When Yang Peng returned to Cangzhou, he first went back to Tianjing New City. First, he visited his master and Mrs. She, and told his master what had happened in the past few days. Mrs. She said, "The affairs of the Chai family may be the official's intention. The Chai family is a thorn in the side of the Zhao family. The Chai family can only sleep peacefully without the Zhao family." Yang Peng asked how Tianjing New City is doing now. Lin Qing "Everything is normal," the son said.
Yang Peng continued that after solving the sealing problem, subsequent improvements to the steam engine became easier, and Yang Peng successfully made a condenser. After the condenser was made, the force on the push rod was obviously much stronger. It saves wasted heat and the effect is immediate.
The next step is to make a bi-directional air intake cylinder, with air intake holes on the cylinders on both sides of the piston. When hot steam is injected into the left side of the piston to perform work, the other side of the piston closes the air inlet and connects it to the condenser, thereby generating negative pressure to suck the piston. The gas on both sides of the piston works together to push and suck the piston in one direction, increasing the output power.
Inspired by oil-soaked linen, Yang Peng used oil-soaked hemp rope to seal the connection between the push rod and the cylinder, and found that the effect was good. The hemp rope is very tight and quite elastic after being soaked in oil, because the friction is small due to the oil. After tying six layers of hemp rope on the push rod, the water vapor can no longer squeeze out.
Yang Peng was reminded by a craftsman and came up with the magical effect of soaking hemp rope in oil. But in Yang Peng's mind. A baffle was made on the two air inlets. Each time the baffle is slid, the two air inlets are alternately opened and closed, and are alternately connected to the boiler. This baffle is controlled by an eccentric ring connected to the top of the slide rod, and switches automatically as the slide rod moves up and down. Yang Peng rode to Tianjing New City every morning and rushed back to Cangzhou in the evening. He worked hard in the two places and spent more than twenty days solving a series of minor problems before successfully building a Watt-type steam engine. The steam engine is quite powerful, at least as strong as five oxen.
Seeing that Yang Peng had made the Watt steam engine, the blacksmiths who participated in the trial production of the steam engine kept looking at the steam engine in admiration. The combination of steel and flame turned into something that could move, and it was so powerful. Although the craftsmen participated in the trial production, they only participated in part of the manufacturing. At this time, there were still many things that they did not understand, and they were astonished by the skills of the city lord Yang Peng.
"Lord City Lord, this strength is stronger than a few cows!" "Lord City Lord is so amazing, this machine can be used in many places!" "Lord City Lord must be the reincarnation of Lu Ban!"
Yang Peng smiled and emphasized the confidentiality regulations to the craftsmen again. Yang Peng planned to follow the same example again and build two larger steam engines so that they could be mounted on ships and become the power source for ship paddle wheels.
A ship with a steam engine is a steamer and can go to sea no matter the monsoon. Using ships that can go to sea in all seasons for ocean trade, Yang Peng seems to have seen a lot of money waving to him. However, Yang Peng's two large ships are still under construction and will take more than three months to complete.
Yang Peng took the time to visit Wangjiawan these days and taught the shipwrights how to build the ribs. Those shipwrights were all old-fashioned, and they built dense ribs on both sides of the keel with just a few clicks. In addition to laying the ribs, Yang Peng also asked the shipwrights to open twenty cannon ports on the sides of the second deck as firing ports for the cannons.
When the pointed ship is built in three months, the steam engine can be put on board. But steam engines can do more than just ship engines and power many industries.
This time during the battle between Yingzhou and the Khitan soldiers, Yang Peng deeply realized that his troops lacked armor. Without the protection of armor, soldiers are extremely vulnerable to enemy bows and arrows, and may be seriously injured even if they are hit by a thrown bow and arrow.
Although a large amount of Khitan army cotton armor and chain armor were captured, with the expansion of Yang Peng's troops, these captured armors may not be enough. Moreover, most of the items seized were cotton armor. It is too hot to wear cotton armor in summer, and there is a risk of heat stroke. Yang Peng planned to make new armor by himself, using high-quality crucible steel as raw materials, and using a steam engine to drive a forging hammer to forge steel breastplates, helmets and shoulder armors.
With steel breastplates, shoulder armors and helmets, Tatar bows and arrows are basically ineffective against Li Zhi's soldiers dozens of steps away. The armor-breaking ability of bows and arrows is extremely limited, especially in the face of armor made of high-quality steel.
