Don't be a prince

In fact, the waterwheel is not necessarily just used for irrigation. If you modify it and choose a place with a fast-flowing water, can you make more powerful things?

Watching the water wheel drive the dowel bar under the action of the water flow, and after the torque is changed by the gear set, it makes a clock-like hammer in the room move up and down, Li Tai immediately burst out with his enthusiasm.

Chapter 2: The Western Turks Agree

Seeing that the craftsmen really made the hydraulic sledgehammer, and it looked good, Li Chengqian couldn't help but admire the ancient craftsmen again.

In fact, it's not that they are incapable of accomplishing these things, it's just that their life of copying and pasting has imprisoned their thoughts.Those who are willing to bow their heads and hammer iron are hardworking. As for fiddling with wheels and gears and assembling machinery, they are all reprimanded by the elderly as not doing their job properly.

Is this not doing business properly?

Seeing a red-hot iron bar quickly turn into a piece of iron under the action of a giant hammer, it was difficult for Li Chengqian to connect this achievement with the words "not doing business properly".

Just pulling a handle broke the transmission of power, and the giant hammer stopped when it was hanging high. Yan Liben showed the iron piece that was hammered out to the prince.

"It would take half a day for an ordinary craftsman to hammer the iron bars like this, and excessive heating and hammering will also make the iron brittle. Your Highness, just this hydraulic giant hammer can speed up my smelting in Datang! only...."

"Just what?"

No matter the research and development of anything, there will be failures. Li Chengqian was shocked by Yan Liben and others' ability to create a hydraulic giant hammer in a short period of time. He would not be surprised if he said that there were hidden dangers at this time.

"It's just that the axle of the waterwheel can't bear such a heavy load. The waterwheel outside, Weichen and others just repaired it yesterday. Even if the wooden axle is used with the bearing bush of the chariot, it can last at most one day. And repairing the axle will take half a day. We can’t repair it for half a day, let’s use it for a day. Besides, it’s winter now, and the waterwheel needs to break the ice before it can be used. As long as the ice is not broken overnight, the waterwheel will be frozen.”

Li Chengqian, who was sitting in a wheelchair, was pushed by Yu Tai to the edge of the Wei River.Sure enough, in the cold days of the new year just now, white mist had already appeared on the axle of the waterwheel.This is the heat generated by intense friction.The water flow under the ice in winter is slow, and it has become like this, not to mention what it will be like after the ice melts.It is estimated that it will take half a day to use and half a day to repair.

Seeing the wooden waterwheel, Li Tai curled his lips and said, "Stupid, can't you change all these parts of the waterwheel into iron? Even if the water is made of iron as a whole, the water can't be moved, but the axle can be made of iron." Save a lot of trouble!"

Seeing Li Tai speak, Li Chengqian gave up the idea of ​​giving advice to Yan Liben.Well, it would be good to let Li Tailai tinker with this thing to pass the time.As for whether he can find the idea of ​​bearing development through research, it depends on whether he is smart enough.

With Datang's smelting level, ball bearings cannot be produced, but there is no reason that roller bearings cannot be produced.

Since Li Tai was naturally interested in these things, Li Chengqian felt that as his elder brother, he should guide him in this direction.

After throwing Li Tai to this experiment site, Li Chengqian returned to the academy in a carriage.

This year's winter is extraordinarily cold. Even though it's the end of the new year, you have to face the bitter cold wind to go out.

Back at the old man's courtyard, Li Chengqian immediately couldn't laugh or cry.The old gentleman is very gentlemanly, and he did not go to the opposite college to teach.However, his old man called the students to his home and squeezed them into the study to give lectures.

Seeing the old man's high spirits during the lecture, Li Chengqian didn't say anything more.Perhaps, what annoys him the most is lying on the bed like a dying old man, exuding a rotten smell from the inside out.

Back in his room, Li Chengqian began to check the information sent by the dark guard.

The damn Pei family did not resist the bombardment of silver, and finally recruited some blacksmiths to teach the Japanese people the technology of iron smelting.

but....

