In terms of intelligence, ancient people were no worse than modern people. What they lacked was vision.
In the same way, modern people's knowledge reserves are all based on the observations, summaries, and research of predecessors. They rely on the efforts of generations to continuously accumulate, pass on, and build a huge cognitive system.
This is the greatness of pioneers. They groped in the darkness and found a bright road, pointing the way for future generations, guiding more people to come in, follow suit, and complete great feats again and again.
Zhu Qizhen's professional knowledge level was not high, and in later generations, he was just an ordinary science and engineering man.
However, these most basic scientific theories were enough to become a beacon for the development of science and technology in the Ming Dynasty.
As if he had witnessed a miracle, Tong Xuan immediately rekindled hope and devoted himself wholeheartedly to the research and development of electricity.
Although it is still unclear why copper coils and magnets can create electricity when put together, it is like not understanding why thunder occurs before it rains. However, as long as you know this phenomenon and master its operating rules, you can use it.
Just imagine, when the ancients discovered fire, did they understand what chemical reaction was?
However, this did not affect the use of fire by the ancients. They took fire from the place where they found fire from the sky, brought it back to the cave, used it to heat food, drive away wild beasts, and regarded it as a gift from God.
This kind of fire caused by fire from the sky will eventually extinguish. However, the spirit of human exploration is far more than that. Suiren invented the method of drilling wood to make fire. It was in this first spark that a brilliant civilization burst out.
Now, Zhu Qizhen personally pointed out the direction for the Academy of Sciences' electric power research, and Bei Lin and Tong Xuan completed the rest.
When we returned to Qianqing Palace, it was already dark.
Queen Qian came out and reached out to help Zhu Qizhen take off his coat.
"Is the Queen still asleep?"
Empress Qian smiled brightly and replied: "The emperor's official duties are very heavy, and I can't help you much, so I have to do the work of serving tea and pouring water. This is the freshly cooked bird's nest porridge."
As she spoke, she stretched out her slender hands and brought the bird's nest porridge to Zhu Qizhen.
"Well, it smells good!"
Zhu Qizhen took it, smelled it, then picked up the spoon and drank it in three or two strokes.
Queen Qian was a little dumbfounded and asked tentatively: "Your Majesty, would you like... another bowl?"
In fact, she only cooked one bowl.
Originally, it wasn’t like I hadn’t eaten, so I just ate a bowl of bird’s nest for fun, but in the end, I was gone after two bites...
"No, I'm full!"
Zhu Qizhen waved his hand. This was a habit he developed after going to sea. Because he never knew when the battle would start, he had to eat quickly, otherwise he would be hungry if a fight broke out in the middle of the meal.
Now, whether he is eating or sleeping, he is clean and tidy. As soon as his head hits the pillow, he can hear a slight snore.
Queen Qian sighed helplessly and pulled half of the quilt over her body, but she tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep.
Over the years, she was pleasantly surprised by the changes in the emperor. From the battle of Tumubao, all the youthfulness and childishness had completely disappeared, as if he had suddenly become mature.
Over the past five years, Ming Dynasty has continued to expand its territory, and science and technology have developed rapidly, all of which are inseparable from the emperor's contribution.
But……
Queen Qian has always been very distressed because...she has no children.
The crown prince Zhu Jianshen was born to the imperial concubine Zhou, the second son Zhu Jianshen was born to the Chen concubine Wan, and the third son Zhu Jianshu was also born to the Zhou family. As a queen, she entered the palace in the seventh year of Zhengtong and has not left the palace for twelve years.
I really feel unwilling to do so.
As the prince grew older, the imperial concubine Zhou could no longer sit still.
Secretly, the Zhou family began to contact some ministers with the intention of taking away the title of queen from herself. If his brother Qingyunhou hadn't committed suicide and got involved in the case of Shanxi merchants being enemies, he would have launched an offensive long ago.
Queen Qian was a conscientious person and did not want to be an enemy of the Zhou family. She even thought that if she had nothing to do, it would be okay to give up the title of queen to the Zhou family.
She is the Crown Prince's biological mother. No matter how close she is to the Crown Prince, she is still an outsider after all...
"It's gone!"
"Someone come quickly!"
"Firefighting!"
Suddenly, there was a noise outside.
Queen Qian had not slept at all, so she sat up immediately, put on her clothes and came to the door.
"What's going on outside?"
The young eunuch on duty replied: "Go back to the Queen, there is a leak in the palace!"
"where?"
"My slave is not sure. Looking in the direction...it seems to be the East Palace."
"East Palace..."
Empress Qian's eyebrows frowned slightly. Just now she thought of the Zhou family and the prince, but something happened in the East Palace.
