It was under the reminder of the pudding made by Hua Mian that Sikong Yue found a breakthrough in replying to the question raised by Prime Minister Li Xu.

Sikong Yue, who is accustomed to Beilin's diet all year round, is very familiar with the taste of milk, while Ye Huang is accustomed to using milk as an ingredient to make dishes for him after Hua Mian enters the Hejing Palace, but Concubine Jing rarely eats this kind of ingredient, and she only realized it when she heard Sikong Yue say.

"What interesting things did you see when you came back this time?" , In order to hide her embarrassment, Concubine Jing changed the subject.

Hearing this, Sikong Yue put down the porcelain cup in his hand on the table at hand, and replied: "The villages and towns I saw all the way back are no different from the usual, only one thing makes me more concerned, it's not a big deal, it's not an interesting thing, it may be boring, I'll ask an acquaintance in the Ministry of Industry when I go back."

"What is it?" , The person who interjected this time turned out to be Sikong Xiao, who had been quietly drinking tea next to him, and he just listened to what Sikong Yue told about the daily life of the people in Beilin, but suddenly asked when she said something she cared about.

Sikong Xiao's sudden question made Sikong Yue take aback a little, when did this younger brother start to be interested in these things?

But since he asked, Sikong Yue will inevitably answer seriously: "This time I came back all the way to meet the convoy of many merchants, and saw that most of the goods they loaded were iron, stone and gunpowder, and when I was in Gao Town, I learned from a few merchants I met by chance that the number of these commodities purchased from my country in the past year has increased a lot compared with the past, but I have not heard relevant information in Beilin these days."

"Ironstone and gunpowder...", listening to her words, Sikong Xiao repeated the names of the two items.

"I know, I know", Ye Huang volunteered to explain to Concubine Jing: "The quality of the iron and stone produced by Beilin Country is much worse than ours, and even the agricultural tools made are not as strong and durable as our country, so we have always purchased iron and stone from our country, as for gunpowder, it is the original creation of our craftsmen, only our craftsmen will concoct it, and people from other countries must buy it from us if they need it."

Ye Huang was quite proud when he talked about this, but as the prince of a country, he could understand the agricultural tools of other countries so well, which showed that he had also put a lot of effort into it.

"It's exactly as His Highness said," Sikong Yue said, appreciating the nephew's efforts.

"It's just that, as the fourth aunt said, Beilin suddenly increased the demand for these things, and I always felt that something was wrong," Ye Huang added.

Sikong Xiao nodded in agreement with his words, and did not speak again.

“… I'm afraid it's to make weapons", Hua Mian listened to them on the sidelines, and unconsciously said what was on her mind.

Maybe Hua Mian said the part that several people felt inappropriate in their hearts, and after hearing Hua Mian say this, several people turned their heads to look at her together.

"Why?" , Although Sikong Yue herself has already felt a faint sense of uneasiness along the way, she has not yet said it clearly.

Hua Mian didn't have these concerns, so he just said it straight, seeing that Sikong Yue threw the question back, and at this moment, several people in the room looked at him, Hua Mian said a little embarrassed: "I don't understand what you said about leading troops to fight, but if I am a person from Beilin Country, there will be so many people in my country who will not be able to eat enough in winter, I will definitely want to occupy the land that can produce food on the opposite side so that my people can eat enough, iron tools and gunpowder are not only used in agriculture, It's incredibly powerful when crafted into a weapon."