Chapter 505: Okay, let's talk about the conditions.

When Gu Yufan and his companions went to take the provincial examination, news came from Kyoto.

The imperial teacher attempted to rebel, but was beheaded in front of the emperor by the prince who was well prepared.

After this riot, His Majesty was ill and unable to attend court, so he could only authorize the Crown Prince to govern the country.

After the Crown Prince became Regent, he issued three imperial edicts asking Jiang Luli to return to the capital to participate in politics, but he refused them all.

He is now busy teaching in Taohua Village. How can he have the time to care about those dark things in the court?

The prince had no choice. He didn't want to force his cousin, so he could only get up before dawn to deal with state affairs.

After just three months, my cheeks, which once had some baby fat, had become sunken. The clothes I made last month felt a little empty when I wore them this month.

Looking up at the memorials piled high on the desk, the prince suddenly understood why his cousin was unwilling to seize power.

He works as soon as he opens his eyes. What kind of top-notch ox horse is this?

This life is really not a life for human beings!

Cousin, why don’t you come back and seize power!

I'll let you, I'll let you, I'll even abdicate to you. I really don't want to review memorials anymore!

"Your Highness, Princess Hui'an requests an audience."

Hui'an? Yip Wan-tong?

This sister either stays at home or goes to the Gewusi every day. How come she suddenly has time to come to see him?

"Let her in."

Ye Yuntang entered the imperial study and was startled by the sight of the Crown Prince sitting on the high platform. "Your Highness, although my seventy or eighty sisters-in-law each have their own charm, you must also learn to be restrained!"

The prince blushed. "What nonsense are you spouting, little girl? Are you a little girl like you capable of such talk? It seems your mother is too lax in her discipline. Tomorrow I'll send eighteen maids to your home to teach you proper etiquette and culture!"

Ye Yuntang wanted to slap himself twice. Why was he so mean?

And this Crown Prince, he really can't take a joke at all!

"Oh, brother, I was just kidding. We at the Gewu Division have come up with something really good recently. Do you want to take a look?"

She said that it was researched by the Gewusi, but in fact it was researched by her, Ye Yuntang.

The people in the Gewusi were at most helping her and learning from her.

"Oh? What good stuff is that? Take it out and show it to me!"

"Of course I'll show it to you, but after you've seen it, if you think it's useful, then we need to discuss terms."

After staying in Kyoto for such a long time, she had more or less figured out the personalities and thoughts of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Emperor.

Anyway, as long as you are useful and your requests are not excessive, they will basically meet your needs.

As expected, the prince didn't think much of it. "Okay, show it to me first. If I like it, I'll definitely satisfy the reasons you give me!"

After receiving the promise, Ye Yuntang said with a smile, "This thing is a bit dangerous and it's not suitable to be in this place. Let's go to the martial arts training ground. I've asked the craftsmen to put the things there in advance."

oh?

The prince became interested, and it was a good reason and excuse for him to stop reviewing these troublesome memorials.

"Let's go, I want to see what surprise you have for me."

The two of them arrived at the training grounds and could see from afar that they had undergone some modifications. There were several targets set up in the distance, and some fruits and vegetables were hung, but no one was left.

On the other side, there were several craftsmen standing. In front of them was a table, and in front of the table was a round, cylindrical iron object.

I can't tell what it is, I've never seen it before.

The prince reached out to touch it, but the craftsmen quickly stopped him. "Your Highness, this thing is extremely dangerous. Please stand back and let us demonstrate it to you."

Ye Yuntang also agreed. "Yes, yes, this thing has just been developed, and its performance in all aspects is not particularly stable yet. There is a certain degree of danger, so Your Highness should stay away from it."

It wasn't that Ye Yuntang had been assimilated by this era and believed that human life was worthless. Rather, compared to others, the prince's life was too valuable. If he were in any danger, all nine of their clans would be enough to kill him.

