Luo Zhixue first got into the cab of the train and took a look, then ran to the passenger compartment hanging at the back of the train and sat down directly.
This made the civil and military officials accompanying him a little overwhelmed. They originally thought that during this inspection, Luo Zhixue would first see the train in a prohibited state, and then go to the viewing platform to watch the train start and run from a distance. , I didn’t expect Luo Zhixue to just sit on the train and not get off.
However, although Luo Zhixue's move was beyond the expectations of many people, he stopped talking nonsense after a few words of persuasion. .
Whatever the founding emperor Luo Zhixue wanted to do, his ministers could not dissuade him, not to mention that he was just taking a train, so there was no danger. Even if the steam in the front train leaked and exploded, it would not affect the passenger carriage at the rear.
Even if the train derails and an accident occurs, the speed of more than ten or twenty kilometers per hour is still not serious, and the passenger carriage is hung at the very back of the train, so there is no possibility of any problems.
So after a few words of persuasion by a group of courtiers had no effect, they quickly took action on their own.
Several military and political officials who were qualified to accompany the driver went directly to the last carriage where Luo Zhixue was... Others who were not qualified boarded other passenger carriages. As for the originally prepared 'passengers', they naturally gave up. No need to act as a tool anymore.
At the same time, security work was also undergoing rapid adjustments. The Fourth Cuirassier Regiment of the Guards rode directly on both sides of the train to provide necessary protection nearby.
Of course, those closest to Luo Zhixue were the imperial guards. No matter where Luo Zhixue was, they followed him there and directly provided personal protection.
At the same time, the Second Division of the Guards spread out urgently and deployed defenses directly along the railway line. They stationed themselves at certain distances along the way and stood guard directly on both sides of the railway.
Patrol police and other ordinary law enforcement personnel as well as temporary personnel further sealed the intersections along the railway, and prohibited onlookers from getting too close to the railway, and persuaded those who were already close to return.
While the security work is being rapidly adjusted, the technical team of Guangzhou Machinery Company and the technocrats of the Railway Management Office are also conducting final strict inspections of the test train.
Although they had repeatedly checked it several times before, and even conducted a short private test yesterday, nothing went wrong.
But today's occasion is very important for the future development of the railway transportation industry, not to mention that now even the emperor has personally boarded the train.
There is no room for error in today's test.
All details must be carefully considered.
Otherwise, the consequences will be extremely serious!
Under huge pressure, hundreds of technicians repeatedly inspected the Type 21 train. Not only the locomotive, but also each carriage, large and small, and all technical details were carefully inspected. .
Finally, Wu Pengyou, co-organizer of Guangzhou Machinery Company, is looking at the inspection reports submitted by various units.
Wu Pengyou, graduated from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Royal Institute of Technology. He studied at the Steam Engine Research Institute during his studies, but he was not able to get a teaching position at the Royal Institute of Technology after graduation... The number of teaching positions at the Royal Institute of Technology is limited, and the competition is very fierce.
Finally, after graduation, he chose to work in the Ministry of Industry, but his job was not administrative work, but research work. He once worked in the Mechanical Research Institute under the Ministry of Industry, responsible for the research of the steam engine series.
Later, he was transferred to Guangzhou Machinery Company and served as the co-organizer of Guangzhou Machinery Company. This position actually also means chief engineer, and he is mainly responsible for the technical work of the factory.
Well, Guangzhou Machinery Company is a large government-run enterprise directly under the Ministry of Industry, and its senior managers are all officials, so Wu Pengyou, the co-organizer, is also a serious court official, a fifth-rank official.
During his years as co-organizer of Guangzhou Machinery Company, he single-handedly established the high-pressure steam engine research and development project and led the development of the high-pressure steam engine.
Later, he used a high-pressure steam engine to design and develop the first train, the Type 21 train.
In other words, the Type 21 train in front of him was built by him.
For such an important test today, he naturally had to personally take charge and handle a series of technical issues.
