In another time and space, the hot air balloon was not invented by the Mongolfeld brothers, a French papermaker, until a hundred years later. However, in the following 100 years, limited by technology and the invention of hydrogen balloons, airships and airplanes, the development of hot air balloons has been extremely slow, after World War II, high-tech balloons have popularized ball skin materials and fuels, and hot air balloons have become a public sport that is not limited by location and is simple and convenient to operate.

But at the end of the 17th century, the technology of hot air balloons had taken the lead in maturing, which was entirely due to the application of many technologies. Although limited by the limitations of spherical skin materials, fuel technology, etc., it cannot be compared with another time and space, but in this era, the hot air balloon of the Ming Dynasty is undoubtedly ahead of the world, or in other words, it is unique to this era, even if the Zhou State, the Qin State, the Gui State and other major Xia countries have hot air balloons, it cannot change the leading position of the Ming Dynasty in balloon technology.

Of course, many of the parts they used to make hot air balloons were made from the daimyo. And in Europe beyond them. Even the most tech-savvy kings had little interest in hot air balloons, as Europe today is not comparable to that of later generations, and they are shrouded in poverty and chaos.

As for Daming, on the one hand, people don't know what use hot air balloons can come in, but it still does not hinder their interest in hot air balloons, and on the other hand, they are eager to fly. On the other hand, it is the abundance of financial resources that make people willing to invest in these seemingly useless sciences.

After all, in the past, many people thought that hot air balloons were "big and useless waste" -- they couldn't fly when the wind was strong, and they couldn't fly away when the wind was small, and they seemed to be able to control the course, but in fact they were resigned to fate.

The vast majority of the time, people are willing to invest in building hot air balloons. It's just because it can satisfy people's yearning for the sky to a certain extent.

Other than that, he had no other use.

But the bombing of Jingnan changed everything, allowing people to see its potential for the first time. I saw the toy-like hot air balloon, which played a role beyond people's imagination in unexpected places.

"The Good Attacker Moves on the Nine Heavens......"

The military application of hot air balloons allows everyone to see the hidden power of this sentence. All of a sudden, almost everyone changed their perception of the balloon from an acrobatic device to a weapon that could defeat the enemy, change the world, and of course, it was also given a new meaning - conquering the sky!

For the first time, people looked up at the sky and marched towards the sky. They look up at the sky with enthusiasm and use their imaginations to imagine the various uses of hot air balloons.

When people's enthusiasm is aroused, many things change radically.

At this moment, in the air stadium of Qinghe Academy - in fact, this is the stadium of Qinghe Academy, every year, there will be a number of grand sports competitions held here, football, rugby, baseball and other sports from the establishment of Qinghe Academy, has been constantly "invented", and with the spread of Qinghe Academy graduates to various places, each academy has also modeled Qinghe to establish their own stadiums, teams. Even a few years ago, the Academy League appeared, with thousands of people taking into the stadium every year, and hundreds of thousands of spectators watching the games at Academy stadiums across the country.

And in some cases, the stadium has a special role, as it is now, when the stadium is transformed into a baseball stadium. In the middle of the stadium, where thousands of guests and students gathered, a huge hot air balloon soared into the air, and the huge sphere even blocked the sun, and next to it was a five-person balloon, the most common balloon used by the Ming army. It was supposed to be a behemoth, but it was like a child compared to it.

A large rattan gondola hangs from under the huge hot air balloon, and the only difference that it looks like is that it is large enough compared to a regular hot air balloon. Compared to the narrow gondola of a five-person hot air balloon, its gondola is nearly twice as large as it can accommodate about 10 people. The rattan hanging basket is painted with the word "Feitian" in white on all sides.

"It's huge......"

Looking at the hot air balloon that looked like a small mountain, Zhu Hejia couldn't help but admire, he really didn't expect that the hot air balloon could be so big.

"Your Highness, do you want to go up and have a look?"

Zhang Wanming asked a little proudly.

"Your Highness, it is now the largest hot air balloon in the world, which can hold two thousand catties of things."

Zhu Hejia felt that there was no need to refrain from this invitation, and he himself was full of interest in it, under the influence of his father, every royal child was full of interest in science and technology, and was willing to fund scientific research.

Even though the hot air balloon isn't the latest technology, the large hot air balloon did pique his interest. After all, he had really never seen such a big hot air balloon before this.

The ground staff on the side quickly set up the escalator, and the two royal guards in red uniforms first got on the boat to guard, the escalator was very narrow, and there was not much difference from the ordinary escalator, and they could only go to the hanging basket, and they still had to jump when entering the hanging basket, Zhu Hejia didn't care about it, went straight up the escalator, and then jumped from the top of the hanging basket.

The basket is indeed very spacious, even more spacious than it looks from the outside, but it is still rudimentary, just a rattan basket. After entering the hanging basket, Zhu Hejia looked at the large hanging basket with a thoughtful look.

"This hanging basket is 1.5 times larger than the ordinary hanging basket, can hold 1,500 pounds, if it is downwind, it is estimated that it can fly no less than 100 miles in an hour......

Zhang Wanming, who followed in, proudly introduced that as the sponsor of this large hot air balloon, he hoped to establish his reputation in Zhongdu with this hot air balloon.

Although he is the second son of the minister, in the eyes of the magnates in Zhongdu, he is just a "local tyrant" in Nanyang. Although the imperial court has been saying "Zhuxia kisses" for many years, in the hearts of many Ming people, there is still a feeling of superiority in the face of Nanyang Zhuxia. He even looked down on the rich people in Nanyang, thinking that they were just a group of "local tyrants", even if they were rich people like Zhang Wanming who were born in noble families, they would inevitably be despised for it.

