Sunday, October 28, 1635.

The Manchurian Outer Islands (Staten Island) Industrial Park welcomed a group of big names today, including Senate President Bao Zitu, House Speaker Zhao Fang, Industry Minister Hong Changlin, Minister of Transport and Construction Zhou Yi, and even the former Senate President Liu Mingjun, who was hospitalized again due to physical discomfort in the autumn, was temporarily discharged from the hospital and rushed to the scene accompanied by his daughter Liu Lanxi.

Under the joint research of the North Industries Group and the General Industry Group, which symbolize the most cutting-edge industrial manufacturing capabilities of Huamei, the manufacturing technology of the 2,500-ton steam forging press was completed in April 1633, the steam rolling mill entered the technical test in September 1634, and the technical restoration and engineering application verification of the 1,000-ton hydraulic press were realized in March 1635...... A series of research and development of basic industrial application machinery finally converged on one point, that is, the manufacture of steam locomotives.

The revelation of such ambitious industrial projects by two large private industrial groups overshadowed the state-run heavy machinery company, which already had a monopoly on the manufacture of steam tractors.

Today, the state-owned heavy machinery company has invested almost all of its manpower in the product design and improvement of subsequent steam tractors, and there is no time to think about anything else, and its technical strength is obviously not comparable to that of the two major industrial private groups. Even because of the strict reliance on the first two in the supply of product parts, it seems that the steam tractor is more of a by-product of the halfway process.

In the 16th century, horse-drawn carriage transportation with wooden rails was used in the mines of England and Germany; In 1767, the first cast iron track was paved, opening the application of modern rails; In 1779, Picard replaced the hydraulic two-high rolling mill with steam power, and the metal plate processing technology was greatly improved; In 1795, the first hydraulic press using Pascal's principle in Britain was put into use, and then the hydraulic press gradually replaced the large steam forging hammer to process large metal parts; In 1831, O'Eber designed an I-rail with a single weight of 18 kilograms. The sprout of modern rails; In 1865, the United States pioneered the rolling rail process, and the modern rail section design was also determined at the same time......

Compared with the original scientific development speed of history, the emergence of Huamei train and rail manufacturing technology seems to be a little late, and until now, it has not been able to fully solve the problem of tensile strength and hardness of rail materials. In order to ensure the safety of technical application, the first generation of Huamei rails directly adopted the 60 kg heavy rail standard.

Starting from the steel smelter area of the state-owned energy and mining group in the outer islands, a bright gray railway track with a spacing of 1,620 millimeters with gray and white cement sleepers stretches like a giant centipede to the port area. At the small station in the steel mill area, a 160-horsepower steam locomotive with a simple shape and steaming water vapor is already parked. Theoretically, it can pull at least 1,000 tons of goods and run at a speed of 30 kilometers per hour on this railway of more than 2,000 meters.

On the issue of track width design, the historical principle of the "pack horse's butt" has been thrown out of the way by historical plagiarists. The track width of 1,620 mm is a standard that combines many considerations for future rail construction costs and long-term applications. It is said that one of the biggest potential reasons for this standard is to commemorate the beginning of the history of China in 1620 AD, which makes people feel how lucky they were in the first place, otherwise there would have been a frightening number.

The test ceremony, which was far more imposing than last year's steam tractor of the state-owned heavy machinery company, began. In a rhythmic steam outburst, the connecting rods on the wheels of the train turned. The rudimentary and conservative front of the steam locomotive began to slowly "slide" along the rails.

"Dad, you can take the train to the whole country in the future!" Liu Lanxi said loudly in the ear of her elderly father with a smile, and her husband Zheng Quan on the other side had even more eyes.

"Good...... Good ......" Many years have passed, and the 84-year-old Liu Mingjun burst into tears. Touching his daughter's hand, he kept repeating a word.

"Lao Jiang, Lao Lin is not here, you give an accurate number, when will the final research and development be completed? How much does it cost to build? "The bun diagram clips the technical information under the armpit. Watching intently as the train roared away at 15 kilometers per hour, he muttered softly.

