Don't be a prince

With a cough, Li Chengqian approached Changle and said in a low voice: "Don't say brother, I won't help you. In two days, I have to go to the engineering college to do experiments. Then your sister-in-law will be with me. If you rely on your sister-in-law If you do, you can go out of the palace to play around the academy. That guy Tang Shanzhi is studying in the Academy of Arts now, if you want to meet him, you still have a chance."

Thinking of how much this girl had helped him back then, Li Chengqian sold Tang Shanzhi outright.

"Really?"

Hearing this, Chang Le suddenly regained his spirits, and yelled at the maid to help him tidy up his makeup, find nice clothes, and get ready to go out.

After a while, Su Yuan came out of Liangyi Hall, and after hearing Chang Le's words, seeing Li Chengqian nodding, she agreed.

On the way back to the East Palace, Su Yuan covered her mouth and said with a smile: "You always do such unruly things. If the queen mother finds out, she will definitely blame the concubine again."

Li Chengqian said with a smile: "Women are the ones who help men take the blame. The queen mother can't directly reprimand me, so I have to vent my anger on you. This is because I am sorry for you."

Secretly pinching Li Chengqian, Su Yuan said: "Isn't being your concubine just to help you take the blame, and I am willing to take the blame no matter what."

Li Chengqian laughed out loud, and put his arms around Su Yuan, but was pushed away.

"It's still in the corridor."

"It's okay, this is the passage to the East Palace, there are no outsiders."

That being said, Su Yuan would never allow Li Chengqian to do anything outside of the East Palace.

Walking out of the tunnel, it is the Tongxun Gate, and after passing through the Tongxun Gate and returning to the East Palace, Fang Shan bowed and waited beside him.

"what's up?"

Fang Shan reported: "Your Highness, the Ministry of Industry has sent you some drawings, saying that the shipyard may be useful. Along with the drawings, there is also a letter from Li Daliang, Minister of the Ministry of Industry."

"Understood, I'll go and see."

Letter from Li Daliang?

Li Chengqian smiled, there is no doubt that this guy definitely begged to go with him when he went to battle Tuyuhun.Now in the court, the generals are shouting for battle, hoping to continue to send troops to attack Tuyuhun.However, this time the civil servants were resolutely unwilling to agree.The one who completely emptied the national treasury before was to go to Tuyuhun, otherwise, the disaster between the Jianghuai River and the Huaihe River would not have forced the imperial court to the point of desperation.Now that the national treasury has money, the first thing that comes to mind is to keep this guarantee, and it must not be spent again.

Duan Zhixuan was ordered to go to Tuyuhun, and half of the battle was fought. In fact, the money and food were not exhausted, but were transferred to Longyou for disaster relief.

Now in the court, there is still arguing back and forth about whether to continue sending troops.

But in Li Chengqian's view, troops still need to be sent.The people of the grasslands are different from the people of the Central Plains. One or two blows will not be fatal to them. After the spring is prosperous and the autumn is dry, their strength will recover again.It was because of this that Murong Fuyun fought and fled regardless of face. He knew that Datang was now unable to control the land of Tuyuhun. As long as he retained his strength, those pastures trampled by the Tang people would still belong to them.

Therefore, to deal with the grassland people, we can only punch them to death just like dealing with the East Turks, without giving them a chance to breathe.Now that Tuyuhun's strength has been weakened with difficulty, continuing to send troops is the most correct choice.

However, although he supports the generals, he will not be stupid enough to help the generals.Civil and military have been opposites since ancient times, and only the emperor can be involved in civil and military disputes. Others, even the crown prince, will end up being smashed to pieces in the worst case.

Back in the study, I ignored the shipbuilding drawings from the Ministry of Industry and read Li Daliang's letter directly.

Sure enough, Li Daliang heard from Li Jing that the crown prince was going on an expedition with the army.If it was an ordinary expedition, he would definitely not have the chance to speak.Whichever general the emperor chooses is that general, and the rest of the people dare not talk too much.But if the prince went out with the army, it would be different.For the sake of safety, there must be enough guards for the prince no matter what.Forget some unknown generals, the dignified Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry went out with the army and served as the prince's guard, it should still be.

