***
Li Yi answered excitedly, ran to the boiler himself, picked up a shovel and added coal into the furnace;
Hu Sanze shook the blower vigorously, and the charcoal fire in the furnace became stronger. The large wheel driven by the connecting rod and crank turned faster and faster.
Suddenly, there was a loud "bang!" and steam gushed out. Before Qin Mu could figure out what was going on, Niu Wanshan rushed over like lightning. "King Qin, be careful!" Qin Mu was instantly knocked to the ground by him.
The ground was covered with coal dust, which choked Qin Mu and almost suffocated him.
Li Yi and the others were in a mess, jumping around like shrimps in a frying pan. Qian Xi reacted faster and shouted, "Quick, turn off the steam valve, turn it off..."
"Master Qian, the iron pipe burst and can't be turned off..."
"Then anneal it quickly. Quick, get some water and put out the fire."
The craftsmen finally put out the fire and the steam died down.
Qin Mu propped himself up on the ground for a while, and with a "puff!" he spat out a mouthful of coal dust, and snorted at Niu Wanshan, "Old Niu, hurry up and get up, are you going to crush me to death?"
"Oh!" Niu Wanshan took another look at the dangerous lump of iron, and after making sure that there was no danger, he got up.
Li Shi was a beat slow to react, and came up to him with a guilty look on his face and asked, "King Qin, are you okay? You..." Li Shi originally wanted to express his concern, but when he saw Qin Mu's face covered in coal dust and he almost didn't recognize him, he quickly stopped talking and signaled the guards behind him to fetch water for Qin Mu to wash his face.
Li Yi and a group of craftsmen knelt on the ground and kowtowed in fear. Although the King of Qin seemed not injured, he was still frightened. Moreover, the steam engine had such a problem, and the King of Qin was afraid that he would be furious.
"Please forgive me, King Qin!"
"King Qin, spare my life..."
Twenty or thirty craftsmen knocked their heads against each other, and Qin Mu first confirmed, "Are you injured?"
Li Yi and the others were stunned. Qin Mu did not get angry at this time. He even asked them if they were injured. This was unimaginable. At this time, the status of craftsmen was very low. Li Yi and the others were moved to tears, "King Qin, I am fine. I just burned my feet a little."
"Come here, go find a doctor and give medicine to the injured. Go quickly."
"Yes, King Qin."
Qin Mu checked personally and found that four people were burned. Fortunately, none of them were seriously injured, so he felt relieved.
He walked quickly to the steam engine, looked at it here, shook it there, and felt that the steam engine itself was fine.
The craftsmen ignored the rationality of the steam pipe and made it too thin, so that the part connected to the valve could not withstand the steam pressure and exploded.
Zheng Sen and the others still didn't understand what was going on. But after seeing Qin Mu looking here and shaking there, he suddenly laughed out loud, "Hahaha...steam engine. The steam engine was developed just like that. It's unbelievable. Hahaha..."
Qin was obviously unaware that his face was covered in coal dust. His whole face was black and he was laughing up to the sky, looking extremely funny. Li Shi and Niu Wanshan looked at each other and felt uneasy.
The two of them whispered, "You say."
"you say."
"You were the one who knocked him down, tell me."
"You have no sense of loyalty. I was the one who pounced on the man, so it is you who should speak for him."
"What's wrong with you two? What are you whispering about?" Qin Mu suddenly asked.
"King Qin... um, your face... please wash it first."
Qin Mu touched it casually and wiped off a handful of black ash from his face. Only then did he understand what the two people were whispering about.
He said nonchalantly, "It's just that your face is dirty. What's the big deal? Back then, when I was fighting on the battlefield, my face was covered in dust and blood. I hadn't showered for three days. Isn't it dirtier than this? Just get some water and wash it."
After hearing what he said, Zheng Sen, Shi Lang, Tong Haifeng, Yang Qihuang, Shi Fu, Hong Xishan and Ke Chenshu inexplicably felt more favorable towards him.
Except for Zheng Sen, the other six were men who had been wandering on the sea for many years. They would definitely not like a sissy who made a fuss if his face was a little dirty. Qin Mu's reaction was more in line with his masculinity.
Qin Mu comforted Li Yi and the others with a few words before going to wash his face.
After washing his face, he found that Li Yi and others were still kneeling on the ground in fear. Li Yi kowtowed repeatedly and said, "I have failed the trust of the King of Qin and frightened him. I deserve to die, I deserve to die..."
Qin Mu waved his sleeves and said, "Didn't you hear me when I told you to get up? Who said you failed me? You were able to build a steam engine in more than half a month, and the effect is quite good, which is far beyond my expectations. Come on, all the craftsmen who participated in the research and development will be rewarded with 20 taels of silver each."
