"Come on, try putting these two iron plates together," Roland said.
Anna stretched out her fingers and pressed against the seam of the iron plate. Flames spewed from the fingers, and the interface melted at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Reduce the firepower and do it again from the back."
She nodded and did the same. The two iron plates are spliced at 90 degrees and are firmly welded together.
Roland carefully inspected the interface and found that the effect was just as he imagined - a perfect weld without any flaws. If it is polished a little and the traces of the fluid when the iron is melted are removed, the two iron plates are almost no different from the one-time forged body.
"Very good, Miss Anna, it's amazing," Roland couldn't help but admire, "Next, we'll connect the other two iron plates."
"What's this? An iron... bucket?"
"No, it's a cylinder," he corrected.
"Cylinder?" Anna repeated in confusion.
"Yes, it can be used to fill air," Roland said, pointing to another square iron plate. "See the little hole on it? Air enters the cylinder from this little hole, and pushes the piston—well, the piston is just a little bit wider than the inner diameter of the cylinder. A smaller iron plate that can move freely in the cylinder."
Even Anna lost her head in front of so many coined words, "Then what are these... cylinders, pistons, etc., for what?"
"To make a machine that can move automatically."
The steam engine brought the motive power required for the first industrial revolution of mankind, completely liberating human and animal power.
Its schematic diagram is familiar to every mechanical dog. To put it simply, it is an enlarged version of a kettle. The boiling steam is directed into the cylinder, which pushes the piston and connecting rod, converting thermal energy into mechanical energy.
The principle is very simple, but it does not mean that it is easy to manufacture. Its difficulty lies in the airtightness of the cylinder and the piston, as well as the manufacture of the gas pipe. When the metal processing skills are not enough, it is a fantasy to forge a qualified cylinder by hand.
However, Anna's ability perfectly made up for the lack of craftsmanship.
Roland only needs to design four iron plates of the same size in advance, let the blacksmith shop cast and polish them, and then use right-angle plates to fix the shape, and then Anna will weld them to obtain a square cylinder with extremely high rigidity. With the help of the witch, he did not have to build a barrel boring machine as in the traditional production process, and then process a circular cylinder. The same is true for other large parts, which can be made into small pieces and then spliced together, so that even a small workshop such as a blacksmith can work together to manufacture all the parts needed for a steam engine.
In fact, before welding was invented, people could only connect small parts by bolts or riveting, and the interior of the cylinder must be smooth, which is obviously not possible with conventional connections.
The only trouble is the gas pipe. There is nothing special about its production method. A long iron plate is heated to red heat, then put into a groove-shaped mold, and hammered with a hammer to form it. This is also the production method of the front-mounted flintlock barrel. . It's just that the barrel still needs to be straightened afterwards, drilled and rifling, etc., which is more complicated.
The trouble was that Roland couldn't have called the blacksmith into his back garden, the witch could not be exposed for the time being, and blacksmithing was not really his strength. In desperation, he had to let the chief knight do it for him, and commanded by himself.
After three days of tossing, Roland finally built his first steam engine in the backyard.
"Is this what you say is powerful?" Carter frowned and looked at the strange machine. He was first sure that this thing had nothing to do with cult rituals. Each of the iron bumps on it was installed by himself, and it looked like a sealed furnace. It would be irrational if the devil could be attracted to it.
But how to move a bunch of iron lumps? It looks clumsy and has no feet, can it still fly
But in Roland's eyes, this seemingly simple machine exudes industrial beauty. Standing on the shoulders of giants, he naturally did not follow the route of Newcomen steam engine-Watt steam engine-improved steam engine. His first trial product was a high-pressure steam engine with double linkage and sliding valve. Its production is not much more difficult than the most primitive steam engine, the key lies in some innovative ideas.
"You'll find out later."
Roland poured a bucket of water into the steam room and asked Anna to light the firewood.
Ten minutes later, the water was boiled and tumbling clumsily. Soon, there was a crackling sound in the cylinder, and Roland knew that it was the sound of the cylinder body being heated and expanding. The iron plate of the piston is thinner, and the expansion deformation is larger than that of the cylinder body, and will eventually firmly press against the cylinder wall.
