What was the first university in Daming?

There is no doubt that it is Qinghe Academy, although at first Qinghe Academy was only used to promote practical learning, and the support for it was to replace science with practical learning, but from the perspective of the 21st century, until now, Qinghe Academy is still dominated by the Confucian philosophical system and humanities, and even still in a central position. However, after entering Xingqian, natural science advanced by leaps and bounds, and the combination of experiment and mathematics became the basic research method, and as a means of observation and experiment, a large number of scientific instruments appeared one after another and gradually improved.

In the past four years, by providing high salaries, nearly 100 scholars from Europe have also injected fresh vitality into the development of natural sciences in the Ming Dynasty, and in this process, Qinghe Academy has naturally become the highest temple of natural sciences in the Ming Dynasty.

In this process, Qinghe Academy is also undergoing changes, from the initial cultivation of students' "scientific accomplishment" to the scientific and theoretical "professional education". Moreover, this is also a change that will arise in response to the actual needs of society, and universities will inevitably be closely connected with companies and governments outside universities through scientific research.

This is the inevitability of the development of society, and of course it is also promoted by Zhu Mingzhong unintentionally.

After all, in the Ming Dynasty in the 17th century, the only one who could undertake scientific research tasks was Qinghe Academy, which was similar to the later university.

Again, when Zhu Mingzhong, who was dressed in casual clothes, came to the Gewu Hall of Qinghe Academy, the sky was drifting with snow. Gewu Hall is the place where Zhu Mingzhong comes most often, because what is displayed here is the latest research results of the teachers and students of Qinghe Academy, and now the research of teachers and students in the academy is not only limited to the improvement of many old inventions in the "Heavenly Creation", but will introduce many new inventions from time to time, although such inventions are very limited, but it is worth it, because the Ming Dynasty has now got rid of thousands of years of Chinese experience accumulation like technological progress, is turning experience into science, And this is the fundamental reason why Western natural science began to surpass China after the 16th century.

Gewu Museum is an exhibition hall, similar to the science museum of later generations, of course, it is also similar to the exhibition of research results, each person who arrives here has a different purpose, the focus of the businessmen's attention is naturally those inventions can bring money, and the young people often focus on new things here, for Zhu Mingzhong, he came here just to bring Hejia, Heyu, Yuxin, Yuting and several older children here to cultivate their interest in science. They were curious about everything about the place, and as soon as they entered, they began to look for so-called novelties.

As for Zhu Mingzhong, this will be no different from ordinary fathers, no one notices their existence at all, he is just a father who brings his children here to play on weekends.

“…… The yarn spun by the old water-powered spinning machine was coarse and coarse. The yarn spun by manpower is fine but has poor fastness. So, in order to actually weave a good quality cloth. Further improvements are needed. In the past few years, we have been working with Yangzhou yarn mills to improve the spinning machine, which adopts the advantages of both......"

Just when the children were looking for fresh gadgets there, Zhu Mingzhong couldn't help but be stunned when he listened to the students over there introduce the people gathered in front of a spinning machine.

"It's already been invented!"

As the inventor of the water conservancy spinning machine, Zhu Mingzhong naturally knows its shortcomings, the thread is thick and loose, which is why it has not been able to replace the hand-spinning machine, and the hand-spinning machine has developed into a machine similar to the Jenny machine after continuous improvement.

“…… We combined a hydraulic drawing drum with a hand-machined wooden spindle main slide to create a new type of weaving machine. The number of spindles was originally four hundred, but now it has been further improved and has been increased to nine hundred......"

In the midst of a wave of amazement, there were already merchants asking how to buy the machine, and everyone was very clear, how efficient the hydraulic yarn machine with nine hundred spindles was, of course, if he could weave both roving and fine yarn, it would be better.

Looking at the eager appearance of the businessmen over there, the corners of Zhu Mingzhong's lips were slightly raised, and there was a slight pride in his heart, this kind of "mule machine" of the Ming Dynasty was not carried out under his guidance, but the result of the union of the academy and the factory, as early as when he first arrived in Jiangbei, in order to promote the development of technology and diffusion Zhu Mingzhong had established a simple patent system, and now the teachers and students in the academy - the reason why these elites of the times are willing to invest wisdom in invention is not only because new inventions can bring them prestige, but also wealth.

Just like two years ago, a student of Qinghe Academy learned from the shock absorbing springs on the high-end carriages of the powerful and rich, and improved the shock absorbing springs, and made it possible to reduce the cost of shock absorbing springs instead of belt friction and shock absorption, and after obtaining the patent, the patent was acquired by the manufacturer at a high price of 10,000 taels, thus proving to the world that "the book has its own golden house", of course, there are many craftsmen who have obtained rich returns through their development, and invention has become a "high return" industry in Daming.