Li Daliang thought the same as Li Jing. Unlike Li Jing, he bid farewell to the battlefield not because of his age, but because of his official position.It is said that the iron-clad Zhongshu orders the flowing Shangshu, but since he became the Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, he has not changed people.The imperial court was very satisfied with the activity of the Ministry of Industry during this period.In particular, the Ministry of Industry does not need to ask the Ministry of Households for money, but instead sends a large amount of money to the Ministry of Households every year. This alone is enough to stick a layer of glue between Li Daliang's ass and the position of the Minister of the Ministry of Industry .

Although it is the general trend to switch from martial arts to literary, it is a good thing to directly enter the circle of civil servants now.But when he thought that he would miss the battlefield in the future, Li Daliang still felt unwilling.He didn't dare to point fingers at the emperor's arrangement, but hoped that the crown prince would name him and bring him along.

Although the gifts he sent were very shabby and the blueprints from the Ministry of Industry were no longer useful, Li Chengqian was still willing to sell him some face.The main reason is that Li Daliang is good at handling affairs, and the various contacts between the Ministry of Industry and the college have always put the interests of the college first.Face is mutual, if someone gives face to the academy, he naturally has to give face to others.

Throw Li Daliang's letter into the brazier and burn it. Although such a letter is exposed and there is no danger, it will still reduce Li Daliang's reputation.

As for the drawings of the Ministry of Industry...

After opening it and looking at it, Li Chengqian suddenly felt that he still took it for granted.

The blueprints that Li Daliang sent this time are all the essence, even qualified to be controlled by the arms supervision department.For thousands of years, the experience accumulated by generations of ancestors in water warfare is still very important.Since the shipyard wants to manufacture warships, such drawings still need to be referred to.

After rubbing a copy himself, Li Chengqian wrapped up the original drawing and returned it to the Ministry of Industry.Such blueprints cannot be given or accepted in private, and Li Daliang is responsible for showing the prince to the East Palace.

The college's experiment is still going on, but unlike before, this time it's just a simple oil tank stability experiment.Yan Liben creatively covered the mouth of the oil tank with a thin layer of cowhide, which further improved the sealing ability.I don't know how they made the thin copper pipes. After extending the distance of fuel delivery, the stability of the flame was really under control, and there will be no more flames falling into the oil tank.

The oil tank subjected to the experiment did not explode until the fuel oil was burnt out.

"Brother Huang, let's continue the experiment now!"

Seeing that Li Tai was about to jump up excitedly, Li Chengqian finally nodded: "It's ok, but this time we still have to use pigs as an experiment first, and wait until we're sure it's safe this time, before going up to people."

After seeing the last explosion, Li Tai also knew the importance of safety, so he could only agree.

The sphere of the hot air balloon has been made again, and there are spare parts for the bamboo basket and the cowhide rope.In just an hour, the new hot air balloon was made.

After repeated inspections, Li Chengqian gave the order to allow the experiment.

In order to be able to recover the hot air balloon, this time only a small amount of oil was stored in the oil tank, and the flame was not so violently controlled.

A breeding pig weighing five hundred catties in the farm was lucky enough to be a passenger this time, and was tied up and thrown into a bamboo basket.

"The oil tank is pressurized."

"It has already been added to the maximum, His Royal Highness, if you pressurize it again, the cowhide pocket inside the tank will probably leak."

"Where's the wind direction?"

"The wind is blowing in the direction of Chang'an today, so it won't affect our recovery of hot air balloons."

...

After a thorough inquiry, Li Tai couldn't help clenching his fists and said, "Then... take off!"

Accompanied by Li Tai's "take off", the craftsmen who were holding on to the tying rope let go of their hands. The hot air balloon, without the tying rope, began to rise slowly, and was carried by the wind to move towards the southeast. A corner of the eaves of the engineering college was broken.

