Chapter 229: Ingenious work, enlightening all things

People who are often Emperors understand that image does not belong to individuals, especially when they are away from home, they must always make enough political gestures.

Zhu Yijun originally wanted to see the New Learning.

But the academy also has to be ranked, and cadre colleges must be ranked before technical colleges.

Since the Emperor came out of the Donghua Gate, he had to pile up a kind smile and go around the Imperial Academy.

First, exchange philosophy—that is, the latest theory since the debate on classics in the second year of Wanli, the Dao-Reason Learning—the latest progress.

Then look forward to the beautiful picture of jointly governing the world with the students.

Finally, encourage them for the imperial examination three days later.

Until the surrounding students began to have tears in their eyes, Zhu Yijun left in a hurry and went to the academy across the street.

It has been some years since the Emperor last visited the academy.

The two small saplings planted in front of the gate when the academy was built have been level with the courtyard wall after seven years.

The four lacquer-carved solid woods are getting old and old.

Perhaps because someone was always scribbling on the shadow wall with the inscription, it was the same as the Imperial Academy, and two yamen runners were set up to take turns.

Zhu Yijun didn't enter immediately, just stood in front of the gate, looking up at the plaque.

It was Xu Jie's handwriting, four big characters—Qiushi Academy.

The Emperor stood still and didn't speak, his expression was moved, and the left and right didn't dare to step forward to disturb.

After a long while, Zhu Yijun said slowly: "Last time Master Xu and the Imperial Uncle memorialized this name, I just took a rough look and approved it, and I haven't had time to ask for the origin."

For the budding of science and technology, he maintained a careful attitude of care, never applying too much fertilizer and turning the soil.

Even if the academy frequently memorialized to give a name, Zhu Yijun tried his best to suppress his bad taste—only the name he gave himself can carry the continuation of the spirit.

But the academy personally built by the Emperor had no qualifications for outsiders to name it, and no spirit was condensed in the academy, so it was vacant for several years.

And at the end of last year, Xu Jie and Zhu Zaiyu suddenly memorialized that the name had been decided and the plaque was to be inscribed.

Zhu Yijun was busy with other things at that time and hadn't had time to ask.

Zhang Hong heard this and hurriedly stepped forward to reply: "Your Majesty, this matter should be told from last year."

"At that time, Liu Dunkai published a magnificent article in the New Newspaper, 'On the Criticism of Mathematics over the Millennium and Its Future Development Direction', pointing out the current situation that mathematics is not a system and the road ahead is unclear."

"At the end of last year, the son of the Prince of Zheng proposed, together with Cheng Dawei, Liu Dunkai and others, to open an altar to discuss the law, the theme is 'Transforming Our Mathematics'."

"I don't know the specific content, but I only know that at the meeting, the academy reached a great consensus and at the same time decided on the name of the academy."

"Taken from the 'Biography of Liu De, King of Hejian' in the 'Book of Han', the word 'seeking truth from facts'—seeking truth from deduction, and verifying laws from existence."

"So there is the name 'Qiushi Academy'."

Zhu Yijun's expression was quite complicated, and he nodded slowly.

Seeing that everyone looked at him, he added with a smile: "The name is very good."

After a while, he saw Xu Jie appearing at the academy gate, leaning on a cane and trembling to greet him.

Zhu Yijun waved his hand when he saw this, and greeted the left and right to follow: "Let's go."

……

Unlike the Imperial Academy, the political atmosphere of Qiushi Academy is very thin.

Noble children from high backgrounds are used to seeing the Emperor, and people from low backgrounds are as afraid as tigers and wolves, so the academy didn't engage in any scenes of lining up to welcome and tears in their eyes, and the Emperor also specially allowed the teachers and students to continue their classes.

Only Xu Jie led several political officials to accompany the Emperor left and right.

"I heard that you held a grand meeting before the New Year to discuss 'Transforming Our Mathematics'?"

Zhu Yijun asked casually.

"On the Criticism of Mathematics over the Millennium and Its Future Development Direction" was written by Liu Dunkai after his guidance.

Of course, there is nothing important, mainly urging the construction of the mathematical system.

As for how to rely on the Dao-Reason Learning of Confucianism and how to open a sect, it is a matter for these scholars to consider.

According to status, the academy naturally only has Xu Jie to accompany the Emperor.

"Your Majesty, the academy opened an altar to discuss the law last year, mainly based on 'Dao-Reason Learning', taking the two paths of logical deduction and practical demonstration, walking the path of following nature, and founded 'Natural Dao-Reason Learning' or 'Natural Philosophy'."

