The weather is getting colder, and the autumn rain is also falling, and the people who travel are most afraid of this kind of weather, especially in the era of the Tang Dynasty, because the road surface is not hardened, no matter how good the road is, as long as it is washed by the rain, it will become muddy, and sometimes the carriage will sink into it, which is why when the army fights, it is generally chosen after the early autumn has passed, so that it will not encounter too much rain, and it is more convenient to transport materials.

However, although Li Xiu was under the autumn rain on the road, the road was not washed away by the rain, and the speed was not greatly affected, because the road from Chang'an to Luoyang was rebuilt, and the materials used were somewhat special, that is, the cinders left by coal burning, which were mixed with lime, clay, and sand, and paved on the ground to form a semi-hardened road surface, although not as good as the asphalt roads in later generations, but also able to withstand some rainwater scouring.

For this change, Li Xiu also felt very happy, if it was possible, he really wanted to get the cement out, and then completely harden the road surface of Datang, so that the traffic will definitely be greatly improved, but this idea is good, but burning cement requires a lot of fuel, and the current coal production is still limited, I am afraid that it will not be able to support a cement industry for the time being, of course, now that Datang is getting richer and stronger, you can burn some cement to try first.

The carriage galloped on the cinder-paved road, although it was drizzling all the time, but there were still a lot of pedestrians on the road, especially some large carts pulling goods, the car was covered with layers of tarpaulins in the rain, although the weather was bad, but business still had to be done.

In addition, Li Xiu also found that in addition to the main road from Chang'an to Luoyang, some branch roads are also under construction, which is also a way to turn waste into treasure, after all, Chang'an and Luoyang produce a huge number of cinders every day, and these cinders will only occupy space on the ground, so it is better to pave them on the road, so as to solve these wastes, and also harden the road surface.

However, although the road built by cinders is good, there are still shortcomings, such as the road surface is uneven, easy to be damaged, and this is only semi-hardened, not really hardened, so if it rains heavily for several days, it may still cause damage to the road surface, such as Li Xiu When they were about to arrive in Chang'an, they saw that because of the long-term rain, coupled with too many passing vehicles, some road surfaces were also damaged, and it is estimated that they can only be repaired after the weather is clear.

Although the autumn rain is not heavy, it is continuous, when Li Xiu arrived at home, it was still raining non-stop, but when he returned home, Princess Pingyang and the others were all very excited, but when they saw that Qi Niang really did not come back with Li Xiu, they couldn't help but feel a little sad.

Although Li Xiu knew that Li Shimin's life was not easy now, and the ministers in the court scolded people almost every day, but he was not in a hurry to enter the palace, but rested at home for two days, after all, he was tired all the way, and when he arrived in Luoyang, he urged the money casting bureau to do movable type, and there was almost no time to rest.

However, Li Xiu could sit still, but Li Shimin couldn't sit still, just after he had rested at home for two days, Li Shimin summoned him to the palace to discuss matters, and it seemed that the pressure on Li Shimin's side was almost unbearable, which made Li Xiu only shake his head helplessly, and then brought the copper movable type he had prepared into the palace.

"See Your Majesty!" Li Xiu came to the Liangyi Palace, and saw Li Shimin sitting in the hall at a glance, and the eldest grandson Wuji was also there, in addition, there was no one else, not even the chamberlain and the palace maid, generally encountered this situation, Li Shimin had extremely important things to discuss with them, of course, there is no need to guess now, it must be related to the family.

"No need to be polite, I heard that you have returned, I wonder how things are going with the Southern Bank?" Although Li Shimin was anxious to discuss the affairs of the family with Li Xiu, he deliberately made a very calm appearance at this time, and even knowingly asked about the bank.

"Your Majesty, the first bank in the south finally decided to be in Yangzhou, which is closer to Guanzhong, and the water and land transportation is very convenient, and there is also King Wu there, so it is more convenient to do anything." Li Shimin asked knowingly, but Li Xiu didn't poke it, and replied calmly at the moment.

"Yangzhou is indeed a good place, Yang Guang went there and didn't even want to come back, but unfortunately I never went, sometimes I can only know some of the situation in Yangzhou from Ke'er, which is also a big regret in life!" Li Shimin sighed at this time and said, when he said this, he also deliberately glanced at the eldest grandson Wuji next to him.

