Daming Crazy Emperor

Chapter 621 I want to fly to the sky

Another year passed from winter to spring, and it was time for the three-yearly general examination and palace examination.

At this time, the Ming court no longer needed to arrange special warships to pick up students from various provinces, because under the crazy promotion of Taichang, the railways in the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty were basically completed.

Moreover, there are four to five hundred large water transport ships of the Western Company already passing through the rivers and waterways of the two capitals and the thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty. These ships can not only carry goods but also carry people, which is very convenient.

Western companies are considering opening passenger ships, and students from all over the country who are rushing to take the exam just sit on it and try it out.

Now, candidates who want to participate in the general examination only need to submit an application form to the liberal arts college and the liberal arts college where they are located, and the Ministry of Rites will arrange an itinerary for them.

They are free of charge by car and boat, and as long as they don't stop at random on the road, no matter how far it is, they will be able to reach the capital within five days.

This is also a great benefit for candidates. They basically don’t have to worry about rushing for the exam.

Therefore, most candidates choose to leave after the Lantern Festival at home.

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival. There are many customs in various places, such as eating Lantern Festival, appreciating lanterns, dancing dragons, lions and so on.

In the past two years, there has even been an upsurge of lighting Kongming lanterns to pray for blessings in many places in Ming Dynasty.

In fact, praying for blessings with Kongming lanterns at the Lantern Festival did not start in the Ming Dynasty. This custom existed during the Three Kingdoms period.

The Kongming Lantern was originally not called the Kongming Lantern, but was called the Blessing Lantern or the Wishing Lantern. It was only later that Zhuge Kongming, the prime minister of the Shu Kingdom, used this lantern to deceive Sima Yi.

As for why there has suddenly been an upsurge of praying with Kongming lanterns in the past two years, it is mainly because Kongming lanterns are easy to make.

Originally Kongming lanterns were very troublesome to make, because most of the Kongming lanterns were made in the past with small porcelain plates or small ceramic bowls filled with lamp oil and then fixed under the lampshade.

This thing is not only troublesome to fix, it is also easy to catch fire, and if it is not done well, it will burn the lampshade on it.

Moreover, the lamp oil in the past was not affordable by ordinary people. As for directly putting the lamp oil into the Kongming lantern and burning it to the sky, only the rich and the rich could afford it, and the poor could not even afford the paper to paste the Kongming lantern, let alone Lamp oil is gone.

It was different now, because Shen Yunpei, a member of the Ministry of Industry, improved the oil refining method, and Daming was able to mass-produce kerosene and candles, and the price was quite cheap.

Leaving aside kerosene lamps, although various styles emerge in endlessly, they are not suitable for making Kongming lanterns.

Candles are different, just tie them under Kongming lanterns.

Nowadays, paper is not an unaffordable thing for ordinary people. Therefore, in the past two years, every time the Lantern Festival comes, Kongming lanterns will fly all over the sky in many places. The stars are even more beautiful.

Taichang has never seen such a spectacle.

Because this custom had not yet emerged in the capital last year, it was difficult for the few Kongming lanterns in the sky to attract people's attention.

This year is different. On the night of the Lantern Festival, Taichang had just finished the reunion dinner with all the concubines and princes and princesses, and was teasing a few little princesses and the little prince Zhu Youfeng there. Concubine Su suddenly ran back and said excitedly: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, there are so many lights in the sky, so beautiful!"

Oh?
When the imperial concubine Wu Wan'er heard the words, she immediately became interested.

She immediately got up and ran out following Concubine Su, and all the little princes and princesses happily ran out after seeing this.

Seeing this, Taichang got up curiously and walked outside.

Why are there so many lights in the sky?
As soon as he walked to the door, he felt something was wrong, because it seemed that it was still dark outside, and he could still see the scenery clearly.

This was of course impossible, for it was already dark when they began to eat, and it only seemed daylight because of the candles lit all over the dining room.

The sky outside must be dark, he can be sure of this, and the moonlight cannot be so bright.

How many lights are there in the sky to light up like this?

He walked quickly outside, looked up, and was stunned.

My God, the sky is already full of lights at this moment, and the entire night sky is lit up.

What are these people doing?

Taichang froze for a moment, then raised his hand and said, "Binoculars."

Wang Chengen quickly ordered the little eunuch to bring him the latest military binoculars.

This kind of telescope has a viewing distance of more than six miles, and these lights are only about one or two miles away from the ground. He raised the telescope and swept it casually to see clearly.

Kongming Lantern!
A sentence that he once said to Song Yingxing and the others suddenly popped up in his mind.

I can fly into the sky, do you believe it?
This is of course not bragging, he can really fly into the sky!

For example, flying into the sky in a hot air balloon.

The principle of the hot air balloon flying in the sky is actually the same as the Kongming lantern, but no one realizes it.

Moreover, there seems to have been a craze for traveling around the world in hot air balloons in Europe in history, and many people have completed their round-the-world journeys in hot air balloons.

This proves that there is no problem at all with hot air balloons flying in the sky.

Just in time, it's time for the general examination and palace examination again, if he can make a hot air balloon and fly it into the sky, it will definitely set off a wave of scientific and technological research.

At this moment, he even thought about the last question of the science test.

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became, and the more he thought about it, the more excited he became, and he just wished he could make the hot air balloon right away.

Early the next morning, he summoned Cheng Jiashuo, the servant of the Ministry of Industry, to the imperial study.

After paying respects to the monarch and ministers, he asked directly, "Yaoguang, can you make Kongming lanterns?"

Cheng Jiashuo couldn't help being taken aback when he heard this.

Of course he can make this thing, because his family's ancestral bamboo craftsman is very good, and his family is very rich, so he knew how to make Kongming lanterns when he was young.

Question, according to the custom, Kongming lanterns are only released on the Lantern Festival. Why did the emperor ask about the Kongming lanterns just after the Lantern Festival?

He froze for a moment, then nodded again and again and said: "Your Majesty, this humble minister will do it."

I just guessed you would.

Taichang asked again: "How big do you think the Kongming Lantern can be made?"

Uh, Cheng Jiashuo really didn't think about it.

Kongming lanterns are generally just a wish, a blessing, why make it so big?
If it is too big, not only will it be troublesome to make, but it will also consume oil, and it will be meaningless.

He thought for a while, and then said cautiously: "Weichen thinks it shouldn't be a problem to be half a foot in size."

The size of half a zhang is about the same as the height of an ordinary person, and he probably feels that if he stretches it further, he will not be able to reach it.

Alright, let's try to make a half-foot-sized one first.

Taichang nodded, and then asked again: "What materials do you need, tell me."

The material is fairly simple.

Cheng Jiashuo said without hesitation: "Your Majesty, bamboo, thin paper, thin thread and paste are needed to make Kongming lanterns. For such a big Kongming lantern, the bamboo needs to be more than half a foot long. The paper should be bigger, and the thin thread should be stronger. It's nothing."

Taichang immediately said to Cao Huachun who was at the side: "Hurry up and get ready."

Just as Cao Huachun was about to go out, he suddenly turned around and asked, "Your Majesty, where should I put these things after they are ready?"

Uh, it's still freezing outside right now, so it's not appropriate to put it outside.

This imperial study room is definitely not good, and the place is not big enough.

Taichang thought for a while, then waved his hand and said: "Take them all to Ciqing Palace, and put them in the side hall where the school children do carpentry work."

He felt that his precious son must also be interested in this.

Fly to the sky!

Who doesn't want to?
(End of this chapter)