Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 454 Steampunk Ming Dynasty?

Throughout the 17th year of Taichang and the first half of the 18th year of Taichang, the Ming Dynasty has begun to be driven by steam engines.

The Yellow River Bridge, the Beijing-Wuhan Railway, and the increasingly increasing demand for steam engines and various other machines all put forward new requirements for steel production.

In the Fengtian Huangji Hall, the Minister in charge of official property Wang Dewan, the Director of the Machinery Department of the Institute of Official Property Xiao Dehe, the President of the Institute of Research Wang Zheng and the second prince Zhu Youzhu were all in front of Zhu Changluo.

"I have been in Zunhua for more than two months. How do you feel?"

Zhu Changluo asked Erzhuzi with a smile first.

Zhu Youzhu is already a young man full of vigor and vitality. He was enlightened in his childhood and grew up under the influence of Zhu Zaiyu and the disciples of the Institute of Scientific Research. Although he is only at the age of high school in later generations, he already has the best natural science foundation of this era.

After the Chinese New Year, he went to Zunhua and Chengde with Wang Zheng. It was not only a study tour, but also a way for him to increase his understanding of specific scientific and technological practices.

"Reporting to the Emperor, I have learned a lot." Zhu Youzhu has become more stable now, his eyes are bright, but also a little frustrated, "I didn't expect that in actual use, the engineers still have so many difficulties to overcome. At the ironworks..."

He first chattered on about his experiences, and Zhu Changluo just listened patiently.

This is a good thing. He first has a theoretical foundation, and then he should get in touch with specific applications.

After he finished speaking, Wang Zheng said, "As the Second Prince said, there are many difficulties."

He looked at Wang Dewan, and then continued: "The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is pushing hard, but now the priority is to make good use of the steam engine. Coal and iron mines, mining and application are easy. But since the big iron bridge needs to pass trains, the rails and train wheel frames must be made of better steel. And over at the Military Industrial Park, the academicians have made some achievements in ballistics and air resistance, and now the Privy Council is thinking about developing new cannons that can fire farther and more accurately..."

He had a worried look on his face, as all these demands ultimately fell on the shoulders of the Boyan Institute: Daming needed more advanced steel smelting technology to both improve quality and expand production capacity.

Zhu Changluo looked at the progress he had reported, as well as the difficulties that needed to be overcome and the resources that were lacking.

The progress that has been made now is naturally the most easily thought of application.

First, the steam engine was used to form a stable and powerful blast device, which greatly increased the temperature of the blast furnaces used in iron and steel making.

The discipline of chemistry has begun to be established. Under Zhu Changluo's personal guidance, they have already separated and identified elements. Although it is still just the beginning, after the introduction of these concepts, some quality standards have been established in smelting. For example, they already know that molten iron is not pure iron, but also contains impurities such as carbon and sulfur.

Only when the carbon content is low enough can it be called steel. And the rails and the Yellow River Bridge must use a lot of higher-strength steel, not pig iron from blast furnaces.

Blast furnace temperatures are conducive to decarburization, so this application is useful for improving the quality of iron.

At the same time, the coal used for smelting originally had a high sulfur content. Now steam blasting is also used in coke kilns, and iron blast furnaces have begun to try to use higher-purity coke as fuel, and the test output has increased significantly.

But even with these applied, the coke blast furnace still produces pig iron.

After the mining industry gradually applied mechanized industrial mining, the output of raw materials and pig iron could certainly increase rapidly, but new technologies were still needed for steelmaking.

At present, there are many traditional methods of steelmaking: frying steel, pouring steel, pouring steel, forging and casting, annealing...

The saying "steel is made through repeated tempering" shows how difficult it is to make steel using traditional techniques.

It is now clear that the difference between pig iron and steel lies mainly in the carbon content. However, with current technology, it is difficult to further reduce the carbon content in pig iron on a large scale and at a low cost.

Zhu Changluo looked up and asked, "How effective are these rolling mills and steam forging hammers?"

