The Great Grandson of the Tang Dynasty: The beginning of the slaughter of General Tiance's mans

Chapter 280

The appearance of bicycles surprised many ministers.

Jia Xu and others tried riding Li Chengdao's bicycle one after another. Although they were not very skilled at the beginning, it was not troublesome to learn the bicycle and they quickly mastered how to use the bicycle.

In the courtyard outside the Imperial Study Room, Wei Zheng was riding his bicycle around, and his technique turned out to be quite proficient.

After a while, Wei Zheng stopped, raised his sleeves to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and said happily to Li Chengdao: "Your Majesty, this bicycle is very convenient. It is several times faster than walking, but not as fast as a carriage. bulky."

"I sincerely ask Your Majesty to give this bicycle to me so that I won't have to be late due to traffic jams in the future."

Hearing Wei Zheng's words, the other ministers were shocked.

"Master Wei is too cunning if he wants to monopolize the bicycle. My home is farthest from the palace, so this bicycle should be given to me."

Jia Xu said unceremoniously.

"Master Jia and Master Wei are wrong. I don't think it's appropriate to award this bicycle to anyone. It's better for everyone to take turns using it."

Changsun Wuji was not greedy and thought of a compromise.

"Meng Ziyun respects the old and loves the young. You are all young people, shouldn't you let me, an old man, give way?"

Wei Zheng actually relied on his old skills to grow old, and it seemed that he really liked this bicycle.

Seeing that the ministers were about to quarrel, Li Chengdao stood up in time and said: "Stop arguing, I will reward each of you with a car."

"Besides, isn't there a supervisor from the Metallurgical Manufacturing Bureau here? Why do you insist on fighting for my bicycle?"

Li Chengdao said angrily.

The ministers suddenly woke up, and then they all looked at Xu Mo and others aside.

That's right, aren't there people from the Metallurgical Bureau here? Just ask them to build one!

"Haha, Mr. Xu, we have known each other for a long time. Do you think you should help me build one first? The price is easy to negotiate."

Du Ruhui put his arm around Xu Mo's shoulders and said with a smile.

Jia Xu and others also gathered around, causing Xu Mo to sweat profusely and feel a little at a loss.

These are all important officials of the central government, and now they are all gathered around to ask him to be a small supervisor. It is really...

"Please rest assured, adults, we have already made the template for this bicycle. Except for polishing the parts that need to be made by hand, it does not take much time to build a bicycle. Within ten days, I guarantee that I will build one for all of you."

Xu Mo opened his mouth and promised.

The ministers were immediately overjoyed when they heard this, and their attitude towards Xu Mo became even more enthusiastic.

I didn’t expect that the Smelting Bureau was also very useful.

……

Ten days passed quickly, and Xu Mo allocated a bicycle to Jia Xu and other ministers as agreed.Ever since, a strange scene appeared on the streets of Guandao in Chang'an City, where horse-drawn carriages were crowded every morning and evening.

When encountering traffic jams, central officials such as the Secretary of the Central Committee, the Minister of the Secretariat, the Secretary of the Secretariat, the Minister of the Secretariat, etc., calmly took out a two-wheeled vehicle from the carriage, then got out of the car and rode. gone.

Such a scene immediately attracted the attention of countless people in Chang'an City and officials in the DPRK.

What on earth are these adults riding?
After some in-depth understanding and inquiry, the secret was finally revealed.

The two-wheeled bicycle is a means of transportation invented today. It is called a bicycle. It can be pulled without a horse and can be ridden anytime and anywhere.

As soon as this discovery was disclosed, it set off a wave of bicycle craze, and countless officials approached the Metallurgical and Manufacturing Bureau to buy such bicycles.

Not only officials from the DPRK and China, but also many scholars and dignitaries in Chang'an City also used various methods to purchase bicycles.

After Li Chengdao learned about it, he did not prohibit external sales. Instead, he encouraged it very much and asked the Smelting Bureau to price a piece at 500 taels of silver to enrich the internal treasury.

A bicycle costing 500 taels is indeed extremely expensive, but what rich people lack most is money. So what does 500 taels mean?
Even today, all the important officials in the central government ride bicycles. It would be a shame if they still travel by horse-drawn carriages.

This is a matter of status and face!

Therefore, in just one month, more than 100 bicycles were sold, and there are still orders for more than 600 bicycles to be completed.

Once all is completed, Li Chengdao can earn more than [-] taels of silver just by selling bicycles. Nothing can make money faster than this.

Then the travel patterns of wealthy people in Chang'an changed a lot.

In the past, when dignitaries traveled, they would make their carriages or sedans as luxurious as possible to show their status.

Now, if you see someone traveling in a luxury carriage or sedan, others will just sneer, "bumpkin" and then ride away slowly on a bicycle.

Suddenly, the traffic congestion in Chang'an City was alleviated a lot because of the appearance of bicycles. Except for the carriages carrying goods from caravans, there were very few luxury private carriages on the road. On the contrary, there were many people riding bicycles.

Taking this opportunity, Li Chengdao also saw business opportunities and ordered the establishment of a Datang Department Store in the city.

The Household Department is responsible for the operation, and is responsible for selling all kinds of miscellaneous things and some novelties developed by the Smelting Bureau.

There is no way, the emperor is also short of money.

No matter how much tax is collected every year, it will eventually go back to the national treasury. The emperor is nominally wealthy, but the only money he can use at will is the money in his own treasury.

Now the internal treasury still needs to support the operation and development of the Smelting Bureau. If he doesn't find a way to make money, his small treasury will soon be empty.

A dignified emperor is actually short of money. No one would believe him if he told him, but this is actually a fact.

It's a bit sad indeed.

……

The bicycle and department store incident was just a small episode. Not long after, a major event that really affected Li Chengdao happened.

That is... Taishan Fengchan!
(End of this chapter)