The fan is actually a very simple thing to invent at this stage.
For example, the simplest one is a mechanical fan.
Propellers had long been tested in shipyards because there had been no rubber so sealing was a problem.
Of course, this is not the problem here now, but the propeller is rotating. If you turn the suitable fan blades, it will become a fan when it rotates!
In addition, you can also use an electric fan. The application of motors and electromagnetic induction principles is still a simple matter for today's Daming.
In the final analysis, there is still stable power, no matter what kind of power it is, the result of applying this power.
Just do it, Zhang Mingwei immediately asked them to make the fan blades at the steam engine factory. He also gave them some guidance on what they should look like, and they were directly the three-leaf type.
It only took two days to make a large fan, which was hung on the roof and rotated, blowing strong winds.
This wind is naturally not a cold wind, but because the craftsmen are covered in sweat, the wind can help them cool down.
When Emperor Chongzhen heard about it, he immediately issued an order to install fans in the palace.
It's not that the palace is too hot and needs fans urgently, but it's a new thing, a trend.
In response, Zhang Mingwei shook his head. If mechanical fans were installed in the palace, it would be too noisy. How would senior Ming officials do their jobs?
Therefore, he spent five or six days and led the craftsmen to make an electric fan, which made no sound.
Naturally, Daming may set up a profitable company again.
Emperor Chongzhen looked at the rotating fan above his head and said happily: "The wind is rising from the flat ground. Hehe, I have cracked another magical power that can only be found in myths!"
"..." Zhang Mingwei was speechless, he could relate to this.
So, he pointed at the rotating electric fan and immediately smiled at Emperor Chongzhen and said, "Your Majesty, this can actually crack another of the most common and most desirable magical powers in mythology!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but be surprised, and then he was overjoyed and asked quickly: "Sir, what is it? Tell me quickly!"
At this time, only Wang Cheng'en, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony, was with him. He was also curious. He stared at Zhang Mingwei and felt a little emotional in his heart. There are too many things in this later generation. Isn't it too powerful?
Just listen to Zhang Mingwei saying to Emperor Chongzhen: "If you change the direction of this fan, the wind it blows will blow upward, which can generate buoyancy and can take people to the sky. In other words, people can fly in the sky with the help of this thing." .”
Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen was shocked on the spot.
It can be said that this dream of people flying into the sky is what everyone yearns for. Therefore, humans have imagined gods, and one of their most basic skills is to be able to fly.
At this time in the Ming Dynasty, there was a man named Wan Hu who worked hard for this and figured out a way to launch it with a rocket, tied to a stool and carried up to the sky. As a result, he did not live as long as the panda in Kung Fu Panda, and he paid the price with his life. !
Some time ago, Emperor Chongzhen heard Zhang Mingwei imagine that humans can fly in the sky with the help of tools. He even saw airplanes in that documentary.
But he only saw the airplane and knew it could fly; but now, when Emperor Chongzhen heard Zhang Mingwei say from the fan, or ceiling fan, that humans can fly, he suddenly felt that he was close at hand, and he immediately became ecstatic. Asked: "Can you really fly?"
Seeing that he was so excited, Zhang Mingwei had no choice but to tell the truth and poured cold water on him: "Theoretically, it is possible, but in practice, it is not possible yet."
As he spoke, he pointed at the ceiling fan and said: "This needs to rotate fast enough and cause enough buoyancy. However, the current steam engine that can continuously provide power is too bulky. It is impossible to use the power of the steam engine to generate enough buoyancy. It’s possible. A new type of power must be used to make this possible.”
Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but sigh and said: "Sure enough, flying into the sky is not that easy!"
Seeing how disappointed he was, Zhang Mingwei had to comfort him and said: "But if you just want to go up to the sky to see the scenery, it's actually easy. Didn't we just have rubber? We can make a huge Kongming Lantern and take people up to the sky to see the scenery. "
"That's right!" Emperor Chongzhen was overjoyed when he heard this. He nodded and said, "The sky lantern can fly into the sky. It's a huge sky lantern. There won't be any problem if you bring someone with you, right?"
Having said this, he looked at Zhang Mingwei and asked with expectation: "How about making one?"
After hearing this, Zhang Mingwei immediately smiled and said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, these rubber resources are very precious now. I originally wanted to use them on the blades, and even divert some more to make rubber gloves and the like, and prepare for chemistry. , to significantly upgrade the Ming Dynasty’s ordnance, which one does Your Majesty want?”
"..." Emperor Chongzhen was stunned when he heard this.
Wang Chengen was in the same situation, a little dumbfounded, feeling that countless good things could emerge from Duke Xingguo.
