What Emperor Chongzhen wanted Song Yingxing to do was actually to cross the cement among the Three Treasures.
If glass can be burned out, there will be no problem with cement. However, cement has one special feature compared to glass, which is that it has to be broken into powder.
If this process relies on manpower, although manpower is very cheap at this time, the total cost is still very high. After all, the demand for cement is very high, and we rely on manpower to do this. I don’t know how many people are needed.
But now that the steam engine has been built, it is powered by burning gas, and it is much simpler to use the steam engine to smash things continuously.
Compared with glass, cement is not so profitable. Its main use is to build roads and build houses. When the imperial court was not financially wealthy before, it really could not afford to consume large-scale cement.
But things are different now. The court has money, and this confidence is enough. The advent of cement for infrastructure construction will enable large-scale infrastructure construction. With steam engines and cement, the transportation of Ming Dynasty will be greatly changed. By then, the radiation power of the central court will also be greatly enhanced.
In the foreseeable future, all roads in Daming will be built with cement, and roads from counties to villages will also be improved. Only under such a premise can the ancient situation of imperial power not extending to counties be changed.
If transportation is inconvenient, even if there are officials at the village and town levels, it will be useless. This is probably what is meant by the saying that the sky is high and the emperor is far away.
In addition, due to the floods in the south and drought in the north caused by the Little Ice Age, the emergence of cement can also greatly alleviate the floods in the south.
However, overall, it will take a long time for the improvement of transportation infrastructure to see results.
"...In short, after the invention of this cement, it has the function of bonding mud and sand. It can be used in building roads, bridges, houses, etc." Emperor Chongzhen explained to Song Yingxing, "If it is combined with steel bars, not only You can build a bridge in the water without falling down, you can build a building very high without collapsing, the heavy rain is heavy, but the road is no longer muddy..."
At the first moment, Song Yingxing and others thought of glutinous rice juice. In the past, when building city walls or building houses for wealthy people, glutinous rice juice was used to glue them together. This cost is very high, and it is not affordable for ordinary people.
But according to what the emperor said, this cement is just made of sand and gravel. With the help of steam engines, not only will the cost be cheaper, but the output will be very high, and it can be used in so many places. The invention of this cement will have a great impact on people's livelihood. The changes can be imagined!
It is based on this understanding that after Emperor Chongzhen's introduction, Song Yingxing saluted him very solemnly and said in a decisive tone: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will bake the cement as quickly as possible!"
The only difficulty in firing this cement was that Emperor Chongzhen did not remember the proportion of lime and clay. This required Song Yingxing to constantly experiment to obtain the cement with the best performance.
After this cement is fired, we can continue to study the addition of other materials to cement to create cement for various uses. I have to say that this is a simple introduction to cement, but the knowledge is very profound and requires a lot of time and money to explore.
The prince Zhu Cixiang who was standing next to him was very envious when he heard this. He was obviously ready to make cement. When Emperor Chongzhen saw it, he smiled and said to him: "You can't bite off more than you can chew. The application of steam engines is also a big deal." There is a long way to go. When it can be used on carriages and ships, it will be considered a staged victory. When that time comes, I can give you a new thing to tinker with."
"Thank you, Father!" Zhu Cihong was very happy after hearing this, and quickly replied, "I must apply steam engines to carriages and ships as soon as possible!"
Others watching on the side, including Bi Maokang, Song Yingxing and others, were a little stunned. Because they couldn't imagine how knowledgeable the emperor was to have so many abilities?
It is said that Confucians do not believe in ghosts and gods, but at this moment, they really doubt it. If Emperor Chongzhen was really not the real Dragon Emperor or a deity descending to earth, how could he know so much?
…………
The next day, the news about the Bingzhan Bureau spread. When the people in the capital heard about it, there was another discussion. This should be a common practice.
But this time, they weren't talking about building a steam engine.
To be honest, although the steam engine has been discussed since Emperor Chongzhen mentioned it in his lectures to the prince, for the people of the Ming Dynasty at this time, this steam engine was a bit mysterious after all, and could not really be used for carriages, carriages, etc. Not many people on the ship would be very shocked.
Compared with this steam engine, the crown prince's title of "Machine Master" was the topic they were most concerned about and discussed the most.
"Tell me, what is this? The prince still needs to be given the title of master?"
"Why can't it be sealed? The prince has built that steam engine, which is very useful to the Ming Dynasty. The emperor has given it a seal. Is there any problem?"
"Yes, the prince has received the title of Machine Master, which means that the prince has the level of a master in building this machine. This is the prince's ability, why can't he have it?"
