"Xuankaiwu Secretary Foreign Minister Song Yingxing is here to see you!" Wang Chengen shouted at the mulberry tree, and then spread it loudly.
When many civil and military officials heard this, they thought it was related to Song Yingxing. So what did he do?
Out of curiosity, almost all the officials turned around to varying degrees and looked back.
After a while, Song Yingxing was seen walking at the front, followed by a group of servants coming up, holding or carrying things.
Almost all the civil and military officials, even the Jin Yiwei and others took a closer look and were immediately dumbfounded: Where did they come from so many crystals?
That's right, the things in the hands of these chamberlains are very transparent, like crystal.
However, just as they were thinking this, they heard Song Yingxing shouting to Emperor Chongzhen: "I have received your majesty's trust, and now I can finally make colorless glass in different shapes. Please take a look at it!"
From the first meeting with Emperor Chongzhen in the twelfth year of Chongzhen, the emperor told him to bake this glass and provided many ideas. As a result, it was not completed until the beginning of the sixteenth year of Chongzhen. The most important thing is that this still uses the power of the imperial court, calling on the best craftsmen in the Ming Dynasty, working together to solve problems when they encounter them, and finally handing in this answer sheet.
Song Yingxing was not very happy about this, because he knew from the emperor that Xiyi had been able to make glass for a long time, but the Ming Dynasty had only made it now, so what was there to be proud of!
At this time, although Emperor Chongzhen knew it, he still looked closely and saw the glass that Song Yingxing had placed in front of the emperor. It had various shapes, including hollow, solid, tubular, and flat...
Among them, there were glassware for chemical experiments specially requested by Emperor Chongzhen, and Song Yingxing fired them all. In addition, flat glass is actually relatively difficult. Now Song Yingxing has also made it. Not bad, not bad!
Emperor Chongzhen praised it repeatedly in his heart and was very happy.
In this way, I believe that chemistry will be able to develop by leaps and bounds.
The glass industry is not only widely used in daily life, but also greatly helps chemistry. Before the Ming Dynasty, glass could not be made because it was transparent and colorless. In other aspects, Ming Dynasty actually already has a foundation.
Among them, Yanshen Town in Shandong is an important production area of the ancient glass industry of the Ming Dynasty. The glass products produced such as beaded lamp screens, chess games, tent hooks, pillow tops, etc. are not only unique in style, but also pure in color. They can be produced in various colors according to needs. , but it cannot be colorless and transparent. During this period, die casting and compression molding technology was also available, and blowing technology was also in use.
All in all, the only thing missing from Daming's glass industry is colorless and transparent. Therefore, although Ming Dynasty's glasses and telescopes were already made, their raw materials were still made of crystal.
At this time, Emperor Chongzhen was so excited that he even stepped down from the throne and approached these glass products. He did not need Song Yingxing to introduce them, and he happily introduced them to the civil and military officials.
"Did you see that this can be used on windows and roofs to make the house brighter?"
"Don't look at this small thing. When combined, it can be used to see far away. Yes, it is a telescope. In addition, it can also be used as myopia glasses, which is good news for Ming Dynasty scholars!"
"And this, there is a standard scale on it. Well, it is stipulated by me. In the future, the unit of measurement will be unified. With more experiments, it will be accurate. This will be of great help to my Ming Dynasty in many aspects..."
"..."
Emperor Chongzhen was so happy that he immediately started talking non-stop. Derived from the basic applications of glass, including the production principles of telescopes, magnifying glasses, and glasses, etc., the entire early morning court became his home court. , just watching him show off.
At this point in time in the late Ming Dynasty, this knowledge happened to be in an era of half understanding. Those Western missionaries brought Western knowledge, and many scholar-officials in the Ming Dynasty learned from it, such as Xu Guangqi and others.
Many of these things in the West are even shrouded in mystery. For example, there are rumors that these Westerners have a golden touch and can turn mercury into silver. Matteo Ricci recorded that a father and son in Zhaoqing believed in this and joined Western religion in order to learn this alchemy.
Some time ago, Emperor Chongzhen asked Song Yingxing and Chen Zilong to explain similar knowledge to the prince, which also had a certain impression on the scholar-bureaucrats of the Ming Dynasty.
