Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 287 It’s better to do it than to say it!

The streets of Yuhang are crowded with people.

The engineers who had been told for days that they would go to the streets to preach finally arrived.

Although Zhou Ning's injury has not fully healed, it no longer affects his mobility, and he now looks very excited.

He knew what Xia Zhibai expected of them.

They are asked to come forward to calm the people's anxiety and panic, and make the people accept and even support the emergence and promotion of the machine.

This is not easy.

With the previous experience of the stove households as a lesson, many people would turn against them immediately once they were involved. The "steam empire" planned by Xia Zhibai involved many industries. Even the most common one, water transport, had more people than the stove households. There were also related horse-riding and manufacturing workers, which affected the livelihoods of many people.

But it’s just like Xia Zhibai said.

Society must always move forward and it is impossible for it to stagnate when it encounters a little difficulty.

Besides, these changes are not necessarily bad.

No one is born to be a beast of burden.

Deng Muzi was also among the crowded crowd. He deliberately smeared some mud on his face. His already dark cheeks, coupled with his dirty clothes, made him look like a street beggar, and not many people paid attention to him.

At the entrance of the market with the most traffic.

I don't know when a platform appeared, with some machines on it.

It's just that not many people recognize it.

But many people know what is piled behind these machines.

It's coal!

Zhang Zhicheng and Lu Cang squeezed in the front.

Lu Cang said excitedly: "Brother Zhang, just wait and see this time, it will definitely open your eyes. Brother Xia said that if we want to promote social progress, we must open people's minds. Otherwise, everyone will be trapped in their own little piece of land, only guarding their own firewood, rice, oil and salt, and when they encounter something, they will go around making trouble and dissuading people."

“Such a society cannot move forward.”

“It will only go backwards!”

Zhang Zhicheng looks very elegant and polite. He did not comment on Lu Cang's words and said in a deep voice: "You are wrong. The most important thing in the world is education!"

"As long as the education is correct, why would the people cause trouble?"

"The reason for the commotion is because of injustice!"

Lu Cang sneered and said disdainfully: "You are talking without any pain. Education? Who should be educated? You? Or those high-ranking officials? They are busy making money, so how can they have the time and energy to care about these things?"

"You can't count on those landlords and gentry, can you?"

"Education is all empty talk."

"Is there a real machine?"

"It's not like I haven't read the book. You can just read the stuff in the book. Why do you take it so seriously?"

"It is better to do one thing than to say a hundred words. People cannot teach others, but they can learn once they are taught. Take the stove maker this time for example. Before the steam engine appeared, it was all inherited from ancestors. Who would listen to them one by one? Will the stove makers be abandoned in the future?"

“No one.”

Lu Cang sneered and continued, "But what's the result?"

"As soon as the steam engine was invented, it was invincible in Yingtian Prefecture alone, and it was supported by the people. In less than three months, Jingdu Salt Industry monopolized the entire Jingdu salt industry. Who would have dared to believe such a thing in the past?"

"And when the merchants in the South saw that it was profitable, they secretly stole the blueprints and imitated the steam engine to build it. You saw the result."

"In less than a year, the stove was no longer in use."

"You were there when the notice was posted a few days ago, so you should have heard the voices of the local people. Who cares whether the cooks live or die? All they care about is whether the salt price will change. As long as the salt price remains low, they don't care what the government does."

“But there’s a problem with that.”

"Today's kitchen keeper may become tomorrow's common people."

“This is the significance of this conference!”

Lu Cang talked freely.

He didn't agree with what Zhang Zhicheng said at all. If education was really so useful, the world would have been ruled by benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness long ago. But the reality was not like that at all. In his heart, he was more in favor of Xia Zhibai's approach, which was to use practical things to shock people's hearts and let people all over the world realize that the world has changed.

Only in this way can the world change.

Only the solid things are real, and all the teachings are false.

Zhang Zhicheng was speechless for a moment.

He stood on the ground somewhat confused. What Lu Cang said was different from what he had learned from reading books, and the difference was huge. He was a little at a loss for a moment. Lu Cang did not notice Zhang Zhicheng's abnormality, and looked at the platform with excitement.

Someone has already gone up.

Lu Cang said excitedly: "Here it comes."