Seeing that the hot air balloon really took off, everyone raised their arms and shouted.Even Li Chengqian couldn't help cheering.Hot air balloons are only the first step. Since hot air balloons can be developed, so can airplanes.The Wright Brothers were able to develop the aircraft in about 40 years after the Industrial Revolution, but there is no reason why they could not do it in Datang.

Glancing at the excited Li Tai, Li Chengqian became a little more confident that he would be able to board a plane in his lifetime.

"Your Highness, the horse is ready."

Hearing Zhang Yun's voice, Li Chengqian rushed out of the yard immediately and got on his horse to chase the hot air balloon.

Li Tai slapped his forehead, and then he remembered what happened, and quickly ordered the head of the guards to prepare a car for him.

As for the craftsmen of the engineering college, they also got on the carts that pulled the goods in twos and threes, and tried their best to drive the horses that pulled the carts.

Because the flames of the hot air balloon are not so violent, the flying height is about ten feet. It can be seen that there is still a problem with the connection between the bamboo basket and the sphere, and it will dangle from time to time.

"Your Highness, such a connection is still inappropriate, and it must be changed after recycling."

Sitting on the galloping horse, he couldn't hear the voice clearly, but Li Chengqian vaguely knew what Yan Liben was going to say.

Not far from the college area, the speed of the hot air balloon slowed down.Affected by the wind, its speed inevitably slowed down.

"It still doesn't work. The flight of the hot air balloon is still affected by the wind. If something wants to go against the wind, it will become a waste, and it will be a problem for the carriage underneath to pull it."

Seeing the biggest drawback of the hot air balloon, Li Chengqian felt depressed for a while.However, for the time being, this is the only way to go. It is just a dream to build an aircraft that can control the direction of flight autonomously. It is already a low probability to see it in one's lifetime.

Li Tai's carriage stopped nearby, just in time to hear Li Chengqian's words.Getting out of the carriage, Li Tai pointed at the hot air balloon and said excitedly: "Brother Huang, you are still asking too much, but now the hot air balloon is flying! It is flying with a five-hundred-jin pig! Since pigs can fly, Those three or four people are not a problem."

As soon as Li Tai finished speaking, a gust of wind blew up again. With the help of the wind, the staggering hot air balloon moved again.

Although the School of Engineering has prepared a lot of accessories for various parts of the hot air balloon, it is still worth saving if you can save one.Besides, it would be bad if the secret of the hot air balloon got out.Therefore, everyone chose to continue catching up.

The oil in the oil tank was almost burned out, and the hot air balloon inevitably began to lower its altitude.However, to Li Chengqian's helplessness, the hot air balloon just flew to Gwanghwamun at this time, and flew obliquely towards the palace.

If there are no accidents, it will land within the scope of Tai Chi Palace.It would be fine if it landed in a serious manner. What Li Chengqian was most afraid of was that the hot air balloon would hit a palace somewhere, or be destroyed by the arrows being treated as monsters by the soldiers guarding the city.You know, there will be experiments on the flying height of hot air balloons after this!

Li Tai was also anxious. Seeing that the hot air balloon had entered the area of ​​Chang'an, he immediately urged the guards to drive the carriage faster.

Chapter 314 The Upward Pig

After passing Gwanghwamun, there are Andingfang and Xiudefang. The height of the hot air balloon flight has been reduced a lot, enough for the citizens of Chang'an to see their appearance clearly.

Because the hot air balloon is going to go to the battlefield, Li Tai, who is idle and bored, worked hard on the sphere. As long as the hot air balloon inflates, a hideous grimace will appear on it.

According to Li Tai himself, this is called destroying the courage of the enemy.

Li Chengqian didn't know if the enemy's courage could frighten him, he only knew that the defenders in Chang'an were frightened by this thing.

Unlike other armies, the defenders of Chang'an City, especially the Jinwu Guard, maintain the highest force on weekdays.They were able to assemble quickly and prepare for battle in case of what might happen.To put it bluntly...

An eight-ox crossbow has vaguely appeared on the city wall.

"Old Zhang, I have a task for you. Stop those bastards. Damn, if anyone dares to shoot a hole in a hot air balloon, I will use his head to fill it!"

Zhang Yun took the order, showed his silver medal representing his identity, and ran up the city wall shouting.

