Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

It was decided to build a Mingtang for the National Assembly, but Zhu Youjian still had no plans to build it now.

Because the construction volume of Mingtang is at least comparable to that of Huangji Hall among the three major halls, requiring millions of taels of silver.

With the current financial situation of Ming Dynasty, of course it cannot afford this money.

What's more, what Zhu Youjian plans to build is not a traditional Mingtang, but a conference hall that can accommodate thousands of people for meetings.

Therefore, there cannot be many pillars blocking the view in the Mingtang. The thick pillars in Huangji Hall are not suitable for use in Mingtang.

This requires the use of new methods in the construction of Mingtang. In order to ensure safety, similar building tests must be built first.

It just so happened that Taixue needed a lecture hall for himself to give lectures. Zhu Youjian said to Lu Xiang:

"Mingtang can be built, but not now."

"I plan to build Piyong in Taixue first, imitating the specifications of Mingtang."

"We will discuss the construction of the Ming Hall after the Piyong Lecture Hall is completed."

(Piyong, Li Qianlang’s manuscript of the Imperial Academy in Beijing. The pillar on the top is the Lei Gong Pillar)

In Zhu Youjian's plan, Piyong could not only provide lectures for himself, but also allow scholars to give lectures and debates, and allow scholars to debate. Concerts are even held there, plays and plays are rehearsed, and it serves as a comprehensive place for ritual and music education——

Therefore, he called Piyong the Great Lecture Hall, not only for his own use.

This large lecture hall should be the same as the Mingtang. There should be no pillars blocking the view. Moreover, the speech of the person on the stage must be clearly transmitted to everyone's ears. The sound of the musical instruments played on the stage can also be heard throughout the entire venue.

In the absence of audio equipment, this requirement is naturally very high. Therefore, Zhu Youjian did not specify the size and asked Lu Xiang to arrange for the construction research institute to explore how big the Piyong Lecture Hall could be, how to plan the internal space, and how many people could be accommodated at most.

After all these were explored and understood, the Ming Hall was built for the National Assembly based on the Ming Dynasty ritual and music system recreated by Liu Zongzhou and others. It should be able to accommodate at least a thousand people for meetings and should not be built too small.

After listening to the emperor's request, Lu Xiang felt even more difficult to build the Mingtang. But the more this happened, the more excited he became:
Only such a building can leave his name in history and leave behind achievements comparable to Kuai Xiang.

What's more, the emperor said that the Mingtang would be the seat of parliament and the place where the emperor and the people could discuss matters. It made him feel that he had a heavy responsibility and must build a bright hall.

But the construction of the Mingtang may not be left to him. The Construction Research Institute mentioned by the emperor before gave him some sense of urgency.

As the first research institute of the Academy of Arts and Sciences, the establishment of the Institute of Architecture must precede the Institute of Printing.

Lu Xiang, the head of the Academy of Literature and Thought, came from the Printing Research Institute. Although he is good at carpentry and knows how to build buildings, he is not confident that he can surpass the craftsmen in the construction research institute and the camp.

Therefore, he has decided to pay more attention to the construction research institute after returning, and strive to make achievements in construction, so that he can preside over the construction of Mingtang in the future.

Speaking of the construction research institute, Zhu Youjian paid attention to the progress of the walled city construction project. Let the craftsmen who proposed the plan go to the passes along the Great Wall north of Shuntian Prefecture to build camps and verify them with actual construction.

He also asked Lu Xiang to arrange for the Construction Research Institute to formulate specifications for drawings, construction, acceptance, etc., and to formulate relevant standards for each construction process.

Standards must also be formulated for bricks, stones, wood, paint and other materials used in construction to prevent the mixing of substandard materials or the use of toxic materials.

For example, Zhu Youjian ordered that the use of materials such as cinnabar be prohibited in buildings where living people live. Alternative non-toxic red pigments must be found to renovate the palace in the future.

