It is difficult for one person to change the situation of war.
For example, in recent years, Nanchen was almost defeated in battles against Northern Qi.
This is not only a disparity in combat power between the two armies, but also a disparity in national power, and this gap cannot be changed by one or two people.
Neither did Shen Yi.
Although he has always been an active member of the Northern Expedition, he clearly understood the gap between the two sides.
Although Northern Qi's national power has visibly weakened over the years, there may still be some gaps between the two sides.
And the many things Shen Yi has done over the years are actually, in the final analysis, doing the same thing.
Prepare for the Northern Expedition.
To be more precise, we are trying our best to close the gap so that our side can gain some advantages.
That's why he spent two or three years creating Coastal Capital Division.
And now, something that may not be inferior to Coastal Capital appears in front of Shen Yi!
Glass!
If glass can be produced on a large scale, even if it is not purely transparent but a greenish glass, it will be enough for Shen Yi to manufacture military telescopes on a large scale.
And what's even more amazing is that when this thing was first made, it could be sold as jewelry, cheating those rich people first and harvesting a lot of wealth.
Thinking of this, Shen Yi's face became serious and he said: "Zixing, remember, you must take good care of these two glaze craftsmen and treat them as favorably as possible. You can rent or buy a small manor outside the city.
Set up a glaze workshop in the manor."
"This glaze workshop..."
Mr. Shen touched his chin and said, "We just produce this kind of glass. The more translucent the better."
Having said this, Shen Yi glanced at the piece of glass in his hand that was full of bubbles. After saying "hmm", he continued: "Let them find ways to improve the formula and try not to have these bubbles."
Xu Fu wrote them down one by one, nodded and said, "Yes, I will do it in the afternoon."
"Let those apprentices be smarter."
Shen Yi whispered: "Think of ways to learn all their recipes."
Xu Fu nodded and said, "Yes, I will go back and select a few more alert children myself."
"Don't be stingy with your money."
Shen Yi knocked on the table and said, "It is worth spending tens of thousands of taels of silver on this workshop every year."
Hearing these words, Xu Fu was stunned.
What is the concept of tens of thousands taels!
Sometimes a merchant ship goes to sea and is loaded with goods, but it may not cost more than 10,000 taels!
You know, even a few years ago when Xu Fu was an imperial merchant in Jiankang, supplying pens and inks to the imperial court and other things, his net profit for a year might only be two to thirty thousand taels.
Seeing him frozen in place, Shen Yi asked: "What? Don't you have enough money there? If not, I will withdraw some for you from a nearby place."
"Enough, enough."
Xu Fu exhaled a breath, lowered his head quickly and said, "Don't worry, sir, I have a lot of cash there."
"Um…"
Shen Yi thought for a while and continued: "There are many porcelain shops in Jiankang City. During this time, you can find a few masters of porcelain firing and making porcelain for your own use."
"Most of it will come in handy in the future."
Although Xu Fu was a very thoughtful person, there was one thing he always did very well.
That is, he never doubted Shen Yi's judgment.
This is because Shen Yi has almost exhausted all his plans over the years. As long as he arranges things, there is almost nothing he can't do.
The two discussed the specific details and agreed on a time to visit the two Western glaziers, before Xu Fu said goodbye and left.
………………
In the next few days, Shen Yi went to meet the two Western glaziers. Both of them were about forty years old and looked very good.
To be precise, it's a bit sloppy.
In fact, in terms of the process of civilization alone, China is now clearly better than the West, whether it is living conditions or national systems.
It was the first time for these two Westerners to see an "international metropolis" like Jiankang. They spent the past few days walking around and their eyes were wide open.
The glaze workshop instructed by Shen Yi was quickly built under Xu Fu's execution. Xu Fu personally selected a dozen children around the age of thirteen or fourteen to enter the workshop as apprentices.
These kids are not hard to find.
In this era, the most indispensable thing is children from poor families. As long as they are given some money, let alone apprenticeship, there is no problem even if they sell themselves.
In the blink of an eye, another ten days passed, and it was May.
This day was also the day when Lu Ruoxi and Shen Yuan, mother and son, returned to Jiankang. Mr. Shen, who had already returned to work at the Ministry of War, took a day off and went to meet the mother and son outside the city.
