"You can tell at first glance that he is not a good student..."

Seeing that Li Mingyue actually fell asleep while listening, Zhao Hao pouted in dissatisfaction. His two apprentices could study geometry for three days and three nights without sleeping. How could the difference between people be so big?

Having said that, he still tucked in the girl's cloak, added some firewood to the fire, and leaned against the stone wall to stare blankly.

He was not worried about being rescued, not to mention that Gao Wu and others would definitely be looking for him all over the world. He saw the inscriptions of "Made by the Emperor Longqing" on the girl's kettle and dagger, which meant that even if she was not the daughter of a prince, she was a very favored daughter of a noble.

If such a person suddenly disappears while skiing, his family will definitely look for him frantically, but rescuers may appear in front of him the next moment.

Thinking of this, Zhao Hao felt more at ease, and his thoughts returned to the purpose of his coming to Miaofeng Mountain.

Of course I'm not here to tie up a doll...

His main purpose of this visit was to investigate whether this super coal base adjacent to the capital had the prerequisites for an industrial revolution.

Everyone in later generations knows that the Industrial Revolution originated in Britain.

But the textbooks say that it was the large-scale use of steam engines that led to the advent of the coal age, which is a fallacy that puts the cart before the horse.

The correct logical sequence is that the enclosure movement led to a large influx of people into cities, which finally gave rise to large cities with a population of one million in Britain. It coincided with the Little Ice Age, and citizens used coal on a large scale for heating, which gave rise to a huge coal market. Britain happened to have a large number of high-quality and easy-to-mine coal mines, but the groundwater was too abundant, and the coal mines would soon be flooded. In order to drain the coal mines, the coal mine owners finally invented the steam engine...

Simply summarizing the key points, we can see that there are three indispensable objective prerequisites for entering the industrial revolution: large markets in big cities, a large amount of cheap labor, and abundant coal resources.

In addition, there are actually two major subjective conditions - the so-called capitalist production relations and a relatively enlightened political atmosphere.

Through field research, Zhao Hao believes that the first three points are all met in Beijing during the Ming Dynasty:

It has a population of over one million and a strong demand for coal; there is a large number of refugees who provide abundant labor; and it is located in a super coal belt that is extremely easy to mine and of high quality.

Even the shortcomings of the Xishan Coal Mine are exactly the same as those in the UK - Xishan is rich in water resources and is the main water source for the capital, so as long as the coal mine is dug deep, it will most likely leak.

As for the last two points, we can also expect:

First of all, the coal mines here are mainly privately owned, and private capital and a large number of miners form a huge production, supply and marketing system under a relatively sophisticated organization. Coal has made this the most modern industrial area in Beijing and even the entire north.

There is no doubt that the seeds of capital production have been formed here.

Secondly, in the next fifty years, the Ming Dynasty will enter a super-relaxed stage with the most free thoughts and the weakest government. Basically, no one cares what you do or say, which is definitely not something that Western scientists in Europe who trembled under the threat of the Inquisition could imagine.

Therefore, the city of Beijing is a rare treasure given by God to China for its transformation towards modernization.

But in another time and space, the Ming Dynasty did not survive the Little Ice Age and waited until the day when steam roared...

Zhao Hao wants to see if he can make up for this regret.

So he came, he investigated deeply, he thought carefully, and then came to the following conclusion:

Although various problems still exist, Xishan does have the prerequisites for the industrial revolution.

At present, there are two main factors hindering the industrial revolution here. First, the imperial court is wary of Xishan Mining and may not be willing to see the expansion of production scale.

Second,...the development of the damn steam engine hasn’t even started yet.

Thinking of this, Zhao Hao couldn't help but smile bitterly. He was really too prepared for a rainy day.

Zhao Hao was lost in thought until midnight, and finally fell into a deep sleep.

~~

Li Mingyue woke up when it was almost dawn.

She subconsciously moved her right leg gently, and was pleasantly surprised to find that after last night's ice compress, although her ankle was still swollen, it was no longer as painful.

She first added some firewood to the dying fire, then she curled up her left leg, rested her cheek on her knee, and tilted her head to look at the boy who was sleeping soundly against the wall.

Although he had dust on his face and looked quite funny, and he was also a weak scholar, Li Mingyue found him pleasing to the eye no matter how she looked at him.

It turns out that when people are in desperate situations, the most important thing is not how strong they are or how good their skills are, but their calmness and wisdom...

What's more, he could carry me up the mountain, and... he even touched my ankle.

Recalling what happened last night, Li Mingyue's face suddenly felt like it was on fire and she buried her face in shame.

She couldn't figure out why she was so dependent on Zhao Hao and always subconsciously hid her boyish side. Was she really having a fever?

"How embarrassing! I'm Li Mingyue..."

Li Mingyue was twisting and turning shyly when she suddenly heard a loud shout from outside.

"Found it, here it is!"

"County Lady, County Lady, are you in there?!"

Then voices gradually rose, and the small hill was surrounded by noisy footsteps.

"It's me, I'm here!" Li Mingyue responded in surprise.

Zhao Hao was also woken up. He was about to get angry as usual, but then he realized that this was someone coming to rescue him. He rubbed his eyelids unhappily and said, "Are the reinforcements here?"

Li Mingyue nodded vigorously with excitement, and then said to Zhao Hao with an apologetic look: "Sorry, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Li Mingyue, and my mother is Princess Ning'an..."

"Oh." Zhao Hao nodded, thinking that this young master is indeed getting stronger and stronger, his guess was correct.

Then he smiled and said, "My name is Zhao Hao, and I'm a student of the Nanjing Imperial College. I'm here to greet the county lady."

"Don't take it seriously. I never considered myself a county lord. It was just a title my uncle forced upon me." Li Mingyue waved her hands quickly.

At this moment, a shrill wolf howl was heard outside: "Sister!"

Before he finished his words, a figure rushed to the door of the shack, bent over and looked inside. It was the young master Li Chengen.

After the earthquake yesterday, he took people to search for his sister all over the mountains.

Seeing Li Mingyue sitting there warming herself by the fire, Li Chengen burst into tears:

"That's great, you're not dead, otherwise mom would have skinned me alive."

Li Mingyue wanted to say something to him out of habit, but seeing that he was now disheveled, his eyes were bloodshot, and his mouth was covered with blisters. In addition, with Zhao Hao by her side, she automatically changed her words to:

"My little sister made my brother worried."

"Uh..." Li Chengen was stunned for a moment, and reached out to touch Li Mingyue's forehead and said, "Why are you so polite? Do you have a fever?"

Li Mingyue was so angry that she wanted to kick him out. Of course, with Zhao Hao around, she couldn't help but blink and said softly, "Brother is joking again. When did my sister say anything impolite?"

Li Chengen was just about to say, when have you ever been polite, but then he saw there was another person in the shack, and it was a man.

He immediately became alert and asked, "Who are you?!"

ps. The tenth update has been sent, 4300 votes plus more, please vote for the monthly recommendation~~~