Many people in the imperial court knew when Ang Lee would arrive in the capital. Therefore, before the carriage entered the station, he saw a large group of officials coming to greet him. There were more than two hundred people.
These guys really had nothing to do. Instead of dealing with government affairs, they were doing these flattering things. However, if no one came to greet him, it would seem that Ang Lee was not popular. Therefore, Ang Lee was not so disgusted by people coming to greet him. He could just say a few polite words and get away with it.
After not returning for a month, the capital seemed to have become even more bustling. The streets were filled with an endless stream of people. In order to maintain order, the bailiffs and soldiers patrolled the streets in groups of three to five to deter the lawbreakers who wanted to destroy the stability of the capital.
After exchanging greetings with the officials who came to greet him, Ang Lee entered the palace. After being away for so long, there must be something to report to the Emperor. Although such a small matter could be handed over to the relevant ministers, it was not wrong to tell the Emperor. Otherwise, how could he explain what he had done in the north? He had to have something solid.
From a distance, Ang Lee saw a fleshy figure leaving the hall. Needless to say, this was the noble imperial concubine in the palace. This graceful and luxurious temperament could not be imitated by anyone. It was a unique existence in the palace.
The imperial concubine had just left, so the Emperor might have already rested. If so, Ang Lee would not disturb him and would go straight home.
"Assistant Minister Li, His Majesty is waiting for you."
A little eunuch saw that Ang Lee was hesitating and quickly ran over.
"Oh, okay."
Li An responded and hurriedly entered the main hall.
After saluting, Ang Lee stood with his hands down, waiting for the Emperor's inquiry.
"I have read the battle report. My dear minister, you did a good job. Without losing a single soldier, you caught hundreds of Horse Gangs in one fell swoop. It is also a good idea to let these Horse Gangs be used by the country!"
Li Longji first praised him and then asked, "What did you say in the letter about the officials in Summer Province who colluded with the Horse Gang? Are there really so many officials in Summer Province who colluded with the Horse Gang?"
Li Longji was very shocked that so many vermin had appeared in the country under his rule. Besides the shock, he was also very concerned about who had colluded with the Horse Gang. As long as the evidence was conclusive, he would not be soft-hearted and would definitely eradicate all these vermin to protect the rule of the Tang dynasty.
"Your Majesty, I found these in the Horse Gang's lair. These are only a part of the letters. There are more than a thousand of them in the box."
Ang Lee casually took out a few letters from his bosom and said.
"There are actually so many people colluding with the Horse Gang. This is outrageous."
Li Longji looked very angry. He quickly opened a letter and read a few words. He couldn't stand it anymore.
"Where are the Horse Gang Leader and the ringleader?"
Li Longji seemed to have something to ask the Horse Gang Leader and the ringleader, so he asked.
"Your Majesty, the Horse Gang Leader and the others have been taken to the capital. They should be in the prison now. If Your Majesty needs to bring them to trial, I will go to get them now."
Ang Lee said.
Li Longji thought for a moment and said, "Forget it! Come, have the Court of Judicial Review take full responsibility for this case. We have to get to the bottom of this matter. No matter who the culprit is, they must be severely punished. We can't tolerate the nurturing of evil and allow these pests to harm the Great Tang. "
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Hearing this, the attendant beside him hurriedly went to the Supreme Court to pass on the Emperor's decree.
Although the Emperor was very angry and wanted to take care of this case in person, it was more appropriate to let the Supreme Court handle the specific process of the case. He was old and didn't have much energy to try these annoying cases. He only needed to know the progress and results. If he did everything by himself, the Emperor would be exhausted to death. Especially the old Emperor, he couldn't afford it.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. It's just a small matter. The Supreme Court will handle it well. The illegal maggots can't escape. I have a few pictures of a chain of sunrises and sunsets. Your Majesty, please appreciate them."
Ang Lee said.
He had just reported a big piece of news, which made the Emperor unhappy. Now, he naturally had to say something happy to make the Emperor happy and ease his mood.
