Volume 1 Princess Taiping Grows Up Chapter 85 Telescope
By May, the four-wheeled carriage had gradually taken shape. The frame had been completed, but a lot of adjustments were still needed.
Li Yuechen would go over every now and then to check on any problems and try to solve them on the spot as they were in a hurry.
At the same time, the workshop in Jixianfang was doubled in size. The craftsmen responsible for producing magnifying glasses in the glass workshop were brought there, and the production equipment had already begun to be made.
The concave lens has also been completed. Li Yuechen has asked the craftsman supervisor to make a sleeve out of copper. In a few days, the first telescope will be born in the Eastern Capital of the Tang Dynasty.
Wang Xiang is now only responsible for selling canned food in the two stores in Nanshi, while Chunmei is the manager of the other daily chemical store.
A few days ago, my mother, Wu Zetian, held a banquet and invited many women from powerful families.
The Queen would hold several such banquets every year, and the ladies of powerful families would also bring their daughters to attend.
Because this kind of banquet also carries the meaning of the queen choosing a wife for her son.
However, at this year's banquet, the number of young girls was much smaller than before.
This is because the "Tang Law Commentary" clearly stipulates that cousins within three generations are not allowed to marry, so those who are related to the royal family have no need to come.
Li Yuechen and her two sisters also attended the banquet as members of the royal family, to see if they could make friends with girls of the same age.
The banquet was held in Tao Guang Garden. Most of the flowers in Tao Guang Garden were in full bloom in May. The flowers were colorful and vying for beauty, which was extremely beautiful.
Because there are so many flowers, you can see bees, butterflies and dragonflies flying by almost every now and then.
Li Yuechen was wearing a formal dress with hairpins that she was extremely uncomfortable with, and she took small steps while chatting with a group of girls of the same age.
Li Yuechen, who had an adult mentality, felt at home among the female relatives, and many powerful ladies praised her in various ways.
What about being cute, naturally intelligent, and auspicious for the Tang Dynasty, etc...
Although it felt a bit awkward to be praised so directly, what they said was true after all, which made Li Yuechen smile a lot more.
Seeing her daughter being praised, Empress Wu Zetian naturally felt proud and chatted with the other female relatives with a smile on her face.
Of course, she did not forget her responsibilities as a spokesperson, and inadvertently revealed that there was a new tribute in the palace recently, which has the effect of protecting the skin and beautifying.
Women are generally very sensitive about this and immediately asked in detail.
And mother Wu Zetian was worthy of being the queen. She never mentioned Li Yuechen's shop the whole time, but she made them all remember this matter.
So a few days after the banquet, many people came to the door and asked to buy this moisturizing cream.
Chunmei had been in the Tang Dynasty for a long time and could speak fluent Tang language. She also had good interpersonal skills and achieved sales of 100 strings of cash on the first day.
This is just the beginning. Once they see the results, they will definitely buy more and more.
However, Wu Zetian was obviously unhappy when she received the news. She felt that she had been betrayed by her own daughter.
The sales on the first day were 100 guan, but I only asked for 80 guan as the endorsement fee. It was a huge loss!
The next day when Li Yuechen came to pay his respects, he had a gloomy face and was obviously unhappy.
Li Yuechen grabbed her hand and shook it: "Don't be unhappy, mother. It's just a little endorsement fee. When the child makes something interesting in the future, he will definitely think of you first!"
Of course, Wu Zetian didn't really care about this little money with her daughter. It's just that ever since she came back from Ganye Temple, she has been on the rise, and for many years she has been the only one to cheat others.
But this time, I was actually cheated by my own daughter, and I instinctively felt a little unhappy.
"Oh, you also know it's just a little money!" Wu Zetian turned her head away and said, "It's just a small amount of money, and you're so fussy about it with me!"
Li Yuechen quickly sat down cross-legged and gently massaged her legs: "It's not that I'm fussy, but at the current stage of development, I really can't come up with too much money. I want to keep this money to expand production!"
Li Zhi, who was sitting on the rocking chair, asked, "Why? Is the current production not enough?"
"The current output is hard to cover even the Eastern Capital. I want to expand my business. If I can do business throughout the Tang Dynasty, my parents won't have to worry about money in the future. We won't have to worry about disaster relief or war." Li Yuechen said.
Of course, this is pure nonsense. How can such a big country be supported by business means?
