Liu Tan reacted only a little late after he finished speaking. Where did horseshoes come from in an era when there were no horse harnesses?
However, he could ignore others, but he could not ignore Liu Che's questions, otherwise he would definitely be beaten up.
So Liu Tan sorted out his thoughts and said, "The horseshoe is an idea I had. I had thought of it before when I was building the cement road, but it hasn't been completed yet, so I didn't tell your Majesty."
Liu Che nodded without asking any more questions. After all, asking more now would not be as good as seeing the finished product later, so he said, "It's getting late, let's go and have dinner."
So the group moved to the main hall.
After sitting down in the main hall, everyone who originally wanted to discuss the horse harness was instantly attracted by a special smell.
After Liu Tan’s three dishes brought visual and taste shock to Liu Che and Chen Ajiao, they also shocked these generals.
Liu Che sat at the top and smiled proudly as he listened to everyone's praise, as if he was the one being praised.
Liu Tan was having a headache. He had just invented stirrups and saddles, and now he was going to make horseshoes. Wasn't the speed of invention a little too fast?
No matter how talented a person is, inventing things requires a little bit of accumulation, and inspiration does not come easily.
Will he be caught as a monster if he finishes things so quickly?
The only thing to be thankful for now is that the horseshoes and harness are a complete set, so it wouldn't be too strange even if he made them all, and there's also the cement road as an excuse.
But as for the rest of the stuff... forget it. Don't make too many at once, otherwise he's afraid of being watched.
Even though the horseshoe incident, or the cement road incident, was over, Liu Tan hurriedly asked his subordinates to serve the dishes.
Originally, everyone was still discussing about the horse harness, but when the boiled vegetables were served, everyone was attracted by this novel performance.
The moment when flowers bloom always makes people think of many beautiful words, even the dishes are the same. Such dishes can even be called works of art.
The generals didn't know what words to use to describe this dish. The only thing they had in common was that they couldn't bear to destroy such beauty.
However, Liu Che picked up his chopsticks directly. When the ministers saw him pick up his chopsticks, they also followed suit.
Originally everyone thought that this dish was just good-looking, but when the boiled cabbage entered their mouths, the freshness of the green vegetables and the delicious aroma of the thick soup instantly captured everyone's taste buds.
For a moment, the originally bustling hall became quiet, and everyone was immersed in the joy brought by the food.
Just when Liu Tan had eaten two pieces of vegetable leaves, he looked up and found that Gongsun He opposite him had already finished his soup.
Liu Tan was stunned, while Gongsun He smacked his lips after finishing his drink and said, "It tastes good, but it's a little less. How can one vegetable be enough?"
You are really not shy!
Liu Tan said with difficulty: "This dish is... used to stimulate the appetite."
Gongsun He touched his belly, thought for a moment, and said with a smile, "Appetizer, that's quite appropriate. I've whetted my appetite now."
Others echoed the sentiment, and Liu Tan was completely stunned. Are the stomachs of military commanders... all this big?
Just at this time, the sweet and sour pork ribs were served.
This time, because there were so many people, the smell of sweet and sour food filled the entire hall. Liu Tan saw several people start to swallow their saliva after smelling the smell.
It’s not that I really know that sweet and sour spare ribs are delicious, but the sweet and sour taste is particularly stimulating to the secretion of body fluids.
Sweet and sour pork ribs are obviously more to the generals' taste than boiled cabbage, as the generals still prefer meat dishes.
Looking at the way they ate, Liu Tan was very glad that he had instructed them to prepare a little more for each portion, otherwise... it probably wouldn't be enough for these people to eat!
He finally realized that he had wronged Liu Che before. Liu Che didn't eat much at all. Compared with these generals, he ate too little.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but recall that when he entertained Lu Xuan, the amount of food he was given was based on his appetite. Lu Xuan... wouldn't be hungry, right?
After all, he was still growing up, and Lu Xuan could barely be considered a military general. He was also a member of a minority ethnic group that was accustomed to eating meat. Thinking of this, Lu Xuan did not protest, which really gave him too much face.
After eating and drinking to their heart's content, Liu Che returned with his generals. Before leaving, Liu Che said, "When you have finished making that horseshoe you mentioned, don't forget to show it to me."
When Liu Tan heard this, he knew that Liu Che was warning him to show Liu Che anything new he came up with next time.
Liu Tan had no choice but to resort to the universal phrase: "Next time, definitely next time!"
The generals also left with satisfaction. Their initial impression of the Fifth Prince was probably that he had new toys and special dishes.
Li Ling was even a little reluctant to leave and wanted to chat with Liu Tan for a while longer.
However, Liu Tan guessed that he would rather stay for dinner. Of course, this was impossible. After eating such a greasy meal at noon, Liu Tan only wanted to eat porridge and side dishes at night. This was definitely not suitable for entertaining guests, so... you guys should leave.
Of course, the most important thing is that Liu Tan found a new thing to do - making horseshoes.