Zhu Yijun listened carefully.

The name has been put out, and the discipline has been established. It is only one step away from opening a sect, organizing theories, and publishing them to the world.

"Among them, the son of the Prince of Zheng, Liu Dunkai and others took the path of logical deduction and found the old man to open a 'Theoretical Mathematics' courtyard separately."

"Cheng Dawei took the path of practical demonstration, so he opened another 'Applied Mathematics' courtyard."

Xu Jie bent down and reached out to lead the way, answering the Emperor from time to time.

Zhu Yijun slowed down his pace, so that the seventy-eight-year-old man would not pant, and couldn't help but tease: "Does Master Xu mean that there are now hills in Qiushi Academy?"

Xu Jie is also a former Chief Minister who has governed the world. Hearing this, he couldn't help but smile.

Where is there no hill in dealing with people?

However, Xu Jie still rounded it off smoothly: "Your Majesty is joking. The affairs of the academy cannot be called hills, just different directions of following nature."

"After opening the Theoretical Mathematics courtyard, the son of the Prince of Zheng and Liu Dunkai divided into geometric mathematics and algebraic mathematics, and studied them separately, but this does not prevent them from studying mathematics together all night."

"And the Applied Mathematics courtyard has successively divided into physics, statistics..."

Old Xu is the number one bureaucrat in the world.

Even if he doesn't know anything about the specific research content, it doesn't prevent him from being handy when summarizing and reporting.

Zhu Yijun smiled: "Different directions are also convenient for Master Xu to ask for funds from the inner court."

Don't look at the set of words, but at the current stage, there are not many people who can reach the level of "research". Most people just help Zhu Zaiyu and others, knocking on the side.

The numerous directions, of course, have the need for standardization, but more of it is to facilitate the old bureaucrats to ask for research funds.

Of course, he doesn't mind.

Xu Jie echoed with a smile. The Emperor has been in power for many years, and his keen insight has been exercised.

He smiled and smiled, and the Emperor's figure gradually blurred in his turbid eyes.

A Taoist robe, transcendent and chic, heart like a mirror, calculating every penny.

It's like an old friend returning.

"……That's all, you privately asked the Military Equipment Bureau for forbidden items such as gunpowder, and also scratched my cousin. What is the crime?"

Xu Jie came back to his senses in a trance.

A group of people had arrived at Li Chengming's duty room. The Emperor was poking around a pile of iron lumps, muttering endlessly.

Li Chengming hadn't finished class yet, and Xu Jie was happy to accompany the little Emperor to chat: "The old minister only has a salary to receive now. Please open your grace, don't punish, don't punish."

Zhu Yijun smiled. He didn't believe it, but these court ministers really had no choice but to speak in sets.

I really wish there was an ancestral law that all cabinet ministers would stay in the capital to tease the Emperor after retiring.

"Is this the prototype machine of the 'train' that Li Chengming fiddled with?" Zhu Yijun pointed to the iron lump and asked curiously.

This train is not that train.

It is said that Li Chengming borrowed the idea of a water wheel, changed the power, failed the "windmill", "magnetic car" and other projects first, and then developed a "train" powered by gunpowder.

In short, it is just changing the method to drive, just to turn in circles.

Xu Jie didn't understand the principle at all, so he briefly talked about the cause of the matter: "When Your Majesty inspected the grassland, it involved the horse corruption case. After entering the Beijing Garrison, you cut off the road of mobilizing soldiers to work."

"Whether it is the rising price of cattle and horses or the lack of labor, it has seriously affected the mill business of Captain Li's family."

"Previously, I don't know what inspiration I got, so I wanted to borrow the mechanism of the water wheel and use it on the mill."

"Anyway, it's all repeated actions. Water flow can drive, and other forces can naturally, so I started to ponder these things..."

Zhu Yijun didn't look up, listening to Xu Jie explaining the cause, while looking at Li Chengming's small train from different angles.

It has to be said that for most ordinary people like Li Chengming, profit is the first driving force.

He had heard a little about the monopoly of 30% of the mill business around Beijing by the Imperial Uncle's family.

However, in order to improve production capacity and reduce costs, he started to ponder on optimizing the process, which is really a bit too real.

Zhu Yijun was slandering when he heard a movement behind him.

"Minister Li Chengming, Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, pays homage to Your Majesty!"

Turning his head, he saw Li Chengming rushing over and kneeling outside the door to salute.

