Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 328 The Dawn of Science and Technology
"According to our newspaper, since this newspaper reported ten days ago that Binhai Shipyard had started building ships, a large number of Beijing residents have rushed to Tianjin... During the ten days, the garrison troops in the capital were dispatched to maintain order on the Beijing-Tianjin Highway, ensuring that the speed of travel on the highway reached at least 80% of the usual speed. The local people in Tianjin provided tents, porridge sheds, etc. in a timely manner, so that the visiting people had food and shelter. With the assistance of the Tianjin Garrison, Jinyiwei and other institutions, Binhai Shipyard quickly formulated a reception plan... Overall, during the ten days, hundreds of thousands of people from Beijing and its surrounding areas collectively visited Tianjin, and more than 99% of them were led into the shipyard to visit the large ships that our Ming Dynasty was building. The whole process was orderly, and there was no stampede. There was no case of relatives getting lost or even children getting lost.
During the whole visit, His Royal Highness, the Second Grandson of the Emperor, personally served as the tour guide. In plain language, His Royal Highness explained in detail to the people visiting the shipyard the main parameters and technical difficulties of the two-level warships currently being built by the Ming Dynasty...
During the interview, our reporter was surprised to find that the eldest granddaughter of the emperor was also in the shipyard! It was said that they were sent by Fangshan School to come here for their annual internship - teaching the children of the boatmen was their internship.
The royal family treated the people so well that whether it was on the scene at that time or in the writings of reporters more than ten days later, it really made people cry with gratitude. As the saying goes, after this incident, the people of our Ming Dynasty are now grateful and want to repay the kindness. If the Ming Dynasty is like this, if we are united, some clowns will be wiped out overnight!
In addition, according to our newspaper, today, chambers of commerce in various places have issued statements in major newspapers across the country. They said they would do their best to stabilize prices and ensure that the prices of various commodities such as food would not soar due to the recent war in the Ming Dynasty. At the same time, the chambers of commerce also issued a warning to merchants in various provinces, saying that anyone who dares to disrupt prices will be unanimously attacked by the chambers of commerce in various provinces..."
"Did you finish reading?"
"Yes, teacher, I have finished reading."
“Well…” Zhao Shizhen, who was already 73 years old this year and whose hair and beard were completely white, stretched out his hand, and one of his students came over and helped him stand up from the soft chair.
He took the cane and slowly walked to the window. He breathed a sigh of relief, "You are still young. In this room, except for me, the oldest is only 23 or 24 years old. But you can't understand the significance of this report."
"Yes, please advise me, teacher."
"Well, I was selected by the Crown Prince thirteen years ago. Haha, thirteen years ago, this country was full of refugees, and the people just hated the endless collection of debts by the officials. At that time, I couldn't imagine the situation today... Thirteen years have passed, and this country has become stronger and stronger under the leadership of the Crown Prince, and many problems that plagued the Ming Dynasty in the past have been solved one by one. Now, there is a close relationship between the monarch and the people. Even those businessmen who do not work for profit are willing to sacrifice for the country this time... Alas, it's a pity that I am not up to the task. After so many years, I still haven't completed the important task entrusted to me by His Highness to develop smokeless gunpowder and machine guns."
"Teacher, what are you talking about? Although we haven't been able to develop safe and stable smokeless gunpowder over the years, we already have gunpowder that doesn't leave much ash after burning."
"Hmph, what are you talking about? That batch of gunpowder is extremely unstable. It will spontaneously ignite and explode if you are not careful. How can such a thing be handed over to the army? I am afraid that the commanders of the army will be reimbursed during transportation! You guys, if you have the heart to say these useless words of comfort to your master, why don't you honestly experiment with various formulas slowly."
"Yes, teacher, your advice is correct. I, the students, feel ashamed."
"Hmm..." Pulling his beard, Zhao Shizhen continued, " How was the experiment on the No. 35 gun barrel yesterday?"
