It seems that overnight, Shou Ying fell into the continuous spring rain. It's April, it's no longer a glorious March, the leaves of the trees are growing green, the drizzle is wet, and the green is fluttering in the wind. The boats are walking in the Huaishui, the woods, the shipyards, and the Purple Mountains on the shore are all gray, and in addition to the sound of drizzle splashing on the boat's shed, there is the sound of war drums.

Xiang Yan, Xiang Zhi, and Xiang Chao are the most sensitive to the sound of the war drums, especially when the drums are getting closer and closer. Seeing a few people listening attentively, Xiang Que, who was the county Yin of Xiang County, said: "The water battle of Daliang is imminent, and I am afraid that it is because of the boat master's practice." ”

"Boat Master?" Xiang Chao had never seen the boat master. The Wu people and the Yue people were the first to have this kind of water army, and in order to fight with the Wu state, the Chu State united with the Yue people to control Wu, and with the assistance of the Yue people, they had their own boat divisions; After the Qin people occupied Jiuying, they received the remaining ships of the Chu army's boat division and also formed the boat division. The state of Qi is located between the lower reaches of the Yellow River and the Bohai Sea, and there were boat divisions very early; Only the Sanjin Dynasty did not have a boat master, the Yellow River flooded every year, the river and beaches were dense, the water level was not deep, and the boat master was not of great use.

"Indeed, it is the boatman." In the drizzle, someone saw a boat shadow walking on the river on the right. The body of the war boat is wide and slender, the battle flags, armor soldiers, and boat pulp on the boat are all shaking, and the drummers are constantly beating the drums, and the drums are deafening.

Xiang Yan and the others went down the river, and the boat master went upstream, and the staggered feelings of the two sides made Xiang Yan suspect that he was in a car and rushed past the enemy car. "So fast?" Xiang Chao also found that the other party's boat was very fast, like a galloping horse on the water. No one answered him, and after a few breaths, the ships vanished without a trace, leaving only the faint sound of drums.

"Dare to ask, but it's the general's boat?" When they came to the waterway of entering Ying, someone on the side of the road asked loudly.

"It's the General's Boat." The boat man replied loudly, "Who dare to ask?" ”

The boatman asked, and a small boat rowed over, and on the boat stood a man in plain clothes. Clothes are a symbol of status, but only the clothes worn by the king change, or Xuanyi sacrifice, or white-clothed to look at the court, or red-clothed soldiers, or tied clothes to hunt. The scholars and doctors are all Xuanyi at all times, and the difference between them is based on clothes, such as the plain doctor, the sergeant of Xuanshang, the sergeant of Huangshang, and the corporal of miscellaneous clothes.

At this moment, the plain man standing in the bow of the ship must be a doctor. Xiang Yan and the others didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly got out of the shed and walked onto the boat to greet the prime minister, and when they saluted, the people who came laughed and said, "Why should the general be polite." ”

"I've seen Yang Wenjun." The person who came was Dazai Yang Fumikun, who laughed loudly, and was no longer the dark tone of the shogunate in the army last year.

"I've seen Yang Wenjun." Xiang Que, Xiang Zhi, Xiang Chao and others also came up to salute Yang Wenjun.

"Let's go into the cabin and talk about it." Although Yang Wenjun came here to welcome Xiang Yan and others, he had other things.

"I smell, Zichao and Princess Qian ......are very familiar, Yang Wenjun asked Xiang Yanping to retreat left and right as soon as he entered the cabin, and then got straight to the point.

"Alas. The dog is stupid, and he is here to ask the king to atone for his sins. Xiang Yan sighed deeply, last month, the king invited the children of the meritorious and unmarried princess, and the son somehow got together with Princess Naqian, and finally shared a horse with Princess Qian, which was really rude.

"Please also ask Yang Wenjun to say a few kind words before the king, and my Xiang clan will have a follow-up report." Xiang Chao is the son of the Xiang family, and he is the core of the next generation of Xiang's nephews, Xiang Que never wants him to be punished by the king.

"When you go up, men love women, what a crime." Yang Wenjun said with a smile, "What I'm most worried about is the matter of the Chu-Qin Alliance. The spy reported secretly: The Qin State increased its troops in Nanyang County, and the king summoned the general, although it was not for this matter, but most of it was for this matter. ”

"I've heard that, too." Speaking of the Qin State, Xiang Yan's worries deepened. Qin and Zhao formed an alliance on the border this month, and the Qin State that stabilized the northern line may continue to attack Chu, and the situation in Chu State is like this continuous spring rain, ambiguous and unclear.

"However, the princess of Qin has been thinking about it for a long time." Yang Wenjun's speech was very confusing, but fortunately, he said in the next sentence: "Only the king does not want Princess Qian to marry the king of Qin, so he is willing to marry Zichao." ”

"Huh?!" Xiang Que let out a loud sigh, and when he mentioned the matter of his nephew and Princess Qian, he was still a little worried, but now he was shocked.

"The king did have this intention, and the day of Shangsi was beyond the confinement of the garden to get lost, and it was also deliberately done by the king." Yang Wenjun said with a smile.

"The king, how can the king..., the king is so kind to the Xiang family, my Xiang family ......" Xiang Que's tears came as soon as he said it, and he paused in the direction of the palace. It is not uncommon for a princess to marry a courtier, but the name of Princess Qian is heard in six countries, and such a princess is generally married into his king's palace, and there is no precedent for marrying a courtier.

"General, Brother Zique, please forgive me for saying that Princess Qian's marriage into the Qin Palace is conducive to the alliance of Chu and Qin, and she will become the king of Qin, and she will give birth to an heir in the future will be the eldest son, that is, the future king of Qin. And if you marry into Xiang's ......"

