The tour in Boxin County continued. After the officials from Luoyang asked Zhang Zhong for detailed information, Zhang Zhong did not agree. This was because this information did not belong to Luoyang, but was related to Gyeongji Province. Why would a place like Luoyang need information from the entire Gyeongji Province?
Upon hearing Zhang Zhong's words, the officials could only dismiss the idea of continuing to ask. They were prepared to listen to it a few times and memorize what they knew. They could not care less about the others for the time being.
The Four Seas Academy's ship of silver ore finally arrived. It was unknown where they had hired so many vehicles, but the road was left with one mark after another. However, at this time, there was no such thing as a toll fee, so the local citizens could only silently endure. Of course, the citizens did not think much of it. They had never come into contact with other things, so it was a habit for them to have bad roads.
With so many ores piled up into a mountain, they were exchanged for the same weight of cement, the kind that came in bulk. The vehicles did not leave, so they were responsible for pulling them back. However, there was an extra cloth on the vehicles to cover the cement, so as to prevent the wind from blowing it everywhere.
The people from the Four Seas Academy did not know that cement could not be in contact with the air often. Otherwise, it would absorb the moisture in the air and condense. They were very happy, especially the Japanese. They felt that by transporting the cement back, they could figure out something useful.
Xiao Bei also wanted to take a look at the ores. It would be even better if they could climb the ore mountain. However, they were stopped by Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. They were not allowed to approach and immediately sent people to transport the ores away, worried that there would be radiation in the ores that was not good for the human body.
Xiao Bei, who could not climb the mountain, did not make a fuss. He began to fold paper planes for his brother and sister. The planes that he folded kept spinning around his body, indicating that the balance was not good.
"Xiao Bao, what do you think is needed to make a plane?" Seeing Xiao Bei's persistence, Wang Juan wanted to make a plane.
"That depends on what it's used for. If it can really fly very far, carry goods, and carry people, it's probably better to dream together with Xiao Bei. That requires the technological advancement of the entire society at the same time to be completed. If it's like the glider plane that was first made, it can still be realized after a lot of experiments. But if it involves the engine, then it's not easy to do. There's the problem of fuel and sealing."
Zhang Xiaobao did not plan to fly from the ground to the sky at once. A hot air balloon was already a pretty good thing now. If he really wanted to make a plane, it would involve too much knowledge in all aspects.
Wang Juan also carefully recalled the knowledge she had learned before and said, "In fact, it is very simple to make a glider specifically for carrying people. It is said that in another 100 years, someone will be able to make it in other places. But to be able to glide like an airplane, you have to work hard in all aspects. The Industrial Revolution is really a great revolution."
"Yes, after the Industrial Revolution, the development of human civilization accelerated in a short period of time. After thousands of years of development, only after the Industrial Revolution started did the development of human civilization reach a flying speed in the first 100 years of the Industrial Revolution.
You have learned a lot. Why don't the two of us focus on imitating the Industrial Revolution and avoid detours, develop science and technology, find various good craftsmen, and provide them with the ideas of the Industrial Revolution. I believe that they will definitely be able to develop faster than the original Industrial Revolution. "
Zhang Xiaobao did not know much himself. He could only hope that Wang Juan could provide more theoretical support. As long as they avoided detours and imitated the things that had appeared in the Industrial Revolution, the speed of development would definitely be much faster than the Industrial Revolution.
It was like a quadratic equation. It was not easy to solve, but later on, any junior high school student could easily solve it. Even some elementary school students could do it as long as they had some experience with it. This was the greatness of inheritance.
Wang Juan had actually thought of this a long time ago, but sometimes the most important thing was not the theory, but the people's attitude towards new things. If their thinking could not change, the craftsmen might not be willing to learn. Right now, all the craftsmen could not be fully immersed in research because they could not realize the greatness of what they could do.
Thinking of this, Wang Juan felt very sad. She said to Zhang Xiaobao, "Xiaobei and the others are very happy compared to the children of today, but compared to the children of our time, there is no happiness to speak of at all. This is because they know too little, and we know clearly, but we can't prove it to them."
"Yes, the Earth is round, and there are many planets high in the sky. They don't understand what the universe is. In fact, we don't understand either. Perhaps to the people of the more distant future at that time, we are like the people of today in their eyes.
