Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 261 Cultural Fusion
To some extent, industrialization is an extremely grand blueprint, not just about having machines or the ability to manufacture them.

Because previous industrialization, strictly speaking, could only be considered mechanization, that is, owning machines to improve the efficiency of manufacturing.

However, this kind of mechanization can be replicated. For example, by purchasing machines from other countries, disassembling them, studying and assembling them independently, one might be able to replicate them to a large extent and thus develop them.

In the beginning, my country also imported a large number of machines from Russia. We first imported and used other people's machines, then imitated them, and only after we had basic manufacturing capabilities did we begin to innovate, thus building the industrial foundation we have today.

However, in the 21st century, especially in 2032, industrialization is no longer the era of mechanization, but a completely new field.

This includes automation, intelligence, precision, high-end features, AI, and so on.

The technology involved is far beyond what can be mastered simply by copying and pasting; it requires extremely strong scientific research capabilities and a vast industrial foundation.

Because it covers all aspects.

For example, factors such as the depth of the territory, official policies, industrial base, educational foundation, economic strength, and population size.

Apart from the fact that my country itself possesses these characteristics, which led to such an industrial miracle, almost no other country in the world has the conditions to replicate this path.

Therefore, even countries like the US, Germany, France, and Japan, which are currently in the first tier of industrialization, cannot match this miracle.

Under normal circumstances, the Ming Dynasty would never have taken this path.

Although it has everything that my country has, even though its population, education, economy, and industrial foundation are still weak, it is not difficult for it to catch up in 30 to 50 years.

However, it is too primitive, so primitive that it may be stronger than some African countries with even a little industrial capacity.

But he had powerful backers.

my country is now at the forefront of the industrial sector. While the United States is still making a big fuss about opposing automation, automation has already become widespread in my country.

A large number of high-tech equipment and instruments were transported to the Ming Dynasty, and Emperor Zhu witnessed firsthand what "China speed" meant.

A new port was built in ten days, half of Nanjing was demolished in three months, and temporary housing for the city's residents was completed in just two months, with the housing even being better than before.

Old Zhu was dumbfounded.

When I woke up the next day, the entire city of Nanjing looked completely different.

It feels like Nanjing isn't even my own city anymore.

This made him question his life choices, wondering if he shouldn't have agreed to start infrastructure construction immediately.

But there is nothing we can do.

Infrastructure is the foundation for economic development.

To be rich, build roads first.

Without a good urban layout, it is not easy for businesses to develop.

Without good transportation routes, goods cannot be transported quickly.

The current development strategy for the Ming Dynasty is to first develop water transport, so shipyards should be built first.

Then, with Nanjing as the core, railways and highways were built to surrounding cities, rapidly expanding the transportation network.

After that, you can do rail freight and road freight transport.

In fact, this is the only and most correct path.

Zhu Biao did the same.

He secured land in Nanjing ahead of time, nationalizing it when the city was still a desolate place. He then carried out urban redevelopment and constructed waterways, railways, and highways outside the city.

It's just that he's too slow.

At the current pace, it would take at least ten years to expand transportation across the country, and even then, it would only be basic railways; the construction of highways would have to be extended further.

If the Ming Dynasty wants to enter a period of rapid development, it will probably have to wait more than ten years until a large number of well-educated talents emerge and skilled workers are trained, before it can replicate and adopt modern mechanized technology.

After connecting with modern my country, the speed was simply unimaginable.

If in the past the Ming Dynasty at most hired a minor proxy, now they don't even want to act anymore, they're just using cheat codes.

To meet the demand for steel, my country built several small steel plants around Nanjing in a very short period of time. Using flash ironmaking technology, it only takes a few seconds to turn one ton of iron ore into 0.5 tons of steel.

This is much faster than the electric arc furnace steelmaking technology that the Ming Dynasty is currently building in Wu'an, Qian'an and other places.

After all, this steelmaking technology was still in the exploratory stage when the Ming Dynasty built its steel plant in 2026. By 2032, the technology had already been developed and put into use in many large state-owned steel plants.

In addition, a small nuclear power plant was transported over to meet energy demand.

Nuclear power plants sound impressive, beyond the imagination of most people, but as early as 2021, my country had already developed the "Linglong One" small nuclear power plant. By 2032, the technology will be more mature, the plant will be smaller, and the power output will be higher.

The nuclear power plant that was transported here occupies only 0.06 square kilometers, equivalent to 90 acres of land. It is tens or hundreds of times smaller than a traditional nuclear power plant, and its power generation capacity can reach 60 kilowatt-hours per hour, which is only about 30 kilowatt-hours less than that of a traditional nuclear power plant.

