Zhu Yunwen also considered the feasibility of manufacturing iron ships. Later generations had machine mining, blast furnace smelting, and electric welding processing. But in ancient times, in the purely artificial era, could iron ships really be manufactured?
the answer is:
able!
No one should underestimate the wisdom and ability of the Chinese people. In the era of poverty and poverty, in the sound of abacus, in the cold wind of hunting on the Gold and Silver Beach, in the day and night study, in the thunder of Lop Nur, it is clear and upright. The proves one point:
Chinese people are wise and capable of solving all problems!
If future generations are like this, shouldn’t the craftsmen of the great Ming Dynasty be like this too?
If there is no machine for mining, then we have to use people to dig. If there is no blast furnace for smelting, then we use a low furnace. If there is no electric welding, then we use a hammer. The iron pot can be wrapped without leaking, but you can't wrap the boat?
In Zhu Yunwen's view, the biggest problem in iron ship manufacturing is not these technical issues, but the power issue.
Generally speaking, iron boats are fine, and they can still run with oars when there is no wind. But if it is a big iron boat, how can it run without wind?
The treasure ship has a long oar, so it can hold on for a while even if it yells and shouts with all its strength. However, a large iron ship is heavier and has a deeper draft. Even if the long oar is broken, it may not be able to provide much power...
After all, iron ships still need to be equipped with steam engines.
It seems that it is necessary to set up a steam dynamics major in the Imperial College, and relying solely on manpower is not an option...
"Your Majesty, we lost."
Liang Shangcai, Wang Er and others lowered their heads, looking guilty.
Zhu Yunwen laughed loudly, waved his hands and said: "Winning or losing is not the result. Understanding the problem and finding the right direction is the result. The ancients had an allusion to Cao Chong calling the elephant. I guess you are familiar with it, so I won't say more. The elephant is on the boat, It’s so heavy and can be supported. Why can’t this iron ship run on water?”
"In the final analysis, we have never thought about making iron ships. After all, wood is available everywhere. It is easy to obtain materials and easy to build. However, iron materials are scarce, so it is a bit wasteful to use them to build ships. In addition, shipbuilding is not easy. Even if someone has done this, I’m afraid I won’t be able to realize my thoughts.”
Liang Shangcai asked in confusion: "Then why did the emperor ask us to build iron ships?"
Zhu Yunwen suppressed his smile and said seriously: "The predecessors did not do it, but our descendants have done it. Doesn't it make us even more great?"
"great?!"
Liang Shangcai didn't quite understand the connotation of this word, but it seemed that he was no longer so confused for the rest of his life, but had a clear direction and a more ambitious goal, which was:
Iron ship!
Zhu Yunwen roughly explained: "In fact, our ancestors have already done research on this aspect, and the Mohists have also discussed it specifically. Let me put it simply, whether the object floats or sinks on the water depends on whether the object is iron, stone, or The wood itself has nothing to do with it, it has to do with the water.”
"this……"
Liang Shangcai and other craftsmen were surprised.
Whether you float on the water or not is not about looking at the objects above, but just looking at the water?
If this is correct, then hammers, hammers, stones... can all float on the water?
Looking at the water?
What's in the water?
Zhu Yunwen explained: "There is a force in the water called buoyancy, which is the force that lifts objects upward and prevents them from sinking. The size of the buoyancy is not determined by the wood or the iron pot, but by the iron pot. It is determined by the volume of water displaced when the wood is placed in water and the density of water..."
"Wait a minute, Your Majesty, what is volume and what is density?"
Wang Eryi's head was so confused that he couldn't understand at all.
Others were not much better, even Huang Fu, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, had a blank look on his face. Although he heard every word the emperor said clearly, he couldn't understand how it was put together.
"Volume is the size of the space it occupies...density...there is also a formula for volume, which is mass divided by density...well, mass can be simply understood as weight..."
"How did it come about? How do I know who came up with the formula..."
"What I mean is that you just need to remember the formulas. Why are there so many? If you want to know, go to the Imperial College to study..."
Zhu Yunwen was very helpless. He was a liberal arts student. He knew that Archimedes' buoyancy formula had proved that he had not slept during class, so he asked himself to give an argument and kicked him into the pool!
If you can deduce formulas and have that mathematical ability, you still need to learn history and ancient Chinese. If you don't learn these, you don't need to go to Nanjing, and you won't miss the Ming Dynasty...
After a rough narration, Zhu Yunwen stopped talking. It was not that he didn't want to continue talking, but his knowledge of engineering and buoyancy mechanics was really limited. Even if he smashed ten apples under the tree, Zhu Yunwen would still chew them. Instead of thinking about gravity...
"That's roughly it. You can figure it out for yourself."
Zhu Yunwen ended the topic irresponsibly, then said goodbye to the craftsmen, and summoned the people in charge of Longjiang Shipyard in a hall. After meeting them one by one, Zhu Yunwen asked: "How many craftsmen are there currently in Longjiang Shipyard?"
Huang Fu originally wanted to speak, but after thinking about it, he had many opportunities to show his face, so he should give others more opportunities, so he took the initiative and said: "Mr. Shuishi is more familiar with this matter, so let him speak."
Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly.
Wan Haiping was very excited and reported: "Back to the emperor, there are currently more than 2,700 craftsmen in Longjiang Shipyard."
