Chapter 62 Steam Engine and Fireship, Curse from Yehenara

"The future is truly a magical era."

During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che looked at the sky in amazement.

The sight of the steel behemoths of later times that could operate without human power deeply shocked the heart of the young emperor.

However, when he saw that the former great country was gradually falling behind the Western countries because of Qianlong's arrogance, he was so angry that he slammed the table and cursed:

"Strange tricks and shabby tricks? Little did they know that it was these 'strange tricks and shabby tricks' that caused our Chinese land to suffer humiliation for a hundred years. This Qianlong is so stupid! I am so angry!"

After reading the introduction of modern history, how could Liu Che not know that it was these things regarded as "strange and lewd tricks" by Qianlong that put China into a situation where it was vulnerable to bullying and humiliation?

When Liu Che thought about the fact that in the future, the Eight-Nation Devils would rely on these powerful ships and guns to break into the capital with only a few thousand people, veins bulged on his forehead with anger.

This damn Qianlong.

There was an opportunity to stop all this from happening, but because of his own arrogance, China fell behind the Western countries and was bullied by others!

In Liu Che's view, Qianlong was simply a sinner for all eternity, even more hateful than the foreigners who bullied China!

……

Datang.

During the Zhenguan period.

Li Shimin and his ministers also lamented that China had lost such a good opportunity to connect with the world.

"Isolating the country from the outside, being arrogant and conceited, has ruined China's thousand-year fortune with one's own hands."

Li Shimin shook his head and sighed.

You know, except for a few dynasties, such as the Qing Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, the Chinese land has a more open and inclusive mentality.

This point was particularly evident in the Tang Dynasty.

If the two dynasties could swap their historical positions, and Li Shimin stood in Qianlong's position, everything might be different.

"Although I hate Japan, I have to admit that in some areas they do better than the corrupt Qing court."

Li Shimin thought of the Japanese envoys sent to the Tang Dynasty and the Meiji Restoration that followed.

Such a small country could be open and inclusive, catch the last train of the Industrial Revolution, and provoke wars everywhere. If Qianlong had not been so arrogant, how could the Chinese people have been bullied like this?
……

"People donated all those good things, but in the end they were just thrown in the warehouse and gathered dust?"

During the Yongle period, Zhu Di was extremely speechless.

Missed the opportunity to grow.

This is a typical case of having a lack of awareness of potential crisis and not understanding that one is born in adversity and dies in comfort.

In Zhu Di's view, the Qing court died completely in comfort!

He was arrogant and conceited, and had always dreamed of becoming the Celestial Empire. He was complacent and the emperor was so corrupt that his subordinates followed suit, needless to say the court was even more corrupt.

"It is not advisable to close the country to the outside world. It seems that I was right to lift the ban on sea trade. If you close the door and become an emperor, you will think you are the best country in the world, but in fact you are just sitting in a well and looking at the world from afar."

Zhu Di glanced coldly at the ministers who dissuaded him from reading the maritime ban: "Some of you are old and your ideas are too old. You don't allow this or that. What's the result?"

"You left behind a mess! You closed yourself off from the outside world and claimed to be the best in the world. How can you not fall behind?"

"Look at the Western countries. Although they are poor, they are not arrogant and attach great importance to exchanges. This is worth learning from!"

"In the future, the Ming Dynasty will send more ships to various countries to strengthen exchanges. In addition, the Ministry of War will look for skilled craftsmen to research steam engines, and they must be developed within three months."

"This..." The Minister of War looked bitter.

Previously, Tianmu only gave a brief introduction to the steam locomotive and did not talk about anything related to the steam engine. How could we know where to start and how to develop a steam engine within three months?

Isn't the emperor giving him a difficult problem?

Helpless, the Minister of War had to bite the bullet and beg: "Your Majesty, the principle of this steam engine is quite complicated. In three months, I really have no idea where to start!"

Zhu Di gave him a cold look and said, "If you can't build a steam engine within three months, I think you don't need to be the Minister of War anymore!"

The Minister of War's face froze, and he had to nod and look eagerly at the sky curtain, hoping that the sky curtain could introduce more content related to the steam engine so that he would not lose his official hat.

Perhaps moved by his sincerity, the next content on the sky curtain was indeed related to the steam engine.

……

[It is said that the end of the universe is boiling water, which is actually true. 】

[No matter whether you are a nuclear power plant or a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the principle is to boil a pot of water first, and then use the force generated by the rapid expansion of water when it boils and turns into steam to drive the turbine blades to rotate, and the turbine blades drive the transmission shaft to do work outward. ]

As Tianmu tells the story, a simple steam engine appears on the screen, which very intuitively explains the origin of the steam engine to all dynasties.

[In fact, the principle of the steam engine is very simple. When the coal in the furnace is ignited, it will heat the water to produce steam, and then the steam will push open the valve and enter the condenser cylinder. When the cold cylinder is filled with steam, the valve will be closed due to pressure. ]

[Then the condensation nozzle in the cylinder will spray cold water, causing the internal steam to quickly cool down and form a vacuum...]

