Chapter 63 Absolute Trust
At this time, all government offices had already disbanded.
Only then did Hai Wang have time to come to Jiuzhou Qingyan to report on the progress of steam engine production.
He brought both good news and bad news. The good news was that a steam engine had been made according to the blueprint.
The bad news is that this steam engine can only be used once or twice as the valve leaks easily.
Yonglian didn't know how to solve this problem. He could only draw pictures. Even the materials used for the steam engine parts were decided by the craftsmen of the Imperial Household Department themselves.
Qianlong was even more curious, "Can this steam engine really replace horses?"
Hai Wang said, "This machine only provides power. It could potentially replace horses, human labor, or even waterwheels and oxen."
When Qianlong heard this, his eyes immediately lit up. "What? They can replace oxen? Wouldn't that improve farming efficiency?"
Hai Wang nodded, but now there was a problem with the first step.
Yonglian thought for a moment and said, "Why not look through some ancient books? Maybe there are records about sealing methods."
Hai Wang said, "The Imperial Household Department has some books commonly used by craftsmen. We've all looked through them, but we still haven't found a solution." He turned to Qianlong and said, "Urzhan and others want to borrow books from the Jingyang Palace collection."
"Khan Ama, let them go and look for it." Yonglian hurriedly advised.
Qianlong knew that Wuerzhan was the craftsman who invented the flying shuttle. He hesitated for a moment, then nodded and asked Haiwang to take them there personally.
Haiwang hurriedly thanked the craftsmen on their behalf.
A few days later, the valve leakage problem was solved by wrapping it with hemp rope, but the piston had problems again. The material that was too light could not withstand high temperatures, and the material that was too heavy could not hold up.
The craftsmen couldn't find a solution in the book, so they went to seek help from folk craftsmen.
In order to allow everyone to find more information, Hai Wang even moved the "Imperially Commissioned Complete Collection of Ancient and Modern Books" at home to the Imperial Household Department.
Throughout the summer, the Imperial Household Department was often brightly lit.
As the head of the Imperial Household Department, Yunlu knew about the troubles encountered by the Imperial Household Department and often paid attention to its progress.
He has a wide network of contacts and loves to attend various parties, and he will talk about this matter when he meets people.
Then a member of the Mongolian army suggested that they try wrapping it with a layer of cowhide, as cowhide is not afraid of burning.
Yunlu immediately told the craftsmen in the Imperial Household Department.
After several trials, the piston problem was finally solved.
I thought that the job would be done, but I found that the pressure was difficult to control and it almost exploded several times. I had to make a safety device to control the cylinder pressure.
Ever since Qianlong learned that steam power could occasionally be used in agriculture, he took the matter seriously, inquiring about it regularly. Two more months passed, and still no steam engine capable of sustained operation had been built. If Yonglian hadn't repeatedly extolled the benefits of the steam engine, Qianlong would have considered giving up. The worst-case scenario would be to wait for a Westerner to develop one, then buy one.
During this period, the cowpox experiment progressed smoothly, and people who had been vaccinated with cowpox did not get infected when they were vaccinated with human smallpox.
In order to ensure that this was not a coincidence, the imperial doctors, in addition to the first batch of milkers from the Qingfengsi, also found several serious criminals from the Ministry of Justice to conduct experiments.
When the imperial doctors reported the experimental results to Emperor Qianlong, he was overjoyed and rewarded the officials of the Imperial Medical Bureau again.
Next is how to promote smallpox vaccination.
Yonglian thought of using the court bulletin and the "Guochao News". The court bulletin would introduce the benefits of vaccination against cowpox, while the "Guochao News" could talk about the experimental process.
When the imperial court claimed that vaccination with cowpox could prevent smallpox, the people didn't necessarily take it seriously, and few dared to try it. But when the results of the experiment were made public and it became known that some people had already been vaccinated, people finally began to believe it.
"It would be better to have another interview," Hong Xiao joined the discussion, "and let people share their own experiences."
Qianlong thought for a moment and said, "Those who are guilty cannot appear in the newspapers, and it is not convincing enough."
