Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 502 Zhu Yunwen, the True God of the Ming Dynasty! The Use of Electricity!
Zhu Yunwen quickly made arrangements.

Since Zhu is determined to launch a western expedition, let him go.

In any case, with the current national strength of the Ming Dynasty, it is not a problem to support a western expedition.

In addition to the troops that Zhu Yunwen had already led westward, Zhu Yunwen also ordered the deployment of three brigades of new troops to reinforce Beshbaliq, under Zhu Yunwen's unified command.

In this way, the Ming army stationed in Beshbali will be expanded to 12,000 men.

This scale is sufficient to support a massive western expedition.

After all, what they relied on was not the old army armed with cold weapons, but a new and elite force equipped with a large number of advanced firearms and artillery, trained and built with modern military concepts.

The combat capability of 12,000 men far exceeds the overall combat strength of hundreds of thousands of troops in the past.

In the past, due to the long logistical supply lines and transportation limitations, no dynasty in the history of the Central Plains could deploy hundreds of thousands of troops to more distant regions west of the Western Regions.

While it is not difficult to assemble a million-strong army domestically, it is quite another matter to deploy them thousands of miles away.

The logistical pressure was far greater than imagined.

Even among modern nations, very few have the capability to deploy significant military resources to fight battles thousands of miles away.

The fact that the Ming Dynasty was able to concentrate such a large and high-quality force to send to the distant west demonstrates its strong national power.

In addition, Zhu Yunwen specially dispatched a group of civil officials to govern Beshbalik, supplemented by the military troops of Wu Ding to maintain local security.

These Wu Dings were also equipped with firearms, which, although not as powerful as standard weapons, were still far superior to ordinary cold weapons.

Most of them are firearms produced in the early days of military factories.

As a paramilitary force assisting local officials in stabilizing the situation, their weapons did not need to be upgraded at the same frequency as those of the new army infantry.

Ordinary, somewhat outdated firearms were enough to deter villains and maintain local stability.

With such an auxiliary force stationed there to assist Ming officials in implementing policies and maintaining order, Beshbali could be brought under the firm control of the Ming Dynasty as soon as possible.

After all, the military and government of the Ming Dynasty are now separated.

Zhu Yuanzhang's new army should continue to operate as a new army; local governance should be handled by government officials.

These political officials also need direct support from the armed forces, rather than immediately seeking help from the military whenever something happens.

That would cause them a lot of inconvenience.

Having direct military power makes all the difference.

At the same time, intelligence infiltration, public opinion propaganda, and financial control are also being carried out in a coordinated and orderly manner.

At the same time, Zhu Yunwen issued an imperial edict to begin construction of a wide cement road leading to the western countries, providing solid logistical support for his grandfather's western expeditionary army.

This avenue serves as both a military transport route and a future trade route.

A new railway line leading to the west is also planned to be built next to the main road.

However, given the huge investment required for railway construction and the fact that the railway industry within the Ming Dynasty is still in its initial stage, the only option at present is to conduct geological surveys and route planning, and then lay the tracks in batches when the time is right.

Railways are different from concrete roads; there's no need to rush their completion.

After all, the current military supplies mainly rely on horse-drawn carriages to be delivered via the main roads, while the railway is a long-term plan that will be steadily advanced.

Along this major transportation artery that combines cement roads with "future railways," Zhu Yuntong also arranged for dedicated personnel to carry out large-scale desertification control and prevention projects, striving for ecological stability along the route and ensuring the long-term smooth flow of traffic.

Every twenty li, a post station was set up and warehouses were built to store various materials. This served as a transit point for supplies for the Western Expeditionary Army, facilitated subsequent trade, and also served as an important stronghold for controlling the local area.

This move drew on mature experiences from later generations.

When Western powers used cannons to force open the doors of other countries, they often accompanied this with the construction of railways and firmly controlled the areas along the railway lines, thus achieving control over the country.

The various unequal treaties that these countries were forced to sign often included clauses stipulating that the railway lines would be directly controlled by Western countries.

Since there was a ready-made method that had been proven effective by history, Zhu Yunwen naturally adopted it directly.

At the same time, the power of the grassland tribes was also effectively mobilized.

They were primarily responsible for both exploring and repairing roads.

Road construction was a natural progression, and the grassland tribes cooperated readily.