Thinking about the great leap in the smelting industry of the Tang Dynasty after the completion of the hydraulic sledgehammer, Li Chengqian didn't feel that the original smelting was so powerful.So what if the people of the Japanese country produce mass production?Without the core forging skills, they can only be crushed by Datang craftsmen.

The manufacture of military armor has always been a key department of the imperial court, and the craftsmen under the jurisdiction of the Military Weapons Supervisor have always been the business of sons and fathers.Japanese people learning folk technology can indeed develop the smelting industry of Japan, but Bingjia wants to surpass Datang?Dreaming is more realistic.

It's not that he didn't think about killing these Japanese envoys, and told the old man about his idea, but he was scolded by the old man.

When the two armies confront each other, do not kill the envoys, and the two countries are against each other, do not kill the envoys.This is a rule that has been formed on this land for thousands of years, and it can only be maintained, and it must not be broken.

Fly is an appropriate word to describe these people, flying around in front of your eyes, you can obviously kill them with a fly swatter, but considering the snow-white walls, you can't really do it after all.

Write a reply to Geng Buqu and order him to give up the surveillance of the Wa people.Since there is no need to plan to kill them, let's do our best to make up for the mistakes of the Pei family.

After writing the order, Li Chengqian opened Li Dahai's letter again.

Ever since Lao Li revealed his feelings, he became more and more concerned about the business outside the East Palace.Hearing that the prince was going to send someone to Xiazhou to inspect the local coal mines, he went there himself, and now he has a reply.

Looking at Lao Li's report, Li Chengqian laughed out loud.

"Wang family, aren't you a big family and a big business? You don't need to hurt others with your own capital, as long as you drive down the price of your goods, you will win!"

After clapping his hands, Fang Sheng walked in from the outside, bowing and waiting for the prince's order.

"Go back to the East Palace, check the current assets of the East Palace, and then send a few people to check whether it is convenient to transport bulk goods from Chang'an to Xiazhou. If it is not convenient, go to the Ministry of Information Industry. Just say, I am going to be in Xiazhou To lay the road between Chang'an and Chang'an, the Ministry of Industry only needs to contribute to build a flat and wide official road, and pave the cement, which is borne by itself, and they don't need to pay for it!"

After hearing it clearly, Fang Sheng immediately turned around and returned to the East Palace.He had a premonition that the wealth accumulated in the East Palace might be emptied again.

After Fang Sheng left, Li Chengqian stretched his waist and transferred the route of the grassland caravan to Xiazhou, making it coincide with the route from Xiazhou to Chang'an.

Xiazhou is actually the Yulin City of the later generations, which has the title of "the first coal field in the country".Since it is the No. [-] coal field, there is no reason why the output cannot surpass the Wang family's coal mine.

The Wang family lived in Taiyuan for generations, so they naturally controlled Datang's largest coal business.Today, the coal stoves made by the blacksmith shop under the jurisdiction of Jiangzuojian are very popular in Chang'an.Who wants to have a brazier in the house when there is a coal stove?

Thanks to the sale of coal stoves, the Wang family made a lot of money this time.

As a beneficiary of the coal stove industry, I don't know how to be grateful, but repay my kindness with revenge, which is too much.

It is true that your Wang family has the final say in the vicinity of your Bingzhou. Even if other small businessmen are not surnamed Wang, they still have to act according to your face.The price of coal is controlled by you alone, and others dare not provoke you, but this does not mean that you alone dare not!

Living in the academy, if you want to go to court, you have to get up earlier.

Going through court as a bystander is still rewarding.

For example, Li Chengqian discovered that although the chief officials of the three provinces and six ministries have great power, they cannot cover the sky with one hand.In the three provinces, only Shang Shu Ling and Left and Right Pu She are as stable as Mount Tai, but the positions of the six Shang Shu are always in rotation.

The Minister of the Ministry of War was originally Li Jing, but after returning from the grassland, Li Jing had to recover from his injuries, so the Minister of the Ministry of War fell on Du Ruhui's head again.Du Duan, who would have died of illness last year, does not show a trace of illness now.In the past, I had to ask for leave constantly during the winter, but now I don't seem to be coughing or short of breath.

