The Empress’s Gigolo

After Ren Baqian and the empress finished their conversation, the imperial court discussed the issue of the Department of Commerce over the next few days.

On one hand, many people felt that there was no need for the Department of Commerce.

On the other hand, the Ministry of Works and Ministry of Revenue both hoped to incorporate the role of the Department of Commerce into their domain.

Over a few consecutive days, there were daily arguments at the imperial court. It was said that countless bricks were cleared out of the main hall every day.

Eventually, Ren Baqian even brought along his loudspeaker to talk reason to the officials by overpowering their voices. The empress used force to ensure that those people stayed well-behaved and listened to Ren Baqian talk.

After five days of debate, it was volume and force that triumphed. Ren Baqian and the empress had succeeded and finally settled the issue of the Department of Commerce. The department would be directly under the empress’s control while Ren Baqian will be its first department head.

Another side effect of all the debating was that many of the officials had symptoms of different degrees of tinnitus.

The first thing Ren Baqian did was find a courtyard in the city to headquarter the Department of Commerce. Before he even asked for Tang Feng and Gu Ziheng, they surprisingly came to look for him instead.

This was indeed unexpected.

When he left for the Black Bamboo Academy, he saw a man standing outside and was astonished when he heard of this man’s purpose for coming.

Standing outside the door was a middle-aged man who wore a long gown. He had a “thin build” and weighed roughly 100 kilograms. The moment he saw Ren Baqian come out from the school, he stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, “Principal Ren, my name is Zhu Zhuo and I have come to recommend myself for a job.”

“Self recommendation?” Ren Baqian repeated.

“Shall we walk, Principal Ren?” Zhu Zhuo asked.

“Come in and talk.” Ren Baqian waved his hand and let Zhu Zhuo follow him into the school. He was rather curious about what this man would say.

After all, it was quite rare to have someone recommend himself to be Ren Baqian’s subordinate.

Ren Baqian had just received this appointment, yet someone had already come looking for him. He was indeed quite well-informed.

He wasn’t sure if this man had any of the qualities that he was looking for.

Ren Baqian sat in a chair, folded his arms, and took a good look at him. This man seemed to have come from either the Yun Nation or Great Xia and somehow had the likeness of a scholar. He wasn’t like a typical aboriginal that was completely full of unruliness.

“Speak.”

“Sir Ren, to be quite honest, I’m currently an undersecretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, and it’s truly impudent for me to be recommending myself here. However, I have always looked forward to the things that Principal Ren has been doing. Regardless of whether it was the iron ore mine at Mount Damo or various other projects, I have heard of them all. Currently, I hear that Sir Ren is setting up the Department of Commerce. I feel that I’m of some use to you and that’s why I have taken the liberty of recommending myself. I have traveled around the Yun Nation for many years…”

This last sentence moved Ren Baqian.

Little did he expect that Zhu Zhuo was indeed a haigui.[1.Haigui: Chinese slang term for Chinese people who have returned to mainland China after having studied abroad for several years]

He must be rather capable to hold the position of an undersecretary. Having spent many years in the Yun Nation, he must have some experience as well.

After that, Ren Baqian asked Zhu Zhuo a few questions. Even though Zhu Zhuo’s replies weren’t exactly satisfactory to Ren Baqian, it was a problem of Ren Baqian having seen too many business models on Earth and having too much insight. Regarding the field of commerce, it was impossible to find anyone in this world that Ren Baqian would be satisfied with.

In fact, this Zhu Zhuo’s knowledge and opinions were far greater than that of a typical aboriginal.

“You may take your leave first. Let me consider.” At the moment, Ren Baqian was rather emotionally affected, yet he didn’t show much on his face. He merely gave a dull response and asked him to leave.

“Yes, Sir Ren, I shall take my leave.” Zhu Zhuo immediately cupped his fists and left without the slightest bit of sloppiness. This impressed Ren Baqian a little more.

“I never expected the Ministry of Works to have such a talent. It’s indeed a waste to leave him in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.” Ren Baqian shook his head after Zhu Zhuo left.

That same afternoon, Ren Baqian got someone to check on this Zhu Zhuo. Next, he asked the empress to issue a letter of appointment that transferred him over from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. Zhu Zhuo was also promoted to the rank of overseer in the Department of Commerce and would serve as Ren Baqian’s assistant.

Ren Baqian then roped in Tang Feng and Gu Ziheng, the original imperial merchant caravan managers, and appointed them as the undersecretaries.