If people who don’t understand listen to Emperor Chongzhen’s narration, they will be confused and have no idea what the level of knowledge is. However, if people of later generations listen to it, they will only have to go to school. In high school, everyone basically knows it, so it doesn't matter; but if these people who are a bit basic but don't understand it listen to it, it will seem advanced.
Suddenly, these civil servants and generals of the Ming Dynasty had the impression that the emperor's knowledge was really profound!
At the same time, many people's eyes were fixed on the pieces of glassware. Their other abilities may be average, but their sense of making money is unparalleled.
Not to mention anything else, just to solve the problem that scholars can't see clearly, no matter how much it costs, as long as they have money, they will buy it. And are scholars rich? Most readers are definitely rich!
Also, if the windows and roof tiles were replaced with this kind of flat glass, wouldn't the so-called bright and clean windows be what everyone is pursuing? When the light is good, you will be in a good mood when reading. If your family has some money, who would think this thing is expensive?
…
So, after Emperor Chongzhen finally finished speaking, many civil servants and generals began to ask the emperor insinuatingly, how would he deal with this glass?
Since Emperor Chongzhen took it out, of course he had already planned it. It was immediately announced that state-owned glass factories would be established in 13 provinces in the two capitals of the Ming Dynasty. The imperial court and the royal family would invest in technology, accounting for 51%, and the remaining 49% would be auctioned. Well, it's auctioned one by one. In this way, more people can participate. Of course, Emperor Chongzhen did not break his promise to Song Yingxing and announced it in public.
At this time, everyone looked at Song Yingxing, and his eyes were red.
This glass is definitely a cornucopia. The share auction will definitely fetch a sky-high price given Ming's wealth. Song Yingxing owns 1% of the shares. How much money he can get in that year is simply unimaginable!
This point, even at the end of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, glass was money, which was the consensus of everyone.
In the original history, in April of the 30th year of Guangxu's reign, Boshan Glass Company published a "prospectus" in Shanghai's "China and Foreign Daily" to recruit capital. According to Zhang Weiyong, an expert on literature and history in Boshan District, its stocks are divided into five classes: the first class has 1,000 taels of treasury silver per share, the second class has 500 taels of treasury silver per share, the third class has 100 taels of treasury silver per share, and the fourth class has 1,000 taels of treasury silver per share. The treasury silver for each share is fifty taels, and the treasury silver for each fifth-class share is ten taels. Refer to the bank deposit interest example, the interest is calculated at 5% and is settled at the end of the year. The profits are divided into 10%, 10% is remitted to the government, 10% is used as provident fund, 50% is used to expand reproduction, and 30% is used as "bonus".
However, the Boshan Glass Company ended up bankrupt, because all the technology and equipment were imported from Germany, and even the technicians were German. The monthly salary of the leader amounted to five to six hundred taels of silver. There are also three or four hundred taels. Each person is equipped with a horse, a groom and a cook. If you spend this money like this, even a cornucopia of money won't be enough. What's more, at the end of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, there were all kinds of disadvantages. It would be strange not to go bankrupt.
In this dimension, Song Yingxing had been secretly preparing for these years under orders. The technology and other things were all mastered by himself before he announced it. Being controlled by others does not exist. And the emperor looked on and distributed the profits to the wealthy people of all walks of life in the Ming Dynasty. Can this glass factory go bankrupt? That’s something strange!
The main reason why two capitals and thirteen provinces need to set up a glass factory is that transportation in this era is too inconvenient. If we only set up a glass factory in the capital, most of the sales cost of Southern Glass would be transportation, which would be very uneconomical.
According to Emperor Chongzhen's wishes, this glass product should not be sold too expensive. At least the glassware used for chemical experiments must be low-priced so that ordinary scholars can afford it. As for plate glass that is mainly used as luxury goods, it is okay to have a higher price. You can even use this high price to evenly spread the cost of glassware for chemical experiments.
As soon as Emperor Chongzhen's decree came out, taverns, teahouses, and businessmen all over the Ming Dynasty were all talking about the glass factory. Correspondingly, the deposits of Daming Royal Bank branches in two capitals and thirteen provinces began to grow rapidly again. After all, it is too inconvenient to carry physical money when auctioning shares.
