Ang Lee was a very smart person. Not only did he have a business mind, but he also had a political mind. He clearly knew what was going on, but he would not say it out loud.
This might be suspected of fooling the masses, but it could not be helped. Sometimes, it was necessary to fool the masses appropriately in order to protect one's highest interests.
For example, after the invention of kerosene cloth, if everyone was told that it was just a very cheap low-end product and that there was nothing special about it, then Ang Lee's credit for its development would seem worthless. The people's respect for kerosene cloth would also disappear. The most important thing was that the price of kerosene cloth in the future would be completely unguaranteed, and the research and development funds would not be returned.
The same was true for the previous glass development. If the people were told that glass was made of sand, then continuing to maintain the high price would be unpopular. Even if the price was lowered by a lot, the people would not buy it. They would think that it was just processed with sand, so how could it be worth so much money? In other words, not only would Ang Lee's glass not sell at a good price, but Ang Lee's reputation would also plummet, and he would be seen as a profiteer by the people. However, if the raw materials and technology of the glass were concealed, the people would not think so. They would think that glass was made of many expensive materials, and the high price was reasonable. Thus, they would be willing to pay for the product. They would even be grateful to Ang Lee. They would think that if Ang Lee did not invent glass, they would have to pay a higher price and the quality would be worse.
However, once they knew that the cost of the glass was extremely low, and that Ang Lee sold the glass for ten times or even dozens of times the profit, they would not think so. They would think that Ang Lee was too black-hearted. He was an extremely black-hearted person, and their good impression of Ang Lee would be greatly reduced.
Humans were like this. Clearly, your product was the cheapest, the best, and the best, but because others knew your cost, they would feel that it was too unreasonable, and their inner resistance would be extremely strong.
It was precisely because of this reason that many people did not dare to tell the truth and would always deliberately hide their costs. For example, businessmen who opened restaurants not only sold delicious food, but also very cheap, far surpassing other restaurants. However, because of the more advanced management model, the boss and lady boss worked personally, personally traveling dozens of miles in the morning to buy cheaper ingredients, thus greatly reducing the cost. However, customers would not care about this. When they knew that the boss's profits were as high as 100%, they would feel that the products in this restaurant could be cheaper. Therefore, when they paid, they would ask for a discount, or even deliberately give a little less, making the boss helpless. After all, they could not offend the customers.
For the same dish, if the cost of a meal in other restaurants was 100 yuan and the price was 110 yuan, the customers would think it was reasonable. However, if the cost of a meal in your restaurant was 50 yuan and the price was 100 yuan, after the customers knew about it, although they would favor your restaurant, they would also think that your profit margin was too high. Since you know how to control the cost, why not sell it at 60 yuan? Therefore, there would be situations where the customers would pay less or not at all.
However, this kind of situation was generally relatively rare. All the bosses who made a lot of money would not tell their customers their costs. This was the secret of all industries. Even if they had made a lot of money with several times the profit, they would still complain that they were poor, saying that they were doing a loss-making business and did not make money at all. At least, this would make the customers feel more comfortable and feel that they did not spend too much money.
For example, the glass industry owned by Ang Lee had a very low cost, and the price was at least ten times the cost. However, Ang Lee was also a person who would complain about being poor. He would not tell the world the cost of his products. Instead, he deliberately made people feel that the cost of glass was very expensive, selling it at ten times the cost price, and did not make much money at all. This would make the people feel more comfortable.
Guo Ziyi firmly believed in the scarcity of Huo Huan Cloth. Therefore, when Ang Lee told him that the cost of Huo Huan Cloth was very high and could not be given to ordinary soldiers to equip, Guo Ziyi nodded with certainty. He felt that Ang Lee was right. How could such an expensive Huo Huan Cloth be given to ordinary soldiers to equip?
"In the past, it was said that Huo Huan Cloth was made from the bark of Fire Tree and Fire Rat in the Western Region. What is Assistant Minister Li's Huo Huan Cloth made from?"
Guo Ziyi asked curiously.
