Chapter 773: Technology is stepping on the accelerator a bit too hard (first update, please subscribe)

Everyone who comes to Daming for the first time, whether they are poor or rich, will have various discoveries and will be surprised by everything here.

People coming from China are more surprised at the people's life of having no worries about food and clothing. After all, hundreds of millions of ordinary people in China are still struggling in poverty, hunger and cold.

People coming from Europe and America are more surprised by the civilization here.

In the 19th century, civilization was equated with science. There was only one standard to evaluate whether a country was civilized or not - science and industry. As long as science was flourishing and industry was developed, they would not be regarded as barbarians even if they killed millions of indigenous people in the colonies and enslaved millions of slaves. On the contrary, no matter how polite they were, as long as science was not flourishing and industry was not developed, they were barbarians.

This world has always been so naked.

It is precisely because of his understanding of this criterion that Emperor Zhu would devote a lot of time every day to paying attention to the development of science and technology in the Ming Dynasty.

A day's plan begins in the morning.

As usual, Emperor Zhu was flipping through the report in his hand, which was the semi-annual report of the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce. Looking through the scientific and technological achievements of the Ming Dynasty in the past six months, he was very satisfied with the current scientific and technological progress of the Ming Dynasty.

After closing the report, Zhu Xianhai looked at Fang Zhanbo, the newly promoted Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce, and said.

"The current technological progress is quite good, but we need to focus on promoting civilian technology. Although the Imperial Central Laboratory is the leader in technology, it is not enough to just be a leader. Spontaneous research by the civilian population is also very important."

Where is the source of Ming Dynasty’s technology?

Of course it is the Imperial Central Laboratory. Every year, Emperor Zhu would take out a large amount of information from the "Royal Library" and send it to the Imperial Central Laboratory, where technicians would study those technologies. It was with the help of the books and some physical objects provided in the mall that the technology of the Ming Dynasty could develop by leaps and bounds. Of course, Emperor Zhu also paid great attention to the rhythm. After all, it is impossible to achieve everything in one go in science.

He would provide targeted technical information or physical objects based on the technological level of the Ming Dynasty to promote the technological development of the Ming Dynasty. Fortunately, with the technological progress of the Ming Dynasty in reality, the technology in the mall was also being updated.

The current level of technology in the mall is basically equal to that of the 1900s, while the levels of industries such as automobiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and metallurgy have reached the level of the 1920s or even the 1930s after years of development, because the accelerator was a bit too aggressive at the beginning.

It's possible that the big step will lead to nothing, but some industries in Ming Dynasty are indeed far ahead of this era, such as the automobile industry, which has almost reached the level of World War I. The only problem is the production capacity - the production line is still under trial, and once it succeeds, it will inevitably bring about earth-shaking changes.

Emperor Zhu was not in a hurry about this. Even if there were similar technical books in the mall, he did not take them out. What was the purpose? It was to allow the scientific researchers of the Ming Dynasty to carry out technological innovation "out of nothing".

After all, the cane will be thrown away sooner or later. We can't let them always feel that they have a cane to rely on. Inventions and innovations that "create something out of nothing" are what the Ming Dynasty needs.

"Your Majesty is right. Civilian technology research and development is very important. Civilian technology research and development is more dynamic and practical. Moreover, civilian researchers are better at conducting secondary research and development on official technologies. Although it is inevitable to take advantage of legal loopholes, it has promoted the technological strength of the private sector. Now many companies have corresponding researchers who specialize in technological research. The stronger the technical strength of the private sector, the stronger the technological strength of the Ming Dynasty will naturally be."

Fang Zhanbo's answer made Emperor Zhu agree deeply.

"We can now train 27,500 university and college students every year, plus about 80,000 secondary school students each year. The training of talents has achieved initial results. However, in terms of technological innovation, we are still just a student. We absorb and digest, and then innovate. As a late industrial country, even if we are ahead of the world in some aspects, we should not be proud. After all, the capacity of a bucket is determined by the shortest piece of wood. The reason why the great powers are great powers must be that they have their expertise. In many aspects, we are still just a student."

student!

This is the positioning that Emperor Zhu Da gave to the Ming Dynasty. After all, even if the company period is included, it has only been 15 years at most. These seem to be extraordinary progress, but in fact, this progress is golden - relying on the mall's information, physical objects and Emperor Zhu Da's knowledge reserves that were ahead of the times, the Ming Dynasty seized the first-mover advantage in the Second Industrial Revolution.

But how long can this first-mover advantage last?

This requires a question mark.

After all, while the Ming Dynasty was making progress, other countries were also making progress. While the Ming Dynasty sent students to study in Britain, the United States, France, Germany, the Netherlands and other countries to make up for its own shortcomings, European and American countries also achieved their breakthroughs in the technological fields pioneered by the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, their breakthrough was largely due to imitations of Ming Dynasty industrial products.

Moreover, some industrial products are limited by the differences in metal heat treatment and metal materials. They can only imitate the same appearance, and have a short lifespan and poor quality.

But at least compared to history, it is already a great improvement.

At least in history, the automobile industry and electromechanical industry in Europe and the United States were still a big “0” in 1875, but what about now?

They are also producing internal combustion engines and cars, they are also producing AC generators and substations, and electric motors are replacing steam engines. The Second Industrial Revolution is proceeding at a faster pace than in history, and the industrial progress of countries around the world can be described as rapid.

According to Emperor Zhu's understanding of industrial history, the current technological level of various countries is actually 10 to 20 years ahead of the world. Of course, this is only the technological level, which is not equal to the actual industrial level. The overall industrial level of various countries varies, but the development is extremely rapid.

This is another impact brought about by the advanced technology brought by the Ming Dynasty - the acceleration of global technological iteration, which is the so-called "border effect."

"Your Majesty, I believe that we and the West are in a process of mutual learning. Although we lag behind the West in many aspects, the most fundamental reason is that our foundation is weak. Even until this year, the first generation of college students in the Ming Dynasty just graduated, so this weakness is inevitable."

The "first generation" he referred to specifically refers to those who attended elementary school, middle school, and even university in the Ming Dynasty.

15 years!

Those students who received a complete new education in the Ming Dynasty’s education system are the real “first generation of Ming Dynasty students.”

"But on the other hand, our practical technology is far ahead of Europe and America. So, while we learn from each other, I think we should do a better job of keeping secrets, especially for some special technologies."

As the Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce, Fang Zhanbo specifically mentioned the biggest problems facing the Ming Dynasty's industrial sector - counterfeiting and technology leakage.

"Your Majesty, in the past few years, European and American manufacturers have copied our products in large quantities. Although their product quality is poor, one thing that cannot be denied is that their shoddy products have affected our market."

Who would have thought that in just a dozen years, Ming Dynasty products were copied by many countries. The reason why they copied Ming Dynasty products was that Ming Dynasty products were more novel, more unique, and of course, had higher technical content.

Although many products are difficult for foreigners to imitate due to their high technological content, Fang Zhanbo believes that being imitated is only a matter of time.

"Your Majesty, what did MADE IN DAMING rely on to gain market share? It was due to its leading technology and reliable quality. If we don't keep it confidential, one day we will definitely lose what we are most proud of...our leading technology!"

(End of this chapter)