Now, in the Gewu Museum, judging from the dazzling array of exhibits in front of me, the work of the academy in the past few years has indeed been fruitful. Not to mention that other visitors will show surprised and novel expressions, and from time to time let out a voice of admiration, even Zhu Mingzhong himself, occasionally feel novel about some inventions, and can deeply feel the changes.

"This invention can be invented late enough......"

With so many exhibits on display, looking at the model of a new kiln, Zhu Mingzhong couldn't help but sigh at the backwardness of the technology diffusion in the 17th century, because this new kiln clearly borrowed from the wheel kiln - after the capture of Jiangbei, Zhu Mingzhong designed the wheel kiln for firing bricks, but only now began to apply it to porcelain firing.

However, this is also normal - many businessmen are very conservative, and many kiln owners in Jiangnan used firewood until two years ago, and did not start using coal until these two years. This is not surprising, after all, in another time and space, until the 20s, the kilns in southern Jiangsu and other places were still dominated by wood, and finally this market even made the coal king Liu Hongsheng.

Now, however, driven by the idea that new technology equals wealth, businessmen are changing their attitudes towards new technologies, from initial rejection to current acceptance, and even some of them are actively engaged in research. Of course, their views are still changing little by little, and eventually, everyone will be aware of it.

"Bearing!"

Suddenly, among the many exhibits, Zhu Mingzhong saw an unexpected commodity.

It's a bearing!

Although he only glanced at it slightly, Zhu Mingzhong still recognized that this bearing made of bronze was a roller bearing, and it could be clearly seen that there were several cylindrical rollers in it.

Although the horse-drawn carriage technology of the Ming Dynasty seems to be advanced, the wheels still use the original metal bearings, rather than the ball bearings of later generations, and the reason why this is so is limited by technology and cost, so metal bearings are still used.

Seeing that someone was observing his invention, Dai Zi hurriedly greeted him and asked.

"This gentleman is interested in it?"

"This is for carriages? Similar to the function of bearings? ”

Raising his head and looking at the young man in front of him, who should be less than twenty years old, Zhu Mingzhong asked.

"That's right, sir, I'll tell you the truth, you're the first to see it useful at a glance,"

When pointing to the bearings on the booth, Dai Zi's tone was a little helpless, and the reason why he was helpless was because his invention was not favored - its cost was far higher than that of bearing.

"Can you tell us about the merits?"

"Sir, this round shaft bearing is different from the bearing, it is fixed by the cage of the four round shafts, the bearing is placed between the two planes, so that the sliding friction between the surface can be converted into the rolling friction between the point and the surface, so that the wheel can rotate faster, more lively, pull the horse is also more labor-saving, through the previous test, the use of this round shaft bearing carriage, can save 30% of the horsepower, the speed is increased by about 15%."

"Since there are so many benefits, do manufacturers buy patents?"

The answer, of course, is no, for Dai Zi, who was only 18 years old, improving the axles and bearing pads of the carriage and designing this new type of bearing was his first invention after entering the academy, and the use of it to increase the load capacity of the carriage. However, the benefits of his improvement do not seem to have gone unnoticed.

"It seems that no one thinks there is any need to improve the carriage."

Dai Zi's tone looked a little helpless.

"Why are people willing to spend 10,000 taels to buy a new type of leaf spring, but not willing to buy this kind of bearing?"

"Because the sheet spring has been used, but because of the cost, the users are all powerful and rich, Li Bingyi's invention is not only the sheet spring, but its production process, the cost has been reduced by half, everyone is naturally willing to buy, your invention...... The cost should not be low! ”

Dai Zi nodded and said.

"The cost is really not low, the manufacturing cost of the four round shafts is there, but it also has many advantages."

As a student, Dai Zi was obviously not a suitable salesman, and when he emphasized his advantages, Zhu Mingzhong asked with some curiosity.

"Is this your own invention?"

"Well, yes, it should be!"

After hesitating for a moment, Dai Zi said again.

In order to reduce friction, I added four "round shafts" between the "Hundred Ring Ring" and the "Equatorial Ring", so I thought it should be used in horse-drawn carriages, so there was this design, but it seems that everyone doesn't need it. ”

The young man's answer made Zhu Mingzhong nod appreciatively, and then said.

"Improving on the basis of predecessors is also the way to invention, and sometimes, invention is like this, when it is just invented, it may not be appreciated, well......"

After pondering for a moment, Zhu Mingzhong asked rhetorically.

"If you're going to sell this patent, how much will it cost? ，”