【…】

……

Yongle period.

The Minister of War listened carefully and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, he managed to keep his official position.

Although Zhu Di was also listening, he was not listening very carefully. After all, these things only needed to be handed over to the people below. As an emperor, there was no need for him to do it himself.

Now, he is more excited.

Think about it, now that we have steam engines, how far away are steam trains?
What would it be like if the Ming Dynasty could really build a steam locomotive?
By then, I’m afraid there won’t be any need for horses, right?

The transportation of food and fodder, as well as the deployment of troops will also be much easier. There is no need to march out on a large army like we do now, followed by hundreds of thousands of logistics personnel. This will save a huge amount of money!

A hundred years later, with trains all over the country, the territory of the Ming Dynasty under central control, and officials in office, suppressing rebellion will be extremely easy.

Just thinking about this made Zhu Di very excited.

It seems that we have seen the drastic changes in the Ming Dynasty under his leadership!

"I thought it was some novelty, Your Majesty. I have to say that this steam engine is nothing special."

Just as everyone in the court was whispering about the steam engine, an inopportune voice suddenly rang out.

Everyone turned their eyes to look and saw that the person who spoke was the Grand Secretary Xie Jin, who had been ordered to compile the "Taizu Shilu" and the "Yongle Encyclopedia".

Xie Jin was a man of great talent. Seeing his slightly disdainful look, Zhu Gaochi wondered, "Could it be that Grand Secretary Xie knows about this new thing?"

"Exactly!"

Xie Jin stepped out proudly, shaking his head and saying, "Your Majesty, Crown Prince, and colleagues, this foreigner's steam engine may seem powerful, but in fact, in my opinion, it is nothing special at all, because we Chinese have already had steam engines!"

As soon as Xie Jin said this, it immediately caused an uproar in the court.

"Huh? Is this true?"

"How come we've never heard of it?"

Even Zhu Di felt a little surprised. The Ming Dynasty actually already had a steam engine?

"Mr. Xie, are you joking? If our Ming Dynasty already has steam engines, why have we never heard of them?" Zhu Gaochi asked curiously.

After the crown prince spoke, Xie Jin stopped hiding it and said, "Your Highness, the reason why you don't know is because the Ming Dynasty and the West call this thing differently."

Xie Jin paused and continued, "I wonder if the prince has ever heard of 'fire ships', or 'thousand-mile ships'?"

"Fireship... Are you talking about my Ming treasure ship?"

Zhu Gaochi's eyes lit up, "Yes, yes!"

"I remember that Zheng He led the Minyue people to turn the dry cylinder of the stone mill, and used fire to heat water so that the dry cylinder could flow back and forth to move the treasure ship forward. At that time, our 200 ships sailed east and it took only three months and eight days to reach Bilu."

Don’t underestimate the wisdom of our ancestors. In fact, we have already used the principle of steam engines to propel ships. What Zhu Gaochi just said was also recorded verbatim in Overseas Talks: Shipping.

“Your Highness is right. In fact, China has been using steam as a propulsion force since the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

Xie Jin raised his chin proudly: "The fireboat I just mentioned was invented by Zu Chongzhi and his son. This fireboat only needs to be fueled by fire and water to drive the boat, without wasting manpower. It is also called a thousand-mile boat!"

"All these ministers are recorded in the 64th chapter of the Yongle Encyclopedia, Secret Talks on Machinery! If you don't believe it, you can go check it out yourself!"

After Xie Jin finished speaking, there was another uproar in the court.

For many people, it was the first time they had heard of such a thing and they were all amazed.

As for the other party's suggestion to check it personally, no one took it seriously.

Xie Jin was a man of great talent and was also the hero responsible for compiling the Yongle Encyclopedia. Since he dared to say this in public, it must be true.

At the same time, some officials who were familiar with sea transportation and understood the principles of fire ships also sighed repeatedly.

After Xie Jin's reminder, many people realized belatedly that the method of driving a fireboat was very similar to the principle of a steam engine.

However, more people felt a sense of pride in their hearts and admired the wisdom of their ancestors!

It’s a pity that due to the limitations of the times, it was only used on ships, otherwise perhaps the Ming Dynasty would have had steam locomotives long ago!

"Mr. Xie is truly a man of great talent and learning. We are glad to learn from him." Zhu Gaochi said with a smile.

Receiving the prince's praise and feeling the gazes from all around him, Xie Jin's vanity was greatly satisfied, and he proudly said loudly:
"So in my opinion, this steam engine is nothing special!"

"What China lacks the least is skilled craftsmen. I believe that within three years, the Ming Dynasty will be able to develop a steam locomotive!"

"Well said! Then I will borrow your good words, Grand Secretary."

Zhu Di was so pleased that even the way he looked at Xie Jin became a little strange.