Wang Zheng immediately replied: "It is still being improved. With the steam engine, the chief engineer of the ironworks led his team to think about whether it could replace human forging. However, the rolled iron plates and forged iron blocks need to be moved and turned many times, and the coordination and control between the machines is quite difficult. Using this method, the improvement is not much, it just saves manpower and can use more machines."

Zhu Changluo nodded. Ultimately, a more efficient industrial steelmaking method was still needed.

He smiled and asked Zhu Youzhu: "You have learned a lot of theories, what are your thoughts?"

"...My son is still far from the academicians' knowledge." Zhu Youzhu couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. "Anyway, I heard from the academicians that to remove carbon from molten iron, I'm afraid we still have to solve it from the reaction and melting point of carbon and iron at different temperatures."

Wang Zheng said, "The main thing we are trying now is mechanical steelmaking. In the past, iron ore powder was sprinkled into the molten iron and the molten iron was stirred by manpower. Now we try to stir the molten iron with a steam engine, which is always faster. However, this method is easy to stir wrought iron, but the quality of the steel is inconsistent. The Boyan Institute has calculated that if we want the large iron bridge to be strong and the rails to be durable, the quality of the steel must be stable, otherwise the force will be uneven, which will cause great hidden dangers."

What the Institute of Research now asks Zhu Changluo to do is, naturally, to allocate more experienced human and financial resources to continue the attempt.

Zhu Changluo thought about it and then laughed.

It’s not that he is hiding his incompetence, the main thing is to let them use their brains and try first, and deepen their understanding in the process.

How much experience did they have in researching industries in their previous lives? Perhaps they only had a cursory understanding of the general principles, and the specific details were still difficult. However, even if they only had one direction, it was not easy for them.

So he picked up the pen again and asked Liu Ruoyu to take a piece of paper and start drawing.

Wang Zheng and Zhu Youzhu were used to it, so they looked at him with curiosity and expectation.

Zhu Changluo said as he painted: "Stir-fried steel is made by adding molten pig iron to iron ore powder, and cast steel is made by adding molten pig iron to wrought iron. To put it bluntly, they are all neutralized to make the carbon content moderate. Carbon easily reacts with other substances and then falls off after forging and rolling. After the molten iron comes out, won't there be an extra layer of skin before it cools down? The carbon in the molten iron and the air will react quickly. In this case, use the steam blower well."

He drew it very quickly, and it was just a rough idea anyway.

After finishing the painting, Liu Ruoyu took it down, looked at it while walking, and then handed it to Wang Zheng.

"Converter," Zhu Changluo said, "Pour the molten pig iron into it. Use a steam engine to drive it to rotate, and then use a blower to quickly blow air into it, using this method to reduce the carbon content. How long to rotate, how strong the wind is, and how to control the temperature are all up to you to summarize. If there are any impurities or problems in the molten steel produced by this method, then think about how to make changes to the inner wall of the furnace, or combine it with the methods of frying and pouring steel."

Wang Zheng was naturally knowledgeable, and his eyes lit up as he saw it: "Great! Your Majesty, in this case, we only need to develop this converter frame so that it can rotate and pour out the refined molten steel."

Zhu Youzhu also leaned over to watch, and then he could only look at his father and then continue to look at the sketch.

Father has so many things to deal with every day, how can he come up with new ideas?
Zhu Changluo waved his hand: "I just proposed a new idea. How to make it? Which one is better than the method you are trying now? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? How to improve it? You can think of a way."

He looked at Wang Dewan and smiled, "The Ministry of Industry and Information is in a hurry. I will not be short of the manpower and financial resources you need. Second brother, since you already understand this project, just follow it. If it succeeds, I will give you credit. Use your brain more."

"Son, I understand!" Zhu Youzhu was eager to try. "Let's go back to Chengde and ask the machinery factory to make a small one for trial. This thing looks like a teapot, so it shouldn't be difficult..."

Seeing that he was already talking to Wang Zheng, Zhu Changluo asked them to leave first.

With him as a father, except that the crown prince was still mainly training by his side, Zhu Youzhu was much freer than previous princes.

