Struggle in the early Tang Dynasty

Page 1952

"Then why are you laughing?"

Of course Guo Ye couldn't tell the queen, he remembered the classic line of the vicious queen in "Snow White", "Magic mirror, magic mirror, who is the most beautiful woman in the world?"

He could only say: "This minister suddenly remembered a joke in the Far West."

"What joke?"

"It is said that there was a farmer who bought a mirror and went home. His wife didn't know what a mirror was. When she looked carefully, she couldn't help being furious, and said: 'Tell me, who is the ugly girl here?!', Empress, you Is it funny to tell this joke?"

Empress Changsun laughed a few times, then suddenly her face changed, and she said, "Are you mocking me for being ugly?"

"Of course not. What I mean is that this kind of mirror is naturally a rare treasure in the hands of the queen, the most beautiful woman in the world. But in the hands of some ordinary-looking women, not only is it not a treasure, but it may even be a treasure." It must be a heart attack."

"Hmph, that's about the same. That's right! This glass mirror is so good, how much is it worth?"

"One hundred thousand!"

"So expensive? You offered a thorny treasure, so what do you think I should reward you with?"

Although people say that there is no king in the world.But in fact, as long as the politics is clear, the property of the royal family, the property of the country, and the property of the subjects are still clearly divided.

Even someone as honorable as Empress Changsun cannot accept the treasures offered by others in vain.In order to show the magnanimity of the royal family, basically the things that I rewarded back could not be less valuable than this thing.

This is even more so for an important minister like Guo Ye.

Guo Ye smiled slightly, and said: "The empress does not need to reward my minister with anything, as long as you use this thing, it is the greatest reward for my minister."

"Could it be that you think I have no money? Does this palace still need your charity?"

"The empress misunderstood, what I said just now came from the bottom of my heart!"

"That won't work either! Forget it, I will reward you with one hundred thousand coins later."

Guo Ye waved his hands again and again, and said, "No need, really no need. The reason why I donated the mirror is not to covet the queen's money, but to make an advertisement!"

"Advertising? What does that mean?"

"My lady, this glass mirror is produced by Weichen's glass workshop. Although this product is good, the cost is quite high and the price is expensive. How to sell this thing quickly has become a heart problem for Weichen. "

Empress Changsun Bingxue was smart, so she understood in an instant, and said, "So, you put your idea on Bengong's head. With Bengong's drive, I think this thing will soon become popular in Chang'an City! This hundred thousand guan You'll get your money back in no time."

"exactly."

Hearing this news, Empress Changsun couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed, and said: "I thought you only dedicated this item to me. So, you also gave gifts to other concubines?"

"Wei Chen has this plan. But other people's mirrors are not as tall as yours. In fact, your mirror is really unique. Even if you have ten thousand coins, you can't buy a mirror like this."

"Oh? What's the reason?"

"The difficulty of producing a one-foot-square piece of glass is very different from that of producing such a huge piece of glass. Weichen's glass workshop has been built for more than half a year, and there are only a dozen pieces of this kind of glass. And..."

He smiled wryly, and said: "Using glass to make a glass mirror is also very easy to fail. Of the ten or so pieces of glass, only one is made into a glass mirror, and the rest are all scrapped. At least within a year, it is impossible to have a glass mirror that is better than yours. This is a better mirror."

"So it turns out that Lord Qin has a heart."

Empress Zhangsun became happy again, and said: "Since you want to use this palace to make an advertisement for you, then this palace will not be polite to you. However, it is better to reward you with something, otherwise it would be too much." I'm sorry. How about..."

She rolled her eyes and said, "I embroidered a silk handkerchief a few days ago, so I will give it to you. Qiuyue!"

"The servant is here!"

"Bring the brocade box next to Bengong's bed and give it to Duke Qin!"

"Yes!"

A silk handkerchief is worth nothing, and the Empress Dowager herself embroidered it, which is a testament to her honor and favor, so Guo Ye no longer refused.

In his mind, isn't it just a veil?Palace people sew clothes for soldiers to boost morale. It has been done in ancient times. What's the big deal?

However, when he took the brocade box home, opened the brocade box, and saw the silk handkerchief, he realized that he was completely wrong.

The embroidery on it turned out to be mandarin ducks playing in the water!

It is very common to see mandarin ducks playing in the water embroidered on silk handkerchiefs, but it is very rare for empresses to embroider them and present them personally!No, it cannot be said to be rare, it should be said to be unique.

Strictly speaking, only His Majesty Li Er is qualified to use this kind of silk handkerchief.

Guo Ye called out more than a dozen times, "My mother!", and then carefully hid the silk handkerchief in his study.

Then, he secretly warned himself that this matter can only be kept in his stomach and cannot be told to anyone!

Let this matter become a little secret between myself and the empress!

Thinking of sharing a secret with such a beautiful woman, his heart itch again!He reminded himself a few times in succession that he would not die if he did not commit suicide, and his mood gradually calmed down.

……

In fact, the huge glass mirror that Guo Ye gave to Empress Changsun is quite different from the mirror in the sense of modern society.

The so-called fine details are just Empress Changsun's own opinion. In Guo Ye's view, the clarity of this mirror is the same.

The method of making these mirrors is actually not complicated.

To put it simply, stick a piece of tin foil on the glass surface, and then pour mercury.

Because mercury can dissolve tin, it becomes a viscous silver-white liquid.Let the liquid dry, and a glass mirror is born.

This is the so-called tin amalgam mirror method.

Historically, this method was invented by Venetian merchants more than 1000 years later, and directly contributed to the prosperity of this place.

However, it is no secret to Guo Ye who traveled through time in later generations.

I think Guo Ye gave Deng Qibin a lot of chemical and physical knowledge at the beginning, but he really didn't teach him how to make tin amalgam mirrors.It wasn't that Guo Ye was hiding his secrets, but he really didn't think about it at the time.

Fundamentally speaking, this is not the basic knowledge of physical chemistry, it can only be regarded as an anecdote.

Later, Guo Ye was swayed by Deng Qibin. He had no choice but to find another source of income, and he remembered it by chance.

……

The glass mirror itself is very charming, and with the testimony of Empress Changsun and the concubines, it quickly became popular in Chang'an City.

Of course, because the price of this item is very expensive, it can easily cost thousands of coins, so it cannot be used by non-high-ranking officials, relatives, wealthy merchants and nobles.

With the hot sales of mirrors, Guo Ye has money in hand, and continues to start the plan to suppress the price of flat glass.

But how to set the price is really a big problem!