I practiced magic in the Three Kingdoms

However, Lu Fang didn't care much about these things. This was his personality. When it came time to fight, he would never hesitate and would act decisively and ruthlessly.

But when he doesn't want to fight, he becomes very indifferent and never grins at anyone.

Lu Fang actually didn't care much about money. After all, thanks to the dividends from Qiqiao Pavilion, he was already very wealthy and had no worries about food and clothing. He could devote himself to technological research and development every day and didn't have to pay attention to the disturbances outside.

Lu Fang is no longer the small carpenter with few coins in his pocket. Compared with making money, he has higher and greater pursuits. What he wants is to explore the truth of the world. To do this, he must do experiments frequently, and experiments require money.

Wang Jing was not stingy with his money, so Lu Fang hardly cared about other things.

However, Yang Xiu was also a proud person, so how could he covet the credit and reputation of others?

If he wanted, he had his own research topics, so what he said just now was just a joke.

Both of them have very strong personalities, and now they have the same ideals and hobbies, so they get along very well and have become close friends not long after they met.

“The modification is finally completed!”

Lu Fang put down the tools in his hands, raised his hands and cheered and laughed, completely different from his usual low-key and humble demeanor.

Yang Xiu also wiped the oil off his hands, then smiled and said to Lu Fang: "Zhengliang, I really want to congratulate you this time. After improving the silk loom, once it is widely promoted, fame and fortune are just around the corner."

Lu Fang wiped his hands and saw that there was no one else around, so he quietly pulled Yang Xiu to talk about other things: "Grandmaster De, have you heard about the master's plan to implement a patent protection law?"

"Well, when I was chatting with the Lord a few days ago, he mentioned that the craftsmen in Qiqiao Pavilion should have received the news in advance. It is said that everyone is in a very excited mood."

"Yes, the Imperial Engineering Institute is currently selecting a site. I heard that it is located on the site of the burned-down White Horse Temple. On the day of the start of construction, the lord will submit an application for this decree to His Majesty during the court meeting. Once approved, the interests of the craftsmen will be guaranteed, and the number of people who are greedy for their own products will also decrease."

Both of them knew that Wang Jing's submission of the decree application was just a formality. Neither the Emperor Liu Xie nor the members of the New Party who controlled the government could refuse, nor would they refuse.

Anyway, this decree is not aimed at the royal family. In fact, the royal family itself has some shares in Qiqiao Pavilion, and Liu Xie can also obtain dividends from it.

Therefore, it can be said that when it comes to the patent protection law, the royal family and Wang Jingcai are allies of interest.

As for the fact that craftsmen have always been fond of cherishing their own things, and many original techniques have been lost with the passage of time, Yang Xiu, like Lu Fang, was full of sighs and regrets about this: "I hope that such things will be reduced in the future. Some of the research results of our predecessors should not be lost in the long river of history."

"Yeah, I hope so."

Lu Fang felt very upset when he thought about the many records of wonderful creations in history that shocked the world but were eventually lost.

Many skilled craftsmen were invited to join the Qiqiao Pavilion, but no matter how much they were paid, very few of them were willing to pass on their unique skills to their apprentices.

If any accident happens to these old craftsmen, or if they die of old age, these skills will probably be lost again.

But can we blame the craftsmen for not knowing the overall situation and not considering the overall situation?
Neither Lu Fang nor Wang Jing are shameless enough to this extent.

After all, craftsmen are also human beings and they also need to eat. You want to steal their food and smash their bowls, and expect them to be noble and upright. Why?
The reality is that there are too many cases of masters starving their apprentices to death. Instead of trying to protect patents and copyrights and the interests of craftsmen, they blame the craftsmen for not knowing how to sacrifice and contribute. How shameless must one be to say such things?
Therefore, Wang Jing did not blame the craftsmen for being so selfish, but instead planned to implement a patent protection bill to protect their interests so that everyone could have no worries and even earn more money than before by passing on their unique skills.

