Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 1045 1040 [Something is wrong]

Ju Ming still underestimated the water consumption of the imperial city.

Within three days, the generator was no longer able to power the pumps.

And because the water tower was too high, the manual hand-operated pressure pump was not easy to use. In the end, the eunuchs had to use pulleys to lift the water.

Ju Ming was speechless. He walked slowly to the telegraph room and said to the telegraph operator there: "Send a message to the Emperor."

The beep beep beeped for a while, and finally the call was connected to Wangchuan Gu.

But the telegraph operator on the opposite side said that Zhu Guoxiang had gone to the lake and asked if he would report it immediately.

Ju Ming replied that there was no need and asked the Emperor to reply by telegram in the evening.

In the evening, father and son began to connect.

Zhu Guoxiang asked as soon as he came up: "What are you doing?"

“After only two and a half days, there was no water to generate electricity.”

"I told you to build a power station by the river, but you had to build it in the imperial city. Water power is converted into electrical energy, and the electrical energy is converted into mechanical energy to lift water. There is not a single loss in the middle. If it can really cycle forever, it is a perpetual motion machine."

"I mainly want running water and flush toilets. The Imperial City is too far from the river in the suburbs. You have tested it yourself, and the power transmission loss is terrifying. I don't want to disturb the people, so I can only build one in the Imperial City."

"Just wait. Wait until I get the alternator and transformer out."

“Are alternators complicated?”

"It's much more complicated than a DC generator anyway. I'm not a professional, so I can only try it again and again with my students."

"Then get a DC transformer first."

"I have tried many times, but the DC transformer is difficult and does not work very well. If you want to build a power plant in Xuzhou, AC power must be used for industrial power generation. At this stage, industrial power is unthinkable. Let’s play with the generator as a toy first.”

"Then you send your students over and get a steam water lift next to the water tower. It's the kind of steam water lift commonly used in mines."

"Use a steam engine to lift water to the top of the water tower, and then release the water to power the generator?"

"yes."

"There's nothing wrong with it. I couldn't come up with this idea."

"With the steam water lift, we can free up electric energy. I want to install some ceiling fans in the imperial city."

"Don't bother me with this kind of thing. Those students of mine who work as technical officers in the Ministry of Works know how to make and install steam water lifters."

"OK."

"I'll retreat first."

"When will the alternator and transformer be available? Xuzhou is waiting for your results."

"I don't know. Maybe it will be invented next month, or it may have to wait another ten or twenty years. Or maybe after it is invented, a lot of improvements are needed before it is put into industrial production."

"Is it that troublesome? You should know the principle."

"It's easier said than done. I'm really not a professional. I was still thinking about inventing a gas lamp. I saw that thing when I was a child. But it got stuck in the refractory net of the gas lamp and I couldn't make any refractory material at all. And the bamboo charcoal filament bulb, do you know how difficult it is to put carbon dioxide in it? But it seems to have some reaction when I use it."

"Okay, okay, I'll hang up first."

After watching the emperor leave, the telegraph operator quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He studied with the Supreme Emperor for several years, but he still often couldn't understand the conversations between the two emperors.

Even some of Ju Ming's words need to be written on paper for him to send, otherwise he would not know how to write certain keywords.

The next day, he went to the Chui Gong Hall.

Ju Ming looked at Li Hanzhang: "You said you want to build a dam over Longmen to store water and generate electricity?"

"This is beneficial to the country and the people." Li Hanzhang said.

Zhu Ming shook his head: "You won't understand if you explain too much. Please note that the current generators are not yet suitable for large-scale civilian use. The Supreme Emperor is making improvements. In addition, dams can never be built at Longmen to store water. Once something goes wrong, floods will pour in. Luoyang City!”

Li Hanzhang wanted to explain, but in the end he didn't argue because there was a real possibility that something might happen.

Ju Ming smiled and said, "I'm actually very happy that you can think of building a dam to generate electricity. Let's drink and have fun together in the evening."

"According to the order."

Li Hanzhang was in a very happy mood. He came here to make such suggestions because he was trying to please the emperor.

Just one month later, the steam water pump next to the Imperial City Water Tower was completed, and a specially built house was built to build a boiler room.

The emperor gave the order, and the craftsmen naturally went all out.

Listening to the noise of the steam engine, looking at the chimney of the boiler room, and then looking at the hydroelectric generator, Ju Ming became more and more magical as he looked at it.

First, steam is used to lift water, and then hydropower is used to generate electricity.

As Zhu Guoxiang said, there is nothing wrong with him to do such a thing.

It is a steam engine and a generator. It is more like a display of scientific and technological achievements, making officials and students more interested in it.

Officials, however, were clearly more interested in flush toilets.

They first asked which kiln the flush toilets in the imperial city were made from, and then quietly placed an order with their own money.

Even in ancient China, large porcelain was considered a luxury item.

The yield is extremely low!

The flush toilets and ceramic toilets in the imperial city were in high demand at one time, so Ju Ming had multiple kilns firing them at the same time.

This made the kiln owner and craftsmen worried, and they were unable to deliver the work on time.

The craftsmen were forced so hard that they actually forced a great revolution in porcelain firing technology!

The craftsmen in Gaoling Village, Jingdezhen, added mineral soil (kaolin) to the porcelain clay and found that the yield of large porcelains fired in this way actually increased exponentially. China's porcelain-making technology has evolved from a single formula of porcelain clay to a two-component formula of porcelain clay and kaolin.

