João IV stared at the wheel for a long time, with a look of shock on his face. The fastest updated version of the top novel
Especially after walking to a slightly damaged cement road and seeing the rubber wheels easily crossing the potholes, minimizing the bumps, Joao IV even showed an expression of disbelief.
Europeans have been using horse-drawn carriages since Roman times, and they have been riding on horses for two thousand years, but they have never discovered a "great" item like rubber that can reduce the vibration amplitude of the car body.
The performance of the tires when passing through potholes made Joao IV understand that rubber tires have better off-road performance than wooden wheels.
This is the revolution of the wheel.
Finally, Portuguese Foreign Minister Alves couldn't help but stuck his head out of the car window and observed the tire with his king.
Cai Huaishui had no choice but to stop the car and let the Portuguese guests get out and take a closer look at the tires.
King Joao IV jumped off the carriage and used his hands to squeeze the black tire. When he discovered that the slightly deformed tire had huge elasticity and could rebound violently when the external force stopped, he shook his head and sighed in surprise.
"Magical! Magical East!"
It was also the first time for Raphael to see such a tire, and he couldn't stop staring at it.
Alves walked up to Joao IV and said: "Your Highness, if we in Portugal can also be equipped with such tires, our tanks can travel to terrains with harsher environments. Our logistics capabilities will be greatly enhanced, and our
The army could then move deeper into the interior of the colony."
King Joao IV nodded and looked at Cai Huaishui expectantly.
Cai Huaishui smiled and said: "As long as His Highness provides us with more rubber raw materials, we can sell finished rubber tires to His Highness."
King John IV burst out laughing when he heard this.
He squeezed the rubber tire with his hand again before getting into the car again.
The vehicle moved quickly on the cement road and gradually entered the suburbs of Tianjin Acropolis.
There used to be many wheat fields around Tianjin Acropolis. However, with the development of industry in Tianjin Town, many wheat fields on both sides of the road have now been replaced by factories. Those factories are usually tall buildings with a height of three or four meters and occupy an extremely wide area.
, the faces of João IV and others were filled with surprise.
Why did people in the Ming Dynasty build so big houses?
After looking at it for a long time, Alves finally asked: "Your Excellency, Chief Steward, why do people in the Ming Dynasty build such big houses? Do all Ming people live in such a big palace?"
Cai Huaishui laughed loudly and said: "That's not a residence, that's a factory!"
Hearing Cai Huaishui's words, the translator from Macau was stunned. You must know that Europe in this era had not even invented the spinning jenny. There were only handicraftsmen, and there were no factories where a large number of workers worked together. In Portuguese of this era,
There is no word for factory yet, so I struggled to translate it for a long time, and finally directly transliterated the word factory.
The guests from Portugal were immediately confused.
Factory? What is a factory?
Cai Huaishui nodded and said: "This factory is the most amazing thing in our town and nine provinces. It is getting late today. When I am free tomorrow, I will take you to visit the factory. Take a look at our assembly line factory in Tianjin Town."
King Joao IV was already shocked by what he saw along the way. When he heard the attributive word "the most amazing", he was immediately in awe and full of expectation.
Alves quickly said: "Then we'll wait for tomorrow's arrangements!"
Cai Huaishui nodded and said no more.
The carriage sped along the cement road and entered the Tianjin Acropolis.
As soon as you enter the city, the buildings on both sides of the road suddenly become denser and more compact. There are also more and more pedestrians and vehicles on the road.
The prosperity and cleanliness of the streets of Tianjin Acropolis shocked the kings and ministers from Europe. You must know that in Europe of this era, the sanitation in the cities was a complete mess. Garbage was dumped randomly, and feces even accumulated.
On the road, there is a terrible stench everywhere in the city.
"Dirty City" filmed by the British BBC records how dirty and disgusting European cities were during the Renaissance.
However, in Tianjin Acropolis, a densely populated big city, what John IV saw was completely different:
There is no excrement on the ground, not even garbage can be seen, the road is swept clean. There is a trash can every twenty meters, and passers-by have to walk to the trash can before throwing away even if they have a ball of waste paper.
.
Pedestrians on the road are not as unkempt and tattered as European citizens. They are all very neat and tidy, as if they take a shower, wash their hair and wash their clothes every day.
In Europe, citizens in cities are very poor and only have two or three sets of tattered clothes that they wear repeatedly. However, in Tianjin, what Joao IV saw were very wealthy citizens. The cotton clothes on these citizens were even patched.
No, the clothes all look new, as if they are too old and no longer worn.
There were even a considerable number of citizens wearing silk clothes, which made John IV open his mouth in surprise.
You must know that in Europe, princes and nobles are only willing to wear silk clothes in important places. But on the main road of Tianjin City, so many ordinary citizens wear silk clothes on their bodies in ordinary times.
Could it be said that the ordinary people in one town and nine provinces are richer than the princes and nobles of Europe?
This is impossible!
On both sides of the road are neat white villas, which look particularly decent. Of course, what surprised Joao IV the most were the transparent glass windows. In Europe of this era, although glass is no longer a gem-like treasure, it is
It is still a luxury for ordinary people. If the citizens of Lisbon put glass on their windows, the only result is that the glass will be stolen by thieves.
From these glasses, we can understand how rich the people in Tianjin are.
The King of Portugal was filled with surprise and stared at the various events outside the car window, as if he was afraid of missing a bit of the scenery. He suddenly saw some strange two-wheeled vehicles, and his eyes widened in surprise.
His Foreign Minister Alves also noticed these strange vehicles and opened his mouth in surprise. The Portuguese minister pointed to the bicycle on the road and asked: "What is that... Why can a two-wheeled vehicle not fall over? It can still move."
So fast! Is that magic?"
Cai Huaishui laughed and said: "That's a bicycle! It is a commonly used folk means of transportation. It has replaced horses in the cities of Tianjin Acropolis and Fanjiazhuang."
"bike?"
The guests from Portugal opened their eyes wide and looked puzzled.
Cai Huaishui said with a smile: "This bicycle is very wonderful. Once you ride forward, it will not fall down. It is very effortless and fast to drive on cement and asphalt roads."
King Joao IV stared at the bicycles with wide eyes and said nothing for a long time.
The contact points between the rubber tires, the steel body, the wheels and the brackets use some magic, and they rotate rapidly as if there is no friction.
He subconsciously crossed himself on his chest and said, "Lord! I can't react anymore."
