Cheng Yaojin was a little anxious when he saw Qin Ming stunned. After he learned about the role of horseshoes, he was so excited that he immediately entered the palace.
Originally, he wanted to help Qin Ming ask for credit from His Majesty, but he never thought that after His Majesty found out about the horseshoe, not only did he not show much joy, but he looked gloomy instead.
Especially when he arrived at the mansion and learned that Qin Ming had gone to a brothel, he looked even more unhappy.
This made Cheng Yaojin feel puzzled. At the same time, he couldn't help but secretly decided to give his two sons two portions of "fried pork with bamboo shoots" to teach them a lesson.
These thoughts flashed through his mind quickly. Cheng Yaojin reached out and patted Qin Ming's head and said:
"What are you doing standing there in a daze? Why don't you quickly pay tribute to Duan Shangshu?"
Qin Ming woke up after being slapped, so he bowed respectfully to Duan Lun and said:
"My dear Qin Ming, I have met Duan Shangshu."
Duan Lun looked a little unnatural when he heard this. After all, the young man in front of him had just called His Majesty uncle. How could he dare to make a big deal out of him? So he raised his arm and said hurriedly:
"Good nephew, you don't need to see me outside, just call me Uncle Duan."
Qin Ming nodded when he heard this, then he looked at the people in the room, hesitated, and finally looked at Cheng Yaojin and asked:
"Uncle Cheng, what happened all of a sudden? Why are Uncle Li and the others coming to find me?"
Cheng Yaojin glanced at Li Er, and when he saw that Li Er didn't respond, he cleared his throat and said:
"My dear nephew, we came back to ask you about the horse iron shoe you made."
Qin Ming said with some confusion:
"Horseshoes? How do you know about horseshoes?"
When Cheng Yaojin heard this, he discovered the horseshoe in the afternoon and went to the palace to inform his majesty.
It happened that the Prince of Hejian was also there at that time, so His Majesty sent Shangshu Duan and the Prince of Hejian to learn about the specific craftsmanship of horse iron shoes.
As for Li Er, he naturally followed Li Xiaogong.
After Qin Ming understood the whole story, he turned to look at Li Er and then at Duan Lun, feeling relieved.
In fact, when he made the horseshoes early in the morning, he had thought about telling Li Shimin about the horseshoes, but he never had a suitable opportunity. Later, as time went by, he forgot about the matter.
If Cheng Yaojin hadn't mentioned horseshoes today, he would have almost forgotten about it.
Now that Li Er knew about it indirectly through Cheng Yaojin, it would save me the trouble of figuring out how to introduce this thing to Li Er later.
And looking at Li Er's dress and manner today, he didn't intend to reveal his identity.
This is better, and I will be happy and free.
The rest is simple, just talk about the casting process with Duan Lun, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, and there is nothing else to do.
When Li Xiaogong saw Qin Ming sitting there without speaking, he glanced at Li Er and said jokingly to Qin Ming:
"Haha, my dear nephew, are you worried that I will steal your credit?"
When Qin Ming heard this, he knew that the King of Hejian County had misunderstood him, so he hurriedly said:
"What did Uncle Li say? My nephew was just thinking about how to explain to Uncle Duan the craftsmanship of making this horseshoe. As for the credit or whatnot, my nephew doesn't care."
Li Shimin raised his eyebrows when he heard this and was about to say something to Qin Ming.
But Cheng Yaojin said first:
"My dear nephew, don't say this nonsense. Your Majesty is a wise king. How can you treat someone who has done something wrong? You can rest assured that as long as you accomplish this, your Majesty will definitely reward you."
Qin Ming nodded when he heard this, and stopped talking about it, so he said to Duan Lun:
"Uncle Duan, have you seen the horseshoe?"
Duan Lun nodded slightly when he heard this, picked up a few horseshoes from the table and said:
"Gong Lu, I have shown it to several people. These horseshoes are exactly the same in size, shape and even holes. So I would like to confirm with my nephew whether these horseshoes are made by casting? If so, Can I borrow the master plate used by my nephew?"
