After Liang Xiao became a marquis, the Liang family moved to live in Qili in Chang'an City, and the house in Maoling was given to the Tu family, and there was no place to live in Maoling County. There are also houses in the grange, which were originally for the slaves and maids who farmed the land, and the general people built them relatively simply, but Liang Xiao has always loved the slaves and maids, and was willing to spend money, and the construction was not bad.

It was the slack season, Liu Ling asked Tu Tian to find some slaves and maids, commanded by Deng Guobin, and built a laboratory according to Liang Xiao's practice in Bailu Jingshe. When the house was built, the glaze of Huainan was also transported, and the glazed windows were installed, the sun was shining outside, and the interior of the house was bright.

Everything was ready, Deng Guobin and others put themselves to work again, and they built ship models without distractions and conducted experiments.

Liu Ling had already studied the "Geometric Original", and now he had a lot of time, so he picked up the "Geometric Original" again and pondered it carefully. After marrying Liang Xiao for several months, although he got together less and left more, Liang Xiao still used his time as much as possible to answer many questions from Liu Ling. Originally, he was still a little cover-up, and sometimes he had to use Dongfang Shuo as a cover, but now that the two have become one, he doesn't care about it, and he can't wait to tell Liu Ling everything he knows.

Liu Ling's attainments in this area have far surpassed ordinary people. Deng Guobin's practical ability is relatively strong, but in terms of mathematical derivation, Liu Ling has obvious advantages. They showed their strengths and cooperated with each other, and soon gained a deeper understanding of shipbuilding, accumulating a lot of skills that seemed insignificant, but in fact condensed a lot of painstaking efforts, and just a variety of atlas materials filled half of the bookshelf.

Liu Ling's life was full and regular. It's not about leaning against the window to read. It's a walk around the estate. Except for the occasional trip to the vegetable patch. Basically do not go out of the gate, like a hermit, hiding in the suburbs of Chang'an.

It wasn't until one day, when a distinguished guest came to visit, that her peace was shattered.

When the figure of the chief princess of the pavilion appeared at the door, Liu Ling blinked, showing a relieved smile, and then greeted him with a spring breeze. Bow down.

"Master, why are you here, what's the matter, say hello, I'll just go to visit, how can I make you tired."

The chief princess of the pavilion waved her hand with a smile. "Alright, don't coax me. But if I do not come, will you see me? She held Liu Ling's hand affectionately, and asked a few words of concern about Liu Ling's recent situation. He also said some gossip between women, like a girlfriend who hadn't seen him for a long time. without losing the love of the elders.

Liu Ling accompanied her, entered the house, and was about to welcome her into the lobby. The princess of the pavilion stopped and turned her head to look at the west cross courtyard with the courtyard door closed.

"What are you doing here, what are you doing, can you show me around?"

"The lord has an order, how dare you disobey?" Liu Lingwan smiled, and said half-jokingly: "It's just that when did the master become interested in these small skills?" As he spoke, he ordered someone to open the door of the West Cross Courtyard and led the princess of the Pavilion Tao over.

"Inheriting the first of your husband and wife, now talking about literature and reasoning is the most popular elegant thing in Chang'an City, men are certainly happy to do this, women meet, not to talk about a few recent new discoveries, but also feel a little outdated. It's just that I'm old and lazy, and I can't compare to those young people. Without your help, I'm powerless. No, I came to you today to learn the scriptures. ”

"Giggles-" Liu Ling raised his sleeves, covered his lips and smiled, and said a few words modestly. She led the princess into the model making room, and asked Deng Guobin to take out the finished ship model for the princess to appreciate.

Seeing the delicate and realistic ship model, the princess of the pavilion Tao was very surprised. She stretched out her well-maintained fingers, picked up a piece of wood as thin as a toothpick on the desk, and looked at the model ship again, unable to believe her eyes. "These ship models are all assembled with such wood chips?"

"Yes, every part is made in strict accordance with the requirements and there is no room for error. The so-called difference is a millimeter, a thousand miles away, even if it is a hair-like error, magnified, it may lead to the wrong installation. ”

"Strands of hair?" Dong Yan, who was accompanying the princess of the pavilion, was speechless. He curled a lock of hair from his sideburns with his fingers and looked at it, a look of suspicion in his eyes. "How much error can a single strand of hair have?"

"It's not just a single hair, not even half a hair." Deng Guobin asked Liu Ling for instructions, turned around and took out a delicate wooden box to open it, took out a caliper from it, and carefully held it in his hand. "Guobin is brave, please give the Lord a green silk."

The princess of the pavilion Tao was puzzled, but she still lowered her head with great interest, and asked Dong Yan to pull out a hair from her head and hand it to Deng Guobin.

