Zhu Youxiao smiled and said, "Don't praise me too much, otherwise I will be proud." Okay, I can only put forward some immature opinions about the steam engine, you can do it first, especially in the application of boats, I thought about it for a while, in fact, if you use a steam ship, the train may cost less, and we have many rivers, it should be very convenient. ”

Sun Yuanhua said with a bitter face: "Now the speed of the steam locomotive is already okay, but there are too few rails, and after the new recruit a group of people to repair the railway, the steel output can't keep up, and we are now sending people to explore everywhere to see where there are iron ores." ”

Zhu Youxiao recalled the high geography, several iron mines in the country are in Liaodong, and now there is no way to mine, except for Qian'an iron stone, it seems that there is an iron mine in Daye, Hubei Province is very good, because it is open-pit and easy to mine.

He tried to ask, "You know that there is a Daye?" ”

Sun Yuanhua replied: "You know, south of the Yangtze River, the copper ore there is good, but the iron ore seems to be not very large. ”

Zhu Youxiao breathed a sigh of relief, if he didn't call the name, it would be difficult to explain. He smiled confidently and said: "There is a large amount of iron ore here, and it is shallow and easy to mine. In addition, the iron ore in Qian'an can increase the amount of mining, and there is more iron ore inside, using rails to open mines, laying rails into pits, and using steel ropes to pull carts to transport ores out, Sun Qing, you are responsible for manufacturing, so you will not worry about less iron ore. Wait two years, after solving the problem of Jiannu, there will be more iron ore. ”

Sun Yuanhua patted his head and said: "I'm so stupid, I didn't even think of using the train for mining, Your Majesty, without your words, I'm afraid that the minister won't be able to think of it for ten years." ”

Zhu Youxiao was completely immune to Sun Yuanhua's sycophants, and said: "Don't talk about it left and right, have you encountered problems in the development of steamships?" ”

Sun Yuanhua said with a bitter face: "Your Majesty, we have tried the propeller you mentioned, and the paddle wheel is much better, but the speed is still too slow." ”

Zhu Youxiao asked, "How much is the speed?" ”

Sun Yuanhua said ashamedly: "It's less than ten miles in an hour. ”

Zhu Youxiao said angrily: "To be specific, why don't you say that it is less than a hundred miles in an hour." ”

Sun Yuanhua said: "More than eight miles in an hour." It's only one-sixth the size of a train. ”

Zhu Youxiao said: "Take me to have a look." ”

The group came to the river, and the test was a wooden boat about thirty feet long, the sails had been lowered, and it was very ugly to be bare.

Sun Yuanhua said to a graduate student on the side of the boat: "Raise the fire, start the boat, and measure the speed." ”

After waiting for a long time, the steamship finally began to sail. Everyone followed the steamship on the shore, and Sun Yuanhua looked at the pocket watch and the markers on the shore. Half an hour later, he said to Zhu Youxiao in frustration: "Your Majesty, it's still only one hour and nine miles. ”

Zhu Youxiao laughed and said, "Sun Qing, you gave me a surprise. The speed of nine miles in an hour is already very good, don't take it and the steam locomotive. ”

Sun Yuanhua said in confusion: "Your Majesty, this speed is too slow and has no practicality, so the minister has never dared to report it to Your Majesty." ”

Zhu Youxiao shook his head and said, "You raise the flag and let them land." ”

After the steamship docked, Zhu You proofread the student at the research institute and asked, "Is the consumption of coal large?" ”

The student replied, "Your Majesty, if the ship is empty, a hundred stones of coal in the coal tank can be used for twenty hours in a row, and of course, I am afraid that the steam engine will not be used for such a long time." ”

Zhu Youxiao calculated in his heart, five stones of coal an hour, which should not be much, and there is still room for improvement in the shape of the ship, of course, because it is a boat traveling along the river, the speed should be less than nine miles, but it is not unacceptable if it is eight miles.

He asked, "What is the velocity of the water?" ”

Sun Yuanhua knew that the emperor saw through that he was sailing down the river this time, and replied stubbornly: "One hour and one mile." ”

Zhu Youxiao asked the student: "What is your name, and are you in charge of the steam engine on this side?" ”

The student replied, "Your Majesty, student Zhu Zhiyu, the steam engine of this ship is controlled by the student, and Master Sun has asked the student to temporarily serve as the captain of this ship." ”

Zhu Youxiao said with a smile: "It turned out to be my family, that's good, you rebuild a ship, it's best to use steel to build it, use a pointed head instead of a flat head, so that you can reduce the resistance of the water, and then you transfer the steam engine of this ship to a new ship, and then test the speed of the ship, which should be able to increase to a certain extent." If the speed reaches 10 miles per hour, then mass production can begin. ”

Sun Yuanhua still didn't quite understand that the speed of ten miles and the train could not be compared at all. At this time, Zhu Youxiao asked him: "Sun Qing, the speed of the steam ship train is much lower, only ten miles in an hour, but it can reach two hundred and forty miles in one day, and two thousand four hundred miles in ten days, this speed is indeed not a train, but he doesn't want rails, his consumption is less, and he can pull more things." Do you think that the fruits and grains in the south can reach Beijing directly from the sea in only ten days, so what are we worried about the transportation of grain? What's more, we also have a large number of inland rivers and canals, if you transport things from Shu, do you say that it is convenient for trains or steam ships? ”

Sun Yuanhua came to his senses and said: "Your Majesty, the minister just thought about the problem of speed, but did not take into account other aspects, and he is ashamed. ”

Zhu Youxiao said: "This is normal, I appreciate you like this, people who think too much can't focus on one thing, you can do your invention with peace of mind, this kind of thing is most suitable for you." ”

Sun Yuanhua said: "Your Majesty, the minister often feels that there are too many things in the Weapons Bureau, and the minister only wants to concentrate on inventions, so it is better for someone else to manage the Weapons Bureau." ”

Zhu Youxiao shook his head and said: "No, you can't be managed by a layman, it's better to be managed by someone who knows how to do it, at most I will give you a few assistants to help you share the burden." The three of you, each with two students as assistants, can reduce your workload, and can bring out new people to take over your class in the future, but this candidate should be carefully examined, don't choose some people who don't do serious things and just want to be officials. ”

Sun Yuanhua said: "This minister knows it in his heart, but Your Majesty, the students of the research institute all come to the Ordnance Bureau for internship because they like invention and creation. ”

Zhu Youxiao said with a smile: "Hehe, don't think too well of people, the reason why they think it's not interesting to be an official and make a fortune now is just because they haven't tasted power and wealth yet." ”