Fei Ran saw Qin Mu's figure swaying and walked over.

"Hehe, Qin Mu, why did you remember to come here?"

"I'll just take a look, and we have to make it clear about your daughter."

Fei Ran wiped his mouth and asked excitedly, "You..."

"No, to tell you the truth, it's impossible for me and your daughter, I just asked him to come to work with me, not to marry her, I guess Fei Caiwen also told you about it, right?"

Feiran nodded, her eyes revealing disappointment, "The little girl can't get into your eyes like this?" ”

"No, your daughter is very good, but the twisted melon is not sweet, it is better for you to mention it directly to the Queen Mother when you go back to report after the cold relief this time."

"The Queen Mother may not agree!"

Qin Mu patted him on the shoulder, "Don't worry, she will definitely agree, and at the same time, I have a favor that I need your help." ”

After Qin Mu left, he thought about what Qin Mu said just now, and only felt very strange, he didn't want anything but wanted a piece of paper.

After more than 10 days, the well drilling work was successfully completed, and the seedlings had already emerged after watering the village where the well had been drilled before.

The farmers are getting more and more energetic, and some people simply sleep in the fields, eat in the fields, and when they wake up, they carry water for irrigation.

A few days later, when he returned home, his clothes were already rancid, and the family recognized that this was his master.

Fei Caiwen is still waiting for her and his father to come back at the door every day.

"Dad, you're back." Fei Caiwen looked at Feiran very dirty and darkened, and felt very sad, "Dad, how are you doing these days!" Let you eat well, are you obedient? ”

Fei Ran laughed, "Daughter, don't cry in a hurry, Dad is going to Shangyang Palace after washing, you just wait for Daddy's good news at home." ”

After washing, he came to the Lichun Hall of Shangyang Palace.

When Empress Wu saw Feiran, she also leaked a long-lost look of shock.

At the same time, I am glad that there are people who do practical things among the officials of the Tang Dynasty.

"Her Royal Highness the Queen Mother, the minister was ordered to fight the drought this time, drilled 1,356 wells in more than 20 days, repaired more than 100 canals, and irrigated more than 6,000 acres of fields. Proudly read the numbers.

After hearing this, Empress Wu applauded, "I have also heard some of your deeds, but the money I gave you is not enough to support the drilling of so many wells, right?" ”

"Back to the Queen Mother, this time it is Qin Mu who provides manpower and equipment, and the minister is responsible for overall planning and supervision."

"Qin Mu? Well. Empress Wu nodded, and the trust in Qin Mu in her heart increased by another point.

"And what reward does he want?"

"Qin Mu said that he doesn't need a reward, he just wants Her Royal Highness the Queen Mother to issue a decree."

"Decree? Let's hear it. ”

Empress Wu knew that Qin Mu was not the kind of person who was selfless and dedicated.

"A decree was issued to protect patents, and the drilling rig used this time was made by Qin Mu, and he hoped that Your Highness would be able to set up a patent office, and others would not be able to copy his production results."

"What does this rig look like?"

Fei Ran then explained the structure of the drilling rig and how it works in an easy-to-understand manner.

When Empress Wu heard this, she had a general understanding of its wonders, "Being able to design such a machine that is not only labor-intensive, but also efficient should be protected."

Later, I will discuss this matter with Dali Temple and Yushitai separately and formulate a law. ”

It doesn't cost money, but Empress Wu is still happy to do it.

"As for you, you have made great contributions to fighting drought this time, and the official has been awarded five hundred taels of silver and one hundred horses of silk in Langzhong."

"His Royal Highness the Empress Dowager Xie is gracious, but the minister has a request..."Fei Ran blushed and was a little embarrassed, after all, this doll kissed by herself, and the regret was really unreasonable.

"Tell me about it."

"The minister and Lord Chen, the director of the Salt and Iron Division, once set a baby kiss, and now the two sons have reached the age of marriage, but the little girl doesn't like Chen Xiao, the son of Lord Chen, so I want to cancel the marriage contract."

"Since you have made an agreement, how can you go back on it, then what is wrong with Lord Chen's son, is he a fool?"

Fei Ran nodded, and Empress Wu thought for a while.

"Okay, I'll send someone to inform Master Chen about this."

Fei Ran cried with joy, "Thank you for the grace of the Queen Mother!" ”

The reason why Empress Wu agreed was that she considered the perspective of the same woman, and it was too bitter to marry a fool in her life.

Fei Ran walked out of the palace door and breathed a deep sigh of relief, he felt in his heart that the hardships of more than 20 days were too worthwhile, not only was he promoted to an official but also helped his daughter solve a big trouble.

After Fei Ran left, Empress Wu's mood was also relieved a lot, ensuring that the harvest was the foundation of the country, Qin Mu was a great help this time, and the current treasury could not withstand this drought.

Later, Empress Wu summoned the prefect of Dali Temple and Yushitai to discuss the establishment of the law, and Shangguan was arranged by Empress Wu to listen to it.

After listening to Empress Wu's introduction, the two carefully thought about the pros and cons.

