Since ancient times, the reason why officials were not allowed to do business was because officials had a lot of power. If they were involved in business, ordinary merchants would not be able to live a good life. It would cause a very serious unfair competition. Ordinary merchants would not be able to compete with officials no matter what.
However, even if there was such a rule, it could not solve the problem of unfair competition. After all, if it could not be done openly, it could be done secretly. Officials could not run businesses themselves, but they could operate behind the scenes and let the people they could control run businesses. They could also make a lot of money.
In addition, many businessmen would seek refuge with one or several high-ranking officials. They would give a part of the money they earned to these high-ranking officials to get the help of these high-ranking officials. Thus, they could gain the opportunity to compete unfairly.
In other words, since ancient times, the competition in the business world had never been fair. There was a term called Red Top Merchant, which referred to the collusion between officials and merchants. If any small merchant wanted to become a big merchant, it was impossible to do so without the backing of a big official. Only by obtaining the support of a big official could he grow into a rich merchant step by step.
In short, no matter what era, fairness absolutely did not exist. It would never exist. The common people and small businessmen at the bottom could only pick up the leftovers of others. It was too difficult to counterattack.
Even the battery invented by Ang Lee had to be operated by the noble class, not the common people. After all, the common people did not have the ability to run this business. Only the powerful had such ability. In this way, the powerful class would fall into a virtuous cycle, and the poor people could only fall into a vicious cycle. This was a problem that could not be solved in any era.
If hundreds of ordinary people were to work together to set up a workshop, they would have to elect a person to manage it. And this person who was elected by everyone would soon become the new aristocrat, which was the influential class. The rest of the people would still be poor people. If they did not elect a manager, everyone would work conscientiously and share the money equally. Then, they would inevitably break up due to the chaos in management. In the end, they would not be able to do anything.
Although this fact was very cruel, it was the reality. Many times, in order to create wealth with the greatest efficiency, it had to be managed by a small number of people while the majority worked hard. This way, the efficiency would be the highest. And the result of this was that a small number of people could become nobles while the majority could only be the lowest class of poor people, poor people who could only eat and wear their own clothes.
Therefore, instead of creating a new noble, it was better to let the existing noble run this relatively monopolized industry. In this way, the number of nobles would be reduced, and the exploitation of the common people would naturally be reduced.
Because all the high-ranking officials were well aware of this, naturally, no one would object to the officials doing business in private. Moreover, it was useless even if they knew about it. The high-ranking officials handed over their businesses to people who could control them. Even if they were found out, it could not be proved that it belonged to the high-ranking official. Unless the high-ranking official fell from power, a large amount of property would be found during the confiscation.
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. "" Yes! Chang 'an City is full of lights at night, but there are also dark corners. There is no light in the nearby countryside, so there is a strong demand for flashlights. Carrying a flashlight when you go out is much more practical than a torch. "
"Why, are you all interested?"
"No, no, we don't dare. How can we have a chance to do such a good business?"
"There is no chance. Assistant Minister Li said that we have to choose the highest bidder among the three and share it with the three. As long as we are in the top three, we will have a chance."
"Share it with the three? Just wait and see! They will become one sooner or later. Anyway, I don't dare to count on it, lest I get into trouble. "
After the court, the ministers did not rush back. Instead, they gathered together and chatted.
Ang Lee went to the R&D Center, where there were more assembled flashlights. He wanted to put them in the busiest places in Chang 'an City and build large sheds that could completely block out the light. In this way, the flashlights could perform to their heart's content. They could perform in the daytime and at night.
"Assistant Minister Li, we have to choose ten locations. Is there a need for so many?"
"We have to build a shelter for each location. We also need at least five or six people to maintain order and take care of the items. It is too expensive!"
"There are too many people in the Capital. How can we let more people know about this flashlight if we don't divide it into several locations? It's not a lot. "
Several of his subordinates said.
It was absolutely reasonable for Li An to show off the newly developed flashlight at ten different places. It was to let more people in Beijing understand the new technology of the flashlight. Although it was only a small daily item, it was very useful. It was very necessary to promote it.
The flow of people in the East and West Cities was relatively large. Two locations were set up in each city. There were also two locations on Vermilion Bird Avenue. The remaining four were scattered in other places with more people in the Capital.
The areas of the shelters for these ten locations were not small. It was not a problem to accommodate three to five hundred people. It could let more people know about the flashlight as a daily use to the greatest extent. It was convenient for more people to participate in the competition. In the future, such products could enter the market and increase the sales of batteries and flashlights.
In order to ensure the safety of each location, Ang Lee mobilized 150 people. There were 15 people in each location. They were responsible for setting up the shelters. Then, they would perform the flashlight and ordinary torches inside the tents to let the people who came to visit see how big the advantage of the flashlight was.
The construction of the shelters was very simple. First, use wood to build a frame. Then, cover the outside with a shading cloth. The so-called shading cloth was actually a cloth woven with a mixture of black and white threads. It could effectively block all the light from passing through, reflecting and absorbing all the light.
From the outside, the shading cloth was white. Both sides were white, but the color inside was black. The reflective effect of white was the best, and the absorption and shading effect of black was the best. Mixing these two colors to make a shading cloth could block the strong light to the greatest extent. Therefore, in order to block the light with the highest efficiency, the shading cloth was woven with a mixture of black and white threads.
