Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 638 Jia Lian's Southern Tour
Tianjin Railway School is actually a branch of Beijing Railway School. The focus of Beijing Railway School is on railways and bridges, while the focus of Tianjin Railway School is on rolling stock.

A train runs fast because of its locomotive.

The research and development of steam locomotive heads has never stopped, with the goal of replacing them every five years. The majority of the production is focused on locomotive heads in northern China.

The locomotive pulling Jia Lian's special train was already in its third generation, with five or six times more horsepower than the first generation.

It is said that the development of the fourth-generation front end is more than halfway complete, and it will be ready for replacement in another two or three years.

Unfortunately, the potential of steam locomotives is limited, so we can only patiently wait for electric locomotives and work with shipbuilding to try and develop steam-powered ships.

That's why the research and development of steam engines was carried out in Tianjin, and the new steamships were also developed there.

Early steamships used paddle wheels and didn't have steam turbines.

It's true that Jia Lian is an outsider, but he knows the development trend. He immediately puts a lot of effort into the steamship project, skipping the paddle steamer stage and going straight to steam turbines and propellers.

Therefore, the research and development speed is definitely not fast. It will take at least twenty years for the shipyard to be listed separately.

For Jia Lian now, there is no time to waste on technological advancements; he must stay ahead of the European powers and avoid taking detours in his rapid advance.

The reason I came to the railway school in person was not only because of its importance, but also because I had gathered a group of top students from the engineering college, who were trained according to the modern education system, in Tianjin to study foreign languages, in preparation for sending them to universities in the UK. Similarly, the UK was preparing a group of students to come to China to study engineering.

The reason for doing this is simple: basic science education in China is not strong, and practical learning has only just begun.

In an era dominated by the imperial examination system, Jia Lian couldn't fully utilize his abilities by pursuing a positive image, so he had to take a different approach.

The new locomotive pulled the special train at a speed of 50 kilometers per hour, heading straight for Tianjin Station without stopping along the way, taking a total of three and a half hours, a speed that was already incredible for this era.

While on the train, Jia Lian pondered another problem: the current railway communication issues were dire, and he had no idea how to get a telephone working as soon as possible.

Fortunately, Lavoisier was brought in, and with Europe losing a bigwig, the progress will definitely be affected.

European newspapers were not news to Lavoisier, but old news. The Jacobins, who had been killing each other, had fallen. With the external enemies temporarily defeated, internal conflicts naturally intensified, and Robespierre was also heading towards his end. Lavoisier firmly believed that if he hadn't come to the East in pursuit of truth, his status as a tax farmer would have been enough to get him killed.

Thinking of France now, Lavoisier on the platform had the idea of ​​returning home.

Steam jets propelled the train slowly into the station, where it eventually came to a stop.

The carriage door opened, and instead of Jia Lian, a group of guards stepped out.

Jia Lian, who has too many enemies, is very cautious whenever he goes out, and the guards always have to eliminate any risks first.

This trip was relatively discreet, so it wasn't as exaggerated as some others.

Jia Lian was the last official to disembark, and the crowd waiting at the station lined up to wait for him.

"Thank you for your hard work!" He shook hands with each person politely, and when it was Lavoisier's turn, Jia Lian's expression became even more enthusiastic.

"You look great!" Jia Lian said with a word of comfort, and Lavoisier tightened his grip slightly when shaking hands.

After boarding the carriage, Lavoisier was treated as if he were traveling with Jalian, and was escorted by a cavalry of two hundred riders to the railway school.

The school, located near the docks, had already been built. As the carriage traveled along the paved road, Lavoisier mustered his courage and said, "Your Excellency, the Jacobins have fallen, Robespierre has failed, and everything has returned to calm for the time being. I wish to return to Europe to take a look."

Jia Lian listened expressionlessly, looking out the window without answering for a moment. After a while, he said, "Sir, if I were you, I wouldn't even consider returning to Europe. Even if you went back to Europe now, it would be difficult to return to France. At least the British wouldn't allow it, and the surrounding countries wouldn't allow it either."

These words didn't mention the Zhou Empire at all, but Lavoisier understood perfectly. His brain automatically translated: You possess too many secrets; it's not suitable for you to return home.

"Could my wife go back to Europe for a visit?" Lavoisier asked, offering a compromise. This time, Jia Lian showed a slight smile.

“I understand your concern for your relatives back home. Our military investigators in London have been working hard to persuade your relatives to come to China,” Jia Lian reminded him politely.

