Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Hearing Du He say this, Li Shimin and Li Chengqian felt a slight regret, but their faces were still full of joy.

Trains can travel thousands of miles a day without needing to stop and rest.

If used for canal transport and grain transport, it can save a lot of manpower and material resources, and also improve efficiency.

After the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Li Shimin said with anticipation, "Chengqian, Duhe, let's take a train ride and see what the experience is like."

"This thing is really rare!"

As he spoke, he hurriedly climbed onto the train.

Li Chengqian climbed up with anticipation. After all the attendants and imperial guards were on board, Du He immediately ordered the train driver to start the train.

"Boom~"

A deafening roar pierced the sky, and the train slowly moved forward, like a lurking dragon letting out a deep roar.

"Moved!"

"The lump of iron has moved!"

The accompanying officials and soldiers roared with excitement.

Just as the train was moving forward, the train shook violently, making a loud clanging sound. The vibrations from the wheels rolling over the rail joints traveled down the benches to everyone's backs, making everyone's internal organs tremble.

No one dared to sit down; they quickly grabbed the cold handrails of the carriage.

in the carriage.

The crowd heard creaking sounds under their feet, hissing sounds of leaking steam, and whooshing sounds of burning coal. They watched every crack in the carriage warily, worried that the iron lump might crack open.

After traveling less than two miles, Du He saw that Li Shimin, Li Chengqian, and the others had turned pale, so he quickly ordered them to stop.

After the train slowly came to a stop, Li Shimin, Li Chengqian, and their entourage all went to the side of the railway to vomit, throwing up everything they had eaten that day.

"Ugh~"

Du He didn't want to vomit, but seeing the others vomiting so vigorously, he also vomited after smelling the sour smell.

After a long time.

Li Shimin then cursed and said, "Du He, you brat, why didn't you stop me?"

"This train ride is absolutely awful, ugh..."

At first, he found the receding flowers, trees, and fields outside quite novel, but the discomfort that followed made him lose all interest in appreciating the scenery.

After a long time, when they had all recovered...

Du He then said with a smile, "Your Majesty, even if I were to dissuade you, you would surely want to experience the feeling of riding a train."

"Don't worry, once the technology is upgraded, this kind of bumpy feeling will be much less."

Steam trains are noisy, smelly, and incredibly bumpy, and even with technological improvements, these drawbacks are hard to erase.

Only by developing an internal combustion engine can these shortcomings be overcome.

"Whoo~"

Li Chengqian let out a long breath, his face pale, and said, "Father, Du He, we will take a carriage back to Chang'an later."

"After the carriage was fitted with rubber tires and had spring-loaded shock absorbers, it became more comfortable."

Du He shared the same thought as them: to go back by carriage, or even by horseback, which was a hundred times better than taking the train.

...

Five days later.

As soon as Li Shimin, Li Chengqian, and Du He returned to Chang'an, Li Tai, Ma Zhou, Pei Xingjian, Cui Dunli, and others quickly surrounded them.

Inside the Xuanzheng Hall.

Ma Zhou excitedly reported, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Emperor Emeritus, great news!"

"Duke Li Ji of England and Prince Li Daozong of Zhennan sent messengers back with news of their victory; they have led their armies to conquer Africa and Oceania!"

"These are battle reports sent back by the two armies!"

what!

Has the army already wiped out Africa and Oceania?

Upon hearing this good news, Li Shimin and his son Li Chengqian were filled with joy.

Li Chengqian took the battle report handed to him by the eunuch, and Li Shimin quickly came over. The father and son squinted and carefully examined it.

After reading.

As Li Chengqian handed the battle report to Du He, he stood up and ordered, "Ma Zhou, immediately proclaim this news to the world and hold a five-day feast to celebrate with the people!"

"This afternoon, I will host a banquet in the Linde Hall to reward officials of the fifth rank and above!"

After making arrangements.

Li Chengqian instructed Du He, "Du He, arrange a grand fireworks show tonight, we must celebrate in a big way!"

"promise."

Du He bowed.

Before the banquet, Li Chengqian led his relatives and officials to the ancestral temple to offer sacrifices and comfort the ancestors of the Li family.

When news spread that the Tang Dynasty had conquered Africa and Oceania, the people of Chang'an were in an uproar, and they took to the streets to celebrate.

That evening, under Du He's arrangement, fireworks were set off once again in Chang'an City.

The 2000 enormous fireworks display lasted for more than half an hour, but the people of Chang'an did not go home after the fireworks extravaganza. Instead, they gathered in the commercial streets outside the city to enjoy the spectacle.

The people celebrated until late at night before returning home, still feeling the joy of the occasion.

Princess Chengyang's Mansion.

In the backyard.

Li Yi asked in a low voice, "Husband, how did you feel about going to Luozhou with Father and my elder brother to cut the ribbon for the train?"

Du He immediately recounted the entire train journey to Li Yi.

After listening.

Li Yi said gloatingly, "Luckily I didn't bring the child with me, otherwise we would have suffered terribly."

We chatted about trains for a while.

Li Yi said in a low voice, "My husband, my elder brother Du Gou has already relocated 40 people and 10 beauties from the Western Regions to the territory of Japan. The northern territory of Japan is quite cold now, so I also sent 10 sets of cotton clothes and trousers to my elder brother."

"In addition, I also ordered people to transport 50 shi of grain over there."

"I believe that my elder brother and sister-in-law can manage the fiefdom well."

Although she is not related to Du Gou and Wen Shufen by blood, they have been in frequent contact over the years. Du Pingan, Du Junshan, and others have also been close to their elder brother's children.

Now that the two families are parting ways, there is some sadness in my heart.

Du He gently kissed Li Yi's forehead, her tone full of comfort, and said, "Yi'er, you must have had a hard time these past few days."

Li Yi shook her head, then said with a gossipy look, "Husband, Wu Meiniang's second child, Li Yinyin, doesn't look like Li Zhi at all. I suspect she was unfaithful to Li Zhi."

What?

Did Wu Zetian dare to be disloyal to Emperor Gaozong?

How can it be!

Du He asked curiously, "Yi'er, why do you make that guess?"

"Li Zhi and Wu Zetian's second child, Li Yinyin, is already over 7 years old this year, and there are many children who do not resemble their parents."

"What's so strange about that?"

These days, there are no paternity tests, and blood tests for kinship are completely useless.

A moment of silence.

Li Yi muttered, "I just feel like it doesn't look quite right, but maybe I'm just overthinking it."

The two did not continue discussing this topic, but instead talked about the current situation of the Kingdom of Han and the descendants of their group.

Li Yi covered her mouth and laughed, saying, "Husband, now those princesses, concubines, and officials are all saying in private that you are cursed and can only give birth to sons in this life."

"You want to have a daughter, but I'm afraid that's hopeless in this lifetime."

During these four years, Li Yi, Yin Yushan, and Linglong each gave birth to a child.

The remaining 29 concubines all gave birth to two children.

Without exception, they were all men.

A few years ago, Cui Shenji, Wang Jingzhi, and Xiao Kai would bet that their husbands' children would all be male. Now that the three of them are going to conquer North America with the army, none of them dare to bet that their husbands will have six male children.

These women lost all their salaries to their elder brothers, and they harbored deep resentment towards their husbands.

"Hey~"

Du He sighed, then said helplessly, "If I can't have a daughter, so be it. If all else fails, I'll just adopt a goddaughter."