As soon as Ang Lee arrived near the courtyard, he saw Li Yu and Li Qiu sitting side by side on the rail. They had a cucumber in their left hand and a small jar of Five-Step Pour in their right hand. They were eating and drinking to their heart's content.
In the past, the two of them would only eat a few cucumbers each time. However, ever since Ang Lee made the Five-Step Pour, they increased their habit of eating cucumbers and drinking hard liquor. Moreover, they would come to eat and drink almost every morning. This gave Ang Lee the misconception that they had been abused in the Baisun Courtyard and were starving. That was why they came here to eat and drink.
"Assistant Minister Li, we've prepared everything for you."
Li Yu put down the jar of hard liquor in his hand and took out a small jar of hard liquor and a cucumber from behind his back. He handed them to Ang Lee.
Ang Lee glanced at the two of them and took the Five-Step Pour and the cucumber. He also sat on the rail and began to eat and drink.
The feeling of sitting on the train tracks, drinking hard liquor while nibbling on a cucumber, was quite good. It was very comfortable and carefree.
"You two really know how to enjoy yourselves. You come here every morning to eat and drink. What would His Majesty do if he knew?"
Ang Lee asked with a smile.
"As long as Assistant Minister Li doesn't tell on us, His Majesty won't know. Moreover, we all know that Assistant Minister Li definitely won't tell on us, right?"
Li Yu said with a smile.
"Hey, you two know me quite well, don't you? You've got me. "
Ang Lee smiled helplessly. Of course, he wouldn't go to Li Longji to tell on such a trivial matter. If he was so petty, he wouldn't be able to achieve anything big. He would also be despised by Li Yu and Li Qiu.
"Assistant Minister Li, when we came here this morning, we met a veteran from the Shuofang. He said he knew you and came here to ask for wine."
Li Qiu said.
"A veteran from the Shuofang? Where is he?"
Ang Lee looked around and didn't see the so-called veteran. He had already guessed who it was.
"Oh, he went to the research and development center. He said he wanted to broaden his horizons."
Li Yu rushed to answer.
"Research and development center? That's not a place that just anyone can enter. "
Ang Lee had already told the soldiers guarding the gate not to let anyone in, no matter how high their rank was.
"Assistant Minister Li, it's His Majesty's decree. With His Majesty's decree, of course he can enter."
Li Qiu replied.
"Oh, then let's eat and drink quickly. After we're done, we'll go find him."
Ang Lee ate the cucumber in big bites and drank a few mouthfuls of strong liquor. Because the liquor was too strong, each jar was only prepared to be about an inch deep, about half a catty. Any more and he would definitely get drunk. Li Yu and Li Qiu were well aware of that.
"Let's go to the R&D center and see what the veterans are doing."
Ang Lee strode to the R&D center with Li Yu and Li Qiu.
"I want these 500 solar stoves. Hurry up and pack them up. I want to bring them back to the north. The army needs this good stuff."
Ang Lee heard a loud voice from afar. It was a voice that he hadn't heard for a long time. Who else could it be other than Guo Ziyi?
"That won't do. These belong to His Majesty. I can only give them to you with His Majesty's consent."
Yu Chaoen's voice of objection was heard very quickly.
"Pack them up for me first. I'll ask His Majesty for permission."
Guo Ziyi coaxed.
"No means no. I can only give them to you with His Majesty's consent."
Yu Chaoen didn't give in at all.
"You just said that you only need three days to make 500 solar stoves. It's just three days' worth of solar stoves. Will His Majesty disagree? Pack them up for me first."
"General Guo, I kindly asked someone to demonstrate the functions of the solar stoves to you. You want all of them. Not to mention that His Majesty hasn't agreed. Even if His Majesty agrees, I'll be happy."
Yu Chaoen refused. This was the industry he was in charge of. It was very profitable. Of course, he wouldn't be willing to send it to the army without earning a single cent unless His Majesty gave an order.
"Ambassador Yu, the desert lacks fodder, but there are many sunny days. The army is under a lot of pressure to gather fodder. This is what we lack. His Majesty will definitely agree. "
Guo Ziyi's tone had obviously softened a lot. At first glance, one could tell that he was a crafty old man.
"General Guo, as long as His Majesty gives the order, I can prepare them for you. How much time can we waste? Why are you in such a hurry?"