After all, the roads connecting their settlements would facilitate trade with the Ming Dynasty, allowing the Central Plains goods they needed to flow more easily into the heart of the grasslands, while their cattle, sheep, and horses could be continuously supplied to the Ming Dynasty in exchange for valuable goods such as ironware and paper money, creating a mutually beneficial relationship.

The same applies to scouting.

The steppe tribes had previously conquered the west, and the four Khanates had once established effective rule over the western countries.

Even today, many years later, some connections still exist between them.

Therefore, it would be most appropriate for them to take the lead in sending people deep into the Western countries to investigate key roads, terrain, local conditions, and the strength of their nations, and then report back to the Ming Dynasty.

In addition, the grassland tribes could spread the fame of the Ming Dynasty army along the way, launching a propaganda offensive and paving the way for psychological and diplomatic warfare in the subsequent westward expedition.

Beyond military offensives, Zhu Yunwen understood that leveraging the Ming Dynasty's soft power was of paramount importance.

If the nations develop a fear of the Ming Dynasty and the people's hearts waver, we can achieve twice the result with half the effort.

After making various arrangements, Zhu Yunwen personally went to the Academy of Sciences of the Ming Dynasty.

Among the many departments and institutions of the Ming Dynasty court, the Academy of Sciences was the place Zhu Yunwen visited most frequently.

The reason is simple: other departments only need to send officials to oversee and manage things properly. Under normal circumstances, it is neither necessary nor appropriate for the emperor to directly intervene in the management of specific matters.

This will disrupt the normal work rhythm of the people below, making it difficult for them to carry out their work.

But the Ming Academy of Sciences is different.

Zhu Yunwen's past life experiences are of immense value, truly priceless.

His understanding of modern science and technology plays an irreplaceable role in the Ming Dynasty at that time.

The Ming Academy of Sciences was booming, with a constant stream of inventions. Although the scientific research teams were exploring new technological paths with great enthusiasm, they were not immune to detours and setbacks.

But for Zhu Yunwen, all of this was like a guiding light.

He was already familiar with many research projects and technological directions, and could easily predict the future of a technological development.

Often, just a few words can clear the fog for researchers and point them to the right path.

Don't underestimate this.

The most difficult thing in science is never the techniques themselves, but rather grasping the direction.

If you go in the wrong direction, even if you devote your whole life to it, you will only end up with nothing.

If the direction is clear, tackling the subsequent technical challenges is only a matter of time.

Furthermore, without a clear direction, the imperial court dared not invest large sums of money in a research project.

Because the consequence of doing so is often that all the money is wasted.

We can only conduct some preliminary, exploratory research with a small amount of money.

Because there are so many research directions, all of this money adds up to a huge investment.

But most of the time, there will be no results. Of course, that's how cutting-edge scientific research is.

If you make a profit even once out of ten thousand investments, then it's worthwhile.

Because the returns are so high, they far exceed the financial cost of ten thousand investments.

However, since Zhu Yunwen knew the future direction, scientific research in the Ming Dynasty would not need to be explored in this way.

As the saying goes, "crossing the river by feeling the stones," if predecessors have already paved a feasible path, those who follow in their footsteps can save countless hours and resources.

In its previous life, China's science and technology made rapid progress, catching up with and even surpassing the development of Western powers over hundreds of years in just a few decades, largely because it was on the right path of science and technology.

Today, the Ming Dynasty stands at the pinnacle of world science and technology. Therefore, it must explore many cutting-edge fields on its own. There are no precedents to follow, no ready-made scientific knowledge to learn, so it can only explore on its own.

With his memories from his previous life, Zhu Yunwen was like a technological beacon, illuminating the path for scientific research in the Ming Dynasty. His influence was immeasurable.

All of this made Zhu Yunwen seem like a god-like figure in the eyes of many scientists and technologists at the Ming Academy of Sciences.

As scientists, they originally believed in reason and logic and disdained superstition.

Having personally witnessed Zhu Yunwen's accurate guidance on the direction of science and technology, and seen him lead breakthroughs in cutting-edge technologies and drive major technological leaps, even the most calm and rational scientists have to admit that there may truly be "gods" in the world.

The emperor of the Ming Dynasty was the only "true god" in the world!
Technology is truly amazing!

Every piece of advice Zhu Yunwen gave was like a divine revelation.

