Another early morning is coming, and the sound of birdsong has already appeared in Chang'an City.

In Longqing Palace, Concubine Wan Guifei had come to Li Yuan's study for the fourth time from last night to this morning.

Outside the door, the two forbidden troops stood straight, and they changed their guards once every hour, halved in winter. That is, the time of the changing of the guard is now once every half hour.

These people are trained to stand.

This standing posture is very nostalgic for Yanagi.

Wan Guifei came to the front and back of the door, and the two forbidden soldiers did not squint, like two ice sculptures. Wan Guifei beckoned her maid to give her the food box, and then asked the maid to wait outside the door and enter alone.

After entering the study, Wan Guifei didn't dare to approach the desk, but put down the food box at the door.

"Didn't I let you go back to rest." Li Yuan glanced up at Wan Guifei, and then walked to the door in person to take the food box.

Wan Guifei said nothing, her eyes didn't look at the desk at all, and she retreated after giving a salute.

Li Yuan stretched out his hand and grabbed Wan Guifei's arm and suddenly said, "Right now, it's not seven years ago. ”

Seven years ago, Li Yuan was indeed busy all night like this many times, and that time was the most intense period of the Tang Dynasty's unification war, and he couldn't afford to relax at all.

Li Yuan dragged Wan Guifei into the house, sat by the fire, and then rolled up the maps on the table and the things he wrote and drew and stuffed them directly into the cabinet next to the desk.

The map is a map of the surroundings of Gaochang, and Li Yuan is still very concerned about this western expedition.

The Tang army will officially set out for the first batch of troops in half a month at most, and Liu Mu found a reason that is close to being a scoundrel, estimating that the official letter of state has been placed in Gaochang City.

After Wan Guifei sat down, she said softly: "Emperor Taishang, when it was almost the third watch last night, Princess Changping suddenly left Wutongfang, and I listened to the concubines who came back from Wutongfang, Princess Changping and Liu Juma went out of the city to Jingyang Zhuangzi overnight. Unexpectedly, half an hour later, the queen also went to Jingyang Zhuangzi. ”

"Oh!" Li Yuan put down the small bowl in his hand, his eyes narrowed.

Soon, Li Yuan's eyes became very shiny, he shook the rattle, and a famous attendant entered and stood aside with his hands down.

"Send someone to the palace, ask what interesting things are going on in Zhuangzi in Changping Jingyang, and go immediately."

After the people sent by Li Yuan entered the palace, Li Shimin had not yet gotten up. It was also when I heard the question sent by Li Yuan that I knew that the eldest grandson Wujian actually went out of the palace in the middle of the night to Jingyang Zhuangzi, and asked the people in the queen's palace, and there was a letter left by the eldest grandson Wujian.

The letter contained only two sentences.

The first sentence is that the late-night disturbance is afraid that Concubine Yan De will be left out in the cold. The second sentence is, come to Changping Jingyang Zhuangzi quickly, Changping Plain dialect, things have not been done, and I don't know the joys and sorrows.

"Come on, prepare the horses." Li Shimin jumped out of bed.

Li Shimin could go out of the city from the north of the imperial palace, but he couldn't wait for Li Yuan, so he chose the Fang Lin Gate on the west side of the imperial city.

Li Yuan was also riding a horse, and as soon as he saw Li Shimin, he asked, "What's interesting over there in Jingyang?" ”

"It's hard to say, success or failure is unknown. But wood has been invested in millions of dollars over the years, it is a magical thing, but it is a weapon for my Datang Town. ”

"Let's go. Go right away. Li Yuan didn't care that he hadn't slept all night, and urged him to leave quickly.

When Li Shimin arrived at Jingyang Zhuangzi, he only saw that there were more than 1,000 people guarding the three layers inside and three layers outside, and even the small general's cannon was pulled out and four were placed at the main intersection.

The innermost circle is the inner wharf of Jingyang Zhuangzi, where a dry dock was dug and surrounded by a curtain.

Dugu Lanruo and the eldest grandson Wujian stood nervously on the dock boat holding hands at this time. Willow was dressed in a craftsman's grey linen robe, on a boat in the dockyard.

Everyone who saw this boat was amazed.

There were no sails, no oars, only a large chimney with a diameter of two feet. The ship was thirteen zhang long and three zhang seven wide, and there were two huge wheel-like discs on both sides, which were full of one zhang in diameter.

On the dock, the huge gantry crane has been removed, and the hugqin at the gate is ready to be ordered to release the water.

On the boat, Li Dejian put down the ruler in his hand and retreated to Liu Mu's side: "This one has been tried on the canal, and there is no problem with a big water wheel." The ship here is built to size, and only the steam engine needs to be hoisted on the ship, and I don't think the rest of the ship will be installed yet. ”

"Well, let's get into the water first and run a few laps."

Li Dejian is talking about the hull building on the upper floor of the steam engine, which is now directly installed in the hollow of the deck, and the upper part is only installed for fixing the chimney, and there should be many cabins, which can at least add two more layers of cabins for crew accommodation, galleys and other purposes.

The boat is a semi-finished product.

However, in Liu Mu's eyes, the boat is already a finished product.

Staring at the last few rivets of the craftsmen, Liu Mu waved his hand at the hugqin.

When the gate opened, the water of the Jing River immediately poured in, and when the boat floated, several long ropes pulled the boat into the river.

When the boat reached the river, it began to float downstream along the Jing River because there was no power.

At this time, Li Shimin and Li Yuan also approached, and the two walked directly to the shore and looked at the willow wood from a distance. At this time, Liu Mu stood at the bow of the boat with his hands behind his back, with a calm face.

Li Shimin didn't understand why the ship didn't move, maybe this was also a necessary process?

In fact, Li Dejian told Liu Mu that although the steam engine had been ignited just now, it would take some time to reach a working pressure, and he should have waited for the boiler to increase his pressure just now.

"There's no hurry." Liu Mu said that he was not in a hurry, but he was just talking.

Inside, Liu Mu is still very worried.

For a full quarter of an hour, the distance that Liu Mu's boat floated out had exceeded the limit that could be seen through the telescope in Li Shimin's hand, and there were no small black dots.

Suddenly, a long air whistle sounded, and the sound made everyone's hearts tighten.

Standing on the boat, Liu Mu laughed loudly.

How intimate and familiar the sound was, but unfortunately, the sound of the air whistle was not on the railroad tracks, but on the ship.

The oars on both sides of the boat began to turn, and the hull of the boat was in a correct posture, and Li Dejian shouted at the willow wood: "Everything is fine, it is running very well." ”

"Full speed, against the current."

The most primitive clutch was hooked up, and after the screeching of the Nakaz, the whole ship shook for a moment, and then the gurgling sound continued to come from the entire hull.

Li Dejian complained beside the boiler: "The next time you have power, you have to move quickly, so that the strong support ship will disperse." ”

No one heard him because it was too loud.

Willow is holding the fence man on the bow of the boat with one hand and one foot on the side of the ship.

The ship was empty, and the coal was less than ten stones, and there were only twelve people on board.

Suddenly, the bow of the ship shook slightly twice and warped out of the water.