Chapter 286 Steam Engine
Zhu Zailei obviously wanted to know that this was not the answer from Zhang Zhong. He couldn't help but retort: "Zhang Daban, I'm afraid this is not what you really think. You think that I am the most likely to become the emperor. But, You want me to be the emperor, because only when I am the emperor can you give me the seal of ceremonial supervisor.”
"I don't dare, I don't dare to have such delusions! I am really just loyal to His Highness and want to see His Highness ascend to the throne and rule the world as soon as possible!"
Zhang Zhong hurriedly denied it. He was really afraid that his purpose would be known to too many people. Even if he was known, he didn't want to admit that he had this ambition.
"Okay, you don't have to deny it anymore. My father is right. I need to think carefully about whether I want to be the emperor or what I want to do."
Zhu Zailei stood up and left,
Zhang Zhong stood there in a daze, looking at Zhu Zailei's back. He hesitated to speak. He wanted to ask the emperor what he had said to the eldest son, but he always felt that the eldest son did not need it now. Analyze the emperor's thoughts for him.
Zhu Houzhao did not expect that the teenage prince could suddenly find the ideal he had been pursuing all his life. After all, even in later generations, most people would spend their whole lives not knowing what they wanted or what their ideals were, let alone marriage in this country. It’s a time when parents make the decision.
For other older princes, Zhu Houzhao also gave them the opportunity to learn government affairs just like he taught the eldest son Zhu Zailei. Moreover, Zhu Houzhao also told them that if they did not want to be emperor, they could bring it up first.
Zhu Houzhao was not a Confucian scholar, and he did not want to abide by the so-called ethical principles of establishing direct descendants and establishing elders.
Zhu Houzhao admitted that although capitalism has developed in the Ming Dynasty today, farming civilization is still the main social form in the western and northern parts of the empire. The empire is still a family empire, and it is impossible for him to transfer the ruling power to non-royal members. That would only It will lead to unrest.
After all, the Zhongjun Society is not yet a modern political party. If you directly elect a non-royal member with outstanding abilities to be the emperor, other capable and ambitious people will directly question the legitimacy of this person's rule. Even many royal nobles cannot tolerate this. phenomenon.
Of course, Zhu Houzhao himself was not emotionally willing to hand over his power and wealth to someone who was not his blood relative to inherit.
But this does not prevent Zhu Houzhao from choosing the one who is most suitable and willing to be the emperor among his princes. Although a person is not a saint, he is not a devil. The so-called faint king and tyrant are just unsuitable or unwilling to be the emperor.
"Father, I have thought about it seriously. I want to be the emperor!"
On this day, Zhu Zailei told Zhu Houzhao the answer he had thought carefully about.
Zhu Houzhao was very pleased that at least Zhu Zailei was still willing to express his inner thoughts without considering the consequences of saying this.
Therefore, Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but smile and asked: "Tell my father, why do you want to be the emperor?"
"Because being the emperor can make everyone fear me! It can make everyone listen to my orders! They can all be as respectful to their ministers as Zhang Daban and Miao Daban." Zhu Zailei answered his question about the emperor understand.
Zhu Houzhao did not criticize, but just smiled: "You are right, being an emperor can indeed do this, but do you know that as an emperor you have to be responsible for upholding justice in the world, and responsible for everyone's food and clothing, and... Must serve the interests of this country and nation! ”
"Sir, he said that as long as he is a virtuous minister, Yuan Xiaoren can do what the father said."
Zhu Zailei's answer made Zhu Houzhao have to admit that some of the palace scholars were still educating his prince with the same old Confucian ideas. He couldn't help but continue to ask Zhu Zailei: "If it is so simple, then why will there be another emperor in the future?" , wouldn’t it be enough to let wise people preside over the affairs of the country and select wise people? Why do we need an emperor to choose?”
Zhu Houzhao brought the topic to the value of the emperor's existence. This was the first time that he started to make people think about the value of the emperor's existence.
