People in the Tang Dynasty, Jian'an style

After finishing the business, Li Shimin casually looked around Li Wenbin's study.

As the King of Qi, Li Wenbin's study is of course very grand. There are four large bookshelves lined up against the wall, which are densely packed with countless book collections.

No matter what, this look can make people feel that the owner is very cultured.

Chapter 159 Manuscript

However, Li Wenbin could swear to heaven that since he was named King of Qi and moved into this palace, he had not read any of the books on this bookshelf, and had not even touched them.

Jinxiu, on the other hand, likes reading. Occasionally, she would take a book from the bookshelf and take it back to her room to read.

There are several small tables next to the bookshelf, on which are placed some scrolls and study supplies. In the middle is a large desk, on which are placed pen holders, inkstones, paperweights and other commonly used writing items.

Li Shimin was bored, so he walked to the desk and wanted to see what Li Wenbin usually wrote.

"Huh? This is..." Li Shimin walked to the desk and immediately saw a thick pile of manuscripts on the desk. The top one had four big words written on it - "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

The four characters are written in graceful fonts. The calligraphy is soft and elegant, but lacks masculinity. One can tell at first glance that it was written by a woman.

This is exactly the Romance of the Three Kingdoms that Li Wenbin recited to Jinxiu every day. He dictated each time and Jinxiu wrote it.

Li Wenbin put it next to his desk and took it out to look at it when he had time. Unexpectedly, it was seen by Li Shimin today.

Li Shimin was curious and picked up the manuscript to take a look. As soon as he opened the first page, he was immediately attracted by the vicissitudes of life and the profound Linjiangxian.

When I saw the main text of Romance of the Three Kingdoms below, I could not move my feet any more. I read it page after page. Finally, I simply sat down on the chair behind the desk, and my mind was completely immersed in the magnificent history of the Three Kingdoms hundreds of years ago.

Li Wenbin immediately became anxious. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms was nothing special, but the copy on the table was copied by Jinxiu herself, so its meaning was of course very different. If his father asked him for it, would he give it to him or not?

"Father, it's getting late. Should we go back?" Li Chengqian and Li Tai waited for a long time, but Li Shimin didn't even raise his head. Li Chengqian had no choice but to remind him.

What no one expected was that after hearing Li Chengqian's words, Li Shimin just said "hmm" lightly, and then continued to look at the manuscript in his hand, with a smile of understanding and confusion on his face at times.

"What book is that? Why is father so engrossed in reading it?" Li Tai, who was standing next to Li Wenbin, pulled his sleeve and asked.

"Oh, this... let's talk about it later!" Li Wenbin looked very anxious. The more fascinated Li Shimin was, the more worried he became.

Although the Romance of the Three Kingdoms on the table is not finished, it is more than half done and it is impossible to finish reading it in a short time.

In other words, it is very likely that Li Shimin took the manuscript away.

It was not known how much time had passed, but when Li Shimin saw Sun Jian breaking the agreement and hiding the jade seal in the sixth chapter, he suddenly remembered Li Chengqian and others.

"Hahaha..." Li Shimin laughed awkwardly. When he saw his sons looking at him, he blushed and said, "Well..., haha, I was so engrossed in watching it just now that I forgot the time."

"Father, is the Romance of the Three Kingdoms really that interesting? We called you many times just now, but you seemed not to hear us." Li Tai said very dissatisfiedly.

Just now, Li Wenbin saw that Li Shimin was unable to wake up for a while, and Li Chengqian and Li Tai kept asking questions, so he had no choice but to briefly introduce the contents of the book.

"Well, this is really a wonderful book. It can bring all the characters in the Three Kingdoms to life, making people unable to put it down. Moreover, the political strategies and military tactics used in it are also very instructive. I, as a father, only took a glance at it and was immediately attracted to it." Li Shimin spoke with a look of aftertaste on his face, as if he was still immersed in the world of the book and couldn't extricate himself.

"Father, let's go back home quickly, it's getting dark now!"

Li Shimin looked at the sky outside the window and knew it was time to return home.

