The weather is getting colder and autumn rain also falls. People on the road are most afraid of this kind of weather, especially in the Tang Dynasty. Because the road surface is not hardened, no matter how well the road is repaired, it will become muddy as soon as it is washed by rain. Sometimes the carriages will fall into it. This is why when the army fights, they usually choose to go after early autumn, so that they will not encounter too much rain and transport materials more conveniently.

However, although Li Xiu was facing autumn rain along the way, the road was not destroyed by rain, and the speed was not greatly affected, because the road from Chang'an to Luoyang was rebuilt, and the materials used were a bit special, that is, the cinders left by burning coal. The cinders were mixed with lime, clay, and sand, and laid on the ground to form a semi-hardened road surface. Although they were not as good as the asphalt roads in later generations, they could withstand the erosion of some rain.

Li Xiu was also very happy about this change. If possible, he really wanted to make cement and completely harden the road surface of the Tang Dynasty. This would definitely improve traffic greatly. However, although this idea is good, burning cement requires a lot of fuel, and the current coal production is still limited. I am afraid that it will not be able to support a cement industry for the time being. Of course, now the Tang Dynasty is becoming more and more prosperous, so you can burn some cement first and try it.

The carriage ran on the road paved with cinders. Although it was drizzling overhead, there were still many pedestrians on the road, especially some large trucks that were carrying goods. The carriages were covered with layers of tarpaulin and moving in the rain. Although the weather was not good, business still had to be done.

In addition to the main roads from Chang'an to Luoyang, some branch roads are also under construction. Speaking of which, this is also a way to turn waste into treasure. After all, Chang'an and Luoyang produce a large amount of cinders every day. These cinders piled on the ground will only occupy space. It is better to pave them on the road, which will solve the waste and harden the road surface.

However, although the roads built by cinders are good, they still have shortcomings, such as uneven road surfaces and are easily damaged, and this is only semi-hardened and not really hardened. Therefore, if heavy rain falls for several days, it may still cause damage to the road surface. For example, when Li Xiu and his team were about to arrive in Chang'an, they saw that it was raining for a long time and there were too many passing vehicles, which resulted in some road surfaces being damaged. It is estimated that they will not be repaired until the weather is clear.

Although the autumn rain was not heavy, it was continuous. When Li Xiu arrived at home, there was still no stop outside. However, when he returned home, Princess Pingyang and the others were all very excited. However, when they saw that Qi Niang did not come back with Li Xiu, they couldn't help but feel a little sad.

Although Li Xiu knew that Li Shimin's life was not easy now, and the ministers in the court almost went to the palace to curse people every day, he was not in a hurry to enter the palace. Instead, he rested at home for two days. After all, he was exhausted all the way, and when he arrived in Luoyang, he urged the money maker to do movable type, and there was almost no time to rest. Now he finally returned home, so he naturally had to have a good rest.

However, Li Xiu could not sit still, but Li Shimin couldn't sit still. Just as he had just rested at home for two days, Li Shimin called him into the palace to discuss matters. It seemed that Li Shimin could not bear the pressure, which made Li Xiu shook his head helplessly, and then brought the copper movable type he had prepared long ago into the palace.

"See Your Majesty!" Li Xiu came to Liangyi Hall and saw Li Shimin sitting in the hall at a glance. In addition, Sun Wuji was there. Apart from that, there was no one else, not even an eunuch or a palace maid. Generally, when encountering this situation, Li Shimin had extremely important things to discuss with them. Of course, there was no need to guess now, it must be related to the aristocratic family.

"No need to be polite. I heard that you have come back. I wonder how the things in the Southern Bank are doing?" Although Li Shimin was anxious to discuss the affairs of the aristocratic family with Li Xiu, he deliberately acted very calmly at this time, and even knew how to ask about the bank.

"Report to Your Majesty, the first bank in the south was finally decided to be in Yangzhou, which is closer to Guanzhong, and the water and land transportation are very convenient. In addition, there is the King of Wu there, so it is more convenient to do anything." Li Shimin asked knowingly, but Li Xiu did not expose it, and he answered calmly.

"Yangzhou is indeed a good place. Yang Guang even didn't want to come back when he went there. Unfortunately, I have never been there before. Sometimes I can only know some of the situation in Yangzhou from Ke'er, which is also a great regret in life!" Li Shimin sighed at this time and said. When he said this, he also looked at Changsun Wuji next to him.

