Great Tang princess

After sitting down, Wu Zetian narrowed his eyes as he looked at the silver-white plane.

Generally speaking, it feels much smaller than the airship, and without any painting, the sense of oppression is not so strong.

At least from the appearance alone, it is hard to believe that this is something that surpasses the airship in all aspects.

However, Li Yuechen has made too many unimaginable objects since he was a child, so there should be other differences.

At this time, a group of military leaders around the prince were also discussing various things about the aircraft.

But this is a confidential project. Even the prince Li Chongrun only knows that he is making an airplane, but he doesn't know the specific data.

It's just that these are not important anymore. After today's flight test is over, they will have a relatively intuitive judgment.

After all the people from the engineering institute had checked, Li Yuechen was also ready there.

Put on the flight suit, helmet and windproof sunglasses.

Considering safety, the cockpit of this plane is not fully enclosed, but very old open.

Of course, ancient is only for Li Yuechen.

The reason for this is that this plane is just a test product, and it may crash.

Not to mention that if you want to make a closed cockpit, you must ensure that the cockpit will also open the moment the seat is ejected.

This means that an additional linkage device is needed, which invisibly increases the cost.

So this test machine Li Yuechen didn't let them do this, it was a function that only needed to be considered after mass production.

After the final confirmation, Li Yuechen nodded to them, and entered the cockpit along the moving stairs.

The apprentices of the engineering academy below quickly pushed the stairs away, and Li Yuechen also tied himself to the seat with a seat belt.

It was relatively easy to make seat belts in this era. They were woven from hemp, and metal buckles were not difficult to make.

A pilot's seat belt is not the same as a car's, it is to firmly fix the person in the seat.

The parachute is fixed behind the chair. If something happens, pull up the buckle next to the seat, and the seat will pop out directly.

Li Yuechen, who was sitting in the cockpit, checked and found nothing wrong, then nodded to the people below.

The ground crew below nodded in response, and then shook the chess pieces in their hands.

Pei Bishu, who was with the royal family and the military leaders, introduced: "Your Highness is about to take off."

As soon as the words fell, there was a sound they had never heard before, and when they looked up, it was the propeller at the front of the nose that was spinning.

The rotation of the propeller drives the work of the compressor, which squeezes a large amount of air into the engine to prevent flameout.

The sound of the propeller turning is very unfamiliar to people of this era, and it sounds a bit noisy.

I saw that the speed of rotation was getting faster and faster, so that it seemed to be spinning backwards to the naked eye.

At this time, a ground crew standing in front of the side of the plane squatted down and leaned to the right.

With his left hand behind his back, he made a sword finger with his right hand, pointing to the other side of the runway.

This is Li Yuechen's bad taste, which means that he can take off.

Li Yuechen, who had already been prepared, released the brake, then pushed the push rod forward and started to pump oil.

From the perspective of everyone outside, the plane began to taxi along the runway.

The speed is getting faster and faster, and when the speed reaches a critical point, under the action of lift, it begins to slowly leave the ground.

This kind of aircraft is different from future passenger planes. It does not need to lift the lever to take off. Because of the lift generated by the wings, it can take off very smoothly.

"Fly away!" Li Xian spoke first, reminding his mother next to him.

"I see." Wu Zetian smiled, squinting at the plane gradually leaving the ground.

All the military leaders had complicated expressions, thinking about the specific difference between this thing and the airship.

They didn't have any doubts about being able to fly.

After all, there was an airship in front, so it wouldn't surprise them that such a gadget could fly.

Rather, I feel a little awkward.

Because the airship can take off in place, and this thing actually needs a runway, in their opinion, this thing is not as advanced as the airship.

Li Yuechen, who was on the plane at the moment, breathed a sigh of relief. At least for now, the flight test was considered half successful.

The next step is to try specifically how high you can fly and land safely.

So increase the throttle and continue to increase the altitude.

After only ten minutes, Li Yuechen had already appeared above the clouds.

As far as the eye can see, the surrounding area is white.

This is a different concept from taking an airship. The altitude of the airship is below 500 meters, and most of the time you can see the ground.