Basically, its existence means that all of Nanjing's energy needs have been completely met, and it can operate 24 hours a day in three shifts, always under construction.

In this context, construction activities for 6G communications, local area networks, urban lighting systems, urban road systems, urban sewer systems, and so on were rapidly launched, with a large number of communication towers, lighting fixtures, network base stations, and so on being put into operation.

Overnight, Nanjing, the capital of the Ming Dynasty, seemed to have transformed from a primitive society into a modern civilized one. Basically, once the city was largely demolished and the buildings that needed to be constructed were put up, it became a brand new city.

The officials of the Ming Dynasty were clearly suffering a severe shock. They were completely out of touch with modern society. No one knew what had happened. They only knew that Nanjing City seemed to have been taken over by someone else, and even their own government offices had been completely demolished.

Many people complained, especially since some had interacted with modern people and discovered that they didn't understand ancient etiquette and showed no respect for officials, treating them like primitive people. This greatly displeased many officials.

April, inside the Qianqing Palace.

The modern office headquarters of the Ming Dynasty was located in the former Dongyuku, east of the square outside the Qianqing Palace. It was just a short walk through the Rijing Gate. Further east was the Fengxian Hall, and to the north was the East Palace where the Crown Prince lived.

At this moment, in the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, and an elderly deputy-level official in charge of Ming Dynasty affairs were discussing some development matters.

Just then, the Office of Transmission sent in a new batch of memorials and official documents.

Old Zhu casually flipped through them, then tossed them aside with a wry smile, saying, "I don't even know what's going on; most of these officials are opposing the new policies."

This new reform was called Zhu Biao's New Policy because Zhu Biao was still in charge on the surface, and he gave the modern team the green light, including all the approvals being issued at lightning speed, and the various ministries and government offices were almost rendered useless.

After all, when the government intervenes, it makes everything very clear for them, from planning to routes.

They had already discussed everything they needed to discuss in the previous few days, and everything that needed to be done had been finalized. After that, it was just a matter of following the established procedures, and there was no need to go through any formalities.

But Lao Zhu and his group were able to accept new things and cooperate with the modern world because they had been in the modern world for so many years and already had some understanding of these things.

The common people can accept cultural shock because they don't understand anything.

The only group that resisted was the middle class of bureaucrats and scholar-officials, that is, the intellectuals.

Because they are completely unfamiliar with new things.

Not understanding means that everything they have learned before is useless, and they will be facing a completely new field, a field they know nothing about.

They may not have reached a consensus, but the feeling of not being able to control new things still makes them instinctively feel a bit disgusted.

Therefore, many officials have submitted memorials in recent days, requesting the abolition of the Crown Prince's new policies.

"When new things replace old things, there will always be some resistance," the old man said with a smile.

"I think they want to die."

A hint of coldness flashed in Old Zhu's eyes.

This is a time of great development for the Ming Dynasty, how can we allow officials to obstruct it?

Seeing the murderous aura emanating from him, the old man's expression softened slightly. He advised, "Mr. Zhu, you're exaggerating. This is actually based on their lack of understanding and fear of the unknown, worrying that it will threaten their interests. Often, simply making them understand the underlying principles can solve many problems. Killing is indeed the quickest and most brutal way to solve problems, but it's also the worst. To enter modern civilized society, we still need to establish a civilized system with a legal foundation."

Old Zhu pondered carefully and felt that what the other party said made sense. He slowly concealed the coldness on his face, nodded and said, "Indeed, I yearn for a civilized society and for the future China. However, I started from humble beginnings. In the late Yuan Dynasty, I was either killed or killed without resorting to violence. It was a helpless situation."

Zhu Biao then changed the subject, saying, "Old Qin, in your opinion, what's a solution?"

The old man pondered, "Actually, the best way is to let both sides have more contact and bring over new ideas and trends. Of course, this integration should be limited to cultural exchange; we shouldn't discuss politics too much. Only when they understand the principles of progress will they be more supportive of your policies."

"Well"

Old Zhu nodded and said, "Then how can we make more contact?"

The two sides haven't actually met much lately.

Modern people live in temporary dormitories, and the workers recruited by the Ming Dynasty also live there.

Unrecruited workers from the Ming Dynasty were not allowed to enter the construction site.

This is mainly for safety reasons.

There are many mechanical devices inside. If those ignorant Ming Dynasty people rush in, they may not only cause damage, but also endanger their own safety.

So although they lived in the same city, modern people and Ming Dynasty people were separated by high walls and could not see each other at all, let alone communicate and integrate.

Only a few officials would come into contact with them due to handover procedures and other issues, and the results of these contacts were very unpleasant for them.

In this situation, a suitable opportunity is needed to promote communication between the two parties.

