"In this way, with the technology of building bridge piers in the river, it won't be long before my Datang will conquer the north and south of the river, and the moat will become a thoroughfare." Empress Eldest Sun suddenly said with a happy face.

Morton shook his head bitterly when he heard this: "Hui Queen, with the existing technology, it is only possible to build a bridge on the Yellow River, as for the Yangtze River, even if it is a dry season, there is a water level two or three zhang deep, and it is impossible to build bridge piers at all, so the son-in-law is really powerless to build a bridge on the Yangtze River." ”

Merton did not lie about this, even the Yellow River will have a chance to break the flow in a hundred years, even if the Yellow River bridge cannot be conquered in normal times, there will still be hope when the Yellow River is broken, but the water level of the Yangtze River is extremely deep, even in the dry season, the water level is extremely deep, and it is impossible to build a bridge in the Yangtze River without modern equipment.

"Ahh Empress Eldest Sun was suddenly disappointed.

Princess Changle hurriedly comforted: "The queen mother can rest assured, although it is impossible to build a bridge on the Yangtze River now, my daughter believes that one day my Datang will definitely be able to build a bridge over the Yangtze River." ”

Merton nodded and said: "Although we can't do it with the current ink skills, but our direction is right, no matter when the bridge is built on the Yangtze River, the construction of bridge piers is the top priority, with the continuous improvement of ink skills, the son-in-law believes that this day will come." ”

Empress Changsun's mood has only improved slightly, and now there are rivers in the entire Tang Dynasty that can build bridges, but only the Yangtze River blocks the north and south, which is really a great pity.

Even Li Shimin couldn't help but regret that he couldn't finish the first battle, which made him a little unhappy.

Merton suddenly had an idea: "Although the Yangtze River cannot build a bridge at present, my son-in-law thinks that there is an alternative comparable to a bridge, which may solve the dilemma of blocking traffic on the Yangtze River." ”

"Oh!" Suddenly, Li Shimin and Empress Eldest Sun looked at each other with great interest.

"Ferry!" Merton said solemnly.

"Ferry, what is a ferry? I've only heard of boat ferries. Li Shimin frowned.

Merton explained: "Ferries can only ferry people or carry a small amount of cargo. In this way, it is extremely inconvenient to load and unload, but the ferry is not, the bow of the ship is flat, and the ferry is level, and the carriage is directly driven to the ship, and the ship directly transports the carriage with the goods to the opposite bank, so that the carriage does not need to be loaded and unloaded, and after arriving at the opposite bank, just put on the horses and set off directly. ”

"Sure enough, it's a wonderful law!" Empress Eldest Sun couldn't help but exclaim, wouldn't it save a lot of time in this way.

Although Li Shimin was moved, he continued to question: "To be able to transport it with cars and goods, this ferry must be extremely huge, and the Yangtze River is so fast that I am afraid there will be no sails and oars to row over." ”

"It's simple, we just need to put the opposite wharf a few miles downstream, take the Yangtze River as an example, we wait for a west ferry port in the upper reaches of the south bank, the ferry is fully loaded at the west ferry, go down the river, and finally dock at the north bank ferry a few miles away, after emptying the carriage on the ferry, fill the carriage and goods crossing the river again, continue to go downstream, and dock at the east ferry a few miles downstream of the north ferry, so that we only need to build three ferries in the east and west of the Yangtze River fortress." Merton laid out his vision.

Princess Changle was puzzled: "What if the ferry arrives at the East Ferry?" ”

Merton explained with a smile: "When the ferry arrives at the East Ferry, the mission of this round is over, you can sail up the river to the West Ferry with an empty boat, and wait for the next ferry again, if the wind is not in the right direction, the slender man on the shore can also pull back to the West Ferry." ”

Li Shimin couldn't help nodding again and again, in this era, slender men are not uncommon, especially many sections of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal need slender men to pull, and according to Merton's assumption, the east ferry to the west ferry is only more than ten miles, or empty boats, there is not much difficulty.

Empress Changsun suddenly realized that the ferry was indeed much more convenient than the previous ferry, although it was not as convenient as the bridge, it was much stronger than the previous ferry.

"And now what we need is some bigger and safer ferries, and I believe that this problem will definitely not be difficult for Datang's Harbour Master." Merton said confidently.

"It's nature!" Li Shimin said proudly.

In the treasury of the Tang Dynasty, there are many drawings of dragon boats that Yang Guang went down to the south of the Yangtze River, and with these drawings as a reference, he believes that the ferry envisioned by Merton will soon appear on the Yangtze River.

"In this way, over time, my Datang will definitely have a smooth road, and the people of the world will no longer have to be blocked by the great rivers, and Merton can make great contributions." Empress Eldest Sun said with a happy face.

Even Li Shimin had to admit that Merton did have two strokes, and the problems that plagued all dynasties were solved in three or two clicks.

And Princess Changle on the side looked at Merton with admiration, and her face was proud.

"The queen doesn't need to praise him, with his lazy character, he may not have his tail cocked to the sky." Li Shimin snorted coldly.

Merton smiled and said, "The son-in-law is indeed a lazy character, but it is not a disadvantage, but an advantage. ”

"Pros!" Li Shimin smiled angrily, "I have never seen such a cheeky person. ”

Merton unceremoniously held his head high and said: "My son-in-law thinks that laziness is an advantage, because the reason why the world is progressing is because it is driven by generations of lazy people. People are very tired of walking, so lazy people invented cars, people are very tired of labor, so they invented all kinds of tools, and even in the Mojia R&D department, in order not to take the stairs, specially developed a lift, no need to climb the stairs, you can go upstairs and downstairs. ………………”

"Uh-uh......" Li Shimin and the others looked at Merton's serious nonsense dumbfounded, and wanted to refute it, but found that what Merton said was also a little crooked.

"In this way, your Mo family is also a group of lazy people." Li Shimin asked rhetorically.

Morton said without shame: "Of course, the children of the Mo family are not lazy, and the Mo family develops ink skills not because they are lazy, but to save more time to do more work more efficiently, so the invention of the Mo family is not because of laziness, but for being more diligent."

However, lazy people are the beneficiaries of ink skills, and it is with these batches of "lazy people" that ink skills have room to survive and have a foothold. ”

Although Merton's words are inconsistent, Li Shimin understands the meaning, people are not bad at work, and ink skills can use the least effort to let the people do the same work, which will naturally be welcomed, which is also the fundamental reason for the revival of the Mo family.

Whenever the Mohist ink technique is born, the biggest advantage is to simplify the original heavy or difficult work, and who wouldn't like such a Mohist.

Soon, the imperial meal was ready, interrupting everyone's conversation.

In the warm hospitality of the eldest grandson, Merton quickly integrated into the family atmosphere, and even Li Shimin took out the wine and drank with Merton for the first time, of course, using the crystal he sent to relieve thousands of sorrows.