Ming Dynasty: Traveling through the harem, Zhu Yuanzhang was dumbfounded

Chapter 195 The First Electric Light in Ming Dynasty

Night falls.

The building where Yang Chen was located was brightly lit.

This lamp is a real-world lamp.

If you want to get electric light, you first need to solve two things.

One is a power generation device. The only power generation device that can be produced in this era is the AC generator.

Commonly known as a hand-cranked generator, he vaguely remembered that in a TV series about traveling back to the Qin Dynasty, the male protagonist used this hand-cranked generator to charge his mobile phone.

If he could make it by himself, it naturally wouldn't be impossible for Yang Chen to make it without reason. So with his unremitting efforts, he finally gathered enough materials to make the generator.

A strong magnet uses copper wire to orderly wrap around a metal iron rod, allowing a strong lightning strike and using Faraday's principle to restructure the electrons inside the iron rod.

Conductors are various metal wires. Gold wire is the best conductor of electricity, but it is too expensive and Yang Chen is reluctant to spend money on it. The second best is silver wire, but it is also expensive and not worth spending money on. Finally, he chose copper wire. Compared with the first two, copper wire is the cheapest and easier to make into wire shape.

I won’t say much about insulating materials. Before finding oil, Yang Chen couldn’t make plastic, so he could only choose tree lacquer as a second choice.

Rotating device, this is why Yang Chen chose Zhenjiang Prefecture. If it is placed in other places, it can only be rotated by manpower.

But this was the Ming Dynasty, and what it had the most was skilled craftsmen, not to mention that there were people in the palace who had inherited Lu Ban's skills.

It records the gear techniques that many people have added, and there is no problem at all in making a hydraulic roller.

After Yang Chen found these things, he began to assemble them, and the only thing left was the light bulb.

Yang Chen felt a headache when talking about light bulbs. He tried various methods but failed to melt the tungsten filament into wire.

The best wick for a light bulb is tungsten, which is one of the hardest metals on earth. Not only that, it is also resistant to high temperatures.

Before entering the steam age, it would have been impossible to melt tungsten ore with the Ming Dynasty's smelting technology. The melting point of this thing is over 3,000 degrees Celsius.

During that time, he also thought that he could not make electric lights in this era. However, after unremitting efforts, Yang Chen finally used the method of exhaustive method to successfully install the carbon filament into the light bulb.

Compared to tungsten filaments whose service life is calculated in years, carbon filaments as wicks can also make electric lamps light up.

But compared to tungsten filament bulbs, the latter are brighter and have a longer lifespan.

Before Edison discovered tungsten filament, carbon filament was used as wick, which needed to be replaced every ten days or half a month, otherwise it would burn out.

On a huge table, there is a huge Peking copper pot, which is the Peking hot pot style.

A group of people gathered around, and there were light bulbs all around. Yang Chen was the first to raise his cup and celebrated to Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao, saying:
"Your Majesty! Prince! We are gathered here today. It is my great honor to eat shabu-shabu with the Hongwu Emperor!
At the same time, let’s also celebrate the important event that happened today, that is, Lao Tao and His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin of the Ming Dynasty became the first people in the world to fly into the sky!
Their spirit of dedication and fearlessness of sacrifice will become a model for future generations to learn from!

Come! Let’s have a drink! ”

"cheers!"

Everyone raised their glasses and clinked them together in mid-air, drinking the drinks in their glasses.

Smiles filled everyone's face. Zhu Yuanzhang was different. Today he did not spoil the fun. Instead, he stood up and followed Yang Chen to make a speech.

"Okay! Let's talk."

When everyone saw Zhu Yuanzhang's expression, they understood that the emperor had something to say.

They all cooperated and sat down, leaving him standing alone.

Putting down the wine glass, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Teng Yi and Yang Siyi, and first said to them:

"Mr. Teng, Mr. Yang, you should have seen what happened today. This Zhenjiang Prefecture is the future of the Ming Dynasty. I don't know what you thought in the past, but today I will tell you one thing.

From now on, the entire Ming Dynasty will follow the example of Zhenjiang Prefecture. We hope to leave Zhenjiang Prefecture, but you must never forget why you hold such an official position.

We don't want outsiders to know what happened here in advance.

Before coming here, you should know that outsiders know about the situation in Zhenjiang Prefecture. Unless they see it with their own eyes, other people will not want to know what is happening in Zhenjiang Prefecture now.

