After Yang Haoran retired, Xie Hong was still busy. [Full text reading]

In fact, the level of science and technology in the Ming Dynasty was not low, and many things had prototypes or even ready-made, as long as they were improved, such as gunpowder, cannons, and ships.

For example, the cannon, the original general cannon is similar to the Western artillery of the same period, as long as the material is improved, the caliber is increased, and the new gunpowder developed by Zeng Zheng is enough to be applied.

In this, Xie Hong's main role was to guide, and the craftsman who cast the cannon was brought to Jinzhou with the ten general cannons.

These people were originally skilled craftsmen, and what they lacked was only some theoretical foundation, and they had the strength to study, and after joining Xie Hong's craftsman team, this point was quickly improved, so Xie Hong didn't have to worry about it, and the appearance of iron-cast artillery was only a matter of time.

Plate armor is another important topic, the armor is strong, of course, Xie Hong will not just talk, with the technology of smelting steel, he quickly remembered this thing that can be called to change the mode of war. You know, the reversal of the situation of the Hundred Years' War between England and France in the middle of the fourteenth century was largely due to the appearance of this thing.

Although Xie Hong has also designed a machine to quickly deal with chain mail, the latter's defense power and manufacturing speed can't be said to be the same as plate armor, so why not use it?

Therefore, after sending Wang Shouren away, Xie Hong worked non-stop to complete the initial planning of the hydraulic forging machine and artillery, and then listed these two topics as important research and development projects, and the current progress also made him very satisfied.

However, there are also more troublesome things at the moment, that is, the design that Xie Hong has at hand, this thing has no samples, and can only be created according to the memories of later generations, which really makes Xie Hong think a lot.

The thing that can make him so anxious, and even a little headache, is obviously only the steam engine, which is the key to the industrial age, of course Xie Hong has to think a little more.

The principle of the steam engine is very simple, that is, the water is boiled, and then the piston is pushed by the expansion of the steam, and then the linkage device is driven to do work.

In terms of mechanical structure, it can't cause any trouble at all, and how can it be difficult to get Xie Hong from the driving device of a clock and a flywheel battleship, and the linkage device of a steam engine? What gave him some headaches was the sealing device.

Without rubber, the seal surname will definitely not be satisfactory, cork, and even seal skin Xie Hong has considered and even experimented, but it has never achieved the ideal effect in his mind, so the research and development work has come to a standstill for the time being.

Of course, the sealing device is not up to par, and the steam engine can also be used, but the power consumption is higher and the efficiency is lower, Xie Hong originally felt that there was still plenty of time, so he planned to take his time.

However, the plan could not keep up with the changes, and his plan to take his time quickly became obsolete, because Old Man Dai was unexpectedly active, and the application of the steam engine was suddenly put on the agenda.

"Master Xie, Master Xie, I'm here again, when will the steam engine you said be made? Let me tell you, the keel of the new ship has already been laid, and if you don't hurry up, you won't be able to catch up. "Thinking about Cao Ying, Cao Ying, Xie Hong's thoughts just shifted from the steam engine to Dai Ziyan, and the old man appeared with a shout.

Xie Hong stroked his forehead, he had a headache, he had to admit that he still underestimated the level of craftsmen in the Ming Dynasty, from the old man to Jinzhou, it was less than two months in total, but this boatsmith has completely understood Xie Hong's sailing concept from later generations, and has a lot of his own experience.

Old man Dai was originally a little arrogant, in other places in the Ming Dynasty, of course, his surname could not be eaten, but in the process of integrating into Xie Hong's gang, this surname played a considerable role, he almost immediately adapted to the atmosphere of Lushun Industrial Zone, and replaced Wang Yun as the leader of the dock.

In fact, there is no strict distinction between the colleges and the workshop, and generally speaking, there is a ranking according to the technical level, and the rights and responsibilities are delineated accordingly. Of course, there are also many highly skilled, but the organizational ability is low, which requires a special assistant.

However, the Navigation Academy, that is, the dockyard side, the original leader Wang Yun belongs to both, and will be easily replaced by Old Man Dai, which also happened with his willingness.

The reason is also very simple, the old man Dai is nothing special, but the shipbuilding technology is high, not to mention Wang Yun, even if he is the master in Jiangnan, he may not be able to catch up with the old man, he has only stayed in the dock for a few days, and he has already impressed all the shipwrights, including Wang Yun.

The old man didn't have any opinions, after Xie Hong's teaching, he also taught the shipwrights in the dock, these people have had considerable practical experience for more than half a year, and now they have been taught by masters, and the skills are naturally a thousand miles.

Therefore, while everything was busy outside, the level of the dock also suddenly improved a lot, which Xie Hong had not expected in advance. It is said that shipbuilding is a heavy industry, and it should belong to the kind of project that is very slow, even with a famous craftsman like Dai Ziyan, Xie Hong still did not expect that the dockyard would advance by leaps and bounds.

