December 15 of the fourth year of Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty (1631 AD), is the day of the court meeting, this is the last court meeting of the year, after the fifteenth, the Ming Dynasty will enter the holiday, ready to welcome the new yuan.

Just now, for the matter of the South China Sea Fleet, Zhu Youzhen held a temporary cabinet meeting, so today's court meeting is just a routine matter, and the ministers have nothing to do, and they hope that Zhu Youzhen will not come up with any new tricks, and it is best to leave the court early, so that they can go back and prepare some food and clothing for Xinyuan.

Zhu Youzhen did not entangle them in government affairs, he just asked the ministers to accompany him.

Walking? On this cold day, if you don't stay in the house, what are you walking outside? The ministers didn't know what kind of medicine was sold in Zhu Youzhen's gourd, and since the emperor had an order, everyone had to accompany him to suffer from the cold wind.

When they came to the flat and open square in front of Chengtian Gate, the monarchs and ministers talked and laughed on the surface, but the ministers were still worried about falling into the trap of Zhu Youzhen's conversation, and they all listened carefully and tried to record every word Zhu Youzhen said.

"Jingle bell!"

A clear bell suddenly rang around the ministers, startling the timid ministers, who thought that terrorists were planting bombs.

When they looked up, they saw that it was a Ouchi guard, riding a two-wheeled car, swaggering past in front of everyone.

"Majesty, what is this?" Li Chunye's old eyes were dizzy, and he only felt that there was a figure flashing in front of him, and by his intuition, the speed of this person was close to that of a galloping war horse.

"Majesty, is this a person?" Kong Zhenyun also felt that this person's speed was too terrifying, just like a legendary ghost, he had already learned to be obedient, if he didn't understand anything, he would ask the emperor, who made him an unfathomable emperor!

Zhu Youzhen smiled but didn't answer, and everyone had to turn their eyes to the guards who were gradually moving away, but now they only saw a vague back.

While the ministers were shaking their heads, sighing, and arguing, they heard another bell ringing.

The guard rode back from the front, and at the moment when he was about to crash into the crowd, the man and the chariot stopped abruptly for the ministers to see, and then walked away again in the consternation of the crowd.

The ministers seemed to be on a roller coaster for the first time, and they were in shock, but there were three attendants →dǐng→diǎn→ Xiao → said, .2☆3.o←s_(); Guard, riding side by side on the bike, sped past the witnesses from west to east.

Contradictions and entanglements are the deepest feelings of the ministers at this time, they want to stand in front of the team and see with their own eyes what is going on, but they are afraid of being injured by those guards who do not open their eyes, they are the guards in the palace, they belong directly to the emperor, in their eyes, the ministers of the court, and ordinary people, there is no essential difference.

Zhu Youzhen stood at the corner of the team, did not speak, and looked at the sky for a long time, as if to judge whether it would snow in the afternoon and whether the southeast wind would blow tomorrow.

When everyone's eyes were on Ouchi's guards to the east, another group of guards came from the west.

This time, there were a total of five guards, gray-black bodies, bright red jackets, and long white shawls dragging behind them, which dazzled the ministers.

The guards didn't stop, they seemed to be in a track bicycle race, chasing after me one by one, driving in front of everyone, leaving only the back of a white flower for the ministers.

The ministers had learned to be obedient this time, and before the five guards disappeared from their sight, they began to turn their heads and look at the west again, and perhaps a group of guards would come from the west to get a sneak peek.

The ministers were disappointed, and there was no movement in the west, except for the cold wind that blew their noses.

"Jingle bell!"

The noise came from the east, and the ministers arrived to be fooled.

One or two gray-black two-wheeled vehicles had already reached their eyes, and on this one, there were four people on board, in addition to the guards on the bike, a guard sitting on the back bracket of the car, and two children, each standing on the back bracket with one foot, as if juggling.

The nine bicycles in front, the table xiàn things at a galloping speed, the last car, shows the load.

Zhu Youzhen put his hands behind his back and slowly paced in front of the ministers, "Ladies and gentlemen, do you think this means of transportation is superior or inferior compared to the carriage?" ”

Only then did the ministers understand that Zhu Youzhen's purpose in bringing them to Chengtianmen turned out to be to show this means of transportation.

"Your Majesty, the speed of this kind of vehicle should not be inferior to that of a war horse."

"It can also carry weight, no less than a donkey."

"Can everyone ride?"

……

Zhu Youzhen looked at the ministers, his face was bright, as if there would be no wind or snow tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, "This kind of transportation is called a bicycle, as long as the road is flat, it can travel forty miles every hour, close to the speed of a horse, but it is much longer lasting than a war horse." ”

"Your Majesty, the minister understands, this kind of bicycle does not need to be fed with forage like war horses." Li Changgeng seemed to understand Zhu Youzhen's intentions.

Zhu Youzhen praised: "Yes, it doesn't need forage, and it doesn't need to rest, it's much more convenient than a war horse." ”

"Your Majesty, can I ride it?" Huang Xiaofu squeezed into the front row, he couldn't wait, if he could ride his bicycle to work, he didn't know how much time he could save on the road, and he could sleep well in the morning.

"Theoretically, everyone can ride, look at it," Zhu Youzhen took the bicycle from the guards, stepped on it himself, and circled the square in front of Chengtianmen in the stunned eyes of the ministers, and then stopped steadily, "I can ride, why can't you ride?" However, if you are too old, it is better not to ride, in case you fall, the old bones will fall apart, mainly for young people to ride. ”

"Your Majesty, do you want to buy one?" Li Chunye felt that he might not be able to ride, but his son and grandson could still ride.

