Suzhou, as one of the most prosperous prefectures in the empire, has always been under the special care of Hou Xuanyan, and many yamen in the court were directly opened in Suzhou.

It is easy to reach Jinling by water, and they are closely connected with each other, and the military and political yamen of Suzhou is second only to Jinling and the second in the world.

On the streets of Suzhou, the bluestone slabs are paved, smooth and wide.

Smoking vehicles drove slowly, attracting countless people to stop and watch.

From steam engines to steam cars, it shouldn't have progressed so fast, but with Hou Xuanyan's help, it's completely different.

The emperor's appeal is the greatest driving force, at least in this era, which is absolutely accurate.

Hou Xuanyan personally called the people from the Craftsman Hall several times to inquire, and finally gave birth to the first batch of steam vehicles.

The servants watched the smoking monsters with trepidation, fearing that they would eat people if they were not careful.

In the crowd, Hou Xuan dressed as a scholar and watched it with relish.

These ugly steam cars look ridiculous, but they represent the future.

A pair of twin sisters behind them were secretly on guard, they were trained to protect people, and they stayed in the palace every day to do some work to serve people, and they had already wanted to come out and go around.

Hou Xuanyan came to Suzhou this time, Huang Yinger was not at ease, so she gave her personal maid to Hou Xuanyan for self-defense.

After all, Miao'er was still worried about the crowd, and said in her ear: "Childe, it's not too early, it's time to go back." ”

Hou Xuanyan looked up and saw that the remnant sun had lost its scorching power, and seeing that it was about to fall under the city tower, he nodded lightly and said, "Go to Gu's family tonight for dinner, and discuss some things with Gu Youde by the way." ”

The Gu family has always been a snake-like existence in Suzhou, until Hou Xuanyan was born, and they changed from the richest businessmen in the capital to the emperor's relatives.

If most people want to enter the Gu family, they need to put the name card in advance, and then wait in the flower hall.

But today, a boy in brocade, with a group of entourage, walked in from the gate of the mansion with a big grin, and no one dared to stop him at the door.

After a while, Gu Youde hurried over with a crutch, and when he saw Hou Xuanyan, he was about to bow down and bow down.

Hou Xuanyan helped him and said with a smile: "Gu is old and old, and I will not kneel when I see me in the future." ”

Gu Youde didn't kneel, but the others knelt on the ground, Hou Xuanyan took Gu Youde's arm, and said as he walked: "I came to Suzhou today, and I happened to remember one thing, so I simply came to your Gu Mansion and talked while eating." ”

Gu Youde had already arranged for his subordinates to prepare wine and food, and he knew Hou Xuanyan's temperament and hobbies: beauties, wine and food.

The chef of the Gu family still has the best craftsmanship in the south of the Yangtze River, and after a while, the delicious food with all the color and flavor will be served one by one, Hou Xuanyan looked at the index finger and moved, and said to Gu Youde next to him while eating: "I saw a lot of steam cars on the streets of Suzhou today, and they don't rely on horsepower to walk, although there are still many inconveniences, it is better than a horse-drawn carriage." But in the future, this thing will definitely replace the horse-drawn carriage and become the new means of transportation. ”

Gu Youde nodded and said, "What Your Majesty said is true, the car is not obvious, but we have already started to install the steam engine in the dock. This allowed our merchant ships to travel to and from the West in more than half the time it took to travel to and from their countries. The profit they made back and forth was several times that of them, and at that time the grass people wondered if they could put it on their vehicles. ”

Hou Xuanyan drank a glass of wine, put down his chopsticks, and said in a condensed voice: "Although the ships built in the dockyard have steam engines, they have little effect. I think Yao Yiyao didn't pay attention to this, and this time the Craftsman Hall in Suzhou took the lead in building this efficient steam engine, although it started later than Jinling, it was still able to surpass and even lead. It's the same with your Longjiang Dockyard, you need to innovate your steam ships as soon as possible, and strive to continue to increase the speed.

I have been shouting the slogan of the Western Expedition for three years, and I should not let my bold words become a joke in the West because of the speed of the ships. ”

Only then did Gu Youde understand that Emperor Baba came to Gu's mansion to urge the Gu family's Longjiang Dockyard to move the steam engine to the ship and provide more horsepower to obtain faster speed.

Now that he knew the holy will, Gu Youde immediately patted his chest and agreed, as for how to complete it, Gu Youde's idea was simple and rude.

The next day, the official residence of Suzhou Yamen published an article, bluntly saying that the Gu family took out a huge bonus, and whoever could improve the steam engine ship would be rewarded with 100,000 gold.

Under heavy rewards, there must be progress, which is the golden rule summed up by Gu Youde's decades of career.

The significance of the steam engine ship and the steam car is definitely greater than the steam spinning wheel, and the speed of traffic in this era determines the victory or defeat of the war, and it also determines whether the arrival of support is timely.

The soldiers are fast, and that's what they say. Those who can quickly assemble troops can form more and fight less in a small area.

Moreover, the means of transportation also directly affect the speed of transporting baggage and the efficiency of transporting wounded soldiers, which can be said to be very important.

In the history of later generations, it was not until 1807 that R. Fulton of the United States built the first reciprocating steam engine ship "Claremont" and successfully tested it, which marked the completion of the construction of the first steam engine ship. Sixty years later, China's first steam-engine warship "Huiji" was successfully built.

Now because of the existence of Hou Xuanyan, all this was staged in the Chinese Dynasty a hundred years in advance, and Hou Xuanyan was not only happy, but also wanted to expand its role to the maximum.

In the Age of Discovery, whoever is the first to speed up the ship will take the initiative on the battlefield.

Gu Youde didn't know this very well, but he knew that the benefits of a steam engine ship were definitely exciting.

If nothing else, when there are no sails, it is more than three times faster to go to the South Seas from here.

Now that the canals in Egypt have not been dug up, if you want to go to Europe, you have to go to the Cape of Good Hope, which is as inconvenient as it is for those merchants and sailors who go back and forth.

Hou Xuanyan wandered around Suzhou for three days, and after three days left for the palace, Hou Xuanyan realized that the ground in Suzhou was very flat.

It is said that there are people coming and going here, and the road surface should be uneven, but this official road is very smooth.

Hou Xuanyan said with a smile: "On such a road surface, it is absolutely possible to replace the carriage with a steam vehicle.1 I don't know why the people still trust the carriage more." ”

Infrastructure, as long as it is well preserved, is the best property for the country and its descendants.

Nothing else will dissipate one day, but infrastructure can benefit future generations.

This year was the first year of Tianxi, and after the foreign war was stopped, a new round of vigorous infrastructure construction movement began on the land of the Chinese Dynasty.

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