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The imperial court of the Tang Dynasty quickly seized most of the croton in Chang 'an City with thunderous force, causing many merchants who took the opportunity to stock up on croton to suffer a great loss. At the same time, it made everyone more convinced that croton was the core ingredient of gunpowder. Without croton, gunpowder could not be made.
Of course, some people who thought they were smart began to speculate about the role of croton and proudly told others that it was because croton was strong, so it could make gunpowder produce great power.
When people thought of the pain of diarrhea after eating croton, they immediately nodded in agreement and praised the other party's cleverness with admiration, which made the self-righteous guy even more narcissistic. At the same time, it further deepened the world's misconceptions about the ingredients of gunpowder, which was helpful for the imperial court of the Tang Dynasty to keep gunpowder a secret.
In the next few days, Ang Lee went to the gunpowder workshop every day to inspect the progress of the workshop. He emphasized some important points many times so that the people of the Ministry of Works could not make any mistakes.
In addition, because the workshop was only five miles away from the courtyard, Ang Lee would also go to the courtyard and sit in the vegetable shed for a while to feel the smell of fresh fruits.
Seeing the fruits growing day by day, Ang Lee was in a very good mood, as if he was watching his children grow up. From time to time, he would personally water and fertilize the fruits and take good care of them.
The coexistence of busy and leisure was Ang Lee's favorite way of life. It was also the most reliable way of life, whether it was in ancient times or modern times, in China or abroad.
In these days, the focus of the imperial court's work was only the construction of the gunpowder workshop and the implementation of the two tax laws. Other things were postponed. After the construction of the gunpowder workshop was completed, the next step would be to consider the spring plowing, which was related to the foundation of the country. At the same time, the counting of the number of acres of land would be carried out at the same time as the spring plowing.
Of course, there were also some small episodes in the past few days. They were not very important, but they attracted a lot of attention. For example, some people who had more than two taels of croton in their house were reported by their neighbors and were almost punished for the crime of rebellion. It was only after Li Longji asked the ministers to investigate the reason that they were pardoned. He also announced to the world that people who needed to prepare more croton in their house must tell the imperial court in advance about the use of croton. The peddlers must also report their stock and the amount of croton they sold to the imperial court truthfully. Otherwise, they would be punished.
This was actually a kind of regulation by the imperial court. Croton had become a regulated commodity. However, there was no harm in it. The stricter the imperial court's regulation, on one hand, could continue to mislead the world, making it impossible for people to make gunpowder. On the other hand, it could also greatly reduce the use of croton to harm people, which was conducive to maintaining social stability.
Although the price of various Chinese herbs had increased a lot, the imperial court was not in a hurry to purchase them. Therefore, the price gradually maintained at a level that was 50% higher than the original price. The price of mung beans and soybeans first doubled, then gradually fell as the situation developed. It was only 10% higher than the original price, which did not have a big impact on the lives of the people.
In addition, after a few days of construction, the craftsmen of the processing factory had built the railway according to Ang Lee's request. A section of railway was five steps long, and a total of twenty sections were built. Because the railway had to be laid in two lines, each line only had ten sections, which was 50 steps long.
The manufacturing of the sleepers was relatively simple, and they had already made a lot of them. There was also a modified iron-wheeled carriage that had been completed long ago. It was parked in the workshop of the processing factory, waiting for Ang Lee's instructions.
"Assistant Minister Li, this iron-wheeled carriage looks strange. Can it really move smoothly?"
Duan Xiushi had spent most of the time by Ang Lee's side in the past few days, so she was more familiar with Ang Lee. Therefore, when she encountered some doubts, she would boldly raise them.
Ang Lee touched the iron-wheeled carriage and nodded. "This iron-wheeled carriage is much better on a balanced railway than on a bumpy road. After the railway is laid, you will know how comfortable a train is."
"Assistant Minister Li, we are all ready. Where do we start?"
A craftsman walked to Ang Lee's side and asked.
"Start from the south gate of the processing factory. Go all the way south. Let's go, this official will teach you."
After Ang Lee finished speaking, he led a group of craftsmen to the south gate of the processing factory. He put down a large number of sleepers and rails and prepared to start laying the railway.
"First, lay the sleepers. The distance between them must be the same. The distance between the two rails must be the same as the distance between the two wheels of the carriage. It must be laid firmly and the foundation must be stable."
