Climb aboard, ascend.
Zhu Yunwen stood on the deck, facing the cold north wind.
Although Wan Haiping tried to persuade Zhu Yunwen to get off the ship, he had no choice but to go ahead and introduce the steam ship: "After improving the steam engine to a horizontal type, according to the ideas provided by the emperor, we designed reciprocating push rods. These rods were eventually combined with The transmission gear connection transmits power through gear meshing, drives the iron propeller to rotate, and stirs the water flow..."
Zhu Yunwen nodded with great satisfaction. Through exploration and practice, these craftsmen finally figured out the operating principle, conduction principle and conduction method of the steam engine. All that was left was to improve the heat conduction efficiency of the steam engine and reduce the conduction energy consumption.
As long as improvements continue, the steam engine will inevitably become the most shining thing in this era.
"let's start."
Zhu Yunwen entered the cabin and looked at the steam boiler that was already heating.
Wan Haiping arranged for people to add more coal and accumulate more energy. Then at a certain moment, the whistle sounded, and the sound of beep, beep penetrated the sky and spread for several miles.
Gong Shuqiao and others gathered around Zhu Yunwen, reminding Zhu Yunwen to stand firm. Liu Changge felt a sudden sway under his feet and the boat shook violently. Seeing Zhu Yunwen's body leaning slightly, he quickly reached out to help him.
Everyone was well prepared, so there was nothing serious.
After standing firm, Zhu Yunwen felt that the ship was slowly moving forward. The drawbar was connected to the gear, the gear was matched with a bearing, and the bearing was connected to a propeller extending out of the ship.
Get closer and you can even hear the sound of propellers stirring the water.
Zhu Yunwen walked out of the cabin and walked to the deck. He watched the ship slowly leave the shore and head toward the center of the Yangtze River little by little. He commanded: "Go upstream, don't go downstream."
The helmsman was Liang Shangcai from Longjiang Shipyard. After hearing Zhu Yunwen's order, he immediately turned the bow of the ship and sailed upstream.
A column of black smoke billows, and waves bloom in the river.
There was no one on the boat rowing an oar, and no one was rocking the oar, but the boat still stubbornly moved upstream!
Gongshu Qiao was in an excited mood. He scratched his beard and said with pride: "Your Majesty, this is the true path of a craftsman. What a craftsman studies throughout his life should be to solve the problem of working with both hands. Now that we have a steam engine, as long as we provide The Engineering Machinery Institute will be able to drive large ships within half a year."
Large ships!
Tao Zengguang's eyes lit up. If the Ming Dynasty moved the steam engine onto the treasure ship and realized the steam drive of such a huge warship, then the Ming Navy would no longer need to pay attention to the monsoon. It could go wherever it wanted to go at any time, including Nanyang and the East China Sea. Any sea area that can block the Ming Navy.
Wan Haiping looked proud, and the sun shining on his face was full of smiles.
Zhu Yunwen stood on the bow of the boat, looking at the split river and the scenery receding along the way. He couldn't help but be touched. He turned back to the craftsmen and said, "There is no doubt that you have created an era. You are creating an era." Change the world."
Gongshuqiao, Tao Zengguang, Wan Haiping and others couldn't help but laugh.
Since the success of the research on steam engines, everyone has begun to shift their focus to the application of steam engines. However, the development of steam engines is one thing, and the application of steam engines is another. The difference is so big and the difficulty is so great that it cannot be said in just one or two sentences. Make it clear.
The steam engine itself only solves the problem of producing power, but power shortage, power transmission, and power control are all core issues related to application. If these problems are not solved, application will be futile.
It seems to be a simple problem, but in practice it makes the craftsmen suffer a lot. Day after day of research, especially the design of propellers, transmission gears and bearings, is almost torturous to the point of madness.
Fortunately, all difficulties were overcome and we finally achieved what we have today!
Everyone knows the great value of steam power in its application and its significant military significance. These people have never thought that steam would be used for civilian purposes. They only think that it is an important weapon of the country and cannot be used casually.
But Zhu Yunwen doesn’t think so. With the emergence of steam ships and advanced firearms, the Ming Dynasty has surpassed the West on the track of the times. Even now, if you go for a walk in the small river ditch between England and France,
It is estimated that we can only see the ongoing war between Britain and France, as well as their backward firearms.
Although the steam engine does not have much technical content, this thing cannot be made by just finding a blacksmith. Even if it is for civilian or commercial use, no one can simply copy it.
The cost of this thing is so high. How could Zhu Yunwen allow himself to keep spending money on research? Big money still needs to be paid by others, such as Shen Yiyuan and Chang Baiye.
However, it is not their turn to pay for the current steam engines. This can only be done after the navy ships are transformed, after the treasure ships are steam-driven, and after several generations of steam engines are produced, the older generation steam devices can be sold for commercial use in exchange for newer ones. Ongoing research funding…
The ship accelerated, but its speed was still limited, and it was still far from speeding.
"What is the fastest speed of the countercurrent?"
