Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Li Chengqian stretched his hand to the surface of the water and felt the chill coming from the water getting lower and lower. He said in astonishment.

"magic!"

"I never thought that in the scorching heat of midsummer, a tiny bit of saltpeter could make water feel cold!"

"Du He, you are such a genius!"

Du He curled his lips and didn't say much.

It’s time for a cup of tea.

Li Chengqian frowned slightly when he saw that the water had not frozen yet, then stood up and asked.

"Du He, how long will it take for this water to freeze?"

Du He observed the changes in the water for a while, thought for a moment and said, "I estimate it will take another half an hour."

He put in more saltpeter to speed up the freezing of water.

Li Chengqian paused: "It's going to take that long?"

too slow!

He also thought that Du He had some magical powers that could turn water into ice in an instant.

I didn't expect that just throwing saltpeter into the water would require waiting for half an hour.

Li Chengqian ordered the eunuchs, "Serve the food. We will eat while we wait."

"promise."

The eunuch received the order and left quickly.

When the people from the catering department brought the food, the water in the wooden barrel had not yet completely frozen, but it had become a little different.

Li Chengqian ordered his guards, "Move the barrel up to the imperial platform. I want to watch it transform."

Feeling the coolness emanating from the wooden barrel at his feet, Li Chengqian felt much cooler.

At first, Li Chengqian would stare at the wooden barrel from time to time, but later when he was chatting with Du He, he gradually forgot about the wooden barrel.

After eating and drinking enough.

Du He smiled and said, "Your Highness, can you see if the water has frozen?"

Hearing Du He's reminder, Li Chengqian looked down and then shouted in surprise.

“It’s frozen!”

“When exactly does the ice start to form?”

He had been staring at the water, but there was no change at all. How come the water turned into ice when he turned around?

Ha ha!

This guy has been chatting with me for half an hour. Could he think that the water will turn into ice in the blink of an eye?

Du He walked up to the imperial platform, pointed at the wooden barrel and porcelain bottle and said, "Your Highness, the water in the wooden barrel contains saltpeter. These ice cubes are poisonous and cannot be eaten."

"The ice in the porcelain bottle can be used to make delicious sushan or iced mung bean soup."

Sushan is the Tang Dynasty version of ice cream. Dairy products are heated and melted, then poured onto an ice tray, molded into a specific shape, and then frozen in an ice cellar.

This is a luxury item and only princes and nobles can drink it.

There was a pause.

Du He then reminded: "After the ice in the barrel melts, don't pour out the water inside. You can then use distillation to extract the saltpeter."

Saltpeter was very rare in the Tang Dynasty and could only be mined naturally.

As for the nitrate extraction method, it has not yet been invented.

Li Chengqian nodded and replied, "Okay! Once the ice melts, I'll leave it to you to deal with."

He had no idea what distillation and refining meant.

It would be better to leave it to Du He to deal with.

Du He pointed at the saltpeter and said, "Your Highness, can I take two boxes of saltpeter back?"

"Row."

"Your Highness, I will take the saltpeter back to the Princess's Mansion and make some ice cubes to help Yi'er cool down!"

"Go."

Li Chengqian waved his hand, his eyes all on the saltpeter.

Although the supply of ice to the Eastern Palace was not cut off, it was only limited to his and the Crown Princess's bedrooms. Even in the Mingde Hall, ice could not be placed for a long time.

With these three boxes of saltpeter, dozens of buckets of ice can be made.

...

Princess Chengyang's Mansion.

In the backyard bedroom.

Li Yi, Yin Yushan, Linglong, Lidya Su and the other four people, as well as Du Ping'an and Du Wenzhen, looked at the ice in the dozen or so wooden barrels in astonishment.

magical!

Such a small saltpeter has such a wonderful use!

Just as they were whispering to each other, Du He came in with a bowl of mung bean soup and called out to them.

"Come over and have a bowl of iced mung bean soup."

Their four wives and concubines were pregnant, and their children were still young, so they could only drink a small bowl of iced mung bean soup to cool off.

Several little guys shouted while drinking sugar water.

"It's delicious!"

“Dad is amazing!”

What they saw and heard today seemed to have opened a new door, allowing them to see a profound and mysterious world.

While eating meals.

The third son, Du Wenzhen, said loudly, "Father, I want to learn the study of things from you in the future. Is that all right with you?"

He was born to Linglong and is not yet 3 years old.

Linglong pinched his cheek and said anxiously, "My son, didn't you want to be the prime minister before?"

She was born a maid and was waiting for her son to fight for her position.

This bastard is not reliable at all.

Hey!

Du He said with a smile: "Learning the ability to study things will not hinder your chancellorship. It's always a good idea to learn more."

After Li Chengqian ascended the throne, his sons, even if they were illegitimate sons, started out as marquises.

If Li Chengqian had a change of heart and gave him a state as a fiefdom, he could also allocate a county to them as a fiefdom, so that the brothers could share the wealth and prosperity.

They are all my children, and as a father I want to treat them equally.

Li Yi also said, "My husband has amazing accomplishments in studying things, poetry, and cooking. There's no harm in learning more. On the contrary, it will make your brain smarter."

Hearing the princess and her husband talking, Linglong lowered her head shyly.

Du He did not continue to talk about this topic, but talked with his wives and concubines about setting up a Hezi workshop and a printing workshop.

...

In the next three days, as the time for the princes to enter Chang'an drew closer, the city of Chang'an fell into a strange atmosphere.

Most officials were full of worries, while people like Zhangsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang were somewhat gloating.

The price of arrogance is heavy, and Du He may not be able to afford it!

Lantian County.

In the backyard of the county government office.

76 people including Prince of Jiang Li Yuanxiang, Duke of Hanyang Li Chongji, clan member Li Daoming, Duke of Xun Li Xiaoxie, etc., surrounded the pavilion tightly.

They wore loose robes, which made them sweat profusely due to the heat.

centre position.

Li Chongji, the Duke of Hanyang, shouted, "Fellow clan members, we will enter the Taiji Hall early tomorrow morning to confront the Crown Prince. You must remember our plan!"

"Our primary goal is to challenge the Crown Prince and, by the way, punish that lackey Du He!"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

They had already discussed it privately before coming to Chang'an.

They originally didn't want to bother with Du He, that lackey, but when they thought about how arrogant and domineering Du He had been recently and how he had been disrespectful to them many times.

Unless they teach Du He a lesson, they will never be able to get rid of the anger in their hearts.

Prince Jiang Li Yuanxiang grinned and said, "Everyone, the Crown Prince sent someone to report this morning. Tomorrow morning, the Crown Prince will personally lead all the officials to welcome us into the city!"

"And the prince even sent Du He to Mingde Gate to welcome us!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's faces were filled with smiles.

The prince is scared!

I thought the prince and Du He were so tough, but now it seems they are not that great!

This trip might be smoother than I imagined!

Hanyang County Duke Li Chongji said coldly, "Everyone, tomorrow morning, let's teach Du He a lesson!"

"We must let Du He know the price of a dog barking at its owner!"