"Send more manpower to help put out the fire. We must ensure the safety of the prince!"
"yes!"
The little eunuch outside agreed and hurried away.
"What's wrong?"
Queen Qian's attention was focused outside when a voice suddenly came to her ears. She was frightened and looked back, only to see Zhu Qizhen wearing pajamas standing behind her.
"Your Majesty, why are you up?"
Zhu Qizhen opened the door, looked at the fire in the southeast, and said: "There is such a big movement outside, how can I not hear it? Is there something wrong with the East Palace?"
Queen Qian nodded and said, "I heard it was from the direction of the East Palace. I just got up when I heard the noise."
Zhu Qizhen nodded, but still felt uneasy, so he sat down at the table.
Seeing this, Queen Qian hurriedly stepped forward to pour a cup of tea and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry, the fire is not big and it should be extinguished soon."
The Forbidden City was built in the Yongle Dynasty and used a large number of wooden structures. If you are not careful when using fire, some accidents may occur.
However, in order to prevent fires, there are large water tanks at regular intervals throughout the Forbidden City, which are usually filled with clean water. They are also the earliest fire-fighting equipment.
With these safeguards in place, even if a fire breaks out, it can be extinguished as quickly as possible.
About half an hour later, Wynn hurried over.
"My slave, come to see the emperor, come to see the queen!"
"Get up and talk!"
Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and asked: "What's going on?"
Wynn's face turned pale and he said: "There is a flood in the East Palace. I have led people to put out the fire, but His Highness the Crown Prince..."
Zhu Qizhen's face turned ugly and he asked: "What's going on? Tell me quickly!"
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince fainted and has been sent to the Imperial Hospital..."
Wynn buried his head low, not daring to breathe out.
Zhu Qizhen stood up and asked again: "Is the fire very big? Why did it take so long to put it out?"
"It's not that big, it's just..."
"If you continue to be hesitant like this, I will send you to Fengyang to guard the mausoleum!"
Zhu Qizhen is really anxious. If something happens, please tell him quickly. Doesn't it mean that it didn't happen if you don't tell it?
Wynn no longer dared to hide anything, so he had to tell the truth: "It's His Royal Highness the Crown Prince... Your Highness is studying... gunpowder!"
"What?"
Zhu Qizhen was shocked. Zhu Jianshen was only six years old. What kind of gunpowder was he studying?
With an innocent expression, Wynn said: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince likes to listen to the lectures of the Academy of Sciences on weekdays, and is especially interested in gunpowder. He obtained a large amount of saltpeter and sulfur from somewhere, and burned charcoal in the East Palace. As a result, the result
…I didn’t control it well…”
Zhu Qizhen looked surprised. By making gunpowder in the East Palace, was he preparing to rebel?
You are only six years old, why are you so anxious?
"Go and investigate immediately. How did the saltpeter and sulfur come in? Also, did the prince refine gunpowder for his own fun, or was he instigated by someone? Let's find out together!"
"Yes, slave, go right now!"
Wynn bowed and walked backwards, closing the door behind him.
Zhu Qizhen picked up the tea cup on the table and drank it all in one gulp, and said angrily: "This little brat, I'm not at home, he is going to rebel!"
"Your Majesty, please don't get excited..."
Queen Qian quickly comforted her and said: "The prince has been enlightened since he was three years old. I should not say anything. Those great Confucian scholars taught some Confucius and Mencius and the philosophy of governing the country. The prince was not interested at all. Until last year, when the Academy of Sciences began to teach, the prince seemed to have opened a
I have a general aptitude, and I listen to lectures very seriously on weekdays, and I also do hands-on work, so I developed this habit."
Zhu Qizhen was a little dumbfounded. It was a good thing for a six-year-old child to learn some scientific knowledge, but what kind of thing was it to secretly prepare gunpowder by himself?
If there is no fire today and the gunpowder is successfully deployed, will the next step be to assemble the bomb?
Looking at this trend, it is God's help that is helping us to get this fire going. Otherwise, one day there will suddenly be a thunderstorm that blows up the Forbidden City and leaves me crying...
Early the next morning, Zhu Qizhen opened the door and saw a group of people kneeling in front of Qianqing Palace.
There is Zhu Jianshen’s biological mother, the imperial concubine Zhou, as well as Huai En, Bei Lin...
Zhu Qizhen was a little confused and asked: "What are you going to do?"
Mrs. Zhou burst into tears and said, "I have come to apologize. I hope the emperor will remember that Shen'er is ignorant and don't punish him. If anything happens... let me take the responsibility..."
Wynn then said: "What happened yesterday was due to my servant's negligence. I beg the emperor to punish me!"