Nowadays, Leonardo da Vinci and other Western Renaissance artists and scientists have just arrived in the Ming Dynasty, and they have not been promoting ancient Greek thought for a long time with the encouragement of Zhu Houzhao. Moreover, the natural science of the Ming Dynasty has just started, and it is necessary to use rationality to conduct scientific analysis. The thinking of observed things and phenomena has just begun, such as the qi science proposed by Wang Tingyi and others. Therefore, in today's Ming Dynasty, many people have not yet begun to learn to use logical thinking and scientific analytical thinking.
Just like now, the entire Ming Dynasty is still full of empiricism. No one considers why there is an emperor. Does the emperor have to exist? Of course, based on historical experience, the rulers of the Ming Dynasty will say that the country cannot be destroyed overnight. There is no king, but no one has ever considered why a country cannot live without a king for a day.
Now that Zhu Houzhao asked Zhu Zailei this way, he was enlightening Zhu Zailei to a new way of thinking, that is, rational thinking, which can also be called scientific analysis.
Since Zhu Zailei wants to be the emperor, Zhu Houzhao now has to let him think about what the emperor's responsibilities are, why the emperor has these powers, whether the emperor must exist, and what the value of the emperor's existence is.
These questions may still be difficult for a teenage boy, but Zhu Houzhao is not in a hurry to ask him to tell the answers now. He hopes that Zhu Zailei can think about these questions.
In the eyes of Confucian officials, the emperor is a symbol of etiquette. As the person with the highest ethical status founded by Neo-Confucianism, after all, according to Neo-Confucianism, etiquette is principle, and the ethical relationship formed by moral etiquette is the foundation for maintaining national rule. .
If the father is the key link in the family, then the father should be the key link for the entire empire, and this father naturally becomes the emperor and the king's father.
Therefore, many times, Confucian theory only establishes the legitimacy of the emperor's existence morally, and even adds some idealistic ideas. For example, the reason why so-and-so is the emperor is because he is the destiny of heaven, the king's power is divinely authorized, and he is the true dragon. The Son of Heaven should be our king and father.
However, Confucianism did not prove the rationality of the existence of the emperor through rigorous scientific theoretical analysis, nor did it have strict logical inferences on who could become the emperor.
But after all, people are not animals that can be easily fooled. In their hearts, no one believes in the true so-called destiny. Not even the Confucian people themselves believe in it. Zi Buyu has strange powers and chaos, and has become the target of some people who surrender and betray their country. Excuse.
When a new dynasty and a new emperor appear, it is said that the fate of the previous dynasty has been exhausted and the destiny of the new emperor has been given to the new emperor.
So much so that they take the danger of the country very lightly, and only think that the rise and fall of the country is just the rise and fall of a family.
In history, it was only in the late Ming Dynasty that with the advancement of thought, people like Gu Yanwu began to distinguish between the subjugation of the country and the subjugation of the world.
Now.
When Zhu Zailei heard what Zhu Houzhao said, he also began to have some doubts: "Father is right. It seems that according to what the gentlemen said, there is no need for an emperor. But in fact, there is an emperor. The gentlemen said that the country cannot be unified." Riwujun, it seems that the emperor has other values! Please clarify this for me!”
"The empire needs decision-makers, just like a family needs someone who can make the decisions. The emperor is the person who can make the decisions in our country. I don't have time to tell you every word now. You should think carefully and read more. Sir, Listen to them all, but don’t believe them directly. When you are older and learn new courses, you may understand more!”
Zhu Houzhao touched Zhu Zailei's head and then ordered: "Draft a decree to establish a royal school, and order Wang Shouren's disciple Zheng Shanfu and Da Vinci, a doctor from the Capital University (here is an official position), to be responsible for teaching new courses to the older prince!"
Since Zhu Zailei wants to be the emperor, he naturally wants Zhu Zailei to get the education he needs as an emperor. At least the "unity of knowledge and action" philosophy that has emerged in the Ming Dynasty is not the same as the ancient Greek thought that laid the foundation for modern civilization in later generations. You need to learn more. Neo-Confucianism is of little significance to the emperor. If the emperor believes that he is destined by destiny, then the emperor will only become an unscrupulous tyrant!