He was not the only one who benefited from Sun Simiao. Qin Qiong was seriously ill at first, and had retired and seldom went to court. Although he is no longer as brave as before, going to court is no longer a problem.

If the local memorials are just small things, Fang Xuanling will usually make the first round of comments, and the emperor will finish the matter with a glance.If it is a bigger matter, it needs the prime minister's special comment, and then it will be handed over to the emperor for decision.As for such a major event as the establishment of government offices in the new land of East Turkistan, it needs to be discussed together in the court.

"The grassland has been a serious problem in the Central Plains since ancient times. It is too difficult to make them feel belonging to the Central Plains! Therefore, the old minister thought that it should be managed according to the system of Jimi Prefecture. Grassland herdsmen are tough by nature, afraid of power and not virtuous, It should be restrained by heavy codes, so as not to cause disasters."

As soon as Changsun Wuji finished speaking, Kong Yingda jumped out:

"What Mr. Zhao said is too biased! The reason why grassland people have no sense of belonging is nothing more than cultural differences. Such a huge territory is managed by the system of Jimi Prefecture. Isn't it afraid of recurring disasters? If you want to make the north of Guanzhong stable, You must hold the country firmly in the palm of your hand!

Therefore, the old man thinks that instead of treating people as a rule because of the customs, it is better to spread the classics of the Central Plains to the grasslands, and let them wear Hanfu, speak Chinese, and use Chinese characters. Only in this way can they really integrate. "

Listening to Kong Yingda's words, Li Chengqian, who was sitting in the guard of the civil servants, was expressionless, but gave the old man a thumbs up in his heart.Regardless of whether this method can be implemented, the idea of ​​cultural invasion is commendable.

Fang Xuanling stood up and said: "How to manage the grassland is not something that can be achieved by talking about it. The north of Xiazhou is all new land, and there are many herdsmen. Why don't you choose a state capital and try your methods for the time being? Let’s decide after seeing the results, how about it?”

Since Fang Xuanling stood up to speak, after all, only a few people dared to refute.

Li Shimin on the throne nodded and said: "Since Fang Qing thinks that we should experiment, let's make it so. It's just that there is no state system in the north of Xiazhou, so why not experiment in Shengzhou. There are Turkic herdsmen there. , it is more effective than near Xiazhou."

After the emperor spoke, Kong Yingda, Changsun Wuji and others all returned to the team.It seems that the comprehensive paving of the government offices on the grassland will not be carried out for a while.How to fill up more of their own children in this blank area is what they care most about.

"Speaking of Xiazhou, the memorial of the governor of Xiazhou is somewhat interesting. His Royal Highness, Zhou Yin, the governor of Xiazhou, wrote a letter saying that the East Palace intends to open mines in Xiazhou. I don't know why?"

Seeing that Fang Xuanling took out a book from his sleeve and shook it at himself, Li Chengqian could only stand up and answer.

"Fang Xiang, Gu is now the vice president of Zhenguan College, and he is also the one who pays for the construction of the college. Naturally, we must open up a wide range of sources of income. How can we meet the current and future expenses of the college with just a few properties in the East Palace."

After hearing the prince's words, the courtiers didn't know how to respond for a while.

Still preparing for the industry?Jiang Zuojian has shares in Donggong, Cheng family has shares in Donggong, Liuli workshop has shares in Donggong, and cement workshop also has shares.It is said that the cement workshop under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry has [-]% of the shares of the college.

The caravan on the grassland, the auction house in Pingkangfang, the breeding farm between Chang'an County in Wannian County, and the book printing house in the college.

Adding up so much is enough for a family to rank among the rich. Now, do you want to open a mine?

"Although Gu wants to open a mine, everything still has to be done in accordance with the imperial regulations. There will be no less taxes to be paid, and no less wages to be paid to the local migrant workers. The emergence of a mineral is bound to drive prosperity in Xiazhou. Get up. Gu doesn’t think there’s anything wrong, what does Xiang Fang think?”