Zhu Qizhen looked at Beilin and asked, "What's your situation?"
Bei Lin bowed her head and said: "I was wrong. I should not have taught His Highness the Crown Prince how to make gunpowder..."
Zhu Qizhen was so angry that he wanted to laugh and asked: "How is the prince?"
Wynn said: "The imperial doctor has looked at it and said that it was mainly due to shock. He will be fine after a period of rest. He is still recovering in the imperial hospital."
"Wait for him to come back and see if I don't deal with him!"
Zhu Qizhen shook his head helplessly, then changed the topic and asked: "Have you found out what happened last night?"
Wynn replied: "It has been found that the saltpeter and sulfur were brought into the palace by the maid Wan."
At this time, a palace maid kowtowed and said: "I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong!"
Her voice was trembling because she knew very well that after such a big thing happened, she might not be able to save her life.
Zhou then said, "If the emperor wants to blame me, then blame me. Wan was originally my servant girl. I was worried that the prince would not be used to being in the East Palace, so I transferred Wan to him."
Zhu Qizhen was not interested in these, but looked at the shivering Wan and asked, "Where did you get the saltpeter and sulfur?"
Wanshi said tremblingly: "Bought...bought..."
Zhu Qizhen asked again: "Where did you buy it?"
These items are combat readiness resources, and their circulation among the private sector is strictly controlled.
It is difficult for ordinary people to obtain it, unless there are some special channels.
Wan didn't dare to hide it anymore and said: "I have two younger brothers. They helped me buy them. They only said they were from the black market. I don't know where the black market is..."
Zhu Qizhen thought for a while and said, "Huai En, go check it out immediately!"
Wynn quickly replied: "Yes!"
"Wait a minute...Your Majesty!"
Wan Shi panicked and said quickly: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. My two younger brothers don't know anything. They were just entrusted by me to buy those things. I am willing to bear all the faults alone!"
Zhu Qizhen looked at her and said with a half-smile, "Can you afford it?"
Wan didn't know what to do for a while, so she had to kowtow and beg for mercy.
Seeing her expression, Zhu Qizhen felt a little surprised.
Not to mention that she was willing to bear all the consequences for her younger brother. As a eldest sister is like a mother, this feeling and sense of mission are understandable. What is surprising is that from beginning to end, she did not mention the prince.
If this matter is traced to its source, the prince is the culprit.
Wan was just an errand boy and went to buy some things outside the palace.
Of course, these things are contraband, and she has to bear the crime.
Now she never mentions the prince and takes all the blame herself.
Wan's face turned pale, and she said cowardly: "The prince is frightened, and this servant cannot bear this responsibility. I wish, I wish... to die to apologize..."
Zhu Qizhen secretly thought that this person was quite loyal. He would ask Wynn to find out what happened to her two brothers. If the crime was not so heinous, he would go after the Wan family and spare them...
etc!
Zhu Qizhen seemed to have thought of something, and his expression became solemn again.
He looked carefully at Wanshi in front of him, but the other person lowered his head tightly and couldn't see his face clearly.
This person is...
Zhu Qizhen suddenly remembered that this person's name was... Wan Zhen'er!
She was originally the maidservant of the Empress Dowager Sun. Once she was noticed by the Zhou family, so she begged for her and took her with her.
Because Wan Zhen'er was well-behaved and smart, she was highly praised by the Zhou family, especially for taking care of the young prince. No one could coax her into crying, but as soon as Wan Zhen'er appeared, she stopped crying immediately.
When the prince moved to the East Palace, Zhou sent Wan Zhen'er there as well, just to take care of the prince's food, clothing and daily life.
Zhu Qizhen had seen this person before, but he didn't take it seriously.
History has been rewritten. Zhu Jianshen's status as prince is as stable as an old dog, and he no longer needs to depend on a woman who is twenty years older than him.
Without this experience, everything that follows would naturally not have happened.
However, at this moment, he still felt that he had been negligent.
Wan Zhen'er is still with the prince, and the relationship is still very close.
Zhu Qizhen was thinking in his mind, he should be more cautious when dealing with this woman...
"Wynn, go and check the black market. Mainly make secret visits. Don't alert others."
"yes!"
Huaien resigned, Wan Zhen'er looked anxious, and was begging for mercy when she saw the emperor waving to her.
"I have something to ask you, come in and tell me!"
Everyone looked at each other. What did the emperor want to ask a palace maid alone?
Zhou didn't understand, Bei Lin didn't understand, Wan Zhen'er didn't understand even more...
When Zhu Qizhen saw everyone standing still, he ordered: "Wan Zhen'er stays, and everyone else should disperse!"