Chapter 126 Set Up

Ye Tao's encouragement couldn't stop those who couldn't bear the hardship from leaving the two experimental armies, but it strengthened the resolve of many who were wavering. In the ten days that Ye Tao ordered the troops to rest in Yicheng, the junior officers went to the grassroots level to learn various military common sense from veteran soldiers and officers, to establish closer relationships with the soldiers under their command, and to send out some vanguard troops to prepare for their respective return journeys. Everyone, stationed in the Yicheng garrison or Yicheng naval barracks, could feel the atmosphere of the other detachments, both colleagues and rivals, sharpening their swords and striving for victory. This atmosphere made everyone's preparations more diligent and solid. A unit that had been officially formed for less than a month actually showed a steady and solid temperament in this special environment.

Before the Huoqi Army and Mengxue Army had even set off on their return journey, news about what had happened along the way, as well as Ye Tao's series of decisions and handling methods, had already been sent back to Danyang. Decisions on camp site selection, barracks construction, and other matters would naturally be implemented successively through Princess Zhaohua's mansion, Guan Haishan, and others, but Ye Tao's words and actions along the way were noticed by some interested people in the court.

In the study of the Gao mansion, Gao Zhen threw a stack of documents on the desk, staring blankly at the clock on the corner of the desk.

With the Gao family's lofty position in the field of Dongping artisans and its vast and complex technical system, they could only sigh with admiration for clocks. They could only buy four clocks from Tiansuo Clock Shop and place them in different rooms of the Gao mansion.

The one in the inner study was the highest-end model in the series of clocks currently offered by Tiansuo Clock Shop. The landscape pattern of silver paint revealed under the smooth, mirror-like lacquer was so calm and composed. Behind the black hands was a transparent crystal dial. Through the dial, one could see the precise gear set running inside the clock, especially for someone like Gao Zhen who understood some technology, wanting to explore what could make the clock run so precisely and accurately. The gilded pendulum swung forever with that rhythm, never stopping. At every hour, the deep chimes would not abruptly break the immersion in thought, but seemed to gently pluck at the heartstrings, reminding that time was fleeting and that there was not much time to be wasted on empty thoughts.

The study door opened, and Gao Zhen's son, Gao Zhuo, walked in, closing the door behind him.

"Father, what are you thinking about?" Gao Zhuo asked softly.

"Have you read this report?" Seeing Gao Zhuo nod, Gao Zhen sneered and said, "I never thought that Ye Tao would have such scheming. With such a bland gesture, saying those meaningless words, he has managed to grasp control of these two armies of six thousand men."

Gao Zhuo frowned and said, "Father, what exactly is going on with this Ye family? Are they targeting our Gao family?"

Gao Zhen shook his head and said, "That's unlikely. The Ye family only truly prospered after Princess Zhaohua left Yicheng. It's possible that the princess discovered the Ye family unexpectedly. Otherwise, with the Ye family's accumulation, even if they could achieve today's situation, it would inevitably be ten or twenty years later, and that would be under the condition that we didn't interfere. What I don't understand is why the usually aloof Princess Zhaohua gets along so well with Ye Tao. Although there's no decision, no statement, it seems that the princess marrying Ye Tao is a foregone conclusion."

Hearing his father say this, Gao Zhuo snorted, somewhat resentful.

"What? You're not young anymore, and you have many beauties around you. Could it be that you've really fallen for that infertile princess?" Gao Zhen teased.

"Father, it's not like that. Whether I truly like the princess is one thing, but it's another thing entirely to have a promising wife stolen away," Gao Zhuo said helplessly. "Didn't you also say that if I could marry the princess, even if she couldn't bear children, it would still be of great benefit to our Gao family? The princess is in charge of the inner palace's operations, and her talent, authority, and influence on the monarch and crown prince are unparalleled."

"That's what I said, but our Gao family has almost monopolized Dongping's military equipment production in recent years. If we further expand the Gao family's power, the court will probably feel uneasy. The best course of action now is to consider how to prevent the Ye family from taking too much of our business. Our Gao family started as artisans, and it's already quite commendable that we've reached such a height in just a few generations. Having a competitor may not be a bad thing," Gao Zhen said. He paused and added, "Even being deliberately suppressed, as long as we're not truly beaten to death, may not be a bad thing."

Gao Zhuo snorted, "Father, you're just too kind. You see the Ye family as a competitor, but in my opinion, the Ye family doesn't even see us as a threat."

Gao Zhen quickly asked, "How do you say that?"

