The structure of the telescope was very simple. It was a cylindrical tube and two lenses. After half an hour, Li Longji and the other ministers had become very familiar with the telescope. However, they knew nothing about the principle and maintenance of the telescope, so they could only ask Ang Lee for advice.
"Assistant Minister Li, in my opinion, this telescope seems to be composed of two medical jade lenses and a tube. How can such a simple thing see so far?"
Li Longji asked curiously after being surprised. Of course, the other ministers also had the same question.
"Your Majesty, the reason why we can see something is that the surface of such a thing has light entering our eyes, and light can only travel in a straight line. However, the medical jade mirror can refract the light after being processed, so more light enters our eyes. In this way, we can see a place with very dim light in the distance, and even feel that it is very close to us. This is actually an illusion caused by the refraction of light. This is also the reason why the telescope can see far away."
Ang Lee explained the basic theory of optics. Of course, he did not expect Li Longji to understand it.
As expected, after Li Longji and the ministers around him heard it, they all frowned and looked confused. They had never learned the basic knowledge of optics, so naturally, they could not understand the principle explained by Ang Lee. They just felt that the principle explained by Ang Lee was too mysterious and very profound.
"Assistant Minister Li, the doctors of the Imperial College have already understood the basic knowledge of pinyin. As for the knowledge of light, can Assistant Minister Li teach the doctors of the Imperial College so that more people can learn this knowledge?"
Hearing that the theory of light was so mysterious, the Imperial College Chancellor immediately asked Ang Lee to teach the doctors of the Imperial College so as to increase the knowledge of the Imperial College and cultivate more talents for the Tang dynasty.
"The knowledge of optics is not difficult. When I am free, I will go to the Imperial College to teach. At that time, not only the doctors can attend the class, but also the students can."
Of course, Ang Lee would not refuse. Moreover, the knowledge of optics was not difficult. With the level of the scholars of the Tang dynasty, they should be able to learn it quickly.
"Your Majesty, if we want to invent more things that benefit the Great Tang, we need even more talents. Not only do we need the outstanding students of the Imperial College, we also need many practical talents. This is what this lowly subject lacks the most right now, and this will prevent this lowly subject from inventing more useful things."
Ang Lee took the opportunity to ask Li Longji for more talents so that he could develop various industrial products.
"Practical talents? What kind of talents? "
Li Longji had never heard of this term and felt very strange.
"Your Majesty, it means all kinds of technical talents, such as first-class craftsmen, carpenters, blacksmiths, mathematics, water conservancy, and so on. If these talents are gathered together and guided by me, we will definitely be able to create many miracles and make the Tang dynasty ten times, or even a hundred times, or even ten million times richer."
Ang Lee threw out a huge bait, which was to make the Tang dynasty ten million times richer in exchange for Li Longji's full support.
Sure enough, Li Longji was very excited after hearing this. If the Tang Empire could really be ten million times richer, what would he not be willing to do? In addition, all the ministers were also very supportive. If the Tang dynasty could really be made many times richer, they would also be very happy. Although they usually fought for their own interests, as court officials, they were not muddle-headed in the big picture. Everyone hoped that the Tang dynasty could become richer and stronger. It was enough as long as their interests were not damaged at the same time.
"Assistant Minister Li's proposal is very good. I will issue an edict to let the Construction Supervisor and the Ministry of Works each transfer 30% of the best talents to Assistant Minister Li. In addition, recruit all kinds of skilled craftsmen from all over the country to the capital and give them all preferential treatment."
Li Longji happily agreed to Ang Lee's proposal. Of course, he would continue to discuss many details with the ministers. After all, every time Ang Lee invented something, it was very shocking.
Among them, there were some that could be promoted and taught to other races. However, there were also some that absolutely could not be leaked. For example, the black gunpowder. He absolutely could not allow other races to learn it. In fact, other than Li An, Li Longji did not want anyone else to know the gunpowder formula.
At present, the technology of medicinal jade was only available in Persia. It was necessary to seal the technology, but compared with the black gunpowder, it was not so urgent. Even if it was leaked, the damage to the Tang dynasty would not be very great. It was a secondary secret technology.
