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

Zhu Yuanzhang put down his brush and turned to look at the Vice Minister of Works.

"Could our Great Ming Dynasty manufacture this iron lump for boiling water?"

The Vice Minister of Works was sweating profusely, and after stammering for a long time, he couldn't utter a single word.

This hesitant and coy behavior greatly angered Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Is it going to work or not? Give us a straight answer!"

The Vice Minister of Works trembled with fear and knelt down with a thud: "Your Majesty... I am incompetent! This thing cannot be made!"

"Why can't you build it? We've already shown you the diagrams!"

"Your Majesty, look at that cylinder!"

The Vice Minister of Works replied with a forced smile, "That cylinder is more than three feet long by my estimation. Let alone polishing the inner wall smooth, I have no confidence whatsoever in making it into a standard cylindrical shape."

"The other parts are easier to assemble; they can be slowly ground by hand. It will probably take... more than ten years to put together a complete set."

Zhu Yuanzhang's temples throbbed twice.

What's the point of building one after more than a decade? To be buried with it?

Even if one lives long enough, what use are a few steam engines? They are meaningless to the country.

"Is it really true that the Ming Dynasty couldn't develop a steam engine?"

After Zhu Yuanzhang circled around a few times, he didn't make things difficult for the Vice Minister of Works and waved him away.

The Industrial Revolution began when the steam engine could provide power far exceeding that of carbon-based bodies at extremely low cost.

Iron, another symbol of the Industrial Revolution, also experienced a chain reaction during this process.

In the past, wrought iron production relied on water power, and output was limited by the location of the river and seasonal changes.

With the powerful steam engine, iron smelting was no longer limited by terrain and water sources.

Lower-cost, higher-quality iron was produced in a continuous stream and used to manufacture cheaper steam engines.

Cheaper and better quality steam engines further reduced the cost of iron and coal.

The decrease in the cost of iron and coal spurred industrial development, which in turn created a need for more powerful and cheaper steam engines.

Coal, iron, and steam engines—these three elements began to spiral upwards, leading to an explosive increase in productivity.

Iron smelting furnaces rose one after another, and steam engines moved from mines into textile factories, flour mills, and sawmills.

The railway tracks stretched out in all directions from the city center, and trains roared past, puffing out white smoke.

Steel components were stacked layer upon layer, growing higher and higher, eventually forming a dense, impenetrable forest.

Chimneys stood tall, steam billowed, and the entire area was shrouded in a layer of hazy mist.

Everyone was utterly stunned by the scene.

In just a few decades, it has surpassed the progress of the previous hundreds of years.

Moreover, according to Tianmu's theory, this development speed will only accelerate, eventually changing the world.

Just then, a few lines of comments floated by.

(The rise of Britain also feels somewhat like destiny. In the early days, even the most shrewd people would shake their heads at the efficiency of the steam engine, but Britain had so much coal that it couldn't use it all, which allowed it to develop.)

(If I learn this, will I be able to create a steam engine if I travel back to ancient times?)

Yup!

The ancient people standing before the celestial canopy also had the same thought in their minds.

The sky screen has displayed all the pictures, and the structure of the parts is clearly visible.

Although it's difficult to figure it out on my own, there are pictures to prove it, so I can at least follow the instructions, right?

This thing is equivalent to dozens of tireless, high-quality horses, and you don't even need to feed them hay!

No wonder later generations were so wealthy; with such a divine object, it would be hard not to become rich!

Just when everyone was full of anticipation, the comments section poured cold water on their hopes.

(Fun fact: Watt's steam engine used a horizontal cylinder boring machine, with a machining error of less than one millimeter.)

Everyone: "..."

How long is one millimeter?

The craftsmen held the ruler and gestured for a long time, but couldn't even get a precise number.

Judging from the tone of his voice, I reckon he can't do it.

(The main problem is that it's useless. Why would you build a steam engine? To disrupt the handicraft market and create a large number of refugees? Do you think the feudal dynasties are too long-lived and want to cosplay as Emperor Chongzhen as a teru teru bozu?)

(Feudal dynasties did not need to liberate productive forces; developing cement was simpler and more practical than developing steam engines.)

