Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

“Not bad.” Wen Huanzhang nodded.

Zhao Yuan asked, "How did you manage to do that?"

"I vaguely understand the principles, so let's slowly conduct experiments," Wen Huanzhang said with a smile.

Wen Huanzhang spent five years developing the battery.

At first, I tried using a coil to hand-crank, but it didn't feel like the right approach at this stage.

He temporarily abandoned the physical method and switched to the chemical method, trying hard to recall the periodic table of elements.

Copper was the first material chosen, and the other materials were tested gradually.

Wen Huanzhang pointed to the battery and said, "A copper sheet, a zinc sheet, a hydrochloric acid sheet sandwiched in between, and then repeatedly stacked, with a graphite rod in the center."

Chapter 3945 Technological Progress

"Is zinc easy to produce?" Zhao Yuan asked.

Wen Huanzhang said, "The copper coins minted by the Ming Dynasty's mint contained zinc."

“Cai Jing’s tin-plated coins were even more ruthless, with a lead content of 26% and a tin content of 13%.”

"The current zinc production process already meets the requirements, but it can still be improved."

In Chinese history, zinc-making technology reached its peak during the Jiajing era.

Later, a shipwreck from the mid-Qing Dynasty was salvaged, and the zinc ingots on board had a purity of 98.99%.

"What about hydrochloric acid?" Zhao Yuan asked again.

"At first I used saline solution, but then I remembered..."

Wen Huanzhang turned to look at the others.

"You know, I changed it to hydrochloric acid."

"It took me more than a year to prepare hydrochloric acid, and there are now two methods."

"One method is to calcine pyrite with lead as a catalyst, and the other is to use copper sulfate pentahydrate, which can be directly distilled to obtain sulfuric acid."

"By adding salt to sulfuric acid, we can obtain hydrochloric acid."

Zhao Yuan examined the battery closely: "It seems to have a very simple structure?"

Wen Huanzhang said with a smile, "Once you make one battery, you can make countless others. It's infinitely simpler than developing a sewing machine."

"Wenzhu, demonstrate it to your elder brother."

Wen Wenzhu immediately stepped forward and connected the positive and negative terminals with an electric wire, and the electromagnet attracted an iron nail.

Zhao Yuan stared at the battery for a long time, then suddenly felt a little dazed.

Before his cotton products had even been fully popularized, Wen Huanzhang had already invented batteries.

Are we going to skip the steam age and go straight into the electrical age?

After a long silence, Zhao Yuan said, "Your battery has a limited output capacity, doesn't it?"

“It is indeed very limited,” Wen Huanzhang said. “Actually, I have already developed the most basic hand-cranked generator.”

"But to use it on a large scale, we first need to generate electricity through a steam engine, which means building a coal-fired power plant."

"The current weakness is actually in steelmaking; we need to improve our steelmaking technology as well."

The technological paths Wen Huanzhang was taking were completely unconventional, and in Zhao Yuan's view, they were truly somewhat magical.

During the period between the Northern and Southern Song dynasties, both steam and electricity were surprisingly available.

Although it is still in the laboratory stage and far from being put into large-scale use, what will it be like in a hundred years?

Zhao Yuan could hardly imagine it.

Wen Huanzhang smiled and said, "You have to eat one bite at a time, and walk one step at a time."

"This battery can be used first, and my next step is to invent a wired telegraph."

"Wired telegraph?"

Zhao Yuan looked at the other three, pretending not to understand.

Wen Huanzhang said, "The three of us have already started working on it and are currently designing the code."

Zhao Yuan found it amazing: "How do you, someone who studies farming, know all this?"

Wen Huanzhang put his arm around his son's shoulder and said in a low voice, "It's all physics and chemistry knowledge from junior and senior high school."

"If I know the general principle, and then lead a large group of people to study it diligently for several years, wouldn't it be too stupid of me to still not be able to figure it out?"

Zhao Yuan whispered to his father, "Where's the light bulb?"

Wen Huanzhang said, "I've tried it, but it won't light up. I guess I need to evacuate the bulb to a vacuum. Anyway, I've tried many times and it still won't light up."

"Are you confident about the wired telegram?" Zhao Yuan asked.

Wen Huanzhang said, "Wired telegraph is very simple; I had the idea when I was researching hand-cranked generators."

Chapter 3946 Ancient Electricity

"But I don't know how wireless telegraphy works, I only know that it uses electromagnetic signals. Do you know how electromagnetic signals are sent and received?"

“I’m a liberal arts student, you’re asking too much,” Zhao Yuan reminded him.

The emperor and his minister embraced and whispered to each other, leaving the three young men nearby dumbfounded.

Wen Wenzhu, in particular, envied the deep affection between the emperor and his father, as he had only been so close to his father when he was a child.

Zhao Yuan asked, "When will the wired telegraph be ready?"

"Within six months," Wen Huanzhang said.

Zhao Yuan was speechless again. He couldn't imagine what a strange experience it must have been to send military orders to Yue Fei at the front lines by telegram.

Yue Fei, telegram...

The combination of the two words is outrageous, full of a steampunk-like absurd beauty.

The question now is, now that we've developed the steam engine and the battery, what's next?

