Chapter 455 Light is harmful

Author: solid state drive

Chapter 455 Light is harmful

"Lao Zhu, do you think Zhao Ji is quite careful? I gave him a quota of 10 million, but he didn't even choose to use it. Instead, he sold an inkstone to offset the price."

"Perhaps you are worried that you can't pay it back? After all, the system has great power. If you don't pay back the money for unknown reasons, you will easily owe a lot of debt and be unable to resist. If it were me, I wouldn't owe this kind of debt."

When Chongzhen put down the newspaper in his hand, he always felt like he had been reading it for several days.

"Shopkeeper, what did he buy?"

"I bought a new musket at the reduced price I gave you, which is exactly one thousand yuan apiece."

Chen Ye looked at the display window and said that there was an undelivered musket missing.

Although the Royal Army, the Han Dynasty, and the Qin Dynasty have all begun to install automatic rifles, the flintlock muskets have not stopped being eliminated. Even Chen Ye is still expanding demand, and the Ming Dynasty is also seeking to localize manufacturing.

The reason is that the territory of the three time and space futures is too large. According to the map, the Ming Dynasty now stretches from Siberia in the north, to Gansu and Sichuan in the west, to Hainan in the south, and to the Japanese state of Goryeo in the east. The land area has exceeded 10 million square kilometers.

With the expansion of territory, the size of the army needed by the Ming Dynasty will expand exponentially, and local security teams will also need firearms to maintain stability.

Now, for the time being, thanks to the old habits, many places have surrendered in name only, but most of the military power still lies in self-governance. They listen to orders but not propaganda. After a year, at least a large army will need to be sent to replace the defense.

By that time, the Ming Dynasty needed more than a million guns. With so many guns, all of which were issued with automatic rifles, Chongzhen couldn't afford it even if he had money, let alone worry about it.

Therefore, muskets can only continue to be installed in the second-level troops, and the manufacturing cost of muskets has become cheaper and cheaper with the optimization of custom factory production lines.

After Su Qing acquired the processing factory, she lowered the price of the 21st Century Flintlock Factory to the factory price of two hundred yuan per unit.

In the future, these muskets will be sold to Chongzhen's affiliated countries around the world and sold to Europe so that Europeans can continue to fight. Ming Dynasty only needs to maintain its leadership in weapons and equipment to continue to be the world hegemon until cultural unification.

"Lao Zhu, I'll go back and make preparations first. I'll go to Zhao Ji tomorrow to ask him what he needs and see what his specific situation is. Then I'll come back and tell him exactly how to kill him."

"Okay, then shopkeeper, you go first. By the way, don't tell Liu Bei and Zhao Zheng! Especially Zhao Zheng, he has a lot of cheap labor."

Chongzhen blinked at Chen Ye, and Chen Ye understood in an instant that Chongzhen wanted to monopolize the resources and income of the Song Dynasty. It seemed that after opening his eyes, a Ming Dynasty could no longer satisfy his appetite.

However, Chen Ye did not refuse. He had the strongest relationship with Chongzhen. It was okay to agree to such a small request, but it was not okay to keep it all to himself.

"Lao Zhu, it's not good to eat alone.

However, the Han Dynasty and the Qin Dynasty are still sorting out their own affairs. In the early stage, they can allow the Ming Dynasty and the Song Dynasty to conduct exclusive transactions and establish a good relationship.

Wait until the demand is greater later, and then open the Qin Dynasty and Han Dynasty. After all, you are still developing in the Ming Dynasty."

"Yes, yes, when the Ming Dynasty can't take it anymore, I will naturally share the benefits."

Hearing Chen Ye's words, Chongzhen was happy. As long as he took the initiative in this kind of thing and established a good relationship with Zhao Ji, Zhao Ji would definitely have a better impression of the first emperor he met.

Just like him and Chen Ye, if they have known each other for a long time and have a good relationship, they can find ways to gain the upper hand.

"Then I, damn...

