Chapter 504 The Immortal Master
“Are you Zhan Watt?”
When Emperor Jiajing arrived at Zhan Watt’s side, he looked at the honest Zhan Watt and asked.
Zhan Watt and the other craftsmen around them didn’t know Emperor Jiajing either, but they knew Teng Xiang. Teng Xiang was so awe-inspiring in front of this Taoist priest wearing Taoist robes, and they certainly didn’t know either. Dare to make mistakes.
Jian Watt immediately replied: "To return to the immortal master, the villain is Zhan Watt."
As soon as Zhan Watt called him "Master Immortal", everyone present was shocked. They didn't expect Zhan Watt to call Emperor Jiajing with such a title.
But after Teng Xiang heard what Zhan Watt said, he became nervous, as if he was very worried that Zhan Watt would call him the wrong name, and he quickly said: "Call me Emperor!"
Zhan Watt suddenly became excited. Although he didn't know who the emperor was, seeing Teng Xiang looking so nervous, his heart pounded and he was frightened. He quickly knelt down and kowtowed in apology.
But at this time, Emperor Jiajing also laughed, "Master Shenxian is not a bad title. You don't have to worry about Teng Xiang, just call him if you really want to."
Zhan Watt listened. After hearing Emperor Jiajing's words, the nervousness in his heart couldn't help but relax, "Thank you, Master Shenxian."
Emperor Jiajing felt extremely relaxed when he heard the words "Master Immortal", which was much more enjoyable than when Huang Jin and others called him "Emperor".
Emperor Jiajing said: "I heard from King Yu that you are the great craftsman who makes steam rail cars?"
Zhan Watt replied: "Thank you to the immortal master, a villain can make steam rail cars. The car is all thanks to the guidance of the prince. When the prince came here and saw the villain making a steam engine, he reminded the villain that the steam engine can also be equipped with wheels. The child was running on the road paved with railroad tracks, so I asked the villain to try to study it."
Emperor Jiajing also laughed when he heard this, "I didn't expect that you actually made it after studying it, right? ?”
Jianwat smiled sheepishly, as if being able to make a steam rail car was something that made him very proud.
"Reporting to the immortal master, the villain was made by luck."
Emperor Jiajing laughed, "But I also heard that your steam rail car seems to be unable to stop, and it has to wait for the coal inside to burn out. He just stopped, right?"
Zhan Watt blushed in embarrassment, but because his skin was already dark and red, no one noticed his red face.
Jian Watt said: "Reporting to the immortal master, when the prince came to see it last year, it was indeed impossible to park the car by himself, but the prince gave us some instructions and asked me to make a transmission device and a brake device."
“ So during this period of time, we were studying what a transmission device is and how to effectively brake. Finally, through our unremitting research and experiments, we finally made a transmission device using the conversion between large and small gears. "< br>
"Then a brake disc for friction was installed next to the wheel, and finally a braking device was made. However, it may be that the bearing capacity of the steel is not enough, and the gears and brake discs often break."
“So now we are also negotiating with the steel plant and let them They produce stronger and more wear-resistant steel, but they ignore us. So at this time, the villain is also asking Eunuch Teng for instructions on whether to set up a separate steel factory in our steam engine factory and let us research and manufacture it ourselves. ”
When James Watt finished these words, At this time, Emperor Jiajing was not clear about the problem. He just turned his head and looked at Teng Xiang and asked: "Is what Zhanwat said feasible?"
Teng Xiang heard Emperor Jiajing's question, He couldn't help but become nervous, "It's possible to report back to the emperor, but it's just too expensive." We need to allocate land and people for them, and then build steel-making blast furnaces and lay related roads. It will be difficult to do these things without hundreds of thousands of taels of silver."
Emperor Jiajing said. It actually costs hundreds of thousands of silver. How many elixirs can be made with so much silver? So for a while Emperor Jiajing didn't agree to anything.
After all, these dollars are still very distressing.
What if these hundreds of thousands of taels of silver were thrown in and no sound was heard, wouldn’t it be a big loss?
Moreover, the steel output of the Ming Dynasty was not enough to begin with. Making weapons and agricultural tools consumed an unimaginable amount of energy. If more steel was divided to test this kind of railway track, we still don’t know whether it can be used. Car, that's really not a wise move.
Emperor Jiajing coughed twice, and did not promise anything to Zhanwat. He directly asked: "Can the current rail car be tested?"
Zhanwat heard Emperor Jiajing say this When I asked, I didn't dare to have any other opinions, so I quickly replied: "Master Immortal, wait a moment, I will make arrangements now."
Emperor Jiajing hummed, "Go ahead."
Then Zhanwatt and others hurriedly went to operate the steam rail car placed under the open air.
