In the 38th year of the Ming Dynasty, 1716 AD, in the spring, somewhere in Huaibei Province, the Ming Dynasty.
"Boom, boom, boom..."
This is the sound made by a cast iron wheel with a protruding outer rim rolling on an I-shaped cast iron rail!
The Grand Duke and the Emperor closed his eyes, sitting in a spacious and bright train carriage, relaxing and listening to the most beautiful sound in the world - this is the baby cry of industrialization, the clarion call of the new era, and his lifelong service to the country. The loudest applause ever received from the people. However, this baby's cry, this horn, and this applause are still a little imperfect, because they lack the roar of the machine.
Zhu Heji was now riding a horse-drawn tram instead of a steam engine-driven train. Who told him to be a "magician" in his previous life and not an "engineer"? His "magic" can greatly accelerate the development of the Ming Dynasty's metallurgical industry, but it cannot greatly accelerate the development of the Ming Dynasty's "organism".
In the past thirty or forty years, in the process of rebuilding the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Heji also managed to solve the problems that had plagued the iron smelting industry for countless years, such as coking, slag removal, and refractory materials. He also worked in Jinling University Hall, Guangzhou Haizhu University has established a major in metallurgy and mining to train masters in metallurgy and mining.
In addition, he also took advantage of the opportunity of equalizing land across the country to classify a large number of areas where iron ore and coal mines could be buried into the "Guantian District", and also reserved areas between major cities, ports, and mining areas within the territory. The "Guantian District" where railways and kilometers can be built has emerged.
Stimulated by the above measures, when the time entered the 1720s, Daming's output of coal, pig iron, and crucible iron (barely considered steel) not only ranked first in the world, but also accounted for the world's annual output. Sixty percent of the total output, the first quasi-industrial country at the right time!
Because the production of pig iron and crucible steel has increased and the price has become relatively cheaper, it has become feasible to build a "carriage railway".
This kind of horse-drawn carriage railway first appeared in urban areas of first and second cities such as Nanjing, Guangzhou, Suzhou, Yangzhou, Songjiang, Hankou, Nanchang, various mining areas, port areas, and large factory areas, and was used for short-distance transportation of people and goods. . The first long-distance horse-drawn carriage railway was the Beijing-Huaihe Line, which ran from Yongding Gate in Beijing to Huai'an North Pier. The reason why such a railway needs to be built is that after the construction of an artificial channel for the Yellow River to enter the sea in the early years of the Duke's reign, the water transport north of the Huaihe River was interrupted - because the Yellow River was diverted into the Huaihe River during the Song and Jin Dynasties, causing sedimentation in the lower reaches of the Huaihe River and the riverbed. It continues to rise and gradually becomes a hanging river. In addition, the Huaihe River has a large amount of water. Once the dam breaks and overflows, it will bring huge disasters to the areas on both sides of the river. Therefore, the diversion of the Huanghuai River into the sea has become the best choice to save Huainan and Huaibei.
However, once the Huanghuai River is divided, the sediment from the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River will not be able to enter the sea through the Huaihe River, which is wide and has a large amount of water. It will have to enter the sea through a new river channel that is narrower and has less water volume. This will not only cause the river bed of the new river channel to rise too quickly, but will also wash a large amount of sediment into the canal where it intersects, causing the canal channel to be silted up quickly.
Since the imperial court after the reopening of the Ming Dynasty was permanently based in Nanjing, and Beijing was just a companion capital, there was no need for the absolutely reliable lifeline of the Grand Canal. Therefore, in the early years of his reign, Zhu Heji chose to protect the Huaihe River and cut off the canal. He temporarily abandoned the canal north of the Huaihe River and switched north-south transportation to sea routes. In the original history, this problem was not solved until the 21st century. The infrastructure maniac's engineering capabilities are also useless. However, in later generations, the Yellow River was diverted from Shandong to the sea, so the canal could be extended to Shandong. In the early years of the Duke's reign, the Ming Dynasty only dug a canal that was parallel to the Huaihe River and about 200 miles long. It was also very close to the Huaihe River, so there was no need to extend the canal to Huaibei.
