Chapter 969

In the palace, the entire court, including civil and military officials and their families, as well as palace maids and eunuchs, were stunned by the sight of the light before them. The streetlights installed along the palace were emitting a bright light, each illuminating a large area, far surpassing what a traditional lantern could do. The entire palace now looked as bright as day.

“Your Majesty, this electricity is truly miraculous. This old official has lived for most of his life, and my eyes have been opened today,” Fei Ji said, his body trembling slightly with excitement. Although he had seen incandescent light bulbs before, he had never seen such a large-scale lighting project.

Pang Yukun was also excited, saying, “Su Liangcai said that electricity is a more effective energy source than steam power, and he was absolutely right. Steam engines can’t make streetlights light up, hahaha…”

Su Liangcai, as the person in charge of this electrification, breathed a sigh of relief. The pressure he was under was immense. The process of electricity transmission was very complex, and if even one step was not in place, it would not have been possible to achieve tonight’s effect.

“That’s natural. As long as Your Majesty and the Grand Secretariat vigorously support the construction of thermal power plants, electricity can quickly replace steam engines, and it will be more efficient,” Su Liangcai said.

Xiao Ming nodded gently. Currently, only Qingzhou had a thermal power plant, and it only supplied electricity to a portion of the area. This was still some distance away from the Second Industrial Revolution. It would probably take another ten or even twenty years of construction for the Great Yu Empire to fully enter the age of electricity, as the technology crystal provided knowledge but could not accelerate the construction of projects. However, what gave him peace of mind was that the Great Yu Empire’s steam industry had already blossomed across the country, and as long as a strong steam industry was established, the transition to the Second Industrial Revolution would be smooth. After all, even though these steam engine factories were not as efficient as factories using electricity, they could still provide materials for building thermal power plants and other infrastructure.

“After the New Year, I will have the Grand Secretariat approve another sum of money for your Electricity Department. I don’t expect the cities outside of Qingzhou Province to be covered by electricity in a short time, but the six prefectures within Qingzhou province must be electrified as soon as possible, especially Dengzhou. This is a vital shipbuilding hub of the Great Yu Empire, and Zhang Liang has been counting on your electricity to build the ironclad warships. After all, the first ironclad warship was too difficult to build. With electricity, the shipyard will be able to use welding technology,” Xiao Ming said thoughtfully. In the recent naval battle, the ironclad warships performed remarkably. They practically rampaged through the traditional sailing warships, pushing the British into despair. Such excellent results made Xiao Ming decisively prepare to accelerate the construction of ironclad warships. As the Great Yu Empire’s maritime territory expanded, he needed more powerful warships to join the navy to counter the European naval powers.

Su Liangcai was delighted by this. There were too many places in the Great Yu Empire that needed money now, such as railway construction, road and bridge construction, and factory construction. Money was needed everywhere, and it was a large amount of money. To be able to set aside a sum of money at such a time showed how much the Electricity Department was valued.

Pang Yukun and Fei Ji did not hesitate this time and nodded directly. In the past, they would always argue about money coming out of the Grand Secretariat, but now they had a rare consensus. “Thank you, Your Majesty,” Su Liangcai, a man of few words, replied woodenly, with no elaborate speech.

Xiao Ming smiled. He liked straightforward scientific researchers the most. It was easy to get along with these people because they were direct and did not like to beat around the bush.

After assigning Su Liangcai his task for after the New Year, Xiao Ming looked at the others. Everyone was still immersed in the light. Clearing his throat, he said, “My lords, Qingzhou City is officially electrified. From now on, there will be no darkness in Qingzhou. To celebrate this, I will celebrate with all of you tonight. Someone, set up the banquet.”

Upon hearing this, everyone bowed to Xiao Ming and said, “Thank you for Your Majesty’s great kindness.” As their voices fell, eunuchs and palace maids carried newly prepared delicacies into the Fulin Hall behind everyone, where the New Year’s Eve dinner would be held.

At the same time, the people outside the city were becoming more and more excited. If it had been in the past, they would have returned home early, but tonight was destined to be sleepless. After the streetlights lit up, they no longer had to worry about the dangers of the night and could play to their heart’s content. Merchants also took the opportunity to sell their goods on the Imperial City Avenue. Performers and opera singers also began to show off their talents. For the first time, a bustling night market appeared on the Imperial City Avenue. In this euphoria, the people enjoyed themselves to the fullest until the bells of the palace rang at midnight, and the people on the Imperial City Avenue gradually dispersed.

When the officials left, Xiao Ming, who was half-drunk, also returned to his bedchamber. This New Year’s Eve was the most peaceful night he had experienced since coming to this world. He no longer had to worry about being awakened in his sleep by news of foreign invasions.

The next day, he woke up early. According to the rules, the first day of the new year was the grand court session. Unlike previous years, there were several new faces in the court this year. They were the envoys from the Netherlands, Prussia, Goryeo, and Japan. After the congratulations from the ministers, they each congratulated Xiao Ming on the new year and presented him with lavish gifts. Xiao Ming naturally accepted them with pleasure. Although it was still a long way from building a world system, this at least foreshadowed the formation of a new system in Asia. After the New Year, this system would be gradually perfected, fulfilling his ambition of making Asia the Great Yu Empire’s backyard.

After the routine grand court session, Xiao Ming prepared to leave. At this time, his ministers left, but the generals of the Grand Council stayed behind. After everyone had dispersed, Niu Ben said, “Your Majesty, I just received a message from Zhu Sansi. The Golden Tent Khanate cavalry has attacked the strongholds from Jianzhou to Yakutsk. Golden Tent Khanate cavalry has also appeared in the Nerchinsk direction. Zhu Sansi’s situation is very passive. According to the plan, he was supposed to attack Nerchinsk, but the severe cold and heavy snow are making marching difficult and are not conducive to combat. Many of the soldiers’ rifles have also been damaged due to frost.”

Hearing this, Xiao Ming rubbed his temples. He had thought he would have a peaceful New Year, but he didn’t expect things to not go as planned. “It seems the Golden Tent Khanate is determined to side with Tsarist Russia.” A sharp glint flashed in Xiao Ming’s eyes. However, the most important issue now was to solve Zhu Sansi’s logistical problems. It was a vicious move for the Golden Tent Khanate to choose this time to attack the Great Yu Empire’s supply lines, because according to Zhu Sansi’s message, Guandong had been experiencing continuous heavy snowfall for the past month, which made the already difficult supply situation even worse.