My Imperial Advisor is ChatGPT

Xianyang Industrial New Area is now a place where every inch of land is extremely valuable.

With the widespread use of steam engines and generators, this place became the "heart" of the Qin Dynasty. Countless chimneys spewed black smoke day and night (although there were dust removal methods, it was still black), and the huge flywheels made the ground tremble.

But recently, the factory owners in the new district have been very troubled.

"Master Wang! You must judge this matter!"

The factory manager of Daqin Textile Factory (a shrewd businessman from Sichuan and Chongqing) was tugging at Wang Jianguo's sleeve, sobbing, "I spent a fortune to bring in electricity from the Imperial Household Department just to get those 'electric lights.' And what's the result? These lights aren't even as bright as fireflies! The female workers are spinning yarn at night, almost going blind from exhaustion!"

Wang Jianguo looked at the dim, reddish-yellow carbon filament light bulb above his head and sighed helplessly.

"The distance is too far," Wang Jianguo explained. "Your factory is a full five miles away from the power plant. The direct current (DC) is leaking out along the way."

"A leak?" The factory manager's eyes widened as he looked around at the power lines. "I don't see a gap! Is someone stealing electricity?"

"It wasn't stolen, it was eaten by the 'resistance'," Wang Jianguo patiently explained (though the other person didn't understand). "Current direct current only has a voltage of 110 volts. It's like using a water pipe; the water pressure is too low, and the pipe is too long, so only a few drops reach you. If you want the light to turn on, either you build your own power plant at the factory gate, or..."

"What do you want?"

"Or use copper wires as thick as a thigh to transmit electricity."

The factory manager's face turned green: "Thick thighs? How much copper would that take? Even if you sold me, it wouldn't be enough!"

This is the bottleneck that Daqin Power has encountered in its development—the short-legged curse of direct current.

Because the voltage cannot be changed, factories have no choice but to be tightly packed around power plants to minimize losses. Even a short distance away, the voltage drop becomes alarmingly large. This has resulted in an extremely distorted industrial layout in Xianyang: the area around power plants is overcrowded and land prices are sky-high; while areas five miles away, although land is cheap, are barren due to lack of electricity.

"This problem must be solved."

At the regular meeting of the Imperial Academy of Qin on the second day, Wang Jianguo solemnly tapped the blackboard.

"We want to send electricity further, to the Epang Palace, to Mount Li, and even to Hangu Pass. We need a technology that can 'boost' the voltage and then 'press' it down when it reaches the destination."

"We need to develop alternating current (AC)."

However, reform is never a smooth process.

A fierce "battle over policy" erupted within the Daqin Academy of Sciences.

The leader of the opposition was a senior elder of the Mohist school named Mo Ju. He was a typical empiricist and a staunch supporter of direct current.

"Ridiculous! This is utterly playing with people's lives!"

Mo Ju pointed at the sine wave diagram drawn by Wang Jianguo, his beard trembling with anger: "Direct current is like the Yellow River, flowing to the sea and never returning, stable and smooth! This so-called 'alternating current' of yours flows east one minute and west the next, changing direction fifty times a second! Is this some kind of epileptic seizure?"

"And what's more!" Mo Ju raised his voice, "You want to raise the voltage to several thousand volts? Tens of thousands of volts? Do you think the current 110 volts aren't enough to kill people? That's the power of heavenly lightning! If there's a leak, no one or animal will be spared within a ten-step radius! Do you want to turn the Great Qin into scorched earth?"

Wang Jianguo adjusted his glasses and calmly retorted, "Mr. Mo, high voltage is indeed dangerous, but only high voltage can reduce current and minimize losses. This is an ironclad law of physics (P=I²R). As for safety, we can insulate it and raise it higher."

"I don't listen to this nonsense!" Mo Ju was a stubborn old man. "I only believe what I see. Direct current has been in use for two years, and apart from Zhao Gao being electrocuted a few times, no one has died. Your alternating current sounds like it's used for executions!"

Just when the two sides were deadlocked, Qin's "supreme referee"—Ying Zheng—arrived.

Ying Zheng, dressed in plain clothes, held two insulated rubber balls (specially provided by Zhao Gao) in his hands, listening with great interest to the argument between the two factions.

