In the Jingkou Zhu Shipyard, Fan Ning unexpectedly met Zhu Yuanfeng here, and also got the news that the steam engine was built, which made him overjoyed.

"I wanted to surprise you, so I didn't tell you that the steam engine was built."

"It's not perfect, though!"

Zhu Yuanfeng glanced at Fan Ning and said: "It is relatively large in size and consumes a lot of charcoal, if you go sailing, you have to prepare a lot of charcoal." ”

Fanning nodded, of course he knew this, and now he was concerned about whether the steamship had been built or not.

"I hope the third grandfather can surprise me again."

"I don't know if it's a surprise, anyway, you can see for yourself!"

Zhu Yuanfeng took the three Fan brothers to a heavily guarded wharf in a shipyard, and a ship in front of him made it shine, the mast on the ship was gone, and it was replaced by a large chimney, which was a cargo ship of 3,000 stones, and at the rear of the cargo ship, a huge paddle wheel was installed.

"Why not a propeller?" Fanning asked curiously.

"I'll answer that question!"

Zhu Xiaolin next to him said: "There are still many problems to be solved with propellers, and they can't be installed for the time being, and it will take a few more years." ”

"But the boat is flooding."

Zhu Xiaolin shook his head, "Water seepage is just a small problem, the water that seeps in in a day, it will be cleaned up in a quarter of an hour, at present there are mainly two big problems, one is that the wooden propeller is not strong enough, we are worried that it will be easy to damage in the sea, so we decided to use iron or to build a large propeller, but this takes time, the second problem is that after using the propeller, the stern vibrates badly, and this problem also needs time to solve." ”

"Is there a solution to the vibration problem?"

"Probably a little eyebrow-raising!"

Zhu Xiaolin smiled and said: "Our craftsmen have pondered for a long time, and we think that either changing the shape of the stern of the boat, and at the same time adding blades, and changing the three propellers to five or more, should have an effect, which will require many trials and time." ”

Fanning thought for a moment and said, "Maybe you can change the shape of the blade!" ”

Fan Ning is not worried that the people of the Song Dynasty will not be able to build large forgings, the anchor of the 30,000 stone ship is as high as one meter, and the Cangzhou iron lion built in the early years of the Song Dynasty weighs five tons, and it is not a problem to create a complete iron propeller by the muddy forging method, and Fan Ning is not even more worried about the degree of precision.

Imagining the shape of a propeller in later generations, he drew a banana shape on a white wooden board with charcoal, and said with a smile: "That's probably what it looks like!" You can try more. ”

Zhu Xiaolin carefully picked up the wooden board, handed it to the entourage next to him to keep it, and said to Fan Ning: "I will try my best to succeed in the experiment within two or three years." ”

.........

The propeller had a plan, Fanning didn't ask any more, his eyes turned to this steam ship again, he couldn't figure it out, why did Zhu Yuanfeng install the first steam engine on a ship of 3,000 stones, instead of testing it on a ship of 10,000 stones?

Akihito had already figured out this question, he kicked Fan Ning lightly, and whispered, "This is to drive into Beijing to show the Son of Heaven." ”

Fan Ning suddenly laughed dumbly, Zhu Yuanfeng still had this kind of thought.

Zhu Yuanfeng's face turned red and explained: "This is what the Zhizheng Hall means, I hope to see the power of the steam engine, I think about it again, only the ship can only be reflected, so this is actually for the Zhizheng Hall to see." ”

Fan Ning didn't care about Zhu Yuanfeng's idea of seeking honor, this was normal, and he hoped that the steam engine could be completely developed in the Great Song Dynasty.

"I hope that the third grandfather can set up a special workshop to make steam engines, and don't worry about others stealing from them, everyone will study together to promote the development of steam engines, and then establish a steam engine research institute to understand its principles thoroughly, and then find ways to improve and improve."

Zhu Yuanfeng nodded silently, and Fan Ning said to Zhu Xiaolin: "Although the output of the government-run coke field in Handan is large, it is not for civilian use, and there are also many private coke furnaces over there, which can be bought to produce coke for shipping, and finally control an iron mine in Luzon, and pig iron will be used in large quantities in the future." ”

"Leave the iron ore matter to us!"

Mingren and Mingli said with a smile: "We also have a three-percent component of the Cao family's iron mine, and we can increase the investment to expand the mining volume." ”

"That's fine, iron and charcoal are the foundation, and we must do it in advance."

..........

The 3,000-stone steam-engine ship was not yet fully built, and Fanning continued north, and a few days later, they arrived in the capital.

At this time, exactly one year had passed since Fanning returned to Beijing last year to report on his work, and his term of office as an overseas economic envoy was only one year left.

When he came back this time, on the one hand, he had to report on the situation in the southern continent, and on the other hand, he also considered his next position, of course, the purchase of the island had to be completed, which was a private matter.

The three of them disembarked at the north pier of Daxiangguoji Temple, Akihito and Mingli went to see their parents, and Fanning didn't want to disturb their first family reunion in several years, so he made an appointment with them to meet and walked south with a few people everywhere.