"Chain of sunrises and sunsets? What is a chain of pictures? I have never heard of it. "
It was the Emperor's first time hearing the term chain of pictures. He felt that it was quite fresh, so he asked.
"Your Majesty, this so-called chain of pictures is actually many pictures. Pictures of sunrises and sunsets at different times are drawn. In this way, when these pictures are put together, they form a chain of pictures. It will give people the illusion that they are looking at the sunrise. The effect is much better than looking at a fixed sunrise picture."
As Ang Lee spoke, he took out the pictures of sunrises and sunsets that he had drawn.
Because the pictures of sunsets would be a little depressing at the end, Ang Lee first took out the five pictures of sunrises and placed them in front of the Emperor.
These pictures weren't big, but they weren't small either. They were quite spectacular when placed in front of the Emperor.
"The east is white, and the surroundings are dark. This is when the sun has just risen. It's very vivid!"
The Emperor looked at the first picture and praised it happily.
He gently flipped over the first blueprint, and the second blueprint came into view.
"The sky is red, and the surrounding mountains and trees are much brighter. The sun is about to come out, haha!"
Li Longji commented with a smile. He continued to turn it over and saw the third picture.
"This is the best picture. The sun is half out, and the entire east is red. The mountains and rivers are also covered with a layer of green. Good, very good!"
Li Longji was in high spirits and said happily.
As he liked this picture very much, he looked at it for a long time before reluctantly turning it over and seeing the fourth picture.
"The sun has left the horizon, and the sky is completely bright. Only this river and the shade of the mountains are not completely illuminated!"
The Emperor glanced at the fourth picture and directly turned it over. He saw the last picture with the sun shining high in the sky.
"My beloved subject's drawing skills have improved a lot! This golden river is the Yellow River, right? What mountain is this? If I remember correctly, my beloved subject didn't pass by the Yellow River when you went to the north this time! "
Li Longji asked curiously.
Ang Lee said, "Your Majesty is right. This is indeed the Yellow River, and the mountain next to it is the mountain on the east bank of the Yellow River. Although I didn't pass by the Yellow River when I was in the north, I deliberately chose some time to go to the river to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Mother River. I also stood on a mountain peak, and I named it Tiantai Mountain. This mountain is very steep, like a platform in the air, so this name is the most appropriate."
"Tiantai Mountain, hmm, good name! Then this place will be called Tiantai Mountain in the future. "
Li Longji said happily.
"Your Majesty, if you turn these five pictures quickly, it will give people a feeling of motion, as if the sun is really rising little by little. I will show it to Your Majesty."
Ang Lee said as he put the five pictures together. Then, he turned them quickly to let the Emperor have a good look at these moving pictures.
"Oh, it's really like this! Good, very good! It's not easy to create the effect of a moving picture by putting a few stationary pictures together! "
Li Longji praised.
After looking at the sunrise map, Li Longji looked at the sunset map. When he finished looking at all the maps, Li Longji felt tired.
"My beloved subject's drawing is really good, but don't forget the more important thing! The telegraph machine is the thing that my beloved subject urgently needs to make. I'm still waiting for it. "
Li Longji was warning Ang Lee not to be distracted by trifles. He should not forget that he had more important things to do. Although drawing could cultivate one's mind, the invention of the telegraph machine should be Ang Lee's main task. The Emperor was most optimistic about these high-tech things. In ancient society, among scholars, farmers, businessmen, and craftsmen, reading was the highest rank. Craftsmen could only be ranked third, only a little higher than merchants. However, that was only for ordinary craftsmen. The things that Ang Lee was working on were not things that ordinary craftsmen could make. They were all very powerful high-tech things. Therefore, the Emperor would naturally pay more attention to it and would not look down on it just because it was done by craftsmen.
"Your Majesty, please rest assured. I will do my best to develop the new telegraph machine. Your Majesty, please wait for the good news!"
Ang Lee said confidently.