The forging hammer driven by the steam engine was also very simple. It was a large hammer supported by a long wooden handle lever that moved up and down. The steam engine kept pressing down one end of the long wooden handle, and the lever lifted the big hammer, and then hit it on the forged piece one by one. Compared with human forging hammers, hammers driven by steam engines are much more powerful. Such a forging hammer can increase the work efficiency of the forging blacksmith dozens of times. Several newly recruited blacksmiths were not used to Li Zhi's inventions. When they saw the large hammer of several hundred kilograms being lifted by the steam engine again and again and hitting the anvil heavily, they were stunned.
"Is this an immortal spell?" "Lord City Lord, what kind of machine is this? Isn't it too powerful?"
Yang Peng smiled and said: "This is called a steam engine. It is the secret of my Tianjing New City. You can't tell anyone about this machine. Anyone who leaks the secret will lose his head."
In fact, this steam engine is not afraid of leaks. Except for Yang Peng himself, other craftsmen may not understand the principle even if they dismantle the steam engine, let alone reproduce it. Moreover, the Song Dynasty was currently in chaos, and there were probably almost no people interested in stealing Yang Peng's steam engine technology.
However, Yang Peng was used to keeping his skills secret, and subconsciously emphasized the confidentiality regulations to several forging craftsmen. Hearing Yang Peng's words "lost his head", the faces of several craftsmen turned pale. Who is the Lord of the City? Killing a few craftsmen is not like killing a chicken. The craftsmen were determined not to tell anyone about the steam engine, even if they were killed.
Yang Peng looked at the craftsmen and asked, "With this steam engine, how many days can you forge a set of armor?" The craftsmen looked at the forging hammers, pondered for a while, and started discussing. Finally, one of the leading craftsmen said: "With such a big hammer, any steel can be easily forged. I'm afraid a set of armor can be forged in one day." One set of armor a day is quite efficient. Yang Peng ordered nod.
Yang Peng newly recruited thirty blacksmiths to make armor. It is estimated that these thirty blacksmiths, with the help of steam engine forging hammers, can make more than 10,000 sets of armor and helmets a year. Li Zhi recruited fifteen more handymen to manage the steam engine and add firewood and water to the steam engine. Of course, Yang Peng's steam engine has just been successfully developed, and now he only has one test model on hand. In the next few months, Yang Peng's steam engine team will increase its manpower and work overtime to produce Watt steam engines. Yang Peng called this steam engine, which was about as powerful as five oxen, the No. 1 medium-sized steam engine, and planned to produce forty units. Thirty of them are prepared for armor workshops, and ten are in reserve.
So many steam engines can only be produced one by one, and it will take at least half a year to complete them all. On May 6th, while dealing with the construction of sea ships and steam engines, Yang Peng summoned the deputy generals of Cangzhou, the commanders of various garrison troops and horses, the commanders of each battalion, and local guards to meet with these military attaches as superiors.
Yang Peng is now a first-grade hussar general and a popular figure among officials. Even the governor was afraid of offending Yang Peng. The military attaches in Cangzhou were all in awe of Yang Peng. They had long wanted to visit Yang Peng, but Yang Peng was never at home, working on the steam engine in Tianjing New City. At this time, they got the news that Yang Peng wanted to see them, and the generals came from all over the country, and they all gathered at the general's mansion at midnight.
The second hall of the General's Mansion was filled with military attaches from Cangzhou. The Dujian and the Dujian are not bad, there is still room to sit. The governor and guards could only stand at the back. But even though they were standing, these generals still had no complaints. Today, the General's Mansion has a higher status than the Governor's Yamen. I am used to standing in the Governor's Yamen, so standing here is nothing.
Unlike the civil servants who were worried about Yang Peng's collection of business taxes, the military generals had nothing to worry about Yang Peng, their boss. Yang Peng has always turned a blind eye to lower-level military attachés, as long as nothing happens. Everyone saw Yang Peng's style. At this time, the generals were very relaxed and chatting in twos and threes.
Many new military attachés who had never met Yang Peng were curious about Li Zhi. I don’t know what kind of person Yang Peng is, who is killing everyone in Cangzhou. Is he really a man with three heads and six arms? He can scare a Khitan dog to death with just one stare. The generals waited in the second hall for two quarters of an hour before Yang Peng put on his official robe and walked into the second hall to meet his subordinates. A soldier walked into the second hall first, stood by the door and shouted: "The general is here!"
