Datang: What's wrong with my fief being a billion points larger?

"I'm finally back."

Outside Haikang City, Li Yuanji looked at the city in front of him and sighed in his heart.

This trip to Tubo lasted for more than a year. That was because he was vigorously developing infrastructure and the road construction was going well, otherwise it would have taken even longer.

At the foot of Haikang City, Cen Benwen and his group were waiting for Li Yuanji's arrival.

Seeing this, Li Yuanji slowly walked over.

When they came closer, Cen Wenben and others greeted them one after another.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, on your victorious return!"

"Congratulations to the King!"

Li Yuanji looked at Cen Wenben and others in front of him with a smile on his face.

"Everyone, stand up. This great victory is not achieved by me alone. It is inseparable from the soldiers fighting hard in the front, and also from your support in the back."

Everyone was delighted and welcomed Li Yuanji into the city.

Inside the palace, a celebration banquet had already been set up. The banquet lasted for several hours and finally ended.

Li Yuanji returned to the harem and saw Yang Qingwan dressing up and waiting for him, so he went up to her and gave her a hug.

The next morning, Li Yuanji watched Yang Qingwan bring him breakfast with a smile on his face.

"Oh, I haven't eaten the food made by my wife for so long. I miss it so much."

Li Yuanji took it and started eating it directly, while Yang Qingwan watched quietly at the side.

"Eat slowly, there's more."

When they had almost finished eating, Li Yuanji put down his bowl and chopsticks. After the maid left, Li Yuanji slowly spoke.

"Did anything happen while I was away?"

Since he came back, Li Yuanji has no idea what happened here.

During marches and battles, except for extremely urgent matters, nothing would be passed on to him, so as not to affect his thinking and thus the battle situation.

Basically, everything that happened during this period will be archived by Cen Wenben and others, and he can look at it after he starts handling government affairs, mainly to see if there are any modifications to the replies made by Cen Wenben and others, and to have a basic understanding for himself.

After hearing this, Yang Qingwan became serious and spoke slowly.

"Something big did happen, Cen Wenben and others came to ask me about it.

Last year, there was a locust plague in the Guanlong area of ​​the Tang Dynasty, and floods occurred in many places in the south. In addition, we purchased a lot of grain. Now the Tang Dynasty is short of grain and wants to buy some from us.

During that period, we were also short of basic supplies. After discussing with Cen Wenben and others, we sold some to Datang at three times the original purchase price in exchange for the supplies we needed.

However, the amount of grain sold was relatively small and still not enough for the Tang Dynasty to overcome the difficulties.

Now that my husband is back, I think there will be more people coming from the Tang Dynasty."

"There is one more thing. There is news from the Research Institute that the steam principle technology that my husband gave them at the beginning seems to have made a breakthrough and has been successfully tested before.

After nearly two years of experimentation, we have manufactured a steam boiler that can drive axle wheels. We are currently experimenting with using steam boilers to replace horse-drawn carts.

When Li Yuanji heard this, he looked at Yang Qingwan with wide eyes and then stood up.

"I'll go take a look first."

After Li Yuanji finished speaking, he hurried outside. Yang Qingwan looked at Li Yuanji's back, stunned for a moment, and then smiled.

As soon as Li Yuanji walked out, he saw Cen Wenben walking towards him, but Li Yuanji still did not stop.

"Jingren, we can talk later if you have anything to say. I have to go to the research institute first."

Cen Wenben watched Li Yuanji walk over in such a hurry and didn't react for a moment. He looked at the seal in his hand, then looked at Li Yuanji, and then followed Li Yuanji's footsteps.

"Your Majesty, wait for me. I will go and take a look too."

Li Yuanji rushed all the way to the research institute and walked straight inside.

"Where is Duan Shilin? Where is he?"

After searching for a while, he found out that Duan Shilin was at the testing site, so he rushed over.

When he arrived at the testing site, he saw a scene that shocked him.

At the test site, I saw a four-wheeled car moving slowly under a boiler from which steam was constantly coming out. However, this car only had a frame, and it started moving forward through roller skates and gears driving the wheels.

This car seemed unable to turn and could only drive straight and slowly. After going for a distance, someone pulled a lever, and the gears slowly stopped turning. The iron sheet next to the roller skates intervened and began to slow down its forward speed.

