Daqin: A buff of incredible comprehension

In the dead of night, a horse-drawn carriage trudged along a muddy road toward the ceramics workshop. The glow of the smelter's blast furnace could be seen in the distance. A clamor emanated from the straw hut. Sensing something was amiss, soldiers rushed in to break up the altercation. Lin Feng yelled, "Stop!"

"I will never let you go easily today!"

There was chaos in the simple shack, and the crowd gathered in a circle.

Some tried to mediate the dispute, while others unleashed a barrage of abuse.

boom!

A powerful crossbow suddenly shot out, passing over the people's heads and deeply embedded in the main beam. The tail of the arrow trembled slightly, making a slight vibration sound.

The heavily armored soldiers slowly approached, swords and weapons drawn, looking menacing. The shed suddenly fell into silence.

The craftsmen retreated with fear on their faces.

"What's the noise about?"

"Are you going to cause a rebellion?"

A ** shouted sternly: "If you dare to move one more step, your head will fall to the ground immediately!"

"General, you are finally here."

The steward bowed and said, "If you don't come soon, these rough guys will get into trouble!"

"What happened?"

** His eyes were as sharp as a torch, and everyone lowered their heads, not daring to look directly at him.

"I just prepared some meat dishes out of kindness," the steward complained. "These guys insisted that I ate the food and gave them less food."

"What do you mean by kindness?"

"It's clearly stipulated in the regulations that the artisans' food allowances must not be reduced," someone shouted. "We should be able to eat meat every day."

The manager's expression changed slightly and he winked at **.

"Who was that person who just spoke? Stand up!"

** Taking a step forward, the craftsmen panicked and huddled together.

"Are you making such a fuss over such a small matter?" ** glanced at the rice bucket, which indeed contained quite a few scraps of meat. "Isn't there meat in here? And even delicacies from the land and the sea?"

"Sir, take a closer look at what this is!" someone said angrily. "He's actually using rat meat to pass it off as duck meat!"

The manager's face suddenly changed and he became furious.

"Nonsense!" he roared. "Men, come out and explain!"

Anger burned in the workers' eyes as they huddled together, preventing one of the young and burly craftsmen from moving forward.

"General, this is a huge misunderstanding." The steward said hurriedly, "Look, this is clearly top-quality duck meat." He took out a string of copper coins from his pocket and secretly handed it to **.

The two looked at each other in understanding.

"It's definitely a duck neck," the officer said calmly. "How can a mouse have such a long neck?"

** His face twitched slightly as he realized something was wrong—a rat head was mixed into the dish, no wonder the craftsman was unhappy.

But faced with the soldiers holding swords and on guard, none of the workers dared to speak out in rebuttal and could only endure in silence.

At this time, a calm voice sounded: "This is Rat Head."

"who is it?!"

"You said that wind is rain, right?" ** approached the craftsmen with weapons in hand.

"The facts are right in front of us. They won't change even if you ask a hundred times." The voice continued.

** Seeing this, his expression became even gloomier.

At this moment, a surprising voice came:

"Everyone greets the governor!" A team of guards, stunned, immediately saluted in unison. The craftsmen stood there in astonishment, their mouths hanging open.

Since the military governor Ying Shiman was very strict in supervising the glass-making project, Chen Fuling rarely visited this place, and most craftsmen had only heard of him but had never seen him in person.

"I didn't know you were here..."

The captain was sweating profusely. "Before I discovered this, had the rat's head become a duck's neck?"

Chen Fuling took a step forward and said, "It's not like that, it's..."

"Sir, it's really duck meat! If you don't believe me, please try it!"

Seeing the critical situation, the steward took a bite of the meat in his hand. Although the strange feeling made him want to vomit, he still managed to swallow it. "Sir, it is indeed... duck neck."

Chen Fuling sneered: "Is duck neck really delicious?"

"Yes, it's really delicious." The steward forced a smile.

"In that case, please eat all the duck meat in the barrel." Chen Fuling pointed his weapon at him.

"grown ups……"

"Hurry up." The squad leader kept hinting, his eyes very fierce.

"Okay." The steward was forced to move step by step towards the wooden barrel, and tremblingly picked up pieces of rat meat and swallowed them down.

The entire scene was in a dead silence, with everyone staring at the usually domineering steward, now in a state of extreme embarrassment. The craftsmen, however, felt a surge of relief.

Chen Fuling waited patiently and no one dared to interrupt.

Finally, when he caught a long rat tail, the manager's expression was completely distorted.

"Why did you stop again? There are still quite a lot, right?" Chen Fuling said contemptuously.

"That's... a yellow eel, it's really a yellow eel!" The manager's face looked very ugly.

"So it's an eel taken out from a duck's stomach?" Chen Fuling continued to mock.

The steward smiled bitterly, "Yes, this is an eel."

Looking at his expression, Chen Fuling said coldly, "

The night is hazy and the stars are shining.

Lord Li stood by the window, gazing at the bright moon in the night sky. Buddhism teaches of the four kalpas of creation, existence, destruction, and emptiness. He could never have imagined that in the early days of the Imperial Household Department, when everyone should be working together, such a phenomenon would have already emerged. If not addressed promptly, the consequences could be disastrous!