Holding the chapter of Xiazhou Inspector, Fang Xuanling smiled: "The old minister did not mean to criticize the prince, on the contrary, the old man wanted to advocate this kind of behavior.

Just as the prince said, the East Palace's purchase of property in Xiazhou will definitely drive the local people to become rich.Originally Xiazhou could be called a poor place, like His Highness, who can help himself and help the common people, why not do it! "

After finishing speaking, Fang Xuanling bowed and said to the emperor: "Your Majesty, now all the honored families have some assets, and they all have the ability to imitate the crown prince to benefit the whole country. I dare you, Your Majesty, to allow the nobles to do the same."

Fang Xuanling's words immediately made Chaotang blow up the pot!

Wei Zheng stood up, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, no! Officials are not allowed to engage in business. This is an old rule, how can it be broken?"

Wei Zheng didn't trouble Fang Xuanling, because everyone knew that although Fang Xuanling was one of the nobles, he would never take the initiative to talk about it.Now that he dared to take the memorial of the governor of Xiazhou and speak in front of the audience, he was probably instructed by the emperor.

Compared to Wei Zheng, who was jumping up and down, the rest of the officials looked happy.How can the salary of an official support the whole family?The court of Zhenguan has strict laws and no one dares to embezzle and accept bribes.If you want to support a large family, you have to accept the dependence of the merchant anyway, or organize the industry yourself.

I had to be sneaky before, but if this matter becomes aboveboard, I don't have to worry about it all day long.

"Wei Zheng retreats, I have my own opinion!"

After repelling Wei Zheng, Li Shimin said: "Do all my lovers agree with Fang Qing's words?"

Now, almost everyone can't wait to stand up:

"Wish to seek well-being for the local people!"

Hearing the uniform voice of the courtiers, Li Chengqian was a little dazed.

Probably, his arrangement and the memorial of the governor of Xiazhou aroused the emperor's reverie.

If a place wants to be rich, it really needs rich people to invest in it!

After this matter passed, the hall was filled with joy and laughter.Many courtiers began to think about how to expand their industries.

What the emperor valued was honorable "investment", which could bring development to the local area.But what the nobles consider is exactly the opposite.

But no matter what, this matter is a win-win situation.

After seeing the memorial of the governor of Xiazhou today, he discovered that the East Palace's property purchase in Xiazhou could actually make the local area rich.According to the governor of Xiazhou, the land in Xiazhou is desolate and can only be used for grazing. The mining of Donggong alone can solve the labor of thousands of people in Xiazhou.As the scale expands, more and more people will benefit.

What's more, the caravan has been in and out of Xiazhou for a long time, and Xiazhou will become an important stop on the Central Plains grassland journey, and more jobs that require manpower will appear.

In fact, he discovered this as early as when the prince was building a breeding farm and a cement workshop.It's just that this approach is really unprecedented, and what really made him make up his mind was the memorial of the governor of Xiazhou.

Seeing the officials at the bottom celebrating each other, Li Shimin couldn't help reminding: "I know you all want to see this, but my preferential treatment for nobles is placed in the second place, and the first is to be able to No benefit to the people. If someone takes advantage of the opportunity to exploit the people, don’t blame me for not caring about feelings. Wei Zheng, I will entrust you with the supervision of the noble industry, will you?”

Wei Zheng stood up and said happily: "The minister accepts the order!"

What Wei Zheng is most afraid of is that the nobles will be let go of the restraint, which will cause bad things.Now that the emperor has not relaxed the supervision, it is the reason why he is relieved.

Seeing that Wei Zheng had gained the supervisory power, many people's smiles faded away.Although life will be easier in the future, but Wei Zheng is here, tsk tsk, you should pay more attention!