Looking at this degree of anxiety with sweat on his head, it was mostly the nervousness of hearing that a relative's child had come to the house and was fiddling with his valuable objects after class.

Zhu Yijun waved his hand: "Cousin came just right, come over, introduce me to this mechanism, why did you use gunpowder?"

"If you can't explain it clearly, I will have to forbid Cousin from receiving forbidden items such as gunpowder in the future for the sake of Cousin's body."

Saying that, he pointed to the train in front of him.

Anyway, he is a royal relative, so Li Chengming naturally won't be restrained.

He took the opportunity to get up and walk to the Emperor: "Your Majesty is laughing."

Perhaps because of the shoulder injury, it was inconvenient to wear clothes, so Li Chengming's outer garment was a large robe, draped on his body, quite like a naval general.

He glanced at Li Jin and Xu Jie, knowing that his fiddling with his own affairs had been completely sold to the Emperor.

Hearing that he was going to forbid him from receiving gunpowder, he was even more anxious in his heart.

Li Chengming took a deep breath, pointed to the iron lump and explained like a model: "Reporting to Your Majesty, the minister named this thing a train, which is composed of valves, cylinders, rods, shafts, cars and other mechanisms."

"When using it, first open the valve, put the gunpowder into the cylinder, ignite it, the rod is driven by the explosion, driving the shaft, and finally making the car rotate."

Saying that, he pulled the connecting rod in front of him, indicating how the shaft and the car were driven.

Zhu Yijun gasped when he heard this.

Is it so primitive?

Is explosion technology?

He subconsciously asked: "Gunpowder explosion is very violent, can it be controlled?"

Li Chengming scratched his head, also a little helpless: "The craftsman offered a point, saying that as long as the valve and cylinder are sealed tightly, there will be no problem. As a result, I tried several times, and it didn't feel very easy to use. I am pondering whether to improve it or change the method."

After saying that, he squeezed Xu Jie to the side, pointing at the train in front of him, and dancing with joy toward the Emperor.

"First, as Your Majesty said, the explosion is violent and difficult to control. If you add less gunpowder, the car can't turn a few times, let alone drive the millstone and other things; if you add more gunpowder, it is very dangerous, especially the cylinder, the sealing difficulty itself is not low, and it has to be assembled with valves and rods. The gap or excessive assembly will greatly reduce the effect."

"Second, the power itself is not good. Water drive is endless and does not need people to take care of it halfway. Now my train still needs to add gunpowder frequently, which can only save a little manpower, but cannot replace it on a large scale."

"Third, the feeling control is only barely satisfactory. It's like a toad, poking once and moving once. Even if the above problems are solved and the millstone can be driven, it can only rotate in bursts, and the goods produced have poor taste, which affects the market."

Zhu Yijun watched Li Chengming talk eloquently, and only felt that the sense of strangeness was full.

After the proliferation of the Yangming school, although it caused serious moral decline in society, the benefits were not absent.

The so-called breaking and establishing, after discarding the moral burden of "gentlemen are ashamed to speak of profit", everyone is a good hand at making money, corrupting and bribing, and bullying the good.

And the new theory, new morality, and new political environment that have been re-established have severely

The new path that can be put on the table now is eight characters: Imperial authority granted, open the doors to do business.

And looking at Li Chengming now, he keeps talking about replacing manpower and affecting the market.

It is simply the entire process of a noble degenerating into a capitalist!

"As for improvements, the craftsmen have thought of a few methods. First is changing the gunpowder formula; firelocks need power, hence this ratio, but steam engines should do the opposite..."

Li Chengming was still rambling on.

Zhu Yijun suddenly interrupted Li Chengming: "Why must we use gunpowder for propulsion? It is truly too dangerous. The Empress Dowager and I are both afraid that our cousin might meet with some mishap."

The words in Li Chengming's mouth came to an abrupt halt.

The Emperor had rejected his "core technology" right off the bat. If Empress Dowager Li had said this, it would surely be pure concern, but it was likely different coming from the Emperor.

Out of trust in the Emperor's frequent "flashes of inspiration" in the past, Li Chengming immediately asked for advice: "Your subject does not have a better method for the moment. Does Your Majesty perhaps have another brilliant idea?"

The cousins could be said to have a meeting of minds.

Zhu Yijun nodded immediately: "To my eyes, isn't it just like blowing into a fish bladder? You blow air in one end, the bladder swells, and you release air from the other end, which pushes the connecting rod."

Li Chengming pondered for a moment and nodded slowly: "More or less."