Lavoisier finally understood, and sighed, "Could some of my personal theoretical research findings be sent back to Europe for publication?"

To be honest, Jia Lian didn't want to agree, but how to put it, while basic theoretical research is important, the commercialization of research results is also very difficult.

Jia Lian could understand the resentment of someone who was secretly in the limelight. Human beings are social beings, and some things cannot be taken too far, otherwise one would truly be someone whose body is in Cao's camp but whose heart is in Han's.

"Okay!" Jia Lian agreed this time. There was no need to worry about leaks when the thesis could only be sent back through this channel.

Europe's technological leaps wouldn't come until the 19th century; we were only at the end of the 18th century. Allowing Lavoisier to send his papers to London for publication would also have been beneficial in promoting academic exchange.

In fact, modern Europe lags behind the Zhou Empire in the application of technology; the steam engine is a prime example.

The development of steam engines in Europe at this stage was merely the result of the efforts of individuals or small teams. Train and railway technology had not yet been developed.

In the Zhou Empire, there was no such thing as individuals or small teams struggling together. Jia Lian was able to gather the nation's best craftsmen and technocrats to improve upon the British methods and drive technological innovation.

What the Zhou Empire lacks now is a large number of talented individuals, specifically those who have received a systematic basic education.

Engineering colleges and railway schools were for this purpose. With the help of the imperial examination system, the large population base ensured that the number of truly learned individuals would far exceed that of Europe in the future.

However, working in isolation is not an option; we must strengthen exchanges. Europe's accumulation of basic scientific research since the Renaissance far surpasses that of China.

Jia Lian lacks the capacity to promote compulsory education nationwide; at this stage, he can only engage in a superficial, deceptive approach within a limited scope, essentially still adhering to the old model of compulsory education.

Under the guise of training talent for the Research and Development Bureau, and providing compulsory education at the grassroots level, the bureau established free schools in counties under the jurisdiction of Shuntian Prefecture and Tianjin Prefecture. From the initial three-year system to the current six-year system, children as young as six could enroll and receive free education, which was very attractive to those from the lower classes. However, after three years of basic education, those with poor grades were naturally eliminated, while only those with excellent grades had the opportunity to continue receiving free education for another three years. The Research and Development Bureau was not a charity.

Currently, only Beijing, Tianjin, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Southeast Asia offer six years of compulsory education. Students with excellent grades can also attend engineering schools for three years. There are similar private schools in the Jiangnan region, but they charge tuition.

This is something the state should actually do, but unfortunately Jia Lian isn't in charge of the state yet.

Abolishing the imperial examination system is impossible, but further reforming it is achievable.

In terms of compulsory education, the primary goal of the vast majority of families from underprivileged backgrounds is not for their children to study and become officials, but rather to have them study and acquire a skill to make a living.

A characteristic of agrarian empires is their relatively high illiteracy rate, which is unavoidable. The only solution is to change it little by little.

In such cases, economically developed regions definitely benefit. For example, within the territory of the Prince of Dongping, they are following Jia Lian's example, forcing all boys to undergo three years of compulsory education.

Whether a person is literate or not makes a huge difference.

On the railway school's playground, the first batch of students preparing to study abroad are assembling in formation. There are only about a hundred of them.

This group comprises top-performing students from the six-year compulsory education programs in Shuntian Prefecture and Tianjin Prefecture, plus top-performing science students from over a dozen engineering colleges.

Jia Lian took the stage to speak.

"More than two thousand years ago, the Mohist school was once a prominent school of thought, and part of its doctrines belonged to the category of practical learning. After Emperor Wu of Han promoted Confucianism as the sole state ideology, the development of practical learning slowed down. The academic community's research on the Dao shifted towards how to serve the monarch. In the two hundred years before the Ming Dynasty, the development speed of practical learning in the East and West reversed, with Europe taking the lead because it placed greater emphasis on it. When you people go to Europe, you must put away your arrogance as subjects of the Celestial Empire and calm down to study hard. Don't think that European countries are backward and therefore have nothing worth learning from them. Remember, you are going to Europe to study practical learning. Other miscellaneous subjects such as theology, philosophy, and literature can be roughly understood, but don't delve into them too deeply..."

Jia Lian didn't know if these students would follow the teachings, or how many would choose to stay in Europe in the future; these things weren't important. As long as China remained more advanced than Europe and seemed more like a civilized society, those who went abroad would eventually choose to return. People strive for better things, just as water flows downhill.

