The wind and rain in Lin'an City did not affect Zhao Mengqi in Prince Yan's Mansion.
As the craftsmen he recruited from various government offices were brought in, Zhao Mengqi gradually entered inventor mode.
The first thing to start with is naturally the manufacture of the carriage body. Since it is intended to be made into a luxury product, it is obvious that the four-wheeled carriage must be of a higher quality.
Maybe when it comes to horse-drawn carriages, most people in later generations have the impression that Europe used four wheels, and ancient China used two wheels. Anyway, that's how it was shown in TV dramas.
From an intuitive point of view, four-wheeled carriages seem to be more advanced than two-wheeled ones, so why hasn’t four-wheeled carriages been popularized in China?
Is the technology inferior to that of the West? The answer is obviously not.
As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, the Chinese carriage structure was quite complex and complete. It had an axle, a hub, and a sliding bearing between the axle and the hub. The sliding bearing was divided into two layers. When it comes to the bearing shell, it is called mace, "mace: between, between the axes and the shafts, so that they do not rub against each other."
To put it simply, the wheels and axles are not hard-connected. One wheel can rotate while the other wheel does not, which facilitates steering.
Although the four-wheeled vehicle made with this technology is not as flexible as the one with a bogie, it is still sufficient for use.
Generally speaking, four-wheeled carriages existed in ancient China and were not uncommon in the Song Dynasty. However, like other early civilizations, they failed to become a mainstream means of transportation.
The reason is that insufficient road conditions and poor shock-absorbing technology have restricted the development of passenger transport. Complex geography, insufficient livestock scale and other reasons have also restricted the development of freight transport by four-wheel carriages.
But as a luxury product, do we need to care too much about these?
What Zhao Mengqi needs now is to solve the shock absorption problem, improve steering flexibility, make the ride more comfortable and extremely luxurious.
As for shock absorption, naturally we use a suspension chassis, and use an elastic structure to connect the axle and the car. This is not difficult. It can be used as a material for crossbows at first, and then mild steel can be used.
The bogie is not complicated either, it just adds a subframe. Even if the material used for the vertical axle is relatively easy to break, as long as it is designed to be easily replaced, it won't be a big problem.
For five days, Zhao Mengqidu hung out with these old craftsmen, not only perfecting the design of the carriage, but also purifying salt, distilling alcohol, making soap, cement, coking coal, improving steel production, etc. He probably knew a little bit about it. Things, as well as some scientific knowledge, were instilled in the craftsmen and allowed them to experiment and study.
In fact, many technologies are not too far ahead of the times, and some can even be achieved by just piercing a layer of window paper, or by summarizing existing technologies.
These old craftsmen can be regarded as the most powerful engineering personnel in the Song Dynasty. As long as Zhao Mengqi gives direction and concepts, as well as methods of comparative testing, and does not hesitate to invest funds and support, the rest is only a matter of time.
To put it simply, just throw money at it and keep experimenting in directions that have been proven feasible in later generations, and you will always get results.
This is much more reliable than just relying on him as a time traveler racking his brains to study. All he has to do is follow up from time to time and correct the deviated route.
Finally, Zhao Mengqi began to draw the pie for nearly 300 craftsmen.
"Before Tiangongyuan was built, you first studied it in the palace. You have seen the salary and other things in the past few days. It is basic to have meat in every meal, and you should be satisfied with the salary."
The Tiangong Institute is the technical research institute that Zhao Mengqi plans to establish. It is located one mile south of Prince Yan's Mansion, and construction will begin in a few days.
After hearing what Zhao Mengqi said, a group of old men became excited, and some even started to burst into tears.
"Your Highness is as benevolent as the sky. He is so kind to the elderly and others. He gives you the best food and clothing. In our whole life, we have never dared to enjoy such a blessing. Even if it only lasts one day, it will be enough." It's worth dying now, not to mention His Highness plans to do this in the future. This old man is stupid and doesn't know how to speak. Anyway, I have to risk my life to fulfill His Highness's instructions."
