The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 429 Untitled
Chen Jingke learned about the general situation of the bell tower, and after his repeated questioning, Wu Bingrang finally gave an exact time.

"Half a year... five months. It will take at least five months to complete."

"Any faster would affect quality and cost time and money, which is what you want to avoid."

Chen Jingke didn't think much about it. He didn't know much about construction, so he naturally had to listen to the professionals.

So I could only say regretfully: "Five months? Oh, I wanted to find you... Forget it, I'll find someone else."

"Wait." Wu Bingrang suddenly shouted, "What do you want to do with me?"

"You scared me so much." Chen Jingke glared at him and said unhappily:
"The Emperor ordered me to build a research institute. You should have heard about it."

Wu Bingrang nodded. Of course he had heard about such a big thing.

There are also rumors that they are researching practical engines.

This aroused the interest of many people.

Temperature difference engines have been around for many years, and many people have thought about how to make them practical.

But without exception they all failed.

Its biggest function till now is still to drive the fan blades to act as a fan.

Many people suspected that there might be other key structures that Chen Jingke had hidden and not told everyone.

Only by finding this structure can it be put into practical use.

However, due to Chen Jingke's special status, they did not dare to ask any further questions.

Now that Chen Jingke has taken action personally, everyone thinks that they guessed correctly and that he had indeed concealed something before.

Some people ridiculed him for being too servile.

But he was immediately slapped in the face by someone: "Isn't it enough that Chen Bandu has imparted knowledge to the world for free?"

"Medicine, mathematics, natural science... Which one of them has ever been rewarded?"

"Let alone the fact that all this is just speculation, even if he really did hide something on the engine, what would that do?"

"That's someone else's knowledge. I can teach it to whoever I want."

"What's more, now that the imperial court has established a research institute, isn't he bringing out the technology?"

"I wonder what contribution you have made to the world that you dare to bark here?"

Everyone around agreed that anyone could be accused of being selfish except Chen Jingke.

He gave away so many things for free.

"Yes, we can't ask others to make everything public just because they have a broad mind, right?"

"This means being strict with others and lenient with yourself..."

The man's face turned red after hearing what everyone said, and he left in shame.

The rest of the people were so happy that they felt as if they had won a great victory.

We sat together and started discussing engines, wondering if this research institute was researching engines.

If so, what should a practical engine look like?

This is generally the public opinion outside, and most people have no objection to his keeping his private life.

More attention was paid to the engine itself.

Wu Bingrang had worked with Chen Jingke before, and he also studied engines himself. He even tried to combine the engine with a tape recorder.

But the effect is not ideal.

But he was very concerned about Chen Jingke's every move.

Compared to outsiders, he knows more inside information.

For example, he knew that this research institute was used to study something called the steam engine.

When Chen Jingke said that he was looking for him because of the research institute, he immediately thought of this matter.

Could it be that you want me to study the steam engine together?

Although he didn't know what a steam engine was, it did not prevent him from knowing one thing.

Nothing is trivial when Chen Jingke takes action.

What's more, the retired emperor allocated a hundred skilled craftsmen at one go, and the Minister and Vice Minister of Works were almost crying.

It can be seen that this thing is something extraordinary.

You have to get involved.

Chen Jingke continued, "The institute is in need of a person who understands technology, administration, and is highly respected to serve as the director of the institute."

"After thinking about it, I think you, Wu Jianzheng, are the most suitable, so I want to..."

Wu Bingrang didn't even wait for him to finish and said impatiently, "I did it."

"Hmm?" Chen Jingke asked in surprise, "You are in charge of the Imperial Observatory and the bell tower. Do you still have the energy to be the director of the academy?"

Wu Bingrang said without hesitation: "I quit as the director of the Imperial Observatory. I will go to His Majesty to resign later."

"Ah?" Chen Jingke was very surprised and said quickly:

"No, no, no."

"The position of the Chief of the Imperial Observatory is so important that it must belong to you."

Wu Bingrang cursed: "It's not important at all, he's just a scapegoat."

"Thanks to you over the years, no one has attributed many natural disasters to God's will. Otherwise, I would have lost my head long ago."

Chen Jingke quickly comforted her, "Not really, not really. Your Majesty knows how hard you've worked. Don't be impulsive about resigning."

Wu Bingrang said seriously: "Do you think I really did this on impulse? Even if you hadn't invited me, I would have resigned after the bell tower was repaired."

"I have been the director of the Imperial Observatory for twenty years. It is time to leave. I must leave."

"As for the successor, you don't have to worry."

"In government offices like ours, we will train successors specifically, passing them down from generation to generation."

