Sky Curtain: My Great Qin must have an aircraft carrier!

The imperial decree had barely left the Taiji Hall when the four gates of Chang'an were sealed off completely.

More than 300 elite cavalrymen, dressed in plain clothes, infiltrated the East and West markets, searching shop after shop.

The shopkeepers had just opened for business, and before the door panels were even completely removed, they were blocked in the shop by several burly men.

"Don't move! The Hundred Cavalry are on a mission!"

"By imperial decree, an investigation is underway. All shops are closed, and no one is allowed to move about!"

The armored soldiers of the Hundred Cavalry rushed into the warehouse, carried boxes of goods out to the street, and inspected them in public.

Counterfeit medicine, poisoned liquor, substandard fabric, grain mixed with sand...

Counterfeit goods piled up in the middle of the street, quickly forming a small mountain.

The people of Chang'an rushed to the scene upon hearing the news, crowding the streets.

When the crowd realized the goods were counterfeit, they erupted in uproar.

"Damn it, they're all fakes? I spent hundreds of coins on them!"

"I knew it tasted off! Turns out it wasn't venison at all!"

"These heartless beasts! They deserve to be torn to pieces!"

Various pieces of intelligence gathered on Li Shimin's desk and quickly piled up into a small mountain.

Do not check, I don’t know, I’m scared.

Li Shimin never imagined that there were so many counterfeit goods in Chang'an!

If it weren't for Tianmu exposing him, who knows how much longer this unscrupulous merchant would have been able to live freely before being exposed!

"Issue my decree!"

Li Shimin's voice was icy cold, devoid of any warmth, "All businesses involved: the ringleaders will have their homes confiscated and beheaded, their entire fortunes seized! Accomplices will be exiled three thousand li away, never to be pardoned!"

"Confiscated assets will be used to compensate the victims first! They will be compensated for whatever amount they have!"

The imperial decree was sent out of the palace gates by fast horse and posted all over the 108 wards of Chang'an.

When the scholar read out the contents of the proclamation, the entire city of Chang'an was in an uproar.

Countless people were moved to tears, thanking not only the emperor but also the heavenly canopy hanging high in the sky.

If the heavens hadn't exposed these secrets, they don't know how much longer they would have been deceived.

-

After finishing dinner, Lu Li took out his textbooks and began to preview tomorrow's major courses.

His eyes were fixed on the book, but his hand honestly reached for his phone.

"Just five minutes of scrolling, to relax your brain."

What exactly did it break through to become a symbol of the industrial age? A review of the greatest inventions in human history—the steam engine.

Lu Li stared at the headline and couldn't help but scoff at it:

"Didn't you say last time that synthetic ammonia was the greatest? Why have you switched to steam engines again?"

"So, like Best Actor winners, there can be several greatest inventions?"

Despite saying that, he still clicked on it.

Since I'm just killing time anyway, I might as well browse around and see what I can say.

"Kongming, quick! Bring me paper and pen!"

Upon seeing the title, Liu Bei straightened his back, his expression more serious than ever before.

Thanks to the salt-making method he had just learned, the Shu Han's financial situation improved considerably, finally giving him the confidence to expand his army.

But that's not enough, far from enough.

His dream was to restore the Han Dynasty, pacify the world, and bring peace back to the four seas.

With its small territory and small population, how could Shu Han possibly compete with Cao Cao?

Then we can only try to overtake them from other places.

The best solution Liu Bei could think of was industrialization.

Have you not seen how powerful Germany was after industrialization, when it dominated the world?

Even if he only learns a little bit, it would be enough to give him the ability to wipe out Cao Wei and Eastern Wu!

"My lord, please rest assured. I have memorized every single word of the construction methods that Tianmu mentioned."

Zhuge Liang gently waved his feather fan, his gaze falling on the map of Sichuan and Shu at his side.

Relying on Liu Bei's reputation for benevolence and righteousness, Liu Zhang did not make things difficult for him and generously allowed the spies to enter Shu.

The topographical map was mostly drawn, but looking at the densely packed passes, Zhuge Liang was filled with worry.

The road to Shu is more difficult than ascending to heaven.

Conquering Sichuan with only the resources of Jingzhou would be far too difficult.

