Xie Yushu followed Emperor Qingyuan to the door of the Imperial Study, took the mahogany box containing the repeating crossbow, and went inside, while Nanxing was left outside to wait!
This was Xie Yushu's first time seeing the emperor's study in both of her timelines. She walked through several doors, and at each door stood two silent eunuchs.
Xie Yushu guessed that either he had specially trained his breathing rate, or, as Qu Xiaodie said, his martial arts skills were unfathomable.
When Xie Yushu arrived at the Emperor's desk, she was shocked.
The room contained six large nanmu wood tables, each piled high with rows of memorials to the emperor. Behind the dragon throne in the center hung a plaque praising the emperor's diligence and love for the people. On the main table in front, there were memorials that had been partially reviewed. The other three walls of the study were lined with bookshelves filled with books.
Yes! Xie Yushu now believes what Han Zhongyu said, that the current emperor is a wise ruler!
The Emperor sat back down at his desk, where the memorials almost completely obscured half of his face. Seeing this, Eunuch Liu shrewdly moved the completed memorials away, allowing the Emperor to look directly at Xie Yushu.
Xie Yushu entered and habitually glanced at the surrounding layout before lowering her head to wait for the Emperor's question.
Emperor Qingyuan, seeing her carrying a large wooden box, couldn't help but ask...
"I just saw your little maid carrying this wooden box, and now you've brought it to the Imperial Study. What, is this a gift for me?"
Xie Yushu thought to herself, "You finally saw me! I've been holding you for so long!" and quickly replied...
"Your Majesty, this is the gift I intend to present to you!"
Inside the box is a crossbow that I came up with by chance to defend my little mountain village. After some modifications, it can fire in rapid succession. I call it a repeating crossbow. I had a craftsman make one and showed it to Lord Han. He said that this thing is extremely suitable for defending the city and should be presented to the court to protect the safety of the people of the Great Qi.
"Since it is useful, I believe it should belong to Your Majesty. Therefore, I brought it with me on this trip to the capital, along with the blueprints. Please take a look."
"Oh? You, a mere woman, can even come up with weapons! Eunuch Liu, bring them up before me, let me see them!"
Upon hearing this, Eunuch Liu immediately took the mahogany box, took out a repeating crossbow, and presented it to Emperor Qingyuan.
Emperor Qingyuan, who had also practiced archery and horsemanship, immediately recognized that this weapon was far more lethal than bows and arrows, and was overjoyed.
"Haha! Well done, what a fine Lord Jingde! You are truly a lucky star for our Great Qi!"
"Eunuch Liu, go and summon Ge Hongzhang, the head of the Imperial Guards, and the Minister of Works. They are to assemble at the drill ground in a quarter of an hour!"
Emperor Qingyuan tested the repeating crossbow, then looked at the blueprints and was extremely satisfied. He thought that if every soldier in his army was equipped with a repeating crossbow, they would surely rout the enemy.
If we could get a few fierce generals, wouldn't we be able to unify the world?
Even without expanding our territory, defending the city is more than enough!
Emperor Qingyuan's face flushed with excitement. Xie Yushu, fearing he might overreact, poured some cold water on him to cool him down.
"Your Majesty, while this thing is excellent for defending cities, if we want to mass-produce it, I'm afraid the iron demand cannot be met in a short time. However, it is still possible to equip each border with an elite force to deter all sides. We can gradually procure the rest!"
Seeing how excited Emperor Qingyuan was, she was afraid that he would directly order the mass production of repeating crossbows. If there wasn't enough iron, he would inevitably have to squeeze money out of the people. She dared not underestimate an emperor's enthusiasm for unifying the world. If the officials then made the people hand over their farm tools to make repeating crossbows, the people's lives would be unbearable!
One must take things one step at a time. Taking too big a step will only lead to failure, and in the end, it is the ordinary people who will suffer!
As expected, after Xie Yushu finished speaking, Emperor Qingyuan also came to his senses. The output of iron in Daqi was not high, and the mass production of repeating crossbows was indeed not enough!
However, in the next instant, Emperor Qingyuan recovered and became energetic again. Equipping each border with an elite force would be enough to give them a lead of several years. With this, the Great Qi would be able to surpass all other countries in strength, and even the barbarian cavalry, known as the Iron Cavalry of the Steppe, could be caught up with.
Moreover, the deterrent effect of the repeating crossbow also left him ample room for development. He could send more people to search for iron ore and gradually expand his military strength!
Thinking about this, and with money being mentioned again, Emperor Qingyuan finally calmed down and continued with the initial question.
"I think the glass you made is excellent. I am thinking of selling it to all parts of the country, and even to other countries, as quickly as possible, to replenish the national treasury in the shortest possible time."
Putting aside everything else, the military in various places is a huge expense every year, and with floods here and droughts there from time to time, the national treasury is never enough!
"I think the output of your little shabby mountain village is far from enough. I can grant you a few more plots of land and a few more factories to operate together, what do you say!"
No matter what, it's not my territory. How can I do business there? To the east is the Shen family, the richest family in Daqi; to the south is the Fan family, the number one imperial merchant; and to the west is the Zhao family, known as the Little God of Wealth. If I try to make money on other people's territories, it would be strange if I didn't get swallowed up!
Even if her small, shabby mountain village wants to develop, she still needs to cooperate with the Wen family!
But though she thought this in her heart, she couldn't say it directly, so Xie Yushu could only reply tactfully.
"Your Majesty's idea is certainly excellent, but I do not have enough people under my command, and I am unfamiliar with other places. I am afraid I do not have the ability. It would be better if I presented the glassmaking method to the court and let the Ministry of Works send people to set up factories in the southeast, west and south!"
Upon hearing Xie Yushu's words, Emperor Qingyuan suddenly realized that his eating manners were rather unseemly!
But for the sake of the national treasury and his army, he had to put aside his pride and reputation!
So Emperor Qingyuan shamelessly said
"You are quite righteous, so this is fine. But I will not treat you unfairly. The north will still belong to you. Moreover, I will not share profits with you. You only need to give a portion to Tai'an Prefecture to offset taxes. In addition, you will still be an imperial merchant!"
"The 30,000 taels I invested will be considered as payment for your glassmaking formula!"
"Your Majesty is wise; I will obey Your Majesty's arrangements!"
Xie Yushu understood the principle of not biting off more than she could chew. Her foundation was shallow, and it was important to establish a firm foothold right now rather than expand. Therefore, handing over the formula in exchange for the northern market was a very worthwhile deal!
She only needs to control the north thoroughly! After all, even the richest man in Daqi wouldn't dare to spread his business all over the country, otherwise, he would be close to bankruptcy!
After the two made their agreement, the Grand Commander and the Minister of Works also arrived at the drill ground.
The Emperor also went there with his repeating crossbows, and Xie Yushu went along with him.
The Grand Commander Ge Hongzhang and Minister of Works Yu were both experts; they immediately recognized the repeating crossbow the Emperor was carrying as the king of weapons. After testing it, they found its accuracy and lethality to be first-rate. Having tried it themselves, they both clasped their hands in congratulations to Emperor Qingyuan.
"Your Majesty, I congratulate you on obtaining this divine weapon. With this weapon, the army of Great Qi will surely be invincible!"
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