And we are considered to be happy. Then do you think Xiaobei and the others are the same? In the vast universe, the more we study it, the more we feel insignificant. Whether it is microscopic or macroscopic, let's start with our own home. If others can do the steam engine, we can do it too.
It's not something too complicated. At most, the craftsmanship can't keep up with the production at the beginning, so we can't mass produce it. Gather the best craftsmen in the country and let them study it and provide them with ideas. I don't believe that if others have hands and feet, can we be worse than them? "
Zhang Xiaobao finally made up his mind to make a big change this time. Of course, the premise was that they had to get rubber. This was very important. During the industrial revolution, rubber played an unimaginable role, and many things needed it.
Wang Juan also gritted her teeth and said, "Okay, you take care of the political matters. I will be in charge of organizing what I have learned in the past and then teach the craftsmen who are active enough. As for the inactive craftsmen, no matter how good their skills are, they can't be allowed to lead something. They can only be used as support."
While the two of them were talking, Xiao Bei was still seriously folding her own plane, fantasizing that one day, she would be able to fly freely in the sky like her brother and sister had said. She didn't understand what her brother and sister were saying at all. Similarly, she didn't know that her brother and sister were only using someone else's model because of her persistence.
They didn't want her and the other children to continue living like this. They wanted to let them know more and understand more. Even if they were still insignificant after understanding more, they would be much better than the people now. Loneliness always came from the heart.
When Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan had the same idea and worked hard for the same goal, Wang Maozhong still thought that he was no worse than the Zhang Family and Wang Family in terms of horse breeding skills.
He also learned from the Zhang Family and Wang Family and formed a research team. Today, he came to take a look. A thousand horses had been sent away. As Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan had guessed, he didn't choose a thousand good stallions at all. Instead, he sent the worst horses to Fengzhou.
"You all have to think carefully about how to raise horses better. In this world, except for the birds flying in the sky, only horses are the fastest. They can avoid wild beasts and can also carry people to other places in a very short time.
Zhang Family and Wang Family have good skills in other aspects, but they are definitely not as fast as us. What we need to do is to give the people of Tang faster speed. Thinking about it makes me feel lonely. No one can understand my loneliness. I don't think I can find anyone else who has mastered this aspect of technology. "
Wang Maozhong suddenly felt like he had never seen anyone before and never seen anyone after. Thinking about the loneliness of the world, he felt lonely and thought that the technology he had mastered was the best. However, he didn't know that the opponent in his heart had never taken him seriously. Now, he was ready to carry out a more systematic plan for Xiaobei and other children.
"Sir, you are indeed lonely. No one knows what you are thinking. For example, if you want every mare to give birth to two cubs at the same time, since other horses have done this before, then it must be possible. No one dares to even think about it." The person beside him immediately followed up with flattery.
Because of the relationship between Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, many people now tried to add as many words as possible to show that they were not bad and that they could understand everything.
Wang Maozhong was indeed happy to hear people talking about him. He said to the people next to him, "I am going to write a plan and send it to the palace for His Majesty and the other officials to see. I want everyone to know that I am not bad in terms of technology. Especially when the horses can be fitted with light wings. Perhaps when the horses reach a certain speed, they can fly."
"Sir, you are indeed amazing. I will wait for your plan to succeed and then congratulate you." The people next to him were still flattering him.
Wang Maozhong said that he was going to write a plan and really went to work. One day later, the plan was written and sent to the capital by pigeons. Not long after his pigeon flew, two pigeons also flew to the sky from Baoxin County. They carried Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's ideals and flew to the capital.
Li Longji was in a good mood today. The news reported from all over the country said that the spring plowing was very smooth. He estimated that this year would be another year of harvest. At the same time, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Maozhong helped the places that were hit by the snow in the name of the imperial court. They also sent the gratitude of the local people.
While he was in a good mood, Wang Maozhong's pigeon arrived first. As usual, Gao Lishi personally went to take it. It was sealed with wax. Gao Lishi did not care so much and directly opened it. He had the authority to see whether the matter was big or small. If it was a small matter, he would take care of it himself. If it was a big matter, he would look for Li Longji.
When he saw the contents of Wang Maozhong's letter, Gao Lishi frowned. There were three things in the letter. The first was to find a way to let every mare give birth to two cubs at a time. The second was to find a way to ask the craftsmen to make a pair of wings for the horses. This way, it would be easier for the horses to run.
The third thing was to collect the feathers of domestic animals from all over the country and make a pair of wings for the people. When riding on a horse, it might be able to run faster.
