In the first month of the 16th year of Chongzhen, the new year has arrived.
On this day, Yang Shanlu was working in the special envoy's mansion, and suddenly saw Sun Changming, who was in charge of civil affairs, rushed in, and even because he was too excited, all of them were breathing violently! When he saw Yang Shanlu, he danced and said with excitement: "Master Hou, the thing you said has been invented!"
"What is it?" Yang Shanlu asked immediately when he saw it. Even when he saw Sun Changming's excitement, he still had a faint feeling in his heart... Could it be that thing? What can trigger the first industrial wave
And then, Sun Changming really said what he wanted to hear the most, just as he had guessed: "Master Hou, the steam engine that you mentioned at the beginning is really invented now!"
"Really?" After Yang Shanlu listened, he was also very excited. Oh my God, has the steam engine that he has been looking forward to, the thing that can trigger the first industrial revolution finally invented? Moreover, as a traverser, Yang Shanlu knows the significance of the steam engine to this era, and even its role in his overall planning in the future...
Sun Changming, on the contrary, nodded in excitement and said: "Hou Ye, that's right! And according to the news from the school, this thing is just as you predicted at the beginning, and it will make strange calls from time to time. There is power! Uh, the next official estimates that there are at least three horses... No, the power of four horses!"
"Really?" Yang Shanlu laughed, haha, I'm afraid you have not said at least half of it... You know the power of the machine is very powerful! For example, a marine steam engine in later generations can reach a full 25,000 horsepower!
Even if the current primary product is very rough, it has at least four or five horsepower (the word horsepower is actually a unit of power, under normal circumstances, the power of a horse is about 0.5 horsepower), so this power...
Of course, these are just speculations, and we still need to go to the scene to see what happened. Because this invention is really important, so Yang Shanlu put aside his official duties, and then took Sun Changming to catch up. Go to the site of the invention—that is, the university hall located in Luoyang Mansion.
When Yang Shanlu started the education reform, he chose three university halls as the place for his lectures, so Luoyang Fu University Hall was one of them, and the next month was the first month to get close to the water tower, so he got more guidance from him.
Therefore, it is quite normal that such an epoch-making invention of the steam engine was born in a university hall like Luoyang Mansion.
After arriving at the university hall in Yang Shanlu, he came to a teaching building dedicated to experiments.
Including that in this teaching building at this time, hundreds of students who came to hear the news were already crowded, and with the muffled sound of jets from time to time, these students were very excited... This is the education reform. The results! This is the result of invention and creation!
After Yang Shanlu arrived, he saw a very ugly machine in the center.
Yes, this machine is indeed ugly in his opinion! Not only does it have no sense of beauty, but also the various connected levers, including those that can be called cylinders, pistons, and flywheels, are all made by hand, not through molds. Manufactured, so there is no industrial beauty at all!
Including the "Woo" sound from time to time in the steam engine, there is no even the slightest rhythm to speak of, but it is such an ugly machine that makes these students crazy... because they know that this is a special envoy. What adults care most about! And after spending nearly half a year, they finally made it!
Then they saw Yang Shanlu coming in, they all made way for him together, and Yang Shanlu, after careful observation, especially focused on the simple connecting rod, although it was not dark. The slightest sense of beauty can indeed go up and down, and after regular exercise, Yang Shanlu smiles satisfied.
Yes, this primitive, ugly, looks like something produced in a small workshop, but it is indeed an early steam engine!
In the original history, the steam engine was invented around 1698. In other words, due to his intervention, the steam engine appeared fifty years earlier than in history! Including the inventor has also moved from Europe to China, so this change...
As for the important role of the steam engine, or the important promotion of social development, let alone, but before Yang Shanlu can recover his excitement, he has been surrounded by enthusiastic students: "Special Envoy , Is this thing what you call a steam engine?"
"Special Envoy, is this whining monster really as powerful as you said? And there is no need to rest from morning to night? Just need to boil some boiling water every day to repeat the work?"
