Sun Wukong scratched his head in bewilderment. "Your Excellency, what materials should I use to forge the knives?"
"Use your staff. Did Zhao Gang not tell you when he called you?" Fang Er asked, looking at him doubtfully.
Sun Wukong: ......
"That's my old Sun's staff!"
But he didn't dare to say it aloud. To reunite with his master and fellow disciples in the morning, he had to reluctantly place his staff on the blacksmith's anvil.
"What, you're feeling heartbroken?" Fang Er chuckled, seeing Sun Wukong's distressed expression.
Sun Wukong remained silent, but as he swung the hammer, a crystalline tear flew from the corner of his eye, betraying him.
"Stop for now, don't rush," Fang Er said, stopping him from smashing the staff.
"This is a matter of mindset. It's best to discover and resolve it early."
Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong quickly changed the angle of the hammer that was about to fall, narrowly missing the anvil and striking the ground with a thud.
The solid bluestone tiles were shattered, sending fragments flying everywhere.
Sun Wukong looked at Fang Er joyfully. "Your Excellency, you don't need my staff anymore?"
"This staff is your weapon, and I know you're reluctant to part with it."
"But I want to ask you something. Do you know why the Great Tang suppressed Buddhism?"
Sun Wukong looked bewildered. "Isn't it because the Buddhist sects participated in the rebellion?"
Fang Er shook his head. "Yes and no."
"If it were merely for rebellion, the Great Tang would not have suppressed Buddhism throughout its territory. Wrongdoers must be held accountable."
"If all temples were punished solely for rebellion, then the Emperor would not be considered a wise ruler."
Sun Wukong was somewhat confused. "Weren't we talking about the staff? Why are we suddenly discussing the suppression of Buddhism? What does that have to do with my staff?"
Fang Er continued, "The suppression of Buddhism was because Buddhism was no longer pure."
"Although Buddhism does not kill, the sins it has committed are even more serious than slaughter!"
"Heaven cherishes life, yet Buddhism persuades people to become monks and abstain from sexual relations, directly cutting off the lineage."
"Furthermore, Buddhism does not engage in production but demands offerings from believers. As subjects of the Great Tang, they do not pay taxes or participate in corvee labor!"
"Where in this world can one find such good fortune? Enjoying the convenience and security provided by the nation, yet contributing nothing to it!"
"Prosperity breeds them, chaos hides them. They speak only of the afterlife, ignoring the present life."
"Tell me, should such a sect be eradicated?"
Sun Wukong was stunned. This was the first time he had heard someone evaluate Buddhism in this way.
"Your Excellency, I, your old Sun, only entered Buddhism to repay a debt of gratitude. As a blacksmith, how could I understand such matters?"
Fang Er smiled slightly. He could see that although Sun Wukong didn't say it aloud, his expression indicated his doubts about Buddhism.
"Whether you understand or not is not important. You only need to know that your master and his sect owe this nation a great deal!"
"Therefore, what you must do now is to repay what is owed."
"Your two junior disciples are providing food for the people of the Great Tang."
"And your master's task is to civilize the Wō Commandery for the Great Tang."
"As you were born a blacksmith, I don't need to elaborate on what you can do, do I?"
Sun Wukong blushed. "Your Excellency, I understand!"
"I will destroy all these weapons now and transform them into what the Great Tang needs!"
This was the outcome Fang Er desired. Forcing him would work, but it might leave a lingering resentment if done over time.
As a descendant of Ouyezi, his exquisite hammer skills were far more valuable than these weapons.
Fang Er was very pleased. "Good, Wukong is indeed Wukong. I have high hopes for you!"
"Work with your heart, and I'll arrange a marriage for you later. At your age, you should be married!"
"Thank you, Your Excellency. Then I shall continue!"
Sun Wukong swung his hammer again, striking the Ruyi Jingu Bang like a storm.
"My beloved staff, I will use you to repay the debt for my master and his sect!"
With his heart unburdened, his hammer swings were even more powerful than before.
The blueprints were given to Zhao Gang. The structure was not too complicated. With his abilities and Liu Eryang's assistance, he could handle it completely.
Fang Er left the workshop with peace of mind and returned to his study to continue his work.
