Chapter 100 Shenyang Iron and Steel

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty." He Xi whispered: "There's nothing to see here." Do you want to go to the next place. ”

Zhu Yuanzhang woke up like a dream. Said: "Oh. Well, go to the next place. ”

He's been here for a while.

Originally red, bright. The flowing molten steel is also solidified into various specifications of steel in the mold. From red to dark. Of course. It doesn't look red. It doesn't mean it's not hot. At this time, if that fool wants to touch it with his hands, he can do without his hands.

The cooling of steel takes time.

During this period of time, Zhu Yuanzhang has been looking at these steels. Or rather, his eyes are looking, but his mind doesn't know where to fly.

As for what you thought? Zhu Yuanzhang didn't do it for a while.

After all, I was shocked to the extreme, but I didn't know what I was thinking. The brain went blank.

Zhu Yuanzhang left here. After leaving the steaming environment here, it seems to have come to my senses a little.

As an emperor, do you know too well what steel is? Steel is power. Since the fourteenth year of Hongwu, the Ming Dynasty has fought foreign wars, or He Xi presided over foreign wars. It's all very relaxed. Is He Xi the first in thousands of years to have outstanding strategy?

No.

It is the strength of Daming that is getting stronger.

After all, if one person does not wear armor, he only has a sharp blade to face ten people. It's hard to survive. But if a person has armor. Facing ten people. It's easy to kill. If one or two hundred armored cavalry fought in formation, thousands of foot soldiers could rush out.

Don't say anything else. Tang Taizong Li Shimin rode through hundreds of thousands of troops with Xuanjia. And the so-called Xuanjia Cavalry is only a few thousand.

The armor is used intensively and is extremely powerful.

Now the armor of the Ming Dynasty is overflowing. The production of firearms doubled. This is an exponential increase in national strength. So much so that even the patchwork army brought by He Xi completely overwhelmed Li Chenggui's most elite Goryeo army in terms of equipment.

However, this was not the case before that.

If there is no such overwhelming advantage, how can someone like Li Chenggui defect?

Zhu Yuanzhang thought that this was already the limit.

I never thought of it. The Shenyang Iron Works has surpassed the Taiping Iron Works. Become the most technologically advanced iron factory. This furnace can produce several tons of molten steel.

Before, Zhu Yuanzhang heard He Xi talk about the railway. He never felt impossible. How expensive iron is. How can the road be paved. Even if it can really pave the way. Is there no people to steal? Now, Zhu Yuanzhang really saw the hope of the railway.

I thought that from Beijing to Nanjing, tens of thousands of soldiers and horses could arrive in a few days.

Zhu Yuanzhang only felt shortness of breath.

Before Zhu Yuanzhang could get out of this mood, another place that He Xi invited Zhu Yuanzhang to visit had already arrived.

It hasn't been named yet, if at all. Because of Shenyang Machinery Factory.

There are lathes here. This is also the concept proposed by He Xi, which was completed by craftsmen. It's easy to come up with a concept, but it's not easy to get it done. The most important thing is still the bearing. And gears. in order to move the tool better.

Of course, the lathes here are still very rudimentary. Below is a heavy iron base, and above is a vertical and horizontal machinery. The employer is desperately shaking the handle at one end, or stepping on the roller. in order to drive the movement of the tool. And the cutter is on the iron billet, which is a beautiful fire. Iron filings flew out. It's like being ignited, and when it falls to the ground, you can see what it looks like.

Sharpening iron like clay is not an adjective here. It's an accurate description of reality.

In He Xi's view, there are many problems here.

First, the knives are not good.

The tool of the lathe is different from the tool in the traditional sense. In fact, it is a small piece of alloy steel. However, where to find alloy steel these days. He Xi can only use the hardest steel as a tool. But these knives, used to process iron, are barely enough. Machining steel is simply impossible.

Fortunately, it is like a water turbine. It doesn't need to be too hard.

This can be processed.

But even then, the frequency of changing tools is a little too fast. Almost in a while, it will be replaced with a piece.

The second is that the motivation is not good. With manpower, even in turns. It also takes a long time to machine a part. Of course, even so, the parts produced by the lathe are far more accurate than the rest of the way. In He Xi's opinion, it is slow. But in the eyes of others, it is already very fast.

If not here.

Dozens of turbines simply can't be produced.

And even so. Hydro turbine production is still not rising.

He Xi told Zhu Yuanzhang about the situation here.

Zhu Yuanzhang held a knife in his hand, that is, a square piece of iron. And King Yan's eyes were even straighter. He approached He Xi and said, "Can He Xi produce firearms here?" ”

He Xi said: "Nature can be produced. Come and see here. ”

He Xi took a few steps ahead. Come to a lathe with a round iron pillar fixed to it. It's so stuck. There is already a neat depression in the column.

