As Zhu Jinsong walked to Zhu Jinsong's side, Ke Zhiming leaned down and whispered, "Your Majesty, the院长 of the Royal Academy requests an audience."
Zhu Jinsong grunted. After Ke Zhiming left, he said to George III, "I will have someone transcribe a copy of the reorganization plan for you. However, I will tell you in advance that the Great Ming is also in the process of exploring such reorganization plans. You had best not reorganize all of England's armies."
His tone was so sincere and his attitude so friendly that anyone would think Zhu Jinsong was wholeheartedly considering England's interests.
Louis XVI, on the other hand, resolutely fulfilled his promise to sell off all of Europe. "In that case, please give us French a copy as well. I also plan to learn from it."
After Zhu Jinsong nodded with a smile, Louis XVI turned to George III and said, "How about this, let's each reorganize a portion of our armies first. Once the reorganization is complete, we will send our reorganized armies to attack the Habsburg family."
George III nodded in agreement, but inwardly he was wildly complaining about Louis XVI's proposal. That fool didn't know how good the Ming armies were. However, the English army, having been beaten in India, knew it all too well. Therefore, what was this talk of reorganizing a portion? England wanted to reorganize all its armies!
When Paul I and Huasheng Dun saw the slightly strange look on George III's face, and then recalled the question George III had just asked, Paul I and Huasheng Dun immediately became restless.
If the reorganized troops were not so effective, causing the once arrogant English army to suffer greatly, would George III be so eager to get his hands on the reorganization plan?
And Louis XVI, this scoundrel, even wanted to help the Great Ming stall everyone's army reorganization efforts. He was too much of a jerk!
Thinking of this, Huasheng Dun directly said, "Um, I think our 'Silly Eagle' probably needs a reorganization plan too."
Paul I nodded furiously in agreement, "Our 'Sand Goose' is the same."
A hint of helplessness appeared on Zhu Jinsong's face. "Why are you all so in a hurry? I already said just now that the Great Ming is also in the process of exploring this reorganization. If you just take it back and use it, it might not be truly suitable for you, right?"
Speaking of which, Zhu Jinsong then gestured for Zhang Dequan to bring another copy of the reorganization plan and casually tossed it in front of Louis XVI. "Look, this is what the Great Ming has explored so far. It mainly strengthens the firepower of the battalion-level combat units and integrates the logistics allocation of the division-level combat units, thereby streamlining personnel and improving combat effectiveness."
Louis XVI glanced at this so-called "Provisional Draft of the Great Ming Army Reorganization Plan" and said, "How about this, I'll take it back to look at it first, and then have someone copy a few more for them. Is that acceptable?"
Paul I and Huasheng Dun were immediately displeased. George III snorted coldly and then looked at Zhu Jinsong expectantly, saying, "I don't want any copies made by others, unless they are copied by your Great Ming's people – that's right, I just don't trust that Louis XVI fellow."
Zhu Jinsong nodded helplessly and instructed Zhang Dequan, "Have someone send a few more copies over."
After George III and the others had received the reorganization plan, Zhu Jinsong finally spoke, "Alright, you all have the reorganization plan now. You can study it slowly yourselves later. I still have some matters to attend to, so let's stop here for now?"
...
After sending off George III and the others, Zhu Jinsong asked Zhang Dequan to summon Ke Zhiming and Liang Xiude, the院长 of the Great Ming Royal Academy, and asked, "Has there been any problem with the Royal Academy?"
Liang Xiude bowed and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the news came from the Electric Academy. They have successfully developed the telegraph that Your Majesty mentioned to them before. Although it cannot transmit sound over a thousand miles, it can transmit letters over a thousand miles without issue."
Zhu Jinsong immediately stood up from his chair and repeatedly ordered, "Let's go and see!"
Zhu Jinsong was not surprised that the Royal Academy could develop a telegraph.
In the history of the telegraph, in 1837, British scientists Cooke and Wheatstone invented a telegraph machine and applied for patents for two needle telegraph machines in Britain.
According to an old news report in the "Shen Bao" on May 8, 1872, "The American Mr. Howe's creation seems to be the most convenient. It is said that he created this in the 20th year of Daoguang in China, and it took six years for his machine to be completed."
Although it was not yet 1800, this kind of thing was more of a conceptual problem and did not have the terrifying technological gap like chips. It was perfectly fine to be a few decades ahead.
Moreover, there was also Zhu Jinsong, the cheat, constantly meddling.
Although Zhu Jinsong did not understand the specific principles of the telegraph machine, nor how the coils of the electric motor were wound, with the idea and the great scholars in the Royal Academy, coupled with Zhu Jinsong's willingness to spend money...
"This is an electromagnetic wired telegraph machine. It can be powered by a simple hand-cranked generator. If you press the button here, the pen at the receiving end will draw lines on the paper. If you press and release it immediately, the pen at the receiving end will draw dots. By using these dots and lines, and matching them with the codebook Your Majesty mentioned, the content of the telegram can be completely deciphered."
Liang Xiude stroked his beard and proudly showed off to Zhu Jinsong, "If the wires are laid from here to Jinling, then the news from Jinling can be immediately transmitted to the capital. From sending to decoding, it will not take more than one or two hours at most. This is much more convenient than sending messages at six hundred li or eight hundred li per day."
"In addition, Your Majesty's mentioned electric lights, the Electric Academy has also made some progress. Currently, light bulbs are made using platinum wire, and the effect is relatively stable. As for other materials, experiments are constantly being carried out. It is estimated that within a few more years, the Electric Academy will be able to produce more practical and cheaper light bulbs."
"Also, Your Majesty's mentioned batteries have finally been manufactured. Although the voltage is less than one song, and the stored electricity is not much..."
