Chapter 1552 This is not a machine, but a work of art
Although the Tang Empire has always strictly restricted the export of various technologies, especially the steam engine, a big killer.
But even if there are strict restrictions, there will still be loopholes. After all, the empire is so huge, and the land borders and coastlines are so long. It is not that difficult for some criminals to sneak out some contraband.
Even later generations of NATO were unable to completely ban some high-tech products from flowing into countries such as China that were blocked by them, let alone the Tang Dynasty in the mid-to-late sixteenth century.
What Datang can do now is actually to completely ban it at the official level and at the same time vigorously crack down on smuggling, but there will always be fish that slip through the net.
At that time, the Portuguese obtained several steam engines from the Tang Dynasty through various secret channels. They themselves also studied these steam engines that they had worked hard to obtain and tried to imitate them. However, it is a pity that the Portuguese
After trying for more than ten years, I failed to achieve success.
Later, when the Portuguese found that simple imitation was not enough, they began to send people to secretly learn mechanical manufacturing technology. But it is a pity that the schools in Datang did not accept any foreign students, even if they were just temporary.
The Tang Dynasty was not like other countries in later generations that welcomed foreign students and used them to export values.
The Tang Dynasty simply had no need to export this kind of values, because the Tang Dynasty did not need foreign barbarians to identify with its own values.
Why? When all the foreign races are dead, there is no need to care whether their values are inclined to the Tang Dynasty.
They cannot send people to learn, they cannot enter schools, they cannot enter factories, and in the end they have no choice but to study on their own.
How to teach yourself?
Naturally, I studied on my own by reading books written by the Tang Dynasty writers!
However, they later discovered that it was impossible to directly obtain various technical drawings, raw material formulas, etc., because these things were not public even in Datang, and were all regarded as secrets by major manufacturers.
Many manufacturers don't even apply for patents in order to avoid it.
In the end, they had no choice but to settle for second best. They couldn't learn direct finished product technology, so they had to learn it from scratch.
They purchased a large number of books from the Tang Dynasty through various channels.
They can't get it if they are too advanced, but they can still get some books that are on sale in the market, especially textbooks. Even if they can't buy them themselves, they can still let those money-hungry Tang people take their place.
They buy.
In fact, the Portuguese followed the same path as the Tatars. They also secretly purchased a large number of fundamental error theory books and copied them while studying them. The only exception was that the Tatars were more convenient and bolder.
The strength is also stronger, they will directly rob the craftsmen of the Tang Dynasty
However, it is not that easy to create an industrial flower like the steam engine by relying only on some basic theoretical textbooks. They spent many years just to translate a large number of Tang Dynasty books. In fact, until now
They haven't been able to complete the translation of all the books, because they don't even understand the meaning of many of them, let alone prepare them for translation.
The Tang Dynasty had steam engines and a large number of advanced mechanical equipment. This is not a secret. Every country in the world that has contact with the Tang Dynasty knows that, and almost every country has people trying to imitate various types of machinery and equipment from the Tang Dynasty.
Among them, the steam engine is the most important.
Of course, this does not mean that everyone in every country is officially led. In fact, most of them are still done by private individuals.
The same is true here in England!
Mark Bryan is one of a large number of people in various European countries who want to imitate steam engines. Unlike most people, he is more willing to spend money and more patient.
He is a businessman. He owns a large-scale cloth production workshop and a woolen cloth workshop. However, since the Tang Dynasty's cloth and cloth materials entered the European market, their cheap prices have greatly impacted the European textile industry.
Although the market is limited by long distances and transportation costs, textiles from the Tang Dynasty cannot completely replace European homespun cloth, but it has also caused great fear among European textile merchants.
When Mark learned that those people in the Tang Dynasty in the far east used more advanced machines to engage in the textile industry, he just wanted to know what machines those people in the Tang Dynasty used.
However, in this era, the traffic was so unusual, and with no news, the only thing he could repeatedly hear about was Datang's most famous mechanical product: the steam engine.
For this reason, he learned that the Tang Dynasty people used steam engines in textile factories.
But to be honest, he didn't know how people in the Tang Dynasty used steam engines, nor did he know about the textile factories in the Tang Dynasty. The steam engines only provided power, and there were also advanced spinning machines that could drive hundreds of spindles.
, a steam-powered loom that is hundreds of times more efficient than traditional looms.
He doesn't even know what the hell a steam engine is!
But this is not important. What is important is that he knew that the Tang Dynasty people used steam engines to produce textiles!
