Not to mention the three palaces and six courtyards, even now, with six wives, and can't grow their own melons, are they worthy of being emperors?

Two daughters, two sons, and two babies in the womb, the emperor counted with his fingers, and smiled more comfortably and happily.

Why give birth to the emperor's family? At the end of the country, Chongzhen wielded his sword and hacked the young girl to death and cut off the arm of Princess Changping. Because of his incompetence, he harmed his family.

The emperor has pacified the Liao and exterminated the slaves, and pointed his sword in all directions, crisscrossing the four seas, and the danger of the country's demise has been eliminated.

Although it is said that the royal family has many sons and daughters, and it is inevitable that there will be a risk of competing for the throne in the future, the emperor has his own confidence and can control it well.

The Qi family rules the country and the world, and even the children are not well educated, are they worthy of being the emperor?

Well, the emperor's current self-confidence is also self-righteous. In all dynasties, there are really many emperors who have been so angry with their children that they cry.

"Emperor, Zhao Dabao came to meet you." Wang Tiqian didn't go for a while, and the palace people came in again to report.

The apprentice came, and all the carpenter's skills were passed on to him, I don't know what novelty was made in the Academy of Sciences?

The emperor nodded and ordered the palace people to announce Zhao Dabao into the palace.

He is already a fifteen-year-old boy, who looks solid and honest, and has no official position. But in the palace, no one knew that he was the emperor's apprentice, and he didn't enter the palace many times, but he was summoned by the emperor every time.

"Long live the little people." Zhao Dabao entered the hall and kowtowed.

"Get up!" The Emperor smiled and turned his gaze to the object he had brought.

A wooden box, and handles, on which are several small people. The emperor had a conjecture in his heart, and he didn't say anything, waiting for Zhao Dabao to explain.

Zhao Dabao got up after thanking him, with a smile on his face, and said, "Xiaomin has made a new toy to play with the two little princesses. ”

"Dabao has a heart!" The Emperor got up and left the throne, walked over to the wooden box, and smiled, "Show me how." ”

The palace people brought the stool, Zhao Dabao put the wooden box on it, shook the handle, and heard a slight noise inside.

Wind! The emperor looked at the little man on the wooden box, which had a fixed track, which should be driven by a clockwork and could move along the track.

Zhao Dabao stopped his hand and stood back for a while, the sound of ding-dong music had already sounded, and the little wooden man slid along the track in a posture, some in circles, some left and right, as if they were dancing in response to music.

Hehehehe, the emperor laughed, nodded again and again, and said, "Very good, Ying'er Qin'er will definitely like it." ”

Zhao Dabao bowed and said: "The Academy of Sciences is studying Xiyi's clocks, and Xiaomin is listening and watching, and he has gained a lot. Next time, I can do it more finely and better. ”

At that time, clocks and watches were already precision machinery, and all kinds of mechanical principles such as clockwork, gears, and transmission wheels were almost all applied.

If we can study it thoroughly, not only the manufacture of clocks and watches, but also large machinery such as bicycles, tricycles, and steam engines, we will also make great progress on this basis.

In ancient China, this kind of mechanical kinematics, known as "organ information", can only be made by skilled craftsmen, but it is not a discipline, it belongs to the kind of strange skills and obscenities.

The Academy of Sciences, on the other hand, already has a special research and a special classification. The improvised steam engine has been developed, and of course there is still a long way to go before it is practical.

Bicycles and tricycles with chain drives, even though they do not have rubber tires, have a saddle with shock springs, and they are being introduced to the market with practicality.

Like glass mirrors, bicycles and tricycles that have just been launched are also luxuries for ordinary people.

However, any kind of commodity, from its advent to popularization, with the maturity of the production process, the reduction of manufacturing costs, and the improvement of people's living standards, must go through a similar process.

In short, the increase in means of transportation and the improvement of road facilities have strongly promoted the development of the logistics and transportation industry in the Ming Empire.

From the relatively high-end four-wheeled carriages, human-powered tricycles, two-wheeled bicycles, to creaking unicycles, all social strata have their own economic and life applications.

In order to facilitate the maintenance of the road, the stone trough road specially designed for unicycles is even more convenient for the people at the bottom. Whether it's rushing to the market, pulling things, or sitting on two people, a wheelbarrow is much less labor-saving than picking up a flat shoulder.

The popularization of tools means that efficiency is improved, and people have more free time to do more work and earn more.

These changes may be small, but when they are accumulated, they mean an increase in the wealth of society.

Of course, for Zhao Dabao and the researchers of the Academy of Sciences, they may not be able to see this. Whether it's for interest, or for fame, or for promotion, it can all increase their enthusiasm for development.

The emperor's love for Zhao Dabao is also sincere. Although this simple music box-like device did not shock him.

In order to make the atmosphere more relaxed, the emperor continued to talk with Zhao Dabao in the shade of a tree outside the hall.

"The adults of the Academy of Sciences are moving the steam engine to the ship and doing experiments on the Yongding River." Zhao Dabao recounted, and gestured with his hand, "The steam engine is very big, smoking, and the people come to watch. ”

The emperor smiled and bowed, the simplest reciprocating steam engine has been developed, but the control system needs to be improved. If it is applied to ship navigation, it is not satisfactory, and the effect is definitely not very good.

But so what? "Fulton's Fool" was ridiculed by almost everyone, but only nine years later, it became the "Claremont" of the world's first steamboat.

From sail-steam dual-use to all-steam power, from wooden to iron, from steam paddle to propeller propulsion, the right path is in his head, is it still a fantasy to end the history of manpower or wind-powered boats?

No, in the eyes of the emperor, in his lifetime, this is all completely possible.

"I will draw a few drawings when I have time, so that the Academy of Sciences will take fewer detours." The emperor said with a pleased smile: "The steam-powered ship will definitely succeed, and it will definitely sail on the rivers and oceans of my Ming Empire." ”

After a pause, the emperor continued: "The improvement of the steam engine cannot be relaxed, it is the key to its application in practice. Well, you can learn mechanical manufacturing well, clocks and watches are complex, and if you learn it well, everything else will be simple. ”

Zhao Dabao nodded vigorously and respectfully agreed.

From a starving orphan, to a young academy with no worries about food and clothing, to a high-grade academy of sciences, his experience made him cherish such a situation even more.

Although he also knew that he was not a student of reading, he showed an understanding of mechanical manufacturing. A good carpenter does not necessarily have a college education, but a scholar cannot be a carpenter either.

The emperor did not despise him because he had difficulty graduating from elementary school, and he had a specialization in art, and the grassroots could become scientists. And the cultural level of primary school graduates, in Daming, is also a minority, and it is enough.

Science and technology are the primary productive forces, which are gradually being confirmed in the Ming Empire.