Fanning hadn't walked alone on the streets for many years, perhaps because of a long voyage, and the sound of street sales felt so familiar and intimate to him, and even the sound of tinkling iron was so pleasant, Fanning looked all the way, and in a short time, he walked out of Shuyuan Street.

The square in front of the Great Xiangguo Temple has always been the most prosperous and lively place in the capital, here is the middle section of the East Street, the business is dense, the flow of people is surging, and a large number of people from three religions and nine streams gather here, making it overcrowded here all the year round.

Zhu Long and the other four were very nervous, for fear of losing their master, at this time, Fan Ning stood in front of a carriage and was stunned, this is estimated to be the carriage of a powerful family, the master entered the Great Xiangguo Temple to burn incense, and the carriage stopped here temporarily.

But what attracted Fanning and made him stunned was not the luxurious decoration of the carriage, but the wheels of the carriage, which turned out to be the steel rim teeth, which were the outer ring of the car, and the twelve spokes, the wooden wheels of the carriage had spokes, but the spokes made of pig iron were the first time I had seen them.

There is no difference between the wheel structure and the bicycle rim of later generations, there is a groove in the middle of the teeth, the rubber tire is just embedded in the groove, the inner tube is inside, and then there is a layer of outer tire wrapping, do not doubt the wisdom of the craftsmen of the Song Dynasty at all, the tire wraps the wheel tightly, the craftsmanship is exquisite, and even the inflatable port is also in the rim.

As for the inflator of the wheels, Fanning had seen it in Akihito's workshop, using bellows connected to a rubber tube.

In fact, not only Fanning was surprised, but many pedestrians were surprised, and gathered around the carriage to discuss.

After all, the pig iron production of the Great Song Dynasty cannot be compared with that of later generations, especially the wheels used hard iron with high carbon content, so this kind of wheel made of pig iron and copper axles is still a luxury. Rubber tires can be popularized, but now the production is limited, and it can only meet the needs of the royal family and the powerful.

Zhu Long walked up to Fan Ning and whispered: "This carriage is a lowly acquaintance, it is the carriage of the Qian family. ”

The carriage saw a lantern hanging above the wheel, and the word 'money' was written on the lantern, he nodded, no wonder, only the Qian family has a lot of money, so they can use pig iron wheels, look at the interior, it is estimated that this is the carriage that Mrs. Qian is riding.

After looking at it for a while, Fan Ning left the carriage and continued to walk along East Street, Granny Cao's meatloaf was still full of long queues, and the Zhang Gu Rouge Shop opposite was crowded, I don't know what they were rushing to buy, and many people came out with small paper bags.

Fanning saw a large sign standing next to the shop, which read: 'Jade Bone Fang soap, each person is limited to two pieces. ’

Fan Ning laughed, the Jade Bone Workshop is the workshop of his fourth uncle Fan Tongzhong, specializing in the production of soap and soap, it has been a year since it was made, is it still so popular? The formula didn't spread out?

At this time, Zhu Long stepped forward and patted Fan Ning's arm gently, Fan Ning turned around, and Zhu Long pointed to a carriageway in the distance: "Official, someone is looking for you over there." ”

It seems that he has met an acquaintance, Fan Ning walked over quickly, but his attention was on the wheels, although the carriage was also gorgeous, but it was not an iron wheel, or a wooden wheel, and there were no tires, and a horse rider next to him smiled: "Why does little Fan Xianggong always stare at the wheels?" ”

As soon as Fan Ning looked up, the person on the horse was actually Cao Shi, and he was followed by a few followers.

Cao Shi has changed from literature to martial arts, and was promoted to the general of the left guard last year, the deputy commander of the palace, and controlled the four armies of the Gongwei capital, which is also the layout of the Empress Dowager Cao, Cao Shi is a concubine, and a descendant of the Cao family, the most suitable position for this position, this is also because after the marriage of Fan Cao, the Cao family does not need to lay out too much in terms of civil officials.

Fan Ning smiled, "Why is the third brother here?" ”

Cao Shi Daxiangguo Temple, said with a smile: "Today is the day of vows, I will accompany the lady to the Daxiangguo Temple to incense." ”

It turned out that there was the eldest princess of Lu Guo in the carriage, and Fan Ning hugged her fists and saluted: "Your Royal Highness Princess, Fan Ning is polite!" ”

A soft voice came from the carriage, "It's all my own family, Uncle Fan doesn't have to be polite, Xiu'er is here together?" ”

"She is still in Quanzhou, and she will take him to Beijing next time."

Princess Lu Guo said to her husband again: "You accompany Uncle Fan!" I'll go back on my own. ”

"That lady be careful!"

Cao Shi also told his family to protect his life, and when his wife's carriage went away, he smiled at Fan Ning and said, "Since you have met, go have a drink!" ”

Fanning nodded, pointed to the opposite restaurant and said, "This thousand-day drunk restaurant is not bad, so go to its house." ”

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