Gu Dayong is not very knowledgeable, and he doesn't know which one he is after, but what he can be sure of is that now His Majesty the Emperor is personally teaching the eldest son of the Emperor, which means that the eldest son of the Emperor will be as wise as His Majesty in the future, and he will also He boasted conveniently: "Your Majesty personally teaches His Highness, and in the future His Highness will be as wise as Your Majesty."
"Whether it is holy or not can only be determined by future generations. Besides, it is not yet certain whether the eldest son of the emperor can become the emperor. Lei'er, you have to understand that whether you can become the emperor or not is not something you just think about. You have to ask your father and the emperor. The people of the world have proved that you are more suitable to be the emperor than other emperors. Otherwise, even if you become the emperor, it will only make people doubt whether the world you govern is the best!"
< br>
What Zhu Houzhao said was tantamount to directly denying the so-called Confucian system of establishing direct descendants and establishing elders.
Of course, Zhu Houzhao was the emperor, and it was he who had the final say whether to establish direct descendants or establish virtuous people.
"I understand!" Although Zhu Zailei now said that he wanted to be the emperor, he had not really cared about it yet. Therefore, he had not yet realized that his father did not intend to abide by the intention of establishing a direct descendant.
Gu Dayong took Zhu Houzhao's words into account, but he actually didn't care that much about whether Zhu Zailei could become the emperor. He was more concerned about what the emperor Zhu Houzhao thought. As the current chief minister of rites, he would not care about it. He devoted himself to a certain prince's side prematurely. After all, the current emperor Zhu Houzhao was still in his prime, and he had more time to make profits for his own party.
Now Gu Dayong just regrets that he sent his man Miao Ning to the emperor's eldest son too early. Zhu Houzhao is not as complicated as Gu Dayong thought. He just hopes to pave the way for the future selection of emperors in the Ming Dynasty. If the Ming Dynasty will continue to establish the emperor in the form of family hereditary system for a long time, he hopes to choose The emperor who emerges can truly become a relatively qualified emperor of this empire.
Now there are no big troubles externally or internal worries. He has only just turned 30 years old. Most of the princes are still relatively young. It is the best time to officially establish the prince's education system.
It can be said that the Ming Dynasty was relatively poor in the cultivation of princes. Even the emperors in the later stages of history, such as Taichang, Tianqi, and Chongzhen, did not receive systematic imperial education. Even becoming emperors was very sudden, let alone whether there was a political conspiracy. , but without a systematic prince training system, it will lead to disaster for the entire empire and the entire Chinese nation.
The Ming Dynasty focused on on-the-job training, that is, giving the emperor a sutra feast, but Zhu Houzhao really didn’t want to complain about this sutra feast. To a large extent, this sutra feast was not for training the emperor, but just a formality, adding another dimension to his career path to promotion. Just qualifications.
Ever since Zhu Houzhao issued an edict to no longer hold Sutra banquets specifically in the Wenhua Palace, but instead to hold Ming Jing banquets instead, the lecturer, like the author of the Qidian Chinese website in later generations, would update 10,000 words every day and submit them to his emperor, and he would learn by himself. The officials asked the emperor to hold a Sutra feast, but the few who were still in the court could not do it, let alone 10,000 words a day, and even 5,000 words a day. Zhu Houzhao had to dismiss them and return home.
There was only one lecturer named Tang Gao who kept writing 20,000 words of lectures and articles for Zhu Houzhao every day. Zhu Houzhao admired his perseverance and writing speed, so he specially added a cabinet bachelor and let him learn from it. He also holds a bachelor's degree in the cabinet, and his official position is from the second rank.
Zhu Houzhao's purpose for doing this was naturally very simple, which was to let Tang Gao make a report and summary article for the cabinet at the beginning of each year. A small summary every year and a major summary every five years. This kind of summary involves various government affairs of the empire. There are naturally a lot of words, and only someone like Tang Gao can do it.
