Every time Guo Ziyi visited, he would see good things that made him excited. This time was no exception. Not only did he see the latest cannons, but he also saw light cotton armor that could defend against swords and arrows, as well as various improved weapons. These weapons were very useful in increasing the combat power of the Tang dynasty's army.
Because he was too interested, Guo Ziyi visited until sunset. He had seen most of the new things before he left. He was still thinking about the Buddha jumps over the wall in Ang Lee's residence. Naturally, he wanted to try it. The next morning, he would visit again. There were still many good things that he had not finished looking at.
The Buddha jumps over the wall was a top-notch delicacy. Ang Lee had prepared enough for Guo Ziyi. Not only could it let Guo Ziyi eat to his heart's content, but the people in the residence could also enjoy a mouthful of soup.
'There's actually such a delicacy in the world.'
This was Guo Ziyi's evaluation after he tasted the Buddha jumps over the wall. This was enough to prove how tempting and delicious the Buddha jumps over the wall was.
The next day, Guo Ziyi still went to the research and development center. However, Ang Lee still had things to do, so he did not accompany him. The Chinese New Year was approaching. Ang Lee still had to visit his benefactor. In addition, there were many people who came to visit. Ang Lee could not afford to offend these important people. He had to meet them.
In addition, since it was the Chinese New Year, there must be a festive atmosphere. If there was no festive atmosphere, then the Chinese New Year would be meaningless. The so-called festive atmosphere referred to the liveliness. Only when everyone was happy and lively would the Chinese New Year be more meaningful.
In order to have a festive atmosphere, every year during the Chinese New Year, every household would decorate their houses with lanterns and decorations. The shops in the city would spend a lot of effort to decorate their shops. Needless to say, big cities like the capital city would not only decorate their shops with lanterns and decorations, but the imperial court would also take out a portion of the funds to decorate the entire city. The main streets of the city would be filled with a festive atmosphere, making the city appear more festive. This was also to give back to the people.
For example, Chang 'an City was like this. Every year during the Chinese New Year, the imperial court would take out a large amount of funds to buy various materials and make festive items such as palace lanterns. They would hang them on the streets for the people to enjoy. In recent years, due to the increase in the imperial court's financial resources, the lantern festival was held bigger and bigger each year. The funds were also increasing. The materials used for lighting were also changed from candles to lamps. The brightness and safety were greatly improved.
However, with the increasing demand of the people, the pressure on the imperial court was also increasing. If the lanterns that had been seen in the first year were stored for a year and used again in the second year, the people who were tired of it would complain that the imperial court was too insincere.
It was just like a person who often ate meat. After eating too much, he wouldn't feel anything. He would always feel that the taste wasn't as good as before, so he would want to eat better meat to satisfy his needs. It could also be called insatiable greed.
However, the lanterns at the lantern festival were very good when they saw them for the first time. If they saw the same lanterns every year, they would indeed feel that it was boring. After all, no matter how beautiful something was, there would be a time when they would be tired of it. Moreover, the Chinese Zodiac was different every year. Naturally, the old ones could not be used.
In the past, when the imperial court's financial resources were tight, the lanterns were mainly used to decorate the streets in front of the imperial city during the Chinese New Year. In recent years, not only did the streets in front of the imperial city need to be well decorated, but many lively places also needed to have lanterns. In this way, the people who saw the lanterns could spread out and enjoy them, thus solving the problem of congestion that was getting more and more serious.
At the moment when the population of Chang 'an City continued to increase, no matter what they did, they had to consider the capacity of the traffic. This was because once the traffic could not bear it, it would cause a very serious congestion problem. The traffic in the city would be seriously paralyzed, seriously affecting the people's travel and daily life.
In the past, when the population was not large, even if all the people in the capital flocked to the front of the imperial city to see the lanterns, it could still accommodate them. However, as the population continued to increase, the congestion would become increasingly worse. The streets in front of the imperial city could not accommodate all the people in Chang 'an City. Coupled with the influx of people from outside the city, the traffic pressure would be even greater.
It was precisely because of this that the imperial court chose to hold the lantern festival in different places in the city. They even set up a few spots outside the city. In this way, the people did not have to flock to the same place after the lantern festival started. Instead, they could look at the lanterns in different places. After they saw one spot, they would go to the next spot, and the people at the next spot would have already gone to the next spot. By going back and forth to see the scenery, they could maximize the flow of people and reduce the traffic pressure to the minimum.
However, in this way, there would be a problem. That was, the financial pressure would be too great. In the past, they only needed to decorate one street. The cost was a base. However, as the number of lanterns increased, the amount of money needed to be spent naturally increased. This was naturally not a small burden, and it was borne by the imperial court.
It was precisely because of this heavy burden that when someone proposed to add a few more lanterns, the official in charge of this matter immediately asked for money. However, the official in charge of the finance naturally could not afford so much money, so he was very opposed to adding more lanterns. This was a very helpless matter. After all, the imperial court could not afford to add enough money.
Logically speaking, the income of the imperial court was very high now. They still had the money to make more lanterns during the New Year. However, the imperial court needed to spend more money. Moreover, many things were more meaningful than making lanterns. Naturally, the imperial court could not spend too many resources on this kind of thing. Otherwise, they would be suspected of being defeated.
On one hand, the increasing population had higher requirements for entertainment. On the other hand, the imperial court's finances could not be spent too much on entertainment. As a result, there was a contradiction, and it was a contradiction that was difficult to satisfy both sides.
For this reason, the imperial court official in charge of the Lantern Festival was worried to death because he could not meet many targets. For example, it was not allowed to be too congested. At the same time, it was not allowed to add additional lanterns. Each lantern had to be unique. It could not be the same lanterns from last year and the year before. The lanterns from three years ago were definitely broken. Therefore, new lanterns had to be made every year. The cost could be imagined.
