My father Zhu Gaoxu

Chapter 777 Simple and crude

"Look! Steamship!"

On the pier of Beizheng Port, Zhu Zhantan excitedly pointed at the two steamships with huge chimneys in the port and shouted. The face of a young man was so full of energy that Zhu Zhanhe next to him felt young. very nice.

Compared to the excited Zhu Zhantan, Zhu Zhanluo next to him tried his best to maintain a stable image, but when he saw the legendary steamship, his eyes seemed to be glued to the ship and he could not move no matter what. not open.

"I specially allocated these two ships. You can take one for each of you, but you can't drive too fast, because there are warships accompanying you to protect your safety. Now our warships are not as fast as steamships."

Zhu Zhanhe smiled and said to his two younger brothers.

Zhu Zhantan and Zhu Zhanhe were the first princes to go overseas to serve as governors. Zhu Zhanhe naturally attached great importance to them, so he specially took the time to personally send them to Beizheng Port to take a boat.

"Huh? It's not easy for us to ride on a steamship once. Brother, you don't want us to run free, but you have to accommodate those slow sailing warships?"

Zhu Zhantan shouted dissatisfied when he heard this.

If the steamship goes at full speed, they can reach their destination in ten days, but if they accommodate those sailing warships, it will probably take at least a month. Zhu Zhantan feels very bored when he thinks that he will be floating on the sea for a month.

"Zhantan, especially you. The route from us to Egypt is not peaceful. Pirates often appear. It is impossible without the protection of warships. In comparison, it is much safer to go to Nanyang from Zhantan. If you feel that the warship is too slow, , which can speed up the steamship, but don’t throw the warship too far away.”

Zhu Zhanhe warned his two younger brothers.

The Egyptian route had just been controlled by the Han Dynasty. Although Zhang Zhong led the navy to sweep away the pirates along the route several times, there were still some small groups of pirates running around, and from time to time they would run to the route to intercept some isolated merchant ships.

In contrast, the Nanyang route has been operated by the Han for many years. Even if there are pirates, they will stay away from the Han's flag for fear of provoking the other party and attracting the Han's revenge. Therefore, this route is still Very safe.

"Brother, with the speed of the steamship, I'm afraid the pirate ship won't be able to catch up with us even if it discovers us, right?"

Zhu Zhanluo was thinking carefully and suddenly asked a very crucial question.

"It is true that pirate ships cannot catch up with you, but steamships have just begun to be used, and they often have problems. If the steam engine breaks down, the entire steamship will have no choice but to lie at sea. In fact, just some time ago, a steamship went to Egypt. This is what happened. Fortunately, there were guards on the ship and the number of pirates was not large, so they were not allowed to attack the ship."

Zhu Zhanhe patiently explained.

"I see. No wonder the steamship is so fast, but my eldest brother didn't replace the warship with a steamship!"

Zhu Zhanluo suddenly realized the truth.

"The current steamships are not good enough. It is too difficult to make a warship, but it is getting closer. In three to five years at most, you will see our big Han's steam warships cruising around the world. By then, the entire sea will become our big Han's." The world!"

Zhu Zhanhe squinted his eyes and looked at the scaly sea. Although his tone was calm, Zhu Zhantan and Zhu Zhanhe next to him felt the eldest brother's monstrous ambition.

It was getting late, Zhu Zhantan and Zhu Zhanhe got on the boat respectively, and Zhu Zhanhe stood on the pier to see them off.

When he saw their ship leaving the port and getting further away, Zhu Zhanhe couldn't help but sigh. When he first crossed over, Zhu Zhantan and Zhu Zhantan were just children. Zhu Zhanhe watched them grow up little by little. big.

Now that both of them have grown up, and when they go overseas and start to work independently, Zhu Zhanhe is also quite reluctant to let go. This is just his younger brother. When his children grow up in the future, they will definitely leave home and become independent. It will definitely feel more uncomfortable.

It wasn't until both of their fleets disappeared on the sea that Zhu Zhanhe left the dock and turned to the shipbuilding workshop.

"Meet the Crown Prince!"

When Zu Huan, the official in charge of steamship development, saw Zhu Zhanhe's arrival, he also stepped forward to greet him enthusiastically.

"How's it going? Can the propeller be installed?"

Zhu Zhanhe asked Zu Huan.

The craftsmanship of the propeller is complex and cannot be compared with that of a paddle steamer. Therefore, Zu Huan's research is not going well. Zhu Zhanhe has asked several times before, but there has not been much progress.

"His Royal Highness came at the right time. We have almost completed the research and created a set of samples, which are just waiting for His Highness to personally review!"

I saw Zu Huan's eyebrows dancing with joy.

"Such great progress has been made!"

Zhu Zhanhe was also very surprised when he heard this, and immediately asked Zu Huan to take him to see the samples.

