Datang: Ten Years of Proton, Leading an Army of Millions to Return

"No! No! You old man, your chess skills are far superior to mine. It's really boring! I won't continue to embarrass this person!"

The little old man opposite nodded repeatedly and said he didn't want to continue playing no matter what.

If I continue to play this way, won't I be asking for trouble?
"Grandfather! An imperial decree came from the palace, asking us to develop a new type of warship!"

At this moment, Jiang Yan came over and whispered in Jiang Kun's ear.

"Hmm? A warship?"

He frowned when he heard this. Although he was very knowledgeable in the art of craftsmanship, he was not so familiar with shipbuilding.
If he could make some improvements on the original warships of Dayan, he could lead his men to achieve something.

But developing warships is something else! Developing means creating!
It is to create something that has never been created before!
"Grandfather, can we really do this? From what they said, His Majesty takes this matter very seriously. If we..."

A trace of worry appeared on Jiang Yan's pretty face. It would be bad if she couldn't build a warship that would satisfy the imperial court.

"…….Let me think about it……."

The old man looked at the chess pieces on the board and gradually became absorbed in it.

"Since we can't get this done, why not ask for help?"

In just a moment, Jiang Kun's expression returned to normal, and it was obvious that he had thought of a solution.

"Hmm? Great grandfather? Who else can we find?"

Jiang Yan was a little confused. These old guys in the Academy of Gewu were already the pinnacle of the Tang Dynasty's craftsmen. If they couldn't produce any results in the short term, others would have no chance of making any progress.

She didn't think there was anyone more powerful than her great grandfather!
"Have you forgotten there is one more, Your Majesty?"

Jiang Kun smiled as he looked at his granddaughter and spoke slowly.

If there was anyone else that Jiang Kun took seriously and admired for his craftsmanship, it was only Li Kuan.

Just a simple hot air balloon was enough to dazzle his eyes, not to mention the other things!

He knew Li Kuan, who had recently invented a bicycle
It caused quite a stir!

"Ah? Your Majesty? It seems."

As soon as Jiang Yan was reminded, Li Kuan's figure instantly appeared in her mind.

Your Majesty...

It seemed that he was indeed very powerful! Even her great grandfather, who was so powerful, praised him highly!
"Yan'er, get ready. We are going to the Du Mansion to find His Majesty."

There was a hint of anticipation in Jiang Kun's eyes, as if he hadn't seen Li Kuan for some time, and he didn't know what kind of surprise he would give him regarding the warship this time.

"Ah? Ah? Okay."

………………

The next day, on the other side of Yanyun City, at the Du Mansion.

"Brother-in-law! How come the big apple in my room is gone? Did you eat it secretly?"

Li Kuan was eating a big apple in his room when Xiao Yuanyuan suddenly ran in angrily.

He had no choice but to quickly finish the big apple in his hand.

His expression also returned to normal.

"Uh, Sister Yuan! Why did you come in without knocking? This is very impolite!"

Li Kuan took the initiative and when he saw Xiao Yuanyuan pouting, he directly accused her of being impolite.

The expression on his face had already changed, and it was impossible to tell anything.

"It seems that it is true."

Xiao Yuanyuan heard this, thought for a few seconds, nodded in agreement, and then walked out and closed the door under Li Kuandi's gaze.

"slightly"

There was a rapid knock on the door.

"Brother-in-law? Can I come in? I knocked on the door!"

Xiao Yuanyuan outside the door asked Li Kuan's opinion very seriously.

"Well, come in."

Li Kuan's face looked a little strange, but he still nodded.

"Humph! Damn brother-in-law! Did you steal my big apple?"

Xiao Yuanyuan came back in, with the same angry expression as before, and glared at Li Kuan unkindly.

Li Kuan felt a little embarrassed. It turned out that women are fickle, regardless of age!
It was fine just now, but it changed so suddenly!
"How could that be? Sister Yuan? Do I look like that kind of person? I'm a good citizen! I would never do anything sneaky like that!"

Li Kuan said with a stern face, as if to say whoever steals your things is a dog.

"really?"

A hint of suspicion flashed across Xiaoyuanyuan's big eyes.

She looked Li Kuan up and down, and although she felt that he was a little strange, she couldn't find any clues.

