I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 126 The Birth of the Silver Mirror
It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go back to frugality. Since he had become wealthy, Tang Zhao had never gone hungry. So after tasting a bland meal from the army camp's communal pot, Tang Zhao changed his mind about staying overnight and left.

King Xuan personally escorted the people to the gate of the military camp, and Jiang Yiming even led a team of men, ostensibly to escort the princess back to the city.

Tang Zhao: Okay!
Upon returning to the General of the Nation's residence, Tang Zhao led his men to the storeroom, counted out 50,000 taels of silver, and watched Jiang Yiming and the others leave.

Looking at the empty corner of the warehouse, Tang Zhao sighed to the heavens: Time to start making money again!

What should I do? Tang Zhao pondered as he walked back.

Which is better: glass, soap, gunpowder, liquor, or weapons?
Tang Zhao sat in front of the dressing table, propping her cheeks up with her hand, deep in thought.

Gunpowder – the ingredient ratio is unknown; weapons – steelmaking is impossible; soap – the profit margin is too low; liquor – the laws of Chongqing restrict the scale of brewing production.

"Let's make glass," Tang Zhao decided, then began to ponder where to start.

Chunfeng stood behind Tang Zhao, untying her hair. She immediately noticed the blue jade butterfly hairpin on her right temple and asked as she removed it, "When did you buy this hairpin, Miss? The craftsmanship is so exquisite."

Tang Zhao said lazily, "It was sent by Gu Ci."

"The young master treats the young lady so well," Chunfeng laughed exaggeratedly, "This hairpin suits the young lady exceptionally well."

"is it?"

Chunfeng put the hairpin back in her hair, saying, "You'll see for yourself, Miss."

Tang Zhao looked up and saw a blurry figure reflected in the bronze mirror. She honestly said, "I can't see clearly."

No matter how smoothly a bronze mirror from the Great Yu Dynasty is polished, it cannot compare to a modern mirror.

Huh? A mirror? Tang Zhao's eyes lit up. She could make a mirror!
What woman can resist a mirror that allows her to fix her makeup anytime, anywhere?
No!

"Give the order to have Chaoyi and the others find as much quartz sand as possible!"

Spring Breeze asked in confusion, "Quartz sand?"

"It's silica," Tang Zhao described its general appearance and drew a rough area, "Go find it by the river or the sea."

"Yes!" Chunfeng replied and turned to go to the front yard.

“Silica?” Chao Yi frowned. “There’s plenty of it in the southwest and Qin Prefecture, but it’s just ordinary stone. What does the princess want it for?”

Chunfeng was also puzzled, but that did not stop her from blindly worshipping, "Even the most ordinary stone can be turned into a treasure in the hands of our girls."

Chao Yi agreed wholeheartedly and turned to make the arrangements.

While waiting for the ore to arrive, Tang Zhao traveled all over Wuwei, bought a barren saline-alkali land near a river, hired people to build five high-temperature furnaces, and sent people to buy a large amount of soda ash and limestone to store in the warehouse.

In late April, people across Northwest China went to the fields to sow seeds, and the fields were bustling with activity.

"Spring came late this year, so the sowing was a bit late," Song Kaijin reported to the government. "However, there was plenty of rain this spring, and the seeds in the ground absorbed enough water and fertilizer, so they are growing no worse than in previous years."

Tang Zhao asked with concern, "Are the potatoes all planted?"

"They're all planted. As the princess instructed, they were all planted on poor soil," Song Kai explained in detail. "This old servant has arranged for people to weed and fertilize regularly to ensure a high yield by the end of the year!"

"Good!" Tang Zhao praised repeatedly, "Let Qian Wu take good care of it. Just tell me what you need or what problems you have."

"Yes," Song Kai replied. "Qian Wu is fine, but he's worried about his wife and daughter."

“Yunniang and her daughter are managing Xianyun Teahouse very well,” Tang Zhao thought that it was inhumane to keep Qian Wu and his wife separated for so long, so she said, “Pass on my message that after the spring planting is over, Qian Wu is allowed to go to Lanzhou for a few days so that his family can be reunited.”

"This old servant kowtows on behalf of Qian Wu to thank the Princess for her kindness." May passed by in the midst of the bustling spring planting, and before we knew it, half of June had passed, and a large quantity of quartz sand had finally arrived.

Tang Zhao inspected several truckloads of goods and found the quality to be good. He readily paid the balance, generously gave a tip, and ordered an additional three hundred truckloads of quartz ore before sending the overjoyed stone merchant away.

Tang Zhao waved his hand with great ambition: "Let's get started!"

Five high-temperature melting furnaces started operating simultaneously. The refining master that Tang Zhao had spent a lot of money to poach finally produced molten glass after failing more than ten times, following the formula and proportions she provided.

Tang Zhao supervised the work every day, his eyes were dark from exhaustion. In a drowsy state, he heard the news and his spirits lifted. He ran to the furnace, took the air pipe, and blew one himself. After the molten glass cooled down, it solidified into a crooked glass bottle that was thicker at the top and thinner at the bottom.

Tang Zhao:.
cough!
While everyone was stunned, Tang Zhao silently hid the bottle behind his back.

It's a little embarrassing.

Chao Yi said in a trembling voice, "Princess, may I have a look?"

Tang Zhao remained silent for a moment, then took out a bottle from behind her and gave it to her.

Chao Yi took the bottle and stroked it repeatedly. The bottle was smooth and translucent, and its body was perfectly sealed. Not a drop of water was spilled when water was poured into it.

Tang Zhao defended the glass bottle, saying, "Although it's a bit ugly, it works perfectly."

"Princess, this is a great treasure!" Chao Yi clutched the bottle tightly. He had once followed Gu Ci to confiscate the private treasury of a Turkic general, where they found a crystal-clear glass cup. He immediately treasured it and sent it to Luoyang by express courier.

I heard that the late emperor treasured it greatly and kept it in his study, personally wiping and playing with it.

Even such a precious glass cup pales in comparison to this glass bottle.

Tang Zhao felt comforted.

Chao Yi stared at the craftsman before her like a cheetah eyeing its prey. "Princess, these artisans..."

"They all signed a death contract, including their families."

Although Tang Zhao disliked the contract system of Dayu, there was nothing he could do about it. Dayu had no patent rights, as evidenced by the dozens of versions of The Legend of the White Snake circulating in the market!
Therefore, Tang Zhao had no choice but to follow local customs and wait until the glass produced by the glass manufacturing workshop had a firm grasp on the market before returning the indenture to the workers.

Chao Yi felt this was not enough, so he sent dozens of guards to completely protect the workshop, ensuring that not even a mouse could enter or leave freely, before he was barely satisfied.

Tang Zhao thought he was a good candidate to become a human trafficker.

Under Tang Zhao's guidance, the craftsmen were able to blow out normal glass bottles after a few days of experimentation.

Tang Zhao generously gave each person one, which they then used as vases to hold flowers.

Chao Yi felt that the princess was really wasting her talents, but he dared not say so.

The new molten glass was ready. Under Tang Zhao's direction, the craftsmen poured it into a pre-made container, cooled and solidified it, covered it with a whole sheet of tin foil, poured in mercury, and removed it after it solidified.

A huge glass mirror stood in front of everyone.

Chao Yi stared dumbfounded at her own equally dumbfounded reflection in the mirror, looking utterly foolish.

He tremblingly reached out his hand, and the person in the mirror also tremblingly pointed at him, "Princess, Princess?"

"How is the silver mirror I made?"

Chao Yi gasped. Their master hadn't just married a wife; he'd married a god of wealth!