Ang Lee instructed the craftsmen as he used the instrument in his hand to measure the precision of the craftsmen's work. However, the iron wheels of the carriage were wider. As long as the error was not too great, they would not fall off. However, the more precise the work, the better. This would never be wrong.
The laying of the sleepers was not too difficult. Fixing the rails on the sleepers was also not difficult. It was just that the joint between the two rails needed to be handled very well. It must be maintained at the same height. At the same time, the gap had to be controlled well. If the gap was too large, it would cause the carriage to shake. If the gap was too small, the rails would be bent and deformed due to thermal expansion and contraction when the weather was hot. It might even break.
At this moment, the temperature was relatively low. Therefore, the gap between the rails had to be slightly larger. This way, when summer came, the rails would not be damaged due to thermal expansion and contraction.
Laying the railway was a very difficult job. In addition to the craftsmen, Ang Lee also transferred the manpower of the vegetable greenhouse and the construction of the courtyard to ensure that this small section of railway could be successfully laid as soon as possible.
Hard work paid off. After nearly four hours of hard work, the fifty-pace-long railway was officially completed. However, this was not the end. Because the sleepers were directly laid on the flat ground, the stability was definitely not very high. In order to prevent the wind from causing the railway to shift, gravel had to be scattered between the sleepers.
This work was not difficult. Moreover, the gravel had already been prepared. With everyone's efforts, the gravel quickly filled the space between the sleepers, so that the sleepers and the railway could be firmly fixed. In order to allow the horses to smoothly walk between the two rails, the top of the gravel was also covered with a layer of not too thick yellow soil. In this way, when the horses walked between the two rails, it was like walking on flat ground.
Looking at the small section of railway that had been completely completed, Ang Lee waved his hand and asked the craftsmen to bring the iron-wheeled carriage up to test the effect of the railway.
The iron-wheeled carriage was quickly pushed onto the railway. In addition, a strong male horse was also pulled over and tied to the front of the iron-wheeled carriage to prepare for the experiment.
Ang Lee was full of confidence in his experiment. He rolled up his sleeves and prepared to personally drive the carriage.
"Assistant Minister Li, the railway has just been completed. Its safety cannot be guaranteed. Let me try it out first!"
Duan Xiushi was worried about Ang Lee's safety and stopped Ang Lee from personally experimenting. He also volunteered to be the test driver.
Ang Lee thought for a moment and nodded, "Alright then! Lieutenant Duan wants to be the first to drive the carriage. This official agrees. "
Duan Xiushi gave a look to a soldier behind him and let him be in charge of driving the horse. He then jumped onto the carriage and sat in the carriage.
"Jia …"
This Yulin Army soldier had obviously driven a carriage before. His movements were extremely skillful and there was not the slightest feeling of unfamiliarity. Under his control, the carriage slowly moved forward. The entire process was very smooth.
"Shh shh …"
When they were about to reach the end, the Yulin Army soldier reined in the horse and stopped. The iron-wheeled carriage steadily stopped at the end of the railway. The entire process was very smooth and there were no accidents.
"Lieutenant Duan, how do you feel?"
Ang Lee smiled as he looked at Duan Xiushi, his face filled with pride.
"Assistant Minister Li, this iron-wheeled carriage on the railway is indeed much more stable than an ordinary carriage on flat ground. However, after a certain distance, there would be a slight jolt. Luckily, there isn't much of a feeling."
Duan Xiushi replied truthfully and spoke of his own experience.
Ang Lee had taken many trains in his previous life and naturally understood the feeling of taking a train. However, because the train's speed was too fast, the small gaps between the railway tracks would cause more obvious vibrations. At this moment, the iron-wheeled carriage's speed was extremely slow. Even if there was a small gap between the railway tracks, one wouldn't feel much of a vibration. It was almost negligible. It was only because Duan Xiushi's senses were sensitive that he was able to notice these minute vibrations.
"Push the carriage back. You've all worked hard. Go and experience it!"
Ang Lee looked at the workers and servants and gave his order. He wanted to use this method to test the durability and reliability of the railway and the iron-wheeled carriage. These people were obviously the best test subjects. Moreover, they were very happy. They felt that this was a benefit given to them by Ang Lee.