The door creaked open slowly. Eunuch Lu, his head wrapped in white gauze and a wooden box in his hands, walked in with a light step. He bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Excellency."

"Old Lu, what's wrong with the wound on your forehead?" Lord Li turned around and noticed the bandage marks and blood stains on Eunuch Lu's head.

"I came here in a hurry and didn't pay attention... I bumped into the pillar." Eunuch Lu's eyes were filled with a trace of pitiful pleading, hoping that Lord Li would show mercy.

"Did you break the pillar?"

Eunuch Lu was stunned for a moment, then stammered, "The pillar is intact. I'm a little injured, but it won't be a problem."

"Do you remember when you first came to Xianyang and His Majesty made you a slave, and you were in constant fear?" Lord Li asked seriously.

Eunuch Lu immediately nodded and saluted, saying, "Your Excellency's kindness will always be remembered in my heart. If it weren't for your rescue, I would have been dead. What I did today was indeed inappropriate."

Lord Li frowned and asked, "Where did that steward come from? Tell me the truth, or I won't let you go easily."

Eunuch Lu's heart trembled. After a long pause, he confessed, "She was introduced by Liu Ruyan, the courtesan of Chunxing Tower. She deceived me with a potion... I was confused for a moment and made a mistake."

Lord Li grabbed his collar angrily and said, "Hmph, tell me the truth! What do the workers in the canteen eat every day? Do you know?"

"I don't know the details. The princess is urging us to complete the glass products, and I really don't have time to spare." Eunuch Lu's voice was anxious and trembling.

"Don't you understand how much a furnace of materials costs? Then let me ask you, how much money does His Majesty's treasury spend every month?" Lord Li glared at him and asked.

Eunuch Lu shook his head.

"The internal treasury expenditure has increased more than seventy times compared to last year! And the income is far from enough to cover the expenditure!" Lord Li said angrily.

……

The atmosphere in the straw hut was incredibly oppressive. The craftsmen watched helplessly as tragedy unfolded one after another. One manager, exposed for passing rat meat off as duck, was beheaded on the spot by the squad leader; another, trying to cover up his mistake, even attempted to gouge out his own eyes, only to be fatally wounded. Faced with such cruel reality, everyone felt a mixture of fear and hatred.

Then Lord Li gave the order: "Inform Lu Shaofu to come to see me and dispose of the bodies immediately."

Everyone exchanged mixed feelings, glancing at each other. Lord Li continued to enforce strict discipline, reiterating that any actions that undermine his cause would be met with a heavy price. "Call Young Master Lu," he whispered.

This chapter of the story ends here, leaving a deep impression.

Chapter 380: Winners Take All: The Iron-Fisted Reform in the Master's Mind

Names have been changed in the notes to ensure the smooth flow of the new text.

"According to my estimates, future spending will increase further, possibly several times or even more than it is now!"

"In three years at most, the national treasury will be completely depleted!"

"The vast wealth accumulated by the empire through years of war may be squandered during my reign!"

Chen Ming put down his hand and gently patted Lao Zhang's cheek.

"Think about it."

"The emperor is spending so much money, what is he trying to achieve?"

"By the time the treasury is depleted, and if what he desires still hasn't been realized, what will be the fate of you and me?"

"wrong……"

"I'm the prince consort, so I have some connection with him."

"When the crisis really comes, I will put all the blame on you!"

He poked Zhang Shouhou's forehead hard, and the latter was already dizzy.

"When the time comes, be prepared to be torn apart by five horses on the streets of Xianyang. It will mean that you have not lived your life in vain."

"Thousands of families across the entire Imperial Household Department will be exterminated, all thanks to your 'contribution'!"

Zhang Shouhou was terrified and eagerly grabbed Chen Ming's arm: "Sir, please don't scare me!"

"The royal family has countless treasures. Can they be used up in just three years?"

Chen Ming sneered disdainfully: "It won't take three years."

"At first, I also didn't believe that the emperor's accumulated wealth could be so easily consumed."

“But the money is being spent so quickly and the returns are so little.”

"Think about it yourself."

"You are the culprit. You cannot shirk this responsibility."

Zhang Shouhou panicked and said, "Your Excellency, I really didn't dare to do anything. At most, I just used some scraps to appease those prostitutes."

"I always do my best in my official duties."

Chen Ming interrupted him: "Stop talking nonsense."

"I'll make a note of this first. I'll arrange for a few military supervisors to come and check it out tomorrow."

He waved his hand in disgust.

After seeing Zhang Shouhou off, Chen Ming sat alone at his desk, lost in thought.

Why are all these people under me so worrying?

Liu Zhou is honest and dull, and he doesn't know what to do when faced with an emergency.

People like Lu He are too cunning and will make mistakes if they are not careful.

His eyes accidentally glanced at a wooden box on the table - it turned out to be brought by Zhang Shouhou.

Gorgeous? Magnificent?

Oh, how short-sighted!

How could there be any amazing works when porcelain was fired for the first time?

It's just a practice work but it's described so highly.