In Emperor Chongzhen's plan, each province had a glass factory. Although it only covered the province, it still needed to build a large glass factory. Giving glass factory workers and workers in related industries more generous benefits would attract them to switch from cotton spinning and other industries. come out.
After the establishment of the glass factory, the number of eyeglass craftsmen increased rapidly, and there were more and more scholars wearing glasses on the streets of Ming Dynasty. After all, glass glasses are definitely much cheaper than crystal glasses. Ordinary scholars, even if they are not wealthy, can afford to wear it.
The changes brought about by this glass can be said to have profoundly begun to change the Ming Dynasty.
One thing that Emperor Chongzhen did not expect was that Song Yingxing's example made countless scholars indulge in the study of various items, and accordingly, it also promoted the popularization of physics and chemistry. They fantasize that if they can invent a new thing that can make money like Song Yingxing, they can make money lying down.
The chemistry industry, which can also be called alchemy in ancient China, was slowly declining. However, many emperors of the Ming Dynasty had a hobby of cultivating immortals, such as the famous Emperor Jiajing, which gave alchemy a second spring. Many chemical experiments, such as distillation to extract mercury, and industrial methods such as nitric acid, were already mature in the Ming Dynasty.
But in general, the West is still ahead. Even many chemical methods in the Ming Dynasty were passed down by Western missionaries. However, glass has always been hidden as a treasure in the West. Now that Song Yingxing has made it out under the orders of Emperor Chongzhen, it will definitely be a great promotion for the development of chemistry or alchemy in the Ming Dynasty.
Feeling the importance of this glass, Emperor Chongzhen even sighed in his heart: If future generations can know it, nothing else matters. You must understand the refining method of glass. What if you travel through time? This is definitely a time-travel weapon, one of a kind!
Because of the glass matter, Emperor Chongzhen began to pay attention to various Ming knowledge, and suddenly he made many new discoveries. It was during this Chongzhen period that many Western missionaries brought Western learning to the Ming Dynasty, from astronomy and calendar to geometry and mathematics, from human anatomy to Western learning, from iron smelting to various refinings, etc., many things were It may be summary, or it may be incomplete, or it may lack key things, but at any rate it is a scientific and systematic introduction to knowledge.
With this discovery, Emperor Chongzhen had to put his focus on sorting out this knowledge. Relatively speaking, in the Ming Dynasty, even Song Yingxing's "Tiangong Kaiwu" lacked a systematic discussion of science and technology. Xiyi has indeed gone ahead of Ming Dynasty in this regard.
If that's the case, why can't it be used?
Emperor Chongzhen had no psychological burden at all about this. Based on the knowledge he collected, he began to add what he knew and made certain modifications based on the actual situation of the Ming Dynasty to make it easier for the scholars of the Ming Dynasty. Read it.
It has to be said that Emperor Chongzhen is the only one in the world who can do this job. Moreover, this job is easy to say, but very time-consuming to do. Therefore, in addition to some necessary political affairs, Emperor Chongzhen spent most of his energy on this aspect.
As a result, the scientific and technological knowledge revised by Emperor Chongzhen immediately shocked the scholars of the Ming Dynasty. For example, a very simple thing is that since ancient times, people have always believed that the heart is the organ of thinking no matter what they think in the heart. However, the anatomy revised by Emperor Chongzhen clearly stated that the brain is the human organ for thinking.
Also, why do apples fall to the ground instead of the sky? It is because there is a mutual force between all things, which is the universal gravitation, which is related to mass. Newton's laws were announced in advance. It is a pity that Comrade Newton, who was born in January of the 16th year of Chongzhen, cannot become famous in the world with this.
Those Western missionaries had always wanted to get close to Emperor Chongzhen, and wanted to use this knowledge to open up a breakthrough in preaching in the Ming Dynasty. However, Emperor Chongzhen was too busy, and they never had the chance. When Emperor Chongzhen did not lead his troops to fight, they wanted to continue to approach Emperor Chongzhen, but suddenly they saw the books that Emperor Chongzhen had revised.
