Bringing the Railway to Daming

A few days later, Liu Kuan came to Fengxian Hall with a photo plate specially made by the "Photosensitive Materials Research Institute" to report the good news to Zhu Yuanzhang, and also to ask for credit from Zhang Guangzheng and others.

One of the principles Liu Kuan adheres to when managing the many bureaus and institutes under the Tiangong Institute is: if any bureau or institute produces results, he must actively take credit for them.

Although the Institute of Photosensitive Materials still has a long way to go before developing cameras and photographs, it is a major breakthrough after all, and Liu Kuan will definitely take credit for it and encourage them.

After the ceremony, Liu Kuan talked about the contributions of Zhang Guangzheng and others from the Institute of Photosensitive Materials.

Zhu Yuanzhang knew how useful cameras and photos were - after all, he was the one who had taken family photos using Liu Kuan's mobile phone, and he often regretted that the photos in Liu Kuan's mobile phone could not be printed out.

Therefore, after listening to Liu Kuan's story, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately walked down the steps with great interest to watch the screen.

This specially made shadow board, made by the research institute, was still made of copper, but it was three feet three inches long and one foot wide, quite large. It was also framed in mahogany and mounted with transparent glass—Liu Kuan had someone carry this thing in before.

Zhu Yuanzhang bent down and took a closer look, and found that it was a black and white image of the Meridian Gate Tower, so real that it seemed as if it was printed!
"Good! Good!" Zhu Yuanzhang exclaimed, his face filled with joy. "This thing looks extraordinary. At this point, I'm sure we're not far from developing a practical camera, right?"

Liu Kuan didn't expect that Zhu Yuanzhang would be so greedy.

Slightly embarrassed, he explained, "Your Majesty, research on photosensitive materials and negatives relies entirely on researchers' repeated experiments, and only with good luck can results be achieved."

"So, I can't say for sure when they will be able to develop a practical camera."

Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little disappointed after hearing this.

But he also understood the importance of encouraging his subordinates, and immediately said, "No matter what, this is a major breakthrough. Submit your commendation to the cabinet later, and we will give them the promotions and rewards they deserve."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After praising his subordinates, Liu Kuan prepared to leave.

But Old Zhu looked at his graying beard and said, "Liu Kuan, the Queen has been talking about you a lot lately. It's almost the end of the year in a month, and you'll definitely be very busy. Why don't you take some time to bring Huilan to the palace to chat with the Queen?"

"She likes to hear you tell her stories about the afterlife, so tell her more. Do you understand?"

Empress Ma hadn't been ill much since the beginning of winter this year, but her health was certainly not as good as before. Liu Kuan had indeed not visited Empress Ma for some time, so he immediately replied, "Your humble servant understands."

······
Another few days passed.

Liu Kuan specifically picked two days when elementary schools were on vacation, and informed the palace in advance. He then brought Zhu Huilan, Su Caiwei, and his four sons and two daughters to the palace to visit Empress Ma.

When they arrived at the Dashan Hall, they found that Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao were also there.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Liu Kuan and joked with a smile, "Why? Are you surprised to see me?"

Liu Kuan said, "It is indeed unexpected—I never thought that Your Majesty, despite being so busy with state affairs, would still have time to listen to me and the Empress chat."

Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "What is 'chao ke'?"

"Laoke is a Northeastern dialect from later times. It may also exist in Shandong dialect today. It means chatting."

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "State affairs are indeed busy, but why can't we take a break with Biao'er? Have you ever heard you chat with the Queen?"

Liu Kuan said speechlessly, "Your Majesty, you are joking. Who in the world dares to disallow you to do anything you want to do?" Zhu Yuanzhang knew that he was just listening to his words - the emperor could not do whatever he wanted. If he really did whatever he wanted, the country would be on the verge of collapse.

So he waved his hand and said, "Okay, you should talk to the Queen - I'll listen for a while, and if it's boring, we'll leave."

"Yes," Liu Kuan agreed, and then asked Empress Ma, "What would Your Majesty like to talk about? How about I tell you a martial arts novel?"

Empress Ma wasn't as energetic as before, but her face looked even more benevolent. She smiled and said, "I've heard you tell me about The Legend of the Condor Heroes and Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber. I've also heard you roughly describe The Legend of the Condor Heroes and The Return of the Condor Heroes. Besides the patriotism, they're nothing more than stories of romantic love, vying for fame and fortune, and obtaining treasures through martial arts training. I've heard them so many times that I don't find them interesting anymore."

"Aside from this kind of martial arts novels, are there no other stories in later generations?"

Liu Kuan smiled and said, "Of course there are. In later generations, material things are abundant, so people have more time and energy to pursue spiritual enjoyment. In addition to music, movies, and games, novels are also a major entertainment category."

"In addition to martial arts novels, there are also various other types of novels in later generations, which can be roughly divided into serious literature and popular literature."

"Serious literature is similar to the writings of today's orthodox scholars. It's profound, but it takes some effort to read and understand. I did read a few books of serious literature in my early years, but I haven't read any since I started college."

Speaking of this, Liu Kuan felt a little embarrassed.

Although his change is the same as that of most people in later generations, looking at it now, he still has a feeling of being unlearned.

As expected, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but speak, "I was right at the beginning. You are not the kind of person who loves serious study in the future."

Liu Kuan said, "Your Majesty, you are wronging me. At that time, it was not only me who rarely read serious literature, but most students also rarely read it. Moreover, I studied science and engineering in college, not liberal arts."

Empress Ma laughed and said, "Kuan'er, he was just joking with you. Don't take it to heart. According to you, martial arts novels should be classified as popular literature."

Liu Kuan nodded. "Martial arts novels are indeed considered popular literature. Of course, there are also romance, suspense detective, science fiction and other categories of literature from the same period."

"But that was before the advent of the information age. After the information age arrived, computers and the internet became popular, and online literature and online novels emerged."

"Compared to traditional popular literature, online literature has a wider range of novel categories, such as fantasy, mysterious fiction, fairy tales, history, urban novels, and so on."

At this time, Zhu Biao asked, "Brother-in-law, is that science fiction novel related to technology?"

Liu Kuan nodded, "Indeed—the two 'Wandering Earth' films I previously showed you were adapted from later science fiction novels."

Empress Ma glanced at Zhu Biao and said with a smile, "In that case, why don't you tell me a science fiction story and see if I can understand it."

Liu Kuan thought to himself: If I explain it without any explanation, you will definitely not understand.

But seeing that Empress Ma seemed genuinely interested, Liu Kuan couldn't bear to refuse, so he said, "Your Majesty, I haven't read many serious science fiction novels, and even fewer that I can remember. I'll start by choosing a short story by the same author as 'The Wandering Earth'."

A novel by the same author as "The Wandering Earth"?

Everyone became interested after hearing this, and then Queen Ma nodded and said, "Go ahead."

Liu Kuan said, "This short story is called "Moonlit Night," and the setting is a Mid-Autumn Festival night in the 21st century..." (End of this chapter)