However, Li Zhi seemed to take it seriously and began to think seriously: "But Chen'er, your workshop is only so small, how can you expand your business to the whole Tang Dynasty?"
"This... let me think about it." Li Yuechen said with a smile.
It’s actually simple. Either sell patents or continue to invest money and hire more people.
Selling patents is simpler, but Li Yuechen still wants to use the second method.
Although this is a bit troublesome, at least I can ensure that the workers are well fed and paid adequate wages.
Unlike other businessmen of that era, he was not willing to treat people like animals.
Li Yuechen’s primary goal is not to make money, but to develop the economy. Only when the economy develops can the country have money.
But the biggest disadvantage of this method is that the formula cannot be preserved and it is bound to be leaked. It is just a matter of time.
Li Yuechen hopes to wait until the price of glass drops to a certain level before leaking it out.
It's something I want to do, but it's still a little difficult at the moment. A place as small as Jixianfang is definitely not enough.
Therefore, the best option is to move the future factory outside the city and build a large factory area. It would be best if it is heavily guarded around it to avoid the formula being leaked to the greatest extent.
But let's talk about this later when there is a chance. Even Li Zhi can't come up with so much money at once now.
…
Returning to Anfu Temple, Li Yuechen squatted down and looked at the lush rice seedlings.
Although the results are still unknown, if nothing unexpected happens, the fertilizer experiment should be considered a success.
The rice ears are full and I can imagine that there will be a great harvest after harvesting, but I don’t know how much the yield per mu can be.
According to Li Yuechen’s goal, the experiment will be considered a success as long as the yield per mu exceeds 200 kilograms.
Seeing her squatting in a daze beside the field, Shangguan Wan'er put on her clogs, walked out of the hall, and squatted beside her.
"Your Highness, why are you staring at the fields?" There was a hint of confusion in her big eyes.
"You won't understand even if I tell you." Li Yuechen touched her head, "If I have to say it, it's that I hope that the people of the Tang Dynasty will have enough food to eat in the future!"
Shangguan Wan'er seemed a little puzzled: "Why would Your Highness do this?"
"Why...I just hope so." Li Yuechen smiled.
She didn't know how to explain this question. Was it a dream? It didn't seem like it.
Her dream should be to live a life of idleness and wait for death, without being bothered by anything, so that she can have fun as much as she wants and pursue the vastness and limits of life.
It’s just that I was born in history and subconsciously want to change some regrets.
Perhaps it’s because we come from a civilized society and we can’t bear to see so many people starve to death.
This land will continue to experience more than a thousand years of dynasty changes. Looking back from the future, this is a brilliant history.
But from the current perspective, there will be countless wars, famines, etc. in the future...
Therefore, if I have the ability, I still hope to avoid some disasters as much as possible so that all life on this earth can live in peace.
"I hope so." Shangguan Wan'er tilted her head. "Is this what Your Highness wants to do?"
"Yes." Li Yuechen nodded, "Wan'er, is there anything you want to do? Tell me about it."
Shangguan Wan'er bit her lower lip and thought for a moment: "I want to do what Your Highness wants to do!"
"Heh..." Li Yuechen grinned, thinking that she was deliberately saying this to flatter him. After all, there was a huge difference in status.
But she didn't say much, she just took her hand and stood up: "If one day you really find what you want to do, remember to tell me."
As he said that, he walked towards the palace: "Come on, drink some yogurt, and then go to the clothing bureau to make you a swimsuit, you will need it in a few days."
"Your Highness, what is a swimsuit?"
"Clothes for swimming!"
…
Two days later, the craftsman supervisor sent someone to inform Li Yuechen that the telescope she wanted was ready.
Li Yuechen came to the craftsman supervisor as soon as possible and took the sample handed over by the craftsman.
This telescope is made of copper tubes and is less than ten centimeters long. If you pull the two sides together, it will be twenty-five centimeters.
I picked it up and looked around. The effect was quite good. It was quite advanced for this era.
Seeing Li Yuechen smiling and waving his hands, Fulai understood, and stepped forward, took out a small golden bean and handed it to the craftsman.
After taking it, the craftsman thanked Li Yuechen profusely. Li Yuechen waved his hand, said no need to be so polite, and then hurried to Renshou Hall to present the treasure.
