After leaving the Political Announcement Hall, Ang Lee immediately returned to his mansion and went straight to his study. During the morning assembly, Li Longji had already agreed to his various conditions and provided him with sufficient manpower and material resources. In this way, the large-scale research and development plan could be implemented. As the chief designer of this plan, Ang Lee had to consider all aspects of the situation clearly to avoid causing these talents to be idle.
In order to facilitate the communication and exchange of various talents, as well as for the convenience of management and monitoring, Ang Lee decided to build a research and development base so that all practical talents could be gathered in this base. The area of this research and development base was designed by Ang Lee to be five thousand mu, which was equivalent to one-seventh of the area of the Daming Palace. It was a very large area. However, research and development required the construction of various factories and laboratories, so five thousand mu was not a waste. Moreover, the territory of the Tang Dynasty was extremely vast. Five thousand mu was nothing to the Tang Empire.
Closed management was necessary for a research and development base. Only in this way could the highest degree of confidentiality be maintained and prevent these painstakingly developed scientific research results from being easily obtained by outsiders. The premise of closed management was to build a wall around the base and station troops around the wall to ensure that nothing would go wrong.
Whether it was the construction of the wall or the various facilities inside, a lot of resources were needed. After all, Ang Lee's goal was to make a big project, so there was no way that he could save money.
Fortunately, the imperial court had begun to implement the two-tier tax law, so the revenue would definitely increase greatly. In addition, the black gunpowder invented by Ang Lee had also made the imperial court a lot of money. With these two added together, the imperial court's financial resources were bound to be a lot. Building a research and development base was obviously not a problem.
As for the location of the research and development base, Ang Lee had also thought about it. It would be at the north of his hundred mu processing factory. The southernmost wall was ten feet away from the northern wall of his processing factory to facilitate the transportation of materials. Even his northern processing factory could be included in the research and development base when necessary, so as to further enhance the strength of the research and development base.
Of course, at the beginning, five thousand mu of the research and development base would definitely not be used up. This area was too large. However, as Ang Lee gradually thought of the projects that needed to be developed, five thousand mu of land did not seem too big. Laboratories and test sites consumed a lot of land resources.
After the research and development base was built, the first thing that Ang Lee had to do was to move the research and development project of the steam engine into the research and development base. For such an important research and development project, it was too much pressure to rely only on the craftsmen he hired. He had to borrow the power of the imperial court to develop it faster. Collective power was the greatest.
As long as the test of the steam engine was successful, the next step would be to develop the steam locomotive, which was another big project. Ang Lee also planned to develop steam ships to replace the sailboats. This would allow the Tang's fleet to reach further, and further increase its influence...................
Since lunch at noon, Ang Lee had been drawing in the study. It was not until dark that he finished the drawing of the research and development base and put it away like a treasure.
During dinner, Ang Lee ate in a hurry. This was because he still had to go to the imperial palace to accompany the emperor and the ministers to admire the moon in the sky and explain the composition of the moon.
"Husband, do you think that Chang 'e and the Jade Rabbit are really on the moon?"
Yan Ruyu asked as she ate. Although she already had binoculars a few days ago, every time after dinner, she was rudely pressed down on the bed by Li An. Therefore, she had never been able to use binoculars to observe the moon at night. This time, she took the initiative to ask this question in order to let Li An accompany her and use binoculars to look at the full moon in the sky.
"Madam, I'm going to the imperial palace tonight to accompany His Majesty and the ministers to watch the moon. You …"
Of course, Ang Lee wanted to admire the moon with Yan Ruyu. What was the point of admiring the scenery with a group of old men? However, those old men were the most important figures in the Tang dynasty. Ang Lee could not afford to offend them, especially the old man Li Longji, who was the emperor of the Tang dynasty. If he did not go, he was afraid that he would make these old men unhappy.
Ang Lee knew that after seeing the messy pits on the moon, Li Longji and the ministers must have a lot of questions for him. If he was not there, he could not explain it.
However, Ang Lee really did not know how to explain the things on the moon. Did he have to tell them all the knowledge of celestial bodies? If this scientific knowledge was popularized, the emperor's divine right would be broken, and the ministers' literary stars would come down to earth would become a fallacy. Many things in the feudal society would become very unreasonable, which was very likely to lead to the instability of the regime. This was something that no emperor could tolerate. Therefore, Ang Lee absolutely could not tell the truth. He could only continue to deceive the people of this era.
