Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 907 Mathematics and Ships
"Being a blacksmith was difficult in the past, but it's much easier now." Zhu Dalang said.

He opened a blacksmith's shop in the east of Luoyang City, using charcoal to smelt iron and make utensils.As for why Xiuwu coal is not used to make iron, because there is something called transportation cost in the world, it is not cost-effective to use Xiuwu coal, and the quality of coal in other places is poor and cannot be used.

He's working on some of the metal parts for the sluice.Such simple things are usually done by apprentices, and he just watches from the sidelines.

Because of the huge demand brought about by Luoyang's urban construction, he recruited a few new apprentices and taught them carefully, so it is much easier to be a blacksmith now than before.

There were people coming and going outside the door, and it was very noisy.Zhu Dalang liked this kind of noise very much. He walked into the yard and carefully picked up a wooden ruler to have a look.

"Zhu Da, you are rough, now you finally know the benefits of the ruler?" A loud voice rang out from outside the courtyard gate, and soon, a young official in green robe came in.

"The officials are finally here." Zhu Da put on a flattering smile, and immediately ordered the helpers to bring up several baskets, which were filled with metal components.

The green-robed official took the wooden ruler from Zhu Da and carefully measured it.

There are regulations in the imperial court: "Every measure is divided by the breadth of one millet in the northern millet. Ten cents is an inch, ten inches is a chi, one chi and two inches is a large chi, and ten chi is a zhang."

There is one thing to say, this is not very accurate, the size of the past dynasties has also stipulated the length, but in reality it looks different and very messy.

When building the palace, Shao Shude made a request, strictly follow the drawing size.In order to specify the size, he stepped off the field himself and stepped forward with his left foot. He is not sure how long it is, but it is estimated to be about one meter, so the difference will not be too big.

He stipulated that half a step is ten feet, and then he borrowed personnel from Chang'an Shaofu to make a measuring ruler, which is called Zaozhi.

Then he put forward a request, purely using a ruler and compass to draw and divide the ruler into ten equal parts.

This stumped the students under Master Mani.Master Mani even read the copied version of the geometry book he brought from Dashi, first learned how to divide into thirds, and after a period of research, he finally figured out how to divide into ten equal parts.

Points, inches, feet, and feet, Shao Shude requires that they must be precise, which can only be done by mathematical methods.

With accurate measurement, it is helpful for production and construction.Standardized assembly line production mode, if there is no accurate weights and measures, the further the process goes, the more out of shape, the greater the error.

This has not yet reached the era of the time line machine of the industrial revolution in later generations.Historically, the British invented the engraving machine that can accurately mark the scale, which is simply used as a powerful weapon to guard against death. This is also an important reason for the relatively uniform specifications of British industrial products in the era of steam engines.

At this time, there was no engraving machine, and it was very difficult for Shaofu to make a ruler. Most of the handicraft industries in the country were all random products of different sizes and no interoperability.

Shao Shude can't control too much, he just wants to greatly promote the progress of mathematics through the construction of Luoyang Palace, and use the concept of standardized production.

There is no doubt that mathematics is the basis of large-scale standardized industrial production.Shao Shude once joked that Master Mani's students had passed his qualification assessment, so they could go out and make measuring rulers and sell them for money, and sell this standardized ruler to every state in the country, so that every craftsman would have a standardized measuring ruler.

How to standardize production without a standard device?The most urgent task is to popularize, scale up and make the production of standard instruments more convenient.But since ancient times, the standard instrument is almost a "sacred object". Every state does not necessarily have one, and the scale is also very inaccurate. It is no problem when making uncomplicated parts, but it is troublesome when it comes to complex machines.

This is where the problem lies.

"Okay, the workmanship is not bad." The green-robed official said with a smile on his face, "I marked the size of this ruler. Alas, I have been tossing for a long time."

"The things used on the gates don't need to be so accurate." Zhu Da muttered, and then asked: "Officials, do you want to pull all these things over?"

"Pull it over." The green-robed official nodded and said, "Let's go now."

The two found a donkey cart, pulled the iron structure to the east of the city, and stopped beside a dug reservoir.

Someone is installing a gate on the reservoir.The principle of the gate is similar to that of the drawbridge outside the city gate, and it is pulled up or lowered by using a gate or a winch.

This reservoir is for storing still sewage.Next to it is a gate that has been installed, and it is full of sewage.The sewage in another reservoir has been discharged cleanly, and the bottom of the reservoir is full of thick "silt" with a pleasant smell and suspicious composition.After the silt has been exposed to the sun for a period of time, people will be sent to dig it up and send it to Guanzhuang to fertilize the fields.

Some people in Luoyang already live in the area. The domestic waste water generated in their square area flows into these sewage pools through the culverts.

At present, only a small number of urban areas have undergone renovation, and the whole of Luoyang will be like this in the future. It is conceivable that the amount of work is extremely huge and may last for many years.

After the green-robed official handed over to others, he left in a hurry.

Xia Wang ordered to open a mathematics center in Luoyang this year to recruit more students.Those who have completed the studies in the previous mathematics halls will stay in place and serve as doctors, teaching assistants, and direct lectures in the mathematics hall, so as to continue to cultivate more mathematics talents.