Zhu Yunwen rubbed his brows and asked: "If four hundred craftsmen are taken out, how much impact will it have?"
"ah?"
Wan Haiping never expected that the Longjiang Shipyard shouldered the important task of manufacturing treasure ships. The imperial court had attached great importance to it for a long time. Seeing that the previous treasure ship was completed, the second phase of treasure ship construction was about to begin. At this time, craftsmen would be transferred?
Isn't this a self-cut arm?
"answer!"
Huang Fu reminded from the side.
Wan Haiping showed his difficulty and replied anxiously: "Your Majesty, Longjiang Shipyard still wants to expand its scale. If another batch of manpower is transferred, it may affect the later production of treasure ships. Moreover, the Water Department has already drawn up documents and purchased materials from various places. It has also been issued..."
Zhu Yunwen waved his hand and asked: "I'm not asking you this, I just want to ask, how much impact will the four hundred craftsmen have on Longjiang Shipyard, and how much impact will it have on the manufacturing of treasure ships?"
Wan Haiping wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said: "If four hundred craftsmen are deployed, I am afraid that one treasure ship will be reduced and another treasure ship will be delayed..."
Zhu Yunwen pondered for a moment, nodded, and said: "Then allocate five hundred craftsmen, reduce the number of two treasure ships, and build seven treasure ships in one batch at the same time. It will be enough."
"ah?"
It was not only Wan Haiping who was surprised, but also Huang Fu, Zheng He and others.
The treasure ship is so powerful and powerful. As long as you have seen it with your own eyes, you should build it in large quantities. The more the better. Why did you suddenly reduce production at the most critical time?
Zheng He was even more anxious. This treasure ship would definitely cut through the wind and waves when it sailed into the sea. If it were reduced, how could the hegemony of the Ming Dynasty be maintained on the sea if the number of treasure ships was so small in the future?
Zhu Yunwen looked at the surprised people and said: "Why don't I want hundreds of treasure ships to travel across the four seas! However, in the present and in the long run, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal will run through the north and south, and boats will go back and forth. The linkage between the north and the south is the overall situation. On this river , you can’t use sea ships to transport goods, right? I plan to open Qingjiang Shipyard in the Shanyang and Qinghe areas of Huai’an Prefecture, specializing in the manufacture of grain ships, that is, shallow water transport ships and sea transport ships.”
"That's it."
After Zheng He and Huang Fuli thought about it for a while, they understood Zhu Yunwen's good intentions. He not only needed to pay attention to the battleships, but also needed to consider the issue of feeding more people.
Especially in places such as Beiping and Liaodong, there are a large number of soldiers stationed there. It is too expensive to transport food by hand. Now we are starting to build rivers. After the rivers are built, we can't run out of ships to transport food.
Always need to prepare in advance.
Huang Fu suddenly thought of something and advised: "Your Majesty, I think Huai'an may not be the best choice for the new shipyard. There are not many good trees around Huai'an, and shipbuilding requires a lot of wood."
Zhu Yunwen glanced at Huang Fu appreciatively, and he was right.
Shipbuilding requires a lot of wood. Ancient shipyards should be resource-oriented companies. Only by using local materials can they achieve the lowest cost. For example, Longjiang Shipyard has a lot of wood around. Even if the wood is not enough, you can go to Huguang to cut it. By the way Going down the Yangtze River is not too troublesome.
Logically speaking, it is more appropriate to choose the site of the new shipyard in cities along the Yangtze River such as Wuhu and Yizhen. After all, it can be said that this is a place where "four gatherings of businessmen and hundreds of trees meet".
But from the court's perspective, cost is not the first consideration, safety is.
The security here is not about the safety of shipbuilding, but about food security.
Judging from the map of the Ming Dynasty, Huai'an is a very special place. It is located at the intersection of the Grand Canal and the Huai River. It leads to the Yangtze River to the south and is close to the sea to the east. It can be said to be "the key point of the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers, the Cao Canal" throat".
Moreover, one of the eight major granaries built by the imperial court was the Huai'an Granary, and a lot of the grain collected was gathered in the Huai'an Granary.
And here is still some distance from Peiping. Once there is a serious problem in the north, such as Wala fighting through the city gate and approaching Peiping, the imperial army can gallop northward, pass by Huai'an to collect food on the spot, and recruit ships on the spot to go northward for reinforcements.
From a strategic perspective, Huai'an is too important and requires food, ships, and military power.
The economy serves politics, so let’s work harder on wood.
After Zhu Yunwen explained it, Zheng He and Huang Fu also saw the situation clearly and agreed to set up Qingjiang Shipyard in Huai'an.
"Longjiang Shipyard will allocate a small group of craftsmen to study iron ship manufacturing. The Ministry of Industry needs to provide iron ore and iron materials. Are there any problems?"
Zhu Yunwen looked at Huang Fu.
Huang Fu was a little embarrassed and said: "Your Majesty, if this iron ship is just a small ship, there is no harm in trying it. The Ministry of Industry will have no problem adjusting the iron materials. But if it is to build a big ship, it will consume a lot of iron materials. The imperial court's iron ore mining supply , I’m afraid it will be a bit difficult.”
Zhu Yunwen rubbed his fingers, thought for a moment, and said: "I will give you an idea to increase the mining progress. If the mining is accelerated, the Ministry of Industry will have no other problems, right?"
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