And this policy of abandoning the canal to preserve the Huaihe River is certainly beneficial to the areas on both sides of the Huaihe River. The land on both sides of the Huaihe River has been saved from successive floods, and the Huaihe River's channel into the sea has been preserved. The ancient Huaihe River had a very good channel into the sea. Even in the late Ming Dynasty, Huai'an was still a seaport. Shen Tingyang in the late Ming Dynasty was in the Chongzhen period. We have engaged in maritime water transportation from Huai'an to the sea to Tianjin, Shanhaiguan and Dengzhou. But for the areas along the canal in Huaibei, Shandong, and Beizhili, the loss of the canal will be huge. Not to mention the development of industry and commerce, even the export of agricultural products is a problem. Fortunately, the Ming Dynasty during the Grand Duke's reign was still an era when people valued scarcity. There were fewer people and more land, and they were hungry. Moreover, the north had experienced wars, the population density was lower, industry and commerce were even less developed, and whether there was a canal or not had little impact. However, it has no impact and is short-term. In the long term, a north-south transportation artery is still needed.
Of course, it is impossible to restore the canal, so Emperor Zhu can only place his hope on the railway... If there is no steam locomotive, horse-drawn locomotives will do, which is better than nothing!
Moreover, a practical steam engine has been developed by the mechanical engineers of Jinling University, and has been put into operation in the coal mines and iron mines of Liguo County, Xuzhou.
Now Zhu Heji is riding the Beijing-Huaihe Railway carriage on his way to Liguo County, Xuzhou - this time he is going to the coal mines and iron mines in Liguo County to see the practical use of the Jinling brand steam engine produced by Jiangnan Machinery Equipment Factory situation. After reading this, he can decide whether to invest a huge sum of money in the Jiangnan Machinery Equipment Factory located in Shanghai County!
In order to promote the progress of mechanism magic in recent years, he not only formulated the "Patent Law" to protect inventions and creations, but also invested heavily in establishing a mechanism magic foundation - the name seems to be for cultivating immortals, but in fact it is a specialized investment A venture capital fund for start-up companies specializing in chemical and mechanical technology development. Not only the merchants, magicians, and mechanics of the Ming Dynasty can receive investment from this foundation, but also overseas engineers who are willing to engage in development in the Ming Dynasty and come up with good enough design plans can also receive large investments from Emperor Zhu.
The steam pump put into use in Liguo Iron Mine and Liguo Coal Mine this time is a third-generation product designed by a British engineer named Thomas Newcomen. Both steam engines have a cylinder diameter of three feet, can make 24 reciprocating movements per minute, and have a power of more than 15 horsepower!
If these two machines can function normally, then Liguo Iron Mine and Liguo Coal Mine, which have been flooded many times by floods, can drain the water and put into full production - because the two iron ore mines and coal mines are very close to each other. The transportation in Liguo County, Xuzhou is convenient. Not only are railway carriages passing through the mining area, but there is also a canal leading to Haizhou. Products can be transported to all parts of the country by sea. Therefore, once the Liguan Railway Plant is built, it will be able to produce a large amount of steel at a very low cost...With a large amount of cheap steel, horse-drawn railways, and even steam railways in the future, can develop greatly!
The era of industrialization is finally coming.
When he thinks of that exciting era, Zhu Heji has no intention of continuing his writing - in the past two years, as the prince Zhu Yixin has matured, the elderly Zhu Heji has passed away three years ago. Before that, he left all the tedious government affairs to Zhu Yixin on the grounds of "filial piety before bed". He himself devoted his main energy to venture capital and the creation of a strange book called "Questions and Answers of King Zhuge Wu".
As the name suggests, this book "Questions and Answers of King Zhuge Wu" was written in the name of Zhu Heji and the long-dead Zhuge Sanhe. The whole book is divided into three parts. The first is to discuss and predict the development of magic; the second is to discuss and predict the development of mechanism skills; the third is to "fictionalize" a timeline without Zhu Heji... He plans to put this This strange book was passed down to Zhu Yiyin and Lu Siniang, the "protectors" of the Ming Dynasty!
This is also the last thing he can do for the dynasty he founded.
Now that the "Magic" and "Mechanism" parts of "Questions and Answers of King Zhuge Wu" have been completed, only the "fiction" part is still being slowly written. As soon as he put down the brush, he heard the rapid sound of horse hooves, and then disappeared with a neighing sound. After a while, Zhu Heji's minister Guo Qian came in with a memorial.
"Your Majesty, the Sun King has passed away!"
"The Sun King..." Zhu Heji touched his gray beard and sighed, "It's his turn!"
His tone sounded a little sad, which was of course inevitable.
With the death of Louis XIV, Zhu Heji is now the only one left among the "Three Heroes of the World"!
