People in the Tang Dynasty, Jian'an style

Under the gaze of the crowd, Li Wenbin picked up the second brocade box, walked to Changsun Wugou, placed it on the table, opened the lid and said, "Princess, please look, this is the second birthday gift."

"This is..." Changsun Wugou looked at the things in the box. It was another thing she couldn't understand. She saw that the box had a silk base and three very delicate crystal bottles, one large and two small, were placed side by side.

Moreover, each bottle has a different color. The big one is light green and about the size of an adult's palm, while the two small ones are one purple and one red, only half the size of the big bottle. The three bottles contain liquids of different colors. I wonder what they are used for?

Changsun Wugou first took out all three bottles and looked at them, but couldn't see any results.

Everyone around, including Li Shimin, was confused and had no idea what was in the bottle.

In the end, they could only look at Li Wenbin together.

"Haha, Father, Princess, this is a bottle of floral water and two bottles of perfume that I had made."

Li Wenbin picked up the purple bottle and opened the crystal lid. A clear and mellow orchid fragrance slowly spread out.

The first to smell it were Zhangsun Wugou and Li Shimin, followed by Yang Fei and Yin Fei who were closer. These beauty-loving women sniffed without any expression and stared at the bottle in Li Wenbin's hand with shining eyes.

"Princess, this bottle is made of essential oil extracted from orchids, mixed with several other spices, and then dissolved in alcohol to make perfume. The other bottle is a perfume with the scent of albizzia. These two perfumes have elegant and pure scents, which best match your temperament!"

After Li Wenbin finished speaking, he bowed and offered the perfume in his hand. Changsun Wugou took it with a look of surprise and gently inhaled the elegant orchid fragrance.

He took the opportunity to step forward and instructed Changsun Wugou to use the small brush on the lid to dip a little perfume and then apply it on the wrists, behind the ears, and neck. Then Changsun Wugou proudly walked a few steps in front of Li Shimin and others, and immediately made them smell the fragrance of orchids.

Coupled with Changsun Wugou's extraordinary appearance, she looks like the legendary fairy among flowers.

The women couldn't bear it any longer and immediately stood up and surrounded Changsun Wugou. It was unknown what wish they made, but they finally snatched the perfume from Changsun Wugou's hands and vie with each other to hold the perfume in their hands so they could have a closer look at it.

"Wenbin, you really know how to please the princess. This perfume is several times stronger than the commonly used incense. Just a little bit can give people such an elegant and charming fragrance. It is indeed a rare and good gift."

Li Shimin looked at Zhangsun Wugou and the others and smiled - the people of the Tang Dynasty were influenced by the legacy of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, and the use of incense was very popular. Both men and women liked to make themselves smell good.

Perfume is more convenient than incense and its effect is stronger, so it was praised by Li Shimin.

"Thank you for the compliment, father!" Li Wenbin said with a smile.

This perfume was much more complicated to make than the crystal mirror because due to the season, there were not many flowers for him to choose from.

In order to create a perfume that would last for a long time without changing its taste, he spent a large sum of money to hire several perfume blending masters from the public. Together with Jinxiu, it took more than half a month to finalize the two perfumes.

This is also thanks to the Tang people's love of incense, so they are very experienced in blending spices, so they were able to complete the perfume in such a short time.

Li Shimin's sisters, Princess Changsha and Princess Xiangyang, also liked the perfume very much. Li Shimin made the decision for Li Wenbin without authorization, and after agreeing to give each of them a bottle of perfume, he persuaded his sisters to go back.

"Wenbin, is this floral water the same as perfume?" Changsun Wugou asked with some heartache.

In her hand she held the perfume that she had snatched back with great difficulty, but the bottle was almost half empty, while the princesses and other princesses were all smelling fragrant.

Chapter 153 Fireworks

"Princess, there is a slight difference between this floral water and perfume. Because the weather is hot now and mosquitoes are rampant, I made some floral water. Applying it on your body can prevent mosquito bites." Li Wenbin said with a smile.

There are many rivers around Chang'an, and no one pays attention to killing mosquitoes, so the whole Chang'an is infested with mosquitoes. Not to mention the King of Qi, even Li Shimin is often bitten by mosquitoes.