The generals in the second hall looked at each other, and finally formed a tacit understanding and knelt down collectively. The highest official position of these military attachés is from the second rank Huaihua General to the Cangzhou Deputy General, which is one rank lower than Yang Peng's general. What's more, Yang Peng is a bachelor and ranks among the three masters. This young man is more than the third rank. According to the official rules of the Song Dynasty, officials of such a high rank must kneel down and worship when they meet.
When Yang Peng walked into the second hall, he only saw a group of black heads kneeling on the ground. Yang Peng walked to the chair and sat down, then said: "Everyone, get up!" The generals got up, cupped their hands and said, "I have seen the general!" Those who have not seen Yang Peng, at this time Only then did he dare to look at Yang Peng with his eyes, looking at Yang Peng up and down non-stop.
Yang Peng smiled and said, "I have kept you waiting!" Cangzhou Deputy General Huang Dejian said loudly: "The general is busy with official duties, so it is natural for me to wait for a while." After saying this, he handed over his gift list, As a meeting gift to congratulate Yang Peng on his promotion.
Yang Peng looked at the gift list and felt that the goods on it were at least four hundred taels of silver. Huang Dejian's move was not ungenerous. Yang Peng placed the gift list on the coffee table next to him and nodded. Seeing that Yang Peng was satisfied, Huang Dejian looked happy and backed away. Next, bureaucrats, big and small, came up one after another to give out gifts. Yang Peng received a lot of gifts, including silk mink clothes, jade agate, ivory, rhinoceros horns, ginseng and deer antlers, which Yang Peng and his family might not be able to use up in a few years.
It is said that the wine and meat of Zhumen stink, and the bones on the road are frozen to death, it is nothing more than this. However, Yang Peng was happy that these military attaches were corrupt and had no combat effectiveness. The more corrupt these Cangzhou military attaches were, the more powerful his own strong army would have a say in Cangzhou. Who dares to disagree with collecting business taxes in a few months? If these military attachés really worked hard and had strong troops, Yang Peng would have to be cautious and always be on guard against anyone attacking him.
As for the national defense of the Song Dynasty, Yang Peng's Huben division stepped forward to turn the tide and hold the building alone. Thinking of this, Yang Peng was too lazy to teach or quarrel with these military attachés. He only said loudly: "Where is the Dingzhou Military and Horse Prison?"
"The general is here!" Two middle-aged officials bowed and bowed their hands, and walked forward respectfully. Yang Peng nodded and said: "This year I will buy 100,000 acres of wasteland on each of your lands and turn it into 200,000 acres of military land. I will send someone to give the money for the purchase of wasteland to the Metropolitan Supervisory Office. You can give me the land deed." Get out!"
In the troubled times of the Song Dynasty, food was the most important thing. In times of war and chaos, if there is no food, even money cannot buy it. In the past few years, natural and man-made disasters have continued throughout the Song Dynasty, food prices have been rising, and there is a food shortage everywhere. Yang Peng opened a cheap grain store, and finally stabilized the price of grain in Tianjing New City at the level of one to two, one stone, so that the people in Tianjing New City would not suffer from food shortage.
But the situation is getting worse and worse, and Yang Peng now regards expanding his team of tenant farmers as a top priority. Dingzhou is adjacent to Dagou City and has convenient transportation from Dagou City. It is an ideal place to open up new fields.
Both of them heard Yang Peng's words and felt excited.
They had already inquired with Jinghai Governor Ye Xiancai that Yang Peng's reclamation of military land would not only give the Metropolitan Superintendent's Office a thousand taels of silver to buy the wasteland, but would also increase the number of grains in the local farming fields and improve his own political performance, which was completely beneficial. Good thing. Moreover, helping the general take care of his private property is also an opportunity to get close to the general and get closer to him.
Look at those Tianjing New City generals who follow Yang Peng! I get promoted every year, but I still get promoted by leaps and bounds. Yang Peng's younger brother, Zhang Xiang, is now a second-rank official in the capital. How many years has this been happening? If you can be recognized by the general as a subordinate, you will really become famous! A casual word from the general can make him rise to the top.
Both Qing County and Xingji County monitored Yang Peng's words, but their faces were filled with disappointment. They also hoped that after Yang Peng opened new fields in Jinghai, he would go all the way south to open fields in Qingxian and Xingji counties. Unexpectedly, Yang Peng turned around and went north again. Without Yang Peng's money and Tuntian Zili's political achievements, they were very disappointed.
