The importance of rubber is something that most people in this era will not realize, because the world is far from reaching the critical point of industrialization and will not understand the specific use and strategic value of rubber.
At present, the Malay Peninsula is still under the control of the Portuguese. As long as the Dutch warships do not deliberately intercept Zheng's merchant ships at sea, purchasing rubber is relatively easy.
Zheng Laofi, who was learning to ride a bicycle, was in high spirits. When he heard that rubber could actually be used as tires, he immediately said that he still had dozens of barrels of rubber in stock and could not sell them for a while, so he simply donated them all to the prince for free.
Those rubbers didn't cost much when they were bought. For Zheng Zhilong, who was wealthy, anything less than 10,000 taels of silver was just a piece of cake. It was not considered a big sum of money. It was a good deal to take this opportunity to sell the prince a favor.
The prince ordered himself to purchase large quantities of rubber to make tires. From this point of view, the rubber had some uses, otherwise Zheng Zhilong would have wanted his men to throw those useless Nanyang specialties into the sea.
"Huh? Huh? Huh?"
Zheng Zhilong, who had just been lucky enough to become the world's first bicycle user, naturally had a twisted posture when riding a bicycle, and he couldn't master the trick at all.
I am used to seeing strong winds and waves on the sea, and my body shape can be said to be quite good at bumping and swaying, but when faced with such a mechanical object, it seems to be of no use at all.
I was so anxious that I was sweating profusely. I held the handlebar with both hands, but the front wheel seemed to be on its own, swaying from side to side.
His body was also swinging, and he might lose his balance at any time, which made Zheng Zhilong extremely nervous, and he couldn't help but swallow saliva.
If he hadn't taken off his official uniform, exposed his arms and rolled up his sleeves, and was wearing what looked like a short-sleeve outfit, he would have been caught by the elbow sleeves.
Even so, Zheng Zhilong was still in an extremely embarrassed state. If Bo Jue and two guards were not there to help him at any time, he might have fallen to one side immediately.
"My dear, relax! Riding this thing is like riding a horse. The more nervous you are, the less able you are to use your abilities!"
When Yaoji saw Zheng Zhilong's funny look, he remembered the time when he first learned to ride a bicycle. He was roughly the same as him, and it took him two or three days to learn.
Fortunately, the first one was a No. 26 car, not a No. 28 car. Otherwise, even a madman like Zu Kuan would not be able to deal with such a fairy car with exquisite structure.
Bo Jue was extremely talented and worked very hard the day before. He put a lot of effort into the balance beam and actually learned to ride a bicycle in just a few days.
Although it is still far from being able to carry people in the back seat, it is no longer easy to fall down when riding it, especially with the power of Pyrrho, which is as good as if your car is a Ferrari!
Not only can it stop and go on flat ground, and it can accelerate and decelerate at will, but it can also learn to turn and circle without any teacher. It excitedly told a certain prince that this was the most fun machine he had ever developed.
Regarding the immortal power contained in himself, Bo Dacaizi believed that his immortal power was already very high. Although he was far away from the prince, it was definitely much higher than ordinary people.
"Tsk, tsk~! It's so difficult! It's so difficult!"
Xue Guo, the first assistant, watched it for a long time and came to a very fair conclusion. This immortal chariot is definitely not something that any mortal can ride. The theory of immortal power does have some truth to it.
"Let's see~!"
Wu Yan, the second assistant, has a similar view to the first assistant. Riding a machine without any support on both sides is not an easy task without the guidance of an expert. You can imagine how difficult it is.
Several other officials had similar ideas to the two of them. It was not that they didn't have the courage to try new things, but they were really unsure about driving such a fairy car.
Zheng Zhilong is considered to have outstanding abilities. The battleship is swinging on the sea without losing its balance, but this time he was extremely embarrassed by a fairy chariot.
There were as many as five or six very serious tilts. If there was no one around to help, the fall would have been bruised and swollen. Going up by yourself would only make things worse. It would be better to just sit and watch the fun.
They had seen Bo Jue's demonstration when he first came in, and they were dumbfounded by Bo Jue's arrogance on the bicycle. His riding skills also won unanimous praise from everyone.
I didn't expect that it would be so difficult for beginners, and the threshold is so high. Not everyone can get started. As for the price of such a fairy car, I heard from the prince that the cost of just one such car is as high as three hundred taels.
If it were put up for sale, it would be impossible to buy even a single five or six hundred taels, which would be several times more expensive than a rickshaw. It could only be a plaything of the wealthy gentry.
"Oh! Oh! Oh~!"