"Oh, then forget it. I'll watch it with Grass!"
Yan Ruyu was clearly a little unhappy. Her eating spirit had also weakened, and she appeared to be listless.
"What's wrong, Madam? Do you want me to watch the moon with you?"
"Yes, but I can't disobey His Majesty's decree. So, I'd better watch it with Grass!"
Although Yan Ruyu was unhappy, she was still quite reasonable. She would not do something unreasonable.
Ang Lee steeled his heart and threw the bowl and chopsticks on the table. He pulled Yan Ruyu and said loudly: "Madam, let's go see Chang 'e now."
"But, His Majesty wants you to enter the palace …"
"Don't worry about His Majesty. In your husband's heart, my wife is the most important. What's wrong with letting His Majesty wait a little longer? Come, let's watch Chang 'e. "
Ang Lee and Yan Ruyu walked into the pavilion and set up the telescope with a magnification of fifty.
"Madam, your husband will adjust the telescope first."
Ang Lee said and pointed the telescope's lens at the full moon. Starting from ten, he increased the magnification step by step. Finally, he adjusted it to fifty and fixed it with force.
"Okay, Madam, please!"
Ang Lee stood to the side like a gentleman and let Yan Ruyu observe the moon.
Yan Ruyu smiled and gently lowered her head. She looked at the lens with her right eye and carefully observed the full moon.
"Heavens! Husband, how can the moon look like this? There are pits everywhere. Didn't you say that Chang 'e, Jade Rabbit, and Osmanthus Tree are there? "
Yan Ruyu stood up with a face of disappointment and even a little panic. She originally planned to see the Osmanthus Tree, Chang 'e, and Jade Rabbit. She didn't expect to see a lot of pits.
"The moon has always been like this. There is no Chang 'e, Jade Rabbit, or Osmanthus Tree. It's just that the distance is too far and we can't see clearly. We think that the shadows above are like trees. In fact, there is really nothing. It's all rotten stones."
In front of Yan Ruyu, of course, Ang Lee dared to say anything. In any case, Yan Ruyu was his wife. There would be no problem with saying anything.
"The moon is full of rotten stones. How can it be like this?"
Yan Ruyu frowned. Her sad expression didn't ease for a long time.
Ang Lee suddenly felt that he had said something wrong. He shouldn't have told Yan Ruyu the truth. After all, Yan Ruyu often read books and was quite familiar with Chang 'e's story. She was also quite moved. She had always naively thought that Chang' e and Jade Rabbit lived on the moon. Every time she looked at the moon, she would think of Chang 'e and Jade Rabbit, and a warm feeling would unnaturally rise.
But now, Ang Lee told her that the moon didn't have Chang 'e and Jade Rabbit at all, but a pile of rotten stones. Of course, her heart would be very uncomfortable. Her beautiful imagination was instantly shattered. This kind of painful feeling could be imagined.
"Stone, how can it be stone? How can it be stone? "
Yan Ruyu was still depressed.
"My wife, don't worry about it. Chang 'e and Jade Rabbit may be on the back of the moon. We can see mountains and lakes on the front, not rotten stones. Your husband lied to you."
Ang Lee explained with a smile to comfort Yan Ruyu's hurt heart.
"Really? Chang 'e and Jade Rabbit are on the back? "
Yan Ruyu was like a curious little girl and asked in a daze.
"Of course, come, your husband will tell you a story about Chang 'e …"
Ang Lee made up a story and told a 40-episode TV series in the future. Of course, he picked the most important part to explain.
Women loved soap operas the most. Women in ancient times were no exception. When Li An was telling the story, Yan Ruyu lay in Li An's arms as if she was drunk. Her face was filled with happiness as she was immersed in the beautiful story. The smile on her face was extremely moving, causing Li An to be infatuated with her. He didn't want to leave for a long time.
And just when Ang Lee was holding Yan Ruyu and telling the soap opera, Li Longji and the ministers had arrived at the high platform outside the Political Announcement Hall of Daming Palace. Five telescopes with the highest magnification of fifty had been set up. The smaller telescopes were all placed at the side for the convenience of the ministers.