He casually picked up the unicorn seal on his desk and suddenly remembered something, calling out towards the door.
"Sandez!"
"Your Excellency!" Zhang De pushed open the door and entered.
Fang Er gestured with the unicorn seal in his hand.
"You are to take Hou Junji's head to the mausoleum, and bring me the heirloom treasures from Tianzhu."
"Does His Majesty know about these matters?"
Zhang De smiled and recounted their experiences after returning to Chang'an.
These matters, Fang Er had not had time to inquire about previously due to the Tang Monk and his disciples.
It turned out that after the Yan Yun cavalry returned to Chang'an, the thirty elephants caused a huge sensation. Even Li Shimin personally led the Hundred Riding Guard to Fang Family Village to witness the spectacle.
Elephants were a rare sight to the common people in the Central Plains. As for the Emperor, although he hadn't seen them, he had read about them.
After all, there was the story of Cao Chong weighing an elephant since the Three Kingdoms period.
Upon learning that these elephants were brought back from Tianzhu, Li Shimin instinctively asked about Hou Junji.
After all, he was the Emperor, and there was no need to conceal such matters. Guan Chang presented Hou Junji's head before him.
Just as Li Shimin was about to order the head to be sent to the Imperial Ancestral Temple, Fang Xuanling suddenly exclaimed from the side.
"Good heavens!"
His voice was filled with shock, so loud that it directly drew Li Shimin's attention.
"Why is Lord Fang so agitated?"
Then he saw Fang Xuanling pointing at the large boxes on the elephants' backs and exclaiming, "Your Majesty, gold and silver! Loads and loads of gold and silver!"
"All of them are on the elephants' backs!"
Li Shimin was also stunned and quickly asked Guan Chang for confirmation.
"Three million strings of cash! Equivalent to three million strings of cash in Tang currency!"
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin immediately forgot about Hou Junji's head. Since the man was already dead, the head was not important!
At least, not as important as this gold and silver!
Li Shimin immediately pulled Fang Xuanling aside and whispered to him about how to get these three million strings of cash into the Ministry of Revenue.
He almost had the Yan Yun Eighteen Riders executed earlier!
Now they were under Fang Er's command, not receiving a single penny of salary from the Great Tang, and they had now conquered Tianzhu for the Great Tang.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, if they forcibly claimed this gold and silver as spoils of war from a Tang expedition, it would be utterly shameful.
However, the Ministry of Revenue currently had a large deficit that could not be filled. If the national debt issuance did not go smoothly, many matters discussed in the court would be shelved.
It was Fang Xuanling who offered a solution: consider this gold and silver as proceeds from the national debt issuance.
In other words, they directly forced three million strings of cash of national debt onto Fang Er.
But as soon as this was said, Guan Chang and the others were in a difficult position.
They could not make the decision.
Finally, Fang Xuanling patted his chest and guaranteed that Fang Er would agree. With Hou Junji's head as interest, Guan Chang and the others withdrew from the escorting of the gold and silver.
Luo Yi had saved and raised them. He could have retired in Fang Family Village, but he died in that turmoil.
Using Hou Junji's head to commemorate Luo Yi was the last act of gratitude the Yan Yun cavalry could offer.
Thus, the gold and silver, along with the King of Tianzhu, were taken away by Li Shimin.
Only Hou Junji's head and seven princesses remained for the Yan Yun cavalry. As for this unicorn seal, Zhang De kept it with him personally, so Li Shimin did not discover it.
After hearing Zhang De's account, Fang Er smiled. It was thoughtful of them, the Emperor and his minister. Even if he had known about the spoils earlier, he would have exchanged them for national debt and sent them to the Ministry of Revenue.
However, this way, the Emperor and Fang Xuanling owed him a favor!
He glanced at the unicorn seal in his hand and smiled slightly, handing it to Zhang De.
"Since the gold and silver have been taken away, there's no point in keeping this."
"Find a couple of brothers and send this back to Chang'an to be presented to His Majesty as well."
"This is akin to the Imperial Seal of Transmission. Keeping it with me is not necessarily a good thing, so it's better to give it away."
He gave it away casually, but unknowingly, he had sent Li Shimin into a great disaster!
Of course, that was a story for another time.