Chapter 416 Glass Craft
The next day, Luo Shang brought people to the glass workshop and took away all the telescopes in the workshop warehouse.

There were a total of 3,000 telescopes, and Luo Shang paid 30,000 taels of silver first.

The thirty thousand taels of silver were the first income for the glass workshop.

With the first income, Zhu Dahai became more motivated to work.

"My Lord, the five hundred new apprentices have been arranged. It will only take one month for them to start making glass."

In the glass workshop, Zhu Dahai took Yang Zhengshan to check the glass manufacturing process.

Yang Zhengshan set up the glass workshop in the north city of Chongshan Pass, next to which were the barracks and the general's mansion guarding Chongshan Pass. The glass workshop had two doors, one leading directly to the general's mansion, and the other door opposite the barracks gate.

The guards at the glass workshop are the same as those at the general's mansion, and are both guarded by soldiers from the Zhenbiao Battalion.

Today, the manufacturing technology of glass workshops has reached an advanced level, and they can produce flat glass, embossed glass, laminated glass and glazed glass.

Glass products of almost all shapes can also be manufactured.

The only thing that is difficult to produce is glass with relatively high transparency. Although glass workshops have been making telescope lenses for many years, the yield rate of lenses is still less than 30%.

On the contrary, various brightly colored colored glass is easier to make, and after adding various pigments, it can cover up the flaws in the glass's transparency.

"Where are the glass ornaments you made?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

"My Lord, please come this way!" Zhu Dahai brought Yang Zhengshan to a warehouse.

The warehouse is filled with display cabinets, and on the display cabinets are various glass crafts.

There were lifelike horses, golden Buddha statues, majestic birds of prey, and auspicious beasts in various postures, which stunned Yang Zhengshan.

"Is this what you have been doing recently?"

"Well, some of them are not. In the past, when we had nothing to do, we would occasionally make some relatively rare items. However, the Marquis had previously instructed that they could not be circulated, so most of the items were kept in the warehouse."

“These are the best ones selected from among them, and many of them are the best ones that have only been available recently.”

"For example, this Buddha statue was made by Carpenter Wang. He used to carve wooden Buddha statues, so he thought of making a Buddha statue out of glass!"

Zhu Dahai explained.

Yang Zhengshan looked at the gold color in the Buddha statue with some curiosity, then picked it up and examined it. He found that it was solid and there seemed to be a layer of gold foil inside.

"Is there gold foil inside?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

"No, it's tinted glass, painted with gold," said Zhu Dahai.

Yang Zhengshan was amazed. Although the Buddha statue had some flaws due to the glass craftsmanship, it looked like a really good work of art.

If he were to sell it, Yang Zhengshan felt that it would be no problem to sell it for several thousand taels of silver.

But the cost of this thing, although it looks intimidating, is actually much simpler to make than the lens of a telescope.

Human wisdom should not be underestimated. It was Yang Zhengshan who taught them the method of making glass, but now Yang Zhengshan can no longer understand how this thing was made.

"Not bad, not bad." Yang Zhengshan exclaimed.

"Make some extra of these, they'll come in handy soon!"

"Yes, I have already asked someone to make it, and also asked some more skilled craftsmen to study the new objects!" said Zhu Dahai.

Yang Zhengshan nodded with satisfaction.

Craftsmen are very research-minded. As long as you support them, what they come up with will far exceed your expectations.

Yang Zhengshan had verified this point in Tenglongwei's engineering team.

To manufacture crossbows and catapults, the craftsmen of the Tenglongwei Engineering Team started from scratch. In the beginning, they were just ordinary carpenters and blacksmiths, but now they are not much worse than the craftsmen of the Ministry of Works.

Similarly, the craftsmen in the glass workshop are also a group of people with strong research capabilities.

……

After returning to the General's Mansion from the glass workshop, Yang Zhengshan was about to go to the study to look at today's official documents when he saw a soldier on duty from the Zhenbiao Battalion running over in a hurry, "My Lord, there is a eunuch from the Imperial Household Department outside the door asking to see you!"

"Eunuch from the Imperial Household Department! Are you sure?" Yang Zhengshan was a little surprised.

This is Chongshan Town, where does the Imperial Household Department come from?

Besides, why would a eunuch from the Imperial Household Department come to Chongshan Town?