Turning back, Zhu Houzhao now only knows that he is now a Taiping Emperor, and the empire's national power is still growing. Whether it is the outer court or the inner court, there are now people who obey his orders, which makes him feel that the empire has changed. It was very peaceful, everything was going on calmly and orderly.
The Ming Academy of Engineering is still developing steam engines, while the Ordnance Bureau is also developing rifled guns and the use of nitrating explosives, and the Ming Academy of Sciences is still conducting research on astronomy, agriculture, physics, chemistry, etc.
Gold and silver from South America continued to flow into the Ming Dynasty, and various products of the Ming Dynasty also continued to flow to the Americas. The indigenous people in the Philippines, Sumatra and other regions had given up the development of handicrafts such as textiles and began to only grow food and develop farming.
Under Zhu Houzhao's instructions, Yang Yiqing began to use the experience he accumulated in border towns and began to join forces with Lin Tingxuan to establish the Ming Army Command College and the Ming Navy Command College.
Zhu Houzhao did not realize the undercurrent lurking beneath the calm, nor did he realize how strong the reaction from the outside world was to the Ming Dynasty, an empire with developed productivity.
Now he is more like an ordinary person living under the sky of Ming Dynasty. He is taking the initiative to teach his prince how to ride a bicycle, and like people of this era, he is feeling the changes brought about by the development of science and technology in the empire.
Zhu Zailei stopped the Ming Dynasty version of his bicycle and looked at the cement road that stretched to the end of his field of vision. He just wanted to follow this road all the way to the end.
As a Ming Dynasty person who grew up during the Zhengde period, he was not too surprised by the cement road.
But Wang Qiong, the chief minister of the cabinet standing behind him, had a completely different mood. As a veteran of the four dynasties who had been an official since the Chenghua Dynasty, he had never thought that such a name would appear in the Ming Dynasty before the Zhengde Dynasty. The cement road and the feeling of stepping on this hard ground made him feel particularly at ease as a native of Taiyuan, Shanxi.
He still vaguely remembered the official road he took when he came to Beijing to take the exam. At that time, it was still dusty and muddy when it rained. He basically had to change into a pair of cloth shoes every day.
But now, even though it was still raining like this, Wang Qiong could still walk leisurely. He had to admit that there had indeed been earth-shaking changes in the Ming Dynasty after His Majesty the Zhengde Emperor came to power.
Not only the hard cement road, but also the rubber shoes worn by the sergeants. The sound when stepping is indeed clearer and louder than the cloth shoes, and they are more suitable for marching and combat.
Even the common people also like this kind of rubber shoes, which are much more convenient than wearing cloth shoes on rainy days.
Ye Heng, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, felt extremely proud at this time. He had spent many years building this cement road from the capital to Datong. Over the years, he had learned about blasting, civil engineering, bridge construction, tunnels, and geography. Various technologies, and even learned arithmetic and physics. He also read through various construction books left by the ancients. He even learned how to manage hundreds of thousands of workers and how to train craftsmen.
Zhu Houzhao actually did not expect that the cement road from Beijing to Datong would be completed more than ten years later. In fact, he originally asked Ye Heng to be responsible for the construction of this project just to let Daming accumulate some experience in project construction. Will it be completely completed? Important, at least it can improve Ming's various engineering technologies.
Obviously, as a super empire, it is possible for the Ming Dynasty to realize such a project that transcends centuries, but it may cost a lot. But what Ming Dynasty is not afraid of most is the high cost. Anyway, the wealth and human resources of the world are all there. Concentrate towards Daming.
Zhu Houzhao asked Zhu Zailei to take a look at the completed Jingtong cement road. The purpose was also to let the future successor of the emperor get in touch with the most cutting-edge things of this era.
Zhu Houcong, who entered the Royal Academy like Zhu Zailei, was also amazed at this kind of concrete road that was so hard that even a carriage could not make ruts on it. Of course, he also hoped to ride a bicycle on this cement road like Zhu Zailei. Running on the road.
Zhu Houzhao looked at the novelty of these officials and royal nobles towards new things such as cement roads, bicycles and rubber shoes, and just smiled. He believed that some future products brought about by his appearance would definitely make the Ming Dynasty The vision of these people has changed.
