"Really?" Li Ying was so excited that he almost jumped up, unable to believe his ears at all. Only a thousand taels of gold, why was Zhulu Hou willing to sell it?

Li Mu nodded and said calmly: "It's not such a difficult thing. Why are you so excited to do?"

"I'll withdraw money for you now!" Li Ying jumped high, and before Li Mu could answer, he had already run away.

Li Mu knew why Li Ying was so excited. This is a very interesting thing. Ancient China has had thousands of years of history and there was no four-wheeled carriage. Of course, the "four-wheeled carriage" such as simply installing four wheels on the frame was naturally something that people thought of. It was found in the Warring States Period, but because the front wheel could not turn, the straight road was fine, but when it reached a place where it needed to turn, it immediately became a waste. Therefore, the "four-wheeled carriage" recorded in ancient graphic records was mostly taken during royal sacrifices and was not essentially applied to production and life.

Not to mention ancient times, even modern times. Before the popularization of four-wheel tractors, the "cattle carts" used in rural farmland were also two-wheeled.

Why did this happen?

Li Mu really knew that during his time when he was reading idle books aimlessly, he once saw an article that specialized in studying ancient horse-drawn carriages. The article summarized this issue. The most fundamental reason was that the "steering differential" was never built in ancient China. This thing was an invention in the 15th century in the West. When it was introduced to China, it was already the end of the Qing Dynasty.

Li Mu also wondered why China, as the four ancient civilizations, did not appear in a device that seemed not complicated. He also read a lot of information, but did not get answers. Later he figured out that perhaps there were some questions in the torrent of history that had no answers.

For example, the Chinese invented papermaking and compass. Why didn’t Westerners invent it first? There was no answer. Perhaps it was because everyone’s brain structures were different. This question also illustrates one thing, that is, the progress of human civilization is impossible to achieve by just one race. Only by integrating knowledge of various ethnic groups in the world can human progress be truly promoted.

It’s just a layer of window paper. Before it is broken, I can’t figure it out. After breaking it, I will feel that it’s so simple.

In addition to the "steering differential", the wooden structure of the carriage is also a problem. A wooden structure carriage determines that its load capacity will not be very high. Installing four wheels to the carriage can certainly increase the load area, but the wooden frame may not be able to withstand it. Moreover, a four-wheel carriage has a higher load and requires more animal strength. This is also a very big challenge to the driving technology of "handlebar".

Then there is the road. Most of the road conditions in ancient times were very bad. Moreover, the wheels of the carriage did not have rubber tires, and bumps could easily lead to loose wooden frames. If they were stuck in mud, it would be even worse. You had to unload the carriage on the car before you could get out of the trap. After going back and forth, the advantages of the four-wheeled carriage would be offset.

But for Li Ying today, the four-wheeled carriage still has a fatal appeal.

First of all, if the Li family of Zhaojun mastered the technology of four-wheeled carriages, this is unique and has epoch-making significance. Furthermore, with the inspiration of Li Mu's "iron-packing carriage", the use of the technology of iron wrapping can strengthen the strength of the frame. The handlebar type of Zhaojun, which monopolizes more than 50% of the "carriage and horse business" business, is the most inseparable from such talents.

As for the road conditions, Taiyuan Road and Longyou Road are under construction. If it really doesn't work, it can still be used in the city, and this is not a problem.

Li Ying knew the importance of a four-wheeled carriage, so he was so excited. He was worried that Li Mu would regret it and hurriedly withdraw money.

The "steering differential" invented by the West has gone through two major stages. The steering differential commonly used in later cars is actually a very modern product. It was something that gradually evolved after the invention of various alloy gears. Before that, the steering device commonly used in the West was called a "bogie". The first two wheels of a four-wheeler are installed on one frame, the rear two wheels are installed on the other frame, and the two frames are connected by a vertical shaft. This kind of "four-wheeler" is actually a combination of two "two-wheelers".

It was such a simple problem, but it was not solved until the 15th century. In the past few thousand years, human thinking seemed to have been blocked, which is a pity.

The two frames in the front and rear are generally large, suitable for transporting goods. The front and the back are small, suitable for carrying people. The "RV" that Li Mu planned to make is the appearance of small front and large back.

Li Mu collected one thousand taels of gold from Li Ying and asked him to go to the "Patents Department" to obtain the patent tomorrow, and then left the workshop. As for whether Li Ying would jump to scold people after seeing the patent tomorrow, Li Mu couldn't take care of that much. This transaction is not a forced purchase. It is a matter of your love and my wish, and I deserve it.

...

The next day, the Gaochang delegation bid farewell. In order to express his praise for Gaochang's surrender, Li Shimin made an exception and went out of the city to see him off. Li Mu was also on the way to see him off and bid farewell to Ju Zhisheng. Just as the Gaochang delegation was about to leave, Li Mu also made a big deal with Ju Zhisheng.

This time when Gaochang's delegation came to Chang'an, in addition to major national affairs, they also did a lot of business. Gaochang is located on the throat of the Silk Road, with gold and silver from Western Regions merchants such as Dashi. When he came to Chang'an, he saw what "rich products" was. He thought everything was good. In the past half month, he had to buy almost everything from Chang'an City.