So he quickly stood up and walked to Sizi, saying apologetically: "Haha, father is wrong, let's go back home now."

Li Wenbin was still staring at the manuscript in Li Shimin's hand.

Seeing that he was leaving, I was reluctant to put the manuscript down, and my heart immediately sank.

"Father, that manuscript..." Thinking of this, Li Wenbin suddenly got excited. He stepped forward to stop Li Shimin, pointed at the manuscript in his hand, and said with difficulty.

Although he didn't say it explicitly, he felt that Li Shimin should understand what he meant.

"Oh, that's right!" Li Shimin suddenly showed an expression of sudden enlightenment. Li Wenbin thought that he was finally willing to return the manuscript to him. Unexpectedly, Li Shimin continued to ask, "Wenbin, I forgot to ask just now, who wrote this book?"

When Li Wenbin heard Li Shimin actually asked this, he could not help but answer disappointedly: "Father, I don't know who wrote this book. I just read it before, but unfortunately the original book was accidentally damaged. So I wrote it down from memory, and now I have only written half of it."

This is what Li Wenbin said when he explained the origin of the Three Kingdoms to Jinxiu, and it is not easy to change his words now.

"Oh? That's strange. I have never heard of such a wonderful book?" Li Shimin said in surprise.

"Ahem, father, could you please return the manuscript to me? I will present it to you for your perusal after I finish the whole book!" Li Wenbin saw that his previous hint didn't work, so he simply bravely asked for it.

"It's okay. I'll read these first. Wenbin, you can finish the rest. It won't be too late to give it to me later." Li Shimin obviously still didn't understand the meaning of Li Wenbin's words. He really thought that he was thinking about him and wanted to finish the book before giving it to him.

"Father, the document in your hand is not written neatly. How about I have someone copy it again and then send it to you?" Li Wenbin was about to cry, thinking why was his father so stupid? Did he have to let others speak so bluntly?

Now Li Shimin finally understood what Li Wenbin meant.

It turned out that his son was reluctant to give the manuscript to him!

At the same time, he was a little surprised. Li Wenbin was not a stingy person. Besides, this was just a manuscript. Could it be that this thing had any different meaning?

Li Shimin reacted very quickly. He thought of the handwriting on the manuscript and immediately understood something. He smiled and said, "Wenbin, the handwriting on the manuscript seems to be written by a woman?"

Li Wenbin saw the situation and knew that if he didn't tell the truth, he would have no chance of getting the manuscript back. He had no choice but to tell the whole story.

When Li Shimin heard this, he immediately burst into laughter. No wonder Li Wenbin insisted on taking the manuscript back.

Li Chengqian, Li Tai and others were also laughing.

Although Li Wenbin is thick-skinned, he couldn't help but blush when he talked about this kind of private affair in front of his father and brothers.

Chapter 160 The Lion Opens His Mouth

Li Shimin laughed for a while, thinking that the book was written by his son's maid, it would be inappropriate for him to take it back - if it fell into the ears of someone with ulterior motives, maybe something unpleasant would be spread.

However, thinking of the vivid characters and wonderful plots in the book, he was reluctant to return the manuscript to Li Wenbin. He had just planned to stay up all night to read it to his heart's content.

Seeing Li Shimin's hesitant expression, Li Tai suddenly smiled wickedly.

He knew what his father was hesitating about, and he also wanted to avenge Li Wenbin for making him unable to sleep well for several nights, so he leaned close to Li Shimin's ear and whispered something.

Li Shimin was stunned when he heard it, but he immediately understood the deep meaning of Li Tai's words and laughed happily. However, Li Wenbin had a very bad feeling.

Li Shimin smiled and cleared his throat, then said to Li Wenbin in a serious tone: "Wenbin, since this manuscript was written by your concubine, it is not appropriate for your father to take it away."

Li Wenbin was stunned when he heard this. Did he blame Li Tai wrongly? Was he persuading his father to return the manuscript to him?