"Sister Yuan! Please don't wrongly accuse a good person!"

Seeing Xiao Yuanyuan still staring at him warily, Li Kuan pretended to be angry.

"Okay! Okay! I believe you! Could it be me?"

Xiao Yuanyuan obviously believed what Li Kuan said, and went out again while muttering.

"Sir! There's someone outside asking to see you. He says he's from the Institute of Gewu."

Just when Li Kuan wanted to continue enjoying himself in the rocking chair, a servant walked to the door of his beloved and said.

"Hmm? Someone from the Institute of Gewu? Could it be that old man Jiang Kun?"

There are not many people in the Gewu Academy who might be looking for him. Apart from the old man, Li Kuan couldn't think of anyone else.

"Your Majesty? You are so busy! You don't even have time to go out and see an old man like me when I come to visit you."

Jiang Kun waited for a moment at the door, but received no response, so he walked in, and Jiang Yan followed behind him.

"What wind brought you to whom?"

When Li Kuan saw the person coming, he sat up from the rocking chair.

"Your Majesty, please don't tease me. I'm just an old man, so how can I be so romantic?"

Jiang Kun walked in, found a seat and sat down without being polite to Li Kuan.

"You have come all the way to my little house. What is your purpose?"

Li Kuan immediately noticed Jiang Yan behind Jiang Kun. After glancing at her, he pointed to the teapot over there.

"you!"

When Jiang Yan saw Li Kuan's actions and expression, she knew what Li Kuan meant.

This guy.

He actually thought she was a maid in his house and was going to pour tea and water for him!
However, thinking that her great-grandfather was still here, Jiang Yan walked over and poured Jiang Kun a cup of tea.

"Your Majesty, I'm sure you know that the court has asked the Institute of Gewu to be responsible for the development of warships."

Jiang Kun took a sip of tea, and then slowly spoke. Li Kuan was an emperor and the founder of the Institute of Gewu, so he probably knew something about the warships.

"Of course I know this."

Li Kuan nodded slightly. Guo Shoujing had mentioned this matter to him not long ago!
"I don't have any idea about this matter. I wonder if you have any idea about it."

Jiang Kun continued speaking, but his eyes suddenly looked at Li Kuan, as if he was expecting to get something he wanted from Li Kuan.

"You are too modest. Your skills are so superb, how can these little things be difficult for you?"

Li Kuan did not respond directly.

"What do you mean!"

Jiang Yan, who was standing by, was somewhat dissatisfied when she heard this. Although Li Kuan was His Majesty, his status was higher than theirs.

But the one who is good at manufacturing and craftsmanship comes first! With Jiang Kun's skills, most officials in Yanyun City have to give him some face.

"Yan'er! Don't be rude!"

"Humph!"

Jiang Kun stopped Jiang Yan directly. Jiang Yan snorted and stepped aside in silence.

"Since it is research and development, it is innovation, and innovation must be different from the past! I plan to make a three-masted sailing ship!"

Li Kuan did not keep the question in suspense this time and spoke slowly in response to Jiang Kun's expectation.

"A three-masted schooner? Is this a new one?"

Jiang Kun's eyes lit up when he heard this. Li Kuan indeed had his own plans!
However, he was not quite sure what kind of warship this three-masted sailing ship was.

The way he looked at Li Kuan changed, like a student eager for knowledge looking at his teacher!

"A three-masted sailing ship is a sailing ship with three masts! It can be said to be invincible when sailing on the sea! Because of its three masts, the whole ship can take advantage of winds from more angles!"

Seeing Jiang Kun's expression, Li Kuan didn't intend to hide anything and spoke directly.

The three-masted sailing ship is not a product of the Tang Dynasty. It is a great invention of Western countries before the opening of new sea routes!

It can be said that if there had not been the invention of the three-masted sailing ship, the epoch-making event of the Great Geographical Discovery would have been delayed or even impossible to happen!
"Three masts? Can it take advantage of wind from more directions?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Kun fell into deep thought.

As the saying goes, there are unexpected events in the weather, and this is especially true when sailing on the sea!
During this period, the navigation of ships at sea relied heavily on natural wind power!
In this way, if we can take advantage of winds from different directions, it will undoubtedly greatly improve the performance of the ship!

