Chapter 1082: Brightness

The sunlight shifted from bright to dim.

Evening had arrived.

Zhao Xu, along with Cabinet ministers, generals of the Defense Department, and other key officials of the Imperial Court, arrived on time before the gates of the Yancheng Thermal Power Plant.

At this moment, the place was decorated quite magnificently.

The two sides in front of the power plant gates were filled with fresh flowers, and the ground was covered with a red carpet.

A red silk ribbon sealed the main gate, with a large red flower tied in the center of the ribbon.

Wang Chong, Li Wei, and other personnel from the Research Institute were all already waiting before the gate.

Seeing Zhao Xu, the two immediately stepped forward, guided Zhao Xu to the front of the thermal power plant, and lifted the red silk ribbon high to let Zhao Xu pass.

The Cabinet ministers also passed through one by one, lining up beside Zhao Xu.

The other ministers stood outside the gate, waiting for Zhao Xu to cut the ribbon for the Thermal Power Plant.

"On such an important day, why are the commoners not interested?" Standing still beside Zhao Xu, Liu Fu asked.

He looked ahead; there were not many commoners gathered.

"You are muddled. The commoners are all at home waiting for the electric lamps to light up; how could they have the leisure to come here and join in the excitement?" Zhao Xu said with a smile.

Liu Fu was stunned for a moment, then laughed in spite of himself, "The Emperor is right; this subject is truly muddled. Since that is the case, why not cut the ribbon early so the commoners may have their wish fulfilled? This subject also wants to go home and see what the electric lamps look like when they light up."

Mi Yan stood to the right of Liu Fu and, upon hearing this, said, "Grand Secretary Liu is truly muddled. Tonight the Emperor is hosting a banquet at Wuji Palace; if you don't get drunk, will you be able to go home?"

As his voice fell, Zhu Tuo, Ma Yuan, and others all laughed.

Liu Fu patted his head and mocked himself, "Look at my brain; I can only say this matter is too exciting, and I can't even turn my thoughts around."

Zhao Xu smiled lightly; these ministers like Liu Fu had followed him step by step.

They had personally witnessed the Steam Industry.

They had deep memories of the changes the Steam Industry had brought to Yancheng.

Now, an Electric Power Industry, even more formidable than the Steam Industry, had been born.

To say they were not excited,

that was impossible.

After all, the Steam Industry alone had allowed them to rely on Yanzhou itself to wipe out the powerful clans, defeat the Northern Di, and now maintain an advantage in the war against the Westerners.

If the Steam Industry were all transformed into the Electric Power Industry, would the Great Song of the future not soar even higher, creating a prosperous age they dared not even imagine?

And as participants in forging this prosperous age, they would inevitably leave a significant mark in the history books.

Of course, they did not care only about these empty titles.

They wanted even more to experience this era and see with their own eyes to what extent the Great Song could become powerful.

"Even if the commoners are anxious, and you are all anxious, then let us not waste time; let us cut the ribbon immediately," Zhao Xu said with a smile at this moment.

Hearing this, everyone smiled knowingly.

In truth, this ribbon-cutting was merely a symbolic ceremony.

But this ceremony could not be skipped, otherwise it would seem too desolate.

After all, even among the common people, moving into a new home or having a child was considered an occasion for celebration.

Therefore, since it was being held, they would cut it symbolically to bring good luck.

Since Zhao Xu had said so, Wang Chong immediately ordered someone to bring scissors.

Everyone stood in order, took the scissors, and placed the blades on the silk ribbon.

Zhao Heng was in the middle, Zhao Xu was beside Zhao Heng, and the other ministers were beside the two of them.

Just then, Li Wei personally lit the firecrackers, which exploded with a loud popping sound.

Immediately, amidst the sound of firecrackers, everyone cut the ribbon together.

The watching ministers and commoners suddenly let out a cheer.

But they then looked toward the Thermal Power Plant, waiting for the power to be sent.

Clearly, everyone's attention was not on the ribbon-cutting, but on the anticipation of Yancheng lighting up.

"Li Wei, the rest is up to you." Zhao Xu felt the same as everyone else.

Looking at Li Wei, his eyes were full of expectation.

He missed electricity too much; after all, he had come from an era where electricity was universally used.

Naturally, he understood the application of electricity better than anyone else.

"Emperor, please wait a moment; Yancheng will be able to light up immediately." Li Wei's expression was confident.

At this time, the sky was growing dimmer, like diluted ink.

After saying these words, Li Wei entered the Thermal Power Plant.

Before the ribbon-cutting, the Thermal Power Plant had already begun to operate.

Coal was burning in the boiler, heating water into steam.

When he arrived at the power distribution room of the Thermal Power Plant, the steam produced by the boiler was already sufficient to drive the Steam Engine.

And these Steam Engines in turn drove the Generators, producing electrical energy.

At the same time, the twenty-four generator sets of the power plant were running.

These generator sets were not the temporary small generator sets in the Workshop, but were composed of large Steam Engines and Generators.

When the power plant technicians in charge of the generator sets reported to him that everything was operating normally, he ordered the isolation switches between the Thermal Power Plant and the power grid to be closed.

As soon as the switches were closed, the power from the plant could be transmitted through the power grid they had built during this time, and Yancheng would be officially electrified.

Upon his order, the technicians who had been waiting near the isolation switches closed the switches.

In an instant, the electric light flashed, and then Yancheng, to the east of the power plant, lit up.

Looking from the power plant, Yancheng was no longer pitch black, but had a golden-orange background color.

It was as if flames were burning within the city.

"It's lit, it's lit!"

The moment the isolation switch was closed, the officials in front of the Power Plant cheered and leaped for joy.

Many people craned their necks, looking toward Yancheng, which was over ten miles away from the Power Plant.

They could not wait to return to their homes in Yancheng to experience the brightness brought by Electricity.

Seeing the officials so excited, Zhao Xu suddenly said, "Enough, this victory banquet can be held another day; you all go back and experience it for yourselves."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Liu Fu and the other officials were immediately overjoyed.

Zhao Xu paid them no more mind and headed straight for Yancheng.

He also wanted to see what Wuji Palace looked like now.

By the time Zhao Xu returned to Yancheng, the entire city had become an ocean of joy.

The whole city was filled with the cries of the common people: "It's lit, it's lit!"

Mischievous children jumped and shouted in their homes, darting from one house to another to share their joy.

At first, the adults stared at the Incandescent Lamp in their homes, shocked to their cores.

Having relied on candles and oil lamps since ancient times, this was the first time they had seen an Incandescent Lamp capable of illuminating a room as if it were broad daylight.

It is easy to imagine how novel they found it.

Afterward, they could not help but come out onto the streets to discuss it animatedly with their neighbors, their excitement plain to see.

"Truly amazing, is this what Electricity is? To be able to see this thing in this lifetime, I can die with no regrets." An old man's eyes filled with tears.

Having lived over seventy years, he had suffered too much hardship before coming to Yanzhou.

Since Yan Wang arrived, they first gained land and were able to eat their fill and dress warmly, and then, Yanzhou gained many Workshops, giving them places to earn money.

Now, they were even able to enjoy something as miraculous as this.

How could he not be moved, how could he not be filled with emotion!

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