"Cough, cough …"
In the end, Jing Emperor was suffering from asthma. Now that he had solved the difficult problem, he was happy and laughed a few times. However, he could not catch his breath and coughed violently.
Changde's expression changed and hurried forward to support him. Jing Emperor stroked his chest. After a moment, his breathing finally calmed down.
"Official Yan, you said that a large number of warhorses need to be replaced every year. Most of it is due to the wear and tear of the horses' hooves. What if there is a way to prevent the horses' hooves from getting worn out?" Jing Emperor smiled and looked at the Minister of War, Yan Bing.
Yan Bing was stunned for a moment. He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, if there is such a way, the annual cost of warhorses can be reduced by more than 70%."
He paused and said, "It's just that … since ancient times, countless people have tried to prevent the horses' hooves from getting worn out, but no one has ever succeeded."
Yan Bing naturally knew that if the horses' hooves could be prevented from getting worn out, then there would be no need to spend so much on horses. However, the problem was that for so many years, people in the Ministry of War had been studying and trying to solve this problem. They had done countless experiments, but all of them had ended in failure.
If this matter was really as easy as His Majesty said, how could no one solve it for so long?
"Changde, show these to Official Yan." Jing Emperor smiled and handed him the paper with the strange pattern.
Yan Bing took the pieces of paper from Changde's hands, feeling very puzzled. From the looks of it, could it be that someone had really solved this ancient problem?
Full of curiosity and doubt, he cast his eyes on the paper.
The first thing he saw was a strange pattern in the shape of a semicircle. He stretched out his index finger and thumb to make a gesture, and then continued to read the words below the pattern.
"Horseshoe?" He murmured and read in a low voice, "Nail this on the horse's hooves to avoid direct contact between the hooves and the ground. There is no need to worry about the horse's hooves getting worn out. If the horseshoe is damaged, just replace it with a new one …"
As his eyes moved down, Yan Bing held the paper and stared at the pattern on the paper. He was stunned.
"It's … so simple!" At this time, he had forgotten that he was in the imperial study. His beard trembled and he couldn't help but say loudly.
A problem that had troubled countless people for thousands of years could be easily solved with just a few small iron bars. Why hadn't he thought of this before?
Moreover, after the hooves of the horses were equipped with iron bars, they would be able to adapt to even harsher environments. No matter how much gravel there was on the ground, as long as the hooves of the horses did not come into contact with the ground, they would not have to worry about the hooves being worn out or cracked. The safety of the cavalry and the warhorses would be guaranteed, and their battle strength would definitely rise to a new level.
"I don't know which hero came up with such a wonderful method, only using a few cheap iron bars. From now on, there will be no need to worry about the horse's hooves being worn out, and it can also save a lot of money for the national treasury. I congratulate Your Majesty!"
Yan Bing put away the paper and said excitedly.
The Minister of Revenue saw that Yan Bing seemed to have changed into a different person. He didn't mention anything about the horse fares at all. He was curious about the contents of the piece of paper.
What could have made His Majesty and the Minister of War so agitated?
"I didn't expect that this time, he would solve a difficult problem for us, the ruler and the minister." Emperor Jing was in a good mood. He touched the short beard on his chin and said, "I originally wanted to let him train there for a few years before transferring him to the capital. If I reward him again and again, I'm afraid that it will breed his arrogance … Forget it, I will remember this credit for him for the time being and calculate it all in the future."
Chang De naturally knew who the "he" that Emperor Jing was talking about was, but the two Ministers were confused. They only knew that the Emperor attached great importance to this person who had come up with the plan and seemed to entrust him with great power in the future.
They just didn't know who this person was. After all, they had been the ruler and the minister for so many years, but they had never seen His Majesty attach so much importance to anyone …
…
Li Yi had waited for several days, but MIngzhu did not mention anything about rewards.
Well, this time he had really worked in vain again.
Perhaps she treated a few small iron bars as treasures. The Emperor and the court did not care about them at all.
This woman had long hair and short knowledge. She made a fuss when she saw a novel thing and made him look forward to it for nothing.
He thought that the Emperor would reward him with a few acres of land and a few bolts of silk. Then, he would not have drawn those pictures and written those words in vain. It seemed that he had thought too much.
It was really boring in the yamen. He changed into casual clothes and leisurely walked out of the yamen without asking Fang to follow him.
Qing 'an Prefectural City was the center of Qing' an Prefecture's culture, economy, politics … Anyway, it was the center of everything. Except for festivals, it was usually very lively.
Li Yi wandered on the street, inspecting the people. Along the way, he saw many acquaintances.
The Liu family's candied haws had now taken root in the prefectural city. On every street, there were Willow Leaf Village villagers holding candied haws. Most of them were from the Liu family. Sometimes, when they saw Li Yi, they would warmly greet him.
Every day, they only needed to hold a stick full of candied haws and stand there. They didn't need to shout or hawk their wares, and business would automatically come to them. Every day, they would bring back a lot of copper coins … Such an easy way to make money, they didn't even dare to think about it a few months ago.
Although they still had to hand over half of the profits, which made them uncomfortable, the remaining half was enough for them to live a comfortable life that they didn't even dare to think about before.
Fang and the others were the first to sell candied haws. For a period of time, the business was handed over to their wives or trusted relatives. Now, the supplies of Ruyi Workshop were all provided by the Prince's Mansion. The workshops in the village had stopped, so they were all free. Sometimes, they would come here to have a look and supervise.
As the earliest employees, they all had dividends from the profits of Ruyi dew and spirits. At the end of every month, they just had to sit at home and count the money.
When passing by Ruyi Workshop, Li Yi stood at the door and looked around. There were many customers. At first, the girls were a little unfamiliar with this place. Now, they had taken care of everything here. He looked at it from afar and didn't go in.
Next to Ruyi Workshop was the Wa Market. Li Yi had been there once before. In ancient times, there was a lack of entertainment activities. Naturally, it couldn't be compared to the cinema or KTV in modern times. But now, he had no choice. Listening to a few songs and watching a few songs and dances was much better than sitting in the county government office and staring blankly.
The Wa Market was very spacious. There were many temporary viewing sheds. They were very simple and were surrounded by railings. Inside, there were opera singers, dancers, and singers. After paying ten copper coins at the door, one could enjoy the performances here.
Of course, these viewing sheds were the lowest level of entertainment. Most of the people who gathered here were ordinary people who were not well-off.
In addition to these viewing sheds, there were theaters, teahouses, pubs, and even brothels. Of course, these places were more high-end and ordinary people couldn't afford them.
The one that Li Yi went to last time was a larger scale brothel. In terms of luxury, it couldn't be compared to those restaurants and brothels with green bricks and glazed tiles. But it was much better than those simple viewing sheds.
"Sir, what would you like to order?"
It was still the waiter from last time. When he saw someone coming in, he asked with a smile.
"What do you have here?" Li Yi had drunk a lot of tea in the government office recently. Moreover, the tea here didn't taste good. He didn't plan to drink it this time.
"Tea," the waiter said with a smile.
"What else?"
"Only tea." The waiter smiled a little awkwardly.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