Changsun Wuji was almost the roundworm in Li Shimin's belly, and he immediately understood it, so he smiled and said, "Mr. Concubine, I heard that you have been staying in Luoyang for a long time. I wonder if there is anything?"

This sentence was naturally asked by Changsun Wuji on behalf of Li Shimin. Speaking of which, Li Xiu had indeed stayed in Luoyang for a long time and did not say anything. As a result, Changan was quarreling, but Li Xiu saw no movement. This made Li Shimin a little resentful, and he could not express it yet, so he could only let Changsun Wuji ask this sentence on behalf of himself.

"Haha, in fact, the reason why I stayed in Luoyang for so long was mainly to make a gadget for the money minting bureau. And I brought it some today. I wonder if Your Majesty is interested in watching it?" Li Xiu replied with a smile at this time. He naturally knew what Li Shimin and Changsun Wuji were thinking, but he didn't care about it either. After all, if he had changed his position, he might have suspicious with them.

"You..." Li Shimin originally wanted to hear Li Xiu's explanation, but he didn't expect that he would reply such an understatement, which really disappointed him, and even vaguely annoyed. After all, he always regarded Li Xiu as the person he trusted the most, but when he was in the most difficult time, the other party not only did not rush back to fight with him, but instead made some gadgets in Luoyang. How could this not make people angry?

Compared to Li Shimin's anger, Changsun Wuji was very sensitive to the smile on Li Xiu's face, which made him unable to help but ask curiously: "I'm afraid it wouldn't be a gadget to make the prince consort spend such a long time in Luoyang?"

"Haha, this is really a little thing. Your Majesty and Brother Changsun will know at first sight!" Li Xiu said as he took out an exquisite small box from his sleeve. Yes, although it was small, it was indeed a box. Speaking of which, there was one advantage of the clothes of ancient people, that is, the sleeves were particularly wide and almost anything could be put down. In the story of "Cat Fighting Prince" in the Song Dynasty, it is said that the baby prince was stole from the palace by someone else's sleeves, and even babies could be hidden, let alone a small box.

After Li Xiu took out the box, he placed it on the dragon table in front of him with Li Shimin's consent. At this time, Changsun Wuji also surrounded him, and then Li Xiu gently opened the box, revealing rows of copper movable characters inside, and there were other things that filled the entire box.

"This... this seal is so strange?" Li Shimin saw the copper movable type in the box, and he couldn't help but reach out and pick up one and looked at Li Xiu with a questioning look. He had seen many seals, but it was the first time he saw a seal like this, which was only engraved with one word, and was engraved with a yang, not an yin.

"This seems not a seal, right?" Changsun Wuji also picked up a piece and looked at it. He also found that this copper movable type is different from ordinary seals. The seals are engraved in an invisible manner, that is, they are engraved inward on a plane. The characters printed in this way are white, and the other places are painted, but this is engraved in an yang. The characters are protruding on the plane, and the printed characters are more like written.

"Brother Changsun is right. This is indeed not a seal, but a bronze movable type!" Li Xiu smiled again at this time.

"Copper movable type? What is that done, and why do you have to carve so much?" Li Shimin asked in confusion at this time. Changsun Wuji also looked puzzled. After all, they had no concept of printing at all, so naturally they could not imagine the function of copper movable type.

"Its function is actually very simple. I'll demonstrate it to Your Majesty, and you will definitely understand it!" When Li Xiu said this, he reached out to take out a small wooden frame from the box and placed it on the table, and then took out the copper movable type inside one by one and arranged it in the wooden frame. These copper movable type were all selected in advance, and they could be arranged in the wooden frame into the first few sentences of the Analects of Confucius.

After sorting out the movable type, Li Xiu took out a porcelain bottle from the box, borrowed Li Shimin's inkstone, poured out the special ink inside, and then brushed the ink on the movable type with a brush, and took a piece of paper and gently wiped it. One piece was extremely clear. The first few sentences of the Analects of Confucius that were printed appeared on the paper. It is worth mentioning that Li Xiu did not forget to make punctuation when making copper movable type. Now the printed Analects of Confucius also have punctuation marks.

"This..." Li Shimin saw Li Xiu put the printed paper in front of him, and felt as if he wanted to grasp something important in his mind, but he couldn't figure it out for a moment, which made him very anxious. Changsun Wuji next to him also frowned, thinking about the real purpose of Li Xiu's actions.
Chapter completed!