Before he reached the age of 50, he had already begun to enjoy the treatment of the word "old". Jiang Zhaolong smiled and pointed to the information folder under the other party's armpit: "I am in charge of steam locomotives and carriage parts, and Lin Youde is in charge of the final assembly of rails and locomotives, which is only a preliminary test at present." Next, we will continue to improve, increase the power of the locomotive, improve safety, and then wait for the completion of the real Yàn railway in the ring industrial zone, and pass the long-distance driving test...... Well, it's probably going to be another two years. However, according to Lin Youde's calculations, even if it is a flat terrain, I am afraid that the cost of paving construction per kilometer will not be less than 15,000 yuan. ”

The practical application of the steam locomotive project is much more than the simple manufacture of locomotives, wagons and rails. Locomotive manufacturing, road and bridge construction, locomotive maintenance, railway daily maintenance, train scheduling, station management, emergency troubleshooting, personnel training...... This will involve a lot of detailed disciplines, which is a collection of comprehensive applications of basic industries in the whole society, and it is also a high-threshold industry that occupies a large number of high-quality labor in the society. From this point of view, the total size of the social labor force and the lack of beauty will have more to explore and undertake today than in the early days of the railways in the 19th century.

Even if the flat road were to be built straight through, the construction of a railroad along the west bank of the Song River from Jerseytown to Porter City would cost at least $3.5 million. In fact, considering the complex construction of mountainous areas and railway bridges, I am afraid that the real cost will more than double. The construction of the railroad alone is not a financial burden that Huamei can afford at present.

Looking back at the cost of railways in later generations, when converted into dollars in this time and space, it is almost close to $20,000 per kilometer, and it is also with advanced machinery. Needless to say, the benefits of the rail can be, but the cost is also staggering.

Jiang Zhaolong replied lightly, and immediately made Bao Zitu turn around and gasp.

"Concentrate on big things, if the state and you set up a joint venture train and rail production enterprise, what do you and Lao Lin have to say?" Bao Zitu paused, but still expressed his opinion, "As long as everyone has confidence, we are not afraid to go step by step." To establish the 'National Future Railway Plan', your technical research is one aspect, and the relevant route design survey must also keep up. The difficulty of engineering construction should also require several domestic road and bridge construction enterprises to participate in tackling key problems. To form a joint railway construction company, well, a railway operating company is also needed. Personnel training, equipment problems, engineering problems, and management and operation problems must be taken down one by one in advance. In the first phase, the 10-kilometer railway from Roberttown to the iron ore area will be realized first, laying the foundation for large-scale application in the future! ”

"Hehe, I don't know where Lin Youde is, I personally have no opinion, and I'm afraid that no one in China will allow me and Lin Youde to eat this project alone, right?" Regarding the series of grand plans for the bun map, Jiang Zhaolong just smiled, and walked towards the technical team on the side with his hands behind his back. I plan to participate in that temporary celebration of "touching beauty".

The technical team of General Industries Group, which participated in the development of steam locomotives, has grown to include many young people in the past few years, and now these young people are even more excited than their masters.

They are all a group of elites who graduated from local colleges and universities, and they are the results of the country's industrialization and modern education.

……

Thursday, November 1. The Manchester City Autumn Student Games officially kicked off at the Long Island Stadium, where thousands of primary and secondary school athletes who had been initially selected from their respective schools will compete for a week. The competition will cover athletics and various ball games. The champions of all events will receive awards from senior national officials, including President Li Ping.

Race organization, safety maintenance, costumes and props, food supply, venue rental...... The Manchester City Government and the Cabinet Department of Culture and Education each contributed half of the funds for the campaign, which cost nearly $50,000, and the Manchester City Police Department deployed hundreds of police officers to ensure security inside and outside the stadium.

Salutes from the Manchester City Garrison Command echoed over the city, and nearly 10,000 primary and secondary school students, accompanied by their parents, became the liveliest participants and spectators since the opening of the Long Island Stadium. At the opening ceremony. The young athletes walking on the track and field opened their arms in cheers, and the adults in the audience looked at their children with joy.

