Inside the Imperial Palace!
Li Shimin listened to Pande's respectful report on the Firearms Supervisor. When he heard Meton's arrangement, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"That's good. This way, the tragedy of Taoist Shenxiao will not happen again." Li Shimin said.
Even he could not find any fault with this fire protection arrangement. This way, the fire threat of the Firearms Supervisor would be minimized.
Although Li Shimin was usually rude to Meton, if he did not value him, he would not have sent his most elite cavalry to guard the Firearms Supervisor.
Moreover, Meton was not only important to the Mo family, but also to the entire Tang dynasty. The two exhibitions of Meton's skills had fully proved the value of the Mo family and the Tang dynasty. If Meton had an accident, it would be the greatest loss to the Tang dynasty.
"If that's the case, then Moton's been staying in the Firearms Surveillance Unit." Li Shimin suddenly said in surprise. He was not used to not hearing any news about Mo Jiazi these days.
Pande bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Marquis Merton has been eating and living in the Firearms Supervisor recently. He has been urging the Firearms Supervisor to hurry up and has not taken a step out of the Firearms Supervisor."
Li Shimin coldly snorted and said, "Don't tell me you are even saving money on food to save money!"
Pande grinned and did not answer. He presented a memorial and said, "This is Merton's memorial to double the salary of the Firearms Supervisor. Please review it, Your Majesty."
"Double the salary!" Li Shimin could not help but frown.
This time, Meton was not only wasting his own family, but also the imperial court. Moreover, he first arranged for the Firearms Supervisor's craftsmen to live in the Imperial Plantation, then gave them free medical treatment, and finally doubled their salary. This was the typical style of a prodigal son.
He had no objection to doubling the salary of these craftsmen. He valued gunpowder very much. This kind of weapon that could destroy cities was the foundation of the Tang dynasty to establish itself in the world! After all, the weaponsmiths of the Firearms Surveillance Bureau were restricted, so it was only right for them to be compensated.
However, when he saw an inconspicuous name on the memorial, he narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "Meton, you little catfish are really slippery. So this is what you want. You also want to double your salary."
He saw that Meton had secretly added his name on the salary increase memorial. Unfortunately, it was discovered by the sharp-eyed Li Shimin.
With a wave of his hand, Li Shimin erased Meton's name and said, "Apart from Meton, everyone else's salary will be doubled."
"Yes!" Pande replied.
"How is the production of gunpowder going?" Li Shimin let out a sigh of relief and asked in a carefree manner.
Pande reported, "According to Deng Chong's report, the first batch of about five thousand jin of gunpowder has been completed. We are just waiting for Baiqi to deliver it to the gunpowder base."
"Five thousand jin!" Li Shimin nodded with satisfaction.
Meton was a spendthrift, but he was also very efficient. He could produce five thousand jin of gunpowder in ten days. When it was time to go to war, he would definitely be able to produce tens of thousands of jin of gunpowder, enough for the Battle of Tuyuhun.
As for Meton's proposal to increase the production and storage of gunpowder, as well as various confidentiality measures, Li Shimin was very pleased.
"No wonder you did such a good job of keeping secrets, even …" Li Shimin chuckled and stopped talking.
No matter how good Meton's confidentiality work was, it still couldn't escape his eyes. However, the only thing that annoyed him was that he still hadn't been able to decipher Meton's coded love letter.
"Don't let me catch you with real evidence!" Li Shimin sneered.
When Li Shimin's decree to double the salary was passed to the Firearms Division, the entire Firearms Division was in an uproar.
"Thank you, Lord Chancellor!" All of the craftsmen bowed and saluted Meton sincerely when they met him.
As ordinary craftsmen, all they wanted was to support their families. Although the Firearms Division's mission was a bit dangerous and the requirements were harsh, when they saw the double salary, all of their complaints disappeared.
"That's what everyone deserves!" Meton's face was full of smiles, but his heart couldn't help but bleed. Li Shimin was really too stingy. Everyone's salary had been doubled, but only his remained the same. If this wasn't revenge, then what was?
It had already been a full month since the Firearms Division was rebuilt. Tomorrow was a rest day. When the sun set in the west, the craftsmen left one by one under the escort of a hundred mounted soldiers.
"Marquis Merton isn't going back?" Xue Rengui couldn't help but ask when he saw that Meton still didn't have any intention of moving after everyone had left.
Meton's face suddenly stiffened. He shook his head and said, "I have been entrusted by the emperor. I haven't made any achievements in the Firearms Division. Returning to the Mo Estate is fine. It's better to continue researching firearms in the Firearms Division."
Xue Rengui's face was full of admiration. He said, "Marquis Merton is really loyal. He's a role model for our generation."
Meton's face turned red. It wasn't that he didn't want to go back, but that he didn't dare to. Tomorrow was the release day of Mo Magazine, and Liang Zhu was going to serialize the next issue. He didn't want to be blocked by all of Chang 'an's citizens sending razor blades. He could only hide in the Firearms Division.
"Officer Xue, aren't you also not going back?" Meton quickly changed the topic.
Xue Rengui shook his head and said, "I live in Hedong. It's only a day, so I can't get home. I don't have any relatives in Chang 'an. Naturally, I have no place to go."
Meton nodded and suddenly asked, "I heard that Officer Xue was originally from a good family in Hedong. Why did you suddenly want to join the army and even join the Hundred Mounted Soldiers?"
Xue Rengui looked at Meton strangely and said, "Speaking of which, this matter is related to Marquis Merton."
"Oh!" Meton suddenly raised his eyebrows and listened to Xue Rengui's words.
"When Marquis Merton first entered the Imperial College, he wrote three frontier poems. Every line was popular and fascinating. My family used to be farmers and only had some strength. When I heard Merton's three frontier poems, my passion surged and I couldn't wait to throw myself into the battlefield. After I joined the army, I was just in time to join the Hundred Mounted Soldiers. I admired Chang 'an, so I joined the Hundred Mounted Soldiers," Xue Rengui said proudly.
Meton suddenly realized that the butterfly effect was the effect of his three frontier poems. With Xue Rengui's skills, it was natural for him to join the Hundred Mounted Soldiers.
"I didn't expect that you and I would have such a fate. It's fate that we can work together now." Meton said guiltily.
Xue Rengui nodded in agreement and couldn't help but sigh at the wonders of fate.
"Oh right! This one really likes Marquis Mo's Ink Journal, especially Marquis Mo's Zhu Liang. I'll never get tired of reading it! "Xue Rengui exclaimed excitedly, as if he was a fan who had just seen an author.
"Is that so?" Meton said with a dry smile.
"Oh right, next time, will Liang Shan Bo know that Zhu Yingtai is a girl?" Xue Rengui asked curiously.
"Uh! Mo Magazine will be released tomorrow. You'll know when you read it. There's no point in revealing it in advance. "Meton said and immediately fled.
"That's true!" Xue Rengui nodded in agreement.
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