"Both make sense," Ying Zheng said calmly after settling down. "Mo Ju seeks stability, while Wang Jianguo seeks long-term vision. My Great Qin needs both stability and long-term vision."

He looked at Wang Jianguo: "You said that alternating current can be transmitted very far, but how? You can't really build a generator with tens of thousands of volts like you said, can you? That would blow up my palace!"

"Your Majesty is wise." Wang Jianguo took out a new blueprint, his eyes gleaming. "We don't need to build a high-voltage generator. We just need an intermediate component, a magical device that can knead voltage like dough at will."

"It's called a transformer."

The principle of a transformer is not complicated (electromagnetic induction), but manufacturing it is a delicate task.

The most crucial component is the iron core.

To prevent eddy current losses (the iron core heating up on its own), a single piece of iron cannot be used; instead, thin insulating iron sheets must be stacked together.

Thus, the unfortunate Zhao Gao received a new task.

In the workshop of the Shaofu.

Looking at the mountain of silicon steel sheets (actually silicon-containing wrought iron sheets, a formula specially adjusted by Wang Jianguo at the steel mill), Zhao Gao felt his hands cramping.

"Apply it! Make sure it's spread evenly for everyone!"

Zhao Gao took a brush, dipped it in a strange-smelling varnish (a mixture of natural resin and alcohol), and applied an insulating layer to each piece of iron.

"My lord, how many sheets of paper will we need to apply?" the little eunuch asked with a mournful face.

"Chancellor Wang said it has to be folded into a 'thousand-layer cake'," Zhao Gao gritted his teeth. "Not a single piece can be missing! He said there will be some kind of 'vortex' that will make the machine red-hot!"

After painting, you still need to wind up the coil.

The primary coil (input terminal) has fewer turns and uses thick copper wire; the secondary coil (output terminal) has more turns and uses thin copper wire.

"I understand this principle," Zhao Gao reassured himself as he wound the wire. "It's like His Majesty speaking—his words are golden and precious, few in number but heavy in weight (high voltage); when they reach the county magistrates, they have to offer long and rambling explanations (low voltage, high current). Is this what they call... imperial power reaching the countryside?"

After half a month of hard work, Daqin's first oil-immersed transformer was finally born.

It looks like a big, dark iron box filled with insulating oil (dehydrated rapeseed oil; although Wang Jianguo wanted to use mineral oil, it hadn't been refined yet).

The moment of power-on testing.

"Buzz——————"

The metal box emitted a deep, persistent, and unsettling vibration.

"It's going to explode! It's going to explode!" Mo Ju jumped up in fright, protecting his apprentice as they retreated.

Zhao Gao immediately crawled under the table, leaving only his backside sticking out: "Protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor! This monster is growling!"

Wang Jianguo, however, pressed his ear against the metal box (which, of course, had an insulated outer shell) with a look of rapture, as if listening to his lover's heartbeat.

"Listen," Wang Jianguo exclaimed, "that's the sound of 50 Hz alternating current. That's the heartbeat of electricity. As long as it's ringing, energy is flowing."

He turned to look at Zhao Gao, who was peeking out from under the table: "Old Zhao, come out. It won't explode, it's just doing its job."

In order to completely persuade the opposition, Ying Zheng ordered a public "power transmission showdown" to be held on the south bank of the Wei River.

The rules are simple:

At the power plant on the north bank of the Wei River, two lines are simultaneously drawn off. One is direct current (DC) (Mo Ju group), and the other is alternating current (Wang Jianguo group).

Transmission distance: 10 li (approximately 5 kilometers).

Destination: The royal hunting grounds on the south bank of the Wei River. There stand two enormous searchlights.

Whoever can light the lamp the brightest wins.

On the day of the competition, the hunting grounds were packed with people. Civil and military officials, foreign envoys, and even ordinary citizens of Xianyang all came to watch the spectacle.

Mo Ju was full of confidence. For this competition, he specially thickened the wires and used a copper rod as thick as an arm.

"It uses a lot of copper, but it's stable!" Mo Ju stroked his DC circuit. "My electricity is real and reliable!"

On Wang Jianguo's side, the wires were as thin as chopsticks. But at each end of the wires, there was a dark, buzzing "monster" (transformer).