But now... Li Yuechen turned his head and looked at the altimeter. He had already reached an altitude of 5000 meters.

At this height, looking down, it is almost a vast expanse of whiteness, and nothing can be seen.

……

At the same time, everyone on the ground was curiously looking for Li Yuechen in the sky with their binoculars.

However, nothing was found.

"Did you see it?" Li Xian asked his son next to him while looking through the binoculars.

"Boy didn't see it either. I guess he flew above the clouds." Li Chongrun put down the binoculars.

Hearing this sentence, the others also put down their binoculars, and then chattered together.

Li Xian was a little curious: "Didn't it mean that flying too high is easy to explode?"

"That's for the airship, because there is hydrogen in it." Li Chongrun replied.

"Is there no one in the plane?"

"This...baby is not very clear." Li Chongrun didn't know how to answer for a while.

He really hasn't learned this knowledge, but it should be like this.

If airplanes really have no advantages over airships, then there is no need to make them, right?

So now it can be concluded that airplanes fly higher than airships.

And judging from the takeoff performance just now, the speed is also much faster. Presumably, it should be able to completely explode the existence of the airship at least in terms of speed and altitude.

……

Li Yuechen, who was in the sky at the moment, was enduring the low temperature to conduct more detailed inspections and tests on the plane.

Keep stepping on the pedals under your feet to control the direction of flight.

Airplanes are different from cars. There is no so-called steering wheel, and the direction is controlled by the left and right pedals under the feet.

The lever between the legs controls the throttle.

At an altitude of 5000 meters, Li Yuechen kept changing directions, circling back and forth in the sky.

After about half an hour of testing, basically achieved the desired effect.

So after turning around, he lowered his altitude and rushed out of the clouds.

Then it circled back and forth at low altitude so that everyone below could see it.

Needless to say, at this time everyone below has already observed carefully with binoculars.

Looking at Li Yuechen who kept circling left and right, everyone kept discussing back and forth.

"It seems that this thing is indeed much more flexible than that airship."

"Yeah, the steering is so smooth, and its maneuverability is much higher than that of an airship."

"It's a pity that it's too small, and the carrying capacity is not enough, which is a pity..."

While everyone in the military was talking about it, the people in Dongdu also noticed this weird thing in the sky.

But for the people of Dongdu today, when they see this plane, they just stare at it curiously for a while, unlike when the airship was just made, they would kneel down thinking it was a god.

But people still found that this thing is different from the airship, the sound!
Airships are basically silent when they fly, and this thing can clearly hear a sound that has never been heard before.

The officers naturally also discovered this, and they all discussed, wouldn't it be easy to find out if it was used for investigation with such a loud voice?
Li Chongrun replied with a smile: "So what if you find it? Apart from my Tang Dynasty, which other country has this artifact? Even if it is discovered, is there still a way to counter it?"

"That's true!" The other officers suddenly laughed.

Among other things, at least in terms of military equipment, the current Datang is absolutely number one in the world.

And Wu Zetian was leaning on the back of the chair, looking at the planes circling in the sky, with a smile on his face, this thing seemed quite interesting.

Li Yuechen in the sky kept watching the fuel gauge, and seeing that the fuel consumption was almost gone, he prepared to land.

After adjusting the angle in the air, the altitude began to decrease gradually.

As the altitude decreased, the sound became louder and louder, making some people present couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable in their ears.

Ancient people were not very adaptable to noise, after all, the times were different.

Gliding all the way lowered the altitude, and in the eyes of everyone, the tires of the plane landed on the runway accurately.

Then it taxied all the way forward, and Li Yuechen gently brought the brakes to slow down the plane.

After taxiing on the runway for more than 300 meters, the plane slowly stopped.

Li Yuechen jumped out of the cockpit and jumped directly from the plane.

Seeing her alive and kicking, all the officers present applauded.

Meanwhile, a group of members of the engineering academy next to them cheered loudly, and many of them even threw their hats into the sky.

The two craftsmen who were in charge of making the wings couldn't help crying with joy. During this period, they were almost mentally broken by this delicate and complicated thing.