"The minister thinks it is inappropriate, the establishment of a patent office means that a certain machine is owned by an individual, and if the court wants to use it, it will give money to those merchants, and the minister thinks that they are not worthy of protection." Qin Yushi said.

Dali Siqing on the side immediately retorted: "The minister believes that a patent office should be set up to protect private patents, and the word patent is a kind of protection for innovation, and it can also promote the transformation of production equipment by the people, in the final analysis, it is for better farming."

Qin Mu has made great contributions to the drought this time, which can be said to be a model of businessmen, and the imperial court should make some positive feedback. ”

"Patents? Lord Wang, have you ever communicated with Qin Mu! Qin Yushi subconsciously said, "It's not reasonable to formulate a law to protect merchants." ”

"He Qin Mu is indeed a businessman, but the businessman is also a citizen of my Tang Dynasty, and besides, this law is not just set for him, if you want the ability to do something, you can also build one, and then it was copied and used to collect money, who do you think is causing disaster to the country and the people!" Wang Si said again.

"No, no, Her Royal Highness, once this matter starts, the follow-up protection of their patents is too wasteful of manpower and material resources, since it is so difficult to produce, it is not easy for others to imitate, what does it make if there is no legal protection?"

Empress Wu listened to everything quietly, and she suddenly thought of Li Yu's case before, the previous dynasties only had basic transaction laws for commercial laws, and it was the only way to promote economic prosperity and develop commerce.

"I think it is necessary to formulate a patent law, but it is necessary to add a clause that although patents can be profitable, the imperial court only needs to carry out normal commercial transactions without paying additional patent fees."

Qin Yushi and Vance nodded at the same time, "The Queen Mother is wise!" ”

On the outskirts of Luoyang, Qin Mu was staring at the ore in the boiler that was dug out of the ground last time.

After a while, a red slurry flowed out of the furnace outlet, which was then caught in a ceramic basin and placed directly into the cooling pool.

After a while, the craftsman salvaged it.

"Silver?!"

Uncle Zhang took a closer look, "It's true, but this color is a little dull." ”

"It's not silver, it's aluminum." Qin Mu recognized this thing at a glance.

"Aluminum?"

"Yes, it's a little lighter than silver, and the water coming out of the furnace not long after it enters the furnace means that the melting point is very low, which is a good thing."

In this way, there is also an aluminum mine under the village, with aluminum can be made of steel aluminum alloy, which can be used to make car frames, and even doors and windows, its corrosion resistance is very good, and at the same time the thermal conductivity is also good, aluminum is easy to shape and can also make aluminum wire for conductive electricity and so on.

Qin Mu's first thought was to find a way to rent the land there, but last time he left a very bad impression on the villagers, and at the same time, it was a little difficult to rent the ancestral tomb in the village.

"If this thing is made into silver, ordinary people won't be able to see it at all!" Uncle Zhang sighed as he wiped the aluminum block.

"Real money, aluminum is destined to be aluminum, we can't do this, let's get busy."

The craftsmen perform their duties and begin the work at hand.

"Uncle Zhang, how many steam engines can be assembled now?"

"About six or seven, I looked at the data you recorded last time, and I have to re-pour and assemble some of the modified parts."

"Then it's hard for you." Qin Mu hugged Uncle Zhang, "Did I make the gun you made last time?" ”

"It's done, I've improved it." Uncle Zhang walked towards the shed, took out a gun from the wooden box and handed it to Qin Mu.

Qin Mu glanced at it, the length of the gun was about twenty centimeters, the thickness of the steel pipe was enough to cope with the impact of gunpowder, the grip was inlaid with jade, wrapped in some hemp rope, and it was heavy in his hand.

"Yes, it's much better than I painted."

Qin Mu found some gunpowder and steel balls, and then came to a forest to try it himself.

Qin Mu has never touched a firearm since he was a child, and he doesn't have much in his heart as to whether he can become it.

Although the flintlock pistol is simple to build, once it is blown up, you don't want it.

He carefully loaded the gunpowder into the barrel of the gun, then pushed the steel ball into it, pulled down the loading needle, and aimed his hand far away at a tree.

"Bang!" A loud gunshot recurred into the woods, and the birds were frightened and scattered.

A puff of smoke rose from the woods.

"Ahem, cough, ahem..."Qin Mu fanned his cigarette with his hand.

"This musket is too choking, no wonder the musketeers who were clear in the first place were not used to it."

This feeling is like the smell of gunpowder in the air after the Chinese New Year firecrackers, and the smell makes people sick.

He looked at the tree he had just been hit, and there was a steel ball stuck in it.

"It's not a problem to kill people with this force."

Qin Mu then experimented with the specific range.

About ten meters has a high hit rate, and a little farther away from it is a little offset, on the one hand, because of the gunpowder, and on the other hand, because the steel balls are too large.

However, it is very suitable for self-defense, and this deterrent effect will be much better than electric batons at that time.

With a stick in one hand and a pistol in one hand, long-range attacks and close combat can be solved, and Qin Mu instantly felt a lot more relieved.

All fears are due to the lack of firepower, and now he has these two things, and it is not a problem to dominate the martial arts.