Hearing Wang Kunjun say that gifts can be used as evidence, Chai Rong felt very strange, and hurriedly ordered the guards outside the hall to carry the gifts brought by Wang Kunjun and others into the hall.

After the six large, two small and eight boxes were moved into the hall, Wang Kunjun and others opened the lid of the box one by one under the curious eyes of Chai Rong and the two ministers Zhang and Zhao, revealing the contents inside. Like the generals at the Xiaohuangmen and the palace gate, among these gifts, the only things Chai Rong, Zhang and Zhao could recognize were five horizontal knives and the box of lead pills.

The reaction of Chai Rong and the others was expected by Wang Kunjun, and he didn't wait for the other party to ask, so he took the telescopes out of the box first, and said: "Bixia, this is the 'telescope' made by the grass people and others based on the skills they learned in overseas island countries and using the existing materials in Middle-earth. This thing can be seen as far as near, and the scenery from a mile away can be seen as if it were in front of you. Bixia and the two adults can give it a try. After speaking, Wang Kunjun left one for himself, and handed over the remaining four binoculars to the eunuch waiting in the palace, who handed them over to Chai Rong.

Subsequently, without Chai Rong asking, Wang Kunjun began to quietly demonstrate the use of the monocular. Chai Rong followed Wang Kunjun's method to pull out the inner cylinder of the monocular, aimed the smaller end at his eyes, and looked out of the hall. Then, he was shocked to find that the round face of a little eunuch appeared in front of his eyes, not only the facial features of the little eunuch, but also the subtle expressions on his face were clearly displayed in front of his eyes. Chai Rong, who was shocked by the objects in front of him, hurriedly moved the telescope away from his eyes, and found that the little eunuch was dozens of zhang away from the main hall.

After Chai Rong raised the telescope in his hand and put it down two or three times, he ordered someone to call the little eunuch who was passing by outside the hall into the hall. After a closer look, Chai Rong determined that the little eunuch in front of him was the same as what he saw in this so-called "telescope". After waving his hand and sending away the little eunuch who was inexplicably called to face the gentleman, Chai Rong ordered the eunuch next to him to hand over the telescope to the two cronies of the minister for trial.

The two ministers, Zhang and Zhao, took the binoculars and held them up to look out according to Wang Kunjun's appearance. As a result, the movements of the two were the same as Chai Rong's just now, and after lifting and putting down several times, they re-pushed the inner cylinder of the telescope with an unbelievable face and returned to its original state. However, neither of them returned the telescope to Chai Rong, but still held it in their hands. Then, I heard the minister surnamed Zhao say to Chai Rong: "Bixia, this thing is indeed amazing, and the minister Zhao Kuangyin has a long experience today." With this item, scouts or leading generals will be able to observe the enemy's position from a distance when marching and fighting in the future, and no longer have to risk being discovered to approach the enemy camp. ”

When the four words "Minister Zhao Kuangyin" came out of the mouth of the black-faced minister, except for Zhang Weixin, who had already guessed his identity early on, the other traversers, including Wang Kunjun, subconsciously looked up to see the famous Zhao Boss and Song Taizu in the history of their original time and space.

Fortunately, at this time, whether it was Zhao Kuangyin, Chai Rong and the minister surnamed Zhang, their minds were on the telescope, and they did not notice the abnormal reaction of the people in the "delegation". After a short period of excitement, the traversers also realized their gaffes, and hurriedly lowered their heads again, so as not to be seen by the three monarchs and ministers.

At this time, I heard the minister surnamed Zhang say, "Bixia, the minister also thinks that this thing does have some use, but I don't know if it is easy to manufacture." If the manufacturing method is too cumbersome and too expensive, and only a few commanders can afford to use it, its role in the army will be greatly reduced. ”

This minister surnamed Zhang is a bit picky when he talks like this. You must know that even if the imperial court wants to equip the army with telescopes, only a few high-ranking generals are eligible to get them. After all, this thing is useful for yourself, and at the same time useful for the enemy. If you send too much and the rank of the officer equipped with the binoculars is too low, it is likely that the enemy will get it and turn it against you. Therefore, no matter how expensive this thing is, the imperial court is fully capable of equipping the army. However, for Chai Rong, who advocates frugality, the cost problem cannot be ignored. So, after the minister surnamed Zhang finished speaking, Chai Rong asked Wang Kunjun: "Wang Kunjun, tell me how long it will take to build such a telescope and how much it will cost." ”,