The principle of the telescope was very simple, but it was very important. Of course, it had to be kept secret. However, medicinal jade could also be made in Persia. As long as they saw the telescope and took it apart to study it, it was very easy to imitate it. It was relatively difficult to seal the technology in Persia, so it was estimated that it could not be kept secret for long. However, as long as the use of the telescope was strictly controlled and it was difficult for Persian merchants to get the telescope, it would not be a problem to hide it for decades.
The technology of the railway could not be hidden. However, other countries did not have black gunpowder mines. Even if they could lay railway tracks, they definitely did not have enough iron. In other words, their national strength was not comparable to the Tang Empire, so they could not lay railway tracks at all. As for the steam locomotive, the technical difficulty was too high. It was good enough that they could build it. No small country had the ability to imitate it, so the difficulty of keeping it a secret was the lowest.
Being able to get 30% of the manpower of the Works Supervisor and the Ministry of Works, and they were the most skilled craftsmen, made Ang Lee very excited. Of course, there were also many soldiers of the Dragon Martial Army. After all, there were so many talents following Ang Lee to do research. The safety of so many talents could not be ignored. If they were ambushed by assassins or defected, it would be a great loss to the Tang Empire. Li Longji would never allow this to happen.
"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty. However, with so many talents, the processing plant near my courtyard is too small. I'm afraid it won't be able to accommodate them. I need more space to accommodate these practical talents."
Ang Lee was insatiable. Not only did he ask for talents, but he also asked for more land to facilitate his research.
"Haha! That's not difficult at all. Assistant Minister Li's courtyard is five miles away from the black gunpowder workshop. I've given the five-mile road in between to Assistant Minister Li. If you need to build anything, Assistant Minister Li can directly discuss it with the officials of the Ministry of Works. I fully support Assistant Minister Li. "
Li Longji readily agreed to Ang Lee's request. For the sake of the prosperity of the Tang Empire, he would not be stingy with some land. All the land near the capital was under his watch. Now that he had a telescope, Li Longji only needed to stand on the highest floor of the palace to directly inspect the workshops outside the city from afar.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will redouble my efforts to develop more good things for the Tang Empire that will benefit the country and the people and make the Tang Empire thousands of times richer."
Ang Lee's excited declaration made Li Longji and the officials seem to see the future of the Tang Empire thousands of times richer.
"Assistant Minister Li, this telescope is very important. You must strictly control it and not let it circulate among the people. All the telescopes manufactured must be handed over to the imperial court. I will distribute them to the roadside army. In addition, the imperial court also needs some to observe astronomical phenomena."
Of course, Li Longji couldn't let ordinary people have binoculars. That way, the technology of the binoculars would easily spread out. In addition, there were many mountains around the capital. If ordinary people stood on top of the mountains, they could easily see the situation in the Great Ming Palace. As a result, there was no privacy in the palace. This was something that Li Longji absolutely couldn't tolerate.
"I understand. In addition to using it for research, I will customize the telescope according to the needs of the imperial court. I will never let a large number of telescopes fall into the hands of the people."
Ang Lee promised to reassure Li Longji.
"By the way, Assistant Minister Li, how should this telescope be maintained? Is it easy to break?"
Li Longji was very concerned about the usability of the telescope. After all, this thing was made by Ang Lee. Only Ang Lee knew how to maintain it.
"Your Majesty, the telescope is made of medicinal jade. The biggest problem is that it is fragile. Therefore, it is most afraid of falling. In addition, if water enters it, the observation effect will be seriously affected. Therefore, it can't be immersed in water. Usually, when the lens is dirty, it can be wiped with soft silk. You must not wipe it with your hands because the sweat on your hands can't be wiped very well and will damage the lens."
Ang Lee explained very professionally. Obviously, Ang Lee was an absolute expert in how to maintain the telescope. No one would doubt this.