Ang Lee smiled and said, "It's made from stone. In the mountains of Southwest Central Sichuan, there is a kind of stone that can be used to refine Huo Huan Cloth. That's how it came to be."
"Stone? You can actually refine Huo Huan Cloth from stone? Stone is not afraid of fire. No wonder Huo Huan Cloth is not afraid of fire. Then, what is the legendary Fire Rat's Skin? Is this Fire Rat's Skin real? "
Guo Ziyi asked curiously.
How could Ang Lee answer this question? It was probably a legend! And it was a legend that could not be verified. In reality, there should not be such an animal as Fire Rat. The reason for this legend was probably that someone had an ulterior motive and deliberately exaggerated the rarity of Huo Huan Cloth in order to improve the quality of this special cloth. After all, no one in the world had ever seen a Fire Rat. If no one had seen one, didn't it mean that Fire Rats were rare? Since Fire Rats were so rare, wouldn't the quality of Huo Huan Cloth be greatly improved?
"I really don't know whether Huo Huan Cloth made from Fire Rat's Skin is real or not. However, Huo Huan Cloth made from stone can also resist fire."
This was the only answer Ang Lee could give. After all, Ang Lee had never seen a Fire Rat. What if such an animal really existed? Then, wouldn't Ang Lee be embarrassed?
"Haha! That's true. Who cares? Let's go look at the saber-resistant clothes. Clothes that can resist sabers must be very heavy! "
Guo Ziyi said happily.
The saber-resistant clothes were also a product that Ang Lee had recently developed. However, because it was far inferior to the telegraph, even if it was successful, Ang Lee did not publicize it. Moreover, this success was conditional. It could not completely eliminate the damage from sabers. It could only prevent sharp sabers from piercing through the saber-resistant clothes so that the skin would not be cut. If the saber was big and heavy, it could also cause serious internal injuries to the wearer.
The most important point was that it was not very comfortable. No matter how thin the saber-resistant clothes developed by Ang Lee were, compared to ordinary clothes, there was still a big gap. The comfort was not rational enough. It was much better than the armor worn by soldiers. In terms of defense against heavy blows, hard armor was obviously more advantageous.
In addition, even the most powerful defensive clothes could not be compared with a large number of guards and horses. The favorite defense method of the Emperor and the nobles when they went out was definitely not to wear cumbersome defensive clothes, but to lead a large number of guards. The protection of a large number of guards was much more reliable than wearing defensive clothes. Therefore, no matter how good the clothes were, the nobles were not willing to wear them. At most, they would buy them to equip the guards under their command to increase the defense of the guards and prevent them from being injured.
However, the lives of bodyguards were not worth much. In order to protect the lives of these bodyguards, many nobles would not be willing to spend a large amount of money on defensive equipment. They would feel that it was a waste of money. There were not many chances of encountering assassins in the first place. The bodyguards were just there to show off. Why would they need to equip themselves with additional soft defensive armor?
Especially in the capital of the Tang dynasty, there was almost no assassination against the nobles for many years. The guards really became a tool to embolden the nobles. As long as they were young and strong, it would be fine.
However, for the soldiers of the Tang dynasty at the border, defensive clothes were very important. After all, the situation at the border was more complicated. Although the countries did not dare to challenge the Tang dynasty, many of the neighboring countries were small. The ability of centralization of power was very poor. The King did not have much ability to control the whole empire. There was nothing he could do about many disobedient small armed groups. Therefore, he could only defend himself. These small armed groups harassed the border of the Tang dynasty and robbed the property of the people of the Tang dynasty.
This kind of situation happened most frequently in the northern grassland. After all, the grassland people were a race of horsemen. They moved faster and came and went without a trace. After a shot, they changed places. They were very difficult to deal with. Moreover, they knew how to make crossbows with strong penetrating power. In battle, they could easily penetrate the armor of the soldiers of the Tang dynasty. Only the most advanced heavy armor could resist these crossbows. However, heavy armor was too cumbersome. After the soldiers of the Tang dynasty wore heavy armor, the speed of their horses was greatly reduced. They could not catch up with the fleeing enemies at all. Moreover, there were many corrupt people who acted as spies for the enemy.