Therefore, we have decided that when the time comes, you two can admit what happened today in front of all your colleagues."

"The minister obeys the order!"

Teng Yi and Yang Siyi both expressed their opinions.

Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang motioned for them to sit down.

Then his eyes fell on Zhu Chong and Zhu Biao.

"Biao'er, Shu'er, Dad knows that I used too many harsh and strict methods to make you successful in the past, but Dad hopes you won't blame me. All parents in the world hope that their children will have a bright future. If Dad is gone in the future, you won't be able to control what you want to do."

"Father! That's not true. I know your intentions, but I didn't understand them in time, which led to me making many mistakes.

Now I understand my father's intentions and will not make mistakes in the future."

Zhu Chong was the first to stand up and speak, while Zhu Biao just watched quietly without saying anything.

He knew that his younger brother had truly grown up now.

Zhu Yuanzhang was very pleased with his son's words. He raised his hand and stroked his head without saying anything.

Finally, he looked at Yang Chen:
"Boy, I want to know, what else are you hiding from us?

Don't tell me anything else, just tell me what's going on with this lamp."

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his hand and pointed at the glowing light bulbs around him.

From the moment he entered the building, he saw all kinds of new and interesting items.

Pick any one of them, and it might be something that the Ming Dynasty would need hundreds of years to develop.

Zhu Yuanzhang had already anticipated this before arriving at Zhenjiang Prefecture.

Maybe I will be surprised when I come this time, but I never expected such a change.

For this reason, Zhu Yuanzhang went straight to the point.

Ask Yang Chen how many good things this guy has hidden.

Yang Chen was holding a piece of stewed lamb chop and was about to eat it, but he didn't expect Zhu Yuanzhang to suddenly point the finger at him.

Seeing that the arrow was on the string, he had no choice but to put down the food in his hand and prepare to respond.

"Ahem, Your Majesty, it's nothing, just some small things.

As for this lamp, it was a surprise that I suddenly came up with not long ago and I didn’t expect you to ask about it today.

Well, with the industrialization of Zhenjiang Prefecture, the normal daytime working hours are no longer sufficient to adapt to the industrialized work and rest.

In order to utilize the working abilities of the people more efficiently, I was forced to develop the light bulb.

With a light bulb, people have the power to overcome darkness.

Naturally, you will also have time to work at night.

As for the other stuff, why don't we wait until tomorrow when we have time to explore it?"

Everyone was a little curious about the mystery Yang Chen was keeping. Just as the other party said, it wasn't bad news after tonight.

It has been a tiring journey to get here from the capital during the day, and now that I finally have the chance to sit down and have a meal, I should naturally enjoy the delicious food.

After Yang Chen said this, everyone stopped asking questions, looked down at the copper hot pot on the table, and started eating.

Teng Yi and Yang Siyi were the most nervous people present.

They never thought that one day they would have a meal with Zhu Yuanzhang.

This is completely different from the banquet in the palace, otherwise they would not have such a mentality.

Fortunately, everyone had a smooth dinner without any unnecessary incidents.

Yang Chen himself lived on the top floor of the building, and he arranged for the rest of the people to live on other floors.

If it weren't for Empress Ma speaking for him, Zhu Yuanzhang would have used this as an excuse to start criticizing Yang Chen.

After all, he had never seen anyone who dared to live above his head.

The starry sky at night is beautiful, with stars scattered across the curtain, twinkling, making people feel comfortable and relaxed.

Just lying quietly on the bed, looking at the Milky Way screen, Yang Chen fell into deep thought.

Human beings have conquered the night, which means that they have more time to think and work.

Many people believe that the advancement of science and technology began with the improvement of the steam engine during the Industrial Revolution, but Yang Chen believes that the Industrial Revolution continued from the emergence of the lamp.

The lamp illuminates the darkness, so that people no longer have to rely on dangerous lighting tools such as fire to drive away the darkness.

However, the emergence of lights also means that human society has entered another level.

Just like when working, lights force humans to come up with the nickname "night shift".

The Ming Dynasty will surely appear in the future, and by that time, the way the people are oppressed will change to another form.

The alternative oppression is far greater than the psychological oppression in the famine era.

By then, when I die, will my descendants be able to discover this situation and launch a revolution to fight for their rights?
He didn't know that Yang Chen couldn't predict the future, and he wondered if he was that strong.