After Wu Pengyou read the report, he said to Shi Jinghuan, the left minister of the Ministry of Transportation who was in charge of official affairs (the Railway Management Office belongs to the official department): "Sir, the technical inspection has been completed and no problems have been found!"
As he spoke, Wu Pengyou handed the thick stack of inspection reports to Shi Jinghuan, who took them and looked through them.
However, he had difficulty reading a lot of technical terms, performance parameters, etc. on the inspection report... After all, Shi Jinghuan was not a technical person. He was from the Imperial College of the Imperial Academy, where he majored in history. During the imperial examination, you also applied for the ordinary Jinshi subject, not the natural history subject.
Although he also has some basic knowledge of science and engineering, it is only superficial, and it is still difficult to understand this highly professional inspection report.
But even though it was difficult to read, he still read it word for word, and in the end he did not pay attention to the signature of the person in charge on each checklist.
He couldn't quite understand the data parameters, but he knew the names of the people in charge. They were all top technical experts, most of whom came from several high-efficiency universities in Jinling City, especially some professors from the Royal Institute of Technology. Some are technology leaders in major government-run research institutes.
These technical experts from a third party conducted a detailed inspection of many details of the train and signed their names, so the quality of the inspection report was enough to gain his trust.
After reading for another ten minutes, Shi Jinghuan said: "Since everything is ready, then come with me to the interview with the Holy Spirit!"
——
Soon, Shi Jinghuan took Wu Pengyou to the last passenger carriage. After bowing respectfully, Shi Jinghuan said: "Your Majesty, the train is ready and can be started at any time!"
Luo Zhixue smiled: "Okay, now that you are ready, let's start!"
After finishing speaking, he glanced at Wu Pengyou beside him and said immediately: "Wu Aiqing, you did a good job this time. You were able to overcome all difficulties and develop a high-pressure steam engine with a firm direction, and further designed and built a train, an important instrument of the country. Very good!"
A simple sentence, especially the word 'very good' at the end, immediately made Wu Pengyou's face turn red, and then he knelt down with a snap: "I... I can develop a train, a nationally important weapon for your majesty, that is It is your duty as a minister, and it is even more of an honor!”
Luo Zhixue still smiled and stretched out his hand to help: "Get up quickly, no need to be polite!"
"Okay, I guess you are quite busy today, so go and do your work first, and don't leave until the test is over. There is a banquet at noon, so come with us!"
After hearing this, Wu Pengyou stood up immediately, then bowed and said he obeyed the order, and then withdrew.
Just as Luo Zhixue said, among the many mid-level and senior officials present today, he is the busiest... because he is the specific person in charge of the entire train project test, and is responsible for all matters, especially those involving technology. They all need to be handled by him one by one.
As Wu Pengyou left, several other people glanced at Wu Pengyou's back thoughtfully, especially Shi Jinghuan, the right minister of the Ministry of Communications.
Wu Pengyou himself may not know what the luncheon means, but he knows it very well.
That said, he was not even qualified to attend this luncheon. This kind of luncheon in front of the emperor also had a limit on the number of participants. It was impossible to have hundreds of people.
So there are only three types of people eligible to participate.
One is the top founding hero in the empire, that is, the first generation of dukes and marquises who were granted the title during the founding of the country; Dukes and marquises below the earl or who inherited the title are not eligible to participate.
One is the current high-ranking officials of the empire. The scope of this high-ranking official is also very small, that is, the counselor minister and the co-organizing minister... In the Great Chu Empire, the officials who have entered the imperial study room are the real top-level officials, both civil and military.
The last type is the real academic boss, mainly the deans and deputy deans of several departments at the Royal Institute of Technology, and the academic leaders in science and engineering at several other universities in Jinling City.
He, Shi Jinghuan, was a right-hand minister of the Ministry of Communications, and he was not even qualified to serve tea and water at the front.
But Wu Pengyou was actively invited by His Majesty to participate, which shows how much His Majesty values this person.