Tang Jian, the Minister of Honglu Temple stood up with a smile, and said: "Your Majesty, although the road was blocked by heavy snow, Western Turk still sent a reply letter about the marriage. Khan Siyehu went to Tie Le in the north and was defeated by Xue Yantuo. Therefore, he pays special attention to the matter of marriage. At the beginning, Tong Yehu Khan was killed by his uncle, and His Majesty told the suitors that the marriage can only be made by default. Now, although Si Yehu is suspicious and vicious, he has won the position and convinced the public, and he is regarded as the Western Turkic Righteous Lord. I think that there is a lot to be done in the matter of getting married!"

Hearing that Western Turks agreed to marry him, Li Chengqian immediately forgot to listen more and watch more and less talk, and hurried out of work to ask: "Tang Siqing, did you write back saying that they will marry or we will marry?"

Li Chengqian's eagerness caused the courtiers to laugh, and Li Shimin laughed too.It doesn't matter whether the prince's move is for his sisters or for himself.

As for the crown prince and concubine, he already has plans.It is absolutely impossible for a princess of the Western Turks to become a concubine.

Tang Jian said with a smile: "Of course the princess from West Turkic came to marry, but although Si Yehu was willing to marry the princess, he didn't mention when he would marry. Presumably, he was waiting for me, Tang Dynasty, to give the dowry first."

Hearing the word "betrothal gift", Li Chengqian realized that he still forgot about it.

However, it has always been the Western Turks who give the dowry first, and the Central Plains add an extra dowry.Now it's the other way around, I believe that a big country like Western Turks won't be too stingy!

"Since the Western Turks are waiting for the dowry, let the Ministry of Rites formulate the types and quantities of the dowry, and the inner government will fund it to marry the Western Turks."

Lu Kuan, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, immediately came out to take orders. Datang married the princess of the Western Turkic, and it was still a formal marriage, which was a lot of trouble.When the Ministry of Rituals encounters etiquettes that need to be formulated on weekdays, it only needs to dig into the pile of old papers.

But this time, it seems, there is no precedent...

Chapter 221

Seeing that the ministers began to study what kind of betrothal gift was suitable, Li Chengqian suddenly felt like shooting himself in the foot with a stone.

In fact, finding a Turkic wife is not a big deal, the key is, the key is...

What I said to the envoy of the Western Turks at the beginning was just to embarrass him. Who would have thought that the Western Turks actually agreed.

Li Daliang, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, stood up again and reported the construction of the cement official road from Xiazhou to Chang'an.In addition, he proposed to build a cement official road between Chang'an and Luoyang.Roads paved with cement are much more convenient to maintain, unlike dirt official roads, where there is a flash flood or something, and civilian labor is required to repair it, it is easy to cause complaints.

For this proposal, the emperor praised his idea, but pushed the start of construction to next year.

To kill the Eastern Turks, Datang also tried its best. Now the treasury needs to slowly lick the wounds, and there is no way to launch such a project for the time being.

After the court meeting, Li Chengqian did not enter the harem, nor did he return to the academy, but hurried out.

Fortunately, Tang Jian was discussing something with Lu Kuan slowly and did not go far.

"Tang Honglu, wait a moment!"

Hearing the prince's voice, Tang Jian quickly stopped and stopped talking to Lu Kuan, waiting for the prince to approach.

"Hehe, the crown prince came just in time. The old man and Lu Kuan are discussing your marriage. Now that the national treasury is empty and the dowry is not enough, we don't have to lose face of our Tang. It will also make His Majesty feel distressed. So this old man thinks, why don't you offer some from the East Palace, which will also make the dowry much more attractive, how about it?"

how?not so.

Seeing Tang Jian's appearance as it should be, Li Chengqian wanted to beat him up.In the poor state treasury in the early years of Zhenguan, these bigwigs in the court could only break a copper plate into two halves.As long as it can save money for the national treasury, they are willing to sacrifice other people's face, even if it is their own face, they can also sacrifice it.In this way, this group of bastards has developed a habit: as long as it can save money, then do it cheekily, that's right.

"Mr. Tang is just joking. Parents have always given their sons and daughters dowries and saved dowries. How can it change when they come to Gu."