Great Tang princess

Chapter 751 Rubber
Most of the servants in this era are not treated as human beings, including the eunuchs in the palace.

The eunuchs or court ladies who can really make a difference are usually a minority, and most of them live a very miserable life, basically struggling on the line of food and clothing.

After all, most of the eunuchs entered the palace in desperation because they couldn't survive, and here it was just to ensure that they would not die of hunger.

Since the birth of Princess Taiping, the servants who took care of her have lived very well.

Later, after the princess left the palace alone to open the mansion, she brought all the servants who had taken care of her since she was a child.

As the group of Fulai and Xiaohe gradually grew older, Li Yuechen didn't need them to do any work, as long as he could take care of his health every day.

Nowadays, most of the young maids in the Princess Mansion, except Xiaodong, have been replaced by female soldiers trained by the army.

It can be said that although the current armed forces of the Princess Mansion are only Li Yuechen's personal guards on the surface, in fact, these young maids are drawn out and given weapons, and they can immediately participate in the battle as soldiers.

And people like Fulai and Xiaohe who took care of him since he was a child were all arranged in the single dormitory in the backyard of the princess mansion, and they didn't have to do any work every day, let alone how comfortable they were.

After entering the house, Fu Lai, who was lying on the bed, opened his eyes slightly and was about to stand up and salute.

"Forget it, just lie down obediently!" Li Yuechen waved his hand, and then sat on the edge of the bed.

Fu Lai said weakly: "How can a villain afford His Highness to be so..."

"I was taken care of by you since I was a child. Even though there is a distinction between master and servant, this relationship is not fake." Li Yuechen replied with a slight smile.

Hearing these words, Fulai couldn't help but burst into tears: "Being able to hear His Highness's words when he was dying, this old slave has not wasted his life. If there is another life, this old slave is still willing to serve His Highness."

"If there is an afterlife, I hope you won't be a slave anymore, be an ordinary person, live an ordinary life, and try other possibilities in life." Li Yuechen patted the back of his hand with a light smile.

"It has been more than 30 years. In the eyes of this old slave, His Highness has never changed. He is still exactly the same as the little girl back then."

In fact, it is very presumptuous for a servant to say such words to his master, but Li Yuechen doesn't care about it at all.

She just smiled slightly: "What did you think at the beginning?"

Fulai raised his hand to wipe away his tears, then smiled slightly: "His Royal Highness has not spoken for three years. At that time, the old servant only thought that His Highness was really pitiful. He never thought that he would become a blockbuster after speaking..."

The master and the servant were like this, chatting and talking casually, it didn't even look like a master and servant, but like old friends with a big difference in age.

We talked until the sun set and the sun set.

When the last ray of sunlight disappeared into the sky, Fulai, who was lying on the bed, was completely silent.

Li Yuechen looked at his hand, felt the pulse on his neck, and after confirming it, sighed softly.

Then he patted the back of his hand and said softly, "Go all the way."

……

Among the servants, Fulai's funeral was held in a grand manner, but it did not exceed the specifications.

Li Yuechen's kindness to his servants is just the most basic principle for people who come from a civilized society, and he never thought of using this matter to enhance his reputation.

But even though he didn't think so, this matter still caused a lot of discussion in the circle of other servants.

However, the affairs of the servants will not affect the upper class after all, and the main task of the imperial court is to prepare for the New Year celebration.

Because there has been less snow in winter in recent years, but fortunately, there is plenty of rain in summer, so it can be said that the weather is smooth.

Therefore, many ministers of the imperial court wrote letters one after another, hoping that the emperor would write parallel prose this year to worship the gods of heaven and earth.

Li Xian is not very interested in these things, especially after hearing the concept of the Little Ice Age in Li Yuechen's popular science.

Since the climate is just a periodic change of the earth, why waste energy on such boring things as sacrifices?
However, before the memorial could be sent back, it was stopped by Wu Zetian.

"You, lazy is lazy, but you can't be lazy in this matter!" Wu Zetian taught, "If you become emperor in the future, you can't skip these things."

Li Xian didn't quite understand: "Why? Since this sacrifice is just a waste of energy, why..."

Wu Zetian shook her head helplessly: "Chen'er is right, she really doesn't look like a gentleman."