"You'll open your eyes and read it later. If the things in the book can be put into practice, then it's good knowledge. If not, then it's all nonsense."

Zhang Zhicheng was stunned. He looked at Lu Cang and nodded seriously.

Lu Cang's words also woke him up.

The content of a book is meaningless if it only stays in the book.

Only by putting it into practice and combining it with reality.

Zhang Zhicheng raised his head and looked towards the platform curiously.

He was also very curious about what the famous imperial envoy would do today.

Not far from the market entrance, there is a restaurant. Although it has been closed for a long time, there are still people walking around inside. Zhou Ziliang, Wang Xuanfan, Li Benmo and others are all sitting on the fifth floor, looking down at the platform at the market entrance.

Wang Xuanfan frowned and said, "What is Xia Zhibai doing again?"

"I've never been quiet since I came to Yuhang."

“It’s really annoying.”

Wang Xuanfan complained a few times.

Xia Zhibai has never been a worry since he came to Yuhang. Although he did not do too many extra actions, everything he did was unexpected, which made them at a loss and it was very difficult for them to deal with him. Now he has set up a "stage" in public, and no one knows what kind of "play" he will perform.

He felt a little irritated.

Li Benmo closed his eyes slightly and glanced down indifferently, with no expression in his eyes to be seen.

Zhou Ziliang also remained silent.

Lin Shijia said coldly: "What else can you do?"

"Isn't it already there? Just try out the machine."

"I guess they're making salt in public or something."

"It's impossible that he really made the iron horse or iron ship he mentioned before. Even if he did, he wouldn't be able to use it on that small platform. Besides, I've been to those salt factories. The steam engines there are huge, weighing at least a thousand pounds. Can this thing run?"

Lin Shijia sneered and was not interested in what Xia Zhibai was going to do.

Zhang Tong also complained: "When is Xia Zhibai going to leave? He is restless all day long. How long has he been in Yuhang? He has already made us so anxious. There are so many of us, and we have to stay with him in this crappy place of Yuhang."

Li Benmo frowned and said, "Be careful with your words."

"You can't look at Xia Zhibai with common sense. This person is different from others."

"As far as we know, he made a big splash, from failing the imperial examination to becoming the top scorer, then quitting his official position to go into business, and then invented the steam engine, and even went north alone to integrate the salt market in the north. Is this something that ordinary people can do?"

“Now that they have come to the south, without making any noise or much movement, we have no choice but to give in.”

"This guy is amazing."

"If you really dare to underestimate him, you will suffer a great loss sooner or later."

"Since we can't guess what Xia Zhibai is going to do, we can just wait and see. His fox tail will eventually fall to the ground. Once it falls to the ground, everything will be clear. But what I'm worried about now is, can we really control the tail that falls to the ground?"

The others were also silent.

No one spoke anymore, and everyone looked out the window at the same time.

Amid the crowd, someone had already gone on stage.

But it’s not Xia Zhibai.

Instead, he was a middle-aged man who was rather thin and even a little weak.

Zhou Ning stood in front of the stage, feeling a little nervous. It was his first time facing such a scene, and his mind felt a little empty.

I don’t know how long it has been.

Zhou Ning gradually came to his senses.

He coughed lightly and said calmly, "I am Zhou Ning, the governor of the Ministry of Industry. Now I am ordered by the court to be a craftsman in the salt industry in Kyoto. The steam engine that has caused a lot of noise in the south in recent years was also made by me. I think I can answer some questions for you."

"But I am not good at speaking."

"I'm also worried that I might say something wrong, so I'd better just demonstrate the operating principle of the steam engine."

"The steam engine you see in front of you is a smaller version, and it was brought here specially for this trip south."

“The operating principle of a steam engine is very simple.”

"It's what most families do, 'boil water.'"

"Boiled water vapor is used to drive the shafts to rotate, thereby speeding up the extraction of brine from the ground. Moreover, because it is boiled water, the heat is very high, which is also conducive to the evaporation and crystallization of brine."

"In addition to this, there is also"

After stuttering a little, Zhou Ning seemed to have adjusted his mentality and became more energetic. He explained the operation process of the steam engine in detail. At the same time, some workers came forward and cooperated. As the coal was put into the furnace, a burst of black smoke came out of the chimney.

The water in the boiler gradually boiled.

(End of this chapter)