"And one more thing to remember: European society has a bad reputation and chaotic relationships between men and women. Don't come back with venereal diseases. I suggest that if you can't resist, you can hire a long-term partner. Don't go to brothels; those places are unclean. By the way, Europeans aren't very bright; they think tuberculosis and venereal diseases are symbols of nobility..."

Jia Lian was truly heartbroken over these children, even assigning a three-person medical team. At that stage, European medicine was still largely focused on bloodletting as a cure. Florence Nightingale wouldn't emerge until the Crimean War; the Lady with the Lamp hadn't even been born yet.

Because of Jia Lian's appearance, the Zhou Empire in this timeline is truly overwhelmingly superior in terms of civilization. Otherwise, why would European pirates be so docile, and why would the British even voluntarily withdraw from the Strait of Malacca? Do you really think they're kind? They're just simply outmatched.

It suddenly occurred to me that Britain brought its last aircraft carrier to Asia; their last bit of arrogant insistence is truly laughable.

Letting these students see the foggy city of Europe and experience the dirt and chaos of London is more effective than saying it a thousand times.

These students will study until the end of the year, and then board a ship to travel to Europe after the New Year.

Tianjin Railway School also has a group of students who enrolled this year; they are all quite young, under the age of thirteen. After receiving five years of education here, these students will be qualified to work in steam locomotive factories and related enterprises. Currently, their food, drink, and clothing are all provided free of charge, and they also receive a monthly allowance of two yuan.

These students came to study with the mindset of becoming apprentices, but what they gain will far exceed their expectations.

New students at railway schools will undergo three years of basic theoretical study, followed by a two-year internship. Only those who pass the internship will be able to graduate.

The reason for the five-year study period was not because Jia Lian had too much money to spend, but because the study of basic theory was what Jia Lian valued most.

This is similar to the modern nine-year compulsory education. Many people think that reading this book is useless, but in fact, it is a necessary learning that changes a person's fundamental logic.

Without some basic knowledge, you'll be slower than others when you go to school to repair electric bikes.

Moreover, most of these students are going to work in locomotive factories.

On his second day in Tianjin, Jia Lian went straight to the shipyard. The huge smokestack on a ship in the dock indicated that the ship was experimental in nature.

The shipyard researchers looked quite ashamed when they saw Jia Lian. This research was a money pit; so much money had been spent, and the current progress was negligible.

It wasn't that no one had proposed the idea of ​​paddle steamers, but Jia Lian directly rejected it, pointing out that the ships built would be meant for sailing on the open sea, and paddle steamers would be completely helpless against even slightly large waves.

Jia Lian wasn't dissatisfied with the progress, because he knew the difficulty. However, it was also necessary to maintain a completely expressionless face throughout the process; he couldn't give the researchers the impression that the adults weren't in a hurry.

"Failure is normal. Don't be discouraged. Take it slow and accumulate knowledge and experience." Jia Lian calmly instructed the head of the research institute, then left with a serious expression.

The people at the research institute were very worried that the funding for the following year would not come through, and the pressure continued until the following year, when the funding finally came through and the situation eased slightly.

In short, the members of the research institute felt that funding could be cut off at any time and projects could be canceled at any time.

That evening, after having dinner with Lavoisier, Jia Lian brought up electromagnetic induction and offered a suggestion, hoping that this chemistry luminary could also achieve something in the field of physics.

In short, we can't just wait for Faraday to grow up; he's still a child at the moment.

As a top student and a chemistry giant, Faraday indeed showed great interest when Jia Lian mentioned electromagnetic induction.

After taking out his notebook and recording Jia Lian's insights on battery induction phenomena, he announced that he would start a new research project and begin studying electricity from today onwards.

Very good, very energetic!
Lavoisier, who had absolutely no intention of returning to China, was Jia Lian's most outstanding scientific research mentor.

On the third day, Jia Lian inspected the cannon-casting bureau, mainly for the new type of cannons.

The current concept for the new artillery was provided by Jia Lian, but there is a huge problem: the steel is not up to standard.

Once the locking mechanism was conceived, it wasn't difficult to manufacture. The challenge lay in the excessive chamber pressure, which caused three experimental cannons to explode in succession. Fortunately, thorough safety preparations had been made beforehand, preventing any injuries.

A group of top craftsmen now have only one request: to quickly develop better alloy steel.

Jia Lian... I don't understand either!
(End of this chapter)