After doing all this, Wang Jing then called on craftsmen to contribute their skills in a reasonable and well-founded manner to promote the overall progress of Chinese civilization.

In fact, many problems in this world are often caused by people not willing to pay and want to get something for free.

Therefore, to solve the problem, we must not just stand on the moral high ground and complain to others, but share the benefits first.

At General Wei's residence, Wang Jing was planning for this matter. The biggest problem facing him was how to crack down on counterfeiters and pirates.

In fact, since Wang Jing supported the development of industry and commerce, many private wool textile workshops have emerged on the market, and some of these private workshops use imitation machines.

After all, the textile machines produced by Qiqiaoge are limited and the prices are not low, so many people think that instead of buying them, it is better to copy them directly, which can save a lot of money.

This phenomenon is getting worse with the expansion of the raw material market.

There is no doubt that if we want to promote patent protection laws, the first group to be cracked down on are these pirates.

But how easy is this kind of thing?
It is not difficult to find the identity of someone who has the ability to counterfeit, but the difficult part is how to deal with him.

Because of their enormous power, these people don't even bother to hide. They often have backers behind them, either from aristocratic families or wealthy families, or they are nobles in the court. Some of them even have local Han royal relatives who secretly invest in them.

If we really want to catch all these people in one fell swoop, it would be tantamount to declaring open war on all the civil and military officials in the court.

As a counselor, Guo Jia did not quite understand why Wang Jing did this, but he still provided reliable advice: "My lord, if you really want to catch them all in one fell swoop, I'm afraid it will cause a strong backlash."

"But someone has to do it, and I will never compromise on that."

Wang Jing doesn't care about the saying that the law does not punish everyone, because once he does something so bad, he will "dare to do it again next time."

In the end, indulgence will only make things more out of control.

Guo Jia also saw Wang Jing's determination, so he did not dissuade him, but said: "My lord, you can make new rules, and then let bygones be bygones."

"Oh why?"

Wang Jing looked at Guo Jia curiously. He didn't care about the slight loss of interests.

Guo Jia explained, "The wool spinning machine was invented by the lord. They copied it privately, which was a big mistake. The lord has forgiven them for the past. This is a favor. If they make the same mistake again after the implementation of the decree, it means they don't know how to appreciate the favor. We can punish them with thunder and lightning to make an example of them."

No matter how unreasonable a law is, it can still be implemented as long as the ruler's military force is strong enough.

Wang Jing was not trying to seize power by trickery, he was just protecting his own interests, so anyone who wanted to go against him would naturally have no basis for argument.

"Zhengliang, where is the silk loom you improved? I want to see it myself!"

"My lord, please follow me. The machine is here."

After Lu Fang and Yang Xiu informed Wang Jing of the successful improvement of the silk loom, he immediately rushed to the research and development center of Qiqiao Pavilion located in Xianyun Villa.

In the warehouse, we saw the samples that Lu Fang had successfully produced.

Although this machine is still very simple and its shape is not good, it has indeed completed basic technical verification. With just a few adjustments and improvements, it can be put into actual production immediately.

"Zhengliang, you quietly gave me a big surprise!"

Wang Jing was indeed very happy. After all, the improvement of the silk loom was entirely the credit of Lu Fang alone, and Wang Jing really didn't give him any cheats.

But some people's lives are just cheating, like Lu Fang.

The new knowledge and new ideas that Wang Jing brought to him only made his already brilliant life even more brilliant.

Wang Jing praised Lu Fang highly: "The Imperial Academy of Engineering is about to be established, and you have come up with such a technological achievement. It is really God's help!"

Improving the stone cannon is of course important, but its main impact is on military strength. For most people, they may not really feel how important it is.

But the silk loom is different. It is a civilian product and a product that can continuously provide a lot of economic benefits. Its influence and radiation range among the people are much greater than that of the stone cannon.