Su Zining's eldest daughter, Su Fangqi, is a cricket player in the middle school competition and is also in the team. Eighteen changes in women's colleges. Although Su Fangqi is only 12 years old now, her personality has changed greatly from when she was a toddler. Perhaps it was Yuan Xinyi, who became a mother, who deliberately increased the educational constraints in the growth stage, and now the daughter of the Su family has grown into a little lady. Although I couldn't see my parents in the stands, I still waved the ribbon in my hand in the direction of the VIP viewing platform.

And Yan Xiaosong's 11-year-old eldest son, Yan Shuming, also participated in the 100-meter dash as a primary school student. Except for the dark brown hair that inherited his mother Katarina, he was not much different from the Chinese children around him in other ways.

"I heard that after your daughter entered middle school this year, she has a good relationship with Chang Kun's Chang Zilian?" Watching his son walk by with his chest up and his head raised from afar, Yan Xiaosong turned his head and said to Su Zining with a smile, "Chang Kun has been hanging these things in his mouth these days, and this old man seems to like letting his children move closer to us." ”

"He probably plans to be Huamei's grandfather......" Su Zining wanted to laugh when he thought of the director of the Social Security Bureau of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, "However, he is also a real person, and he knows what he should do and what he shouldn't do." ”

"The Prime Minister intends to transfer him to Jersey Town as mayor...... These days, I always think about the law, and I seem to think that I have 'fallen out of favor' and been demoted. Yan Xiaosong pouted in the direction of a viewing platform, and saw an old man in the crowd bowing his hands around, chatting with officials from other departments.

"Jersey Town is about to change the city, the old mayor Wang De is too old to be good, and he will retire at the end of the year, Chang Kun has taken over in the past, and I am afraid he still plans to continue to promote in the future." Su Zining thought for a while and pointed to the southeast, "If the guess is good, it should be to go to Nanshan Port, South Africa or Yueshan Island for overseas territory." There have been too many immigrants in the local area over the years, and the localities are a little unable to bear it, those three places are the core hubs of Ming immigrants, and the quota of Chinese immigrants will be increased in the future, and the prime minister has been saying that a person who is better at dealing with Ming Dynasty people is needed. ”

"Nanshan Port is going to be spun off from South Africa?" When I heard Su Zining say that Nanshan Port and South Africa were separated, I couldn't help but be stunned.

"Well, yesterday the Prime Minister came to talk to me and ask for advice." Su Zining sighed helplessly, "In view of the actual situation in South Africa, the Congress is already considering Wu Yuanyi's proposal to establish a separate Viceroyalty of South Africa, with the capital of Jinsha Port being built in Jinsha Port, and Nanshan Port and the surrounding areas being separated from South Africa and readjusted to a directly governed overseas territory. ”

"Nanshan Port is separated from each other and enjoys the status of a direct overseas territory, so should it really implement a colonial policy in the Viceroyalty of South Africa?" Yan Xiaosong frowned, as if he was surprised by the rapid adjustment of South Africa's policy promoted by Wu Yuanyi, "I'm afraid there are other supporting policies introduced, right?" Now that the matter in South Africa is not over, this attitude of Congress seems to be a bit overstepping, right? ”

"The overlapping powers of the Diet and the Cabinet have been discussed for a long time, and God knows how long...... To be honest, sometimes even I can't tell the difference between the powers of the Diet and the Cabinet. Su Zining shrugged his shoulders helplessly, as if he had long been accustomed to the current Congress's behavior of always bypassing the cabinet and pointing fingers at the country's administration, "To finally have a clearer rule, it depends on whether those old people want to understand, although we all know little about this system." ”

"It's so impressive, I guess the cost of this is at least 1,000 muskets, right? These children are much more extravagant than the children of the aristocracy of Paris......"

As he was talking, on the foreign guest seats on the side of the viewing platform, the American diplomat from France in China was muttering with a tangled and envious expression, while the Spanish diplomat next to him was drowsy and almost drowsy.

A student sports meeting that imitated the later generations led to "friendly countries were inexplicably surprised", and Su Zining and Yan Xiaosong were immediately happy.

After all the participating young athletes stood in the center of the stadium, and the last salute ended, President Li Ping stood up from the rostrum and began to give a brief congratulations to the loudspeaker, and the cheers of the children at the scene reached their peak.

At the same time, far away in South Africa, an expected encounter was just before the battle. (To be continued......)