Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Chapter 895 Cut off
"Father, are you thinking of our house?" Wang Qisheng also reacted immediately.

Wang Wenzuo did not answer, but just sighed.

"Then, father, is this the reason why you took the initiative to leave Chang'an?" Wang Qisheng asked.

"Let's not talk about this anymore!" Wang Wenzuo waved his hand: "By the way, is there any other news?"

"Oh, they are all routine price lists! Sugar, tea, rice, oil, cloth, raw silk, and the exchange rates between copper coins and silver coins!" said Wang Qisheng.

"Oh? Why didn't you tell me earlier!" Wang Wenzuo stretched out his right hand, took the letter from his son, and began to read it carefully. According to his request, several important commercial centers such as Chengdu, Yangzhou, Chang'an, and Luoyang would regularly send price lists of major commodities. Wang Qisheng looked at his father concentrating on studying the price list in his hand, and he couldn't help feeling frustrated. As he grew older, he felt more and more powerless in life. His brothers were already flying in every corner of the world like eagles, but he could only stay by his father's side and deal with books, tables, glass bottles, and gears. Did his father intend for him to be a craftsman or an accountant for the rest of his life?

"Ah Sheng! Look at this, and this!" Wang Wenzuo stretched out his finger and tapped the account book twice: "What do you see?"

Wang Qisheng looked in the direction of his father's finger and saw the exchange rate between the price of tea and copper coins and silver coins. He looked at it for a while but didn't say anything.

"Didn't you see it?" Wang Wenzuo showed a hint of disappointment on his face.

"My child is incompetent!" Wang Qisheng lowered his head in frustration.

"No problem! I'm telling you, and you can learn it yourself next time!" Wang Wenzuo pointed to the table and said, "Look at the price of tea, it's much higher than last month! But the price of tea in Yangzhou and Luoyang hasn't changed much? What does this mean?"

"It means..." Wang Qisheng scratched the back of his head, but his face showed embarrassment. Wang Wenzuo saw this and had to remind him: "The price increase means that the supply exceeds the demand, either the supply is insufficient or the demand increases. The prices of other goods in Chang'an have not increased much. Most likely, the prices in the Western Regions of Tubo have increased a lot. We should send someone to inquire about this! Ah Sheng, do you understand?"

"Father!" Wang Qisheng asked impatiently, "I am your legitimate son, why don't you teach me the art of war and the art of governing the people, but instead teach me the knowledge of craftsmen and merchants all day long? Why is that?"

"The knowledge of merchants and craftsmen? Who told you these things?" Wang Wenzuo frowned dangerously: "But your mother told you?"

"No!" Wang Qisheng looked at Wang Wenzuo timidly, and said with courage: "Mother didn't tell me this on weekdays, but I know it even if she didn't tell me. Back then, my other brothers learned both civil and military skills at a young age, but now I learn mathematics, physics, carpentry, blacksmithing, and business every day. Does father want me to be a businessman or a craftsman in the future?"

"I don't mean that!" Wang Wenzuo shook his head. "There was nothing I could do about your brothers. I was in a high position and my party was weak, so I could only ask them to study hard from a young age so that they could become my assistants earlier. How could they have the time to study like you? Besides, there's nothing wrong with the business and craftsmanship you mentioned. Don't you like telescopes, hot air balloons, and steamships? Without the craftsmanship, how could we have these?"

"But those are only done by men of low status!" Wang Qisheng said anxiously, "Father, I am your son. Do you want me to do menial jobs in the future?"

"Being a craftsman or a merchant is not a menial job!" Wang Wenzuo's face turned gloomy. After a moment, he said in a deep voice, "If you don't want to learn, forget it. You don't have to learn in the future. Go down!"

Wang Qisheng looked at his father timidly, bowed and bowed before leaving. Watching his son's back, Wang Wenzuo sighed. Even his own son could hardly communicate with him. In a sense, his son was right. Even in modern China, officials in power have a much higher social status than businessmen and scientists, not to mention China in the seventh century AD. But now it is not uncommon to have people who know how to rule the country by military force, but there are very few who know economics, business, and natural science. I can't wait until I die and take all the knowledge back to the earth, right?

"General!"

"Oh? It's Mr. Cao!" Wang Wenzuo looked up and found Cao Wenzong standing at the door. He smiled and said, "Come in and talk. I have retired. Don't call me the general anymore!"