Several other people opened the iron furnace and took out the burning coal inside. At the same time, the valve above was opened upwards, and no longer supplied energy to the car.

Li Yuanji was stunned when he saw this scene. He became more and more surprised and his face flushed slightly.

Li Yuanji really didn't expect that even though he had spent more than two years studying the principles and technology of steam and had explained a lot about the applications of steam to people at the research institute, he was mentally prepared that it would take three to five years for a breakthrough to happen.

As a result, in just the past two years, the research institute has made such a breakthrough. Although it is still in its infancy, with this breakthrough in application, how far will his long-cherished dreams of cars, trucks, trains, and even armored warships be?
Moreover, the application of steam technology is not limited to these. It will involve all aspects of the industry. As long as steam is successfully applied, earth-shaking changes will take place here.

Cen Wenben and Yang Jianhe, who were standing by and watching this scene, were extremely shocked. They were stunned and stared in shock at what was happening before their eyes.

Even Cen Wenben knew that the research institute was conducting experiments, but he really didn't know these.

The confidentiality level of this research institute is comparable to that of the Firearms Bureau, or even higher. Even if Cen Wenben wants to come, he must get Li Yuanji's consent when Li Yuanji is present, and he must get Yang Qingwan's consent before he can enter when Li Yuanji is not present.

On weekdays, he would prepare and allocate whatever the research institute needed based on the institute's need list. He had no authority to interfere in any matters concerning the research institute.

The Research Institute is directly responsible to and connected with Li Yuanji. Unlike the Firearms Bureau, Cen Wenben has certain coordination rights over the Firearms Bureau, but he has none over the Research Institute.

This is also why Cen Wenben knew that the research institute was conducting experiments, but he had no idea what they were specifically because he really didn't know.

The scene he saw now completely overturned Cen Wenben's cognition. Without any livestock or people pulling it in front, the car was actually moving forward. Although the speed was relatively slow and could not even match the speed of running, it was still shocking enough.

Cen Wenben could see that even with the weight of the iron pusher on the frame, the vehicle could still maintain this speed, which was beyond his understanding.

Cen Wenben slowly came back to his senses, and looked at Li Yuanji with a look of fiery admiration. Even though the scene before him was created by the Research Institute, it was Li Yuanji who proposed this theory and principle. It can be said that Li Yuanji is an absolute pioneer, otherwise who could have thought of this.

Thinking about everything Li Yuanji had done, including this steam iron furnace, Cen Wenben really couldn't think of anything else that Li Yuanji couldn't do.

At this time, Duan Shilin and others saw that the experiment was successful, and when they came to their senses and cheered, they also discovered the arrival of Li Yuanji.

"Your Majesty?"

"See you, Your Majesty."

Li Yuanji watched Duan Shilin and others come up to him and salute, and quickly helped Duan Shilin up.

"Shilin, you did a great job. Not only did you develop the steam engine, you have also started using it. Not bad, very good!"

Li Yuanji was filled with excitement; he had been waiting for this day for a long time.

Although these can actually be exchanged through the system, too many contribution points are required to exchange them through the system, at least more than 500,000, and Li Yuanji is helpless.

However, he was given such a surprise that Li Yuanji was really excited. Only then did he sigh that these people were really smart. No one had thought about these aspects before. He provided a principle and some directions of explanation, and they directly made it through repeated experiments.

Li Yuanji could only say, it’s so horrible!

Duan Shilin was very excited when he heard Li Yuanji's words.

"Your Majesty, we have lived up to your trust and have now officially made this steam engine. However, there are still many areas that need to be improved. Please give us some time. We will definitely be able to do better!"

Duan Shilin and others were also extremely happy. Such a steam engine that exceeded their previous knowledge was made by their own hands. Such a thing that would be remembered for thousands of years, how could they not be excited.

Just by relying on this steam engine, each of them will definitely leave a deep mark in history books. Although the main ideas and directions were given to them by Li Yuanji, it was they who made it.

After more than five hundred days and nights, they finally achieved results. This steam engine represents all their hard work.

"Haha, you have done a great job. This king will not forget you, and the people of the world will not forget you, and future generations will definitely not forget you! What you are doing now is for the benefit of future generations, and it is worthy of praise!"

After encouraging Duan Shilin and others, Li Yuanji came to the steam car that only had a frame. Looking at the car body connected by pipes, his eyes were full of heat.