He also wanted to use steam engines in his factory!
It is impossible to buy a steam engine directly, and it is impossible to smuggle it. The only way is to make it yourself.
So he purchased the remains of a steam engine from the Portuguese that had been dismantled several times by the Portuguese and finally could not even be put back together.
Not only the wreckage of the steam engine, he also spent high prices to buy various Tang Dynasty books from the Portuguese. Of course, they would not give them the original copies, but only allowed him to copy them once.
To this end, he hired many people to copy the book. In order to ensure that the content was word for word, he also paid a high price to someone who was proficient in Chinese to copy the original Chinese version. Of course, the Portuguese translation would not forget to copy it as well.
After everything was ready, he gathered people from all over England to learn how to imitate steam engines. To this end, he also held many machine design competitions to challenge the technicians.
Finally he found John, a young mechanical repairman, a seemingly inconspicuous man, but he designed a primitive steam engine.
Although the steam machine had almost no practical value and was only a theoretical prototype at most, it still excited Mark Bryan.
Later, he hired John as his own research and development personnel, and even specially hired a Chinese teacher for John so that John could learn Chinese and then directly read those Chinese books written by the Tang Dynasty people.
Three years later, he spent more than two thousand pounds and hired dozens of people. Under the leadership of John, he finally saw the steam engine he had dreamed of!
A self-made steam engine that can start and output power and has practical possibility!
At this moment, if he were a patriotic businessman, he might shout: From now on, the British people have stood up, and we will say no to the industrial dumping of the Tang Empire.
However, he was just an ordinary businessman, so when he saw the steam engine starting smoothly, although he remained calm in front of John, he was ecstatic inside.
I'm going to get rich!
I will become the most successful and greatest businessman in Europe, and my textiles will be sold all over Europe!
But his ecstasy only lasted less than a minute and then died out!
Because the steam engine that had started successfully just now suddenly stopped!
"What's going on? Why did it stop?" Mark asked.
After John stepped forward to check, he frowned and said, "Sir, the cylinder of the steam engine could not withstand the high pressure and ruptured!"
Then John continued to check and found that not only the cylinder burst, but also several other key parts had problems, especially the crankshaft, which was full of cracks. When he reported these to Mark one by one, Mark's
His face is getting darker and darker.
"You mean, I spent three years and more than two thousand pounds and only got a steam engine that can only run for one minute?" Mark frowned.
John said: "It's not hard, it's true. We need to continue to improve so that the steam engine can work stably!"
"Why can the Tang Dynasty's steam engine run, but ours can't? And why can't we directly use the Tang Dynasty's design, but have to redesign it? And you also said before that the design indicators of all aspects of this steam engine are
It’s not as good as the Tang Dynasty’s steam engine design specifications.” Mark said: “I don’t understand why you don’t use the good ones, but choose the bad ones, and you still can’t succeed!”
"The people of the Tang Dynasty have pointed out a bright road for us, why don't we take it?"
"I don't understand!"
Mark, I said two things in a row that I don’t understand!
John explained helplessly: "Because the quality of our parts is not good, and the processing technology is not good either. If you need it, I can draw the complete design drawings of the Tang Dynasty for you!
but!
It is absolutely impossible for us to build the steam engine of the Tang Dynasty!"
As he spoke, young John walked up to the low-pressure steam engine produced by Zhaoqing Machinery Company in the 15th year of Xuanping, which had obviously been dismantled and scrapped. He stretched out his hand to caress the steel machinery and continued to murmur: "This machine has no foundation at all.
It is not an ordinary machine, but a work of art. In its overall design, no part is redundant and no one is missing.
Many of its parts seem to be ordinary steel, but they are not ordinary steel at all, but some kind of special steel that we don't know about, especially their cylinders, pistons, crankshafts and other parts. I can guarantee that they are absolutely
The material used is not ordinary steel, because ordinary steel cannot withstand such violent high-pressure, high-temperature and high-speed movement.
The gap between the cylinder and the piston is surprisingly small, which ensures sealing without hindering the movement of the piston.
None of this is what we can do!”
"So, if we want to build our own steam engine, we must lower the technical specifications and reduce the pressure on core components. Otherwise, we will not be able to find qualified parts at all, let alone build a practical steam engine.
That's why I drastically lowered the design specifications, took a different approach, and looked for alternatives. As a result, the design power of this steam engine was not even one horsepower.
But I didn’t expect that with our current level of technology, we wouldn’t be able to build even this toy-like steam engine!”
When John said this, his young face was full of helplessness!