Chapter 16 Set up a long sail to break thousands of miles of waves
For He Yuansi, it was very confusing to be summoned by He Xi suddenly.
He didn't know why He Xi suddenly wanted to see him.
But he came to see He Xi honestly.
He Xi first asked about He Yuansi's current situation.
He had been under Zhang Zongde's tutelage before. I learned a lot. But among all Zhang Zongde's students, He Yuansi was not the one who stood out at all.
The people sent by He Xi also said that the eldest son was actually very hardworking.
He Xi didn't know whether He Yuansi really worked hard and couldn't achieve results, or whether the people below were covering up He Yuansi.
However, none of this matters.
He Yuansi seems to have no future on this route.
He Xi asked: "Yesterday, His Majesty asked you to go to the palace as an errand. Do you want to go?"
He Yuansi said: "Go back to father, the child doesn't want to."
He Xi paused slightly and said, "Don't you really want to? If you go to the palace and wait a few years, you can serve in the army and become a famous general like your Uncle Ye in the future. Don't you want to?"
He Yuansi said: "I think so. It's just that my child doesn't want to go to the Army, but wants to go to the Navy. I don't know if it's possible?"
He Xi's heart moved and she said, "Go to the Navy, okay. There's nothing wrong with it. But, why do you want to go to the Navy?"
When he reached He Xi's position, he was not afraid that He Yuansi had ideas, but was afraid that He Yuansi had no ideas. Of course, I am afraid that He Yuansi has too many ideas.
If He Yuansi didn't have any ideas of his own, he would just be obedient. He Xi could only learn from Su Shi and let his son go to the palace without any illness or disaster. Anyway, there were so many idle people in the Ming Dynasty, and one more was not much.
So thoughtful. What He Yuan thought wanted was something unusual, such as the throne of the Ming Dynasty. This was a big problem for He Xi.
For He Xi, the idea of going to the navy was one of them.
In fact, the military is also a good option. At least this is what Zhu Xiongying can accept. After all, there will be constant small battles in the future, but there will probably not be many big battles. It is difficult for heavyweight generals like Xu Da and Ye Chen to appear in the army again who can influence the pattern of the Ming Dynasty.
He Yuansi went to the army, and even if he became a Privy Councilor in the future, it would be nothing.
But he can no longer be the first assistant.
Zhu Xiongying is determined not to allow it, and the position of chief assistant will be passed down from generation to generation. That would no longer be the position of chief assistant. That is the Japanese shogunate. Historically, Ming Dynasty actually didn’t know much about Japan. But things are different now.
Not to mention, He Xi brought some information. Just saying that the Ming Dynasty destroyed Japan, the amount of historical materials pulled from Japan can be described as truckloads.
What does the shogunate mean in Japan? It’s even more understandable.
This is also the reason why Zhu Xiongying wants He Yuansi to join the army.
He Yuansi said: "Father, you should know that I am in charge of the steam engine project in Teacher Zhang's team."
He Xi said: "I know."
"This project is not going well," He Yuansi said.
He Xi said, "Don't worry, things should go smoothly in the next few years."
He Xi knew exactly why it didn't go well.
On the one hand, marine steam engines are more demanding than train steam engines.
Train steam engines, in Zhang Zongde's opinion, are all very reluctant. If it is not needed for war, it must be put into use immediately. Such a steam engine cannot be used at all. The cost is too high. The failure rate is also high.
However, even with the high cost, the failure rate is high. But I have to admit one thing, this is much better than a horse-drawn carriage.
This is also the reason for He Xi’s promotion.
And many things must be used on a large scale before you know how to modify and improve them.
This cannot be the case with marine steam engines.
The steam engine used for trains broke down on the railway. On the railway, there are train stations everywhere. And there are many trains on the route. If you can find a way to get to the train station, you can make simple repairs. If it doesn't work, try another one.
it is also fine.
The marine steam engine is different.