At the same time, the personal guards were also sent out to explain to the citizens of Chang'an what this thing was.

People, even knowledgeable merchants, have never seen this strange thing, not to mention it can fly, and it looks so terrifying. The most frightening thing is that it can breathe fire from time to time!For a time, when people face the unknown, there is almost a unified expression, that is, fleeing for their lives.Every household started calling for their children to go back to the house. Some were impatient, and they took out the most suitable weapon at home and waved it towards the sky, for fear that monsters would come to their house.

The civilians are not the problem, but the biggest problem is the Jinwu Guard, which is different from the defenders. The defenders will see the situation clearly and ask for instructions before taking action. Their usual practice is to kill the intruders or things first.The hot air balloon has obviously run out of power by now, and it is about to land, just within the shooting range of the bow and arrow. If it is shot into a chicken coop, this finally safe and qualified hot air balloon will be finished.

After flying past Xiudefang, the hot air balloon continued to fly towards the southeast persistently, and entered the Yeting Palace without any difficulty.

Apparently hearing the exclamation of the wives, daughters and eunuchs of the prisoners in the Yeting Palace, Li Chengqian patted his head helplessly, and ordered Zhang Yun, who had just returned, to quickly enter the palace to deliver the news.

Up to now, there is no need for Zhang Yun to pass on the news.What Li Chengqian didn't know was that soldiers reported to the emperor as early as when the hot air balloon appeared within sight of the city gate.

"There is a fire-breathing flying monster in the sky", such a report eased the atmosphere in the court very well.The son was silent and confused, no one took it seriously, the civil and military ministers continued to argue, and the emperor continued to watch Li Xiaogong and Changsun Wuji spat at each other.Watching courtiers quarrel is one of the emperor's few hobbies.

The soldiers who reported the first wave were repelled by Li Shimin. I didn't see anything when I traveled all over the country. I guess it was either clouds or cooking smoke. Why should I make such a fuss?Things are too grotesque to be believed.

In the court hall, Changsun Wuji and Li Xiaogong breathed a sigh of relief with difficulty, and then quarreled again.No matter how Li Xiaogong explained the benefits and necessity of continuing to conquer Tuyuhun, Changsun Wuji insisted that the household department had no money.

"King Hejian, if you really want to send troops, at worst, you can take the sixteen guards and ransack the old man's house to see if you can make up the military expenses. It's still the same sentence, the household department has no money to support the Western Expedition. It was Tuyuhun at the beginning If you take the initiative to call at your door, if you don’t fight back, not only will the surroundings laugh at you, but even our own people will laugh at you. I agreed to you to send troops because of no other choice. Now, under the militarism, the land dragon in Longyou turned around, and the flood in the Jianghuai River almost let you The imperial court is at a loss, as far as this old man is concerned, this is God’s warning to me not to be too violent, sending troops to wipe out a country is such a harm to the peace of the world, it is better to do less..."

Changsun Wuji's speech immediately won the support of many people.Everyone present knows that warnings from the heavens are nonsense, but under the general environment, even if the conversation is a group of smart people, they must pretend to be stupid to each other.

Seeing that the generals were about to end their lives, Li Shimin on the throne did not say anything.Changsun Wuji had other purposes for involving these two disasters in the dispatch of troops. What he wanted was to guide public opinion on the words "military and military".For the emperor, being militaristic is not a big fault, after all, no one likes a wimpy emperor.However, when people talk about these two disasters, the most terrible thing is to think of the emperor's "doing bad things" or "being wrong".

Just when Changsun Wuji was domineering and was about to ask the emperor to order to stop talking about the Western Expedition, guards appeared at the gate of the palace again.

This time was different, the guards who broke into the hall actually charged in with a horizontal knife.

Seeing this scene, not only the military generals, but even the civil servants gathered together in a hurry, standing in front of the emperor and watching these guards vigilantly.

"It's okay, get out of the way, Xiao Ming, Deng Hao, you two, tell me, what made you panic so much, and even entered the palace with a knife in disregard of etiquette?"

