I am engaged in construction in Datang

A side hall of Xuanzheng Hall.

Li Shimin was discussing matters with Fang Xuanling and others.

"Your Majesty." Wang De knocked on the door and came in, leaning over to Li Shimin's ear: "Li Yi sent a good thing, a bicycle."

"Oh?" Li Shimin's eyes lit up: "Finally made it?"

"My dear ministers." Li Shimin stood up, his face flushed.

"Come with me to see a strange thing."

Fang Xuanling saw the excitement on Li Shimin's face and understood that something good must have happened in Nuzhuang.

So I became curious.

The sound of bicycle bells rang outside. Li Shimin could no longer wait and was the first to push the door open, followed by Fang Xuanling and others.

Outside the door, twenty bicycles were lined up in a row.

Two were covered in gold, one with dragon patterns engraved on it, the other with phoenix patterns.

Eight of them are silver-plated with auspicious clouds engraved on them, and the remaining ten are metallic in color.

Li Yi turned the bell on the handlebar, and the sound of ding-ding-ling was pleasant to the ear.

"Your Majesty, let me introduce this car to you." Li Yi stepped forward and began to explain it to Li Shimin and others.

The wheels of the twenty carriages were covered with leather and the seats were cushioned with leather, which was much better than those made a few days ago.

"Your Majesty, let's start from the front of the car." Li Yi bowed and said, "This is the handlebar. When you ride, you can control the direction by holding the handlebar with both hands. There is a bell on the right handlebar. When you turn it, it will make a sound to remind pedestrians in front to pay attention to the vehicle. The handbrake is here."

Li Yi pointed to a place under the handlebar. The hydraulic handbrake could not be made at the moment, so he could only use the simplest lever principle.

"Ride it and take a walk for me." Li Shimin commanded Li Yi. He wanted to see it with his own eyes.

Li agreed, holding onto a metallic bicycle, he pedaled two steps with his left foot, then quickly crossed over with his right foot.

These metallic bicycles are the earliest 28-inch style, with large wheels, stable structure and labor-saving.

The seat is just too high. Tall people can just cross their legs, but short people will have to move their legs slightly.

The gold- and silver-plated ones are different. They have smaller wheels and the horizontal bar at the front is slanted, but they still essentially adopt the triangular stability principle.

From the perspective of traveling in a hurry, the 28-inch bicycle is smoother.

Li Yi got on the bicycle and rode back and forth twice, sometimes riding very fast and sometimes as slow as a snail.

When he stopped, he pulled the handbrake, and the wheels slowed down. He tilted slightly and his left foot landed on the ground.

After getting down, use the footrest at the rear wheel to support the car, perfect.

Li Shimin and his companions were instantly excited and wanted to ride.

But these two-wheeled things are not stable enough to support themselves, so you need to learn how to use them.

"My dear ministers, please choose a silver car, ask the guards to look after it, and have a try." Li Shimin originally wanted to give a few people metallic 28-inch bicycles, but after looking at the old men's physique and age, he had to give up.

"We thank Your Majesty." Fang Xuanling and others bowed, and then their eyes lit up.

Li Shimin chose the one with a gold dragon pattern. The seat was not particularly high, and there was no large horizontal bar in front, so he could easily step over it.

Li Yi held the back seat and helped Li Shimin stabilize the car body.

Then Li Shimin started pedaling, and Li Yi ran from behind, holding the seat.

After training for several times, Li Shimin felt that he had found the trick.

"Li Yi, let go, let me do it myself." Li Shimin shouted.

Then Li Yi let go of his hand and ran after him.

After riding for a while, Li Shimin followed Li Yi's method and squeezed the brake. The wheels gradually stopped turning and he got off by touching the ground with his toes.

Before I could breathe a sigh of relief, I heard the sound of a car bell behind me, followed by shouting.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, be careful--!"

When Li Shimin turned his head, he saw his brother-in-law, Changsun Wuji, riding a bicycle straight towards him.

Fortunately, the speed was not fast, and Li Shimin dodged it and grabbed the other party's back seat to help the person stop.

"Duke Zhao, your skills are not good enough." Li Shimin teased. He was in a good mood and didn't care.

"Please forgive me, Your Majesty." Zhang Sun Wuji got out of the car and wiped the sweat from his forehead: "I was so flustered that I forgot to brake."

Li Shimin waved his hand, then pulled Changsun Wuji to look at Fang Xuanling and others over there.

Xiao Yu was fat and had the most difficulty in learning, but Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng both learned it.

After they had their fill, they returned to the hall.

Wang De poured tea, and Li Shimin and others looked at each other, wondering what they were discussing just now?

"Well, let's stop here for today and we can discuss it tomorrow." Li Shimin was not in the mood to discuss it. He couldn't wait to find Guanyin to show off!

"Your Majesty is wise!" Several people bowed, then followed Li Shimin out of the door, each pushing away the silver-covered carriage they had ridden.

"..." Li Shimin looked at the backs of the people riding bicycles, and said with great sorrow: "Wang De, did I say that I would give them the bicycles as rewards?"

Wang De: "..."

Ah this...

"Shameless!" Li Shimin cursed in his heart, and then happily rode the carriage covered with gold dragon pattern, holding the handlebar with one hand, and pushed another carriage covered with gold phoenix pattern with his left hand, and went to find Empress Changsun.

At the palace gate, Fang Xuanling and three others rode out slowly on their bicycles. The guards were so shocked that their eyes widened and they forgot to ask.

"Alang!" Xiao Yu's servant was stunned for a moment.

Then she reacted, drove the carriage, and ran closely behind Xiao Yu: "Ah Lang, wait for me!"

Xiao Yu turned a deaf ear and continued riding his bike, circling around Chang'an, passing by his home three times without entering.

The children living in the city looked at them curiously and ran behind the bicycles.

Fortunately, the roads in Chang'an City were relatively flat, and the ride on their bicycles was not bumpy, so nothing serious happened.

Mansion of Duke Yu.

"My dear, my dear!" A Yuan ran into a courtyard quickly. "Go out and have a look. The Duke of Liang and his men are riding two-wheeled horses around the city!"

"Two-wheeled horse?" Wen Zhen was puzzled. What is a two-wheeled horse?

"It's... it's a very strange thing, like a puppet. It doesn't need a horse to pull it. People can ride it and go a long way just by pedaling with their feet!" A Yuan wiped the sweat off his forehead and spoke anxiously.

"It looks like a wheelchair! Duke Lu and Duke E's sons are all looking at it!"

"Come on, take me to see it!" When Wen Zhen heard that so many people had joined in the fun, he couldn't help but become curious. What on earth could this thing be that made everyone so interested?

When Wen Zhen walked out, the idle people stood on both sides of the road, stretching their necks to look into the distance.

Xiao Yu was having so much fun that he rode his bicycle around Chang'an City several times, but Fang Xuanling and his friends had already returned home.

"Brother Baolin, what are you all looking at?" Wen Zhen saw Yuchi Baolin and went up to talk to him. He had not seen the two-wheeled horse yet and wanted to hear more information.

Yuchi Baolin saw the person coming and said, "I didn't see it either. I heard it was called a bicycle!"

"But many people call him Erlunma, saying he looks alike."