After much thought, Zhao Yuan decided that it was best to let things take their natural course.

Steam engines were first used in state-run factories and mines, such as forging iron and minting coins.

The use of batteries began with the wired telegraph.

They did not actively promote it to the general public, but they also did not prohibit its dissemination among the people. At the same time, they used the Imperial Academy to impart relevant knowledge.

Zhao Yuan let the common people learn as much as they could, and how quickly or slowly they learned, without interfering.

While Wen Huanzhang and his team can make continuous technological breakthroughs, it is difficult to cover all aspects of practical application and expansion.

Clever people among the common people will fill in these details and expand the ways in which steam engines and batteries can be used.

This is a long process.

Zhao Yuan could imagine the sensation that would be caused among the teachers and students when the battery and electromagnet were brought to the Imperial Academy.

These two things are simple in structure, and the teachers and students of the Imperial Academy can quickly replicate them in large quantities.

Then they would continue to study electricity, treating it as a novel toy and trying out all sorts of uses.

After leaving the courtyard, the father and son rode in one car, while the others rode in another.

Zhao Yuan remarked, "It was already a bit outrageous that firearms and cannons were developed at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty."

"You have steam engines and battery-powered telegraphs now, what will China be like in fifty years?"

Wen Huanzhang couldn't answer, so he could only remind him again: "Steel, steelmaking technology needs to catch up. I really don't understand this, and I don't even know where to start if I want to study it."

"Take it slow, don't rush, we've developed too fast," Zhao Yuan said.

Wen Huanzhang said, "That Zhang Congdao is very good; he's definitely a genius."

"Moreover, he is not married and spends all his time reading and doing research. He has no interest in becoming an official. I plan to marry my third daughter to him."

"It's up to you to decide," Zhao Yuan said indifferently.

……

In the Dali Kingdom, a princess was also getting married at this time.

When Prime Minister Gao Liangcheng's first wife passed away, Duan Yu married his daughter to him as his second wife, further deepening the cooperation between the emperor and his minister.

However, even with the emperor and his ministers working together, they could not suppress the Gao clan.

Gao Liangcheng was able to intimidate other powerful clans in Dali, but he could not control the various forces within the Gao clan.

Now, Gao Liangcheng's marriage to the princess has not only failed to quell the dispute, but has instead exacerbated the conflict!

Now, a group of Duan family descendants and a group of Gao family descendants are searching for allies and vying for power.

The descendants of the Duan family all wanted to be the heir to the throne.

All the descendants of the Gao family wanted to be the successors of the Gao family.

Chapter 3947 Duan Yu in History

Duan Yu has already designated a crown prince, but his other sons don't care about that.

Gao Liangcheng was already the head of the Gao family, but the other Gao family members didn't care about that.

The reason for this complicated situation is that Empress Gao died without leaving behind a legitimate son.

All the princes of the Dali Kingdom, including the crown prince, are born out of wedlock.

No matter who is chosen as crown prince, the other princes will not accept it, and they have the right to do so.

That confidence came from the Gao family.

The father of the prime minister Gao Liangcheng was an illegitimate son.

His grandfather's decision to depose the eldest son and establish a younger son in his place caused turmoil within the Gao family, and even Empress Gao was drawn into it.

Now that Empress Gao, who supported Gao Liangcheng, is dead, the various factions within the Gao clan are causing trouble again.

Gao Taiming's descendants, Gao Taiyun's descendants, Gao Shengxiang's descendants... each of them had territory and army, and none of them were convinced of Gao Liangcheng's authority.

Taking advantage of the fact that Empress Gao had died without a legitimate son, they each chose to support a prince, both to help the prince vie for the throne and to help themselves vie for the position of head of the Gao family.

"Your Majesty, none of the Gao family branches attended the princess's wedding; they only sent a few casual gifts," the eunuch in charge of escorting the princess back to report.

Duan Yu was furious: "Not a single one came?"

The eunuch replied, "They didn't personally offer their congratulations, making various excuses to avoid it."

"Some claimed to be ill and were recuperating, while others were tasked with suppressing bandits; in any case, none of them showed up."

"I understand." Duan Yu took a deep breath and dismissed the eunuch.

He had absolutely no idea how to solve it.

He didn't even dare to kill his extra sons, or send any of his sons other than the crown prince to become monks.

Because each son is supported by a powerful Gao clan, acting recklessly could very well incite those people to rebel.

Gao Liangcheng was indeed the strongest among the Gao clan, but he couldn't withstand the combined attack of the other Gao clan members.

After much deliberation, Duan Yu decided to abandon all involvement and completely hand over the affairs of state to Gao Liangcheng.

Once Gao Liangcheng was able to control the situation, Duan Yu planned to abdicate and become a monk.

If Gao Liangcheng continues to be unable to control the situation, then Duan Yu will continue to be emperor in a muddle.

Who cares? Maybe I can outlive a few of my sons to death!

The premise is that no one takes the risk.

Duan Yu even decided to never leave the palace again, lest he encounter assassins on the street, since he didn't know anything about the Six Meridian Divine Sword.

……

Winter passes and spring comes, and everything revives.