Different from the general guards, these guards were all placed by Li Shimin himself in the Jinwu Guard.They are all loyal and need not be doubted.

Xiao Ming and Deng Hao all knelt down on the ground and said anxiously: "Your Majesty, what the guards at the city gate reported is correct. There is indeed a flying monster flying towards Chang'an. When I waited to enter the palace, it had already flown over. After leaving Xiudefang, now, I’m afraid I’ve crossed the Yeting Palace, and I’m about to reach the Taiji Palace!”

The Tai Chi Hall is the place of the court meeting, and there will be a court meeting today, so don't even think about it, the emperor must protect it.

"Is there really a flying monster?"

Hearing this news, Li Shimin turned over the dragon case happily, and said excitedly: "Come here, bring me the armor and sword, and also bring a copy to Zhu Aiqing. I want to see some monsters today." Let you panic to such an extent!"

Seeing that the emperor wanted to go out in person, Li Xiaogong hurriedly stopped him and said: "Your Majesty can't, a flying monster is not a friendly person, please move to the East Palace, my minister is willing to be your majesty's vanguard, and meet this monster well!"

Li Xiaogong was still trying to persuade the emperor, Cheng Yaojin and the others had already snatched the guard's saber, and rushed out excitedly without changing their clothes.Staying in Chang'an all day, my body is almost rusty, let alone a flying monster, when King Yama comes, they will go up and pull two beards down!

Seeing that the emperor was going to do something dangerous, the civil servants also tried their best to stop it. If they don't show their loyalty at this time, when will they show it?

"Enough is enough, I will face the battle in person, and I will punish those who dare to dissuade!"

A shout interrupted the voices of persuasion. At this time, there was no time to change armor. They picked up their sabers and, surrounded by Changsun Wuji and others, they all walked out of the Tai Chi Hall together.

The Jinwu Guard had predicted the monster's action route early on, and a large number of troops had already assembled to guard in front of the Tai Chi Hall.

After walking out of the hall and adapting to the bright sunlight outside for a while, Li Shimin looked at the sky.

As the guards reported, there was indeed a flying monster flying in the sky.It looks like an evil ghost that chooses people to devour. The most frightening thing is that such a monster will breathe fire from time to time.

"What monster is this?"

Wei Zheng was a little dumbfounded, he was going to come out to make a joke of Jin Wuwei, but seeing this chubby guy, he didn't know what to say.What frightened him the most was that the monster could still scream, and the scream was particularly miserable and captivating.

"Bamboo basket?"

People who are good at archery generally have good eyesight. Others were shocked by the fact that this thing could fly, but Li Shimin keenly discovered that there was a bamboo basket-like thing under the sphere. That long thing is probably a rope.

"Bring the claws to the old man, the old man will pull down the bamboo basket that this monster took away!"

The ropes of the bamboo basket are easy to understand, but the messy hot air balloon sphere drawn by Li Tai is really scary. After seeing the appearance of the hot air balloon, everyone took it for granted that the bamboo basket was stolen by a monster.

Soon, the guard handed the hook claw into Yu Chigong's hands.

Yu Chigong threw the grenade far, and the hook claw was not bad, just once, he caught the bamboo basket of the hot air balloon.However, although the hot air balloon was in the process of descending, its strength was not something that Yu Chigong's manpower could compete with, and it was dragged on the ground and wiped for a long distance.

"Get started! What are you looking at!"

Li Shimin shouted angrily, and all the ministers and Jinwu Guard soldiers hurriedly helped Yu Chigong pull the rope together.

Seeing that one claw succeeded, Cheng Yaojin and others did the same, hooking three claws in total.

Now, with the joint efforts of hundreds of people, the hot air balloon was finally tamed, and the flames were finally completely exhausted. With the joint efforts of everyone, the hot air balloon was dragged down the sky little by little until Landed completely.

When they were close enough, everyone could see clearly what the monster was. They couldn't see clearly when they were far away, and they were frightened by the pattern, so they didn't find it.Now the so-called monster was dragged to the ground, only to be found to be a thick sphere woven of silk with a bamboo basket in it.