Zhao Ji is really rich. Even if he flees south, he can still pocket so much money. If he doesn't scratch it, he will be unable to help the economic prosperity of the Song Dynasty."

"What's wrong, shopkeeper?"

Seeing Chen Ye suddenly pause, Chongzhen asked strangely.

"Zhao Ji just charged five thousand taels of gold. He should have casually ordered someone to prepare this. After all, less than an hour has passed. I guess he can charge more tomorrow."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, if I could just take out five thousand taels of gold, it wouldn't be so difficult."

Chongzhen sighed and said that when the system first found him, although he was not so poor as to have five thousand taels, it was still difficult to control so much gold at will without being discovered.

The most important thing is that in the first year of Jingkang, Zhao Ji was still in the south. He was in power in an away game and could spend five thousand taels of gold at will. This level of wealth is self-evident.

He waved his hand and watched Chen Ye disappear before his eyes.

"Wang Banban, come here to clean up."

"I accept the decree."

Wang Chengen nodded and came over to start clearing the table. In the past, Chongzhen would habitually put garbage into the display window. He learned this from a certain shopkeeper who had been warned.

After the update, garbage had no economic value. Every time it was collected, Chen Ye had to be notified to confirm the zero-yuan purchase, which made Chongzhen gradually change this habit.

"Fortunately, I obtained the system early enough. As it is now, I hope it will take longer for ZTE to revive the Ming Dynasty."

Talking to himself, Chongzhen stretched, walked towards his desk, and began to deal with political affairs.

In the early morning of the next day, before the winter sun had risen, the capital city with street lights on had already begun to become noisy.

Accustomed to the life of street lamps, the people's way of traveling has changed from starting at sunrise and resting at sunset to getting up early and staying late.

However, in order to prevent vicious incidents from happening, the capital still did not lift the curfew, and the people got used to this kind of life.

"If so, let's light a fire."

"Hey! Master, you're awake too. I'm going to make a fire right now."

In a house in the outer city, Qian Qianyi woke up to the sound of cockcrows and called Liu Rushi. Liu Rushi, who also woke up, reached out and groped around the pillow and found a flashlight.

After pressing the switch, a burst of bright light suddenly shone at the end of the bed. Qian Qianyi couldn't help but squint his eyes. Liu Rushi carefully opened the quilt, fumbled to put on the cotton coat on the bedside and prepared to get out of bed.

It was already cold in the room, so when Qian Qianyi lifted the quilt, he felt a chill on his body. He quickly tightened his body and blinked to regain consciousness.

Liu Rushi had already gotten out of bed, walked past the screen wearing a cotton coat, opened the window slightly, and a bit of biting cold wind blew in.

This caused the temperature in the room to drop a few degrees, and the dull air became significantly fresher. Liu Rushi's head, which had been dazed, gradually became clearer.

Walking to the stone stove near the door, using the light of the flashlight, I used a wooden stick to pull out the charcoal ash, rubbed the hay on the side and put it into the charcoal ash.

Then he blew it with his mouth, and the fire suddenly rose. Then he took the hay and took it to several oil lamps on the table to light it, and then turned off the flashlight.

"Master, there's still some time until dawn. You can sleep a little longer. I'll boil the water and call you."

"Forget it, just by the firelight, I can read a book for a while and then go to the palace later."

Qian Qianyi shook his head, stood up and began to wait for Liu Rushi to bring his clothes.

"Sir, your thermal underwear was washed yesterday, so you can only wear cotton lining today to deal with it. The underwear can only be worn after two days of drying."

"Well, I remember you said it yesterday. By the way, Royal Merchant Company still didn't say how long it would take to restock?"

"Yes, the Royal Merchant Company said that thermal underwear is very popular, especially since various stores are rushing to buy it and transport it to the north. Even the capital can't buy it. The next batch will probably take half a month."

"Those herding horses do need thermal underwear, but they are buying and selling it so much that neither you nor I can afford to wear it. I have to take a leaf out of them."

