Looking at the dazzling array of glassware in the room, even the well-informed dignitaries present felt extremely shocked.
They have seen Liuli before, and they have no shortage of all kinds of jewelry and jade, but this is the first time they have seen hundreds of glass products placed together.
So many people were so dazzled by it that they thought they were in a dream.
Let alone them, even if Chen Jingke came over, he would be surprised when he saw these artifacts.
In addition to cups, plates, vases, mirrors, etc., there are also dozens of types such as hairpins, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, rings, etc.
Take hairpins as an example. There are blue glazed hairpins. This blue color is inherent in the material, and no other materials are used to neutralize it during refining.
(Blue colored glaze was very common in history, and most of the unearthed colored glaze cultural relics are of this color.)
There are also transparent glass hairpins with various crystal glass flowers on them, just like ice flowers.
The glass products in the 21st century are much more exquisite than this, but this is ancient times. It is really admirable that those craftsmen can create so many patterns after only working with glass for a few days.
For those present, the most unbelievable thing was the quality of these glasses.
It was crystal clear and more beautiful than any fine jewelry they had ever seen. They even couldn't believe it was glass.
"Saint...sage, could this be Liuli?" Chai Shao said in a dry voice.
Everyone's eyes turned over.
Li Shimin was very satisfied with everyone's expressions and said: "It can barely be regarded as colored glaze, but the materials used are completely different from those of colored glaze, and the production difficulty is countless times more complicated."
"In order to distinguish it from colored glaze, I named it glass."
Everyone was an old fox, and they immediately heard the voice-over, saying that these things were made in the royal workshop, and many people's thoughts began to come alive.
Li Shimin glanced around the crowd, his gaze stopped on some people for a moment, and a hint of sneer flashed in his eyes.
"Do you think selling these glasses can solve the problem of insufficient money and food for the imperial court?"
Tang Jian still had a little shock on his face, but he still said very pertinently: "Selling all these glass... can indeed solve the urgent needs of the court, but the country's long-term plan..."
Li Shimin thought that this was a good idea, so he interrupted him and said, "What if there are so many every month?"
"Hiss." There was a gasp of air in the hall.
Tang Jian swallowed and said in a trembling voice: "The sage said that so much glass can be sold every month?"
Li Shimin did not answer him directly, but said: "The queen discovered the glass-making technology, and these things belong to her."
"I sacrificed my face not to ask for mercy from her, so she agreed to share the profit from the sale with the court at 50/50, but she also put forward a condition."
Having said this, he paused and looked at everyone, as if waiting for someone to speak to him, but everyone lowered their heads and said nothing.
Changsun Wuji subconsciously wanted to answer the conversation, but when he thought that the other person involved was his sister, he had no choice but to shut his mouth.
Just when he was about to get cold feet, Cheng Yaojin said calmly: "This thing is extremely valuable, and Chaoting Bai's 50% profit has already been taken advantage of by the empress."
"If her condition does not violate etiquette, it is not impossible to consider it, but I wonder what the conditions are?"
Li Shimin glanced at him appreciatively and then said: "The Queen asked the court to issue an order to protect the formula of glass. If anyone dares to pry into the secret recipe, he will be punished for treason."
"Wow." Everyone was not calm anymore and started talking about it.
The overall meaning is that this kind of thing has never happened before. It is too childish for the imperial court to protect the formula of a luxury product. It cannot be done like this.
However, while some objected, others agreed. Tang Jian was the first to support: "If we can obtain this financial source, the imperial government will fill the treasury, build the river, and conquer Gaochang."
"So I think it's not impossible to agree to the conditions, but the royal court's share is too small and must be increased."
Fang Xuanling came out and said: "If the empress is willing to hand over the secret recipe to the imperial court, it is not impossible for the imperial court to protect her."
"However, as Tang Shangshu said, 50% is too little, so 91% is the best."
Li Shimin said: "No, ninety-one points are too many, sixty-four points."
Fang Xuanling thought for a while and said: "Eighty-two points. If it is less, I'm afraid it won't be easy to explain to the court, and the officials won't agree."
Li Shimin said in embarrassment: "Open it at seven or three, otherwise I won't be able to explain it to the queen."
Fang Xuanling said without taking a step back: "Eighty-two points, the empress is virtuous and open-minded. I believe she will agree."
This... the people present were a little dumbfounded. What's going on? Weren't we just talking about conditions just now? Why did we suddenly talk about sharing?
Who said they wanted to agree to this? You, Fang Xuanling and Tang Jian, didn’t ask for our opinions and just agreed on their own initiative? Do you still have colleagues like us in your eyes?
You are just playing a double act with the emperor, trying to settle this matter in a daze. How can this be done?
Especially those who were already opposed to this matter were even more unhappy and prepared to stand up and oppose it.
However, before they could speak, someone else stood up.
Cheng Yaojin said: "I also agree with the eighty-two points. The imperial court decrees that the protection must be large, otherwise it will not be enough to convince the officials."
Yuchi Gong followed closely behind and said, "I also think the Prime Minister is right."
Hou Junji also stood up and said: "I think I can agree to your condition."
Then seven or eight more people came forward to support this matter, and they were all powerful people. Now it was hard for others to oppose it.
Everyone is not a fool. The Queen's recipe and the Queen's conditions are just excuses for the Emperor.
To put it bluntly, this is a matter of negotiating terms between the emperor's inner treasury and the imperial treasury. What percentage of the profits from the sale of glass goes to the inner treasury and what percentage goes to the state treasury.
Now that so many people have come forward to support, the matter is almost a foregone conclusion, and their opposition will have almost no effect.
But they are really reluctant to support it. Once this matter is a foregone conclusion, how can they pry into the glass production technology?
How could they be willing to have such a big piece of fat right in front of them, but they can see whether they can eat it or not?
Just when he was in trouble, someone thought and said: "Your Majesty, the production technology of colored glaze has been around since ancient times. There are people in the Tang Dynasty who can refine colored glaze."
"If the imperial court bans its production, wouldn't it be unfair to them? It might cause criticism from the people."
Those who opposed were inspired and said one after another: "Yes, your Majesty, please think twice. You must not do this to compete with the people."
Li Shimin had been on guard against this move for a long time, and immediately said: "You are too worried, sir. I have just said that glass is different from colored glaze in terms of material formula and production technology."
"The imperial decree protects the secret recipe of glass, not the secret recipe of colored glaze. It is easy to distinguish between the two."
"This..." Looking at the crystal clear glass in the room, those opponents couldn't close their eyes and say that the two were the same.
At this time, Wei Zheng finally spoke and said: "Eighty-two points, if your Majesty agrees, I agree that the imperial court will issue a secret recipe to protect the glass."