I have to say that the students' problems are endless, and some are very simple. Just looking at their thirsty eyes for knowledge, Yang Shanlu laughed... because this is good! It is precisely because of such a thirst for knowledge that is the driving force for mankind's continuous progress!
As for the role of the steam engine, Yang Shanlu simply did an experiment. He arranged all the students at the scene, about a hundred people, and then let them play a tug-of-war match with this steam engine!
Specifically, he first tied a rope to the connecting rod of the steam engine, and then on the other end of the rope, there were 100 students. Then, Yang Shanlu told the students to work together. , But after the connecting rod began to shrink, all the hundreds of students were pulled together by it, so such a powerful force...
"Damn! It's really amazing!"
"If you didn't hear it with your own eyes, who would dare to imagine such a thing!" After experiencing the power of this machine in person, the eyes of these students were shining! The so-called facts speak louder than words, and now it has been proved through practice that this ugly-looking machine is really powerful!
(Calculated with such an early steam engine, it is about four horsepower, and then four horsepower is approximately equal to the power of eight horses, and then the power of a horse is approximately equal to the combined power of ten adult men. In this way, the power of this steam engine The power of about eighty adult men, and the cost it pays is just to boil a little water)
Therefore, the invention of the steam engine is indeed a milestone! Even from Yang Shanlu's uncontrollable smile, they can feel that this machine is more important than they thought!
Of course, this is indeed the case. After all, as a traverser of later generations, Yang Shanlu knows the meaning of the steam engine too much. To be bigger, it opened the era of replacing manual labor with machines! And it can also trigger a profound social change!
To make it smaller, it can be used wherever power is needed...
We can think about it. At this time, in various large and small coal mines, iron ore and other mines in Daming, when a lot of workers were originally needed to pull a basket of heavy ore from a depth of tens of meters, If there is such a steam engine, can the work efficiency be improved a lot
Including the weapon workshop under Yang Shanlu's jurisdiction, the most important gun barrels were originally made by hand by those masters. Not only was it time-consuming and labor-intensive, but there were also deviations in accuracy.
But now? With this powerful and tireless, very standard steam engine shot every time, can we create more and better barrels? And the efficiency can be doubled
Even like the later Ming Dynasty voyages, using steam engines as power is an indispensable marine weapon! So this kind of broad prospects, this kind of function is limitless...
Of course, since it has been invented, it's time to reward the merits. Yang Shanlu then asked: "Then who invented it specifically? The official must reward him heavily!"
At this time, there were five hands raised up. It turned out that the invention of the steam engine was still very rare for this era. So in the end, we worked together. A total of five students got together. After studying day and night, this was the result. Invented.
Of course, in fact, objectively speaking, half of the credit must be attributed to Yang Shanlu... Because there are many key nodes, such as the flywheel, such as the piston that keeps going up and down, all of which are mentioned in advance by Yang Shanlu. point…
But even so, Yang Shanlu fulfilled his promise unambiguously! So soon, someone moved a whole thousand taels of silver! That's a huge pile... Then the five students shared this generous reward!
And don’t look at this reward, it’s shared by five people, but even so, everyone can get a reward of 200 taels of silver!
Moreover, these 200 taels of silver are not a small amount, they are enough for a well-off family to live comfortably for ten years, but now? The time they spend on this is actually only a few months, and these are the children of ordinary people, so this input-output ratio...
So after the five students took the silver, all of them smiled like flowers, including more onlookers, with thoughtful looks in their eyes... Everyone is a student, since They can, so why can't they? Is there a better place to make money than this
And seeing this scene is exactly what Yang Shanlu hopes to see... The steam engine is the driving force to promote the development of the nation, and the university hall he founded alone is the locomotive that unlocks the wisdom of the people and promotes the development of the nation!
