João IV stared at the wheel for a long time, his face shocked.

In particular, after walking to a slightly damaged concrete section and seeing the rubber wheels easily crossing over the potholed ground, minimizing the bumps, Joao IV showed an expression of disbelief.

Europeans have been using horse-drawn carriages since Roman times, and they have been jolting on horses for 2,000 years, but they have never found a "great" item such as rubber that can reduce the amplitude of the body.

The performance of the tyres through potholes made João IV understand that rubber tyres have better off-road performance than wood tyres.

It's a revolution in wheels.

In the end, Portuguese Foreign Minister Alves couldn't help himself, stuck his head out the window, and looked at the tire with his king.

Cai Huaishui had no choice but to stop the car and let the Portuguese guests get out of the car to take a closer look at the tires.

João IV jumped out of the carriage and pinched the black tyre with his hand. When he found that the slightly deformed tire had a huge elastic force, and the external force could bounce back violently as soon as the external force stopped, he shook his head and sighed in surprise.

"Amazing! Magical Oriental! ”

It was also the first time Rafael had seen such a tire, and he kept staring at it.

Alves walked up to João IV and said, "Your Highness, if we in Portugal can also be equipped with such tires, our chariots will be able to trek to even harsher terrains. Our logistical capabilities will be greatly enhanced, and our troops will be able to penetrate deeper inland into the colonies. ”

João IV nodded and looked at Cai Huaishui expectantly.

Cai Huaishui smiled and said, "As long as His Highness provides us with more rubber raw materials, we can sell finished rubber tires to His Highness." ”

When João IV heard this, he burst out laughing.

He pinched the rubber tires with his hand again, and then got back into the car.

The vehicle moved quickly on the cement road and gradually entered the outskirts of the Tianjin Acropolis.

Originally, there were many wheat fields around the Tianjin Acropolis. However, with the development of industry in Tianjin, many wheat fields on both sides of the road have been replaced by factories. Those factories are generally tall buildings three or four meters high, covering an extremely wide area, and the faces of João IV are full of astonishment.

Why did the houses of the Ming people build so big?

After looking at it for a long time, Alves finally asked, "Your Excellency, why did the Ming people build their houses so big?" Could it be that the Ming family lives in such a big palace? ”

Cai Huaishui laughed and said, "That's not a residence, that's a factory!" ”

Hearing Cai Huaishui's words, the translator from Macau was stunned. You must know that in Europe in this era, there was no invention of the Jenny spinning machine, only craftsmen, and there was no factory where a large number of workers worked together. In this era, there was no word factory in Portuguese, and the translation held back for a long time, and finally directly transliterated the word factory.

The Portuguese guests were confused.

Factory? What is a factory?

Cai Huaishui nodded and said: "This factory is the most amazing thing in our town and nine provinces, it is late today, and when I am free tomorrow, I will take you to visit the factory." Take a look at our assembly line factory in Tianjin town. ”

João IV was already shocked by what he had seen along the way, and when he heard the phrase "the most remarkable", he was immediately in awe and full of anticipation.

Alves hurriedly said: "Then wait for tomorrow's arrangement!" ”

Cai Huaishui nodded and said no more.

The carriage galloped all the way on the cement road and drove into the Tianjin Acropolis.

As soon as you enter the city, the buildings on both sides of the road suddenly become dense and compact. There are also more and more pedestrians and vehicles on the road.

The richness and prosperity on the streets of the Tianjin Acropolis were neat and clean, which stunned the kings and ministers from Europe. You must know that in Europe in this era, the sanitation in the cities was a complete mess. Garbage is dumped haphazardly, feces are even piled up on the road, and a terrible stench pervades the city.

The BBC's "Dirty City" is a record of how dirty and disgusting European cities were during the Renaissance.

However, in the densely populated city of the Tianjin Acropolis, João IV saw a completely different picture:

There was no excrement on the ground, not even garbage in sight, and the road was swept clean. There is a garbage can every 20 meters, and passers-by have to walk to the garbage can before throwing away even a lump of waste paper.

The pedestrians on the road are not unkempt and tattered like European citizens. They were all very neat and tidy, as if they were bathing, washing their hair and clothes every day.

In Europe, the citizens of the cities are very poor, with only two or three sets of tattered clothes to wear repeatedly. In Tianjin, however, João IV saw very wealthy citizens. There were no patches on the cotton clothes on these citizens, and they looked like they were all new, as if the clothes were too old to be worn.

There were even a considerable number of citizens dressed in silk textures, which made João IV's mouth open in surprise.

You must know that in Europe, princes and nobles are only willing to wear silk clothes in important places. And on the main road of Tianjin City, so many ordinary citizens wear silk clothes on their bodies at ordinary times.

Could it be that the ordinary people of one town and nine provinces are richer than the princes and nobles of Europe?

It's impossible!

On both sides of the road are neatly arranged white villas, which look particularly decent. Of course, what surprised João IV the most were the transparent glass windows. In Europe at this time, although glass was no longer a jewel-like treasure, it was still a luxury for ordinary people. If the citizens of Lisbon put glass on their windows, the only result is that the glass will be stolen by thieves.

From these glasses, you can understand how rich the people of Tianjin are.

The King of Portugal was full of surprise, and stared at the affairs outside the window of the car, as if he was afraid of missing a little scenery. He suddenly saw some strange two-wheeled vehicles and his eyes widened in surprise.

His Foreign Minister Alves, who also noticed the strange vehicles, opened his mouth wide in the same surprise. The Portuguese minister pointed to the bicycle on the road and asked: "What is that... Why does a two-wheeled car not fall over? Still walking so fast! Is that magic? “

Cai Huaishui smiled: "That's a bicycle!" It is a commonly used means of civil transportation, and horses have been replaced in the cities of Tianjin Acropolis and Fanjiazhuang. “

"Bikes?"

The Portuguese guests widened their eyes and looked puzzled.

Cai Huaishui smiled: "This bike is very amazing, once you ride forward, it will not fall down." It's very effortless and fast to drive on concrete and asphalt,"

João IV stared at the bikes with wide eyes and did not speak for a long time.

The rubber tires, the steel body, the contact points between the wheels and the bracket don't know what magic is used, as if there is no friction, and they are turning rapidly.

He subconsciously drew a cross on his chest and said, "Lord! I can't react a little bit. “