The three of them returned to Fengyang, and the next day the honor guard went to Nanjing, and after arriving in Nanjing, they carried out routine sacrificial activities, while Zhu Youxiao went to Suzhou after the sacrificial activities. And Zhang Yan and Wang Wan went back to the capital under the guise of dependence.

The route he chose was to go to Changzhou first, Zhang Yan was not satisfied with the last time there were only three people traveling, so the emperor must bring more guards, after a few rounds of arguments, Zhu Youxiao had to bring ten guards, this is still Zhang Yan knew Duan Ying's kung fu before he was relieved. So the group pretended to be merchants and rode to Changzhou.

At noon, I arrived in Danyang County, which is a very famous place, because Qi Jiguang selected troops in Danyang to create the famous Qi family army. Zhu Youxiao had heard of the brave name of Danyang people, so he was full of hope and wanted to see and know, but unexpectedly, on the streets of Danyang Town, he saw that everyone was walking in an orderly manner, and they were polite to each other, which was not like what he imagined.

He asked Duan Ying strangely: "Didn't you say that the soldiers here are brave?" Why can't the pedestrians on this street see it at all? ”

Duan Ying said with a smile: "Saint, the bravery of Danyang soldiers refers to the fighting of weapons, not to the random things on weekdays. I heard that Qi Shaobao selected the soldiers back then, and they were the miners who were selected, and they grabbed the mines, but they were not gentle at all, and they were all beaten to the death. That's why Qi Shaobao recruited troops in Danyang. ”

Only then did Zhu Youxiao understand that he was thinking badly, Wei Zhongxian had already sent someone to find a restaurant, and everyone went to the Danyang Restaurant to eat lunch. Wei Zhongxian packed a large cubicle, and Zhu Youxiao asked everyone to eat together, without eating separately.

But the guards didn't do it, and they didn't dare to sit with the emperor and the imperial concubine anyway, and asked themselves to eat in the hall. Zhu Youxiao had no choice but to let them go to the lobby to eat, and the guards were automatically divided into two shifts, one class to eat, and the other class to guard outside the compartment.

Wei Zhongxian said: "Holy Lord, it's not good for you to get too close to them, they don't feel comfortable. That's good, just give them more food. ”

Zhu Youxiao nodded, after the three of them had eaten, the guards had already finished eating, everyone got on the horse, out of Danyang Town, the official road to Suzhou was a loess road, the road was wide and flat, Zhu Youxiao saw that there were wheelbarrows on the road, and two-wheeled vehicles, but they were all wooden wheels, and they were rattling, urging people to sleep.

At this time, a crisp bell suddenly sounded behind him, and everyone looked over and saw a teenager riding a bicycle proudly walking in the middle of the road, ringing the bell while riding. None of the passers-by had ever seen a bicycle, and when they saw such a thing that could run fast without a horse, some panicked and some were envious, but everyone hid aside and gave way to the bicycle.

Zhu Youxiao said with a smile: "This young man is so unhappy, it seems that the business of this bicycle is good, and it has come here in Danyang, but unfortunately I haven't seen a car with rubber wheels, and this wooden wheel is too difficult." ”

Wei Zhongxian said with a smile: "Shengshang, the business of the bicycle factory is indeed good, although a car is sold for two hundred yuan, it is still in short supply. Now we have set up a new depot in Qian'an, which is just using the steel from Qian'an Iron and Steel Plant, which can reduce costs. As for the rubber wheels, this one was sold in the north, but it was mainly sold to the construction team, who didn't care about the price, as long as it was easy to use and labor-saving. But how can ordinary farmers afford a rubber wheel, a pump, and an inner tube, which costs a total of 50 yuan? Although the wooden wheels are worse, they just take some effort, and they don't cost money after all. ”

Duan Ying also said: "In fact, for farmers, it is already very good to be able to use a wheelbarrow or a two-wheeled carriage, which is much easier than carrying it on the shoulder, and it can also transport more at one time." As for rubber wheels, at least when the price is as low as three or five yuan, no one will buy them. ”

Zhu Youxiao knew that the output of rubber was not high now, and the process of manufacturing rubber products was not mature, so it was not possible to reduce the price of rubber wheels in a short period of time. He smiled: "Wait another five years, and then the price should be reduced to three or five yuan, and I want to let the whole country use lightweight and labor-saving rubber wheels, so that these wooden wheels will become old antiques." ”

Duan Ying said with a smile: "The Holy Lord has only been on the throne for more than ten years, and there have been many new things in my Ming Dynasty, and the concubine's mother said last time she entered the palace that she had lived to be more than fifty years old, and she had seen many more new things in the past few years than in previous decades." And these new things are ingenious, and they are all things that are of great use to people. Let's talk about the highway, in the past, it took at least ten days and a half to ride a horse from the concubine's mother's house to the capital, but now after the highway is opened, my brother can walk the whole way in only three days, and the concubine's mother only took eight days to ride in the car. ”

Zhu Youxiao said with a smile: "The highway is indeed a good thing, not to mention the railway." I only hope that one day, I can achieve that all counties are connected to highways, and all states and states are connected to railways. ”

Wei Zhongxian said: "Holy Lord, rest assured, now the output of our steel and cement factories is increasing rapidly every year, and everyone is becoming more and more proficient in road construction, and our construction speed will be faster and faster, and this day should come soon." ”

Zhu Youxiao said with a smile: "Don't think too simply, this thing really can't be done in a while." However, when I was in Fengyang, I thought for a while, if I could really mobilize the people to build roads on their own, coupled with the idea of the royal construction team to form a construction team, it was really possible to realize the county and county roads. On the contrary, the railway is more troublesome. ”

Wei Zhongxian said: "The trouble mentioned by the saint refers to the problem of repairing the bridge. The last time I heard from the Wei Dynasty, now they are ready to choose a place to build a thousand-step bridge to try, and after success, they can build bridges on the Yellow River. ”

Zhu Youxiao said: "There is such a thing? Why didn't the Wei Dynasty tell me. ”

Wei Zhongxian said: "Holy Lord, what the Wei Dynasty has not done yet, where will it be said first?" He and the slave maid were just gossiping, he said that there are places on the Yellow River that are only a thousand steps apart, and if this time it succeeds, then the next step is to go to the Yellow River to build a bridge. However, their Road and Bridge Bureau can only be regarded as a working person, and the real role is the people from the Research Institute and the Ordnance Bureau, who are responsible for calculation and design, and are responsible for command, so Wei Chao came to serve them like an uncle, for fear that they would be unhappy and affect his plan to repair the bridge. ”