Volume 1 Princess Taiping Grows Up Chapter 82: Tibetan Envoy
The next morning, after Li Yuechen finished practicing, he took a shower and had a quick lunch, then took Fu Lai to the glass workshop.
Most of the work here is currently firing glazed tiles, which are generally green in color.
As he entered the workshop, Li Yuechen felt a wave of heat coming over him. This place was like the blacksmith's workshop in the craftsman's workshop. The temperature was very high, like a sauna.
There were many craftsmen with bare chests, taking out the fired colored glaze in front of the red furnace and gradually turning them into tiles.
The Minister of the Imperial Household who came in with Li Yuechen seemed a little uncomfortable: "Your Highness, it's hot here, why don't we stay outside?"
"Okay!" Li Yuechen nodded, and after staying in for a while, he felt himself starting to sweat.
Coming to the outer room, Li Yuechen sat on a chair and asked, "Can we call a few glass craftsmen over?"
The Supervisor saluted and said, "Yes! Your Highness, please wait here for a moment."
After a while, several craftsmen wearing shirts were brought over.
Although there had long been rumors among the craftsmen that the princess had a good temper and was not a difficult person to get along with, they still felt a little restrained when they actually met the princess.
Li Yuechen smiled and said, "Don't be so reserved. I came here today just to ask, can this colored glaze be made into other shapes?"
The oldest craftsman thought for a moment and then answered cautiously, "Your Highness, if it is a relatively simple shape, it is not difficult."
"The shape is indeed simple, but there are some problems with the precision." Li Yuechen smiled and waved to Fulai.
Fulai nodded, took two steps forward, and placed the bag in his hand in front of the craftsman.
"You can try to add this substance into the refining of colored glaze. You can experiment with how much to add and see if you can make transparent colored glaze." Li Yuechen said.
The craftsmen looked down, then raised their heads with an expression of disbelief: "May I ask, Your Highness, if we add this, we can make transparent colored glaze?"
"I don't know either." Li Yuechen shook her head. "You can try it yourself. Even if you can't do it, I won't punish you. But if you do, there will be a big reward!"
…
After leaving the glass workshop, Fu Lai asked, "Are you sure, Your Highness?"
“If we were sure, we wouldn’t let them try it on their own.” Li Yuechen smiled and shook his head.
She really had no idea. She wasn't even sure whether the thing in her hand was manganese ore or not. But it didn't matter. Practice makes perfect.
After the experiment, there will naturally be results.
Anyway, there are not many stones in this batch, and it won’t take a few days to use them all. After waiting for three to five days, the results should come out.
Afterwards, Li Yuechen ran to the Craftsmen's Supervisor to watch them making the carriage. This was the most critical thing now and it had to be completed before Li Zhi's birthday.
It has to be said that the efficiency of the craftsmen in charge was very good. After only two days, they had made a leaf spring using bamboo strips.
After Li Yuechen came over and saw the leaf spring placed on two wooden blocks, he couldn't help but nodded.
Then he jumped on the spot and stood steadily on it!
Fulai was startled and was about to go over to support her, but he saw that she was standing there steadily, as if it were flat ground.
Fu Lai was shocked when he saw this scene, and thought that it was no wonder that His Highness ran so easily that day, he did not expect that his balance was so good.
The width of the leaf spring is only two or three inches, less than the width of a palm. But for Li Yuechen, it is not considered narrow.
When playing parkour, you often need to do standing long jumps and stand steadily on a circular handrail that is less than two centimeters in diameter. You're used to it.
The bending degree of the leaf spring under his feet was okay. Li Yuechen exerted a little force with his legs and bounced it twice.
You can feel some obvious elasticity, but she is still a child after all, and her weight is not too heavy.
How much flexibility it will have once it's mounted on the frame...it's hard to say.
"Okay, let's try installing it." Li Yuechen jumped down from the leaf spring and nodded.
After all, you have to install four of them on the car, and when they work together with the cowhide tires, they might really have a good shock-absorbing effect.
…
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye it was April. The rice seedlings planted in the yard had grown a lot, and the Ministry of Household Affairs would send people to check on them every day.
Judging from the growth alone, it is indeed much better than the rice seedlings outside, but the final result is still unclear.
After practicing in the morning and before lunch, Li Yuechen was taking a bath in the inner hall when Shangguan Wan'er suddenly came in jogging.
"Your Highness, I heard that a Tibetan envoy entered the palace today." Shangguan Wan'er said with her arms on the edge of the bathtub, " Wan'er is curious about what the Tibetans look like."