"Your Majesty! The Ming Dynasty Engineering Institute has realized the role of steam engines in driving spinning machines, and came here specifically to report this matter!"
At this time, Ma Yongcheng suddenly ran to Zhu Houzhao and said back and forth.
After hearing this, Zhu Houzhao directly ordered: "Go to the Daming Engineering Institute immediately!"
The civil servants who were about to compose an impromptu poem on the concrete road that stretched to the end of the sky and boast about Zhu Houzhao's martial arts skills saw the emperor turning around and heading towards the Ming Dynasty Engineering Academy. They all froze in place, wondering why the steam engine was there. Why is Your Majesty so impatient?
Zhu Houzhao really couldn't wait to see the steam engine developed by the Ming Dynasty. After all, as a time traveler from later generations, he knew better than people of this era that the industrial revolution brought about by the steam engine would completely subvert the entire human civilization! But now, appearing in Ming Dynasty is undoubtedly the result he most wants to see!
The Ming Dynasty version of the steam engine that Zhu Houzhao saw was still a relatively large steam engine, and the boiler occupied a large volume, indicating that the heat energy utilization efficiency was still relatively low, otherwise such a large boiler would not have been burned to supply heat energy.
But at this time, driven by the steam engine linkage rod, the spinning machine could start spinning automatically, which meant that the Ming Dynasty officially began to have the first fully mechanical power equipment!
"This, how is this achieved? Here you only see coal burning, but over there you can let the spinning machine spin yarn by itself. It's really incredible!"
Wang Qiong, the chief minister of the cabinet, thought to himself in surprise.
Ye Heng, who was following, stared directly at the linking rod, wondering if if the linking rod was connected to the water pump, it would be able to pump water continuously. Not only pumping water, but it might also be used for other purposes. Purpose: Can all the cars, boats, etc. that relied on human or animal power in the past be replaced by this kind of machine?
"Congratulations to your Majesty, congratulations to your Majesty. Although I don't know the reason behind this, I believe that this thing will change our Ming Dynasty! It will even change the way of life for thousands of years! The appearance of this thing will definitely make our Ming Dynasty more prosperous and powerful! ”
At this time, Yan Song had already agreed.
The eldest son of the emperor, Zhu Zailei, has forgotten to speak. Now all his eyes are focused on this machine that can automatically spin yarn without human operation. This mechanized product that replaces manual labor is also very impactful to him.
This is especially true for Zhu Houcong. He really wants to understand why a coal-burning boiler can make a spinning machine move by itself. Now he can only use the knowledge he learned in class to speculate on the answer.
"Register this type of equipment as a patented technology and report it to me when the time comes. I will reward your team heavily and award you with medals! In addition, a court meeting will be held immediately to discuss how to use this new batch of equipment to contribute to the Ming Dynasty. Create more wealth, and at the same time, you must continue to research, find ways to shrink this steam engine, and find ways to use it in other machines!”
Zhu Houzhao immediately gave instructions.
Now he knows that this kind of steam machinery that marks the arrival of the Industrial Revolution will completely change history and bring new changes to the Ming Dynasty, and now he has to think about how to deal with this change.
The appearance of the steam engine soon became household news, but the company that manufactured and sold this steam-powered spinning machine was still a government-owned company of the Ming Dynasty, and it only sold to the government-owned Weaving Bureau of foreign trade, in order to Preliminary protection now also requires traditional textile workshops that utilize a large number of workers for spinning operations to avoid causing a large number of workers to become unemployed in a short period of time.
The author is feeling stuck today and has run out of ideas for writing. He has only managed to squeeze out 6,000 words so far and has barely published them. As of now, the scope of writing has become wider and wider, and the difficulty of writing has also increased. You will definitely encounter these problems when writing a long novel. The problem is that the author is not a master, so it is difficult for him to write every word accurately and every chapter to be wonderful. However, he can guarantee that he will try his best to write and strive to write a complete story.
(End of chapter)