Li Longji was quite cautious in the urban reform. He did not implement all of Ang Lee's suggestions at once. Instead, he carried out the reform step by step. First, he opened up the East and West Markets, and then gradually extended it to more places.
Every extension was a huge social progress. Li Longji would only carry out the next step of reform when he was sure of the results of the previous stage. He did not want to take too big a step and cause unpredictable risks.
After the walls of the East and West Markets were all removed, Li Longji observed for nearly a month and listened to the reports of the officials in the capital. He also sent his trusted eunuchs to patrol the East and West Markets at night and the roads where the night curfew was lifted. After confirming that the walls did not have much effect, he issued a decree for further reform.
This time, the action was not very big. He just removed the walls of the 16 workshops, such as Pingkang and Wuben, on the east and west sides of the East and West Markets, and lifted the night curfew in this area. In this way, the East and West Markets would be connected, and the commercial development would become more prosperous.
Of course, the larger the area where the night curfew was lifted, the higher the requirements for all aspects of the imperial court. At least, more night patrols were needed to ensure the order of nighttime commercial activities. In addition, the requirements for the lighting system were relatively high. The larger the area where the night curfew was lifted, the more lighting braziers were needed. Moreover, the nearby walls had to be painted white, which was not a small project.
Whether it was to increase night patrols, prepare braziers, or paint the walls, it would cost money. On the surface, it would increase the financial burden of the imperial court. Fortunately, the imperial court of the Tang Dynasty was not short of money. In particular, the continuous prosperity of the business made the Tang Dynasty's tax more and more abundant. In other words, after the implementation of the night curfew policy, the imperial court of the Tang Dynasty did not actually increase the financial burden. Instead, it increased the financial income, which made Li Longji quite satisfied.
On this winter night, Li Longji invited Ang Lee and the ministers to the city gate of the Vermilion Bird Gate in the imperial city to enjoy the beautiful night view of Chang 'an.
Because of the night view, of course, they had to go at night. However, many ministers still arrived at the Vermilion Bird Gate early before dark to show their good attitude.
Li An didn't go early. After he finished his work, he returned to the courtyard to reunite with his wife. Then, after the sun set, he sat in his own special carriage and rushed to the Vermillion Bird Gate accompanied by guards.
Although Ang Lee had a token and could directly break through the night curfew, Ang Lee still chose to enter the city from the Golden Light Gate in the west. He also wanted to see the situation by the road and see if there was any congestion, so that he could urge Li Longji to further expand the reform........
When he arrived at the Gate of Golden Light, Li An saw a scene that made him very happy. The road was very smooth, without the slightest bit of congestion or chaos. Since the Eastern and Western Markets were open 24 hours a day, the merchants and citizens naturally did not need to worry.
After the sky darkened, the braziers on the roads and streets began to light up one by one, and the streets instantly became much brighter. After seven o 'clock, Li Longji arrived at the scene and waved his hand, indicating for the ministers to rise.
"Eh, why is Assistant Minister Li not here? Did no one go to inform him?"
Li Longji casually glanced at the ministers and did not see Ang Lee's figure.
"Everyone, this servant sent someone to inform Assistant Minister Li early in the morning. Perhaps he was delayed by something on the way."
A young eunuch explained.
Li Longji nodded his head and looked at the night scenery in front of him. His heart was filled with emotions. These lively scenes were all created by Li An. If it weren't for Li An's inventions that promoted the prosperity of business step by step and proposed to lift the night ban, the capital wouldn't have such beautiful scenery. But at this crucial moment of appreciation, Li An didn't appear. Wasn't this the greatest regret?
"Everyone, Assistant Minister Li has arrived. This servant recognizes his carriage."
The young eunuch turned his head to look at Ang Lee's carriage and reported.
"Heh! Assistant Minister Li didn't ride a horse and chose to sit in a carriage. This isn't his style at all! "
A minister quipped.
"It's good that he's here. Now we can relax and enjoy the night scenery, haha!"