And the big names who have left the world in the past few years are not only Louis XIV, but also Zhu Heji’s father Zhu Tianwang, the Aztec hero Montezuma, and the first Buddha who revived Indian Buddhism. Erdan, Kangxi Khan’s wife Sofia, and Queen Anne who was determined to make the “Little British Empire” great... As for the heroes and generals who accompanied Zhu Heji to reopen the Great Tomorrow, A large number of them also withered!
Zhuge Sanhe is long gone. Mr. Yu, Yang Qilong, Su Yong, Zhao Zhongyi, Chen Jinnan, Qiu Hui, Qiu Rong, Su Zhanshan, Su Zhanhai, Zhao Hongkui, Guo Youde and others have all passed away in the past few years!
Of course, these people all died a good death. Zhu Heji fulfilled his promise not to kill heroes. Even if some people were not very clean after taking power, they were just left idle by him...
"Qian'er, bring it here!" Zhu Heji waved to Guo Youde's son Guo Qianyi and asked him to bring the memorial to him. "Who succeeded the throne of the Sun King?"
"Of course it's Louis XV," Guo Qian said with a smile, "Louis XIV and the row down, of course it's Louis XV."
When Louis XIV was first elected as Emperor of the Franks, he was named Louis V according to the title of the Holy Roman Emperor. Later, he completely merged the Frank Empire and the Kingdom of France, and the title was changed back to Louis XIV.
The heir of Louis XIV is, of course, Louis XV!
Zhu Heji was amused by Guo Qian's half-joking words, and the minister continued to report: "Your Majesty, the Bourbon Dynasty has been in bad luck in recent years, and many people have died... Louis XIV's The crown prince Louis, the crown prince's grandson Louis, and the crown prince's great-grandson Louis all walked before him, so the one who takes the throne now is the crown prince's great-grandson Louis, who is only six years old this year."
Although Louis XIV also introduced several traditional Chinese medicine doctors to the Palace of Versailles, they still could not save the short-lived children and grandchildren of Louis XIV... The Bourbon dynasty also became in danger because of the deaths of so many people.
If a few more die, the dynasty will be ended! ,
Zhu Heji thought for a while and said: "There is no way a six-year-old child can lead the Second Great Southern War!"
The Second Great Southern War was a war launched by the Sun King in his later years to seize Constantinople. This war was of great scale. Not only did the Frank Empire dispatched 300,000 troops, but the Rakshasa Kingdom also Joined the war under his leadership and dispatched 200,000 troops to launch a fierce attack on Crimea, Moldavia, and Wallachia!
The war started two years ago. So far, although the Ottoman Empire has lost the Crimean Peninsula, Moldavia and almost all of Transylvania, it has withstood the Franks and the French in Wallachia. The fierce attack of the Rakshasa coalition forces.
In addition to the gradual stalemate on the battlefield, Frank and the Rakshasa Kingdom were also in a disadvantageous position diplomatically.
Britain, Sweden, Spain, and the Netherlands, the European powers that participated in the First Great Southern War, stayed out of this war. The Great Mongolia also became "peace-loving" after the death of Kangxi Khan. Both the Southern Emperor and the Northern Khan declared neutrality and did not launch attacks from behind the Ottoman Empire. Of course, there was no war to conquer Persia...
In this case, the Frankish Empire, which had lost the Sun King and may have fallen into internal disputes, could only seek an armistice with the Ottoman Empire.
"Qian'er," Zhu Heji said again, "draft a letter to Queen Mother Kong and ask her to mediate the conflict between the Ottomans, Franks, and Rakshasa countries. In addition, write a letter to our envoy in Istanbul and ask him to persuade The Ottoman Sultan seized the opportunity to make a truce and negotiate a peace... Even if he loses some land, he cannot continue fighting!"
Guo Qian was a little confused, "Your Majesty, why can't we fight on? The Ottoman Empire finally defeated the Sun King, and now is the time to counterattack. If you are lucky, maybe you can get Transylvania back."
Zhu Heji shook his head and said: "The Sun King dies and the land is divided... The Frankish Empire will probably fall into division. For example, the Polish-Lithuanian Parliament is unlikely to elect a six-year-old child as king and grand duke, and the German princes will also will be ready to move, and the Hungarian nobles may also elect their own king. However, this split is based on minimizing the threat from the Ottoman Empire. If the Ottoman Empire launches a counterattack now, it will be assisted by the Frankish ministers assisting Louis XV. If they are defeated, the unity of the Frankish Empire will be strengthened.
In addition... we cannot underestimate Peter I, he was as great an emperor as the Sun King! So the Ottomans had to concentrate on preventing Peter from taking Wallachia. The Ottoman Empire cannot fall so quickly!"
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