Emperor Jing took a look at the thick stack of silver bills, and the young eunuch placed the silver bills on the table.
Then he said calmly: "The annual income of Taoyuan County for seven years is only a mere 80,000 taels of silver? Fang Zhengyi, you dare to play those little tricks in front of me... Come here!"
Fang Zhengyi said nervously: "Your Majesty, it is indeed true. I have invested countless funds in the transformation of Taoyuan County... It is not easy to have more than 80,000 taels left!"
"Really? I don't believe it."
“….”
We can't have a conversation if you talk like that!
Fine beads of sweat began to seep out of Fang Zhengyi's forehead. He had to think of a way to fool the emperor today. He had to be timid in this new environment. At worst, he would just show some skin.
Fortunately, Emperor Jing spoke again: "I can forgive you for what you did in the past."
"But once you enter the court, you must serve me obediently and attentively!"
"I am very happy that you have the ability to do things, but I am very dissatisfied with your attitude as an official!"
Fang Zhengyi immediately flattered him and said hastily, "Your Majesty is right! From now on, I will do whatever it takes to sacrifice my life for you!"
Emperor Jing raised his hand and said, "Come, take a seat."
The eunuch on duty immediately brought a chair to Fang Zhengyi, and Fang Zhengyi sat down carefully.
At the same time, he secretly felt lucky, it seemed that his 80,000 taels of silver were not wasted, at least he managed to get a seat.
Emperor Jing couldn't help but laugh when he saw Fang Zhengyi sitting on the chair with half of his butt like a little wife.
It seems that no matter how arrogant you are, you still know how to judge the situation.
"Okay, don't be so reserved. I still have a lot to ask you."
Seeing that Emperor Jing's attitude had softened, Fang Zhengyi couldn't help but relax a little: "Your Majesty, please ask, I will tell you everything I know."
Emperor Jing was thinking, and various memories about Taoyuan County flashed through his mind.
Toilet paper...pipes...sheds...mirrors...phonographs. For a moment I didn't even know where to start.
After thinking for a while, he said, "Immeasurable merits... What exactly is this thing?"
Fang Zheng immediately revealed an expression of "as expected". The function of this thing was obvious to anyone with a discerning eye. It was natural for the emperor to care about it, and he had already prepared a plan in mind.
"Your Majesty, the real name of this substance is gunpowder. It will burn when it comes into contact with fire. If there is a large amount of it in a confined space, it will cause a violent explosion."
"Gunpowder? Is it a natural or man-made thing?"
"Artificial!"
Emperor Jing was immediately filled with joy and quickly asked, "How much can this thing produce? How much does it cost?"
Fang Zhengyi's expression became serious. "Your Majesty, this item was accidentally found by an alchemist. At first, I asked the alchemist to make gunpowder for Taoyuan County, but he was later killed in the explosion. The clue to the manufacture of gunpowder was lost."
"Fortunately, there are still some left. Taoyuan County has kept this stuff for several years, but gunpowder is extremely unstable and very dangerous! So the remaining stock was all used up when the mountain was opened."
"It is even more difficult when it comes to production! I have ordered people to study it before. If this product had been successfully developed a few years ago, it would have been presented to the court... Unfortunately, it failed."
"Because it was a huge waste and cost tens of thousands of taels of silver but still failed, the county later stopped spending money to support the research of this thing..."
After saying this, Fang Zhengyi shook his head with regret, revealing an expression that seemed as if he was ashamed to death for not being able to be loyal to his country.
Are you kidding! This thing could have been mass-produced a long time ago, and I, Fang Zhengyi, am not a rookie who just entered the workplace.
If you have good things, of course you will take them out at the critical moment. If you show off to your boss right away, aren't you forcing yourself to be a hard-working person?
If you want to live a comfortable life, you have to squeeze the toothpaste slowly...
However, it is true that the cost of making gunpowder is high. Apart from the cost of materials, when Fang Zhengyi first arrived, he had no idea what sulfur, saltpeter and the like looked like.
He could only order people to collect all the materials that could be found on the market, and then find craftsmen to compare them one by one. It took a lot of effort before he finally succeeded in developing gunpowder.
After all, without a system and without memory, life is a bit hard...
Upon hearing this, Emperor Jing pointed at Fang Zheng and said angrily, "How foolish! You actually stopped researching this divine weapon. I will immediately order Taoyuan County to continue researching and developing it!"
Fang Zhengyi smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Your Majesty... The county has no money, so I brought all the silver this time."
"How many do you need!?"
"Forty thousand...thirty thousand...that's about right." Fang Zheng said as he glanced towards the table unconsciously.
Emperor Jing looked at Fang Zheng and sneered: "Why? Do you still want to take the money back?"
"I dare not! But if I want to support the research and development of this product, I will need money... I cannot increase taxes on the people and exploit their wealth..."
Fang Zheng also became bolder. Which emperor would not be tempted by this thing?
Since I have some bargaining power, I will get back as much money as I can from the money I gave away. This is my life savings!
Emperor Jing stared at Fang Zhengyi and observed him for a long while, and it didn't seem like he was pretending.
However, given Fang Zheng's slippery performance, Emperor Jing was still very wary.
"Twenty thousand taels... I will give you one year. After one year, I want to see the production and use of gunpowder."
Fang Zhengyi shook his head quickly: "Your Majesty, I can always find a way to use less money, but time is... really tight. We have been studying it for two years with little effect, and the people who participated in it have already gone to do other things."
"If we call back the old people and have them learn again... I think it will take at least two years. Within two years, I have some confidence!"
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