Gao Lishi frowned not because he knew that this matter could not be done, but because he was worried that if it was done, it would affect Xiao Bao and Wang Juan's status. If Wang Maozhong really succeeded, then Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's technological advantage would be reduced.
After hesitating for a while, Gao Lishi still sent the letter to Li Longji. If it was another official, he might have suppressed them and questioned them to see if they were confident that they would succeed. However, this method would not work on Wang Maozhong. They were all close officials, so he could not stop him.
At this time, Li Longji was listening to a song. Ever since he built the Pear Garden, the development of folk art had also sped up. At the same time, because of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's hard work, folk art had been enriched by a lot. The two of them had taken out songs that would only appear many years later to try.
Therefore, the current Pear Garden was much more impressive than the normal Pear Garden. The artistic forms in it were also more comprehensive. The song Li Longji was currently listening to was one of them, Huangmei Opera. The most classic pair of immortals was singing along as they listened to the song.
"The ~ birds ~ on ~ the ~ tree ~ become ~ a ~ pair ~, green ~ water ~ green ~ mountain ~ with ~ smiling ~ faces ~! You and I are like … " Li Longji was humming along with the song. When he saw Gao Lishi coming over, he nodded to Gao Lishi and told him to wait for a while.
When Gao Lishi saw the song Li Longji was listening to, he became happy again. This song was from Huayuan County. Naturally, it was the place where Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were in charge. They were always able to come up with new things that made people feel good.
After singing along for a while, Li Longji finally calmed down and gestured to Gao Lishi to talk about something.
"Your Majesty, Wang Maozhong wrote a letter. It was delivered by pigeon. Your subject has checked it and found that no one has touched it," Gao Lishi opened the letter and handed it to Li Longji.
"What did he say?" Li Longji didn't take the letter. Instead, he asked Gao Lishi.
Gao Lishi nodded. "Your Majesty, he said. He said three things. He also made a plan for the last thing. It's called the Emergency Plan. In other words …"
Gao Lishi explained the contents of the letter to Li Longji bit by bit. He didn't include any of his own opinions. He just followed how it should be.
Li Longji listened patiently. He pondered as he listened. When Gao Lishi finished, he asked, "Lishi, do you think it's feasible? If it's feasible, send some good craftsmen to him. Also, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan have a lot of poultry feathers. Just send them directly from Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. This can save a lot of trouble. "
"I don't know. I think it's better to listen to what Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan have to say about this." Gao Lishi wasn't sure if Wang Maozhong's plan would succeed, but he didn't want it to succeed. It would be best if he could stop this plan before it was even tried.
Since Wang Maozhong's people went to cause trouble last time, the Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan must have a lot of opinions about Wang Maozhong and wouldn't support him.
In fact, he didn't know much about the Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. To be precise, he didn't know much about Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. If Wang Maozhong's plan was feasible, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan wouldn't stop it. They might even support it. For the two of them, private matters were not worth mentioning. If they wanted to deal with someone, they could do it at any time.
When an ant offended a person, it depended on the person's mood. If the person was in a good mood, he would let it go. If the person was in a bad mood, he could kill it with a finger. In Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's hearts, Wang Maozhong was that ant. If the ant suddenly said that he could do something good one day, they would let it go.
Li Longji also knew that Gao Lishi didn't like Wang Maozhong. If he really let the Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan consider this matter, the result would probably be no.
Thinking of this, Li Longji hesitated. Should he let the Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan participate? He looked at Gao Lishi and thought for a while. Finally, he nodded and said, "Okay, we will do as Lishi said. Tell the Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan about the letter."
Li Longji already had a plan in mind. It was a good opportunity to test the Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. Whether they agreed or not, Wang Maozhong's plan had to go ahead. If it didn't succeed and the Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan opposed, it would mean that the Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan did the right thing. If it succeeded and the Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan still opposed, it would be a different matter.
Of course, if the Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan directly agreed, it would mean that Wang Maozhong's plan was feasible. Also, the Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan wouldn't bring their own opinions into this matter.
"Not bad. Go ahead. Just listen to the rapid plan," Li Longji said at last.
Gao Lishi didn't want to hear Li Longji praise Wang Maozhong, but he still left and prepared to write a letter.
Before he could write, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's pigeons flew over. They also brought a letter. The letter also contained a plan, but it wasn't detailed enough. It only gave a general idea.
