Sitting in the carriage with Lan Ling, Li Hong thought about what Cheetah said and the fragments he saw. It seemed that it was no coincidence that these things appeared in Ci'en Temple.
Li Hong had a bold idea. Could it be that those imprisoned were craftsmen of the Tang Dynasty? And those fragments are the defective products when the craftsmen made the Linglong Tower
"What are you thinking about, little guy?" Lan Ling looked at Li Hong holding the pieces in his hand and not letting go. He thought the little guy was still worried about breaking the Linglong Tower in the palace, and asked dotingly, stroking Li Hong's head. .
"I don't think so. Auntie, is this how you know Master Weiying?" Li Hong raised his head and asked, holding the glass shard in his hand close to one eye, and he could vaguely see Lan Ling's shadow.
"Naughty." Lanling gently patted Li Hong's hand away from his eyes and sighed: "This was introduced by Queen Wang's younger brother many years ago. Although there are dozens of temples and Taoist temples in Chang'an City now, this The money for incense is ridiculously expensive, and your aunt has not known how to make money since you were a child. Even though you are a princess, you still can't go to that big temple to offer incense and pray every day. There happened to be a time when you were in the palace to give a sermon to the king and queen. , her brother Wang Jing introduced Wei Ying to her aunt. "
"What about before? Which temple should Weiying be?" Li Hong continued to ask.
"Before, I was at Guangming Temple. After the Ci'en Temple was built, I heard that it was Empress Wang's brother and uncle who brought him to Ci'en Temple. Why do you ask?" Lan Ling suddenly asked strangely.
"Nothing, just asking. I don't know which one is more powerful, Master Weiying or Master Xuanzang, and has more profound Buddhist knowledge." Li Hong replied casually.
"Of course Master Xuanzang is much more powerful. He went to seek Buddhist scriptures in person. Moreover, Master Xuanzang only lectures on the scriptures to our royal family. Even your father has to go to him twice a year. Now that you are about to become your father's royal mage, it is natural that we will not have the chance to listen to Master Xuanzang's lectures." Lan Ling sighed and said.
After watching Lan Ling's carriage slowly leave, Li Hong was still thinking about Lan Ling's words in his mind, and suddenly he said as if he remembered something: "Mang Zhong, Jingzhe, hurry up and follow your aunt's carriage and escort her." Come back when you get home.”
As Li Hong walked toward the house, he continued to think about the doubts about Ci'en Temple. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Ci'en Temple was not as simple as it seemed.
Wei Ying introduced by Queen Wang's brother Wang Jing? It seems that he, like his father and his brother, are all informal officials without any actual job.
His father, Queen Wang's father, was named "Special Jin", second only to the "Three Dukes" during the dynasty meeting. He was awarded the title of Wei Guogong, a second-grade literary official. As for the title of Queen Wang's younger brother, Li Hong didn't know.
But Li Hong also knew that Queen Wang's uncle Liu Shuang was a powerful figure and was currently serving as a senior official in Zhongshu Ling.
Li Hong shook his head and tried to drive away these trivial matters from his mind, or maybe he was overthinking it. At this time, temples in Chang'an City, large and small, were not only places where men and women worshiped devoutly, but also places where people went for sightseeing and admiring flowers and the moon. Parks of later generations.
Similarly, some temples also serve as a place for the government to resettle the families of deposed officials. The most well-known one is probably the Ganye Temple where the queen mother stayed.
On the morning of the next day, Li Yifu hurried over after going to court, followed by six people. Judging from their expressions, they looked like ordinary people. They followed Li Yifu in Prince Pu's mansion in a submissive and cautious manner.
Li Hong, who had just finished breakfast under Xia Zhi's service, yawned and asked Li Yifu to come in.
Li Yifu stood at the door and ordered the six people to wait outside. From the time he found these six people until now, Li Yifu has not told these six people why they came here, their purpose of coming here, and who they wanted to see.
After hearing Li Yifu's greeting, the six people nodded hurriedly in agreement. They just stared at their toes and did not dare to look around casually. They have never entered such a large mansion, and just walking makes them feel like they have walked half a mile.
The six people uneasily guessed in their hearts that the identity of the important person they were about to meet soon, and the one who could live in such a big house in Chang'an City, must be an official above the duke level. In any case, they did not expect that they were about to meet him soon. The one who will arrive will be the royal prince.
"Sit down in Yifu, how are you? Someone's here?" Li Hong was not polite. He didn't sleep well last night, and his mind was always filled with the scene at Ci'en Temple yesterday.
"King Huidai, we have all been summoned. According to your instructions, there are two glaze craftsmen, two blacksmiths, and two craftsmen who make green bricks. They are all honest people and have the same skills passed down from their ancestors. Chang'an City is also full of skilled craftsmen." After Li Yifu sat down, Xia Zhi brought a glass of water and put it down.
Li Hong is not used to drinking sencha at this time, so he only drinks boiled water until now.
Li Yifu was obviously used to it, and he nodded slightly to express his gratitude to Xia Zhi.
"By the way, let me ask you something, do you know Ci'en Temple?" Li Hong painfully hit his little head with his little hands, and his shiny black hair was draped on his shoulders and swayed casually.
"I know that Ci'en Temple was just built a few days ago. Why did the king ask about this? If you want to go, I can accompany you to see it tomorrow." Li Yifu said with a hint of contemplation in his eyes.