Originally, Xie Jin was arrogant because of his talent. He took advantage of his contribution to compiling the Yongle Encyclopedia and did a lot of things that made Zhu Di want to kill him.

Now that he knew that this guy was a walking "encyclopedia" and had seen his usefulness, Zhu Di felt that he could let this guy's head stay on his neck for a few more days.

……

"I see!"

The end of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Zhuge Liang smiled and waved his feather fan: "So that's how it is. In this way, my Han Dynasty can also build its own steam engine!"

Liu Bei's eyes lit up. With the military advisor's talent, it should not be difficult to build a steam engine. Could it be that the steam locomotive would be invented in this era?
In Xuchang, Cao Chong excitedly called people to find materials and prepared to start working.

There is no other reason, it's just that the principle of the steam engine is indeed not difficult, and the method of skylight demonstration is very intuitive and easy to understand, even if he is a child, he can practice it.

……

While skilled craftsmen of every dynasty were enthusiastically studying steam engines, the title of the video changed again above the sky.

……

[Any country that received compensation from the Qing Dynasty will eventually become the Qing Dynasty! ]

[Recently, Germany passed a bill to legalize marijuana. Prior to this, marijuana was legal in the United States and Canada, and then Europe also fell. ]

In the video, one mentally depressed foreigner after another appeared.

[First, the UK, the Netherlands, and finally Germany also declared marijuana legal. ]

[To celebrate this policy that benefits the country and the people, a large number of people gathered to celebrate, singing and dancing, and the air was filled with the smell of "the sweetness of freedom."]

【You will rise by this and you will fall by this. 】

[The boomerang of history finally hit those great powers hard. They all missed the "Great Qing Dynasty" and called it the Great Qing Dynasty.]

[This is also called the Yehenara curse by netizens. ]

……

"These people..." Liu Bei frowned as he watched the scene. "Why do they look like they are taking opium? Could it be that marijuana is the same thing as opium?"

"Opium?" Zhang Fei shouted loudly, "Isn't this something that harms people? Their court doesn't even regulate this thing that harms people. What kind of court is this?"

……

"The curse of the Yehenara clan?"

During the reign of Emperor Kangxi.

Emperor Kangxi Xuanye was confused: "If I remember correctly, the Yehenara clan is my Jurchen clan, right?"

"And what does the fact that foreign governments allow the use of marijuana have to do with our Qing Dynasty? What does this have to do with anything?"

……

[When Nurhaci unified the various Jurchen tribes, the last tribe to be unified was the tribe called Yehenara.]

[The leader of the Yehenara tribe cursed before his death: I, Yehenara, will destroy the Jianzhou Jurchens even if I am the last woman left.]

[200 years later, the Empress Dowager Cixi, a famous general who fought against the Qing Dynasty, was a member of the Yehenara clan.]

[The abdication edict of the Qing emperor was signed by Empress Dowager Longyu on behalf of Puyi. Empress Dowager Longyu was also a member of the Yehenara clan.]

……

Kangxi: "..."

No one would have expected that the witch who caused the demise of the Qing Dynasty was actually Yehenara.

And the abdication edict was also signed by Yehenara...

Even Kangxi had to admit that from some perspectives, the Qing Dynasty did indeed perish at the hands of the Yehenara clan.

"Pass on my decree. From now on, the imperial family of the Qing Dynasty is forbidden to intermarry with the Yehenara clan!"

Kangxi sighed and ordered the eunuchs around him to draft an edict.

For the sake of the Qing Dynasty's foundation, he cursed this thing...Kangxi would rather believe it!
……

[And Cixi also said "I want the foreigners to die", which is also known as the second curse of Yehenara. ]

[According to unofficial historical records, the silver that the Qing dynasty paid as compensation to various powers was also called the silver curse. The only way to break the curse was to return all the compensation, plus the blood of the Yehenara clan.]

……

Great Qin.

Ying Zheng was greatly shocked.

"In the future, everyone is indeed an immortal. This Empress Dowager is even more proficient in the art of witchcraft. It's really terrifying. However, to break the curse, all the compensation must be returned. With the style of those foreigners, I'm afraid they won't spit it out easily."

Zheng Ge, who has always been honest, mistook the netizens' ridicule as facts, and seriously lamented that the old witch Cixi had such great magical powers that she could curse several countries in one breath.

Unfortunately, before he could be shocked for long, Tianmu told him the truth.

……

[Of course this is not true, it is just a joke and prank by netizens. ]

[Then...what is the truth? ]

[It was the painful lessons that the two Opium Wars brought to China, and it was Lin Zexu's destruction of opium in Humen that showed national spirit.]

[It is the Great Wall built with blood by border guards along the 4060-kilometer Yunnan border, the heroic sacrifices of hundreds of anti-drug police officers in our country every year, and the country’s zero-tolerance attitude towards drug problems for decades.]

[We stumbled badly over the opium problem a hundred years ago, and we will never stumble over the same problem twice now! ]

……

(End of this chapter)