In fact, the horseshoe itself is not difficult to make. As long as Liu Tan gives a shape, the blacksmith can make it in a short time. Basically, it only takes half a day.
The problem lies in the installation of the horseshoe.
At first, Liu Tan thought that all he had to do was nail the horseshoes on the horseshoes, so he specially found a mule to experiment with.
After it was nailed on, it worked fine at first, but within two days, the horseshoe fell off the mule's paw. It was then that Liu Tan realized that whether it was a mule or a horse, the front part of the paw was covered with keratin, which was basically equivalent to human nails. The nailed objects would easily fall off if they were subject to long-term activity.
Then other fixed means are needed.
Liu Tan was a little confused for a moment. This was too difficult for him. He made other things because he had seen the finished products. As for the horseshoe... he had only seen it on the horseshoe, and he had no idea how it was fixed.
So Liu Tan squatted in his study holding a horseshoe and began to study it. Oh, while studying, he also asked the carpenter to make a model for him in the shape of a horseshoe.
Not to mention that his carpenter was really skillful, he managed to restore the shape of the horseshoe and even half of the leg bone almost perfectly.
So every time Liu Tan saw the horse hoof skeleton on his desk, he would feel as if he was studying medicine.
After Liu Tan looked at the horseshoe in his hand over and over again, the only thing he could think of was to use screws to fix the horseshoe to the horseshoe.
But now... there are no such things as screws.
Of course he could make it and let his blacksmith do it.
In fact, the blacksmith skills these days are very good, and they can make even very delicate objects without any problem.
At least that's the case with Liu Tan's own blacksmiths.
But Liu Tan still has another issue to consider, which is promotion.
Horseshoes are useful for maintaining a horse's paws for more than just concrete roads.
It's true that cement roads are hard, but are stone roads also hard? There are places with stone roads, but don't horses run on them just the same?
For horses, horseshoes can extend their service life, especially for draft horses used for transportation.
Compared to war horses, draft horses are used for longer periods of time and their hooves suffer greater wear and tear.
If horseshoes are to be promoted, they must be low-cost. Otherwise, with the current financial resources of the Han Dynasty, it may not be possible to promote them to the entire army.
Screws need to be made by a skilled blacksmith, so the output is bound to be very low. If the consumption is not large, it can indeed be done this way.
Liu Tan was a little troubled for a moment.
If you don't use screws, then use bent-head nails. After hammering the nails in, use the bent head of the nails to buckle them inside. This will fix it, but it's hard to say how long it will hold.
However, Liu Tan also wanted to use screws. The advantages of screws are obvious. The most important thing is that the keratin of the horseshoe will continue to grow. After the screw goes in, it will become stronger and stronger as the keratin grows. It can basically stay in there permanently and will become stronger and stronger.
Of course, the most important point is that the Huns can imitate bent nails, but can they also imitate screws?
Yes, Liu Tan had not been particularly active in promoting horse harnesses because he was worried that the Huns would imitate them.
The Xiongnu's iron smelting technology was not advanced, but as far as Liu Tan knew, even though the Han Dynasty prohibited merchants from selling ironware to the grasslands, there were still people who took the risk to sell it.
These businessmen basically have families but no country. Oh, maybe they don’t even care about their families, otherwise why would they take such a big risk for money?
You should know that if you are caught transporting ironware and grain privately, you will be charged with treason, and basically you will be either executed along with your entire clan or exterminated along with your entire clan.
In order to make the Huns unable to see or touch the horseshoe, in addition to listing the horseshoe as a controlled object, the other method was to monopolize the technology so that they could not copy it.
Even if those merchants could secretly forge the shape of the horseshoe, what would it matter? If they couldn't keep it fixed for a long time, how much money would it cost the Xiongnu?
If this were true, Liu Tan would even welcome the Huns to keep buying horseshoes. With so many horses they had, perhaps a small horseshoe could bring them down.
Of course, this was just his idea. In the end, Liu Tan decided to ask his father when he was in doubt, or maybe his brother.
Anyway, he had bent nails and screws made, and then made a cross-section of a wooden horseshoe, preparing to demonstrate the difference between the two things on the spot.
Whether it was Liu Che or Liu Ju, they definitely had a clearer grasp of the general situation than Liu Tan. The most important thing was that they had a complete team of staff under them who could pool their wisdom.
As for Liu Tan…because he hadn’t been crowned yet, he had no staff or anything like that, so he decided not to continue to fight these two guys! Liu Tan hurried back to the palace and went to see Chen Ajiao first. He found that Chen Ajiao didn’t seem happy. Even Princess Danyang’s coquettish behavior couldn’t make her frown. Liu Tan couldn’t help but ask, "What difficulties have you encountered, mother?"
Chen Ajiao said in a somewhat bleak tone: "Your Majesty has already set a date."
Liu Tan was stunned at first. Just when he wanted to ask what date it was, he found that the smile on Princess Danyang's face had disappeared. He immediately understood that the date for the marriage had been set.
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