Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 328: Clever Old Zhu, the Power of the Lightning Mother! [Subscription Request]

Although Liu Kuan did not personally preside over the construction of the thermal power station, he had been paying attention to this matter, so he was not surprised by the good news from Qiu Qichi and Shen Lin.

Of course, he was also happy, so he smiled and said, "Then I will draft an official document, and you can take it to the Imperial Astronomical Observatory to ask someone to select an auspicious day nearby to operate the thermal power station."

After saying that, Liu Kuan gave Qiu Qichi a note.

Taking advantage of this time, Qiu Qichi and Shen Lin reported to Liu Kuan some other matters about the thermal power station.

After they finished their report and Liu Kuan finished writing the document, the two of them left with the document.

Three days later, Liu Kuan, accompanied by his entourage and guards, arrived at the thermal power station near Lime Mountain.

At this time, next to the gate of the compound, which was relatively far away from the boiler area, a row of wooden racks were erected, on which were hung a hundred carbon filament electric lamps.

These lights were used as much to test electricity as they were a celebration.

Shen Lin came forward and said, "Director, everything is ready. We can start thermal power generation at any time."

Liu Kuan asked, "How many times have you checked the safety measures? Are you sure there are no problems?"

Shen Lin said seriously, "As for safety measures, we have checked them at least five times every day for the past three days, and again this morning. I dare to issue a military order to ensure that there are no problems!"

Liu Kuan waved his hand. "There's no need for a military order. I trust you—let's get started."

"Yes."

Shen Lin bowed in response.

He then approached the group of officials and craftsmen from the thermal power station gathered in the open space and said loudly, "Everyone, we have been toiling here for over ten months since last winter, and now we have finally built the first thermal power station in Daming!"

"With this power station, not only will the various government offices in the capital have access to electricity, but in the future, nearly one million people in the capital will also have access to electricity!"

"Now is the time to test the fruits of our labor over the past ten months. I hope everyone will stick to their posts, be diligent and cautious, and make sure not to make any mistakes!"

After hearing Shen Lin's words, hundreds of officials and craftsmen from the thermal power station also looked solemn.

"Now, I am conveying the order from Director Liu—the Jingshi Thermal Power Station begins generating electricity!"

It might have been a rehearsal, but perhaps the entire power station was truly united. After Shen Lin finished speaking, everyone suddenly shouted, "Generate electricity!"

Then they went to their respective jobs quickly and orderly.

Soon, thick smoke from burning coal began to rise from the tall chimneys of the thermal power station...
Forbidden City, Fengxian Hall.

Zhu Biao glanced northeast and sighed, "Father, the thermal power station is operating today, and I should be there."

Zhu Yuanzhang was reviewing a memorial and said without looking up, "It's just a trial run, not a formal operation. What are you doing here?"

"After all, this is the first time a thermal power station has appeared in Ming Dynasty. It's hard to say what will happen. You are the crown prince, so you shouldn't take risks."

Zhu Biao said helplessly, "My brother-in-law said it all, it's just burning coal and boiling water, how can it be dangerous?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Don't be afraid of ten thousand, just be afraid of one!"

"Then you still let your brother-in-law go?"

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his head and said earnestly, "Liu Kuan must be a blessed man to have come to our Ming Dynasty. But you are different—especially in the next few years. You must pay attention to your safety. Not only to prevent serious illness, but also to prevent accidents, understand?"

After hearing these words, Zhu Biao understood that in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart, as long as he did not safely survive his historical "death date", it would be difficult for people to feel at ease.

Thinking of this, Zhu Biao could only sigh, came to the eaves of Fengxian Hall, and continued to look at the thermal power station.

He took out the telescope he carried with him and could clearly see that a striking column of smoke had risen from the northeast side of Lime Mountain...
About an hour later.

Shen Lin, wearing a pair of special safety gloves, personally went forward and turned on the switch. Suddenly, the long row of carbon filament bulbs on the wooden frame lit up almost in no particular order!

Although the light of the carbon filament lamp was not very conspicuous in the August morning sunlight, or even inconspicuous, it seemed to attract the attention of everyone present!
"it is good!"

Liu Kuan was the first to applaud.

Qiu Qichi and others also started to applaud.

Speaking of which, the habit of clapping has become quite popular in the Ming Dynasty court and official circles. China has had the practice of clapping and cheering since ancient times, but it was not as commonplace as in later generations. Now it is approaching the habits of later generations.

Shen Lin and other officials and craftsmen from the thermal power station felt relieved, and then they all smiled and applauded.

After the applause died down, Liu Kuan said, "The next step is to test how long the thermal power station can generate electricity continuously - this will be a long-term test."

"According to our previous plan, as long as we can generate electricity stably for more than three days, we will be qualified and can be used to supply electricity to various government offices in the capital."

"Of course, the various government offices in the capital haven't yet connected their wires or installed electric lights—but the electrical factory has already produced enough wires and lights, and the wiring for each government office has been designed in advance."

"All we need to do now is arrange for a construction team. We should be able to have electricity in all government offices in the capital within half a month!"

The electrical appliance factory was established in the spring of this year and is currently affiliated with Tiangong Institute. It is mainly responsible for the production of three items: electrical wires, carbon filament lamps, and electric fans, with the first two being the main products.