Deng Guobin asked Dong Yan for a few hairs, together with the hair of the princess of the pavilion Tao, measured them one by one, and then put them on the case together, turned around, and asked Dong Yan to change the position of these hairs. Dong Yan understood what he meant, and immediately changed it. He stared intently at Deng Guobin, wanting to see if Deng Guobin could measure the difference between these hairs. One strand of hair is fine enough, and he can still measure the difference between two strands?

It's incredible.

Deng Guobin measured the diameter of those hairs again, and then picked up a strand of hair with confidence. "This is the green silk of the Lord."

The princess of the pavilion exclaimed: "How is this possible? ”

Deng Guobin put away the caliper and smiled proudly. Liu Ling took the wooden box from Deng Guobin's hand and held it in front of the princess of the pavilion. "Master, this ruler was designed by my husband, and I asked a craftsman to make it carefully, and I can distinguish one-third of the hair. Dong Jun is young, and his hair is thick, and he can still tell it. ”

"Really?" The princess took the ruler, held it up in front of her eyes to look at it carefully, and praised it repeatedly. "It's so subtle, it's unheard of, I've never heard of such a precise ruler."

"If you want to do a good job, you must first sharpen your tools. This is their weapon, and naturally they are tireless. Liu Ling took the caliper from the hand of the princess of the pavilion, handed it to Deng Guobin, and said: "The master is not an outsider, and I am not afraid that you will laugh at me for being shallow, we are still developing a more precise ruler, and when the time comes." Not only can you tell the thickness of two hairs. It can also accurately measure the size of the hair. ”

"Really?" The princess of the pavilion will be suspicious. "When will it be built? I'd like to take a look. ”

Liu Ling smiled: "It's not easy. I've invested nearly 100 gold, and I haven't been able to build it yet. When it is made, I will definitely ask the Lord to appreciate it. ”

"Spend a hundred gold to build a ruler?" The Pavilion Chief Princess smiled and shook her head. "Lord Weng, you are really rich."

"Lord Tai, although my Liang family is not as rich as Lord Tai, it is also favored by His Majesty and has a lot of wealth. In addition to food and clothing, you have to do something serious. Spend 100 gold to build a ruler. It seems like a waste, but if you can find something, how can it be compared? Just like the two virtuous people in your family, if they hadn't spent a lot of money to buy the iron-smelting recipe, how could they make money every day? ”

When it comes to the Chen brothers' knife making, the princess of the pavilion Tao is in a good mood. The Chen Xu brothers created a high-grade sword and dedicated it to the Son of Heaven, not only obtained the common sense of the Son of Heaven, but also were able to enter any idle position in Shangfang and create a sword for the Son of Heaven. The sword of the Chen family is a treasure that the young man of the Beijing master did not hesitate to buy with a lot of money, and the Chen family not only earned the thousand gold back. There is still a lot of surplus, which can be described as fame and fortune.

Using this example as an analogy, the persuasiveness naturally increases.

Liu Ling took the princess of the pavilion Tao to visit it. The princess of the pavilion Tao was eye-opening and full of praise. The two returned to the hall and sat down. Liu Ling ordered someone to take some radishes that had just been pulled out of the ground, cut them into thin slices, and brought them up, and invited the princess of the pavilion Tao to taste them.

The princess of the pavilion Tao talked for a long time, and she felt that her mouth was dry, and she tasted a piece, and suddenly felt that her mouth was full of relish, and her teeth and cheeks were fragrant, and she couldn't help but eat a few slices in a row.

"What is this?"

"This is the fruit and vegetable that my husband brought back from the Western Regions, called radish." Liu Ling said with a smile: "The first time the lord eats, you can't eat too much. Some people are not used to it, and the stomach will be upset. If you eat it habitually, it's a good thing. ”

Hearing Liu Ling say this, the princess of the pavilion Tao didn't dare to eat more, but she was envious of Liu Ling, and teased: "No wonder you don't want to go back to the city, living here, it's really quiet and comfortable." If I'm free, I'll come and stay for a few days, okay? ”

Liu Lingjiao smiled, but shook her head. "The Lord has misunderstood. I don't live here entirely because it's comfortable. The things you just saw were originally my husband's errands. He was ordered to send an envoy to South Vietnam, but I couldn't take care of it for a while, so I had to reluctantly take it over, so as not to delay the business. If it weren't for that, how could I, a boisterous person, stay here? ”

The Pavilion Chief Princess put away her smile. Liang Xiao's envoy to South Vietnam, she heard Dou Ying say it, and she also knew the danger. Hearing Liu Ling say this, she was not able to answer for a while. She thought for a while, and then said: "Champion Hou sent an envoy to South Vietnam, but the affairs of Yuzhang Shipyard did not stop, and His Majesty arranged someone to be responsible, why do you have to work so hard?" ”

Liu Ling chuckled: "Not everyone can do a good job in the shipyard. In front of the Lord, I am not afraid of your jokes. In my opinion, as far as the construction of warships is concerned, no one in the world can catch up with my husband. Even I, I'm afraid, can't reach the dust, so I can only fly first with a stupid bird, spend more time, and hope not to fall too far behind. ”

The eyes of the chief princess of the pavilion twinkle slightly. "Champion Hou has indeed seen people, but no one else can do this thing of supervising the construction of warships?"

