Zhu Di: My fourth son is a great emperor of all time?

Chapter 120 Where did the fourth brother get so many wonderful ideas?

Zhu Di ignored Zhu Gaochi, who was still rambling on and on, and also looked at Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui, who had different expressions and unfathomable thoughts.

His gaze seemed to pierce through layers of palaces, reaching towards the distant south. In that gaze were satisfaction,感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a feeling of deep emotion), and even more so, a profound expectation for the future that he himself was unaware of.

Inside the hall, only Zhu Gaochi's voice, filled with fear and pleading, echoed, along with the faint, cold sound of the jade thumb ring, a symbol of supreme power, being slowly rubbed between Zhu Di's fingers.

The workshop area of ​​Xunzhou was still bustling, but apart from the sounds of furnaces and hammers, another group of people gathered on a newly opened open space. The air was filled with the unique mixed smell of wood, raw lacquer, and eucommia gum. Zhu Gaoshuo stood in the center of the space, his brows furrowed, staring at the several “incongruous” creations in front of him.

Zhang Xiuping, along with several craftsmen, carefully pushed over a few newly made wooden wheels. Unlike ordinary, heavy solid wood wheels, these wheels had a thick, dark brown, and elastic Eucommia ulmoides rubber "tire" tightly wrapped around their outer edges.

The tire surface was also specially pressed with shallow anti-slip patterns. This was the first batch of practical tire samples that she finally made after repeatedly testing the formula, mold and vulcanization process with the rubber workshop craftsmen based on Zhu Gaoshuo's description.

“Your Highness, look, this is the ‘rubber wheel’ made according to your requirements.” Zhang Xiuping’s tone carried a hint of barely perceptible anticipation.

"I have already had someone test it out with an oxcart. On the rugged dirt road, the bumps were indeed reduced a lot, and it was more durable and quieter."

Zhu Gaoshuo squatted down and pressed the elastic rubber wheel hard, a hint of satisfaction finally appearing in his eyes: "Good! Ping'er, thank you for your hard work! This is of utmost importance!"

He stood up and glanced at the other side of the open space, where Wang Ao was directing several carpenters and blacksmiths, sweating profusely as they worked on a few of the most common farm carts and a slightly larger freight wagon.

They were trying to remove the original wooden wheels and replace them with the new rubber wheels sent by Zhang Xiuping, but the process was unusually awkward.

The cart's structure was already rudimentary, with a low and light body. When heavy wooden wheels covered with thick rubber were attached, the whole cart appeared top-heavy and disproportionate.

The oxen pulling the cart seemed to sense something was wrong, pawing nervously. To make matters worse, the original axle and wheel hub structure did not perfectly match the new wheels, causing them to rotate unevenly and even become slightly crooked after installation.

"Your Highness, this..." Wang Ao wiped his sweat, looking troubled.

"With these wheels on the cart, the shock absorption is better, but it still feels unstable, and it's awkward to pull with an ox. The horse-drawn carriage is slightly better, but the wheels are too big and the carriage is too low, so it looks quite strange."

The surrounding craftsmen and the local people who had been drawn to the scene also pointed and whispered, their eyes filled with doubt and skepticism. In their view, the new wheels were good, but they looked awkward on the old cart, like dressing a beggar in a dragon robe.

Zhu Gaoshuo looked at the vehicles that had failed to be "grafted" and sighed helplessly. He knew what the problem was. It was like putting car tires on a bicycle. The structure was incompatible and the power was not upgraded, so naturally it looked like a mismatched mess.

The advantages of tires in terms of shock absorption, acceleration, and increased load capacity could not be fully realized on primitive animal-drawn carts, which instead exposed the backwardness of the chassis structure and traction method.

"Alright, stop the carts and carriages for now." Zhu Gaoshuo waved his hand decisively.

"Wang Ao, bring out that 'iron box' we prepared earlier!"

"Yes!" Wang Ao felt as if he had been granted a pardon and quickly called for his men.

Before long, a square-shaped object covered by a thick tarpaulin was pushed to the center of the field by several strong men. The tarpaulin was lifted to reveal what was inside—a rectangular "iron box" about half the size of a small hut, made of thin iron plates riveted together! There was a square window at the front of the box, doors on both sides, four bare iron wheel hubs at the bottom, and an opening at the rear resembling a boiler chimney.

The entire design is full of clumsy, industrial primitiveness, which is out of place with the surrounding environment.

This is the prototype of the "car" that Zhu Gaoshuo had the blacksmiths forge based on his vague memory.

His vision is to use an improved steam engine to drive the rear wheels, and he is currently working on miniaturization and efficiency issues, with the driving and passenger space in front.

Although it's still a long way from a real car, it at least provides a basic platform to support new tires and new power.

However, when this huge, cold, metallic "iron box" was exposed to everyone, the scene instantly fell into a deathly silence!
The artisans and onlookers who were just discussing the matter froze instantly, their eyes changing from confusion to pure, undisguised fear!

"My God! What is this?!"

"An iron coffin?! And it's so big!"

"A monster! It must be a tin monster! Look at its gaping mouth!"

"Your Highness Prince Qi... are you trying to create a man-eating monster?!"

"Run! This metal box is coming to life!"

Someone shouted first, and the crowd immediately erupted in chaos. The timid woman screamed and covered her child's eyes, hiding behind her, while the burly man also instinctively took a few steps back, his face filled with panic.

Even the few personal guards that Wang Ao brought unconsciously placed their hands on the hilts of their swords, watching the silent iron lump warily.

The scene was chaotic. People looked at Zhu Gaoshuo with a sense of unfamiliarity and disbelief. How could the wise and mighty Prince Qi have created such a strange thing?

Zhu Gaoshuo looked at the chaotic scene before him and listened to the exclamations of "tin monster" and "man-eating". He was first stunned, and then a huge sense of absurdity and bewilderment welled up in his heart.

He opened his mouth, wanting to explain that it was a "car," a means of transportation that could travel thousands of miles a day in the future, not some man-eating monster. But looking at those fearful and wary eyes, he knew that any explanation would be pale and powerless at this moment.

A huge cognitive gap stands between him and the people of this era, like an insurmountable chasm.

"Silence!" Zhang Fu's booming voice rang out, carrying the authority of a soldier, which finally suppressed the commotion for the time being. He frowned, walked to the iron box, and patted the cold iron sheet hard, making a dull sound.

"What's the panic! It's just a pile of iron and wood! His Highness has his reasons for making this! You all must stop talking nonsense and disturbing the peace!" His words calmed the soldiers and some craftsmen down a bit, but the fear in the eyes of the common people did not completely dissipate.

Zhu Gaoshuo took a deep breath, suppressing the helplessness in his heart.

(End of this chapter)