According to Xia Wang, mathematics can exercise "logical thinking", which is what most people lack.Without "logical thinking", there is only "technology", not "science" - all new words, never heard of before.

By the way, in addition to books such as "Nine Chapters", "Sea Island", "Grandson", "Five Caos", "Zhang Qiujian", and "Xiahouyang" stipulated by the state, the textbooks in the mathematics hall, Master Mani Still compiling a master's "Mathematics and Geometry".Xia Wang promised that if the book is finished this year, he will award him the "Xia Wang Reward" and award it as a loose official of Zhongdafu.

******
Shao Shude hurried back to Bianzhou, the first thing he did was to find Zhang Hui.

The second thing is to call together the two heroines of Zhu Quanzhong's "Daughter-in-law".

Only then did Ma Wanpeng, who had been waiting for many days, call Ma Wanpeng refreshedly, and started to get down to business.

Ma Wanpeng is a well-known shipbuilder in Lingzhou, but his real level is second to none in the Northwest, average in the Central Plains, and even worse in the South.

However, there are not many capable talents right now, so we can only make do with it. I hope he can improve.

"I see most of the navy's ships are flat-bottomed, why?" Shao Shude asked.

"The water is shallow and there is a lot of sand, so it's not easy to run aground, it's easy to ride on the sand, and it's stable. Few people in the north are familiar with water, so that's the only way to go." Ma Wanpeng replied.

"But the boat can't go out to sea." Shao Shude frowned.

In fact, he put it mildly, not to mention not being able to go to sea, going to big rivers with strong winds and waves will cause big problems.

The shipbuilding technology in the north, after all, comes from tank ships, which is too bad.There are few talents, high cost, very few soldiers suitable for the navy, and the overall quality is relatively low.

When the pontoon bridges in the three cities of Heyang were first built, the boats used were all made of logs in Hongzhou, Jiangxi.There are few materials suitable for shipbuilding in the north, and they are very expensive—pine and fir are not good ship materials.

"Indeed." Ma Wanpeng admitted: "But flat-bottomed boats can also go to sea. The ships in Mizhou and Dengzhou seaports are flat-bottomed boats."

"Is it possible to build a pointed-bottomed boat?" Shao Shude gestured with his hands, and said, "A pointed-bottomed sailing boat capable of sailing has three masts, divided into a foremast, a middle mast, and a mizzen. The sails can be lifted and removed. , can turn the yard and adjust the windward side. The size of the sail can also be adjusted.”

Shao Shude didn't know how to say some terms, maybe he didn't have such a concept at this time, so he could only speak according to his own ideas, and the result was that Ma Wanpeng was confused.

"Call me a painter who can understand human language." Shao Shude called to the door.

Li Yixian quickly ran to deliver the order.

After a while, the painter ran over panting: "See you, Your Majesty."

Shao Shude stood up and returned the salute, "Sit down and draw a boat for me."

The painter was dumbfounded.

You ask me to draw people, yes.Painting flowers, birds, fish and insects is fine.It is also possible to draw a general fishing boat, but King Xia's request is obviously not that simple.

"Just paint, I don't blame you." Shao Shude said gently.

"Of order." The painter arched his hands, sat down and spread out the pen and paper, and prepared the ink.

Shao Shude described his request in detail, the artist was sweating profusely, and painted with reluctance, while Ma Wanpeng gave pointers.

While trying to remember, Shao Shude added: "There are three sails on the fore-mast and the top-mast. The top sail and the top sail can be raised and lowered. Yes, they can be raised and lowered by cables. The sail is horizontal. Do you understand the horizontal sail?"

"Mizzen jib. What? What's a jib? Uh..."

"There will also be a foresprit on the bow, with sails on it."

"Yes, the poop is larger and higher, it can be two or three floors, and the forecastle is smaller."

"Almost forgot. A mast tower is added between the lower sail and the upper sail of each mast, allowing sailors to go in to furl the sails. There is another tower on the mast top, allowing sailors to climb up and look out from a long distance."

"Such a mast must be very strong? Of course! Not only the mast, but also the keel. It is best to use mahogany, and if it is impossible, use other substitutes."

"Canvas? Of course it's a soft sail, but linen will do."

Shao Shude's request made the artist flustered, and Ma Wanpeng almost had a heart attack when he heard it.

To be reasonable, this is a completely different design concept, another system, which looks like it is prepared for sailing the ocean, rather than running offshore.

"Your Majesty, if you want to build such a ship, you have to go to Dengzhou to find a way. I'm ashamed of my lack of intelligence." Ma Wanpeng said helplessly.

"It doesn't matter, as long as you know how to become an official." Shao Shude said with a smile: "I need an expert to help me control the overall situation, and I don't need you to actually build a ship. After I destroy Wang Shifan, this matter will start. I don't Urge you, but you have to know the seriousness yourself, find a way to get one out first, even if there are many problems, first build it for a test voyage, and then slowly improve it later.”

"Your Majesty wants to do maritime trade?" Ma Wanpeng asked.

"Haimao?" Shao Shude smiled: "Use it for battle first. There are some tactics that Li Ke doesn't know how to use, so I'll teach him."

(End of this chapter)