"My Lord, I humbly request a person from you."
After signing the military order, Hao Jianshe immediately made his request.
"Speak!"
"He is from Xingzhou in Hebei Circuit, the supervisor of Anji Bridge, Li Chun."
Fang Er was stunned upon hearing this.
In this era, if Li Chun did not claim to be the second in bridge-building technology, no one else in the world would dare to claim the first!
Anji Bridge also had another name, which almost everyone who had attended primary school in later generations had heard of.
Zhaozhou Bridge!
In an era without reinforced concrete, under conditions without mechanical operations.
A stone arch bridge, 50.82 meters long and 9.6 meters wide, completed from 595 to 605 AD, taking ten years, was hailed as an international civil engineering historical monument by later generations!
Even at the time Fang Er transmigrated, that bridge, after more than fourteen hundred years of wind and rain, still stood proudly over the Xiao River in Zhaoxian County, Hebei.
He still remembered visiting it, the ticket price was forty yuan per person.
He never expected that Li Chun, the supervisor of Zhaozhou Bridge, was still alive. This was truly a surprise!
With him here, and with the advent of epoch-making building materials, a Yellow River Bridge was just around the corner!
"After this meeting, you will personally go with Lai Yifa to Xingzhou to invite the person!"
"Tell him that as long as the Yellow River Bridge is completed, I will guarantee him the status of a Master Artisan!"
*Swish!*
Everyone looked at Fang Er in disbelief.
Master Artisan!
There were only two Great Artisans so far, one was Liu Eryang, and the other was Zhao Gang.
But Master Artisan was something that had only been thought of before; no one knew what conditions were needed to achieve the status of Master Artisan.
Unexpectedly, for the sake of this bridge, His Lordship had offered the promise of becoming a Master Artisan!
This was an honor that would bring glory to his ancestors and blessings to his descendants!
"Yes, I understand."
Hao Jianshe's hands were already soaked with sweat, his heart filled with excitement and nervousness.
If Li Chun could obtain the title of Master Artisan, then he himself should be able to at least get the title of Great Artisan, right?
He would give it his all!
The meeting thus concluded. Fang Er asked Ma Fei to first go to the workshop to produce a few tractors for sale as a test, and then announced the adjournment.
In Baicaoju, after being treated by Sun Simiao, Li Shimin had recovered much of his spirit and was sitting in the courtyard playing Dou Dizhu with his sons Li Tai and Li Ke.
They did not accompany the army on the Shandong Circuit expedition but were left behind to guard the home.
Li Shimin held a good hand, two kings and four twos, and was about to dominate when he saw Yuan Mengjia and Zhangsun Ling'er walking in from outside the courtyard, each carrying a bag of medicinal herbs.
Regarding the night two days ago, Li Shimin was very curious if anything had happened after they left.
So, as soon as he saw Zhangsun Ling'er, he quickly waved to them with a smile.
"Come, come, Little Mengmeng, you play. I and Ling'er will chat."
The two girls walked over with their bags of herbs and curtsied slightly to him: "Greetings, Your Majesty."
Li Shimin stood up unsteadily, handed the poker cards to Yuan Mengjia, and then pulled Zhangsun Ling'er to walk outside the courtyard.
When he felt they were a little further away from his two sons, he began to inquire with Zhangsun Ling'er.
"Ling'er, come, tell your uncle-in-law, what happened after I and Old Ninth left the night before last?"
"Did you~~"
Li Shimin paused here, feeling that being too direct was not appropriate.
"Hmm? You should know what I'm asking, right?"
Upon hearing him ask this, Zhangsun Ling'er's face instantly turned crimson with shame, and she replied in a voice as soft as a mosquito.
"No, nothing happened."
Li Shimin almost spat out a mouthful of old blood upon hearing this answer.
"Damn it, what a huge loss!"
He almost killed himself for this, and he didn't even manage to trap that little scoundrel?
He asked again, unwilling to give up.
"That kid drank so much, and he's completely fine?"
"He's fine, Your Majesty. Ling'er needs to go and decoct medicine for you."
Zhangsun Ling'er dared not stay any longer. Who knew what else this improper uncle-in-law might ask.
How could she answer this question?
Did she have to say that she was not even as good as a maidservant in Fang Er's household?
So, she directly made an excuse and went to the small kitchen to get a sand pot to decoct the medicine.
"Yo~ Your Majesty, your legs and feet are agile now?"
As soon as Zhangsun Ling'er left, Fang Er arrived at Baicaoju, looking at Li Shimin standing at the entrance and asked with concern.
Seeing Fang Er's smiling face, Li Shimin wanted to slap him and ask if he was sick for refusing a girl delivered to his doorstep.
However, this was a private calculation between him and Li Xiaogong, and it was not appropriate to mention it openly, so he could only reply with a smile.
"Of course! My waist doesn't ache, and my legs don't hurt anymore~~"
Fang Er's head was filled with black lines upon hearing this!
"Your waist doesn't ache, your legs don't hurt, but your brain seems to have been clamped by a door!"
After a cough, a couple of awkward coughs, he directly stated his purpose.
"Your Majesty, the construction team under my command is planning to build a large bridge over the Yellow River during this drought."
"I have promised~~"
"What did you say?! If my ears are not faulty, you just said you are going to build a bridge over the Yellow River?!"
Li Shimin interrupted him directly and asked excitedly.
"Uh, yes, the Yellow River Bridge!" Fang Er nodded affirmatively.
"Approved! No matter what you have promised, I approve it!"
Upon receiving confirmation, Li Shimin was extraordinarily pleased, agreeing without even inquiring what Fang Er had promised.
As an emperor who had fought battles all over the country, he clearly understood how important building a bridge over the Yellow River would be for the Great Tang!
Fang Er was stunned. He had prepared a lot of words to lobby for benefits for the artisans, but he never expected Li Shimin to be so decisive.
"Damn it, did I get the script wrong?"
"Shouldn't it be me asking for a prince for Li Chun, and then Old Li bargaining down to a county marquis, and then the two of them going back and forth on this matter, bringing out grand principles to debate?"
After a long while, he couldn't think of anything to say, but it felt inappropriate not to say anything at this moment, so he sent a flattering remark.
"Your Majesty is wise! Comparable to Yao and Shun, you are the embodiment of handsomeness and wisdom, the fusion of chivalry and benevolence."
"My admiration for you is like the ceaseless flow of a great river, and like the uncontrollable surge of the Yellow River in flood."
"You are handsome, graceful, divinely intelligent, divinely valiant, wise and mighty, extraordinarily intelligent, as wise as Zhuge Liang, simply unmatched, with all the rivers of the world at your feet, and a thousand hundred people who feel the same as I do!"
"With you in the Great Tang, it is like the crops in the field having sunshine and rain, and the students having paper and ink!"
"Many years from now, you will undoubtedly be remembered forever, praised in history, a model for future generations, and an example for all emperors!"
Li Shimin's eyes widened. "Damn it, why do I know this kid is flattering me, but it still sounds so satisfying?"
Even the lingering displeasure from the failed scheme the day before yesterday instantly disappeared?