Because the telescopes with a magnification of fifty could see farther, they were separated by a considerable distance so that the ministers could take turns to enjoy it.
"Everyone, the full moon has risen. We can begin."
A little eunuch reminded in a low voice.
"Are all the ministers here?"
"Everyone, almost all the ministers are here, but Assistant Minister Li is not here yet."
"Why is Ang Lee not here yet? Forget it, let's not care about him. Anyway, he has already seen it."
Li Longji pondered for a moment and ordered the ministers to use the telescopes to observe the full moon.
Because everyone had already learned how to use the telescopes, it was easy to observe the full moon. The lower-ranking ministers picked up the telescopes with a magnification of ten and looked at the sky, while Li Longji and a few other ministers used the telescopes with a magnification of fifty and gradually aimed at the full moon.
"Why does it look like this? What are those circles on the moon? "
"Hey, they look like stones! They look strange. "
The minister holding the telescope with a magnification of ten was the first to exclaim.
Li Longji and a few other ministers gradually pushed the lens forward and saw a clearer image than the ministers. This image was not what they had imagined.
After observing for a long time, Li Longji was a little nervous and confused. He was thinking about what he was seeing, and the ministers had the same question.
"What are we seeing? Can anyone explain it? "
"There are so many bumpy circles. What are they?"
"Yes! Yes! What are we looking at? "
The ministers were all nervous because what they were seeing was too strange. Of course, with their knowledge, it was not enough to explain these phenomena. This made them very nervous and anxious, and even frightened.
"Where are the people from the Taishi Bureau?"
Li Longji shouted.
The Taishi Bureau was an administrative organization under the Secretarial Bureau of the Tang dynasty. It was mainly responsible for the research of astronomy and calendar. It was a very important department in the Tang Empire. The officials there were all astronomy and calendar experts, and could be considered as the astronomers of the future.
"Your Majesty, the sages of the past did not use telescopes, and there are no records in this area. I'm afraid we can't explain these circles."
The official from the Taishi Bureau sighed helplessly. He really couldn't figure out what the circles on the moon were.
"Hmph, after Li Chunfeng, is there no other talent in the Taishi Bureau?"
Li Longji was clearly very dissatisfied with the words of the Taishi official.
"Your Majesty, the telescopes were invented by Assistant Minister Li. Maybe Assistant Minister Li knows what the circles on the moon are?"
A minister reminded.
"Hey, why isn't Assistant Minister Li here?"
"Yes! Why haven't I seen Assistant Minister Li? "
"Could it be that he doesn't dare to come because he can't explain the things on the moon?"
Seeing that Ang Lee was not here, the ministers whispered to each other.
"Come, summon Assistant Minister Li to the palace."
Li Longji was very uneasy. If he didn't figure out the situation on the moon, he wouldn't be able to sleep.
"Assistant Minister Li, you're finally here. His Majesty urgently summons you."
The young eunuch had just walked out of the small door next to the Political Announcement Hall when he saw Ang Lee. He heaved a sigh of relief.
Ang Lee was in the mansion, holding Yan Ruyu in his arms as they talked about soap operas. Not long after, Yan Ruyu fell asleep with an intoxicated expression. She didn't wake up even when Ang Lee carried her to bed. Later, Ang Lee was worried about the situation in the palace and hurried over. As expected, the emperor was urgently looking for him, and Ang Lee could guess the reason.
"Your Majesty, please forgive this lowly subject for being late."
Ang Lee first apologized, then explained that he had been planning a research and development base in the mansion and had wasted time. This was to make Li Longji feel that it was pardonable.
"Assistant Minister Li, I'm sure you've already seen the situation on the moon. What are those circles on the moon? What are those so many ravines and bright spots?"
Li Longji didn't care that Ang Lee was late. He urgently wanted to know what the things on the moon were.
"Your Majesty, the moon is nearly 800,000 miles away from us. Even if we use binoculars to look at it, it's still 10,000 miles away. We can only see the outline of the moon. The darker areas and the lines are the immortal mountains, the circles are the immortal lakes, and the brightest places are naturally the palaces. The brightest circle should be the Moon Palace, but it's too far away. We can only see a bright spot and can't see the entire Moon Palace."
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