"Yes!" Cao Wenzong said with a smile, "When I came in just now, I saw Master Qisheng going out. He seemed unhappy!"

“Oh, let’s not talk about this disappointing kid!” Wang Wenzuo waved his hand: “I wanted to pass on my knowledge to him, but unfortunately this kid doesn’t like it, so I can only forget it!”

"Master Qisheng is still young and doesn't understand things!" Cao Wenzong smiled and consoled him, "In two years, when you are older, you will understand things naturally!"

"Forget it!" Wang Wenzuo shook his head in despair. "Let him be. A forced melon is not sweet. If he doesn't want to learn, he can find someone else who wants to learn. Everyone has his own way! Mr. Cao, what are you doing here today?"

"That's what happened!" Cao Wenzong said in a deep voice, "I heard something a few days ago and I think I should report it to you."

"whats the matter?"

"Do you still remember the King of Poyang?"

"King of Poyang?"

"Are you talking about the son left behind by the late emperor?" Wang Wenzuo frowned and tried to find the name in his mind: "I think his name is Li Wen?"

"Li Shouwen!"

"Yes, that's the name!" Wang Wenzuo clapped his hands and said, "His mother was called Xu Cairen, right? She's passed away, right? What happened to him?"

"This is what happened. The governor of Raozhou reported to the court that the Prince of Poyang had colluded with evil people and privately studied astronomy and mathematics, and was suspected of treason!"

"What?" Wang Wenzuo was surprised: "When did it happen?"

"On the seventh of last month!" Cao Wenzong said, "One of my disciples happened to be traveling there. He immediately sent me the news after learning about this. So the memorial should have just arrived in Chang'an!"

Wang Wenzuo nodded without saying anything. After he retired to Fanyang, he called Cao Wenzong back to his side. In name, he was a martial arts teacher for the younger generation of the family, but secretly he was the head of the spy agency, sending many spies to all directions to gather all kinds of intelligence, and he was directly responsible to Wang Wenzuo himself. "Do you think the rebellion is true or false?" Wang Wenzuo asked.

"It's probably fake!" Cao Wenzong whispered, "The last emperor passed away seven months ago, the crown prince ascended the throne, the governor of Raozhou was replaced, and then the Prince of Poyang rebelled. Isn't this series of events too closely connected?"

Wang Wenzuo nodded silently. Although Li Hong had suffered a stroke and was lying in bed unable to speak, as long as he was alive, the crown prince was only the crown prince and the queen was only the queen. It was always inconvenient to kill the Poyang King. Once Li Hong died, the crown prince became the emperor and the queen became the empress dowager. It would be a piece of cake to kill the Poyang King. Not to mention that the governor of Raozhou was actually also the jailer who monitored the Poyang King. The change of queen meant that the previous one might not be very obedient, so it took seven months. Otherwise, I'm afraid they would have taken action right after Li Hong was buried.

"No matter what, the Prince of Poyang is also the blood of the late emperor! He cannot be killed just based on a memorial from the governor of Raozhou!" Wang Wenzuo said in a deep voice: "I'm afraid we will have to go back and forth several times!"

"My dear, that's right!" Cao Wenzong said, "But once this happened, anyone with a discerning eye would understand that the Empress Dowager wants to kill him!"

"If you don't root out the evil you've done, you'll probably not be able to sleep well!" Wang Wenzuo snorted coldly, "Don't worry, send a few capable people to Raozhou to watch first."

"As ordered!"

After seeing off Cao Wenzong, Wang Wenzuo no longer had the heart to continue reading the report. If Cao Wenzong hadn't reminded him, he would have almost forgotten that Li Hong had such a son. A few months ago, he returned to Chang'an with a small entourage and attended the grand funeral. The former queen, who had just been promoted to the empress dowager, praised him highly and promoted him once again to the rank of Prince of Hejian and Inspector of the Imperial Court. But promotions could not make up for Li Hong's death. In Wang Wenzuo's heart, the last bond that connected him to the Li Tang royal family no longer existed. He refused the court's reward and promotion. On the grounds of old age and illness, he boarded the ship and returned to Hebei the day after the funeral to return to his career. But what he didn't expect was that Li Hong's son would pull himself back into the whirlpool of reality so soon.

