Yang Guozhong left the Right Minister's residence with dissatisfaction. However, this trip wasn't completely fruitless. He had learned a few things. For example, he had a better understanding of Crown Prince Li Heng. He knew that this fellow was a coward who hid in his shell all day long, making others unable to bite him.
Another thing was that he had to do his best to nurture a prince who could replace the current Crown Prince. As for which prince he would choose, that would depend on his own judgment.
In history, Yang Guozhong had always been the vanguard of opposing Crown Prince Li Heng. Not only did he act as a pawn when he worked with Li Linfu to frame Li Heng, after Li Linfu's death, he had been constantly suppressing Li Heng. If not for Li Heng's forbearance and cowardice, he would have met with misfortune long ago. In addition, when Xuanzong proposed to hand over the world to the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister, Yang Guozhong strongly opposed it. Even his sister, Yang Guifei, tried her best to dissuade him, fearing that Crown Prince Li Heng would really take the throne.
Of course, this was only Xuanzong's test. How could Xuanzong, who was obsessed with power, hand over his authority to his own son? If that was the case, how could he do as he pleased? What he wanted was for everyone by his side to be loyal to him. Yang Guozhong's opposition to the Crown Prince taking the throne was also sincere. He was afraid that after Crown Prince Li Heng took the throne, as his prestige grew, he would slowly gain more and more trusted aides and supporters, and his days would become more and more difficult.
"Father, when I came back, I seemed to have seen Yang Guozhong. What did he come here for?"
Li Xiu had returned home after dealing with administrative matters. Because his father's health wasn't good, and he was the Right Minister of the Imperial Court, his colleagues in the same position would naturally share more of his responsibilities. This gave Li Xiu more time to return home to serve his old father.
Li Linfu was resting with his eyes closed. Hearing this, he said softly, "It's about the Crown Prince. He came to ask for advice. His Majesty's illness made him nervous."
"Father, do you think that Yang Guozhong can deal with the Crown Prince? Can he really topple the Crown Prince?"
Li Xiu asked in confusion.
Li Linfu sighed. "The Crown Prince seems cowardly and timid, but he's actually very meticulous. His Majesty doesn't seem to have any intention of dethroning the Crown Prince. If I can't deal with him, Yang Guozhong can't.... If that idiot doesn't know restraint, he'll be killed..................
This worry was not without reason. In history, Yang Guozhong truly had been unable to do anything to Li Heng, just like a lion before a turtle. In the end, during the An Lushan Rebellion, the Crown Prince orchestrated the Maweipo Incident and slaughtered Yang Guozhong's entire clan. He even killed the Imperial Concubine at the Emperor's side, finally venting his anger.
"Since we can't rely on Yang Guozhong, what should we do?"
Li Xiu asked.
Li Linfu said helplessly, "Count on him? Don't even think about it. It's already good enough if he doesn't bite us to death. How can you count on him to help us? .. ...........
. "After saying this, he closed his eyes and rested.
The treacherous subject Yang Guozhong was still thinking about how to frame the Crown Prince, Li Linfu was thinking about his funeral, and Ang Lee was thinking about how to take the imperial grandsons to the mountains for sightseeing.
The royal grandsons were all treasured children. If any of them were to get hurt by accident, the consequences would be severe. Even though Li An would only receive some duties at most, and the ones who would suffer would be the attendants and guards, as long as something happened to them, it would be shameful. Thus, it was best to avoid accidents as much as possible.
The mountainous environment was complicated. The road was not as flat as the palace. From time to time, one would encounter protruding stones and withered tree roots. It was very easy to fall, and once one fell, it could lead to injury. If the imperial grandsons were injured, it would be terrible.
Therefore, before setting off, it was necessary to prepare protective gear for the imperial grandsons. The armor worn by ordinary soldiers was too heavy. If the imperial grandsons were to wear such heavy armor, it would crush their small bodies. Moreover, many of the imperial grandsons were still young. Their bodies did not reach the size of the armor, so they could not wear it. It was extremely unrealistic to let them wear armor to sightsee outside the city.