"Just like you, two eyes and one nose." Li Yuechen leaned against the wooden barrel without opening his eyes. "If there is a difference, it may be that most Tibetans have two red spots on their faces."
Shangguan Wan'er tilted her head in confusion: "Is it rouge?"
Li Yuechen shook her head gently and let Xiaohe grab her arm and wipe it with a towel: "If you stay in Tubo for a long time, you may also have it. It's caused by the climate."
"Hmm..." Shangguan Wan'er didn't quite understand. She tilted her head and thought for a while, "Your Highness, why don't you go and take a look?"
Li Yuechen opened his eyes: "Why? Are you curious?"
"Yeah." Shangguan Wan'er nodded.
"Okay, I'll take you to see it after lunch." Li Yuechen smiled.
"Um!"
Shangguan Wan'er agreed, turned around and ran out.
…
After dinner, Li Yuechen brought Shangguan Wan'er and her two sisters who were equally curious, and quietly came to the Xishang Pavilion next to the Zhenguan Hall.
Now Li Zhi and his wife must be having lunch with the envoys in the palace with a group of ministers. Those who came with them can only stand outside and wait.
When we arrived at the corner of Xishang Pavilion, we saw two rows of Tibetan warriors in armor standing outside the hall waiting.
Li Yuechen stretched out his hand: "Look, those are the Tibetans. Most of them have two red spots on their faces, right?"
Shangguan Wan'er nodded: "It feels very different from Rouge."
Princess Yiyang also smiled: "I think it's funny that there are two red spots on the man's face."
"It's just due to the climate." Li Yuechen replied, "Do you take a closer look?"
Princess Xuancheng shook her head and said, "Let's just forget it. If we are discovered, I'm afraid we will be scolded by Grandpa."
Li Yuechen thought about it and waved to them, "Okay, Wan'er, you go back with the two sisters first. I'll go and listen to what's going on."
After saying that, he walked towards the back door of Zhenguan Hall.
The two sisters didn't say anything. Li Yuechen always entered the court as freely as if he was entering a vegetable market.
But that's not where they can go.
Li Yuechen was not actually curious about the Tibetans, he just came here with the intention of listening to the news.
The two eunuchs in charge of guarding the back door saw Li Yuechen bow slightly and greeted her, allowing her to enter the side passage and quietly come behind the screen.
A banquet was being held in the Zhenguan Hall now, and Li Zhi and Wu Zetian were sitting behind the table respectively.
When he saw his daughter come in, he just glanced at her and didn't react any other way.
It was normal to eat for a long time when dining with the envoy, so Li Yuechen slightly poked out half of his head and looked down at the court.
There were also two rows of tables below, one for the crown prince and ministers, and the other for the Tibetan envoys.
The one sitting in the front row looked young, but seemed to have good skin. The two patches of high altitude redness on his face were very slight, and he didn't look like someone who grew up in a plateau.
In this situation, Li Zhi did not choose the chair invented by Li Yuechen, but continued to sit on his knees.
Now that Jiang Ke has passed away and the Liangzhou army is returning to the capital, Tubo has sent envoys at this time. I'm afraid a fight is inevitable, right?
Li Yuechen now only hopes that if a quarrel breaks out, Li Zhi can control his emotions. Even if he can't win, he shouldn't get so angry that he gets sick.
After thinking it over carefully, Li Yuechen secretly made a decision that if Li Zhi couldn't stop scolding her, she would go up and help him herself.
Li Yuechen does not think that a future person in this era can surpass the ancients in scheming and wisdom.
But when it comes to debate or knowledge, any junior high school student coming here a thousand years later would have a crushing advantage over them!
Li Zhi glanced at his little daughter behind the screen, put down his wine glass, gently turned the health ball in his hand and asked, "After hearing what you said just now, I am a little curious, which of the current Tibetan kings is more virtuous than his ancestors?"
Li Yuechen behind the screen was a little puzzled by this sentence. Who is the grandfather of the current Zamp? Songtsen Gampo?
She was not clear about history, but after coming to this era, she also learned a lot of knowledge. Songtsen Gampo seemed to be a man of great talent and strategy.
The story of Princess Wencheng's marriage to Tibet, which we learned in history textbooks, happened during the reign of Emperor Taizong.
Zhong Cong, who was standing below, bowed and replied, "Although the current Zanpu is not as brave and decisive as his ancestors, he is a diligent ruler and his subjects dare not deceive him. He is also a wise ruler!"
After hearing what he said, Li Yuechen was greatly surprised. He didn't expect that although Zhong Cong was a Tibetan, he could speak fluent Tang Dynasty dialect.
