Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Chapter 675 Water Ship

Fang Xiangsi.

"Yes, just this position, a little further to the left, align, don't you understand what alignment is?" An Wuniang stood below, loudly commanding her husband to watch the grave bearer Chen Qi hang peach charms, according to the custom of the Tang Dynasty at that time Every year when bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new, the names of the two gods "Shen Tu" and "Yulei" are written on peach boards and hung by the door to pray for blessings, eliminate disasters, drive away evil spirits, and ensure everything goes well in the coming year.

Chen Qi struggled on the ladder for a long time before An Wuniang was satisfied. He rubbed his sore shoulders and said with a wry smile: "It's so serious to hang a peach charm. If I had known, I would have asked you to hang it. I will direct it from below." Got it!"

"A woman has to do this kind of thing!" An Wuniang snorted coldly: "Then why should I marry you?"

Chen Qi laughed twice and got off the ladder. Just as he was about to tell a joke to lighten the atmosphere, a neighbor ran up not far away and shouted to An Wuniang: "Wuniang, why are you still here? The emperor is going to do it this afternoon." I am coming to Changlepo to have fun with the people, and I heard that I will also use money and silk to reward the elders of Chang'an!"

"Really or not?" An Wuniang perked up. No wonder she was like this. Like the residents of other capitals of ancient empires, the living standards of the people in Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty were much higher than the average. Except for the capital itself, In addition to various economic advantages, the emperor himself invested a lot of money and food in order to build the glory of the empire. On various festivals every year, the emperor would hold various celebrations, and even personally participate in and reward officials and other wealthy officials. People tend to follow suit.These huge wealth will eventually flow into the pockets of the residents of Chang'an.

"What's true or false? Wu Niang, are you going or not? If you don't leave now, it's too late!" the neighbor urged.

"I want to go too, but this store is occupied and I can't leave!"

"I'll just let Chen Qi stand up to you for a long time!" The neighbor pointed at Chen Qi next to him.

"Him? I'm afraid it won't work, right?" An Wuniang said with a bitter smile.

"What's wrong? You and I will definitely be back in the evening. Most of your wine shop's business is at night, and not many people come during the day. Chen Qi can just sit behind the counter. He doesn't know how to do this? What if he wins the emperor? A piece of Sichuan brocade is enough for you to sell rabbit meat for half a month!"

The neighbor's last words played a decisive role. An Wuniang paused and said, "Wait for me for a moment. I'll go in and change clothes!"

After that, An Wuniang entered the store. While changing her clothes, she said to Chen Qi: "I have to go out for some things and won't come back until tonight. You can stay in the store for me for a long time and don't make any mistakes!"

"Ah! What about the cemetery? Besides, I don't know how to settle accounts!"

"What does it matter if we miss half a day at the cemetery? Can the dead crawl out of the ground? As for settling the accounts, you can leave it to me to settle the accounts!" An Wuniang moved very neatly and changed out of her clothes in a few clicks. , grabbed her husband's hand before going out: "Haosheng looks after the store. When I receive the emperor's reward tonight, I will open the bottle of wine under the counter, and we will drink fried rabbit meat!" After saying that, he rushed like a whirlwind. Go out.

After leaving the house, An Wuniang and her neighbor walked all the way to Changlepo in a hurry. There were more and more people along the way. This also proved that what the neighbor just said was true. By the time they were approaching Changlepo, they were already crowded. Rubbing his heels, it was so full that An Wuniang had no choice but to choose a stone by the roadside and sit down, looking forward to the next show.

Of course, Changlepo on the New Year's Day in 672 AD was far from what it was in its heyday during the Tianbao period. The Guangyun Lake, which was passed down to later generations, had to wait for the Shaanzhou governor and land and water transfer envoy Wei Jian to dig it out in the first year of Tianbao.However, the Weihe River has formed a large meander in the local area. The water surface is wide and the water speed has slowed down a lot. It is a natural port.Many cannon ships were also anchored here. After Wang Wenzuo appointed Ijilianbode as deputy envoy for water and land transportation, he tidied up the place. He took advantage of the low water in autumn and winter to dig out mud, planted willows along the coast, and built more than ten rivers. The trestle has already regained its appearance during the Tianbao period.

The Emperor's ceremonial guard arrived in the afternoon, which immediately aroused cheers on the river bank. When the Emperor's ceremonial guard approached, the officials and people along the way knelt down one after another, while the palace maids on both sides of the ceremonial guard threw copper coins and other objects to pedestrians on the roadside, causing a wave of cheers. There was even more enthusiastic cheers.

"Seeing this scene, I guess Mr. Liu Shilang's face turned dark, right?" Li Suwen said with a smile in the carriage.

"Stop talking nonsense!" Li Xiayu scolded: "Liu Shilang is doing this for national holidays, how can you make fun of him?"

