Chapter 42 Difficulties
He Xi was never a technical expert.
Nowadays, the development of science and technology is becoming more and more complex, and many places are not fully understood by non-professionals. Moreover, the technological tradition formed by the combination of Ming technology and modern scientific concepts is different from that of later generations.
This difference also made it more difficult for He Xi to understand the documents of this era.
It can be said that even if a modern engineer wants to understand this era after coming over, it will take a period of study to understand the technical documents of this era.
Without him, many special terms in industrial technology in later generations are borrowed words. And this era is borrowed from ancient books. The nouns alone are different, let alone some technical details. Although the principles are the same, there are big differences in the handling of specific technical details.
Because the scientific system established by He Xi tapped into the skills of Ming Dynasty craftsmen. Some of the superb technical techniques of the Ming Dynasty were integrated into the scientific system.
These technologies will be considered intangible cultural heritage in future generations.
As a result, many kinds of intangible cultural heritage in later generations no longer exist. Because as the source of modern science and technology, they have been integrated into the rolling tide of scientific development. However, the existence of these technologies also makes many technologies the same in principle, but completely different in development.
It's like something that seems weird but very realistic, like a horse's ass deciding the diameter of a rocket.
In addition, He Xi has a lot of things to do, and there is no time to keep track of the latest technological changes. This resulted in the current situation.
Perhaps He Xi can give some guidance in some general directions, but it will definitely not work on specific matters.
Just like the current railway bridge problem.
How to design?
He Xi frowned and said, "Don't ask about this kind of thing from now on. Transfer it to the Imperial College in Beijing and put a reward on it. Forget it." He Xi thought of several common railway bridges in later generations. He said, "Forget it for today. Let's talk in private after the discussion is over."
He also needs time to read his books.
Ge Tiangong was overjoyed after hearing this.
He specifically mentioned technical issues, but actually he also wanted to have more contact with He Xi. After all, only by contact can the relationship be good. Only when the relationship is good can there be benefits.
Ge Tiangong said: "Yes."
He Xi said, "Are there any other questions?"
Ge Tiangong said: "No more."
He Xi said: "How to solve the problem of climbing? I think the slope is not low."
Ge Tiangong said: "I have thought about two solutions to this slope problem. The first solution is to place more locomotives at stations with relatively high slopes. When the train passes, temporarily add more locomotives . The second way is to add traction ropes, so that a steam engine station can be added to each steep slope."
This plan to add locomotives is unremarkable.
As for increasing steam engine traction, this solution seems very strange. It is to fix a steam engine on a steep slope. When the train arrives, first lower the steel cable, hang it on the locomotive, and then pull it up to increase traction.
He Xi never thought about it. I don’t know if the inspiration for this plan came from trackers.
He Xi immediately thought that the herringbone train track designed by Zhan Tianyou, which he had learned as a child, was made of climbing. Specifically how it is designed. He Xi couldn't remember it for a while. I thought to myself: "I'm old and no longer useful."
He Xi asked: "Have you tried everything?"
Ge Tiangong said: "Not yet, we are preparing to conduct experiments."
He Xi said "hmm" and said, "I have another question, how long will it take?"
Ge Tiangong was silent for a moment and said, "At least three years."
He Xi was stunned and said: "Three years, the railway to Yingkou was completed in less than one year. Why does it take three years now? Can't the time be shortened by adding more manpower?"
Ge Tiangong said: "Sir, this is not possible at all. Yingkou
The railway is on the official road of Liaodong, making it easy to measure and transport materials. The railway can be divided into several sections and started together to speed up the construction. But this railway is completely different. "
"All the materials needed for the railway must be brought from the Zunhua Iron Works. The best way to get them from the Zunhua Iron Works is the railway. Otherwise, it would be a waste of manpower and material resources to transport the rails through Yanshan by people carrying horse packs. too big."
"It may even cost lives."
"Not to mention, it is useless to increase manpower for the Yanshan section of the railway. Let's not talk about anything else. Just talking about digging tunnels, the current method is to generally occupy one excavation surface and one excavation surface for a row of people. At most, dozens of people can be used. Even if they work in three shifts, there are only a few hundred people. There are only more than a thousand people digging on both sides. This can no longer be more. And the time required to dig a tunnel, I can't predict it at all. Before the tunnel is dug, no one knows whether there are stones in the soil or not. The most important thing is whether there are water veins. Once there are water veins, it will be a big deal. .”
"This winter, I will be able to complete the railway from Beijing to Peiping and all the way to the mountains, but I don't know how long it will take to go one step further and climb down this mountain. But I want to come here for at least a year, and the journey to Dongsheng , it’s not like there are no mountains.”
"It will be completed in three years. It is already quite good."
"This subordinate is incompetent, please punish me."
After hearing this, He Xi sighed, looked at the others and said, "Absolutely not for three years."
He Xi was actually not that anxious. Even in He Xi's view, if Beijing develops faster and faster, it will not be a problem to maintain a stalemate with Nanjing for several years, or even more than ten years. But the Beijing court did not open on any given day. He Xi cannot go against the ideas of many people.
The battle between Zhu Xiongying and Zhu Yunwen for the throne. Fighting to the death, both sides want the other to die. This is a very clear political attitude. On the whole, there are a group of generals in both the Southern and Northern armies. Whether you say they are loyal or not concerned with the overall situation, they want to fight to the death with the Confederate army and are afraid of being too slow in attacking the Confederate army. Maybe it was a way to show loyalty to the emperor. In fact, the same was true for the Southern Army, but they just suffered a loss and did not dare to be so arrogant.
And He Xi couldn't hold them down.
Especially now that the Northern Army has a slight advantage, many people are waiting for He Xi to counterattack. Therefore, the various strategies proposed by He Xi are all attack strategies. It is impossible to sit still.
And politically, there is a problem with Beijing not attacking. When the two sides were at odds with each other, instead of taking advantage of the victory to pursue the enemy, they defended on the left. This was Zhang Shicheng's second best, just a defensive thief.
Therefore, let alone three years, we must start a war with the Southern Army next year. He Xi can control the scale of the battle, but the war must be fought.
He Xi said: "Is there no good way?"
Zhang Youzhi said: "There is one way, and that is to build an iron factory in Datong. Datong has a lot of coal and iron, which is enough to build an iron factory for the imperial court that is no less than that of Zunhua and Liaodong."
The war directly stimulated industrialization.
He doesn’t even need to advocate it. Whether it is Nanjing or Beijing, many people have the same idea, that is, to expand production and then expand production. After all, they are not fools. Food and people are of course the fighting power. But steel and gunpowder are even more powerful in combat.
Qu Neng said: "My lord, I think this method is great. Not only will the supply distance for the northwest war be closer, but it will also speed up the construction of the railway."
He Xi was also thinking about this matter.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of building a steel base in Datong?
He Xi thought for a while and said: "I think there are three problems when building a steel plant in Datong. That is how to transport large machines. It would be too slow if we just start from scratch locally. Secondly, we must also consider investment issues. Although the court is With so much money, most of the money has somewhere to go. A large steel plant requires a lot of money. After the imperial government has paid for the railway, it is somewhat beyond its ability to afford this."
"A penny troubles a heroic man. Money must be considered in everything he does. Where does this money come from?"
