Although sofas are simple to make, they require sponge, which Fang Er couldn't get.
"Your Majesty, the filling material is difficult to obtain. I've only managed to make six: three on this ship and three on another. The crew often works all day and has nowhere to sleep at night, so these were given to them."
Fang Er was blunt. You're openly soliciting a bribe, aren't you? Heh heh heh heh. Let's see if you can humble yourself and snatch things from the boatmen.
Li Shimin's face instantly turned dark. "Go to hell! Snatching things from boatmen? Do I still have any face left?"
Li Xiaogong stood to the side, his lips twitching uncontrollably. He knew perfectly well that the boatmen wouldn't dare sleep in this cabin! Given the furnishings inside, even if they were given a hundred more chances, they wouldn't dare enter! However, since Fang Er had already said it, he couldn't expose him. It was just a sofa, and saying it would make everyone uncomfortable.
Holding onto Fang Er's thigh meant making money. So, it was better for the Emperor to go back and sit on a cold bench. Yes, he was that clever!
Fang Er blocked his request for a sofa, leaving Li Shimin very displeased, though he couldn't show it on his face. He then asked Fang Er to notify people to set sail, as he wanted to visit the shipyard to see his five-tooth warship and regain his sense of balance.
Just then, a loud explosion came from behind the dam. The few men were startled and quickly got up and left the cabin.
Fang Er pulled over a boatman to ask what was happening. It turned out that due to the freezing weather recently, the river surface often froze over, which affected power generation. The aluminum workshop needed electricity, so the foreman Zhang Fanle had dispatched people to regularly clear the ice from the river to prevent the freezing from affecting the workshop's operations.
After listening to the boatman's explanation, Li Shimin jumped off the boat and said to the group, "Let's go take a look!"
They walked upstream along the riverbank. After not going far, they saw over a dozen craftsmen, dressed like bears for warmth, standing on the riverbank, with grenades attached to their bodies. Near the dam, there were several small boats collecting broken ice.
Hearing footsteps behind them, the craftsmen turned around and saw Fang Er. They immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, Duke."
"Don't mind us. Just carry on with your work." Fang Er waved his hand, and he, Li Shimin, and the others stood aside to watch. Li Shimin had been trying to conceal his identity in Shenyang these days, so Fang Er hadn't introduced him.
The craftsmen, having heard Fang Er's words, turned back to their work. They were seen intermittently throwing grenades onto the ice in the middle of the river. With each explosion, the ice layer on the river surface was blown into pieces and drifted towards the dam with the current. Craftsmen waiting there would collect the broken ice and pile it on the riverbank. At some point, thick blocks of ice had already piled up into small mountains along the riverbank.
Looking at the ice blocks, Fang Er suddenly became interested. He beckoned a craftsman over and asked him to return to the aluminum workshop to get a cart for aluminum ingots and transport all these ice blocks back to his residence.
"Look! Such a big fish!" Suddenly, Li Xiaogong pointed at the ice-broken river surface and shouted. Fang Er followed his gaze, and saw a large fish floating belly-up on the water. "It must have been stunned by the grenades!" Indeed, this large fish was just the beginning. Soon, fish with their bellies up began to appear continuously on the river surface. There were large and small fish, the river surface was densely packed with them. The largest were over a meter long, and the smallest were about five to six centimeters, likely fry born this year.
The craftsmen seemed accustomed to this scene. After the small boats finished collecting the ice, they began to catch these fish. As they caught them, they sorted them by species. All carp were thrown back into the river, whether they were stunned or killed by the explosions. Li Shimin personally saw a large carp, weighing at least twenty pounds, being thrown back into the river. The fish still had a piece of ice stuck in its belly, clearly indicating it would die if released. This wasteful practice clearly stirred him, and he looked at everyone and said, "You all say that it's not appropriate to prohibit eating carp?"
Fang Er, Cheng Yaojin, and the others exchanged glances. How should they respond to this? Although Fang Er privately ate carp, saying this openly was taboo, it offended his own Li family! Seeing their silence, Li Shimin continued, "I know what you're thinking – it's just that 'Li' and 'carp' sound similar. In my opinion, these are all superstitious beliefs! If the people cannot even eat enough, then the Great Tang will be on the verge of collapse. I believe the people are like the water in this river, and the Great Tang is like the boat sailing on it. Water can carry a boat, and it can also capsize it. Therefore, heaven and earth are secondary; the people are paramount. Only by ensuring the people are well-fed and live good lives can the Great Tang endure and remain stable. An Zhi, tell them that all the fish can be caught and eaten! Such large fish are enough for a family to eat for several days, and to just throw them back makes me feel heartbroken. From today onwards, the Great Tang shall not prohibit the eating of carp!"
"Your Majesty is wise!" Fang Er heard this and bowed deeply to Li Shimin. Chai Shao, Li Xiaogong, Cheng Yaojin, and Yu Chi Jingde also bowed deeply to him. This bow was on behalf of the people in their respective prefectures. The five bowed with sincerity, and their voices became louder.
The craftsmen nearby were stunned. The Emperor? He actually came here? After getting up, Fang Er shouted to the craftsmen, "The Emperor's oral decree: from now on, the eating of carp is not prohibited! Therefore, do not throw those carp back; catch them all!" This loud shout was clearly heard by everyone present, and the craftsmen immediately became excited, bowing deeply to Li Shimin. Just now, they had clearly seen that the Duke was speaking to this person. So, who the Emperor was, was already very clear.
"The Emperor is wise! Thank you, Your Majesty, for your great kindness!" Hearing the joy in the craftsmen's voices, Li Shimin felt that his decision was correct! Emotions are contagious. Seeing the genuine happiness of the craftsmen, Li Shimin immediately forgot about the sofa incident. Now, there was only one word to describe his feeling: "Awesome!"