Xu Churen felt that the money flowing out of the Political Affairs Hall in the future might be like a waterfall.
The imperial court wanted to build that steam locomotive, and it actually gave Yong Sheng Trading Company a huge sum of money, and this money was continuous.
The most critical issue was that the steam locomotive was very dilapidated, but Ye Chong had already proven its basic structure and principles, meaning that he was the one who created the initial model.
The imperial court had to spend money on that dilapidated and strange vehicle, spending money like water.
Nothing is more frustrating than this.
Xu Churen and Tang Ke left looking dejected.
After the excitement subsided, things quickly calmed down.
Because steam locomotives were too far removed from the lives of ordinary people in Tokyo, and even though they could run on the road, they still looked cumbersome and slow compared to horse-drawn carriages, so they were really not good.
Furthermore, because of its extremely rough workmanship, the high-ranking officials and nobles disliked it deep down.
After a few days, no one was talking about it anymore.
Most people agree that it was because the emperor was bored.
But no one knew that this was just the beginning.
The beginning of earth-shaking changes in the Song Dynasty, the beginning of a new way of life.
The steam locomotive was like a butterfly in the South Seas, flapping its wings slightly. Soon after, a storm would sweep across the Song Dynasty.
At that time, not many people realized the importance of steam locomotives.
Han Gonglian, Sima Qi, and others knew about it, and the bigwigs of the Political Affairs Hall and the Privy Council were also aware of it.
On the spacious grounds of the Academy of Sciences, the large water-powered astronomical clock has been operating unchanged since time immemorial.
It was created by Han Gonglian and Su Song during the reign of Emperor Zhezong of Song, and was used to observe celestial phenomena.
It has little practical use for ordinary people, but it contains a lot of knowledge about physics.
At Zhao Huan's request, Han Gonglian organized this physics knowledge into a systematic theory, which mainly focused on mechanics.
The book, bestowed by the emperor, is titled "The Great Song Dynasty's Principles of Learning." It is more than half completed. In fact, the completed part has been transferred to the Hanlin Academy, which had already begun implementing it in universities two years ago.
In the past two years, Shi Xun, from an educational perspective, divided "The Great Song Dynasty's Mechanics" into different levels of difficulty and distributed them to primary schools, middle schools, and universities respectively.
This steam engine model was largely made possible by the presence of Han Gonglian, a top physicist of the Song Dynasty.
His research on the principles of rotating wheels, levers, and heat was unparalleled in his time.
Furthermore, as early as three years ago, the Chinese Academy of Sciences had summarized the theoretical knowledge of hot gas expansion and rise based on the principle of Kongming lanterns, and compiled it into textbooks.
Zhong Yu was unconvinced, so he went to Sima Qi's study.
"Teacher, I think that Ye Chong is a fraud!"
Sima Qi is compiling "Thermodynamics of the Great Song Dynasty". Because of his research on steam engines, Sima Qi has spent more than a year studying the principles of thermodynamics.
He was intently looking at the blueprints that Ye Chong had modified, nodding repeatedly: "Although the changes are not major, they are all on the important points."
"Teacher, we built the steam locomotive, but now that brat Ye Chong has the patent rights. It's so unfair to us!"
Sima Qi possessed the qualities of a skilled construction engineer—honest, simple, and unpretentious. He put down his brush and added a bucket of water to a small waterwheel model that was running nearby, which increased the speed of the waterwheel's rotation.
Sima Qi said, "Zhong Yu, you need to have the right mindset. Everything we are doing now belongs to the government and is for the Song Dynasty and the people. As long as Ye Chong is the same, it doesn't matter whose patent it is."
Zhong Yu disagreed with his teacher's idea. He said somewhat impatiently, "Teacher, some people in the court are saying in private that our Royal Academy of Sciences is not even as good as a private trading company!"
Ye Chong's sudden appearance surprised Sima Qi, who was also somewhat unwilling to accept it.
But afterwards he also processed it properly: "Those ministers in the court don't understand the science of construction, so let them talk."
"Teacher, this will damage your reputation."
"Zhong Yu, you're too impetuous!"
"Teacher, His Majesty attaches great importance to steam locomotives!"
Sima Qi shook his head. His student was indeed a rare talent, but he was impatient and overly competitive.
He sighed, "Zhong Yu, let me ask you, how long does it take and how many people are needed to build a steam locomotive?"
"The time required varies depending on the number of staff. If there are 100 people, it can be made in five days."
"Then why do you think His Majesty built the steam engine?"
"Of course, we should create a completely new kind of vehicle that people can sit on, so that we no longer need horses."
"Have you ever done the math? Is the current steam engine more expensive, or is the horse-drawn carriage more expensive?"
“Of course, it’s a steam locomotive.” Zhong Yu didn’t quite understand why he was always asked these questions.
The Academy of Sciences is a place to create new things that the emperor wants. It is not the Hall of State Affairs or the Privy Council. When something is made, it will not be calculated. It only needs to be done according to His Majesty's requirements.
"Since steam locomotives are so expensive, why did the emperor still want to build them?"
"This... I am dull-witted, please enlighten me, teacher."
"I heard it from the Emperor. He once told me a story: when something new is created, a smart person will not invest a lot of money to mass-produce it, nor will he immediately think about making it big, nor will he immediately make the product the best. Instead, he will make a model as quickly as possible, as long as it can reflect its basic function. That's how the Emperor described it: build the framework first."
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