Since even the muzzle-loading percussion cap rifle has no chance to be unveiled, there is no need to show off other new gun models with more impressive design concepts but are still imperfect, such as the breech-loading percussion cap rifle and the hand-cranked repeater.

Zhao Shizhen planned to take Zhao Hao to the artillery workshop to see his latest steel cannon design, but he saw a young man of about sixteen or seventeen running towards him in a wheelchair along the cement road.

As soon as this guy appeared, he became the focus of everyone's attention.

After a second of surprise, the guards quickly stopped him outside the cordon. After checking his ID, they focused on checking the car.

It's not quite accurate to call that vehicle a wheelchair; it was more like the four-wheeled vehicle that Zhuge Liang rode in. It was also made of wood, with two small wheels in the front and two large wheels in the back.

The difference is that the four wheels are made of iron rims and solid rubber tires, and they can drive themselves without being pushed by others.

The guards checked the vehicle very carefully. The young man became impatient and got out of the car and jogged over.

"Liangfu, why are you coming here instead of preparing yourself properly?" Zhao Shizhen glared at the young man.

"Brother, how dare you say that? We've been waiting for our master but he never showed up. Turns out you've kidnapped him!" The young man was tall, with broad shoulders and waist. His eyes were rolling around, and he was full of energy and cleverness.

As he said that, he ran to Zhao Hao and said with a grin, "Let's go, Master. You came to see us today!"

"First, I'm not old." Zhao Hao tapped his head and said, "Second, are you ready?"

"I've been preparing for this for a long time. I've been working all night." The young man patted his chest and said, "It's guaranteed to be foolproof!"

"Okay, let's go to your place!" Zhao Hao nodded with a smile and said to Zhao Shizhen, "Wait until you're done over there, then I'll come and watch you fire."

"Oh." The eldest nephew nodded helplessly.

Zhao Hao didn't have the heart to hit him with just one blow, so he lowered his voice and said, "In fact, the mercury has not completely disappeared."

"Oh?" Zhao Shizhen was startled and asked in great joy, "Fulmethane?"

Zhao Hao sighed and said, "That one will be safer."

After saying that, he walked towards the four-wheeled vehicle that had been inspected and asked the young man, "Is this your mount?"

"Yes, this place is too big and we can't keep horses here, so I got a bicycle to drive around." The young man said proudly, "Master, what do you think?"

"Wow, a bicycle..." Zhao Hao touched his nose. He had never mentioned these three words before.

He began to examine the transmission system of the four-wheel vehicle with great interest.

The young man excitedly introduced it, and soon Zhao Hao understood the principle of the car - a crank was installed on the axle of the rear wheel, and a connecting rod was used to connect the crank and the pedal under the seat. In this way, when a person sits on the chair and steps on the pedals alternately, the crank will rotate around the axis, driving the wheel to roll forward.

The two small wheels in the front are connected to the armrest-like handlebars and are responsible for steering.

"Not bad, not bad." Zhao Hao was very happy. He thought that the disciple was worthy of his attention. He could be very reliable even if he did something casually.

"Master, do you want to give it a try? It's really fun." The young man patted the seat covered with a bamboo mat.

"Liangfu, stop messing around!" Zhang Jian, who had always looked doting, got angry when he heard this and said, "What if Master gets hurt?!"

"I understand, uncle." The young man shrank his neck and dared not encourage Zhao Hao anymore.

"It's okay, let's give it a ride." Zhao Hao was excited and sat on it to try it out. Except for being a little strenuous at the beginning, it became very easy after he started pedaling.

The four-wheeled bicycle whizzed forward, and everyone hurriedly ran after it, but they were still left far behind.

"How do you brake?" Seeing that the road ahead had come to an end, Zhao Hao suddenly remembered an important question and asked loudly behind him.

"Foot brake!" the young man answered loudly.

Zhao Hao quickly looked down, but saw only two foot pedals and no other devices.

"Where is the foot brake?"

"Just use your foot brake!"

"What the hell is going on!" Zhao Hao groaned, leaned back in the chair, and rubbed his feet on the ground, finally managing to stop the car.

But even if he couldn't stop, he wouldn't hit the wall, because the guards from the security department had already jumped down from the wall and were ready to serve as a human shield for him...

"Master, are you okay?" The young disciple followed closely, his face turning pale with fear.

"Fortunately, your braking method is quite unique." Zhao Hao rubbed Microsoft's knee and said calmly.

"The main reason is that the front wheels of this car are too small and the rear wheels are too large. Using this method to brake can prevent it from tipping forward." The young disciple quickly rubbed his legs.

"It just wears out the shoes." Zhao Hao tapped his head hard, and the master and disciple burst into laughter.

I have to say, the age difference between the master and the apprentice is finally normal, and the picture looks much more harmonious...

~~

The young man calls Zhang Jian uncle, but together with Zhang Jian, he calls Zhao Hao master, so his identity is obvious - he is Zhang Jian's nephew, Wang Zheng, the son of Wang Yingxuan, the director of Institute 01!

In fact, it was thanks to this son that Wang Yingxuan, a failed scholar and teacher, was able to come to Jiangnan from Shaanxi.

Although Wang Zheng was not yet born, Mr. Zhao's great prophecy had already determined that he would be a rare genius when he grew up and could be his successor... Of course, Zhao Hao never told anyone this. Others thought that he valued Wang Yingxuan's family because he loved Zhang Jian.

Zhang Jian was deeply moved and felt that he could never repay his master's kindness even if he sacrificed his life.