Hearing the prince's instructions, Zheng Zhilong was about to agree, but just when he opened his mouth, his arms began to shake, and the handlebars also began to shake. Seeing that he was about to lose his balance, he hurriedly did not dare to say anything.
This is much more difficult than riding a horse. It is almost impossible to master the violent shaking that may occur at any time. If you want to control it, you may need long-term practice.
"Take a break for now!"
Zheng Zhilong was completely convinced. He couldn't control such a seemingly simple machine. If the prince and his colleagues weren't watching, he would have wanted to kick his feet to relieve his anger if it were in his own home.
The waiter hurriedly came forward and brought a towel. Zheng Zhilong took it and wiped the sweat from the top of his head. Only then did he feel that his back was already soaked. You can imagine how nervous he was at that moment.
"My dear, there is no need to worry. Based on my experience at sea, it is only a matter of time before I can drive this car. There is a saying that 'it's not difficult once you get the hang of it'. Whether it is an official career or a border service, they all have their own ways and secrets. As long as you master it, , you will become familiar with it, and riding a bicycle is no exception. Bo Aiqing, tell Mr. Zheng about the process of how you learned to ride a bicycle!"
Everyone can tell the truth, but it is easier for this guy to understand it if he gives an example. It just so happens that he has a ready-made lesson plan around him.
Bo Jue was startled and organized his words. Considering the other party's acceptance level, he did not have any imagination and said very humbly: "General Rong, to be honest, I thought the fairy chariot was a fairy thing at first. It has a complex structure and is extremely complicated." It was difficult to control, so I practiced hard on the balance beam for many days to improve my immortal power. When I was riding on it, I realized that the strategies I practiced were of little use. It is better to remember the teachings of His Royal Highness, relax your body and mind, and sit firmly. , hold your hands lightly and look forward. Based on my experience, don’t be nervous or impatient. The harder you exert yourself, the more confused you will feel. It is easy to lose your balance, tilt to the other side, or even capsize!"
In order to learn how to drive the fairy chariot, Bo Jue did a lot of riding. Of course, he did it secretly at night. In the Academy of Sciences during the day, there was a group of people watching the battle.
You just want to crash, but no one else will give you this chance. The boss only has this fairy car. If you crash the car, they will have no car to ride on, and their colleagues will be waiting eagerly.
According to the order of queuing up to get on the bus, Bo Jue was first, followed by Wang Zheng, who was responsible for building the chain, and then Vice Dean Xiong Renlin. If Dean Song Yingxing and Song Yingxing could arrive in these two days, he could barely be allowed to join the queue.
As for the others, even if you have great abilities, you still have to queue up at the back. Those in front are all famous people around the prince. Even if you are jealous and jealous, you can't afford to provoke them. The most you can do is draw circles on the ground... …
Zheng Zhilong originally had an embarrassed look on his face, but he finally got better after a while. After hearing Bo Jue's suggestion, he immediately thanked him: "I see, I would like to thank Academician Bo for his advice!"
After all, Bo Jue is also a talented person appointed by His Highness the Crown Prince. He currently works at the Academy of Sciences. With the title of academician on his head, his colleagues will naturally look up to him.
The triggering device of the warhead of the famous "Harpoon" anti-ship missile was made by this talented man. After everyone learned about it, both civil servants and generals would show courtesy to him.
Those who can talk to the prince, especially discuss or even develop powerful weapons from the immortal world, are extremely smart people. They are one of the few in the entire Ming Dynasty, and their status will naturally rise.
Being able to be summoned by the prince for at least one hour a day is not a treatment that anyone can enjoy. Even the chief minister does not have this qualification, so even though Bo Jue's title is not high, he is already a very popular minister.
Of course, despite already having quite a reputation in the high-end circles of the capital, Bo Da Caizi is still immersed in his own little world as always and cannot extricate himself.
For him, the only things he is interested in are airships, missiles, bicycles, wired telegraphs, periodic tables of elements and other magic weapons from the fairy world, as well as the "Jingshi Daily" that he must read every day, and at most a few delicacies that he thinks are good. That’s all.
The prince said that bicycles are just entry-level machines in the fairy world. Even so, after successfully developing a bicycle, even if he was only responsible for half of the project at most, Bo Jue felt very accomplished.
It can be driven by human power alone, without the protection of a bracket, it can not fall down when riding on it, and it can run as fast as flying. Bo Jue was skeptical at first, thinking that the prince had exaggerated some parts.
But after I learned how to drive a car, and recalled the previous content, I deeply admired the prince's foresight. Every word had nothing to do with nonsense, and they were all words that sought truth from facts.