Yang Wenjun hurriedly got on the boat, completely to lobby. Xiang Yan's color changed, and he said, "Yang Wenjun, please speak up if you have something." ”

"Good. I'll be blunt. Yang Wenjun sensed the displeasure in Xiang Yan's eyes, but he just smiled. For the sake of the alliance between Chu and Qin, and for the sake of the next King of Qin, I would like to ask the general to refuse the marriage of the king. If Princess Qian marries into the Xiang family, the princess of Zhao will marry into the Qin Palace, and the relatives of Qin are in charge of the affairs of Qin, and if the son of the princess of Zhao is established as the eldest son of Qin, the Qin army will attack south.

In today's world, the king of Qi does not ask about the Central Plains, Han and Wei are still breathing, and the country is about to die, only Chu and Zhao can refuse to fight Qin. The Qin State wanted to destroy the Six Kingdoms and one day, either to destroy Zhao first, or to die Chu first. It takes more than ten years for the king to carry out the new policy, as a Chu person, I would rather the Qin State destroy Zhao than the Qin State to destroy Chu, can the general understand me? ”

"Yes." Xiang Yan nodded slightly. To this day, the countries of Qin have been 'no matter who you fight, don't hit me anyway', Han Wei hopes that Qin will attack Zhao, Zhao hopes that Qin will attack Chu, and Chu wants to ally with Qin. The death of Chun Shenjun was the greatest loss of the Chu State, and after his death, no one in the Five Kingdoms could take on the task of joining forces, so he could only let the Qin State attack and sit back and wait for death.

"Thank you, General." Yang Wenjun made a move and let the two brothers avoid it again and again. After finishing it, he said again: "Say goodbye first." ”

Yang Wenjun said something and immediately said goodbye, but his farewell was only formal, and when he returned to the boat, he asked loudly: "Dare to ask, but the general's boat?" ”

Just said goodbye, less than a quarter of an hour and asked loudly, although the boat people were strange, but also replied loudly, at this time the boat has traveled to the vicinity of the water gate, in addition to Dazai Yang Wenjun, there are also some temple people such as the king's servant Changjiang. This time, the salute was even more polite, and with Chang Jiang here, Yang Wenjun was only polite and silent, and all who spoke were Chang Jiang.

"The king wanted to greet the general in person, but the mansion was urgent, so he invited Yang Wenjun and the old slave to go out of the city to welcome him. Invite General, Xiang Gong, General Xiang, and Zichao Gongzi to rest in the post house first, and enter the palace at dusk for a banquet. "Chang Jiang also read the book and came to read Xiong Jing's message.

"Dare to invite ......" Chang Jiang is the servant of the two Chu kings, and Yang Wenjun is also a person with a background. Xiang Que made a look, and a subordinate stepped forward to hold two boxes, opened them, and inside were pearls the size of three storages. "Dare to ask Dazai, the servant laughs."

When the box was not opened, Changjiang still had some expectations, and when he opened it, he saw that it was a three-inch pearl, and his expectations suddenly turned into disappointment. He smiled and picked up the pearl, tossed it in his hand and put it back. "Why should Xiang Gong be like this?"

"This is a small gift from my Xiang family." Xiang Que looked at his brother Xiang Yan and said.

"And the old slave took it." The orb used to be valuable, but now no one dares to wear it, which means that it has become less popular. What's more, a one-foot-sized orb from Lu Lifu can be made, and these three-inch orbs are not worth anything at all.

"Dare to ask, the king's banquet today ......" Yang Wenjun was in a hurry, and Xiang Que didn't have a chance to ask if he wanted to.

"All of them are meritorious generals." Chang Jiang smiled, "The old slave had just welcomed Xiyang Yin Zenggong into the city before. ”

This is a great joy. The day after tomorrow, the king will pay homage to the ancestral temple and reward the meritorious ministers. Yang Wenjun also smiled, he was in a hurry just now, and he forgot to tell Xiang Yan that he wanted to reward the meritorious ministers when he entered the king of Ying.

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Misty steam filled the shed, and every few minutes there was the roar of a ten-ton hammer in the Iron House, and the smell of coal and iron vapor was very reminiscent of the old-fashioned green train. It's just that it's far less advanced, and what is showing in front of Xiong Jing's eyes is a mutated Newcomen steam engine.

The cylinder was made of ceramic, and without a boring machine, the craftsmen believed that only ceramics that were easy to process could achieve the accuracy of the cylinder and piston required by the king. This may be true, but in addition to being resistant to falls, ceramics are not easy to connect with the gas pipes of the boiler below. If the cylinder is iron, then it can be riveted, but now the cylinder is ceramic, and the air pipe wrapped in cowhide can only be tied tightly with iron wire. Because of this, every time the boiler discharges steam to flush the piston up, the shed is filled with mist, like a bathhouse.

The boiler steam pushes the piston in the cylinder higher, the seesaw-like cantilever begins to rise on the right side, the left end descends, and the iron arm hard-attached to the left end of the cantilever pushes the solar planetary gear to rotate, and the gear drives the axle to rotate. When the piston rises to the top and the steam is finished, a valve at the bottom of the cylinder automatically opens, the cylinder is exhausted, the piston descends rapidly, and the right cantilever descends, while the left arm connected to the sun planetary gear rises and rotates with the axle.

The steam engine revolutionized industry, and so did seafaring. Sailing is Xiong Jing's love, and he also has a strong interest in the big ships and cannons of the steam age. The Newcole Steam Engine, which had been improved by Watt, was built under his direction. Tao Yin was responsible for the production of cylinders and pistons, the most game wheel man cooperated with the jade craftsman to produce gears and axles, and the boiler was supervised by Gong Yin Dao, cast by bronze, and the doctor Gong Jian was responsible for connecting these things.