Gao Zhuo sat down, glanced at the beautiful clock, and sighed, "Ye Tao is so shrewd, but his father is too honest. I'm an official in the Ministry of Works after all. The Ye family workshop took on an order for twenty thousand arrows, and they delivered them in less than five days. I went to Ye's old man and asked to inspect the arrow-making facilities in the workshop. Guess what I saw? … In the Ye family workshop, the most troublesome arrow shafts are not made by hand at all, no wonder they're so fast. They set up a waterwheel by the river to drive a planing machine to process the arrow shafts, roughly sawing the wood into strips, placing them in the feed opening above, and rolling them into the planing machine one by one. When the wood rolls out from below, it's already a long strip of wood with almost no difference in thickness. Then, just cut it into the appropriate length. Compared to our workshops where apprentices laboriously shave arrow shafts, it's countless times faster, not to mention saving a lot of material. … Not to mention the new type of trebuchet and so on. You know, these things weren't made by Ye Tao to curry favor, but were requested by the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War for the Ye family to try to make. Let's put it this way, if the Ministry of War decides to use the Ye family's trebuchet, then our trebuchet workshop can close down directly. Do you know what Ye Laogeng that old man said? He said that the weapon workshop's schedule was already full and couldn't make time. He actually took out the blueprints directly from Ye Tao's workshop and handed them over to the Ministry of War… Today, the Ministry of War summoned me to ask if my Gao family was willing to subcontract this batch of trebuchets. It was a great humiliation."

"Did you agree?" Gao Zhen asked quickly.

"… I didn't agree or refuse. I said I'd come back to check the progress of the workshop," Gao Zhuo said.

"That's good. Don't be at odds with money. You go back tomorrow and say that my Gao family will take this order. Also, you go find Ye Laogeng again, and it would be best if the Ye family could send some experienced weapon workshop technicians to guide our artisans so that we don't produce anything that doesn't meet the specifications, which would be a great embarrassment," Gao Zhen instructed.

Seeing that Gao Zhuo was about to explode, Gao Zhen smiled understandingly and said, "I know that once we let the Ye family's artisans guide our people, it will indeed be very unsightly on the surface. … But if you want to surpass the Ye family, you must first not let them be constantly wary of us. It doesn't hurt to lower your stance. Learn everything you can. The Ye family is no longer purely on the path of artisans becoming officials. Ye Tao created the marching chess, which aroused the Dongping youth's mentality of joining and supporting the army. This credit is more important. You naturally know why. But in any case, the Ye family's foundation is still on the workshop side. When the Ye family's technology is no better than ours, are we still worried with your ability as an official and my Gao family's many years of foundation? Even if the princess marries Ye Tao, he's just a leisurely驸马 (imperial son-in-law), and what about you? You can't expect to become an official in your twenties that someone in their forties would be, so don't worry."

After a pause, Gao Zhen added, "You must also remember that if you want to suppress Ye Tao, you must suppress him to the end, without any luck. Although Ye Tao himself is building a framework and refusing to become an official, in fact, it's only a matter of time before he enters the court. However, these two armies and the military review have given Ye Tao too many opportunities to make friends with the children of various families and establish relationships with various clans. Once a blow fails, it will be no fun when Ye Tao's relationships begin to take effect and counterattack. You understand the things in the officialdom better than I do, just remember it."

Gao Zhen's reminder made Gao Zhuo immediately understand the key, and he nodded and fell into contemplation.

However, what the Gao family father and son didn't expect was that the Ye family, whom they regarded as a strong enemy, had actually set a trap for them.

For the Gao family, which had many workshops, although the profits brought by the workshops scattered in various places were considerable, the expenses were also very large. They didn't have much room to pick and choose businesses. Unlike the Ye family's workshops, which are now focusing on operating Yizhan Tower, Tiansuo Clock Shop, and Yijia Home Furnishings, they are actually high-tech and conceptual products of this era, and the profit margin is extremely high. For the Ye family, they don't need to use building trebuchets as an opportunity to befriend the military, nor do they take the business of updating more than two thousand trebuchets nationwide too seriously.

Unlike the Gao family, which has been operating in Dongping for several generations, the Gao family has military equipment workshops all over the country that can supply the military nearby. Compared with the Ye family, which currently only has two core workshops in Yicheng and Danyang, the logistics, after-sales maintenance, and training costs are lower than those of the Ye family. And the Ye family has no plans to open their workshops all over the country yet, and may not have such plans in the future. Compared with the Ye family's current highly profitable businesses, the profit margin of the military's large military equipment orders is actually not high, and it's not worth the Ye family's huge investment in building such a network.

In addition, there is Ye family's consistent confidence. Although it is the same blueprint, after Ye family's repeated deliberation, everyone unanimously believes that even if the Gao family gets the blueprint, it's absolutely impossible to produce something with comparable precision and range. The Ye family's technology in this area is not only the design of trebuchets, but also an entire technical system. When the Ye family workshop produces trebuchets, the first thing to do is to calculate the density of the wood, and then ensure that the center of gravity of the trebuchet is in the center through precise adjustments, and also ensure that the counterweight of the gravity pendulum is appropriate. The wood used to manufacture the trebuchet is soaked in a special formula of potion from the Ye family, which strengthens the toughness of the wood and gives the wood certain fireproof characteristics. At least ordinary rockets shot at the trebuchet usually shake a few times and go out, plus the Ye family's unparalleled processing accuracy, which ensures that the trebuchet can maintain an accuracy of within five meters at a maximum range of about six hundred meters. In this era, this is a very remarkable achievement. However, under the lack of these important technologies, it's unknown what the performance indicators of the trebuchet manufactured by the Gao family will be. Although it won't be very far behind, there is no small matter in military affairs. As long as those with ulterior motives list these differences and weave a crime, it's enough for the Gao family to suffer.