On the outskirts of the capital city, the Ming Dynasty Scientific Research Department.
This is a new department established less than two years ago. It is not subordinate to any department, but is directly controlled by Zhu Ying.
The specific location of the Scientific Research Department is on the northwest side of Xiaoling Mausoleum, which is close to Xuanwu Lake.
The surrounding twenty miles are under the control of Xiaoling Guards.
The reason why I chose Xiaoling Guard is because of its special qualities.
The Xiaoling Guards themselves have strong combat power and have lived in Xiaoling for a long time. They can be considered isolated from the world and just provide security for the Scientific Research Department.
The architecture of the Scientific Research Department is very different from the current Ming Dynasty style, or it has a more modern feel to it.
The houses here are basically made of cement red bricks. Except for some furniture, there are basically no wooden structures.
As a scientific research area, wooden structures are too easy to cause safety hazards.
A simple research on gunpowder formula and a wrong test can cause a fire.
Wooden structures will only play a supporting role in such a fire.
"I will pay my respects to His Highness the Grand Sun."
"No courtesy, please get up."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Zhu Ying actually doesn't come here that often. He is very interested in doing scientific research. However, after getting involved, he found that he was probably not the material.
Maybe my talent is not in this area, and I may be more professional in inspiring people.
Zhu Ying walked straight inside. He was personally involved in the design of the architectural layout here, so he was naturally very familiar with it.
There were dozens of guards following Zhu Ying.
There is no way around it. As a grandson, he naturally needs some protection and pomp when traveling.
There are also two old eunuchs in charge here.
The two old eunuchs are the people in charge here. The eunuchs may generally have some problems in their minds, but there is no doubt that they are the most loyal to the imperial power.
boom!
!
Just as Zhu Ying was walking forward, a huge explosion sounded not far away.
Dozens of guards behind him reacted almost as soon as the explosion sounded. Everyone immediately surrounded him and formed a protective circle, tightly protecting Taisun inside.
If there are assassins at this moment, the first people they will face are these guards.
He glanced around with determined eyes, trying to find any factors in the surrounding environment that might affect Taisun's safety.
"Don't be so nervous, just relax."
"Alas, is this another failure?"
Zhu Ying waved her hand and asked the guards to return to their original state, while sighing.
As the sound spread, thick white fog could be clearly seen rising not far away.
This is formed when hot water boils after a steam explosion.
After the guards dispersed, Zhu Ying wanted to go to the scene to have a look.
The old eunuch on the left suddenly said: "Your Highness, please wait a moment. I will go check on the safety first. The water temperature after the explosion of this steam engine is very high, and it is extremely easy to cause burns."
Zhu Ying nodded: "Check the situation at the scene. If anyone is injured, arrange for a doctor to come over for treatment immediately."
"Learn lessons and strengthen safety measures in the future based on the on-site situation."
The old eunuch bowed in agreement, and then ran forward quickly.
Zhu Ying did not stand still, but walked slowly towards the place where the explosion occurred.
There is basically no possibility of secondary explosions in steam engines, that is, the hot gas after the explosion may have a short-term impact, but it will dissipate quickly.
The old eunuch ran back quickly and said that the accident scene was very safe.
Shan Wenli is over sixty years old, and most of his hair is gray.
But his body is full of muscles, which doesn't look like his age at all.
He patted his head and felt regretful: "Obviously everything is fine this time, why did it still fail?"
Although he was a little unhappy, Shan Wenli quickly adjusted his mentality and directed the apprentices on site to clean up the chaos caused by the explosion.
After many times of research and development, we now have a complete set of measures to protect safety.
Around the steam engine, there are brick walls to resist the blast wave.
Even when coal is added, it is thrown in through the holes in the brick wall.
All personnel on site were wearing leather products, including hoods, to prevent high-temperature burns caused by the explosion of the steam engine.
If these people take off their leather clothes, they will find that everyone present has more or less traces of burns on their bodies.
There is no doubt that the person with the most such scars is Shan Wenli. After all, he is the first person in charge of this steam engine project.
"Record, the twenty-seventh experiment of the steam engine project failed. The cause of the failure is currently speculated to be insufficient sealing. No one was injured on site."
When Shan Wenli was talking, there was a person behind him taking notes with a pen and paper.
