webnovelfull Chapter 425: No request, but someone gave it to me
Chapter 425: No request, but someone gave it to me
Fu Huaian guessed that the things had also been sent to the palace, so he asked King Yan for instructions and went directly to the palace gate to ask a few eunuchs to carry the things in.
The Prince of Yan, the Prince of Yan's son, his grandfather Prime Minister Ning, and other ministers in the Hall of Supreme Harmony were all attracted by the large cloth bags.
It was not until Fu Huai'an untied his pocket and took out a large ball of white plastic cotton that someone asked, "Isn't this cotton?"
Fu Huai'an said: "This thing is called plastic cotton. It is made of plastic, not planted cotton. I believe everyone present is familiar with plastic."
After these words were spoken, everyone present looked at each other in bewilderment, and many people looked down at the shoes on their feet.
That’s right, basically most of these officials wear official boots with plastic soles.
They are the kind that can print all kinds of words when you step on them, and there are even some models that have ancient poems carved on the soles.
It has been very popular among these officials and scribes recently.
Fu Huaian glanced at the movements of these people and continued, "I'm sure everyone has guessed that this plastic sponge is also made of plastic as the raw material. The person who made it is the son-in-law of Li Zhaoyuan, the commander-in-chief who was just appointed by His Majesty not long ago."
Many ministers who were not well-informed asked quietly to those around them: "Who is Li Zhaoyuan? Why haven't we heard that His Highness has rewarded officials?"
The Prince of Yan and his son certainly knew about this, but they did not expect that although the Tongzhi Li had passed away, his son-in-law still had such talent.
Fu Huaian did not give everyone too much time to discuss, and continued: "I think you all don't know that Li Tongzhi was my grandfather's personal guard.
He was discharged from the army because he was seriously injured while saving my grandfather on the battlefield. After his discharge, he refused an official position in the rear and went to the south to investigate the situation for His Highness. He finally died of illness in the south. The man who made the plastic was the husband of Li Tongzhi's only daughter. "
Fu Huaian is usually a very quiet person, but in order to flatter Shen Zhiqiu, he really used a lot of words.
They even knew how Shen Zhiqiu met them. He brought only twenty or so people to get drunk in a mountain stronghold of 3,000 people, and even led less than 300 people to kidnap the bandits in the mountain stronghold.
It just so happened that he went to suppress bandits, and he even described the conflict between the two sides in detail. Then he talked about how they sold shoe soles after entering Beijing.
At this time, some officials in the court had already felt vaguely uneasy, and those were the people who were planning to take advantage of Shen Zhiqiu and his men.
After listening to Fu Huaian's story, King Yan laughed heartily: "Well, Li Tongzhi has a good son-in-law!"
The Prince of Yan also asked, "How much is this plastic cotton worth?"
Fu Huai'an handed over the drawings given by Shen Zhiqiu and said, "The cost of the raw materials of plastic cotton is not high, but the production of plastic is quite troublesome.
Moreover, making plastic requires a substance called glycerin, and the production process is very dangerous. Now, no one else in their clan dares to make it, only Shen Zhiqiu can do it.
It is said that if this kind of glycerin is not made with care, it will explode like dynamite.
However, as long as glycerin is successfully produced, these problems will not exist, and Shen Zhiqiu also expressed his willingness to contribute the plastic recipe and the method of making plastic cotton.
I only hope that Your Majesty can set the price of plastic cotton at a lower level, and hope that the people can really use it. "
These words caused ripples in the hearts of those present. They did not expect that such a priceless treasure would be presented to the court just like that.
One minister even said: "Li Tongzhi's son-in-law is a man of great talent and righteousness. I ask Your Majesty to reward him generously."
A group of people followed suit and bowed: "Your Majesty, we request a generous reward."
Only Fu Huaian did not move.
Prince Yan asked curiously, "Huai'an, aren't you asking for a reward for Shen Zhiqiu?"
Fu Huaian bowed and said, "Your Highness, how do you plan to reward Shen Zhiqiu?"
Prince Yan pondered for a moment and said, "Since you said he is a talent and can design such an exquisite cotton machine, why not let him go to the Ministry of Industry?"
When Fu Huaian heard this, he thought about what he had said at that time, and Shen Zhiqiu's reaction, and found it funny. If Shen Zhiqiu was in the hall at this time, he wondered how he would react.
He only complained in his heart for a moment, then he spoke again: "To be honest with you, Your Highness, Shen Zhiqiu led the entire clan to flee the famine. The oldest is over 70 years old, and the youngest is still in swaddling clothes.
There were nearly 300 people in his tribe, and not a single one was left behind during the journey to escape famine. When I first met him, I saw that he was a talent, and wanted to recruit him into the army to serve the court.
But he replied at the time: I just want to pass the imperial examination and become a scholar, so that my years of study will not be in vain, and my clansmen will not be in vain for all their support. I also want to use my knowledge to repay His Highness for opening the city gates and taking me in. "
Prince Yan was truly moved at this moment. From the various preferential treatments Prince Yan showed to scholars after Shen Zhiqiu and his companions entered the northern border, it could be seen that he attached great importance to these things.
“So you are a scholar?”
Fu Huaian said: "It is said that he is still a junior high school student. Your Highness, I also asked Shen Zhiqiu bluntly yesterday, offering such a precious prescription, is there anything you want?"
"And Shen Zhiqiu replied: He was grateful to His Highness for taking him in, and to the people for accepting him. Now that he had settled down safely, he just wanted to study hard. He believed that His Highness would be able to unify the country and reopen the imperial examinations.
I don’t ask for anything else.”
Prime Minister Ning, who was standing at the front, raised his lips unconsciously, with a myriad of thoughts in his mind:
"My grandson is not usually a talkative person. From what he said today, I can see how much he values Shen Zhiqiu.
Besides, His Highness may not give it to you if you want it, but if you don’t want it, then he will definitely give it to you.”
The King of Yan was indeed of this character, so he said aloud: "How can I not reward someone for his meritorious service?"
But Fu Huaian said at this time: "Your Majesty, don't worry. In fact, there is something else I want to show you."
After that, he took out the plastic sheet used to make the uppers of the shoes and explained, "This type of plastic sheet was also developed by Shen Zhiqiu and can be mass-produced.
But the machine used to make this cloth is extremely complicated. If this cloth is used to make military boots, the cost price of a pair of boots can be reduced to 50 cents. "
As soon as the words fell, there was an uproar: "Fifty cents for a pair of military boots?"
"How is this possible? Even the cheapest pair of military boots costs nearly three hundred coins."
"Yes, it's unbelievable, Master Fu, you can't joke in front of the prince."
Fu Huaian said that he was definitely not joking.
Everyone saw his serious look and it certainly didn't seem like a joke, but they still felt like they were hallucinating.
At this time, Prime Minister Ning finally stood up and said, "Your Highness, someone suggested that plastic soles be included in military supplies. Why not let Shen Zhiqiu and his men become military suppliers themselves and make these military boots for the army?"
King Yan nodded and said, "Huai'an, what do you think of your grandfather's suggestion?"