In the past, it was a boat traveling from the south to the north and a horse traveling from the north. In the future, it will be a boat traveling from the south to the north. The horse-drawn carriage is replaced by a train. It sounds good, but it remains to be seen how it will work out.
After Chongzhen arrived in Nandu, he specially asked the local learned people if they knew anything that could run thousands of miles on just coal. The results are self-evident.
They say they are well-educated, but in fact all they have learned is rotten Confucianism. They all have awe-inspiring righteousness and talk a lot, but in fact they cannot help the court in the slightest.
Chongzhen felt a chill in his heart. With such virtue, a hundred rotten scholars would not be able to defeat a single Donglu soldier, and among them there were a large number of people who were greedy for life and afraid of death.
After killing a few proud ones, most of the remaining rotten scholars did as the treacherous son said. They knelt down and begged for mercy, bowed their hands and saluted, and called the old captive chief their ancestor...
Can corrupt scholars save the Ming Dynasty?
If this were true, Chongzhen would be able to laugh even in his dreams!
The papers of this year's palace examination were brought to the learned people for viewing. Except for the eight-legged essay question, all of them were considered by the corrupt scholars to be against the ancestral system. They all asked the prince to change it to the original appearance, otherwise they would have to boycott the three examinations.
Is the traitor afraid of resistance from the rotten scholars?
Of course not!
From now on, the Northern Court will definitely recruit students from the eight corners of the north, and the same will be true for the Southern Court. No matter how much the scholars from Jiangnan oppose it, it will be of no use.
If the Northern Court doesn't accept students from the Southern Court, what's the point of boycotting it?
This is clearly a boycott for yourself!
Embarrass the emperor!
Chongzhen thought about it for a long time on the way to transfer. After repeated consideration, he also understood the benefits of improving the imperial examination.
Western learning is used by our Ming Dynasty. Taking the dross and the essence will definitely be a long-term solution in the future.
If the Southern Court remained the same and the Northern Court improved the imperial examination, over time, the candidates produced by the two would be very different.
Even during the palace examination, it was found that some cheated, some were ignorant of grains, and some were illiterate. You can imagine how bad the situation below was.
The cheating in the palace examination, bribery of the examiners, and custom nouns made Chongzhen Longyan furious. These worms were simply arrogant.
Fortunately, all the traitors have been dealt with. Otherwise, if a group of idiots were recruited in the imperial examination, how would the court lose its face?
Just that weird question - what? What next? What? What? What fat? What is thin? What's thin? What's thick?
In terms of answer, this is a typical Confucian question.
The results of it?
Being criticized by a group of rotten scholars as being incomprehensible, how can it be used as a title?
In fact, a group of people have not come up with the correct answer, so they can only answer like this, which is considered arrogant.
After Chongzhen announced the correct answer, everyone suddenly realized it, but they snorted coldly and simply stopped talking.
Privately, he even slandered the prince. This question and answer must have been plagiarized. He deliberately made things difficult for all the scholars. It was really abominable!
When Chongzhen received the report from the factory guard, he sighed deeply. These things that were originally at a loss were actually narrow-minded, petty-minded, careless, and unwilling to make progress.
If the imperial court appoints such ignorant and shameless officials in the future, they will sooner or later transform into worms that line their own pockets. What future does the Ming Dynasty have?
The traitor wanted to open up the country, and actually did so, but in Jiangnan, this method was completely unworkable, and would also attract countless abuses and protests!
Scholars like romance and want the emperor to be diligent and good!
The scholars liked to collude with merchants and asked the court to levy more agricultural taxes!
Scholars like to strategize and ask the king to defeat powerful enemies!
This is called a typical example of "doing to others what you don't want others to do to you"!
When does the West Lake singing and dancing close?
Not to mention Hangzhou, this is the case throughout Jiangnan.
Can singing and dancing defeat the Donglu and revive the Ming Dynasty?
The scholars felt that this was not a contradiction. After shouting heroic words in front of the rear residence, they turned around and went to have fun.
After listening to Li Rixuan's remarks just now, Chongzhen couldn't help but be moved by the scene, and planned to use Beiting's test paper for the Spring Palace Examination.
The Eight-legged Essay is not useless, and it is not that there are no talented people. For example, Hong Chengchou is one of the best.
But the current use of eight-part essays for palace examinations is obviously outdated and cannot keep pace with the times.
Northern Capital is making progress almost every day, but what about Southern Capital?
It is simply standing still, and what is even more frightening is that if no changes are made, it will still be the same in three years.
This has been true for three years, but what about thirty years?
Chongzhen felt that he had no problem living for another thirty years. He had never thought about what Nandu would be like by then.
But that nunzi had initially planned Beidu's development plan for the next thirty years. In comparison, the gap was so huge!
In Beidu, there will be airships and even flying machines called airplanes in the sky, railway trains on the ground, and cars on the road.
Every family can talk on the phone, have electric lights at night, live in a building where you can stay at home, and enjoy the convenience of coal heating in winter.
Due to the highly developed industry and commerce, there are many factories and shops everywhere, everyone has a job, and even women can earn a good salary, so supporting their families is no problem at all.
