Chapter 286
If it weren't for the invention of the fire ox, Wang Zheng, as a Catholic missionary, would have been in despair. Fortunately, because of the emergence of the fire ox, he got the support of the Liaodong Management Committee. At least now he is definitely not short of money.
The Liaodong Management Committee paid for Wang Zheng's Fire Ox. Wang Zheng didn't need any money, as long as he had a piece of land in Jinzhou City and the largest church.
It was under such circumstances that the Bishop of Basel came to Liaodong. After the Bishop of Basel brought dozens of missionaries into Liaodong, Basel and the missionaries discovered that this place was different from what they had imagined.
The road here was wide and flat, as if it were polished from a whole piece of rock. Such roads could not be seen in Europe. They were extremely surprised!
Especially the luxurious cathedral located in the south city of Jinzhou made them even more stunned. The Bishop of Basel exclaimed: "My God, this is not a school, it is clearly a city!"
Wang Zheng said proudly: "Am I right? This is really a good place! The best thing is that not many people have discovered this good place yet. We can definitely make a career here!"
Basel said: "This place is certainly good, but will your Excellency the Duke allow us to preach in his country? You know, he is very repulsive to our sacred religious beliefs!"
Wang Zheng said: "What's so difficult about this? As long as we do what we want and use our wisdom..."
Seeing the dirt on the Bishop of Basel and the dozens of missionaries, as well as the smell that could be called a biological and chemical weapon, he hurriedly changed his words and said: "Hurry up and take a bath and wash away the stinky mud on your body, Liaodong people I don’t like dirty people!”
The Bishop of Basel stared and said: "King, taking a bath is an act of depravity! How can you be so depraved!?"
"This is called holy bath, holy bath!"
Wang Zheng took a bag of soap and gave them a piece of soap: "Hurry up and take a shower!"
Just as the missionaries entered the bathhouse, Cheng Shijie, Sun Zhiyi and others also ran to the church on horseback. This church covers an area of about 60 acres, which is 360,000 square meters, so the Bishop of Basel and others It seems that this is not a church, but a city.
The entire church's seat faces east and west, narrow in front and wide in back. The church's plane is in the shape of a Latin cross, and its outer walls are made of cement and steel bars. The west facade has two tall spire bell towers and numerous small spiers.
The west part is ancillary to the seminary, and the east part is in the form of a quadrangle, which serve as living areas for students, mainly dormitories, public bathhouses, restaurants, classrooms, libraries, and offices.
The middle of the courtyard is enclosed as a small garden, and the open space in front of the garden is used as a place for believers' activities. The auxiliary houses enclosed on four sides constitute the entire Jinzhou Catholic Church building complex.
Judging from the overall layout of the church building complex, the church adopts a symmetrical courtyard layout, with the church courtyard gate and the main entrance, nave, and altar inside the church on the central axis.
Take the Catholic Church in Jinzhou as an example. If it were not for the advanced technology in Liaodong, it would have taken at least two or three years to build this church in the Central Plains. However, the original site of this church was the earliest briquette factory in Jinzhou. , as the number of people in Jinzhou increases and the price of land becomes higher and higher, the original briquette factory is not enough.
As the briquette factory moved outside the city, this land became idle. The church was built in the staff dormitory and factory area of the briquette factory. The large square in front of the church now is the drying ground and public bathhouse of the original briquette factory. , which was also the original bathhouse for briquette factory employees.
Except for the two Gothic towers whose main bodies are cast, about two-thirds are the original buildings, just painted over.
"Meet the Marshal!"
"Mr. Wang, you're welcome!"
Cheng Shijie looked at Wang Zheng and said, "Where is your Iron Ox? I want to see your Iron Ox!"
"This is a church. If you want to see the Iron Bull, you can only go home!"
Everyone came to Wang Zheng's home about three kilometers away from the church. This place was actually close to the South City Gate. As the saying goes, the rich live in the city and the poor live outside the city. This principle is the same in Jinzhou. The richest tycoons in the entire Golden State live not far from the Ning Haijun General Military Mansion.
Arriving at Wang Zheng's mansion, Wang Zheng's mansion is a courtyard with five entrances, and a small courtyard near the northeast corner is a hall-style workshop. When Cheng Shijie looked at this building, which resembled a factory in later generations, he seemed to be seeing a handmade production workshop.
This is actually a mill. At the same time, Cheng Shijie also saw an "iron ox" that was not too big. Of course, the appearance of this iron ox was completely different from that of an ox. It just had a frame with four wheels and legs, and a frame in the middle. A small boiler. One end of the piston rod of the boiler is connected to a set of gears, which are connected to a grinding mill through a transmission mechanism.