In fact, Shi Jinghuan still had some misunderstandings. Luo Zhixue did not mean that he really valued Wu Pengyou alone. He just wanted to convey a message to the outside world, that is, he valued the development of science and technology and also valued the rewards of meritorious personnel. .
This encourages more scientific researchers and officials to work hard...
After all, if you want your people to work hard, clear rewards and punishments are necessary. If Wu Pengyou can lead the team to build high-pressure steam engines and even trains, then Luo Zhixue will not be stingy with his rewards.
This banquet is just an appetizer. Later, he plans to promote him and give him cash and other material rewards.
When he was selected for various scientific awards, he would be given a spot even if it was not possible, so that he could gain both fame and fortune.
These are all basic daily operations for Luo Zhixue, so he doesn't actually take them too seriously.
It's just...Luo Zhixue is the emperor, and his words and actions can change the fate of many people.
——
As Luo Zhixue ordered the test to begin, the technicians quickly completed preparations and began to light the coal stove on the locomotive.
As coal is added to the furnace and burned, the water in the boiler begins to be heated to produce high-temperature and high-pressure steam.
As the water in the boiler continues to be heated, the pressure of water vapor finally reaches a predetermined value.
At this time, as the engineer and train driver loosened the steam valve, high-temperature and high-pressure steam quickly entered the cylinder through the pipe!
The powerful kinetic energy of these high-pressure water vapor begins to push the piston in the cylinder to reciprocate!
The pushed piston itself makes a two-way reciprocating motion in the cylinder, and through the traditional structure, this straight up and down kinetic energy is converted into the rotational kinetic energy of the flywheel, and finally drives the wheel to rotate!
Luo Zhixue, who was sitting in the last carriage, felt the slight shaking of the carriage and heard the sound of friction between the steel wheels and the rails.
Type 21 train is moving!
Although the train was moving very slowly at this time, just moving forward slowly, it was still moving.
The moving train made many people marvel. Some people who were sitting on the train but were timid or had weak ability to accept new things would have broken out in cold sweats involuntarily. If it weren't for the occasion, If you are too serious, you may have to shout "Ghost!" 'Just run away in a panic.
But...at this moment, His Majesty is on the train, and even a blind man can tell from Luo Zhixue's tone that Luo Zhixue attaches great importance to the train.
As a subject of the empire, no matter how you feel about new things like trains, on today's occasion, you must show an expression of curiosity, appreciation, and expectation.
Otherwise, do you want to stand on the opposite side of the emperor?
The train is slowly increasing its speed. At this time, the speed is slower than a person walking. The coal in the boiler of the front of the Type 21 train is burning violently and continues to produce high-pressure water vapor. It is trying hard to pull the train behind it. More than one hundred tons of cargo, passengers and the body of the car itself.
Such a heavy weight is a huge burden for the Type 21 locomotive. After all, its design power is only more than 100 horsepower.
With just this little power, you can pull it, but it will be slow to increase the speed.
But Luo Zhixue was not in a hurry. He was now sitting on the seat, calmly waiting for the train to slowly pick up speed.
While he was waiting, the Type 21 locomotive, with its continuous efforts, drove the eighteen carriages behind from the initial movement, to the speed of people running, and then further increased to the speed of people running.
At this time, Luo Zhixue looked at the cavalrymen of the Fourth Cuirassier Regiment who were protecting them outside the carriage. At this time, these cavalrymen had already started their horses and were trotting. Whether they were cavalry or warhorses, the overall situation was relatively relaxed. of.
But Luo Zhixue knew that these cavalrymen might complain soon.
Because war horses will get tired, but trains will not...
It can run for dozens of kilometers along the railway line without stopping, and the speed will get faster and faster, reaching a speed of twenty kilometers per hour.
At that time, it will not be easy for the cavalry of the 4th Cuirassier Regiment to keep pace with them.
