Changsun Wuji then said to Li Chengqian: "Your Majesty sent His Highness and ministers to visit the state this time, not just to see the progress of the development of the Suchen train."
"Do you want to have a comprehensive understanding of the current situation in Guanzhou?"
"Your Highness is smart!"
Changsun Wuji dismissed Li Chengqian, and then said: "His Royal Highness will stay in Guanzhou for a few more days this time and look around more. Your Majesty will ask about it when you return."
Li Chengqian reluctantly agreed:
I thought I came out to see something new, but it turned out that my dad was testing me again.
Li Chengqian and Changsun Wuji woke up early and hurried on the road late at night, which made Si'er a little unhappy.
"Brother Prince! Why are you on your way before dawn?
Si'er hasn't woken up yet!"
Li Chengqian glanced at Si'er, who was still yawning, and said with a smile: "It's your brother Su Chen's fault!"
Si'er's eyes widened: "It's obviously you who has to leave so early, why do you blame Brother Su Chen?"
Li Chengqian smiled and said: "We have to rush to that train station this morning. After seeing the locomotive, we have to rush to Guanzhou."
"That train station is still hundreds of miles away from Guanzhou City!"
"If we don't go early, we won't be able to reach Guanzhou in the afternoon, and we will have to sleep in the wild."
Si'er immediately became excited: "Ah! Can you watch the train today?"
Li Chengqian nodded.
"Then hurry up!"
Si'er immediately got into the carriage and asked the driver to set off.
Under Si'er's constant urging, the convoy finally arrived at the train station at midnight.
Su Chen came with several officials to greet Li Chengqian and others.
Si'er was the first to get out of the car and pounced on Su Chen: "Brother Su Chen, Si'er came to play with you. Si'er misses you!"
Changsun Wuji frowned: "Why does Si'er still act like a seven or eight-year-old girl?"
Li Chengqian shrugged: "My uncle also knows that she used to be weak, so she was pampered by her father no matter what she did. Now that she is cured, the problem cannot be corrected. I hope it will get better in two years. My mother has a headache!"
"
"Okay! Okay! Brother Su Chen also misses Xiao Si'er!"
Holding Si'er in hand, Su Chen came with officials in a car to meet Li Chengqian.
After everyone had finished the ceremony, Su Chen was ready to let Li Chengqian and Changsun Wuji rest for a while.
Si'er asked impatiently: "Brother Su Chen, where is the train?"
Su Chen looked far away: "Isn't that right?"
Si'er looked back: "Ah, it's so big!"
Li Chengqian and Changsun Wuji were also stunned when they saw it. It was indeed quite a big deal.
"Let's go and have a look!"
Li Chengqian and Changsun Wuji, accompanied by Su Chen and a group of officials, walked towards the locomotive.
Si'er had already run forward on her own.
"Ah! It's too big!"
When Si'er came closer, she let out another exclamation.
Li Chengqian and Changsun Wuji were also amazed.
I had expected that this thing would be small, but I didn’t expect it to be so big!
The locomotive consists of two parts: a locomotive and a tender.
The two parts together are more than three meters wide, four meters high and more than twenty meters long.
In the eyes of the Tang Dynasty people, this was a huge thing!
And it’s a huge steel monster!
After Changsun Wuji approached, looking at such a big steel monster in front of him, he even felt a sense of oppression!
"It's too big. Brother Su Chen, the one in your village is not as big as these iron wheels."
Si'er pointed at the wheel that was almost as high as her shoulder and shouted.
"Brother Su Chen, can I go up and take a look?"
"Of course, just be careful!"
】
Su Chen climbed up first, then took Si'er's little hand and pulled her up.
Li Chengqian and Changsun Wuji followed. No matter how many people there were, they couldn't squeeze in anymore.
Su Chen took them to see the locomotives and tenders.
Li Chengqian and Changsun Wuji were not only shocked but also shocked during the whole process.
I definitely can’t understand the pile of handles and valves in the locomotive control room.
Hearing that this thing carried ten to twenty tons of water and several tons of coal, Changsun Wuji became uneasy.
"Why do you have to load so much? This is the load of more than ten carriages, and there is more water than coal."
Su Chen said helplessly: "When this thing runs, it will consume about two to three thousand kilograms of water and four to five hundred kilograms of coal every ten miles. How can we do it without bringing more?"
"so much?"
Li Chengqian and Changsun Wuji exclaimed together.
Su Chen was also helpless. The cost of a steam engine was several times greater than that of an internal combustion engine.
But there's nothing we can do about it. Given Datang's current situation, it's impossible to build an internal combustion engine.
Not to mention that the system only provides drawings, even if a finished internal combustion engine is produced, the craftsmen of Datang would not be able to copy it.
"You are spending so much money, and the cost of railway construction is so high..."
"Please don't worry, Duke Zhao, we can't compensate you."
Of course Su Chen knew what Changsun Wuji wanted to say and immediately interrupted him.
"Water and coal are not worth much. I will give you a detailed calculation and you will understand."
Su Chen said to Changsun Wuji and Li Chengqian: "Based on a thousand miles, it's only ten thousand catties of coal. How much is this worth?"
"But it only takes five hours for a train to travel a thousand miles, and it can haul thousands of tons of cargo at a time."
"You can also calculate how much it would cost and how long it would take to transport a thousand tons of supplies thousands of miles by horse-drawn carriage."
Changsun Wuji and Li Chengqian were just shocked by the huge cost, but when they thought of the huge transportation capacity of the train, they immediately came to their senses.
"A thousand tons?
You said before that it was from Wanshi."
"That's what Wei Zheng said. He took the memorial I presented to His Majesty and cut it in half. I didn't bother to be more serious. Anyway, the numbers are so big that you will become numb."
Changsun Wuji glared at Su Chen: "According to the calculation you just made, this thing can run more than a thousand miles a day and a night. I hope it can do it by then."
Su Chen said: "Don't worry, you can see its speed after lunch."
"Now it's just an empty front without a carriage. I made a visual inspection yesterday. After picking up the speed, it can run fifty miles in about a quarter of an hour."
"But the railway is too short now to conduct long-term testing."
After listening to it, Li Chengqian and Changsun Wuji looked forward to the test in the afternoon.
At this time, Si'er suddenly asked: "Brother Su Chen, can I take the train this afternoon?"
Su Chen, Changsun Wuji, and Li Chengqian said in unison: "No!"
Si'er pouted and was about to cry to Su Chen.
"It's okay to cry. This is the testing phase. No one knows what will happen."
"The speed is so fast, if something happens, it will be too late to react."
"And if you are on top, it will affect other people's operations and control the locomotive, which will increase the risk."
Seeing Su Chen's firmness, Si'er had to give up, but asked Su Chen:
"Then next time, Brother Su Chen, you have to let Si'er sit, and Brother Su Chen is going to make a big carriage for Si'er,"
Su Chen had no choice but to agree: "That's okay!"
"When I get back, I'll ask the craftsmen to make a special luxury carriage for Xi'er. I'll let you know when it's done!"
Si'er then left the locomotive and went back to have lunch with everyone.
