1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 563 Controlling Time
On March 1646, 3, Hanzhou, Heishan City (near Palmerston, Australia today).

A quaint self-ringing clock is placed on the table of the Industrial Research Institute, shaped like a pagoda in the Western Regions. The frame is filled with silver blocks. The lower floor of the tower is driven by the Chinese and Tibetan copper wheels, which cannot be seen from the outside.There is a door in front of the middle layer, sometimes it is like a barrel, and there is a huge disc on the front, with numbers from "1" to "12" engraved in it, and one long and one short pointer are placed in it.

"How much is the daily time error?" Qi Tian admired it for a long time, then turned his head and asked.

"Back to the king, the daily error is only a quarter of a hundred, and it is only a few breaths in ten months." Zhang Shuochen replied respectfully.

"Excellent!" Qi Tian exclaimed, "How much did it cost to produce this clock?"

"More than a dozen craftsmen work together, and it takes about half a month to make one, which costs about 280 Hanzhou silver dollars." Zhang Shuochen said: "The main reason is that the small parts cannot be mass-produced, and still need manual fine grinding."

"Your Majesty, after the clock is finished, it will take some time to proofread it, so it will take a lot of work." Ji Tanran said, clasping his hands next to him.

Zhang Shuochen and Ji Tanran were one of the many exquisite craftsmen collected by the Qi State immigrant fleet in Nanjing and Suzhou a year ago. After arriving in Hanzhou, when they registered for the category of craftsman skills, officials from the Ministry of Industry discovered that they were actually They are watchmakers, and they are immediately assigned to the Montenegro Industrial Research Institute to study and manufacture watches with two watchmakers from France.

In August last year, a huge clock tower appeared in the Jianye City Municipal Square, and every half an hour, it sounded the time accurately for the residents of the city.However, the chiming clock placed on the clock tower is still a relatively traditional and backward gravity mechanical clock.

Subsequently, several watchmakers began to copy and produce the relatively advanced pendulum clocks in Europe during this period, that is, to use springs instead of gravity, and the combination of pendulum and hairspring to make the movement of the clock more stable and punctual.

Today, the countries with the best development of the watch industry in Europe are not the later Switzerland, but the United Kingdom and France. They can already produce many high-quality watches and clocks, and provide all kinds of exquisite clocks for churches, places of worship, royal palaces and noble residences. .

The self-ringing bell driven by the Chinese heavy hammer was first seen in Wang Zheng's "Illustration of Newly Made Various Vessels".The "wheel pot picture" drawn in the book is this kind of mechanical clock.Combining the tradition of Chinese mechanical clock telling time, Wang Zheng changed the time telling device into bells, drums and puppet.Of course, this change made Wang Zheng's design much more complicated than the European chime clock.Wang Zheng also designed the "bicycle" and "self-grinding machine" driven by the clock machine according to the principle of the self-sounding clock.Although they have no practical value, it shows that Wang Zheng had learned to make European chime clocks at that time.

It's a pity that when Wang Zheng arrived in Hanzhou, he became very interested in steam engines, and instead temporarily abandoned the research on clocks and watches.It wasn't until Ludwig brought two French watchmakers to Qi that Hanzhou began to study the manufacture of watches.

I remember later generations, during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, the Qing government’s internal affairs office set up a clock office under the respect room in the palace, and placed a chief attendant and supervisor, and a chief attendant who also guarded the bell in the Duanning Hall. Bell time.Since then, the clock-making office has gradually expanded, and the number of craftsmen has increased.The mansions of many princes and ministers have self-made clocks to show their nobility.

From the beginning of the introduction of European mechanical clocks, in order to adapt to the Chinese timekeeping system, European clocks had to be modified in the timing method.The number displayed on the dial has been changed from the 24-hour system that turns twice a day in Europe to the 1583-hour system that turns once a day in China, and the Roman numerals on the time display are also changed to Chinese characters.In the winter of the tenth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (early [-]), Luo Mingjian sent a large self-ringing clock with wheels to the "Governor" of Zhaoqing Mansion, which is the earliest known example of modifying the timekeeping system so far.

The dials of the clocks manufactured by Hanzhou are not only marked with Chinese characters, but also with Arabic numerals for intuitive use.However, the size of the clock is still relatively large and can only be placed in a fixed place.

"In the future, when you study the direction of clocks and watches, try to achieve miniaturization, precision and durability." Qi Tian looked at the bulky chime clock on the desk, although he was more pleased, but still a little dissatisfied, "In addition , The manufacturing cost should be kept as low as possible, if at some point in the future, the clocks and watches you develop can be affordable by ordinary wealthy families, then it may be a big industry for our country Qi.”

"Yes, Your Majesty." Zhang Shuochen and Ji Tanran bowed and saluted, "After I wait, I will devote myself to research and develop a more practical and accurate clock for my Majesty and Qi."

The state of Qi treats all kinds of craftsmen, scholars and experts very well. In addition to allocating a set of independent and spacious houses, there are generous monthly salaries and various in-kind subsidies. upper class.More importantly, all craftsmen in Hanzhou will not follow the model of the Ming Dynasty to implement the artisan household system. Everyone is the same as other local people in Hanzhou, and there is no so-called craftsman's identity and inheritance from generation to generation.

If there is one difference from ordinary people, it is that all craftsmen or industry experts are highly valued by the government.Of course, what is different from the past is that all crafts and technologies are no longer passed on by word of mouth to apprentices or descendants. They must be summarized and recorded in accordance with the crafts and processes operated, and listed as a whole. State industrial secrets, and I will get a high bonus for certain proprietary technologies or improved processes.