Of course, although the steam engine had been invented, Yang Shanlu was not in a hurry to put it into production. Instead, he did the following two points. First, conduct a comprehensive analysis and research to consolidate its performance.
Second, on the basis of analysis and research, make some appropriate optimizations to further consolidate and improve its performance.
And there are many places that can be optimized for a primary steam engine like this. For example, its floor space is almost half the size of a house, so can it be further reduced... Including those parts that are not stopped because of the high work intensity , Is it possible to change from pig iron to mature iron to further improve work stability, etc...
Anyway, after its performance is improved and stabilized, it can be used in practical applications in all walks of life.
Especially for Yang Shanlu, who is most looking forward to, he is already thinking about how to actually use it in the next big voyage.
Because before that, the Spaniards and Portuguese had already embarked on a great voyage, just like in 1573, two Spanish galleons sailed from Manila Port to Acapulco on the coast of Mexico, carrying silk, cotton and 20,000 yuan on board. A piece of exquisite porcelain, and this is the maiden voyage of the so-called "Manila Galleon Trade".
It’s just to be said to be blunt that, in the face of unpredictable ocean-going voyages, such as this kind of reliance on manpower or wind, it is really not very sure.
But now, if there is such a stable and surging power that is truly provided by the machine, then you can truly have confidence and have the power to overcome nature! You have the conditions to start a great voyage at the end of Ming Dynasty...
And as far as the great voyage of the late Ming Dynasty is concerned, with Yang Shanlu’s early attention, everything is ready, only the east wind is owed, and now the most important link, now that the steam engine has been invented, then Yang Shanlu was about to transfer Song Yingxing over.
Originally, Song Yingxing, as his number one scientist, had been working at his headquarters on Yanghe Daodong Road, but now, since the steam engine has been invented, it is time to add his wisdom.
After Yang Shanlu plans to transfer him over, he will participate in the optimization of the steam engine with these students. Or, to be more specific, Song Yingxing was originally responsible for designing the sea ship for ocean navigation, which is the improved version of the Galen ship, but now, You can let him be responsible for integration, that is, how to install the steam engine on the sea-going ship, and the two are matched.
In addition, Yang Shanlu has a lot of talents. He is also planning to invite Mr. Shen Yanyang, a well-known shipping expert at the end of the Ming Dynasty, so that he can also offer suggestions and participate in the great voyage of the end of Ming Dynasty!
And Yang Shanlu believes that with the collection of the smartest brains of this era, the future voyages of the late Ming Dynasty, the seven continents, and the five oceans will no longer hinder him.
After arranging these things, Yang Shanlu was about to leave. Suddenly at this moment, his guard leader Liu Dabangmao walked in from outside the door and said, "Brother Yang, the six hundred li from the capital is urgent. !"
"Oh?" Yang Shanlu raised his eyebrows when he heard it, and it was obviously very important to be able to send it in an expedited six hundred li.
In this case, he took the secret letter and looked at it, but there were only a few words on it, and the secret letter was written to him by Emperor Chongzhen, that is, Emperor Chongzhen asked him to come to the capital immediately. Discuss important things with him!
It was actually written to him by the emperor? Yang Shanlu is a little surprised... You know that the whole world has been smoothed out now, and the governance of the five provinces is also steadily advancing, so there are other important things that I have to discuss with him
And it’s not close here to rush back to Jingcheng Road! However, Yang Shanlu also knew that when he left the capital, he had made an agreement with Emperor Chongzhen, unless something very serious happened, otherwise he would not leave the five provinces easily.
Since this is the case, Yang Shanlu didn't dare to neglect. After mobilizing five hundred guards, he hurried back to the capital immediately... He wanted to see what was the important thing that the emperor needed to call him back himself
Bow and thank my old friend szhbl for his reward! After being blank for seven consecutive days, the white horse has already "give up", and the reward is ushered in. The white horse is still very happy, mainly because there is a kind of motivation when creating, and this is a slightly larger chapter. thank. (End of this chapter)