newbobooks Chapter 263 I Have True Feelings
Chapter 263 I Have True Feelings
Ye Muchen hung up his clothes and sat down.
"Nanzhao is a small country with one side facing the sea and the other side separated from us, Beiye, by a large river. They have many products, especially a rich variety of medicinal herbs."
"It's mainly because the barbarians are tall and strong. I heard that their fire lances can hit things from a distance and are extremely lethal."
Jingxue laughed. "The fire musket can hit flesh, but it can't penetrate iron, such as shields. Speaking of shields, what are the shields your army uses made of?"
"Elm wood," Ye Muchen replied.
"Huh?" Jingxue rolled her eyes. She had always thought that shields were made of iron.
"What's wrong? I also think that a shield made of elm wood wouldn't be able to withstand a musket. So what do you suggest we use as a shield?" Ye Muchen asked, looking at Jingxue's puzzled expression.
“Elm wood definitely won’t do, we need iron!” Jingxue said.
"But that's so heavy! Most soldiers couldn't lift it, could they?"
Jingxue pouted. "I didn't mean for you to bring a piece of iron. I reckon a one-centimeter-thick iron plate could stop a bullet."
Ye Muchen said she didn't understand. Seeing her expression, Jingxue gestured with two fingers and said, "Just make a shield from an iron plate this thick."
"Xue'er, could you draw a map for me? After all, I am the commander-in-chief of the army. If His Majesty agrees to send troops, I may also have to go to the border of Nanzhao."
Jingxue nodded, "Of course, it's about protecting our country! But don't rush, they haven't attacked yet, have they? I'll draw it for you when I have time."
"Thank you!" Ye Muchen mimicked Jingxue's tone from that day, feeling that this was a genuine expression of gratitude.
Jingxue was amused by him and suddenly found him quite cute.
Over the next few days, Jingxue became busy, handing over the academy and training staff, and the Prince's mansion also became lively.
Jingxue had a good impression of Zhao Chen and brought him from the manor to train with her. Zhao Chen's hand had almost fully recovered.
Jingxue took out a lot of building materials from her space, including cement, steel, and of course wood, and hired a carpenter to make many beautiful window frames.
Qin Jing was full of praise for the glass that Jing Xue brought out and insisted on being among the first to use it. Despite the still cold weather, he led the craftsmen to replace all the windows in the Duke's mansion with glass.
Seeing that he installed it quite well, Jingxue had all the windows in Prince Rui's mansion replaced as a wedding gift for Ye Musi.
Ye Muchen also selected a few people from the army to learn how to pump water wells. As for glass, he didn't dare to think about it. It must be very expensive. The military village couldn't afford it. Even their Wangfu Jingxue hadn't replaced the glass windows.
Actually, Jingxue wasn't unwilling to give it, but she felt it was a bit too early to change it now, and besides, the carpenters didn't have the time.
Ye Muchen was thinking about how to celebrate Jingxue's birthday. He knew that Jingxue's birthday was the 25th day of the first lunar month, which was something he had specifically asked Jing Zhiyuan about that day.
He wanted to give Jingxue a unique birthday gift, but Jingxue had too many nice things, while he had nothing but gold and silver jewelry.
However, he still secretly discussed it with Qin Jing.
“Cousin, I think your most valuable asset is your sincerity. Look at your wife, she has everything she needs.”
Ye Muchen glared at Qin Jing and said, "I do have a sincere heart, but I can't just take it out and show it to her, can I?"
Qin Jing smiled, "Cousin, what I mean is sincere. Let's think about what your wife wants most besides making money?"
"She wants her family to be free, but we can't do that!"
Qin Jing raised an eyebrow. "That's true. Then let's just throw her a proper birthday banquet and make her happy, okay?"
Ye Muchen said, "Give her a surprise! Xue'er doesn't want to be bound by worldly etiquette, so let's invite a few young people over to have some fun. We can skip the elders."
Qin Jing nodded. "Should we really plan out how to do this?"
Jingxue had long forgotten her own birthday. She didn't know how to read the moon in ancient times, nor did she have a calendar or a mobile phone.
But the retired emperor in the palace remembered that since the Cangbei delegation left and the children returned to the Zhanwang Mansion, Yue'an Palace had returned to its usual quiet.
Baili Xian now spends all his time sewing and cutting up a piece of silicone skin! He has no time to deal with the Emperor Emeritus, and even the two princesses don't come anymore.
The retired emperor was very bored. He would often take his binoculars and look around, or ride his little motorcycle around Yue'an Palace.
The Emperor has been busy these past few days discussing the promotion of grain varieties with the Ministry of Revenue.
The amount provided by the Ministry of Revenue was far too large; the Emperor felt that Jingxue wouldn't have that many grain seeds.
That evening, the Emperor arrived at Yue'an Palace.
Eunuch Xi welcomed the Emperor in, but the Retired Emperor was not seen in the main hall. "Where is Father?"
"Your Majesty, this old servant will go and fetch him for you right away!" Eunuch Xi turned and went to the backyard, where the Emperor Emeritus sat on the roof, seemingly looking at something.
"Your Majesty the Emperor Emeritus, the Emperor is here. Please leave!"
"I saw him coming a long time ago, what's the rush?" After saying that, the old man jumped to the ground, then went into the front hall with his hands behind his back.
The emperor greeted him, and the father and son sat down.
"Is there something Your Majesty has come for?"
"Yes! There are two things I need to discuss with Father Emperor," the Emperor said.
The retired emperor recalled Jingxue's sarcastic words to him that day, stroked his mustache, and said, "Your Majesty has ascended the throne and can make decisions on all matters on your own!"
emperor"……"
His father is acting very strangely today. What triggered him? But since he's already here, let's just say it!
"Father, there are two things I'm unsure about, so I've come to discuss them with you."
Without waiting for the retired emperor's reply, the emperor continued, "The first issue is the visit of the Nanzhao envoys. This time, their visit is different from that of Cangbei. They want us to send troops to help them. The court officials are not in agreement. Most of them do not want to help and will deal with it when the enemy comes to us."
"Do you think our son should return directly to Nanzhao and not let their delegation come, or should we decide after they arrive?" the Emperor asked.
In fact, the Emperor Emeritus knew about these things. "I think Your Majesty means to invite them, right? It would be inappropriate to refuse them directly. You have to think about how powerful a foreign country becomes when it annexes another country."
The Emperor nodded. "The Prince of War, the Prince of Rui, and several dukes share the same view. Although we are not afraid of war, how can we surrender without a fight when foreign powers invade?"
The Emperor Emeritus looked at the window opposite and said, "Jingxue has invented a new type of glass these days, and she's also teaching people how to pump water from wells. Your Majesty, do you think she has a way to deal with the fire muskets?"
The Emperor was unaware of these matters. “Father, when I first received the memorial from Prince Jin, I really thought Master Yuantong’s prediction of ‘all nations coming to pay homage’ was accurate. But I didn’t expect that he was asking for help. However, it’s not impossible to ask that girl.”
"Speaking of Jingxue, the second thing I want to say is related to her. The Ministry of Revenue has allocated too much grain for promotion. I'm afraid that girl won't be willing to provide it, or that she doesn't have it, or that she'll make conditions against me."
The retired emperor glanced at the emperor and said, "She should have it, but I promised her before that I would release Jing Zhiyuan's family as long as she completed the task of promoting the grain seeds."
"Oh?" The Emperor was somewhat surprised.
"Father, won't this cause dissatisfaction among the court officials?"