Qianlong summoned some of his close ministers and told them the court's plan to promote cowpox vaccination. They asked if anyone with a child who had never been vaccinated against human smallpox would be willing to receive the vaccination.
Even though the experimental results were there, no one wanted to put their children at risk. For a moment, the scene was a bit awkward.
Seeing that Qianlong's face was becoming more and more gloomy, Shuhede stepped forward and said that he had a son and a daughter who were almost ten years old and had not yet been vaccinated. He was willing to try vaccination with cowpox.
"Why hasn't he been vaccinated yet, he's almost ten?" Families with the means would arrange vaccinations for their children at five or six. It was rare for a child to remain unvaccinated by the age of ten, and Qianlong worried that the child might be in poor health. He preferred to vaccinate healthy children. If something happened to a child who was already weak, he would be hard-pressed to explain it to Shuhede, and it would be detrimental to the promotion of cowpox vaccination.
Shu Hede said, "Your Majesty, these two siblings were old enough to be vaccinated, but their mother passed away, so the vaccination was delayed."
Qianlong's expression brightened. "It's so pitiful. The Imperial Hospital has set up a separate smallpox clinic. Once the Imperial Astronomical Bureau chooses a date and the clinic is ready, you can send your child to the palace. Don't worry, the palace physicians have found the safest vaccination method. It will only leave a shallow dent on the arm."
This method was proposed by Yonglian. Originally, the imperial doctors wanted to use the method of human smallpox vaccination, blowing the scabs into the nose. However, this method was prone to failure and still required contact with the smallpox pus.
Shuhede said: "It is their honor to be able to vaccinate against cowpox in the palace."
After leaving Jiuzhou Qingyan, Aligun came to remind Shuhede, "Why did you agree to this? And you let your daughter get the vaccination? Girls are weaker by nature. If something happens, not only will it ruin the child, but it will also damage the reputation of the Imperial Hospital. Besides, leaving a scar on your arm, what if it affects your child's marriage?"
Shu Hede: "If my future son-in-law can't even accept the pit on my daughter's arm, then there's no point in talking about marriage. Don't worry, my daughter is in good health and is as lively and active as a little kid. She'll be fine. Besides, the Second Prince told me about the process of the cowpox experiment, and it's very safe."
The worst-case scenario would be a failure of the cowpox vaccination, requiring a human smallpox vaccination. His own children would have to be vaccinated sooner or later anyway. Shuhede believed the imperial court wouldn't dare joke about such a thing.
When he got home, he told his wife about the vaccination.
The wife didn't object much because neither of the two children was hers and she didn't care that much.
Shu Hede now has five children, three sons and two daughters. The ones who were not vaccinated are his second son Shu Chang and second daughter Shu Nan.
When Shu Chang learned that his father wanted to vaccinate him and his sister with cowpox, he subconsciously felt a little nervous. After all, this was a new vaccination method, and it was difficult to judge how safe it was.
Shu Nan carefully asked his father about the principles and specific methods of smallpox vaccination.
Shu Hede told her about it, and a few days later he brought back an article that was written by Yonglian and gave a general description of the cowpox experiment.
This article will be published in the next issue of "Guochao News". In order to reassure his children, Shuhede came to show it to them in advance.
Shu Nan had read a few books with her sisters, and after learning to read, she also read some history books that interested her. She felt that the article written by the Second Prince was particularly easy to understand.
She understood the principle of vaccination against smallpox, and she was no longer worried and went to comfort her brother.
The Imperial Astronomical Observatory selected a day in early July and invited the brother and sister to the palace for vaccination.
Yonglian was moved when he heard that Shuhede had taken the lead in getting his children vaccinated. When he learned that his children had already been to the smallpox clinic, he sent them some books, paper, and pens to help them pass the time during their quarantine.
Shuhede was moved by the Second Prince's thoughtfulness, and became more strict with his schoolwork, writing long comments every time.
Yonglian felt a headache when he saw the dense comments from his master, but since his master was so serious, he couldn't fool him. Subconsciously, he took the homework assigned by Shu Hede more seriously.
Ah Gui saw Yonglian's Chinese homework that day and joked with him, "How come Second Prince only wrote half a page of the essay I assigned him yesterday?"
