Winters in the capital are also very cold, in fact, the weather in the northern hemisphere in the middle of the 17th century was very cold, but in recent years, thanks to the use of heating stoves, fire pits, pits and even the most advanced pipe heating, the interior of the capital is extremely warm.

But not everyone can afford to burn a stove, at least for some of the poorer children who are studying in high school, they have to choose between heating and food. Often, they choose foods that wrap their stomachs. I just have to carry the winter chill with my body.

Even for Qiao Anton, who is a northerner, Zhongdu is difficult. Despite his thick cotton clothes, he still stays in the library during the day, at least the library is heated, and the room is as warm as spring, so that people don't feel the cold of winter at all.

In fact, in winter and summer, the library will gather children from poor families from all over the world, who do not necessarily study in dozens of academies or schools, including Qinghe Academy, but they often study in preparatory schools, where they make up for practical knowledge and wait for the entrance exams of the coming year. After all, compared to Zhongdu, their hometown practice may only be limited to the social science stage.

In Zhongdu, there are some of the best teachers in the country, and the teachers in the preparatory schools are often the best graduates of Qinghe Academy, where they can learn the latest practical knowledge and get pre-exam tutoring, so that they can be admitted to the school of their choice.

Like everyone else, Qiao Andong is now studying at one of the preparatory schools, which is run by Qinghe Academy, and according to the admission rate of previous years, 35% of students can be admitted to Qinghe Academy.

As long as you are admitted to that academy, your fate will change! No one doubts this, but the prerequisite for admission to the academy is that you need to work hard. More effort is needed, after all, Joe Anton's current performance is outside 35%.

"A steam engine is a reciprocating power machine that converts the energy of steam into mechanical work......"

Writing in pencil in his notebook, Joandon continued to look through the book on the steam engine, which had been released just a few months earlier, and steam was the latest invention, a miraculous invention.

"The work of steam in the cylinder of the steam engine can be divided into four stages: 1. Steam intake; 2. Expansion; 3. exhausting steam; 4. Compression ......"

Looking at the pictures below the text, the picture used to depict the four-stage movement slowly moved in Joanton's mind, and although he had never seen a steam engine, he still imagined what it looked like. Even he had the illusion that he heard the whistle of a steam engine in his ears.

"It's a miracle that as long as there is water, coal, and even wood, there is a constant supply of steam for power......

Just when he was amazed by the invention of the steam engine, suddenly, Joan Anton stared at the connecting rod crank and flywheel in the picture, and then his brow raised.

"If that's the case......"

With such muttering on his lips, Qiao Anton directly redrew a sketch in his notebook.

"This flywheel...... Can you adjust that? ”

Drawing his thoughts in his notebook, Joan didn't even feel hungry, and even forgot the two vegetable buns in his pocket, which were originally his lunch.

From the morning, until the evening, until the sky was completely dark, and when he saw that a notebook was about to be finished, and finally in his mind, after the movements were coherent, Qiao Anton stood up violently and shouted excitedly.

"Yes, that's right, that's it!"

When he called this, everyone who was originally looking at the book looked at him with displeasure, and then he realized his gaffe, smiled awkwardly, and after apologizing, Qiao Anton sat down again, and then took a pencil, stared at the notebook, and said to himself.

"Now, there's one more problem that needs to be solved!"

Compared to the previous "invention", this problem is undoubtedly the most important, if this problem cannot be solved, then the so-called "invention" is just empty talk.

"How much does a steam engine cost? Where are steam engines produced? ”

The former question may not be answered by the library, but the latter question, he easily found the answer in the book, the royal arsenal in Qinghe made steam engines. At 6 o'clock in the afternoon, Qiao Anton, under the reminder of the administrator, was reluctant to blow out the oil lamp and leave the library, and when he left the library, he did not feel the slightest chill, and even when he returned to the rented attic, he was still enthusiastic and continued to draw his inventions.

In the next few days, Joe Anton went to the carpenter, and then instructed the carpenter to help him make the model, although it cost him half a tael of silver, but when the model with a layer of black paint was finished, he felt that everything was worth it.

"With this model, you should be able to convince them!"

Convince whom?