Nowadays, bicycles have been successfully manufactured, and missiles with a range of more than one mile are shocking everyone. Bo Jue has no doubts about the airships and wired telegraphs that have not yet been developed.
The prince said there is, then it must be there. Those who deeply doubt this are just short-sighted and ignorant frogs in the well. There is no need to take into account their feelings.
As Bo Jue studied the sketch of the fairy magic weapon provided by the prince more and more deeply, he felt that it was interesting. If he was not forced to eat, he could reach the point of forgetting to eat and sleep on his own.
"Someone is here!"
Zheng Zhilong took a short rest and regrouped in order to fight again. In front of the prince, as a general, he never dared to say that the last general can't or the last general can't. No matter whether he can or cannot, he must bite the bullet.
Before officially exerting his strength, Zheng Zhilong stepped into the car and deliberately let out a long breath to relax his body, hoping to reach the best condition to control the fairy car under him.
After several naval battles, he never thought that he would fall in front of such a machine. Now that he has mastered the tricks, practice makes perfect.
Of course, shouting back and shouting, from the perspective of a certain prince, the situation is still not optimistic. At least the posture of going into battle this time is not much different from before, swinging from side to side like a roly-poly.
Yaoji didn't say anything more, so as not to distract Old Fart Zheng any more. He had already said almost everything that needed to be said. It all depends on one's ability to comprehend.
In this regard, Bo Jue knows almost everything. He has the ability to draw inferences from one example. Most of the details that he doesn't understand can be figured out by being reminded by him and squatting in the corner.
Zheng Laofi is also a smart person, but when it comes to cycling, so far, he has no talent. As for his acquired learning ability, it will take time to see the clues.
"Ouch~! Ouch~!"
No one hit Zheng Zhilong, and there was no pain on his body. The shouts in his mouth were all out of instinctive reactions.
For beginners, what you hold in your hands, what you see with your eyes, what you think about in your heart, and what you stare at your feet are completely four things.
Since I have no experience, my hands, feet, eyes, and heart cannot be in sync with each other, and the chance of overlapping is very small, so I often get into various embarrassments.
Even in later generations, people who are talented in cycling will have to fall a dozen times before they master the trick if there is no one around to help them.
It's one thing to remember the trick, but another to master it, especially in practice, where it's simply impossible to talk it out and implement it at the same time.
Even though he kept talking about it on his lips and thinking so in his heart, his hands just wouldn't obey his orders and were shaking like chaff in a sieve. I hated it so much.
"Relax your arms and swing them slightly!"
In desperation, Yaoji could only settle for the next best thing and tell Old Fart Zheng a less than brilliant secret. Anyway, it seemed impossible to keep this guy from swaying.
"Ahem ahem...yo yo yo yo..."
After hearing the news, Zheng Zhilong immediately began to implement the secret of the prince's legend. However, the situation improved slightly, and he changed his mantra, making the chamberlains and maids in the courtyard laugh.
This can only be regarded as a sign of self-relaxation. It seems to have a very small effect on cycling, but a slight improvement is already considered progress.
If you often look at other people's cars and are influenced by what you hear and see, you will understand it more or less, but for a guy like Zheng Laofi who is new to it, asking him to learn it immediately is a bit like rushing a duck to the shelves.
"Oh My God?"
Zheng Zhilong suddenly felt as if he had mastered the driving skills of a fairy car. Although the handlebar was still swinging slightly, he was able to start moving forward bit by bit under the power of the pedals.
"Yes! Yes! That's right! General Rong has already started!"
When Bo Jue saw this, he also saw the clues and immediately encouraged him. He started from this appearance a few days ago and gradually entered the final state where he was familiar with it.
The first half of the whole process is very slow and extremely strenuous. It is easy to become discouraged, frustrated and helpless. Your whole body will hurt when you fall, and you want to give up at any time. But once you reach the threshold of control, your progress will be extremely rapid.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah...it can be done! It can be done~!"
Zheng Zhilong also realized that he no longer seemed to need the support and protection of others. Although it was not much better than struggling, he was finally moving forward slowly, and he felt extremely excited.
"Hold still! Be careful!"
Bo Jue is like Zheng Zhilong's teacher. He has to remind his students at critical moments to prevent them from being too impatient and even losing all their previous efforts.
"Okay, okay~!"
Although riding a bicycle does not consume much physical energy, Zheng Zhilong was extremely nervous, to the point of gasping for breath as he responded.
But he also thinks that Bo Jue is right. The harder you push this fairy car, the harder it will compete with you.
If you follow the trend, it seems to be much easier to control, a bit like a donkey's temper.