"No, I went with Aunt Lanling yesterday. How much do you know about Ci'en Temple?" Li Hong let Xia Zhi tie his hair into a ponytail and put it on the back of his head. He was too lazy to tie it up.
Li Yifu pondered for a moment and said, "Well... I don't know much about it. It is said that Ci'en Temple was funded and built by Guizi and my wealthy businessman family in the Tang Dynasty. As for the other officials, I don't know much about it."
Li Hong nodded thoughtfully and began to make up his mind. It seemed that he would not be able to sleep well unless he found out more about this matter. So I decided to let Jingzhe and Cheetah explore the secrets hidden in Ci'en Temple.
"Okay, let's go, follow me to the backyard to see if these craftsmen can tinker with this glass." Li Hong reached out his little hand behind his head and touched his ponytail with satisfaction, got up and walked out.
Li Yifu followed closely behind him. As soon as Li Hong went out, he saw six people standing at the side of the door with their bodies bowed. He glanced at them and said, "Yifu, take them with you and take a look."
"Yes." Li Yifu waved his hand for the six people to follow.
When we finally entered the courtyard, there was no one here. Apart from the pavilions and gardens, there was just a lot of sand piled in an open space.
Everyone came to a stop not far from the sand pile. Li Hong looked up at the dazzling sun in the sky, and then took the piece of debris he brought from Ci'en Temple yesterday from Xia Zhi's hand.
Li Hong turned around and looked at the six people behind Li Yifu who had their heads lowered. He handed the glass shards in his hands to the six people and asked, "Look what this is? Does anyone know how to make this?"
The eyes of the six people stayed on the glass in Li Hong's hand, and one of the craftsmen thought for a moment and said: "This little brother..."
"Presumptuous!" Li Yifu's scolding suddenly sounded, which not only shocked the six craftsmen, but also Li Hong.
"What you have in front of you is me, the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty. What kind of little brother are you! Why don't you kneel down and confess your sins!" Only then did Li Yifu realize that he had made a mistake. He should have made it clear to them who he was going to see when he came, otherwise Nothing so embarrassing will happen.
"It's okay, it doesn't matter." Li Hong looked at the six people kneeling timidly in front of him and said, "Get up. Those who don't know are not guilty. By the way, you just said you know this person?"
"This... is, please forgive me on behalf of the king. I seem to have seen this before. This thing seems to be called... called..."
"Just say whatever you want, why hesitate? It doesn't matter if you say it wrong." Li Yifu urged from the side impatiently.
"Yes, sir, this thing should be called glass, and what you have in your hand should be just a fragment."
"Do you know how to make it?" Li Hong asked.
"I don't know." The other five people also shook their heads.
Li Hong nodded in understanding, turned his head and looked at the pile of sand, and then said: "Okay, let's discuss how to refine this glass today. Who among the six of you is the craftsman who fired the green bricks? "
"Xiaomin is." Two people stood up and said.
When Li Yifu heard this, he knew that King Dai was going to teach him how to find glass, so he hurriedly said: "On behalf of King, I will leave now. I will come back after you finish teaching me."
"No, you have to take care of this matter from now on. We just have to look at it together. I don't know much about it. Whether it can be done or not depends on the two of them." Li Hong said nonchalantly.
Li Yifu felt relieved and happy. It seemed that there was no harm in spending more time with Dai Wang. Now he regarded himself as a confidant, and he did not shy away from such important matters.
Li Hong ignored Li Yifu's inner thoughts and watched the sun shining right on the sand. As the angle changed, from time to time he could find bright, sparkling crystals from the pile of gravel.
Then he pointed at the pile of sand and said, "If you look at the pile of sand from different angles, can you see that occasionally bright and dazzling things will be reflected from it?"
Li Yifu and six other people, including Xia Zhi, stared at the pile of sand with their long necks swaying, and they said from time to time: "It's true, there is really light."
"Is the summer solstice similar to the light we saw yesterday?"
"Yes, King Dai. Although it is a little smaller and difficult to catch, it is really almost the same." Xia Zhi continued to shake his head and look at the large pile of sand.
Li Hong walked to the sand pile and motioned for them to follow him. He picked up a handful of sand in his small hands, gradually loosened his fingers, watched the sand fall to the ground like a line on his fingertips, and said, "Actually, this glass is made from this sand." It’s extracted, so you two are going to bake the green bricks. Let’s just burn the sand in the next few days. Let’s see what happens after burning this pile of sand.”
"This..." The two craftsmen were a little embarrassed. What could be produced by burning sand
"Use any method you can think of to bake it, no matter what method you use. We have also equipped you with accommodation here, two people per room. It has been cleaned for you. Usually someone will bring you meals on time." Li After Hong finished speaking, he told Xia Zhi to help them take care of it, and then headed forward with Li Yifu.
"King Dai, you wouldn't say that the glass was made from sand, would you?" Li Yifu's gentle and powerful smile disappeared, and his face was full of surprise and disbelief.
"Yes, this sand is an indispensable material for making glass, so you can imagine how cheap this glass is? But having said that, it is not that easy, and some other things need to be mixed in. Remember not to criticize anyone on this matter. People talk about it.”
"Why?"
"In order to maximize profits, and because we don't have a large-scale production workshop, let's check the progress in the next few days. What do you think of Zhongshu Ling Liu Shuang?"
Li Yifu couldn't keep up with Li Hong's jumping thoughts. The previous sentence was still on the sand, but the next sentence jumped to Zhongshu Ling Liu Shuang.
(End of chapter)