Chapter five hundred and thirty first stunning appearance
The one who went to Jizhou was Zeng Tong, the prefect, but the one who went to Liaozhou was the loyal king Tang Qingchuan.
The Empress Dowager is the biological mother of Prince Zhong. As a son of a human being, it is normal for him to go to Daliang to pay his respects. Just for his safety, when he went there this time, he brought a total of three thousand cavalry, which was the only thing Prince Zhong had on hand. There are enough cavalry. After all, not everyone is as willing to spend money on the construction and expansion of the army as Tang Ao.
Not only King Zhong, but also King Jin and King Qi came in person. As for the King of Southern Wu and the King of Western Shu, they only sent representatives because they were too far away. In addition to these representatives of the vassal kings, there were also others like Beidi, Ximan, South Vietnam, and Korea, which had a small territory and had never been taken seriously, also sent representatives. Only Dongying, facing across the sea, was too far away to send representatives in time.
The death of the Empress Dowager provided an opportunity for heroes from all parties to meet. According to the previous agreement, they would gather in Daliang City on February 28, the 19th year of Hanchang, which was the day the Empress Dowager was buried.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this time it was intended to pay tribute to the Empress Dowager, but in fact Emperor Qianwen took the opportunity to bring everyone together and put forward the request that best suits his own interests. The old pattern is about to pass away, and a new pattern is about to emerge.
As the representative of Ji Wang Tang Ao, Zeng Tong arrived at Daliang City very early. At the end of January, he returned to the imperial capital of Daqian after being separated for several months.
The reason why Zeng Tong came so early was because he had something to do. For example, he was accompanied by a fleet of a hundred vehicles, which contained glass, iodized salt, monosodium glutamate, soy sauce, and fine furs. Centennial mountain ginseng and other things.
These are the specialties of Jizhou and cannot be bought with money in other places. Zeng Tong brought them here just to make money. There is no other way. Tang Ao's ability to make money is number one, and his ability to spend money is also number one. Jizhou is too poor and its foundation is too poor. If it wants to develop and construct, the amount of money required is also an astronomical amount. Fortunately, Tang Ao, the king of Jizhou, is also a wealthy person. The important thing is that he can still make money. Otherwise, I am afraid that With such a trick, Jizhou itself will collapse.
Before he has enough self-blood production ability, he needs to borrow the money in Tang Ao's hands to develop. This time Zeng Tong came early just to find a way to make more money.
On the one hand, the goods brought here, especially the various items and shapes made of glass, have always been popular in Daliang City. But Tang Ao's purpose this time was not just to make money, he also got a kind of New product - carriage.
Most of the carriages at this time were two-wheeled, narrow and simple. Not to mention having no doors, there was only a curtain in front, and the roof was just a dome. Compared with the hundreds of carriages brought by Zeng Tong, they were basically They cannot be compared.
Synthetic rubber has long been invented by Tang Ao. Although it is not as comprehensive as natural rubber in terms of performance, it has excellent properties such as high elasticity, insulation, air tightness, and resistance to high and low temperatures. In this era, it is definitely ahead of its time. The product has also become one of Tang Ao's monopoly products.
"Bata~bata~bata~" The sound of horse hooves tapping sounded in the bustling Daliang City. There were hundreds of carriages, of which four carriages accounted for half, which also attracted everyone to follow. It was this sound Look, everyone was dumbfounded. The carriage in front of them was completely beyond their understanding.
It was extremely huge, and it was made of four wheels. It was like two carriages pieced together. No! Under the conditions at that time, people could not make a four-wheeled carriage. In other words, even if it was pieced together, it would not be possible. To such a big one.
Zhongcheng Hou Shen Yunyi was sitting in the largest carriage at this time. Just now, he showed the same surprised look as everyone else, and Su Zhen, the magistrate who came with Zeng Tong, called out. It took more than ten calls to wake him up, and then Shen Yunyi sighed one after another, "This carriage is great, this carriage is so big and luxurious!"
Not to mention the double-layered hilltop on the roof of the carriage, which is eye-catching enough, let’s talk about the hollow gold lacquer clad copper on the windows, doors, flowers, and five-blessed doors that no one has ever seen before. The handrails. It is covered with copper lotus flowers, and even the position of the coachman is covered by a half-mountain above his head, and there is a soft cushion under the seat.
While Marquis Zhongcheng was still in shock, Su Zhen, who was accompanying him, spoke, "The carriage is too stuffy. Come on, open it up and let some air out."
Following Su Zhen's calm instructions, the following guards came over. He opened a small door from the rear frame of the car, pulled out two folding Taishi round chairs carved with sea yellow, opened them respectfully, and invited his master to sit down. .Then he pulled out a small folding table, opened it, wiped it hard and placed it between the two chairs.