Qian Qianyi stretched out his hand and waited for Liu Rushi to put the clothes on him, and then said with a smile, he looked down on the Mongolian tribes in his words. As for the ginseng, it was because reselling had harmed his interests.

After cleaning up, the two walked to the living room. Under the illumination of the oil lamp, the room looked dim and dark. There was a cardboard box in the corner with a picture of an electric heater painted on it.

"The little sun your Majesty gave me is useless. I don't know when the electricity bill will come down so that this thing can be used."

"Sir, didn't you say that His Majesty has agreed to your price reduction proposal? Now that His Majesty has rewarded you with this little sun, I guess the price will soon be reduced.

Moreover, you and the ministers are worried about state affairs, so it is possible that your majesty will charge courtiers no fees?"

Liu Rushi's words made Qian Qianyi couldn't help but agree with him. Maybe, is this really the case? He picked up the book on the table and read it slowly.

Seeing Qian Qianyi's movements, Liu Rushi couldn't help but frown, thought for a moment, and said.

"Sir, when I had a gathering with the British father-in-law and Zhou Guozhang and his wife yesterday, I heard the British father-in-law said that you should not read under the firelight, saying that it is bad for your eyes."

"It's a joke. For thousands of years, except during the day, who hasn't read under an oil lamp? That's all just to tease you, don't take it seriously."

Qian Qianyi shook his head and said disdainfully, he didn't believe it, reading in front of the firelight would do any harm to his eyes? He had been reading for decades, and apart from his old eyesight, he was not blind.

"Really, sir, it is said that the fire light can flicker, so it will make the eyes uncomfortable. Her cousin discovered it while studying under the street lamp in the capital.

I tried it yesterday and I think it is the same. Otherwise, I might as well use a flashlight to shine on you."

"Her cousin no longer has to think about fame and wealth in this life. If he doesn't read carefully, the street lights will be so dazzling. Reading under the street lights is harmful to the eyes!

Besides, the battery of this flashlight only costs one tael or two, and one battery only lasts a few hours.

We can buy lamp oil for one tael and we can burn it for more than a month. Although we are not short of money, there is no need to be so extravagant."

While Qian Qianyi was talking, Liu Rushi didn't contradict Qian Qianyi anymore. Over the past few years, she knew that Qian Qianyi was a bit stubborn, especially about reading, and she couldn't contradict him in this regard.

Seeing that Liu Rushi didn't argue with him anymore, Qian Qianyi nodded with satisfaction, sat on a chair, and read a book while waiting for Liu Rushi to boil water for washing.

I just don't know if it's a psychological effect. After listening to Liu Rushi's words, Qian Qianyi always felt that the discomfort in his eyes when reading today was a bit strong. The longer he read, the more uncomfortable he became.

Especially looking at the candlelight flickering on the table, I felt very uncomfortable.

"That's weird, is it true?"

"Master, today's newspaper is here."

While he was thinking, Qian Qianyi heard the voice of a servant coming from outside the door amidst the sound of wind and snow. He tightened his clothes and got up and went to the door. After pulling the bolt, he opened the door.

A strong cold wind blew against him. The servant outside the door was wrapped in cotton clothes to block most of the draft. He carefully held a folded newspaper and handed it to Qian Qianyi with his red hands.

After Qian Qianyi took the newspaper, he ordered his servants to continue working, and then quickly closed the door. Liu Rushi over there had already brought a cup of hot water.

"Huh! It's really cold in the capital. I miss the comfort of Jiangnan even more now. Although it can snow in Jiangnan, it won't be as bitter and cold as the capital."

"Sir, since it's so cold in the north, why doesn't the imperial court respond to Tianfu?"

"Of course it's because there are foreign races in the north that need to be guarded against. It's so bitterly cold in the capital. If the imperial court were not here, I'm afraid they would soon forget about the north and only seek comfort."
To be continued...