Daming: Refining zombies at the beginning, Lao Zhu was shocked

Chapter 125 125: Who dares to snatch food from the King of Han’s mouth?

Time flies, and it’s ten days again!

Inside the Yingtianfu Imperial Palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao, father and son, were in the imperial study room looking at the memorials submitted from various places!

At this moment, Wang Chen came in a hurry and told Zhu Yuanzhang that Zhu Yue, the king of Han Dynasty, had sent something from Hanzhong, saying it was a gift to honor him!

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned when he heard this!

Even Zhu Biao, who had been burying his head, raised his head in surprise!

Did Lao Jiu give the old man a gift?

"Where's the stuff?"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked subconsciously, still complaining that Wang Chen was ignorant, why didn't he just take what Lao Jiu gave him?

He even wondered if Lao Jiu had also obtained something like a protective magical weapon, specially given to him as his father!

"Well... the square outside the palace is really too big, so there's no way to get it to the Imperial Study Room!"

Wang Chen said with an embarrassed smile.

"too big?"

"Let's go, Biao'er, come with us to have a look!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned when he heard this, and became even more curious. Before Zhu Biao could get up, he couldn't wait to walk out!

Seeing this, Zhu Biao quickly put down the memorial in his hand and followed!

The father and son came outside the temple and looked at the square. They saw a carriage parked in the middle of the square. Both of them had a look of surprise on their faces!

"Good fellow, no wonder you said the thing is too big. It turns out that what Lao Jiu gave you was a carriage?"

"But does he still need to send this thing specially from Hanzhong?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was a little confused, but he soon discovered something was wrong, that was the four big wheels under the carriage, which were dark in color and looked familiar!

After a while, Zhu Yuanzhang reacted!

Isn't this the rubber tire I saw in the simulator?

Zhu Yuanzhang's face suddenly became excited, and he trotted towards the carriage!

Zhu Biao looked puzzled, thinking that no matter how good the gift from Lao Jiu was, the old man wouldn't be so excited, would he?

Isn't it just a more luxurious-looking carriage?

"Rubber tires!"

"These are indeed rubber tires!"

Until he came to the carriage, looked at the dark rubber tire repeatedly, and pinched it several times with his hands, Zhu Yuanzhang finally confirmed that the material of this thing was rubber!

"Rubber tires?"

"Is this the rubber tire you mentioned before?"

When Zhu Biao heard this, he immediately reacted.

He had heard Zhu Yuanzhang mention it about rubber tires, but he had never seen the dream of a simulator, so he knew there was such a thing, but he didn't know what it looked like, or he had no idea at all!

Unexpectedly, the wheel made of dark material in front of me is actually a rubber tire!

"This carriage is so big, does it really only need two horses to pull it?"

At this time, Zhu Biao also noticed that there were only two horses in front of this huge luxury carriage, and he looked in disbelief!

You must know that the royal family has no shortage of large carriages, but the larger the carriage, the more horses it needs to pull!

According to Zhu Biao's knowledge, such a large carriage needs at least four horses to pull it. It is not surprising to use six horses!

"This is the benefit of rubber tires!"

"I didn't expect that Lao Jiu actually sent us a carriage with rubber tires!"

"Now, let's go on a tour to the West. We can just sit in this carriage!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was even more satisfied!

Originally, he was still struggling with what kind of carriage Lao Jiu would give him. This thing could be as luxurious as any in the palace, but he didn't expect such a surprise!

The emergence of rubber tires means that Laojiu has been able to start mass production!

Although I know the function of rubber tires, what I see from the simulator and what I experience in person are definitely two different things!

Especially the carriage in front of me looked very heavy. I didn't expect that it could be pulled by two horses!

Both Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao have a new understanding of the role of rubber tires and are more aware of the importance of rubber!

"This carriage carriage looks very luxurious, Lao Jiu is really interested in it!"

Zhu Biao couldn't help but sigh when he looked at this magnificent carriage, which was one foot wide and one and a half feet long.

"Biao'er, come up with us and have a look!"

Zhu Yuanzhang pulled Zhu Biao directly onto the luxurious carriage with a smile on his face!