Those craftsmen went to test it out, and if they succeeded, they would be rewarded. If they lost their lives due to failure, Ye Yuntang would definitely compensate their families.

No matter what, he won't lose.

The craftsmen all thought so, so when Ye Yuntang was selecting people for the experiment, they signed up very actively.

Who doesn’t want to go down in history and receive a hefty reward?

The prince was not one to take risks, and he even cherished his life very much. After hearing what everyone said, he decisively moved away from that iron lump.

I saw one of the craftsmen take the iron lump in his hand, put some things on it, then raised his hand, closed his eyes and aimed.

“Pah…”

After a sound neither loud nor soft, something flew out from the middle of the iron lump and hit the cabbage hanging in the distance.

The cabbage seemed to be hit by something heavy and instantly shattered into pieces, scattered everywhere.

The prince was shocked. "What kind of weapon is this? It's so powerful!"

"I call it a bird gun. It's a single-soldier firearm. I tested it on a cabbage because our craftsmen don't have a basic shooting skill. If a skilled archer used it, they should be able to accurately shoot flying birds. That's why I gave it that name."

"Your Highness must have heard the saying that the only way to defeat martial arts is to be faster. However, in the face of such firearms, no matter how fast a martial artist is, he cannot outrun a bullet!"

"If all our soldiers in Dagan were equipped with this weapon, and could kill the enemy from a distance with just one shot, would anyone still dare to challenge us?"

"As long as I have this thing, expanding my territory and unifying the world will no longer be a dream!"

Ye Yuntang only said two simple words, but they made His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's blood boil.

He had already imagined that Da Gan would be successful under his leadership.

Dagan's cavalry will trample all the mountains and rivers, and all countries will crawl at their feet, paying tribute to them year after year in order to seek Dagan's protection!

"Great! Great! Is this thing difficult to produce? What materials are needed? Just tell me what you want, and we'll mass-produce it as quickly as possible!"

"By the way, you just said you needed archers, right? Then I'll assign the archery battalion from the Beijing Suburban Camp to you. You train them, and you must train a group of sharpshooters for me as quickly as possible!"

Ye Yuntang smiled and led His Royal Highness the Crown Prince into a room not far away.

He pulled out a number of blueprints from his pocket. "My brother, this shotgun is just the beginning. The things in these blueprints are dozens of times better than the shotgun!"

The prince looked at the blueprints. Not only were there guns and cannons, but there were also ships...

Installing cannons on ships?

If they work hard, won't they be invincible in the sky, underground and in the water?

But he knew that there were many lands beyond that ocean, where lived people of all kinds, with blue eyes, blond hair, and black skin!

If there were such a warship...

The prince could no longer control his body and stood up. "What do you want?"

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has similar ideas to his father. When it comes to someone who is useful to him, he is not afraid of him making requests, but rather is afraid of him not making any requests!

Where there is a demand, there is a desire. Once you satisfy it, he will serve you wholeheartedly.

But you have no way to control those who have no desires or demands. Their behavior and thoughts will not change for your benefit.

Such people are uncontrollable, so they can only be nipped in the bud as quickly as possible.

So when Ye Yuntang mentioned his request, the prince was actually relieved.

In fact, Ye Yuntang was also very nervous at this time.

Everything they did today was discussed with Gu Jiayue. They had already paid a lot for it, so they could only succeed and not fail.

She took a deep breath and adopted a negotiating stance. "I want women of great ability to take the imperial examinations, enter the imperial court, and become officials!"

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince looked at Ye Yuntang in disbelief. The shock he felt at that moment was no less than the design drawings he had just seen.

"Do you know what you're talking about?"

"Of course I know! I already have so many things now, I really can't think of what I want anymore. So as a woman, I naturally have to seek some benefits for us women!"

"Your Highness, please consider carefully whether you would like to agree to my request. As long as you agree and can do it, I promise to help you realize the design within three years!"

