amaotonovel Chapter 940 Being a wife is hard, being a mother is hard, being a mother-in-law is hard too
Chapter 940 Being a wife is hard, being a mother is hard, being a mother-in-law is hard too
Li Shanchang looked at the rotary tillers in the distance and said with a smile, "There are six hundred farms in Liaodong. If each farm has at least a hundred or so rotary tillers, then it would be barely enough."
"A rotary tiller requires 500 to 1,000 catties of iron. If we take 800 catties and calculate based on 6,000 rotary tillers, the amount of steel used alone would be 5 million catties."
"Not counting Liaodong, our Ming Dynasty's current steel production is about 20 million catties."
"In other words, rotary tillers alone consume a quarter of the steel production, and that's without even taking into account losses."
"I can help solve this problem."
Yang Shaofeng's heart jumped into his throat.
No, has this old scoundrel been driven mad by Li Qi?
He dares to take on such a big responsibility?
Zhu Biao immediately moved to shield Yang Shaofeng in front of him, lowered his voice, and said, "Oh no, the Duke of Han is furious with you and Qi-ge'er."
Hu Weiyong also quietly approached and whispered, "Prime Minister Li must have been so angry with the Prince Consort and Brother Qi that he lost his mind. That's five million catties of steel. He dares to give it to us, but I don't dare to accept it."
Li Shanchang glanced at the three of them.
So you're backing down already?
Where did your swagger go?
Please restore it.
I still prefer to see you all being unruly!
Just as Li Shanchang was mentally ranting, Li Qi's eyes lit up, and he asked repeatedly, "The steel issue is resolved, but what about manpower and livestock?"
As Li Qi finished speaking, the tension that had been building up in Li Shanchang's chest dissipated completely.
It's not that I've come to terms with it.
Instead, they were utterly desperate.
What sins have I committed to deserve such a son?
Li Qi completely ignored the despair on Li Shanchang's face, and instead started counting on his fingers: "As you just saw, Prime Minister Li, a rotary tiller requires at least two people and five oxen."
“Just as Li Xiang just said, if there are ten rotary tillers on a farm, then you need fifty cows.”
"Although there are quite a few cows now, considering the road construction and other things, the more the better."
What does Prime Minister Li think?
Zhu Biao couldn't help but take another step back.
I originally thought my brother-in-law was invincible.
I never imagined there were even more formidable experts!
Li Shanchang glanced coldly at Li Qi, "Do I look like an ox or a horse?"
Li Qi shrank back and didn't dare to say another word, but Li Shanchang snorted coldly and said, "I will also help you find a way to solve the problem of oxen and draft horses."
"I wouldn't dare say more, but getting a few hundred thousand cattle and horses is definitely possible."
"However, this matter of Eucommia ulmoides gum needs to be put on hold for a while."
Li Shanchang stroked his beard, looking at Zhu Biao and Yang Shaofeng with a sinister gaze: "Your Highness the Crown Prince and the Prince Consort can choose. Do you want Eucommia ulmoides glue, or do you want the Fenglangjuxu sword?"
Zhu Biao said without hesitation, "Fenglangju..."
Before the word "Xu" could even be uttered, Yang Shaofeng snorted coldly and said, "Only children make choices; I want them all!"
Zhu Biao stared blankly at Yang Shaofeng for a moment, then coughed and said, "What I mean is, I want both Fenglangjuxu and Eucommia ulmoides!"
Li Shanchang stroked his beard and laughed again.
Want them all?
Then you can't blame me for taking over.
If anyone's to blame, it's you two for being too greedy.
……
The capital city, the imperial city, the Kunning Palace.
Emperor Zhu sighed deeply as he pushed several memorials in front of Empress Ma.
“Look at your good son and your good son-in-law, look at the good things they’ve done in Liaodong.”
"And that old scoundrel Li Shanchang."
"Damn it, he's only been in Liaodong for a short time, and he's already gone astray."
Emperor Zhu rubbed his forehead and sighed, "That damned Li Shanchang! Our Great Ming's annual steel production is only 20 million catties, and he asks for half of that!"
"We all want to go to Liaodong and ask him if we look like steel."
"That old scoundrel!"
After scolding Li Shanchang, Emperor Zhu turned his attention to Yang Shaofeng: "And your good son-in-law too."
“Look at the memorial he wrote. That bastard is even more ruthless than Li Shanchang. He just talks about 50 million catties of steel every year.”
"He looks like he's made of steel!"
"..."
Emperor Zhu expressed his dissatisfaction with curses and swears, while Empress Ma smiled as she looked at the memorial in her hand.
Watching Zhu Chongba grumble and curse like this is more interesting than listening to people talk in the palace.
"Rotary tillers and multi-furrow deep tillers, these are two more good things?"
Empress Ma smiled and turned the page of the memorial. "Does a rotary tiller require five hundred to one thousand catties of steel?"
"Is a multi-furrow deep-plowing plow about the same?"
"Good heavens, our son-in-law is really something. He's using the entire Ming Dynasty's territory to lure you into expanding your territory and mining iron ore."
"Like that thing again?"
"There's a carrot dangling in front of the donkey, right?"
Upon hearing Empress Ma's analogy, Emperor Zhu's face darkened even further, and he finally couldn't help but curse, "That scoundrel!"
"Girl, tell me, have you ever seen a scoundrel like him?"
"Not only did he kidnap our two daughters, but he also finds ways to provoke us every day!"
"Good heavens, Hu Weiyong gave him two tigers, and he immediately threw them into the palace for us to raise."
"That bastard, if he wanted us to raise his sons and daughters, that would be one thing, but they are still our grandchildren."
"He wants us to raise tigers for him, what the hell is going on?"
The more Emperor Zhu thought about it, the angrier he became. Suddenly, he turned to Chen Zhong and ordered, "Those two tigers, I'm thinking of having someone take them to the back garden for a walk. They're both as fat as pigs."
"Yes, we can't just let them eat meat all the time. We'll give them a vegetarian meal later."
At this point, Emperor Zhu couldn't help but grumble and say, "It's really strange, these two tigers aren't like tigers at all, but they've been raised to be like dogs. I don't know how they raised those two wretched girls, Jin'er and Yu'er."
Chen Zhong accepted the order and left, while Empress Ma rubbed her forehead, her heart heavy with sorrow.
Being a wife is hard, being a mother is hard, and being a mother-in-law is hard too.
Being Zhu Chongba's wife, Biao'er's mother, and the mother-in-law of that good son-in-law was even more difficult.
Especially Zhu Chongba, who has been acting like a madman lately—unable to hold his grandsons and granddaughters, or even his great-grandsons and great-great-granddaughters, he has suddenly become completely devoted to the two tigers!
No.
Biao'er doesn't have any grandchildren because he's still young.
But that bastard has been married to Jin'er and Yu'er for more than three years. He should have given birth to a grandchild so that I, as his grandmother, can hold and play with him!
While Empress Ma was pondering this in her mind, she pointed to the memorial on the table and looked at Emperor Zhu, saying, "This matter of steel is actually quite easy to handle. The real difficulty, I'm afraid, lies in this Eucommia ulmoides gum."