After hearing this, Qin Ming thought for a while and realized that the master plate Duan Lun was talking about was referring to the mold he made, so he smiled and said:
"Of course you can. My nephew will send someone to deliver it to your house tomorrow."
Duan Lun nodded slightly when he heard this. As soon as he came into contact with the horseshoe, he thought that the method of making this thing is similar to the method of casting copper coins. Considering that it would be time-consuming to make the master plate himself, he thought of borrowing it from Qin Mansion first.
At this time, he was overjoyed to hear Qin Ming agree so happily. He couldn't help but smile:
"In that case, I would like to express my gratitude to my virtuous nephew."
Afterwards, Duan Lun asked about some precautions when casting horseshoes, and then he nodded to Li Er with satisfaction.
When Li Er saw that the matter of horseshoes was almost finished, he winked at Duan Lun.
Duan Lun felt relieved when he saw this, chatted with a few people for a few more words, then said goodbye and left.
Seeing that neither Li Er nor Li Xiaogong had any intention of leaving, Qin Ming suddenly felt a little nervous for some reason.
At this time, Li Er, who had been silent all night, finally spoke.
He was holding tea and asked casually:
"My nephew, with your intelligence, you should know the importance of this horseshoe to the court. Why are you unwilling to dedicate it to the court? You haven't even mentioned it to our uncles? Could it be that you, my nephew, have other ideas? "
When Qin Ming heard this, ten thousand grass, mud, and horses galloped past in his mind, and he couldn't help complaining in his heart.
Haven't I already dedicated this to the imperial court?
You Li Er, you don't say anything about getting an advantage, but you still want to blame me. What do you mean? How about your magnanimity as Mingjun of the Tang Dynasty? That's it?
On the bright side, Qin Ming hurriedly stood up and saluted the people present:
"Uncles, it seems that my nephew was negligent in this matter. He originally wanted to tell his uncle about this matter, but he was afraid that the horseshoes would not be practical."
"So I thought about letting the horses in the house wear these horseshoes for a period of time to see the specific effect. If the effect is good, I would tell my uncles. But I didn't expect that Uncle Cheng discovered the horseshoes first, and that's how it came about. What happened today. Anyway, my nephew was negligent this time, and I will apologize to all my uncles."
When Li Xiaogong and Cheng Yaojin heard this, they nodded and said:
"I see."
"I see."
Li Er's expression on the side softened a little when he heard this. Then he thought of the cement and papermaking mentioned by his father, so he looked at Qin Ming with bright eyes and said:
"Well, according to what you said, Uncle Li wrongly blamed you, so let's forget about it. Next time if there is such a thing that benefits the country and the people, we can't keep it secret. If we want long-term peace and stability in the Tang Dynasty, These things are essential.”
Qin Ming breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile:
"Please rest assured, uncles. Next time there is something like this, my nephew will tell you uncles as soon as possible."
Li Xiaogong and Cheng Yaojin both nodded with satisfaction. Cheng Yaojin took the opportunity to claim credit for Qin Ming again and said:
"My dear nephew, you are right to think so. Today's saints are so wise and powerful. As long as they contribute to the imperial court and the Tang Dynasty, the saints will never hesitate to reward them."
Li Xiaogong glanced at Cheng Yaojin and said to himself, "It's not unreasonable for this fool to win His Majesty's favor. This flattery was made by you, and everyone on both sides agrees with you."
If you don't get the chance, you have to invite this old boy to have a few more drinks and ask for advice in private.
When Qin Ming heard this, he knew that Cheng Yaojin was taking credit for himself, but he really didn't want the credit.
Being an official is not as comfortable as sleeping in Zhuangzi, not to mention the gentle Chang Xi and the obedient Wan'er in the mansion.
No, I can't think about it anymore. If I think about it any more, I'll lose my composure.
At this time Li Er suddenly spoke again.
"My dear nephew, do you really have nothing else in your house that will benefit the country and the people?"
Li Xiaogong and Cheng Yaojin were a little confused. What happened to His Majesty? It was weird all night.
Qin Ming also glanced at Li Er with some suspicion, wondering what Li Er meant by this. Could it be that he sent spies to monitor him?
Did he know something?
.....