Looking at this steam engine, it is only slightly larger than the later Thomas the Tank Engine.
"This is my fire bull!"
"Can you stand still?"
"sure!"
Wang Zheng smiled and said: "No problem. I have tested it many times. The efficiency of the 'Iron Bull' is six times more than that of a strong adult ox. The workload of twelve draft horses in one day can be completed by the Iron Bull in two hours."
Wang Zheng is also full of confidence now. The advantage of Fire Bull is that it does not need to rest. As long as the machine is not broken, it can work continuously. This is an advantage that livestock cannot match.
"Then let's get started!"
Although Cheng Shijie has never seen a real steam engine in later generations, he has seen pictures. Although he has not experimented with it, seeing Wang Zheng so confident, perhaps in his opinion, the iron ox can only be used for grinding, but in Cheng Shijie's view Come on, the biggest treasure of this Tieniu is the boiler.
The application range of steam engines is very wide, not only in mills, crushers, tractors, but also in automobiles, ships, and the entire industrial field.
What Cheng Shijie values most is the steam engines and trains of the future. The Thirty Years' War in Europe will end in more than ten years. There is not much time left for Cheng Shijie. If Cheng Shijie wants to make money in Europe during the Thirty Years, To get the most benefit, then from now on, every day is precious.
With a roar of "吭哧吭哧", Huo Niu began to work, and Sun Hao, Chen Guodong, Zhou Yandong and others immediately came over.
Wang Zheng is right, the fire ox is indeed "incomparably powerful". The crusher linked to the fire ox at this time was actually driven by water power at first. Later, because water power could not be used all year round, animal power was used instead of water power. However, this This kind of crusher requires two horses, and the crushing efficiency is very slow.
But the fire ox is different. The fire ox drives this crusher and is more efficient, because Cheng Shijie knows that the efficiency of a steam engine is definitely much higher than that of a draft horse. Wang Zheng did not move forward because he had confidence in Huo Niu.
"Wang Zheng, are you continuing your research on Fire Bull?"
"Yes... I just don't have a clue yet!"
"You can study how to use the fire ox on the carriage, so that the carriage can be driven without horses and only the fire ox. You can also study how the fire ox can be made bigger or smaller!"
Cheng Shijie assigned tasks to Wang Zheng. These two extremes correspond to two different directions. If Wang Zheng can come up with more designs, Liaodong's prospects will be even broader.
Compared with internal combustion engines, steam engines have many disadvantages such as being bulky, noisy, vibrating, and polluting. Corresponding to the shortcomings, the steam engine has high power, good economy, and higher reliability. These advantages are enough for Cheng Shijie to ignore the shortcomings of diesel steam engines. What's more, what Liaodong needs to solve now is whether there is a problem, not whether it is good or bad. question.
The result is obvious. In just half an hour, this little fire ox ground three to four hundred thousand wheat into fine flour. If it were replaced by a horse, twelve horses would be needed to take turns. Such a powerful horse would also need to be fed. material, otherwise the horse's body wouldn't be able to bear it.
The most exciting person is actually not Sun Zhiwan, but Chen Guodong. According to the power of this kind of firepower, it can be mounted on a carriage to represent a horse. In this way, Ning Haijun can move at a speed of more than 150 miles, and can even force it in a day. The army is one or two hundred miles away.
With the steam engine, scientific and technological progress is not just a little bit. The first is rifling production, and breakthroughs can also be made. More importantly, the Ming Dynasty can start the industrial revolution.
In Sun Zhiyi's view, the biggest advantage of the fire ox is that it can replace draft horses and animal power. Perhaps the biggest advantage of the fire ox is that it does not produce horse manure. In order to prevent horse manure from being seen everywhere, Jinzhou City has even enacted legislation that does not allow draft horses. When horses enter Jinzhou, only cavalry and trust cavalry can ride in the city. The cavalry horses are trained and will not defecate anywhere during work.
"The fire ox can completely replace the draft horse!"
"It's too early to talk about replacing draft horses!"
Just as Cheng Shijie finished speaking, the fire ox stopped running. It turned out that the coal in the furnace hall had burned out, and coal and water needed to be added.
Wang Zheng and several technical craftsmen started to deal with the problem. Cheng Shijie encouraged Wang Zheng, then looked at Sun Zhiman and said: "Wang Zheng's invention needs a heavy reward!"
"Already rewarded!"
"not enough!"
Cheng Shijie thought for a while and said: "Draw up a memorial for me, and I will ask Wang Zheng for a title!"
