As the sun sets over the western mountains, the huge Forbidden City is gradually shrouded in night.
The lights in the imperial study were lit because Zhu Qizhen was concentrating on looking at the drawings. No matter how much he controlled the use of fire, he couldn't control it on the emperor, right?
"Wynn!"
Wynn hurriedly came forward and bowed: "What are your orders, Your Majesty?"
Zhu Qizhen stared at the drawings, frowned slightly, and said, "Go and ask Bei Lin over. I have something to ask him."
"Dean Bei... has already placed the order. Do you think it will be... tomorrow..."
"So early?"
Zhu Qizhen raised his head in confusion and asked: "What time is it now?"
Wynn quickly replied: "It's about three o'clock in the morning."
Zhu Qizhen thought Beilin had left beforehand, so he said, "Go to the steam engine research team and find their leader."
"Your Majesty, they have all...been put down..."
"As soon as it gets dark, the value drops?"
Zhu Qizhen was very puzzled. It was not that he wanted to cheat on him that week, but on weekdays, the Academy of Sciences was very enthusiastic about overtime work. What happened today?
Speaking of which, the salary of the Academy of Sciences is linked to performance, and the rewards for research results are often higher than the monthly salary. In addition, those who come here are interested in scientific research, and their work enthusiasm is very high on weekdays.
If the palace gates were not closed at night, they would even spend the night here.
Huai En didn't know how to explain it, so he could only say with a smile: "Back to the emperor, not only the Academy of Sciences, the Imperial Academy, but also the six ministries and nine ministers have been sent out of the palace."
Zhu Qizhen stood up, walked out of the imperial study, and walked around outside.
The Forbidden City is divided into inner and outer cities. The inner city is the residence of the emperor and his concubines, such as Qianqing Palace, Kunning Palace and other palaces.
The outer city is the office space of the imperial court, including Fengtian Hall, Wenyuan Pavilion, Liubu Yamen, Hanlin Academy, and Academy of Sciences.
Looking up, except for the Imperial Study Room, the entire Outer Imperial City was completely dark.
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Early the next morning, Beilin hurried into the palace to see the driver.
"I heard that the emperor announced the summons last night, and I saw that I was late. I hope you will forgive me!"
Zhu Qizhen did not struggle with this issue, but took out a drawing and asked: "Why is the research focus on steam engines focused on small equipment?"
"Back to the Emperor, as long as it is to cooperate with other groups' projects."
Bai Lin replied truthfully: "The research directions of many groups require the power of steam engines, especially in daily civilian facilities, such as household textile machines. If they want to be popularized, they must be equipped with steam equipment that is as small and simple as possible.
.The research and development and application of large-scale steam engines are still in progress, and the two do not conflict."
"Domestic textile machines..."
Zhu Qizhen thought about it for a long time. He really had not considered this proposal, because since it was for household use, women, children and the elderly often worked in their spare time, weaving one and a half pieces of cotton every day, and exchanged money to subsidize the family. How could it be used?
Steam engine?
Bai Lin saw the emperor's doubts and continued to explain: "Actually, it is not difficult to make a steam engine a home. It only requires a stove, an iron pot, and a pipe. The cost is very low. In this way,
It can be installed in many people's homes, and it is a very good choice for some laborers who cannot go out to work."
Since ancient times, Confucianism has summed up the concept of women's ethics in two sentences: one is not to leave the door, and the other is that women are virtuous if they are not talented. In short, in Confucian thought, women should do housework and take care of children at home.
, born to be a housewife.
After the New Deal, the shackles that had been tied to women for thousands of years were finally broken, and more and more women walked out of their homes and entered workshops.
In order to avoid suspicion, some workshops simply recruit women, such as cloth workshops and dyeing workshops.
However, there are still many people who cannot go out. In addition to the so-called women's ethics, there are more practical difficulties. For example, there are elderly children who need to be taken care of, and the men in the family go out to work, so they can only leave the women at home.
Since they cannot go out to work, weaving at home has become the only way for these people to increase their income.
However, the efficiency of weaving cloth by hand is still too low.
After doing a lot of market research, the Academy of Sciences suddenly came up with the idea that if a steam engine and a loom were combined and simplified as much as possible, it could be installed in ordinary people's homes. Wouldn't it be more effective with half the effort?
In this way, even if you don't leave home, while taking care of your family, you can also make a small income from weaving to supplement your family income.
Zhu Qizhen nodded and said: "This idea is good. If it can be successfully promoted, people will have more employment options, but I don't know if it can make a breakthrough in technology?"
"Your Majesty, don't worry, there is no technical problem at all!"
When the topic turned to professional technology, Beilin was naturally full of confidence.
"Industrial steam engines are difficult, but civilian ones are much simpler. The focus of the Academy of Sciences' current research is how to greatly streamline them, but the looms need to be improved."
"Are new models expensive?"
"It's not that high, it's almost the same as the old one."
“Can’t old-fashioned ones be modified?”
Zhu Qizhen seems to be very concerned about these details. Although the loom is small, it is related to people's livelihood. One common person is a trivial matter, but all the common people in the world are a national matter.
Beilin naturally knew this and said: "How to transform old looms is also an ongoing topic of the Academy of Sciences. I think there will be results soon."
Zhu Qizhen nodded and said: "The life of the common people is not easy. The purpose of your research is to help the common people improve their living conditions. The cost issue must be taken into consideration. You cannot blindly study theory, otherwise you will be divorced from the common people and become
Putting the cart before the horse!"
"What the emperor taught me is that I will keep it in mind."
"Okay, let's go!"
Beilin bowed and left. Suddenly, Zhu Qizhen seemed to have thought of something and asked, "I heard that everyone is very punctual in their shifts recently."
"This..."
Beilin hesitated a little, glanced at Wynn beside her, and had to tell the truth: "The Director of Ceremonies strictly controls the number of candles. At night, he doesn't even let the lights be lit, and the ministers and others are helpless..."
"Wait, what did you say?"
Zhu Qizhen just said it casually, but he didn't expect that he would make a new discovery.
The two of them were talking about technical issues just now, but Wynn couldn't get a word in. Unexpectedly, for a moment, the topic turned to himself.
"Your Majesty, this is what happened..."
Wynn hurriedly explained: "Recently, there have been two floods in the palace. The servants felt deeply derelict in their duties, so they summoned the twelve eunuchs of the inner palace to strengthen prevention. The eunuch of the inner palace sent extra manpower to patrol the palace, focusing on preventing flammable items.
, the Superintendent of the Shrine has strengthened the control of candles and lamp oil, and the Superintendent of Ceremonies conducted a comprehensive inspection and found that the Academy of Sciences uses too many lamps and candles on weekdays..."
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ps: I originally wanted to make up what I owed yesterday, but from the morning till now, I have been feeling dizzy all day long. I wonder if I have been tricked. I will make up for it later...