After listening to Fan Jingwen's complaints, Chongzhen asked, "What is the purpose of Minister Fan saying this?"
"What I mean is that the steam engine may not be made in a short time."
Chongzhen was not too surprised by this news.
What’s the use of making it?
It can only be loaded onto ships in a short period of time and cannot be used to lay tracks and build trains.
The reason is simple....Iron is more expensive.
According to the customs of the time, as soon as the railway was laid, the people along the way would remove the tracks.
After being dismantled, they were melted down and put into a blast furnace, and both the rails and the evidence were gone.
So what if he was caught?
The tracks are gone!
Repairing the railroad tracks is time-consuming and labor-intensive...the strategic significance of the railroad tracks is only 70% of what it used to be.
The steam engine solved the problem of transportation capacity.
Things of such strategic significance cannot be rushed, and there is no point in rushing.
Chongzhen's plan was to complete the development of the steam engine and put it into use in ten to twenty years, and then gradually upgrade it.
By then, people will be wealthy and the number of people picking up railroad tracks from the fields will be reduced a lot.
Chongzhen sighed and said to Fan Jingwen: "I know it is difficult, so I have never asked about it since I handed over the production of steam engines to the Ministry of Industry."
"We can't rush at this point, but we can't just throw the jar away."
"I understand." Fan Jingwen breathed a sigh of relief.
He is the Minister of Works, and he is responsible for the failure of the Ministry of Works to achieve results.
After giving some more instructions, Chongzhen returned to the Qianqing Palace.
The next morning.
At the instruction of Chongzhen, the Ministry of Personnel transferred Fang Yizhi from the Hanlin Academy to the local area to serve as a prefect.
This is all Chongzhen can do, the rest depends on Fang Yizhi's own luck.
If you want to become famous, you must first govern the place well.
If a ruler governs well, the people will spontaneously spread his good name.
After he has governed the place well, he will be given one or two opportunities to make meritorious service. As long as Fang Yizhi seizes the opportunity and makes great contributions, Chongzhen will transfer him back to the capital to assist him in important tasks.
By then, there will be countless students who will take the initiative to study under him, and the scientific development of the Ming Dynasty will make great progress.
Asking him to give lectures directly would not only have no effect, but would be counterproductive.
First of all, Fang Yizhi is too young.
Any student in the Imperial College would be older than him if he copied what he had written.
The second and most crucial point is that he has no teaching achievements.
The students will not accept it.
Fang Yizhi will fall into deep self-doubt due to the interference of various factors.
Once a person begins to doubt himself, he is not far from collapse.
He didn't want to destroy the Ming Dynasty's physicists.
There is no need to set up a so-called academy of sciences. What the Ming Dynasty lacked was not schools and students, but teachers.
A teacher who can enable students to actively learn scientific knowledge!
After the decree was issued, Gao Shiming, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department who had just recovered, walked in.
"Your Majesty, the cabinet sent two official documents. One is Liu Zhaoji's request for the payment of pension silver, and the other is a document from the military department's official impeachment of Liu Zhaoji."
"Relief silver?" Chongzhen was a little dazed after hearing these three words.
He hadn't heard of any war in Baoding and Zhending Prefecture.
Since there is no war, where does the talk of compensation come from?
In doubt, Chongzhen took the two petitions.
After reading it, Chongzhen suddenly realized.
Why were Liu Zhaoji's soldiers so fierce?
Because his training method is different from others. Others train to sweat, but he trains to bleed.
Since he took over the task of training soldiers, nearly a hundred soldiers have died as a result of training.
Liu Zhaoji applied for pensions for those who died in training.
The Military Affairs Department also impeached him for this matter.
Although the amount of silver is not much, it is not in compliance with the regulations.
According to the regulations of the Ming army, only those who died on the battlefield could enjoy pension silver.
Those who died on the training ground were not eligible.
"What did the Ministry of War do?" Chongzhen asked.
Gao Shiming picked up the official document and concluded: "The Ministry of War handled it according to the rules. It refused to issue the pension and impeached Liu Zhaoji in the official document."
"Let's do as the Ministry of War wishes."
"But Your Majesty..." Gao Shiming was about to plead for mercy when Chongzhen glared at him.
"The rules of the various ministries and yamen cannot be broken, otherwise the court will be in chaos." Chongzhen said solemnly: "I am the ruler of a country, and I cannot break this rule."
"The pension can be given, but the money cannot come from the Ministry of War."
"What does your majesty mean?"
"Take money from the treasury and send it to Liu Zhaoji. Tell him that I want an army that can fight the Jian Nu head-on."
"I obey your command."
In the following days, Chongzhen handled official documents diligently every day.
Time soon came to the twelfth lunar month.
On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Chongzhen had just taken a sip of Laba porridge when he was interrupted by the voice of a eunuch outside the door.
"Your Majesty, Xuanfu Tang News, Yunnan Tang News!"
Wang Chengen ran to the door and took two newspapers from the eunuch.
Wang Chengen stretched out his hand to open one of the letters and read quickly: "Xuanfu Tang reported that several Mongolian tribes united to plunder the south. Dingxi Bo Tang Tong and Guerrilla General Ding Yi led troops to fight. Our army suffered hundreds of casualties and killed more than a thousand enemies. Seeing that they could not gain an advantage in Xuanfu, the Mongolians turned around and went to Datong. The results of the battle are unknown."
Chongzhen clenched his right fist and asked, "Read the Yunnan Tang newspaper."
Wang Chengen opened the newspaper and took a quick glance at it, then his hands trembled.
"What? You can't read?" Chongzhen was a little displeased.
Wang Chengen immediately knelt down and read: "Yunnan Tangbao, Qian Guogong Mu Tianbo sent a message saying that the local chieftain Wu Bikui of Yuanmou in Yunnan has rebelled. The rebels have captured Dayao, Dingyuan and Yao'an, and are approaching Yunnan Prefecture."
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