Li Linfu teased.
"Your Majesty, forgive this lowly subject for coming late."
Ang Lee had just arrived at the Vermilion Bird Gate when he realized that Li Longji was already standing there. He felt that something was wrong and hurriedly apologized.
"Not late, not late. It's not even a quarter past seven yet. This Emperor came early, haha! "
Li Longji was in a very good mood and did not seem angry at all. Instead, all the ministers laughed along.
Ang Lee casually looked around and did not find any trace of An Lushan. This meant that the Emperor did not invite him. This meant that An Lushan had completely fallen out of favor and would not have much of a future.
Admiring the night scenery of the capital with the Emperor was a supreme honor. At the same time, it also proved that the Emperor valued this person. After all, the Emperor would not stand with someone he disliked to admire the beautiful scenery.
The night scenery of the capital was indeed very beautiful. After placing braziers at intervals and painting the walls on both sides of the road white, the entire street became very bright at night. At least, the visibility was about one li. One could clearly see people and objects far away, giving people a sense of security.
Of course, the brightness of this city was far inferior to that of the cities in the future. It was not on the same order of magnitude. This was also because there were too few resources in this era, and the technology was still relatively backward, so it could not be done better.
"The street is still not bright enough. More braziers will have to be added. Especially on this road, the number of braziers needs to be increased."
Li Longji admired the scenery for a long time before giving a decree.
"Yes, Your Majesty. This lowly subject will go and make the arrangements."
Capital Governor Xiao Jiong was very proactive. When he heard Li Longji's request to increase the number of braziers, he immediately went to carry it out.
"Sir Xiao, please wait."
Ang Lee spoke to stop Xiao Jiong. He looked at the Emperor and said, "Your Majesty, blindly increasing the number of braziers will not change the brightness by much. Moreover, it will consume a lot of charcoal and firewood. This lowly subject is currently inventing a more energy-efficient electric lamp. I believe that it will be completed soon. When the time comes, the street will be ten times brighter than it is now. Moreover, this thing is not afraid of rain and is more convenient and economical than using braziers."
"Electric lamp? It can make the street ten times brighter? "
Li Longji's eyes were filled with surprise. All the officials also looked at Ang Lee with complicated and curious gazes.
Any item that did not appear in this era would cause a huge sensation when it was suddenly brought up. This was inevitable and human nature.
However, Li Longji and the officials were even more curious. They could not understand where Ang Lee had learned his amazing skills. How could he have such great abilities at such a young age? At least in the eyes of Li Longji and the officials, Ang Lee's current abilities were already considered heavenly.
Ang Lee did not hide anything. He told Li Longji and the officials about the progress of the electric lamp's development. He also said that he would be able to produce the product in half a month at most and begin mass production soon. Then, he would further improve the design so that electric lamps could be used on steam trains, steam passenger carriages, and other equipment.
Through Ang Lee's detailed description, Li Longji and the officials gradually understood the principles and uses of the electric lamp. They were very much looking forward to Ang Lee's research being completed as soon as possible.
Li Longji had even planned that as long as Ang Lee's electric lamp was successfully developed, he would immediately replace all the braziers on the streets with electric lamps and install a large number of electric lamps in the palace. In this way, in the future, when he walked around the palace at night, he would not need the palace maids to carry lanterns to open the way.
Moreover, after the palace became bright, the security work would become much easier. After all, once assassins and thieves sneaked into the palace, they would definitely use the cover of the night to move around. If a large number of electric lamps were installed, these thieves would have nowhere to hide, which would greatly increase the security of the palace.
"Assistant Minister Li, go back and study it well. After it is done, you must inform me as soon as possible. I want to see what the electric lamp will look like after it is made. Is it really as good as Assistant Minister Li said?"
Li Longji asked very excitedly.
Ang Lee smiled slightly: "Your Majesty, don't worry. I will do my best. After it is done, I will inform Your Majesty as soon as possible and let Your Majesty see the effect of the electric lamp."