His love for science was certainly due to his interest, but it was probably also due to Liu Yi's constant reminders that allowed him to reassure the Queen and the Crown Prince in this way. As everyone knew, the Second Prince only liked to study nature, and now he was more like the craftsman he used to be.

After they all left, Wang Dewan and Xiao Dehe appeared in front of them.

Xiao Dehe entered the Government Production Institute from the prefect of Chengde, and now he is in charge of the Machinery Department. The current Machinery Department is the core department of the Ming Dynasty to promote industrialized production.

Zhu Changluo read their memorials again and said slowly, "Mining, smelting, engineering, textiles... So, the engineering sector is mainly about mechanical research and development, while the textile sector is about raw materials and original manufacturing industries?"

Wang Dewan answered first: "That's right. Mining and smelting are easy to say. Among the first four industries that the Government Industry Council promotes the application of steam engines, I will first talk about the textile problem. Now the Executive Yuan has a general outline, and Your Majesty also attaches great importance to grain. The land of the Ming Dynasty can naturally give priority to growing grain. It is not difficult to use steam engines for textile machinery. The difficult part is what to do with so many weavers, and what to do with ordinary small households weaving by themselves. There are also large weaving households in various provinces, especially in Jiangnan..." Zhu Changluo thought intently.

Textiles were the first industry he requested to be included in the application of steam engines because of climatic reasons.

The key areas of focus are cotton spinning and wool spinning.

But the material that was tried in the early days was naturally silk, because silk was the basis for industrialized production before: determined by demand, the dignitaries needed a lot of silk, and silk was also exported, with high profits, which was enough to drive both the official and private sectors to set up weaving workshops of varying sizes.

But there were also a large number of men who farmed and women who wove in the countryside. Even if the steam engine was not actively used in silk weaving, the profits would still drive the government and private merchants to find ways to use it.

Steam engines in short supply? Give priority to government-run factories? There must be a way.

The impact on ordinary people is certain.

Similarly, mechanized production will bring greater demand for raw materials. Since cash crops are more profitable than agricultural crops, there will definitely be a trend for cash crops to encroach on food crop land - just as the prosperity of wool spinning drove enclosure and sheep cannibalism.

What's more, steam engines were used in silk production, and the Ming Dynasty also had this demand: the scale of foreign trade was expanding, and for Europe and other foreign vassal states, silk was a high-value-added product that the Ming Dynasty could export, and the Ming Dynasty needed money.

Zhu Changluo thought for a moment and said, "We should still focus on cotton and wool spinning. If ordinary weavers and small households are affected, we can open more factories of this kind in the south. They have experience and can make a living by working in factories. The cotton cloth produced is mainly for ordinary people. The price is low and the profit is not high. I am afraid those people are not willing to run it."

Wang Dewan thought the same thing: "Then we should try our best to defeat the private cotton spinners first, or absorb them into the government-owned enterprises. In this way, we can ensure that cotton cloth can be sold at a low price. We just want ordinary people to have more cotton clothes and quilts. This cotton..."

Zhu Changluo sighed: "Yes, it requires a lot of cotton and a fairly large scale to minimize the cost."

Having enough food and clothing is the top priority.

But the land in Ming Dynasty is limited, but the population is quite large. Even if cotton can be expanded, it needs to be balanced with food crops.

Zhu Changluo also could not ignore the more important food.

"One is to import, and the other is..." He pondered for a moment, "to cultivate cotton varieties that are more suitable for the dry land and mountainous areas in the north and expand planting!"

"Your Majesty, if you buy it from outside, the price will probably be..."

Zhu Changluo shook his head and said, "Don't worry. Ships are getting bigger and bigger. It won't be too expensive to buy them from Western merchants. Besides, they have their own ways. Enslaving foreigners is their specialty."

In Zhu Changluo's memory, the large-scale American plantations and black slaves picking cotton have become a meme.

India, which is not so far away, is also a huge cotton-producing area, which supported the powerful national strength of Britain at that time.

Now he has driven the Europeans to the west of Malacca and Myanmar. Although they will engage in larger-scale trade with the Ming Dynasty, what goods can they bring that the Ming Dynasty needs?

