Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 338 The Beginning of the Industrial Revolution (I)
“Woo~chi~” “Woo~chi~”
In the distance, a large iron object was constantly emitting white smoke and making a loud noise. Then, the complicated levers and pulleys connected to this object began to move in an orderly manner . Afterwards, a large amount of groundwater gushed out from the hollow pipes hundreds of meters underground...
Seeing all this, Richelieu, who had just arrived in the Transcaucasus region and met Ibrahim, was now shocked.
"Dear Pasha, is this what you mean by the steam engine? Can it be used to pump out the groundwater in the coal mine?"
"Ah? Hahaha, Mr. Richelieu, this, using a steam engine to pump out the groundwater in the coal mine to make it easier for workers to dig coal, is just one of the functions of the steam engine. And..."
"and?"
"Besides, I started too late and lacked the accumulation of the entire scientific system. Due to insufficient preparation in materials science, the thermal efficiency ratio of this steam engine is less than 2%. The power generated by consuming one ton of coal to drive the pump can only pump out about three to five tons of groundwater, and then the workers can dig up seven to ten tons of coal. This is the exchange rate." Yiprahin shook his head: "It's better than nothing."
It was October 1617, just 13 months after Ibrahim was sent to serve as governor of the Transcaucasus region.
"I have great admiration for your ability to cross the entire Balkan Peninsula and then cross the Black Sea to come here. I also express my deepest apologies for not being able to send people to meet you in time. Ah, by the way, this is also the first time we meet, right?"
"Yes, although this is the first time I have met you. However, it has been eight years since you sent Aziz to protect and support me. In the past eight years, I have received too much help and guidance from you. Unfortunately, we still did not do well and let the hateful Spaniards occupy France."
"Yes. I am deeply sorry for what happened to your country." After casually agreeing with nothing meaningful , Iprahim invited Richelieu to get in the car: "Please follow me and go to see another factory."
After being sent to Transcaucasus by the Ottoman Sultan, Ibrahim, after repeated discussions with his sipasis, decided to place the Governor's Office in Tbilisi, Georgia - this place is the geographical center of the three Transcaucasian countries. Moreover, with this place as the center, within a radius of 100 kilometers, the minerals needed for industrial development can basically be found within this range.
Now they were going to the industrial zone located on the outskirts of Tbilisi, where a large number of troops were stationed and which Ibrahim had spent a year to build.
"Mr. Richelieu, please look, this is the woolen textile factory. It was just completed and put into production in September this year. Currently, it can produce six tons of wool yarn and half a ton of plush yarn every year. It is expected that next year, as long as the raw materials are supplied, this production capacity can be doubled again...
Well, this is a cotton yarn factory. It can produce more than ten tons of coarse, medium and fine cotton yarn every year...
The third one from this side is a food processing factory that can produce all kinds of canned food. The current production capacity is to produce 10,000 canned fish and 30,000 canned meat per year...
A little further away, near the river, is the paper mill. The current production capacity is not sufficient. It is expected that by the year after next, the paper produced here will be enough for all officials and imams in the entire Ottoman Empire...
All of the above are considered light industries. Please look at the other side with me. This is all heavy industry. Because these things require a lot of investment and higher power requirements. So a lot of factories are still under construction. At present, in my plan, there are cement factories, gunpowder factories, gun factories... These factories have not really been put into production yet, and they will not start to produce until the second half of next year at the earliest. "
"Praise God." After making a cross on his chest, Richelieu said, "Respected Pasha, your wisdom is truly amazing and admirable. Are all these factories powered by the steam engine you just mentioned?"
"Yes." Nodding with some satisfaction, Yiplashin said, "Although the thermal efficiency ratios of these machines are not high now, with me here, their thermal efficiency ratios will soon be raised to 10% or even higher. But then again, the limitations of steam engines are still very large. The simplest one is that if you want more power, you need a bigger cylinder. And the volume of the cylinder is limited, and eventually more cylinders will be needed to continue to expand... But no matter how hard you try, the flash point of the lubricating oil of the steam engine is only about 400°. This alone sets the upper limit of the steam engine..."
He was talking about a lot of professional terms, not noticing that Richelieu was just keeping a stiff smile in an awkward but polite manner.
After Iprahin had finally finished speaking, Richelieu quickly interrupted: "Dear Pasha, before I came to you, I went to Saxony, Sweden, and Bohemia..."
"Hmm? Hmm... Hahaha, interesting, interesting. Isn't this just the Avengers versus the Justice League? Oh, I don't even know who is Iron Man and who is Batman."
"Pasha? What Iron Man Batman?"
"Ah? Hahaha, don't worry about those details. Mr. Richelieu, you did a great job. You have paid so much for the rebirth of your country. I admire you deeply."
"Pasha, no matter how much I do, it is not enough to face those two people in Spain who are in the name of the Lord but are actually the sons of the evil god. My friends in Europe and I urgently need your help."
"...Well, although we have been in contact with each other for eight years through Aziz, in these eight years, apart from asking my father to send the Empire's fleet to attack Barcelona, I have not provided you and France with much substantial help. So, Mr. Richelieu, please give me some time to give me a chance to make up for my previous regrets."
"You are too polite. We have received a lot of help from you over the years. If it weren't for you, France would not have survived for more than a year against the Son of the Evil God. But, dear Pasha, what help can you give us now?"
"Now? No, no, no." Yiprahin spread his hands: "Not now."
"Pasha, the evil alliance in Spain is eyeing the remaining half of Europe."
"I can't do anything about this." Yiprahin raised his hand again, pointed at the factory building and walked around: "You see, I have been here for only a year, and I have just built the light industry factory. I need to have products, and then sell them to make money and complete capital accumulation. After that, I will have more funds to develop heavy industry. You should know that in order to build this batch of light industry factories, I have already prepaid all my dividends within the family for the next 20 years. And I signed an agreement with my brothers to give up the right to inherit all the land within the family in the future... Mr. Richelieu, you promoted the industrial revolution with your own strength, and you can go bankrupt if you are not careful. I am very poor now and I need money! Even the Tbilisi University that I have always wanted to run is still just on the design drawings!"
"Ah? Pasha, how long will this take?"
"Very soon." Yiplashin smiled confidently. "Because of the steam engine, the workers' productivity has increased by more than ten times. In addition, it is very convenient to obtain various raw materials in the Transcaucasus. Therefore, the woolen fabrics, cotton fabrics, paper and so on mentioned earlier are in large quantities, and the price is one tenth of the existing similar items. In this way, at most two years, I will be able to obtain funds to establish a heavy industry system. Then in the third year, a large number of guns and cannons will be produced.
Moreover, Mr. Richelieu, the guns and cannons I produce by then will not be muzzle-loading guns or muzzle-loading smoothbore cannons. They will be breech-loading guns, machine guns, and various breech-loading cannons. "
"Three years. I still need to wait for another three years."
"Yes, at least three years. So, Mr. Richelieu, why don't you stay here and be my political officer? In my governor's palace, there are all kinds of people, including the Star-Crescent Christians, Catholics, and Orthodox Christians, and everyone cooperates very well. You won't feel uncomfortable here."