The statuses of the duo instantly jumped to Rank 5 undersecretary. This was an immediate success for them, so both of them were naturally extremely grateful to Ren Baqian for it.

After that, Ren Baqian transferred over some people from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue, forming the core of the Department of Commerce. He then ordered the Rear Guard Commandery to search for experienced merchants who ran family businesses in Tianjing Basin and bring them to Lan City.

In some aspects, these merchants who chased profits for a living were much more useful than the officials from those two ministries.

Ren Baqian divided the Department of Commerce into three sections that were in charge of factories, trade routes, and financial planning. These three sections were independent of one another so that when the department grew into a ministry, these could become three separate departments. With this, the framework of the department had been decided.

Thereafter, Ren Baqian would be the boss who set the direction while leaving the rest of the work to the others.

He was preparing another project in school, which was the hot air balloon.

Li Fu was counting on it to fly up into the sky.

In the end, the materials of this world weren’t comparable to those on Earth. Goods such as nylon didn’t exist. Ren Baqian decided to simply use two pieces of durable and thick cloth while applying a layer of rubber between them. This was to increase its density and reduce its ventilation.

As for the fuel, Ren Baqian decided to use coal and a type of wood that could burn for a very long period of time.

He reckoned that a hot air balloon like this would be able to carry Li Fu about 10,000 to 15,000 meters up in the sky.

There weren’t any valves that allowed him to control the heat.

Ren Baqian completely didn’t think about how to get Li Fu back down after reaching the top. At worst, Ren Baqian would just give him a batch of cloth and let him jump down while holding the four corners.

In any case, given his strength, he probably wouldn’t fall to his death.

Even if he did, the empress would then naturally become the third most powerful expert in the world.

Ever since Li Fu saw Ren Baqian releasing sky lanterns during the New Year, he had been constantly researching how they were able to fly and if they could take him up into the sky.

Due to this, he had approached Ren Baqian a number of times, but had always been brushed off with the excuse of lacking materials.

Now, upon hearing Ren Baqian say that he wanted to make a hot air balloon and send Li Fu up into the sky, Li Fu was immediately exhilarated.

He had been searching for a way to reach Heaven for exactly 200 years. He had already discovered places that were rumored to have the appearance of deities and the supernatural. Thus, the hot air balloon became his greatest wish.

Even though Ren Baqian repeated told Li Fu that the current hot air balloon could only reach a certain altitude, Li Fu was still very excited about it. This feeling was the same sensation he felt when he had first met his fiancee back when he was young.

To him, as long as he got close to Heaven, it was good enough. Even if he couldn’t touch it, it still gave him a glimmer of hope.

Perhaps he could see where the deities were in the sky.

The world’s most powerful expert, who always kicked people in the crotch for fun, stayed at the school ever since the materials were delivered.

After understanding how this hot air balloon was made, he became the foreman. He oversaw the workers as they applied a layer of rubber paste over the fabric before pressing two pieces of fabric together.

Every day, he inspected the completed fabric for problems. If he discovered any errors of negligence, he would fly into a terrible rage.

He would take the blueprint, bring Ren Baqian around, and compare repeatedly. When he asked about various problems, Ren Baqian was very patient with him.

The balloon was stitched together using cloth and animal tendons. When the size of the stitched fabric got larger, the balloon gradually took shape. Li Fu eventually quieted down as well.

Six months later, the hot air balloon was finally completed!

“Look, you are going to rise into the sky tomorrow. Isn’t it almost time for you to impart your [Godly Strike] to me? If you fall to your death, it’s going to follow you to your grave.”

Ren Baqian stood in the courtyard.

“One world, one dream.””There will be dreams if there is hope!””I want to soar up into the sky and be side by side with the sun!”

He looked at these slogans that were written on the balloon and gave Li Fu a pat.

“There aren’t any fixed ways of imparting this move. When you reach this stage, you will naturally achieve it. If you don’t reach this stage, then there’s no point in learning it. However, I have already written down some of my knowledge and placed it under my pillow. Go get it when you return and see if you can learn anything from it,” Li Fu said without even turning his head as he stared at the hot air balloon with a fervent expression in his face.

“What’s this hideous mess that you have written on the balloon?” As Li Fu looked at those words, even the hairs of his beard stood on end.

“By being the first person to soar into the sky, what you represent isn’t just yourself. Instead, you represent the millions of people in this world and their dreams of flying! How could we not write these slogans for such an important occasion? Don’t worry! You will go down in history!”