Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The first sketch of the four-wheeled carriage was indeed gorgeous. With Yan Liqiang’s drawing skills, it took him only a few strokes to put a vivid drawing of a lavish and beautiful carriage on paper.
It was the sketch of a four-wheeled carriage of a European noble from his memories. The inside of the carriage was spacious and brightly lit as though its door was open. It had a folding step for passengers to use when they got on or off the carriage and two lanterns on both sides of the coachman’s seat at the front. There were compartments on top and at the back of the carriage to store luggage. The drawing was so detailed that it was attractive to anyone who laid eyes on it.
Putting aside the rest, the unique feature of the carriage was that its passenger compartment was as spacious as a room. Every two-wheeled carriage in the Great Han Empire, including the ‘lavish’ one that Manager You gifted to Yan Liqiang when he returned to Gan Province, was crude and simple when compared to a four-wheeled carriage like this. It was not an exaggeration to say that the comparison between a two and four-wheeled carriage was akin to comparing motorbike to a Maybach.
Qian Su’s jaw dropped. After taking a few looks at the first sketch, he moved on to the second.
The second sketch showed the interior of the four-wheeled carriage. Windows were on both sides of the passenger compartment. Two extremely comfortable-looking seats as wide as standard couches faced each other in the compartment. Even if Qian Su had never ridden in a carriage like this, he was attracted by its design the moment he laid his eyes on it.
Due to space limitations, it was impossible to fit such a comfortable seat in the narrow and cramped space of a two-wheeled carriage. Hence, each of them came with either a wooden bench or a wooden plank affixed inside. The so-called ‘lavish’ ones only had a layer of fur laid on top of the wooden bench or plank at most. For the sake of comfort, those carriages dedicated to women included a layer of soft cushion that allowed them to lie or sit cross-legged on it. Even so, the comfort it provided was nothing compared to the sketch Yan Liqiang had drawn on the piece of paper.
“T-This is… a four-wheeled carriage?” Qian Su looked at the two sketches, then gave Yan Liqiang a look of astonishment.
“That’s right!” Yan Liqiang smiled. “Shouldn’t that be obvious?”
Qian Su smiled wryly. “I have to say that you have really done well in drawing this. However, this four-wheeled carriage simply won’t do. If it can be made so easily, then we’d be having four-wheeled carriages running under the sun all over the place by now!”
Yan Liqiang feigned ignorance and pretended to be curious. “Oh, I wonder why is it not easy to make a four-wheeled carriage?”
Qian Su pointed at the wheels on Yan Liqiang’s sketch and said, “It is actually very simple to construct this, but this carriage will not be practical. The wheels are attached to the body, so it is impossible to steer it!
“That’s why we see two-wheeled carriages everywhere now because they are easy to steer and it takes only one coachman to do it. I heard four-wheeled carriages exist in the Imperial Capital and it’s the Emperor’s royal transport. Even so, His Majesty rarely uses it as it can only travel along a straight road. Just turning around takes a lot of men to complete the task. They have to release the steeds and lift the carriage. It’s simply too much of a hassle…”
“What if I can solve the four-wheeled carriage’s problem of changing direction?”
“Oh, how…?” Qian Su asked out of habit without even thinking.
Yan Liqiang smiled and handed over the third sketch to Qian Su. It was a sketch of the frame structure which connected the front and rear wheels at the bottom part of the four-wheeled carriage.
Qian Su’s eyes widened as soon as he saw Yan Liqiang’s sketch. In just less than a few seconds, his hands that were holding the sketch trembled with excitement.
Yan Liqiang sighed when he saw Qian Su. The structure of a four-wheeled carriage actually wasn’t that complex. Once revealed, anyone would get it at first glance. Qian Su mentioned that it was impossible for this type of carriage to change direction, but that was because everyone was used to attaching the four wheels to the carriage frame. Due to this design, it would be very challenging for a four-wheeled carriage to change direction, thus causing it to be an impractical object.