Regarding the cost of the telescope, Wang Kunjun consulted Liu Wendong before leaving, and when he saw Chai Rong asking, he gave a salute and said: "Qiqi Bixia, before the grass people came to Beijing to face the saint, they specially asked the brother who was responsible for making the telescope. According to him, with the materials and production processes available in Middle-earth, it would take eighty man-hours to make a telescope of this grade, or about forty hours for a skilled craftsman. Excluding the wages of craftsmen, the cost of each telescope is about 30 yuan. ”

It only takes a skilled craftsman to work for forty hours, and the basic cost is only thirty yuan, which is really nothing to the imperial court. This amount of time and money is about the same as making a bow or crossbow, but it can be much more useful than a bow or crossbow. Therefore, after listening to Wang Kunjun's explanation of the cost, Zhao Kuangyin said happily: "I didn't expect that such a magical and powerful instrument can be manufactured with only such a small amount of time and money, which is really surprising." Well, with such a low price, even if it was for each commander of the forbidden army, it would not cost much. bixia, the minister thought it was ......"

Just when Zhao Kuangyin wanted to suggest to Chai Rong to purchase more telescopes, so that each army commander of the forbidden army should have one, the minister surnamed Zhang next to him stopped him and said: "Bixia, the minister thinks that this Wang Kunjun's offer may be false." ”

As he spoke, he raised the telescope in his hand, tapped the glass lens inlaid on it with his fingers, and said, "Bixia, if the minister is not mistaken, the telescope should be inlaid with very precious glass or crystal. As far as the minister knows, the price of these two things in the market is very expensive. Don't talk about the whole telescope, just this piece of glass or crystal, I'm afraid that I can't buy it without hundreds of pieces. But Wang Kunjun said that each telescope only needs thirty times, which is obviously deceiving Bixia. ”

Hearing what his cronies and ministers said, Chai Rong also picked up a telescope and looked at the inlaid materials on it carefully, and found that it was indeed glass or crystal. Although he didn't know much about the specific market prices of these two precious materials, he could also conclude that they would definitely not be as cheap as thirty yuan. Therefore, he turned his gaze to Wang Kunjun, wanting to hear the other party's explanation. Although, as a matter of common sense, there should not be such a phenomenon of overpricing and underreporting. Moreover, even if the other party deliberately did it to please him, there was no loss to himself and the court. However, Chai Rong still hopes that the other party can give him a reasonable explanation.

Facing Chai Rong's inquiring gaze, Wang Kunjun had no choice but to report truthfully: "Qiyu Bixia, the price quoted by the grass people is not the slightest false. Yes, the telescope is indeed inlaid with the so-called glass in Middle-earth, and it is a very high-grade, completely colorless and transparent glass, and its price on the market is indeed hundreds of dollars.

However, these are for those who don't know the inside story. This so-called glass is also found overseas, but on the island where the grass people used to live, it is called glass. On the island, the objects made of this glass are commonly used in the household and are extremely inexpensive. Even ordinary people's homes can afford it.

The reason for this difference is that the people of Middle-earth did not understand the process of making it and could not make similar objects. As the saying goes, 'scarcity is precious', when an artifact can only be obtained from a foreign land thousands of miles away, its price in Middle-earth will be very high, no matter how low the cost of its manufacture is.