After coming back to his senses, Emperor Chongzhen immediately asked Zhang Mingwei excitedly and with great expectations: "Sir, this ordnance is undergoing a major upgrade. How will it be replaced?"
When Zhang Mingwei heard this, he did not tempt him and replied with a smile: "Muskets and artillery are breech-loaded, somewhat similar to the Franco machine gun, but much better than the Franco machine gun. There is no need to replace the barrel, but the lead bullets are directly removed from the gun barrel." With the rear installation, even with this, you can have continuous firing muskets. Compared with the current ordnance, it is completely in the sky and on the ground!"
Emperor Chongzhen's eyes shone when he heard this, and he immediately thought of the machine guns that kept clicking in the documentary.
Seeing him like this, Zhang Mingwei smiled again and said: "Weren't you worried that after our military equipment was sold to Portugal, it would be copied by the enemies of the Ming Dynasty? It doesn't matter. After we have this new type of ordnance, even if they Even though you have learned how to use rifled guns and the like, you can still defeat them!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen grabbed Zhang Mingwei and said: "Sir, since you can do such a good thing, why didn't you do it before? You can't hide this thing!"
"..." Zhang Mingwei was a little speechless when he heard it, so he had to explain to him, "Your Majesty, the so-called technology tree. Technology tree is a technology similar to a tree. It must have roots first before it can have leaves and then it can blossom and bear fruit. If the preposition If the technology is immature, how can we create more powerful things in the future?”
Hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen felt a little embarrassed and asked Zhang Mingwei: "Is it okay now?"
"Well, it's almost time to try it." Zhang Mingwei nodded and said, "But it's not easy. Many links need to be tested. It will take a long time to really make it usable. Therefore, The original firearms and the like should still be used, and when the time comes, we can sell the original firearms and artillery to the vassal countries."
It’s absolutely okay to listen to it without wasting it. Emperor Chongzhen immediately nodded and said: "Sir, what you said makes sense. Anyway, you can take care of it yourself, whatever works best for you. If you need me to allocate any manpower and material resources, just ask!"
When it comes to military and national weapons, such as the huge Kongming Lantern, he has completely forgotten about it.
What Zhang Mingwei was referring to was preparing to invent white gunpowder, which is mercury fulminate. It is actually not easy to do this. There are a series of prerequisites.
In later generations, when he was writing about historical time travel, he checked how to open this technology tree. Therefore, in theory, he knew how to do it, but he didn't actually try it, so he told Emperor Chongzhen for a relatively long time, and the original firearms would continue to be used.
Fire cotton, also known as gunpowder cotton, its scientific name is nitrocellulose. Its explosive power is 2 to 3 times greater than that of black powder, its combustion is stable, and its ballistic energy is good. And its combustion is very complete, and there will be no problem of carbon deposits on the barrel.
In addition, fire sponge burns without moisture and only has weak white smoke, so it is a type of smokeless gunpowder.
In fact, this was the earliest smokeless gunpowder.
In the process of making collodion, rubber gloves and a fan are required. In the later stage, a thermometer is required to control the temperature to obtain ether, etc.
After a series of operations, the final white powder can be obtained, commonly known as white gunpowder.
White gunpowder is characterized by a relatively low temperature and low requirements on gun barrels, but its power is three times that of black gunpowder, so its dosage can be reduced, which is of great benefit to reducing the weight of infantry and saving the consumption of nitric acid and gunpowder.
In addition, white gunpowder burns faster than black powder, so it can provide a higher muzzle velocity, which means that the bullet mass and bullet caliber can be further reduced, further reducing the bullet weight.
Another great advantage is that compared to black gunpowder, which produces sulfides after burning, white gunpowder burns completely without leaving any residue, so it can greatly increase the life of the barrel and cause less wear on the rifling.
In the military industry, the risk is too high, so we can only do it step by step.
Once the white powder is produced, other issues such as copper percussion fuses, firing pin guns, fully loaded ammunition, etc. are just process issues, which are relatively simple.
As for nitroglycerin, that is too dangerous. Zhang Mingwei doesn't want to die young, and he doesn't want the few talents nowadays to play with it, so he will let it go for now.
Of course, there is also a more stable TNT, which is yellow gunpowder. This involves the recovery and refining of benzene. For now, it is not realistic. Let’s put it aside for now.
In this way, what Zhang Mingwei had to do was to invent gunpowder first so that Ming's military industry could take a big step forward.
But even so, he probably won't be too busy. After all, his energy can't just be focused on this aspect. The use of rubber will take most of his energy.
The twenty-two years of Chongzhen passed so quickly.