Jiegao, the military supervisor of Qingxian County, licked his lips and couldn't help but said: "General, our Qingxian County is close to Yanshan County, so why not open some new fields in Qingxian County. I, Shi Jiegao, can do it with my head." Guarantee, there are absolutely no lawless people like Liu Bingchuan and Liu Jianshen in Qingxian County." Yang Peng said impatiently: "Did I ask you to speak?"
Shi Jiegao was startled and said in a trembling voice: "General, calm down, calm down! The general is talking too much! The general deserves to die!" He did not dare to say any more and quickly retreated. Yang Peng said to the two military supervisors in Dingzhou: "There are still three or four months before winter wheat is sown. We must seize the time to hire people to repair the canals to ensure that winter wheat can be planted in new fields this season. You will handle the specific matters. I will discuss it with my general, Duan Zhixian, and make sure it is done well. Anyone who dares to stop my people from repairing the canal will be killed without mercy!"
Hearing Yang Peng's murderous words, both guards trembled in their hearts. Now Yang Peng not only holds a high and powerful position and is deeply trusted by officials, but also has strong soldiers. Yang Peng wanted to make things look better, so he discussed it with the civil and military officials in Cangzhou. If Yang Peng is unhappy and doesn't care so much, and kills so many people, who can stop Yang Peng's Tiger Master?
These are troubled times, and whoever has the bigger fist is right. The two governors of Dingzhou County knelt on the ground again with a bang, and shouted loudly: "General, don't worry, if anyone dares to block the general's new field, he will be killed by the general!"
Yang Peng nodded and said no more. On May 10, Yang Peng went to Wangjiawan to look at the two ships he was building. Wangjiawan is located forty miles south of Tianjing New City. It is a sparsely populated bay, recessed from the outer coast. The land in the bay is surrounded by several small mounds, making it relatively secluded. The soil on the seaside of Tianjing New City is saline and alkaline, making it impossible to farm, and the population density is very low. If you don't look for it carefully, you won't be able to get into such a bay.
There are more than a dozen families of fishermen living in the bay, and they are all hired by Mr. Wang to build boats. Then Boss Wang bribed the local military and horse supervisors, so no one came to take care of Boss Wang's shipbuilding affairs. Yang Peng and Zha Yunke took a few guards and rode lightly for two hours. They entered Wangjiawan and saw Boss Wang's shipbuilding site.
On the construction site, a ship has been built with dense ribs and two decks laid out, and it already looks like a ship. The keel of the other ship has just been laid and the ribs have not yet been set up. Zha Yunke looked at Yang Peng and said: "General, I was afraid you would misunderstand when you said you wanted to build a ship, so it's inconvenient to tell you, but I still want to tell you now. The profits of this overseas trade are not as profitable as they were during the Tianqi years. !”
Yang Peng asked: "Oh? What do you say?" Cha Yunke said: "Ten years ago, one tael of silver was worth one tael, and a load of fine Dengzhou white raw silk cost only about one hundred taels of silver. It was sold to Japan. You can sell it for two hundred taels of silver. If you load a ship of raw silk to the Japanese country, you can easily make tens of thousands of taels of profit. It is really a good day to go to sea."
"Even six or seven years ago, one or two five cents of silver could be used as one tael of silver. The purchase price of a load of raw silk was only about 140 taels, which still left a profit of 60 taels. A boatload of raw silk was sold for There is also a profit of more than 10,000 taels when going to Japan. Including the goods on the return trip, a ship can earn 20,000 taels a year." "But now, with the war and chaos, prices in our Song Dynasty have soared, and two taels of silver can only be used as one tael of silver. Flowers. The purchase price of a load of Dengzhou white raw silk in Cangzhou has reached 170 taels, but it can only be sold to the Japanese country for 200 taels, and the profit is only 30 to 40 taels! After this trip to the Japanese country, the profit is only a few One thousand taels of silver. Even if we bring some Japanese knives and other things to sell when the ship comes back, the profit will be less than 10,000 taels per trip, which is really not what it was before!"
"Not to mention that when the maritime ban in Fujian was lifted last year, dozens more ships came to Japan, and the selling price of raw silk was even lower." Yang Peng looked at Cha Yunke and knew that what he said was true. During the Zhidao period, the supply of goods was insufficient due to war. Prices in the Song Dynasty were so expensive, so the profits of goods shipped to the Japanese country were naturally low. If Yang Peng ran the raw silk business like others, he probably wouldn't make much money.