It was indeed a bit difficult to not give more money but to make a better effect. Anyone who received such a task would be very worried. In recent years, there would always be some small mistakes in the annual Lantern Festival. For example, because there were too many people, there would be trampling accidents. Due to vandalism, the lanterns would break when they were still in use. There were even people who watched the Lantern Festival every year who were dissatisfied with the novelty of the Lantern Festival. They felt that there was not much difference compared to last year. There was no feeling of surprise at all.
This could not be blamed on the organizers. It was because the imperial court's funding was limited. Moreover, they were not professional designers. Every time they received money, they would hand over the task of building the lanterns to the craftsmen under them and let them complete the task quickly. These craftsmen also wanted to earn money. Naturally, they would not spend too much effort to design and cater to the desires of the people who watched the lanterns. Even though some of the lanterns were brand new, their appearance did not change much compared to a few years ago. Sometimes, they would only change the color and size. Obviously, it was difficult for the people to be satisfied.
For example, in the first year, the child-giving Guanyin's clothes were green. In the second year, it would change to pink. In the third year, it would be gray. Because the size was man-made, it was inevitable that there would be some differences. However, the feeling it gave to the audience was actually the same. Seeing similar lanterns every year, they would more or less feel a little tired. Naturally, they would not be so happy in their hearts. Unless it was a young man who accompanied his lover to enjoy the lanterns, perhaps they would have a different mood. Or perhaps it was a parent with a child who would be happy to see their child happy. However, overall, the amount of funding increased year after year, but the feeling it gave to the people was getting worse year after year. This was because the needs of the people had increased, and the imperial court could not satisfy them in time.
While wandering in the city, Ang Lee accidentally learned about this matter. Seeing that the official in charge of this matter was frowning, he decided to help. He also wanted to let the people in the capital see more and more wonderful lanterns and increase the atmosphere of the New Year.
The lanterns in the capital of the Tang dynasty were all funded and built by the imperial court. Although the imperial court was very rich, it could not afford the vast area of the capital and the numerous streets. Naturally, there was a lot of pressure. Ang Lee's first thought was to use the power of businessmen to let them join in the construction of the lanterns. As long as the businessmen joined in, the lanterns could be placed all over the streets. Even all the streets of the Tang dynasty could be filled with lanterns.
If you want merchants to take the initiative to do this, you must let them taste a little sweetness. In other words, you must let them get some benefits. Only then will they work hard to do this. If they can't get any benefits, even if you force them, they won't work hard to do it. You can't do it half-heartedly. You can't do it well. You can't do it well.
It cost a lot of money to make the lanterns, but the lanterns made could also be used to advertise their products and let the people who saw the lanterns remember this product. This could greatly promote the sales of this product and bring real huge benefits to the businessmen. As a result, the businessmen would probably fight to make the lanterns. Even for many big-name businessmen, making lanterns for their products could improve the reputation of their products. This was more important than anything else.
The effect of directly advertising this matter might not be very good. Only by making an example first, the businessmen would know how to imitate. Ang Lee decided to personally make a lantern for his mirror product. It would be a large one, but not too big. Because of the limited time, if he made a lantern that was too big, he might not be able to wait until the New Year.
The specific time needed to make the lantern had a lot to do with the size of the lantern and the manpower used. If there was enough manpower, even a large lantern could be completed in one or two days. After all, the lantern only had a small structure. As long as the materials were sufficient and the manpower was sufficient, it naturally wouldn't take a long time.
"This official has already drawn up the blueprint. Just build it according to this blueprint. You have one day. This official will only give you one day. You must make it for this official, no matter how much manpower you use or how much money you spend."
Ang Lee gave the blueprint of the lantern he personally drew to a craftsman he knew and ordered.
Although the time given was too short, Ang Lee believed that it wouldn't be difficult to make a lantern. As long as he worked overtime, he could complete it in one day.
The old craftsman looked embarrassed, but seeing Ang Lee's meaning, there was no room for negotiation. So, he had to bite the bullet and said, "Assistant Minister Li, don't worry. I will let the people below stop all the work in their hands and make this lantern before tomorrow evening."
"Good, very good. How much money do you need? Just ask my butler. You won't be short of a penny."
Ang Lee said happily.
Since the task had been accepted, the lantern craftsman had no choice but to stop all the work in his hands and complete the mirror lantern for Ang Lee first. Then, he would have time to complete the rest of the lanterns.
The more people there were, the more power there was. At noon the next day, the lantern that Li An had requested had already been made by the lantern craftsmen. They also informed Li An immediately. However, Li An still had things to do, so he had his servants take a look and immediately request that the lantern be placed in the most conspicuous center of the Vermillion Bird Avenue in the capital, which was right in front of the southern gate of the Imperial City. This place was more spacious and had a larger flow of people, so it was more convenient for display.
Although it wasn't time to open the lantern festival yet, Ang Lee wanted to publicize it in advance so that the merchants passing by could see how he promoted his mirror products. In addition, there were a lot of big words around the lantern. It was clearly written that the imperial court recruited merchants to advertise the lantern at their own expense. As long as the merchant was interested, he could ask someone to make a lantern and put it on the streets of the capital to promote his products. He could even write the specific location of his shop so that people who saw the lantern could accurately find the shop that advertised it.
When the lantern was just put in place, it didn't attract much attention. After all, it was daytime, and the effect of the lantern was not obvious. But once it was night, the effect was very different. Under the illumination of the light, the lantern was very colorful. It would inevitably attract a lot of people to come and see it. It could also let the merchants see the effect of the advertisement.
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