"Actually, I don't have to worry about this matter! After Li Hong passed away, I made up my mind to concentrate on preserving as much modern science and technology as I know and developing new colonies. As for Chang'an, as long as the sky doesn't fall, I won't care. Besides, isn't there Hu Liang? Why should I intervene? Yes, Li Shouwen is indeed pitiful, but the imperial family is like this. Since you enjoy wealth and glory, you have to accept fratricide. How can you have the best of both worlds in this world?"

Wang Wenzuo thought about it for a while, and finally decided not to get involved in this mess. He took out a pen and paper and wrote a short letter. He called the servant and said, "Send this to Chang'an and give it to Huliang!"

"As you command! Master!"

After dealing with this little episode, Wang Wenzuo immediately returned to his desk, picked up a pen and continued writing. On the paper was a line of neatly written words: The influence of artillery charge structure and ballistic performance.

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Outside Fanyang City, in the workshop area.

"Wu Niang greets the king!" Gao Wu Niang knelt beside the carriage with her face pressed to the ground. The gold hairpins hanging from her hair, which was already dotted with gray, were trembling slightly, as if she was very excited at the moment.

"Get up!" Wang Wenzuo got off the carriage, looked at Gao Wuniang's face, and sighed: "Wu Niang, we haven't seen each other for many years. Your hair has turned white. We are both old!"

"Thank you for your inquiry, Your Majesty!" Gao Wuniang was a little excited. She didn't expect that Wang Wenzuo, who had already been crowned king, would still be so kind: "I am old, but you are still in your prime!"

"You lied to me again!" Wang Wenzuo shook his head and laughed, "The fairest thing in the world is time. A beggar's day is a day, and a king's day is still a day. I, Wang Wenzuo, cannot live one day as two. I am old, and I have to admit it! How are the preparations going?"

"Everything is ready!" Gao Wuniang said with a smile, "Please follow me!"

"Okay!" Wang Wenzuo nodded. He followed Gao Wuniang into the inner room, crossed a low wall, and came to a lake. He saw that the surrounding area was full of mud and there was no human habitation.

"Look!" Gao Wuniang whispered, "The four sides are not touching. If you try it here, you don't have to worry about being seen by outsiders!"

"Great! Let's start!" Wang Wenzuo nodded.

Gao Wu Niang made a gesture, and several craftsmen carried two wooden boxes forward, opened the boxes in front of Wang Wenzuo, took out an iron pipe and several parts, and assembled them. After half a cup of tea, the craftsmen assembled them and stepped aside. Wang Wenzuo bent down and picked it up. It turned out to be a smoothbore rifle with a snap ring on the muzzle. He picked up the bayonet, put it on the barrel and twisted it, and put the snap ring in to fix the bayonet.

"Where are the gunpowder and lead bullets?" Wang Wenzuo asked.

"Here!" Gao Wuniang hurriedly brought the ox-horn cartridge and lead bullets. Wang Wenzuo skillfully pulled the trigger, then loaded the gunpowder, tamped it with a push rod, pushed the lead bullet into the muzzle, sprinkled primer on the medicine box, then aimed at the target thirty steps away and pulled the trigger. With a gunshot, a ball of fire and white smoke sprayed out from the muzzle, covering everyone.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"

The frightened guard rushed forward, but was pushed away by Wang Wenzuo. He threw the fired musket to his subordinates, walked up to the target, and sighed in disappointment: "It missed. This thing is still not easy to use!"

"It may be the fault of my craftsman!" Gao Wu Niang hurried forward and said, "The sight and front sight are not aligned properly, and the barrel is not straight enough!"

"It's possible, but the musket is like this, and it may not be accurate at this distance!" Wang Wenzuo took the musket back from his subordinate and weighed it twice: "The general structure is like this, it can be fixed, but the weight is still too heavy, it is too inconvenient for the soldiers to hold it!"

"Then can you be more gentle?" Gao Wu Niang asked carefully.

"Well, it can also be used as a short spear at close range!" Wang Wenzuo weighed it twice: "It can't be more than ten pounds, if it's heavier, it can't be used!"

"Well, keep improving!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile, "I'll give you another four months. Is that enough?"

"That's enough!" Gao Wuniang was delighted: "Don't worry, my king. I will definitely make a sample gun before then!"

"It's not just about making a sample gun!" Wang Wenzuo said, "You should know that this thing is to equip the entire army. It won't be just ten or eight guns, but hundreds of thousands. To make so many, your workshop must be fully prepared. Do you understand?"