Prince of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 618 Train (Part [-])
When Li Shiminda came to the Ministry of Military Industry, he just entered the production workshop when a huge steam locomotive caught his eyes.

The locomotive of this steam locomotive is so big, it is several times bigger than the Beetle steam tank he got from Gao Ming!
What caught his attention the most was that on the front of the steam engine, there was a copper dragon-shaped sculpture, and there were several large characters printed under the sculpture - "Royal Train of the Tang Dynasty".

Seeing these words, Li Shimin frowned immediately.

"This is the so-called train? Why does it look like a steam tank?"

"Haha, their essence is actually the same!"

Hearing Li Shimin talking to himself, Gao Ming, who was holding a blueprint in his hand, walked towards him while smiling.

"Old man, why did you suddenly think of coming here?"

"Hmph, can I come if you can come?"

Li Shimin snorted softly, then pointed to the huge steam locomotive in front of him.

"Is this the train you mentioned? With such a thing, you can go to Luoyang in one day?"

"It's not a day to Luoyang, it's an hour to Luoyang!"

As soon as Li Shimin finished speaking, Gao Ming immediately corrected him, "Even if you go to Taiyuan, if you don't stop halfway, it will only take a little more than half a day!"

"..."

Seeing Gao Ming's serious face, Li Shimin didn't speak immediately, but frowned.

After about tens of seconds, he looked at Gao Ming again.

"What are you going to do?"

Hearing Li Shimin's question, the corners of Gao Ming's mouth immediately turned up. He smiled and handed over the blueprint in his hand.

"Look, the answer is here!"

"Ok?"

Looking at the blueprint he handed over, Li Shimin immediately took it over, looking at the contents inside, he frowned again.

"Why lay the ladder on the ground? Do trains run on ladders?"

"Hahahaha!"

Hearing Li Shimin's words, Gao Ming couldn't help laughing and waved his hands at the same time.

"Old man, this is not a ladder. This is a road specially built for the train to walk on. It is called the 'rail'. Only on this rail can the train show its true speed!"

"rail?"

After listening to Gao Ming's explanation, Li Shimin looked carefully at the content on the blueprint again, and then a look of enlightenment appeared on his face.

"I just remembered that when I came back from Longyou, I went to Taiyuan for a while, and I found that the iron-making blast furnaces of the Wang family made huge iron bars, which were used to make Is this the so-called railroad track?"

"Yes, you guessed it right, exactly!"

Seeing that Li Shimin guessed it, Gao Ming no longer concealed it, and nodded immediately.

"Actually, I have been planning to build a train since two years... no, it should be said that three years ago, but because the output of iron is not enough, I have not started it, but now I have saved for three years, paving the way for the railway from Chang'an to Taiyuan. It should be enough!"

Having said that, Gao Ming immediately clenched his fist, showing excitement on his face.

"The construction of the railway from Chang'an to Taiyuan is only the first step. The next step is the railway from Taiyuan to Andong Duhufu. There is the largest iron mine in Datang. As long as the railway is built there, we can get a lot of iron. , then the construction speed of the Datang Railway will be several times faster!"

Seeing Gao Ming's excited face, Li Shimin didn't have much sympathy. He raised his eyebrows and returned the blueprint to Gao Ming.

"Then I'm waiting for your good news!"

After speaking, he left with his hands behind his back.

Although Li Shimin didn't say it clearly, his thinking was more or less understandable, and he knew that he had doubts about the train, but he didn't say it directly.

From Gao Ming's point of view, Li Shimin's attitude is already very satisfactory.

Because for him, he already knows how to do things, and he doesn't need Li Shimin's help, as long as the other party doesn't stop and make trouble, it is the greatest support.

In fact, Gao Ming didn't know that during the time he left the court, there were already many references to him, the most important of which was that he and the Taiyuan Wang clan hoarded a large amount of iron.

You must know that in the Tang Dynasty, salt, iron, and tea were all controlled products, and hoarding in large quantities violated the laws of the Tang Dynasty.

If another prince did this, Li Shimin would definitely take care of it, and would probably punish him.

But now that this person is clever, he has adopted a tacit attitude, which makes many ministers feel incredible.

But these clever people didn't know it at all, or he didn't have time to care about it at all, because at this time his mind was completely on the train.

……

Three months passed quickly, and Gao Ming's long-planned railway track was finally laid.

This railway starts from Chang'an in the east, passes through Luoyang, and ends in Taiyuan. There are only three stations, and there are no stops in other places.

With the efforts of Gao Ming and hundreds of craftsmen, when the track was laid, a train nearly 4 meters high and over 40 meters long appeared in front of tens of thousands of people and civil and military officials in Chang'an.

Seeing this gigantic monster lying quietly on the railroad track, its whole body painted green, whether it was Li Shimin or the civil and military officials following him, all their eyes widened, their faces were full of shock, and they let out a burst of shock from time to time. voice.

Seeing this scene, the corners of Gao Ming's mouth immediately turned up.

"Are you dumbfounded? A bunch of bumpkins!"

Of course, he just thought about these words in his heart, and on the surface he still had a bright and generous look.

When everyone's exclamations gradually stopped, he clasped his fists at Li Shimin and all the civil and military officials present.

"Father, and all the ministers of the Great Tang Dynasty, today is the first departure of my Great Tang Royal Train, thank you for coming to watch the ceremony!"

Having said that, Gao Ming arched his hands towards the people around him again, then put his hands down, and continued to speak.

"This train departs from Chang'an at Maoshi, arrives in Luoyang before Shenshi, stays in Luoyang for half an hour, departs from Luoyang to Taiyuan at Shenshi four quarters, arrives at Haishi, then stays in Taiyuan for four hours, and returns to Chang'an at Maoshi the next day."

"What? It only takes one day from Chang'an to Taiyuan?"

As soon as Gao Ming finished speaking, the surrounding ministers began to discuss.

"No, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said, the car departs at Maoshi and arrives at Haishi, which is eight hours!"

"No, no, just now His Royal Highness said that he arrived in Luoyang in the middle and stayed in Luoyang for half an hour, so it was seven and a half hours."

"Seven and a half hours? Impossible, impossible. Even if we speed up and change horses halfway, it will take five or six days to travel from Chang'an to Taiyuan. It is absolutely impossible to arrive in seven and a half hours!"

"It's just..."

Hearing the ministers' comments, Gao Ming didn't argue, just smiled and climbed onto the train, and at the same time opened his mouth again.

"It's almost time, and the train is about to leave. Because it is the first time to open the train, the ride is free this time. It's a rare opportunity. Please hurry up and get on the train."

"Okay, I'm coming!"

As soon as Gao Ming finished speaking, Cheng Yaojin, who was dressed in a black soap robe, came up.

He jumped onto the top of the locomotive in one leap, and then held the train chimney with one hand and put his other hand on his hip, all the while laughing.

"Hahahaha, this train station is indeed much more comfortable than a carriage, but it is not flat enough to sit on. Your Majesty, can you give me a horse stool? Or a cushion, how about it?"

clever:"……"

(End of this chapter)