"But..." Li Shimin suddenly stretched out his voice and glanced at Li Wenbin with a smug look, "Just now Qingque reminded me that the princess has always liked reading the Records of the Three Kingdoms. If she reads the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, she will definitely love it even more. I know that you, Wenbin, are the most filial, so I will keep these manuscripts for now, which can be regarded as your filial piety!"

As Li Shimin said this, he stuffed the manuscript into his wide sleeves, as if he would never take it out again even if he was beaten to death.

"Puff——" Li Wenbin almost vomited blood because of Li Shimin's words.

I thought to myself, you are the King of Qin of the Tang Dynasty after all, how can you say such shameless words?

At this time, he finally understood what kind of weird idea Li Tai had just given to Li Shimin.

Thinking of this, Li Wenbin couldn't help but glare at the brat fiercely, but unfortunately the other party had a smiling face and didn't care at all.

"Princess... since you like it, I will offer it to you!" Li Wenbin's heart ached so much that it was about to bleed, but the other party had already shamelessly brought up Changsun Wugou, what else could he do?

"Okay, okay! I knew Wenbin was the most filial!" Li Shimin laughed and patted Li Wenbin on the shoulder. He felt a great sense of accomplishment to be able to snatch things from this shameless and smart son.

Moreover, the manuscript was said to be kept by Changsun Wugou, but in the end, wasn't it kept in his own study?

It was already very late at this time, and Li Shimin was about to leave with Li Chengqian and Li Tai, and Li Wenbin followed to see them off.

However, Li Wenbin was shocked when he walked out of the mansion. He saw hundreds of elite soldiers standing in neat rows outside the mansion. Under the light of torches, they looked like tigers and dragons. They had their swords unsheathed and their bows strung. They looked murderous and majestic.

As soon as Li Shimin walked out of the mansion, several generals came forward to salute him. Li Shimin waved his hand and took Li Chengqian and others to the carriage in the middle of the army.

Then he waved to Li Wenbin as a farewell, and left the Prince Qi's Mansion under the protection of this group of elite soldiers.

……

Early the next morning, Wang Wanrong came to the mansion.

"Your Highness, we have found someone who can make glass, but there is a problem."

"Oh, what's the problem?" Li Wenbin was immediately excited when he heard that someone who could make glass had been found.

The perfume bottle and mirror he had given to Changsun Wugou were both made of polished crystal.

Not only is the output extremely low, but the cost is also extremely high, so the perfume he produces now can only be contained in opaque porcelain bottles, and mirrors cannot be mass-produced at all.

That's why Li Wenbin was so eager to make glass. You know, glass products are good things. Not only can they be made into daily necessities such as mirrors and bottles, but they can also be made into chemical instruments and various optical instruments.

For example, the things Li Wenbin wanted to make the most were telescopes, glass windows, etc.

Hearing Li Wenbin's question, Wang Wanrong sighed and told him about the man who could make glass.

No one in the Tang Dynasty knew how to make glass. Although the firing process of locally produced colored glaze and glass was very similar, it was not something that could be accomplished in a short period of time if one wanted colored glaze craftsmen to make glass.

But it doesn't matter that no one in the Tang Dynasty knows how to do it. There are many Hu people in Chang'an City. Many of these Hu people come from Persia and other places in Central Asia, which is one of the origins of glass.

Therefore, Li Wenbin believed that there must be some people among these Hu people who knew the glass-making technology, so the targets of the reward were mainly these Hu people.

Sure enough, not long after the reward was issued, a Hu merchant came to apply for the job.

What was surprising was that this Hu merchant himself did not know how to make glass.

However, he had a slave who had worked in a local glass workshop in Persia for nearly ten years and was very proficient in the materials and firing of glass.

Wang Wanrong didn't care whether it was a slave or not, as long as the slave could make glass, so she was very generous and wanted to use the reward of a thousand strings of money to exchange for the slave of the Hu merchant.

But he didn't expect that the other party was not only greedy, but also very smart. He said that the reward of one thousand strings of money was only for providing the technology of making glass.

If he was only given one thousand strings of cash, he could let the slaves provide the glass technology, but the slaves would still be his.

If one wants both the technology and the slave, he must pay another thousand strings of cash, which is the price of the slave itself.