Not only that, the hardness of the porcelain body has also been enhanced.

Zhu Ming ordered the promotion of this formula in porcelain kilns across the country, but many porcelain kilns simply could not learn it. Because it is difficult to find kaolin near them, and the cost of transporting it over a long distance is too high.

However, some officials in Luoyang, after finding out clearly, were too lazy to buy it from afar.

They directly asked craftsmen near Luoyang to use clay to fire squat toilets. Then they used wood to make a water pump. Those who wanted to save trouble directly painted a few layers of paint, and those who were more particular made the water pump into lacquerware.

There was no running water outside the imperial city, so they built a small water tank by themselves and filled it in manually to ensure use at any time.

At first, only officials from the cabinet and the government did this, and they also renovated their own toilets.

Soon, middle-level officials and rich people followed suit, and eunuchs and palace maids spread the secret that the emperor used a toilet, so some officials and rich people secretly imitated toilets at home.

In just two months, Luoyang Tianwang Temple also completed the toilet renovation.

The toilets there were already high-end, and pilgrims even had to take off their shoes to enter to prevent the toilet floor from being dirty by muddy water from the soles of their shoes.

Now they have all been replaced with wooden flush tanks and clay squat toilets, and the dry toilets have been changed so that the flushing channels underneath cannot be seen. It received rave reviews for a while!

However, the toilet fee has increased by three cents, which is a small matter for pilgrims.

Because those who pay to use the high-end toilets in Tianwang Temple don’t care about the few cents at all - although three cents can buy half a pound of rice.

The septic tank next to the toilet is still preserved, and it is not connected to the sewer to flush the feces away. It’s not that it can’t be done, but it’s not necessary, because feces are also commodities, and this thing can be sold for money.

In summer, wheat harvest in the north was over.

The first batch of Ningxia and Shaanxi troops began to gather in Shazhou.

Henan, Hebei, Shandong, and Shanxi also dispatched some troops to Shaanxi.

The civilians in each province were recruited after the wheat harvest. The land in their families could be exempted from some taxes, and there was also a settlement fee.

Zhu Ming ordered local officials to give priority to selecting civilians who had more male members in their families and were not married.

The intention was very obvious, that is, after the war, many civilians would be left in Gaochang (Turpan) and Yizhou (Hami). At that time, many people would be killed, especially nobles of all sizes, and the land of the nobles would be robbed to be allocated to the civilians for cultivation, and the women of the nobles would be robbed to be allocated to the civilians as wives.

If there were too many civilians and not enough women, the local people would be forced to marry their daughters to civilians!

Yelü Dashi had difficulty digesting Gaochang and kept Gaochang in a semi-vassal state.

Although Xiao Tabuyan completely annexed the place, he also won over the nobles and did not dare to kill the king of Gaochang.

The problems they encountered were nothing to Zhu Ming, because the Ming Dynasty could easily keep tens of thousands of civilians in the local area. After killing all the nobles, there were also enough officials to transfer there to govern.

Li Yanxian was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Western Expedition, and Emperor Zhu's uncle Zhong Yanchong served as the deputy commander.

Wu Jie, who was stationed in the Hexi Corridor, served as the vanguard general.

The general of the army under the Inspectorate personally went there to supervise the army, but was not allowed to interfere with the command.

The armies of the northern provinces gradually gathered in Shaanxi and Gansu.

Before the war started, six second-generation officials who went to sea accompanied the Eastern Roman delegation to Luoyang.

They took a quick look along the way and had a superficial understanding of many cities along the way.

Until they stayed at the Sifang Pavilion in Kaifeng, the Roman envoy was completely stunned in the toilet.

The trend of toilet renovation has spread to Kaifeng.

Moreover, the Sifang Pavilion in Kaifeng took the lead in renovation, and all the toilets in the main hall were made of porcelain. After all, envoys from the east, south and north would first stay at the Kaifeng Sifang Pavilion, which could greatly enhance the majesty of the Ming Empire.

Aksuhe, accompanied by two subordinates and a clerk, walked into the toilet.

As Tokyo, Kaifeng Sifang Pavilion kept an official from the Honglu Temple, and the rest were regular clerks or temporary workers.

The clerk pointed to the water tank and said to the translator: "After using the toilet, press here to flush the water."

After that, the clerk left the toilet and no longer disturbed the envoy.

A envoy, a translator, and two members of the delegation were already standing in the toilet in a daze.

Aksuhe reached out to touch the water tank and said in a trembling voice: "Is this porcelain?"

The translator pointed to the squat toilet and said: "That...that seems to be porcelain too."

"God, how can I pee on porcelain?" Aksuhe pressed his belt, but he was reluctant to untie it to pee.

A member of the delegation asked: "Is this the capital of Taohuashi? The toilets are made of porcelain."

The translator said: "I have asked the officials of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty now has three capitals. This is their Tokyo, which was the capital ten years ago."

Aksuhe could not hold it any longer and could only urinate on the squat toilet, but he was trembling with fear throughout the process, feeling that he was desecrating a work of art.

The translator said: "The official just now said to press here after peeing."

Aksuhe pressed it with trembling hands, and a burst of water rushed out, flushing the squat toilet clean.

He sniffed again and found that there was no peculiar smell in the toilet, but there was a faint fragrance.

Aksuhe muttered: "It is indeed Taohuashi, a hundred times richer than the legend!"

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