"Someone has already taken my place."

Chen Jingke paused for a moment and said, "I will go ask His Majesty first to see what he thinks."

Wu Bingrang said: "Just ask, this way everyone will feel at ease."

Chen Jingke nodded and prepared to turn around and leave.

His eyes swept across the bell tower, and he suddenly remembered something. He retracted his steps and looked Wu Bingrang up and down.

Wu Bingrang asked in confusion: "What's wrong?"

Chen Jingke sneered, "What if it takes five months to complete? What if it's too fast and affects the quality? Aren't you afraid now?"

Wu Bingrang said calmly without blushing:

"I just miscalculated. Three months will be enough. Three months at most."

"I guarantee that it won't affect the work of the institute."

Chen Jingke was speechless. No wonder this old man could serve as the director of the Imperial Observatory for twenty years and still get away with it.

Most people can't compare to this kind of shamelessness.

But no matter what, Wu Bingrang's joining can indeed save him a lot of trouble.

At least I don’t have to stay in the research institute all the time.
-
Afterwards, he went to the palace to find Zhu Biao and told him about Wu Bingrang.

Zhu Biao nodded and said, "Wu Jianzheng has worked hard and made great contributions over the years. It would be a loss to the court to let him resign like this."

"Since he is willing to be the warden, let him go."

"Don't worry about the Imperial Observatory. We already have a suitable candidate."

In fact, the Imperial Observatory has always had four or five candidates for the position of director.

As for the reason, those who understand will understand.

With Zhu Biao's nod, Chen Jingke was completely relieved.

Wu Bingrang acted quickly and resigned from the court the next morning on the grounds of old age and frailty.

Zhu Biao tried to persuade him to stay and he finally approved it.

However, he will still be the supervisor of the construction of the bell tower, and the follow-up arrangements will be discussed after it is completed.

In fact, it is just to leave a buffer period.

This was a very normal personnel change. No one found it strange and no one said anything.

After resigning, Wu Bingrang immediately found Chen Jingke and asked about the specific situation of the institute.

Chen Jingke did not hide anything and took out a thick stack of information.

He unfolded the top drawing and gave him a detailed introduction.

Steam engine uses steam to drive the impeller to do work...

This principle is not complicated, at least it is very simple for Wu Bingrang.

He learned some physics knowledge from Chen Jingke, and also taught himself the natural science textbook of Luoxia Academy.

He knows a lot of new terms and the causes of many natural phenomena. He understands the principle of thermal expansion and thermal contraction.

But he didn't expect that this principle could be used in this way.

The key is that this structural diagram looks very simple, and he can understand what each link means if you take it apart.

But they can be combined together... He had never thought that these things could be combined together.

The more he looked at it, the more excited he became. Finally, he couldn't help but say:

"If this thing can really be made, it will change the whole world."

Chen Jingke said affirmatively: "Its usefulness will only be greater than you think."

Then he pulled out a drawing that showed a train and a section of track.

"This is a steam train... it can pull millions of pounds."

"Even if we walk 40 miles every hour, and only walk during the day and rest at night, we can still walk more than 200 miles a day."

"It only takes less than a month to travel from south to north. From now on, the region will no longer be able to restrict the pace of the Ming Dynasty."

Chen Jingke pulled out a few more blueprints: "This is a steamship. From now on, all seas will be clear."

"This is a water pump that can continuously pump out groundwater, giving people more means to deal with drought."

"This is a steam loom... But I don't know much about it. This is just a concept."

"Whether it can be realized depends on your research."

Wu Bingrang was so excited that he could only say one word: "Okay, okay, okay..."

Chen Jingke was very satisfied with his performance and said, trying not to laugh:

"Master Wu, the future of the Ming Dynasty and China is now in your hands."

Wu Bingrang didn't think there was anything wrong with this, and said solemnly:

"Don't worry, even if I die, I will make these things first."

Afterwards, he supervised the construction of the bell tower while studying the principles of the steam engine.

From time to time, he would go to Chen Jingke to ask about the details.

There are some things that Chen Jingke can explain, but there are some that he cannot explain, so he can only study them slowly.

Half a month later, Wu Bingrang took out a stack of blueprints and went to the Mechanical Research Institute to ask someone to try to build a mini steam engine.

"With samples, many things become simple."

It’s just that many things look easy but are difficult to do.

This prototype was not that easy to build and various problems occurred during the process.

For example, sealing problem.

They tried hemp rope, various cloths, various animal and plant glues, etc., but the results were not ideal.

Finally, Chen Jingke told them to use copper.

