"It's a little difficult to make this thing, but if you give it a try, you should be able to make it..." Qian Su's eyes swept over the single-cylinder steam engine inch by inch, and he said very professionally, "The most difficult part of making this thing is the cylinder and the crankshafts and parts connected to it. These things cannot be made by just hammering by a blacksmith. You have to make a mold and directly use the cast iron method to cast it in one go, and then polish it. The Manufacturing Bureau already has a cast iron workshop. If you want to make this thing, you have to open a furnace in the cast iron workshop and prepare some tools..."
"Yes, yes, I think so too. Several key parts of this water fire machine must be molded, cast and polished, but the precision needs to be relatively high and it needs to be especially careful, especially the cylinder and the round iron blocks that move back and forth inside. There are some requirements. If they are too big, they can't be inserted. If they are too small, it is easy to leak. These round iron blocks and crankshaft connecting rods cannot be made of cast iron. They need to be made of steel. Other workpieces can be made of brass!" Yan Dechang, a blacksmith, looked at the unprecedented water fire machine in front of him and was also tempted. "In our blacksmith workshop, as long as we modify it, we should be able to make it!"
"Dad, if you want to make this steam... water... lighter, you can bring Brother Tiezhu to the manufacturing bureau and make it with Uncle Qian and the others. The manufacturing bureau has a lot of space and a ready-made cast iron workshop, which is quite convenient!" In a moment of haste, Yan Liqiang almost mentioned the steam engine. At this moment, everyone gathered in the yard were acquaintances, and there was no need to keep this kind of thing secret. Yan Liqiang wished that more people would know about it, so he could discuss the matter in public.
Qian Su and Yan Dechang looked at each other and nodded. Yan Dechang said, "Well... OK, I'll discuss it with your Uncle Qian!"
"I feel like this thing should be useful, but for the moment, I haven't figured out what it can be used for." Qian Su scratched his head.
"Hahaha, if this thing wants to work, we just need to create some supporting things, such as threshing, rice milling, oil pressing, and wood sawing. After making this thing, we can first build a mill and sawmill in Liuhe Town. Then we won't need animals in the mill. We can use this water fire machine to drive the millstone, and the same goes for the sawmill..." Yan Liqiang said easily.
"It is convenient to drive the grinding wheel. The simplest way is to make a belt or a rotating wheel. But how can this thing saw wood? The saw is not easy to drive!" Yan Dechang asked in confusion.
"Sawing wood is easy. Ordinary saws won't work. We just need to make the saw blade into a round shape!" Yan Liqiang casually mentioned an "invention". "In the future, the water-fire machine will be made at the manufacturing bureau. The blacksmith workshop in Liuhe Town can make some things to match the parallel-imported machine, such as a circular saw blade..."
"Ah, a circular saw blade, a circular saw blade, why didn't I think of it..." Yan Dechang slapped his head heavily.
Not only Yan Dechang, but also the disciples of Lingshan Sect Qianji Hall widened their eyes when they heard Yan Liqiang casually mention the circular saw blade. They were all shocked and secretly thought that Yan Liqiang was really amazing. He could make this water and fire machine saw wood with just a casual remark...
"This water fire machine is very useful. In addition to these uses, for example, if you connect it to a waterwheel, you can pump water. It can also be used in a blacksmith's workshop. If you can use this thing to forge iron, you can save a lot of manpower and it will be fast and effective!"
Yan Liqiang's words immediately opened up the minds of the people around him, and the craftsmen around him became excited and began to discuss enthusiastically what this water-fire machine could be used for. After all, this thing was indeed convenient. As long as you add water and light the boiler, it can keep moving. It is more powerful than human and animal power, and can last longer. It can definitely be put to great use. Moreover, the boiler is not picky and can burn both firewood and coal...
…
From day to night, the yard of the Yan family blacksmith workshop was crowded with people, and countless people came to watch the fun. Later, many people from Liuhe Town who heard the news came over and surrounded the machine to marvel at it.
However, the water-fire machine was only placed in the Yan family's blacksmith workshop for one day. The next day, Yan Liqiang took the water-fire machine with Yan Dechang, Zhou Tiezhu, Deric Wan and a group of people from the Lingshan School and went to the Huanglong County Manufacturing Bureau.
