It seems one could convince this hypothetical emperor to invest into industrialization of technology by offering to build things other than a steam engine, or outlining how a steam engine leads to them—telegraph, or semaphore towers to send news of invasions or changes in distant towns or provinces, better manufacturing capability for tools and weapons, food storage and transport mechanisms, etc.
Maybe! Or maybe you could interest him in a printing press, or a sextant, or at least a plow? That is sort of my point in the second-to-last paragraph (about shape/​direction vs. rate).
It seems one could convince this hypothetical emperor to invest into industrialization of technology by offering to build things other than a steam engine, or outlining how a steam engine leads to them—telegraph, or semaphore towers to send news of invasions or changes in distant towns or provinces, better manufacturing capability for tools and weapons, food storage and transport mechanisms, etc.
Maybe! Or maybe you could interest him in a printing press, or a sextant, or at least a plow? That is sort of my point in the second-to-last paragraph (about shape/​direction vs. rate).