Ang Lee was full of confidence in the invention of the electric lamp. Now the technology of manufacturing iron wire and copper wire was very mature. The craftsmanship of medicinal jade had also improved a lot. The tungsten wire was also successfully manufactured not long ago. Thus, it would not be difficult to make electric light bulbs. The electric wire was not a problem. It only needed to make copper wire. For insulation, a layer of cloth would be enough.
As for the generator, in fact, the principle was not complicated at all. It was just a simple structure. It only needed to make magnets and copper wire. In addition, it also needed to provide power to generate electricity. The steam engine could provide enough power to ignite the electric lamp.
The type of generator that Ang Lee was currently developing could generate thousands of bright electric lamps, which was enough to fill an entire road. Of course, in order to save the wires, Ang Lee was going to prepare one generator for each workshop. In this way, copper wire could be saved to the greatest extent.
The importance of each workshop was different. Of course, the East Market and the West Market needed to be satisfied first. Then, the workshops near the Imperial City needed to be satisfied. After these were satisfied, the workshops in the South could be considered.
In addition, if Li Longji needed it, of course, the Daming Palace, Xingqing Palace, and Taiji Palace would be the priority. In addition, the R&D Center outside the city and his own courtyard also needed to be satisfied first.
For each workshop, one generator was enough. For the smaller workshops, one generator could meet the needs of two or even four workshops. However, for the Daming Palace, Taiji Palace, the R&D Center outside the city, and the railway station, more than two generators were needed. Firstly, these places were relatively large and important, so more electric lamps were needed. Secondly, in case one generator broke down, the other generator could continue to supply power, thus ensuring the beauty and brightness of these areas.
In these important areas, in order to ensure the reliability of the lighting, the electric lamps of each generator were staggered. In this way, if one generator broke down, it would not cause too much influence to the whole area. It would only reduce the brightness of the area.
Ang Lee was absolutely confident in the reliability of the generators he had developed. As long as there were no special circumstances, the generator would not break down. However, the steam engine that powered the generator might break down. For this reason, in the important areas, Ang Lee would equip the generator with two sets of steam power. If one broke down, the other could continue to work to provide more reliable protection.
Once the electric lamps were lit inside and outside Chang 'an City, the international influence of the Tang Empire would be greatly enhanced. Envoys and businessmen from various countries, as well as students from various countries who went to study in the Tang Empire, would be completely shocked by the advanced and prosperous Tang Empire. They would not hesitate to throw themselves into the nightlife of the Tang Empire. Then, they would be unable to extricate themselves and would not even want to leave again.
Almost all the ministers saw this expectation. They were proud to be members of the Tang Empire. They also admired Ang Lee's super ability and regarded Ang Lee as a God.
A few days later, the generators and incandescent light bulbs that Ang Lee had been studying were manufactured one after another. During the experiments, they achieved great success.
In order to verify the durability of the tungsten filament light bulbs and the reliability of the whole generator, Ang Lee let them continue to operate. It was not until two hours later that he saw that there were no problems with the light bulbs and the generator. Then, he sent his subordinates to the Daming Palace to tell Li Longji the news of the successful invention of the electric lamp.
"Assistant Minister Li, this guy is amazing! It's brighter than a torch. How did you come up with such an ingenious thing? "
It was not the first time that the craftsmen had asked such a question. Their literacy level was relatively low, and their vocabulary was slightly insufficient. Only by asking such a surprising question could they express their admiration and respect for Ang Lee.
"Read more books. When you are learned, you will naturally be able to figure it out."
Of course, Ang Lee would not tell the truth. This kind of thing could not be said at all. He could only find a random reason to brush them off.
The news of the successful invention of the electric lamp soon spread to the Daming Palace. When Li Longji heard the news, he was very excited. He immediately asked the informant about the basic situation of the electric lamp. After learning that the electric lamp was indeed brighter than a torch, he laughed happily.
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