It wasn't until Old Man Dai came with the drawings of the new ship that Xie Hong was shocked to realize that the concept of later generations and the level of the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty themselves had actually achieved the progress of breaking through the surname, and the big ship he expected was about to come out.

Because he had not been able to determine the design of the steam engine for a long time, this time Xie Hong became a dragger, and was repeatedly urged by Old Man Dai, so that he didn't dare to meet the other party.

The reason why Hua Dang stayed in the school field and didn't leave after fooling Hua Dang today was also because Xie Hong was a little worried about Old Man Dai and was scared, but he didn't expect the other party to chase after him, and I didn't know why he was so well-informed.

"Alas, Master Dai, what are you anxious about? It is common sense that timber has to be dried for a year or two before it can be used for shipbuilding. Xie Hong sighed and found a very powerful reason, "Don't look at the lot of wood here, most of it was only harvested this year, and it can only be used next year." ”

"What's that?" Dai Ziyan waved his hand and said: "There is a lot of wood here, and there are many people, and I am not afraid of wasting, besides, before I came, didn't the dock use these wood to build flywheel warships?" I heard that you said it, Lord Xie, when the ship board is deformed and can't be used, just deal with it, right? ”

The old man said vigorously: "Moreover, before large-scale manufacturing, you have to build a few experimental ships, which seems to be what you said, Master Hou?" Master Hou, what you said is very right, and I also agree with the old man, so we still have to speed up the progress. Well, Master Hou, how long will it take to build that steam engine of yours? ”

has been retributed, using other people's words to gag other people's mouths has always been my brother's forte, but today it was actually used by others, Xie Hong began to find new excuses.

"Master Dai, in fact, this kind of thing can't be rushed, you know, this is a steam engine, it is an epoch-making invention, very great, of course I have to be cautious, it's better to be like this, you build a sailboat first, we didn't discuss it last time, as long as the superstructure of the ship is reduced, the underwater shape is also designed to reduce the resistance structure, and then add more sails, you can build a large clipper."

"Well, you're talking about a pretty good clipper."

Dai Ziyan nodded, as if he was thoughtful, but before Xie Hong could breathe, he raised his head again, and said reluctantly: "But that kind of ship is similar to your flywheel battleship, it's almost fast, but it can't be loaded with things, and it can't set up cannons, so you still have to build a big ship, and it's best to be the steamer-powered steamer you said." ”

This old man is really dead-eyed, Xie Hong sighed in his stomach again, my brother even figured out the flying scissors, how difficult it is, you must know that in the later life, my brother is just an otaku, and he is completely a layman for navigation.

However, what Master Dai said is right, the clipper ship is fast, and when the wind is down, it only takes more than ten days to cross the Atlantic, but it can't fit much on it, and the ship described before is indeed much worse.

It's just that this steam engine ...... Xie Hong tapped the drawing with a pen, very depressed, the overall structure and linkage device were completed, just one seal was missing, and the result was stuck.

But in addition to the problems of the manufacturing process, the corrosion-resistant surname of the boiler and cylinder has not been taken into account, although these things can be refined in the future, but if the power consumption ratio is too large, it will directly affect the voyage of the ship.

"This is the steam engine you are talking about, my lord?" Xie Hong didn't answer, and Dai Ziyan didn't treat himself as an outsider, so he came up honestly and unceremoniously, looked at the drawings in Xie Hong's hand for a while, and suddenly asked.

"Hmm." Xie Hong nodded subconsciously.

"Although I don't know much about the old man, if you just look at the structure, it doesn't seem to be under the flywheel battleship, what else is missing?"

"What is this......" The principle of this thing is not difficult, Dai Ziyan himself is also a clever craftsman who touches the bypass, Xie Hong is not afraid of not being able to explain, thinking that it is better to simply distract the other party's attention, so he pointed to the drawings and explained in detail: "The steam engine is ...... with steam"

"Well, sure enough...... Subtle. Dai Ziyan nodded in admiration after hearing this, and it took a long time to react, and then asked, "Isn't it already perfect now?" What are you waiting for, my lord? ”

"Seal the surname......" Xie Hong sighed: "I originally planned to make something called rubber, uh, that is, a material extracted from resin......"

"Resin? I seem to have seen such a tree somewhere......" After listening to Xie Hong's description of the rubber tree, Dai Ziyan suddenly groaned thoughtfully.

"You've seen it?" Xie Hong was surprised, "It's impossible, even if it's Nanyang, it should be ...... now."

Rubber trees are native to South America, and they were transplanted to the South Seas later, and now the Age of Discovery is in the ascendant, and the industrial age in the West should not have begun yet, so no one will transplant that thing to Asia, right?

"It's not Nanyang, it's in Nanzhili!" Dai Ziyan patted his thigh, "That's right, it's a fig tree, and the resin on it is similar to what you said." ”

(To be continued)