When Gao Lishi saw the letter, he didn't continue writing. He hurried over to Li Longji with the letter.
Li Longji didn't expect Gao Lishi to come back so quickly. He asked, "Is it done?"
"Your Majesty, it's not done yet. There's news from Baoxin County. Please take a look," Gao Lishi said as he passed the letter over.
Li Longji didn't read it either. "What's it about?"
"Your Majesty, Xiao Bao and Cuckoo also wrote a plan called Operation Soaring. It's part of the Soaring Plan. They need to recruit the best craftsmen in the country to be selected." Gao Lishi couldn't help but raise his voice when he said this.
"Oh? What's soaring? What's soaring? " Li Longji was puzzled. Just a moment ago, Wang Maozhong had sent over a letter describing an urgent plan. Immediately after that, Xiao Bao and Cuckoo sent over a plan. It sounded even more impressive than Wang Maozhong's.
"Replying to Your Majesty, soaring refers to soaring in Great Tang. Soaring is more specific. It's said that it's more powerful than a hot air balloon. It allows people to fly freely in the sky. It's very fast and can even adjust their direction. It's all written in the letter."
Gao Lishi wasn't worried that Wang Maozhong's plan could be realized. Even if it was, the best craftsmen wouldn't be given to him. After all, he didn't have a successful precedent. Furthermore, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Family had never done badly.
This time, Li Longji opened the letter and began to read it. He started from the beginning, then moved from top to bottom, right to left. When he was halfway through, he stood up from his chair with a look of disbelief on his face. His hands were trembling.
"Can a person really fly into the sky? That's much better than riding on a horse. "Li Longji seemed to be asking Gao Lishi, but also speaking to himself.
"Your Majesty, it's not that this subject is biased toward Xiao Bao and Cuckoo, but that Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Family's projects have all been successful. There's also the hot air balloon that they sent over a while ago. That thing can fly into the sky. Even if it gives a person a pair of wings, it won't be a big deal."
Right now, Gao Lishi wanted to fly to Baoxin County and give his son a good kiss. The letter had come at just the right time. Wang Maozhong's plan had come at just the right time. Compared to Wang Maozhong's uncertain plan that could only speed things up a little, Xiao Bao and Cuckoo's plan was truly formidable.
Li Longji truly didn't care about the flight this time. What he cared about was the Soaring Plan. The letter said that in five years, the Great Tang's national strength would double. This was the truly shocking part.
If anyone else had said this, Li Longji would have slapped them across the face. Why didn't they take a look at the current state of the Great Tang? Doubling its national strength in five years? Dream on!
But this plan was proposed by Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, and the first step, the Soaring Plan, required an order from the Imperial Court to mobilize the best craftsmen in the country. There was another aspect that required an order from the Imperial Court, and that was that the Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Family were preparing to form a large fleet for a long-distance journey.
He hoped that the Imperial Court could provide official support so that the fleet could represent the entire Great Tang. He hoped that the Imperial Court could give them more freedom in their actions. He even hoped that the Imperial Court could pardon some of the officials who might pass by. After all, it was too far away. If he didn't do this, it would be too late to send the letter.
Li Longji pondered for a moment and said to Gao Lishi, "It's easy to recruit craftsmen. In a month's time, there will be many outstanding craftsmen competing in the capital. After they are done, they will be sent to Baoxin County for Xiao Bao and Cuckoo to choose from."
"Yes, Your Majesty. If we don't provide the craftsmen that Wang Maozhong needs and fail, will it be because the craftsmen are not good enough?"
Gao Lishi was very happy, but he still brought up the matter of Wang Maozhong.
"Transfer the craftsmen from the Ministry of Works to Wang Maozhong. This way, he won't say anything. Is the craftsmen from the Ministry of Works not good enough?" Li Longji had his own plans for this matter.
Gao Lishi continued, "What if Wang Maozhong insists that the craftsmen from the Ministry of Works are not good enough and wants the craftsmen from the inner court of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Family?"
"What else does he want? Does he need me to help him personally? The craftsmen from the Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Family didn't appear out of thin air. Didn't they nurture them bit by bit? Since the Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Family can nurture them, why can't Wang Maozhong do the same? Does he want to wait for the craftsmen that are already available? "
Li Longji couldn't possibly care less about this matter. Ever since the Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Family started nurturing craftsmen, the current trend in Great Tang was to nurture the craftsmen themselves instead of snatching from others. After all, what was given to others was given to others.
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