"In the future, our country of Qi will not only have learned scholars, skilled craftsmen, and brave soldiers, but also businessmen who specialize in trading, hardworking farmers...etc, professionals from all walks of life. " Qi Tianduan sat on the carriage, and said with Qi Dajiang and Qi Continental: "The Ming Dynasty fell, and there were thousands of Ming people who did not want to submit to the slave rule. Judging from the situation in the Ming Dynasty, the trend of Jiannu sweeping the world cannot be stopped by our meager strength."

"Shandong and Denglai are in one corner, and they are too close to Beijing. If Jiannu defeats the other resistance forces in the country one by one, I guess it will be difficult to hold on to the land of Shandong. Therefore, when you return to Ming Dynasty in June and July, you must pay attention to the south. Various anti-Qing forces, provide necessary assistance to delay the unification of slaves. Moreover, in order to protect the future of Emperor Yongchu of the Ming Dynasty (the former Prince Zhu Cihong of the Ming Dynasty proclaimed himself emperor in December last year), you can Land, Sakhalin Island, or somewhere off the coast of Liaodong, and take one or two strongholds, thinking that it will be needed in the future."

"I have written it down." Qi Dajiang nodded and said: "Zheng Zhilong once invited Emperor Yongchu to move to Fujian to stay in Fujian, so as to unify the existing Ming forces in Fujian, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou and Hunan. However, Emperor Yongchu Declined politely, and declared that he would face the attack of the army of founding slaves, and coordinate with the anti-Qing forces in the south to stop the Qing army."

"However, we got news from Jiang Yongrui, the commander-in-chief of Denglai Town, that Emperor Yongchu secretly issued an edict to the Ming army in Hunan, Yunnan, Guizhou and other places, asking them to take the opportunity to attack the Shun army when Li Zicheng's Dashun army fought with Jiannu. Li Zicheng had already lost Yuezhou, Yiyang, and Changde in the face of the Jiannu and Ming army's attack, and now he joined his West Route Army and gathered in Jingzhou, Yichang, and Jingmen. But I estimate that under the attack of the Qing army Azig, they may continue to retreat westward, and they may escape into the mountains of southeastern Sichuan."

"Does the Daxi Army after Zhang Xianzhong's death have any intention of joining forces with the Shun Army?"

Qi Tian couldn't help but frown. Although this Ming Dynasty didn't have various small regimes such as King Lu Jianguo, Emperor Longwu, and Emperor Yongli that were successively established in succession, they still regarded the Shun Army as their greatest enemy regardless of the greatest threat from the Manchu Qing. The coquettish operation of attacking Shunjun still happened.Don't they know that with the various local forces in the Ming Dynasty at present, it is impossible for any single one to be an opponent of the Qing army. Only by uniting, there is still a chance.

"I heard that under the leadership of Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo and others, the Daxi Army withdrew all the way to Chongqing Mansion, relying on the mountainous terrain, temporarily stalemate with Wu Sangui's Qing Army. As for whether they will join forces with the Shun Army, we have no idea Accurate information cannot be judged for the time being.”

"Can you drive a small and medium-sized galley all the way up the Yangtze River to Shuo Jingzhou, get in touch with the Shun Army, and provide them with some military supplies?"

"Whether we can go up to Jingzhou along the river, we need to go back to Daming, find someone to inquire about it, and verify it on the spot before we can confirm it."

"Do your best and obey the destiny!" Qi Tian sighed, no matter how hard he tried to support them, he couldn't give them more life, and they kept killing themselves.

"Did Zheng Zhilong have an affair with Jiannu?" Qi Tian asked suddenly.

"How did he get in touch with Jiannu?" Qi Dajiang wondered: "Now he occupies Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and other places, and overseas Taiwan and Luzon, with tens of millions of people under his jurisdiction, he has become a veritable king of the southeast. Moreover, his brother Zheng Hongkui was captured by Jiannu in Zhenjiang, and his life and death are unknown. Facing Jiannu's attack, he should resolutely resist."

"This is the best way." Qi Tian nodded, "As long as Zheng Zhilong dares to fight against Jiannu, the entire southeast coast will definitely not let Jiannu succeed. In this way, whether it is the Shun Army in Jingzhou area or the Daxi Army in Chongqing, Even the Ming army in Huguang can have one more helper to support it. In other words, can the Emperor Yongchu command and move the Ming army outside Shandong?"

"Mostly they are doing their own thing, and the various local forces only respect Emperor Yongchu as the Lord of Ming Dynasty in name." Qi Dajiang shook his head and said.

"I don't know if this situation can be maintained for ten years." Qi Tian looked at the farmland beside the road, scattered with hard-working farmers, and said with a serious expression: "Our country of Qi is currently fighting with time. Race, how we develop in the future depends on how much manpower we can get in Daming these years, as well as the layout and arrangement of the surrounding areas."

After the Qing Dynasty unified the whole country, in order to deal with the harassment and threats of Taiwan’s Mingzheng, it once made a policy of moving borders and banning the sea, so that Taiwan’s Mingzheng regime almost lost any supplements from the mainland, and there were many seas. The power, however, is on the coast of the mainland, with nothing to plunder, no manpower and material supplements at all, and finally trapped on an isolated island.

Who can guarantee that in the face of Qi's sea attack, they will not engage in an expanded version of the forbidden sea?
(End of this chapter)