Surrounded by the ministers, Li Xuan entered the Dangtu Industrial Zone, first had a general look at the environment of the industrial zone, then focused on inspecting the factories of the Jiangnan Arms Company and the Jiangnan Iron and Steel Company, and later inspected the Dangtu Branch of the Zhaoqing Company.

The enterprises inspected by Li Xuan are basically the core enterprises in heavy industry.

Although these enterprises are still very primitive and simple from the perspective of the future, Li Xuan knows that this is already the most advanced factory he can make in this era.

And it is precisely because of these factories that the army of the Tang Dynasty was able to obtain many advanced weapons!

Fusiliers, numerous artillery, are the products of these factories.

When Li Xuan inspected the Dangtu branch of Zhaoqing Machinery Company, he saw that there were steam engines in their production line, although it was only a very small one, and most of them were handmade steam engines, but Li Xuan was still quite interested.

He also asked about the steam engine on the spot.

The person in charge of Zhaoqing Machinery Company personally explained: "Your Majesty, the steam engine we produce is already the second generation of steam engine, and the horsepower of the basic model can reach eight horsepower, and this eight-horsepower steam engine, compared with the previous generation of steam engines with the same horsepower, the volume and weight are reduced by Tatar. With a stable eight-horsepower output, the volume and weight are significantly reduced compared to the first generation. ”

"Oh, how stable is it, and is the operating cost big?" Li Xuan asked casually while watching.

Hearing Li Xuan ask about stability and operating costs, the person in charge next to him was a little embarrassed, but the person in charge of Zhaoqing Machinery Company, to put it bluntly, is also an official, and all officials are very thick-skinned.

So although there was a hint of embarrassment, we still looked very awesome and said: "The stability of the second-generation steam engine is three times that of the previous generation, and because the utilization rate of steam is higher, the fuel cost per horsepower is also one and a half times higher than that of the first generation!" ”

Hearing him say this, Li Xuan knew that this thing was still a scumbag!

Because of the performance data of the first generation of steam engines, he knows very well that the average trouble-free operation time is only a pitiful ten hours, and basically after more than ten hours of continuous operation, all kinds of small problems will appear.

Three times higher, it's only thirty or forty hours!

As for the operating costs, even the first-generation steam engine water lifter operating in the coal producing area, its cost per horsepower is basically more than ten times that of hydropower, if it is not in the coal producing area, then this cost is even more, because coal transportation also costs money.

To put it simply, the second-generation steam engine produced by Zhaoqing Machinery Company has not departed from the basic performance of the first-generation steam engine in essence, and can only be said to be a slight improvement.

And Li Xuan knows even more that in fact, Zhaoqing Machinery Company is just an authorized production enterprise, and the research and development of steam engines has nothing to do with them, and the research and development work is in the Royal Institute of Technology.

This so-called second generation is only part of the improvements made by the Royal Institute of Technology to the first batch of steam engines, and the real development of the second generation of steam engines, the Royal Institute of Technology actually hopes to develop the steam engine widely used in all walks of life, especially as the power of many factories, to replace the current widely used hydropower.

Instead of being the same as the current steam engine, it is basically only used in various mining areas, and it is mostly used in coal mines, which is used in factories, and is only used by a few wealthy enterprises in the Ministry of State-owned Enterprises, but it is said to be a commercial application, but it is better to operate at a loss to support the research and development of steam engines.

Although the steam engine in front of him is essentially the first generation of steam engine, Li Xuan is still full of interest when he looks at the sample steam engine in front of him.

Li Xuan can be very sure that as long as he continues to invest in research and development, the steam engine that can be used in a wide range of industrial production in the future must be able to be made, because the history of the previous life is like this, and what he has to do is to greatly shorten this process.

He didn't believe that after investing so much money in research and development every year, he couldn't develop a watt steam engine.

After the steam engine widely used in industrial production is made, the industrial production of the Tang Dynasty will usher in a real take-off, and when the time comes, it will also be time to engage in high-pressure steam engines for ships and trains.

When the high-pressure steam engine is also out, the Tang Dynasty will sweep the world, just around the corner!

When the time comes, you can get a large number of ironclad steam warships by yourself, and you can sling any enemy in all seas around the world, and it will become very easy to annex and colonize the world.

At that time, it is estimated that it will be difficult to get a gasoline engine or a diesel engine, but it doesn't matter, he remembers that in later history, there was such a thing as a steam engine tractor, and since there was a tractor, it was also possible to make a steam engine version of the tank!