Yang Peng looked at Zha Yunke and said, "What I sell to Japan may not necessarily be raw silk. It may also be a specialty produced in Tianjing New City." Zha Yunke's eyes lit up when he heard this and he smiled: " If the general manages his own specialties, he can make more profits." In fact, Zha Yunke was still afraid that Yang Peng's two big ships would compete with him for the raw silk business and raise the price of raw silk in Cangzhou, diluting his profits. Hearing Yang Peng talk about selling his own specialty products, he was very happy and said: "The general's glass mirrors and transparent glass are sold in Japan, and they can sell a lot."
Yang Peng nodded and said, "I have a lot to sell." Zha Yunke was very happy when he heard this. He took Yang Peng to find Boss Wang and found the craftsman on the ship that was about to be built. .
Boss Wang was standing on the second deck, discussing something with Chen Jie. Seeing Yang Peng coming, he quickly came up and bowed down: "Boss Wang has met the Lord of the City." Yang Peng helped Boss Wang up and asked: "Boss Wang, how is the construction of my ship going?" Boss Wang said: "In another month and a half, the first one will be built. Now the keel ribs of the first one are all installed, and the position of the paddle wheel that your Excellency mentioned has been built. The paddle wheel can be installed at any time, just wait for your instructions. Here come the bearings and the steam engine.”
"The other one can be built in less than four months." Yang Peng nodded, looked around and felt that the workmanship of the ship was good. Zha Yunke patted around and said to Li Zhi: "General, Boss Wang has worked hard this time and built the ship with solid materials. It will last seven or eight years without any problem." Boss Wang accompanied Yang Peng He looked around and asked curiously: "General, is your ship for business? Why are there so many crossbows?"
Yang Peng said: "Pretend to use a strong crossbow to fight against Japanese pirates!" Boss Wang was stunned and asked, "What are Japanese pirates?" "As long as there are Asians and Westerners who have different intentions, they are bandits! I will use a strong crossbow to fight against them!" Boss Wang thought for a while and said, "Sir, you want to be a pirate and rob the ships of those foreign races!"
Yang Peng smiled and said: "You can understand it this way." Boss Wang grinned and said: "The city lord is still powerful, but there is no king's law on the sea. The cargo of this ship is tens of thousands or even a dozen Wanliang, grab a few boats and you’ll get rich!”
After returning from Wangjiawan, Yang Peng found five craftsmen who made rifles and took them to the strong crossbow workshop to find the crossbow maker leader Cao Yu. "Cao Yu, I want you to cast forty heavy crossbows in these four months." Cao Yu rubbed his palms and said, "Okay, sir, the crossbow workshop has not been open for a long time."
Li Zhi's strong crossbow workshop uses the iron billet method to cast strong crossbows. The crossbow blanks can be used repeatedly. The speed of casting strong crossbows is very impressive. It can cast an iron core copper body strong crossbow in three days. Previously, Yang Peng had built one hundred and forty light strong crossbows, so he had the strong crossbow workshop stop production and instead cast dragon tail carts. Cao Yu and other gunsmiths have been casting the dragon-tail car for more than half a year. Once it was finished, they sent it to the warehouse for storage. They no longer wanted to cast it anymore.
Yang Peng nodded and said: "But the strong crossbows cast this time are for use on the ship. The waves on the ship are bumpy and high and sometimes low. It takes a long time for the strong crossbows to be launched, and the aim is inaccurate. I want to change all the strong crossbows to The flintlock mechanism is used to ignite the fire. I will hand over these gunsmiths to you, and you can work together on how to install the flintlock mechanism onto the crossbow."
Cao Yu was stunned and looked at the five gunsmiths behind Yang Peng. Yang Peng thought for a while and then said: "You don't have to make a trigger to pull it out. It's also good to make a rope that can be pulled out as soon as you pull it. In short, it is to shoot immediately after aiming at the sea. You can think of something that can be used."
Yang Peng said again: "The research has been completed. Each of the six of you will be awarded a month's salary." Those gunsmiths have made countless flintlock rifles, and they are very familiar with them. I feel confident transplanting the machine to the crossbow. At this time, when they heard that Yang Peng said there was a silver reward, they all patted their chests and said, "Don't worry, General, leave it to us!"
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