So Li Wenbin had wanted to make floral water for a long time. This time, taking the opportunity of celebrating Changsun Wugou's birthday, he specially added some fragrant medicinal herbs and finally made the Tang Dynasty version of floral water.

Although the ingredients are very different from those commonly used in later generations, Li Wenbin once conducted experiments and found that it is very effective in repelling mosquitoes, so he presented it to us.

"Oh, this is good stuff!" Li Shimin was obviously more interested in floral water than perfume. After hearing Li Wenbin's explanation, he took the big bottle of floral water in his hand and looked at it carefully, then opened it and smelled it. He found that although the smell was not as charming as perfume, it also had a unique and strange fragrance.

Li Wenbin stepped forward and said, "Father, please accept this bottle of floral water. It is not very difficult to make, but it took a lot of time to make the formula in the early stage. I will make some more in two days to give to the princess."

If it were in the past, he would definitely not do this.

However, after Li Shimin came to warn him, Li Wenbin's opinion of him changed somewhat.

Hearing his son's words, and with Changsun Wugou's persuasion, Li Shimin could no longer refuse. He happily put away the floral water, and then smiled at Li Wenbin and said, "Wenbin, what is your third gift? Your father can't wait."

"Father, I would like to ask everyone to move outside, because this gift can only be seen outside." Li Wenbin replied mysteriously.

"Oh? Okay, everyone, follow me outside and see what Wenbin prepared?"

Li Shimin was in high spirits. After seeing Li Wenbin's first two gifts, the people around him became curious about the third gift, so they stood up and followed Li Shimin outside.

Li Chengqian and Li Tai were a little unhappy to see Li Wenbin was so favored, but they went outside with everyone else.

When everyone came outside, they saw Li Wenbin taking a long round bucket as thick as an arm and two or three feet long from the servant. Could this be the gift Li Wenbin prepared?

However, under the surprised gazes of everyone, he took the incense stick handed to him by the servant, lit the fuse at the tail of the long barrel, and pointed the other end towards the sky.

Under the gaze of everyone, the smoking fuse burned quickly and entered the long barrel. Then there was a muffled "bang" sound in the long barrel, and a flash of incandescent light spurted out from the other end.

In the blink of an eye, it flew up to a height of dozens of feet, and then exploded with a "bang", as if a flash of lightning appeared in the sky.

Then Li Wenbin threw the long bucket aside with a smile and turned to look at the people who were in a daze.

Li Shimin and his companions were also wondering, could this be the birthday gift he prepared? Although the barrel emitted a flash of light like lightning, which scared everyone, wasn't this a little too simple?

Just when everyone was wondering, suddenly a sound like muffled thunder was heard in the distance, and then a flash of light rose from the distance.

It was very fast at the beginning, but it slowed down towards the end. When it reached the highest point, the flash suddenly exploded, and it seemed as if a gorgeous lotus flower was blooming in the dark sky, illuminating the entire sky red.

The lotus stayed in the sky for a few seconds, and then suddenly there was a crackling sound, the whole flower burst into its final splendor, and then disappeared into the sky.

However, before Li Shimin and others woke up from their shock, the firework seemed to wake up the people in the distance. Muffled thunders were heard one after another, and then flashes of light rose up one after another, and then beautiful flowers bloomed one after another in the sky.

These fireworks are colorful and have different colors and styles. Sometimes they look like golden chrysanthemums in full bloom; sometimes they look like peonies in full bloom;

Some of them even looked like some kind of animals, which made people feel uneasy.

Such a wonderful sight in the sky not only made Li Shimin and his men fascinated, but even the entire Chang'an city was shocked by the magnificent scenery in the sky.

Many superstitious people even believed that gods had come down to earth, and they knelt down to pray to the gods. In the blink of an eye, the city of Chang'an was filled with incense.

More people were staring at the wonder in the sky in amazement, their minds went blank, and for a moment they couldn't figure out whether they were in the mortal world or in fairyland.

Li Wenbin looked at the fireworks display he had organized, and then at the reactions of the people around him, feeling extremely proud.

Everyone was intoxicated by the beautiful scenery in the sky. Changsun Wugou's face was full of happiness and satisfaction, and the other people around him were similar, looking at the beautiful scenery emerging from the sky with excitement on their faces.