Cheng Shijie wanted to reward Wang Zheng heavily, at least give Wang Zheng a reputation as a great craftsman, and at least reinstate his official position. Of course, he could only serve as an official in Liaodong.
…
After Cheng Shijie came back, Cheng Jialong didn't dare to go home at all. He lived in Jingjing Town. Of course, the Jingjing Town's competitive meeting was not stopped by Cheng Shijie, so it would be held normally.
Amid the loud music of gongs and drums, athletic delegations from various states and counties began to line up neatly to participate in the opening ceremony. However, there were no entertainment activities these days. Even people from as far away as Liaoyang and Guangning came to visit. This competitive meeting.
That scene was a sea of people. Good guy, tens of thousands of people were crowded together. How spectacular it was! Those small vendors are going crazy with joy. This is simply giving them money. Even if the price of the goods is doubled several times, they can be sold out in the blink of an eye! Many timid guys were so frightened by this huge crowd and the deafening sound that their faces turned pale. If there were so many people, they would be turned into meat patties if they took action!
Just when Cheng Jialong and Gao Jie were estimating how much money they could make this time, there was a roar like a tsunami in the distance. Following the sound, they saw Cheng Shijie, Zhu Weiti, Queen Zhang, Queen Zhou, and the prince. , Sun Chengzong, Sun Zhiman, Yang Yunniang and other big figures in Liaodong came and went.
After a long time, the terrifying noise finally stopped, and order slowly returned to normal. At this time, Cheng Shijie came to the stage to speak. Several large speakers could allow thousands of people to hear Cheng Shijie's voice.
Cheng Shijie's speech was actually very simple. It was basically similar to a work report. He told everyone how much grain was produced in Liaodong last year, how much tax revenue was collected, how many roads were built, and how many lonely elderly people were given money.
How much land has been planted this year, and how much food will be harvested in the future if the weather is good.
The common people cannot understand things that are too profound, but the numbers are very intuitive. Comparing these numbers with last year's figures, the difference immediately emerged. The common people all cheered loudly, and the applause was like the tide. Cheng Shijie's The speech was interrupted several times.
"Long live the Ming Dynasty, long live Cheng Shuai!"
Everyone shouted at the top of their lungs: "Long live the Ming Dynasty! Long live Cheng Shuai!"
Some literati snorted disdainfully: "A bunch of country fools don't know the north, south, east, west, and west for a small profit. They are so stupid!"
But they felt sour in their hearts because they had never enjoyed the heartfelt and unreserved respect and love from the common people.
These slogans fell on Queen Zhang's ears, and her face instantly turned pale.
Empress Zhou smiled faintly and said, "Sister-in-law, please be patient!"
The shouting of the people below was definitely not arranged by Cheng Shijie, unless Cheng Shijie wanted to rebel.
Cheng Shijie waited for the people's fanatical mood to stabilize a little, and then he said: "Dear fellow villagers, Liaodong is developing well this year. Our Liaodong is more energetic and hopeful than any other surrounding prefectures and counties. Everyone has vitality and hope. Where there is hope, there is definitely a future. Liaodong may be more difficult next year, and natural disasters may befall us, but I believe that as long as we all work together, no matter how big the difficulty is, we can overcome it. Now, my commander-in-chief Announcing that the competition will begin now!"
More than 200 drummers swung fist-sized drumsticks and beat more than 200 large drums. Amidst the thunderous drums, each contestant entered the venue holding his own flag in turn.
After nearly half an hour of the entrance ceremony, the competition officially began, and the first event to start was the first competition event of the competition meeting.
race.
A total of more than a hundred horses from 36 counties in seven states in Liaodong, as well as 16 teams from the Ninghai Navy, galloped out with all their hooves.
Just at the beginning of the Liaodong Athletic Conference, located in the Aegean Sea, the Venetian Navy and the Ottoman Navy met unexpectedly, and an encounter officially started.
What is different from the past is that this is an experimental strike fleet of the Venetian Navy, with a total of sixteen main battleships, fighting against more than 300 Ottoman Empire Navy Mediterranean Fleets.
There was still a distance of six to seven hundred meters between the two sides. The Venetian Navy asked Catherine for instructions: "Your Excellency, Commander, do you want to open fire?"
"Fire, free fire!"
Following Catherine's order, four fire dragons came out of the water, dragging their long tails, and flew towards the Ottoman Empire fleet. More than a hundred fire dragons came out of the water, two-thirds of them missed, but they destroyed more than a dozen enemy ships. Hit.
(End of chapter)