Zhu Biao then thought of the opportune moment.

He laughed and said, "Yunfeng's wedding is just around the corner, so why not make it a grand affair and let the whole city celebrate?"

"Oh?"

Old Zhu pondered for a moment, then said, "Very good, let's do it that way."

Meanwhile, Zhu Yunfeng, who was imprisoned in his own Wu Prince's Mansion, suddenly sneezed for no apparent reason and looked up at the April sky over Nanjing.

It's been raining lately, could it be that the weather is getting colder again?

The thought of being "confined" in the Prince's mansion made Zhu Yunfeng feel a little uncomfortable, so he quickly turned on his computer and logged into the intranet to check the messages.

At this moment, the biggest news on the internal network is naturally Zhu Yunfeng getting married.

Because it caused such a sensation.

It caused a great sensation not only among modern people but also among people in ancient times.

When they heard that His Highness the Prince of Wu was finally going to choose a princess, everyone in Nanjing, from noble ladies to young girls, was in an uproar.

The number of participants aged 15 to 18 quickly exceeded 10,000.

The threshold of the Imperial Clan Court's registration office was almost flattened by the crowd.

During the preliminary selection process, Empress Ma dispatched her personal maid, Jin'er, to oversee the Imperial Clan Court, where she rigorously screened the candidates based on their appearance, figure, and age, hoping to find the most perfect princess.

In the second round, Empress Ma personally oversaw the selection process, and more than 800 people were chosen from over 10,000 to proceed to the second round of selection.

This selection process has naturally attracted the attention of modern people.

Modern assistance to the Ming Dynasty primarily employs a mentorship system, which is also the best approach.

Since the education industry in the Ming Dynasty was only at its infancy, the number of people with junior high or high school diplomas was very small over the past eight years, so most people entered the construction industry.

The first task was the urban planning of Nanjing, with skilled workers leading recruited Ming Dynasty laborers to carry out basic demolition, clearing, and foundation laying work.

Then, senior technicians carried out architectural design and road planning. Many renowned architects from the Ming Dynasty even participated, striving to combine the ancient architectural art of the Tang, Song, and Ming periods with modern architecture.

In fact, the tall buildings that Zhu Biao built outside the palace were a typical template, full of ancient artistic texture and modern industrial quality.

Finally, the actual construction work began.

The cooperation between the Ming Dynasty and the state was rapid and swift. Many places in the city began to be demolished, with large-scale excavation and road construction. The urban area began to expand, preserving many classic ancient buildings while also building new high-rise buildings.

The remaining scholars and candidates with certain academic qualifications and modern education entered some key positions, such as shipyards, rail transit manufacturing plants, engineering equipment plants, and instrument plants in the Ming Dynasty.

The government relocated many factories here, providing hands-on, one-on-one assistance to cultivate a group of outstanding technical talents who have a basic level of manufacturing before discussing advanced technologies.

They even planned to build a satellite base in the Ming Dynasty and launch a few satellites first.

Similarly, the local area network was quickly set up.

In just a few months, the country has sent more than 70,000 to 80,000 people here. They are all highly educated and qualified talents. If you are not a graduate of a top-tier university, you would be embarrassed to be here.

In this context, their curiosity and exploration of the Ming Dynasty naturally arose, and some people even set up forums on the intranet to discuss the situation of the Ming Dynasty.

"Breaking news! The selection of concubines for the Empress Dowager has been reduced from eight hundred to fifty. Empress Ma will personally oversee the final selection."

"According to the informant I bribed, Lao Zhu is very likely to have three wives and four concubines this time. Because he has too many outstanding sisters, Empress Ma will most likely decide to give him a principal wife and several concubines."

"Damn it, I'm going to elbow him to death. I heard he has a helicopter, so I'll bribe his pilot."

"I'm still single, and this bastard already has so many wives, all of them underage. Shouldn't he be arrested and shot for five minutes?"

"Did you get any photos? Let me see what the quality of the girls in the Ming Dynasty is like?"

"No one can leave the construction site, so how can we take pictures? Besides, who can go into the Imperial Clan Court? They're all armed outside, okay?"

"I want to find a sister from the Ming Dynasty in the future."

"Come on, she's old enough to be your great-great-great-great-great-grandmother."

"Hehehehehe, I just love sooooo milky."

"unbelievable"

The forum was filled with all sorts of posts, mostly gossip and explorations of Ming Dynasty history, with a smaller portion discussing things like time travel.

But without a doubt, Zhu Yunfeng has become the biggest topic of discussion in the eyes of both the people of the Ming Dynasty and modern people.

broken.

I've become part of the fun.

Inside the Prince's mansion, Zhu Yunfeng's face was ashen.

(End of this chapter)