"Are you kidding? It's such a big holiday, but my sister is still so boring!" Li Suwen pouted and looked out the window: "By the way, where is the general? Why didn't you see him?"

"It should be over there with the emperor's dragon chariot!" Li Xiayu said: "According to his duties, he is also in charge of the ceremonial guards!"

"Don't even come here, it's so boring!" Li Suwen shook her upper body in disappointment.

"Just sit still!" Li Xiayu shouted: "This is in full view of everyone!"

"Okay!" Li Suwen sighed: "But the eyes of the people must be on the emperor's dragon chariot, and no one is probably looking at us!"

"Then you have to look good. This is Chang'an, not Nambajin. We must leave a good reputation to the people of Chang'an, otherwise it will be very troublesome in the future!"

"It's troublesome? What do you mean?" Li Suwen asked.

Li Xiayu glanced at his sister, but did not answer immediately. He seemed to be debating whether to tell her sister. Li Suwen saw her sister's thoughts, grabbed Li Xiayu's arm, and said coquettishly: "Sister, tell me! I will definitely I won’t tell anyone, good sister!”

"Well, you have to know sooner or later anyway!" Li Xiayu sighed: "I received a letter a few days ago from Japan!"

"From Japan? Whose letter is this?"

"Zen Master Huicong!" Li Xiayu whispered: "The letter said that not only Liaodong and Silla, but also the situation in Japan is also very tense. There have been four chaos in the country this year. If possible-" She slightly After a pause: "He hopes that I can return to Japan!"

“Even Japan—?”

"Yeah! He also said that Yanliang misses me very much!"

"Then sister, your plan is-"

"If there is a chance, I would like to discuss it with the general!" Li Xiayu sighed: "After all, we are in Chang'an, so we can't help much. Instead, we have caused a lot of trouble!" "So sister, you want to go back? "

"It's not that I want to go back, but Yanliang needs me to go back!"

Li Suwen didn't speak. She could feel the strong emotion in her sister's words. Li Xiayu was already over thirty, but had never been married and had no children. He devoted all his feelings to Yanliang, and Yanliang's biological mother was with him. He passed away just after he was born, and his father Wang Wenzuo traveled all over the world and had no time to accompany him as he grew up. Only Li Xiayu loved him since he was a child, treated him as his own child, and grew up with him.In the final analysis, this person, who is regarded by the Japanese as the only bloodline of Amaterasu and the main god of the country, the living god, and the foundation of the Yamato country, is just an ordinary child in Li Xiayu's eyes.

"What about me?" Li Suwen whispered.

"It depends on yourself!" Li Xiayu said with a smile: "I went back for Yanliang. If you want to stay in Chang'an, then stay here. After all, this is your hometown!"

A burst of cheers on the long embankment interrupted the conversation in the carriage. The two looked out the window and saw two long and narrow boats appearing on the Wei River. They had no sails or oars, but they could
The ability to advance and retreat freely caused the people on the shore to exclaim in surprise.

"Aye, grandma, look, this is the waterwheel that Sanlang said!" In the dragon chariot, Li Hong's face turned red: "He also said that with this kind of waterwheel, you can go upstream and pass directly through the waterway. From the river to Wei, the canal boats go directly to Chang'an. The amount of grain transported into Chang'an every year can increase several times, and we no longer need to go to Luoyang to get grain!"

"Hey, are you really without sails and oars?" Li Zhi narrowed his eyes, which were a little dazzled: "Awu, look at it for me!"

"It is true that there are no sails or oars, but there are two wheels on each side of the ship's side, which seem to be rotating!" Empress Wu was also intrigued by the new things on the river: "Is this what the ship relies on to advance and retreat?"

"Yes! It's based on this!" Li Hong said with a smile: "This ship was built in the shipyard in Luoyang, and then passed along the Yellow River through the mainstay, went upstream directly into the Wei River, and entered the Guanzhong to reach Chang'an! As for how the ship came back Saburo talked about it for a long time, but I still didn’t understand it!"

"It's not surprising, he was very good at this kind of craftsmanship before. I remember that he made many siege weapons when he was in Baekje!" Li Zhi smiled and said: "Hong'er, please let the ship dock, as a father I want to see it with my own eyes!”

"Yes!" Li Hong responded, stretched out his hand to call Wang Wenzuo who was beside the dragon chariot, and gave a few instructions. Wang Wenzuo ordered the brass horn to be blown, and soon the two speedboats approached the trestle on the shore. Li Zhi and his party went out After getting off the dragon chariot, we came to the trestle. After a closer look, we found that the boat was no different from ordinary boats, except that one had two water wheels on each side, and the other had a pair of stern wheels at the stern.