Liu Ling did not argue. She thought for a moment and smiled. "Well, when the Lord leaves later, pick a random ship model and take it with you, and then I will make the same ship model, and all the parts will be interchangeable with the one you took away. Within three months, if you can build a model ship like this, how about I lose your money? ”

The Pavilion Elder Princess was a little hesitant.

Liu Ling raised his eyebrows. "Is the master distressed by his daughter, or does he not have the confidence?"

was provoked by Liu Ling, and the princess of the pavilion Tao also came to be interested. "If I ask someone for help, it's not a violation, right?"

"Who can you ask for help?" Liu Ling was full of confidence. "Even if you ask for the queen, I am confident enough to win you."

The princess laughed and clapped her hands. "Well, that's a deal."

――

When the princess returned home, she immediately invited Dou Ying and told her about the gambling contract with Liu Ling.

Dou Ying looked around the boat model and finally shook his head. "Master, I'm afraid you're going to lose this gamble."

"You don't have faith in me either?" The princess was not convinced. "Even if my Chen family can't find such skilled craftsmen, isn't there one in the palace?"

Dou Ying glanced at her and laughed silently. "Do you think Liu Ling is betting with you? She's making a bet with the Son of Heaven. ”

The princess of the pavilion Tao was inexplicable and asked again and again. Dou Ying explained: "Have you read "Mountain and Wood" in "Zhuangzi"? ”

The Pavilion Chief Princess nodded. Although she is not very knowledgeable, when the Empress Dowager was alive, she required them to read Taoist books, "Zhuangzi" was naturally read, and "Mountain Wood" also had some impressions.

"Then do you think Liang Xiao is a useful goose alive, or a useful tree when he is dead?"

This time, the princess did not hesitate. "Of course it's useful to be alive, but what's the use of being dead. Oh yes. It dawned on her. Liu Ling wanted to tell the Son of Heaven that although Liang Xiao was unruly, he had talents that were difficult for ordinary people to reach, and he was useful to the Son of Heaven, so he couldn't die. ”

Dou Ying laughed, then shook his head again. "The king of Huainan was a scholar, but he gave birth to a good daughter, which is really enviable." He thought for a moment and said, "However, the smartest one is still Liang Xiao." This kid is knowledgeable, no wonder he disregards the taboo of the Son of Heaven and has to marry Liu Ling as his wife. This is a real virtuous helper. With Liu Ling sitting in Chang'an, even if he moves to the end of the world, he will not be reduced to fish and meat. This kid is knowledgeable. ”

Seeing that Dou Ying, who had always been conceited, praised Liang Xiao and Liu Ling as husband and wife so much, the princess of the pavilion Tao couldn't cry or laugh. "This treacherous woman, worried about why her husband didn't say it directly, I asked the queen to beg Your Majesty, but she made such a big detour and ignored my daughter, it's really annoying."

Dou Ying listened and smiled even more happily.

The two discussed again, and the princess of the pavilion Tao sent the ship model into the palace according to Dou Ying's teaching, and handed it over to Queen Chen. Empress Chen understood and found an opportunity to ask for the Son of Heaven. The mind of the Son of Heaven is obviously much more sensitive than that of the Pavilion Chief Princess, and as soon as he saw the ship model, he understood what Liu Ling meant.

However, he didn't say anything, and smiled casually: "Okay, I'll take this bet for my aunt." If I lose, I'll pay the money. If you win, hehe......" He chuckled twice, picked up the model ship, and looked at it carefully. "I'm not in a hurry, wait for Liang Xiao to come back, let him personally send his daughter into the palace, and then let him build me a boat for a lifetime."

Empress Chen smiled playfully: "That's right, only a clever knight like Your Majesty can lower a wild horse like Liang Xiao, and with a little trick, let him serve Your Majesty obediently." ”

The Son of Heaven crooked the corners of his mouth and laughed softly: "How can you tame a horse, in fact, it is very simple, you only need three things: whip, gas, and knife, at the beginning you will whip your body, if you don't accept it, you will break your bones, and if you don't obey it, you will cut off your head." With such three steps, what kind of fierce horse can't be tamed? ”

Empress Chen shuddered, and a trace of uneasiness flashed in her eyes.

(To be continued.) )