Chapter Three: Four-Wheel Carriage

  "I am guilty." A white-haired official kowtowed on the ground.

  Yang You looked at the old man with some inexplicable confusion, and as soon as he entered the door, he apologized to himself, his carefully laid plan to pretend to be ill was disrupted by him.

  Although he was confused himself, Yang You hastened to help him up with the good virtue of respecting the elderly and loving the young.

  Of course, there was another reason why this old man had already reported when he entered the door, and his official position was Gongbu Shilang Ping Honggui.

  Yang Youqiang has not yet fully integrated into his role, equivalent to the Deputy Minister of Transportation in later generations, kneeling on the ground to apologize, Yang Youqiang can't calm down.

  "Please get up, Ping Shilang,"

  Yang You hastily stepped forward a few steps and helped Ping Honggui up.

  He stretched out his hand and pulled, but unexpectedly did not pull Ping Hong back up.

  "Your Highness, the king's substitute, does not forgive this old minister, and this old minister dares not get up." Ping Hong said stubbornly, still kowtowing on the ground.

  This bizarre thing made Yang You feel somewhat perplexed. What's wrong with this old man? Did he take the wrong medicine today?

  Ping Honggui has always been a marginal figure in Yang You's memory. Because he was an empty shell of Gongbu Shilang.

  Yang Guang ascended the throne and moved the capital from Daxing to Luoyang. At that time, Ping Honggui was a strong candidate for the position of Minister of Works, but for some reason he did not take office.

  Of course, after the Minister of Works took office, he severely attacked his former opponent. On the one hand, he plotted to keep him in Daxing and starve him to death. On the other hand, he increased the pace of relocation, moving some important high-level craftsmen from the Ministry of Works and valuable equipment away, leaving behind an empty shell in Daxing.

  The unlucky Ping Hong stayed in Daxing, with only a few shrimp soldiers and crab generals left, and no one mentioned the matter of transferring him to Luoyang again. Every day, he stared blankly at the empty Ministry of Works' old site.

  Ping Hui usually kept a low profile in the imperial court, but today he seemed to have gone mad and suddenly acted like this in front of Yang You.

  "Please get up, Ping Shilang. You are a senior minister left by the Emperor's grandfather and have been loyal to the Empire. How could Yang Yu blame you?"

  "The words of Your Highness make me even more ashamed, I really owe an apology to the late Crown Prince! I failed to take good care of you, and as a result, you have suffered such great injustice."

  Ping Honggui cried and said the reason for his apology. It turned out that the carriage Yang You took to Luoyang this time was made by Gongbu Jian. In addition, the maintenance of the official road is also within his responsibilities.

  This time Yang You fell seriously ill because he was in a hurry to rush on the road and suffered from the bumpy ride.

  "General Ping, you're worrying too much. It's not just the roads in Daxing District that are like this, it's the same all over the country. I've also traveled with the Emperor before and seen the state of the roads nationwide. General Ping couldn't help but feel a sense of self-reproach." Yang You comforted Ping Honggui, who was crying and laughing at the same time, thinking that he had made a big deal out of nothing.

  "The benevolence of Your Highness makes this old minister ashamed, and even more so, I beg for Your Highness to punish me, one of my disciples... has lost his conscience and is extremely reckless, stealing materials from the carriage of Your Highness."

  Ping Hong's face turned bright red as he finally revealed the real reason for his visit to apologize.

  Ping Honggui was not only the Vice Minister of Works, but also a master craftsman who had taught many excellent apprentices throughout his life. Who would have thought that at the last moment, he would lose his integrity and create this scandal, which even caused Prince Dai to fall seriously ill?

  Yang You didn't know whether to scold or thank this sloppy guy. It was him who made himself suffer so much, and at the same time created an opportunity for his own transmigration.

  Ping Hong looked at Yang You with a nervous and uneasy expression, only to see that Yang You's face was full of rich expressions, one moment gnashing his teeth, the next moment smiling.

  "Since you're a disciple of Ping Shi Lang, let's handle it internally!"

  Yang You thought for a moment. Since Ping Honggui had come personally to apologize, it was clear that he valued this disciple greatly. Moreover, Yang himself didn't have anything else going on at the moment.

  Of course, there is another layer of meaning. Since we have come to this world, it is impossible to repeat the past and take the old path. Mastering power is a necessary path.

  But in Yang You's memory, he didn't have a single minister attached to him. Now that Ping Honggui has come to his door by himself, how could he let him slip away? Although Ping Honggui is a marginal figure, the Ministry of Works is crucial in his future plans, and if he doesn't win him over now, it will likely take several times more effort later on.

  "Thank you, Your Highness, King's Highness benevolence," Ping Honggui said with a grateful face.

  After all, this disciple is also his most beloved, and there is a reason for stealing work and reducing material this time. The Ministry of Works is now empty, and everyone in the Ministry of Works is struggling to make ends meet. This disciple's mother is ill at home, and he had no choice but to take risks.

  Now handling it internally, he has saved his own face and given this disciple a way out.

  However, …… Yang You's voice paused for a moment, and Ping Honggui's heart that had just fallen was suddenly lifted again.

  "What instructions does Your Highness have for me? I will definitely carry them out." Ping Hong replied with a sincere and solemn tone.

  "My request is simple, you Ministry of Works must build a carriage that satisfies me."

  To satisfy the king, of course, the implication is that the king was not satisfied with the previous carriage. As soon as this inference came out, Ping Honggui suddenly broke into a cold sweat.

  "The old minister will definitely make a carriage that will satisfy Your Highness." Heishiro replied.

  "Don't agree so hastily, I have other requirements," Yang You shook his head.

  "Please instruct me, Your Highness."

  "It's actually quite simple, this carriage must have four wheels, shock absorption, and be able to brake and steer."