Emperor Jiajing also looked at this steel behemoth at this time, and couldn't help showing a look of amazement.
"This rail car is so tall? San'er really didn't lie to me!"
Emperor Jiajing sighed with emotion at the steam rail car that Zhan Watt and the others were playing with, and his heart also rose. An unreal feeling.
You must know that the impact of this thing is still very attractive to ancient people like Emperor Jiajing who have never seen it before.
And this attraction comes from a sense of curiosity about the unfamiliar.
And the author has also had this feeling.
I recall that when the author, who was still a child, learned that a railway was going to be laid in a neighboring village, he would often walk several miles to see the train. However, it only took two or three years from the time the railway was laid to the time it was opened to traffic. Impossible.
So during those two or three years, even children who had seen what trains looked like on TV could not help but look at what trains looked like in reality again and again.
Later, the train finally opened to traffic. At that time, whether it was adults who had free time in the countryside or children who were naughty and mischievous all day long, their biggest hobby at that time was lying on the railway bridge or sitting on the edge of the railway, watching that there might only be one train for a long time. marvel at the passing trains.
The feeling is as addictive as watching an excavator dig trenches when you are very bored. Even if you know how this kind of thing works, you can't help but want to watch more. Eye.
Obviously this is human nature.
As for the existence of steam rail cars, Emperor Jiajing had heard about it when Zhanwatt and the others first made it, but even so, when he saw the real thing, Emperor Jiajing couldn't help but be curious. got up.
“Can you really move by burning coal?”
Emperor Jiajing looked at the steam rail car that had started to smoke but still had not started, and asked Teng Xiang who was standing aside.
Teng Xiang immediately replied: "Yes, Emperor, the force used by this rail car is generated by this steam engine, just like the conveyor belt over there. As long as there is coal and steam, this conveyor belt will be different. "
Emperor Jiajing looked at the conveyor belt that was also working in the distance and couldn't help but hum.
Emperor Jiajing was still very clear about the working principle of steam engines. After all, there were also equipment driven by steam engines in the Xiyuan Palace where he lived.
So when he saw that these things could be moved, Emperor Jiajing would not doubt the legend that the steam rail car could move.
Then Emperor Jiajing also felt that looking at it from such a distance was not enough, so he took a few steps closer to the smoking steam rail car.
Just when Emperor Jiajing stopped, the steam rail car finally started to rumble and tremble.
Huang Jin was also startled when he saw this, and quickly shouted: "Escort!"
The guards on the side immediately surrounded him to protect Emperor Jiajing without knowing what was going on. At the same time, Teng Xiang was frightened and he quickly stood in front of Emperor Jiajing.
But Emperor Jiajing said with a natural expression: "Why are you panic? Get aside and don't block my eyes." Huang Jin also glanced at Emperor Jiajing awkwardly and said repeatedly: "Slave. I lost my temper.”
Teng Xiang also stepped aside in embarrassment. He did not expect that Huang Jin’s ancestor would have such a big reaction.
But what happened next was what Teng Xiang learned.
Emperor Jiajing said: "Forget it, I don't blame you. This thing is too incredible. It made a rumble when it just moved. It was really scary."
Huang Jin said again: "The emperor is still powerful, the servant was scared just now."
Emperor Jiajing chuckled and said: "Then you have to practice more in the future. Otherwise, what should you do if you keep being surprised like this?"
Huang Jin immediately said again: "Yes, yes, I obey." Purpose.”
It turns out that this is the ultimate secret of the ancestor's unfailing love for the emperor. He is really stuck. Every word sounds like nonsense, but every word makes Emperor Jiajing feel like " I understand, you don’t understand”.
It really can make people learn for a lifetime.
Just when Teng Xiang was lamenting the art of conversation between Huang Jin and Emperor Jiajing, the trembling rail car finally started to move.
Emperor Jiajing looked at the steam rail car moving slowly along the rails, and his eyes couldn't help but shine.
“The legendary wooden cow and flowing horse should be nothing more than that, right?”
Although Emperor Jiajing knew that the rail car could move, the moment he saw it really move with his own eyes, His heart was still extremely excited and shocked.
Because among the legends he knew, Zhuge Liang, who was more than a thousand years old, had invented a wooden cow and a flowing horse that could walk automatically without human power.
However, this wooden cow and flowing horse is just a legend after all. It has not been truly spread in the world, and there are no truly credible documents and objects preserved.
So when I later lamented the wisdom of Zhuge and the magic of wooden cows and flowing horses, it was more of an imagination that was biased towards mythology.
Now Emperor Jiajing must have been extremely shocked when he saw a steam railway car that could truly drive itself without oxen or horses.
"How fast can this rail car run?"
