Chongzhen and I became partners

Chapter 321
This unexpected bet was that Emperor Chongzhen took advantage of these well-educated Confucians who did not understand science, and forcibly won them once in terms of knowledge.It was tantamount to winning at what they were best at. This feeling put Emperor Chongzhen in a very good mood!

Therefore, at this time, he is full of achievements, so he doesn't care about other things, and drives to inspect the nearby Tongzhou Bay.

After all, the purpose of Tongzhou Railway Station is to connect Tongzhou and Jingshi for material transportation, so it is naturally built next to the port.

Of course, if Emperor Chongzhen wanted to inspect, the factory guards would naturally clear the place, and ordinary people nearby could only stay inside.

But even so, it does not hinder the interest of Emperor Chongzhen and his wife and children.

In this Tongzhou Bay, there are still ships specially reserved for the emperor and senior officials of the Ming Dynasty.Emperor Chongzhen had been in the palace for a long time, and he was also very curious about these things. During his inspection, he thought about boarding a boat to have a look.

However, when he was about to go up, for some reason, it suddenly flashed in his mind that his brother fell into the water and got sick, and eventually he couldn't afford it, so he stopped temporarily and let Queen Zhou and others board the boat to have a look .

And Emperor Chongzhen himself pointed to the ships in front of him, and said to the courtiers who were following behind him: "I will ask you, what did you think of when you saw these ships?"

He Fengsheng and the others were a little puzzled when they heard this. They looked up and glanced at so many ships in Tongzhou Bay, and were speechless for a moment.

However, since the emperor asked a question, he couldn't do without answering, so he tried to answer: "A hundred battles?"

"A lot of waste is waiting to be done?"

"Guotai Minan?"

"..."

They guessed one, Emperor Chongzhen shook his head, and guessed another, Emperor Chongzhen shook his head again, but no one guessed what the emperor meant.

So, they turned their heads almost unanimously to look at the eunuch, the supervisor of ceremonies, and the eunuch. Isn't this a roundworm in His Majesty's stomach? He should have guessed it, right?

However, at this time, Wang Cheng'en was smiling and accompanying him as Emperor Chongzhen, ignoring their consulting eyes.

After waiting for a while, Emperor Chongzhen saw that they still couldn't figure it out, so he smiled and said to them: "Look at things to learn, and then think it is practical. Looking at these ships, can't you think of how to improve them?"

When He Fengsheng and the others heard this, their faces turned reddish: Your Majesty, this is actually a test of their knowledge!
Could it be that he is showing off his scientific knowledge again?
Although they thought so in their hearts, there was nothing they could do.Because, the emperor mentioned the reason of studying things to gain knowledge, and this is what the sages advocated and emphasized!
Thinking of this, they looked at the densely parked boats on the water again, and tried hard to think, how can these boats be improved?What is the reason for being able to figure things out?
Seriously, at this moment, the minds of these talented top talents of Ming Dynasty are completely muddled!
Only Song Yingxing, who was behind them, laughed silently, because he knew what the emperor wanted to say!
The emperor had already discussed this matter with him, and it was something he planned to do in the next stage.However, there is not enough manpower at present, and all available manpower is allocated to the Railway Department. First, we must ensure the construction of railways and the operation of steam trains.

But even though Song Yingxing guessed it, he didn't say anything.Obviously, he didn't want to disturb the emperor's pleasure.Besides, these high-ranking officials of the Ming Dynasty should be more impressed, so that it will be easier to promote scientific knowledge!
"Why, Qing and others can't think of any of them?" Emperor Chongzhen looked at his subordinates in a very happy mood, but asked in pretended surprise, "I thought Qing and others had already gained something after taking the steam train. Maybe he came up with something and benefited all people in the world!"

As soon as he said this, even though these people were veterans in the officialdom, they couldn't help but blush.

You know, they are all proud.Especially in terms of knowledge, they all came out of fighting among tens of thousands of people in the Ming Dynasty, walked out of the single-plank bridge of the imperial examination, and then spent decades in the officialdom before they achieved today's achievements.

In terms of talents and knowledge, to be honest, each of them felt that they were definitely better than the emperor's talents and knowledge!
There should be no doubt about this!

However, now, just losing a bet to Emperor Chongzhen is already very embarrassing.In front of Emperor Chongzhen, it was as if he was a villager who had never read a book. Apart from being shocked, he was still shocked!

Now, facing so many ships, after hearing the news from the emperor, no one can answer it, shame on you?

Absolute shame!

Even if they were veterans in the officialdom, they couldn't help but blush when they were questioned one after another by Emperor Chongzhen!
If it's just an obscene skill, then that's fine.