This carriage was walking on Taihe Street at this time. It was very close to the Imperial City and it was the time for the next court. There were already many ministers walking around here. Needless to say, the oncoming people This huge and luxurious carriage caught everyone's eyes, and then attracted their undivided attention.
"What is this? A carriage? How can it be made so huge?" Rui Butong, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and his in-laws, Mingshan, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, were walking together. When they saw this huge carriage coming towards them, the two of them couldn't help but exclaim. He stopped, got off his carriage, and stared at this unprecedented sight with wide eyes.
"I...I don't know." Mingshan shook his head. Although he was the Minister of Industry, he had never seen such a luxurious and huge carriage in his life.
Even the minister of the Ministry of Industry showed such a surprised look, one can imagine how the other courtiers would react. At this moment, all the courtiers involuntarily got off the sedan or the horse, just like ordinary people, Standing on both sides of the road, admiring the emergence of a legend.
"Kakaka..." seems to be to explain what it means to be shocked. Just when the stunned courtiers were recovering from the shock, they saw that the coachman had already got on the car and started to fold up the windows and doors. .Suddenly, this luxurious extended four-wheeled carriage turned into a semi-open-top luxury vehicle for traveling. You can see a large circle of comfortable and comfortable large-sized leather cushion chairs in the carriage. The texture of the leather is clear and shiny. Then There are circles of auspicious cloud patterns carved around the long cushion chair, which looks solemn, luxurious and grand! In front of the cushioned chair, there is actually a platform that can be lifted. On the simple folding lifting platform, There is also a teapot place, three tea cup places and a fruit plate place. On the other side of the door are two four-legged chairs, which look like they are for the servants who are waiting on the carriage to rest. The whole carriage is extremely luxurious. The sound caused by the horse's hooves trampling on the stone slab of the cement road seems to be able to penetrate everyone's heart and soul.
With the carriage half open, the figure of Zhongcheng Hou Shen Yunyi was also revealed. He was seen sitting in the carriage eating fruit with a very comfortable look on his face. This scene really made many other people and ministers envious.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, or in shock, the driver easily adjusted the direction of the carriage, and slowly reversed the carriage while the people in front of the palace gate watched in disbelief. It stopped straight on the edge of the palace wall.
After the coachman stopped the carriage, he quickly opened a small door from the edge of his seat, pulled out an object, and opened it. It was a folding ladder! He respectfully set up the folding ladder at the door. The coachman Then he bowed and called softly: "Master Marquis, we are in front of the palace gate."
With a sound of "Hmm", Zhongcheng Hou Shen Yunyi solemnly stepped on the folding ladder and slowly got out of the carriage. I don't know whether it was intentional or unintentional. His eyes swept over the ministers who were looking at him, and there seemed to be a smile in his eyes. And passed.
That was no ordinary smile, but a smile.
Looking at other people's carriages and then looking at their own carriages, the faces of all the courtiers suddenly turned as red as their buttocks. Comparing people with others is a waste, and comparing goods with goods has to be thrown away!
To say that they didn't feel anything while riding in the two-wheeled carriage on weekdays, everyone is the same, right? After all, there will be no harm without comparison. Now with this comparison, suddenly...
If Zhongchenghou's carriage is equivalent to the latest extended-length customized version of the Bentley Mulsanne, then they have to be regarded as a recycled version of Alto and the cheapest battery car.
In just a moment, the eyes of all the courtiers turned green with envy. Damn it! You don’t have to show off your money like this!
Marquis Zhongcheng seemed to have never heard of such jealous looks, even some of the courtiers' eyes were like those of wolves on the grassland.
The less Marquis Zhongcheng paid attention, the more aggrieved the courtiers felt. The feeling of being ignored could really cost someone's life for a strong person.
But before the courtiers could finish their jealousy, they heard the sound of horse hoofbeats again.
Everyone involuntarily followed the sound and were surprised to see a carriage similar to that of Marquis Zhongcheng, slowly approaching. However, this carriage was obviously not as luxurious as Shen Yunyi's carriage, but it did not lose much in terms of momentum. . But I saw the coachman skillfully stopped the carriage in front of the palace gate officials, then pulled out the folding ladder and knocked gently on the door, "Sir, the palace gate has arrived."
But he heard a familiar "Hmm" from inside, and the unfamiliar coachman opened the door. Looking at the old man walking out of the car, the palace door suddenly "cracked~" and his glasses fell to the ground! Damn it! !It’s actually Zeng Tong, the former chief aide to the prince!
Zeng Tong himself blushed when he got out of the car, and he cupped his hands in all directions with some embarrassment as a greeting to the ministers. After all, when the former prince fell, he was considered a rat crossing the street and everyone yelled. At that time, who would take him seriously?