After all, the steam engine used in trains is installed in the locomotive. If it breaks down, just replace it with another locomotive section. Very relaxing.
It won't take long. The premise is that there are enough locomotives to replace.
This is also very easy, it is nothing more than working hard to achieve miracles. Just a pile of resources.
The ones used by ships are different.
First of all, the marine steam engine is inside the cabin. Not to mention, putting a steam engine in a ship is a big project in itself. There was a lot to consider, much more difficult than putting a steam engine inside a locomotive.
Secondly, marine steam engines never dare to malfunction randomly. If something goes wrong at sea, it will cause the heaven and earth to respond and the earth and the earth to fail. Even a spare sail is quite troublesome.
Finally, there is the difficulty of repair.
Once the ship is repaired, it is almost necessary to disembowel the ship and take out the steam engine inside, which will have a huge impact on the overall ship.
Even if it can be repaired, it will affect the overall structure of the ship.
Too many times. It is time to consider replacing the steam engine with a new hull. That's almost like a new ship.
Not to mention the impact of war.
During the war, scientific research funds had to be invested in the direction of the war. After weighing the pros and cons, most of the scientific research funds were invested in train steam engines and railway construction. Marine steam engines, and new ships, received little funding.
The reason is also very simple. The Beijing Navy has an advantage.
There is no need to increase the advantages in this area, and the research and development cycle of steam engine ships is very long. Don't tell me when it will be better, He Xi doesn't know. Even Zhang Zongde doesn't know.
Scientific research has its own laws and cannot be pushed forward forcefully. ..
In this way, things are very simple.
On the one hand, during the war, there was a strong demand for trains, railways, firearms, and even machine tools for producing firearms. On the one hand, there is uncertainty about steam engine ships, and there is no strong need for the navy.
He Xi's choice was also obvious. Put aside the steamships and put all your research efforts on the trains.
Even if He Yuansi was in charge of the steam engine ship, he would not be able to bring in more funds.
In fact, He Yuansi is in charge of the steam engine ship, which in itself represents He Yuansi's status in Zhang Zongde's heart. Although, this must have been requested by He Yuansi himself.
But He Xi knows very well that even now there is still a lack of high-quality researchers. In the steam engine project team, there is a shortage of people everywhere. If He Yuansi had the ability, Zhang Zongde would not let He Yuansi idle.
Now the situation is different. The war is over.
During the war, the locomotives were also updated, and many problems of the new locomotives were solved. Of course, it's not very good either. But at least there is no immediate urgency now.
You can relax a little more.
Moreover, in He Xi's view, steam engine ships will become increasingly important.
Without him, things would be different.
The south was in the hands of the imperial court.
There are many water networks in the south. If you want to build a railway, there will actually be many problems. But it is very simple to increase the power of water transportation. Just replace the original ship with a steam engine ship.
Steam boats have their own power, which makes them too expensive to travel upstream in many river sections. In this way, many river channels can be used.
It can even be said that cargo transportation has become much more convenient in the north due to the construction of railways. But as long as steam engines are put into inland river transportation, the transportation weight of river transportation in the south will definitely exceed that in the north.
This is also a helpless place.
The southern economy has surpassed the northern one, no, it should be, and it won’t take long for the southern economy to return to its rightful place in the Ming Dynasty’s economic system.
This is also very helpless.
In terms of natural endowments and the establishment of a coal-iron complex, the north far outperforms the south. This is why He Xi and Zhu Yuanzhang chose the north to develop industry.
s reason.
But compared to the matter of money, in terms of cargo transportation alone, it is highly likely that the South will outperform the North.
The South is still richer than the North.
Not to mention, overseas interests also need to be protected.
Nowadays, the scale of Daming Shipping is actually very large, with a transportation volume of hundreds of thousands of tons. If steam engine ships could replace these ships, what a huge market there would be. Not to mention, steam ships can make the Ming Dynasty more closely connected with overseas vassals, allowing the Ming Dynasty to enter the age of navigation faster.