Yu Chaoen was very puzzled.
"Hahaha! General Guo wants to take these solar stoves and sneak back to the north. At that time, His Majesty will have to agree even if he doesn't. "
Ang Lee strode over and pointed out Guo Ziyi's intention.
"Guo Ziyi, you dare …"
Yu Chaoen was very angry. If not for his insistence, these 500 solar stoves would have been swindled away by Guo Ziyi.
"Ambassador Yu, don't be angry. General Guo is thinking for the army. You can't blame him. Haha!"
Ang Lee comforted Yu Chaoen and looked at Guo Ziyi. "What? His Majesty doesn't agree."
Guo Ziyi stepped forward and whispered, "His Majesty said that after the production of the solar stoves increases, he will consider satisfying the needs of the army. But the army really needs them."
"So you came here to swindle us. Have you thought about how serious it is to offend a eunuch?"
Ang Lee lowered his voice and warned.
"Hahaha! Assistant Minister Li, it's been a long time. The last time I saw you, you were still Marshal Jie's nephew. It's only been a year, but you're already an assistant minister of the Imperial Court. Your position is much higher than mine. "
Guo Ziyi loudly changed the topic. Although he was old enough to be Ang Lee's grandfather, he didn't have many opportunities to make contributions. Because of this, he didn't get promoted. Now, his position was even lower than Ang Lee's, so it wasn't wrong for him to call himself a subordinate.
"That's because General Guo hasn't had a chance to show off. With General Guo's talent, it wouldn't be a problem for you to be made a regional commander."
"I'm old. I, Guo Ziyi, am still old. How capable am I to lead an army to war? I'm sure I'm not capable of the solar stove invented by Assistant Minister Li. Also, I'm sure I can't make all the things here. By the way, I heard that Assistant Minister Li is developing a weapon that can throw a big iron ball a thousand steps away.
As a general, Guo Ziyi was naturally interested in weapons.
"It's called a cannon. I'm sure it will be finished within a year. By then, the army will be equipped and the Tang dynasty will be invincible."
Ang Lee said proudly.
"Haha! That's great. I've been waiting for this day. I heard that the imperial court has paved the railway. Will it be built to the Shuofang in the future? If so, it will be much more convenient to travel from the Shuofang to the capital. "
"Of course, of course. The Shuofang is an important city of the Tang dynasty. Of course, it will be connected to the railway in the future. I wonder how General Guo is free to come to the capital?"
Ang Lee asked.
"Because I have nothing to do. The Turks are completely finished. They have been fighting among themselves for more than a year. They have no time to go south. Our Shuofang army has no war to fight. "
Guo Ziyi complained that his military career was too boring and he had too few opportunities to fight big battles.
"Yes! The Turks are finished. In another year or so, the Turks will cease to exist, and the Uighurs will rise to power. "
Ang Lee sighed.
"The Turks are finished and the Uighurs are going to rise. Assistant Minister Li has the ability to predict the future."
Guo Ziyi looked at Ang Lee in surprise.
"I don't have the ability to predict the future. It's just a guess. How long can the Turks last? The Uighurs have been increasing their strength rapidly in recent years. In the future, they will replace the Turks and become the new overlord of the grassland."
Ang Lee made a prediction.
"En, on this point, after this subordinate returns, I must remind Marshal Jie."
Guo Ziyi's face was grave. No one knew what he was thinking.
"General Guo, since you can't get the Solar Stove, I can't let you go back empty-handed. Let me give you something!"
Ang Lee looked at the weapons workshop in the distance and said.
"Give me something? What is it?"
Guo Ziyi asked quickly.
"A helmet."
"A helmet. Assistant Minister Li, there is no shortage of helmets in the army."
Guo Ziyi was puzzled for a moment. Then, he suddenly realized. "Did Assistant Minister Li invent a new helmet?"
"Haha! General Guo, you will know if you go and take a look. "
Ang Lee strode toward the weapons workshop. Guo Ziyi followed. Li Yu and Li Qiu also followed curiously.
"General Guo, please take a look. This is the new helmet. It is based on the original helmet and has a structure that can adjust the angle of the helmet."