In his previous life, there were four-wheeled carriages in a famous painting known as ‘Along the River During the Qingming Festival’. However, those were heavy-duty vehicles pulled by bulls. The changing of direction was made possible by solely relying on the strength of the bulls to drag the carriage. This type of four-wheeled bullock carts were used in rural areas before the war of liberation in 1949.
Therefore, it was very simple to solve the problem of changing directions. One only had to think outside the box and attach the two wheels on two different frames, then connect them together with a shaft. That would easily solve the issue.
Yan Liqiang thought of making a four-wheeled carriage before. However, it wasn’t the right time back then and the invention would be of little significance. Hence, he never got around to it. After a bumpy ride of several thousand li on a two-wheeled carriage back to Gan Province this time, he finally decided to make the four-wheeled carriage a reality to benefit everyone in the world after the painful experience.
Basic necessities were the most profitable business with the highest demand. As soon as the four-wheeled carriage was created, Yan Liqiang was absolutely certain that it would take the world by storm. As the inventor of the four-wheeled carriage, even if he might not be able to monopolize the market, a steady stream of profit would still roll toward him as long as he stayed on top of the market through his reputation. At the same time, he could use this to build his influence.
The biggest benefit of a four-wheeled carriage compared to a two-wheeled one was that it could carry more weight, hence greatly increasing its effectiveness as a transport. This might not mean much to a person, but to a nation that depended on land routes for trading purposes, it held a lot of value.
Transporting goods on land would become more convenient and efficient. Firstly, the cost of goods and logistics would be reduced, benefitting people and the goods that had to travel over long distances. This would allow businesses to develop greatly as craft industries could thrive and flourish. Subsequently, there would be a demand to improve manufacturing processes, hence leading to a series of changes…
Of course, just having a steering mechanism wasn’t enough to make a high-end four-wheeled carriage because the mechanism could easily be copied as soon as it was revealed to the world.
Hence, Yan Liqiang handed over yet another sketch to Qian Su. It was the design of a coil spring that was to be fitted between the bottom of the carriage and the rear axle as a shock absorber…
“W-What are these spiralling things?” Qian Su stared at the sketch dumbfounded.
“This thing is called a spring!”
“Spring…?” Qian Su repeated after Yan Liqiang, clearly clueless about this object. “What does this thing do?”
“Well, it can be soft or hard, big or small, stretched or compressed…” When Yan Liqiang finished speaking and noticed Qian Su’s strange facial expression. It was only then that realization dawned on him. “Ahem, please don’t get any funny ideas, Uncle Qian. This thing can absorb any shock to the carriage while it is moving. It will increase the comfort of traveling in the carriage. You will understand once we make it!”
Qian Su roared with laughter. “Do you know how to make this thing?”
“Of course!” Yan Liqiang looked at Qian Su seriously as he revealed a look of reminiscence on his face. “A few days ago, I had another dream. In that dream, the old immortal who previously taught me how to save lives taught me how to create this spring!”
In an era without the invention of spring, this thing was definitely categorized as a ‘high-tech’ product. Due to its special manufacturing process, Yan Liqiang could keep it as a trade secret and no one would be able to copy it in a short amount of time even if they saw it. Therefore, this would allow the four-wheeled carriages they manufactured to stay above those from other manufacturers, thus establishing the Gan Province Manufacturing Bureau as the manufacturer of ‘luxurious carriages’ in this era…
Making the Rolls-Royce of four-wheeled carriages under the Yan Clan’s brand wasn’t just a dream…
Qian Su suddenly looked at Yan Liqiang eagerly. “Liqiang, can I ask you a favor?”
“What is it, Uncle Qian?”
“Can you tell that old immortal that he is welcome any time to my dreams! Really! I have always been a very studious person! I’ve been dreaming of learning from a master like him since I was a child! Have him teach me a few things too!”