Zhu Yunwen asked.
Wan Haiping took out a booklet and handed it to Zhu Yunwen: "There are some experimental data recorded here. When going against the current, you can cover eighteen miles in half an hour. When going downstream, you can cover three miles in half an hour without hanging a sail. Ten miles."
Zhu Yunwen calculated it and found that the speed of the countercurrent was indeed not ideal enough. If the countercurrent could travel sixty miles in half an hour, then the power of the steam engine would basically be sufficient.
"The efficiency of steam engines still needs to be improved, and the transmission efficiency can be improved. I hope you can develop more advanced steam ships. Remember, there is no end to steam innovation. Don't have the idea of done, the pinnacle. For example, this For propellers, what is the appropriate size of blades? What angle and arc between blades are more powerful? All these require in-depth experimentation."
"Including the transmission gears, I think there are still a few gear configurations. You might as well design a few more sets of plans, configure more gears, and see how they mesh. How many sets of gears can be matched to achieve greater output..."
Zhu Yunwen talked about the points that could be improved, and Wan Haiping and others quickly ordered people to bring pen and ink to record it.
Gongshuqiao admired Zhu Yunwen very much and sighed repeatedly: "The emperor is the real craftsman. Although he is not involved, he is involved in everything."
Tao Zengguang smiled and agreed: "No, many of the skills and thoughts in the Second Artillery Bureau also came from the emperor's hands. I have thought more than once that the emperor knows so much when he has everything in his sight."
Zhu Yunwen smiled and shook his head: "It's just that I read a lot and imagine a lot."
"Imagine?"
Tao Zengguang did not accept this trick at all.
No one can use imagination to create granular gunpowder, no one can use imagination to create medical gauze, telescopes, and new stoves, and no one can use imagination to draw such complex drawings as a steam engine...
Imagination cannot convince people at all.
Zhu Yunwen didn't say anything, but he must have had his own considerations. Tao Zengguang didn't want to ask further questions, but he wanted to confirm one thing again: "Your Majesty, does Feitian really exist?"
Zhu Yunwen knew that flying into the sky was what Tao Zengguang had always pursued. Ever since he sent a pig flying into the sky, Tao Zengguang had begun research on "solid rockets", but he could not control the explosion problem. No matter how many piglets he sent up, In the end, they all fell down, some died, some were eaten afterwards, and some entered the pig pen...
"I can tell you that Feitian does exist, but the current level of research and the power of gunpowder are not enough to achieve Feitian in the true sense."
Zhu Yunwen said firmly again.
Tao Zengguang's heart was filled with power, as long as it was real. He was still young and had plenty of time. However, the injection of solid gunpowder was not always easy to control. How to control the burning process of gunpowder was the key...
Zhu Yunwen pointed to the mast and said to Tao Zengguang: "I have seen a kind of firearm that is ten times higher than this kind of mast. The bottom spurts out raging fire and flies into the sky. The person who flies into the sky lives at the top. in a house."
"Is this so huge?"
Tao Zengguang couldn't believe it. It was ten times taller than the mast. Isn't it thirty or forty feet tall? How much gunpowder does it need to be put into this thing? Does it still count as a firearm? Isn't it just a powder magazine, just in case
It exploded, wouldn't it...
Zhu Yunwen knew that the current Ming Dynasty simply did not have the conditions to develop large-scale firearms, nor did it have any turbine engines, nor even high-performance explosives...
Physics and chemistry have just started in the Ming Dynasty. There is still a long way to go to build a real laboratory, start research on high-performance materials, and start research in the industrial era.
Moreover, there was no electric energy in the Ming Dynasty. Even the understanding of electricity, which is thunder and lightning, and the thunder god that makes thunder and lightning, well, no more. What is electricity, how to make electricity, and how to apply electricity, these are all too far away...
In any case, Zhu Yunwen saw the shadow of the first industrial revolution, and this time it will be started by the Ming Dynasty.
The speed of sailing along the current is much faster, and if you add a sail, the speed is even faster. The sea trial went very smoothly, which also shows that the ingenuity of Ming craftsmen is worthy of praise.
Returning to the Longjiang Shipyard, Zhu Yunwen and others entered the cabin again to discuss the improvement direction of steam ships, and determined nine directions such as high heat transmission, gear combination, and propeller optimization, laying the foundation for the steam ships to become truly practical.
"If you have any difficulties, just tell me."
Zhu Yunwen looked at the hesitant and hesitant craftsmen and couldn't help but ask.
Wan Haiping said: "Your Majesty, there is a young craftsman named Ruan An in the Longjiang Shipyard. He is quite talented. I would like to transfer this man to the research of steam engines."
"Ruan An?" Zhu Yunwen stared: "Is there anything difficult about you?"
Wan Haiping's Adam's apple twitched: "He is a Cochin man, a slave..."
Zhu Yunwen understood that this kind of confidential research was not suitable for a slave to participate, but talents were rare. It was not easy to find someone who could be recognized by Wan Haiping, so he said: "Let him come to see me."