The eldest grandson Wuji was almost a roundworm in Li Shimin's stomach, and he immediately understood it, so he also smiled at this time and said: "Don't you, I heard that you have been staying in Luoyang for a long time, I don't know what is going on?" ”

This sentence was naturally asked by the eldest grandson Wuji on behalf of Li Shimin, speaking of which, Li Xiu did stay in Luoyang for a long time, and he didn't say anything, but Chang'an made a lot of noise, but Li Xiu didn't see any movement, which made Li Shimin a little resentful, and he couldn't show it yet, so he could only let the eldest grandson Wuji ask this sentence on his behalf.

"Hehe, in fact, the reason why the minister stayed in Luoyang for so long is mainly to let the Money Minting Bureau make a kind of gadget, and the minister also brought some of it today, I don't know if Your Majesty is interested in taking a look?" Li Xiu replied with a smile at this time, he naturally knew what Li Shimin and Eldest Sun Wuji were thinking, but he didn't care about it, after all, if he thought about it, I was afraid that he would also think and suspect them.

"You ......" Li Shimin originally wanted to listen to Li Xiu's explanation, but he didn't expect him to reply with such an understatement, which really made him a little disappointed, and even vaguely annoyed, after all, he has always regarded Li Xiu as the person he trusts the most, but when he was in the most difficult time, the other party not only rushed back to fight side by side with him, but also made some gadgets in Luoyang, how can people not be angry?

Compared with Li Shimin's annoyance, the eldest grandson Wuji was very keen to find that the smile on Li Xiu's face had a deep meaning, which made him can't help but ask curiously: "I'm afraid it won't be a gadget to let the horse spend so long in Luoyang, right?" ”

"Hehe, this is really a gadget, Your Majesty and the eldest grandson will know it at first sight!" Li Xiu said and took out a delicate small box from his sleeve, yes, although it is small, but it is indeed a box, speaking of the clothes of the ancients have a little benefit, that is, the sleeves are particularly wide, almost anything can be put down, the story of the Song Dynasty's "Tanuki for the Prince", it is said that the baby prince was hidden in someone else's sleeve and stolen out of the palace, even the baby can be hidden, let alone a small box.

I saw that after Li Xiu took out the box, he asked Li Shimin's consent to put it on the dragon case in front of him, and then the eldest grandson Wuji also surrounded him, and then saw Li Xiu gently open the box, revealing rows of copper movable type inside, and some other things, which filled the entire box full.

"This ...... This seal is so strange? Li Shimin saw the copper movable type in the box, and couldn't help but reach out and pick up one and look at it, and then looked at Li Xiudao with a questioning face, he has seen a lot of seals, but it is the first time that he has seen a seal like this, which is only engraved with one word, and it is also a yang carving, not a yin carving.

"This doesn't seem to be a seal, right?" The eldest grandson Wuji also picked up a piece at this time and looked at it, he also found that this copper movable type is different from the general seal, the seal is all yin carving, that is, the words are engraved inward on a plane, so that the printed words are white, and the other places are paint, but this is yang carving, the words are convex on the plane, and the printed words are more like writing.

"Brother Eldest Sun is right, this is indeed not a seal, but a copper type!" Li Xiu smiled again at this time.

"Movable copper type? What does that do, and why do you have to engrave so much? Li Shimin asked again puzzled at this time, and the eldest grandson Wuji was also puzzled, after all, they had no concept of printing at all, and naturally they couldn't imagine the role of copper movable type.

"Its function is actually very simple, let me show it to Your Majesty, you will definitely understand!" When Li Xiu said this, he saw that he reached out and took out a small wooden frame from the box and put it on the table, and then took out the copper movable type inside one by one and lined them up in the wooden frame.

After arranging the movable type, I saw Li Xiu take out a porcelain bottle from the box, borrowed Li Shimin's inkstone, poured out the special ink inside, and then used a brush to brush the ink on the movable type, and took a piece of paper to cover it and gently wiped it, a piece of paper is extremely clear, and the first few sentences of the printed Analects appear on the paper, it is worth mentioning that Li Xiu did not forget to make punctuation when making copper movable type, and now the printed Analects also have punctuation marks.

"This ......" Li Shimin saw Li Xiu put the printed paper in front of him, and he felt like he was going to grab something important in his mind, but he couldn't figure it out for a while, which made him very anxious, and the eldest grandson Wuji next to him was also frowning, thinking about the true purpose of Li Xiu's actions.

Seeing that Li Shimin and the eldest grandson Wuji didn't seem to understand, Li Xiu smiled indifferently again, then took out a piece of paper and covered it on the movable type, and printed another one again, but the eyes of the two of them lit up almost at the same time, and they immediately shouted: "I (I) understand!" ”