  The painful memories of Yang You's experience with the horse-drawn carriage in this era made him detest it to the core. In his desperation, he thought of the classic four-wheeled carriages of later generations. Since there were already existing resources, why not create a comfortable means of transportation for himself?

  Every time Yang You spoke, Ping Hong's face turned pale. It turned out that he still thought that what the Crown Prince wanted was nothing more than some luxurious and precious carriages, which the Ministry of Works could also satisfy by tightening its belt.

  However, he knew that four-wheeled carriages had existed as early as the Qin Dynasty, and remains of Qin Dynasty four-wheeled carriages had been unearthed in later times.

  But everyone knows that it was a failed product, the Ministry of Works now also has drawings of four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicles, and craftsmen of past dynasties have also studied four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicles, at first they were all confident, but in the end they all ended in failure.

  As for shock absorption, braking and steering, these are unheard of! There's no way to start with these at all!

  "I don't know if Your Highness can instruct me, the drawings of the four-wheeled carriage are still left in the Ministry of Works, but as for shock absorption, brakes..." Ping Hong returned with a bitter face.

  If it's something that already exists, no matter what style or how rare and precious it is, it's not a problem. But if it's something he has never even heard of before, then it really puts him in a difficult position.

  Yang You suddenly slapped his forehead, suddenly enlightened, after all, it was beyond the times, if let the Ministry of Works create out of thin air, it would be difficult for people to do.

  "Wang Xi......" Yang You shouted loudly.

  "Please instruct me on behalf of Your Highness." King Xi suddenly appeared behind Yang You like a ghost.

  "Go get a few ink sticks."

  "What's written?"

  Wang Xi left with doubts and suspicions.

  Before long, Wang Xi came back with several square and slender ink sticks in his hands.

  "Hiss"

  The sound of friction echoed in the house. Heishiro looked at Wang Xi in surprise, who was skillfully holding a white jade paperweight and scraping off the ink stick on top of a piece of Xuan paper covered with ink dust below.

  Ping Hong looked at the ink stick with a heartache, he knew it was specially made for the imperial palace.

  Before long, that ink stick turned into a cylindrical shape, with the tip sharpened to a sharp cloud-shaped ink. Every single one of these cloud inks that flowed out of the palace was sold at an astronomical price, and yet they were priceless treasures in the hearts of scholars. Who would have thought that they would be wasted like this here?

  "Your Highness, look."

  Wang Xi respectfully presented the carefully sharpened ink stick, wrapped it in white silk to prevent staining Yang You's hand, and then quietly withdrew.

  Yang You nodded in satisfaction, and his craftsmanship was pretty good.

  "Whoosh"

  A sheet of rice paper was unfolded and spread out on the table.

  Ping Hong returned to look at Yang You with a puzzled expression, curiously stretching his head to watch as Yang You held a sharpened ink stick and wrote on the rice paper.

  Could it be painting? Ping Hong returned with a puzzled thought, but it didn't seem quite like that either!

  Although he was not very successful, he himself was also a court official and had many friends who were good at painting. However, they all used refined ink to paint, none of them painted directly with an ink stick.

  If it's said that the official used a marker to draw, if it gets out, I reckon people will laugh their teeth off!

  But this is a painting of His Highness, and this secret will probably be locked in his belly for the rest of his life.

  He had even thought of how he would make excuses for Prince Wang if his painting was not good.

  The sharp pen tip rubbed against the rice paper, making a hissing sound. One line, two lines... Slowly, a magnificent four-wheeled carriage that was both unfamiliar yet full of balance and beauty appeared on the paper.

  "His Majesty's substitute is truly a stroke of genius." Ping Hong said in shock.

  However, what shocked Ping Hong was not just the four-wheeled carriage, but the painting skills of the Crown Prince, with every line and stroke seemingly bringing the entire carriage to life on paper.

  Ping Honggui wasn't unfamiliar with other people's horse-drawn carriages, but after today, he wouldn't give those crudely painted ones a second glance, for they were worlds apart.

  In his past life, Yang You was an otaku. People said that anime and games were a must for all otakus. Yang You wasn't too interested in games, but he was a loyal fan of anime.

  To express his love for comics, Yang You once studied sketching for a period of time. Although he didn't learn much, he could still easily draw a simple carriage.

  Seeing Ping Hong's shocked expression, Yang You felt very pleased with himself.

  Upon reflection, other damping-related concepts such as hysteresis loops were also beyond comprehension, after all this was knowledge that had been ahead of its time by over a thousand years.

  For his own happiness and to avoid another tragic crossing, Yang You drew out some of the memories of shock absorption, braking, and steering that he understood.

  Luckily Yang You had been riding a bicycle since he was young and often repaired it, so he was very familiar with these basic parts.

  "Call"

  Yang You gently picked up the paper and blew away the ink dust on it, looking at the three-dimensional carriage on the paper with satisfaction.

  "Is there anything else you don't understand, Ping Shilang?" Yang You asked.

  "Your Majesty is wise, thank you for your guidance. I guarantee that within seven days, I will create a model. If I delay Your Majesty's affairs, I am willing to punish myself."

  Ping Honggui held up the rice paper and looked at the four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage jumping on the paper, and made a military order.

  He carefully folded the rice paper and put it in his bosom, knowing that this piece of paper was invaluable, whether it was the drawing of a four-wheeled horse carriage or the pioneering painting technique.

  "The old minister bids farewell"

  Ping Honggui bowed and paid his respects.

  Leaving the East Palace, Ping Hong returned to the Ministry of Works at the fastest speed. He wanted to build this four-wheeled carriage as soon as possible.

  Because creating a world-shocking item is every master's lifelong wish, and this four-wheeled carriage has shocked the entire China.