Of course, this train test will not last long, because the railway will only be ten kilometers long once it is completed. It will turn when it reaches the dock and then run back.
The 4th Cuirassiers Regiment had also made a plan and had prepared spare horses along the way... and then the horses were changed without changing the people in the process.
They don't even need to prepare extra spare horses... they have enough spare horses themselves.
After all, their fourth cuirassier regiment is a standard heavy cavalry, and riding three horses alone is the standard configuration.
After using the spare horses in this way, the cavalry of the 4th Cuirassier Regiment can accompany them throughout the entire journey!
As a result, ordinary people watching the ceremony from a distance saw a very strange, even bizarre scene.
Hundreds of cavalrymen galloped along both sides of the railway line... In the middle of these cavalrymen was a dark train braving the white mist, making clanging, clanging sounds as it advanced simultaneously.
It seems like the two are racing!
When people saw this scene, some smart people had already guessed that the Holy Lord might be in the car... After all, no one except Luo Zhixue could control hundreds or even thousands of Guards cavalry in Jinling City these days. I followed the train all the way.
It seems that His Majesty attaches great importance to this train. Maybe this train has a great future?
Some people are already thinking about how to get involved in the railway industry. Direct investment in the construction of railways is naturally impossible. In the Dachu Empire, commercial railways are under the jurisdiction of the Railway Management Office, and private individuals or other institutions are not allowed to participate.
There is no hope for the railway, but there is hope for the train, because the company that built the train is a commercial company, and it is also a company listed on the Jinling Stock Exchange.
Some people are already thinking about increasing their efforts to buy the company's shares. Although the shares of Guangzhou Machinery Company have been rising during this period after the news of the development of high-pressure steam engines came out, it seems that there will definitely be more to come. Big room for growth.
Today's high position is not the ceiling!
Of course, there are still very few people who can guess some things and analyze them from the superficial things, and then decide to invest in Guangzhou Machinery Company stocks. Most people only see the running train and marvel at it!
The Type 21 train continued to move forward, and finally reached the dock on the Yangtze River. After turning around at the station there, it headed towards Yuhuatai Station again.
Various tests such as deceleration or acceleration were also carried out during the process.
After waiting for the train to return to Yuhuatai Railway Station, Luo Zhixue stepped off the train in a great mood, ending the first public long-distance train operation test in the Chu Empire and even in the entire history of mankind.
However, Luo Zhixue did not leave immediately, but continued to stay in this place.
Today is not only to watch the train test, but also to go for an outing. In the afternoon, he will take a group of concubines and children to the Yuhuatai to climb up and have a long view.
Although Yuhuatai is only a small hill, only a hundred meters high, it is considered a small mountain near Jinling City. The most important thing is that it is close to Jinling City and has been famous since ancient times.
In the Ming Dynasty, it was already one of the eighteen scenic spots in Jinling. In later generations, Emperor Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River several times to enjoy the scenery, and he visited Yuhuatai several times.
Luo Zhixue himself often brings his family here to climb high and look far!
It can be regarded as a traditional activity of the royal family. It comes almost every year, but it was not so big in the past.
While Queen Wang was still chatting and laughing with a group of female relatives, and it was still early for the luncheon, Luo Zhixue simply called all the ministers who were present today, and the monarchs and ministers were drinking in a tent. Drink tea, eat snacks, and talk about the train casually.
After taking a sip of tea, Luo Zhixue was the first to speak: "This train is a good thing. We have to find a way to build the railway later and make the train run!"
"With the huge transportation volume and convenience of trains, once they are rolled out, they will definitely become the main blood vessels of our country. Products from all over our country can be transported from the place of origin to various places through the railway network."
"The wool from the homes of northern herdsmen can be transported south by train to wool spinning factories. After the wool spinning factories process the wool, they can then transport the wool products to markets in various places and reach the hands of the people of the empire!"