Although the previous explosion made many people feel embarrassed, including four brick walls that collapsed due to the huge impact, it was just embarrassing.
The recording of the experiment was requested by Zhu Ying, and even the recording template was formulated by Zhu Ying.
When Shan Wenli was deep in thought, the old eunuch had already ran over and forcibly pulled Shan Wenli back from his thoughts.
"What? His Royal Highness is here in person. Okay, I'll prepare it right away."
"Hurry up, young men, Your Majesty the Grand Sun is here, please be more agile."
The word "His Royal Highness Taisun" seems to have a magical power, and everyone who was originally a little depressed became as energetic as if they had been given a shot of chicken blood out of thin air.
Almost at the same time as they were tidying up, almost everyone's eyes were subconsciously looking towards the door.
Finally, with the sound of footsteps, the grandson appeared in royal casual clothes.
"Greetings to His Majesty the Grand Sun!
!”
The crowd knelt down and shouted without hesitation.
Zhu Ying was a little helpless.
He suddenly understood the feeling of future stars watching his illegitimate life.
For the era of imperial power, the emperor or the prince himself was the biggest traffic star in the country.
Not to mention that while Zhu Ying controlled the powerful weapon of public opinion, he also truly changed people's lives.
After the process, Zhu Ying began to ask Shan Wenli about the current production status of steam engines.
Shan Wenli was the first person in charge of steam engine production appointed by Zhu Ying. Even though he was already in his early sixties, in terms of physical condition, he was probably healthier than many young people.
Shan Wenli was not a royal craftsman, but a private blacksmith.
At the beginning, Shan Wenli responded to the call of the Ministry of Industry and joined the large team that made fire bombs.
Shan Wenli himself has a family heritage. He was not a blacksmith at first, but a gold and silver craftsman.
It’s just that in those war-torn times, who would want to buy customized jewelry? The market itself was extremely fragile and there was no room for development.
In order to earn a living, Shan Wenli had no choice but to change his career and became a blacksmith.
War has a huge demand for weapons, and industries such as blacksmithing are obviously highly sought after by the market. Even if their power is wiped out, blacksmithing can still be well accepted.
This doesn't matter to most craftsmen. It doesn't matter who they work for, as long as they can make a living.
In most cases, no one would treat a blacksmith harshly.
The more you do it, the more you will naturally understand and become proficient.
Compared with the production of jewelry, the requirements for making weapons are obviously much lower, and Shan Wenli quickly gained some fame.
Even in the troubled times of the late Yuan Dynasty when refugees were everywhere, he was still living a pretty good life, after all, his craftsmanship was here.
Among the team of matchlock craftsmen, Shan Wenli quickly stood out.
Especially for the modification of fire bombs, he showed extremely exquisite craftsmanship.
This quickly attracted Zhu Ying's attention.
Including Zhu Ying's short-barreled flintlock gun, the main producer was Shan Wenli.
"Your Highness has let you down. This is another failed test. I don't know when it will end. I was even a little confused at the moment when the explosion was about to happen."
"After so many failures, I have spent countless treasures. With this money, I may be able to buy a larger villa in the capital."
"But here, I don't know how many times it will take to complete it."
Shan Wenli's voice was slightly frustrated.
You must know that the construction of every boiler is not a simple matter. They are all made of wrought iron.
All components, including the boiler connection, are individually customized.
In other words, in order to test a steam engine, it would take at least a dozen blacksmiths to build it for a month to complete the preliminary work.
And the final result was that everything was blown up with a 'bomb'.
"The other courtyards in the capital are not as important as this thing. Let alone one courtyard, ten or a hundred are not enough."
Zhu Ying said with a smile: "There is no need to worry about how much money is spent. Whether it is the national treasury or internal funds, there is more money than you think. No matter how many times you fail, it will not have any impact."
"Actually, for now, Master Shan, you have already succeeded. It is not such a simple matter to really put it into full use."
Zhu Ying pointed to the scattered parts on the ground: "Every part here is very important. If any part fails to pass the test, it will have a huge effect."
"Have you heard? I have asked the Ministry of Industry to issue a notice to gather all the talented craftsmen from all over the world. Maybe there will be a few strange people who can solve this problem."
"My rough guess is that it's not a matter of material limitations, but rather a problem with the design. Maybe we can find some carpenters to come up with the idea."
