Now I really have to marry the princess.

Chapter 69 Ah Zhi's Heart Has Been Stolen

Upon hearing this, Li Er put down his chopsticks, raised an eyebrow, smiled, and glanced at Yang Zhengdao.

"To throw the baby out with the bathwater? If someone chokes to death from food, should we then ban all food in the world? Shouldn't we be reciting the *Lüshi Chunqiu* for governance?"

Hmm! ? The idiom "to give up eating for fear of choking" didn't appear either?

No, is that the point?

Yang Zhengdao could only give a vague answer: "I only glanced at it briefly and didn't really understand it."

"A cursory glance? That's a brilliant way to put it."

Yang Zhengdao felt that he really needed to read more books if he had the time; if they continued chatting like this, he was afraid he would give himself away.

He quickly steered the conversation back on track: "Your Majesty, I believe that although horseshoes are simple, the royal army can travel a hundred li a day with them; even foreign tribes can only travel a hundred li a day with them. The royal army is far superior to the barbarian cavalry in terms of armor, bows and crossbows, and military formations. With this, it will be like adding wings to a tiger."

"Like adding wings to a tiger?"

Yang Zhengdao felt sweat beading on his forehead and quickly cupped his hands, saying, "Your Majesty, today we will only discuss military affairs, not literary matters."

Li Er couldn't help but smile, his eyes full of amusement. He felt a sense of satisfaction every time he made things difficult for Yang Zhengdao.

He straightened his expression and looked up at Xu Shiji: "Maogong, you tell me."

Xu Shiji, who had been focused on eating meat, naturally understood that His Majesty was testing Yang Zhengdao. He pondered for a moment, and then slowly spoke.

"According to Zheng Dao's words, the royal army is like a strong man, while the barbarian cavalry is like a child. In hand-to-hand combat, a strong man can subdue a child; but if both are armed, even a child can injure a strong man."

Li Er nodded and smiled, then looked at Yang Zhengdao, his meaning clear: how should Your Excellency respond?

Yang Zhengdao's lips curled slightly; he had already caught the loophole in Xu Shiji's words.

I may not be as good as you at leading troops into battle or charging into the fray, but when it comes to debating skills, I'm second to none.

He bowed to Xu Shiji: "Duke Cao, whether a strong man uses his blade or not is up to him. But when two armies clash, how can we expect the enemy to bind their own hands like we do?"

Xu Shiji was taken aback at first, then chuckled. He cupped his hands in greeting to Li Er and continued to focus on the steamed mutton.

It means, "I can't argue with him, Your Majesty, you should do it yourself, I need to eat."

Li Er shook his head, feeling that he would still have to have Wei Xuancheng and Tang Maoyue deal with this kid later.

His expression turned serious, and he said with a smile, "Since the government is aware of the drawbacks of horseshoes, it must already have a comprehensive solution."

Yang Zhengdao suddenly realized that Li Er had gone through all this trouble just to make fun of him.

Are you, father-in-law, really enjoying making things difficult for your prospective son-in-law?

Thinking of Ah Zhi, Yang Zhengdao decided to hold back.

"Your Majesty, there is indeed a comprehensive method of governance, which is called 'flowing operation'."

Li Er raised an eyebrow slightly: "Oh? Assembly line operation? I'd like to hear more about it."

Xu Shiji also stopped, waiting for Yang Zhengdao to continue.

"Your Majesty, the making of horseshoes involves four steps: first, cutting the material and forging the blank; second, shaping and drilling; third, quenching and hardening; and fourth, forging the horseshoe nails."

Yang Zhengdao paused for a moment, then continued:

"When forging blanks in the East Market, one does not know the purpose of this iron; when shaping in the West Market, one does not know the cause and effect; when completing artifacts in the Ordnance Bureau, one does not know where the materials come from; when making nails in the Imperial Workshop, one does not know what the nails are for. Thus, things are like flowing water, each with its own specialty, but the whole picture cannot be seen."

"Bravo!" Xu Shiji couldn't help but clap and cheer.

Li Er secretly admired the ingenuity of the plan: separate processes, different locations, cooperation between officials and the people, all linked together... This clever idea was exactly the same as the previous new tea plan and the work-for-relief program.

But he suppressed his laughter, glared at Xu Shiji, and was determined not to let Yang Zhengdao get cocky.

Xu Shiji's joy faltered, then he was startled.

Rumor has it that Yang Zhengdao is infatuated with Chang Le, and now I see that His Majesty has probably already taken a liking to him and favored him as well.

If it were an ordinary minister offering such a brilliant suggestion, His Majesty would not be so stingy with rewards; he would surely share a meal with him and praise him hand in hand.