No one stipulates that a tank must be powered by a gasoline engine or a diesel engine, and it is the same if he builds a steam engine!

It's a big deal to engage in a larger tonnage and move slower, but as a land armored weapon, or more precisely, a land armored cruiser, slower and larger, it's not a problem at all!

As for the defects of starting a fire to start a battle, the whole process takes at least more than an hour, you need to march with a large cart of coal, and the speed is very slow after loading the artillery, and it is easy to be targeted by the enemy's artillery, is that a problem?

Slow startup? No problem, you can wait!

There is no problem in fighting with coal, just make a bigger one and bring more coal.

As for being targeted by the enemy's artillery, you are a fake when you are an artillery officer of the Tang Army, and you will not use a cannon to hit the enemy's artillery positions before the steam tank charges.

The speed is slow to be hit, damn, get a thicker armor!

And then you may have, since the artillery is so awesome, you might as well simply charge with infantry, that would be even more straightforward, then you can use it so troublesomely!

But can things be judged simply by convenience or not? Steam tank, is it an infantry or cavalry turtle thing can be compared, at a glance it looks so tall and tall, even if it is used as an ornament, it is also an expensive ornament!

Regardless of whether it is useful or not, Li Xuan plans to build a batch of steam tanks to play with in the future!

Well, Li Xuan is treating this thing as a big toy to satisfy his personal preferences!

As for the war, I really didn't count on it!

Seeing Li Xuan repeatedly looking at the production line of the steam engine, several officials on the side were also relieved, they just knew that Li Xuan paid attention to the steam engine, so they included the steam engine in the direction of the inspection, and at the same time instructed the Zhaoqing Machinery Company, it doesn't matter if the production line is not advanced first, but the performance of the product must be good, and it doesn't matter if it can't be mass-produced, the key is to let His Majesty see the progress of technology.

And now the performance of the Son of Heaven is to let them know that they did the right thing about the steam engine.

After inspecting the second-generation steam engine produced by Zhaoqing Machinery Company, Li Xuan also asked the scientific research room around him how the new generation of steam engine at the Royal Institute of Technology was doing.

The new generation of steam engines developed by the Royal Institute of Technology is not the same thing as what is being produced now, but is intended to be widely used in industrial production.

The attendants next to him immediately said: "Last month, the report of the steam engine laboratory of the Royal Institute of Technology said that they have completed part of the design and are currently concentrating on solving the condensation problem!" ”

Perhaps he was afraid that Li Xuan would not understand condensation or anything, so he immediately continued to explain: "The steam engine laboratory of the Royal Institute of Technology said that they have encountered a problem now, that is, they found that when steam enters the cylinder, it will absorb heat from the cooled cylinder, thus losing a lot of power, and they said that as long as this problem is solved, the power of the steam engine can be effectively increased in the future, so as to meet the standard of being widely used in all walks of life!" ”

After Li Xuan listened to it, he slightly recalled the relevant textbooks he wrote for the students of the Royal Institute of Technology, and it seemed that he did not say anything about condensation!

Then he continued to think about it, what did he think?

Thinking about my school days, what was the Watt steam engine added in the books at that time? How did you solve the condensation problem?

It's a pity that he knows about the Watt steam engine, but he really forgot about some technical details.

But don't worry, these are just the details.

As long as the problem is found, then the follow-up can be solved according to this problem, isn't it condensation, Li Xuan himself imagined several solutions in an instant, but whether it works or not has to be discussed again.

Immediately, he said: "Well, when I return to Jinling City, let the people from the steam laboratory enter the palace, and I will personally listen to the problems encountered in the research and development of the steam engine!" ”

The closer people are to Li Xuan, the more they know that Li Xuan attaches great importance to the steam engine.

Today's steam engines can be said to be useless, even pumping water in the mining area dislikes their high consumption, and industrial production can not replace water power, but their saint Tianzi, as if he recognized that the steam engine can bring great changes, will preach to the courtiers the importance of the steam engine and his importance to the steam engine at every opportunity.

Li Xuan is the emperor, he attaches great importance to the steam engine, even if the current steam engine is a piece of, then it has received the highest level of attention.

The steam engine laboratory at the Royal Institute of Technology will always get the most funding!

Not only the funds provided by the Royal Institute of Technology, but also many large enterprises in the Ministry of State-owned Enterprises also provided funds for the research and development of steam engines!

Why the Ministry of State-owned Enterprises is willing to use a steam engine that is operating at a loss, and when the shadow of the new generation of steam engine is not seen, it continues to invest in research and development funds, it is not because of Li Xuan's attention.