I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 37: I am willing to call you a national hero
Thinking of this question, Bu Shi suddenly became confused again.

Why didn't the prince offer himself to the emperor?

If such a sacred artifact is presented to the emperor, even if the emperor really wants to depose him, there should be a good chance that he can turn his mind around, right?

Is he afraid that he will perform too well in front of the emperor and his position as crown prince will be too secure?

How can there be such a truth in the world?
Or in other words, when something is abnormal, there must be something wrong!

There is a huge conspiracy hidden behind this matter, but I can’t figure it out for the time being?

Thinking about this, Bu Shi gradually became worried again.

Just at this time.

"Prime Minister, you actually made this bellows so quickly?"

Suddenly, a slightly childish voice came from not far away. It was Liu Hong, who had gotten up at some point and happened to see the double-acting piston bellows in the hands of the kitchen helper.

Bu Shi came back to his senses and bowed:
"I had my doubts, so I asked someone to make it and give it a try."

"how?"

Liu Hong ran up and looked around the bellows, his little face full of hope.

"You go down first."

Bu Shi first ordered the kitchen helper to leave, then he came to Liu Hong and said in a low voice, "This is a weapon of the state. Whoever presents it to the emperor will achieve unparalleled merit!"

Liu Hong was overjoyed when he heard this. He proudly puffed out his chest and said arrogantly:
"I knew that my brother would not lie to me. I think the Prime Minister will believe me this time, right?"

"I believe it..."

Bu Shi agreed, but hesitantly asked, "Your Highness, when the prince gave you this painting yesterday, did he tell you the reason for doing so?"

"Of course I did. My brother said he would help me win the title of Crown Prince."

Liu Hong cheered me up and said with full energy, "He also taught me to try my best. He also hoped that he would live a good life with me after he was crippled. I will definitely not let my brother down!"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Bu Shi's mind paused for a moment, and then began to work rapidly.

The incident of dike destruction and farmland flooding had already passed. The emperor personally issued an edict stating that the incident would be beneficial rather than harmful, and the mere punishment of confining the prince for three months on the charge of "falsifying the rules without causing any harm" was proof of this.

But after that, the emperor suddenly summoned Liu Hong back to Chang'an.

He was given a house and allowed to live there permanently, and even gave the house a name that was in direct contrast to "Bowang Garden".

This makes people wonder if there is something unknown going on between the emperor and the prince?

The relationship has reached a point where it cannot be restored...

Otherwise, why would the prince support Liu Hong with all his might as if he knew he would be deposed, hoping to live a good life with Liu Hong after he was deposed?

That’s probably it!
Is this... the King of Qi's luck?
Bu Shi felt that he had an idea in mind, and immediately said to Liu Hong: "Your Highness, this matter is of great importance. I am of the same mind as Your Highness, and I will keep my mouth shut. But you must not tell these things to a third person, not even Your Majesty."

"Otherwise, if he ruins the prince's plan, he won't be able to count on His Highness anymore!"

Now Bu Shi has figured out Liu Hong's feelings towards Liu Ju.

He knew that his warning might not be useful, but as long as he brought Liu Ju out, he could ensure that Liu Hong would not tell the secret.

"Of course I know this, I won't say anything nonsense."

Liu Hong nodded solemnly upon hearing this.

"And this pair of bellows."

Bu Shi then hurriedly said, "There is no time to lose. In order not to disappoint the prince, it is best to send him to the palace as soon as possible. I will go and draft a memorial for your highness!"

this moment.

Bu Shi seemed to see a golden road emerging from under his feet, gradually extending towards the direction of Weiyang Palace...

Xuanshi Hall.

"Kong Jin, Sang Hongyang, I summoned you here today to teach you to take a look at this..."

Liu Che pointed to the bellows in the center of the hall, glanced at Liu Hong's memorial, and then continued, "...Is it possible for the double-acting piston bellows to replace the bellows for iron smelting?"

Kong Jin was the Minister of Agriculture of the current dynasty.

Before entering the court as an official, he was the largest iron smelter in Nanyang, with a fortune worth thousands of gold. Now he is in charge of the official iron smelting affairs for Emperor Liu Che.

Sang Hongyang, Minister of Agriculture.

This man was very powerful. He was the most important financial minister in Liu Che's life.

It is not an exaggeration to say that if he had not managed the finances for Liu Che and worked so hard to find money for him, there might not have been Emperor Wu of Han who conquered the world and fought against all odds.

For this reason, he later became one of the four ministers appointed by Emperor Liu Che before his death.

However, he also took a lot of blame for "competing with the people for profit" on behalf of Liu Che. In addition, since he was a businessman, Sima Qian did not think much of him and did not write a biography for him in "Records of the Grand Historian".

"promise."

The two men responded and came to the bellows one after another.

Kong was only proficient in iron smelting. Just by hearing the four words "replace the bellows", he knew what this double-acting piston bellows was used for.

So he just looked around the bellows for a few seconds and then directly grabbed the lever.

"call--"

"call--"

With a pull and a push, the several one-way air inlets installed under the bellows will open and close automatically.

Just these two moves were enough to make him look surprised.

However, he did not comment immediately. Instead, he went to the air outlet of the double-acting piston bellows and covered the air outlet with his hand while speaking to Sang Hongyang:
"Central Minister Sang, could you please push and pull this pole for me?"

"nature."

Sang Hongyang nodded, walked forward and followed Kong Jin's steps.

"call--"

"call--"

Whether pushing or pulling, wind would come out. The wind passed through the gaps between Kong Jin's fingers and blew the hem of his clothes back and forth.

At this moment.

The expression on Kong Jin's face was no longer just surprise, but instead was replaced by indescribable shock.

He immediately turned around and saluted Liu Che, and said excitedly: "Your Majesty, this is a real weapon for the country!"

"Let's not talk about other things for now. This uninterrupted air supply method alone is several times faster than the air supply rate of the bellows used in iron smelting today!"

"Your Majesty, do you know what this means?"

"This means that the temperature of the iron smelting blast furnace will be greatly increased, and the efficiency of iron smelting will be greatly improved as a result."

"And the iron ore will be burned more thoroughly in the furnace. The same amount of carbon and iron ore can not only produce more iron, but the purity of the iron will also be further improved!"

"Iron with a high enough purity does not need to be hammered and refined. It only needs some simple firing and quenching processes to become refined iron."

"By then, all the iron tools made by us Han people will be tough and powerful weapons!"

At this point, Kong Jin's face was already flushed, and he bowed to the sky with his hands clasped:
"Your Majesty, I wonder who presented this divine weapon. This creation will benefit future generations, and I am willing to call him a national hero!"

(End of this chapter)