"I..." Li Xian, who had been taught a lesson, felt helpless for a moment.

But anyway, as the future emperor.Wu Zetian still had to explain these small problems to him clearly.

"Do you remember when Wu Sansi fished a stone from Luoshui when he was enthroned for your mother?"

Li Xian nodded to express his memory: "That's not carved by himself..."

In fact, this kind of thing is easy to understand, just take the original stone as an example.

It is said to be an auspicious gift from God, but in fact, whether it is for the speaker or the listener, whoever believes it is an idiot!
But there is no way, both parties have to pretend to believe in themselves!
"All in all, imperial power is very complicated. Some things are also necessary. It's just like the sense of ritual that Chen'er said."

After listening to his mother's explanation, Li Xian nodded to express his understanding, so he took a pen and wrote down the approval.

……

The end of each year is always the busiest time for the imperial court, and so is the army.

At this moment, in the office of the Ministry of War, Li Xian is having a headache for the year-end financial report.

Now the finances of each military region are extremely detailed. Although there are many people who help, it still feels extremely troublesome to calculate.

And Li Xian is a hands-on character, every year at this time, I always feel that several gray hairs will increase.

While publishing the report, I can't forget to make some complaints.

I feel that they waste a lot of gunpowder in their usual training, so I will teach them a lesson.

But it's hard to say when a war will break out, and training can't be left behind.

In desperation, I can only count slowly.

Recently, Li Yuechen is not busy, but excited.

The sudden news made Li Yuechen, who was still a little sad because of Fulai's death, immediately became excited.

Zhenzhou sent a letter saying that the rubber tree has been successfully planted, and the rubber has been obtained, and he is planning to send it over.

After receiving the news, Li Yuechen directly ordered the airship to pick it up and bring it over as quickly as possible.

You know, once the rubber is settled, the benefits it will bring to the country are simply incalculable.

Even if she can't make too many things with her ability, at least the appearance of cars is possible.

At the same time, vulcanized rubber technology is not difficult, and it is also possible to make real pneumatic tires in this era.

Nowadays, hardened roads have been repaired in many places across the country. It can be said that once the car is made, it will be much easier for transportation and soldiers to go out in the future.

Of course, a real car is impossible. Li Yuechen dare not say that he doesn't understand the internal combustion engine at all, but he only has a half-knowledge.

To make an internal combustion engine in this era is much more difficult than imagined.

But the steam engine is different. The steam engine designed by Li Yuechen is not Watt's first machine, but a steam engine with complete functions.

This kind of steam engine can be directly used to drive a four-wheeled vehicle, but the smoke is bigger and the car is bigger.

But in this era, it can already be said to be extremely rare.

From the beginning of December, Li Yuechen went to the engineering institute almost every day, staying for a whole day, perfecting the steam engine with the craftsmen.

At the same time, this was also the first time that Li Yuechen witnessed the whole process of the top craftsmen of this era making those complicated parts.

The craftsmen first carve the required part model freehand on solid beeswax.

Because the texture of this thing is relatively soft, it is very easy to carve. Generally, this step is handed over to some apprentices or children to make.

After the model is carved, it is covered with a layer of mud, such as plaster or ceramic clay.

Then put it into the stove to bake, the mud on the outside will be strengthened, and the beeswax inside will melt due to the heat, and gradually flow out of the mold.

Finally, the molten metal liquid is poured into the mold, and after cooling, the outer mold shell is smashed to get a complete part.

Li Yuechen was a little surprised by such a set of procedures. It was really unexpected that craftsmen of this era could use such a method to make those parts with strange and complicated shapes.

If this is the case, as long as the accuracy can be guaranteed, can we try to make an internal combustion engine?

As we all know, the precision of human hands far exceeds that of any CNC machine tool.

But the problem is, the efficiency can't keep up!Even if it can be done by using the internal combustion engine with bare hands, the cost and efficiency are extremely terrifying.

Now Wang Gangdan, the head of the Academy of Engineering, knocks an iron rod on the cannon, and he can tell if there is a crack inside by listening to the sound.

Sounds great, right?But the question is how many people are like this?
As an athlete himself, Li Yuechen is also very clear that there are some things that really cannot be taught, it can only depend on whether he has this talent himself.

