The emperor looked at Bi Dong, who lowered his head in fear, frowning with disdain. "Official Fu, relying on the craftsmen he recruited, was able to build that red cannon and solve many of the problems that existed before. I asked you to take that cannon to the Ministry of Works to have it copied, and you actually told me it exploded!"
He pointed at Bi Dong and said, "Tell me why his cannon didn't explode."
Bi Dong quickly replied, "Your Majesty, the iron he used to make the cannon is much better than the iron used by the Ministry of Works."
The emperor was furious. "He, a small official, can smelt that kind of iron, but your Ministry of Works can't? What's the point of me spending so much money every year to support you? A group of dogs can guard the house, but what about those hundreds of people in your Ministry of Works? What can they do?"
"You told me before that this thing has no practical value. So now I ask you, if this red cannon is placed on the city wall, is it valuable? If there are hundreds of such cannons on the front line, is it valuable?"
Bi Dong fell to his knees with a thud, but was unable to utter a word.
Shangguan Wenxiu was shocked and finally understood why His Majesty suddenly attached so much importance to the principle of investigating things.
It’s Fu Xiaoguan again!
He is truly a god!
This strategy of giving equal emphasis to the study of things and commerce and agriculture seems to have been proposed by Fu Xiaoguan, so the Imperial College must go all out to promote it among students!
…
The convoy arrived at Banqiao Station in the evening, and it was still snowing there.
The post house was very quiet and deserted. Few people would travel long distances in such weather. However, because Xue Pinggui had sent soldiers to lead the way, the lights were on in the post house, and the postmaster had people prepare food and lodging for these hundreds of people.
The person in charge of the post station was the post officer. He was a non-staff member of the Yu Dynasty, but he also received food and wages from the Yu Dynasty. His responsibility was to take care of the post station and ensure that it could be used normally. Its original purpose was to transmit intelligence during war, but later it became a place for hikers to rest.
This place is quite far away from Jinling and there are no big towns nearby. Outside the post station is a snow-covered field with a wide view and no idle people.
Fu Xiaoguan stopped and watched for a moment while holding the black box, then led a group of people towards the row of two-story buildings.
Led by Xue Pinggui, they went up to the second floor and looked in their respective rooms.
Perhaps because he knew that the people on this trip were extremely important, the post officer decorated these rooms very well, with fireplaces burning inside and the quilts on the beds replaced with brand new ones.
But there were more than 600 people in this group, and the twenty or so rooms in the post station definitely couldn't accommodate them all, so Fu Xiaoguan asked, "How should the rest of the people be arranged?"
Xue Pinggui bowed and replied, "We have our own tents, so the students can only squeeze in. This is pretty much the same all the way here, and they all know it."
Fu Xiaoguan nodded and said, "Send dinner up. I won't wait any longer. Tell them to eat and rest early. I'm afraid you'll have to work hard. Pay attention to setting up the secret guards."
Xue Pinggui was slightly startled, nodded in agreement, turned around and went downstairs, but what he was thinking in his heart was that this young man was really meticulous.
Fu Xiaoguan, Dong Shulan, Yu Wenyun and Su Jue were staying in a room, sitting around the fireplace, and he talked about some things.
"Big Brother, I have something I need your help with."
Su Jue straightened his hat and said, "Please speak!"
"Ask your people to investigate Yu Chunqiu, the general of the Southern Frontier Army!"
"Are you worried that the Southern Frontier Army will do something bad to you?"
"Not really. As the son of Prince De, I have no grudge against him. Besides, Wen Yun is also here on this trip. He has no reason to harm me. I just want to get to know him better."
He had arranged for people from Xiyu Tower to investigate this matter before he set out. However, the information they obtained about Yu Chunqiu was extremely preliminary. They only said that Fei An retired in the third year of Xuanli, and this man was appointed by His Majesty as the commander-in-chief of the southern border army, and then nothing happened. This made Fu Xiaoguan scold December again.
"Also, after you've learned all about it, have your people go to the border town in advance. That place is said to be a hive of mixed company, so keep an eye out for those jianghu people, especially the masters!"
Su Jue nodded thoughtfully, wrote a note, took off his high crown, took out the crow, tied the note to the crow's leg, and the crow flew out of the window and disappeared.
Everyone was a little surprised at Fu Xiaoguan's careful arrangement, but no one raised any questions. Perhaps it was because they were used to being with Fu Xiaoguan, and they felt that Fu Xiaoguan must have his reasons for doing so.
So Su Rou embroidered her mandarin ducks, and only raised her careful eyes to take a look when Su Jue took out the bird.
Su Su was still eating her osmanthus cake, while Dong Shulan and Yu Wenjun listened, thinking that the world was peaceful and how could so many bad things happen? Besides, they were accompanied by five hundred black-armored knights.
In fact, Fu Xiaoguan also hoped that there would be no trouble on this trip. These arrangements were just his habit. He certainly hoped that he could go back and forth safely. After all, in addition to Dong Shulan and Yu Wenjun, there were a full one hundred Dayu students here.
Afterwards, everyone chatted casually, and the most talked about topic was still the safety issues along the way. In Su Jue's opinion, if someone really wanted to harm Fu Xiaoguan, the best way would be to use martial arts masters to launch a surprise attack - such as asking Bei Wangchuan to move in!
Fu Xiaoguan thought that Su Jue had been carrying the crow on his head for too long, and he must have a crow's mouth!
The postmaster then brought food. Compared to what they had in Jinling, this dinner was naturally simple. Knowing the identities of these people, the postmaster felt a little uneasy and said anxiously, "Gentlemen, we are indeed in a hurry. Banqiao Post is far from the city, and we didn't have time to buy anything. Please forgive us."
Fu Xiaoguan didn't care at all and smiled, "It's already very good. We didn't come out here to enjoy ourselves. You did a great job. Go down."
The post official bowed and took his leave quickly, his heart finally at ease, thinking that these rich and powerful people were not as arrogant as the rumors said.
The six people were having dinner when Su Jue suddenly looked up at the dark window. A man in black flew in from the window, covered in snow, and passed through the open window. A red line suddenly appeared in front of him. He chuckled, and Su Rou retracted the red line, and Fu Xiaoguan burst into laughter.
Su Mo!
It has been more than two months since Su Mo went out on New Year's Eve. Fu Xiaoguan is not worried about him, but he misses him a little.
He seemed thinner, and his handsome face was a little darker under the light, but compared to his appearance years ago, he looked more masculine.
He bowed respectfully to his senior brothers and sisters, sat down next to Su Jue, looked at Fu Xiaoguan with a smile, and said three words: "I'm so hungry!"
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