"By the way, Your Majesty, there is another taboo with the telescope. That is, it can't be observed at a strong light source, which is sunlight. Otherwise, it will burn the eyes and even make the eyes blind."
Ang Lee suddenly thought of a very important point. Regarding this point, many experiments were done in the future. The eyepiece of the telescope was placed with a pig's eye and the eyepiece was turned to the sun. As a result, the pig's eye was burned through in a very short time. The effect was quite frightening.
Li Longji and the ministers heard this and nodded repeatedly. They quickly thought of the reason. After all, when the sun was directly observed, it was already very uncomfortable for the eyes. If the sun was zoomed in dozens of times, the intensity of the light could be imagined.
"Assistant Minister Li, if we use the telescope to observe the full moon, can we?"
A minister asked curiously.
"There is no problem in observing the full moon and the stars. Moreover, if we zoom in dozens of times, we can see things that we can't normally see. It's very interesting."
Ang Lee replied with a smile.
"Assistant Minister Li must have used the telescope to look at the stars. I wonder if there is Fairy Chang 'e on the moon?"
A minister asked with a smile. Obviously, he also felt that it was unlikely. After all, these were just legends. How could they be taken seriously?
"Fairy Chang 'e? Maybe there is! Tonight is the full moon. Why don't you all take a look and see? "
Ang Lee did not directly answer and directly kept them in suspense.
Li Longji was naturally curious about what was on the moon. Was there really the legendary Guanghan Palace, as well as Chang 'e and the Jade Rabbit?
"Haha! Assistant Minister Li's suggestion is very good. Tonight, We have decided to observe the stars here. My beloved ministers can enter the palace together and observe with Us. Assistant Minister Li, stay behind. Court is dismissed. "
Li Longji was very much looking forward to seeing what was on the moon. Of course, he would not miss this excellent opportunity to observe the full moon. Moreover, all the officials were also very curious. Letting these ministers see what was on the moon with their own eyes was also a kind of intimacy with the ministers. It was more beneficial for the maintenance of the rule.
The ministers reluctantly handed over the telescopes and slowly left. After all, Li Longji did not say who these telescopes would be given to, so the ministers naturally could not take any of the telescopes away.
Needless to say, Li Longji had asked Li An to stay behind because there were many things that he didn't understand. If he were to ask the officials one by one, there would be a risk of secrets being leaked, and there would also be a risk of exposing his ignorance as an emperor, thus lowering his prestige. But if he were to ask about some things alone, there would naturally be no such problems.
Ang Lee answered various questions raised by Li Longji with half-truths and half-lies. After all, Ang Lee could not answer some questions truthfully. For example, the bizarre matter of time travel could not be explained clearly to Li Longji. He could only lie about the various knowledge that he had mastered.
Fortunately, Ang Lee was very skilled in lying. In addition, Li Longji was not sure why Ang Lee was so smart, so he could only believe what Ang Lee said.
Although Li Longji agreed that Ang Lee needed a large number of talents to carry out various research, he had to ask clearly about the specific direction of research and development, as well as the funds and resources needed, lest Ang Lee did something that was detrimental to the Tang Empire or beyond the scope of the Tang Empire's national strength.
Ang Lee had thought about the various research and development products that the Tang Empire urgently needed many times in his mind, so he naturally knew what needed to be researched and what the success rate was. For this reason, he could always answer Li Longji's questions correctly, which made Li Longji very excited. He could not wait for Ang Lee to finish the research and development immediately.
Of course, research and development required time, especially the most complicated steam engine, which required a lot of time to test and verify. It also required a lot of resources. Once it was successful, it would bring earth-shaking changes to the Tang Empire. Controlling Anxi and Norland would no longer require too many resources. More troops and supplies could be transported to all parts of the country more quickly.
In this way, the Tang Empire could put the superior troops in all directions to one direction in a very short time, thereby gaining a local strategic advantage and quickly defeating the enemy.
In this way, all the countries around the Tang Empire would no longer be able to challenge the authority of the Tang Empire, or take advantage of the Tang Empire's attack in one direction to make trouble for the Tang Empire from behind.
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