After the third purge, Su Yonglin still had many things to be busy with.
In addition to government affairs, he also has to devote part of his time to the technical department to pay attention to the progress of the technical staff in tackling the technology he is looking forward to.
From the current point of view, in addition to successfully realizing the technical difficulties of coking, steelmaking and firearms manufacturing, the technical departments of the Ming Dynasty still have many other technical problems.
For example, Su Yonglin hopes they can research practical steam engines.
In the Ming Dynasty in the ninth year of Hongwu, there was definitely no market for steam engines. If a steam engine was successfully developed and put on the market, this kind of advanced machine would definitely be widely used in the mining fields of the Ming Dynasty in a short period of time.
Steam engines were first used in mines to help miners work and to remove underground water from mines.
In the current Ming Dynasty, due to the movement promoted by the imperial court to use coal as a daily raw material, the demand for coal in the Ming Dynasty market has surged. The surge in coal demand is reflected in the emergence of more and more coal mines.
The emergence of a large number of coal mines provided a large number of jobs for the Ming Dynasty. A considerable number of rural surplus laborers in the main coal-producing areas left the land and entered factories, choosing to become full-time workers. The number of the working class was expanded.
The larger the number of the working class, the more urgent the demand for industrial production technology. Once a breakthrough is made in industrial technology, it will be put into production as quickly as possible.
In the coal mine working area, with the development and excavation of mineral deposits, the mine will naturally go deeper and deeper underground. Once it goes deep underground, it will face the problem of mine groundwater.
In some extremely dangerous situations, groundwater can even threaten the lives of workers.
Faced with these problems, without the help of more advanced production tools, the workers and managers of the coal mines used their brains to find ways to use human and animal power to carry out drainage work.
Because drainage was difficult, the working group of the Ministry of Industry also responded to their request and taught them how to use the pulley block to help them save effort.
Pulley block drainage is now the mainstream drainage method in many mining areas, which to a certain extent improves production efficiency.
However, compared with the large-scale underground water system, whether it is human or animal power, even with the addition of pulleys, the displacement is still a drop in the bucket and far from enough.
Therefore, when coal mines face interference from groundwater, mining factories often need to spend a lot of manpower and material resources to drain water. This will lead to a reduction in production efficiency and a significant increase in production costs. The output of coal on the market cannot be increased, and it is difficult to maintain prices. .
Sometimes, due to practical reasons, many coal mining sites have to abandon some mining areas with too much groundwater and choose to develop other mining areas.
This will also cause a certain waste of resources.
Under this situation, Su Yonglin felt that it would be very meaningful to launch a steam pump in time, which would be welcomed by the miners. If the steam pump was realized, the threshold of the industrial era would be just around the corner for the Ming Dynasty. .
The working principle of a steam engine is actually very simple and not difficult to do. Technical staff from the Ministry of Industry have even built a research steam engine the size of a person, which has basically realized the operating principle of a steam engine and can realize water pumping.
Through steam, filling and condensation, Su Yonglin watched this steam engine drain a tank of water. The scene gave Su Yonglin a sense of astonishment and excitement that transcended the times.
To be honest, compared to the amount of groundwater in the mining area, this steam engine is like a child scooping water from the river with half a gourd.
The small water pumping capacity and limited implementation conditions make this steam engine have no market value. It must continue to be improved and improved until it has market value before it is considered a real success.
However, the realization of the principle makes Su Yonglin particularly excited, because they have found the right direction, and as long as they invest a lot of energy in continuous improvement, success will definitely come.
With the first success, more successes will follow, and the production status of the entire Ming Dynasty will undergo huge changes.
In order to realize the steam pump, Su Yonglin invested millions of dollars in technical personnel from the Ministry of Industry and gave them the green light to demand their raw materials, but so far the progress has been limited.
At the end of October, Su Yonglin inspected the Ministry of Industry, especially the work progress of the steam unit, and found that they had made a series of improvements to the steam pump, which more than doubled the work efficiency compared to the original version of the steam pump.
However, it still has little market value, is easily damaged, and is quite difficult to operate. It is still difficult to penetrate into generally deep mines, and needs to continue to be improved.
The members of the working group were very frustrated and felt that they had failed Su Yonglin for his efforts and such strong financial support.
Nice romance
Many departments that need money have to be scrutinized and scrutinized by the Ministry of Finance for approval and approval. But when the Scientific Research Department of the Ministry of Industry needs money, they almost make a request in the morning, and someone comes to deliver the money in the afternoon, giving them the green light.
Faced with such preferential treatment and attention, these technicians, who have mastered the most advanced technology at present, cannot produce corresponding results. They feel sad.
Su Yonglin could only continue to encourage them, telling them that the development of science and technology is not achieved overnight, don't be anxious, and let them develop steam engines in the direction of bigger, faster and stronger, so that this brand-new power equipment can bring a better tomorrow to Ming Dynasty. .
Looking at the steam pump that could complete the pumping action, Su Yonglin saw full of hope for the future.
In October of the ninth year of Hongwu, this was the beginning of everything.
Su Yonglin has no doubt that these outstanding technicians can eventually break through various limitations and successfully create a steam engine with market value, and will continue to make substantial additional investments.
He hopes that at this time next year, he can see a [Miner's Friend] that is more friendly to miners and can be put into mining factories, truly bringing the dawn of change and leaps in productivity.
When the cold wind in Zhongdu began to blow unbridled, Su Yonglin received two pieces of news.
First, Dali sent people to pay tribute.
Second, the Khwarezm Kingdom sent people to pay tribute.
It was within Su Yonglin's expectation that Dali would send people to pay tribute.
Because the army led by Su Haisheng and the Eighth Corps under Xu Tong's construction and training have exerted huge pressure on Dali, it is natural for Dali to come to pay tribute and find out the Ming's trump card.
But what does it mean for the Khwarezm Kingdom to come to pay tribute?
According to the report of the Tianwang Army spies who returned from "doing business" in Xiliao, Su Yonglin learned that the Khwarezm Kingdom was to the west of Xiliao.
The western territory of Xiliao has expanded to Central Asia, which has put great pressure on countries such as the Abbasid Dynasty and the Gur Dynasty, and has great influence in Central Asia.
The Khwarezm Kingdom also lived there, separated from the Ming Dynasty by thousands of mountains and rivers.
It cannot be said that there is no intersection between this country and the Ming Dynasty. It can also be said that there is no contact at all. Historically, there has been no intersection since the Tang Dynasty. It has been three to five hundred years. Why are they coming here to pay tribute at this time?
Just a gift, or...
Hope that Ming Dynasty will launch a military attack on Xiliao?
Are there also many discords between the Khwarezm Kingdom and Western Liao?
Su Yonglin had some thoughts of his own on this.
Then he announced that he would first receive the envoy from the Dali Kingdom, have a conversation with the envoy from the Dali Kingdom, and then go to receive the envoy from the Khwarezm Kingdom.
