The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 554 Bottomless Pit

Li Zhi just built a furnace, which was like a pressure cooker, a large pressure cooker that was constantly spewing steam.

This pressure cooker is not made well enough, and the outer wall of the boiler looks very fragile.

When the fire went out, the boiler calmed down.

Li Chengqian put away his fishing rod and walked along the river with Dongyang, talking about the recent changes in his brothers and sisters.

Zhinu's high-pressure boiler still has a long way to go before it can be applied in practice. He has only taken a small step forward in dynamics.

The scope of subsequent subjects is very broad, involving air pressure, hardware knowledge related to metal properties, and even related physics.

If Zhinu was a high-level fitter and given enough resources, he might be able to build a better boiler.

Now, what Zhinu lacks is a blacksmith with the most advanced casting skills in the Tang Dynasty, and only his brother, the emperor himself, can help him integrate the huge resources he needs.

After all, it is the steel industry, and playing with this thing is really a bottomless pit that swallows up gold.

Human civilization has been using iron since the beginning. It has consumed so much resources and time, and it took so many years to create countries with a torrent of steel.

And now, the Tang Dynasty wants to reach the pinnacle of human civilization, which is still an agricultural civilization mainly based in the Mesopotamian Valley.

In the vast majority of the Central Plains, the classical economic system of slash-and-burn farming is still the family unit.

If you want to achieve something that will only appear in the next thousand years, you will probably have to pay an extremely huge cost.

It is very interesting to say that it is said that the eldest brother is like a father, and the child Zhinu is a little afraid of his own brother, the emperor.

Li Chengqian stopped and looked at the river in the distance, whispering, "Zhi Nu should stay closer to Lin Chuan and you."

Dongyang glanced at the big stove in the distance again and said, "In the past in the East Palace, my brother and sister were too strict with him."

"I always thought you were trying to comfort Zhinu by saying he was a late bloomer, but it turns out you've already seen through it."

Dongyang smiled brightly and said, "I did want to comfort him at the beginning."

Li Chengqian clicked his tongue and said, "It really became like this just by comforting me."

After the Emperor and the Empress turned 60, the brothers and sisters needed to be independent and be able to take charge of their own affairs. In fact, Linchuan was already able to take charge of his own affairs in Beiyuan.

In comparison, Zhinu and Shen Di are still a little unsteady.

After crossing the other side of Xianyang Bridge, Dongyang will go to visit several old dukes in Chang'an City.

Li Chengqian got on the carriage and bid farewell to Dongyang.

Duke Ying bowed and asked, "Where are you going, Your Majesty?"

Just as he was about to speak, Li Chengqian saw an official in official uniform hurrying over. The man was a clerk from the Secretary's Office. He handed over the memorial with both hands and saluted, saying, "Your Majesty, an urgent memorial from the Ministry of Works."

The young man who came to deliver the memorial had a trembling voice and his hand holding the memorial was also shaking.

Duke Ying could see that this young man was meeting His Majesty for the first time, so he took the memorial calmly and handed it to His Majesty.

There are too many young people like this. Most of them are submitting memorials for the first time and meeting His Majesty for the first time. They are very excited and afraid.

But His Majesty was sitting in the carriage, and the clerk could not see His Majesty at all.

Duke Ying delivered the memorial into the carriage.

The emperor's guards were guarding the surroundings. The emperor was reading memorials in the carriage, and there was silence all around.

"I will let the Secretariat take care of the matter of the Literature Museum."

Hearing His Majesty's calm voice coming from the carriage, the clerk delivering the memorial shuddered and hurriedly bowed and said, "Yes."

"The management of the Yellow River has always been a major issue for the country. Whenever the Literature Institute needs help, the court will provide it with all its strength. Let the head of the Literature Institute, Su Xu, formulate the rules. I want to know the situation of the Yellow River in various parts of the Central Plains and send it to Chengtian Gate before dark."