What about Nandu?
There are still horse-drawn carriages on the streets, and the people still live in dilapidated mud houses. At night, except for the palaces, wealthy families, and places of romance, everything else is dark.
Since there are no public toilets, it is easy to pick up extremely disgusting things when you go out. Beggars can be seen everywhere, and people starve to death every day.
Does this look like the capital of the Ming Empire?
Chongzhen didn’t dare to think about it anymore!
Originally, there were a lot of scum in the northern capital, but I didn't expect that when I moved to the southern capital, I found that there were even more scum here.
After living in Nandu for a period of time, Chongzhen’s intuitive feeling was that the Ming Dynasty was full of ministers who had subjugated the country!
The army of Donglu made the Ming Dynasty's army very difficult to defend against!
The minister of the country's subjugation made the Ming Emperor very difficult to guard against!
From this point of view, Wei Zhongxian really thinks about the emperor brother at all times...
It’s too early to kill Wei Zhongxian!
Otherwise, Dong Lin would not dare to be so arrogant and spend all his time scheming against the emperor.
It's too late to kill Yuan Chonghuan!
Otherwise, Man Gui and Mao Wenlong would not have died, and with Zu Dashou, the war outside the pass would not have become so bad.
Having that treacherous son in the north can save him a little bit of worry. The worst thing is that he defeated Huang Taiji this time, which can be regarded as making up for it.
But these scum around me are looking for trouble every day and don't let themselves think too hard. They are fighting for power and wealth under the guise of serving the imperial court.
"The top priority of the Ministry of Industry is to work with the Ministry of Household Affairs to complete the two matters of Lianghuai Coal Mine and Ma'anshan Iron Mine. I will give you 10% of the shares of each of the two ministries. I will not let the two ministries sit back and enjoy the gains! My order to Han Zanzhou is to The land enclosure will be completed before the end of the year and will be mined officially after the year. The prince will also send people to stay at the mine to be responsible for supervising mining, smelting, transportation and accounting. Dear friends, you should learn more, listen more, and see more, and follow the instructions sent by the prince. The advanced methods and methods learned from the people can be used in many projects in various places under the jurisdiction of Nanting in the future."
Compared with the capable personnel in the north who had been trained by the traitor for a long time, the officials in Nanting had nothing to do with mining matters.
Chongzhen gave one member each to the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Household, just to pay taxes openly and tax-free, which was in line with the new order of ten taxes and two taxes, so that he could personally demonstrate and lead by example.
The treacherous son accounted for 20%, the imperial court accounted for 20%, and the remaining 60% belonged to Chongzhen. Chongzhen believed that this arrangement was very safe.
In the Ma'anshan mining area, ore was mined and smelted into steel. Compared with Guangdong and Fujian, the road distance was shortened by half, and transportation to the northern capital would definitely have a huge cost advantage.
After it begins to take shape, iron smelting can earn at least five million taels of silver per year based on five million kilograms of iron, or even more. It will quickly become a major money-making industry.
Chongzhen's plan was that within five years, the Ma'anshan Iron Mine could generate an annual income of one million taels of silver. Together with the associated copper in the mine, it could provide Nanting with approximately 300,000 to 500,000 taels of silver.
However, as of now, the people below are really a bunch of waste. They are controlled by others and are really embarrassing. The prospect of the iron ore project worries Chongzhen.
"Your Majesty, can Beiting really purchase so much steel?"
Of course Zhang Shenyan, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, hopes that the Maanshan iron ore can be mined smoothly. On the one hand, it can provide silver to the court, and on the other hand, it can also provide livelihood for the people. It is the best of both worlds.
"Of course, the prince has raised a million taels of funds specifically for the construction of railways. Railways are inseparable from rails. Even trains are made of steel. The prince also wants to build a large number of steel-based structures in the new city of Beidu. I think the house is sturdier than the house with wooden frame. I have also seen a material called 'cement', which is similar to soil and can be mixed with water. It is perfect for laying bricks. After it dries, its hardness is comparable to stone, far better than ordinary soil. The new city wall is built with this material and city bricks, which is truly indestructible. The prince and his wife used cement, steel bars, and masonry to build high-rise buildings, truly covering a wide area. Tens of thousands of buildings will benefit thousands of households!”
Chongzhen also wanted to do this, but unfortunately the court was not well-off and he did not have more professional architects on hand.
It would be much easier to wait until the traitor built a new-style house in the northern capital and then order him to send people to the southern capital.
"Your Majesty, I read from the Xiyi books that the Xiyi have already built buildings with up to five or six floors all over the west. I think His Highness the Prince can do the same, and maybe even better. I think it is a blessing for our Ming Dynasty. !”
Regarding this aspect, the first assistant Qu Shiqi felt that he still had a little say in it, because he had seen similar drawings in the book provided by the warlock.
Few of his colleagues had this experience, because Qu Shichun was baptized by the sorcerer Jules Aleni and was named "Thomas", so his vision was broader than that of ordinary Ming officials.