Alright, you two, soon-to-be father-in-law and son-in-law, can play by yourselves. I'm just here to make a living.

Xu Shiji shook his head with a wry smile and continued to eat.

Taking advantage of Xu Shiji's cheers and encouragement, Yang Zhengdao quickly bowed respectfully.

"Think before you act, and you will accomplish your goal; act swiftly, and you will achieve your objective. I request that several sets of horseshoes be pre-fabricated tomorrow and tested at the Imperial Stables to assess their effectiveness. I humbly request Your Majesty's permission!"

Li Er assumed it was just a young man eager to claim credit, so he granted permission.

After the luncheon, Attendant Cao led the two back to the Imperial Horse Garden.

Before parting, the eunuch Cao deliberately lowered his voice and whispered to Yang Zhengdao, "His Majesty instructed me to tell Young Master Yang not to forget the old story of Qinghe."

Yang Zhengdao was slightly taken aback, and then realized that it was Li Er urging him to update "The Spring of the Curtain Screen".

"Eunuch Cao, please inform His Majesty that it will be fine in one or two days at the shortest, and three to five days at the longest."

Yang Zhengdao was naturally waiting to obtain the land deed for another place, and then, under the guise of spreading "Lianpingchun", he would report to Li Er that he was going to open a hot spring bathhouse in Pingkangfang.

Even though they had successfully turned Su Hongyi, the "female investigator," such a big operation as the bathhouse could not possibly be kept secret from Li Er and Empress Zhangsun.

With the pretext of using this matter to convey principles and to warn people, the act of opening a hot spring bathhouse was simply an act of service to the sage, with absolutely no other purpose.

After finishing his martial arts practice in the afternoon, Yang Zhengdao returned to Xingdaofang early.

Upon entering the mansion, he went straight to the backyard.

Liu Zhong and Xi Junmai are ready, and today they will try fitting horseshoes onto their old horse at home.

Yang Zhengdao, of course, would not rush to offer advice without being fully prepared.

After all, it involves military affairs, and if there is any problem with these horseshoes, it would be a serious offense.

According to the Tang Code, anyone who intentionally injures an official's horse shall be punished as a thief, with a sentence of thirty strokes of the cane.

If they want to take this opportunity to kill you, there is an even more serious crime: those who fail to raise an army shall be beheaded.

The fact that we were able to produce horseshoes this time is all thanks to Liu Zhong.

Liu Zhong originally came from the Imperial Stables of the former Sui Dynasty. He spent half his life with horses. Apart from Yang Zhengdao, all the other men in his family had been ordered by him to manage the stables and wash the horses.

Previously, Jiang Cheng and Tan Feng were often punished by him to wash horses and brush their hooves.

Yang Zhengdao only explained the general idea; the specific implementation was left to Liu Zhong to figure out on his own.

Seeing Liu Zhong bring out a brand new set of horseshoes, Yang Zhengdao couldn't help but ask, "Zhong, are you sure it was made by four different blacksmiths?"

"Don't worry, Ah Lang, I'm not some monster!"

Yang Zhengdao chuckled and shook his head, watching Liu Zhong begin fitting horseshoes onto the old horse.

Liu Zhong first gently lifted the old horse's front hoof, carefully trimmed the bottom of the hoof with a hoof trimmer, then measured the horseshoe iron properly, picked up the hoof nail, and steadily hammered it into the nail hole.

Liu Zhong's movements appear skillful and steady, but it is entirely due to his years of experience that he is able to control the nuances.

Before long, all four horseshoes were shoeed.

Liu Zhong patted the horse's neck and loosened the reins. The old horse took two steps, its hooves making a crisp sound.

Xi Junmai watched with shining eyes and couldn't help but praise repeatedly.

Yang Zhengdao smiled slightly, thinking that he could visit Xuandu Temple tomorrow while traveling between the East Market and the West Market.

Meanwhile, inside the Rijōden Hall.

Li Erzheng was having dinner with Empress Zhangsun.

He suddenly put down the soup spoon and slapped his thigh hard: "Guanyinbi, this is terrible!"

Empress Zhangsun immediately frowned: "Second Prince, what is it?"

"Is Ah-Zhi going to Xuandu Temple to offer incense tomorrow?"

"Yes!"

"No wonder Yang Zhengdao is in such a hurry; he wants to test-make those horseshoes tomorrow!"

Empress Zhangsun was taken aback upon hearing this, then shook her head with a wry smile.

Your precious Ah Zhi's heart has probably already been stolen by that boy. Can you still guard against it now?