In fact, any wind below 65 degrees can be used by a three-masted sailing ship.

Just thinking about it, Jiang Kun didn't know what degree was either, so Li Kuan could only say it in another way.

"Your Majesty, could you please explain it in more detail, or could you give me a mold?"

Jiang Kun was thinking about the three-masted sailing ship that Li Kuan mentioned, and he wished he could ask Li Kuan to make a simple version of it right away.

"Why don't I go with you to the Institute of Gewu... I'll show you how to do it and you'll understand."

When he had nothing to do, Li Kuan was happy to take a trip to the Wugewuyuan, and he was looking forward to it very much.

If a three-masted warship could appear in the sea area of ​​​​Da Yan, the combat capability of the Da Yan army at sea would be much stronger!
I think through naval battle, Dayan will be able to conquer Goguryeo directly!

"So good!"

Jiang Kun was a little excited and rubbed his hands. Li Kuan was willing to go back with him and even made a model for him, so how could he refuse?

………………

Thousands of miles away, inside the Goguryeo Palace.

"Trash! They're all trash!"

The Goguryeo Emperor stood in front of his chair, furious!
He had clearly asked Yang Wanchun to lead most of the elite forces in the country to join forces with the coalition forces of various countries to attack the Tang Dynasty. When he learned that the Great Yan was avoiding fighting, he laughed out loud!

But before he could feel proud for long, the bad news came!

Yang Wanchun and his men were such elite troops, but not a single one was left alive! In the end, they all died in a foreign country!

This greatly weakened the country's strength!
"What does Yang Wanchun do for a living?"

If Yang Wanchun was still alive in this world by chance, the Emperor of Goguryeo would definitely torture him!
It didn't matter if he was killed; even if many soldiers were defeated, he would not panic at all. At most, he would let his men gather their forces and recuperate.

But Yang Wanchun's behavior has already angered Li Er! It has awakened the beast Da Yan!

That's Da Yan! They can't be compared with these small countries!
If Da Yan really pursues the matter, his Goguryeo will be finished if the army crushes him!
"All troops, send them to the Yalu River! Keep an eye on the movements of the Great Yan army on the other side! Report any news to me immediately."

The Goguryeo Emperor had a gloomy expression on his face, and he stared at the group of ministers below who dared not speak and shouted.

"No! Everyone, get ready for battle! If Dayan sends out troops, stop them!"

………………

South of Chang'an City, Gewuyuan.

"Your Majesty, what do you need? I'll have someone bring it to you right away."

After returning to the Gewu Academy, Jiang Kun did not waste any time, and even did not let Li Kuan rest for a while, and spoke impatiently.

The three-masted sailing ship that Li Kuan mentioned has already aroused all his interest, and his mind is full of three-masted sailing ships!
"A few pieces of wood and some white cloth will do."

It's just a simple miniature mold, why bother with all the preparations?
“Okay! Coming right up!”

Jiang Kun agreed without hesitation after hearing this.

Fearing that his men might be negligent, Jiang Kun went himself to look for the two items that Li Kuan mentioned.

"Eh? Isn't that His Majesty?"

"What does he do in the Institute of Gewu? Is there any new invention?"

"The bicycle you made two days ago really amazed me! I watched Your Majesty make it!"

In the Gewu Academy, many craftsmen were curious when they saw Li Kuan and Jiang Kun. The fact that these two people were gathered together meant that something big was going to happen, so everyone came up to take a look.

"Your Majesty, here comes what you want."

Not long after, Jiang Kun came over with extremely high-quality wood and white cloth.

"Look, this is the hull..."

While speaking, Li Kuan's hands were busy. After a while, he made a simple model.

"Is this a three-masted sailing ship? It has three masts!"

"I wonder what the use of these three masts is?"

"What advantages does this ship have over the warships we have now?"

Looking at the model in front of them, the craftsmen started discussing it one after another.

"The key to a three-masted sailboat is the sails! We can sail it cross-rigged or fore-and-aft! It's very flexible! We can hang different sails at different times!"

Li Kuan saw that the craftsmen on the side had become active, and then explained the principles of the three-masted sailing ship to them.

"That's it! That's it!"

Jiang Kun is indeed a master!
After listening to Li Kuan's explanation, I suddenly understood the key principles.

(End of this chapter)