Although the chassis of this carriage is relatively high, Zhu Yue thoughtfully designed a foldable three-step ladder at the front, so that even a child can easily climb up!

The father and son entered the carriage and couldn't help but be shocked again by the luxurious interior inside the carriage!

There is actually a large bed in this carriage, which can definitely sleep two people!

There are even tables and long chairs wrapped in soft cloth. It’s more like a small mobile house than a carriage!

Even the floor is paved with special tiles, which look high-end and classy!

The father and son struggled on the carriage for a while, and then got off the carriage with a smile.

Zhu Yuanzhang was even looking forward to riding this carriage to Hanzhong!

The weight of the entire luxury carriage, if it were replaced with wooden wheels, would probably be crushed directly!

Even if the horses were made of iron, they still couldn't pull it, but if they were replaced with rubber tires and ran on the cement road, two horses could pull it, and they would be able to walk on flat ground in an instant without any bumps!

However, if it is on the non-cement ordinary official road of Ming Dynasty, it may be a bit bumpy. Even if the bearings are treated with shock absorbers, after all, the official road is not as smooth as a cement road!

But using rubber tires and shock absorber springs will definitely be much better than wooden or iron wheels!

Zhu Yuanzhang can be said to be very satisfied with this!

Could it be that Lao Jiu sent it to him specially after knowing that he was going to Hanzhong?

It’s really thoughtful!

"Biao'er, father and son will go to the theater in this carriage today!"

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly had a whim, pulled Zhu Biao and said.

Today's Yingtian Mansion also has many opera troupes hired from Hanzhong with high salaries!

There are also opera tunes from Hanzhong, which are very enjoyable to listen to!

The most important thing is the novel drama scripts created by Lao Jiu. The plots are attractive enough!

"Dad, there are still many memorials that have not been dealt with!"

Zhu Biao was stunned when he heard this.

"It won't take more than a day and a half, we'll talk about it when we get back!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was in a good mood and didn't take it seriously at all!

Seeing that the old man was so interested, Zhu Biao couldn't help but smile and nodded in agreement.

Then the father and son changed into casual clothes and came back, boarded the luxurious carriage again and went directly out of the palace!

……

The residence of Duke Liang.

"Uncle, I heard that the recent theater troupes from Hanzhong are quite good. I just have free time today. Can we all go and listen to them?"

Chang Sheng ran over excitedly and extended an invitation to Lan Yu!

Lan Yu was discussing business matters in the northwest with Feng Sheng, Fu Youde and other nobles. When Chang Sheng said this, the group immediately became interested!

Just when a group of people decided to go together to listen to the show, the people below suddenly hurried over and whispered a few words into Lan Yu's ear. Lan Yu’s brows immediately frowned.

"Okay, no need to go!"

Lan Yu waved her hands to everyone!

"What's wrong, uncle? What happened?"

Chang Sheng asked without understanding.

"I just received news that the old man and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince have left the palace, saying they went to attend a play!"

Lan Yu smiled helplessly.

Hearing this, a group of Huaixi nobles looked at each other in shock!

It is really a rare thing for the emperor and the prince to run out of the palace to listen to the play!

They can't join in the fun at this time!

Although Zhu Yuanzhang must have known that they often went to the theater to entertain themselves, but if you went to the theater in front of Zhu Yuanzhang at this time, you are telling your boss that you are too busy to do anything but eat. Did you work?

As a result, a group of people could only return to the hall angrily.

"Let's continue talking about the rubber raw materials!"

Lan Yu waited until everyone sat down before speaking.

The reason why he found all these nobles was because of the rubber raw material!

"Rubber raw material?"

Chang Sheng asked in surprise.

"Don't you know yet?"

"The news came back from the northwest, saying that something called rubber tires appeared in Hanzhong, and after being installed on the carriage..."

Lan Yu directly explained the function of rubber tires to Chang Sheng.

Zhu Yue’s planting of rubber trees in Yunnan is actually no secret to them!

At first, they couldn't figure out the purpose of the tree called rubber planted by Zhu Quercus, the king of Han Dynasty, but now they seem to understand!