The ideas he proposed were almost always ahead of their time and absolutely correct.

The blueprint he outlined represents the future direction of development.

This has been proven by facts countless times.

Anyone who doubts this will be ruthlessly proven wrong by science.

The fact that he wasn't a god left everyone speechless with shock!

As a result, all the scientific and technological workers of the Ming Academy of Sciences became Zhu Yunwen's most ardent supporters and the most loyal and steadfast group of people to the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yunwen's visit to the Ming Academy of Sciences was not a casual stroll; there was a specific reason behind it.

Not long ago, he received a report that scientists at the Daming Academy of Sciences, following his previous instructions, had successfully created the world's first generator using sulfuric acid, copper, and zinc as raw materials!

This news greatly encouraged Zhu Yunwen, who immediately rushed to the Ming Academy of Sciences.

The wide range of uses for electricity is self-evident.

Long before, Zhu Yunwen had wondered if the Ming Dynasty could skip the long steam age and directly enter the brilliant electric age.
But he soon dismissed the idea.

The reason is extremely simple.

Although Zhu Yuntong had memories of his previous life, he was not from an electrical engineering background and his understanding of electricity and electrical engineering was far from sufficient.

He's more than capable of explaining the basic principles of voltage and current, setting up household circuits, changing light bulbs, connecting wires, and even installing electricity meters.

He was also able to briefly explain some of the principles of electromagnetic induction.

However, once he delves into higher-level theoretical concepts such as Maxwell's equations and field theory, he inevitably finds himself struggling and unable to keep up.

As for starting from scratch and inventing and utilizing the power system on a large scale, that's simply out of the question.

I was completely lost, not even knowing where to begin.

The limited electrical and electronic knowledge taught in my previous life's school didn't delve into these topics.

Since these things were invented long ago, what students need to learn is the principle of electricity and how to use it.

Instead of telling them how to make a "wheel" and repeating the process of "making a wheel".

From an educational and social perspective, these are all unnecessary.

In contrast, the principle of the steam engine is much more intuitive.

An average junior high school student can generally understand its basic working logic.

It involves boiling water and using the steam generated to drive the axle to rotate.

It requires no profound theoretical support and has a relatively low manufacturing threshold.

The construction of the power system, however, is far more complex.

Fortunately, Zhu Yunwen had accumulated some vague impressions from his previous life.

He recalled that materials such as sulfuric acid, copper, and zinc were needed to manufacture the original battery.

Knowing that electromagnetic induction exists, even though the specific formulas and derivations have become obscured, the general direction will not be too far off.

Early scientific exploration was inherently full of trial and error and chance.

Theory often lags behind experimentation. We should first boldly experiment based on experience and inspiration, and then summarize the principles after achieving results.

Inspired and guided by him, the Daming Academy of Sciences quickly organized a group of key researchers and devoted a great deal of energy to tackling experimental challenges.

Day after day, countless failures and breakthroughs intertwined at the test bench. Finally, after countless experiments, they successfully manufactured the world's first generator!

This achievement marks a groundbreaking first step in the Ming Dynasty's exploration of electricity.

At the Ming Academy of Sciences, Zhu Yunwen saw this still very rudimentary but significant generator with his own eyes.

On the lab bench, a frog is tied to the table.

Researchers connected two copper wires to the two poles of the battery, and carefully placed the other end of the wires on the frog's thigh.

The moment the two copper wires touched the frog's thigh muscle, the muscle twitched violently.

The movement was subtle, yet clearly visible.

This is strong evidence of the existence of electric current.

The Academy of Sciences did not just create one "battery"; it used multiple battery packs of different capacities in the experiment.

Repeated experiments have shown that the larger the battery capacity, the greater the amplitude and force of the frog's leg twitching, and the more violent the reaction.

After watching the demonstration, Zhu Yuntong smiled with satisfaction.

Sure enough, the world's first battery-powered generator was invented by the Ming Academy of Sciences.

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Yunwen summoned a group of researchers and addressed them personally.

Tell them that although electricity may not seem to have much use right now, if research continues, its future applications will be endless and it could change the whole world.

With electricity, human life will be completely different.

And these researchers will be remembered forever in human history!

To encourage their beliefs, Zhu Yunwen set up an experiment on-site, using electricity.

……

(End of this chapter)