If we could learn some way to break this deadlock from the steam engine, that would be wonderful...

The use of fire freed humankind from eating raw meat and drinking blood, and led them out of the dark caves.

However, over the long course of history, humanity has never been able to break through the upper limit of carbon-based life forms in the field of power.

Human and animal power were the core assets and symbols of national strength in ancient times.

Until that water-boiling machine appeared.

"Why are later generations so verbose!"

Zhu Yuanzhang put down his brush, furious.

It's always the same; before explaining anything, they have to go on and on for ages with all the preamble.

Why can't you show us the steam engine first, so we can see it for ourselves?

If it were anyone else who dared to dawdle like that, Old Zhu would have slapped them long ago.

But the sky was high above, inaccessible and untouchable, so Old Zhu could only stare helplessly.

Zhu Biao, who was grinding ink for Zhu Yuanzhang, gently advised, "Father, it would be good to tell him about our origins first."

"It's a good opportunity to see how Western powers developed, which can also provide us with lessons for governing the country in the future."

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted twice, but did not refute.

Before the industrial age, humans primarily used fire from wood and charcoal.

The subsequent industrial era stemmed from the development and utilization of coal.

Coal has existed in the world for hundreds of millions of years, and humans discovered its existence long ago.

But the era marked by coal was actually the steam age.

"Coal? Isn't this just black stone?"

"That stuff produces a lot of smoke. Old Liu used to burn black stones, and it was all gone the next day."

"Exactly, it produces a lot of smoke and is difficult to burn. Apart from blacksmith shops, who would use this?"

"Using this thing is less secure than going up the mountain to chop some firewood."

The people were talking about it and were dismissive of coal.

They had seen these dark stones before, and some had even used them.

Not only is it difficult to burn, but the thick smoke it produces can choke people half to death.

Only blacksmith shops would reluctantly use it.

Everything changed in the sixteenth century.

The rise of handicrafts in London led to a surge in fuel demand.

In situations of resource scarcity, people began to accept and use coal.

With the surge in demand for coal, mining has become a hot industry.

However, at that time, the mine was plagued by groundwater, and it required a lot of manpower and animal power to drain the water out of the mine, which was very costly.

In 1712, Thomas Newcarmen invented the first commercial steam engine, specifically for draining water from mines.

Some people are curious about the relationship between Watt and the steam engine.

Watt's place in history is mainly due to his significant improvement in the efficiency of the steam engine.

He invented the split condenser, which directly reduced coal consumption by 60%.

In 1776, two steam engines modified by Watt were put into operation.

laugh--

A colossal steel monster stood beside the mine, its pistons reciprocating, causing the crossbeams to swing.

Steam gushed out from the pressure relief valve, turning into white mist in mid-air.

With each rotation, the entire machine emitted a deep, muffled sigh.

Like a giant iron beast, it breathes tirelessly.

"Wow……"

Under the vast sky, everyone, from kings and generals to commoners, gasped in astonishment.

What kind of monster is that?

It can move on its own without being pulled by oxen or horses or driven by water!

No wonder you can't see livestock in vehicles in later generations; they were all loaded with this stuff!

"This thing is like a tipping car, but it doesn't need water power to drive it."

"It can operate simply by burning coal and is not limited by terrain; it is truly a revolutionary product."

Zhuge Liang's eyes lit up, and he scribbled furiously with his brush.

But soon, he stopped writing and let out a long sigh.

"Kongming, why are you sighing?" Liu Bei asked with concern, somewhat puzzled.

Zhuge Liang shook his head, his voice filled with bitterness: "The ingenuity of this mechanism far surpasses that of our time."

"Take this cylinder for example, there's not a single gap shown on the drawing. How are we supposed to manufacture it?"

"And then there's the crankshaft, flywheel, and so on. With the current technology of our Great Han Dynasty, it's difficult, extremely difficult!"

Although Liu Bei did not understand the underlying principles, he understood Zhuge Liang's meaning.

It's too advanced; I can't learn it.

"Is there really no way to do it?"

Zhuge Liang remained silent for a long time before finally shaking his head.

"Perhaps it will be possible two thousand years from now."