Liu Ruyan replied firmly, "Yes. I don't know about the other four continents, but I'm sure these glass beads can be sold for a lot of money on the Shengwu Continent. If we can mass-produce them, then these glass beads can bring a lot of wealth to the Wei Kingdom."
Chu Fan hadn't expected that his failed attempt at glassmaking could actually bring him unexpected financial gains. Of course, Chu Fan couldn't just listen to Liu Ruyan, so he asked Mu Xi and the others, "Can glass beads like these really be sold for money?"
Mu Xi replied, "Your Majesty, although these colored glass beads are not as transparent and gorgeous as the colored glassware Your Majesty gave to your sister Changsun Pingqing, colored glass products are extremely rare on the Shengwu Continent. Even if some members of the royal family look down on such colored glass beads, there will still be a large number of aristocratic families and merchants who will buy them."
Tang Ji said, "Your Majesty, you don't know how much the women in Kaifeng envied Sister Changsun Pingqing when I learned that you had gifted her a set of colored glassware. If the price of the colored glass beads your Majesty refines is right, I think even the daughters of court officials in Kaifeng or the daughters of wealthy families would be able to purchase them."
Qiu Ya said, "Your Majesty, even in the Central Continent, there is a huge demand for colored glass products. Many sects and forces will purchase some colored glass products to show their noble status. Therefore, even these seemingly ordinary colored glass beads can be sold at a certain price in the Central Continent.
If our Wei State can master the manufacturing technology of colored glaze, we will surely gain huge economic benefits on the Shengwu Continent and even be able to export colored glaze products to the other four continents."
Chu Fan had always hoped that he and Mu Xi and other women could be more intimate when addressing each other, simply calling each other by name, without being bound by the etiquette of monarch and subject. However, Mu Xi and the others were very insistent on this matter. Except for calling Chu Fan by name during evening training, they always addressed her as "Your Majesty".
Chu Fan had asked them why they were so insistent, but Mu Xi and the other women tacitly refused to answer. It was only once, when Chu Fan was training alone with Liu Ruyan, that Liu Ruyan, once the princess of the Canglan Empire, told him the reason.
Liu Ruyan explained to Chu Fan at the time, "The emperor's name has always been a symbol of supremacy. Although we would like to call His Majesty by his first name, the court officials and royal family of Wei would never allow such a thing to happen. While His Majesty was still the emperor, he could protect us and our families. But now that His Majesty is no longer the emperor of Wei, the court officials and royal family can use the excuse of disrespecting the imperial power to suppress our families.
Therefore, we must adhere to the etiquette between monarch and subject when we are outside, in order to protect ourselves and our family. The reason why Changsun Pingting and Liu Xueyu dare to call Your Majesty "brother" is because Changsun Pingting is still young, and no one will argue with her too much. Liu Xueyu is also the third princess of Shu, not from Wei, and is the first imperial concubine Your Majesty has married into the palace. Therefore, her status is special, and naturally no one will criticize her."
After listening to Liu Ruyan's explanation, Chu Fan felt somewhat helpless. In this world, the concept of equality for all hadn't even been proposed, let alone universalized. If he were to forcefully change these rules, it might bring trouble to Mu Xi and the others, as well as their families.
While Chu Fan was thinking about these things, Wen Xuexuan, who had been invisible the entire time, spoke up, "Your Majesty, let the officials of the Censorate sell these glass beads. As censors, they have a very high reputation in both Wei and Shengwu Continent. So if you let them sell these glass beads, I believe there will be no doubts about their authenticity."
Chu Fan had initially been tempted by Liu Ruyan and the others' proposal. After all, who wouldn't want more wealth? However, after hearing Wen Xuexuan's words, Chu Fan hesitated. After all, if the reputation of the Censorate was damaged, the credibility of the State of Wei would also be severely affected. Restoring that credibility would likely require considerable time and effort.
Chu Fan picked up a glass bead and looked at its quality, which made him give up the idea. It was not worth it to destroy the reputation of Wei State in Shengwu Continent for some benefits before Wei State unified Shengwu Continent.
Perhaps other time travelers would have thought of mistaking glass products for colored glaze and selling them for a huge profit. However, if the Wei Kingdom wanted to unify the Shengwu Continent, it would be best to sell them at a reasonable price and absolutely not deceive the world. Furthermore, these glass beads were not of good quality, and selling them would only ruin the reputation of the Wei Kingdom.
Chu Fan said, "You can take some of these glass beads home to play with, but don't sell them."
However, Tang Ji didn't understand why Chu Fan would give up such an easy opportunity to make money when he had such a good opportunity to do so.
Tang Ji asked, "Your Majesty, why don't we sell these glass beads? This way, our Wei Kingdom can gain more wealth, and Your Majesty can use this wealth to do more things. After selling these glass beads, we can buy more food and supplies, and recruit more soldiers. Then, it will be easier for Wei Kingdom to unify Shengwu Continent."
Chu Fan looked at Tang Ji, shook his head, and said, "I know you are all very curious why I am unwilling to sell these glass beads as colored glaze to accumulate wealth. Then I will explain the reason to you.
First of all, these glass beads are just the product of my first experiment. They are not perfect, and the quality is uneven and cannot be compared with real glass. If we sell these glass beads as glass now, then when we produce higher-quality glass products in the future, those who paid high prices for these inferior glass beads will think we have deceived them. This will not only affect our relationship with these buyers, but also damage the reputation of the State of Wei.
Reputation is extremely important to the State of Wei. Once its reputation is damaged, the people of other countries may not trust it when it goes to war on the Shengwu Continent. Therefore, we cannot do anything that damages the reputation of the State of Wei for the sake of the short-term benefits.
Perhaps some of you might say that as long as we sell these glass beads to wealthy people, since they have plenty of money anyway, it doesn't matter if they get cheated out of a little, and ordinary people are unlikely to buy such flashy items, then the court won't have any negative impact on the people."
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