Wang Wanrong got furious when she heard this. Although what the Hu merchant said sounded reasonable, asking for a thousand strings of cash for a mere slave was clearly extortion.

In the slave market in Chang'an, ordinary slaves were only a few strings of coins, and the most expensive Kunlun slaves were only a few dozen strings of coins. It has never been heard that a slave could be sold for more than a hundred strings of coins.

But now this Hu merchant actually asked for a huge price. He actually asked for a thousand strings of cash for a slave. Isn't this extortion?

Of course Wang Wanrong would never agree, but the Hu merchant's attitude was also very firm, so the matter was now at a stalemate.

After listening to Wang Wanrong's story, Li Wenbin weighed it in his mind. Although as long as the glass-making technology was available and it was given to the craftsmen to study, glass could definitely be made, the manpower and material resources required would definitely be more than one thousand strings of cash.

Add to that the time wasted, and the cost would be even higher. So from a cost perspective, it is definitely worth spending a thousand strings of cash to buy a slave who is proficient in glass making.

After all, as long as this person is there and the materials are suitable, glass can be made in the shortest possible time.

But when he thought about spending a thousand strings of cash to buy a slave, he felt a little depressed - not because he felt bad about the thousand strings of cash, but because he had to jump into a trap. The feeling of being cheated was really unpleasant.

Chapter 161: Expedition

Li Wenbin is not a person who is willing to suffer losses. He immediately thought of a good idea.

He asked Wang Wanrong to call the Hu merchant over so that he could talk to him in person.

When Wang Wanrong heard this, she immediately understood what Li Wenbin meant and snickered at Li Wenbin's shamelessness.

If that foreign merchant dared to ask for an unreasonable price from him, Li Wenbin would definitely let him know what a dandy young man of the Tang Dynasty is.

After sending Wang Wanrong away, Li Wenbin picked up the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and was about to continue reading it, but the servant came to report that his uncle Qin Qiong, the Minister of Works, had come again. Li Wenbin did not dare to neglect him and prepared to change his clothes to go to the front to greet him, but he did not expect Qin Qiong to be impatient and asked the servant to take him to Li Wenbin's study.

"Haha, Your Highness the Prince of Qi, what great news!" Qin Qiong came in and shouted to Li Wenbin with big laugh, his face flushed with excitement, even his beard stood up high.

As soon as he saw the other party's expression, Li Wenbin immediately guessed the general idea and said with a smile: "Haha, congratulations, Uncle Qin, you have finally figured out the method of pouring steel. You have made such great achievements during your tenure, I believe it will not be too much to be named a prince in the future."

"No, no, this is all thanks to the King of Qi. The steel pouring method is thanks to the theory you proposed. I am also taking advantage of you!" Qin Qiong hurriedly said modestly. He is now really convinced by Li Wenbin.

Li Wenbin saw Qin Qiong was so happy, and he just wanted to ask him something, so he smiled and came up to him and said, "Uncle Qin, you see I have spared no effort to help you, and now I just happen to have a difficult thing to ask you, you see..."

"Tell me, Your Highness, what is it?" Qin Qiong said with a smile, "As long as it is within my ability, I will definitely do it!"

"Now that steel production has increased, should the weapons of the Zuo Wuwei be..."

"Oh, so it's about this, no problem."

Qin Qiong patted his chest and agreed.

In fact, even if Li Wenbin said so, he would try his best to support it.

After all, Cheng Yaojin is his old brother. Who else can he help if not them?

……

The grass is lush and the eagles are flying. The beautiful prairie is like a green blanket, stretching to the distance.

The sky was bluer, the wind was fresher, the horses were galloping, the sound of horses' hooves lifted the spirits of every knight.

Zuo Wuwei finally went on the expedition as he wished, and Li Wenbin also came to the grassland he had always wanted to see.

This time, the Zuo Wuwei's expedition to Longyou was essentially just an armed parade to demonstrate the power of the Tang Dynasty. It did not have any real goals, so Li Wenbin, as the commander of the left wing army, had a great deal of autonomy.