A raw material extracted from the rubber tree can actually be used to make rubber tires!

The people who have planted rubber trees in Yunnan are basically among the first batch to eat crabs and their mouths are full of oil!

Although Zhu Yue harvested a batch of rubber trees first, it did not treat the farmers badly and gave them very objective compensation!

"Can we also get a batch of rubber raw materials from Yunnan from those farmers?"

Fu Youde asked unexpectedly at this time.

The main reason is that Hanwang has started to make money by selling this rubber tire carriage, and he is still making a lot of money, so they are also jealous!

"Huh, don't think so!"

"Don't even think about it. Even if I give you the rubber raw materials, will you be able to refine the rubber?"

"Do you know how to make rubber tires?"

"So far, only Hanwang Zhu Li has such refining technology, so don't even think about it!"

When Feng Sheng heard this, he snorted disapprovingly.

Upon hearing this, several Huaixi nobles who were originally eager to give it a try were immediately discouraged!

"Actually, it's not impossible to cooperate with the King of Han!"

"At worst, the King of Han eats meat, so we should have no problem drinking some soup too!"

Lan Yu thought about it and spoke slowly.

It is definitely unrealistic to snatch food from Zhu Yue's mouth. In fact, Lan Yu has already seen through it!

Zhu Yue, the king of Han, has almost monopolized all high-profit industries, at least in the northwest!

They have thought about imitating refined salt, rubber, discolored ceramics, and the briquettes that were just invented not long ago, but they simply don’t have the ability!

As for wanting to get technical formulas from Hanzhong, that’s even more nonsense!

If you don't do it well, you will easily offend the King of Han, and the gain will outweigh the loss!

However, any one of these industries is enough to make everyone jealous, and the profits are quite high!

In fact, making money is secondary, the more important thing is monopoly!

Especially for refined salt, the future price and pricing of this product are all decided by the King of Han alone. Even the court must listen to the King of Han's opinion!

Who told this thing to be produced by someone else?

……

In the blink of an eye, it is already July, the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu!

Recently, the briquettes produced in the northwest have begun to be in short supply in the south!

Even Zhu Yuanzhang heard that many people in Yingtian Mansion were hoarding briquettes, planning to use them during the winter!

It's just that this briquette is good, but it has a price but no market. Basically, caravans transport it from the northwest, and it may be sold out on the same day. This also shows how popular this briquette is!

The main reason is that it is affordable and easy to use, and ordinary people can afford it!

"Dad, the briquettes made by Lao Jiu are really good!"

“The public is full of praise for briquettes, but it’s a pity that the production seems to have not kept up, and most people can’t buy it even if they want to!”

In the imperial study, Zhu Biao was also discussing with Zhu Yuanzhang about briquettes.

"Do you really think it's a production problem?"

"The reserves of briquettes are definitely no problem. The news has come back from Hanzhong. The biggest problem at the moment is actually the transportation problem!"

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he sighed helplessly.

Such a good thing, which benefits the country and the people, cannot be transported conveniently from Hanzhong to various places in the Ming Dynasty. This is the real crux!

"Transportation issue?"

Zhu Biao was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then he understood.

Indeed, although briquettes are cheap, they are not light!

How much can a carriage pull?

Moreover, it is a long journey, traveling through mountains and rivers, so transportation is definitely inconvenient!

Moreover, although the price of briquettes here in Yingtianfu is very cheap, it is still much more expensive than that in Hanzhong!

The main reason is that the transportation cost is relatively high!

"Biao'er, we plan to ask the Ministry of Household Affairs to allocate funds to build cement roads. At least we must build the cement road from Hanzhong to Yingtian first. What do you think?"

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly changed the subject and asked.

In fact, he had always considered building a cement road, but he just needed a suitable reason to bring it up!

Now is an excellent opportunity!

"It should cost a lot of money to build a cement road, right?"

"And things like cement were made by Lao Jiu. It seems that they can only be found in Hanzhong!"

When Zhu Biao heard this, he immediately understood what the old man meant, but at the same time he also frowned with concern!

This is indeed a good thing, but it is still quite difficult to really put it into operation!

(End of this chapter)