Ang Lee took out the basic product that he had just developed. The structure was too simple. It was almost like the helmet of an electric car in the future. However, this helmet was a little heavy and thick. It was made of tempered glass and could completely block the attacks of swords and arrows. It even had a certain degree of sandstorm resistance. It could relieve the pain of the soldiers of the Tang dynasty who served in the desert.
"Medicinal jade? Isn't this thing very fragile? Can it block the crossbow attacks of the enemy? "
Guo Ziyi directly took it and put it on his head.
"General Guo, this is a tempered medicinal jade. It won't break so easily. Why don't you give it a try?"
Ang Lee was very confident in the results of his research. He believed that the product he designed would definitely be able to withstand the test.
Fifty steps away, there was a wooden shelf that had already been prepared. The tempered medicinal jade helmet was hung on it.
"Give me a bow and arrow."
Li An took the bow and arrow, aimed at the mask of the medicinal jade helmet, and shot the first arrow. It hit the mask, but it bounced off and did not cause any obvious damage to the tempered medicinal jade mask.
"General Guo, you try it too."
Ang Lee handed the bow and arrow to Guo Ziyi and said with a smile.
Guo Ziyi did not decline. He took the bow and arrow, aimed at the medicinal jade helmet and shot an arrow.
As expected, the arrow was bounced off. The medicinal jade helmet did not break.
Guo Ziyi looked at what happened in front of him in surprise. His expression froze. He obviously did not expect that the medicinal jade helmet could block the arrow attack.
"Give me the helmet."
Ang Lee took the helmet and placed it in front of Guo Ziyi. He said softly, "General Guo, please take a look. There are two slight damages on the surface of the helmet. In addition, there are two shallow scratches. This is the damage caused by the arrows we shot just now."
"Amazing. This helmet is really amazing. If the whole army is equipped with this helmet, there will be fewer casualties in the war."
Guo Ziyi's old face was filled with excitement. He could not wait to bring back tens of thousands of helmets.
Of course, the reason why this tempered medicinal jade mask was so powerful was that the strength of the tempered medicinal jade was relatively high and not easy to shatter. The second reason was that the mask had a range. It was higher in the middle and lower on the sides. Thus, after an arrow hit the mask, it was easy to bounce off. Moreover, the energy received at the point of impact could be better broken down, further reducing the damage.
"General Guo, this is only a basic product. We only need to improve the original helmet. In the future, there will be helmets with better defense."
Ang Lee introduced proudly.
"Assistant Minister Li, how many of these helmets do you have now?"
Guo Ziyi asked expectantly.
"There are only two that have been completed. I'll give both of them to General Guo. In addition, there are 100 sets of tempered medicinal jade masks and auxiliary adjustment parts. As long as there are helmets, they can be completed very quickly. I'll give them to General Guo as well."
Ang Lee said generously.
"Haha! Great. I will take them. As long as there are some, it is better than nothing! "
Guo Ziyi did not stand on ceremony at all and directly accepted all of them.
"Well, there is nothing to see here. Let's go out for a drink! Let General Guo have a taste of the liquor I made, Five Steps Down. "
Ang Lee took Guo Ziyi out of the R&D Center and walked towards the vegetable greenhouse. How could they drink without cucumber?
"Five Steps Down. I know it is a good liquor from the name! Haha! I must drink more. "
Guo Ziyi was old, but he was as forthright as a young man, and his capacity for liquor was no less than that of a young man.
Ang Lee and Guo Ziyi drank a lot and talked a lot. They talked about military affairs, science and technology, international strategies, and even astronomy.
Although Guo Ziyi was much older than Ang Lee, he listened and echoed when they talked about these topics. After all, he was much less knowledgeable than Ang Lee, and could only be a qualified listener.
Guo Ziyi did not forget to take the helmet and mask that Ang Lee gave him when he left. However, Lao Guo's expression was a little complicated. He was still thinking about the many strange things that Ang Lee had described, and he was amazed that Ang Lee had such great knowledge at such a young age.
A month later, the railway line from Chang 'an to Luoyang was officially confirmed after Ang Lee's inspection.
The imperial court immediately recruited a large number of laborers to build the roadbed along the railway line. They were divided into five places and started to lay the rails at the same time, in order to complete the railway line as soon as possible.
As the technical director of this project, Li An naturally had to be responsible for supervising and guiding the project to prevent any problems with the quality of the project.
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