"Grain produced in the Northeast Plains can be transported to the port via convenient and cheap trains, and then transported by sea to the food consumption areas with large populations in the south, or simply transported directly to the North China Plain or even Shanxi and other places via railway lines!"
"By the way, I heard that there is a lot of coal in Shanxi, but it is difficult to transport it, so that the local area is unable to earn income from holding a large amount of coal. If a railway can be built to transport the coal, then it will be very beneficial to Shanxi, which has a lot of people. The role of poverty alleviation and prosperity in places with little land will undoubtedly be huge!”
"Not only Northeast and Shanxi, but also some specialties from other places can be transported by railway, thus helping local people get rid of poverty and become rich!"
“As more basic agricultural products and industrial raw materials flow into industrial zones and cities from their production areas, the industrial products produced by factories can also be transported to various places through cheap railway transportation, which not only allows enterprises to Obtaining more markets, more profits, and allowing people to obtain industrial products at cheaper prices!"
Luo Zhixue was already a little excited as he spoke. He didn't care whether these ministers could understand the huge development opportunities contained in his words, but the establishment of the Great Chu Empire had already appeared in his mind. With the establishment of a huge railway network, all industries have developed vigorously and people's living standards have improved.
"It's not just railways. Isn't this high-pressure steam engine already developed? Since it can be used on trains, it can also be used on ships. If the high-pressure steam engine is installed on a battleship, then our battleship will be able to get rid of its dependence on wind power. , you can turn the course anytime and anywhere to seize the opportunity in naval battles.”
"When installed on merchant ships, our merchant ships will not need to consider the monsoon when they go to sea. They can sail even in headwind seasons."
"And more importantly, if high-pressure steam engines are installed on inland river vessels, inland river transportation will become more convenient. Inland river vessels can go upstream quickly and easily, without the need for trackers or wind direction!"
"At that time, the empire's inland rivers and coastal river transport networks, together with the railway network, will become the blood vessels of the empire, promoting the further in-depth development of the empire and further improving the people's living standards!"
When Luo Zhixue said this, he was already looking forward to the grand scene of countless trains running on the railways and countless ships sailing on rivers, lakes and oceans.
Because by that time, the Chu Empire would have ushered in the industrial era in the true sense!
Although strictly speaking, the Chu Empire opened the door to the industrial revolution with the textile industry twenty years ago. In the past few years, low-pressure steam engines were developed and gradually applied in some industries.
But generally speaking, the vast majority of people still cannot feel the atmosphere of the so-called industrial age.
Especially for the people in rural areas, their movement distance is limited and they work on the land all year round, although they use mechanized agricultural tools, cooking utensils, daily tools, etc. produced by factories.
But these iron products actually hardly remind them of what the industrial era was, and they don't even know what the factories of this era looked like.
But it’s different if it’s a train or a ship!
Even an ordinary farmer can feel the atmosphere of the industrial age when he sees the train speeding across the fields and the windless automatic ship on the river.
If they take a train or ship when they go out to other places, the feeling will be even deeper.
Well, this is just about feeling.
What is really important is that with the large-scale popularization of railways and ships, the circulation of goods will be more convenient and cheaper, which will allow farmers to obtain more sources of income.
There is a saying from later generations that is also applicable to the Chu Empire today, that is, if you want to get rich, you must first build roads.
This road represents the convenience and cost of transporting goods.
As long as many local products, especially agricultural products and cash crops that are closely related to farmers, can be transported at a relatively low cost, farmers' income can be increased.
In the contemporary Great Chu Empire, the ordinary official roads, horse-drawn carriages and even sailing ships that seemed to be numerous and popular in the past did not actually change much the living standards of the people at the bottom.
But railways and ships are different.
No matter how bad it is... it is more convenient for young people in rural areas to go to the city to work and make money.
When Luo Zhixue was thinking about a lot of these things, the important ministers of the empire also had their own ideas. They were not fools. On the contrary, they were able to fight their way up among the countless officials of the Great Chu Empire and become one of the few. One of the few important ministers, all of them are human beings.