He Xi said to King Yan: "This is an artillery. The previous artillery was cast, and the quality was not very good in my opinion. And it's a whole piece of steel, I thought about it. Dig out the chamber directly from here. This cannon will definitely work a lot better. It's just a pity. I underestimated the difficulty of this method, only this half-finished product. ”

King Yan reached out and touched the chamber of the cannon, and it felt like a mirror.

It's just too shallow.

At most, the distance of a hand is not enough to stuff gunpowder and shells.

King Yan said: "Why didn't you do this? ”

He Xi said; "It's too slow. You don't look so shallow, in fact, it has been drilling continuously for three months. ”

To build a cannon, it is natural to use the highest steel. Other words. The hardness of the steel of the knife is almost the same as the hardness of the gun steel, which makes the current situation. It's embarrassing. It is estimated that after grinding for three years, it may be able to grind out.

In fact, if He Xi knew at the time. He won't even let him grind for three months, but he has a lot of things to do, so he explains the basic methods. There was no attention, and by the time he paid attention again, the craftsmen had been grinding for three months.

He Xi had a chance to call a stop.

King Yan said: "Brother He, there is no need to be too humble. With you, there is everything here. I think you're going to have to figure it out. ”

What King Yan said is not bad.

Taiping Iron Works is located in the south of the Yangtze River and has deep roots. There is also a technical background. Why is there no technological innovation there? And it has only been a few days since I arrived in Liaoyang, and the technology has changed to this point with each passing day?

The reason is also in He Xi.

He Xi is also a layman in iron smelting and casting technology. I don't know much. It's just that he knows some general concepts. He can instruct craftsmen to study. This is just one of them, and more importantly, it is not the case.

It's that He Xi can give enough financial support to the craftsmen. with respect.

After encountering problems, He Xi studied blast furnaces as he did at the beginning. Bringing together the craftsmen. Discuss a plan. The craftsmen can speak freely in front of He Xi. Not subject to any constraints. And in recent years, the quality of craftsmen has also changed a lot.

When He Xi was studying the blast furnace, most of the craftsmen were illiterate. And each of them has their own careful thoughts, and they don't want to leak their technology.

This is no longer the case.

Among the craftsman groups that have always been valued by He Xi. There are very few old craftsmen left. Most of them have a unique skill. Technically. Others can't do it, as long as he can do it. But in theory it doesn't work anymore. These old craftsmen were only able to undertake some of the tasks performed. What really helped He Xi the most was actually the craftsmen from the College of Engineering and Science headed by Ge Tiangong.

They don't read much, though. But I know experiments, I know mathematics. I also understand the principles of metallurgy that He Xi talked about at the beginning. Some even mechanical knowledge. They are supported by He Xi. A lot of new ideas burst out.

He Xi has an almost unlimited amount of resources to supply them with trial and error.

Much wrong. The right nature also came.

There is so much valuable data that lays the foundation for the future.

After all, the cost of scientific research is not high in this era. Compared with the hundreds of millions of scientific research funds in later generations, these craftsmen only spent some materials, wages, and time costs. In He Xi's opinion, this is not a thing.

But that's just the change. There is a very different effect on the output.

Of course, He Xi will not take credit for this, he said: "This matter is all thanks to Your Majesty Shengming. I'm just doing a little thing. ”

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "He Xi, whose credit is it, whose credit is it, can I still win the merit of the courtiers?" These are achievements that only you can do. No one else can do it. ”

Zhu Yuanzhang was right, not mentioning He Xi's so-called foresight. He Xi alone can treat craftsmen equally. It's hard for other officials to do it. Because He Xi is from the bottom of his heart, he doesn't feel that everyone is any different. Even if some officials forcibly learn from He Xi's style. But people are not stupid, and they are the most sensitive to many things. Especially, facing a boss who controls his life and death. Who can really speak their minds?

It's not just about being cautious and not daring to make mistakes.

Where there will be any innovation.

Not to mention that many Ming officials don't have the string of innovation in their heads at all. They just want to stay where they are, preferably until they are old. And didn't think about changing anything. In Lian Li's thoughts, there is more focus on tranquility, feeling that the world is static, not the opposite.

How can you do these things.

He Xi said: "Your Majesty praises falsely. Speaking of this, He Xi paused slightly. said: "Your Majesty, why don't we go back to Shenyang." There's really no place to live here. Only Shenyang has it. ”

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "What's the big deal about the place to sleep, where I can't sleep." I have one more place to go today. ”

He Xi said: "What place? ”

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Just go to see the coal mine." ”

When He Xi heard this, he said: "The situation in Your Majesty's coal mine is even worse, Your Majesty's golden body -------"

Before He Xi finished speaking, he was interrupted by Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang said: "I am free to calculate, you just obey orders." It's not early, hurry up, I'm going to live in the coal mine tonight. ”

Zhu Yuanzhang gave an order, and everyone did not dare to disobey.

It's just that no one knows why Zhu Yuanzhang has to go to the coal mine. Even He Xi didn't know that although coal mines were important, they couldn't wait for a day.