Of course, it is to convince the investment bank's "God of Wealth", Taichang Investment Bank is a bank that has just been founded this year, only a very few people know that the investment bank is funded by the emperor himself, and the business of the investment bank in later generations is the same, which is mainly engaged in securities issuance, underwriting, trading, corporate restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, investment analysis, venture capital, project financing and other business of non-bank financial institutions, of course, venture capital is one of the main businesses of Taichang Bank, it not only funds certain commercial projects, It also finances inventions and even the exploration of new routes, and two months ago TC Hong funded a fleet expedition east of Batavia that is almost impossible to recoup its investment, but has benefited the country's understanding of the South Seas.

And this is the reason why Joe Anton chose Taichang, because he felt that only Taichang would fund his invention. Because he came from a large family, he didn't feel the slightest nervousness when facing the bank's account manager, but directly showed his thoughts to him.

“…… In general, it is to transfer the power of the steam engine to the wheels, so that the railway does not need to be pulled by horses, and the use of steam cars to pull not only does not need to change horses halfway, but also is faster, in my estimation, it can reach 30-40 miles per hour, and maybe even faster, of course, this depends on the power of the steam engine. ”

Looking at the drawings in his hand, Nie Yuanpeng's expression was a little surprised, maybe he graduated from an accounting school in Nanjing, but he is no stranger to steam, and the bank's investment direction has been very clear in recent times - to support steam factories and factories to add steam engines.

But those steam engines, without exception, replaced water power as the power of the factory, and now the person in front of him wants to use a big guy like a steam engine to pull trains.

"Do you know how much a steam engine weighs?"

Nie Yuanpeng asked directly. The steam engines were all very large, and in his opinion, it was unlikely that they would be used in a car.

"I checked the information in the library, and the smallest steam engine weighs about 11 tons and has a power of about 10 horsepower, which is not heavy, and the power is enough, even if it can drive dozens of machines, it will definitely be able to pull more than a dozen carriages. What's more, its power is stable, unlike horses, the fatigue of horses needs to be taken into account, maybe within tens of miles, it may not be able to catch up with the horse, but the farther the distance, the greater its advantage......"

Then Qiao Anton took out his model from the suitcase next to him, a wooden black model, and showed Nie Yuanpeng how to transfer power from the flywheel of a steam engine to the wheel.

"You see, as long as the flywheel turns, it can transfer power to the wheel through the crank, and it can move on the railway day and night......"

It's a very simple invention!

As long as he took a look, Nie Yuanpeng found that this invention was actually equivalent to turning the transmission of the steam engine to the earth axis or the sky axis into a wheel, and transferring the fixed platform of the steam engine from the ground to the carriage, and there was nothing new in other safety.

"You can also see that this invention is actually very simple, it is a very mature technology, and you just need to work around it."

However, although the invention is simple, Jo Anton is not worried about being plagiarized by others, after all, he has already applied for a patent.

"Why do you have to drive on the railroad?"

Nie Yuanpeng asked a little puzzled.

"Because the railway can bear the load, after all, the weight of the steam engine is there, and of course, if there is a small steam engine in the future, it can also be considered for use in horse-drawn carriages. But for now, it's more convenient to use on the railway, and besides, ......"

Looking at Nie Yuanpeng, who was still a little hesitant, Qiao Anton said.

"Now that the railway has been paved from it to Luoyang, and even all the way to Tongguan City, why did the imperial court build this railway at any cost? It must be for the future western expedition and the recovery of Shaanxi, so as long as the steam car is manufactured, then the imperial court will definitely buy a large number of vehicles, or even hundreds of them, and when the time comes, the bank will definitely be able to get a rich return! ”

Of course, Qiao Andong himself can also get a good return, not only in terms of money, but also in terms of fame, and this development will even help him enter Qinghe Academy.

"The ...... of the Western Expedition"

Although he still had some doubts about this kind of steam car in his heart, Nie Yuanpeng was still moved by Qiao Andong's words. Indeed, if the steam car can really be used, as long as it can show similar performance to horses, even if it is slightly less than horses, as long as it can be used day and night, it will definitely get orders from the army, and as long as there are orders, it can continue to improve.

It seemed that this was a good investment, so he looked at the boy in front of him, who was only eighteen years old, and showed a professional smile.

"You know, we're very cautious about investing, and now I'm going to explain to you some of the rules of our line? Then we'll talk about the details......"