"There are eight people on the other side. The leader speaks in a shrill voice, sounding very much like a eunuch. They are exhausted and must have come from a long journey." The soldier had never seen the eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department, but this did not prevent him from inferring the other side's origins through observation.

"Do you have a badge?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

"Yes, it was a bronze plate. I checked it and it doesn't look fake." The soldier replied.

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly, then strode towards the front hall of the general's mansion.

When he arrived at the front hall, he saw a tall middle-aged man sitting in the hall drinking tea leisurely.

The man looked handsome and did not look like a eunuch, but it was impossible to determine whether he was a eunuch just by looking at his appearance.

Not all eunuchs look humble and mean. In fact, most of the eunuchs walking around are well-dressed and have extraordinary looks.

Those who are ugly or have a bad image will not be sent out to work in the imperial city. The old emperor also has to save his face and knows the difference between beauty and ugliness. Naturally, he will not let an ugly person serve him. He will also feel uncomfortable looking at an ugly person all day long.

In the imperial examinations, people are judged by their appearance. Ugly people are not accepted, and the third place winner must be young and handsome.

What's more, in the imperial city, eunuchs and palace maids with ugly appearance can only do odd jobs. They will never serve the emperor, let alone be sent by the emperor to do things.

However, due to their physical condition and the long-term servility they have to endure in serving their masters, many eunuchs have a rather feminine appearance.

The man in front of him was not only handsome but also muscular. He was obviously not the kind of eunuch who served people.

"My name is Marquis Yang Zhengshan. May I know who this eunuch is?" Yang Zhengshan asked as he stepped into the front hall.

"Ma Rong, the attendant of the Imperial Household Department, pays his respects to Marquis Jing'an!" Ma Rong saluted calmly with his fists clasped together. His voice was indeed a little shrill, but it did not make him look feminine. On the contrary, the shrill voice did not affect his majestic temperament at all.

"It turns out to be Eunuch Ma. Haha, please sit down, please sit down!" Yang Zhengshan laughed.

The Silijian was the first of the twenty-four imperial palaces. It had a small staff of only about ten people, including the eunuchs who held the seal, the eunuchs who held the pen, and the eunuchs who accompanied the emperor. In Darong, the Silijian had no power to approve documents. Its main responsibility was to assist the emperor in handling state affairs, forwarding memorials, and announcing imperial edicts.

Things like bullying the superiors and suppressing the subordinates were impossible for the Silijian to do, because the Secret Guards were not under the jurisdiction of the Silijian. The memorials from the Secret Guards could be sent directly to the emperor's desk without going through the Silijian, so the Silijian was unable to suppress the Secret Guards from deceiving the emperor.

Of course, this does not mean that the Silijian has no power. As the first supervisory agency in the imperial city, the Silijian can be regarded as the highest command agency of the inner court. Almost all of the twenty-four supervisory agencies in the inner court and the eunuch agencies outside the imperial city are under the supervision of the Silijian.

To put it simply, except for the Secret Guard, the Imperial Household Department has the right to interfere in all eunuch offices.

For example, the eunuch guarding Chongshan Town had the right to be questioned by the Imperial Household Department.

There are only nine people in the current Silijian, including the eunuch Chen Zhongshu, who holds the seal, and eight eunuchs who take turns to serve as scribes on a quarterly basis.

There were only so many people in the Silijian, and Yang Zhengshan naturally had some knowledge of them. He also knew that there was a eunuch named Ma Rong among them, but he had never seen him before.

The two of them sat down, and Ma Rong went straight to the point and said, "We came to Chongshan Town this time on the orders of His Majesty. The Marquis has made great contributions in presenting treasures, and His Majesty has granted him a Sanhuang plum as a token of his favor!"

When he said this, Yang Zhengshan was stunned.

The meritorious service of offering treasures should be due to the telescope and royal honey.

But what is this Sanhuangli?
Ma Rong signaled to the attendant beside him, and the attendant immediately brought a white jade box to Yang Zhengshan.

"Please check it, my lord!"

Yang Zhengshan opened the jade box and saw a yellow fruit the size of an egg inside, which was slightly larger than a normal plum.

"What is this?" he asked puzzledly.

Ma Rong smiled and said, "This is Sanhuangli, a high-quality spiritual fruit that has the effect of calming the mind and concentrating the qi. After taking it, within three hours, the innate true qi in the body will circulate faster, which will help to open up the meridians throughout the body."