In this case, it would be best if there was a kind of light armor that could resist crossbows. In this way, not only would the soldiers of the Tang dynasty not be afraid of the enemy's crossbows, but they could also quickly catch up with the fleeing enemies because they did not have to carry too much weight. In this way, they could eliminate the enemies on the northern grassland step by step. The common people on the northern border would no longer have to suffer from the plunder. The merchants could trade better and earn more money. Thus, the prosperity of the border would be promoted step by step.
"General Guo, this is a saber-proof vest. Try it on. It's much lighter than armor!"
Ang Lee said as he handed a small vest to Guo Ziyi.
"Such a light vest can defend against sabers and swords? Is it true?"
Guo Ziyi did not seem to believe it. His face was full of doubt.
"Whether it's true or not, you'll know after you try it on. Men, bring me a scarecrow."
Ang Lee ordered.
Soon, a scarecrow that could be fixed was brought forward. Ang Lee personally put the saber-proof vest on the scarecrow. Then, he looked at Guo Ziyi and said, "General Guo, use your saber to try this vest! See if it can defend against sabers and swords. "
"Okay, then let's try it. My saber is often polished. It's easy to cut a vest."
Guo Ziyi seemed to be very confident in himself. He felt that his saber could cut a tree with a snap, so cutting clothes would be a piece of cake.
After pulling out his saber, Guo Ziyi made a standard beheading posture. Then, he exerted force and chopped at the saber-proof vest on the scarecrow.
"Huh?"
Guo Ziyi made a sound of surprise. He originally thought that he could easily split the clothes in front of him, but he didn't expect that after using so much strength, he still couldn't split the clothes. This made him feel a little embarrassed.
"Move aside. Let this old man try again."
Guo Ziyi was not convinced. He asked Ang Lee and the few people around him to stand further away so that he could use more force to cut the vest.
"Haha! General Guo, take it easy. Don't sprain your back! Maid Xinluo is still waiting in the residence. "
Ang Lee laughed and joked. The people around him also laughed.
Guo Ziyi did not care. He used all his strength and chopped at the vest again.
"What a powerful vest. Even my saber could not cut it."
After chopping at the vest again, Guo Ziyi was really convinced. The vest in front of him looked ordinary, but it could actually defend against sabers and swords. This was very unbelievable. After all, Guo Ziyi had personally held the vest in his hands. He felt that it was very light and soft. It was much lighter than ordinary soldier's armor. He did not expect such a thin material to be able to defend against his saber. Moreover, it was an attack that he personally used. Although he was older, Guo Ziyi knew that his strength was still very strong. Compared to when he was young, he had not regressed much. Yet, he still could not cut through the soft vest. This seemed to be enough to prove that the vest in front of him could defend against sabers and swords. In Guo Ziyi's eyes, this was very unbelievable.
"Good, this is really good stuff! Such a thin layer of cotton can actually defend against the attack of sabers and swords. Good, very good. If all the soldiers wear it, it will be much more convenient in battle. "
Even though Guo Ziyi could tell at a glance that the clothes couldn't withstand heavy blows, he still admired it very much. After all, it was already very rare. As long as he was given such clothes, he would be able to make good use of them and reduce the losses of his soldiers.
"Men, bring me a bow and arrows. Let General Guo try the vest's ability to defend against arrows."
Ang Lee said.
Guo Ziyi smiled and said, "Since it can even defend against my saber, it shouldn't be too much of a problem to defend against arrows. However, it's good to try. Let's see how deep the arrows can penetrate."
Obviously, the penetrative power of the bow and arrow was greater. On the battlefield in the north, more than half of the soldiers under Guo Ziyi's command had died under the crossbow. This made Guo Ziyi extremely angry, but there was nothing he could do. Looking at the clothes in front of him, he seemed to see hope.
Soon, the bow and arrows were brought over. Guo Ziyi once again personally tried to test the vest's ability to defend against arrows.
Whoosh …
The arrow was about to hit the vest, but it stopped for a moment before falling to the ground. In other words, the arrow did not pierce the vest and was blocked.
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