The ten shelters were quickly completed. Each shelter was already equipped with flashlights, torches, lanterns, and other lighting items. They were ready to compare and let the people see how big the advantage of the flashlight was.
Since ancient times, the people of Hua Xia liked to watch the bustle. They would go wherever there was a bustle to watch. Therefore, after the shelters were set up, many people had gathered around. There were businessmen, farmers, and people from aristocratic families. There were also many people from other clans.
However, the shelters could only accommodate three to five hundred people at most. Therefore, they had to line up to watch the bustle. They went in groups to watch the bustle.
Such a scene was a little chaotic, so Ang Lee would never go in person. He left everything to his subordinates. Ang Lee himself stayed in the R&D Center to continue to develop the good things needed by the Tang dynasty.
If one wanted to develop a variety of useful items, the most important thing was materials and machinery. Without suitable materials, nothing could be talked about. What could one develop if they were only given wood and soil? Only by developing a variety of materials with various properties could one promote the further development of one's research career. In addition to materials, machinery was also extremely important. Without the help of machinery, even if one was given iron, copper, alloy, and other materials, one could not make anything powerful. In other words, the efficiency would be very low, which would drive up the labor cost. It was not conducive to promoting it to thousands of families.
Therefore, machinery and materials were very important. Of course, chemistry and bioengineering were also very important, but they had little to do with the research of various items. They played a major role in other aspects. Chemistry could be used to make weapons, such as gunpowder, which was caused by the chemical reaction of three substances. If one wanted to make more powerful explosives in the future, a lot of knowledge in chemistry would be needed.
Biology could be used to study drugs, so as to control the spread of epidemics when necessary. It could also be used to treat many serious diseases that troubled people, so that people could live better and more at ease.
Ang Lee did not have much energy to do biology now. He only did a part of chemistry. After all, the production of batteries, gunpowder, and so on were all in the field of chemistry. If he did not engage in chemical engineering, many things could not be made. For example, batteries could not be made. By the way, it would also affect the invention of radio and telephones. Therefore, chemistry still needed to be done.
After so many years of hard work and the cooperation of hundreds of thousands of research and development talents, Ang Lee had developed a large number of materials at this time, which were much more than the materials before the Tang dynasty. Whether it was new building materials, machinery, or metal materials, they were many times more than before. The successful development of some materials had an important role in promoting the following research.
For example, if the development of special metals was not successful, the barrel of the artillery had to be made thinner, and too heavy artillery would inevitably greatly limit its mobility and continuous combat ability.
There were also many parts of machinery that were easy to wear. If ordinary pure metals were used, they would be easily worn out. However, if advanced alloys and new materials that had been quenched at high temperatures were used, the wear-resistant performance would be greatly improved, so these parts would not be so easy to wear out, so they could be used for a longer time.
Various new materials were constantly being researched, and the research and development of new materials was very important for the subsequent research. For example, guns had very high weight requirements. If it was very cumbersome, it would be difficult for a single person to use it.
Among all materials, only the strength and toughness of metal could meet the strong friction. Therefore, the barrel of the gun must be made of metal, and metal materials were relatively cumbersome. If the thickness of the barrel was very high, the weight of the gun would exceed the maximum standard that a single person could bear. Therefore, the gun could not be used normally, and it was more cost-effective to make cannons.
The emergence of new materials that were stronger and tougher could solve this problem very well. They could make the gun thinner, so that it would be easier for soldiers to carry it. This way, the portability and lethality of the gun could be reflected.
Ang Lee's minimum requirement for a rifle was that it could not exceed 20 kilograms. A gun that exceeded this weight, in addition to the weight of a large number of bullets, would cause too much of a burden to the soldiers. Five kilograms was a higher requirement, and it was also the direction that Ang Lee was working towards.
As for a pistol, Ang Lee's requirement was less than 5 kilograms. If it exceeded this weight, it was estimated that he would not be able to lift it with one hand. Thus, how could he use it normally? Therefore, it had to be light and portable. The pistols in the future were only about 2 kilograms, and the rifles were only about 5 to 6 kilograms. Unless it was a machine gun that could fire continuously, it would be slightly cumbersome to meet the requirements of continuous fire.
The first gun that Ang Lee aimed at was the rifle that was already very advanced in performance. As for the outdated matchlocks and flintlocks, he directly bypassed them. Otherwise, the guns that were made would not be as good as bows and arrows. That would be too much of a waste of resources.
Most of the research and development of the parts had already achieved very good results. The only thing that Ang Lee was dissatisfied with was the research of the barrel and firing pin.
If the material of the barrel was not up to standard, it would cause the barrel to be too heavy, which would increase the weight of the entire gun, causing the gun to lose its portability. The firing pin, on the other hand, had a higher requirement for the material. If the firing pin was not made of good material, it would wear out after a few uses. Thus, it would not be able to hit the next bullet normally, causing the entire gun to be unusable or requiring frequent replacement of the firing pin, causing a lot of logistical pressure.
However, these two studies were in progress, and he believed that there would be a breakthrough soon. As long as these two studies were completed, powerful and reliable guns could be born out of nowhere.
This technology was secretly developed by Ang Lee. He did not tell the Emperor and the ministers, and their main attention was attracted by the Thousand Mile Sound Transmission Plan. Therefore, they did not pay attention to the research and development of small parts like the barrel. Even if the people from the imperial court came to inspect and saw the barrel and firing pin, they would not understand what they were used for. Maybe they would think that these were parts of a machine?
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