After all, most ordinary people do not understand the strategic significance of the giant stone cannon, nor do they care much about it. However, the productivity of silk fabrics such as silk has increased, and the selling price has decreased, which is a simple and easy thing to understand. And it can benefit many people who originally could not afford it, which is the biggest difference.

Although Wang Jing was busy dealing with government affairs and military operations all day long, his understanding of economics far surpassed that of other people of his time.

In his opinion, the improved silk loom, as long as this technology is used properly, can definitely greatly change the status of craftsmen, and at the same time refute the Confucian contempt and slander of technology.

After all, if the strange and lewd techniques can make money, boost the economy, and improve people's livelihood, then no matter how many people oppose it, they will not be able to stop this surging trend.

Therefore, Wang Jing was very excited. He pressed Lu Fang's shoulder and said, "Zhengliang, please help me these few days. Take people to make silk looms immediately and train a group of workers to put the machines into production. I hope to see the first batch of silk products as soon as possible."

Although he didn't understand Wang Jing's intention, Lu Fang agreed without hesitation: "I will obey your order."

"Haha, don't be so nervous. I'll provide the funds needed to build the workshop. After the workshop is established, you can own a portion of the shares by investing in your technology. If you make money, we can share the profits."

After Wang Jing briefly explained the concepts of shares and equity, Lu Fang understood them. After all, in Yangzhou, there were many people who did business in partnership, and Lu Fang's family also had its own shop business.

Doing business with Wang Jing was something Lu Fang had never thought about before, nor did he dare to think about it. So when he heard this, he was immediately terrified and said, "My lord, I am willing to offer this technology."

"Hey, what you said is not my intention to take advantage of you. This matter is settled."

How could Wang Jing agree to this? He was worried that no one was taking the lead in demonstrating how to make money through patent protection. Now that he encountered an opportunity to promote the new law, how could he miss it?
Rather than a little bit of petty profit, what Wang Jing needs is to start a whole new era.

In this way, nearly another month passed.

Emperor Liu Xie granted the marriage in front of all the civil and military officials in the court, and Wang Jing would prepare to marry Cai Yan, the daughter of the Secretary General Cai Yong, within three days.

In fact, relevant preparations have been made long ago.

When the current general got married, Luoyang was naturally full of celebration. Many dignitaries and foreign merchants who came to the capital to do business sent gifts.

Among them are many silks and satins, even Shu brocade from Yizhou and silk from Yangzhou. The silk produced in these two places has the best quality and the best weaving technology in the country, so the silk fabrics produced are also famous all over the world.

In order to please Wang Jing, Liu Xie even specially selected some of the best tributes and sent them to General Wei's mansion, so that he could use these things as a betrothal gift.

However, Wang Jing only accepted the rewards from the emperor. As for the betrothal gift, he insisted on using the newly produced Luoyang silk cloth.

Originally, Luoyang also produced silk fabrics, but due to climate and population reasons, the quality of raw silk was obviously not as good as that of Yangzhou, and the weaving technology was much weaker than that of Yizhou. You must know that the overall weaving capabilities of Sichuan and Shu have been very strong since ancient times, and most of the high-end brocades are produced in Shu.

Even the powerful and wealthy in Luoyang were proud to wear Shu brocade.

Therefore, Wang Jing's abnormal behavior of not using the tribute but using silk produced locally in Luoyang naturally attracted attention.

Even some people who had suffered at the hands of Wang Jing and were extremely hostile to him wished he would make a fool of himself in this matter.

Even Cai Yong became a little anxious. Although he did not value money much, this matter involved the honor of the Cai family and his daughter's reputation.

If there really was a mistake in the fabric of the clothing, my daughter would be extremely embarrassed.

So Cai Yong had to come to Wang Jing privately and ask him about the situation in front of him: "Yuan Xu, what is going on?"

