"Tch, you say you know me best, yet you don't even know what I want to do most?"
When Han Mo asked, Zhe Yourong rolled her eyes at him.
"No, isn't the thing you like to do most staying in your room counting money?"
After a dry cough, Han Mo asked awkwardly.
"That's Chun Tao you're talking about, not me! I'm not interested in that stuff anymore..."
Hearing Han Mo say this, Zhe Yourong became a little annoyed. She picked up an orange from a plate on the table and threw it directly at Han Mo.
She had actually done this kind of thing quite a bit before, especially the first time Zhe's family's shops made money.
Even now, she clearly remembered counting copper coins in her room for an entire night, a full eight thousand seven hundred guan!
The consequence of counting copper coins all night was that she couldn't lift her arms the next morning...
For this, Han Mo had teased her for a long time.
However, later on, she wasn't that interested in these things anymore. Money, in her eyes, had really just become a number.
Especially last time, when Han Mo brought back over a dozen ships full of treasure from overseas, from then on, she had no interest in wealth at all...
"If not that, then what? It couldn't be to 'Tempt Bianliang Flowers'..."
"Pah! I heard people say that there are Ferghana horses in the far west. If I were a man, I'd really want to see what such a fine steed looks like..."
As Zhe Yourong said this, her face showed a look of longing.
"That's all?"
After hearing her words, Han Mo couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth.
"What do you mean 'that's all'? Do you know that the entire Song territory to the west is the land of Tubo and Western Xia? Getting such a fine horse is not that easy..."
As Zhe Yourong said this, she couldn't help but sigh. Her father and grandfather had been dealing with the Western Xia people for a hundred years, but they still hadn't completely destroyed Western Xia...
"Actually, it's not as difficult as you think. How about this, I'll have someone find a Ferghana horse for you later?"
Han Mo said while taking a sip of the chicken soup in front of him.
"Even if they find one across the territory of Western Xia, it won't be easy to bring it back. It's better not to look for it than to let those barbarians benefit..."
As Zhe Yourong said this, she also sighed a little.
"You don't need to worry about this. As long as my wife wants something, even the moon in the sky, I'll get it for you! Besides, who told you that there's only one way to the Western Regions? Our fleet is so large, isn't it easy to find a horse?"
"You mean by sea?"
Hearing Han Mo say this, Zhe Yourong's eyes suddenly lit up. She hadn't really thought of this before...
"Of course, by sea. Although it's not easy to bring them back alive across the sea, it's not entirely impossible! As long as there are people familiar with horses, they should be able to take good care of them!"
"Husband..."
Hearing Han Mo say this, a hint of allure appeared in Zhe Yourong's eyes.
"Cough-cough-cough—"
"Don't mess around, you're still pregnant..."
"What are you afraid of, isn't there still..."
Zhe Yourong said with a charming smile...
...
The joy of Lord Han and his wife in their boudoir is naturally not to be spoken of by outsiders.
After a night of revelry, the next morning, Lord Han led the craftsmen into the adjacent wing room. With his participation, the progress of these craftsmen obviously accelerated. After all, although he wasn't a professional in this field, this thing was designed by him.
He had originally thought that the craftsmen in his own mansion were already very capable, but after he truly witnessed the superb craftsmanship of these carpenters from the palace, he realized how much he had underestimated the skill of the Song dynasty craftsmen.
They didn't have the precise tools of later generations, but with only the rudimentary tools they made themselves, combined with their keen eyes and skilled hands, they completed all parts of the simple machine tool drawn on Han Mo's blueprints except for the water wheel in just two and a half days.
"My Lord, shall we try it?"
Just by turning the transmission gear by hand, this seemingly clumsy behemoth immediately started to rotate. Li Zong was suddenly excited.
"Trying it is also good. Have someone find a piece of wood, and also have someone make a small knife according to the drawing with the finest refined steel!"
Since the craftsmen were readily available, even Han Mo began to look forward to whether the thing he had painstakingly designed could be successful.
Experimentation is the sole criterion for testing truth. Whether it's a mule or a horse, you have to take it out for a ride!
With his permission, Li Zong excitedly ran to the nearby courtyard to find the blacksmiths. He dragged several old craftsmen to Qingyang Ironworks and spent several hours there. It wasn't until it was almost dark that Li Zong excitedly returned to the rear courtyard of the camp with a strangely shaped knife and more than a dozen highly polished logs.
"You guys take turns turning this gear. Don't be too fast, but the speed must be even..."
After he had fixed everything, Li Zong excitedly said to the several craftsmen nearby.
"Yes!"
Hearing his words, the craftsmen also became excited. They didn't understand what they were making, but the ingenuity of this thing truly amazed them. Having been a carpenter for most of their lives, this was the first time they had seen such strange things.
Under Li Zong's command, this purely wooden simple lathe finally began its operation. To ensure that this thing had enough strength, Han Mo had directly ordered them to use the finest golden silk nanmu when selecting materials.
As the few of them operated together, it was a bit stiff at first, but after a few attempts, Li Zong quickly mastered the technique. In less than half an hour, accompanied by the flying sawdust, a wooden pipe with an inner wall so smooth that it could almost reflect a person appeared before them.
"This, this is done?"
Li Zong touched the inner wall of the pipe and his voice trembled slightly.