However, if human civilization is to make historical progress, this is a necessary result.

If he doesn't do it, someone else will do it in the future.

If the Ming Dynasty does not keep up with or lead the trend of the times, it will be left behind by the times, and the Han people in the Central Plains will be oppressed again.

“It was a really bad decision.”

Yang Chen crossed his hands behind his head and sighed while talking to himself.

In his confusion, he fell asleep.

If he couldn't figure out what happened tonight, he would leave it until tomorrow. He had plenty of time anyway.

No matter what, there will always be a way to solve it, and he believes that he will definitely find a way.

At worst, just leave it to future generations and believe in their wisdom.

The next morning, a classroom was filled with noise and shouting of men, including several boys around 11 or 12 years old.

The young men who had never been exposed to the world gathered together for warmth. They looked at the big men in front of them laughing and joking, as if they were participating in it. In fact, they could not get a word in.

There wasn't even much chance to speak.

But young people just like to communicate with adult men, which seems to allow them to show off among their peers.

When they got outside, everyone said that they knew someone who was older than them and that they were brothers.

"Let me tell you, I used to live in the Central Plains, and I never thought I would have a life like this today. Lord Yang was really sent by His Majesty to help us poor people. I have decided that from today on, I must be loyal to His Majesty. I will do whatever His Majesty asks me to do, and I will never drag my feet. I guarantee that everything will be done steadily!"

"Yes! I have to say that the current emperor is truly a saint. I used to think that this Zhu emperor would be like the previous tyrant emperors, forgetting his roots once he became powerful. But now it seems that we are all petty-minded.

Take Zhenjiang Prefecture for example. If Your Majesty did not trust Yang Chen, do you think we could have the good life we ​​have today?
That is totally impossible. Fortunately, Lord Yang is highly trusted and was able to come to Zhenjiang Prefecture to develop industrialization. My mother helps the Second Prince weave cloth and can receive a lot of salary every month. This salary is many times more than what we earned from farming before.

Anyway, life is getting better day by day, and the hard times for our people are finally over!"

"Right? Do you know why we are here today?"

"I don't know! I came here because I heard I could get money. Our commander also said we were lucky. If he was illiterate, he would have come along too. Before I left, he looked at me with envy.

In all my years in the military, this is the first time I've seen him look so jealous."

"Hey! Ergou, you are also here because you can't read? What a coincidence! Me too! The leader of our army told me that I was sent here because I was lucky enough to be able to read. They thought it was not possible for me to come here."

"So you all can't read?"

"That's nonsense! If I could read, I wouldn't be here!"

When a group of people were gathered here discussing enthusiastically, a man suddenly stood up from the classroom podium. This man was Zhu Chong.

"Quiet!"

In an instant, the noise in the classroom suddenly quieted down, and everyone looked sideways to see who dared to interrupt them from bragging here.

Just when someone was about to yell at Zhu Chong, someone recognized his identity and exclaimed:
"Your Highness! Why are you here?"

"Your Highness? It's the King of Qin!"

After learning about Zhu Chong's identity, the most lively people suddenly calmed down and dared not move at all. Seeing his well-behaved appearance, it seemed that the arrogance just now would never appear on his face again.

"Sit down!"

Zhu Chong maintained a stern face, and his stern words instantly made everyone obedient and quiet, sitting in their seats without making any unnecessary movements.

He glanced around and the scolding sounded again:
"Do you know why I asked you to come here today?"

The crowd shook their heads.

"Let me be frank. I called you here today so that you can learn to read! If you learn well, you will be rewarded. If you don't, you will be rewarded."

"Humph!"

Zhu Chong slapped the table, causing chalk to fly everywhere, making many people sweat.

I thought to myself, my goodness, not only was I brought here for no reason, but I was also forced to study, and if I didn't learn well I was punished. How could this be justified in the world?
But before they could open their mouths to ask questions, Zhu Chong had already left, leaving a group of people staring at each other.

After confirming that Zhu Chong had really left, these rough guys gathered together to discuss:

"No? What's going on? No one told me to study!

That’s right! I don’t know what happened, I just heard about it and came here, I thought it was to learn the art of war! ”

“Learning to read and write, is this something we can do?”

"Who knows? But I heard that not long ago, an old man from another place came here to learn, and he learned a lot. But that old man has already retired, so I don't know what use he can make of it."

(End of this chapter)