After picking up the mother and son back home, Shen Yicai asked: "Why haven't father and Zichang come back?"
Shen Zhang is a man who loves his hometown and often doesn't want to come back to Jiankang once he returns to Jiangdu. It's not surprising that he doesn't come back, but Shen Heng is already serving in the imperial court and is the editor of the Hanlin Academy.
Just come back together.
Lu Ruoxi had just arrived at home not long ago. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "Uncle, he said that he took a month's leave from the Hanlin Academy, so it will take some time before he can come back."
Lu Ruoxi smiled and said, "He enjoys it."
Shen Yi understood immediately and laughed dumbly.
Chen Youniang, Shen Heng's little lover, is also in Jiangdu now. Although Shen Heng won the Jinshi, she is still only seventeen or eighteen years old after all. It is the time when she is desperate for love. Of course, she is not willing to go back to the Hanlin Academy to face her immediately.
The old men in the Imperial Academy.
After the couple whispered for a while, Shen Yi remembered something. He coughed and said, "Madam, Xiao Xu came to the house a few days ago and said that he was planning to marry Liu Niang."
Lu Ruoxi nodded first, and then said, "Didn't your husband give him a cousin name? Why do you still call him Xiao Xu?"
"It's called getting used to it."
Shen Yi smiled and said: "What's the big deal if I shout in private?"
At this point, he coughed and continued: "He and Liu Niang both lost their parents when they were young, and their lives were full of misfortunes. They probably have no experience in getting married. When Madam is free, you can go and see them. By the way,
Please help me."
"Don't worry, husband."
Lu Ruoxi smiled and said: "In the afternoon, I will go to Cuiyun Tower to see my little sister."
"Um…"
Mr. Shen smiled: "Thank you, madam."
Lu Ruoxi rolled her eyes at Shen Yi.
"You say such nonsense again."
In the afternoon, Lu Ruoxi asked Lian'er to teach Shen Yuan how to write big characters at home, while she went out to Cuiyun Tower to see if there was anything Xu Liu Niang needed help with.
And Shen Yi, who has been working at the Ministry of War recently, also had a rare free afternoon and took a good nap at home.
Before he woke up from his sleep, Mr. Shen was woken up by Jiang Sheng.
However, Shen Yi knew that Jiang Sheng was quite measured in his actions, so there must be something wrong with waking him up. He just frowned slightly, then yawned and asked, "What happened?"
Jiang Sheng quickly lowered his head and said: "Sir, General Xue has arrived and is waiting to see you in the front yard."
"General Xue..."
Since he took up the post as a doctor in the martial arts department, Shen Yi has met many military generals, and naturally there are many with the surname Xue among them. However, after thinking about it, Shen Yi thought that no one with the surname Xue was familiar to him.
Soon, he came to his senses, and his thoughts that had been a little confusing since he had just woken up became clearer.
"Xue Wei?"
Jiang Sheng nodded quickly: "That's General Xue..."
Shen Yi nodded, stood up, and was about to get dressed and go out to meet guests.
But soon, he reacted again and frowned.
"Xue Wei came alone, Ling Su didn't come?"
Jiang Sheng nodded: "Yes, General Xue came alone and brought some gifts..."
Shen Yi rubbed his eyebrows with a headache.
He had been at the Ministry of War these days and had not heard about Ling Su and Xue Wei entering the palace to meet the emperor.
In other words, Xue Wei should have come to see him as soon as he arrived in Jiankang!
Even the emperor hasn’t had time to see him!
I really don’t know whether to be happy or resentful that there is such an “old club”.
Mr. Shen pulled off the coat that was already on his body, looked at Jiang Sheng helplessly, and let out a heavy breath.
"Go tell him to get lost."
Master Shen said angrily: "Tell him when Ling Su will come to see me, and he will come with Ling Su again."
"You are such an old man and you have been an official for so long. How come you don't have any brains at all?"
Jiang Sheng nodded quickly, turned around and went down to scold Master Shen.
After Jiang Sheng left, Mr. Shen sat by the bed and yawned.
Although Xue Wei's behavior was "stupid", I have to say that it was very useful to Mr. Shen.
At least it shows that Xue Wei is still loyal to him.
Thinking of this, Shen Yi was suddenly stunned, and then frowned.