At the Huanglong County Manufacturing Bureau, as soon as the steam engine was put down, Yan Liqiang took Deric Wan and a group of disciples from the Lingshan School to visit the production line of four-wheeled carriages. Even though Deric Wan and the disciples from the Qianji Hall prided themselves on being knowledgeable, they were still stunned by the scale of the four-wheeled carriage production line in the manufacturing bureau. Before this, they had never thought that the production of a four-wheeled carriage could be divided into so many steps and processes, and produced in this way.
However, Deric Wan and his companions did not stay in Huanglong County for many days. After delivering the steam engine to Yan Liqiang and helping Yan Liqiang use the reputation of Lingshan Sect to suppress the threat of Feitian Sect, Deric Wan and a group of disciples of Lingshan Sect completed their mission and immediately left Huanglong County, returning to Lingshan Sect with the six four-wheeled carriages given by Yan Liqiang and a handwritten letter to Zhang Yourong.
In the letter to Zhang Yourong, Yan Liqiang first thanked Zhang Yourong and Lingshan Sect for their timely help, then discussed the role of gears with Zhang Yourong, and finally talked about the application prospects of the water fire machine. He praised Zhang Yourong and Lingshan Sect for making the first water fire machine and gave them very high praise.
Although he had only met Zhang Yourong once, Yan Liqiang felt that this master of mechanisms of Lingshan School was like making a pen pal with whom he had a mutual understanding. It was very interesting.
After Deric Wan and the disciples of Lingshan School left Pingxi County, Yan Liqiang, together with Yan Dechang and a group of craftsmen in the manufacturing bureau, started to imitate the steam engine with great enthusiasm.
The craftsmen of the Manufacturing Bureau and Yan Dechang did not have the ability to invent a steam engine, but they had a ready-made steam engine as a reference. With the foundation of the Manufacturing Bureau and the ability of Yan Dechang and others, it would be a bit difficult to imitate it, but those difficulties could be solved because the Manufacturing Bureau had all the materials and technology to make steam engines, as well as craftsmen. Of course, there was no shortage of money, not to mention that Yan Liqiang was also involved, so all they had to do was copy it...
Yan Liqiang returned to Pingxi County this time with the prestige of a great victory over Feitianmen. His title as the strongest archer in the northwest had been established, and his reputation was at its peak, known throughout the northwest. During the days he was in the manufacturing bureau, all kinds of people and visiting cards came to the manufacturing bureau like snowflakes, but Yan Liqiang declined all of them in the name of seclusion, and devoted himself wholeheartedly to the manufacture of the steam engine. Because for Yan Liqiang, the significance of building this steam engine was definitely more important than his seclusion, or in other words, this was also another form of seclusion.
Decompose, disassemble, measure, draw, mold, cast, fail, modify, summarize, cast again, fail again, modify, summarize and improve again, and then...
After a group of people worked day and night for more than twenty days, when the willow trees outside the manufacturing bureau sprouted new buds and spring came quietly, the first steam engine in the manufacturing bureau was finally successfully imitated. As for the rotary mill and circular saw blade used with this steam engine, these two things are relatively simple and had been made seven days ago. They were tried in combination with the steam engine sent by Lingshan, and the effect was very good. The efficiency of the rotary mill and saw blades is many times higher than the traditional one, and it does not require labor. Now they remain in the manufacturing bureau, and the mill has been put into use.
Seeing the flywheel slowly and steadily turning after being ignited, the craftsmen in the manufacturing bureau cheered. Yan Liqiang wiped the coal dust off his face, grinned, and said to Qian Su, "The manufacturing bureau will have another profitable business in the future. In addition to the four-wheeled carriage manufacturing department, the manufacturing bureau will also have a water-fire machine manufacturing department..."
Qian Su also laughed, "It may take some time to sell it!"
"As long as it is profitable and you can make money by buying this thing, the speed at which this thing spreads will definitely be faster than a horse-drawn carriage. Immediately, people will line up at the manufacturing bureau to purchase it, and then it won't be long before any forces in other places with a little bit of strength will start to imitate this thing..." Yan Liqiang said with certainty.
"indeed so!"
"Make two first, I'll give them away in a couple of days!"
"Ah, who?"
“Lu family!”
Qian Su was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter...
(End of this chapter)