Dad, don't be greedy! My brother climbed into the emperor's bed, and I became famous overn

Chapter 179 Gu Mingli really understands him

The next day.

The Imperial Study.

Gu Mingli paced back and forth in front of the palace gate a few times, and finally rubbed his face.

I forced myself to step inside.

Xiao Ye was already at the dragon desk, holding a vermilion brush, annotating a book.

Hearing footsteps, he paused for a moment.

Gu Mingli bowed respectfully.

"Your Majesty, I am here to take my duty."

Xiao Ye grunted in response, without even looking up.

Gu Mingli lowered his head and walked to his desk, where he sat down. He spread out the drawings and picked up a charcoal pencil.

The movements were three times lighter than usual.

The hall was so quiet that the only sound was the soft scratching of the brush tip on the paper.

This silence lasted for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

"Gu Mingli".

coming.

Gu Mingli's shoulders stiffened slightly.

He looked up and put on an innocent smile.

"Your subject is here."

Xiao Ye put down his vermilion brush and slowly raised his eyelids.

Those eyes, capable of seeing through people's hearts, were deep and aloof.

"What happened yesterday..."

Gu Mingli's smile became even brighter.

"Which matter?"

Xiao Ye: "..."

Gu Mingli: ｡◕ᴗ◕｡

Xiao Ye took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to throw the folding paper at Gu Mingli's head.

"Last night, outside the Four Treasurys, you were holding my brocade quilt, looking completely infatuated."

"You'd better be able to give a reasonable explanation."

Gu Mingli blinked in a daze.

Wait a minute!

Who is this describing?

What does it mean to be completely infatuated? What does it mean to be utterly captivated?!

This is just spreading rumors!

defamation!

but……

After all, he was the emperor.

We still have to give them face.

People still need to be coaxed.

Gu Ming cleared his throat, his expression instantly switching to a profound and inscrutable look.

"Your Majesty, it's the guidance of an immortal. You understand."

Xiao Ye frowned.

"What did the immortal instruct you on?"

Gu Mingli stood up from behind the desk and patted the charcoal ash off his hands.

"Your Majesty, please wait a moment."

He turned to look at Liu An, who was serving in the corner.

"Eunuch Liu, please bring me the bag of building blocks that I gave to His Majesty last time."

Liu An hurried to the side hall to retrieve his belongings.

He quickly returned with the burlap sack and placed it on Gu Mingli's desk.

Gu Mingli untied the bag and poured out a pile of golden nanmu wood blocks of varying sizes.

He had shaved the wood into neat strips and squares with a knife beforehand, and polished the edges and corners until they were smooth and rounded.

He cleared a space on the table and began to assemble it.

Xiao Ye didn't speak, he just watched quietly.

Gu Mingli's fingers are very dexterous.

More than a dozen pieces of wood flew through his hands.

First comes the base, then the rib structure on both sides of the hull.

Next is the deck level.

Finally, three masts were made from a few thin wooden strips.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

A miniature model of a three-masted warship stood upright on the table.

Gu Mingli took a step back, put his hands on his hips, and looked smug.

"Ta-da~~~"

Xiao Ye's gaze fell on the small wooden boat.

This was the first time he had ever seen a ship with this design.

"What kind of ship is this?"

Xiao Ye stood up curiously and walked around the dragon table.

He walked up to Gu Mingli's desk.

Long, slender fingers reached out and gently touched the hull of the boat.

"The design is very unique."

"Yes, this is called a three-masted Fujian ship."

Gu Mingli patted his chest with a smile.

"In the future, I will build you a real ship so you can see it for yourself."

Xiao Ye's eyes brightened slightly as he glanced at Gu Mingli.

"Can you build it?"

Gu Mingli nodded, "It's worth a try."

Xiao Ye lowered his eyes and examined the block warship.

After a moment, he turned to look at Gu Mingli with some uncertainty.

Although I know this is absurd, I still couldn't help but ask:

"You think you can build a ship just by hugging my blanket?"

Gu Mingli: "..."

Is this something that can't be let go of?

He cleared his throat, straightened his sleeves, and said in a serious tone, "This matter cannot be discussed in detail. In short, Your Majesty only needs to remember one sentence."

"What did you say?"

"A nation's wealth leads to a strong military. A strong military leads to a strong nation."

Xiao Ye withdrew his hand and stood with his hands behind his back in front of the desk.

He looked down at the small boat, and the dark fire in his eyes flared up again.

A nation can only be strong if it is wealthy, and a strong military is essential for a strong nation.

Gu Mingli really understood him.

Every word he said struck a chord with him.

but……

Xiao Ye turned to look at Gu Mingli.

"Are there any good ways to make a country rich?"

Gu Mingli's eyes lit up; he was just about to bring up what he had discussed with his sister the night before.

"I would like to try to improve iron smelting. If successful, then the Ministry of Works will set up a separate steel workshop."

"This new material will then be independent of the power of the powerful clans."

"Pujitang needs a large amount of steel now. If His Majesty sells it to them, the silver will go directly into the national treasury. There will be no middlemen taking a cut."

Xiao Ye stared at Gu Mingli.

"Steel? Never heard of it. What kind of material is that?"

Gu Mingli grinned, clearly enjoying sharing scientific knowledge.

"Your Majesty, traditional cast iron is as hard as stone, but brittle; it can be cracked with a single hammer blow."

"Wrought iron is tough, but too soft; the blade will chip after just a couple of cuts."

"The steel is different."

"It is hard but not brittle, tough but not soft. When used as a weapon, it can cut through iron like mud. When used as a farm tool, it will last for ten years without breaking. When used as the keel of a cargo ship, it is ten times stronger than wood."

Xiao Ye's brows twitched slightly.

Gu Mingli continued, "The kind of 'containers' that I want to build for the Pujitang Logistics Park, filled with goods and stacked layer upon layer, would have been crushed long ago if the boxes at the bottom were made of wood."

"Only steel can hold it up. And dock cranes, railway tracks, shipbuilding iron parts... none of them can do without it."

"To put it bluntly, ordinary iron is like coarse grains; it fills you up but doesn't really serve its purpose."

"Steel is like fine grain; it requires meticulous craftsmanship and is indispensable in every aspect of life."

"As long as this thing can be mass-produced, we can gradually take the Ministry of Works back into our own hands."

"At that time, it won't be the imperial court urging the Ministry of Works, which is controlled by powerful clans, to sell iron; it will be the powerful clans begging the imperial court to sell steel."

After listening, Xiao Ye remained silent for a moment, his eyes shining.

How many people do you need?

"Give me two hundred blacksmiths, three to five master craftsmen who understand furnaces, and a plot of land near water and an iron mine."

"Approved. Take out the samples first."

"If it succeeds, a separate steel division will be established within the Ministry of Works."

[Ding! Xiao Ye's favorability towards you +2, current favorability: -440]

Gu Mingli had been itching to show his skills for a long time.

"I'm about to begin deriving the formula. Don't bother me this afternoon."

The servants inside the hall: "..."

Nobody pays any attention to you normally.

"Did you all hear that?"

Xiao Ye stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the hall.