After entering the Renshou Hall, Li Zhi saw that she was holding something in her hand and knew that she must have made something new.
"Chen'er, what is this?"
"It's just a derivative of transparent colored glass." Li Yuechen explained, and then pulled the telescope open, "Grandpa, use this to look out the window."
Li Zhi took it and looked at it, then raised it and looked at a tree outside the window.
After seeing this, he was surprised: "Oh? This thing actually has such an effect?"
Seeing that he was having such a big reaction, Wu Zetian asked, "What effect could have caused Your Majesty to have such a reaction?"
"Hahaha... Mei Niang, come and take a look!" Li Zhi beckoned her over, "I guarantee you'll be surprised by this thing!"
Hearing him say this, Wu Zetian stood up with a suspicious look on her face, took the telescope and looked out the window.
When he saw that the branch that was originally very far away was almost in front of him, he couldn't help but reveal a look of surprise on his usually calm face!
"Chen'er, this thing..."
"Hehe, this is also made of transparent colored glass. It's very simple." Li Yuechen explained with a smile.
Li Zhi nodded: "This thing is very useful! Come here! Call Liu Rengui, Qi Xin He Li, Pei Xingjian..."
As the saying goes, a smart person is a smart person. Li Zhi immediately thought of how to use this thing and directly called over a bunch of generals with outstanding military achievements.
Li Yuechen actually wanted to stay here and see how Li Zhi introduced this thing to them.
But after thinking about it carefully, it’s better to withdraw. After all, it’s just this thing, and Li Zhi can explain it clearly. The most important thing is to give his father a chance to show off!
Hearing that Li Yuechen was leaving, Li Zhi smiled and said, "Why? Are you afraid of stealing my limelight?"
"How could that be..." Li Yuechen smiled slightly, "Or maybe I just need to go check on the progress of the carriage."
Hearing her say this , Li Zhi smiled and nodded slightly: "Okay, Chen'er, whatever you want!"
Li Yuechen gave the couple a big hug each and then turned and left.
Seeing her jumping away, Li Zhi turned his head and said, "Chen'er is now thinking about something."
"This is also for the consideration of Your Majesty." Wu Zetian smiled with relief.
"In fact, even if she is here, I will still be very happy ." Li Zhi suddenly felt a little disappointed.
Wu Zetian stood up and sat down next to him: "That being said, it's always good to have this kind of heart, and not be too proud of your achievements..."
Li Zhi nodded in agreement, and now he liked his daughter more and more.
After taking a sip of tea and thinking it was about time, the couple stood up and walked to the entrance of Renshou Hall, standing side by side.
After waiting for a short time, Liu Rengui and other veteran generals entered the palace one after another. After coming, they all paid their respects to the emperor and empress.
Li Zhi smiled and raised his hand: "No need to be polite. I called you all into the palace today because Chen'er has researched a new object. Please take a look!"
"May I ask, Your Majesty, what is it?" Qi Xin He Li asked casually.
Pei Xingjian turned his head and said, "Your Highness is a disciple of Lord Liu. I think Lord Liu should know something about this, right?"
"Ah!" Liu Rengui shook his head: "I really don't know!"
Li Zhi did not keep the secret, and took out the telescope in his hand and said, "Chen'er named this thing 'telescope', it is very effective!"
As he spoke, he put it in front of his eyes and looked around, then handed it to Liu Rengui: "My dear ministers, you may want to take a look!"
Liu Rengui took it with both hands respectfully, and looked at it in front of his eyes like him, and was immediately surprised.
After taking another careful look around, he put his hand down, raised his head and said, "Your Majesty, this thing is of great use!"
As he spoke, he handed it to Pei Xingjian beside him.
Pei Xingjian was also a man with rich war experience. After taking a look, he couldn't help but put down his hand and gently stroked the copper tube twice: "It's really a divine weapon!"
"Let me see, let me see!"
Qi Xin He Li snatched it away, and looked around like them, then he was surprised: "Oh my, this is incredible!"
A group of experienced generals looked at it one after another, and then they all had the same surprised expression.
Those who had seen it were happily talking about the wonderful uses of this thing in the military, etc., and they all started chatting for a while.
Seeing their surprised expressions, Li Zhi and Wu Zetian looked at each other, and both of them had a proud smile on their faces.
Liu Rengui also nodded with a look of satisfaction, but did not participate in their discussion.