In fact, even if Zhao Hao loves Wang Zheng so much, it is because he loves Wang Zheng... He is the most talented scientist and inventor in the Ming Dynasty!

In another time and space, Wang Zheng and Xu Guangqi were called "Xu in the South and Wang in the North", and they were considered the most outstanding pair of scientists in the Ming Dynasty. Both of them were extremely talented, had a wide range of knowledge, were proficient in both Chinese and Western studies, and had extraordinary achievements.

If we have to compare them, Wang Zheng is still better than Xu Guangqi, because his family has a long history of science. His father is good at mathematics, and his uncle is even more knowledgeable about machinery and good at making instruments. Under the influence of his elders, he has laid a solid mathematical foundation since he was a child. He also likes to study the structure of machines and is keen on inventions and creations to the point of obsession... Since he was a child, he has been "thinking and thinking, and he is dedicated to the ingenious instruments that have never been seen before in ancient and modern times."

Before he came into contact with Western learning, he was already an excellent mathematician and inventor. Moreover, under the influence of his father, Wang Zheng focused on "benefiting people's daily life" and developed various hydraulic, wind and load-bearing machinery, which benefited the villagers a lot. Wang Zheng's name also spread throughout Guanzhong.

Later, Wang Zheng came into contact with Western science and technology books brought by Jesuit missionaries and realized that Europe's mechanical technology at that time had far surpassed that of the Ming Dynasty.

Wang Zheng, who was worried, wanted to ask missionaries for help to translate these materials into Chinese and spread them in Ming Dynasty. But the missionaries told him that to make these machines, he had to learn theoretical knowledge first, otherwise he would not understand the principles. So under their guidance, he learned and mastered European geometry, mathematics and mechanics.

Then he compiled a book "Illustrated Explanation of Strange Instruments from the Far West" based on three of the latest European scientific and technological masterpieces: "General Theory of Mathematics", "Complete Book of Mining" and "On Various Process Machinery". The book is divided into four volumes:

The first volume is the "Introduction", which introduces the basic knowledge and principles of mechanics, and discusses gravity, the center of gravity of various geometric figures, the specific gravity of various objects, etc., and introduces Archimedes' principle of buoyancy.

The second volume is called "Mechanical Explanation", which describes the principles of various simple machines, such as balance, lever, pulley, wheel, screw and inclined plane.

These two volumes are the first half and are the first physics works in modern China.

The lower part is the specific application.

The third volume is "Application of Mechanical Principles", with 54 drawings, all of which are the most advanced practical machines in European countries, including lifting, transportation, water supply, rice pounding, wood splitting, etc., "all of which benefit people's livelihood".

The fourth volume is "Illustrations of New Instruments", which contains a total of nine instruments. These are new machines developed by Wang Zheng himself based on the above knowledge. Moreover, they are all practical inventions that conform to the principles of physics, rather than simply the fanciful ideas of the literati.

For example, the siphon is a machine that draws water from a low place to a high place; the crane is used to irrigate farmland; there is also the self-driving mill that drives the millstone with wind power, the timekeeping machine "wheel pot", and the bicycle used for transportation...

For the rest of his life, he continued to research various machines, such as alarm clocks, oil presses, printing presses, large water-powered spinning wheels, etc. Basically, he caught up with the mechanical gap between the Ming Dynasty and Europe by his own efforts.

However, the Ming Dynasty was already in a state of terminal decline, and Wang Zheng had no chance to make full use of what he had learned and invented, and the country was on its last legs...

In October of the 16th year of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng captured Xi'an. Wang Zheng, who was already 73 years old, heard that Li Zicheng wanted to let him come out to serve as an official, so he wrote on his tombstone:

"There is the tomb of Wang Zheng, a Ming Dynasty Jinshi Fengzheng Dafu, Shandong Ancha Si Jianshi, who was ordered to supervise the military affairs of the Liaohai Army." He first attempted suicide but failed, then fasted for seven days and died.

When Zhao Hao read this part of the history, he closed the book and sighed, thinking that this was another minister who was not worthy of the Ming Dynasty.

~~

It was because of his admiration for Wang Zheng's talent, ambition and personality that Zhao Hao had full confidence in Wang Yingxuan, who gave birth to him and raised him, and his uncle Zhang Jian. Without the influence of a good family education, Wang Zheng would not have become Wang Zheng...

That is why Zhao Hao entrusted Zhang Jian with the Xishan Island Research Center, his most valuable asset for future generations, and also entrusted Wang Yingxuan with important tasks.

However, when Wang Yingxuan was brought to Suzhou, his wife had just become pregnant... Zhao Hao was really worried for several years, fearing that the child born, Wang Zheng, would not be the one he wanted.

Fortunately, the child showed great talent when he was four years old. He could easily disassemble and assemble the various exquisite toys that Zhao Hao gave him, and even recombine them to create new ones.

When he was seven years old, he was accepted as a disciple by Zhao Hao. However, Zhao Hao did not have the time to teach his own son, and of course he could not teach him personally, so he asked Zhang Jian to teach him instead. He was not worried about misleading his students.

Wang Zheng did not disappoint Zhao Hao. Under the guidance of Zhang Jian, he completed learning all the mathematics, physics and chemistry knowledge passed down by Zhao Hao over the years at the age of twelve. Then he studied with several other senior brothers for three years. At the age of fifteen, he officially graduated and was directly thrown into the newly established "Taoism Research Institute" of the Xishan Island Research Center by Zhao Hao.

Zhao Hao's real destination today is the 'Taoism and Law Research Institute', internally codenamed Institute 11, which is directed by Zhang Jian himself.