"But, the prince, the prince is the future emperor of our Ming Dynasty. Can the emperor still have the title of these craftsmen? This is too ridiculous!"
"What's ridiculous? Didn't the former Emperor Zhengde proclaim himself a general? Isn't this equivalent to a master of war? Besides, these master and grandmaster titles are not craftsman titles, okay? I am the first in the Ming Dynasty to get it. The person who conferred the title of Master is Master Bi. Do you think Master Bi is a craftsman?"
"..."
The common people in the capital hold different opinions because of their different backgrounds. Especially those who are old-fashioned and stubborn will find it difficult to accept the prince being awarded the title of Machine Master.
But no matter how difficult it is for them to accept, this matter has been finalized and they cannot change it.
Only a few memorials were handed over to Emperor Chongzhen's desk, saying that the appointment of the prince as a machine master was too absurd and inconsistent with etiquette, and he advised the emperor to withdraw the order.
Emperor Chongzhen originally didn't want to pay attention to these memorials, so he just left them alone. However, when he thought about it later, he gave special instructions. He said that the invention of the steam engine was a major event that benefited the country and the people, and it was a virtue and merit of the prince. In this case, I will commend you. What's wrong with that?
There were originally many people who supported the crown prince's appointment as Machine Master, and there were even more people because Emperor Chongzhen's prestige was high enough that anything Emperor Chongzhen did must be right.
Now that it has been raised to the level of benefiting the country and the people and virtuous merit, they all stand up to support Emperor Chongzhen's statement. For a while, the old stubborn can be drowned by just saliva.
After Empress Zhou heard about this, she had opinions as Zhu Cixiang expected. However, after Emperor Chongzhen explained, he was no longer stubborn. To her, it was certainly better for the prince to be recognized by the emperor than to be reprimanded.
Everyone thought that when this matter passed like this, Emperor Chongzhen issued another imperial edict, causing another sensation in the capital. It can even be said that wherever the news was received, there was a sensation.
This imperial edict was Emperor Chongzhen telling the people of the world that he wanted to create a list of No. 1 Scholars with 365 lines. Of course, this number one scholar is not qualified to be an official like the number one scholar in the imperial examination. After the rankings are determined, they will be entered into the imperial list of top candidates, which will be printed and distributed to the world, making it known to the people all over the world. In addition, Emperor Chongzhen also deposited one million taels from the internal treasury into the bank, and the interest earned was used to reward the top 365 champions.
This idea, Emperor Chongzhen actually came from the Guinness Book of Records in later generations, which was to inspire the people of the Ming Dynasty to bravely strive to be the first in all walks of life.
The reason why this news caused a sensation in the world is that this matter can be said to be a matter of fame and fortune.
The name is the number one scholar, recorded by the royal family, and praised all over the world. This is an absolute temptation for those who are not short of money.
Profits, as long as you get the top prize, you will get rewards. Although they are not many, if you have such ability, it will be in vain if you don't get them! In addition, there is another very big benefit. For example, the wine, dishes, objects, etc. made by the number one scholar will naturally be the most popular items. It is completely unimaginable how much profit there will be.
Therefore, after this decree was issued, everyone began to inquire about the specific regulations of this top pick list? Which industries can be included, how to compare them, etc.
Only Emperor Chongzhen can answer these questions.
Not long after, Emperor Chongzhen announced the specific details. According to the classification in "Tiangong Kaiwu", all things can be competed, and the competition is divided into the northern and southern capitals. The twelve supervisors, four divisions and eight bureaus in the palace will allocate manpower to confirm the competition records.
Of course, it's impossible to say how perfect this rule is. There will definitely be a lot of problems in this, but it doesn’t matter. We are all trying to cross the river by feeling the stones. We can only improve it step by step during the hosting process.
Emperor Chongzhen thought about all kinds of highest records of human movement, and finally decided to wait until this matter was started first, and then slowly join in. By the way, sports games can be held in the future.
For now, this top pick list needs to be completed first. For Emperor Chongzhen, there was actually profit in it, it was up to him whether he wanted it or not.
The printed list of top picks is printed with numbers. At least those who are on the list will definitely buy a copy for their collection, right? Maybe I will buy some more and give them to my relatives and friends.
If someone else prints and sells such a very commemorative thing, it is estimated that not many people will buy it. If you dare to fake the royal printing, you will have a long life.
On a yearly basis, if this top pick list is updated every year, there will be another large number of sales.
If this continues, it is completely conceivable that the royal family will definitely gain from running this top pick list.
But for Emperor Chongzhen, he didn't care about making money. What he cares about is encouraging the people of Ming Dynasty to strive for excellence.
While he was busy with this matter, an urgent report arrived.