It's one thing if they can't make a steam engine, but to make one and still not use it?

Zhu Yuanzhang, who was full of enthusiasm just moments before, was now completely disheartened.

"What does it mean to disrupt the handicraft market? What does it mean to create a migrant population?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was somewhat puzzled. Wasn't the Daiying Kingdom a powerful nation that gradually rose to prominence by relying on steam engines?

A steam engine can replace at least dozens of people, and the manpower saved can be used for farming or military service. Isn't that a good thing?

But upon closer examination, something seemed off.

If it were just a steam engine, the impact would indeed be minimal.

But what if the number reaches ten or a hundred?

This could lead to thousands, even tens of thousands, of people losing their jobs; they will have no land to cultivate, no work to do, and no food to eat.

Wouldn't that make them vagrants?

"This is a dead end. Developing industry will lead to mass unemployment, and the displaced people will revolt because they can't survive. How can industry develop then?"

Zhu Yuanzhang scratched his head, feeling that something was amiss.

The sky only showed the result of the British's rise to power, but did not explain what actually happened in between.

Old Zhu had a vague feeling that this process was by no means simple, and might even be the most crucial link in industrialization.

Developing a steam engine is a technical issue; the real challenge is how to prevent chaos after it's developed.

He's an expert at conquering the world, but as for governing it...

"cement……"

Zhu Yuanzhang muttered a few words, then remembered the thing mentioned in the comments.

It's said that it's not as good as making cement, which is simpler and more practical, and should be much easier than making a steam engine.

I was just about to have someone write it down for later study when I looked up and saw that the title of the sky screen had changed.

What is political maneuvering?

"..."

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned for three seconds, then burst into a tirade of curses.

"Where's the cement? Where's the formula? You only mentioned it briefly, not even a hint?"

"Is this little brat deliberately messing with me?!"

Old Zhu was so angry that he spun around twice on the spot, almost throwing the inkstone off the table.

Recently, "political intrigue" has suddenly become popular, mainly because people feel that their intelligence has been insulted by the baseless and illogical plots in current period dramas.

For example, in some dramas, the protagonist might have a prince commanding troops who is my underling, the commander of the Imperial Guard who is my brother, my gang with unlimited wealth, and my fiancée commanding 100,000 iron cavalry in Yunnan.

"Huh? One hundred thousand iron cavalry? Me? Me?"

When Meng Huo saw this line of text, his head started buzzing.

If he had 100,000 iron cavalry, why would he need to be a barbarian king?

Let's march straight into the Central Plains and ask those Boss Cao and Sun Quan, "The emperor's throne rotates, this year it's my turn!"

Do you really think he enjoys living in caves and dealing with venomous snakes and wild beasts every day?

Living in the imperial palace in the Central Plains would be much more comfortable than this.

Meng Huo stood up and yelled at the sky, "This wretched place is full of mountains, tell me how we managed to raise 100,000 iron cavalry?"

The barbarian soldier beside him muttered quietly, "Your Majesty, please keep your voice down. What if Zhuge Liang hears us..."

Meng Huo shuddered and immediately squatted down again.

With this network and background, the protagonist orchestrated a series of elaborate schemes over dozens of episodes, launching a rebellion under the pretext of "purging the court of corrupt officials."

They finally succeeded in capturing the capital, forcing the crown prince to commit suicide, and retrieved the Imperial Seal from the crown prince's residence.

The protagonist's true purpose in doing all this was to force the emperor to issue an edict of self-reproach, so he could then return to the capital satisfied.

"What the heck?"

Li Shimin felt his brain was completely blank; he couldn't understand the logic behind it at all.

"You have so much power, and then you raise an army in rebellion, all for the sake of issuing an edict of self-reproach?"

"I guarantee that when you order the retreat, someone will stab you to death from behind and then crown you with the imperial yellow robe!"

"My brothers risked their lives to rebel with you, and you're playing with their lives like this?"

When Li Shimin said these things, no one felt there was anything wrong with it.

The main problem is that the plot is so outrageous that it's even more ridiculous than the squabbles of three-year-olds.