Being able to speak the Tang Dynasty official language to this extent, one’s reading and writing skills must be quite good.
Li Zhi nodded slightly. From his expression, it was clear that he didn't take the talk seriously at all. He continued to ask, "As far as I know, the land of Tubo is cold and harsh, and the products are poor. In the land of Luosha River, there are no plants except willows. How could it have developed to this point?"
Zhong Cong was silent for two seconds before answering, "Yes, in the south of Wuhai, there is still snow even in midsummer. People wear wool in summer and leather in winter. In the cold winter, they live in tents in the city. The utensils and supplies are not even one ten-thousandth of those in the Tang Dynasty..."
At this point, Li Yuechen nodded behind the screen. This is indeed the case in Tibet now.
But unexpectedly, Zhong Cong suddenly changed the subject: "However, the whole country is united, and matters are discussed from the bottom up. Everything is done to benefit the people. Only in this way can the country prosper for a long time..."
Li Yuechen, who was behind the screen, almost fell to the ground when he heard these words. He raised his head in disbelief and looked at Zhong Cong outside through the screen bars.
Can you please have some shame when you brag? If that's the case, how come we are still in a slavery-like society?
You are united and always put the people first in everything you do... Come on, pull a few levers, if it weren't for Lun Qinling's ability to defeat Xue Rengui, and if it weren't for reasons like altitude sickness, you would have been finished long ago.
No matter what he thought, Li Yuechen was not angry about it. After all, it was always like this in diplomatic occasions.
Li Zhi suddenly raised his voice: "Tuoba and Tubo are relatives by marriage, but Suhegui rebelled against his master. Tubo not only did not help him to suppress the rebellion, but also accepted the rebels and abandoned the peace, and seized his land! I sent people to appease the Murong family, but you sent troops to ambush and invade my Liangzhou. Why is this?"
It’s started! It’s started!
Li Yuechen, who was behind the screen, had a serious look on his face. Seeing that a quarrel was about to start, he was ready.
Whenever Li Zhi showed signs of being unable to continue scolding, he would go out to help immediately and would scold him so badly that his mother wouldn't recognize him!
As Li Yuechen thought about this, he began to draft in his mind.
However, Zhong Cong unexpectedly said calmly, "I was only ordered to make contributions. As for military affairs, I have never heard of them!"
Li Yuechen in the corridor didn't react for a moment. He thought there would be a fight, but he didn't expect that he would just dismiss it with a light sentence: "It has nothing to do with me?"
But it doesn’t matter. For Li Yuechen, it doesn’t matter whether they quarrel or not, as long as Li Zhi doesn’t have an attack.
Their meal lasted until almost noon, and in the end they didn't quarrel. Instead, they had a very pleasant chat.
Finally, Li Zhi gave the other party's envoys a large number of gifts, and the exchange was completed peacefully.
Li Yuechen felt relieved after seeing this. He made a heart shape to his parents behind the screen and turned back.
Just after returning to Anfu Hall, before I had time to sit down and rest for a while, Fulai ran over with an excited look on his face: "Your Highness, good news!"
"What's the matter?" Li Yuechen asked as he picked up the yogurt on the table and prepared to take a sip.
Shangguan Wan'er beside him reminded him, "Your Highness, that was what I just drank..."
"Someone from the glass workshop just reported that transparent glass has been made!" Fulai reported loudly, completely suppressing Shangguan Wan'er's already small voice.
"Oh?" Li Yuechen's eyes lit up and he put down the yogurt he had just taken a sip of. "Let's go, let's go and take a look!"
Seeing Li Yuechen leaving with Fulai excitedly, Shangguan Wan'er opened her mouth, then turned her head to look at the yogurt on the table, her face a little tangled...
I quickly walked to the glass workshop, and the craftsman from last time handed me a square piece of transparent glass.
There was a trace of disbelief on his face, and even his voice was trembling: "Your Highness, please take a look!"
Li Yuechen took it and looked at it. It was a fist-sized, square piece of transparent glass.
Although the brightness is not as high as the glass of the future, it is indeed colorless and transparent. Except for some scattered small bubbles, there are no visible flaws!
She held up the glass and looked at it in the sunlight. A smile appeared on her face. She licked her lips subconsciously and turned her head to ask, "Is it made by adding that stone?"
"Your Highness, that's right!" the craftsman replied respectfully.
Li Yuechen nodded slightly: "Fulai, buy a large amount of that stone! You decide the price, try to keep it as low as possible."
"Yes!" Fu Lai also agreed excitedly, looking at the glass and said: "Your Highness is truly a god!"