When Yang Zhengshan heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up.

Accelerating the circulation of innate true qi will help to open up the meridians throughout the body. Wouldn't this allow a half-step innate to break through to the innate realm?

Ma Rong seemed to see through his thoughts and explained, "Sanhuangli can only increase the speed of the innate true qi, and cannot allow people to break through to the innate realm. If you want to break through to the innate realm, you still need to have enough accumulation and understanding!"

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly to show his understanding.

Although it cannot allow people to break through to the innate realm, it can speed up the circulation of innate true qi, and it is also very effective for the breakthrough of half-step innate warriors.

If you can take more of it, maybe it can allow a warrior who is half a step away from the innate realm to reach the innate realm directly.

The value of this small three-yellow plum is even higher than that of the Jade Dew Peach.

"Your Majesty, I am grateful for your grace!"

Yang Zhengshan stood up and bowed towards Kyoto.

Yang Zhengshan was truly grateful to the emperor for being so generous.

"I am really sorry to trouble Eunuch Ma to make this trip. Please wait a moment. I will have someone prepare wine and food to welcome you and all the brothers!" Yang Zhengshan said enthusiastically.

Ma Rong waved his hand, "My Lord, please don't bother me. My family has other important matters to attend to, so we shouldn't stay in Chongshan Pass any longer!"

"Is there anything else important? Do you need my help?" Yang Zhengshan was a little surprised.

What important business could the Imperial Household Department have in Chongshan Town?
It is understandable that they came to deliver the reward on the emperor's order, but other matters should not require the people from the Imperial Household Department to make a personal trip.

"It's royal honey. Eunuch Chen hopes that the Marquis can give all the royal honey to Your Majesty!" Ma Rong looked at Yang Zhengshan with sharp eyes.

Yang Zhengshan suddenly realized that it was for royal jelly.

It seems that royal jelly does have some effect on the old emperor.

"Royal honey, I still have some here, but there is not much of it. I got some by chance."

"Since Your Majesty needs it, I will not be stingy!"

"Eunuch Ma, wait a moment. I will send someone to get the royal jelly right away!"

Ma Rong smiled faintly when he heard this. "Eunuch Chen said that the Marquis is loyal to His Majesty. I didn't believe it before, but now it seems that Eunuch Chen understands the Marquis!"

"I dare not, I dare not. I am just doing my duty as a subject." Yang Zhengshan said modestly.

Afterwards, he sent someone back to the mansion to get royal honey in front of Ma Rong.

"This royal jelly was obtained by chance by me. I got ten bottles at first. My wife and son drank some of it. Now there are only six bottles left. I gave three bottles to Your Majesty before, and there are still three bottles in the palace now!"

Yang Zhengshan explained, of course this is a fabrication.

As the spiritual spring space becomes larger and larger, there are more and more plants and beehives in the space.

This royal jelly is just ordinary honey in the space. Yang Zhengshan can take more than ten cans every month. The main courtyard and each room of the Yang family have a quota of two cans per month.

Women can drink it to beautify their skin, and children can drink it to strengthen their bones and muscles.

Yang Zhengshan naturally wanted to share such a good thing with his family.

However, his previous explanation at home about the royal jelly was that it was bought from Jiangnan, while in the memorial he explained that it was obtained by chance from Changqing Mountain.

Although it is the same thing, the two interpretations can make it become two different things.

The Yang family used ordinary honey, but the one presented to the emperor was precious royal honey.

As for whether anyone will discover the problem, it’s actually not a big problem, because there will be no more royal jelly in the future, as all the royal jelly will be given to the emperor.

Unless someone can get royal nectar from the imperial city and compare it with the Yang family’s honey.

Otherwise, even if someone discovered that the Yang family's honey was special, they would not think that it was the royal jelly presented to the emperor.

After getting the royal honey, Ma Rong asked to leave. No matter how Yang Zhengshan tried to keep him, the eunuch remained unmoved. In desperation, Yang Zhengshan could only give him three thousand taels of silver and send him out of the city.

Watching Ma Rong leave at full speed, Yang Zhengshan once again confirmed his thoughts.

I'm afraid the old emperor won't live long.

If the old emperor still had a long life, Ma Rong would not have to rush back in such a hurry.

(End of this chapter)