But now, the emperor has said that this study of knowledge will benefit all people in the world!And this is one of the purposes of Confucianism!Can it be said that something that benefits all people in the world is a strange skill?
Just like the steam train, who dares to say that it is a flashy and obscene skill?
When they were on the train, they all admitted that this is a great weapon of a great country!Benefit the country and the people!
Huang Zongzhou, the censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, who usually thinks he is knowledgeable, often contradicts Emperor Chongzhen, suddenly bowed to Emperor Chongzhen and said: "The old minister has little talent and learning, and I ask your Majesty to enlighten me on how to investigate things, improve ships, and benefit the people?"

As soon as he started like this, other people didn't like it, so they all followed suit and said to Emperor Chongzhen: "I have little talent and learning, please give me your Majesty's advice!"

Let them, who are knowledgeable and talented people, admit to their ignorance and lack of knowledge and ask for advice in front of themselves, instead of asking for advice because of the relationship between the monarch and his ministers, this made Emperor Chongzhen feel like a sunny day, and he was very happy.

But on the surface, I still have to pretend to be an old master, so I suppressed my joy and said to them with a smile: "Didn't you just take a steam train? Such heavy things are all made by steam engines through coal burning." , to convert heat energy into kinetic energy to pull the entire steam train. In this case, if the steam engine is refitted on this ship, then you say, this ship still needs this sail and people to pull it? Land transportation has a steam engine can be improved, can this water transportation be improved?"

"..." Huang Zongzhou and the others were shocked when they heard this, and were speechless for a while: This is also okay?
In fact, they can't even understand why steam trains have such great strength, so how could they possibly think about applying steam engines to ships!
Not to mention, in Emperor Chongzhen's words, it was the first time they had heard words such as converting heat energy into kinetic energy, and they couldn't understand it.

After thinking for a while, Ni Yuanlu asked Emperor Chongzhen with some doubts: "Your Majesty, I see that steam train is extremely huge and extremely heavy. It's fine to put it on land. If it's put on a boat, won't the boat sink? ?”

Someone asked, and it was scratching Emperor Chongzhen's itch, so he could be a teacher, so he immediately glanced at Ni Yuanlu approvingly, and then asked him: "Then I ask you, what if this ship is made of steel?"

Hearing this, Ni Yuanlu and the others couldn't help being startled, they glanced at each other, and in the end it was Ni Yuanlu who asked, "No wood?"

If the wooden boat is covered with iron sheets, then they can still figure it out.After all, wood floats in water, which is common sense.Add some tin, that's all right.

However, if it is all steel, from a cognitive point of view, this is a bit nonsense, right?

However, their intuition tells them that things that go against their cognition are not necessarily wrong.This point has been corrected several times by Emperor Chongzhen, and there are enough lessons.

When Emperor Chongzhen heard his question, he immediately smiled and said, "Of course we don't use wood, it's made of pure iron. What do you think?"

"..." The civil servants were speechless for a while, and then Huang Zongzhou asked tentatively, "Can this also float on water?"

Emperor Chongzhen laughed when he heard it, and then asked his courtiers solemnly: "What do you think is the principle of this thing floating in water? On weekdays, in this world and nature, can you have Zeng Ge's thing?" also?"

In layman's terms, he asked these courtiers, did they pay attention to the laws of these things in the world?

To be honest, if you ask these great Confucians who are proficient in the Four Books and Five Classics, you really can't know his question. Instead, ask the boatman, and you may get a similar answer.

Naturally, Emperor Chongzhen didn't really want an answer, but he wanted to make things difficult for his courtiers and hit them, so he deliberately tested them.

At this time, seeing that they couldn't answer, Emperor Chongzhen said lightly: "Forget it, I'm free today, so I will tell you about the rules between heaven and earth, you listen carefully!"

Having said that, he began to talk eloquently, such as buoyancy, density, volume, etc., blurting out, deliberately using some incomprehensible words.

Of course, there are actually some words, and he can't use others to replace the explanation. He just copied the words Liu Weichao said to him at the beginning.Anyway, the general meaning is understood.

"...In this way, no matter what it is, as long as the calculated buoyancy is large enough, it can float on the water." In the end, Emperor Chongzhen was a bit like an old master teaching students, teaching earnestly, "The same is true for steel, with the addition of a steam engine. The steel can do the same!"

Speaking of this, he pointed to so many ships in Tongzhou Bay, and then said with a little emotion: "If the ships are transformed in the future, and no longer depend on the wind force and direction, you can see how much it will bring to Daming. Convenience? Apart from other things, the east, west, north, and south are not enough to complement each other. Will the famine in a place in the future still starve to death in a place like today?"

After finishing speaking, he looked at He Fengsheng and the others, and said very seriously: "And these are all changes brought about by scientific knowledge. Learning this scientific knowledge well and applying it to the people is the blessing of all people in the world. Qing and others think Woolen cloth?"

(End of this chapter)