Yonglian: “…” Isn’t it because it takes too much time to do the Chinese homework, but you don’t want to delay your sleep, so you are a bit perfunctory in doing the Manchu homework?
He really shouldn't be partial to one and not to the other, especially since Master Agui would be someone who would risk his life for the imperial court. Yonglian obediently said, "Master, I'm sorry. Can I rewrite it tomorrow?"
Ah Gui laughed out loud upon hearing this, and couldn't wait to touch the Second Prince's little head.
"In fact, Second Prince wrote very well. Although it is concise, every word is precious."
Yonglian: "Really?"
"How could I dare to deceive Second Prince?" Ah Gui said, "It's just that I wrote the word 'Qing' a little hastily. Just be careful next time."
Yonglian agreed repeatedly.
In order to complete the assignments for his two masters, Yonglian reluctantly postponed his sleep time by a quarter of an hour, mainly because as he grew older, he could not sleep as well.
When Emperor Qianlong and the Empress heard about this, they were very pleased. This child finally had some ambition.
But Qianlong was afraid that the child would be tired, so he shortened Yonglian's painting learning time by half.
Yonglian now had more time to rest. He did not adjust his sleeping time back, but used this time to play with his third and fourth brothers.
There was good news in the palace recently. Concubine Hai, Koriyete, is two months pregnant.
Yonglian knew that this was the fifth prince Yongqi, who was said to be the Khan's favorite son. If he had not died young, he would most likely have been made the crown prince.
In Yonglian's view, the unborn Xiaowu is his number one successor and must be trained well.
In order to help his younger brothers gain enlightenment, Yonglian planned to draw some fables on picture boards.
He first drew a few simple ones for his third brother to see. Yongzhang liked them very much and was able to understand the meaning of the fable more quickly.
Yonglian took his own sketches to Ruyi Pavilion and asked a Western painter to paint some fables from Zhuangzi and famous allusions from pre-Qin classics in this style.
Qianlong soon learned about this. He pinched his son's cheek and said, "You are good at ordering people around."
Yonglian thought that Khan Ama was unhappy because he had acted on his own initiative, so he explained, "I had hoped that they would paint a few decent paintings and then report this to you."
Qianlong: "What's so difficult about painting such childish pictures? If those Western painters can't even do this well, they have no face to stay in the Qing Dynasty."
Yonglian: “…”
Qianlong glanced at him and said, "I heard that you asked the painter to draw these things to enlighten Yongzhang, Yongcheng and others?"
Yonglian nodded, "It can also be used by younger brothers and sisters who are born in the future."
"You and your elder brother didn't see any pictures when you were first taught, but you still learned well. Why bother with them?" Qianlong even felt that Yonglian was a little spoiled to Yongzhang, coaxing him to eat and study, without any dignity as an older brother.
Yonglian said, "You can't say that. People in the Qin Dynasty could still write even without paper."
Qianlong: "...you are really good at making excuses!"
Yonglian chuckled and discussed with Khan Ama which fables were suitable for being drawn into comic strips.
"It would be even better if they could be compiled into a book, published in various places, and read by the people." Yonglian said, "Fables are nothing more than stories about life and philosophy. Everyone should read them."
Qianlong knew that the comic strips in the "Guochao News" had always been very popular. Some women in some families could not read, but they bought the newspaper just to read the comic strips.
Hong Zhou's wife even cut out the pages of the comic strip and kept them for her children to read later.
"Let your younger brothers use it first," Qianlong said. He couldn't help but worry about Yongzhang: "Yongzhang still hasn't finished memorizing the Thousand Character Classic. What will he do when he enters the Shangshufang next year?"
Yonglian said, "Then you can enter the Shangshufang next year. My third brother is not in good health, so it's okay to wait a year."
Qianlong: "..." The brat's tone of voice was exactly like the Empress Dowager's. Instead of learning good things, he'd learned to spoil his child. Furthermore, Yonghuang, the older brother, had never had the authority of an elder brother and instead often listened to Yonglian. This brat had no sense of establishing his own authority as an elder brother and only knew how to play with his younger brother and make him happy.
"If you keep pampering your brothers like this, they won't be afraid of you in the future. Let's see what you can do!"
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