"Not now, these bikes are not for sale, but Li Aiqing can buy them if he wants to, and after the new dollar, the bicycle may be mass-produced." Zhu Youzhen is not hanging the appetite of the ministers, these bicycles, as long as they are used for propaganda to the people, there is no physical object, who will know the function of the bicycle?

Zhu Youzhen is not worried that the bicycle will not be sold, it is now a buyer's market, there is only a production problem, there is no sales problem, he wants to show the convenience of scientific and technological products, and by the way, sell Wang Zheng's technology at a good price.

Science has a price.

"It can be produced after the new dollar?" Bi Ziyan is also a whim, he is older, he may not be able to ride, but watching others ride is also a kind of enjoyment.

"It should be soon, I have already paid 10,000 taels of silver to buy the production technology of bicycles from Wang Zheng, and after the new yuan, it will be produced in Xi'an." Zhu Youzhen has a soft spot for Shaanxi, and he wants to make Shaanxi a model for the industrialization of the Ming Dynasty, and Shaanxi's cement roads are criss-crossed, which is also suitable for bicycle traffic.

"Ten thousand taels? Didn't Wang Zheng get rich? Bi Ziyan couldn't believe his ears, a technology could be sold for 10,000 taels of silver, which was many times higher than the money of these high-ranking officials.

"Of course, Wang Zheng's technology can't be sold indefinitely, otherwise there will be too many bicycles produced in the future, and it will not be sold, I have agreed with Wang Zheng that he can also sell to three sellers, and in the future, factories will be built in Tianjin, Nanjing, and Guangzhou to produce bicycles, and in addition, bicycle production technology shall not be sold to others."

"And three more buyers? That's forty thousand taels. The Minister of Taxation, Huang Shijun's mouth opened widely, and he closed it after half a sound, "Your Majesty, Wang Zheng sold so much silver, so does he want to pay taxes?" ”

"Of course, you have to pay taxes," Liu Zongzhou, the minister of industry and commerce, said angrily, "Your Majesty, Wang Zheng is a business without capital, and the tax rate should be increased." ”

Li Changgeng, Minister of Transportation, saw that with bicycles, the traffic in Daming would be much more convenient in the future, so he did not agree to increase the tax rate, "Wang Zheng got a lot of silver, but he also paid a lifetime of hard work, when he wrote the "Far West Strange Artifact Illustration", but he was so poor that he didn't even have to wear pants. ”

Zhu Youzhen coughed and suppressed the discussion of the ministers, "Ladies and gentlemen, whether the tax rate will increase depends on the tax law of the Ming Dynasty, and we can't see others getting silver and blush, on the contrary, we should see that while Wang Zheng got a lot of silver, the taxes of the imperial court also increased." ”

"Your Majesty Xià ......" Liu Zongzhou was at a loss, he really couldn't find the provisions to increase the tax rate from the laws of the Ming Dynasty, but he felt that Wang Zheng's income was too high.

"Liu Aiqing, since there is no corresponding provision, you can't increase the tax rate at will, otherwise, the law enforcers themselves will be illegal." Zhu Youzhen hates pink eye, and businessmen in the Ming Dynasty are often engulfed by these pink eye.

"Your Majesty, Wang Zheng's income is too terrifying, a single technology can be sold for 40,000 taels of silver......" Liu Zongzhou was still a little unconvinced, but he himself felt that he really couldn't find a reason to impose heavy taxes.

"Liu Aiqing, it is true that Wang Zheng became rich overnight, but he has lived a poor life for most of his life, who can see it? There are also many people like Xiang Wang Zheng, who have never been able to develop a shocking technology in their lives, and have lived in poverty all their lives, who can see it? ”

"Your Majesty, Wang Zheng became rich overnight, and now he really can't levy heavy taxes, because there is no provision in this regard in the tax law of the Ming Dynasty," Cao Sicheng, Minister of Justice, did not support Liu Zongzhou, "Your Majesty, since there is a matter of Wang Zheng getting rich, the imperial court should seize the time and formulate relevant laws." ”

"Cao Aiqing is right, since the laws of the Ming Dynasty are blank in these aspects, then new laws should be formulated, and there will be laws to follow when they are implemented," Zhu Youzhen thought of another one, "Wang Zheng didn't get rich overnight, he studied for half his life, and it has been seven years since the publication of the "Illustrated Illustration of the Strange Artifacts of the Far West" and the Apocalypse, and it has been more than four years now, and, before that, who knows how long he has been developing?" ”

"Majesty xià means ......" Cao Sicheng didn't understand what Zhu Youzhen meant for a while.

"It's still right what Li Aiqing just said, whether it's taxes or others, law enforcers must rely on the laws of the Ming Dynasty, if the laws don't stipulate places, they can formulate corresponding laws instead of embezzling the interests of the people."

"Your Majesty ......" Huang Shijun blushed slightly, not knowing whether he was ashamed or red by the west wind.

Zhu Youzhen didn't look at Huang Shijun, but turned to Cao Sicheng, "Cao Aiqing's words just now reminded me that the Ming Dynasty still lacks a law, the Patent Law, which is a law that specifically adjusts and deals with science and technology, since it protects science and technology and scientific achievements, it is necessary to protect the rights of scientific workers." ”

"Patent law?" Cao Sicheng scratched the few white hairs left on his forehead uneasily, "Your Majesty, I really haven't heard of what patent law is." ”

Of course, Cao Sicheng did not know what a patent was, and Zhu Youzhen had to explain the source and protection of patents one by one, and in order to examine all patents, a patent office was set up under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.