An old blacksmith in his fifties said this, and other old men also echoed, using their simplest language to express their gratitude and loyalty.
Zhao Mengqi waved his hand, "No matter what you say about death, you all live well. There are many good days. You don't have to think too much about other things. Just focus on improving your craftsmanship and studying technology. As long as you produce results, I will not hesitate to reward you. The minimum is one thousand guan, and there is no upper limit, and you will be given officials in the future, or the officials will be given to the children of your family."
When this big pie was smashed, the old men were stunned. What an official!
Are you going to lie to us?
No, His Highness King Yan is the prince, and he will be an official in the future. Jun Wu is joking. Once he speaks, it must be true.
I have been working as a cow and horse all my life, relying on a little craftsmanship to earn a living. I didn't expect that I would still have the opportunity to be an official when I am getting old. Even if I don't live a good life for a few years, I can still earn an official position for future generations.
As a result, the craftsmen who reacted knelt down and kowtowed one after another. Their determination to serve King Yan became more and more determined, and their enthusiasm for research was also so high that it exploded.
Judging from the reactions of the old men, the effect of the pie is pretty good. Zhao Mengqi is a little complacent. This is the benefit of having power. He does not have to rely on himself to work hard for everything. As long as resources are allocated reasonably, countless people will naturally work for him.
After throwing away the carrots, it’s time to pound them properly.
"But there is one thing that you must keep in mind at all times, which is to keep it confidential. From now on, anything in the palace and Tiangongyuan must not be mentioned to outsiders. You can also exchange research methods with each other. However, the core secret recipe must not be known to irrelevant personnel. In a few days, we will outline the rules and regulations for this standard. Not only must you stick to it yourself, but you must also supervise each other. This is not a distrust of you, but it is just a shameful thing to say beforehand. When he gets it, he blames the orphan for not teaching him and kills him."
It cannot be said that people in this era do not have a sense of confidentiality. For example, some family secrets can be closely guarded by generations and dozens of generations, but they will not pay attention to things that do not affect their own interests. It is impossible to say that they will still keep it. Use it as a talking point to show off to outsiders.
Of course, Zhao Mengqi will not completely place his hope on their consciousness, and will also take other corresponding measures, such as setting up security agencies, establishing closed residential areas for these craftsmen, etc.
These old craftsmen are not surprised by King Yan's request. They are government craftsmen. In the past, the court would also emphasize confidentiality. However, because there is basically no secret recipe for public affairs, the quality of products largely depends on personal craftsmanship. , this is not something that can be revealed in a few words.
Moreover, many technical secrets are often leaked by scholars, euphemistically known as writing books to pass on to future generations, but they are spread to enemy countries, causing their own country to almost have no future generations.
After the craftsmen patted their chests and made promises, "When the Tiangongyuan is built, I will select a group of clever apprentices for you, or if you have suitable juniors in your family, you can also bring them in, and then you will teach them carefully and make your own Teach them all the skills you need to know, and you don’t have to worry about teaching the disciples to starve the master to death. As long as they teach well, they will be rewarded with official positions, which is guaranteed to be something that you will not be able to earn for generations."
"Don't worry, Your Highness, I will never hide my secrets, and I guarantee that the disciples I teach will be better than their masters!"
"His Highness treats you so kindly, I can't wait to dig in my heart and soul. A worthless craft is nothing. As long as the apprentice is willing to learn, there is nothing I am not willing to teach!"
"Yes, yes, it is our blessing to have His Highness value our skills..."
P. I originally wanted to write about technical matters in detail, but after thinking about it, it seemed a bit boring. All other books were written badly, and I even wrote about my last book. I felt that this one was not a farming style, so I just skipped it. Well, it’s not a big golden finger anyway, and there won’t be anything too advanced.
Therefore, I deleted nearly 3,000 words that I had written. It was really a sin and my thoughts were messed up. This chapter was terrible...