"Use a step-up transformer to increase the voltage from 110 volts to 3300 volts," Wang Jianguo commanded confidently. "The transmission current will be reduced by 30 times, and the loss will be reduced by 900 times. Once at the destination, use a step-down transformer to bring it back to 110 volts."

"Begin!" Ying Zheng commanded.

The main sluice gate on the north bank was closed.

"Buzz—"

The transformer on Wang Jianguo's side started singing merrily.

Meanwhile, in the hunting grounds on the south bank, ten miles away.

Everyone held their breath, staring at the two searchlights.

A few seconds later.

The filament on the left (DC) slowly turned red. It tried its best to shine, but the light was dim as a bean, like a dying old man, barely illuminating a small patch of grass under the lamp.

The light on the right (AC) suddenly started flashing!

"Sizzle—smack!"

A pale beam of light shot into the sky, like a sharp sword piercing the heavens! The light was so intense that the onlookers instinctively covered their eyes.

"So bright! It's incredibly bright!"

Li Si exclaimed in surprise, "It's as bright as the entrance to a power plant! Ten miles away, and it's completely undamaged?"

Mo Ju stared at the contrast between the two lamps, his face turning deathly pale. His prized thick copper wire had been utterly defeated by the laws of physics.

"How is this possible..." Mo Ju muttered to himself, "My copper is ten times his, so why is my light only one-tenth of his?"

Wang Jianguo walked up to him and patted the senior on the shoulder.

"Mr. Mo, brute force can't defeat mathematics." Wang Jianguo pointed to the thin high-voltage line. "This is the principle of 'using four ounces to move a thousand pounds.' By increasing the voltage, the current decreases, and the losses along the way naturally disappear. It's like transporting grain. You spill and leak along the way, while I compress the grain into a pill and then soak it when it arrives at its destination."

Victory was a foregone conclusion.

Ying Zheng immediately approved the decision: the Qin power grid shall fully adopt the AC standard.

But what follows is a new problem—fear.

Alternating current (AC) is advantageous because of its high voltage, but it is also dangerous because of its high voltage.

For people of this era, a 3300-volt power line is practically a death knell hanging in the sky.

One day, an unlucky ox was plowing the field when it accidentally bumped into a hanging high-voltage power line (the original wooden pole had been blown down by the wind).

"Moo—!"

With a scream, the cow instantly stiffened, blue flames erupted from its body, and the air was filled with the aroma of roasted beef.

This scene was witnessed by passersby, and the rumor spread throughout Xianyang in an instant.

"There's a man-eating monster in those power lines!"

"That's the Thunder God's whip! One touch and you're charred!"

"The King of the Imperial Sacrifices has brought the fires of hell to the human world!"

For a time, people would avoid utility poles whenever they saw them, and some even splashed black dog blood on them to ward off evil spirits.

Faced with this situation, Ying Zheng summoned Wang Jianguo.

"The people are terrified, believing it to be witchcraft. How can this be resolved?" Ying Zheng asked.

"Science popularization," Wang Jianguo replied, "and... a sense of visual security."

Thus, the first batch of **"Iron Towers" of the Qin Dynasty** were born.

Instead of rickety wooden poles, they are now massive iron towers riveted together with angle steel. These towers reach into the clouds, their insulators strung together like candied hawthorns, holding the high-voltage lines high in the air, out of reach of onlookers.

And the iconic symbol that has been passed down through the ages was hung on the tower:

A yellow triangle with a black lightning bolt symbol in the middle, and the words "High Voltage Danger, Do Not Climb" written below.

In order to popularize safety knowledge, Zhao Gao (again) was entrusted with an important task: to form the "Daqin Power Safety Lecture Team".

Streets of Xianyang.

Wearing insulated rubber shoes and gloves, Zhao Gao was demonstrating a voltage tester (based on the neon tube principle) to the elderly women watching.

"Fellow villagers! Electricity is like a tiger," Zhao Gao said vividly. "When it's in its cage (electric wires), it helps us grind grain, light lamps, and weave cloth. But if you're impulsive and try to touch its rear end, it will bite!"

"See that sign? The one with the lightning bolt!" Zhao Gao pointed to the utility pole. "That's the tiger's cage! Stay away! If anyone dares to climb up and steal the bird's nest, not even a god can save them!"

"Then... Lord Lingjun, what if the tiger runs out?" an older woman asked.

