The immortal of the Tang Dynasty, but the game starts at Xuanwu Gate?

"...No need, I think it's better to remove it. You know, I've never wanted to be a duke." Chen Huai'an was speechless at Li Shimin's attitude.

To be honest, all the officials in the court are masters of changing faces.

"What do you mean it's better to remove it?" Li Shimin was speechless. "There are countless people outside who dream of having the title of Duke, and you, on the contrary, are complaining about it."

Changsun Wuji smiled and smoothed things over, saying, "Mr. Chen is not a vain person, so it's normal for him not to want it."

"This is what is meant by 'the mind is principle,' 'extending innate knowledge,' and 'unity of knowledge and action!'"

"Your Majesty should not forget the ideas put forward by Mr. Chen. He has long since reached the state of having nothing outside his mind."

Instead of bestowing upon Mr. Chen the title of Duke, it would be better to grant him a royal chef to prepare more delicious meals for him every day.

"This is great!" Chen Huai'an perked up immediately.

You know what, Changsun Wuji's suggestion actually did align somewhat with his own thoughts.

The imperial chef's culinary skills are truly exceptional. If we could get some instruction from his family's cooks, the dishes would definitely be even more delicious.

Li Shimin rubbed his temples: "Forget it, I'm too lazy to argue with you about this. If you want it, I'll find a few reliable chefs to send over later."

"Aren't you getting married? I'll give you some more manpower; your household is rather quiet now."

Chen Huai'an nodded repeatedly.

Fang Xuanling then inquired, "Mr. Chen, have you now fully mastered the method of making glass?"

"Could you let us take a look?"

"Of course, no problem." Chen Huai'an casually called Yunyan over and asked her to get the things.

During this time, everyone asked Chen Huai'an a variety of questions, which he patiently answered.

Soon after, Yunyan led two people, carrying all sorts of glass objects, including a complete tea set, bowls, wine cups, and a wine pot.

Li Shimin stared in disbelief, picked up a glass teacup, examined it closely, and couldn't help but exclaim, "Damn it, is this the highest quality glass?"

"There isn't a single impurity in it; it looks like it was formed naturally. How much is it worth?"

Fang Xuanling carefully took a glass bowl, and after looking at it, he almost couldn't help but swear.

Seriously speaking, these items alone would be worth at least tens of thousands of strings of cash.

This is equivalent to many years of their salary.

"If we're going to do it, we'll do it well." Chen Huai'an didn't care about the glass objects. "I've already said, these things are worthless; they're just things made from burning sand."

"If you give me some more time and find a few good craftsmen, I can make not only bowls, but also auspicious dragon and phoenix designs for you."

"Then we'll be rich!" Wei Zheng excitedly touched a glass teapot, looking at it as if it were a mountain of gold and silver.

"How could that be?" Chen Huai'an said calmly, "These things are just for people to see and collect. They have no real meaning. If they appear in large quantities on the market, they will quickly depreciate."

"A fine piece of glass art might be worth tens of thousands of dollars now, but once it's mass-produced, its price will drop immediately, quickly becoming eight thousand, five thousand, three thousand, one thousand, until it's worth nothing at all."

"It's fine to use it to solve an immediate problem, but it's almost impossible to make a steady income from it."

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly calmed down. Li Shimin clicked his tongue and said, "That's true. It's the same principle as grain prices; scarcity drives up prices."

"When it's not rare, it naturally becomes worthless."

Wei Zheng then understood: "So, Mr. Chen means to make a quick buck with glass to replenish the national treasury?"

"Hmm!" Chen Huai'an nodded slightly. "We can build them slowly and sell them from multiple locations. Or, from the beginning, we can build some rare items, and I believe many people around the world will be willing to pay a high price for them."

"As long as the operation is done properly, solving the immediate problem will definitely not be a problem."

"But it's absolutely impossible for it to become a pillar of the national treasury's revenue, just like salt and iron."

"Only things like salt, iron, silk, and tea can achieve that level."

Li Shimin looked at the glass in his hand and felt somewhat disappointed, but only a little.

The fact that Liuli could solve his immediate problem was already a great help to him.

By now, even a fool could understand Chen Huai'an's extraordinary nature: his heaven-defying divine power, his body immune to all poisons, his boundless imagination, his ability to utter timeless verses, and his ability to conjure up entirely new concepts and knowledge. He has the potential to become a new saint.

You say you're not a banished immortal? Who would believe you?

Li Shimin took Chen Huai'an's words very seriously.

As Chen Huai'an said before, things will get better after these few years, and the year with favorable weather will come.

If someone else had said those words, Li Shimin would have taken it as some consolation, but since Chen Huai'an said them, he already believed them to some extent.

Therefore, if something made of sand could solve the immediate crisis and allow the Tang Dynasty to get through these difficult years peacefully, what more could he ask for?

But... Li Shimin still remembered one sentence: "Huai'an, I remember you said that you currently have no way to deal with silk, so what about in the future?"

Chen Huai'an had a headache: "There will definitely be a way in the future, but definitely not now."

"Your Majesty should know that I have secretly recruited many craftsmen and treated them almost like training assassins, with the aim of having them study various things. Glass is one of the finished products."

"However, everyone has their own expertise. I'm not really good at silk. I can only say that I have some knowledge of it, but not much. I'm still learning and it will take some time."

He wasn't lying; he was a science student, majoring in mathematics, so he naturally understood physics and chemistry.

But silk... it's different.

The finest silks require the most skilled weavers to complete many of the processes by hand; they cannot be made using conventional methods.

Bai Juyi wrote a poem that reads: "Woven into the autumn geese flying beyond the clouds, dyed into the color of spring waters in Jiangnan."

The production of this silk fabric relies entirely on manual labor; machines simply cannot produce it.

Besides, he doesn't know how to build a textile machine.

If you're talking about refined salt, iron smelting, or even cement production, Chen Huai'an can produce them in no time.

But this thing isn't a waterwheel that you can build just by understanding the principles. Chen Huai'an is currently completely helpless with the technology involved and can only explore it little by little.

So there's nothing we can do.

"It's alright." Li Shimin was not disappointed and said with a smile, "As long as there is a way, I can wait ten years."

"Just go ahead and do it. If you need anything, just let me know."

"..."