And then it was solved.

The copper gasket seal was invented.

Speaking of sealing rings, Chen Jingke couldn't help but think of rubber.

This thing should still be on the other side of the ocean. It's time to send someone to look for it.

There are also potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, pumpkins, long-staple cotton and so on.

These high-yield crops will help solve the problem of food and clothing for mankind and free up more manpower for industrial development.

Industry, in turn, promotes the prosperity of all industries and helps mankind enter an era of unprecedented material abundance.

It’s a pity that rubber is said to have a very long growth cycle, and it takes five or six years before it can be tapped.

Taking into account the time spent searching, it would be good if we could use rubber products within ten years.

It would be nice if there were an alternative to rubber trees.

This reminded him of a report he had read before traveling through time.

Chinese scientists have extracted rubber from a kind of grass.

Later, through cultivation, the rubber content of this grass increased.

Small-scale trial planting has been carried out in Xinjiang.

I can only say that thanks to those scientific researchers, it is their day-to-day efforts that make our lives so wonderful.

It’s a pity that he didn’t know the name of this grass, otherwise he could have gone looking for it.

It doesn't matter if the rubber content is low.

It's good to do some research regardless of the cost.

Well, now that I know, I'll pay more attention.

Chen Jingke could only give up this idea with regret.

However, this further strengthened his idea of ​​sending people to find America.

He did it as soon as he thought of it. He immediately put down the work at hand and went to the East Palace to discuss the matter with Zhu Xiongying.

Of course, we can’t just say we’re going to look for a new continent.

The Far North has never been fully explored, so it’s time to send someone to take a closer look. Who knows, there might be some new discoveries.

As soon as he arrived at the East Palace, before he opened his mouth, Zhu Xiongying said:
"You came at the right time. I was looking for you for something."

Chen Jingke asked curiously, "What's the matter?"

Zhu Xiongying hesitated for a moment and said, "Last year I said I was going to go to the south to meet the local leader in person."

After the Nanyang Incident, many of the Ming Dynasty's policies were adjusted.

Especially in terms of education, it has changed from encouraging learning to compulsory learning.

Many indigenous tribes have opinions about this.

Zhu Xiongying planned to go to the south and southwest in person to meet with the native leaders there.

With his prestige there, he can handle these issues better.

"It's just that because of one thing after another, the trip has been postponed again and again."

"Now that the matter has finally been resolved, I plan to take this opportunity to go there."

Chen Jingke suggested, "There are so many things going on in the current Grand Enfeoffment Division. You know your Majesty's health, so why not do it in the spring of next year?"

"By then, the enfeoffment matters should be almost done, and you can set off without any worries."

But Zhu Xiongying shook his head and said, "Next year we will fight in the Western Regions and develop Yanzhou, so there are a lot of things to do."

"Now that Grandpa Emperor is here, he can help share some of the government affairs."

"Next year, maybe Grandpa Huang will go out on inspection again, and I will be even more dependent on him."

"If we start now, it will only take three to four months to go back and forth, which will not delay our return for the New Year."

Chen Jingke thought about it and realized that it was indeed true.

The current operating model of the Ming Dynasty court is that Zhu Biao presides over reforms in the court, while Zhu inspects the local areas to supervise the implementation.

This is the only way to ensure that radical reforms will not cause major chaos.

Because of the issue of the great enfeoffment this year, Zhu Yuanzhang has been staying in Luoyang without moving, and there is a high probability that he will go on an inspection next year.

Zhu Xiongying had to stay and assist Zhu Biao, and it would be difficult for him to get away.

So, now is indeed the best time.

Thinking of this, he nodded and said, "Okay...Have you told the Emperor Emeritus and the Emperor?"

Zhu Xiongying said: "I will discuss it with you first. If you have no objection, then go find them."

"By the way, why did you come to see me?"

Chen Jingke said, "I have always been curious about the Far North, and I want to send someone to explore it to see if there is anything I can find."

Zhu Xiongying said nonchalantly: "As for this matter, I'll write a procedure for you and you can find someone yourself."

This is indeed not a big deal, and Zhu Xiongying can make an independent decision with his identity.

After Chen Jingke got the formalities, he immediately went to look for a ship and people, ready to explore the New World.

He couldn't help but feel a little excited when he thought about America.

A new great era is about to begin.

But before he was ready, he received a message.

Junichiro Matsushita came to Beijing.

This made him very angry. He dared to disobey orders. He must have become too powerful.

It has to be hammered.

However, when he saw Chen Yonghe and his group, he was so shocked that he was speechless.

(End of this chapter)