It is not very difficult to realize the idea of armored fighting vehicles, but it is almost impossible to achieve the effect of later tanks, because the armor that can be made at this time is not the same concept as later tanks, whether it is speed, flexibility, defense or main gun power.

For example, speed, without a strong engine and only relying on a steam engine, it is good that a bulky armored combat vehicle can reach the walking speed of a normal person, and the world's earliest tanks have a speed of less than four kilometers per hour, which is equivalent to the walking speed of a normal person, and it is a relatively slow one.

For example, in terms of flexibility, the tank propulsion system of later generations was an engine with mechanical transmission, hydraulic transmission and electric transmission, as well as a complex spring shock absorption system, and in this era, only mechanical transmission could be made, and even the spring shock absorption system had to be slowly explored.

There is also defense, to have strong defense, you have to thicken the armor, and the armor thickens the steam engine can not move, in this era this is an unsolvable dead loop, fortunately at this time there are no high-explosive bombs, armor-piercing shells, and no anti-tank missiles, the power of artillery is basically smashed, and you don't need too thick armor to prevent ordinary shells.

As for the power of the main gun, not to mention, the artillery of this era is not the same concept as the artillery of later generations.

Of course, this era does not need such advanced tanks as later generations, and with the level of weapons in this era, even if you can make a moving iron lump to block the front of the infantry, it can determine the outcome of the battle.

Therefore, Zhu Cijiong was still very concerned about the development of armored combat vehicles, and he specially designated Sun Yuanhua, the secretary of the Ministry of War, as the project leader, and selected Song Yingxing and several proud disciples under Wang Zheng to form the first project team, specializing in armored combat vehicles.

In the afternoon, Zhu Cijiong summoned Sun Yuanhua and the members of the project team to discuss the specific progress.

According to his idea, the development and testing of armored combat vehicles should be completed within half a year, because the next year's big war will face the same powers with muskets and artillery, and he really does not want the Ming army to have too many casualties.

After the armored combat vehicle project was arranged, the next thing was the car, and the next day, the seminar continued, and Zhu Cijiong did not say anything at first, but drew a picture of the shape of the earth-turning dragon as yesterday.

Now everyone is muttering, what does the emperor mean by this?

Zhu Cijiong didn't let everyone think about it for too long, and after finishing the painting, he explained: "Yesterday I talked about an armored combat vehicle that integrates defense and offense, and today I want to talk about a pure means of transportation, just like a train, which is not directly put into the battlefield, but can transport grain, grass, baggage and soldiers, and can also be used as a civilian means of transportation." “

Everyone can understand what he said, but such a heavy thing on the road, whether it is a stone road or a cement road, can not bear it, back and forth a few times, the road will be completely rotten, so the dragon is generally not allowed to go on the stone road or cement road, in order to protect the road, why does the emperor want to let the dragon on the road?

Of course, Zhu Cijiong knew what everyone was wondering about, so he turned around directly, wiped off the tracks of the ploughing dragon and the row of plows behind him, drew two rows of rubber tires, and then explained: "If the hard track is pressed on the road, it will definitely crush the road, so you have to replace it with a rubber wheel similar to a carriage wheel." “

Speaking of this, he stopped suddenly, not that he didn't know about cars, and there was nothing to say, but he wanted to change the way to let everyone use their brains to think positively, after all, after thinking, asking questions, and then getting answers, it is much more profound than listening to someone else's speech.

After a pause, he spoke again: "I have also thought of the name of this means of transport, the horse-drawn car is called a horse-drawn carriage, and the car propelled by this steam engine is called a car. “

His trick really worked, and everyone below was afraid that they would be designated by the emperor to be in charge of this project, and it would be troublesome if they couldn't do it at that time, so everyone enthusiastically began to ask questions.

The first question to ask was Bi Maokang, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, who coughed like an early dynasty, reminding everyone that he was going to speak, and then, he stood up directly and said: "Your Majesty, please forgive Weichen for being stupid, the rubber is very soft when it is thin, but such a big wheel as the emperor draws, it is still very hard, plus the weight of the whole car, the stone road and the cement road still can't bear it, right?" “

Zhu Cijiong waved his hand to signal him to sit down, and then praised: "Meng Hou asked this question well, if this rubber wheel is made into a whole solid piece, it will naturally be hard, but what if it is made hollow?" For example, make two layers, the outer layer is about an inch thick, and then make a thin rubber airbag inside, and then fill the airbag with air to support the whole wheel, so that the road surface will not be crushed. “

Seeing this, Zhu Cijiong had to pick up the chalk, turned around and drew a simple tire shape, and drew a sketch of the inner tube, and then explained: "That's it, stuff this placenta-like rubber airbag into it, and support the shell, so it's a bit inappropriate for this thing to be called a wheel, but it should be called a tire, a rubber tire." “

Most people understood this, especially Bi Maokang, who looked eager to try, as if he wanted to make this tire.

However, immediately afterwards, Wang Zheng coughed again, stood up and arched his hand: "Your Majesty, please forgive Weichen for being stupid, according to the weight of the current steam engine, plus the water tank, coal box, and frame, shell, even if you don't load anything up, it will weigh thousands of catties, in this way, the speed of the car will be extremely slow, even slower than the carriage, this is used to transport grain and grass, baggage and even soldiers, is it not very suitable?" “

He said this more tactfully, if it is really slower than a carriage, then what's the point, it is better to use a carriage, after all, it is much easier to raise more horses than to develop a car!

Zhu Cijiong waved his hand again and motioned for him to sit down, and then said with the same appreciation: "Well, Liangfu also asked this question well, everything must be practical, if this car is not as fast as a horse-drawn carriage, then it is better to use a horse-drawn carriage, and even to build a railway, it is more convenient to use a train than to develop a car." Therefore, the weight of this car must be as low as possible and the speed must be as fast as possible. “

These are basically nonsense, everyone is still confused, who doesn't know how to reduce weight and speed up, the question is how to reduce weight and speed up?

Giving everyone a little time to think, Zhu Cijiong went on to explain: "To reduce weight, it is natural to make a fuss about the steam engine, you can consider developing a steam engine with better sealing, greater force and smaller volume, and you can also consider replacing steam power with other power, such as oil, which can also lift the piston when the oil is ignited." Of course, the research of this light power plant is very time-consuming, and it may take years, more than ten years, or even decades for the car to be really developed and put into use, but once it is successful, it can bring more convenience than the train, because the car does not have to go on the tracks, it can go everywhere. Think about it, if there is a car, how convenient it will be for the people of Li to travel, this kind of thing for the benefit of the people of Li and future generations, no matter how much time it takes, we must do it! “