Not to mention the three palaces and six courtyards, even now, he has six wives but can't even grow his own melons. Is he qualified to be an emperor?
Two daughters, two sons, and two babies in the belly. The emperor counted on his fingers and smiled even more happily.
How could one be born into an imperial family? At the end of the dynasty, Chongzhen wielded a sword to kill his young daughter and severed Princess Changping's arm. His incompetence brought disaster upon his entire family.
The emperor has already pacified the Liao and destroyed the slaves, and has pointed his sword in all directions, traversing the four seas. The danger of national destruction has been eliminated.
Although the royal family has many sons and daughters, and there is an inevitable risk of fighting for the throne in the future, the emperor has his own confidence and can control it well.
He is a man who manages his family, governs the country, and brings peace to the world, but can't even educate his own children properly. Is he qualified to be an emperor?
Well, the emperor's current confidence is also self-righteous. Throughout the dynasties, there are many emperors who were driven to tears by their unfilial children.
"Your Majesty, Zhao Dabao comes to see you." Not long after Wang Tigan left, the palace servant came in to report.
The apprentice has arrived, and all my carpentry skills have been passed on to him. I wonder what new things he has come up with at the Academy of Sciences?
The emperor nodded and ordered the palace servants to summon Zhao Dabao into the palace.
He was already fifteen years old, a sturdy and honest boy, and held no official position. But everyone in the palace knew that he was the emperor's apprentice. He entered the palace only a few times, but each time he did, he was summoned by the emperor.
"Your Majesty, I bow to you." Zhao Dabao walked into the hall and kowtowed as per the etiquette.
"Get up!" The emperor smiled gently and turned his eyes to the items he brought.
A wooden box with a handle and several little figures on it. The emperor had a guess in his mind, but he didn't say it out loud, waiting for Zhao Dabao to explain.
After thanking him, Zhao Dabao stood up with a simple smile on his face and said, "I made a new toy for the two little princesses to play with."
"You are so thoughtful, Dabao!" The emperor stood up from his throne, walked to the wooden box, and said with a smile, "Show me."
The palace maid brought a stool, Zhao Dabao put the wooden box on it, shook the handle, and heard a slight sound from inside.
Clockwork! The emperor looked at the little man on the wooden box. It had a fixed track and must be driven by a clockwork, moving along the track.
Zhao Dabao stopped and stood back for a while. The ding-dong music had already sounded. The little wooden figures were sliding along the track in different postures. Some were turning in circles, and some were moving left and right, as if they were dancing to the music.
Hahaha, the emperor laughed and nodded repeatedly, saying: "Very good, Ying'er and Qin'er will definitely like it."
Zhao Dabao bowed and said, "The Academy of Sciences is currently researching Western Yi clocks. I've been listening and watching, and I've learned a lot. Next time, I'll be able to make something even better."
Clocks and watches at that time were already precision machines, with springs, gears, speed wheels, and so on, and almost all kinds of mechanical principles were applied.
If this research is thorough, not only watchmaking, but also large machinery such as bicycles, tricycles, and steam engines will make great progress on this basis.
In ancient China, this kind of mechanical kinematics was called "mechanical news" and could only be made by skilled craftsmen. However, it was not a discipline but rather a kind of strange and tricky skill.
The Academy of Sciences has already conducted special research and established a special classification. A simple steam engine has been developed, but it is still a long way from being practical.
Chain-driven bicycles and tricycles, although without rubber tires, have seats with shock-absorbing springs, making them practical, and are being introduced to the market.
Like glass mirrors, newly launched bicycles and tricycles are also luxury goods for ordinary people.
But any commodity, from its launch to its popularization, must go through a similar process as production technology matures, manufacturing costs decrease, and people's living standards improve.
In short, the increase in transportation tools and the improvement of road facilities have strongly promoted the development of the logistics and transportation industry in the Ming Empire.
From the more high-end four-wheeled carriages, human-powered tricycles, two-wheeled bicycles to the creaky unicycles, all social classes have their own suitable vehicles for economic and daily life.
To facilitate road maintenance, stone troughs were built specifically for wheelbarrows, making it even more convenient for the lower classes. Whether going to the market, pulling goods, or even carrying two people, a wheelbarrow was much more labor-saving than carrying a shoulder pole.
The popularization of tools means improved efficiency, and people will have more free time to do more work and earn more.
These changes may be small, but when accumulated, they mean an increase in social wealth.
Of course, Zhao Dabao and the researchers at the Academy of Sciences might not have seen this. Whether it was for interest, fame, or promotion, it all heightened their passion for research.
The emperor's love for Zhao Dabao was genuine, even though this simple music box-like device did not impress him.
In order to create a more relaxed atmosphere, the emperor continued talking with Zhao Dabao under the shade of a tree outside the palace.
"The experts from the Academy of Sciences were moving a steam engine onto a boat and conducting tests on the Yongding River," Zhao Dabao recounted, gesturing with his hands. "The engine was huge, belching smoke, and locals gathered to watch."
The emperor smiled and nodded. "The simplest reciprocating steam engine has been successfully developed, but the control system still needs to be improved. If it is applied to ship navigation, it will be less than satisfactory and the effect will definitely not be very good."
But so what? "Fulton's Folly" was ridiculed by almost everyone, but only nine years later, it became the "Clermont," the world's first steamship.
From dual-purpose sail and steam to full steam power, from wooden ships to iron ships, from steam rowing to propeller propulsion, the right path is in his mind. Is it still a fantasy to end the history of human or wind-powered ships?
No, in the eyes of the emperor, this is entirely possible during his lifetime.
"I'll draw some blueprints when I have time to help the Academy avoid unnecessary detours," the emperor said with a pleased smile. "Steam-powered ships will undoubtedly succeed, and they will surely sail the rivers and oceans of our great Ming Empire."
After a pause, the emperor continued, "We must not slack off on improving the steam engine either. This is the key to its practical application. Well, you should master mechanical engineering. Clocks are complex, but once you master them, everything else will be easy."
Zhao Dabao nodded vigorously and agreed respectfully.
From a starving orphan to a well-fed and well-clothed student at the Shaoying Academy, and then to a rank- and salary-earning student at the Academy of Sciences, his experiences made him cherish this situation even more.
Although he knew he wasn't cut out for academics, he showed a keen eye for mechanical engineering. A good carpenter doesn't necessarily have to be well-educated, but neither does an educated person make a good carpenter.
The emperor did not look down on him just because he had difficulty graduating from elementary school. Everyone has their own expertise, and even ordinary people can become scientists. Even in the Ming Dynasty, people with only elementary school education were rare, but that was enough.
Science and technology are the primary productive forces, which is gradually being confirmed in the Ming Empire.
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