Prince of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 398 Eucommia Gum

When Gao Ming selects talents, he first pays attention to character, followed by talent, because in his opinion, talent can be cultivated, but character is difficult to change.

This is why people often say that "the country is easy to change and the nature is difficult to change".

For those who are talented but not good at character, Gao Ming will put them under his nose and stare at them all the time.

For example, Hegan Chengji is such a type.

Only those people Gao Ming can trust, he can release them, such as Li Goudan and Zhang Sizheng, even if he doesn't see them for a few months, Gao Ming can rest assured.

And Ye Feng is obviously a person who reassures Gao Ming.

At the beginning, Gao Ming asked him to escort the prisoner and his family to Lingnan, and at the same time gave him a task, which was to search for a precious material in Lingnan and its vicinity - rubber!
In fact, Gao Ming is not sure whether there are rubber trees in Datang, but he thinks that if there are, they will only appear in tropical areas like Lingnan.

Although the journey from Chang'an to Lingnan is far away, with Ye Feng's riding speed, half a month is enough for him to run back and forth, but it took him more than four months!

Gao Ming didn't think that Ye Feng would be a lazy person, so in other words, he did spend more than three months looking for rubber trees, but unfortunately he couldn't find them.

It can be seen that there are indeed no rubber trees in Datang at this time.

After getting this answer, Gao Ming did feel a little regretful, but he would not blame Ye Feng for this matter. After all, how could Ye Feng find something that does not exist?

So, when Ye Feng pleaded guilty to Gao Ming again because he didn't find the rubber, Gao Ming suddenly laughed.

"Ye Feng, I made a mistake in my judgment this time. There may not be rubber trees in Lingnan, so you don't have to blame yourself too much."

Hearing Gao Ming's words, Ye Feng showed a moved expression again, and he immediately clenched his fists at Gao Ming again.

"Thank you for your trust, Your Highness, but please give me some more time, Your Highness, I plan to take people to continue to search west, maybe..."

"no need!"

The origin of the rubber tree is South America, and even if Ye Feng goes further west, he will reach India at most, which is still a thousand miles away.

So before he finished speaking, Gao Ming smiled and waved to him.

"Since there are none in Lingnan, it's useless to go further west, so there's no need to look any further."

"Yes!"

Now that Gao Ming had spoken, Ye Feng could only nod in agreement, but at this moment he suddenly remembered something, and quickly took out a gray-brown ball from his arms and handed it to Gao Ming.

"Your Highness, this is what I found when I passed Jiangnan West Road when I came back. Although this tree is different from the rubber tree His Highness described, I found that there are similar rubber trees in its bark and roots. The rubber His Highness said!"

Hearing Ye Feng's words, Gao Ming immediately became interested.

"Something like rubber? Show me!"

"Yes!"

Gao Ming took the things from Ye Feng's hand and took a look, he couldn't help showing shock on his face.

"This is plastic? Impossible! How could there be such a thing in this era!"

At this moment, Gao Ming suddenly felt that his three views had been impacted, but he quickly restrained himself and forced himself to calm down.

"Calm... Calm... There can't be plastic in this era, this thing must be something else!"

Thinking of this, Gao Ming immediately turned his attention to Ye Feng.

"Ye Feng, you just said that this thing is obtained from the bark and roots, right? Then let me ask you, what kind of tree is this? How did you get this thing?"

Hearing Gao Ming's words, Ye Feng quickly saluted him.

"His Royal Highness, the name of this tree is Eucommia, and I took its bark and rhizomes and dried them in the sun, then ground them into powder, and then rinsed them with water to remove the sawdust, so I got this thing."

"Uh……"

But when Gao Ming heard Ye Feng say the word "Eucommia", he knew that this thing was Eucommia gum, and when he heard Ye Feng's method of obtaining Eucommia gum, he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Hahahaha, I can even figure out the grinding flotation method. It's not easy, not bad!"

Eucommia is called "Chinese rubber", and the composition of Eucommia gum is the same as that of rubber, but there are certain differences because of the different molecular composition.

Under low temperature conditions, the properties of Eucommia gum are more plastic, and at temperatures higher than [-] degrees, Eucommia gum has the same ductility as rubber. and rubber materials.

Gao Ming asked Ye Feng to look for rubber, but in fact he just wanted to use it to make carriage tires, but now Ye Feng found Eucommia gum, so Gao Ming can use the properties of Eucommia gum to make molds, and then use the molds to make high-precision machines.

Like a steam engine!
Gao Ming knew how important the steam engine was to improving Datang's national power. Among other things, as long as he could get the steam engine out, Gao Ming could build a steam engine ship, freeing Datang's ships from relying on wind and manpower.

As long as there is such a big ship, whether it is going to North America to find corn, South America to find potatoes, or conquer Southeast Asia to establish colonies, everything will be no problem!

But it is a pity that the technology of Datang is still not up to the level of making a steam engine, because the precision of the machine is not enough, and the airtightness and steam utilization rate are low. goods.

But with eucommia glue, it is different. Even if a substandard machine is produced, Gao Ming can use the stability, plasticity and memory of eucommia glue to correct it, and make the machine or accessory model he needs.

Next, use these accurate accessory models as samples, and use ceramics or fire-resistant clay to make corresponding molds. As long as you have these molds, Gao Ming will naturally be able to make high-precision machine accessories!
One is just a carriage tire that can provide a relatively comfortable ride, and the other is a high-precision machine mold that can enhance Datang's national strength. Comparing the two, it can be said that it is clear at a glance which one is more important.

So for Gao Ming now, the value of Eucommia gum is much higher than that of rubber.

Looking at the ball of Eucommia gum the size of a goose egg in his hand, Gao Ming's eyes were full of joy.

"It's really intentional to plant flowers and flowers, but unintentional to plant willows and willows to make shade. With this thing, the accuracy of the cylinder wall and piston ring of the steam engine will be no problem. What a eucommia, what a eucommia gum, hahahaha!"

Gao Ming laughed and patted Ye Feng on the shoulder.

"Ye Feng, you did a great job this time. I'm very satisfied. Tell me, what do you want? Even if it's a rare treasure, as long as you ask, I'll find a way to get it for you!"

Seeing Gao Ming's happy face, Ye Feng also knew that he had offered the right treasure, so he also grinned.

"His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, has praised you. This subordinate has received His Highness's kindness, and it is difficult to repay him in this life, but..."

Speaking of this, he secretly glanced at Yun Jin who was standing next to him, and then punched Gao Mingxing with a blushing face.

"This subordinate has the courage to implore His Highness the Crown Prince to grant this subordinate a place to live in. This subordinate wants to marry Yunjin as soon as possible, so please allow His Highness!"

After speaking, Ye Feng bowed to Gao Ming to the ground.

(End of this chapter)