In the past, they could only bring silver with them. If the Ming Dynasty adds a new category of imported goods for them, I am afraid they will welcome it very much.

Whether it is silver or coal and iron ore, they are all very heavy, and the carrying capacity of such a large ship is limited. Cotton is very light, so they can be matched together.

Zhu Changluo was happy that they started to develop plantations in those places and provided a stable supply of cotton to the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, we cannot rely entirely on imports.

The grain yield in the north is low, and cotton actually likes light and is suitable for sandy soil. Of course, Zhu Changluo also knows the most suitable place.

But the area is not yet under the actual control of the Ming Dynasty.

Although the vast land in the Western Regions is not yet suitable for promoting this, there are similar areas that the Ming Dynasty can influence: Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Hetao.

"I will arrange this matter, and ask the Lifanyuan and the Boyanyuan to contribute." Zhu Changluo looked at Xiao Dehe again, "What about you? What's the difficulty with the construction machinery?"

Xiao Dehe said quickly: "Your Majesty, we have to move! The imperial court wants this engineering machinery to be used for roads and water conservancy projects. But the steam engine is too heavy. If we want to use this steam engine for water conservancy projects, roads and bridges, we have to move it for a while."

He bowed his head helplessly and said, "I and the engineers at the Mechanical Institute really can't think of a solution. We can't just build a railway along the way, right?"

Zhu Changluo could only smile bitterly when he heard this.

This can only be said that he is very concerned about transportation and water conservancy. The former is related to the control of a wider territory, and the latter is related to the ability to cope with larger-scale disasters in the future.

This has little to do with men's love for excavators or something.

What Xiao Dehe said was indeed a practical problem - a steam excavator? Zhu Changluo was just wishful thinking.

But you still have to think about it.

He sighed, "Don't think so complicated. When I say construction machinery, it doesn't have to be self-contained. Even if we just make a frame that can hold the steam engine, and then use a strong horse to move it, it's also good to use the steam engine to lift and move some heavy objects. We don't have to rely entirely on manpower and use those old methods. Now that we have the machine, we still have to pull it to the construction site to use it flexibly. By then, the engineers and the people who do the work will always think of a way."

Xiao Dehe was stunned, and quickly apologized: "I was mistaken, I am in charge of the Machinery Department..."

"I don't mean to blame you." Zhu Changluo was still tolerant of him. "Regarding the river control project, the large iron bridge project, and the test railway project, just coordinate with them and send them some large, medium, and small steam engines of different horsepower. At most, you can ask the Mechanical Institute to tailor a machine frame that can be pulled and fixed when in use. Leave the rest to them."

"I understand. I will arrange it right away..."

Zhu Changluo watched him leave and suddenly thought of an interesting possibility.

The internal combustion engine requires a level of manufacturing precision that is simply not achievable today, so don't think too much about it.

But I have seen an interesting setting before: Is it possible that there are some technologies that have not been selected for steam engines? Anyway, nuclear power itself is still boiling water, so what will the end of this technology tree look like?
Thus was born the very strange steampunk.

Now, the Ming Dynasty already has a relatively mature steam engine in advance. At this stage, it can only find ways to improve the efficiency of the steam engine and improve its application.

However, Zhu Changluo's life span was limited, and it was almost impossible for him to see the appearance of the internal combustion engine during his lifetime.

By then, even if someone would try to develop the internal combustion engine, the steam engine, with Zhu Changluo's deliberate guidance and national-level promotion, would definitely have developed to a relatively high level, whether in terms of efficiency, application or cost.

Did the earliest internal combustion engines seem more promising than steam engines?

Zhu Changluo was not sure either, but what he was sure of was that the Ming Dynasty had completely embarked on a new path.

The Western Regions are a must, and he has his own picture of a perfect territory in his mind.

We must find ways to ensure our technological leadership.

I just don’t know what the future will be like. Will it be the steampunk Ming Dynasty, or will it continue to follow history and move towards internal combustion engines and electrification?
(End of this chapter)