In fact, it doesn't need three years, it's just that things can't be obtained too easily. If you get it too easily, you won't cherish it and you won't see the hard work that went into making it.

It will also give these superiors the illusion that this thing is too simple and not worth mentioning.

Therefore, the more difficult it is to appear, the better, so that you can negotiate the terms and value properly.

"Your request is too much! You have to know that allowing women to serve as officials in the court, let alone me being the prince, even if I... that is not something I can decide alone." The prince felt that the design drawings in his hands were too hot to handle.

But the future it carries is too beautiful, and he is unwilling to let go.

A long silence fell in the room. Finally, Ye Yuntang took a step back. "I know, I'm not asking His Royal Highness to promise me that I must do this immediately. Can we do it step by step? For example, start by implementing a female official system in the harem?"

"Your Highness, the system of female officials I propose is not meant to imitate the previous dynasty's female rulers, but rather to fill the current management gap. Currently, most harem affairs are managed by eunuchs or relatives of the emperor's wife. Eunuchs are prone to forming cliques, and relatives of the emperor's wife are prone to seeking personal gain. Female officials are selected from good families, free from the ties of family power. They are only responsible for the execution of affairs and do not participate in decision-making and discussion. They can help Your Highness to manage miscellaneous tasks and restore peace to the harem and related government offices."

"We can first set up six bureaus of female officials in the harem. This will not only keep the harem in order, but also reduce the eunuchs' interference in government affairs. It is indeed a good policy. If our dynasty implements this policy now, firstly, it can help Your Highness manage the miscellaneous affairs of the inner court, allowing Your Highness to focus on government affairs; secondly, it can make up for the lack of women's affairs management, improve people's livelihood and increase tax revenue; thirdly, it can reduce the opportunities for eunuchs and relatives to use the management of affairs for personal gain. It is truly a three-pronged approach to consolidate imperial power and stabilize the world. If Your Highness has any doubts, you can first set up a pilot bureau in the harem and observe its effectiveness before expanding it. The risks are controllable and the benefits are obvious."

Ye Yuntang spoke out the words he had prepared long ago.

She started reciting this passage three days in advance, fearing that she would be unable to say anything out of nervousness.

The prince is not a fool. Although he has a softer personality and is more prone to crying, he possesses all the imperial mentality that a superior and heir to the dynasty should have.

The long speech Ye Yuntang just said was obviously prepared in advance.

This girl is very smart. She has long wanted to retreat in order to advance.

But this little thought was very naive, and even a novice like him could see it. But after hearing these words, the prince was indeed shaken.

Seeing that the prince did not refute him, Ye Yuntang became bolder.

She pointed again at the blueprints on the table. "The truth lies within the range of our cannons. Once we master these things, no one will dare to question any of your decisions. By then, let alone implementing a system of female officials, you can even have them retire whenever you want."

"Once these things are built, our territory will expand again and again, and the need for management talents will definitely increase. So seriously speaking, it won't affect the interests of the officials of the previous dynasty at all. What's more, men and women work together, and the work is not tiring. They fought in the frontier and expanded the territory, and women in the harem are also a great help in ensuring people's livelihood and logistics!"

What Ye Yuntang said was so tempting that the prince felt he had no way to refuse.

Ye Yuntang added another dose of shocking information. "These things, only I can make! Even if His Royal Highness takes these designs away, without me, you won't be able to make them for at least fifty years!"

After all, she is not stupid, and a lot of the data has been tampered with by her.

It's not that there aren't skilled craftsmen in Dagan. It's just that if you want to make the right thing with wrong data, you'll have to take more than eighteen detours.

After a long moment, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince sighed. "I need to discuss this with my father!"

"No problem. Once you've come up with the results, remember to let me know and I'll start production right away."

"You, you!" The prince looked at his adopted sister helplessly.

His cousin really found him a very good helper.

But I'm still so tired. Cousin, when will you come back to seize power?