Fortunately, some of the grass people's sworn brothers had learned how to make glass in overseas island countries, and when they came to Middle-earth, they tried to make a batch of glass from Middle-earth. Later, other brothers used these glasses, together with telescope manufacturing methods learned overseas, to create the monoculars. It is precisely with these prerequisites that the cost of these telescopes will be as low as the grass people say. Moreover, 30 times is still the cost of the entire telescope, and if you count the cost of the glass lens alone, it will be lower. ”

"This glass, well, according to you, it should be called the manufacturing cost of glass, is it really so cheap?" Chai Rong asked with some disbelieving, "Tell me, how is this glass made, what raw materials are needed, and how much manpower is consumed?" ”

Chai Rong's question made Wang Kunjun a little embarrassed, don't answer, that's called resistance. Answer, now the team is making money from this thing, once the relevant secrets are leaked, wouldn't it be their own jobs? ,

Therefore, after a little hesitation, Wang Kunjun saluted Chai Rong and said: "Bixia asked the grass people, and the grass people should know everything and say everything. However, since the grass people and their brothers mainly make a living by doing glass business in Youzhou, the method of making them is of great importance to our brothers, and it is not up to the grass people to decide alone. The grass people want to discuss it with the brothers, and hope that Bixia can be gracious. ”

Chai Rong is such a shrewd person, listening to Wang Kunjun say this, and then thinking about the gap between the manufacturing cost of glass and the price on the market that he said just now, he already understood what the other party meant. When Chai Rong's prices of "thirty guan" and "hundreds of guan" were put together, two big words immediately appeared in his mind - profiteers.

That's right, profiteers. Dozens of pieces of stuff -- including the cost of other materials -- this Wang Kunjun actually sold hundreds of pieces, not a profiteer. Although Chai Rong himself had done business before he made a fortune, his profits could not be compared with Wang Kunjun's business, and he was tired and tired of making hard money. If it weren't for the fact that the other party had some insight and talent, and brought such useful tools to himself, Chai Rong would definitely teach this group of profit-seeking guys a good lesson.

It's just that what Chai Rong didn't expect was that he greatly underestimated the "black heart" of these "profiteers" in front of him, and the thirty guan quoted by Wang Kunjun was actually the price of mixed water. According to the report of the Chemical Engineering Division, the actual cost of each monocular, including the labor cost of craftsmen, is only about 10 times. Even if Wang Kunjun sold it to Chai Rong at a price of thirty yuan, he would still make a profit equivalent to twice the cost of each one. What's more, if Wang Kunjun planned to sell the telescope publicly, he would definitely not buy it at the price given to Chai Rong -- according to the market assessment of the monocular by the trade department of the crossing team, its suggested retail price is 3,500 yuan. In other words, a small telescope can be sold for 350 times the cost. If Chai Rong learned about these twists and turns, he really didn't know what kind of expression it would be.

However, now Chai Rong didn't know that these "profiteers" in front of him would be so "black", so after Wang Kunjun proposed to discuss with the brothers, he smiled and said: "I often hear people say 'no business, no adultery', and I used to think that it was a bit exaggerated. However, judging from the hesitation of the others, this glass business is indeed a profitable business. Besides, this is your means of making a living, and I can't cut off your financial means in order to satisfy my curiosity. You don't have to bother discussing it anymore, I don't have to ask about it anymore. ”

Seeing that Chai Rong was no longer digging into the bottom of the glass issue, Wang Kunjun hurriedly said: "Grass people thank you for your grace." In order to show their gratitude to Bixia, the grass people and others were willing to send Bixia 100 monoculars for the use of the generals in the army. ”

Chai Rong shook his head when he heard this, raised the telescope in his hand, and said: "I can accept these five telescopes as gifts, and the telescopes needed in the army in the future will still have to be paid according to the price, and some will be added on the basis of thirty yuan as transportation funds on the road." It is commendable that you can come to the capital thousands of miles to offer treasures, and it also shows the sincerity of you and others to defect to the Great Zhou and serve the imperial court, how can the imperial court not reward and punish it. As for the specific number of telescopes needed, I will send someone to inform you and others in the future. ”

"Bixia, the grass people presented binoculars to the imperial court completely out of their own volition,...... Wang Kunjun wanted to fight for it again, but he was stopped by Chai Rong only halfway through the words. I saw Chai Rong wave his hand and said, "I have made up my mind, so you don't need to say it anymore." ”

Seeing Chai Rong's resolute attitude, it was inconvenient for Wang Kunjun to dwell on this matter anymore. He immediately changed the subject, picked up the glass mirror wrapped in red silk in another small wooden box, and said, "Bixia, this is the second gift that the grass people gave to Bixia - the glass mirror. ”

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