The iron-wheeled carriage was pushed back again and again. After it was filled with people, it would be pulled by the horses again and again to a place fifty steps away. After dozens of trips back and forth, there wasn't even the slightest bit of malfunction. It could be seen that the rails and iron-wheeled carriages designed by Li An were very mature and reliable in terms of technology.
However, this was only the most preliminary technology. The ultimate goal was to build a train with a large capacity. However, looking at the horses pulling the carriage on the railway, Ang Lee thought of the Braids Dynasty of the future.
The talents of the Braids Dynasty actually used horses to pull the carriage on the railway in the era of mature train technology. This shocked the Western friends. Of course, they also put forward their own reasons. That was, the train emitted black smoke and would pollute the environment. The carriage was more environmentally friendly. To abandon the locomotive in order to protect the environment, it should be worthy of a Nobel Prize for environmental protection.
When he thought of the old man with a big braid standing on the podium of the Nobel Prize, Ang Lee couldn't help but have the urge to laugh.
"Assistant Minister Li, I think that the iron-wheeled carriage is indeed very comfortable on the railway. However, the railway uses too much iron. I'm afraid it will be difficult to promote it. Moreover, it's a little inappropriate to use a large amount of iron just for comfort."
Duan Xiushi was getting bolder and bolder. He even dared to point out his doubts in person. Of course, this was also related to Ang Lee's kindness to him, which made him more and more comfortable.
However, Ang Lee liked Duan Xiushi's character of raising doubts when he had doubts. Of course, except for Duan Xiushi, everyone would have this kind of doubts. They felt that Ang Lee's construction of the railway and the iron-wheeled carriage was a kind of nouveau riche behavior. There was no possibility of promotion at all. It was a waste of resources.
Of course, people in their era could only have this kind of understanding. After all, they didn't know what a train was, let alone the powerful capacity and fast speed of the train.
Ang Lee didn't explain too much. He only told Duan Xiushi that when the technology matured in the future, the iron-wheeled carriage would become very long. It would be able to transport a large amount of goods at once, which would far exceed the capacity of the carriage. Moreover, the speed would be much faster. It would greatly change the current circulation of goods in the Tang dynasty, benefiting the people of the Tang dynasty. He also pointed out that with black gunpowder, the mining speed of iron ore would increase exponentially. Iron wasn't a problem, but the real problem was to develop more advanced technology as soon as possible.
After laying the railway and testing the iron-wheeled carriage, the first step of Ang Lee's plan could be considered a complete success. This was a very good start. Next, he only needed to study various kinds of gear structures and steam engines. Ang Lee had been trying hard to recall a lot of knowledge he had learned in his previous life, especially the knowledge about steam engines. This was the key to successfully building the train.
Before leaving the courtyard, Ang Lee told the craftsmen to speed up production and use all the remaining iron to build railway tracks to lay a 15 li long railway road. This way, it would be satisfying to walk to the end of the road in one go.
After returning to the mansion, Ang Lee began to design the iron-wheeled carriage and the front of the carriage. The structure of the carriage was very simple. It was a rectangular wooden box with iron wheels at the bottom. It was similar to the rear carriages of his previous life. However, part of the carriage was made of wood, and the proportion of iron was very small.
The structure of the front of the carriage was more complicated. Ang Lee thought hard for a long time, but he still didn't know how to make the front of the carriage. He fell into a state of anxiety for a while.
"Husband, as soon as you came back, you hid in your room and drew pictures. You even moaned and groaned. What's wrong?"
Seeing Ang Lee moaning and groaning, Yan Ruyu walked over with heartache. She stretched out her small pink hand and massaged Ang Lee's wrinkled forehead.
Ang Lee held Yan Ruyu's small hand and gently kissed it.
"Husband, what's wrong? Why do you look so unhappy?"
Yan Ruyu asked with concern.
Ang Lee took a deep breath and stood up. He hugged Yan Ruyu and pressed her against the table. He mischievously said, "Your husband's mood was indeed a bit bad. However, after seeing my wife, it's much better. Come, let your husband properly pamper you."
"Husband, quickly let go. It's broad daylight, what are you doing?"
Yan Ruyu was startled. Ang Lee was always like this. He would suddenly go crazy for no reason. This was not the first time. She was helpless about it, but she also secretly liked it.
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