unclear

Chapter 866 ends abruptly
Just as Hong Tao was preparing his troops, building large-scale projects, and repairing various hidden dangers, intending to lead his army on a vigorous westward expedition, a woman who had been wiped out from the Ming Dynasty's political arena for a long time but whom no one could completely ignore suddenly passed away.

In the summer of the eighteenth year of Jingyang's reign (1622), Empress Dowager Wang of the Ming Dynasty passed away at the age of fifty-nine.

Hong Tao has neither love nor hate for this nominal mother, and he has both gratitude and resentment towards her in terms of personal relationships.

She had stretched out her hands to protect him when she was young. No matter whether her strength was strong enough or her movements were obvious, she did not just stand by and watch.

The reason why Concubine Zheng didn't dare to harm herself for many years was probably because she was afraid of her. Otherwise, even if Wang An was the best master in the palace, he would not be of much use.

But she played a negative role in the rebellion in the Yangxin Palace, and even participated in it mentally. Fortunately, she stopped in time and did not continue the confrontation, so the grudge was evened.

Since there was no love or hate, no gratitude or resentment, Hong Tao did not intend to interfere with this state funeral. The treatment and posthumous title of the empress dowager were all handled by the Ministry of Rites according to the rules. Of course, the new "Great Ming Law" must be followed, and there was no mourning period of more than two years.

However, with this grand funeral that was mourned by the whole country, the emperor could not get away for at least three months, let alone lead his troops to war. Some preparations for the Western Expedition had to be temporarily shelved.

Hong Tao is a person who cannot sit still. He does not regard the heavy daily government affairs as a burden at all. He seems to be playing a huge epic strategy game with extremely rich content. He wants to create the shortest clearance record, and he devotes himself to it at all times, not allowing any time to be wasted.

Since he couldn't go to the army in person, he used this time to give lectures at universities, from history, geography to mathematics, chemistry, and almost every subject. Whether he was a good lecturer or not is another matter, but his spirit was commendable. He was often the first to come and the last to leave, and was known as the most diligent person in the university.

Even so, he forgot to eat and sleep, but still did not exhaust all his energy. At the end of November, the emperor instigated the Sun Moon Bank to hold a unique auction on Qipan Street. The amount of money involved was unprecedented, and the items auctioned were also unprecedented.

A total of 16 sets of drawings and supporting production process flow charts were auctioned. The largest set was only over 200 pages long and was the construction drawings of the Guangzhou-class armed cargo ship; the smallest set had only three pages and was the preparation process of copper sulfate solution. If it wasn't held down by a ruler, it would be blown away by a gust of wind.

But don't underestimate these papers, they are no less expensive than famous paintings and calligraphy, and are extremely popular among merchants from all over the country. The final total transaction price reached more than 6 million taels, which is higher than the annual tax paid by Guangdong or Fujian Province!

All of these drawings come from industries operated by Royal Holdings. None of them are the latest products. They are all obsolete products that have been in production for many years.

But among the people, almost every kind of product is a hot and popular commodity. As long as you get the production drawings and hire a few craftsmen who can understand the drawings and operate the equipment, you can make a lot of money immediately.

There is no way. Royal Holdings’ industrial output is limited. Even if it continues to expand its production capacity, its annual output cannot meet domestic demand, not to mention that most of it is sold to foreign businessmen.

If others want to imitate these products, they don't know the formula and craftsmanship. In fact, even if they know, they dare not. That is the emperor's property. How many people dare to rob the royal family's money? It's simply rebellious!

Now, the emperor has put the blueprints and process up for auction. Anyone who can grab a piece or even a half piece will definitely make a fortune. Because apart from the royal property, this is the only one of its kind. And there is no need to start promotion from scratch, the market has already been developed, and it can be sold as soon as it is produced.

"Do you see? This is the value of knowledge. Bookishness and money are not only not contradictory, but they complement each other. Reading books well and understanding them thoroughly can be exchanged for a lot of money. More money can buy more time, expand more horizons, read more books and understand them better.

The reason why I want to establish a university outside the imperial examination system is not to prove that I am wiser than the ancient sages, but to let everyone understand one thing: principles are not memorized, but proved through various means. Knowledge is not obtained through examinations, but should be reflected by value.

All the drawings at the auction were not made by me alone. They were finally perfected after years of hard work by many craftsmen and technicians.

I will take part of the silver from the auction, which is what I deserve. The rest will be distributed to the craftsmen and technicians who participated and made contributions, which is also what they deserve.

I dare not say that they became rich overnight, but at least a dozen craftsmen and technicians are now worth more than 100,000 taels. And their names will be forever engraved on the stone tablet outside the Meridian Gate.

Not only did he get benefits, but he also gained fame, promoted the new policy, and fed tens of millions of people. He gained fame, wealth, and virtue! It was beneficial to individuals, families, and the court.

Among you are the best of new schools from all over the world, craftsmen and technicians, as well as the best in the military. I hope that in the future you will be able to create more drawings through your own efforts and talents, and shine at the auction.

Being an official is not the only way out, that is just a clever trick. Real wisdom is not to play with people, to figure out people, or to manage and solidify existing people and things.

Instead, we explore, analyze, and summarize the laws of all things in the world, and draw energy from them to create new things that do not exist at all but can be used by people. I think this is the Tao, the Way of Heaven!
Next, I took out my geography book and turned to the European volume. Today I will talk about Spain. Yes, it was the Portuguese who once occupied the Luzon Special Zone and were defeated by the navy.

Their kingdom originally had unique advantages and was the richest and most powerful among all European countries. But after only a hundred years of leading, the advantage became smaller and smaller, and there were even signs of being surpassed. How did all this happen and what was the root cause? "

Hong Tao did not show up at the auction, which was entirely handled by Sun Moon Bank. But he showed up at the university the day after the auction, and gave a chicken soup speech between classes, using practical results to once again explain the purpose of studying and learning, while also once again subverting many concepts in traditional culture.

Hong Tao is not sure whether it will work, but he believes that the direction is right. Whether it is a country or a nation, if it wants to lead in the short term, it can rely on population, geographical advantages and military strength, but if it wants to be prosperous for a long time, it must rely on education.

This education is very different from the imperial examination education that only respects Confucianism. Not only can it not be the only one, but it can also not abolish all other schools of thought. Regardless of whether the knowledge system taught by the new school is right or wrong, it must serve as a model for breaking superstition and worship.

Only by encouraging intellectuals to imagine boldly and verify things carefully, and creating an environment where a hundred flowers can bloom, can we have Einstein and Newton, and even the Laozi, Mencius, Sun Tzu and Confucius of our time.

(End of this chapter)