"Did you build this boat, Sanlang?" Li Zhi pointed to the boat on the shore and asked, "Why are the two boats different?"

"Report to His Majesty the Supreme Emperor!" Wang Wenzuo bowed and said: "This ship was built by the craftsmen led by Iji Lianbode, the Deputy Envoy of Water and Land Transportation under my subordinates. I just put forward an idea. The one who turned it into a ship was I dare not take credit for the hard work of the craftsmen and take it as my own. As for the difference between the two boats, that is because the boats have just been built, and it is not yet sure where the water wheel is better installed, so we build one each first. , wait until you determine the pros and cons before making a decision!"

"Well! Which one is better?" Li Zhi asked with interest.

"Each has its own advantages! The one installed on the side to increase the width of the ship is beneficial to the transverse stability. It is less likely to roll over when encountering wind and waves, but it is difficult to maintain the course in wind and waves. If it is in a narrow waterway, it is easy to hit the shore; while the one installed on the stern Wheels are suitable for narrow channels, but tend to roll over.”

"Well! Wait for us to get on the boat and have a look!" Li Zhi nodded. Wang Wenzuo hurriedly asked his subordinates to put down the gangplank. Li Hong personally helped Li Zhi board the ship. Li Zhi carefully looked at the structure of the water wheel on the side of the ship. Each water wheel is driven by a long shaft, and there are six pairs of pedals on the long shaft, which are stepped on by sailors. Li Zhi even stepped on it twice with great interest, and said with a smile: "Not bad, not bad, this is true." It’s much more labor-saving than paddling, hey! Why aren’t the blades of your water wheel fixed?”

"Because this saves a lot of effort!" Wang Wenzuo said: "Your Majesty, when the paddles of the water wheel rotate, they will beat the water when entering the water; when they come out of the water, some of the water will be brought out of the water. This will consume the sailor's physical strength, but it cannot To push the ship; so I asked the craftsmen to use hinges to fix the blades, so that the angle of the blades will deflect when entering and exiting the water, saving a lot of sailor's energy!"

Everyone present seemed to understand these words, and Li Zhi was embarrassed to continue asking, so he nodded and complimented him casually. He walked around the boat again and found that the cabin at the bottom was partitioned with thin wooden boards. He looked at the squares one by one and asked, "This should be used to store grain, right? Why are they separated like this?"

"His Majesty the Emperor doesn't know. The most fearful thing for a tank boat on the river is to encounter a crosswind, because that will cause the boat to tilt to one side, and the food in the bottom tank is like water. If the boat tilts, it will slide to that side, causing the boat to tilt. It tilted more and more, and finally it rolled over and sank, so I built these squares in the bottom of the ship so that even if the ship tilted, the grain in the warehouse would not slide to the side, preventing the ship from rolling over!"

This time, Li Zhi understood. He raised his hands and said with a smile: "Yes, yes, that's true. Sanlang really has some ingenuity! If this continues, I won't need to go to Luoyang every year to get food!"

"Yes, His Majesty the Supreme Emperor!" Wang Wenzuo responded: "I think it is not just a matter of food. In the future, water transportation will develop and merchants from all over the country will be able to travel, and the people will also benefit greatly!"

"Well, Hong'er!"

"The child is here!" Li Hong responded quickly.

"My Tang Dynasty will reward you for your merits. Sanlang has made great achievements. How do you plan to reward him?"

"This old guy really knows how to do favors! Damn it, do you need to remind me that your son is getting promoted?"

When Wang Wenzuo heard this, he subconsciously turned his eyes to Li Hong. As expected, he saw an embarrassed expression on the emperor's face. After a moment, Li Hong coughed: "What the Supreme Emperor said is that Wang Wenzuo will be rewarded with a thousand pieces of silk for his merit in organizing the canal transport. Add an official position to assist the country’s general!”

"Thank you for the reward, Your Majesty. I am ashamed to deserve it!" Wang Wenzuo hurriedly knelt down and bowed down. The general of the auxiliary country was the first rank of Tang Wu's casual officials, and he was already the second rank. For Wang Wenzuo, it was nothing more than a salary increase, and it had little practical significance: "However, the construction of a new type of canal was mainly the work of my subordinate, Deputy Envoy of Land and Water Transport Igilianbode. I dare not take credit for it and take it for myself!"

"Then let him be promoted to the position of governor of Shaanzhou and land and water transport envoy!" Li Hong knew Wang Wenzuo's intention very well and agreed happily.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Wang Wenzuo hurriedly bowed down again.

"Looking at his name, this person is not from the Tang Dynasty?" Empress Wu finally spoke.

"What the Supreme Empress said is that this person is originally a Japanese. He came to our country as an envoy from the Tang Dynasty. Later he worked under his subordinates and accumulated merits even today!"

(End of this chapter)