After looking for a while, Li Yuanji immediately looked at Duan Shilin.

"This is well done. Next, you will focus on how to increase the power of the steam engine. At the same time, you can try to arrange the frame on the chassis of the car, and then cover the car with a layer of iron.

And several seats are reserved on the chassis. Here, on the front left side, a steering wheel is set up to rotate the wheels below. By turning the steering wheel, the trajectory of the wheels can be changed.

At the same time, the pull rod that can stop the car is changed into a pedal at the foot position. Just step on it with your foot and the car will stop slowly.

Once such a car is made, people will be able to sit in the car and drive on the road through the operation of the steam engine.

From now on, we will no longer need horses to pull us, and we can go anywhere.

You can try this direction.”

After hearing this, Duan Shilin smiled.

"Your Majesty, I have actually thought about this before. When we first started testing, we followed what Your Majesty told us. We wanted to test it with the existing carriage, but the two wheels could not be fixed, and the added rollers, gears, pipes, and even the main body of the steam engine were difficult to put down.

Eventually we discovered that with four wheels, we originally used wooden axles, but their bearing capacity was limited, especially when the vehicle stopped, the wooden axles could hardly bear the weight, so we then used iron axles.

As for these four wheels, they are now made of a mixture of wood and iron. Later we will start to develop the tires that the king mentioned, and then install them on these wheels. At the same time, we are also preparing to use iron wheels, as wooden wheels are still not suitable for bearing this weight.

As for the future, we have all thought about making it like a horse-drawn carriage, with people sitting inside and controlling the forward, backward, turning, etc. We will gradually make it happen later.

Now that the king has mentioned it, I know that we are right. We will speed up the process later."

Li Yuanji's face was full of relief. Duan Shilin and others gave him a little shock again. He really didn't expect that Duan Shilin and others had thought of this.

Then they felt relieved after a moment. After studying for so long and inventing the steam engine, their minds have been opened. These people are very intelligent people, and it is not surprising that they think of these things after their minds are opened.

Then Li Yuanji looked at Duan Shilin solemnly.

"Okay, as long as you can think of it, just do it as you want and get it done as soon as possible.

But apart from this, there are other ways to use steam engines, and they can be used in all aspects and all walks of life.

I won’t go into the other stuff for now. In addition to what I just said, you still have to tackle two more points.”

"You can imagine that according to the current test, the wheels of the car are extended, that is, the rear wheels are lengthened, divided into sections, and connected with thick iron hooks.

Then cover each section with iron sheets, so that there will be a space inside, which is called a carriage. People can get on the carriage, and goods and all kinds of materials can be loaded in the carriage.

Pulled by the steam engine, these carriages will move forward along with the locomotive, so that the vehicle can be used to pull people or transport large amounts of goods.

At the same time, the wheels are made of iron to support this huge weight.

"Of course, having iron wheels is not enough, because they are too heavy. If the iron wheels are placed on the road, the road may not be able to bear it and may sink.

Then we can lay a limited amount of gravel on the road, and at the same time place an iron road on the gravel, that is, the railroad tracks.

This car is on this track and can only run on this track. Wherever the track is laid, this steam car can run there. "

When Li Yuanji said this, he immediately asked someone to bring pen, ink and paper, and then began to draw.

The general outline of the steam locomotive and the appearance of the tracks were all drawn.

"Shilin, take a look at these. This is absolutely feasible. You should focus on overcoming this difficulty next. If you need anything during this period, just let me know. I will arrange everything for you as soon as possible.

Once this steam car is successful and manufactured, we only need to lay rails to various places, that is, railways, and this steam car can go to various places.

At that time, people will be able to travel between different places, and materials can be transported in large quantities to wherever they want.

By doing this, there is no need for horses and so many people for transportation, which can save a lot of costs.

You must focus on overcoming this difficulty!"

The steam locomotive concept proposed by Li Yuanji is what he has wanted for a long time. Although there is still a long way to go before he can make a steam locomotive, at least he now has hope.

The progress of science is extremely difficult from zero to one, but as long as you take that most difficult first step, the rest, although difficult, will definitely not be as difficult as the first step.

Li Yuanji also knew that the difficulty was still not small. What he provided was, after all, a direction and an idea. To realize it, he still needed people like Duan Shilin to do it. (End of this chapter)