Li An was very clear about his own capabilities. As long as he continued to research and develop the new telegraph machine step by step, he would be able to develop it sooner or later. For Li An, this wasn't too difficult. It was a piece of cake!
After leaving the palace, Li An didn't go straight home. He wanted to buy some gifts on the streets first. Only then could he make the madams happy when he returned. If he didn't bring anything, the madams would probably be sad and upset.
As for what gifts to buy to make his wives happy, Ang Lee was naturally very experienced. He knew what kind of gifts his wives liked. As long as he bought the gifts his wives liked, it would make them very happy.
Since he was going to buy gifts, he couldn't leave anyone out. He had to prepare gifts for all the madams, and not a single one could be left out. Even the maids in the residence couldn't be forgotten. He had to prepare a gift for each of them. Only by making them happy would Li An be able to live more comfortably. As for the male servants, the most reliable strategy to win them over was to give them more money and let them go out to buy wine. This was more effective than any gift. After all, only women liked gold and silver jewelry. Men didn't care much about jewelry.
Because he had money in hand, Ang Lee was very capricious when buying gifts. He never considered whether the price was reasonable. As long as he liked the gift, he would buy it directly. That was not an ordinary generosity. This was in line with Ang Lee's identity. If he was stingy when buying gifts, it would not be in line with Ang Lee's identity.
Chang 'an City was really becoming more and more prosperous. The population was increasing, and the wealth was increasing. Especially rich people gathered together. Rich people could be seen everywhere. After the number of rich people increased, the development of luxury goods was driven. There were many rich people like Ang Lee who bought jewelry for their wives. Of course, there were also some who bought it for their lovers. In short, there were too many rich people, leading to the proliferation of luxury goods. To a certain extent, it also promoted the development of luxury goods.
Because there was demand, there would be development. When the customers felt tired of the style of luxury goods, it would give rise to the demand for new luxury goods. Many people would specially design a lot of new luxury goods, so as to constantly meet the needs of the customers.
This was the same in the future. The clothes that ordinary people bought last year would be outdated the next year. Then, they would have to buy the new style this year. Next year, there would be new styles, so they would have to buy new ones.
This strategy was good medicine to expand sales. If the style was the same every year, then the next year, who would be in the mood to buy new clothes? In this way, sales would not be smooth. Only by constantly introducing new products could they continue to attract customers to buy goods.
Ang Lee found that the jewelry in the capital changed very quickly. The best jewelry that he saw when he came a few months ago was now placed in the corner. The new jewelry, no matter from which aspect, seemed to be better than the previous jewelry. It made you want to buy it. As long as you had money in your pocket, it was easy to lose control of yourself.
Of course, this was talking about women who had a special love for jewelry. They had no resistance to jewelry. Men were much better, but if it was a rich man, in order to please the girl he liked, he could not help but buy some of the latest styles and give them to the young lady he liked. It was still very respectable.
There were many big and round local rich people who were shopping with Ang Lee in the jewelry store. Some of them even had beautiful young ladies. At first glance, it was obvious that they were concubines or mistresses secretly raised outside. It could be seen from the age gap. Many of them were one generation apart, but at first glance, it was obvious that they were not biological father and daughter. So, other than concubines and mistresses, what else could it be?
"How much is this jewelry worth?"
Ang Lee saw a very exquisite jewelry. Some of the materials in this exquisite jewelry came from Ang Lee's workshop. After being made into jewelry, it was so novel that Ang Lee praised it greatly. He felt that if he did not buy it, he would be sorry for himself.
This jewelry was actually an ordinary headdress, but the workmanship was very exquisite. The materials used were also the best materials. The most eye-catching thing was that the position where the jewelry should be placed was artificial amber, which made the headdress look more exquisite and novel.
This so-called artificial amber naturally came from Ang Lee's workshop. This was a gadget developed by Ang Lee himself. He did not expect it to be used by jewelry craftsmen. It could be said that it was very creative and worthy of praise.
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