"They can't escape!" Zhao Gao patted his chest and assured him, "We have a 'transformer.' It's an animal trainer. Before the tiger enters the house, the trainer pulls out its teeth (reduces the voltage), turning it into a docile kitten, and then it goes into your light bulbs."

Under Zhao Gao's easy-to-understand (and survival-conscious) explanation, the people finally reluctantly accepted this "good thing that bites".

A late autumn night.

Ying Zheng stood at the highest point of the Epang Palace.

The Guanzhong Plain is no longer shrouded in darkness.

High-voltage power lines, like blood vessels, extend from the power plant on the north bank of the Wei River, connecting Xianyang, Afang Palace, Lishan Industrial Zone, and even reaching more remote rural areas.

The transformer emits a steady hum at each node, converting high-voltage electricity into light for civilian use.

The factories in the distance no longer need to be crowded next to the power plant; they are scattered along both banks of the Wei River, their lights converging into a dazzling galaxy.

"Little G," Ying Zheng said suddenly, looking at the magnificent scene.

[Yes, Brother Zheng.]

Wang Jianguo said that the core of alternating current is "transformation". High voltage is used for transmission and low voltage is used for application.

Ying Zheng tapped his fingers lightly on the railing.

"I believe this is not only about electricity, but also about governing a country."

Oh? I'd like to hear more.

"The central government's decrees must be 'high-pressure'," Ying Zheng said with a deep gaze. "Like a thunderbolt, unstoppable, so that they can travel far, reaching the borders, the Nine Plains, and Lingnan. If decrees lose their power once they leave Xianyang, they're like direct current—they lose their strength by the time they reach the local areas."

"However," Ying Zheng changed the subject, "once you get to the local level and face the people, these decrees must be 'de-pressurized.' They must be transformed into policies that the people can understand, implement, and benefit from. If you directly connect the central government's high-voltage lines to the people's homes, that's tyranny, and it will electrocute people."

"The prefecture-county system is my 'power grid.' And the prefects and magistrates at all levels are the 'transformers.'"

Ying Zheng turned around and looked at the brightly lit palace behind him.

"If a transformer breaks down, it won't just fail to reduce voltage, it might also leak electricity and cause injury..."

A murderous glint flashed in Ying Zheng's eyes.

"Then let's change it."

"Brother Zheng, you really did study physics for a reason!" Little G exclaimed. "Is this 'political electromagnetism'? But you're right, power grids and bureaucratic networks are essentially about connection and control."

"Connection." Ying Zheng pondered the word.

He raised his hand, as if grasping an invisible thread in the void.

"In the past, I connected the land with cart tracks and thoughts with words. Now, I connect the light with power lines."

"As long as this network is powered on, no one can tear the Qin Dynasty apart."

The expansion of the power grid has changed more than just lighting; it has also changed land prices.

The western suburbs of Xianyang once had a desolate area called "Wulipo".

Because it's so far from the old power plant, this area used to be a mass grave and a gathering place for stray dogs, so the land was practically free.

But today, this place is bustling with activity.

A large group of merchants surrounded one man—Liu Bang.

Liu Bang held a map in his hand, his face beaming with joy.

"Bosses! See that? That thick wire is the 3300-volt high-voltage power line that was just installed yesterday!"

Liu Bang pointed to the brand-new iron tower above his head.

"Chancellor Wang said that a substation will be built here soon! Then, the electricity supply here will be more abundant and more stable than in the city!"

"Buying land now is like picking up money! This place will become a new industrial park! Textile factories, steel mills, glass factories—you can build whatever you want! No more crowding by the river smelling coal smoke!"

"Boss Liu, how much for this land?" A businessman was tempted.

"Not expensive!" Liu Bang held up five fingers. "It's five times more expensive than last month! But ten times cheaper than next year!"

"Bought it!"

Watching the merchants frantically scrambling for land, Liu Bang hid behind a tree, counting the deposits in his hand, grinning from ear to ear.

"Xiao He, oh Xiao He, this transformer is truly a wonderful thing," Liu Bang exclaimed. "It changes more than just voltage; it turns barren land into gold."

Not far away, towering iron towers stand like steel giants, hand in hand, ushering Qin into a new era where energy is ubiquitous.