Wang Ou bought the shop three times in the silk shop in Tongshanfang by merchants who followed the Gaochang delegation. As for the wine from Bashang wine shop, they were even snatched up as soon as they came out. The price has risen several times, and even the customers in Chang'an City can no longer afford it.

Li Mu made a big profit because of this, but it was all small money, and the real big deal was still with the Ju family and his son.

After the matter of surrender was settled, Li Mu found Ju Zhisheng and proposed a huge cooperation plan. Given the fact that the merchants in Chang'an rarely operate the Silk Road and the fact that the Tang Dynasty urgently lacked precious metals such as gold and silver as currency, Li Mu decided to use Gaochang as a springboard to cooperate with merchants in the Western Regions.

The silk, porcelain, tea and other items of the Tang Dynasty were handled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Every three months, a caravan departed from Chang'an to arrive in Gaochang, and settled it in Gaochang, and then sold it to merchants in the Western Regions. Although a part of the profit was to be transferred through Gaochang, the Tang Dynasty did not lose. Li Mu calculated that the goods of the Tang Dynasty would be twice as expensive as they arrived in Gaochang. Excluding freight, losses, etc., they would also have to be 50% more. This was all a bonus that could not be obtained by digesting within the Tang Dynasty.

The point is that this can prevent Western Region merchants from coming to the Tang Dynasty directly and using the high-value currency in their hands to plunder the Tang Dynasty's properties. Li Mu has stipulated that through the business of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, no transactions are allowed. If anyone violates the violation, he will be banned by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Simply put, merchants are not allowed to trade with Western Region merchants privately, and must pay taxes and settle the taxes through the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The advantage of this is that the pricing power is firmly in the hands of the Tang Dynasty, and the advantages are firmly in the hands of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Mu finally got the first to get a moon when he was close to the water. He sold Feng Qiuhuang's perfume, soap, and silver mirror to Ju Zhisheng ten times the price. The 300,000 guan brought by the Ju father and son, except for the money bribed officials of the other three provinces and six ministries, all of them were replaced with perfume, soap and silver mirror and brought them back.

In addition to the 1,000 kilograms of gold and 1,000 kilograms of silver that he had bribed Li Mu before, 200,000 out of 300,000 kilograms of gold and silver were all put into Li Mu's pocket.

In this way, Ju Zhisheng was still very grateful. Because he still had a profit, the more people went west, the greater the body odor, and the perfume was just right for them. There were many small countries in the Western Regions, and even if this batch of perfume was sold to the royal family, it was not enough to be sold. The rare thing was expensive. Even if he doubled the price, he would never have to worry about selling it.

Besides, Li Mu also stated in the contract that he would not accept merchants from the west of Gaochang. In other words, merchants in the Western Regions could only use him to get perfume. In this way, he would be the only one in the Western Regions. He would price whatever he wanted, and he would almost make money while lying down.

It was finally time to leave. When I recalled this trip to the Tang Dynasty, Ju Zhisheng's heart was mixed, especially the various things with Li Mu, which made him feel deeply moved. His most unbearable scene was seen by Li Mu. He racked his brains to plan and exposed it by Li Mu. When he was leaving, he bought Li Mu's things at a price of ten times more expensive... This feeling was very uncomfortable, but he couldn't say anything, and even in his heart, he was still grateful.

All kinds of tastes surged into my heart, Ju Zhisheng blurred his eyes. He came to Li Mu, bowed deeply, and said, "Marty, Gaochang and Datang are seven thousand miles apart. I don't know when we will meet again after we part. Martyr, you must take care of yourself."

Li Mu laughed indifferently and said, "The prince should take care of himself... but there is no need to be so pessimistic. Gaochang and the Ministry of Internal Affairs have signed a contract, and there will be a caravan going back and forth every three months. If the prince is thinking about me, he can entrust the caravan to bring me some local specialties!"

Ju Zhisheng's expression froze when he heard the three words "local specialties", and his expression froze. He really couldn't afford to give away local specialties worth 110,000 yuan. Ju Zhisheng didn't dare to continue this topic, grinned and changed the topic, saying, "The Marquis is really good at joking... Oh, Xiao Wang suddenly remembered something, and he must tell the Marquis. If he didn't say it, he would be uneasy."

"Oh?" Li Mu asked in confusion: "There is something more important than local specialties?"

Ju Zhisheng refused to respond and said to himself: "Marty, I saw your fourth wife in your mansion that day... To be honest, I recognize your fourth wife."

Li Mu narrowed his eyes and said, "Criminal, I remember telling you that anyone who wants to hit my woman will be beaten whoever wants to hit me."

"The Marquis misunderstood," Ju Zhisheng hurriedly said, "How dare Xiao Wang? What I want to say is that she is actually a horse bandit. Her father is Zhang Xun, one of the three major horse bandits in Longyou, the leader of Zhangjiazhai. This Zhang Xun is not simple, so the Marquis must be more careful."
Chapter completed!