So Zu Huan took Zhu Zhanhe to a part of the workshop, where they saw a large work shed with a complex transmission device inside, and the end position was a propeller.

The entire transmission device is just set up in the work shed, and the structure is clear at a glance. The device will not be installed on the ship until it is determined that there are no problems.

After Zu Huan arrived here, he immediately asked the craftsmen to prepare. As the steam engine next to it began to run, it drove the device, and finally the propeller at the end finally started to rotate.     “Huhuhu~”

The propeller rotates faster and faster, cutting through the air and causing a huge wind sound. If a person stands in front of the propeller, he will feel a strong wind blowing against his face, like a super powerful fan.

"Yes, if you install this in the palace, it will definitely be quite cool in summer!"

Zhu Zhanhe looked at the rotating propellers and couldn't help but think of the electric fans of later generations. Unfortunately, he had no time to make electrical appliances now.

"It's quite cool, but the sound of the steam engine is so noisy that most people can't stay still."

Zu Huan responded with a smile. The steam engine next to him made a deafening sound. They had to shout loudly if they wanted to speak.

"Now that the propeller can rotate, can it be installed on the ship for testing?"

Zhu Zhanhe asked Zu Huan again.

"Your Highness, everything is fine in other aspects, but if you want to put it on the ship, there is still a problem!"

Unexpectedly, Zu Huan said with a serious expression at this time.

"what is the problem?"

Zhu Zhanhe immediately asked, he came here not only to see Zu Huan's research results, but also to help them solve some problems.

"We cannot seal the connection between the propeller and the hull, so water will definitely leak into the cabin."

Zu Huan spread his hands and replied helplessly.

In fact, this transmission device has been developed for a month, but the water leakage problem cannot be solved, so they dare not install it on the ship.

"water leakage?"

Zhu Zhanhe was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then he realized that the propeller needs to rotate quickly, and the connection between it and the hull must bear huge force. In this case, ordinary sealing methods are of no use at all.

"Is there nothing you can do?"

Zhu Zhanhe frowned and asked Zu Huan again. Ship design was a separate subject in universities in later generations. Zhu Zhanhe had never learned this knowledge, so he really didn't have much knowledge about this issue. Method.

"We have thought of many ways and tried many times, but the best way is still to avoid water leakage, just more leakage and less leakage."

Zu Huan said again very helplessly. As he said that, he took Zhu Zhanhe to another work shed. This was a work shed specially designed to be sealed. There were various methods they tested to prevent water leakage.

Zhu Zhanhe looked at it carefully and found that the most exquisite method was to use oil seals. This method was also used in later generations, but because the craftsmanship of this era was not up to standard, the oil seals could not guarantee complete water isolation. There will be oil leakage, although not much, but over time, the more oil leaks, the worse the sealing effect will be.

"This problem is really difficult to solve!"

Zhu Zhanhe touched his chin and thought carefully for a long time, and finally clapped his hands and said: "Yes, you can design a water pumping device to collect the leaked water into a compartment, and wait until the compartment is almost full before using it again." Just use the water pumping device to pump out the water!”

The use of steam engines to pump water has long been used in various mines. For example, some mines leaked, causing the mines to be flooded. In the past, drainage could only be done manually, and the speed was too slow. Sometimes the drainage speed could not keep up with the leakage speed, so it had to be abandoned in the end. Steam engine pumps can drain water quickly, which has saved many mines.

"This... can it work?"

Zu Huan was also stunned when he heard this. Let the propeller steamer leak water while running, and then pump water at the same time. Why does this feel a bit unreliable?

"Don't be so demanding now. As long as the boat can run, we can find ways to improve it in the future!"

Zhu Zhanhe waved his hand and said again.

In fact, some technologies are just like this. They sound sophisticated, but to put it bluntly, they are actually very simple.

For example, later generations of the Soviet Union invented an aerospace engine that could make airplanes fly higher, but engines from other countries could not solve the problem of engine overheating. Later, after the Soviet Union collapsed and technical data leaked out, it was discovered that the Soviets’ solution was While the plane is flying, water is sprayed on the engine to cool it down. It's as simple and crude as that.

"This... okay, then let's give it a try according to your Highness's wishes!"

Zu Huan hesitated for a while and finally nodded. In fact, if he thought about it carefully, Zhu Zhanhe's method, although simple, was indeed feasible in theory, but it would waste some steam engine power.

Zhu Zhanhe then discussed some technical issues with Zu Huan and determined that their next main task was to build a prototype propeller boat. It is estimated that it will be launched by the end of the year at the earliest. After all, Zu Huan and the others have also done this before. Not idle, a semi-finished boat has been prepared, and all that is needed is to install the steam engine and propeller transmission equipment on it.

(End of this chapter)