However, the trip was a must, and the armor couldn't be worn, and the royal grandchildren couldn't be injured. This made Li An even more demanding. He had to immediately invent and produce a lightweight protective gear that would allow the royal grandchildren to not be injured when they fell, and it wouldn't be too heavy. In addition, because it was the royal grandchildren's equipment, it had to be good-looking and presentable. If it was too ugly, it would be a disgrace to the royal family, and the royal grandchildren would refuse to wear it.
The lightest protective gear that Ang Lee could think of was the ice skate protective gear system of the later generations. However, certain improvements had to be made on this basis. For example, the style of the helmet could be improved to make it more in line with the aesthetic standards of the Tang Empire. The knee pads and wrist guards were not a big problem. After all, the clothes of the Tang Empire had long sleeves and skirts. Even if the knee pads and wrist guards were worn on the body, it was very difficult to see from the outside.
However, the knee pads and wrist guards had to be light and comfortable. If they were not comfortable to wear, the imperial grandsons would also have feelings of resistance. The standard of comfort was that they could not be too heavy, and they could not affect the freedom of movement of the leg joints and elbow joints. Otherwise, the purpose of protective gear would be lost.
The development of the helmet required the use of the lightest and most high-end materials. The weight must not be too high. Otherwise, after wearing such a helmet for a long time, one would feel a pain in the neck. That would be very bad.
Using a lighter sponge material was a very good idea. However, if it was a pure sponge, it would have no protective effect. It still needed a hard protective material. A hard and light hard protective material was undoubtedly a new type of material like synthetic plastic. At least, steel could not be used. Otherwise, it would be too heavy.
Fortunately, after so many years of industrial development, plastic could still be produced. Moreover, it could already be used to produce some industrial supplies. For example, various mechanical industries needed plastic and rubber materials.
In order to further reduce the weight, even if plastic was used, some hollow styles had to be designed. In this way, the weight could be further reduced. At the same time, the strength of the helmet would not be too damaged. As for the external decoration of the helmet, it would be fine as long as it was in line with the style of the ordinary aristocrats' hats in the Tang Empire.
Although there were still many problems to be solved in the Long-distance Telepathy Plan, developing this kind of protective gear was not difficult for Ang Lee. It could be completed in a short time.
"Assistant Minister Li, is this also related to the Long-distance Telepathy Plan?"
One of his subordinates asked curiously as he looked at the blueprints and technical parameters drawn by Li An.
Ang Lee did not answer directly. He directly ordered, "You don't have to worry about this. Make these things as soon as possible. The sooner the better. Complete this task at all costs."
"Yes, Assistant Minister Li."
The subordinate replied.
Ang Lee finished making the protective gear and then continued to solve the problems such as the tuning fork and other problems encountered in the Long-distance Telepathy Plan. He overcame the difficulties bit by bit and solved most of the problems with the help of many researchers.
After a tiring day, Ang Lee returned home and found that there was a guest at home. It was Yan Ruyu's uncle, Yan Zhenqing. He was a great calligrapher and a very upright official.
However, although Yan Zhenqing was an honest official and had outstanding abilities, he had never been put in an important position. After all, he was very bad at currying favor with others and did not know how to please others. For example, he was already so close to Ang Lee. It was still possible for him to ask for help from Ang Lee. However, with his pride, he would not agree. He would rather stay in a very low official position and do nothing than ask for help.
This time, he came purely to visit Ang Lee and the children at home. He also brought some candies and snacks to make the children happy.
"Oh! Uncle is here. I haven't seen you for a long time. I miss you so much! "
As soon as Ang Lee saw Yan Zhenqing, he went up to him affectionately.
"Haha! Uncle misses you very much too! You've been away for nearly two years. I've missed you so much. "
Yan Zhenqing said with a smile. He was also very enthusiastic.
"I'm just working for the court. It's only right for me to work hard. Uncle, you've worked hard all these years."
"It's all right. It's not hard at all. Hahaha!"
After the two exchanged greetings for a while, they talked about the current situation.
The treacherous prime minister, Li Linfu, was about to die, but the successor, Yang Guozhong, was not as good as Li Linfu. He was simply a retard. This made a loyal official like Yan Zhenqing very worried.
