu, as the top fire prevention designer in the Ming Dynasty, Wang Chonggu. In terms of fire prevention, he has already stood at the pinnacle of mankind. There is no way, who let his nephew Zhang Siwei burn down the central axis of the palace?
For the sake of his nine tribes, Wang Chonggu must be the fire prevention master, and he must do it well. If someone sets a fire at the palace gate, his majesty's palace will not be burned down.
"Yao Guangqi?" Zhu Yijun frowned and read out a name.
"Who is Yao Guangqi...?" Wang Chonggu looked confused. He really didn't know who this Yao Guangqi was.
Zhu Yijun briefly introduced the grudges between Wang Qian and Yao Guangqi. Wang Qian's cunning and Yao Guangqi's anger caused people to associate these two things together.
“This traitor is showing off everywhere, and his money will be stopped tomorrow!” Wang Chonggu was furious after hearing this!
My body temperature is now 38.6°, and it was 39.8° when I woke up in the morning. In that trance, I could already see Tai Nai waving to me. Everyone must pay attention to protection. Please vote for me. Ouch! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
(End of this chapter)