"Gift? You're saying that Meton brat is here to give me a gift! "
Inside Taiji Palace, Li Shimin looked at Xi Junmai in astonishment!
"Your Majesty, Marquis Merton is currently waiting outside the palace." Xi Junmai said.
"Oh! One who is unaccountably solicitous is hiding evil intentions. Could it be that this brat has caused trouble again? "Li Shimin said with a faint smile.
"Hm? According to Baiqi's report, Marquis Merton hasn't done anything out of the ordinary recently. Why don't the Minister go and refuse him? "Xi Junmai said after some thought.
"No, since he's here, let him in!" Li Shimin said.
To be honest, if it was an ordinary person, Li Shimin probably wouldn't even see them. However, the things that Meton gave out were all excellent products that benefited the country and the people. Li Shimin was very curious about something that Meton had personally come to deliver.
Soon, Meton arrived in front of Taiji Palace with a luxurious four-wheeled carriage pulled by four horses. Horses were forbidden in the palace, and even carriages weren't allowed. Meton naturally wouldn't violate this taboo.
"A carriage full of gifts!" Li Shimin looked at the four-wheeled carriage and couldn't help but be stunned. He looked at Meton with an unfriendly gaze. It seemed that this brat Meton had caused quite a bit of trouble! He actually spent so much money.
Meton's face darkened when he heard this. He said embarrassedly, "Your Majesty misunderstood. The Minister's gift is this carriage."
"Carriage?" Li Shimin was immediately embarrassed. Only now did he notice the strange four-wheeled carriage.
Li Shimin then remembered the secret report a few days ago. The ambulance from Mo Hospital had appeared in Chang 'an City. It seemed that it was also a four-wheeled carriage.
"When the Minister was designing the ambulance for Mo Hospital, he suddenly realized that it was not only the patients who didn't like the bumpiness of the carriage, but also ordinary people didn't like the bumpiness of the carriage. Even the Minister preferred to ride a horse every time he went back to the Mo Family Village. So I suddenly had the idea to make a four-wheeled carriage for ordinary people. His Majesty has a lot of things to do every day, and he usually likes to inspect the people. With this comfortable and stable four-wheeled carriage, he will definitely not suffer from the pain of being jolted. "Meton flattered.
"Oh!" Li Shimin's curiosity was piqued.
Meton led Li Shimin to the side of the carriage and opened the door to reveal the soft mattress and the leather seats that Meton had imitated. He explained the advantages of the four-wheeled carriage one by one.
Li Shimin tried to sit on the seat wrapped in leather, and he immediately felt that his lower body was soft, and his back was perfectly supported. His exhausted body, which had been sitting for a long time to deal with official documents, suddenly relaxed.
"Eh?"
Li Shimin exclaimed in surprise. He couldn't help but move his body. His exhaustion suddenly disappeared.
"Oh! You're quite considerate! " Li Shimin's heart was also moved. He was a weak emperor who had lived in the depths of the palace for a long time, and often traveled, so he knew the pain of being jolted by a carriage. Sometimes, he would rather ride a horse than a carriage. However, as the emperor, the safety of the world was tied to him, and there were times when he had no choice but to ride in a carriage.
"Your Majesty, this carriage looks comfortable, but Your Majesty's safety is still the most important thing when traveling. Why don't we ask the Imperial Horse Supervisor to imitate this carriage and make another one?" Xi Jun advised.
It must be known that the carriage that the emperor rode in was made of top-notch wood and workmanship. Although Meton's four-wheeled carriage was new in design, the materials used were unknown, and the workmanship was rough. How could it compare to the workmanship of the Imperial Horse Supervisor? Furthermore, the emperor's carriage had always prioritized safety, and the materials used were all of the best quality. However, the wood used by the Mo Family Village in front of them was clearly not of the best quality.
"General Xi, you're mistaken. This one's carriage is made of the best wood in the world!" Meton shook his head and refuted.
"The best wood?"
Xi Jun wasn't the only one who was dumbfounded. Even Li Shimin was dumbfounded.
"Meton, you brat, you sure know how to talk big. We've seen all sorts of precious wood in the imperial palace, but we've never seen wood like yours. Could it be that the Imperial Horse Supervisor is deceiving us?" Li Shimin said unhappily.
Besides, if he really did have this kind of wood, and the Imperial Horse Supervisor didn't let him use it, then where was he?
Meton immediately smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty misunderstands. It's not the Imperial Horse Supervisor's fault. It's just that this kind of wood is too hard to cut, so how could it be made into a carriage?"
"Too hard? How hard is it? "Li Shimin countered with a question.
Meton's expression turned serious as he said, "This wood is invulnerable to swords and spears."
"Invulnerable to swords and spears?" Li Shimin exclaimed.
"Marquis Merton must be joking. It's just a piece of wood, how could it be harder than steel?" Xi Jun looked at the carriage in front of him and said harshly.
"Harder than steel, stronger than steel!" Meton joked.
"Meton, do you know that if you speak nonsense, you'll be committing the crime of deceiving the emperor?" Li Shimin said harshly.
"General Xi, you have a sword in hand. Feel free to try," Meton said confidently.
Xi Jun couldn't believe that there was a piece of wood that was harder than steel in this world. He couldn't help but look at Li Shimin.
Li Shimin slowly nodded. He also wanted to know if there really was such a hard piece of wood in this world.
"Your Majesty, please step back!"
After saying this, Xi Jun slowly pulled out his sword and got into a horse stance. Holding the sword with both hands, he slowly gathered strength.
He didn't believe that there was such a hard piece of wood in this world. For the sake of the emperor's safety, he had to test it out himself. Otherwise, if something happened, none of them would be able to escape.
"Heh!"
Xi Jun Mai swung the sword in his hand at the carriage. Suddenly, there was the sound of metal clashing. Xi Jun Mai only felt a huge rebound force hit him. He almost couldn't hold the sword and couldn't help but stagger back three steps.
"How is this possible?" Xi Jun Mai looked at the white mark on the back of the carriage and turned pale with fright.
Li Shimin also came over and looked at the white mark on the wood. He also opened his mouth in shock. One must know that the sword in Xi Jun Mai's hand was a standard weapon in the palace. It was made of the best steel.
In addition to Xi Jun Mai's strength, he only managed to leave a white mark on the wood. He didn't even break the skin.
"Let me do it!" Li Shimin said in disbelief.
Three zhang away, Li Shimin aimed at the back of the carriage and pulled the trigger. At this distance, the power of the crossbow was the strongest.
"Buzz!"
Suddenly, the crossbow arrow whistled through the air and hit the back of the carriage.
"Dang!"
With a muffled sound, the crossbow arrow fell to the ground with a clang, but it didn't pierce the wood.
Li Shimin put down the crossbow and came to the front of the carriage. He saw that the arrow had been twisted, but the wood was still intact. He couldn't help but praise, "It is indeed harder than iron and stronger than steel."
"Other than the Eight Ox Crossbow, the Minister really can't think of anything else that can damage this wood." Xi Jun Mai was completely convinced this time.
The Eight Ox Crossbow was an important weapon in the army. It needed eight people to move it. It couldn't be used outside of the battlefield. In other words, Meton's carriage had almost no weapons that could threaten it.
For the emperor, this was the most suitable carriage.
"There is actually such a strange wood in the world!" Li Shimin sighed in admiration.
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