Li Wenbin looked at Xiao Wenxin beside him and found that her little face was flushed with excitement. No matter how calm her temperament was, the dreamy beauty brought by the fireworks for the first time also made her heart extremely shocked.

Seeing that Li Shimin and everyone else's attention was focused on the sky, he quietly reached out and held Changsun Wugou's smooth and cold little hand.

This immediately woke Changsun Wugou up from her trance. She found her hand was being held by Li Wenbin and she immediately wanted to break free out of shame.

But Li Wenbin was enjoying her smooth and tender hand, so how could he let go easily? So she struggled a few times, but Li Wenbin still held her hand.

Looking at her shy little face, Li Wenbin suddenly felt an indescribable emotion in his heart.

With true feelings surging, Li Wenbin couldn't help but whispered: "Hold your hand, and grow old with you! Wu Gou, I want to hold your hand and spend the rest of our lives together!"

Hearing Li Wenbin's bold confession, Changsun Wugou's body and mind trembled. She could never have imagined that Li Wenbin would dare to say such shameful words in front of so many people.

Seeing that everyone was looking up at the sky and no one was paying attention to this side, she suppressed her shyness and looked at the other person's face that flickered in the light of the fireworks. A surge of courage suddenly surged in her heart. Not only did she not pull her hand away, but she gently used force to interlock her fingers with Li Wenbin's. However, she turned her face to the other side, not daring to look into his eyes when he turned his head to look at her.

Two incense sticks passed before the fireworks show in the sky ended. Everyone came to their senses and the two separated.

But even so, the ecstasy feeling just now made the two of them infatuated.

Chapter 154 Technical Improvement

Li Shimin said with a smile, "Wenbin, what is the name of this thing?"

They were so shocked by the beauty of the fireworks that they had no time to ask Li Wenbin what it was.

"Your Majesty, this is actually the fireworks that are set off during festivals. I saw it once at the General Works Office and found that there was room for improvement, so we gathered a group of skilled craftsmen to first improve the formula of gunpowder, and then invented this new method of setting off fireworks."

Li Wenbin answered honestly.

"Oh? You are thoughtful, but although these fireworks are beautiful, they are not the right way. In the future, you should do less of these strange and lewd things and read more books."

Although Li Shimin liked the fireworks very much, he also valued his son Li Wenbin very much and was afraid that he would indulge in these little things, so he persuaded him gently.

After listening to this, Li Wenbin felt a little conflicted and considered whether he should tell others about the other uses of gunpowder.

But then he thought that today was a big day, and if he took out something as important as gunpowder, it would definitely distract Li Shimin, so he decided to find another opportunity to talk about it later. So he said, "Father, I will keep your teachings in mind in the future."

"Hmm!" Li Shimin nodded in satisfaction, but then smiled and said, "But since these fireworks have been invented, don't waste them. Set up a workshop as soon as possible to make fireworks like the ones we made tonight. In the future, you can have these to liven up the festivals, which will also be a great pleasure in life!"

As soon as Li Shimin's words came out, they were immediately agreed by the people around him. The sight of fireworks filling the sky today left a deep impression on them all. They wished they could see such a beautiful scene every day. The younger princes and princesses jumped up with excitement and ran over to pester Li Wenbin, asking him to explain why the fireworks were so beautiful.

Everyone played outside for a while, and then followed Li Shimin into the hall. After watching the beautiful fireworks, everyone was in high spirits and talked and laughed in groups of three or five.

Li Shimin's younger brothers and sisters also presented their birthday gifts one after another. However, the gifts given by these young princes and princesses were not expensive, but they were also their own thoughtful expressions.

For example, Princesses Changsha and Xiangyang presented a painting of "Beauty Reading Among Flowers" that they had embroidered together.

Although they are young, they are good workers. The beauty's features on the embroidery are lifelike, and she looks exactly like Changsun Wugou.

After everyone presented their birthday gifts, the banquet officially entered its climax.

Everyone was drinking, having fun, listening to music and watching dances. Li Shimin was in a good mood and even danced a song himself.

Although Li Wenbin was a little surprised, seeing that everyone around him seemed to be used to it, it was obvious that this kind of thing was very common and not worth making a fuss about.

Li Shimin's dancing was so masculine and heroic that everyone around him cheered.

