"Hey, it's you, Arrester Li."
Fang knew that the female arrester in the yamen was not an ordinary person. Li Yi had also specifically warned him not to provoke her. Fang stopped what he was doing, turned around, and explained with a smile, "Young master said that if we nail the horse's hooves, we won't have to worry about the horse's hooves being worn out."
MIngzhu watched as the yamen runners held down the horse. The man who had been following Li Yi stuck a strangely shaped iron piece on the horse's hooves one by one and fixed it with iron nails. He stood there and fell into deep thought.
The maintenance and replacement of horses in the army cost a lot of money every year. More than 90% of horses were scrapped because their hooves were too worn out. Without hooves, horses naturally could not charge and break through enemy lines.
Over the years, no one had thought of solving the problem that had troubled generations of emperors and ministers with just a few small iron pieces …
After the iron pieces were nailed on the horse's hooves, the yamen runners dispersed. The horse immediately stood up and was led by Fang. It kept spinning on the spot, and the horse's hooves stepped on the bluestone slabs, making a clear sound.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see the use of the iron pieces at a glance.
After the iron pieces were nailed on the horse's hooves, the horse's hooves would not be in contact with the ground. This way, the horse could avoid being worn out. It only needed to change the iron pieces after a period of time. From then on, the imperial court would not have to worry about the huge amount of horse expenses every year. The service life of a warhorse would be greatly extended. In the long run, how much money would be saved?
MIngzhu was different from Li Yi and Fang. She was the princess of a country. When she thought about problems, she would often think from the perspective of the country. In a short moment, she thought of these things.
It could be said that the contribution of this small iron piece had surpassed all the previous contributions, including writing "Rules for Disciples", teaching cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and that novel interrogation method. These were not the work of a day and night, and could not be compared to the direct benefits created by this iron piece.
"Where is Li Yi?" She stepped forward and looked at Fang, her eyes slightly moving.
"In … in the county office."
Fang felt guilty under her gaze, so he pointed to the county government and said.
…
Li Yi was in the county government. All the work had been assigned to him. After sitting in the duty room for a long time, he felt bored and decided to go out for a walk.
After all, the county magistrate was one of the most powerful people in Anxi County. How could he always sit in the yamen? The higher his official position was, the more he had to mingle with the people. Therefore, he planned to take a stroll on the streets and experience the hardships of the people. Of course, he could also take the opportunity to relax.
Before he could walk out of the gate of the county government, he was blocked by MIngzhu.
"What's up?"
Li Yi looked at her and cursed his bad luck. He should have left a long time ago. Normally, if he bumped into her at the yamen, nothing good would come out of it.
"How did you come up with the idea to nail the iron under the horse's hooves?" MIngzhu looked at him and asked.
She was very curious. Why did he think of a problem that no one had thought of for thousands of years?
"Because if the iron is nailed, the horse's hooves won't be worn out." Li Yi said matter-of-factly.
MIngzhu was slightly stunned. His answer seemed to be nonsense, but after thinking about it carefully, it seemed to make sense.
The difference was that he was the only one who had thought of this for so many years.
Looking at the expression on MIngzhu's face, Li Yi knew that he might not be able to experience the hardships of the people on the streets today.
As expected, after a while, he returned to the duty room and wrote down the manufacturing method of horseshoes, how to nail the horse's hooves, and how to change the horseshoe in detail.
There was no concept of patent in this world. It seemed that this time, the invention of horseshoes was destined to be given to the country, and it was destined to be a one-way trip.
MIngzhu's bad habit made Li Yi feel that his remaining value was squeezed out. He received a meager salary as a county magistrate, but he did great things that benefited the country and the people. The salary he received was seriously inconsistent with the value he created.
The evil feudal society was more exploitative than the capitalist society …
After Li Yi finished writing, MIngzhu put the papers into an envelope. Without even saying a word of thanks, she disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Li Yi shook his head and sighed. At the same time, he lamented that he had met … met the princess.
"Send this letter to the capital at the fastest possible speed and hand it over to Imperial Father personally." Not long after, in an exquisite courtyard in Qing 'an Prefecture, MIngzhu handed the envelope to an armored man.
"Don't worry, Princess. I will definitely hand this letter to His Majesty as soon as possible." The guard of the princess's residence responded solemnly, flipped onto his horse, and quickly disappeared from sight.
"Just … how much more ability does he have?"
MIngzhu muttered to herself as she looked ahead, her eyes slightly dazed.
… …
"Lord Qin, why don't I give you 10,000 taels of silver and you solve the problem of changing warhorses this year?" In the Imperial Study of the Imperial Palace in the capital city, a man with a square face and a dignified expression waved his sleeves and glared angrily at another person opposite him.
The person opposite him laughed bitterly and said, "Lord Yan, 10,000 taels of silver is not a small amount. Last year's disaster was severe and a lot of money was spent on disaster relief. This year, the taxes of a few provinces have been reduced and the national treasury is not full. Besides, a few days ago, the Ministry of War has already allocated 100,000 taels of silver. Now that Lord Yan is asking for 50,000 taels of silver, where do we have that much money to give you?"
The man frowned and said, "That 100,000 taels of silver is the army's provisions and pay. Don't confuse it with this matter."
"Lord Yan, please don't make things difficult for the Ministry of Revenue. 10,000 taels of silver is the limit we can give." The Minister of Revenue looked at the man opposite him and showed no signs of relenting.
The man huffed coldly and said, "Recently, the border has been in a state of emergency several times. Sooner or later, we will have to go to war with the Qi Kingdom. At this critical juncture, our Jing Kingdom doesn't even have usable warhorses. Don't tell me Lord Qin doesn't know the importance of this matter?"
Hearing this, the Minister of Revenue did not say anything else. He could not bear the consequences and looked pleadingly at Emperor Jing, who was sitting at the top.
In the Imperial Study, Emperor Jing watched the two Ministers of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue oppose each other. Neither was willing to give in to the other. He rubbed the space between his brows and felt a headache coming on.
The cost of horses had always been an important expenditure. In previous years, perhaps it could be postponed. However, at this time, the border was in a state of emergency and could not be delayed at all. After some consideration, he decided to postpone other expenditures. The money that was to be allocated to the Ministry of War could not be skimped on.
Just as he was about to speak, Chang De, the Chief Housekeeper, pushed open the door and came in. He walked to his side and whispered a few words in his ear.
"A letter from MIngzhu?"
A trace of confusion appeared on his face and he said, "Let him in!"
"Read it!" Chang De said loudly to the outside of the hall.
The guard of the princess's residence walked in from outside the door. After kneeling and bowing, he presented the letter in his hand.
He had traveled day and night and changed horses several times at the relay station. Without any delay, he finally arrived at the capital.
Emperor Jing opened the envelope and took out a letter written by Princess Yongle. After reading it, a trace of astonishment appeared on his face. Then, he hurriedly opened the few pieces of paper in the envelope and read them. The smile on his face gradually widened.
"This Li Yi is indeed my lucky star!"
Emperor Jing slapped the few pieces of paper on the desk and said with a laugh.
In the hall, the two Ministers looked at each other with confusion on their faces.
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