"Mr. Bojie, don't be in a hurry. Come, sit down and have some tea first. We can talk slowly if we have anything to say."

Wang Jing helped Cai Yong sit down slowly and personally made tea for him. Then he said with a smile, "Mr. Bo Ji came here today to discuss the selection of silk for the wedding, right?"

This time, the emperor personally granted the marriage to Cai Yan, so it was naturally necessary to hold a grand ceremony.

A wedding would inevitably require a large amount of fabric. These things were actually easy to solve. Wang Jing had no shortage of this little money, and the emperor had a lot of rewards. Those were tributes for the royal family, and there was nothing higher in quality than this in the world.

But things that were originally going according to plan encountered twists and turns because of Wang Jing's intervention.

In fact, Wang Jing did it on purpose. The marriage of important figures is often a political show. Of course, Wang Jing's love for Cai Yan was sincere, but it did not prevent him from using this show to gain extra benefits.

In fact, ordinary people’s marriage is also a business. After all, love is not necessarily fake, but isn’t it nice to earn some gift money by the way?

And what Wang Jing is doing now is nothing more than making a few more billions of gifts through this wedding.

Cai Yong was worried. He patiently drank a few cups of tea, but it still didn't quench his anger. Instead, he became more anxious: "Yuan Xu, tell me honestly, what do you think?"

If Wang Jing didn't give him the lowdown today, Cai Yong would be afraid that he would not be able to eat or sleep after returning home.

"Mr. Bojie, please rest assured that marriage is a major event in life, and I will never treat it as a joke. But since you are so worried, I will give you a little insight."

Then Wang Jing clapped his hands: "Someone, go to the warehouse and get the things for me."

"Yes, master."

Behind Wang Jing, a maid immediately responded and left.

"Mr. Bojie, please wait for a moment. The answer to the puzzle will be revealed soon."

"Okay, today I'm going to see what you're up to."

Soon Cai Yong saw a piece of exquisite silk cloth with intricate patterns, which was quickly held in the hands of the maids and presented to him.

Cai Yong was also a connoisseur of the goods, so he stared at it with his eyes wide open, stunned. It took him a long time to come back to his senses, and then he asked Wang Jing nervously: "Can I try it?"

I just want to touch it with my own hands. After all, silk is something you wear on your body, so it can't just look good.

Wang Jing smiled and nodded, then extended his hand and said, "Of course you can. Please go ahead."

Upon hearing this, Cai Yong touched it with trembling hands in excitement, and then revealed an expression of enjoyment: "It feels smooth and has a fine texture. It is really good material!"

The Cai family was wealthy in the past, and Cai Yong was a famous scholar who led a decent life, so he did have some appreciation ability.

It has to be said that the quality of the silk cloth woven by the silk loom improved by Lu Fang is really amazing.

It is even more bullying to compare it with other products of the same era.

After all, the generation gap in products is even enough to make up for the difference in raw materials. Moreover, when Wang Jing has money in the future, he can let Lu Fang import high-end raw silk directly from Yangzhou.

Lu Fang's family's fiefdom was originally in Yangzhou, so they had a large number of connections in the local area and did not have to worry about not being able to find sources of supply.

Cai Yong couldn't let go of the cloth in his hand. The delicate and soft silk felt like the tender skin of a young girl when he touched it. It was so wonderful and much better than the royal tribute he had seen.

Wang Jing saw Cai Yong's expression and knew that he had been captured. He immediately asked with a smile, "Mr. Bo Ji, is this enough as a betrothal gift?"

"That's enough, that's enough."

Cai Yong was overjoyed, but at the same time, he was a little embarrassed about what he had just hurriedly asked. But he coughed lightly to cover up his embarrassment, and then looked at Wang Jing: "Yuan Xu, why are you still calling me Mr. Bo Ji? It's a bit strange for you to call me that."

This is a subtle reminder to Wang Jing that it is time to change the name! (End of this chapter)