In short, Zhu Youjian wants to use the large project of Mingtang to formulate various standards for the construction industry in Ming Dynasty. At the same time, in order to prevent the Mingtang from being burned down by lightning like the previous three halls, and to prevent the three halls and other high-rise buildings from being damaged, Zhu Youjian arranged for Lu Xiang to explore lightning rods, or lightning rods and lightning rods - using metal conductive objects. , leading the received lightning to the ground.

Zhu Youjian had wanted to do this for a long time. Because the three main halls of the Forbidden City have been burned down three times since they were built, all due to lightning strikes that caused fires in the main halls.

Every time it is burned down and rebuilt, it costs a lot of money. Moreover, it was also a blow to the prestige of the emperor who was entrusted by heaven.

In order to prevent the three main halls that Emperor Tianqi had finally built from being struck and burned by lightning again, Zhu Youjian couldn't wait to arrange for people to explore lightning rods to avoid encountering thunder and fire.

Although Lu Xiang didn't know what a lightning rod was, he knew about thunder pillars, which are found on many buildings. He said:

"Your Majesty, do you mean to use copper and iron objects as thunder pillars to lead thunder and lightning to the ground?"

Zhu Youjian didn't know what the Thunder God Pillar was. After listening to Lu Xiang's explanation, he realized that it was a pillar of a pointed building. The ancients had long discovered its role in attracting thunder, so it was called the Thunder God Pillar.

However, Lei Gong Zhu still uses wood, and its supporting role is greater. Its lightning protection effect can only be said to be the same as that of the owl kiss in the three main halls. Everything is random.

But after Zhu Youjian heard this, he was still very happy and asked Lu Xiang to experiment with using copper and iron as thunder pillars to explore lightning protection devices:

"The current Thunder Pillar is made of wood, which has poor electrical conductivity. It needs to be replaced with copper and iron."

"Copper and iron are relatively expensive and heavy. It is probably impossible to make a pillar. All you need is a thin one, which can be called a thunder needle."

"This needle cannot be made too thin. The diameter should be about one centimeter so that it can conduct lightning down in time."

"Remember, use metal poles to connect, conduct with metal wires, and lead directly into the ground."

Speaking of the key points of lightning rods, Zhu Youjian said that people nowadays have no concept of electricity and their understanding is not very clear. He planned to arrange for people to conduct lightning experiments so that they could get to know each other.

Zhu Youjian had seen the famous Franklin Kite Experiment in a textbook. He followed the contents and said to Lu Xiang:

"You can make a kite with a metal pole and wires to guide lightning, and let the death row inmates in the prison fly the kite during thunderstorms for experiments."

"It is necessary to experiment with suitable lightning-inducing materials and insulating materials and manufacture qualified lightning pins."

"If a condemned prisoner performs meritorious service during the experiment, his crime can be reduced by one level and he can be exiled overseas instead."

The key points were explained in detail. Although Lu Xiang didn't understand it very well, he was a good executor. As usual, he took a copy of the daily notes and planned to experiment according to the emperor's instructions.

When he was about to leave, he asked the emperor again:

"Your Majesty previously ordered me to make bayonets and bullets, and I have achieved some results."

"Your Majesty, please allow me to take you into the palace and practice in the palace."

This was the main purpose of his entering the palace, and it was also the greatest progress in the emperor's arrangements. Just because in the first year of Tianqi, a eunuch fired a gun in front of the late emperor. The gun exploded and beat his left hand without a trace, which was almost dangerous for the emperor. Therefore, the eunuchs in the palace did not dare to let him bring the firecrackers into the palace, let alone practice in front of the emperor.

Lu Xiang was frightened by those eunuchs and had never dared to mention it before. It's just that the emperor dared to arrange experiments to induce thunder, so he probably wouldn't care about the fire blunderbuss. He boldly proposed in front of the emperor and arranged for people to practice firecrackers. (End of chapter)