Emperor Jiajing looked at the steam rail car gradually moving away from his eyes, and couldn't help but ask a very critical question.
Teng Xiang immediately replied: "According to Zhanwat's calculations, this steam rail car can travel about thirty to forty miles per hour. However, the distance between the tracks here is It’s limited, that is, it’s only about five miles long, so we can’t really tell how fast it can run.”
Emperor Jiajing was also shocked when he heard that he could run thirty or forty miles in an hour!
You must know that the fastest information transmission speed now is the 600-mile expedited speed that the imperial station has always maintained. If you want to exceed 600 miles, then you must not hesitate to sacrifice human lives or horses to achieve it.
But it was just a quick movement of one person and one horse. It was okay to deliver a message, but to escort some supplies and soldiers and horses, we could only calculate it according to the usual distance. The cavalry was okay to use. Traveling more than a hundred miles a day is difficult for infantry. Even without baggage, traveling more than fifty miles a day is considered a forced march.
So if this thing can really travel thirty or forty miles every hour, and four or five hundred miles a day, it would be like an artifact.
Just thinking about it makes your soul tremble.
Emperor Jiajing suddenly said excitedly: "How much money will it cost to build a separate steelmaking plant here specifically for rail cars?"
Teng Xiang looked at Emperor Jiajing carefully and whispered: "It takes about 600,000 taels of silver. But..."
"But what?"
When Emperor Jiajing heard this, he couldn't help but frowned.
Teng Xiang whispered back: "I also reported this to the prince earlier, but the prince did not agree to build a steelmaking plant here. The prince meant that the traffic conditions should be better. A steelmaking plant was selected to be built near Tianjin Wei, so the one here was put aside for the time being.”
Emperor Jiajing was a little puzzled when he heard that a steelmaking plant was to be built near Tianjinwei. Although Tianjinwei had good transportation, it was still two to three hundred miles away from Xishan.
And Tianjin Wei has neither iron ore nor coal. If it really wants to make steel, both iron ore and coal must be transported from other places, which will obviously increase the cost.
So Emperor Jiajing asked with some confusion: "Why did Prince Yu do this?"
Teng Xiang said: "The prince said that Tianjin Wei seems to have no mines and coal, but there is enough there. Whether it is materials coming from the canal or materials coming from the sea in the future. , they can all gather at Tianjin Wei.”
“And the prince also said that the current Shuntian Prefecture will build a toll-hardened road from Tianjin Wei directly to the capital. In the future, even if Tianjin Wei is two to three hundred miles away from the west mountain of the capital. Even if you are far away, you can arrive in the morning or evening without wasting any time.”
When Emperor Jiajing heard what Teng Xiang said, he couldn't help but nodded and said: "San'er is right. We need to consider the long term. Although Xishan is big, it is not as lively as Tianjin Wei. Moreover, there is the Divine Medicine Palace here in Xishan, which is true. It is not suitable for any large ironworks to be built here.”
While Emperor Jiajing was speaking, Zhanwat and the others had already returned from a lap in their steam railway car.
Emperor Jiajing looked at the railway car that appeared in front of him again, his eyes were like seeing an artifact, and he couldn't move his eyes away.
Emperor Jiajing asked: "Can you brake this time?"
Zhan Watt got off the front of the car and quickly replied to Emperor Jiajing: "Thank you to the gods, I can brake, but it's just It is easy to scrap the brake disc, and it is necessary to further manufacture stronger steel to use as the brake disc. ”
Emperor Jiajing hummed, "These are not problems, you just do it according to your ideas. I will leave the qualified steel to professional craftsmen to make it. You only need to ensure that this rail car can run stably." "Yes."
Zhan Watt heard Emperor Jiajing's words of assurance. After receiving the certificate, he bowed excitedly and said, "Thank you, Master God!"
Emperor Jiajing laughed and said, "Can I also get on the bus and try it?"
Emperor Jiajing As soon as this sentence came out, everyone present looked at each other. This situation has never happened before.
Because even Teng Xiang had never been there, no one knew what to say when they suddenly heard Emperor Jiajing’s request.
Huang Jin and Teng Xiang also stood there in confusion. Zhan Watt, who had a dark face, couldn't help but become anxious when he heard that Emperor Jiajing was about to get in the car.
Zhan Watt said: "Yes, yes, that's..."
When Emperor Jiajing heard that it was OK, he became more energetic, "What is it?"
Zhan Watt said : "It's just too dirty inside. It’s all coal that needs to be delivered, and it’s dark everywhere. I’m afraid it will dirty the body of the immortal master.”
When Emperor Jiajing heard this, he immediately laughed, “It’s not a problem, that’s all. A little soot.”
——————
Please give me a monthly ticket~~
(End of this chapter)