Xu Jie, who was to the side, glanced at Li Chengming. This Captain Li still hadn't been pickled by politics; once he got absorbed in thinking about something, his speech subconsciously became casual.

Zhu Yijun naturally would not quibble with his cousin over such a small matter, and continued on his own: "Since that is the case, why choose gunpowder? Isn't it enough just to be able to push the connecting rod? For example, what about blowing air?"

Li Chengming sighed: "I will not hide it from Your Majesty, this was my initial method."

"However, the force of the wind is too small, and the mechanism has difficulty gathering the wind; it is simply insufficient to push the connecting rod."

The craftsmen all say that unless one goes to the mountains and uses enormous blades, it is only possible to drive it with wind.

This kind of limitation had no commercial value for Li Chengming.

Zhu Yijun shook his head: "Blowing air, blowing air—it doesn't necessarily have to be wind. What about water vapor?"

Li Chengming was startled.

Water vapor?

His brows could not help but furrow, and he subconsciously wanted to refute:

"The force of water vapor is slightly too weak..."

Zhu Yijun simply interrupted him: "Cousin is only speaking of mild water vapor."

"When the Inner Court boils water, the vapor can usually only lift the pot lid."

"You and I both know that when the Imperial Grandfather was refining pills, if he was not careful, the water vapor could lift the furnace top and send it flying several feet!"

"The force difference between the two is vast; why is that?"

After hearing this, Li Chengming immediately recalled what he had just said about the cylinder's seal and so on.

Almost without needing to think, he blurted out: "The old Daoist's furnace seal must have been extremely good!"

He slapped his thigh and paced back and forth in the room: "Right! Right! This method is good! Seal the cylinder, force boiling water vapor into it, and it will naturally be able to push the connecting rod!"

"Even the need for frequent refueling is avoided; one only needs to boil water underneath."

"However, the water vapor still needs to be exhausted after entering. This should be easy to handle; just add a downward cooling pipe, and the water vapor will turn into water upon contact."

"In this way, the valves will probably need to control intake and exhaust. How to design it specifically will still have to be asked of the craftsmen."

"Your Majesty..."

Li Chengming turned to look at the Emperor, only to see the Emperor and a group of eunuchs with dark expressions, while Xu Jie and the other bureaucrats were looking up and suppressing laughter.

Bad! I got carried away and said the wrong thing!

Li Chengming only then realized it belatedly.

Just as he was about to assume a fearful posture to kneel and plead guilty, Zhu Yijun gave a cold snort and took the initiative to move past the matter: "However, the issue of the mechanism and parts being unable to handle the load will probably still be hard to avoid."

A steam engine cannot be built simply; industry is industry, and the required prerequisite technologies are not few.

Things like bearings, seals, and high-pressure-resistant metals are not the work of a single day.

Even the key theoretical parts, the systematic study of gas expansion doing work, are a complete blank; one can only spout some empirical things to provide a little guidance.

But then again, in a capitalist market, the thing most lacking is demand.

Once there is demand, as long as the first generation of products is barely usable, the technology can be optimized slowly—at least one must take the first step on the road of iteration.

Li Chengming was still secretly regretting calling the Emperor Shizong by his nickname, and upon hearing this, he hurriedly took the step the Emperor gave him: "This matter is exactly what I was about to memorialize to Your Majesty."

Zhu Yijun turned his head: "Oh?"

Li Chengming paused: "Your Majesty, I believe that currently, the various parts and mechanisms of the various craftsmen not only have different standards, but they even view them as secrets, passed down only by word of mouth."

"Once two parts come from different blacksmiths, they are like fire and water; if it is light, they fail, and if it is heavy, they harm people."

He paused, his tone somewhat indignant: "This is how I was injured by the explosion this time!"

Zhu Yijun glanced at Li Chengming, already realizing what this cousin wanted to say.

"It was only after I sought out Dean Cheng of the Applied Mathematics Academy to establish a mathematical model and calculate the mutual fit that I knew where the problem lay."

"I believe, could we follow the wisdom of the Mohists and order the Ministry of Works to formulate standards for basic parts, mechanisms, and devices, categorize them, register them in books, and have them circulate through the Ministry of Works?"

"In this way, it is not only convenient for mutual use, but if there are any omissions, they can also be verified through mathematical calculation, and even subsequent optimization and improvement will have records to check and logic to rely on."

"Only by summarizing and unifying in this way, and by cutting and polishing, can we seize the work of heaven and open up all things!"