However, the electrical appliance factory can only accept orders from the palace and the imperial court at present, and its products are supplied at cost and are not profitable.

It is estimated that the electrical appliance factory will not be able to make a profit until the people in Beijing have access to electricity.

Afterwards, Liu Kuan stayed at the thermal power station until noon. Seeing that the power station had been providing stable power supply and no accidents had occurred, he left with satisfaction.

After lunch at home and a peaceful half-hour nap, he went to the palace to tell Zhu the good news. Zhu was delighted and said, "I never thought that in less than six years since you came to the Ming Dynasty, we not only have trains, railways, and ships, but we even have electricity - it's incredible to think about it."

Liu Kuan said modestly, "I have only drawn upon the scientific and technological knowledge accumulated by later generations. Furthermore, even with a thermal power station, the Ming Dynasty can only use electricity on a small scale at present."

"If we want to provide large-scale electricity and consumption, and bring electricity and electrical appliances into the homes of ordinary people, I'm afraid the Ming Dynasty still has a long way to go."

Old Zhu's smile remained undimmed. "The road ahead is long, but we're not afraid. As long as we keep moving forward, we'll achieve our goal sooner or later. By the way, your Tiangong Institute has made a great contribution to the completion and successful trial operation of this thermal power station. Tell me, what reward do you want?"

Liu Kuan bowed and said, "This humble official has only provided some information. The supervision of the construction was mainly carried out by Doctor Qiu Qianchi, Chief Shen Lin and others. I dare not take any credit for it."

"We know these people's contributions. When you write a memorial to commend them and submit it to the cabinet, the court will certainly reward them. What we want now is what reward you would like."

Old Zhu had said so much, and Liu Kuan felt that he could no longer be polite.

So he asked tentatively, "Then, Your Majesty, could you grant me the honor of having my household connected to the electricity and lights in advance?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "You're quite good at making requests, boy. Okay, I'll grant you one more reward: ten thousand taels of silver, eight hundred rolls of silk, and one hundred feet of plate glass!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"If there is nothing else, please leave."

"Yes, Wei Chen is resigning."

When Liu Kuan was about to leave, Zhu Yuanzhang said, "By the way, when will the wireless telegraph be successfully developed? We are eager to use this powerful weapon of our country."

Liu Kuan said, "It should be soon."

Zhu Yuanzhang did not ask how long it would take, but said, "Tell the Wireless Telegraph Research Institute to work hard. If this device can be successfully developed, I will promote you to a higher rank."

Promotion to nobility?

Doesn’t that mean Uncle Tech will become Marquis Tech?

It's even worse.

Liu Kuan complained secretly, but still agreed.

After Liu Kuan left Fengxian Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang pinched his chin and began to think.

Although the imperial court currently only plans to provide electricity to the government offices and palaces in the capital, and not to the public, there is nothing wrong with providing electricity to Liu Kuan's family as a special honor.

Just like cement, it has always been produced by government factories and supplied to the imperial court. Not only ordinary people, but even high-ranking officials and dukes could not buy it.

But he gave cement as a reward to civil and military officials - when he first thought of this idea, he was happy for a long time.

Cement production costs are low, and it is much more cost-effective to use it to reward officials than to use real gold, silver, silk, etc.

At that time, he even regretted opening up glass to civilians too early - if he had not opened up glass to civilians, he would have had another reward that was free of cost.

"Well, we can include electrical appliances such as electricity and lights in the rewards later. Of course, under normal circumstances, we only award the honor of using electricity to our subjects, but they still have to buy the wires and lights themselves."

"Unless they have truly made great contributions, we will directly reward them with wires, lights, etc., and send people to help them connect electricity to their homes."

Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang felt even better...
The Tiangong Institute, which was in charge of Liu Kuan, was in charge of many craftsmen. In addition, a lot of preparatory work had been done, so the project of wiring and installing electric lights in various government offices in the capital began the next day.

Hanlin Academy.

After losing his daughter on New Year's Eve last year, Fang Xiaoru was noticed by Zhu Yuanzhang again. In the past six months, he was promoted to a sixth-rank historian.

Although the work has become heavier, my rank has been promoted and my salary has also increased, which is naturally a happy thing.

However, he still focused on his work as before and rarely participated in idle chats and private gatherings with his colleagues.

That day, he was reading the "History of Song Dynasty" compiled by Meng Yuan in his office when he heard a lot of discussion coming from outside.

"Why did these craftsmen come to our Hanlin Academy?"

"They said they were going to run the wires and install the lights."

"Running wires and installing lights? Could our Hanlin Academy also have access to electricity like the Imperial Palace?"

"Brother Li, I told you to stop burying yourself in books all day. You don't even know about something this big—I heard that some thermal power station has been built and will supply electricity to all the government offices in the capital."

"The power station was actually built? So quickly?"

"Who says it's not true? In less than a year, my Ming Dynasty has possessed the power of the Lightning Mother. Although I don't want to admit it, the Master of Technology and the craftsmen of the Tiangong Academy are truly amazing."

"···"

After listening for a while, Fang Xiaoru became a little restless and wanted to come out to see how the craftsmen wired the electrical wires and installed the lights.

I often read the journal "Natural Science" and have some understanding of the principles of "electricity", but I still have many doubts.

Perhaps watching the craftsmen do these things related to "electricity" can help him solve some of his doubts.

　Second update.

　　Good night~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)