"I have also seen the houses built by the Western Yi people. When it comes to palaces, my Ming Dynasty is naturally more magnificent. But compared to Min's House, my Ming Dynasty must learn from the Western Yi people. Improving the living conditions of the people is also a great good thing. But In terms of fire prevention, the prince did a good job. A large number of wooden barrels, half of which were filled with water and sand, were deployed in every place in the rear residence. Oil fires were extinguished with sand barrels, and wooden fires were extinguished with water barrels. In various places in the northern capital, fire pits were built. We have organized multiple fire-fighting teams to quickly rush to the scene of the incident and extinguish the fire so as not to affect the neighbors. But in the final analysis, most of our houses in Daming are made of wood. Compared with the masonry houses in Xiyi, wood is easy to catch fire. , and it is really difficult to extinguish. If steel bars can be used as the skeleton, driven into the ground half a foot deep, and then constructed with bricks and stones, this house will not only be difficult for water to catch fire, but will also be warm in winter and cool in summer, making it more suitable for ordinary people to live. However, In view of the huge differences between our Ming Dynasty and Xiyi in many aspects, this matter must be done step by step and cannot be rushed. I am focusing on mining the Maanshan iron ore for the future prosperity of the Ming Dynasty, especially in the Jiangnan area. The iron ore is smelted As steel, it can be used in a variety of ways. It can be used for military purposes and for civil use. It can be used to build rails and buildings. It can be used to make vehicle frames and kitchen knives. The prince told me that in the future, all products will be made of steel. A completed battleship. I am doubtful about this thing. But Dean Song Yingxing of the Beiting Academy of Sciences thinks it may be feasible. What do you dear ladies think?"
Chongzhen finally got to the point where he could show off his knowledge in front of the ministers. He had been a student for a long time in Beidu, and now he was able to feel proud.
It seems that there is no harm in learning more new knowledge. On the contrary, it can suppress those people with ulterior motives. In the future, I can use this advantage to clean up many scum.
"..."
What?
Steel battleship?
Can it still survive?
How can this be true?
When the emperor raised this issue to everyone, the discussion started again.
Even the first assistant Qu Shichun, who had a broader vision, was a little dumbfounded when he heard this. He signaled to the second assistant Gao Hongtu. The latter also shook his head, feeling that it was so ridiculous that he had never heard of it.
Even children know how heavy steel is. A warship made of this material can actually float on the water. Isn't this a bit exaggerated?
If an airship can take off, at least it has a sky lantern as a reference. The airship can be regarded as a large sky lantern.
However, this steel battleship...
What to use as a reference?
Everyone really can’t think of it!
The prince just told his father that such objects are not heavy and can float. You can't say that the prince is deceiving the emperor, right?
If he had come to a conclusion first, if the prince really did it using immortal magic, he would no longer be a human being inside and out.
Therefore, it is better to reserve opinions first and then evaluate it after the object is actually created.
"Hushan (Huang Degong), do you believe this thing can float on the water?"
Chongzhen looked at the people talking about it below and planned to pick one out and ask.
"I won't believe it, but I will believe that the prince can make this thing!"
Huang Degong didn't know what Emperor Chongzhen's attitude was about this, so he thought of a compromise.
In this way, the responsibility falls entirely on the prince. If the prince cannot create it, then it is the prince's fault.
As soon as these words came out, the civil servants all expressed their disdain for this guy. It is really abominable that a reckless man has learned to please both sides!
"What do you dear ladies think?"
"..."
No one in the group wanted to be the first to take a stand, and they all remained silent.
"Like Hushan, I don't believe that this thing can float on the water. But like Hushan, I also believe that the prince can make this thing!"
Huang Degong provided Chongzhen with a standard answer, so Chongzhen could deal with it readily.
"..."
Isn’t this inconsistent statement?
But thinking about it carefully, that’s all I can say.
In terms of emotion and reason, you have to at least give the prince some respect.
If the prince can really use immortal magic to make steel battleships and sail across the ocean, won't the Ming Navy be invincible and invincible in the future?
This is a great thing. It may reflect the grand occasion of Zheng He's voyages to the West during the Chengzu period, or it may be that someone is better than his predecessor!
Steel battleship? ? ?
Tsk tsk!
It seems to be very interesting, and both civil servants and generals are looking forward to that day...
"Your Majesty, did His Majesty the Crown Prince send someone to deliver the airship that His Majesty purchased for the Brave Guard Battalion?"
The steel battleship is far away in the horizon, and Huang Degong can only be interested in visible and tangible weapons.
"Exactly, twenty airships and training personnel will arrive in Nandu in the near future. Ai Qing is ready and will send his men to learn the skills of piloting airships as soon as possible!"
In order to buy these twenty airships, Chongzhen had to spend 300,000 taels of silver, which was quite painful.
Fifteen thousand taels of silver for a ship is equivalent to supporting one hundred and fifty elite horsemen.
The total price of twenty airships is equivalent to training three thousand elite cavalry with outstanding combat power, so these airships are extremely expensive!
However, even the East Palace Guards and Guards Battalion under the control of the traitor were equipped. As the Emperor's Brave Guard Battalion, naturally they could not lag behind.
Chongzhen gritted his teeth and wanted to buy some for the Yongwei camp, even if it was just for demonstration and to decorate the lintel!