Zhu Jinsong interrupted the garrulous Liang Xiude and asked, "What is 'yi song'?"
Liang Xiude immediately reacted and replied with a wry smile, "Reporting to Your Majesty, I heard some missionaries say that in Europe, they are accustomed to naming their inventions or things after the inventor. Therefore, we privately call the unit of voltage 'song,' taking the last character of Your Majesty's given name."
At this point, Liang Xiude couldn't help but regret it. The barbarians had this habit, but our Central Plains households paid attention to taboos. What if the Emperor was unhappy...
Zhu Jinsong was certainly not unhappy. After all, this was an opportunity to be recorded in history. Perhaps one day, even if the Great Ming was gone, countless people in the world would still remember him.
Thinking of those students who, like himself, were not very proficient in physics, having to gritting their teeth to calculate "several songs" during exams...
Zhu Jinsong immediately chuckled and said, "It's fine, I think using the character 'song' as the unit of voltage is acceptable."
After thinking for a moment, Zhu Jinsong continued, "Please submit the list of scholars who developed the telegraph and electric lights. Also, what is the situation with the wires now? Can they be laid over long distances?"
Liang Xiude bowed and replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the wires are still in the trial production stage. The Electric Academy is conducting experiments by laying copper wires indoors. If they are to be laid over long distances, the problem of copper wires being unable to withstand water needs to be solved."
Zhu Jinsong nodded. "It's fine. This matter is not too urgent. You can try using rubber or the胶质物 extracted from petroleum to see how waterproof it is. You must ensure that the copper wires are completely sealed in rubber or something else, and that no one can touch them directly with their hands."
After Liang Xiude bowed and agreed, Zhu Jinsong turned to Ke Zhiming and Zhang Dequan and instructed, "You, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and you, the Eastern Depot, please each dispatch some personnel to the Royal Academy. We must not let these things be learned by the barbarians in the form of telegraphs."
Zhang Dequan and Ke Zhiming immediately bowed in agreement. Zhu Jinsong then turned back to Liang Xiude and said, "Minister Liang, you can make preparations. First, lay a telegraph line from the Royal Academy to the Qianqing Palace. Also, install some electric lights in the palace. I intend to see the actual effect."
Electric lights could not be rolled out universally, as using platinum wire to make light bulbs was too extravagant. If they were to be deployed on a large scale, the national treasury of Liu Huaiwen would not know how many mice would starve.
However, it was fine to produce some first and see the effect in the Forbidden City. It would also allow Zhu Jinsong to experience the feeling of sleeping with the lights on.
It was just that what Zhu Jinsong did not expect was that Liang Xiude first bowed and agreed, and then with a dejected face, began to complain, "Your Majesty, the Royal Academy does not have enough copper..."
"You don't know, Your Majesty. The telegraph requires wires, and wires require copper. Other miscellaneous places also require copper..."
Zhu Jinsong suddenly felt that these words sounded familiar.
Last time... yes, it was last time that old fellow Liang Xiude also had such a dejected face, saying that there was not enough petroleum.
Helplessly, Zhu Jinsong could only frown and say, "I will find a way to solve the problem of copper."
Liang Xiude's expression then improved.
Ignoring Zhu Jinsong's gloomy face, Liang Xiude chuckled and said, "Your Majesty, there is also good news from the Steam Engine Locomotive Branch – the speed of the steam engine locomotives has increased again, and it has now reached a solid forty kilometers per hour."
"However, some people in the steam engine locomotive department have recently been coveting the electric lights and electric motors in the Electric Academy and have been clamoring to install electric lights and electric motors on steam engine locomotives, and some even want to use electric motors to replace steam engines."
Hearing Liang Xiude say this, Zhu Jinsong was immediately dumbfounded.
The speed of steam engine locomotives had increased again, which was not surprising to Zhu Jinsong. After all, there was a dedicated Steam Engine Academy with a large number of scholars who liked to research steam engines, and Zhu Jinsong's private treasury and the imperial treasury had been continuously investing money in it over the years. It was normal to achieve results, and it would be abnormal if no results were achieved.
The Steam Engine Academy and the Electric Academy were both branches under the Royal Academy. It was normal for the Steam Engine Academy to know the situation of the Electric Academy, and it was understandable that they wanted to put electric lights on steam engine locomotives.
The key was, what kind of operation was it to replace steam engines with electric motors?
With the current technological level of the Great Ming, playing with steam engines and electric lights and running into industrialization ahead of time was already incredible.
To put it bluntly, the technological level of the Great Ming currently led the entire planet by at least thirty to fifty years. Although it was not as high as the level of our ancestors leading the planet by hundreds of years, it had at least recovered some of the losses incurred when the Great Qing was lost.
However, this absolutely did not mean that the Great Ming could play with electric locomotives!
That thing was not a matter of tens of years. Even with Zhu Jinsong, the cheat, existing, the Great Ming could not solve the problem of electric locomotives.
After thinking about it, Zhu Jinsong still spoke, "The path to electric locomotives is correct, but this path is too long, and there will not be much progress in a short time. It is better to find a way to develop internal combustion engines and fully utilize petroleum."
But Liang Xiude spread his hands and said, "Your Majesty, our Royal Academy does not have much petroleum either. Although I heard that the Great Ming is going to use troops against the Ottoman Empire to bring all of the Ottoman Empire's petroleum back to the Great Ming, but we haven't gotten it yet?"
Zhu Jinsong coldly snorted, "You should first solve the problem of wires! After the problem of wires is solved, first lay the line from the capital to Jinling, then from Jinling to Sichuan, Myanmar, and Guangzhou. Going through Myanmar to India, and then from India to the Ottoman Empire."
ps: Sacrificing "I Live in a Game" to heaven!