To put it simply, a steam engine is driven by the heat generated by a boiler.
It's not too difficult at this point.
Just ensure the air tightness, make a pipe to push the piston, and the driving force can drive the outside gear.
Zhu Ying still understands gears.
The key issue now is intensity.
Ordinary steam engines are actually safe enough, but they are inefficient. When the material is damaged, the machine shrinks inward instead of exploding outward.
This kind of driving force cannot drive a ship at all, and it is too far away from the steam ironclad ship that Zhu Ying imagined.
And the reason why it explodes is because it tries to perform under high pressure.
Apparently the steam was too powerful in the end and caused the explosion.
'I had known that I should have studied science in my previous life. If I had studied science, it would have been much easier to build this thing.'
'Why did I choose liberal arts? Is it because there were many girls in liberal arts at the beginning?'
'No, that's definitely not the case, it's just because I prefer three hundred Tang poems and Song lyrics.'
'It's a pity that this is Ming Dynasty. Maybe others are more skilled at memorizing it than me.'
Zhu Ying was muttering in his heart, with a little helplessness in his expression. He really wanted to fast forward to the appearance of the steam armored ship.
Now I can only rely on my vague memories of steam engines in my previous life to guide the production process.
Steam engines were not designed to be useful, and they had serious disadvantages in terms of fuel efficiency and other aspects.
In fact, Zhu Ying could build a dozen steam engines and push them together, so that he could generate enough power to drive the ship.
But it's a pity that this is destined to be nothing more than a fake product.
Because of the efficiency of coal combustion, a large amount of steam heat is lost, which requires a large amount of coal to be burned to provide sufficient power.
In this case, the entire steam ironclad ship can only be used to load coal, and with the huge consumption of a dozen steam engines, even a ship of coal is estimated to not be able to support it very far.
In comparison, it is not as good as a wind-powered sailboat.
What about using a larger vessel?
Sorry, that requires more steam engines and more coal mines. This is an endless cycle that cannot be solved.
The only solution is to improve the steam engine as it was done historically.
But this is not easy.
The current problem with the steam engine is that it's stuck here.
In the early seventeenth century, Savery built the world's first practical steam water lifter.
It was not until the early 18th century that Watt successfully improved the steam engine, and the first industrial steam engine appeared.
It was not until the early nineteenth century that Fulton was the first to successfully use a steam engine to drive a ship.
In other words, there is a process of two hundred years from the invention of the steam engine to the driving of ships.
And now, it is the end of the fourteenth century.
There were still two hundred years to go before the invention of the Western steam engine.
Zhu Ying knew very well that if he didn't build the steam engine now, he bet that this project would definitely be lost in the hands of his descendants.
At present, in terms of physical knowledge, Ming Dynasty is a complete vacuum zone.
Of course, the West is not much better.
After all, although the Hundred Years War between Britain and France is said to be at its end, it will not end for more than ten years.
In other words, in today's era, there are no scientific talents.
The only advantage is that Zhu Ying knows that the research direction is correct and the results are absolutely correct.
No matter how you do it, it will eventually work out.
Here, consumption, friction, heat loss, and air leakage are all problems that need to be solved.
The design of the piston and slide rod can only be tried slowly.
How to ensure stability under high pressure.
In fact, for now, Zhu Ying feels that it is not too far away from the final shape.
Even if you don't have a lathe, as long as the first steam engine can do it, hand rubbing doesn't matter.
As for the future, how to reduce heat consumption and increase efficiency can be studied slowly.
"Don't be discouraged. Master Shan, you are now at the forefront of this era. No matter how big the difficulty is, believe me, it will eventually be solved."
"History will not forget your contribution. When you succeed, I will let the historian write you into the history books. This will be an epoch-making event."
"This is an eternal reputation that scholars dream of. Likewise, the imperial court will not forget your contribution and will give you all the rewards you want."
Zhu Ying patted Shan Wenli on the shoulder and said in a seductive tone.
Facing the big cake drawn by Taisun, Shan Wenli said that he was very full.
Even though many words in Taisun's words were a bit unfamiliar to him, this did not prevent Shan Wenli from once again igniting his fighting spirit.
It turns out that a craftsman with my status can also have the opportunity to be famous throughout the ages.