It is precisely because of this that Zhang Wanming hopes to change their opinion of him through some things, perhaps for many people, he once "drank blood" like a native in the rainforest, but he is still a Ming man in his bones.

There's nothing like a hot air balloon for him. It's a science, after all. The Ming people's yearning for science is also well known, and by funding scientific research, he can reap the prestige he needs. Of course, perhaps in the scientific research he funded, he could also bring him a good return.

This. Over the past few decades, it has been proven time and time again. Many people who fund scientific research have reaped huge rewards far beyond their imagination.

Nowadays, it can be said that it is a trend for daimyo to fund scientific research, but anyone who is noble and wealthy will show interest in scientific research. And not just because of the hobby, but more because of the actual rewards. In the past, few people funded research into hot air balloons because, in their eyes, it was just a toy. But now, in his opinion, if he could, with sufficient research, perhaps the hot air balloon could come in handy and make him a good profit while gaining fame.

“…… Although we now have railways and ships, there are still many places that cannot be connected to trains, and even the official roads and horse-drawn carriages are difficult, and the waterways are also not passable, and now there are hot air balloons, when the time comes, you can directly release balloons to transport goods, so that the people of the world will definitely benefit from it! ”

Of course, this is just a beautiful idea. But he believes that this vision is possible, after all, using hot air balloons to transport supplies in the air has a natural advantage...... No need to build roads!

"Cargo ......"

Zhu Hejia looked at Zhang Wanming, who seemed to be looking forward to the transportation of hot air balloons, and still poured cold water on him and said.

"After the hot air balloon goes to the sky, it is basically resigned to fate, mainly depending on the wind, short-distance is OK, long-distance, I'm afraid it's not very feasible."

In fact, as early as when the hot air balloon was just invented, Zhu Hejia also made similar suggestions to his father, and his father directly told him about the restrictions of hot air balloons. But in the end, I told him how to explain it.

"Unless we can power the hot air balloon, driven by the power, let it fly in the air as we wish, under our control, but then its spherical structure is not very suitable for ......"

From his father, Zhu Hejia obtained a lot of knowledge that outsiders would never learn, and it was that knowledge that made him have insights beyond ordinary people in many aspects.

"What His Highness said is very true, this hot air balloon is just to verify how big a hot air balloon can be, and in the future, other balloons will definitely be made, after all, there are still many restrictions on the use of hot air balloons."

Zhang Wanming, as the largest financier of the Feitian Association, of course knows the shortcomings of the hot air balloon, but it is not in the way for him, after all, what he needs is to play the role of an investor, and then use this role to make a name for himself in Zhongdu, so as to quickly integrate into the upper circle of Zhongdu. As for the financial returns, it's just incidental.

There may be no financial reward right now, but who knows in the future?

Just like the royal family, it took more than ten years to cultivate cotton seeds, rubber and other crops imported from the Americas, and not many people could see how much return they could bring at the time, but now they have brought extremely rich returns to the royal family.

There are always investments that only need to be invested for a long time to be able to pay off. Cast a long line to catch big fish.

"I heard from the doctors of Qinghe Academy that there is a kind of gas that is lighter than air, and if you put that kind of gas into the air bag, when you fly, you don't need to keep heating it like now, as long as you put that kind of gas, you can fly naturally......

Cold, Zhang Wanming talked about the development of balloons. As a businessman, he does not invest blindly, and he is willing to invest large sums of money in this area precisely because he sees a future that others have neglected. He believes that when all difficulties are overcome. The rewards he will receive will be beyond imagination.

"However, the price of the light gas is too expensive to use in balloons. However, it has been decided that the association will set up a fund of 50,000 taels to solicit any flying equipment, not limited to balloons, I think that driven by fame and fortune, many people will invest in this research, maybe it will become cheaper in a few years, and when the time comes, the hot air balloon is very likely to become a balloon...... With fame and fortune in place, I don't think it's a problem at all. ”

is really a breakthrough, as the crown prince, Zhu Hejia doesn't know that the temptation of fame and fortune for people is 50,000 taels of silver...... That's a lot!

How much is such a balloon worth?

Up to three thousand taels.

How much will a light balloon be worth in the future? I don't know for the time being, but it is certain that with these 50,000 taels as a promotion, more people will devote themselves to the research of all "flying sky" facilities, including balloons.

However, compared to those people, Zhu Hejia, as a soldier, although he saw the shortcomings of this airship, he also realized its purpose at the first time, it can hold more bombs, and more bombs mean that it can kill and injure more enemies.

After the hot air balloon rose hundreds of feet into the air, Zhu Hejia finally made a comment that pleased the host.

"This hot air balloon is very good, although it is not mature enough to transport supplies, but I think that if it is handed over to the army, it can play a more role, on the front line!"

"Ah, that would be a great honor for the entire association."

Zhang Wanming said directly, and at the same time took the initiative to say.

"If the army needs it, I am willing to donate this balloon to the military."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Hejia said.

"Well, Zhang Gongzi's patriotism can be learned from heaven and earth, when it goes down for a while, Lone will tell all reporters the good news, Lone believes that in the next war, it will definitely play a more important role......"

For Zhu Hejia, today's event is a political task, but for Zhang Wanming, it is a great opportunity for him to reach out to the upper echelons and make a name for himself, and the two sides should be well aware of each other's positions.

Both sides who need each other get what they have in mind.

When the hot air balloon was launched, Zhu Hejia, as the crown prince, naturally did not hesitate to praise Zhang Wanming's patriotic deeds, and when he mentioned that the large hot air balloon would soon be sent to the front line, almost everyone cheered, believing that under the bombardment of the hot air balloon, Jingnan would soon be bombed to pieces......