Just as the Ming Empire of the Wanli Emperor was an alternation of the old and the new, as the representative of the 'new', this characteristic of Beiyang is the most obvious.

In the vast expanse of the empire, which spans all the continents of the world, there is no stranger place than the Beiyang of Tianjin.

There is a terrifying black smoke here, a huge monster swimming in the sky from time to time, a column of soldiers on the ground wearing simple and mighty military uniforms in and out of training, the sound of gunfire and artillery fire and the whining roar of those huge monsters who eat coal are mixed together, making up a very shocking picture of the times in the Wanli period.

"The bike is not easy to sell, Ye Shuai."

In the lobby of the Beiyang Yamen, Xu Jue picked up the teacup with a shy stomach, and complained to Ye Mengxiong while blowing the petals floating in the cup: "We thought that this novelty object could make people like it a lot, but now that twenty bicycles are smashed in our hands, I think about it...... The common people can't afford it, and who can afford it doesn't want to serve others without servitude, so how can they pedal the car by themselves. ”

"I finally met a little prince who was willing to buy it, and I fell back and forth seven or eight times, and finally rode comfortably, and the chain of the car broke."

Not to mention, seeing Xu Jue's fat face full of sorrow, Ye Mengxiong's heart became happy for no reason.

Why is that?

I don't know.

But the news Xu Jue said was actually not good news for him.

The first bicycle of the Ming Dynasty was made by Beiyang and sent into the Forbidden City through Xu Jue, the design of the bicycle was sent back by Chen Mu from Dadongyang, the design frame is a tripod, a canvas handcuff bag is hung on the beam, and a canvas saddle bag is also hung on both sides of the back.

It is not difficult to manufacture, and the Ordnance Bureau is basically the old business of making these objects, which is nothing more than using the process of making guns and pipes to make frames and welding them together.

Ye Mengxiong raised his hand and said to Xu Jue: "As the governor said, all the difficulties of the bicycle are in the chain. ”

"Ye Mou told you a long time ago, don't move these crooked talents, you are waiting for Beiyang to come up with new things all day long, only you, Xu Dudu, are waiting for Beiyang to come up with novelties and ask you to sell them, you can't sell this thing."

Ye Mengxiong was kind and inducing: "Instead of wanting to sell the objects of the Beiyang Ordnance Research Institute, it is better to find Doctor Li from the Medical Academy to prescribe a few prescriptions for you to sell, and the tonic prescription for the treatment of yin deficiency and yang fatigue will definitely be easier to sell than this." ”

Xu Jue is also interesting, in Ye Mengxiong's eyes, this Xu Jue is not short of money, on the contrary, he can be regarded as an official with extensive wealth in Beijing, after all, there are few people who can hold Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng at the same time at the feet of the Son of Heaven, he is the most capable person.

It's usually quite normal, most of the people who come to Beiyang are on business, sometimes they help other generals to be lobbyists, order some weapons, let Ye Mengxiong open a small opening in the scope of the imperial court, and dial a few more guns and other small things, Ye Mengxiong is a person who doesn't hit a smiling face, after all, the court also needs Xu Jue to help him speak, and never lose his face.

Sometimes I want some rare objects, such as making a pole Seiko bird or handcuff to give away, and I always bring precious animal bones and jade materials to register, and I have never made any excessive requests.

Only this bicycle, the one that Ye Mengxiong sent into the Forbidden City was almost a collection of the power of the three Ming Ordnance Factories, and it cost nearly five hundred taels to make one, and Xu Jue asked for twenty cars when he came to the door.

The cost of five hundred taels is an imaginary number, in fact, the cost of the bicycle is not so exaggerated, but it can't stand the labor.

The cost of the frame is very low, there are only five pipes of materials, whether it is piped, punched, welded, these are very easy to make military weapons in Beiyang, but the car chain is Nanyang Weifa Foshan iron household, more than 700 small iron pieces and iron shaft parts, one household made of one; The high-strength steel sprockets are made in Xuanfu, and the remaining steel spokes and other things are made in Beiyang.

Shipping and man-hours are the most expensive.

In terms of transportation and man-hours, there are so many cars sent to the Forbidden City, and Xu Jue's twenty cars are actually so many.

As a result, before the bicycle was put into normal use, Ye Mengxiong used this thing to generate income on Xu Jue first.

"No, Ye Gongdon't want that to prevaricate Xu." Xu Jue's expression was very strange, not at all like the anger of someone who had lost someone outside and came back to find a field, he raised his hand and said with a very sincere and rare forcible insight: "Bicycles, in the future, will definitely be able to sell thousands, tens of thousands, tens of thousands, Xu will not be wrong to see this." ”

"Nowadays, its cost is high, because Daming has no experience in making such small objects, casting is not good, forging is time-consuming, and there are new things, which are difficult to be reliable. Xu knew that Ye Gong's Beiyang had earned a lot of silver taels from Xu before, right? ”

Xu Jue smiled, his eyes were about to squint into a line, but he was free and easy: "Chen Shuai doesn't always like to spend some money to send to others, saying that it encourages research, Xu doesn't have as much money as him, but it's just 10,000 taels - I can afford it." ”

Ye Mengxiong said in his heart: How can this Xu fat man's confidence in bicycles be more than that of me, a Beiyang minister?

"Bicycles will indeed build thousands of vehicles in the future, but the main thing is to equip the army, its speed is not slower than horses, and it does not eat forage, Chen Shuai mentioned in his letter that it is of great benefit to the march and war, and he wants Ye to encourage research wholeheartedly."

"But it's on the market...... Xu Dudu also said, this person, if he doesn't serve people, he will serve people, scholars, farmers, those who have money and status ride horses and sit in sedan chairs, and those who have no money and no identity ride donkeys to drive cars, how can anyone be willing to do their own work. ”

Ye Mengxiong chuckled, and immediately said to Xu Jue: "However, Xu Dudu's encouragement to follow the Dashuai's encouragement has achieved initial results, and the chain will break if it can't bear the force, Beiyang has found the reason, because the cast iron pin at the junction of the chain is not strong enough to break, we made a machine to press the steel sheet into a ring, first put it in it, and then fix it with an iron pin." ”

"In this way, the intensity has increased greatly, and it is not bad for the flag army to ride eighty miles."

As soon as the words fell, Xu Jue applauded: "Look, that's right!" ”

"Just now Ye Shuai said that this car is only used in the army, and the people don't want to use it, but Xu thinks that this is not the case, the iron horse is excellent, and he doesn't eat forage, according to what the marshal said, when he is old, he can only put on a little oil, or he can make up the wheels, how much money can he spend a year?"

"It is true that scholars sit in sedan chairs, warriors ride healthy horses, and even farmers can ride a cow or a donkey, but Ye Shuai ignored the workers gathered in Guangzhou Mansion, Quanzhou Mansion, Tianjin Wei and Xuanfu in the national dynasty!"

"You are raising a donkey, this livestock has to eat your 3,000 catties of forage a year, the workers have no land, the forage only buys, not to mention the purchase of livestock, the forage alone costs more than three taels a year, counting the money to buy livestock, not to mention that most of them have no stables to raise livestock, and they have to take out a month's salary to support the donkeys, so the workers can't go anywhere?"

"If the cost of this bicycle can be reduced to eight taels or even five taels, and it can be used for two or three years, how can I have more than 100,000 workers in the Ming Dynasty today? And more and more, Ye Shuai counts it himself. ”

Xu Jue clapped his hands again as he spoke, picked up the teacup and leaned back slightly and took a sip, saying, "How many iron horses can be sold in the future." ”