His Majesty's words were his will, and every word weighed heavily on the heart of this clerk. He took a deep breath, tried his best to keep his voice from trembling, and saluted, saying, "Yes." After that, he saw Duke Ying handing the memorial back, so he took it and ran away.

Duke Ying glanced around before personally driving the carriage away, with the imperial guards guarding on both sides.

In the carriage, Li Chengqian closed his eyes and thought about the recent situation of the Yellow River. Last year's report said that the canal was normal. The safety of the Yellow River was related to the canal. Once the Yellow River was lost, the canal would also suffer.

No matter how the Central Plains changes, the Yellow River remains the lifeline of the Central Plains, as it has been since ancient times.

It has been more than 20 years since the last river management, and it is time for the Tang Dynasty to carry out the next management. Management of the Yellow River requires persistence. It is never enough to manage it once. To maintain the stability of the Yellow River persistently, a lot of manpower, material resources and financial resources need to be invested during this period.

Li Ji said: "Your Majesty, there is news from Silla."

"It's okay for Yinggong to speak frankly."

"Yes." Li Ji responded, and then said: "The general stationed in Silla sent a message saying that many Silla people went out to sea to plunder the Japanese territory. My people wanted to stop them but couldn't. It was also the windy season in the East China Sea. For every one person who went out to sea, a large group of people went out to sea, hoping to seek wealth and fame there."

His Majesty in the carriage was silent for a long time.

Duke Ying spoke as if he was complaining, saying that the people of Silla were bad, and he also felt that the King of Silla, Kim Chunchu, should come to His Majesty to apologize.

The Tang Dynasty tried to persuade the Silla people not to plunder, but failed, and could only wait until the autumn to settle the score.

Jin Chunqiu was serving as a general in Chang'an, and it was an idle general. After he obtained the identity of a Tang general and fulfilled his long-cherished wish, he seemed to have an attitude of not caring about the life and death of the Silla people.

When the group arrived at Anning Village, Li Chengqian saw his father-in-law Su Tan as soon as he got off the carriage.

The old man, with a cane in one hand and white hair and beard, bowed and said, "Your Majesty."

Li Chengqian supported the old man and asked, "Why do you have time to come here?"

"I learned from the Queen that His Majesty would come here today, so she sent me here early to wait."

Li Chengqian helped him sit in the pavilion and asked, "Is it because of family matters?"

Su Tan shook his head and said, "This old minister would like to ask Your Majesty for someone."

"who?"

"I am old now, and Chongwen Hall needs someone to take charge of its affairs. When I can no longer take care of Chongwen Hall's affairs, there will be someone else to take my place."

"I wonder who the candidate is?"

Su Tan said: "There is a young man named Su Weidao in Taifu Temple."

Li Chengqian looked at his father-in-law and nodded heavily, "Okay, I'll let the Ministry of Personnel make the arrangements after I return."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Su Tan smiled and said, "This year, there are more and more talented people from all over the country. I noticed a young man."

"I wonder who could be favored by my father-in-law?"

Su Tan explained, "The young man's name is He Zhizhang. He passed the teaching exam and came to Chang'an to study. He has good talent, but he is arrogant. He was punished by Jingzhao Prefecture. The old minister thought that he had a rare talent and asked Jingzhao Prefecture to deal with him leniently, so he was not sent to Jingzhao Prefecture's prison.

Li Chengqian asked: "What was the reason for the mistake?"

"It was He Zhizhang who said that the most powerful family in the world today is the Chang'an Li family."

The Li family in Chang'an is the emperor's family, who else could it be?
The current Li family is the most powerful and influential family in the world.

After listening to his father-in-law's story, Li Chengqian finally understood that He Zhizhang was originally from Jiangnan. He was able to read poetry and prose when he was young, and was quite famous in Jiangnan when he was a teenager.

Because of his talent, this person is arrogant. It's ok that he is young and frivolous, but he also likes drinking and will cause trouble.

After explaining He Zhizhang's background, Su Tan said, "If this boy can be disciplined, he will be a talented person in the future."

(End of this chapter)