"A big thing?" Li Yuanzhao's eyes lit up, "What big thing?"
When it comes to making trouble, he is extremely interested, especially when he follows Lao Fang to make trouble.
Moreover, it is actually related to gunpowder weapons. He is also very coveted for this thing, and now he has a finished product so quickly.
Fang Zheng didn't answer in a hurry and took him to a remote place outside the palace.
Seeing no one around, he whispered: "Hunting."
"Hunting?" Li Yuanzhao smiled, "Hunting is interesting. How about hunting with gunpowder weapons?"
"That's right! This minister wants to make it famous. I wonder if your majesty is interested in hunting?"
Li Yuanzhao thought for a moment: "Yes, my father likes hunting very much. He took me hunting twice when I was a child, but not much later. I have almost never gone out in the past two years."
"Old Fang, where are you going to hunt? The hunting gardens in the capital have been abandoned for a long time. Besides, it would be better to go hunting in autumn. The weather is getting hotter and hotter now, so this time is not suitable."
Fang Zheng said: "It is indeed inappropriate. Don't we still need time to arrange it? It's no problem if it's abandoned. Let's get some more wild animals and throw them into the hunting ground before autumn."
"It's best to get some ferocious beasts like tigers, leopards and wolves. That would be interesting. Then we'll call all the officials over."
Li Yuanzhao said in surprise: "Lao Fang, I remember that you are not very interested in these things. I think since gunpowder has the power to break mountains and crack rocks, it would be good to just display it on the spot."
"Your Highness, everything must be done according to a process. This is all planned. Just tell me whether you are willing to do it or not. Can't Liu Jin get those beasts? Let him get some."
"I'm quite interested, but how much do you want? What if you get too much, the beast gets out of control, and all the officials are present and have an accident?" Li Yuanzhao hesitated.
Fang Zheng nodded secretly in his mind.
The prince is much more stable than before, and he has begun to consider the safety of the officials.
If this happened a few years ago, I would have wanted to put humans and tigers in a cage to watch the fun.
"Since you want to pursue excitement, then follow through to the end!" Fang Zheng shrugged, "Don't worry, Your Highness, there will be a lot of guards to protect you, as well as gunpowder weapons, so there won't be any trouble."
"I promise you won't be able to put it down with those weapons!"
Li Yuanzhao clapped his hands excitedly and said: "Then do it! What don't I dare to do? A man should do something wild. I'll go back and let Liu Jin get him dozens of tigers."
"Although I don't hunt much, I am skilled with bows and horses. I will let you see my strength when the time comes!"
"Hey! Just two will be enough, Your Highness! The main thing is to get more animals like deer and deer." Fang Zheng quickly stopped them.
Damn it, get dozens of them, you name it.
It would be better if the county could make a submachine gun. Today's muskets can only rely on quantity. If you want to kill a tiger, you don't know how many shots you need to fire.
The last time I shot a wild boar, I almost lost my life.
"Yeah, I'm kidding. Where can you get so many tigers? There are wolves, and there are a lot of them." Li Yuanzhao laughed.
"Then I can rest assured. I'll leave this matter to Your Highness and ask Liu Jin to be more attentive."
Li Yuanzhao looked at Fang Zheng with a smile on his face and said, "Old Fang, are you going to such trouble just to open the sea?"
Fang Zheng nodded: "Your Highness, just wait and see."
The pocket watch was only the first step to arouse the court's attention to foreign technology. The second step was to exaggerate the power of gunpowder, and the third step...
Fangzheng is not in a hurry, it is related to the future direction of the world, every step must be steady and planned.
It’s best to put it all together and try to change everyone’s mindset in one step.
The problem still lies with the courtiers.
Even though Emperor Jing is the emperor, he does not do whatever he wants.
Fang Zhengyi was able to handle the big leaders, but the people below him couldn't handle them one by one.
Even if he convinced the emperor, he couldn't stand it if the subordinates would pop up every now and then to cause trouble for him.
It is absolutely impossible to brainwash the smart people in the court with just one mouthful and one picture. The only thing that can defeat stubborn ideas now is real huge interests or crises.
Fortunately, I have a lot of experience in handling things, and the cards in my hand are strong enough.
It might not be a bad idea to take this opportunity to make arrangements for my father-in-law!
Li Yuanzhao said: "Okay! Since you value this matter so much, I won't ask any more questions. If you need help, just tell me."
"But... I have something to do." At this point, Li Yuanzhao gradually became shy, "Didn't Jin Yiwei recruit new people and say that they would be trained by me? Lao Fang, I am good at training soldiers!"
"No problem, Your Highness, the newspaper office is preparing to help Jinyiwei recruit new people, let's take a look together."
...
Inside the newspaper office, there was a busy atmosphere. A group of malnourished reporters were dedicating their lives and youth with great energy.
As soon as Li Yuanzhao arrived at the door, he sighed: "Old Fang, what kind of medicine did you give them that night?"
"Although I think it's good to work overtime, their current behavior is a bit too much."
"It's already dinner time, why aren't you going to eat?"
Fang Zhengyi was very satisfied: "Don't worry, Your Highness, I asked Xie Xian to increase their bonus. There are also resident doctors in the newspaper office now. If they are too tired, someone will remind them to rest. I see that they are working so hard, they should add some extra afternoons." Tea and stuff, find someone to give them some fruit snacks every day.”
"Fruit snacks? Those things are not suitable for sleeping. What if you are really exhausted?" Li Yuanzhao curled his lips.
"It's considered absenteeism, and his family will pay for it."
"It has to be you, I learned..."
The two of them joked and walked inside. Xie Xian, Chen Yi and others were all there, but there was one more unfamiliar face.
Lao Qi, a carpenter from Taoyuan County.
The three of them were chatting around a large wooden box in the room.
It wasn't until Fang Zheng coughed twice that the three of them stood up and said hello quickly.
Lao Qi bowed slightly: "Master, I delivered the clock you asked for. I just finished delivering it to my house. Miss Xiao Tao took it."
Li Yuanzhao had already walked up quickly to check. Fang Zhengyi was surprised and said: "It was built so quickly!"
Lao Qi nodded: "Yes, sir, the young people in the research institute are very interested in this thing. They have been studying it day and night. They have learned a lot. They can do it well with just a little modification."
"But it's a little more troublesome than a pocket watch. This one has to be wound up."
"The county said they want to open a watch shop in the capital. The county government asked me to ask you how to sell it?"
Fang Zhengyi also specifically told him that if the county had successfully researched something like a pocket watch or desk clock, he would send a few copies to the capital as soon as possible. I really didn’t expect that they could do it so quickly!
How much is appropriate to sell?
Fang Zheng held his chin and thought hard, looked at the prince and Shen Yi who were sticking up their buttocks to study the clock, and waved to Xie Xian and Lao Qi.
The three of them walked to the corner, and Fang Zhengyi whispered: "How much does this clock cost?"
Lao Qi replied: "It's not expensive. It's just made to look big for convenience. In fact, most of the bottom is just an empty wooden box. Not counting labor, the county's material cost is probably... less than five taels."
"Five thousand taels for sale."
.....