"Teacher, yesterday we conducted three experiments using nitrocellulose gunpowder. In the first two experiments, the No. 35 gun barrel withstood the continuous firing of a thousand bullets in a short period of time. The barrel itself did not show any obvious qualitative changes except that it became hot. In the third experiment, the bullet exploded after entering the ammunition compartment and was destroyed before it was fired. Later, the students simply put more bullets into the barrel and detonated it, and cracks appeared in the barrel, but the cracks were no more than one millimeter..."
"Well, this barrel should be able to withstand the heat from the continuous jet of firepower from smokeless gunpowder when it is truly put into practical use in the future and used in machine guns. Um, Master, remember that this barrel has boron added to it, right?"
"Yes, the students didn't expect that adding boron would have such a significant improvement on the gun barrel."
"Well, so, it's just as Your Highness said. Materials science is the foundation of everything. If I had realized this 20 or 30 years ago, how could I still be trapped by smokeless gunpowder?"
Um, teacher, smokeless gunpowder is mainly about finding the formula. Is it different from material science?
Although they secretly complained in their hearts, Zhao Shizhen's students did not dare to say anything - this old man was very kind on weekdays. Although the salary was very high, the old man often used money to support students - not only his own students, but also other students of Fangshan. As long as they were poor and had real talent, he would support them generously. So the students were not afraid of him.
The main problem is that the old man's body has inevitably begun to decline due to his age. Over the years, the students have watched their teacher grow old, while the things he cares about most have never made decisive progress. How can everyone have the mood to argue with their teacher?
"What about marine steel?"
"Teacher, there are currently three types of ship steel that have been finalized. The hardest No. 3 steel, when the thickness reaches 40mm, can already withstand the current 150mm muzzle-loading guns at about 800 meters - the shells can only cause dents in the steel plate, but cannot penetrate the steel plate. At the same time, students have soaked No. 3 steel painted with No. 5 anti-rust paint in sea water for a year. There is some rust, but the degree of decay is very low. Such steel can still effectively defend against 150mm cannons when brought ashore."
"Good, good. At least we are ahead in terms of steel. Now, all we need is smokeless gunpowder and steam engines!"
…
"Kengkong, kengkong..." Just as Zhao Shizhen and his students were summarizing their recent scientific research, in another core area of Fangshan Laboratory, Xu Guangqi also waited here for a long time with his students.
"This experiment has lasted for 48 hours, consuming a total of 15 kilograms of coal. Currently, there is no obvious abnormality in the boiler, and the pressure gauge index is stable.
The bearing movement time has reached 47 hours and 23 minutes. There is no obvious abnormality in the bearing and no obvious jamming during movement.
The bearing-linked lifter has lifted a hundred kilograms 42,158 times. The speed is constant, with each lift completed in about 4 seconds.
Lubricating oil has not been added after the machine was started, and currently about 30% of it has been consumed.
After repeated calculations, the thermal efficiency ratio of the steam engine used in Experiment No. 18 reached 5% in this experiment!
Teacher, this experiment is considered a success!"
"Haha, good, good!" Xu Guangqi, who was also 55 years old this year, had to undertake heavy work in the Ministry of Industry on weekdays. In addition, he was not young anymore. He had been working for two whole days in a row. At this time, he could not bear it anymore.
During these two days, it wasn't that no students asked him to take a rest. He didn't act pretentiously, he really found a bed and went to sleep - but he couldn't sleep at all.
Fortunately, this steam engine has finally been working for two days, and according to His Highness, a steam engine is qualified if its thermal efficiency ratio can reach 3%. So at this time, Old Xu finally relaxed the tension in his heart.
As he relaxed, he naturally felt very tired. So Xu Guangqi waved his hand and said, "Make detailed records of this experiment. Based on this experiment, you should come up with a perfect plan as much as possible. In particular, how to recover some kinetic energy and improve the thermal efficiency as much as possible... After I get enough sleep, I will go to His Highness to approve the funds for you. Next time, we will use a larger experimental model! I believe that the Ming Dynasty will enter a new era in the next one or two years!"
"Yes, I will obey your orders! Please take care of yourself and go back to rest early."
"Of course, I am not as strong as you." After saying this, Xu Guangqi looked up at the sun rising in the eastern sky outside the glass window: "Now, all we need is smokeless gunpowder!"