"King Qin... ... We, the common people, feel so guilty! We are so lucky that King Qin does not blame us..."
"Stop talking so much. This king likes people who are decisive and efficient. Just accept what is given to you. The steam engine has been developed, but this is only the first step. Don't be satisfied. You must find ways to improve it, make it more efficient and safer.
Also, everything is very crude now, and we can't even adjust the kinetic energy output of the steam engine. If we want to adjust it now, we can only adjust the firepower, which is not enough. Come here."
Qin Mu walked to the steam engine, and Li Yi and the others quickly got up and followed him. Qin Mu pointed at the big flywheel and said, "I will tell you a principle. The small gear drives the big gear, and the speeds of the big and small gears are different. Under the condition that the workmanship of the cylinder remains unchanged, you can switch the big and small gears to adjust the wheel speed of the machine. Do you understand?"
"Understood."
"I have told you everything I know about steam engines. It is up to you to figure out how to improve them in the future."
"Yes, King Qin, I will definitely think about it carefully."
Qin Mu then waved to Zheng Sen and the others, and asked with a smile: "Do you see the function of this steam engine?"
Zheng Sen and his companions looked at each other in bewilderment. Finally, Zheng Sen answered: "King Qin, please forgive our ignorance, but what is this steam engine used for?"
"Hahaha... What is it for? I'll tell you, this is the source of universal power. You all saw it just now, right? When the steam enters here, it can drive this big wheel to spin.
Imagine if this wheel was a spinning wheel, wouldn't it be unnecessary to pedal the spinning wheel? If this was a waterwheel, wouldn't it be possible to pump water from a calm lake to irrigate the fields
If this is the wheel of a carriage, then the carriage can move automatically without the need for oxen and horses; if this is the paddle wheel of a ship, then the ship can sail without sails, and even faster than sailing with sails... In short, there is nothing it can't do, except what you can't think of..."
After hearing what Qin Mu said, Zheng Sen and the other seven were excited. They did see the big wheel spinning very fast, but according to Qin Mu, everything else was secondary. The most shocking thing for them was when Qin Mu described the wheel as a paddle wheel.
Paddle-wheel boats appeared in the Song Dynasty, but because paddle-wheel boats had to rely on human power to turn the paddles, this had great limitations. Paddle-wheel boats were destined to be unable to become larger or sail for a long time, after all, human power was limited.
But what would happen if a steam engine were used to drive the paddle wheels
"King Qin, please forgive me for being blunt, but is this steam engine really that powerful enough to drive a large ship?"
Qin Mu smiled and said, "Before the cannon was invented, no one thought that the cannon would be so powerful. Let me tell you, a sealed iron ball filled with water, theoretically, no matter how thick the iron ball is, as long as you heat it to a certain degree, it can make the iron ball explode. In other words, the heat is enormous, and if you make full use of it, it is nothing to drive a battleship."
After returning to Qiulu Garden, Qin Mu went to the back garden to wash up. When he came out, Zheng Sen and others were still talking about it. They were shocked by what happened today. The rapidly rotating big wheel was still turning in front of their eyes, making them dizzy...
"My dear talents, I am very happy today. Come, I will toast you a glass."
"I dare not. We respect the King of Qin."
"Hahaha... Don't think this is just a trick. Good guns and cannons can gain a huge advantage in war, and the same is true for good warships. I believe that one day, I will let you command the invincible warships of the Qin Dynasty, and sweep across the world. But I don't know if you are willing to be loyal to the Qin Dynasty?"
Qin Mu asked directly, and Zheng Sen and others answered directly: "Your subjects are loyal to the King of Qin. Long live the King of Qin. Long live the King of Qin. Long, long live the King of Qin."
"That's good, that's good! Hahaha..." Qin Mulang laughed a few times and raised his glass again. He knew in his heart that if he asked this question, Zheng Sen and others would definitely not answer "We don't want to be loyal to the King of Qin", which would be tantamount to seeking death;
But whether they are really willing to be loyal or not will only be revealed through their actual performance.
Qin Mu planned to keep them by his side for a while and train them well. Sooner or later, they would be willing to serve him.
*********************
ps: Today, I happened to look through the calendar and found that the beginning of autumn has passed. I felt a little emotional and wanted to compose a poem: Who cherishes the fragrance the longest, from spring dew to autumn wind. Unconsciously, the passion that burned the whole spring and summer has come to an end, and only a faint and gradually fading bitterness remains in the sky... ... ..Although I also know that not all sweat will be rewarded, the passing of time and the feeling of accomplishing nothing are still hard to let go... ... ..I have always believed that I have worked very hard. Friends, please vote for me to support me. Please vote for me!
..(To be continued..)
...