The Ministry of Works established the Lin brand workshop, which was only responsible for casting cannons, but the power was all in the hands of the Empress. Naturally, the Empress was unhappy about this. Not only did she withhold the best craftsmen, but she also colluded with the Ministry of Revenue to delay the workshop's regular funding. Casting cannons inevitably produced defective products, and due to the tight budget, the cannons produced by the Di brand workshop were of slightly inferior quality to those from the other brand workshops.
Qin Yumu's anger subsided considerably after hearing this. The craftsmen were telling the truth. If she hadn't been pressing for the cannons, the situation would have been better. Couldn't they have chosen the best one out of ten cannons? But she simply couldn't afford to wait any longer!
It was only then that he realized how much face Qin Mo had given him—one hundred cannons. How many scraps would it take to pick out one hundred such excellent cannons?
"Your Majesty, please think of a solution! If this continues, we'll have two hundred cannons to handle next year's campaign. What's worse, the soldiers are now like frightened birds, all afraid to operate the cannons. I'm in a real bind!" In desperation, Qin Yumu had no choice but to complain to her superior, Wang Yushi.
"Tomorrow, I will consult with the Ministry of Works to merge the Earth-class workshops into my own. From now on, I will support them myself and will not take their money or pay them any attention. Humph! You may leave now! I will give the soldiers an explanation."
"well!"
After Qin Yumu left, Wang Yushi sighed and began to write a letter. She had heard about the rumors circulating outside. Given her special status, it was indeed inconvenient for her to keep running around to high-ranking officials, so she had no choice but to write a long letter to ask for help.
Qin Mo soon saw Wang Yushi's letter, filled with warm greetings, without a single complaint or lament, only high praise for the cannons Qin Mo had gifted her. Even along with the letter was a pair of shoes she had made herself for Qin Mo.
Qin Mo stroked the fine stitches on the shoes and asked casually, "How is your master doing lately?"
"Your Highness, my master... is very well." The strong-willed Qing Ning replied respectfully, though her words sounded somewhat unnatural.
"Has the casting of cannons gone smoothly?"
"...There are indeed some difficulties. The Ministry of Works does not provide the best craftsmen, and the royal workshops are used to doing fine work, so casting is very slow."
"well!"
Like Wang Yushi, Qin Mo sighed and began to write a letter, but his letter was very short, only a dozen or so words long.
Looking at the letter Qin Mo had written in one stroke, Qing Ning asked in confusion, "Your Highness, is this... all written?"
Qin Mo sealed the letter with special sealing wax and handed it to Qing Ning, saying calmly, "That's enough!"
When Wang Yushi saw the letter, she was also very puzzled, because Qin Mo's letter only contained the words "Propose casting cannons in bronze in your name" and a dozen or so other words. But she still immediately did as she was told and gave the order.
More than ten days later, after Wang Yushi had received the worship of all the workshop managers, craftsmen, and all the soldiers of the Shenji Battalion, a surge of anger inexplicably welled up in her heart.
"Qin Mo, I really want to strangle you... strangle you half to death."
"Yes, the lord should strangle him. Why didn't he tell the lord about such a simple casting method sooner, making the lord so worried and troubled, almost turning his hair white?"
Qing Ning clenched her fists and cursed angrily. "You just told us earlier, why didn't you tell us earlier?"
Watching the tough woman brandishing her fists, Wang Yushi slumped down, closed her eyes, and pondered for a long time before bitterly saying, "Qing Ning, if you were from the Wang family... could you be as magnanimous as Prince Heng?"
Qing Ning's fist froze in mid-air, her mouth opened as if to speak, but nothing came out.
"Alas! I owe him so much, how can I ever repay him?"
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