Unfortunately, Li Wenbin couldn't understand what he was dancing at all. He could only see that it was very different from the dances of later generations. He couldn't tell exactly what the difference was, so he simply gave up.

Anyway, I don’t have any artistic talent, so I won’t pretend to be a cultured person. The most practical thing is to fill my stomach.

……

"Your Highness Prince Qi, you must help our Old Cheng no matter what... No, this is not helping our Old Cheng, this is helping yourself."

Looking at Cheng Yaojin acting like a rogue in front of him, Li Wenbin felt a little headache.

"Uncle Cheng, what happened? Please tell me slowly. Also, put down the wine jug first. If you want to drink, I will prepare ten jars for you. You can take them with you when you leave."

"How can ten jars be enough? We need at least a hundred jars."

Do you use it for drinking or bathing?

Li Wenbin couldn't help but complain in his heart, but he didn't forget the main thing: "Uncle Cheng, what happened?"

"Oh, I forgot about this. Our Zuo Wuwei's expedition to Longyou may have to be postponed."

"why?"

Upon hearing this, Li Wenbin couldn't help but sit up straight - he had been looking forward to visiting the grassland.

"Don't mention it. The Ministry of Works said that there is not enough material to make weapons. We have to wait until next year at least." Cheng Yaojin complained, "King Qi, please tell me, this second brother is still our old buddy, how can you do this?"

"Ministry of Works? Second brother? Qin Qiong?" Li Wenbin was a little surprised. "What is the relationship between Duke Yiguo and the Ministry of Works?"

"You don't know? My second brother has just been appointed as the Minister of Works by His Majesty. Isn't the Ministry of Works under his jurisdiction?"

Li Wenbin: …

He didn't remember that Qin Qiong had served as the Minister of Works in history. Could this have changed?

"That shouldn't be the case." Li Wenbin frowned and said, "The Zuo Wuwei is one of the sixteen guards. Even if they are short of weapons and equipment, it's impossible for the Zuo Wuwei to be short of them... Oh, I understand."

This was probably another act of Li Yuan - because the general and the supreme general of the Zuo Wuwei were both from the Tian Ce Palace, so he wanted to use this method to suppress Li Shimin's power.

"King Qi, you have always been cunning, so you must think of a way this time."

"Uncle Cheng, that's not called a 'trick', forget it..."

Li Wenbin thought about it and felt that he really had to take care of this matter, otherwise he would not know when he would be able to go on his grassland trip.

……

Qin Qiong had been waiting for Li Wenbin in the Ministry of Works. When he saw him and Cheng Yaojin come in, he immediately took them to a large workshop behind the Ministry of Works.

This workshop is somewhat special because the craftsmen inside are all officials of high rank.

They were all technical officials who were promoted to official positions because of their superb skills. Their job was to use their superb skills to improve the current crafts or technologies, which was equivalent to the research institutes of later generations.

Li Wenbin knew about the existence of this large workshop when he first came to the Ministry of Industry. However, due to confidentiality reasons, even he, a prince, could not enter without Qin Qiong's permission.

After entering the large workshop, Li Wenbin looked around curiously and found that it covered a large area and was divided into many areas according to different industries. For example, Li Wenbin saw papermaking, construction, weaving and dyeing, ceramics, etc. There were three or four people in each area, and as many as dozens of people, who were either busy or discussing. It looked like a very busy scene.

The smelting area that Li Wenbin and his team were going to was in the very center, still quite a distance away, but he saw several tall furnaces standing there, and there seemed to be people walking on them.

He knew that this was a blast furnace used for smelting iron - the technology of blast furnace iron smelting had already appeared in the Han Dynasty, and by the Tang Dynasty it had developed into a very mature iron smelting technology. There were few improvements that Li Wenbin could make to this technology, and the key was to improve the current steelmaking technology.

Chapter 155: Steel Pouring Method

"I am Bian Ying, the director of the Ministry of Works, and I am here to pay my respects to the Minister!" The person in charge of the smelting area saw Qin Qiong and immediately ran up to him and saluted.

This Chief Bian has gray hair and looks to be in his sixties. Perhaps due to years of exposure to smoke and fire, his two cloudy eyes are red and his back is slightly hunched, but he seems to be in good spirits.