"Uncle, you don't have to worry too much. Yang Guozhong's abilities are mediocre. He won't be able to stir up any big waves. Besides, don't you still have me?"
Ang Lee said confidently.
Yan Zhenqing sighed and said, "Nephew's prestige is naturally higher than Yang Guozhong's. But Yang Guozhong is about to take control of the court, while you're holed up in the R&D Center all day long. You can't affect him!"
Obviously, Ang Lee did not like to participate in the court and rarely participated in it. His influence on the court's policies was relatively small. However, his influence on the industrialization was very big. Almost the entire court listened to Ang Lee.
What Yan Zhenqing was worried about was that after Yang Guozhong took control of the Political Affairs Hall, he would try his best to exclude people who were not on the same side as him. He would also wantonly develop his own confidants, filling the entire court with his confidants. In this way, his position would be more stable.
Ang Lee said with a smile, "Uncle, you worry too much. Although I don't like to participate in the court, I still have a great influence on the court. As long as I want to check and balance, there's no one that I can't control."
"Alright! Uncle naturally believes you. I don't know what's going on recently. His Majesty is sick and all the kings are taking action. But His Highness the Crown Prince still refuses to see us. He doesn't even want to communicate with us. I haven't seen him for several months. "
Yan Zhenqing said doubtfully.
Ang Lee hurriedly said, "Uncle, you worry too much. His Highness the Crown Prince just wants to protect you. It's not that he really doesn't want to see you."
"I'm just an eighth-grade official in the capital. I don't have any military power. Even if the Crown Prince sees me, what can he do? Could it be that someone dares to frame the Crown Prince for treason? "
Yan Zhenqing said.
"Uncle's position is not high, so naturally you won't attract attention. But after the Crown Prince sees you, what if you go to see someone else? The person who wants to frame you will find an excuse. "
Ang Lee said with a smile.
Yan Zhenqing slapped his forehead and said, "You're right. Am I not a high official? If I see the Crown Prince and come to visit my house, won't I be framed? These hateful villains have no other skills, but the ability to frame people is self-taught. Humph. "
After saying that, he snorted angrily. It was obvious that he hated these people who framed people for power.
Later, Yan Zhenqing and Ang Lee talked about some topics of the imperial court. It could be seen that Yan Zhenqing, who didn't have a high official position, was very concerned about the imperial court. He was a firm supporter of the Crown Prince. He believed that only when the Crown Prince was stable could the Tang dynasty be stabilized. If the Crown Prince's position was not stable, the Tang dynasty would be easy to be unstable. Even the country might fall into chaos.
Since ancient times, those who adhered to the orthodoxy and supported the Crown Prince were basically loyal officials. Only villains would instigate conflicts in the imperial court and cause an empire to fall into endless civil strife.
And the most serious internal strife in an empire was not the peasant uprising, nor was it the rampant bandits. Instead, it was the fierce internal strife within the imperial court. As long as the internal strife within the imperial court did not stop, it would cause a terrible internal strife within the empire, which would then lead to the empire's destruction.
The most serious internal strife was undoubtedly the Five Barbarians Rebellion. That era was really terrible. First, there was the Rebellion of the Eight Princes in the Jin Dynasty, which stirred up the imperial court. Then, various regimes took turns to take the stage. Among them, since the death of Shi Hu, the Later Zhao Empire's emperors were changed very frequently, almost every year, not to mention the ministers. No matter the emperor, the ministers, or the ordinary people, no one could predict what misfortune would befall them tomorrow.
The internal friction of the Tang Empire was extremely heavy. Ever since the founding of the Tang Empire, every time a successor ascended to the throne, it would be accompanied by a storm of blood. There had never been an Emperor who could sit on the throne so easily. Even Wu Zetian, a female Emperor, had appeared. It could be said that she was unprecedented and had even become a role model for future generations of feminists to promote their rights.
All the women in later generations dreamed of being an empress. They were so arrogant that they would turn hostile at the slightest disagreement. After all, they were all empresses. In addition, a certain policy led to more men than women, which made these women even more arrogant and domineering. They were really difficult to serve. In his previous life, Ang Lee would rather be single for the rest of his life than serve these empresses. His life was worse than that of a slave.
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