There is no need for Luo Zhixue to say too much. They can basically see the huge promotion effect of the popularization of trains and ships.
However, some people have also thought of a problem, that is, trains are cheap, but building railways is expensive!
It has not been a year or two since the Great Chu Empire built railways. The mine bosses have been playing with railways for more than ten years, so many people know a little about the cost of railway construction.
Overall, the cost of building a 1.5-meter standard gauge wrought iron railway in the Chu Empire is about 20,000 Chu Yuan per kilometer in plain terrain.
This is only the construction cost of the railway itself, and does not include land acquisition costs, train costs, or the construction costs of infrastructure such as railway stations.
Just the cost of building the rail line itself.
This price is very expensive, and this price is only the cost of building a railway on plain terrain.
If you build a railway in a mountainous area, the price will easily double... After all, in a mountainous area you still have to excavate land foundations, dig tunnels, and build a large number of high-demand railway bridges... That's because labor costs are low these days. But there is also a lack of a large number of construction machinery. Relying solely on hoes for infrastructure construction is very inefficient.
Therefore, depending on the terrain, the final cost of building railways in mountainous areas may be one or two times or even several times that of plain terrain.
Regardless of whether it is plain terrain or mountainous terrain, railways are very expensive things, costing millions or even tens of millions.
And the Da Chu Empire’s finances don’t have that much money to build railways…
The empire seems to have more than 200 million in central fiscal revenue, but this central fiscal revenue is undoubtedly a drop in the bucket for railway construction, which requires tens of millions of investments.
To build the railway, I'm afraid we have to resort to loan financing.
Because railway construction is expensive, some senior officials of the empire are thinking that since they already have high-pressure steam engines, they might as well vigorously develop the inland waterway and coastal shipping industries.
With steamships, all big and small rivers can be run. It is simpler and cheaper than railways, and it does not require any official investment. As long as the news is released and a little policy support is given, a large number of private individuals or companies will join in the effort.
But no matter what, the development of trains and steamships has become a foregone conclusion. Next is the question of how to do it, and these specific issues will naturally not be discussed for now.
This kind of informal chat between monarchs and ministers naturally cannot be said to directly finalize any detailed plans. It is just a few casual conversations between everyone, and some preliminary general directions are proposed.
And this general direction has been determined, that is, trains and steamships must be developed, and they must be developed vigorously.
Luo Zhixue and these important officials of the empire must go back and think about the rest of the matter, and then come up with some constructive plans after careful consideration. In the end, everyone can discuss and get the matter done.
Luo Zhixue was drinking tea and chatting with several important ministers in front, while finalizing the strategic direction of the empire to vigorously develop trains, ships and large industries with high-pressure steam engines as the core.
Queen Wang and a group of ladies also ran to the side of the train to watch the excitement.
The gap between men and women is still very serious these days. Although everyone travels with their women, in fact from the road to here, the men basically stay together and the women stay together.
Even underage boys who are slightly older can only stay with their father and brothers at the front.
Of course...except for Luo Zhixue who brought some underage princes and princesses over, in fact, none of the ministers really brought little kids over. Those who brought over were all teenagers. These teenagers The child came here today just for a blind date.
On another occasion and at another time, you would really be hard-pressed to find so many unmarried children from the families of powerful and high-ranking officials.
Luo Zhixue knew about this and expressed his support.
Because it was Queen Wang’s suggestion to let the ministers bring their underage children with them.
Queen Wang's idea was simple. She felt that there were several children in the royal family who were getting married, whether they were princesses who were getting married or princes who were getting married.
I would take this opportunity to take a look at the children of the ministers and see if I can choose a few suitable ones.
In order to solve marriage problems for their children, not only Queen Wang was worried, but even Luo Zhixue was not allowed to pay much attention.
Who allowed him to have many children...
The total number of sons and daughters is more than thirty...
It will be difficult to get married once there are more children!
(End of chapter)