In addition to thinking about making steam engines with a group of craftsmen in the Engineering Academy, Li Yuechen also organized another group of people to study vulcanized rubber technology and make tires.

Fortunately, such things as sulfur are not too difficult to find. There are a lot of them in the Academy of Engineering, and it is also the material used by many Taoist priests for alchemy, which is enough for them to toss.

Time passed day by day, and the parts needed for the steam engine were gradually being produced.

And three days before New Year's Eve, another department also sent good news that the vulcanized rubber technology was finally conquered by them.

It is not too difficult to say, but it takes a long time in the original time and space because it requires multiple attempts.

But now it means that Li Yuechen directly gave them the answer, which is a copy, and it is normal to be able to make it quickly.

Li Yuechen checked it. Although due to technical problems, maybe the tires of this era are still not as good as the future.

But to be honest, it is far beyond this era.

So Li Yuechen asked them to make two bicycle tires for fun, and she went to try it first.

Air pipes are not too difficult even in this day and age, let alone rubber.

So on New Year's Eve, a bicycle that was almost indistinguishable from the future appeared on the square outside Xuanwu Gate.

After several years of repairs, the outside of the Xuanwu Gate has become a flat concrete floor for the convenience of taking off and landing airships.

So Li Yuechen rode this bicycle to play in the square.

On the city wall, Wu Zetian, Li Xian and others were all watching the changes brought about by the new tires.

The bicycle had been invented many years ago, but none of them had much interest in it.

Anyway, there are carriages and sedan chairs everywhere, for them, these things are a bit tasteless.

Watching Li Yuechen cycle around, Li Xian was lying on the wall with his hands on his chin: "It feels like..."

Before he finished speaking, he saw Li Yuechen speed up, and then his body tilted, and the rear wheel was thrown in a circular arc.

With a sharp rubbing sound, the rear wheel left an arc-shaped black mark on the concrete floor.

"Ok?"

Li Xian became interested all of a sudden, and felt that he seemed very handsome just now.

Then Li Yuechen directly pulled up the handlebars, landed on the ground with only the rear wheel, and rode forward with one wheel.

After the front wheel hit the ground, she let go of the handlebar with both hands and waved to her mother and brother on the city wall.

"Awesome! I can't even let go of my hands, I can only let go of one hand." Li Xian couldn't help being a little envious.

I feel that since childhood, this younger sister has always been much better than him in at least this aspect of playing.

And Li Yuechen felt the various performances of this bicycle, and what he thought in his heart was that they could almost let them try to make a climbing car.

It would be much more interesting to have a street climber or mountain bike.

In the city, those who play street climbing can compete with parkour masters, and climbing high and low is no problem.

However, I don't have much hope in my heart. After all, due to the limitations of the times, I only solved the problem of tires, and the frame and other materials are still a big problem.

But at least for now, such bicycles can be used in various departments of the imperial court and the army, at least to improve some efficiency.

After the test was completed, Li Yuechen came to the city wall: "Aniang, do you want to try it?"

"I don't need it for my mother, anyway, I don't need it on weekdays." Wu Zetian shook his head slightly.

Shangguan Wan'er handed over a cup of tea: "But Your Highness, what's the use of this new tire after it's made?"

"Bikes are not very useful, but you can try to make a car. The efficiency is much higher than that of a carriage." Li Yuechen laughed.

Li Xian asked: "Can you run fast?"

"Thirty kilometers in half an hour is not bad." Li Yuechen replied.

Li Xian also understands the concept of kilometers.After thinking about it, he raised his eyebrows: "Isn't that faster than riding a horse?"

"Brother, this is wrong. How long can a horse run at top speed? But once the car is made, it can run non-stop for twelve hours!"

"Running without interruption?" Li Xian raised his eyebrows, "If that's the case, it's indeed much stronger than a horse..."

But Wu Zetian thought about it a little longer. If this thing can be made, it will directly double the combat effectiveness of the army.

She has also ridden a horse and knows the consequences of a horse hitting someone.If this kind of vehicle is placed on the battlefield and directly hits the enemy, it may cause more terrifying damage than cavalry!

　Thank you [Mercury's Masked Superman] for rewarding 500 starting coins!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)