That's absolutely terrifying!
If this thing were actually made, that would be great, but the fact that the Song Dynasty has now implemented some kind of patent law is a real pain.
Isn't this going to kill Zhang's Cloth Shop?
He had finally managed to establish connections with the imperial court, and Zhang's Cloth Shop was thriving with a bright future. He absolutely couldn't afford to have any problems at this crucial juncture!
He had a plan in mind and said to Gu Yongzhi, "Gu Shangguan, we can tell Master Tang that the spinning wheel was made by my Zhangji Cloth Shop and was originally intended to be presented to Master Tang, but it was shamelessly stolen by the Li family and they even registered a patent for it!"
Gu Yongzhi nodded: "That makes sense! That makes sense!"
After the two made their decision, Gu Yongzhi went to see Tang Ke.
It is said that Tang Ke's Bureau of Arts and Crafts, Bureau of Imperial Products, and so on, have been thriving in recent years, making the emperor a lot of money.
The fine silks, ceramics, and jades produced by the Bureau of Arts and Crafts were highly sought after in Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia. Furthermore, people from countries like India and Rome traveled thousands of miles to purchase them, treasuring the culture and craftsmanship of the Song Dynasty.
Tang Ke also became one of the emperor's most favored people.
Gu Yongzhi tidied himself up and hurriedly ran to see Tang Ke, handing him the blueprints for the Huaxing spinning wheel.
Tang Ke glanced at it, and his eyes immediately bulged out.
The composition of this spinning wheel is not complicated, but it is quite ingenious.
If you didn't see it, you would never imagine that a spinning wheel could be made like this!
Tang Ke's hands were trembling uncontrollably.
What's going on with the Song Dynasty lately?
How can this be so bizarre?
First came the steam locomotive, and now this spinning wheel!
Tang Ke tried his best to appear as a prime minister in front of his subordinates. Gu Yongzhi said, "Prime Minister, this item is called Zhang Ji Spinning Wheel. It was made by Zhang Qingyuan of Zhang Ji Cloth Shop. He specially asked me to present it to you."
"Zhang Qingyuan?" Tang Ke murmured the name to himself, "Is he the Zhang Qingyuan who recently opened his fifth cloth shop in Tokyo?"
Yes, it's him.
"I didn't realize he had such talent, but he could have patented this item, which would have been more beneficial to his cloth business."
“My lord, that’s what I told him too, but Zhang Qingyuan is stubborn and can’t understand.”
"Oh, why can't you see the difference?"
Gu Yongzhi hesitated for a moment and said, "He insists that this item cannot be kept for himself. He believes that his achievements are all due to the court and the policies of Minister Tang. Minister Tang is in charge of the Ministry of Commerce of the Song Dynasty and works hard day and night. He is willing to offer this item to Minister Tang."
Tang Ke was secretly delighted, but his intuition, honed from years of experience in officialdom, told him that things were definitely not that simple.
There's no such thing as a free lunch.
Previously, Huaxing Trading Company obtained a patent for a steam locomotive, which was publicly acknowledged by the Song Dynasty's official gazette.
That means the imperial court recognized that private businesses possessed legitimate patent rights.
This undoubtedly encourages private businesses to be innovative.
Given this precedent, Zhang Qingyuan would not simply hand over this thing for no reason.
Tang Ke was in charge of the Ministry of Commerce, and he knew merchants all too well.
Those people will do anything as long as there's profit to be made!
Tang Ke remained remarkably calm, staring intently at Gu Yongzhi: "What are his conditions?"
"My lord, he has no conditions."
"Then I'll have someone register the patent with the Commerce Department now."
"Please wait, my lord. In fact, this spinning wheel has already been patented by the Ministry of Commerce."
Tang Ke's expression immediately changed: "Since you've already registered the patent, what are you trying to do with me now? Are you trying to play a trick on me?"
"Please calm down, my lord, I dare not!" Gu Yongzhi quickly explained, "This item was indeed intended to be presented to you by Zhang Qingyuan, but due to unforeseen circumstances, the blueprints for the spinning wheel were stolen by Huaxing Trading Company and they registered the patent rights with the Ministry of Commerce."
"It's Huaxing Trading Company again!"
“That’s right, but this time, there is evidence that Huaxing Trading Company stole the blueprints!”
Gu Yongzhi then recounted the story he had made up in advance.
Basically, two months ago, Zhangji Cloth Shop improved its spinning wheel and created this Zhangji spinning wheel, which greatly increased the speed of weaving and saved labor.
However, the blueprints were stolen by a spy from Zhang's Cloth Shop of Huaxing Trading Company.
More than a month later, the spy slipped up and confessed the whole story.
Tang Ke then realized that the person hadn't come to present the treasure at all; it was just that the treasure had been stolen and they needed him to uphold justice.
That makes sense; otherwise, why would someone suddenly come to offer a treasure out of nowhere?
Tang Ke hesitated for a moment, then said, "Bring the witnesses here, I want to question them myself."
"yes!"
Gu Yongzhi was overjoyed; he knew that Tang Ke was determined to handle this matter.
Gu Yongzhi handled the matter quickly; he brought the person over that afternoon.
Tang Ke also told Xu Churen about this.
Tang Ke and Xu Churen interrogated Zhang Qingyuan and the spy named Chen Zhi in great detail.
This matter falls under the category of commercial crime and would not alarm a high-level government agency like the Council of State Affairs. However, with Xu Churen and Tang Ke aware of the situation, the probability of the injustice being redressed has increased.
Subsequently, Xu Churen and Tang Ke also discussed the matter privately.
They also told Gu Yongzhi that this matter was under the jurisdiction of the Kaifeng Prefecture, but if it escalated, the level of the case would rise, and the Dali Temple would be required to file a case. Once the Dali Temple filed a case, the State Council would have grounds to intervene.
Gu Yongzhi immediately understood what to do; it was quite obvious.
Early the next morning, Zhang Qingyuan took Chen Zhi to the Kaifeng government office and began to beat the drum to appeal for justice.
In the main hall of the Kaifeng government office, Zhang Qingyuan clearly recounted how Huaxing Trading Company had stolen the spinning wheel blueprints from Zhang's Cloth Shop, and he even brought witnesses and physical evidence.
The news quickly spread throughout Tokyo.
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