Alexander VII was stunned and speechless. The papal priests on the dozen carriages behind him and the Portuguese retinue were even more stunned. All the Europeans seemed to have suddenly become demented, staring at the brightly lit Taku with wide eyes.
port.
You must know that in Europe of this era, torches and oil lamps were the only lighting objects. The efficiency of these open flame light sources was very low, a lot of energy was wasted on heating, and the distance that could really be illuminated was very limited. So in Europe, at night, everyone
Everyone went home to sleep. Only a few areas where people gathered, such as the busiest bars in large piers, were illuminated by oil lamps to continue activities.
For large-scale working places that require cooperation, such as docks and factories, it is impossible to use oil lamps and torches to illuminate at night. For Europeans, as soon as the sun sets, it basically means the end of the day.
However, in Dagu, Tianjin, they saw the industrial miracle brought by electricity.
The sun has completely disappeared below the horizon, but the hustle and bustle on the dock has no intention of stopping. Each incandescent lamp can illuminate the area more than ten meters nearby, and the dock workers push various trucks to carry goods without any hindrance.
Containers, supplies, fresh water. The natural routine that Europeans regard as law has been completely shattered by the magical technology brought by these electricity.
Alexander VII suspected that he was dazzled, rubbed his eyes, and looked around again.
However, he saw it right, it was extremely bright in all directions.
The Pope looked at Tang Ruowang beside him.
Tang Ruowang smiled and said: "Your Majesty the Pope, this is the electric light invented by His Majesty the Emperor."
"Electric… electric light?"
"It's just the electric light."
Tang Ruowang said: "This kind of lamp does not use oil or firewood. This kind of lamp uses electricity." After a pause, Tang Ruowang said: "Your Holiness, with my rank and authority, I cannot understand the specific power generation process, but
Judging from public newspaper information, this magical thing is obtained from dams and flames, and is converted into controllable energy through a series of complex processes, which is then input into incandescent light bulbs through wires for illumination."
Upon hearing Tang Ruowang's introduction, Alexander VII was stunned for a moment. His face was uncertain, and he didn't speak for a long time.
But the face of the cardinal next to the Pope turned red, and his eyes were a little red. He looked a little scared because of the surrounding street lights. He seemed to be afraid of these magical electric lights that would shine, fearing that they would be like the legendary witchcraft.
Shoot yourself suddenly.
He lowered his voice and said: "Pope, there is no need to doubt this, this is Satan's magic. Those wires are the channels through which magic transmits energy!"
Alexander VII glanced at the bishop in a panic. There is no doubt that the pope's view of Tianjin was shaken after seeing such technology that was far ahead of the times.
Is this magic and witchcraft?
Tang Ruowang looked at the Pope's face, thought for a while and said seriously: "Pope, this is not magic, let alone witchcraft, this is technology."
Cardinal Klaus shouted in a low voice: "This is magic, Joseph! You have stayed in Satan's country for too long! The technology you are talking about is magic!"
Hearing Klaus call him by his Christian name, Tang Ruowang knew that Klaus was already angry. Yes, in the eyes of a bishop who had studied theology all his life and had never seen modern science, Li Zhi's electric lamp was really too advanced.
Already.
Tang Ruowang felt that if he continued to explain the difference between science and magic, he would be labeled as a follower of Satan by Bishop Klaus.
The charge of taking refuge in the devil and betraying the Holy See is not fun.
Tang Ruowang did not dare to say anything anymore, and Pope Alexander VII's face was also very ugly. The car drove forward slowly, and the three people sitting in the car drove out of Dagu Port little by little without saying a word.
There are trains between Dagu Port and Tianjin Acropolis and Fanjiazhuang. This railway line is the main artery for the exchange of products between Tianjin's industrial center and overseas colonies. The train traffic is very busy. In fact, there are 17 double tracks outside the Dagu Port Terminal.
Railway access, every railway transports goods day and night.
Tang Ruowang's motorcade drove to the junction of the railway line and the cement road and stopped. The road in front was blocked by a barrier.
When Alexander VII was wondering why the motorcade stopped, he suddenly heard a huge rumbling sound. The rumbling sounds became louder and louder from far to near. The Pope didn't know what could make such a huge sound.
It was like an invincible monster rushing towards me from a distance.
Then there was a "woo~~", a huge whistle.
A huge train dragged a long carriage and passed through this small port exit at a speed of more than 50 kilometers.
All the Europeans on the convoy were stunned for a moment.
The train was invented by Li Zhi a long time ago. The trains running on the railway now are all fourth-generation locomotives. The traction force of this kind of locomotive is eight or nine times that of the first-generation locomotive, and it can drag more than 20 freight cars, so
The entire train is an astonishing five hundred meters long.
So even though the train passed the intersection at a speed of 50 kilometers, it still took more than thirty seconds to pass.
As the train passed by, it brought up a gust of wind that blew the collars of the Europeans in the convoy. But no European closed his eyes to avoid the wind and sand. Everyone seemed to have seen a ghost, looking at this mile-long industrial machine.
Extreme speed passed before my eyes.
When the train passed by and disappeared into the distance of the railway track, the blocking railing on the concrete road was lifted. The roadkeeper on the side of the road began to ring the bell, indicating that the convoy could move forward and pass the railway.
However, the Europeans in the team still failed to react.
After a full minute, the convoy restarted and slowly passed the train intersection. Only then did Alexander VII come back to his senses and looked at Tang Ruowang in surprise.
"Then...then...what is that?"
Tang Ruowang coughed and said respectfully: "Your Holiness, that's a train."
"train?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, that is a train. It can carry two million kilograms of goods at a time. If it is transporting people, one train can transport five thousand people. It can run two thousand miles in one day and one night."
After hearing Tang Ruowang's words, Alexander VII did not speak for a long time.
His words sent the Pope into panic.
Alexander VII's body began to tremble, and his whole body seemed to be in extreme anxiety and tension, like a gambler who suddenly found out that the bet was unfavorable after putting all the chips on the bet, and his whole body began to tremble violently.
He looked ahead in panic, as if he had lost his mind for a moment.
Tang Ruowang supported the Pope in surprise and whispered: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
After a long time, the Pope came back to his senses under Tang Ruowang's call. His face turned white as snow and he looked at Tang Ruowang.
Tang Ruowang didn't know why the Pope looked at him like this.
After about ten seconds, Alexander VII suddenly asked: "Joseph, are you still willing to return to Rome?"
Tang Ruowang was stunned for a moment, with a bit of embarrassment on his face.
After a long while, he coughed and said: "Your Majesty the Pope, I have learned many things in Daqi that I never knew before. This is like a new world, and I can benefit a lot every day. I..."
"My subordinate has no intention of returning to Rome."
After hearing Tang Ruowang's words, Alexander VII took a deep breath and looked at Tianjin City in the distance.