"Isn't this boiling water? I didn't expect it to be a stove," Carter muttered.
When the cylinder was filled with steam, a scene that excited Roland occurred. The piston begins to push the connecting rod outward, and when it reaches its apex, the other connecting rod pulls the sliding valve, and the steam pushes the piston inward. The two connecting rods rotate quickly with the wheels back and forth, and as the firepower increases, the speed soon reaches its peak.
The machine made a harsh roar, and the exhaust port snorted white air with an unstoppable momentum.
"This is what you said... The power hidden in nature?" Anna asked blankly.
The chief knight's face was in disbelief. The last big iron wheel was installed with great effort. Now it is spinning like a feather. Standing next to it, he can even feel the air flow caused by the wheel. It can only be said that the strength of the iron lump in front of him has reached an astonishing level.
A tinge of unease gradually rose in his heart.
His Highness said that it can replace human and animal power. If he didn't lie to himself, when it replaced horses to pull the chariot, with this brute force alone, ten knights would be hard to resist.
It takes fifteen years to train a qualified knight, but it only takes three days to manufacture such an iron furnace. Counting the time it took for the blacksmith to make the parts, it was only a week.
It needs no feeding, is not afraid of cold and hunger, and is not afraid of arrows and spears. As long as the front is equipped with a ram, it can rampage on the battlefield.
So... do traditional knights still need to exist
*****************
In the evening, when Roland returned to the bedroom, he saw Nightingale again.
She did not wear a hood this time, sitting at the table with a smile on her face, fiddling with a few pieces of parchment in her hand, "It seems that the rumors outside are really unbelievable. It is said that the fourth prince is ignorant and has a bad personality. It's not much better than the court master. What's drawn on this paper is the blueprint for that iron stove? You call it... a steam engine, right?"
I'm going, can I still leave some privacy for people, come when you want, and leave when you want, you think this is your home! Roland murmured in his heart, and still replied nonchalantly, "It's the design drawing, but without Anna's help, it's just a drawing."
"What can it do?"
"Many, ore transportation, drainage, iron smelting, forging, it can play a role in any place that requires a lot of effort."
"Then I'll accept it," Nightingale rolled up the parchment and put it in her robe. "There are people in the mutual aid society who can control flames."
"Hey-"
She waved her hand to stop Roland's protest, "Of course, I'm not taking your things for nothing, you should take a look at this first." She put a small ball of white things on the table.
Roland walked over, pinched it with his fingers, and found that it was actually a roll of paper.
He opened it gently and glanced at it, "This is..."
"The secret letter used by carrier pigeons," Nightingale said in a playful tone, "the recipient is your maid, Tyr, tsk tsk, it seems that your harem is not safe."
"I haven't touched her," Roland frowned.
Tyre, this woman seems to have followed him very early in his memory. Originally, the fourth prince was very interested in her, but unfortunately several harassments failed to succeed. This time, when I came to Border Town, I simply promoted her to be the head maid and served me personally, and her room was arranged next door. Unexpectedly, it was the eyeliner arranged by Brother Wang and Sister Wang
Although the letter was not signed, judging from the content, it was probably written by those brothers and sisters. The letter said that the last failure made the master very unhappy, and the next time he took advantage of the riots in Changge Fortress, he would never allow another failure. Well, in fact, you have already succeeded, he thought, otherwise he would not be Roland Wimbledon.
It is unlikely that the letter was forged by Nightingale, because only those who participated in this conspiracy would have a clear idea of the first assassination plan. And if Nightingale wanted to kill herself, there was no need to be so troublesome.
"You stole it from her?"
"Your maid is not that stupid, she plans to burn after reading it. It's a pity that I happened to be behind her when she was watching," she made a sly gesture, "So, what are you going to do? You need me Help with "processing"? "
Roland naturally understood what she meant by handling her words. After hesitating for a moment, he finally nodded, "Excuse me." He really didn't have the confidence to do this kind of thing himself, "If you can... ask for me, who is behind her back. Who is the man."
"As you wish, Your Highness," Nightingale smiled and bowed, "Then this scroll of blueprints is the reward."