Even though Li Yuechen never put any pressure on them, it was the princess' expectation after all.

Everyone in the Academy of Engineering didn't want to disappoint the princess, so they held back their energy during this period and wanted to get this thing out.

Now that the experiment is successful, they are of course the most excited.

Li Yuechen even nodded to Pei Pishu who was on the side: "Very good! The craftsmen who participated in this project will give collective special merit!"

"This subordinate thanked Your Highness on their behalf!" Pei Bianshu replied with a salute.

Back in the auditorium, Li Yuechen sat down next to his mother: "Auntie, how are you doing?"

Listening to her daughter's question, Wu Zetian couldn't help thinking of the scene of this daughter's childhood many years ago.

At that time too, whenever I made something novel, I always opened my eyes wide and asked my parents how it was like boasting.

Unexpectedly, many years later, this daughter is 40 years old, and the scene can still overlap with the previous scene, almost exactly.

She grinned: "Well, very good!"

Li Xian, who was at the side, came over, his face full of excitement: "Yuechen, Brother Wei sees there is still someone sitting behind, when will you take Brother Wei up there for a try?"

Before Li Yuechen could reply, Wei Lian'er stopped him: "Your Majesty, this thing is dangerous, how can you try it yourself?"

"Don't worry, since it was made by Yuechen, it's fine."

"Don't! The queen is right! Although I made it, but this thing is still in the experimental stage, and it is still dangerous. Brother, we should wait a few more years and talk about it after stable mass production." Li Yuechen followed the queen's words go on.

To be honest, it doesn't matter if you take him on a plane once, but that will at least wait until all the tests are completed.

This thing is different from a car. If something happens in the sky, the consequences will be very serious.

Hearing that he still had to wait, Li Xian looked a little unhappy.

But the officers next to them don't care about this, they are already discussing the various uses of this aircraft in the war.

……

The matter of the aircraft experiment was only circulated among high-level military officials, and the outside world did not know the specific information.

And this matter has not been published in the newspaper, and the experiment is still going on.

However, the hovering over Dongdu was seen by the whole city on the day of the experiment, and many people were wondering what it was.

It looks like an airship and can fly into the sky.

But since its size is so small, it must be something different from an airship.

Someone also wrote a memorial on this matter and sent it to the cabinet, wanting to ask what is going on.

However, under Li Xian's instruction, they were directly called back and told them not to ask questions that should not be asked, as asking is a state secret.

Although the cabinet was also curious, no one dared to ask if the emperor didn't say anything.

Now times have changed, the imperial power has been concentrated unprecedentedly, and the armed forces of the whole country are in the hands of the royal family, so they can only be obedient.

After the plane was made, Li Yuechen was temporarily free, and went to the Yang Palace more frequently than before.

At the beginning of May, the weather was relatively hot, and Wu Zetian's spirit was even worse.

Li Yuechen would drive over every day to talk to her.

In fact, it is not difficult to see that the first queen in history has now reached the end of her life and is about to leave this world.

Now she is weak when she speaks, and she has no energy every day.In addition to eating and going to the bathroom, most of the time can only lie in bed.

And Li Yuechen was sitting by the bed, chatting with her, watching her mother get weaker day by day, although she was sad in her heart, it never showed on her face.

The hot weather couldn't make Wu Zetian feel better. Looking at her daughter sitting by the bed, she suddenly asked her own question for many years: "Who were you in your previous life?"

Hearing this question, Li Yuechen didn't feel too surprised, just smiled slightly: "How did Aunt know that I have past life memories?"

"Since you were young, you have been imagining endlessly, but there is no connection between them; you have never left the Tang Dynasty, but you know many things overseas; but you are still a person who does not respect ghosts and gods... If you are not born a saint, you must have a previous life The one who remembers..."

Wu Zetian gave his answer calmly.

"As expected of you, A Niang, you really are unparalleled in wisdom, extremely clever!" Li Yuechen said with a slight smile.

"Since it's not a fairy coming down to earth, why don't you talk to your mother." Wu Zetian asked weakly with drooping eyes. (end of this chapter)